iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Grant Henninger @granthenninger.com · 26/08/2026

It's amazing how much community you can make from a building that looks this run down. Our cities have so many more resources than they realize, if only someone comes along to activate them appropriately.

Photo of the front of the Jacumba Hot Springs building.

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Grant Henninger @granthenninger.com · 04/08/2026

I picked up some new pieces of “art” over the weekend. I’ve given them backstories. These are portraits painted in the 1980s of son and grandson of the TailSpin version of Shere Khan. They might be the most ridiculous things I own now.

Photo of two painting of tigers dressed like humans. The painting on the left is a tiger wearing a red suit with blue button-down shirt and maroon tie. The painting on the left is of a tiger wearing oversized pink sunglasses, a pink leather jacket with a popped collar, and gold chains around his neck. The paintings are on the wall in a living room above a couple of mid-century modern lounge chairs and nesting side tables.

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Grant Henninger @granthenninger.com · 26/07/2026

The men’s version is a real horror show.

Photo of a clear plastic dress shoe by Saint Laurent.

Photo of two people wearing clear plastic dress shoes by Saint Laurent.

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Grant Henninger @granthenninger.com · 24/07/2026

1/3% of all residents of the City of Los Angeles are currently in line to borrow Emily Wilson’s translation of The Odyssey from the LA Public Library. Who says movies dissuade people from reading?

Screenshot from Libby showing a 14 week wait to borrow an ebook copy of the Emily Wilson’s translation of The Odyssey. There are a total of 1,170 people waiting to borrow one of 168 copies.

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Grant Henninger @granthenninger.com · 21/07/2026

For the past couple of years, I've been working to set up the South Bay Cities Regional Housing Trust. At the first Board meeting for the Trust, I presented on Affordable Housing 101. This was my very first slide, "Building housing costs money."

PowerPoint slide with a white box on a grey background that says, "Building housing costs money."

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Grant Henninger @granthenninger.com · 18/07/2026

Please, Mr. Traffic Engineer, may I cross the street?

Photo of a button at a signaled intersection that says, “Push button for bike crossing.”

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Grant Henninger @granthenninger.com · 10/07/2026

That's a very specific type of building. We've seen a lot of buildings of that height built in recent years that don't have a large number of entrances facing the street. What you describe is absolutely what we should be aiming for, but it doesn't happen at any density without rules requiring it.

Photo of an apartment building in Anaheim, California with minimal openings at street level into the building.

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Grant Henninger @granthenninger.com · 29/06/2026

I’m in San Francisco this weekend, and for the first time I’ve seen a significant number of Waymo driverless taxis out in the wild. After watching them for a while, I’m now of the opinion that they should be banned outright. They do nothing but make traffic worse & are a danger to other road users.

Photo of two Waymo driverless taxis stuck in traffic.

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Grant Henninger @granthenninger.com · 26/05/2026

Today is mine and @onetwobre.bsky.social’s anniversary. She got me a first edition, first printing of Death and Life. Of course, I’ve had the same paperback copy that every planner owns for years, but it’s pretty neat having a first printing. It looks good on my urban planning shelf.

Photo of the cover of a first edition copy of the book Death and Life of Great American Cities by Jane Jacobs.

Photo of two shelves of books. The bottom shelf is completely full and the top shelf is a third full with urban planning books. The top shelf also has a LEGO A-Frame cabin.

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Grant Henninger @granthenninger.com · 25/05/2026

I’ve never seen a copy of Neighborhood Defenders in a bookstore before. The Henry Miller Memorial Library in Big Sur was incredible. It was probably the most well-curated bookstore I’ve been to, full of classics and other influential work. I’d love to do nothing but read through the entire store.

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Grant Henninger @granthenninger.com · 24/05/2026

This may be the world’s shortest no parking zone.

Photo of a street curb painted red for approximately 15 feet, with “no parking any time begin” and “no parking any time end” signs on either end.

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Grant Henninger @granthenninger.com · 21/05/2026

Since the weekend, a fire has been burning on Santa Rosa Island. I had plans to go backpacking there next month, which won't be happening now. (Channel Islands is the last National Park I need to visit in California.) More importantly, the fire is devastating island fox habitat on Santa Rosa.

Map of Santa Rosa Island off the coast of California. The map shows the location of low, medium, and high quality island fox habitat on the island, overlaid with the boundary of the Santa Rosa Fire, currently burning on the island as of May 20th, 2026.

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Grant Henninger @granthenninger.com · 12/05/2026

I highly recommend switching over to StoryGraph. I get awesome data dumps whenever I want them. You can even import your Goodreads data so you don’t lose any past quantification.

Monthly reading wrap-up from StoryGraph for April.

Monthly reading wrap-up from StoryGraph for March.

Monthly reading wrap-up from StoryGraph for February.

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Grant Henninger @granthenninger.com · 26/04/2026

The entire hotel is that way. There is this lounge room just off the entrance that is spectacular. It’s been the setting for a bunch of tv shows and movies. It’s a really incredible hotel that’s downright cheap to stay in because it’s no longer in the best neighborhood.

Photo of the interior of the Biltmore Hotel.

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Grant Henninger @granthenninger.com · 26/04/2026

And with that, we’re headed back to Orange County. It was absolutely possible to get around this par of LA without a car. Some areas were perfectly nice to walk, and others not so much. The city is much better than it had been for getting around without a car, but still has a long way to go.

A photo of two Amtrak Pacific Surfliner trains sitting at Los Angeles Union Station.

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Grant Henninger @granthenninger.com · 26/04/2026

Our last stop of the day is Kinokuniya, a Japanese book and stationary store. It was the only store where we bought anything, and it wasn’t even a book! I got a new Leuchtturm1917 notebook for when I finish my current notebook of fiction writing, and a felted owl craft for the girl child.

Photo of the inside of Kinokuniya Bookstore in Los Angeles, California.

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Grant Henninger @granthenninger.com · 26/04/2026

We spent a little longer in the bar than expected. We needed to wait until they started serving food. So, we ended up missing one of the bookstores we had planned to go to, since it closed at 6pm. But it wasn’t our last stop!

Photo of me and my wife at the bar in the Biltmore Hotel.

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Grant Henninger @granthenninger.com · 26/04/2026

Our feet are tired, it’s time for a drink. Since the Biltmore is next door to the Central Library, it seemed like a great place to rest our feet.

Photo of the inside of the Gallery Bar in the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles, California.

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Grant Henninger @granthenninger.com · 26/04/2026

A brief pause from indie bookstores, but still book related, we stopped by the LA Central Library. We’ve been collecting library cards, but not LA’s yet. It’s the library’s centennial & they have special library cards, but unfortunately they were out! But we still got cards we can use on Libby.

Photo of the front of the Los Angeles Central Library.

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Grant Henninger @granthenninger.com · 25/04/2026

The Last Bookstore felt like the trendiest stop on our tour. This felt more like an Instragram spot than a real bookstore. They have a lot of books, but also a lot of empty shelf space. But, it was crowded, so they’re doing something right.

Photo of the inside of The Last Bookstore looking down at the first floor from the second floor balcony.

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Grant Henninger @granthenninger.com · 25/04/2026

Since we were in the area, stopped by Hollyhock House. This is one of Frank Lloyd Wright’s LA homes designed during his Mayan era. Honestly, I’m surprised his popularity survived this era. This house would have been awful to live in, no wonder it got donated to the city in less than twenty years.

A photo of the living room of Hollyhock House.

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Grant Henninger @granthenninger.com · 25/04/2026

Our first indie bookstore stop is Skylight Book in Los Feliz. This was much more a bookstore aligned with my interests more than @onetwobre.bsky.social’s. It’s mostly an art bookstore, with a good selection of architecture, urban planning, and photography.

Photo of the inside of Skylight Books in Los Angeles, California.

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Grant Henninger @granthenninger.com · 25/04/2026

The B Line was completely deserted when we first got on at Union Station. It seemed like no one was using LA Metro to get around. However, each stop a few more folks got aboard and by the time we got off at Vermont / Sunset the train almost felt crowded.

Photo of passengers on the LA Metro B Line.

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Grant Henninger @granthenninger.com · 25/04/2026

Of course, we need to fuel before we start book shopping. @onetwobre.bsky.social has never been to Philippe’s, so we’re stopping for a beef dip and baked apple.

Photo of the corner facade of Philippe’s original beef dip in Los Angeles.

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Grant Henninger @granthenninger.com · 25/04/2026

It’s Indie Bookstore Day! @onetwobre.bsky.social and I are headed into LA by train to take transit around LA, visiting as many indie bookstores as we can. Folks say you need a car to get around LA, but that seems less and less true. Let’s see how well this works.

Photo of an Amtrak train car approaching a mostly empty passenger platform under a bridge.

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Grant Henninger @granthenninger.com · 02/05/2025

The average American has three friends.

Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, an 1887 painting by Viktor Vasnetsov

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Grant Henninger @granthenninger.com · 28/04/2025

For the past couple of years, I've been tracking Tadej Pogačar's campaign to become cycling's GOAT. He's making advances on Eddy Merckx's record, but isn't there yet. If he can keep his current dominance for another few years, he will be the GOAT, but he's not there yet.

Table listing bike races with Eddy Merckx and Tadej Pogačar win records.

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Grant Henninger @granthenninger.com · 27/04/2025

We haven’t seen new-code subdivisions destroyed. We’ve seen some individual homes destroyed, but not whole neighborhoods the way we’ve seen entire neighborhoods of older buildings. I drove through Altadena after the fire there, and I could absolutely see how a wall of new homes would have helped.

Aerial panoramic photo of Altadena, California after a fire in early 2025 that destroyed much of the city.

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Grant Henninger @granthenninger.com · 18/04/2025

I did my third FTP test this year. I haven't been the best at eating or exercising over the past six weeks, and it shows. My weight had been slightly down before the kids' spring break, but bounced back up on our vacation. Thankfully, my power has continued to progress & is where I want it.

Graph showing power trend compared to target. One line, labeled Target Power (W), has a positive slope starting around 190 in January 2025 and ending around 300 in December 2025. A second line, labeled Actual Power (W), also starts around 190 in January 2025 and ends around 217 in April 2025. The end of the Actual Power line is in line with the Target Power line at the same point.

Graph showing Weight Trend Compared to Target. One line, labeled Target Weight (lbs), has a negative slope starting around 200 in January 2025 and ending around 165 in October 2025 and then leveling off through December 2025. A second line, labeled Actual Weight (lbs), also starts around 200 in January 2025 and ends around 200 in April 2025. The end of the Actual Weight line is higher than the Target Power line at the same point.

Graph showing Watts per kilogram trend compared to target. One line, labeled Target Watts per kilogram, has a positive slope starting around 2.0 in January 2025 and ending around 4.0 in December 2025. A second line, labeled Actual Watts per kilogram, also starts at 2.0 in January 2025 and ends around 2.4 in April 2025. The end of the Actual Watts per kilogram line is slightly lower than the line with the Target Watts per kilograpm line at the same point.

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Grant Henninger @granthenninger.com · 14/04/2025

This was the first time I’d ever received a warning before an earthquake hit. I’m real far away and barely felt the earthquake, but it’s awesome to see this type of warning system work.

Screenshot of an Apple Watch with an alert that says, “Emergency Alert. Earthquake Detected! Drop, Cover, Hold On. Protect Yourself. -USGS ShakeAlert.”

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Grant Henninger @granthenninger.com · 09/04/2025

Last month, I talked about the risks of the dollar not being the world’s reserve currency. It looks like that’s already happening. Today, yields on the 30 year T-bill nearly hit its peak in the past decade. The bond auctions over the next two days are going to be terrifying.

Screenshot of Treasury bond rates from April 8, 2025.
3 Month: 4.26%.
6 Month: 4.07%.
12 Month: 3.83%.
2 Year: 3.73%.
5 Year: 4.01%.
10 Year: 4.44%.
30 Year: 4.92%.

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Grant Henninger @granthenninger.com · 06/04/2025

I 3d printed the Right Hand of Pierre and Jacques de Wissant to use as a helmet rack. Unfortunately, I have two more helmets that it doesn’t hold. I guess I’ll need to print Jacques’ left hand.

Photo of a 3d printed hand sculpture based on Rodin’s Right Hand of Pierre and Jacques de Wissant mounted to the wall holding a pair of cycling shoes with three bike helmets hanging from the fingers.

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Grant Henninger @granthenninger.com · 31/03/2025

I need to drop my car off in Corona, right next to the Metrolink station. Instead of having someone drive all the way there and back to pick me up, I thought I’d see if I could take the train back. Apparently, I would have needed to plan 12 hours ahead. No wonder nobody takes transit in SoCal.

Screenshot of the Metrolink schedule between West Corona and Anaheim Canyon for Sunday, showing only two trains, one leaving at 7:53AM and the other at 9:51AM.

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Grant Henninger @granthenninger.com · 20/03/2025

For instance, the middle of this street is the border between Anaheim and Garden Grove. These shouldn’t really be two cities here. Of course, that means that everything the San Fernando Valley and Dana Point should be one big city.

Photo looking east along Orangewood Ave. from West St. on the border of Anaheim and Garden Grove.

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Grant Henninger @granthenninger.com · 12/03/2025

“Housing is hard,” I heard this multiple times this morning at the grand opening of a new affordable apartment community in Santa Ana. Housing doesn’t have to be hard, it was the easiest thing to build for millennia. We have made it hard, and we can make it easy again.

Photo of a newly constructed apartment building in Santa Ana, CA.

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Grant Henninger @granthenninger.com · 06/03/2025

One of my goals this year is to double my power to weight ratio on the bike. I started the year at 2.0 W/kg, with a goal of 4 W/kg. I'm planning on doing this by getting my weight down by 35 lbs and my power up by 110W. Today was my first check on my progress. I'm right on trend for my overall goal.

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Grant Henninger @granthenninger.com · 06/03/2025

Well, sir, there's nothing on earth like a genuine, bona fide electrified, six-car monorail!

Photo of Seattle’s Alweg monorail coming out of the tunnel through the Museum of Pop Culture.

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Grant Henninger @granthenninger.com · 05/03/2025

You know your city is completely unserious about bike infrastructure when its only Class I bike path is just randomly closed, and the only way around for cyclists is to ride against traffic on the edge of the roadway, where cars are doing 50+ mph. Thanks, Anaheim, for all you do to keep us safe.

Photo of a gated bike path next to a large road with speeding cars.

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Grant Henninger @granthenninger.com · 04/03/2025

Personally, I liked the deeper ones that Dodger Stadium use to have. Less risk of splashback on those.

Photo of the old trough-style urinal at Dodger Stadium.

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Grant Henninger @granthenninger.com · 24/02/2025

Here are my final Oscar predictions before next weekend's awards ceremony. Absolute blowouts for both supporting actor awards. Anora will be an amazing win if it gets Best Picture with no other Oscar wins (although it didn't win at the SAG, so maybe Conclave wins instead.)

Spreadsheet of the 2025 Oscar nominees for the acting awards, animated feature, cinematography, directing, Best Picture, and writing awards, along with which nominees won other awards leading up to the Oscars.

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Grant Henninger @granthenninger.com · 23/02/2025

Avalon is great. Some of the best scuba diving in the world. It’s a nice little walkable community.

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Grant Henninger @granthenninger.com · 22/02/2025

I got myself the tiniest little router plane. Look at how cute it is!

Photo of two Veritas router planes. The large one in the back, and a little tiny one in the foreground.

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Grant Henninger @granthenninger.com · 17/02/2025

Sometimes, it’s necessary to temporarily close a bike lane. However, when a bike & car lane is closed like this, it’s easy to shift the cones a few feet towards the curb to create an improvised bike lane. This provides people on bikes with a place to go that isn’t in front of a car doing 50 mph.

Photo of a bike and car lane closed for landscape maintenance with a car driving quickly by in the remaining open lane.

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Grant Henninger @granthenninger.com · 17/02/2025

This weekend was the BAFTAs and WGA Awards, which gave us a lot more information in the race for this year's Oscars. It's still a blowout by Adrien Brody, Kieran Culkin, and Zoe Saldaña, although the race for Lead Actress has really tightened up.

Spreadsheet of 2025 Oscar nominees with points totals based on which films have won other awards this year.

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Grant Henninger @granthenninger.com · 16/02/2025

Thanks, Anaheim PD, for parking directly in front of the library book drop and blocking it for anyone trying to return their books. It really shows how thoughtful you are and how much you care about the residents of our community.

Photo of an Anaheim police car parked along a red curb directly in front of the library book drop.

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Grant Henninger @granthenninger.com · 12/02/2025

Got the first coat of oil onto my bench. I’m going to do one more each of the next two days. Then, this project that I started last June will be completely finished.

Photo of a French-style woodworking bench.

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Grant Henninger @granthenninger.com · 10/02/2025

This weekend, I finished drilling all of my dog holes. The first two were a bit rough, and I wasn’t sure my holdfasts were going to work in them, but it mostly worked out ok. The dog hole closest to my leg vice half overlaps with the leg, so it’ll work for some things, but not holdfasts.

Photo of a workbench with 10 dog holes drilled in the top.

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Grant Henninger @granthenninger.com · 07/02/2025

It’s really great when you can start to use the dog holes you just drilled to hold your 3d printed drill guide using holdfasts. It’s so much easier and quicker than using clamps. Just 5 more holes to drill.

Photo of a plastic circle with a central hub connected by four spokes, with a large bit brace sticking out of the central hub, being held to a wood table top with two metal holdfasts.

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Grant Henninger @granthenninger.com · 02/02/2025

Dry January ended yesterday, so the important question this evening is, what’s everyone drinking? I made myself a Manhattan. I probably haven’t gone a month without a drink since I was 21. I don’t drink a lot, but I drink regularly. I was expecting more of a change from not drinking, honestly.

Photo of a Manhattan in a coupe on a wood table.

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Grant Henninger @granthenninger.com · 01/02/2025

I burned out my cordless drill halfway through drilling my first dog hole. Instead of destroying dozed of cordless drills to get this done, I’m going old school. This bit brace is older than my parents. I used it to finish off the first hole and it cut through like butter.

Photo of a 10-inch Yankee North Brothers bit brace.

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