Matthew Brunelle's Blog
npub1lk7u6y6uz4v0cp4yhh29mapnh647th2rv6ud6ygxgm74tl36nctslj62f0@drss.io
I write about a variety of projects, events and thoughts, but they all share one aspect: I learned something and want to share my experience with others.
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I've Inadvertently Opted Out of Smart Notifications Thanks to GrapheneOS.
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16 Aug 2026
I've been running GrapheneOS for a little over a year now and didn't realize much Smart Notifications have changed phone usage. I'm happy I had the chance to opt out of them.
Agentic Engineering Is Just Everything We Haven't Been Doing
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12 Aug 2026
The adoption of AI Tooling ironically encourages better practices. Now you have to actually do everything you've been putting off.
Converting a PS4 Persona 5 Royal NG+ Save to Steam with Adversarial Interoperability
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9 Aug 2026
Sony is locking the PlayStation down more and more. I just want to free my PS4 Persona 5 Royal save so I can play on Steam.
YouTube's New Programs to Encourage Binge Watching
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7 Aug 2026
YouTube is trying to become everything you watch on the TV. Luckily, there are still ways to opt. At least for now.
Thundermail, Tuta, and remembering Lavabit
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10 Jul 2026
How much does your choice of email provider matter? In some sense as an individual not much. However, together our choices do matter. So I reminisce about using Lavabit and the options today like
My Steam Machine is a 50ft HDMI Cable
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22 Jun 2026
It turns out that a _very_ long HDMI cable, a Steam Controller 2 and Bazzite on a second drive was all I needed to get a comfortable couch gaming experience.
Trying Out OpenCode To Avoid Claude Code Lock-in
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30 Apr 2026
FOSS tools are empowering and increasingly valuable in a world where model providers can degrade your experience. So I'm rerunning an experiment with OpenCode and Kimi K2.6.
It's OK to Use Coding Assistance Tools To Revive The Projects You Never Were Going To Finish
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24 Apr 2026
I tried to use Claude Code with Opus 4.6 to implement a connector between Youtube Music and opensubsonic. The end result was a fairly short amount of time to get a working project.
The Claude Coding Vibes Are Getting Worse
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16 Apr 2026
I've seen a continuous degradation to the UX of Claude Code over the last two months. Now with the release of Opus 4.7 it's really evident.
Griffin McElroy On Writing His CYOA Book The Stowaway
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15 Mar 2026
I got to see Griffin at his only event about his new book The Stowaway where he did a live reading and gave advice on writing a CYOA book.
8.4 Months of Daily Driving GrapheneOS
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2 Mar 2026
I've been running GrapheneOS on my Pixel Fold for over half a year now and can finally provide some experience on what it's like. Also, the official hardware partnership was announced!
The Backup and Restore Experience On GrapheneOS
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2 Mar 2026
Backing up on GrapheneOS has gotten _much_ better and worked well for me in my time of need.
Hello Walter! Learning Rust on ESP32
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28 Feb 2026
The Walter is an ESP32-S3 module with LTE-M, and GPS. Literally perfect for my BeaconDB wardriving experiments. I now have Embassy all set up on it.
I Almost Had a Good Support Experience With Google
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23 Feb 2026
Google support is unwell. In fact, it never really has been good. The staff in their physical store in Boston was great, but the rest of support really dropped the ball when my Pixel 9 Pro Fold died.
Braunshittification
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12 Feb 2026
When the OEM shaver heads on the Series 7 are just as poor as counterfeits.
Trying out Thunderbird Appointment While I Patiently Wait For An Invite
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9 Feb 2026
OK, I'm actually a little impatient to use the new open source schedule booking tool by the Thunderbird team that will be a part of Thunderbird Pro.
Polygenic Risk Score for Coronary Artery Disease "At Home"
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2 Feb 2026
Way back in the day I used 23andMe. So lets do some analysis with plink and PRSice-2 to calculate a polygenic risk score for coronary artery disease.
CGMs Part 2 - Using xdrip+ with Stelo
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27 Jan 2026
A Stelo CGM I had was expiring so I decided to try out xDrip+. In this part of the series I talk about my actual experience with the app.
CGMs Part 1 - Great FOSS tools for an OK Quality Consumer CGM
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22 Jan 2026
A Stelo CGM I had was expiring so I decided to try out xDrip+. One of those two things works really well. In this part I talk about CGMs in general.
It's Ploopin' Time
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13 Jan 2026
As in the new Ploopy Trackpad that is. I got my hands on the full kit finally and had time to give it a whirl. So far so good with both KDE on NixOS and MacOS. Also, I learn about open hardware
Review of HackerBox 0122 - Ouroboros
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3 Jan 2026
This month's box includes a OVcam based camera board and ECG measurement board! Also, I got a lot of nice new tools from the holidays that help me out with the build.
I Read a Couple of Books in 2025
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30 Dec 2025
You should read books too. Turns out they are actually pretty good. In 2025 I covered a lot of ground: Cal Newport, Triathlon training material, Cory Doctorow and a book on solar power.
I Listened to a Couple of Books In 2025
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30 Dec 2025
Not only is reading books great, but did you know you can listen to them too? I listened to a nice mix of fiction and non-fiction in 2025: Adrian Tchaikovsky, Brandon Sanderson and some commodity
