iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Rick Brannan @rickbrannan.com · 02/10/2026

Real conversation that just happened with Claude Code:

text Rick typed: "you just gaslighted me"
text from Claude: "You're right. I rewrote the conversation to make it look like we'd always agreed."

Rick Brannan @rickbrannan.com · 22/09/2026

Pretty decent Balsamic Vinaigrette. 1 teaspoon Maille old style mustard 1 teaspoon jarlic (1 chopped clove) 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar. Costco brand is great. 2 tablespoons olive oil. Put the mustard, garlic and balsamic in a container. Stir it up. Add the olive oil after a couple minutes.

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Rick Brannan @rickbrannan.com · 12/09/2026

Haven't hit a golf ball in at least a decade. Went to the range this morning to rectify that.

A set of golf clubs and a bucket of range balls at the driving range.

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Rick Brannan @rickbrannan.com · 29/08/2026

This book has been on my mind a lot lately so I grabbed it off the shelf to read.

Paperback copy of C. S. Lewis's book That Hideous Strength.

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Rick Brannan @rickbrannan.com · 22/08/2026

As fun as the shirt is, I don't support the idea. I do, however, support the position of nominating Obama to the Supreme Court (cf. Taft, look it up) and stating you'll move him to Chief when Roberts is impeached. You only have to SAY IT in order for it to cheese off the orange one.

Rear view of woman with shopping cart at Wal-Mart. She's wearing a white t-shirt which says: "Obama 2028. Since rules don't exist anymore."

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Rick Brannan @rickbrannan.com · 16/08/2026

Moment of zen on today's neighborhood trail walk.

A fairy garden on a trail in the stump of a tree with dragons and fairies and other things.

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Rick Brannan @rickbrannan.com · 23/07/2026

Is it a bad omen when a not-dead bat is by the mat of your outdoor hotel door in mid-afternoon heat of 100+ degrees? Found on way out to pool. Fun times

Black semi circle door mat with not dead 🦇 bat on mat border.

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Rick Brannan @rickbrannan.com · 12/07/2026

We've been without my Dad for two years. Two years of missed joys and missed pain. And all the missed normal stuff. I won't say it's easier, I'll just say it's different. Miss you, Dad.

My Dad, standing in front of the house, holding a sizable king salmon he caught in a local spot on light tackle.

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Rick Brannan @rickbrannan.com · 04/07/2026

Impeach. Convict. Remove. Imprison.

Article I, Section 9, Clause 8:

No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.

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Rick Brannan @rickbrannan.com · 01/07/2026

Reading Pope Leo's _Magnifica Humanitas_, and this one jumped out at me. From chapter 3 (paragraph 99):

It is not possible to provide a single, comprehensive definition of AI. What can be stated, however, is that we must avoid the misconception of equating this type of “intelligence” with that of human beings. These systems merely imitate certain functions of human intelligence. In doing so, they often surpass human intelligence in speed and computational capacity, offering tangible benefits across many fields. Yet this power remains entirely tied to data processing. So-called artificial intelligences do not undergo experiences, do not possess a body, do not feel joy or pain, do not mature through relationships and do not know from within what love, work, friendship or responsibility mean. Nor do they have a moral conscience, since they do not judge good and evil, grasp the ultimate meaning of situations, or bear responsibility for consequences. They may imitate language, behavior and analytical skills, or even simulate empathy and understanding, but they do not understand what they produce, for they lack the affective, relational and spiritual perspective through which human beings grow in wisdom. Even when these tools are described as capable of “learning,” their way of doing so is different from that of a human person. It is not the experience of those who allow themselves to be shaped by life and grow over time through choices, mistakes, forgiveness and fidelity. Rather, it is a form of statistical adaptation based on data and feedback, which can be very effective, but does not imply inner growth.

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Rick Brannan @rickbrannan.com · 19/06/2026

Gotta love nights in mid-June.

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Rick Brannan @rickbrannan.com · 14/06/2026

Yesterday the 9yo and I spent some time pulling loose nails from the deck and replacing them with screws. Fun times.

the 9yo and I pulling loose nails from the deck

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Rick Brannan @rickbrannan.com · 08/06/2026

Getting real Santa Clause 3 vibes from this. (You have young kids, you watch all the Santa Clause movies, even the bad ones, unfortunately)

Still from movie "The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause" with a horribly tacky neon sign, "The North Pole Resort"

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Rick Brannan @rickbrannan.com · 28/05/2026

On our driveway, created by one of the therapists that works with our 9yo.

Darth Vader head in red and white chalk on driveway

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Rick Brannan @rickbrannan.com · 26/05/2026

Entry in question (this is in BDB).

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Rick Brannan @rickbrannan.com · 16/05/2026

Woo Hoo! Side-hustle productivity grinds to a halt! That's OK. I've gotta go grocery shopping anyway and pay significantly higher prices because our twice-impeached felon-in-chief is doing stupid stuff in Iran and has burdened us with tariffs out the wazoo.

Claude status page (status.claude.com) that says:

*Claude Status

Elevated error rates on requests to multiple models
Investigating — We are currently investigating this issue.
May 16, 2026 — 18:08 UTC

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Rick Brannan @rickbrannan.com · 09/05/2026

So if you're minding your own business, using Claude Code, you see this symbol appear and think: "metobelus!" … whenever you're in Bellingham, I'll buy breakfast/lunch/☕/🍻/whatever because we should talk.

small portion of commandline interface screen capture. Bottom left corner has a metobelus circled in red. A metobelus looks like an X with dots in each of the four open sections.

A metobelus is a symbol used to mark variant readings in Greek, Syriac, and (I'm guessing?) other Old Testament versions.

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Rick Brannan @rickbrannan.com · 30/04/2026

It must be official since I got the swag. Day 3 at Gloo in the books.

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Rick Brannan @rickbrannan.com · 29/04/2026

Here's the question I asked my early-Christian-documents RAG system: "What would early Christians think about a government where a group of government employees only embarked on policies that would greaten their own power or enrich themselves even more?" The answer (first paragraph):

Early Christians would unequivocally condemn a government where officials prioritized their own power and enrichment, viewing such conduct as a profound deviation from the divinely ordained purpose of authority. Their writings consistently emphasize that all legitimate authority originates from God and is intended to serve justice, maintain order, and promote the common good, not personal gain.

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Rick Brannan @rickbrannan.com · 28/04/2026

Secret Service or Keystone Kops? www.dailymail.com/news/article...

Secret Service agents fired five shots at the man who tried to assassinate Donald Trump but failed to hit him and may have accidentally struck one of their own, the acting attorney general revealed.

Todd Blanche told reporters Monday that agents subdued alleged gunman Cole Tomas Allen, 31, only after he tripped and fell while breaching a security checkpoint at the White House Correspondents' Dinner.

'One Secret Service officer was shot in the chest, but was wearing a ballistic vest that worked,' the acting Attorney General said.

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Rick Brannan @rickbrannan.com · 16/04/2026

Hit a Claude token limit and literally just posted this to my supervisor on Slack: "Ugh, Claude booted me until 6PM because I'm sucking tokens like Joey Chestnut at a hot dog eating contest."

Joey Chestnut stuffing his face with a hot dog during a Nathan's Famous hot dog eating contest. It looks like he's about to blow chunks. I'm actually getting queasy looking at the image.

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Rick Brannan @rickbrannan.com · 15/04/2026

This is caught up in English -> Greek NT alignment context, but what I have so far is below. (apologies for no alt text)

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Rick Brannan @rickbrannan.com · 31/03/2026

Really winning at this Claude Code thing. Someone's gotta keep that thing in line.

Screen capture from Terminal with text: "This is a cleaner design."

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Rick Brannan @rickbrannan.com · 24/03/2026

Well, I don't mean to brag, but Claude Code just told me this so I guess I'm super awesome.

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Rick Brannan @rickbrannan.com · 24/03/2026

Not sure why or how, but @iannelsonmills.bsky.social's book "The Hypothesis of the Gospels" is available in hardcover at Amazon for $10.33 (at least for me). If thou hast not obtaineth this surely magnificent tome, go thou and buy, for thine library requireth it. amzn.to/3NXfmHy

Amazon page for Ian Nelson Mills' book "The Hypothesis of the Gospels" showing $10.33 hardcover price.

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Rick Brannan @rickbrannan.com · 12/03/2026

Ugh, just saw this logo thing (it is being used to mean 'AI', but isn't a logo for the place where I saw it, which will remain nameless for now) and my brain hurts. My brain wants to read 'Li' but knows it's been subverted to mean 'AI'.

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Rick Brannan @rickbrannan.com · 03/03/2026

komonews.com/news/local/b...

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Rick Brannan @rickbrannan.com · 28/02/2026

Kids playing some weird Star Wars / Minecraft mashup and now I can't unsee it.

Jack Black as Steve action figure from Minecraft Movie in an old 70s x-wing fighter toy

Porkins the x-wing pilot from the movie Star Wars

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Rick Brannan @rickbrannan.com · 23/02/2026

I'm confused; is this what Bondi wants us to talk about? www.cnbc.com/2026/02/22/s...

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Rick Brannan @rickbrannan.com · 19/02/2026

Well, here's the news I woke up to. When will we get our act together?

A story from the BBC about the former Prince Andrew being charged in relation to the Epstein stuff and a story from time magazine about the South Korean ex-president being sentenced to life for leading an insurrection.

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Rick Brannan @rickbrannan.com · 18/02/2026

It's true, sometimes the chaos monster (aka Beau) sleeps and is lazy and likeable.

Black cat with kink in end of tail asleep on back of couch.

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Rick Brannan @rickbrannan.com · 18/02/2026

Here's the second half of the answer (apologies for smaller type, wanted to fit it in one image).

The most prominent and vigorously defended aspect of this afterlife theology, particularly in early Christian writings, is the resurrection of the body. This is explicitly stated by Hippolytus regarding the Essenes, who "believe that the flesh will rise again and become immortal." Tertullian, in Against Marcion, is a staunch advocate for the "resurrection of the flesh," arguing that the phrase "Resurrection of the Dead" is not a metaphor but a direct, clear, and decisive statement referring to the physical body. He asserts that "nothing can rise again unless it first fell," and it is the flesh that "falls in death" and is called "dead" (mortuorum), as seen in Abraham's request to bury Sarah's "dead" (flesh). Tertullian emphasizes that the soul, being immortal, does not fall or die in the same way the body does. He further argues that the dignity of the flesh, God's power, and the necessity of a just judgment all support the bodily resurrection.

Early Christian authors actively distinguished their belief in bodily resurrection from alternative views. Augustine, in his Anti-Manichaean Writings, critiques heretics like Hymenaeus and Philetus who "saying that the resurrection is past already, and have overthrown the faith of some," and who claim "the resurrection is only the resurrection of souls through the preaching of the truth, and that there will be no resurrection of the body." Augustine firmly rejects this, aligning with the "true Catholic Church of Christ" which upholds the bodily resurrection. Tertullian similarly notes that the apostles, particularly Paul, preached the bodily resurrection, which was accepted by the Pharisees but denied by the Sadducees, and was a novel concept to the Athenians, who mocked it because they were familiar with the idea of the soul's restoration but not a physical rising from the dead. Paul, according to Tertullian, consistently strengthened belief in this "Christian hope" which "has not yet been fulfilled, and will be bodily."

F…

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Rick Brannan @rickbrannan.com · 18/02/2026

I've mentioned the "RAG system" I'm poking around with for early Christian sources. Not ready for any public usage (lots to do) but I did get something running on a server, and it seems pretty sweet. The image reflects less than half the answer.

Sources of Early Christianity
Ask the Texts
Ask questions about early Christian, patristic, and Second Temple Jewish writings. This system searches a corpus of ancient texts and generates answers using AI, citing specific authors and works.

Your question:

Can you distill a theology of the afterlife based on second temple writings, Josephus, Philo, and early Christian writings?
A theology of the afterlife, as distilled from Second Temple Jewish writings, Josephus, Philo, and early Christian authors, centers on the imperishability of the soul, an intermediate state after death, a future bodily resurrection, and a final judgment leading to eternal reward or punishment.

Central to this understanding is the belief in the immortality or imperishability of the soul. Hippolytus, in his Refutation of All Heresies, describes the Essenes as believing that "the soul is already imperishable." This soul, upon separation from the body, does not cease to exist. Theophilus, in Ad Autolycum, cites Homer's depiction of the soul flying away to Hades, indicating its continued existence post-mortem.

Following death, there is an intermediate state for the soul. The Essenes, according to Hippolytus, teach that "when the soul separates from the body in this life, it goes to a place that is well-ventilated and full of light, where it rests until judgment," a place the Greeks knew as the "Isles of the Blessed." This concept of a temporary abode for the soul is echoed in Eusebius's Demonstration, where he quotes David's prophecy concerning Christ: "You will not abandon my soul to Hades, nor will you let your holy one see decay," implying Christ's soul went to Hades but was not left there indefinitely.

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Rick Brannan @rickbrannan.com · 09/02/2026

No, really read this quote from the article. Sounds like the NFL knew *exactly* what they were doing this year.

“Listen, Bad Bunny is one of the great artists in the world,” commissioner Roger Goodell said in his annual pre-game news conference on Monday. “That’s one of the reasons we chose him. But the other reason is he understood the platform he was on, and that this platform is used to unite people and to be able to bring people together with their creativity, with their talent, and to be able to use this moment to do that.”

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Rick Brannan @rickbrannan.com · 06/02/2026

Is it VINCENT or V.I.N.C.E.N.T?

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Rick Brannan @rickbrannan.com · 05/02/2026

Pretty sure when I next attend a protest/rally/observation, I'll be wearing something like this. And I won't have my phone with me.

Standard Groucho Marx gag glasses, with black frames, bushy black eyebrows attached to the frames, and a bushy black moustache under the fake nose.

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Rick Brannan @rickbrannan.com · 27/01/2026

And let's not forget this beauty of a slide on a road near my home that I love to drive back in April 2022. www.cascadiadaily.com/2025/may/07/...

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Rick Brannan @rickbrannan.com · 27/01/2026

This happened in WA state two days ago. www.grandcoulee.com/story/2026/0... Don't tell anyone, but the rocks might be crying out.

A truck-sized boulder blocking a highway in Washington state, in the area of the Grand Coulee Dam.

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Rick Brannan @rickbrannan.com · 18/01/2026

Obviously there needs to be some sort of confirmation of this. And unfortunately it isn't surprising. Where's that 'IMPEACH' button?

"Two buttons" Meme.

Left button says "IMPEACH"; right button says "Continue to let the western world be destroyed"

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Rick Brannan @rickbrannan.com · 15/01/2026

I'm sure Schumer has some value for backroom politicking, but he has no place in front. Anyone with half a brain has known that since Fathers Day 2024 when this photo was taken:

Charles Schumer, in front of a grill, with six apparently cooked hot dogs and six apparently raw hamburger patties, one patty on a spatula and another (raw!) patty with a slice of white-ish cheese on top.

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Rick Brannan @rickbrannan.com · 14/01/2026

Impeach the Secretary of Labor, Lori Chavez-DeRemer. www.politico.com/news/2026/01...

The New York Post also reported that the complaint alleged Chavez-DeRemer was having an affair with another agency employee and drank on the job, among other things — and that the two aides were aware of her actions. The White House and DOL have denied the accusations and said that the Labor secretary is considering legal action against the person who filed the complaint.

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