iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Brian Jackson @jaxz.in · 27/05/2026

Anyone in my circle use Apple Health to store and sync their weight tracking and willing to test my iOS app before it's available? DM me your Apple ID and I'll add you to TestFlight. weighback.app

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Brian Jackson @jaxz.in · 16/10/2025

New Home Assistant card I made last night. As a salaried employee, display the dollar amount I’m effectively donating back to my company in free labor when I’m at my desk over 8 hours. Resets daily. This may come off as if I’m disgruntled, but it was only about real data of a thought experiment!

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Brian Jackson @jaxz.in · 13/10/2025

ILM did a lot of incredible work on this movie. I got to work on nearly all stages of visual effects on this one, from preproduction and virtual production, to post-production. I’m proud of how my team helped bring another story to the Tron universe. #pinchme

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Brian Jackson @jaxz.in · 16/08/2025

I made my own cocktail, which I shall dub the Bermuda Bramble! 1 oz of Gosling’s Black Seal Rum, fresh blackberry soda made from my backyard wild berry syrup, and a squeeze of lime. 🍋‍🟩 I’ve made some clunkers in the past but this is frickin’ delicious. #yum #cocktails

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Brian Jackson @jaxz.in · 02/08/2025

I’ll be in Vancouver at SIGGRAPH this year. My second SIGGRAPH and my first time in Vancouver! Let me know if you’ll be there too! #siggraph

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Brian Jackson @jaxz.in · 05/06/2025

Adult money perks, I get to buy a new Nintendo console to fulfill my childhood wishes. I might let my kids play with it too.

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Brian Jackson @jaxz.in · 26/04/2025

Ending a week of travel watching the first episode of Andor Season 2 and spotted my name. The novelty of having my name in a Star Wars production has not worn off. #pinchme

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Brian Jackson @jaxz.in · 07/04/2025

My part done, my wife likes to do all the painting and caulking!

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Brian Jackson @jaxz.in · 06/04/2025

My Sunday project on the honey-do list. Faux board and batton in the bedroom. #diy

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Brian Jackson @jaxz.in · 24/03/2025

I got a walking treadmill for my desk and it’s great. The thing no one (including the manual) talks about is the static electric buildup. I had to buy an antistatic band because I keep glitching my monitor and audio equipment with discharges!

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Brian Jackson @jaxz.in · 18/03/2025

Update, I’ve got my Davis weather station data flowing into Home Assistant every few seconds instead of every 5 minutes. I did an end-run around their cloud service and I’m intercepting the equipment’s wireless signal using a USB radio and a Raspberry Pi. Pushed to HA over MQTT. #homeautomation

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Brian Jackson @jaxz.in · 11/03/2025

Nothing quite like the dopamine hit when a home automation project suddenly starts working. Tonight I got a Raspberry Pi with a USB software-defined radio running a radio receiver program in a Docker container capturing live weather station readings from my backyard.

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Brian Jackson @jaxz.in · 01/03/2025

I’m in the “meteorology is my hobby” phase of my life. #davisinstruments #weather #hobbies

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Brian Jackson @jaxz.in · 27/02/2025

A coworker said I look like I work at Orange County Choppers until I open my mouth. I’ll take it. #beard

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Brian Jackson @jaxz.in · 24/02/2025

Pretty wild that I can model a new built-in media center in Fusion 360, export it to USD, and use AR in iOS to walk around it in the space I’m going to build it. #augmentedreality #cad #fusion360 #maker #woodworking

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Brian Jackson @jaxz.in · 18/02/2025

The reflection of moonlight on the iced-over snow is really beautiful this evening.

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Brian Jackson @jaxz.in · 08/02/2025

Learned I can get a Katz’s pastrami delivered, so we’re eating good tonight!

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Brian Jackson @jaxz.in · 02/02/2025

Bye bye Alexa, I’ve got a fully #selfhosted voice assistant! Whisper for speech-to-text, Llama 3.2 for the conversation agent, Kokoro-84M for text-to-speech, and #homeassistant connecting them all together behind their new Voice Preview device! All running on my home network on a mix of OS and GPUs

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Brian Jackson @jaxz.in · 26/01/2025

Today's creation, a cozy Christmas Village in #TinyGlade

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Brian Jackson @jaxz.in · 21/01/2025

I can’t get anything done when we’re home alone. #dogs

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Brian Jackson @jaxz.in · 20/01/2025

Recreated my IRL house in #TinyGlade.

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Brian Jackson @jaxz.in · 19/01/2025

If only they had hired Cambridge Analytica instead. Joking aside, we are not a land of the free if we are not free to assemble. Most social networks are built to bait us into engagement, but I still believe it is our right to use them to assemble peacefully in a virtual but shared space.

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Brian Jackson @jaxz.in · 18/01/2025

Having fun in #tinyglade, a zen-like diorama game. Work in progress recreation of Cinderella Castle from Walt Disney World.

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Brian Jackson @jaxz.in · 12/01/2025

I converted my old Windows gaming PC into a Linux machine learning sandbox. Now I'm hosting my own LLM with Ollama and Open WebUI and Llama 3.2 performs well even with my 5 year old Radeon GPU. And I can access it from anywhere thanks to Tailscale so I might end my ChatGPT sub. TBD #selfhosted

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Brian Jackson @jaxz.in · 11/01/2025

I get excited when my colleagues release one of these reels. Even more special when I get to see one early. Seeing this memory yesterday, geeking out about ILM before working at ILM, it reminds me of how lucky and special it is for me to have a job that I quite literally dreamed about. #pinchme

A Facebook post from 12 years ago from Brian: “Don't watch this if you haven't already seen The Avengers. It spoils all the best moments and lines, but if you have seen it already...wow it’s a great visual effects reel from ILM.” And it then includes a link to a YouTube video from ILM of The Avengers VFX reel.

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Brian Jackson @jaxz.in · 06/01/2025

Cooked my first A5 wagyu steak at home and didn’t screw it up! 🥳

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Brian Jackson @jaxz.in · 03/01/2025

Sonny as a 3D-printed, full-color lithophane (backlit plastic, thickness changes the brightness) #3dprinting #lithophane #bambua1mini #bambulab

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Brian Jackson @jaxz.in · 02/01/2025

“You wouldn’t download a lightsaber!”…or would I? Printed Ahsoka’s hilts for my daughter Penelope today. A fun multicolor print. Came out really beautifully. #StarWars

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Brian Jackson @jaxz.in · 01/01/2025

A low-key #NewYearsEve of Catan and fondues & wings. Definitely my speed.

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Brian Jackson @jaxz.in · 31/12/2024

Day-after: soy-hoisin-ginger-garlic pork belly bites. Chunked, coated in extra sauce and reheated in the air fryer #yummyfood #leftovers #bbq

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Brian Jackson @jaxz.in · 30/12/2024

Soy-hoisin garlic ginger pork belly, with a brûlée crust. #yummyfood #smokedmeat #bbq

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Brian Jackson @jaxz.in · 29/12/2024

Setting up one of my Christmas gifts, a Raspberry Pi 5 with POE/M.2 hat and a 1TB SSD in a slick metal case. I think I’m moving Home Assistant over to it. #raspberrypi #homeassistant #homeautomation

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Brian Jackson @jaxz.in · 24/12/2024

21.5 hrs later. We ate it.

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Brian Jackson @jaxz.in · 23/12/2024

18.5 hrs later. It’s time to rest. #BBQ

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Brian Jackson @jaxz.in · 23/12/2024

I got hungry for a late-night snack and started smoking a 14 lbs brisket in 10°F weather. Should be ready around dinner time tomorrow. (Actually Costco had a right-sized one at a good price and so I just had to buy it!)😆👨‍🍳 #smokedmeat #bbq

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Brian Jackson @jaxz.in · 19/12/2024

End results! They taste as good as they look

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Brian Jackson @jaxz.in · 19/12/2024

Today’s project: ribs for dinner. Applewood smoke, root beer glaze, Texas-style salt & pepper rub. Looking forward to tasting these! #smokedmeat #bbq

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Brian Jackson @jaxz.in · 16/12/2024

Me: “What can you tell me about this image?” ChatGPT: (paraphrase) “That looks like an ECG with an abnormality, probably a skipped heartbeat” Me: “That’s right, I felt it coming and captured an ECG with my Apple Watch. You passed the test” I still get surprised, 2 yrs into this revolution. #ChatGPT

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Brian Jackson @jaxz.in · 15/12/2024

Celebrating Wally’s season with a trip to MetLife Stadium and our first NFL game, Ravens vs Giants!

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Brian Jackson @jaxz.in · 11/12/2024

The steelbooks have arrived and my collection of “physical media with my name in it” grows! #Ahsoka #TheMandalorian #pinchme

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Brian Jackson @jaxz.in · 09/12/2024

10 minutes in and this might already be my favorite game of the year. And it’s beautiful on my ultrawide screen! #IndianaJones

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Brian Jackson @jaxz.in · 07/12/2024

It’s because of the door to our basement, he wants me to close it. I was just overlooking it and it must have been part of our routine at one time. Or he’s just really smart and knows doors that are left slightly open really bother me. No really, they do and it’s a thing. My wife knows.

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Brian Jackson @jaxz.in · 03/12/2024

It really doesn’t get old, getting my name in a Star Wars. First two episodes streaming now on Disney+!

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Brian Jackson @jaxz.in · 01/12/2024

Tree is up, ornaments are being hung!

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Brian Jackson @jaxz.in · 01/12/2024

Dinner, first attempt at bacon-cured ribs. Applewood smoked, Pig Ass Rub, cola-spritzed for moisture. Came out a too salty but still edible. Curing was a little nervewracking with all the warnings, but I’m happy with the results!

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Brian Jackson @jaxz.in · 30/11/2024

Expanded our Twinkly lights to the mantle this year! First test pattern, had to channel K.I.T.T.

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