The Desk — Edition 85

Welcome to the 85th 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.

📝 New Blog Posts

In case you missed last week's The Desk edition:

The Desk — Edition 84

Welcome to the 84th issue of the Desk. The Desk is my weekly newsletter covering newly published content and project updates.

Brandon HimpfenBrandon Himpfen

Here is last week's posts from my blog:

How Awesome Learn Complements Awesome Lists

An analysis of how Awesome Learn complements Awesome Lists by separating discovery from understanding, and why this layered approach supports clarity, credibility, and sustainable open knowledge.

Brandon HimpfenBrandon Himpfen

Digital Marketing

Recent analysis and reporting from Bold Outlook, covering search, platforms, and AI in digital systems:

Google Rolls Out Personal Intelligence for AI Mode in Search

Google has begun rolling out Personal Intelligence in AI Mode, allowing Search to deliver personalized responses using data from Gmail and Google Photos. The opt-in feature is available to paid AI subscribers in the U.S. and raises new questions about privacy and publisher impact.

Bold OutlookBrandon Himpfen

Travel Intelligence

New work from Brandon Travel, focused on how travel systems, constraints, and incentives actually function:

The “Travel Reference Stack”: How We Layer Sources Before We Trust Anything

An analytical look at how layered sources help explain travel pricing, access, and risk. Learn why no single source is enough and how understanding systems builds better travel judgment.

Brandon TravelBrandon Himpfen

How Public Travel Tools Reduce Reliance on Influencers

An analytical look at how public travel tools improve transparency, reduce information asymmetry, and lessen traveler reliance on influencer-driven guidance.

Brandon TravelBrandon Himpfen

Travel Blogging

Recent articles from Travel Bloggers Network, exploring sustainable growth, structure, and long-term publishing strategy:

The Fastest Way to Improve a Travel Post Without Rewriting It

A practical guide for experienced travel bloggers on how to improve existing posts quickly by refining context, clarity, and credibility rather than rewriting from scratch.

Travel Bloggers NetworkBrandon Himpfen

The Difference Between Writing for Search and Writing for Travelers

An in depth look at the difference between writing for search engines and writing for real travelers, and why sustainable travel blogs need to understand both without sacrificing trust or credibility.

Travel Bloggers NetworkBrandon Himpfen

Travel Bloggers Network now has a projects page and has launched its first project, Travel Blogging Prompt Engineering Cheatsheet.

Solo Travel

New posts from Solo Traveler, centered on solo-first travel realities, safety, and independent decision-making:

How to Read Travel Advice Critically (Even From Trusted Sources)

Learn how to read travel advice critically as a solo traveler. Understand safety guidance, logistics, cost considerations, and personal comfort to make informed, confident decisions without fear or hype.

Solo TravelerBrandon Himpfen

How We Evaluate “Solo-Friendly” Claims

Not all “solo-friendly” travel claims mean the same thing. This article explains how SoloTraveler.org evaluates solo-friendly offerings using neutral, criteria-based factors such as pricing, accommodations, booking design, and transparency.

Solo TravelerBrandon Himpfen

Solo Travel Society

Community-driven reflections and analysis from Solo Travel Society, grounded in lived experience and shared insight:

What Solo Travelers Say They Worry About Less After Their First Trip - Solo Travel Society

A reflective look at what solo travelers often find themselves worrying about less after their first trip, and what those mindset shifts reveal about self trust, responsibility, and independence.

Solo Travel SocietyBrandon Himpfen

📝 New Newsletter Posts

LinkedIn Newsletters

Last week’s issues from my LinkedIn-hosted newsletters, covering crypto, AI, and digital marketing:

Digital Marketing Weekly — Issue 5

January 19, 2026 👋 Welcome back. Digital Marketing Weekly is a curated overview of developments across SEO, content, social, analytics, and digital growth strategy.

LinkedInBrandon H.

Crypto & FinTech Weekly — Issue 4

January 19, 2026 👋 Welcome back. Crypto & FinTech Weekly is a curated overview of developments at the intersection of digital assets, financial infrastructure, regulation, and financial technology.

LinkedInBrandon H.

AI Weekly — Issue 4

January 19, 2026 👋 Welcome back. AI Weekly is a curated overview of developments across artificial intelligence, machine learning, and applied AI systems.

LinkedInBrandon H.

And I'm happy to share the first issue of Open Source Weekly:

Open Source Weekly — Issue 1

January 19, 2026 👋 Welcome back. Open Source Weekly is a curated overview of notable developments across open source software, communities, tooling, and infrastructure.

LinkedInBrandon H.

Substack Newsletters

New Substack posts published across my personal, travel, and technology newsletters:

JavaScript Weekly Issue 158

Curated articles, tools, and releases for JavaScript developers.

JavaScript WeeklyBrandon Himpfen

Golang Weekly Issue 166

Curated Go news, tools, and insights — weekly.

Golang WeeklyBrandon Himpfen

SoloTraveler.org: The “Free, Public Utility” Approach to Travel Content

Why some travel information should function like infrastructure, not a product.

Brandon’s NewsletterBrandon Himpfen

Why SEO Is a System, Not a Checklist

SEO is not a set of tricks you finish. It is an ecosystem of decisions that compound over time.

Search Powered's NewsletterBrandon Himpfen

🛠️ New Code Snippets

I am to publish, on average, two code snippets per week. Here are this past week's code snippets:

Tiny Docker “debug container” one-liners for troubleshooting networks, DNS, HTTP, and containers (docker run -it --rm ...).

Tiny Docker “debug container” one-liners for troubleshooting networks, DNS, HTTP, and containers (docker run -it --rm ...). - docker-debug-container-one-liners.sh

Gist262588213843476

Bash extract() helper to extract most archive formats (.zip, .tar.gz, .7z, .rar, etc.) with safe checks and readable errors.

Bash extract() helper to extract most archive formats (.zip, .tar.gz, .7z, .rar, etc.) with safe checks and readable errors. - bash-extract-archive.sh

Gist262588213843476

🤝New LinkedIn Groups

I've launched the Crypto, FinTech & Digital Infrastructure group on LinkedIn:

LinkedIn Login, Sign in | LinkedIn

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

LinkedIn

I've also launched the Drones, UAV Systems & Autonomy group on LinkedIn:

LinkedIn Login, Sign in | LinkedIn

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

LinkedIn

🏢 New GitHub Orgs

CipherDock is focused on security-first open source tooling, templates and infrastructure. It's where we publish practical resources that make it easier to build and ship safer software.

cipherdock

GitHub is where cipherdock builds software.

GitHub

These are all part of my broader GitHub ecosystem (e.g., BrandonTravel, Bold Outlook, AwesomeListsIO). Contributions welcome!

📦 New GitHub Repos

SoloTraveler.xyz is now online. SoloTraveler.xyz is a central hub for SoloTraveler.org and Solo Travel Society, connecting independent travelers to guides, community and current projects.

GitHub - solotravelerorg/solotraveler.xyz

Contribute to solotravelerorg/solotraveler.xyz development by creating an account on GitHub.

GitHubsolotravelerorg

TravelHacking.xyz, evergreen reference for points and travel cost systems, is now online. The website is still in development and the Jekyll code may be found here:

GitHub - solotravelerorg/travelhacking.xyz

Contribute to solotravelerorg/travelhacking.xyz development by creating an account on GitHub.

GitHubsolotravelerorg

Travel Bloggers Network reference hub, TravelBlogging.xyz, is now also online. The website is still in development and the Jekyll code may be found here:

GitHub - travelbloggersnetwork/travelblogging.xyz

Contribute to travelbloggersnetwork/travelblogging.xyz development by creating an account on GitHub.

GitHubtravelbloggersnetwork

I regularly publish new GitHub repos, so please ensure to follow my GitHub and or my GitHub orgs for the latest.

📚 Recommended Reading

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

HIBP adds alleged Under Armour data breach impacting 72 million emails

Have I Been Pwned has added an unconfirmed data breach allegedly impacting Under Armour, exposing the data of 72 million customers.

CyberInsiderAlex Lekander

Cisco fixes Unified Communications RCE zero day exploited in attacks

Cisco has fixed a critical Unified Communications and Webex Calling remote code execution vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2026-20045, that has been actively exploited as a zero-day in attacks.

BleepingComputerLawrence Abrams

Hackers exploit security testing apps to breach Fortune 500 firms

Threat actors are exploiting misconfigured web applications used for security training and internal penetration testing, such as DVWA, OWASP Juice Shop, Hackazon, and bWAPP, to gain access to cloud environments of Fortune 500 companies and security vendors.

BleepingComputerBill Toulas

TikTok forms U.S. joint venture, names Adam Presser CEO

TikTok said Thursday that it officially formed a joint venture that will keep the video-sharing app operating in the U.S.

CNBCJonathan Vanian

Iran’s Central Bank Acquired $507M in Tether’s USDT Stablecoin: Elliptic - Decrypt

The Central Bank of Iran no longer holds any of the flagged USDT, after using it to support the rial and settle international transactions.

DecryptSimon Chandler

Apple Developing AirTag-Sized AI Pin With Dual Cameras

Apple is working on a small, wearable AI pin equipped with multiple cameras, a speaker, and microphones, reports The Information. If it actually launches, the AI pin will likely run the new Siri chatbot that Apple plans to unveil in iOS 27. The pin is said to be similar in size to an AirTag, with a thin, flat, circular disc shape. It has an aluminum and glass shell, and two cameras at the front.

MacRumorsJuli Clover

DeepMind CEO Says Chinese AI Firms Are 6 Months Behind the West

Google DeepMind Chief Executive Officer Demis Hassabis said Chinese artificial intelligence companies haven’t been able to innovate beyond the cutting edge of technology and remain about six months behind the frontier AI of the leading western labs.

BloombergYazhou Sun

Apache Airflow Vulnerabilities Enables Expose of Sensitive Data

Apache disclosed two low-severity Airflow flaws before 3.1.6 that could leak credentials and secrets via logs and the UI.

CybersecurityNewsAbinaya

X open sources its algorithm while facing a transparency fine and Grok controversies | TechCrunch

In a post to GitHub on Tuesday, the social media giant purported to share its secret sauce.

TechCrunchLucas Ropek

Threads edges out X in daily mobile users, new data shows | TechCrunch

Threads’ daily mobile usage has quietly surpassed X as Meta leans on cross-promotion, creator tools, and fast feature rollouts — even as X faces fresh controversies

TechCrunchSarah Perez

TikTok quietly launches a microdrama app called ‘PineDrama’ | TechCrunch

Think TikTok, but every single video you come across is a short episode of a fictional story.

TechCrunchAisha Malik

North Korea-linked hackers pose as human rights activists, report says - UPI.com

North Korea-linked hackers are using emails that impersonate human rights organizations and financial institutions in phishing attacks, according to a report released Monday.

UPIThomas Maresca

OpenAI teases hardware unveil this year as Jony Ive’s team hires more Apple alumni - 9to5Mac

2026 may turn out to be the year of OpenAI’s first hardware product, according to the company’s policy chief. Meanwhile,…

9to5MacZac Hall

Elon Musk’s xAI brings 1GW Colossus 2 AI training cluster online

Elon Musk shared his update in a recent post on social media platform X.

TESLARATISimon Alvarez

Grubhub confirms hackers stole data in recent security breach

Food delivery platform Grubhub has confirmed a recent data breach after hackers accessed its systems, with sources telling BleepingComputer the company is now facing extortion demands.

BleepingComputerLawrence Abrams

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

Thanks for reading The Desk — Edition 85! If you found something valuable, feel free to share it or subscribe to keep up with future updates.