iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

ben vandgrift @ben.vandgrift.com · 03/10/2026

just spitballing here, but could a (sane) administration federalize the sections of interstate that are for-profit public/private partnerships and just tell the grifters to pound sand? like, make interstates free again?

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ben vandgrift @ben.vandgrift.com · 01/10/2026

"disagree and commit" only works when the disagreement and a discussion about it happen _before_ a decision is made. if not, "disagree and commit" is just "shut up and do what you're told" with lipstick on.

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ben vandgrift @ben.vandgrift.com · 26/09/2026

…peace i’ve earned won’t be arbitrarily stolen from me by someone with more power or money? let me talk about this streetlight. several weeks ago, Duke Energy ‘fixed’ a broken street light across the street from my house. instead of a broken light, now this pole sported a miniature sun.

two streetlights: one normal, one apparently containing an ongoing nuclear reaction that lights up the entire neighborhood

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ben vandgrift @ben.vandgrift.com · 26/09/2026

this morning‘s random youtubing included the following: “if you’re judging wealth by purchasing power, you’re likely working harder and earning more while getting poorer” — @bennjordan.bsky.social the rest of the video was interesting, but that line in particular hit pretty hard.

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ben vandgrift @ben.vandgrift.com · 08/09/2026

‘what do you do for a living?’ jet bridge operator: “i drive a hallway.”

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ben vandgrift @ben.vandgrift.com · 09/07/2026

oh: “i was born in the 80’s ffs. it’s a wonder i have any taste at all.”

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ben vandgrift @ben.vandgrift.com · 09/06/2026

the gnawing fear that the food you cook is actually terrible but your friends are incredibly kind.

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ben vandgrift @ben.vandgrift.com · 28/05/2026

i wish that “weekend at bernie’s” had a different title. if it were “weekend at arthur’s” or something i could make a crack about the cabinet propping up a near dead President Arthur without being sad the DNC and the media sank bernie sanders and gave us our current situation.

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ben vandgrift @ben.vandgrift.com · 26/03/2026

because if you allow for mail-in ballots, you don’t have the opportunity for voter intimidation. obviously.

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ben vandgrift @ben.vandgrift.com · 19/03/2026

“nothing has hurt the history of architecture as much as the notion that it is a history of architectural _techniques_, instead of a history of architectural _ideas_ — which took their techniques when and where they found them.” — parapheased from ‘the decline of the west’ by oswald spengler

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ben vandgrift @ben.vandgrift.com · 21/02/2026

OH: “the people with the money don’t have the balls, the people with the balls don’t have the money.” hearing that hurt me deeply in a necessary way.

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ben vandgrift @ben.vandgrift.com · 13/02/2026

the primary is March 3, early voting is open now. if you’re independent, you choose your ballot.

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ben vandgrift @ben.vandgrift.com · 13/02/2026

YEAH, i’m going with the actual leftist.

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ben vandgrift @ben.vandgrift.com · 13/02/2026

NC people, it’s worth showing up for the primary. your choices on the non-fascist side are: - center right big business (Roy Cooper) - no meaningful positions (Colon) - religion-first messaging (Quick) - some old weathy folk and the guy who wants to flip over a table: www.justicewithdues.org

justicewithdues.org

Dues for Congress

The official site of Justin Dues — antiestablishment, reform-focused US Senate candidate for North Carolina. Explore his Project 2030 platform to restore integrity, fight corruption, fix healthcare, p...

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ben vandgrift @ben.vandgrift.com · 08/12/2025

i don’t know of any hard and fast rules about what constitutes an accent vs a dialect, but it’s linguistically interesting to me. i’ve never heard it in the wild (meatspace), afaik.

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ben vandgrift @ben.vandgrift.com · 08/12/2025

i can’t unhear the _influencer accent_. the strong upward lilt at the end of a phrase, like they’re asking a question instead of making a statement. it’s most prevalent in gen z influencers, but also can be heard in many millenial content creators.

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Reposted by ben vandgrift

Erika Hall @erikahall.bsky.social · 17/10/2025

If “AI” did the thing, organizations would be bragging about the outcomes instead of jawing endlessly about the tools.

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ben vandgrift @ben.vandgrift.com · 21/11/2025

if they’re serious, talk about conspiracy to commit domestic terrorism charges for ICE agents and collaborators.

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ben vandgrift @ben.vandgrift.com · 21/11/2025

every democrat fighting for a seat in next year’s election should include ‘publishing the names and photos of every ICE agent’ in their pitch

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ben vandgrift @ben.vandgrift.com · 13/11/2025

felt necessary to share this with otter people

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Reposted by ben vandgrift

John Bull @garius.bsky.social · 13/11/2025

This is legit why exec level in a lot of places are obsessed with copilot. It takes their word salad and turns it into a word salad that sounds smarter (but isn't).

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ben vandgrift @ben.vandgrift.com · 13/11/2025

i hear you but you have to remember that you’re way smarter than me.

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ben vandgrift @ben.vandgrift.com · 13/11/2025

yes. this is a correct and reasonable response. it should take years and penance to recover from being a class+race traitor.

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ben vandgrift @ben.vandgrift.com · 13/11/2025

can anyone point me toward a `core.async.flow` example that’s nontrivial? what lit the light bulb for you? #clojure

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ben vandgrift @ben.vandgrift.com · 12/11/2025

don’t threaten me with a good time

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ben vandgrift @ben.vandgrift.com · 12/11/2025

007.1 we’ve been through this, Ken.

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ben vandgrift @ben.vandgrift.com · 12/11/2025

hey folks: take care of your people. if you’re in a position of influence or leadership, take care of your people. if they look up to you, take care of your people. even if you think maybe they need to have some sense slapped into them from time to time, take care of your people.

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ben vandgrift @ben.vandgrift.com · 08/11/2025

can someone please tell me how i can both: - make the world a better place - continue be secure in my ability to eat and sleep under cover given: - not born/already rich chatGPT has been no help

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ben vandgrift @ben.vandgrift.com · 01/11/2025

so what are you building? what is your mgmt telling you to build? what are your guests (customers) going to see and use? how will that reflect on you as a host (company)? plan accordingly. spend accordingly. allocate budget accordingly. or your guests will be risk splinters fetching their plates.

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ben vandgrift @ben.vandgrift.com · 01/11/2025

shop shelves cost almost nothing to build. $200 goes a long way. the _lumber_ for my cabinets was $22k. plus hardware, plus weeks of work—the kitchen is the largest room in my house. i love to cook for other people. those cabinets definitely make a statement about the quality of my work.

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ben vandgrift @ben.vandgrift.com · 01/11/2025

cabinetry (customer products and services) needs to be planned, designed, and well-executed. it will be viewed used over and over by your household and your guests. cabinets have to last a long and be low maintenance. shop shelves take an afternoon. cabinets take days, if not weeks.

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ben vandgrift @ben.vandgrift.com · 01/11/2025

shop shelves? 1/4” (6mm) isn’t a big deal. cabinetry? 1/8” (3mm) is a big deal. shop gear doesn’t need finishing. cabinetry does. bottom line: your shop facilities (internal tools) need only enough care to make them functional and strong. you’re the only one who will see them. no need to fuss.

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ben vandgrift @ben.vandgrift.com · 01/11/2025

your kitchen cabinets should match. maybe they don’t need to be identical, but they should have a coherent theme. shop shelves are items of necessity, built over time as needed. they can be a little haphazard visually and functionally. (if it doesn’t bother you. it bothers me. i over-engineer.)

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ben vandgrift @ben.vandgrift.com · 01/11/2025

you will be judged on your cabinets. you’ll judge yourself, too since you have to use them every day. you’ll build in conveniences to the cabinets that your shop doesn’t need, or at least isn’t worth the fancy soft-close drawers and spaulted maple doors and drawer fronts and fancy fixtures.

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ben vandgrift @ben.vandgrift.com · 01/11/2025

both need to be strong enough to support some weight. neither should be offensive to look at. shop shelves (internal tools) can be inexpensive. 2x4s and osb are probably fine for dry storage. kitchen cabinets—the things people _see_—have a higher standard. there are more moving parts, for one.

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ben vandgrift @ben.vandgrift.com · 01/11/2025

on a woodworking forum i frequent: “good enough” is the difference between fine woodworking and “it’s fine” woodworking. the same is true for software. shop shelves don’t have the same rules as kitchen cabinets.

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ben vandgrift @ben.vandgrift.com · 28/10/2025

hello fellow west wing fan. “if in the future you’re wondering: ‘crime…boy i dunno’ is when i decided to kick your ass.” followed later by a debate scene that will make anyone with enough brain cells weep for the future of US democracy.

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ben vandgrift @ben.vandgrift.com · 28/10/2025

the quite deliberate walmartification of every possible sector. rural areas will shop at walmart for everything they can’t get at the dollar general—except groceries, which they’ll buy at whichever flavor of kroger runs their territory.

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ben vandgrift @ben.vandgrift.com · 28/10/2025

the end of SNAP benefits, if prolonged, will risk the existence of independent grocers in rural areas, and the big chains move in. just like smaller farms will be forced to sell to bigger companies because of the tarriffs. and that smaller hospitals will just vanish with the changes to medicare.

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ben vandgrift @ben.vandgrift.com · 08/10/2025

now would be a good time to read up on Ferdinand Marcos and the ‘communist threat’ in the Philipines in 1972.

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Wil Wheaton ❌👑 @wilwheaton.net · 23/09/2025

Never forget and never forgive the people who voted for him. They did this to us, and they must be forced to carry the shame for the rest of their miserable lives. We warned them, and they made fun of us. They own this. They own this forever, and I will never let them forget it.

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Reposted by ben vandgrift

Mrs. Betty Bowers @mrsbettybowers.bsky.social · 22/09/2025

DISNEY: "OK, we are putting Jimmy Kimmel back on the air. You can resubscribe now." ME: "I unsubscribed because you immorally bowed to fascism. I'm not going to resubscribe because you immorally bowed to finances."

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Reposted by ben vandgrift

Emoji Meadow @emojimeadow.bsky.social · 19/09/2025

🌼🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺 🌺🌺🌱🌱🌱🧀🌺🌱🐁 🌺🌱🌱🌺🌺🌺🌺🌱🌺 🌺🌱🌺🌺🌺🌺🌱🌱🌺 🌺🌱🌱🌺🌺🌱🌱🌺🌺 🌺🌺🌱🌱🌱🌱🌺🌺🌺 🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌼🌺

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ben vandgrift @ben.vandgrift.com · 19/09/2025

in case you’d like to see what i do with my free time, @creekshanty.us occasionally updates with some garden stuff.

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