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Summer 2026

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Not sponsored. This work is not being done for contract or other compensation.

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7/7/2026: Washington State Credentials

7/20/2026: Legal Hold Harmless and Understandings for Engineers and Engineering Entrepreneurs

7/20/2026: Noxious Weed Control: Part 1

7/21/2026: DARPA Challenge Thoughts

7/21/2026: Web Crawler Vectors

7/22/2026: Noxious Weed Control: Part 2

7/23/2026: Ephemeris for Asteroid 99942 Apophis: Part 1

Reading List:

7/7/2026: Washington State Credentials

Washington State Legislature. 2026. "Chapter 196-20 WAC." https://app.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=196-20.

7/20/2026: Legal Hold Harmless and Understandings for Engineers and Engineering Entrepreneurs

What are your goals for being an engineer? A book I relied on in undergrad is Raymond B. Landus's "Studying Engineering: A Roadmap to a Rewarding Career" (not sponsored), however they did not mention hold harmless agreements. In reading a DARPA Challenge, DARPA CIDAR (also not sponsored), hold harmless agreements are mentioned on their terms and conditions page.

While looking for the title of the engineering textbook I used in undergrad, I stumbled across this article which references a large amount of engineering books, of which I have met the author of "The Design of Everyday Things," at UW Math Academy (Math Camp), and I have and need to read "Our Final Invention: Artificial Intelligence and the End of the Human Era."

Resources:

DARPA. "Details and Requirements - Terms and conditions." https://www.darpa.mil/research/challenges/cidar/resources/terms.

Genius Lab Gear. 2026. "34 Best Books for Engineers in 2026." https://geniuslabgear.com/blogs/for-scientists/best-books-engineers.

US Law Explained. 2026. "Hold Harmless Clause: The Ultimate Guide to Protecting Yourself from Liability." https://uslawexplained.com/hold_harmless_clause.

7/20/2026: Noxious Weed Control: Part 1

Outside project!

Sections of note - Clearing and Grading Ordinance.

To check - Read Section 198 of King County Ordinance 15051 for Wildlife Habitat Network areas.

Resources:

King County. 2014. "King County Noxious Weed Control Program Best Management Practices." https://your.kingcounty.gov/dnrp/library/water-and-land/weeds/BMPs/Noxious-Weed-Control-Regulatory-Guidelines-Rev2014.pdf.

7/21/2026: DARPA Challenge Thoughts

In searching "15 U.S.C. § 3719" in DuckDuckGo with a Chrome Browser, I am referred to the 2013 edition of 15 USC 3719: Prize competitions. I can access the 2026 version as well, something to keep in mind. First link that you press is not necessarily the correct link without modification. Interesting that DuckDuckGo accesses an older version first as the second result on the query. Though I am also looking for interesting internet activity since partially reading "The Age of Surveillance Capitalism" by Shoshana Zuboff, though I have been at least partially aware of interesting internet activity in the past for other reasons.

As of 7/21/2026, §3719. Prize competitions, Section (f) Requirements and registration cites www.challenge.gov as an example, the URL redirects. I thought that this was an error, and looked for a report button. None are available through this site that I can find, I also need to explore more.

Under §3719. Prize competitions, Section (g) Eligibility, sub-section (3) I am eligible to participate as a citizen of the United States of America and under sub-section (4) I am not a Federal entity or a Federal employee to my knowledge. I hope that I would know. I am currently not employed and all prior interactions with prior employers have been severed by law (to my knowledge).

Under §3719. Prize competitions, (i) Liability, (1) In general, (B) Liability, I would need to secure the proper insurance to work with DARPA or enter into a competition as myself per "Challenge sponsor: Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is sponsoring the DARPA CIDAR Challenge under the authority granted in 15 U.S.C. § 3719" (Date of Access: July 21, 2026, https://www.darpa.mil/research/challenges/cidar/resources/terms).

Image Credit: Hannah Carter, 2026. Screenshot taken of DARPA CIDAR Challenge page on 7/21/2026. I am not sponsored or endorsed by DARPA, I am complicit to DARPA's usage guidelines and yield to DARPA as specified on DARPA's Usage Policy Page (https://www.darpa.mil/policies/usage-policy).

Image Credit: Hannah Carter, 2026. Screenshot taken of DARPA's Usage Policy page on 7/21/2026. I am not sponsored or endorsed by DARPA, I am complicit to DARPA's usage guidelines and yield to DARPA as specified on DARPA's Usage Policy Page (https://www.darpa.mil/policies/usage-policy).

At this point, my understanding is that private individuals would do well to pair up with a private entity to work with DARPA. This sentiment is also present within their DARPA Connect Training videos. This helps private individuals afford insurance costs associated with working with DARPA. What types of insurance exist for working with DARPA? Is this attainable for working as a contractor? Does SBIR have this insurance cost built into their program. I was first introduced to the concept of SBIR at the Ventura Defense Industry Forum (VDIF) back in 2025. I have to ask the question now, is there insurance required to participate in conferences? This was clearly a conference more intended for more experienced and seasoned engineers, and as a younger engineer looking for a mentor who will benefit equitably off of my work, I run into the paradox of gaining experience to support roles like that without being experienced or having the ability to gain that experience. I am not in a place monetarily to attend VDIF again, regardless, I would not recommend any engineer without 10 years of experience attend. Not 10 years meaning, "I took classes and I know Thonny well enough to pass as having three years of experience." No, 10 calendar years (Apophis permitting <--joke, not really).

This is very amusing actually, as from their website, I was unaware that my attendance was the second time they held the conference, so they might have been working the issues out. So I left Boeing unknowingly with SAP paperwork in my possession, only to fall into a military conference start up. Just my luck. What an unlucky intern I am. I grew up around JBLM, and we had a set of rules. These rules were unestablished and needed translation from jurisdiction to jurisdiction and I am way worse off and still picking up the pieces and not for lack of learning, nor smarts.

Book That Got Me In Trouble, But Won't Necessarily Get You In Trouble:

Team of Teams by General Stanley McChrystal, Tantum Collins, David Silverman, and Chris Fussell.

The path forward is a long one, and I was a scholarship student who did not start with many advantages aside from being a white assigned female at birth woman. I worked multiple jobs through college to support myself and volunteered with my school. I prioritized learning, business acumen, and implicit and explicit communication. Engineering was not a worthwhile investment for my community in my case. I am unable to obtain a position and have the data to back it up.

For the record, coming from a former military family, if the military person you are meeting has a title, they do not lose the title, even if they are in civilian form. The same goes for former military members. My mistake was not being a service member. Please do not make my mistake, there is very little forgiveness. This is not just from the Navy, this is across all branches. I also have the data to support this. A Rear Admiral is a Rear Admiral, a Colonel is a Colonel, and a General is a General.

Upon second thought, I can see why some companies may not need insurance participating in conferences, and citizens and civilians may come away worse than they started. Just remember, sometimes even a seat at a conference and just attending may negatively impact your professionalism. I am not married. I am 26 years old. I am not ready to have a baby. I am in some debt. I cannot pay for a wedding. I cannot pay for professional conferences in order to receive a position. I have reported sexual misconduct in the past, and it was the worst mistake of my career, I recommend others do not from my experience. I also recommend concealing therapy as it negatively impacted my ability to incorporate into an office position. If you don't need it, don't have therapy. You become socially isolated and you get treated like a child. I have had negative work experiences due to my therapy. I have been spending the last 6 months applying for positions, studying for official exams, working on actual real life concerns, and showcasing my work outside of institutions.

Resources:

DARPA. "Details and Requirements - Terms and conditions." https://www.darpa.mil/research/challenges/cidar/resources/terms.

DARPA. "Usage Policy." https://www.darpa.mil/policies/usage-policy.

General Stanley McChrystal, Tantum Collins, and David Silverman. "Teams of Teams." https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/317066/team-of-teams-by-general-stanley-mcchrystal-tantum-collins-david-silverman-and-chris-fussell/.

Office of the Law Revision Counsel United States Code. 2013. "15 USC 3719: Prize competitions." https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-2012-title15-section3719&num=0&edition=2012.

Office of the Law Revision Counsel United States Code. 2026. "15 USC 3719: Prize competitions." https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?hl=false&edition=prelim&req=granuleid%3AUSC-2023-title15-section3719&num=0.

Ventura Defense Industry Forum. 2025. " Building Stronger Defense Partnerships." https://www.venturadefenseindustryforum.org/.

7/21/2026: Web Crawler Vectors

Based off of my DARPA Challenge Thoughts Post, though I have tried in the past to learn how exactly a web crawler works, I have been thinking of the instantiation and exploration algorithm leveraged by web crawlers and how to make one myself. URL's are simply a string of data that tell your computer where to go.

I stumbled across the idea a few years ago that were one to create an infinite string generator (string being a string of ASCII text, they could eventually guess more than a few website URLs. If the generator starts with smaller strings, the assumption being that the developer has to wait less time to stumble upon a legitimate website. The easier URLs to guess being CNN.com, PBS.org, BBC.com, Fox.com, or NSF.gov. This idea and concept is similar to an old Greek mythos (echoed in this Mandalivia article on AI) of the book of infinite books, where the book changed every time you read it.

Using the URL "https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?hl=false&edition=prelim&req=granuleid%3AUSC-2023-title15-section3719&num=0" as an example with the origin name of "uscode.house.gov". Within the next section, 15 USC 3720: Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, the URL "https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?hl=false&edition=prelim&req=granuleid%3AUSC-prelim-title15-section3720&num=0&saved=%7CZ3JhbnVsZWlkOlVTQy1wcmVsaW0tdGl0bGUxNS1zZWN0aW9uMzcxOQ%3D%3D%7C%7C%7C0%7Cfalse%7Cprelim" has the same base domain.

Putting the URLs side by side below:
https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?hl=false&edition=prelim&req=granuleid%3AUSC-2023-title15-section3719&num=0
https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?hl=false&edition=prelim&req=granuleid%3AUSC-prelim-title15-section3720&num=0&saved=%7CZ3JhbnVsZWlkOlVTQy1wcmVsaW0tdGl0bGUxNS1zZWN0aW9uMzcxOQ%3D%3D%7C%7C%7C0%7Cfalse%7Cprelim

When reviewing the URLs closely, the commonalities between the two URLs are "https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?hl=false&edition=prelim&req=granuleid%3AUSC-" and the endings of the URLs are different. Were I to have a machine to develop a custom URL specific to the domain of "uscode.house.gov", I would encode the meaningful format that words were to be separated by dashes ("-"). Noticing on the second link, there is a long string of items that at first glance, I cannot find a pattern other than adding "%".

Image Credit: Hannah Carter, 2026. Screenshot taken of ChatGPT AI interpretation of URL.

Leveraging an AI, ChatGPT, leveraging the prompt "Hi, is there a pattern to this string?%7CZ3JhbnVsZWlkOlVTQy1wcmVsaW0tdGl0bGUxNS1zZWN0aW9uMzcxOQ%3D%3D%7C%7C%7C0%7Cfalse%7Cprelim", I have learned that this is Base64 encoding (thank you Google Prompt Engineering Class! Disclaimer: I did take this course for free as a citizen of the state of Massachusetts).

Image Credit: Hannah Carter, 2026. Screenshot taken of ChatGPT URL partial explanation.

According to ChatGPT, "%7C" and "%3D" are URL encoders. Finding more on the subject from URL Decode and Encode, W3 Schools, URLEncoder.io. I shall admit for those looking for Electrical Engineering advice/mentoring, this was not a part of my electrical engineering journey in the workforce, and I also worked on various Boeing product hardware. In academia, ASCII was incredibly important, and is worth studying up on, particularly for use in microcontrollers.

One of the larger concepts here continuing the project forward is traversing domains from Search Engines to the internal domain versus traversing the domain itself from the "Home Page".

Side Note: Saving files with the ending .AI, makes them an interactable file type and no longer a JPEG. Pass it on.

Resources:

ASCII-CODE.com. " The Beginner's Guide to ASCII Making Sense of Digital Language." https://www.ascii-code.com/articles/Beginners-Guide-to-ASCII.

British Broadcasting Channel. "BBC." https://www.bbc.com/watch-live-news.

Cable News Network. 2026. "CNN." https://www.cnn.com/.

ChatGPT. "ChatGPT." https://chatgpt.com/.

Coursera. 2026. "Google Prompting Essentials Specialization." https://www.coursera.org/specializations/prompting-essentials-google.

FoxONE. 2026. "Fox." https://www.fox.com/.

Mandalivia. 2025. "Library of Everything." https://www.mandalivia.com/letters/2025-02-10-library-of-everything/.

Public Broadcasting Service. 2026. "PBS." https://www.pbs.org/.

W3 Schools. 2026. "HTML URL Encoding Reference." https://www.w3schools.com/tags//ref_urlencode.asp.

United States Code. 2013. "15 USC 3719: Prize competitions." https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-2012-title15-section3719&num=0&edition=2012.

United State Code. 2026. "15 USC 3719: Prize competitions." https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?hl=false&edition=prelim&req=granuleid%3AUSC-2023-title15-section3719&num=0.

United States National Science Foundation. "United States National Science Foundation." https://www.nsf.gov/.

URL Decode and Encode. 2026. "Encode to URL-encoded format." https://www.urlencoder.org/.

URLEncoder. 2026. "URL Encode online." https://www.urlencoder.io/.

7/22/2026: Noxious Weed Control: Part 2

Outside project!

Part of my approach is focus on removing Tansy Ragwort from areas first. Tansy is a noxious weed that negatively impacts our livestock and is labelled as such by Washington State Noxious Weed Control Board.

Resources:

King County. 2014. "King County Noxious Weed Control Board." https://www.nwcb.wa.gov/king-county-noxious-weed-control-board.

King County. 2015. "Tansy Ragwort." https://www.nwcb.wa.gov/images/weeds/tansy_ragwort_King.pdf.

Washington State Noxious Weed Control Board. "Common St. Johnswort." https://www.nwcb.wa.gov/weeds/common-st-johnswort.

Washington State Noxious Weed Control Board. "Full Circle Control noxious weeds Grow healthy plant communities Support bees and other pollinators." https://www.nwcb.wa.gov/pdfs/Full_Circle_booklet.pdf.

Washington State Noxious Weed Control Board. "Tansy Ragwort." https://www.nwcb.wa.gov/weeds/tansy-ragwort.

7/23/2026: Ephemeris for Asteroid 99942 Apophis: Part 1

EphemerisApophisDesignPerspective.pdf

Paper Ephemeris as of 7/22/2026, credit Hannah Carter

Paper Ephemeris, sources to be updated later!

Reading List:

ASCII-CODE.com. " The Beginner's Guide to ASCII Making Sense of Digital Language." https://www.ascii-code.com/articles/Beginners-Guide-to-ASCII.

British Broadcasting Channel. "BBC." https://www.bbc.com/watch-live-news.

Cable News Network. 2026. "CNN." https://www.cnn.com/.

ChatGPT. "ChatGPT." https://chatgpt.com/.

Coursera. 2026. "Google Prompting Essentials Specialization." https://www.coursera.org/specializations/prompting-essentials-google.

DARPA. "Details and Requirements - Terms and conditions." https://www.darpa.mil/research/challenges/cidar/resources/terms.

FoxONE. 2026. "Fox." https://www.fox.com/.

Genius Lab Gear. 2026. "34 Best Books for Engineers in 2026." https://geniuslabgear.com/blogs/for-scientists/best-books-engineers.

King County. 2014. "King County Noxious Weed Control Board." https://www.nwcb.wa.gov/king-county-noxious-weed-control-board.

King County. 2015. "Tansy Ragwort." https://www.nwcb.wa.gov/images/weeds/tansy_ragwort_King.pdf.

Mandalivia. 2025. "Library of Everything." https://www.mandalivia.com/letters/2025-02-10-library-of-everything/.

Office of the Law Revision Counsel United States Code. 2013. "15 USC 3719: Prize competitions." https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-2012-title15-section3719&num=0&edition=2012.

Public Broadcasting Service. 2026. "PBS." https://www.pbs.org/.

Washington State Legislature. 2026. "Chapter 196-20 WAC." https://app.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=196-20.

Washington State Noxious Weed Control Board. "Common St. Johnswort." https://www.nwcb.wa.gov/weeds/common-st-johnswort.

Washington State Noxious Weed Control Board. "Full Circle Control noxious weeds Grow healthy plant communities Support bees and other polinators." https://www.nwcb.wa.gov/pdfs/Full_Circle_booklet.pdf.

US Law Explained. 2026. "Hold Harmless Clause: The Ultimate Guide to Protecting Yourself from Liability." https://uslawexplained.com/hold_harmless_clause.

United States National Science Foundation. "United States National Science Foundation." https://www.nsf.gov/.

URL Decode and Encode. 2026. "Encode to URL-encoded format." https://www.urlencoder.org/.

Ventura Defense Industry Forum. 2025. " Building Stronger Defense Partnerships." https://www.venturadefenseindustryforum.org/.

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