The Desk

The Desk — Edition 82

Welcome to the 82nd issue of the Desk. The Desk is my weekly newsletter covering newly published content and project updates.

Brandon Himpfen

Brandon Himpfen

— 8 min read
The Desk — Edition 82
Photo by Linus Mimietz / Unsplash

Welcome to the 82nd issue of The Desk — my weekly roundup of newly published content, project updates, and recommendations. Whether you’re following along for tutorials, blog posts, GitHub projects, or curated reads, there’s something for everyone building or exploring in tech, content, and open-source spaces.

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📝 New Blog Posts

This week’s posts content focused on travel intelligence and digital marketing:

Google’s Top Searches of 2025 Highlight a Year Shaped by AI, Global Events, and Everyday Curiosity
Google’s Year in Search 2025 reveals how AI, global events, politics, entertainment, and travel shaped what people searched for worldwide and in the U.S., highlighting a year defined by technological change, cultural moments, and public curiosity.
Bold OutlookBrandon Himpfen
Vulnerability Discovered in Redirection for Contact Form 7 WordPress Plugin
A vulnerability in the Redirection for Contact Form 7 WordPress plugin allows unauthenticated attackers to upload or copy files under certain server configurations. Users are advised to update to version 3.2.8 or later.
Bold OutlookBrandon Himpfen
The “AI Scam” Panic Is a Symptom of a Bigger Trust Problem
The panic over “AI scams” misses the real issue. Artificial intelligence is exposing long-standing failures in digital trust, verification systems, and institutional credibility rather than creating an entirely new threat.
Bold OutlookBrandon Himpfen
Building Partnerships with Other Travel Bloggers
Learn how travel bloggers can build genuine partnerships, collaborate effectively, and grow sustainably. A practical, end-of-year guide to collaboration, community, and long-term blogging success.
Travel Bloggers NetworkBrandon Himpfen
How to Stay Safe as a Solo Traveler
A practical, experience-based guide to staying safe as a solo traveler. Learn how to plan smarter, protect your belongings, navigate transportation, stay aware, and travel confidently while exploring the world alone.
Solo TravelerBrandon Himpfen
The Cost of Convenience: How Time, Transfers, and Layovers Quietly Shape Travel Prices
Airfare prices aren’t just about distance or seasonality. This analysis explains how time saved, transfers avoided, and layovers tolerated quietly shape flight pricing — and why convenience is one of aviation’s most powerful economic levers.
Brandon TravelBrandon Himpfen

Stay tuned as I continue publishing more posts each week across Bold Outlook, Solo Traveler, Brandon Travel and Travel Bloggers Network.

📝 New Newsletter Posts

I've launched a new newsletter on LinkedIn called Open Source Weekly. Learn more:

Introducing Open Source Weekly
Introducing Open Source Weekly, a new LinkedIn newsletter curating programming projects, open source tools, developer infrastructure, and data. Published weekly with a focus on clarity, usefulness, and signal over noise.
Brandon HimpfenBrandon Himpfen

Here are this week's newsletter posts:

Why Bold Outlook Exists
Signal Over Noise in Technology, Media, and the Web.
Bold OutlookBrandon Himpfen
Welcome to Travel Bloggers Network on Substack
A practical publication for travel bloggers focused on clarity, sustainability, and long-term growth.
Travel Bloggers Network’s NewsletterTravel Bloggers Network
Search, Explained — Not Simplified
Where search behavior, algorithms, and content meet.
Search Powered's NewsletterBrandon Himpfen
Why Digital Nomads Weekly Exists
Practical signal for people building location-independent lives
Digital Nomads WeeklyBrandon Himpfen
The One Post Travel Bloggers Should Update Every Quarter
A simple quarterly habit that improves trust, retention, and long-term blog growth.
Travel Bloggers Network’s NewsletterTravel Bloggers Network
Blogging, Built to Last
Blogging isn’t dead. Bad blogging advice just refuses to die.
Blogging Superstar's NewsletterBrandon Himpfen
The 3 SEO Metrics I Actually Trust (and the Ones I Ignore)
Why real SEO performance comes down to a few signals that reflect intent, trust, and sustained visibility — not vanity scores.
Search Powered's NewsletterBrandon Himpfen
Introducing Open Source Weekly
A weekly briefing on the projects, tools, and infrastructure shaping modern software
Brandon’s NewsletterBrandon Himpfen

🛠️ New Code Snippets

Going forward, I'm aiming to publish, on average, two code snippets per week. Here are this past weeks code snippets:

Bash strict mode starter template using set -Eeuo pipefail, with safe defaults, error handling, and argument parsing.
Bash strict mode starter template using set -Eeuo pipefail, with safe defaults, error handling, and argument parsing. - bash-strict-mode.sh
Gist262588213843476
A simple, dependency-free JavaScript debounce utility for limiting how often a function executes.
A simple, dependency-free JavaScript debounce utility for limiting how often a function executes. - js-debounce.js
Gist262588213843476

🤝New LinkedIn Groups

Digital Nomads Network now has a LinkedIn Group. Join the group and introduce yourself:

LinkedIn Login, Sign in | LinkedIn
Login to LinkedIn to keep in touch with people you know, share ideas, and build your career.
LinkedIn

Solo Travel Society now has a LinkedIn Group. Join the group and introduce yourself:

LinkedIn Login, Sign in | LinkedIn
Login to LinkedIn to keep in touch with people you know, share ideas, and build your career.
LinkedIn

🛠️ Updated GitHub Repos

Here are notable updates to existing GitHub repositories:

GitHub - morningbrieftech/morningbrief.tech
Contribute to morningbrieftech/morningbrief.tech development by creating an account on GitHub.
GitHubmorningbrieftech
GitHub - morningstack/morningstack.io
Contribute to morningstack/morningstack.io development by creating an account on GitHub.
GitHubmorningstack

I’m constantly improving my GitHub repositories to make them more useful for both contributors and end users.

Here are a few standout articles and blog posts I recommend checking out this week:

Starlink passes 9 million active customers just weeks after hitting 8 million
The milestone highlights the accelerating growth of Starlink, which has now been adding over 20,000 new users per day.
TESLARATISimon Alvarez
Google says it is ‘gradually rolling out’ option to change your @gmail.com address
Google says on a support page that it is “gradually rolling out” a new change allowing users to change their Gmail address.
9to5GoogleBen Schoon
Nvidia invests $5B on Intel bailout, gains $2.5B
: The deal negotiated in September locked Nvidia into a purchase price of $23 per share. Intel shares traded at $36 on Monday
The RegisterO’Ryan Johnson
Investors predict AI is coming for labor in 2026 | TechCrunch
The exact impact AI will have on the enterprise labor market is unclear but investors predict trends will start to emerge in 2026.
TechCrunchRebecca Szkutak
Trust Wallet Chrome Extension Hack Drains $8.5M via Shai-Hulud Supply Chain Attack
Trust Wallet confirmed a supply chain attack let hackers push a malicious Chrome extension update, draining $8.5 million from 2,520 wallets.
The Hacker NewsThe Hacker News
Condé Nast Hack Exposes 40 Million Users’ Data | PYMNTS.com
A data breach at media company Condé Nast reportedly affects millions of its users. That’s according to a report Tuesday (Dec. 30) by Ars Technica, itself
PYMNTS.comPYMNTS

These are curated for developers, creators, travelers, and digital professionals — with an eye on quality and depth.

Thanks for reading The Desk — Edition 82! If you found something valuable, feel free to share it or subscribe to keep up with future updates.

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