iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Allan James Vestal @ajv.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

I’m a complete novice with soldering, and lost my solder tutor when she changed jobs and stopped coming down to D.C. as often. But if I can eventually do things like this and not just nerdy silicon/ESP32 stuff? Oh wow, I need to learn.

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Allan James Vestal @ajv.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

I’m just a dude, standing in front of Steve Kornacki, begging him to pronounce “man-it-oh-walk” county properly rather than “”Mann-itto-walk.”

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Allan James Vestal @ajv.bsky.social · 19/04/2026

Super cool of my autocorrect to stop adding a final “t” to certain words. (I’m getting a lot of “tha” and “jus” all of a sudden.) I don’t think I’ve intentionally typed the former since, like, the heyday of AIM — and a man can only eat so many French Dips no matter how hard he tries.

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Allan James Vestal @ajv.bsky.social · 21/03/2026

This is an immense loss. I didn't know Diana especially closely, but I saw the fruits of her work through how inspired the IRE staff were. And by how the conferences and trainings her staff ran brought so many newcomers to our corner of the journalism industry. www.ire.org/2026/03/21/i...

ire.org

IRE mourns the loss of Executive Director Diana R. Fuentes

March 20, 2026 – A message from IRE Board President Josh Hinkle: Dear IRE members and the broader journalism community, I’m reaching out on behalf of IRE’s Board and staff with a heavy heart. I’m so s...

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Allan James Vestal @ajv.bsky.social · 01/02/2026

Wow. I wasn't quite willing to believe DDHQ's call (hadn't seen the percent of precincts reporting) but that's a stunning result out of Tarrant.

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Allan James Vestal @ajv.bsky.social · 30/01/2026

My kingdom for better Bsky search functionality. How am I supposed to find the best seasons (series, fine) of that one British show that someone took the time to rank for me? (These must be universal problems, right?)

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Allan James Vestal @ajv.bsky.social · 19/12/2025

“The night everything at DCA finally went wrong” sure looks like the kind of careful, meticulously-sourced story I wanted to read about this disaster. The level of background knowledge is clear. As is the understanding of the human toll. I hope it gets widely recognized in journalism circles.

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Allan James Vestal @ajv.bsky.social · 30/11/2025

A Food Idiot’s Thanksgiving, Part II: Leftover mashed potatoes Boxty (potato pancake) with sour cream, caramelized apples, cranberry gastrique (well, kinda) and sage-butter crisped French fried onions.

A sheet pan with ten boxty pancakes (mashed potatoes with flour, grated potato, buttermilk, scallion and flour).

I might make them thinner next time, and some of the first few were *learning opportunities* in how to shape them, but these look and taste pretty great as-is — and I had to ration how much of our mashed potato stock I was diverting from the general leftovers pool.

One of those Boxty pancakes on a plate, surrounded by toppings: Shredded cheese, sour cream, caramelized diced apples, scallions, sage-butter crisped French fried onions left over from a green bean casserole.

Not pictured: The cranberry sauce-orange-red wine vinegar gastrique, which firmed up into more of a jelly and needed a little more TLC on the hob to go back to being drizzle-able.

The boxty dish, fully assembled (served to four people alongside leftover Greek salad from Thanksgiving).

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Allan James Vestal @ajv.bsky.social · 29/11/2025

A Food Idiot’s Thanksgiving, Part I: Stuffing–Turducken* waffle with sage-infused maple syrup, gravy, crisped lemon-pepper turkey skin and pecan gremolata. With apologies to my long-suffering wife (and my parents’ waffle iron) this took my love of turkey dressing to an even higher level.

A food idiot’s unholy fever dream of a Thanksgiving waffle, cooked and just about to be removed from the waffle iron. Plates, batter and various kitchen implements surround it.

Two quarters of that waffle on a plate, surrounded by the toppings that will adorn it: sage maple syrup, pecan gremolata, gravy and crisped turkey skins.

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Allan James Vestal @ajv.bsky.social · 07/08/2025

Sir Alex, in the golden hour. Someone tossed him a few berries. He was curious, but ultimately not interested.

A Very Fancy Bird, clearly hatching some plot or another.

The same Very Fancy Bird, angled further away from the camera. He has a greenish sheen on the back of his neck and you can see the long feathers that drape over his feet.

The same Very Fancy Bird, walking away from a blueberry he decided was intriguing but not worth the effort.

His feathered feet are even more visible in this photo.

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Allan James Vestal @ajv.bsky.social · 12/07/2025

Juror instructions City of Alexandria Late 2023 C.E.

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Allan James Vestal @ajv.bsky.social · 30/01/2025

Quoting the Congressman for the area in and around DCA Airport. Ardently hoping for the best, for all loved ones who are involved.

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Allan James Vestal @ajv.bsky.social · 30/01/2025

To clarify: NBC News is citing an Army official that three people were aboard the Blackhawk. They have not characterized their conditions

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Allan James Vestal @ajv.bsky.social · 30/01/2025

(If memory serves, I could be wrong) Evidently they tried to land on 1 but were doing a second approach.

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Allan James Vestal @ajv.bsky.social · 30/01/2025

Best capture of the footage aired by WRC:

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Allan James Vestal @ajv.bsky.social · 30/01/2025

WRC has footage from EarthCam. The crash (and flash of light) appears to be over the Maryland side of the Potomac. Searching for a picture on their footage. But this looks like a fireball, leading to a bunch of pieces, that broke apart.

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Allan James Vestal @ajv.bsky.social · 31/12/2024

“But how will I know we’re back in Alexandria?”

Negroni, focaccia and crudo, somehow enjoyed on a certain ALX establishment’s patio on the 30th day of December.

Hot boozy cider and a marcona almond tart being enjoyed on the same patio. Nearby the remnants of a prosciutto, arugula, parmesan and balsamic pizza await devouring for lunch tomorrow.

A dog named Gouda waits patiently for her pizza.

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Allan James Vestal @ajv.bsky.social · 15/12/2024

Oh good! Finally someone On Here who’s specifically seeking the type of content I post.

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Allan James Vestal @ajv.bsky.social · 11/11/2024

ALXsky folks: thanks for all the support and good questions on the 🧵 last night! I’ll be answering all the ?s over the next couple days. (Bravo @martaschantz.bsky.social & @alexgoyette.bsky.social for the Shirlington research!) But also: Office hours @ Port City this afternoon? Got even more maps…

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Allan James Vestal @ajv.bsky.social · 11/11/2024

Buckle up, nerds. It's Sunday night & I have a scary # of new followers thanks to the latest Twitter exodus. Want them to know what they're in for, so here's some On Brand content to see who's wonky enough to wanna hang around. I've got a Negroni by my side & QGIS + Excel fired up. LFG. [1/many]

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Allan James Vestal @ajv.bsky.social · 10/11/2024

I AM SO SORRY ALEX. I'm workshopping all these poasts and will have them up tomorrow I promise.

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Allan James Vestal @ajv.bsky.social · 09/11/2024

Working on what may be my most esoteric skeet thread to date. Stay tuned tomorrow (and bonus points if you can identify anything in advance about these maps of Alexandria, Va.).

A map of Alexandria, Virginia, showing the city broken into 32 parts.

In this map, 30 parts are shaded in green and two in pink.

Another map of Alexandria, Virginia, also showing the city broken into 32 parts.

In this map, 16 parts are shaded in orange, 11 in red, two in green and one in blue. One other is striped orange and red, the last is striped orange and green.

A third map of Alexandria, Virginia. Again, the city is broken into 32 parts.

Here, 29 parts are shaded in blue with the remaining three in pink.

A map of Alexandria, Virginia. This time the city is broken into only eight parts.

Each part of the city is shaded in a different color (split between grass green, blue-purple, coral, blue, dusty pink, gold, Pepto Bismol and lime green).

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Allan James Vestal @ajv.bsky.social · 05/11/2024

If folks are inclined to try out our pages over the next (# not found) hours or days, I’d definitely appreciate it. No paywall, up-to-the-second results & analysis, plus tracking on 60 ballot measures, market reax and more. And dark mode, if you’re into that. www.bloomberg.com/graphics/202...

bloomberg.com

2024 US Presidential Election Results | Live Map and Electoral Vote Counts

Track real-time results in the US presidential election — with live interactive maps, updates from swing states and the latest electoral vote totals.

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Allan James Vestal @ajv.bsky.social · 05/11/2024

Thank you @travisaniles.bsky.social. It’s a mountain of work getting to this point, and there’s about to be lots of individual threads to monitor, but it’s a real privilege to be able to do our small part in making order out of what’s unknown. (Having the best team in the business helps, too.)

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Allan James Vestal @ajv.bsky.social · 29/10/2024

Has The Post done anything in the last 5 years to increase coverage of “the D.C. metro area” — or even sustain current coverage? Or are we all just supposed to stay on the hook while our local media landscape worsens, bc falling subscription rates _only_ mean the lowest tier employees failed?

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Allan James Vestal @ajv.bsky.social · 27/06/2024

Three months later, a Mushroom Party was had.

The Mushroom Party dish, described as “Grilled assorted mushrooms, rosemary panko, cashew, yogurt, mushroom purée.”

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Allan James Vestal @ajv.bsky.social · 19/06/2024

It's a little wild to me that the Vice Mayor of the city — running for mayor — seems on track to get 1,000 fewer votes than the tenth of eleven city council candidates earned. Receipts in the alt text.

According to VA election results, Jimmy Lewis got 6,706 votes and finished tenth of eleven council candidates.

Meanwhile, Vice Mayor Amy Jackson got 5,512 votes (1,194 fewer than Lewis) and lost the mayoral race to Alyia Gaskins (all by the VA site count).

According to the separately-maintained spreadsheet, Jimmy Lewis got 5,526 votes and finished tenth of eleven candidates.

Meanwhile, Vice Mayor Amy Jackson got 4,518 votes (1,008 fewer than Lewis) and lost the mayoral race to Alyia Gaskins (all by the separately-maintained count).

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Allan James Vestal @ajv.bsky.social · 19/06/2024

State-run site blipped and said "mailed absentee" was in — but nothing changed numerically. Maybe it will soon, though.

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Allan James Vestal @ajv.bsky.social · 19/06/2024

NBC 4 with the check mark in the ALX mayoral.

Per NBC 4 (WRC)

Alexandria Mayoral (D):

✅ Alyia Gaskins — 60%
Amy Jackson — 29%

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Allan James Vestal @ajv.bsky.social · 17/06/2024

YOU LIE, SIR. Never forget what they took from us.

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Allan James Vestal @ajv.bsky.social · 02/06/2024

ALX folks: Any recommendations for poke bowl places on this side of the river? Feels like I mainly order it for lunch at the office (in D.C.) so I’m not up on the offerings closer to home.

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Allan James Vestal @ajv.bsky.social · 24/05/2024

Update: Chocolate procured. Tower ascended.

A bag of fancy Läderach Swiss chocolates, on a table overlooking midtown Manhattan and Central Park.

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Allan James Vestal @ajv.bsky.social · 23/05/2024

Arrived at Läderach Tower in Manhattan. This is about to get expensive. (Cc @timladerach.bsky.social)

A Läderach Chocolatier Suisse store at the base of a 60-story building in Manhattan.

Pricey chocolate glories beckon from within.

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Allan James Vestal @ajv.bsky.social · 15/05/2024

I have finally accepted that — while the end product of my meal-prep nights may at times rival hers — I will never be able to touch the menu descriptions offered by my wife on her nights.

A text message seeking opinion on which of two weeknight meals we should make.

One is described as “A pork tenderloin with the finest of honey and müstard flavors, accompanied by delicate but earthy wild rice and crisp, roasted broccoli.”

The other promises “A trip south of the border (more like south of the state border because it’s not that zesty) with chicken thighs, a salad that provides an insouciant take on elote, and a fresh and zingy cilantro lime rice.“

Tonight we will dine as kings.

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Allan James Vestal @ajv.bsky.social · 09/05/2024

As someone who has a genetic predisposition to junk-food chili ... this ALXnow comment thread is giving me life. www.alxnow.com/2024/05/07/h...

A misguided commenter named 'daisy': "The last time I was in Hard Times [the chili restaurant] it ... turned out to be the most disgusting meal I've ever had."

Our apparent hero Fred Garvin: "Pretty sure most of your meals are made by Purina so..."

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Allan James Vestal @ajv.bsky.social · 07/05/2024

Visited paradise; fêted the best new married couple of the week; somehow thought a linen suit == a good idea. Now you’re telling me I have to go to a place called ‘work’ and not just the beach? What is this nonsense? (Feeling very fortunate to have made the trip. Also quite glad we’re home.)

An idyllic Caribbean beach, as photographed from behind one row of lounge chairs (the photographer needed to stay in the shade).

The water is an otherworldly beautiful shade of blue-green. The sky has clouds here and there.

A wedding couple hugging under a gazebo at night. Between the camera lens and them is a fenced walkway out over the sea.

One person in the couple is wearing a wedding dress. The other is wearing a nice suit, minus the jacket he left on his chair.

They are having a relieved moment to themselves after the weather threatened to scotch their outdoor plans.

A pale white man leans on a railing overlooking the Caribbean Sea, as he waits for his wife and other VIPs to arrive and a wedding to get underway.

He’s wearing a linen suit and straw hat. (Multiple attendees did ask whether he was there to solve some kind of mystery.)

The same man, in the same garb. This time he’s holding onto his hat so it doesn’t get blown away into some body of water — for the tenth time that day.

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Allan James Vestal @ajv.bsky.social · 06/05/2024

Welcome to Atlanta, where the local vibe is unwinding.

View of an outdoor patio in Atlanta, with a surprisingly balanced peach and whiskey drink in the foreground and some still-too-damp patio furniture in the background.

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Allan James Vestal @ajv.bsky.social · 30/04/2024

Quick! Someone notify whichever Del Ray store had that cardboard steamroller...

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Allan James Vestal @ajv.bsky.social · 12/04/2024

Felt cute, might have a Mushroom Party later…

Menu item called a “Mushroom Party,” consisting of grilled assorted mushrooms, rosemary panko, cashew, yogurt and mushroom purée.

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Allan James Vestal @ajv.bsky.social · 08/04/2024

My wife: "Oh, that's unfair. If you dine in at Fazoli's, you get unlimited breadsticks — but if you order take-out, you only get two and have to pay for extras." Me: "Do not cite the Deep Magic to me. I was there when it was written."

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Allan James Vestal @ajv.bsky.social · 07/04/2024

Well, damn. Tough beat at the end of a fierce contest. So proud of this team, and can't wait to see what Lisa Bluder and the team do next year. Also: Dawn Staley was the epitome of class that last minute. What a top-flight coach.

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Allan James Vestal @ajv.bsky.social · 07/04/2024

Wasn't sure this would arrive by tip-off, but after that semifinal game I had to try. For all my family in and around Iowa City, GO HAWKS!

An Iowa Hawkeyes flag, delivered in the last minutes before the NCAA championship tips off.

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Allan James Vestal @ajv.bsky.social · 22/03/2024

My ridiculous food plans got delayed (LONG day at work) but here's a ridiculous drink for now. This is the Pepperoni (must be said with the most outrageously bad Italian accent), which started life as a throwaway line by my favorite cocktail YouTuber. www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdlj...

A Pepperoni cocktail, which is a Dr. Pepper negroni.

In the background, its four ingredients: Gin, the good Dr., Campari (measured in equal parts) and Luxardo Maraschino liqueur (just a dash).

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Allan James Vestal @ajv.bsky.social · 21/03/2024

I did not prepare an adequate level of Food Idiocy to mark the occasion. Please, hivemind, give me your best worst suggestions!

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Allan James Vestal @ajv.bsky.social · 10/03/2024

“If Washington, D.C. is your final stop please de-train now, as you do not want to end up in Alexandria with us tonight.” How dare you pretend to know my life, disembodied Amtrak voice. For SHAME.

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Allan James Vestal @ajv.bsky.social · 04/03/2024

I’m a simple man. I hear “crew, prepare for orbital insertion burn” and am immediately glued to my TV.

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