iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Brandon Philips @ifup.org · 08/08/2026

HMC added joint majors in a number of engineering disciplines with climate science. www.hmc.edu/about/2026/0...

hmc.edu

New Mathematics and Climate Joint Major | Harvey Mudd College News | Harvey Mudd College

Brandon Philips @ifup.org · 02/08/2026

Legoland in Billund is epic for kids under 10 because there is a playground within a 3 minute walk of everything. The hotel, the food spots, the rides, the shops. Honestly baffling being in a space so specifically designed for the enjoyment of children.

Brandon Philips @ifup.org · 01/08/2026

I guess that doesn't solve your use case because this would let the user control the LLM being used and the prompt pipeline. I see you have kofi setup which is probably the right call- just get USD to cover the bills :)

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Brandon Philips @ifup.org · 30/07/2026

Haha! I had that discussion yesterday. We discussed how he identified a Porsche SUV from the side profile without an emblem. I will let you know what works for us www.quarto.com/books/978076... www.phaidon.com/en-us/produc... www.chroniclebooks.com/products/cut... nomadpress.net/nomadpress-b...

chroniclebooks.com

Cut in Half

What exactly is inside a laptop, a golf ball, a vacuum cleaner, or a novelty singing fish toy? The insides of these and dozens of other objects are revealed in this photographic exploration of the stu...

Brandon Philips @ifup.org · 30/07/2026

It is amazing how interesting cars are to some kids. Mine can’t get enough. I wonder what it is? I heard a hypothesis that it is because they are essentially our new mega fauna. Haha.

Brandon Philips @ifup.org · 30/07/2026

My kid is so good at identifying car brands by their design language. I need to find him an industrial design book or something to explore this passion I think.

Brandon Philips @ifup.org · 25/07/2026

I guess now orthopedics AND immunology can share a hatred of trampoline parks. @glaucomflecken.bsky.social (vaccinate your kids!)

Oregon Health Authority warning about measles exposure at Sky Zone Beaverton trampoline park.

VotingWorks @voting.works · 10/06/2026

Reposted by Brandon Philips

A few days ago, due to the threat of a chemical explosion, 50,000 people in Orange County were under evacuation orders. In the midst of this, there was a primary election with early voting. How did tens of thousands of evacuated voters cast their ballot? how.voting.works/when-you-can...

how.voting.works

When you can't get to your precinct

A few days ago, due to the threat of a chemical explosion, 50,000 people in Orange County were under evacuation orders. In the midst of this, there was an active primary election – election day was…

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Brandon Philips @ifup.org · 13/06/2026

I am convinced this is just a shakedown like they did to Perkins Coie, et al.

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Brandon Philips @ifup.org · 31/05/2026

Been on kagi for close to a year. I can filter out blog spam and prioritize wikipedia and reddit. Heal nature. Plant native plants. Stop using Google search.

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Brandon Philips @ifup.org · 30/05/2026

FWIW, I live in the PNW so our wet conditions may be different than yours. But, DWR simply are not effective here in relatively warm and humid environments.

Brandon Philips @ifup.org · 30/05/2026

DWR are sprays/coatings for fabrics that help them resist water AND "breath". However, many of the DWR coatings contain PFAS, don't work great, and leak PFAS to the environment. C0 DWR don't contain PFAS but wear down rather quickly and frankly aren't effective. www.youtube.com/watch?v=1r6r...

youtube.com

The SCAM Outdoor Brands Don't Want You To Know

YouTube video by MyLifeOutdoors

I see it on the Kindle store. But, I only purchase from Kobo.

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The store says "protected epub" on some of the books. What does that mean? Is it Adobe DRM or something else? Would be nice to include a bit of information about that.

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I keep looking for a bike rain cape that is just impermeable fabric instead of poly + a DWR. And unfortunately this is poly + a DWR. I don't understand the point of a permeable fabric covered in chemicals on a cape.

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I really wish y'all would make this (and all of your books) available via epub.

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Brandon Philips @ifup.org · 28/05/2026

Vanguard offers different policies you can choose on your proxy vote for mutual funds. corporate.vanguard.com/content/corp... Seems very practical to insist my vote goes towards ensuring the board of directors is at least 2/3 independent. Wish that was enforced by being on a public market 😑

A table defining insider, affiliate, and independent directors.

A definition of conflicts of interest and Board Independence.

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Repaired my kids headphones after the speaker wire disconnected (more glue than solder). Here is my guide. www.ifixit.com/Teardown/iCl... I love @ifixit.com and their model of selling good tools (used their solder station on this repair!) and providing a hub for people to share guides.

ifixit.com

iClever BTH Teardown

My iClever BTH headphones had a cable to the speaker disconnect. This is a guide to tear down the device to repair the cable.

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Brandon Philips @ifup.org · 27/05/2026

If you take a straight reading of the executive order there are 1,000 other websites that they could start their work on that are far far worse to use than vote.gov and usa.gov/passport.

vote.gov

Find the information you need to make registration and voting easy. Official voter registration website of the United States government.

Brandon Philips @ifup.org · 27/05/2026

My take: the administration has had no problems taking over digital/physical infrastructure in undemocratic and authoritarian ways. This executive order "temporary studio" is looking to build sites for sensitive things like voter information and passports: this is ominous.

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Brandon Philips @ifup.org · 27/05/2026

Cool! Using cert transparency logs to stalk the administration. thedreydossier.substack.com/p/i-found-a-... The key finding: the ndstudio.gov has staging domains in the CT logs for sites like usa.gov/passport and vote.gov. The raw data is here: thedreydossier.github.io/NDS_servers_...

ndstudio.gov

National Design Studio

The National Design Studio is leading the America by Design initiative working to improve how Americans experience their government.

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Brandon Philips @ifup.org · 13/05/2026

I love the idea of links that go off to somewhere that doesn't exist yet but might in the future: github.com/BaderBC/halu...

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Brandon Philips @ifup.org · 09/05/2026

Try holding a papermache bomb over your head and run around. Probably will get the reference then.

Brandon Philips @ifup.org · 04/05/2026

I do too sometimes out of habit! But, then my mind goes: you just left the lights on in an empty room.

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Brandon Philips @ifup.org · 04/05/2026

A LLM session reminds me of my teen years getting help on IRC when the manpages failed me. The patient person on the other side walking me through the knowledge gaps that a list of flags have difficulty filling. I don't thank the LLM though. Do you?

Brandon Philips @ifup.org · 03/05/2026

Looks like a prohibition, actually a prayer. Love it.

Brandon Philips @ifup.org · 02/05/2026

It feels gross to hear executive speak like "effective content targeting" in the context of children. Particularly when some of the "content" is gambling (e.g. loot boxes). EU has 16 or older for loot boxes which is still wayyyy too young IMHO. www.cnbc.com/2026/05/01/r...

cnbc.com

Roblox shares plummet 18% as child safety measures weigh on bookings

Roblox is facing over 140 federal lawsuits accusing it of failing to prevent child exploitation, and last month settled with Alabama and West Virginia.

Brandon Philips @ifup.org · 30/04/2026

The publisher not saying this is for money is funny. They could have worked with @standardebooks.org or someone to bring it to the public domain instead if it is just about giving readers the opportunity to read the work. Thanks for writing the article.

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Brandon Philips @ifup.org · 30/04/2026

This is the XTEINK X4. It runs an ESP32 chip and fits great into a small bag. I like it. There is an open source firmware that makes the device better: github.com/crosspoint-r... Then the company announced they are locking the bootloader. It is not going well. www.reddit.com/r/xteinkerea...

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Reposted by Brandon Philips

Kyle McDonald @kcimc.bsky.social · 20/04/2026

the fencing visualization system i worked on with rhizomatiks is coming to los angeles this weekend 🤗

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Brandon Philips @ifup.org · 22/04/2026

I guess it is nice that privately held companies are just flailing capital around just like public companies?

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Brandon Philips @ifup.org · 16/04/2026

Yeah, I listened! They do a pretty good job but I don't think it was their strongest episode. FWIW, I absolutely hated "Coddling of the American Mind" too. But, Anxious Generation came up again in a sort of book group so I am trying to refresh my memory on why I hated it all over again.

Brandon Philips @ifup.org · 16/04/2026

+1 I hate the book because I think the case against kids social media use is a moral and philosophical one. We don't need some pop social scientist making up numbers to convince parents. Plus, his writing just sucks and honestly don't think many people have read it. bsky.app/profile/ifup...

Brandon Philips @ifup.org · 16/04/2026

"Rich Dad, Poor Dad" is a book that, at its face, makes common sense arguments to save and work hard. But, then goes off the rails with insane anecdotes taken too far and flimsy evidence. I agree with Anxious Generation: keep kids away from profit mongers selling social media. But, the rest... gah

Brandon Philips @ifup.org · 15/04/2026

The entire book is like this. Haidt overstates some anecdote and then the footnote walks it back. It is like being gaslit by the author. My generous reading is Haidt wouldn't let his editor actually edit so this is the editor desperately trying to get the message to the reader.

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Brandon Philips @ifup.org · 15/04/2026

Someone please explain to me why Anxious Generation is so popular. It is the "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" of pop social psychology. Read this except then the footnote. WHY!

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Brandon Philips @ifup.org · 14/04/2026

I got an ad inserted at the end of the article from UnitedHealth. Peak 2020s dystopia.

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Brandon Philips @ifup.org · 09/04/2026

Google Photos product managers please listen: ensuring a basic level of offsite backup for your most important photos has turned into drudgery. Please help. support.google.com/photos/threa...

support.google.com

Takeout: Export Favorite Photos - Google Photos Community

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Brandon Philips @ifup.org · 20/03/2026

I can't believe @sanders.senate.gov is making a distillation attack on Claude like this. www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3At...

youtube.com

I spoke to AI agent Claude

YouTube video by Senator Bernie Sanders

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Brandon Philips @ifup.org · 10/03/2026

Trying to pay US corporate taxes. EFTPS won't let me log in. Spent 1.5 hours on hold. Finally get a IRS rep on the phone: the entire backend system is offline and the rep can't assist with anything. No ETA.

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Brandon Philips @ifup.org · 02/02/2026

Could you share the economics of making the ebook an Amazon Kindle exclusive? (I moved all of my ebook purchases to Kobo due to Amazon's whole situation.) Congratulations on your success with the book.