iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Iiridayn @iiridayn.info · 03/10/2026

Elder Christofferson spoke out against #gambling. He included #predictionmarkets in what he characterized as gambling. #GeneralConference #ChurchofJesusChrist

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Iiridayn @iiridayn.info · 30/09/2026

Great forum address yesterday. Ross Douthat gave 3 + 1 reasons for being religious. Fine-tuned physical constants, Consciousness is still unexplained, and Religious beliefs persist despite secularization. #God is an efficient explanation for all together. The fourth: #religion gives moral direction.

speeches.byu.edu

Why Everyone Should Be Religious

As we come to understand more about the world we live in, we can see more clearly that it must have a divine Creator.

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Iiridayn @iiridayn.info · 24/09/2026

I'm not very worried about an #AI intelligence explosion. I judge unsupervised self-improvement as highly unlikely near term. Even if compute keeps up (Moore's law is slowing), infrastructure is showing strain (power grid). Budgets also can't double much longer. I look forward to efficiency gains.

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Iiridayn @iiridayn.info · 14/09/2026

I had a recent conversation where someone struggled to identify a word to express a concept they had. Linguistic determinism is false. It is akin to saying humans cannot imagine or draw something they've never seen. Yet, artists have for millennia. The words for "thought" postdate thought.

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Iiridayn @iiridayn.info · 04/09/2026

As a #security practitioner, I feel it is crucial that I cultivate user #trust that any prohibitions I must issue are necessary and reasonable - that means sometimes not maximizing the "security dial" to improve _actual security_. #usablesecurity

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Iiridayn @iiridayn.info · 04/09/2026

#Reinvented the approximate counting #algorithm today, when thinking about how to prevent #DoS by resource exhaustion when a small device is flooded with attacks, without ignoring their presence. Nice.

en.wikipedia.org

Approximate counting algorithm - Wikipedia

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Iiridayn @iiridayn.info · 03/09/2026

Saw a #chiropractor today about an arm and a leg. I was disappointed this visit was around half #woo, and the musculoskeletal part caused minimal improvement. Second time in around 20 years; not sure there's any value to making a third attempt. The previous one at least eschewed woo.

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Iiridayn @iiridayn.info · 28/08/2026

Gave a good presentation at #SOUPS2026 on behalf of my excellent labmate, the first author. Really sad he wasn't able to attend himself due to US policy changes making international travel impose too great a risk of disrupting his studies. www.usenix.org/conference/s...

usenix.org

Passkeys in the Wild: A Systematic Study of FIDO2 User Experience Consistency Across Websites | USENIX

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Iiridayn @iiridayn.info · 20/08/2026

Today seems to be a big day for leaps of #faith. I #trust that everything will work out as it should, but that doesn't fully resolve the #uncertainty of the future. #God is real and involves Himself in the details of our lives. This makes #change #easier, not #easy.

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Iiridayn @iiridayn.info · 12/08/2026

In computer #security, attackers often need just one gap; defenders need to guard them all. Common solutions: fewer ways in, and shared #knowledge. Defender #transparency - sharing code and techniques - benefits defenders more than attackers. Short #secrets have value, but #openness wins over time.

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Iiridayn @iiridayn.info · 06/08/2026

#PSA please do not call someone a #bigot and storm out lest you reveal your own #bigotry against people who aren't #virtuesignaling enough as having compatible beliefs. #homophobia #transphobia #ai #generativeai #racism #vegan #environmentalism #partypolitics #religion #cancelculture #intolerance

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Iiridayn @iiridayn.info · 26/07/2026

Took a #nap after #Church. Woke from a #dream where I was evangelizing #podman to my labmate. I was saying "it's so easy, you should try it!". Especially #funny since I was reluctant to use podman up until a couple years ago, sufficiently happy with packer/vagrant. #devops #technology

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Iiridayn @iiridayn.info · 20/07/2026

Had a thought while walking with my 11 year-old #dog the other day. His "get up and go" has mostly gotten up and went. #aging #age #old

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Iiridayn @iiridayn.info · 13/07/2026

Some #rules are #convention, some are natural law. Breaking the former can be #innovative. Breaking the latter usually #fails (unless supported by another natural law). I like to learn which is which - people say to "know the rules before you break them". #education

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Iiridayn @iiridayn.info · 07/07/2026

"If I had a nickle for every time" I was accused by my ISP of illegal filesharing, "I'd have two nickles - which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice." Both times the ISP realized they contacted the wrong IP.

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Iiridayn @iiridayn.info · 05/07/2026

I am #grateful for religious #liberty, and #pray that it may be strengthened throughout the world. I know that Jesus Christ lived, died, resurrected, and lives today. I endorse religious #freedom for those who do not share my beliefs. May we all support one another in free exercise of conscience.

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Iiridayn @iiridayn.info · 26/06/2026

I love the meme sign "Warning: This #Machine Has No #Brain. Use Your Own". I think for #GenAI #AI #LLM writing, we should adapt it: "Warning: This Machine Has No #Taste. Use Your Own". They charge blindly ahead on whatever path they've randomly chosen. Users MUST guide them, or suffer bad output.

A yellow caution sign with the text "Warning: This Machine Has No Taste. Use Your Own".

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Iiridayn @iiridayn.info · 25/06/2026

#Security is often only increased. The best way I've found so far to reduce it is to establish a thorough #threatmodel and show the reduced burden remains adequate. For example, my online login passwords are just 8 random characters long. See the paper "Passwords and Cryptwords" for the rationale.

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Iiridayn @iiridayn.info · 15/06/2026

Helped labmate with paper shepherding. Still looking for employment opportunities. Will have to broaden my search a little, beyond teaching faculty positions.

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Iiridayn @iiridayn.info · 03/06/2026

#AI is new, but the world has survived #disruption in the past. Canning. Gunpowder. Steam. Cars. Etc. The world changed. #GenerativeAI is not the first means to delegate thinking. Having servants or employees doesn't make the #manager less #intelligent. Now we're all opt-in managers. #genai #framing

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Iiridayn @iiridayn.info · 27/05/2026

#Authentication idea I probably won't pursue. Auth and #AgeVerification sometimes requires a photo of you holding your ID card, but generative #AI #genai can fake those. Video is not inherently better. Can #automate a #challenge-response protocol in a live video session via an IVR ("say banana").

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Iiridayn @iiridayn.info · 11/05/2026

How it feels internally to be the most knowledgeable person in the room (about some topic): "huh, there's so much I don't know, I'm surprised nobody else has anything to add about this". It feels like your knowledge is typical. More so if learned a while ago or those often around you know the same.

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Iiridayn @iiridayn.info · 02/05/2026

Had a fun conversation with #Claude.ai tonight. I was looking for emphatic alternatives to #cussing or oaths since I choose to not use those. Due to my upbringing, I also generally avoid absolutes. #Claude concluded that absolutes function for me in a similar taboo-breaking role as cussing. :D 😁

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Iiridayn @iiridayn.info · 29/04/2026

#PSA If you print a #QR code on something, ALWAYS provide the URL (or a shortened URL) as well. QR readers will never be as universal as minds are. It also helps prevent QR phishing #quishing. If you #email a #qrcode, ALWAYS provide the URL! I can't point my phone camera at my phone's email to scan.

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Iiridayn @iiridayn.info · 29/04/2026

Job interview today. Asked ahead for a 15 minute teaching demo of my choice - taught about recursion.

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Iiridayn @iiridayn.info · 22/04/2026

Walking in commencement and convocation at #BYU in a couple days. Official #graduation date is currently scheduled for 18 Jun 2026.

Michael in PhD regalia from the sides and front, with commencement and convocation details to the side.

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Iiridayn @iiridayn.info · 11/04/2026

Only 20 days left for #NSPW #NSPW2026 paper submissions. www.nspw.org/2026/cfp. I love the workshop, great place to learn about and get feedback for innovative #security ideas which might be hard to publish elsewhere for being too novel.

nspw.org

NSPW 2026 CFP | New Security Paradigms Workshop

NSPW 2026 invites three types of submissions:

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Iiridayn @iiridayn.info · 04/04/2026

"Your pain is not a sign that God does not love you. He truly does." - Elder Matswagothata, #GeneralConference. Continued (paraphrased): in the midst of the refiners fire, don't get angry with God, but rather close to Him.

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Iiridayn @iiridayn.info · 30/03/2026

Just got back from #Consonance. Met #BobKanefsky, #KristophKlover, etc - names I'd only seen before. Shared the filk site (iiridayn.info/filk/) and got mixed reviews; I'm glad some were positive, and I have a list of things to adjust now too. #JoeFicklin was a joy to travel with.

iiridayn.info

Filk Index

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Iiridayn @iiridayn.info · 19/03/2026

Been doing some test #GenerativeAI #GenAI #AI development this week. I really don't like writing #ETL code; it's fairly boring and there are often special cases due to input data irregularities. I worked with #ClaudeCode to make something adequate in three days that I'd been putting off for a year.

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Iiridayn @iiridayn.info · 16/03/2026

I find #debate of little value. Derived from dialectic via rhetoric training, designed to entertain and disprove. My issue is that it frames conversations as adversarial. When I ask questions I'm not trying to advance an #argument, I'm trying to learn via #activelistening or demonstrating ignorance.

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Iiridayn @iiridayn.info · 27/02/2026

Presenting at the #BYU Student Research Conference this Saturday. I think it's time we expanded our understanding of the factors of #authentication, and shall need to write more about that eventually.

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Iiridayn @iiridayn.info · 22/02/2026

A Dutch saying translates as "Trust arrives on foot and departs on horseback." In essence, that #trust is slow to build but easy to lose. However, on first hearing the translated proverb one of my first thoughts was "Hey! He must have stolen my horse! So much for #trust!". #humor #security

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Iiridayn @iiridayn.info · 18/02/2026

Reconnected with a friend I'd not seen since around 2011 to deliver him an extra copy of a book I bought at #LTUE. Lost the first copy and so bought a second, reasoning he might enjoy it if it turned up. It did, and he was happy for the visit. We will probably not keep in touch; #Dunbar'sNumber.

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Iiridayn @iiridayn.info · 10/02/2026

Wrote a filk song recently about diversity. Plan to share it at #LTUE this weekend if I can get the tune working.

iiridayn.info

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Iiridayn @iiridayn.info · 31/01/2026

Just made the other container of mole I was gifted years ago with a "best by" date in 2017. Pretty good, but I don't often cook with much meat, so it's taken me a while to get around to it.

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Iiridayn @iiridayn.info · 23/01/2026

As of 2026-01-22 and possibly beyond, I have never been subject to a governmental coerced gag order.

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Iiridayn @iiridayn.info · 23/01/2026

I should also consider a warrant canary of some kind. Perhaps a separate message above this one which if missing implies something happened. Such as "As of 2026-01-22 and possibly beyond, I have never been subject to a governmental coerced gag order." I can delete it and/or repost if things change.

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Iiridayn @iiridayn.info · 23/01/2026

The #CS Seminar today at #BYU has persuaded me (hidebound and crotchety as I am) to give #AI #LLM #coding assistants a try soon. How to attribute #authorship? I'd be _responsible_ for every line, and it appears to be nearly standard practice (if it's not already), but lacking attribution bothers me.

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Iiridayn @iiridayn.info · 15/01/2026

Just spent 2.5 hours making the internals of a home Milky Way clone for a couple friend gatherings on Friday and Saturday. Will dip it tomorrow. Been working on the recipe for years off and on for my wife. Realized just now that this is not something people typically do on Wednesday nights.

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Iiridayn @iiridayn.info · 08/01/2026

Sometimes #problems don't have a #solution. We call those #overconstrained. One of the goals of a proper #security analysis and #system is to ensure that certain actions (such as to lie, steal, cheat, wreck, etc) are faced with just such an overconstrained problem without any solutions.

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Iiridayn @iiridayn.info · 02/01/2026

"Common sense" is what you learned more than half your life ago. As a result it changes per individual, and can be wrong.

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Iiridayn @iiridayn.info · 01/01/2026

#Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem. He lived, taught, served, and died, and rose the third day. He lives. I testify that Jesus Christ is my Savior and Redeemer. Without Him all are lost, for all have sinned; He enables the conditions of repentance and forgiveness. Remember #Christ this #Christmas.

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Iiridayn @iiridayn.info · 16/12/2025

#Science is about uncovering #truth; #security positions which are not based on science seem to typically be based on #fear. Fear allows acting on contradictory beliefs. Logic has the principle of explosion, "ex falso quodlibet". In security we might say "ex metu quodlibet": "out of fear, anything".

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Iiridayn @iiridayn.info · 14/12/2025

"A screwdriver may work as a hammer but it makes a lousy saw." #CognitiveBias en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_... Wrote that while pondering #SoftwareArchitecture frustrations caused by programmers trained primarily in #ObjectOrientedProgramming #OOP paradigms. Tools DO generalize, but only so far.

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Iiridayn @iiridayn.info · 11/12/2025

If your #FourthFactor of #authentication is "ask someone else to check" (email provider, phone service provider, "someone you know", etc) it's not a fourth factor, it's just #DelegatedAuthentication like #SingleSignOn #SSO. They will rely on have/know/are to authenticate the user. #hottake

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Iiridayn @iiridayn.info · 08/12/2025

Why do I #dox myself? I feel low risk (loss × odds) from all but nation-state actors, and the most threatening of those knows more about me. Sharing increases my #security by making attacks more visible. Additionally, #trust is built from history and stakes, so linked identities fast-tracks trust.

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Iiridayn @iiridayn.info · 01/12/2025

Just a quick reminder - #humans are #efficient at pursing their #values, not #lazy. If your actions don't match the values you want to have, you have #cognitivedissonance and an opportunity to #improve. Many unwanted actions I've seen try to secure against prior violations of #trust; hard to regain.

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Iiridayn @iiridayn.info · 29/11/2025

I am #grateful for the #gospel of #JesusChrist, for the restoration, for the #BookOfMormon, for my wife, for our happy #pets, for the #Internet, for our warm house and sufficient food, for vehicles and roads, for living in a time and situation of relative #peace, for #technology and opportunities.

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