iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Arolpin @arolpin.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

This is aggressively anti-lefthanded flatware. I'm not even a lefty and I can see that it would be unusable.

Arolpin @arolpin.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Looking to sell my NJ home and buy a NYC co-op, largely because of how NJ prices have increased more than NYC prices in the past 20 years. Good for me, but probably not good for NJ overall.

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Reposted by Arolpin

Robert Mackenzie @robertmackenzie.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

'As the new regime's symbols are raised above their capital, our reporters are being told that Yakko, Wakko and Dot have already sought to establish a government-in-exile. Speaking from his villa in Montenegro, Yakko was said to remark. "Farewell, my country, core of my heart. Goodbye, nurse."'

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Arolpin @arolpin.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

I suspect I know the specific video. It was all over the Navy in the early 90s. Kind of like Faces of Death. You had no intention of watching it, but you’re walking through the mess decks at 1am & it’s playing on the TV.

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Arolpin @arolpin.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Are you my grandfather? Two pillows of shredded wheat with about 1/2 cup of sugar & heavy cream for breakfast every day.

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Arolpin @arolpin.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Tubular. Totally tubular.

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Arolpin @arolpin.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

I saw a post here mentioning them adding a show walking distance from me and I immediately bought tickets. Somehow I’ve never seen them live, despite living in NYC or inner-ring suburbs since ‘95.

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Arolpin @arolpin.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

I’m shuddering to think what “meyo” could be. Ewww, each thought is worse than the previous.

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Arolpin @arolpin.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

My (now) best friend was doing dial-up sales. Got fired. A mutual friend said he was really smart. We hired him to answer phones for the NOC that day. Trained him up on networking He wrote an O’Reilly book on firewalls & security a couple years later.

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Arolpin @arolpin.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

And so many great engineers (who never took an engineering class) came out of that period. By ‘97 I was applying for jobs where the other applicants were either dropouts or PhDs. (I was the dropout, but the hiring guys knew which PhDs I worked with.)

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Arolpin @arolpin.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Started a job at an ISP in January of 95. My boss showed me Usenet. I went to alt.beer and found a college friend who had gone from a Math BA to a MA in history program, lost 150 lbs, become a climber, and was making seriously great beer. This is the greatest thing ever. Then I discovered spam.

alt.beer

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Arolpin @arolpin.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

I traveled the world to get drunk with people I met on alt.drunken.bastards Still some of the best folks I ever met.

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Arolpin @arolpin.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Moved to NYC in 1995, fell into a rent-stabilized 2-br on W86th St. Bought a co-op with my wife at W 111th St in 2004. Sold it to buy big house in NJ in 2008. Just spent the afternoon looking at apartments in NYC again. Meghan & I are seriously considering moving back.

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Arolpin @arolpin.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Sales: “Needle? I can get you a needle. But do you really need a needle? You’re asking for a long, thin thing, right? The specific needle is going to be expensive, and have a long lead time. A piece of hay is also long and thin. I’ll sell you this piece of hay for 20% less than needle!”

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Arolpin @arolpin.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

This is why you don’t buy your coffins from Bob’s Discount Coffins! They look good in the brochure, but they’re too short. You gotta bend the stiff to get ‘em to fit.

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Arolpin @arolpin.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Yes, I trust cats implicitly. Even cats that I know are untrustworthy.

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Arolpin @arolpin.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Saw a small sign saying “Dungeon Crawler Carl Flash Sale” with dates and it almost broke my brain until I realized it was in the window of the a decor store/tattoo shop/taxidermy shop. And then I just felt old. Are kids really getting “Dungeon Crawler Carl” tattoos?

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Arolpin @arolpin.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

And that includes “The Book of Mormon” (complementary). Watched it on Broadway the month it opened, my then 65-ish mom almost peed herself over the Fuck Frog.

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Arolpin @arolpin.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

My wife works in the Paterson schools, largely with Arabic-speaking kids. She is much more attuned to the various tensions between Arabic-speaking people than we knew existed before. It’s really several diasporas together.

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Arolpin @arolpin.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Fred is fun, but he continues Ferrari’s tradition of terrible strategy in the moment. Red Bull doesn’t always choose the best strategy, but they almost never pick a wrong strategy. And there is always the chance that Ferrari’s problems are big enough to make Horner fail too.

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Arolpin @arolpin.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Damn, that's like 2 blocks from my office. Would absolutely make coffee breaks more fun.

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Arolpin @arolpin.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Infinite Jest* * I actually love this mess of a novel, even the excessive endnotes^ ^ Especially the excessive endnotes.

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Arolpin @arolpin.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

This is on my list for this winter. Mieville is another author I love who I was first exposed to on Bluesky.

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Arolpin @arolpin.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

All of which I discovered on Bluesky. I suspect that 75% of the books I read in the past 2 years I originally discovered on Bluesky.

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Arolpin @arolpin.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Working my way through the T. Kingfisher catalog, just finished the 6th Dungeon Crawler Carl book last night, and started “King of Ashes” by S. A. Cosby. Yes, I love my local library.

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Arolpin @arolpin.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Aha! I grew up an Intermountain West guy (though The Palouse is at least PNW-adjacent) so I missed the 'staying dry is for pussies' lessons. I will just shame you for not properly layering to be comfortable from 20°F to 90°F.

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Arolpin @arolpin.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Yeah, but by the same token I watched a kid who used to wrestle with my sons play LT on national TV last night.

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Arolpin @arolpin.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

And I just listened to “Choosing Texas”, it was “meh” at best. Then “Dry Spell” by Kacey Musgraves played, which really emphasizes the difference between pop smaltz and actual smart songs.

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Arolpin @arolpin.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Explain it to me like I’m 5. Why do people dislike umbrellas? I’ve got shit to do, I walk/bike/transit almost everywhere, and it’s raining. My options are: Not go out Get wet Wear a coat & hat and still get wet Use an umbrella and stay dry. What am I missing? Is this masculinity or fetish?

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Arolpin @arolpin.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

There is a huge history of leftist, populist country music. I listen to some of that. Country has become polarized too. I listen to “Outlaw Country” on SiriusXM on occasion, and it’s a very different playlist than the country pop stations. Corporate Country is Crap. (That’s a throwback.)

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Arolpin @arolpin.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Watched “Raising Arizona” with my wife last night. Such a brilliant movie. Every shot is gorgeous, the dialogue is both real and over-the-top, and Holly Hunter is just perfect.

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Arolpin @arolpin.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

This is an all-time great The Onion article.

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Arolpin @arolpin.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

As an Idaho knower, Caldwell may not even be top-10 worse. You’ve got Idaho Falls, Ammon, Rexburg, Blackfoot, & Pocatello just in SE Idaho.

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Arolpin @arolpin.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Orlando worse than Jacksonville? Foul lies!

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Arolpin @arolpin.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

The joke about being stationed in Keflavik in the 90s was that there was a woman behind every tree. They probably weren’t lying; there were just very few trees. (The base planted hundreds of trees in the last few years before it closed.)

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Arolpin @arolpin.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

That’s insane. I replaced one last year, expected to pay $2500, learned it’s $4000 because had to upgrade to new code. Not $9k at all. In NJ.

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Arolpin @arolpin.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

So you're saying that there's a truck selling cheap steaks at some parking lot in Philly?

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Arolpin @arolpin.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

It's "Bret 'Bedbug' Stephens". Keep up, man!

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Arolpin @arolpin.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

and a hedgehog can never be buggered at all.

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Arolpin @arolpin.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

We are so cringe. And we don’t care.

The wrists of 6 middle-aged white people in a star formation. They are all wearing wrist passes for Sea.Hear.Now.

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Arolpin @arolpin.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

My brother just bought a ‘24 Ranger. He replaced a Chevy 1/2-ton that got hit while parked, and he does have 140 acres and breeds heritage sheep, so not purely cosplay. He wanted to go even smaller, but has a very heavy trailer. For me, it’s just cheaper than a U-Haul once a year.

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Reposted by Arolpin

Michael Warburton @michaelwarburton.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

This aired just the once in 1998 on the live SNL show for which McKay wrote it. It was effectively banned as it never aired again. I wonder why. MEDIA-OPOLY

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Arolpin @arolpin.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

The weather actually held off. The only rain was the last two songs by The Strokes, though it started pouring as everyone was leaving.

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Arolpin @arolpin.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

The Pixies were playing at the same time as Moby. I decided to see The Pixies; my wife (and my inner voice) said that I chose poorly. And I even thought about getting breakfast at the cafe, but decided to catch the 8am train, that was delayed anyway.

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Arolpin @arolpin.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

It’s 11:30pm, pouring rain, and we were able to get some emergency pizza on the walk home from #sea.hear.now. Last minute Asbury Park house rental for the win!

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Arolpin @arolpin.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

The Cathedral Close is where my twins learned to walk, chasing the peafowl. Spent a lot of time at that fountain when they were little, because it was just the end of the block.

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Arolpin @arolpin.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

That’s especially funny because The Offspring had the same style background pictures tonight.

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