iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Collin Allen @command-tab.com · 26/09/2026

You need a Pixar Image Computer themed one 🤔 O•X•I•D•E

Pixar Image Computer and display exhibited in a museum

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Collin Allen @command-tab.com · 17/09/2026

Throwback to this cool custom rackmount G4 that arrived on a pallet of unrelated electronics at a previous job

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Collin Allen @command-tab.com · 17/06/2026

Received mail from from the Phantom Phreak himself 💾 😃

A yellow 3.5” floppy disk with a gum splat, signed:

HACK THE PLANET!
Renoly Santiago
The King of Nynex

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Collin Allen @command-tab.com · 07/06/2026

Also, I am absolutely here for the return of translucent plastics in electronics 😍

Xbox Series X25 and controller in translucent green plastic. Limited edition, November 2026.

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Collin Allen @command-tab.com · 06/10/2025

“The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle.”

A metal plaque nestled under a tree on the Pixar campus: “Dedicated with love and gratitude to Steve Jobs. Our partner, mentor, and friend.”

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Collin Allen @command-tab.com · 02/07/2025

The annual tradition is approaching!

A frame from Independence Day (1996): “JULY 2”

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Collin Allen @command-tab.com · 17/05/2025

My fiber ISP offers fantastic speeds, but has occasional outages that last many hours. I just added a cheap, lower-speed backup to a local WISP. They use Ubiquiti gear to talk to antennas on a nearby ridge, with (another ISP's) fiber backhaul. My Ubiquiti CGM now does dual WAN with auto failover 🤩

A Ubiquiti point-to-point bridge dish atop my roof

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Collin Allen @command-tab.com · 28/04/2025

Another successful North Bay Python! I always leave with new ideas, technologies, approaches, and friends. I might have to propose a talk one of these years… 🤔 #nbpy

The backdrop of North Bay Python: Rolling green hills and cloudys with blue sky peeking through.

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Collin Allen @command-tab.com · 12/04/2025

I broke the rule of thumb when working on stuff and changed too many variables at once on this Xbox: recapped the motherboard and PSU, installed XboxHD+, and Project Stellar. Now it won’t boot. LED ring stays green, but it puts out no A/V. Time to debug, with some spare components and mod chips 😅

Xbox v1.6 with the DVD drive and hard drive removed, exposing the motherboard and PSU. A Project Stellar chip and XboxHD+ mods are installed.

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Collin Allen @command-tab.com · 11/04/2025

Spotted this little addition on a refrigerator at work

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Collin Allen @command-tab.com · 12/03/2025

+1 for Enphase equipment! Our solar, batteries, and EVSE are all Enphase, and the system components all work really well together. Their app and web UI are decent, and the controller offers a local API for further integration if needed. Would buy again if we ever move!

Enphase app screenshot showing a flow chart with import/solar production/battery discharge as inputs, total consumption, then export/battery charge as outputs. The day’s total consumption is less than the day’s total production, with 2kWh remaining energy sent to the grid.

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Collin Allen @command-tab.com · 12/03/2025

It’s been a while since I printed something. This MK3S is still such a champ. It only required a couple small tweaks the day I assembled it years ago, but ever since then it just prints great every time, with no fuss.

Prusa MK3S beginning a 3D print of a part, closeup on the extruder and print bed

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Collin Allen @command-tab.com · 03/01/2025

It seems my hour has come again

The hooked end of a sturdy looking crowbar, ready to demolish some household debris

The straight bar of the crowbar with a yellow COLLINS AXE label

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Collin Allen @command-tab.com · 05/12/2024

My oldest was doing homework about a short story and had to answer the question, “What in this story surprised you?” His answer was effectively

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom GIF: “Nothing shocks me. I’m a scientist.”

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Collin Allen @command-tab.com · 18/11/2024

Some “macrochip” slate coasters I made, inspired by www.evilgeniuslabs.org/macrochips I forgot to convert some type to paths and mis-aligned a few, but they’re passable. I think I could do better given more time, and if I bought my own laser cutter/engraver… 🤔

A grid of 8 4x4” black slate coasters with various CPU markings engraved

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Collin Allen @command-tab.com · 12/11/2024

One of these days I'm going to finish my blog post about the Portal themed mini golf hole I built for a fun event at work. Speedy thing goes in, speedy thing comes out! The simple gray-walled exterior belies the absurd and hastily-built machinations necessary to pull off a convincing switcheroo.

A cubicle-sized mini golf hole with two portals. The target cup is not readily reachable without putting into the blue portal, and a ball exits the orange portal onto the final green.

the ball is a lie
the ball is a lie
the ball is a lie
the ball is a lie

The interior wooden structure and electronics that run the whole machine. An Archimedes screw made of PVC pipes and metal strapping lifts the putted ball into a buffer pipe with release servo attached.

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Collin Allen @command-tab.com · 04/11/2024

Some time ago at work I built a Python and Vue web app for groups to lend equipment. To go with the app, I modified a stock school locker into an “Amazon locker” run by a Raspberry Pi and 12V electronic locks. The app remotely pops the right door when you scan a QR code and are owed what’s inside 😃

An inside view of a locker door with an electronic lock attached to the locker frame, ready to release the door upon command

The front of a single locker door with a SUPPLY•R badge and number 1 affixed to the door

A partially completed electronics enclosure containing a power supply, AC plug, Raspberry Pi, and relay board. Missing is the middle board that maps all the components together.

A rear view of the electronics enclosure showing the Raspberry Pi ports through holes cut in the plastic side. An Ethernet cable is plugged in.

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