brain.bfurg.com

brian furgason

ux, ai-native systems, deep-curious learner

captures
257
topics
40
days
90
range
mode
257 captures
01 / breadth

what does this mind care about?

typographyaccessibilityux designpromptcachingai agentsdesignsystemstailwindhiringhelicalagencycolor theoryd3next.jsfine-tuningembeddingsvectorsearchclaude apiframermotionmcpdatamodelingsupabaseverceltokensbooksreadfieldnotespostgresmemorysystemsagentspecsteamworkflowsob1camperbuildbraindashboardschemastool userag
02 / focus

where has the last 90 days gone?

  • buildfeb 2026 — ongoing

    brain — personal memory + identity system

    v0 backend shipped

    OB1 + Supabase + MCP stack for capture and recall across surfaces. Two-tier auth (private/worksafe). 11 MCP tools live on bfurg.com/mcp.

    • ChatGPT export + 70K YouTube history backfilled
    • telegram bot for mobile capture
    • vaporwave-helical dashboard now in flight (this project)
  • buildmar — apr 2026

    helical.design — token system rebuild

    live

    Rebuilt the agency site as a fully tokenized stylesheet. WCAG ratios documented inline, dark mode via token override, no hardcoded values.

    • single-file html with inline css-vars
    • every contrast ratio verified against actual bg
    • design language now portable — see this dashboard
  • learnongoing

    claude api — caching, tool use, mcp

    applied in brain

    Prompt caching as an architectural concern, not an optimization. MCP as the contract between memory and any LLM session.

    • cache hit-rate matters more than tokens-per-call
    • tool definitions are interfaces — design them like apis
    • agents-as-roles beats agents-as-prompts
  • learnapr 2026

    d3 + react — buttery interactive viz

    shipping in radar + pulse

    d3-hierarchy.pack for cluster sizing, d3-zoom for pan, framer-motion for spring physics. Animate transform — never cx/cy.

    • transform-only animation = gpu-accelerated
    • pre-compute layouts, animate to cached positions
    • visx vs d3-direct is an authoring-style choice, not a perf one
  • learnmar 2026

    refactoring ui — wathan + schoger

    applied throughout brain dashboard

    Hierarchy via size + weight + color (not size alone). Color as meaning, never decoration. Whitespace is structural.

    • labels lighter and smaller; values bold and large
    • depth via contrast and 1px lines, not shadows
    • icons earn their place or get cut
  • buildapr 2026

    next.js 16 — cache components + app router

    stack of choice

    PPR + use cache + cacheLife as a new mental model. Server components by default; client components surgically applied.

    • tokens in globals.css, components in css modules
    • next/font for self-hosted geist + helvetica fallback
    • turbopack dev under 400ms ready
03 / rhythm

how consistent is the practice?

04 / momentum

what's live right now?

  • yt0m ago

    claude api

    tagged claude api · ai agents

  • gpt0m ago

    hiring

    tagged hiring · design systems

  • yt0m ago

    ob1 backend

    ob1 backend

  • yt0m ago

    typescript

    tagged typescript · typography

  • tg0m ago

    next.js

    tagged next.js · fine-tuning

  • yt0m ago

    accessibility

    accessibility

  • yt0m ago

    tailwind

    tagged tailwind · typography

05 / synthesis

how do these ideas connect?

  • tokens are the contract between design and code

    • design
    • code

    helical's CSS-var token system is what made the vaporwave overlay a one-block change. Same principle as type-safe API contracts — define once, both sides depend on the shape.

  • memory is a persistence axis, not a storage type

    • ai
    • systems

    OB1's thoughts vs context_snapshots vs work_patterns mirror short/medium/long-term memory in cognition research. Schema choice = what the system can recall.

  • agent specs are job descriptions, not prompts

    • ai
    • people

    Helical's roster (Atlas, Astra, Nova...) reads like an org chart with role-clarity metadata. Specs that work treat agents as colleagues with scope, not as commands.

  • the dashboard is the system

    • design
    • systems

    brain.bfurg.com visualizes the OB1 capture pipeline. The act of building it generates the data it shows. Self-referential portfolio piece.

06 / projects

what's been built, shipped, or maintained?

202420252026now

  • helical

    • agency
    • design
    • ongoing
    sep 2023 → ongoing

    ux design agency for ai-native software teams. partner-tier delivery, in-house token systems, agent-augmented workflow.

  • yukon camper conversion

    • vehicle
    • real-world
    • shipped
    apr 2024 → aug 2025

    ground-up overland conversion. solar, lithium, full insulated build-out. multi-year fabrication + electrical learning curve.

  • helical.design

    • site
    • design
    • shipped
    aug 2025 → jan 2026

    fully tokenized single-file html. wcag ratios documented inline. design language portable to any consumer — including this dashboard.

  • helical agent specs (patina, sf-ux-orchestrator, nova, forge)

    • engagement
    • ai
    • ongoing
    nov 2025 → ongoing

    agent-as-role spec system for helical's content + delivery pipelines. multi-agent roster with tool, capacity, and stage coverage defined per role.

  • brain — personal memory system

    • system
    • systems
    • ongoing
    feb 2026 → ongoing

    ob1 + supabase + mcp. four layers (capture, attention, identity, thinking) with privacy parity. live at brain.bfurg.com/mcp with 11 tier-aware tools.

  • brain-dashboard

    • site
    • code
    • ongoing
    apr 2026 → ongoing

    this. vaporwave-helical fusion portfolio at dashboard.bfurg.com. d3-direct visualizations, framer motion, radix primitives, plain css modules.

07 / meta

how was this made?

  1. 01

    capture

    OB1 + Telegram bot + ChatGPT export + YouTube history. Multi-surface, single sink.

    • OB1
    • Telegram Bot API
    • Supabase Edge Functions
  2. 02

    store

    Postgres + pgvector. Typed tables (work_patterns, lessons_learned) over snapshots when the shape fits.

    • Supabase Pro
    • Postgres
    • pgvector
  3. 03

    recall

    MCP tools, two-tier auth (PRIVATE / WORKSAFE). Thoughts callable from any LLM session.

    • MCP
    • brain.bfurg.com/mcp
  4. 04

    render

    This dashboard. D3 + Framer Motion + Radix on Next.js 16. Tokens ported from helical.design.

    • Next.js 16
    • React 19
    • D3
    • Framer Motion
    • Radix