iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Ruben Martinez Jr. @ruben.codes · 26/01/2026

Ran into a super fun example of censorship while playing around with Apple’s on-device LLM. Cool cool cool. This is fine.

“I spend a lot of time thinking about:
Immigrant justice. Call the LUCE hotline if you suspect you see ICE”

000

Ruben Martinez Jr. @ruben.codes · 30/08/2025

My side project the last few weeks: I built an app for easily cataloguing your personal library! It’s called readme, and it’s available on iOS and macOS! apps.apple.com/us/app/readm...

Picture of a phone screen showing a list of books with related tags and a search bar. The caption reads “readme: Your library, now browsable on the go!”

Picture of a phone. The app reads “Scan ISBN” and “Scan an ISBN barcode, then tap it to add to your library (hint: you can usually find it on the back of your book)” above a camera viewfinder. Below, the app reads “No ISBN? Search by title or author”. The picture is captioned “Quickly scan in your entire collection”.

A split screenshot captioned “Tag books to keep them organized”. The top shows a list of tags, while the bottom shows a book description.

A screenshot of a phone captioned “Showcase your favorites right on your Home Screen”. The screenshot shows two different sized widgets, showing lists of books.

020

Ruben Martinez Jr. @ruben.codes · 20/07/2025

Loved this view of Fenway Park at The Lumineers concert this weekend 🤩 Straight off my Leica Q3 #photography

A packed nighttime crowd at Fenway Park at The Lumineers concert as seen from the turf, with thousands of people visible by their blue light-up wristbands, creating a sea of twinkling illumination. The iconic Fenway Park sign is visible in the background, with a U.S. flag flying above it. The sky is dark, and the stadium seating is filled to capacity with glowing lights throughout.

0140

Ruben Martinez Jr. @ruben.codes · 29/05/2025

Genuinely starting to consider whether I should open an Etsy store for all the stickers I make 😂

A journal page with four sticker; from top to bottom:

1. a pink square sticker with rounded edges and a sparkly finish reading “The product does not wish to be managed.” in white text and a serif font.
2. a pink circular sticker with a holographic finish reading “softcore tech bros” in silver text and a bold lowercase cursive font with a thin orange shadow and a thicker black shadow.
3. a heart-shaped sticker in a light purple color and a sparkly finish reading “Por que no los dos?” in the colors of the bisexual pride flag and an uppercase serif font.
4. a pink/purple rounded rectangle sticker with a soft holographic finish reading “DO NOT DISTURB (I’m creating shareholder value)”.

A journal page with three sticker; from top to bottom:
1. a blue rounded rectangle sticker with text reading “VERY HEAVY INTO TRANSGENDER” in a bold font with text the color of the transgender pride flag.
2. a sticker with a silver background in a soft holographic finish reading “NOT TODAY SATAN” in black text with each word on a new line. The word “NOT” has a red line through it.
3. a pink rounded rectangle sticker reading “MORALE” in filled white font and “FEWER PROBLEMS” in a smaller outlined white font.

020

Ruben Martinez Jr. @ruben.codes · 06/05/2025

I love looking at my OkCupid iOS repo commit chart because you can see that one time I cosplayed as an iOS engineer in 2019 vs now when it's my real job.

A GitHub contributions bar graph for the user “rubencodes” showing a total of 646 commits. The graph shows few small bars around 2019, a noticeable uptick beginning in 2023, and steadily increasing contributions peaking in 2025.

030

Ruben Martinez Jr. @ruben.codes · 12/04/2025

Been a lil while since I sobbed this hard at a Broadway show! A must-see.

000

Ruben Martinez Jr. @ruben.codes · 03/03/2025

Some more of my favorite shots from this set 📸 #photography

Two young women sit closely together in warm, golden sunlight streaming through a window. One woman, wearing a black tank top and cargo jeans, leans against the other, who is dressed in a black long-sleeve top. The atmosphere is intimate and relaxed, with soft shadows and reflections visible in the glass behind them.

A woman reclines on a cushioned window seat, bathed in warm, golden light. She wears a delicate, lace-trimmed white dress with thin straps, her gaze directed thoughtfully out the window. The soft focus of the background, filled with blurred trees and natural light, enhances the dreamy, intimate atmosphere.

Two women dressed in flowing white garments rest together on the floor near a window, their foreheads gently touching. One leans against a cushioned chair while the other lies beside her, their expressions soft and serene. The warm, natural light enhances the intimate and tranquil atmosphere, with vintage-inspired textures surrounding them.

090

Ruben Martinez Jr. @ruben.codes · 03/03/2025

Using this from now on to respond to PRs I don't love.

John Lithgow in the audience looking not angry, but slightly disappointed

042

Ruben Martinez Jr. @ruben.codes · 28/02/2025

Idea I prototyped with SwiftUI this morning: a toggle to switch from a card stack to scrollable list of profiles.

010

Ruben Martinez Jr. @ruben.codes · 10/01/2025

Big year for me + LEGOs so far 👷‍♂️🔧🚧

010

Ruben Martinez Jr. @ruben.codes · 02/01/2025

I’m going to go out on a limb here and say “hotter fire bad” and “easier to extinguish fire good” theconversation.com/lithium-ion-...

Battery-powered vehicles account for a small share of car fires, but controlling EV fires is difficult. Typically, an EV fire burns at roughly 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit (2,760 Celsius), while a gasoline-powered vehicle on fire burns at 1,500 F (815 C). It takes about 2,000 gallons of water to extinguish a burning gasoline-powered vehicle; putting out an EV fire can take 10 times more.

000

Ruben Martinez Jr. @ruben.codes · 06/12/2024

literally who thought this was a good idea

Message below a form email input: "We updated a common typo in your email. If this was incorrect, you can revert now."

010

Ruben Martinez Jr. @ruben.codes · 29/11/2024

Yesterday evening, Eleven Madison Park very graciously offered my dinner party the opportunity to take a tour of the kitchen (I was thrilled), and then had our coats ready for us as we walked out & afterwards we were like wait… did we just get kicked out in the classiest most polite way possible? 😂

Picture of the industrial kitchen at Eleven Madison Park

Picture of the staging area for desserts at Eleven Madison Park

010

Ruben Martinez Jr. @ruben.codes · 27/11/2024

Might make baking marranitos my own personal thanksgiving tradition 🤤

A plastic container with pig-shaped molasses cookies.

010

Ruben Martinez Jr. @ruben.codes · 23/11/2024

I only take my friends to the nicest of places 😌

Screenshot of a text message reading “And yes if you feel like you’re about to get axe murdered by Santa himself you’re in the right place”

000

Ruben Martinez Jr. @ruben.codes · 19/11/2024

Someone told me they wanted Spotify Wrapped but for Slack emoji... and I took that personally. ✨ Emoji Wrapped ✨ Now on GitHub, coming soon to the Chrome Web Store github.com/rubencodes/E... 📊

Screenshot of Slack's "Customize Your Workspace" page with Emoji Wrapped stats at the top.

"This year, you used... 650 different Slack Emoji!"
"Some of your ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ favorites were... :thankyou: (209 times) :wow: (129 times) :laugh-cry-vibrate: (98 times)"
"Your most rarely used emoji 🔎 :cyclone-intensifies: (1 time) :holymoly: (1 time) :dabbing: (1 time)"

"The people you most often reacted to 👯 <user image> (209 reactions) <user image> (129 reactions) <user image> (113 reactions)"
"Your 🔝 reactions to them were... :bear_waves: (13 times) :cool-doge: (11 times) :thonk: (9 times)"
"These new emoji caught your 👀 :thankyou: (209 times) :done: (11 times) :lets_go: (6 times)"

2111

Ruben Martinez Jr. @ruben.codes · 19/11/2024

puffy chonker reporting for duty 🫡

020

Ruben Martinez Jr. @ruben.codes · 18/11/2024

arrived at maple-mate.com from a podcast ad, and, wow no notes chef kiss

“Fall for a Canadian.
Fall in love with us.”

“America, we'd love for you to have a first date with pure maple syrup.
So we're paying for your first brunch date with a Canadian. Match on your favourite dating app. Go to brunch. Indulge in maple syrup.
And brunch happily ever after.

100

Ruben Martinez Jr. @ruben.codes · 18/11/2024

I do not, as a general rule, drink lattes, but I desperately want to master the latte so I guess I drink lattes now.

Picture of a mug with a latte in front of an espresso machine.

000

Ruben Martinez Jr. @ruben.codes · 18/11/2024

Being sick in bed yesterday reading Liars by Sarah Manguso was honestly impeccable vibes. 10/10 #BookSky 💙📚

Picture of cat on my bed next to a closed copy of Liars by Sarah Manguso with my reading glasses on top.

030

Ruben Martinez Jr. @ruben.codes · 18/11/2024

Best set of lines in a movie ever change my mind 📣

010

Ruben Martinez Jr. @ruben.codes · 17/11/2024

“The hottest thing a guy can do is fold a fitted sheet,” I gently mumble to myself while doing laundry 😤

100

Ruben Martinez Jr. @ruben.codes · 17/11/2024

The one good thing about being sick this weekend 🤒 finally making a dent in my reading backlog.

Screenshot from the Goodreads app showing 3 books read in the last 24hrs

100

Ruben Martinez Jr. @ruben.codes · 06/10/2023

Search drinks in your camera roll 🍹

Aviary Gin & Tonic. A bottle of Freeland gin and a bottle of Fever Tree tonic water in the background, in front of The Aviary cocktail book.

310

Ruben Martinez Jr. @ruben.codes · 06/10/2023

Been enjoying shooting with the new iPhone and Halide 📸

Photo of the Manhattan bridge at sunrise.

Black and white photo of a rooftop in DUMBO. A bird is perched on a ledge.

Black and white close up of the Manhattan bridge.

020

Ruben Martinez Jr. @ruben.codes · 08/09/2023

drop something blue from your gallery

Woman in a blue dress holds up a bouquet of white roses.

020

Ruben Martinez Jr. @ruben.codes · 13/08/2023

…yeah I guess you could say the bar had a theme.

Ms. FAT BOOTY
Lime, Pineapple Purée, Cilantro, Mezcal

MAKE IT CLAP
Dark rum, Mint, Pineapple, Orange, Lemon

000

Ruben Martinez Jr. @ruben.codes · 12/08/2023

2023, or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Tank Tops

Ruben taking a mirror selfie wearing a white tank top that says “Ken-rgy”

010

Ruben Martinez Jr. @ruben.codes · 05/08/2023

Not sure if you’re on iOS but PSA this works!

Screenshot of iOS accessibility settings, “Larger Text” toggle enabled

110

Ruben Martinez Jr. @ruben.codes · 31/07/2023

Any cocktail aficionados in the house? I took a Frozen Negroni recipe from Jeffrey Morgenthaler and made it my own by making it a white negroni and using clarified orange juice 🍊 Might try freezing the OJ in the future to get a more slushy consistency...

A pale-yellow frozen drink with an orange wedge garnish sits on a walnut coffee table next to a stack of books.

020

Ruben Martinez Jr. @ruben.codes · 28/07/2023

When I'm not writing code, I enjoy taking portraits 📸 these are some recent shots I particularly like.

0212

Ruben Martinez Jr. @ruben.codes · 06/07/2023

y’all were looking at the fireworks, I was howling at the moon, we are not the same

Photo of the moon taken from Brooklyn, NY as seen Tuesday July 4th 2023

100

Ruben Martinez Jr. @ruben.codes · 02/07/2023

The NYT Cooking comment section is unrivaled.

db - 19 hours ago:

“My children HATE red wine - especially Axlyn, who says it tastes like G'Ma's house lol - but this was just the ticket. The sweetness and fizz made everyone happy and it knocked the little ones out before the sun had even set. No notes!”

Is this helpful? 👍 17

010

Ruben Martinez Jr. @ruben.codes · 01/07/2023

Five years here and can't imagine ever leaving ❤️

Sunset on a cloudy night in New York City

130

Ruben Martinez Jr. @ruben.codes · 13/06/2023

Inside me are two wolves 🐺🐺

A picture of my hand holding up two books, “Bi: The Hidden Culture, History, and Science of Bisexuality” by Julia Shaw, and “I’m Just Here For The Drinks: A Guide to Spirits, Drinking, and More Than 100 Extraordinary Cocktails” by Sother Teague.

010

Ruben Martinez Jr. @ruben.codes · 07/06/2023

New York’s cocktail of the summer just dropped: Canada Air 🍁 - 2oz Alberta Premium Cask Strength Rye, - 1oz lemon juice, - 0.75oz maple syrup, - 0.5oz Licor 43 (scant) Shaken with ice, poured over a cube, and smoked.