iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Mike Ely @bluesky.taupehat.com · 19h

It's kind of the only thing I buy from them still, mostly due to a lack of any meaningful competition.

Product Preferences
Maintains consistent electronics and cable inventory

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Mike Ely @bluesky.taupehat.com · 26/09/2026

Whatever was said, you ran them off:

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Mike Ely @bluesky.taupehat.com · 25/09/2026

I have done this so many times now...

Back to school bingo card.

Row 1:
"Can you all hear me?"
PTA wants money
"This is my first time doing this "

Row 2:
PTA wants volunteers
Mention of school mascot (free square)
"I SPEAK REALLY LOUDLY"

Row 3:
Tepid applause (x50)
You're in the wrong classroom
Teacher pretends to know your kid

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Mike Ely @bluesky.taupehat.com · 24/09/2026

When I follow the exact instructions in the ticket description:

A curb in Laramie, WY is being painted yellow by a city employee who is visible wearing high-visibility gear in the distance. The curb is painted yellow, along with significant portions of the sidewalk, street, gutter, a plant growing between the cracks in the pavement, the wheels of a couple bicycles locked up on the sidewalk, etc.

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Mike Ely @bluesky.taupehat.com · 20/09/2026

Caterpillars? Bat from my photos just because.

A bat is flying inside of a high-ceilinged room. Some knickknacks sit on a ledge in the foreground.

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Mike Ely @bluesky.taupehat.com · 13/09/2026

Here's how I imagine the conversation went: "Your time is up. You're eighty years old, you've had at least one stroke, your health is failing, your final term ends in two years, and you are in competition with Vladimir Putin as the most despised person currently alive.

Screencap from RTÉ with headline reading "President Connolly expressed 'strong view' of Irish people on war and genocide to Trump"

Photo shows Donald Trump walking ahead of Catherine Connolly as both leave Áras an Uachtaráin. President Connolly has a bit of a grin or slight smirk on her face. President Trump looks acutely uncomfortable and angry.

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Mike Ely @bluesky.taupehat.com · 31/08/2026

I felt a tiny bit of schadenfreude using their own infrastructure to find out how to leave it.

Google search box. Search query is "migrate custom domain from gmail to proton"

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Mike Ely @bluesky.taupehat.com · 28/08/2026

When you're an ordinary non-blue-check person and you logon to see this and wonder wtf happened:

Bluesky timeline showing "30+" notifications

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Mike Ely @bluesky.taupehat.com · 26/08/2026

This has been puzzling me. Not that I care much about this dumbass rich guy or his inability to get laid without paying $140 to someone working out of a trailer park in Ohio but... based on my experience rich guys have a fixer to procure prostitutes, drugs, etc. 🧵 #49ers

A 46-year-old white man with short dark hair and several days of beard growth stands for a mugshot wearing an orange top. An image caption reads "San Francisco 49ers owner arrested"

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Mike Ely @bluesky.taupehat.com · 22/08/2026

I finally figured out who Scott Bessent reminded me of.

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Mike Ely @bluesky.taupehat.com · 09/08/2026

Milo, also a rescue. Couldn't care less about fireworks, wildlife, loves dogs, etc. But when he, himself, nudges a piece of paper off the table he goes running terrified all the way across the house.

A large black dog has draped himself across a carpeted set of stairs. He has a bone laid across his paw, and is looking intently at the photographer.

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Mike Ely @bluesky.taupehat.com · 06/08/2026

So the other day I actually read the sign at the #gym about locker room rules (sign is outside the locker room, don't worry). One of these rules is not like the others, all I can say.

A blue sign on a beige wall reads as follows:

Locker Room Rules:
Cell phone use is not allowed
We're not responsible for lost or stolen items
Absolutely no photography
Lockers are to be used daily and during workouts only. Unauthorized locks will be clipped nightly
Don't forget to put on clothes before exiting

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Mike Ely @bluesky.taupehat.com · 02/08/2026

1000% this. Generational talent? More like generational sell-out:

Shohei Ohtani smiles while shaking hands with Donald Trump. The World Series trophy is in the near foreground to the left.

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Mike Ely @bluesky.taupehat.com · 24/07/2026

About how many billionaires you reckon could be squeezed into this?

A small green rescue sub called the Avalon sits on a specialized road trailer. More here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DSRV-2_Avalon

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Mike Ely @bluesky.taupehat.com · 20/07/2026

Me (a long time and many pounds ago) taking a selfie "with" Willie Brown was still less graceless than this chump and the winning soccer team.

A heavyset man with four chins and a giant red shirt stands near Willie Brown, who is dressed in a tuxedo and paying attention to someone else.

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Mike Ely @bluesky.taupehat.com · 16/07/2026

I once got to see Neeui in concert. Great show! He didn't sing in Ukrainian though, so I was surprised.

Nine Inch Nails album cover, featuring a blurry indistinct background in greys, purples and greens, with a rectangular red box in the center with red text inside reading "NIИ"

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Mike Ely @bluesky.taupehat.com · 29/06/2026

What a show this must have been. #music

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Mike Ely @bluesky.taupehat.com · 25/06/2026

Meanwhile the sorry excuse for a team I follow...

Tony Vitello takes the ball from some noname loser of a starting pitcher while the caption says "SF Giants plagued by four errors, four hit batters in ugly loss to Marlins"

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Mike Ely @bluesky.taupehat.com · 20/06/2026

Both of these Citroens were next to where I parked yesterday.

A gray Citroen 2CV with red interior is parked in a lot with various modern cars.

A grey and black Citroen Traction Avant sits in a parking lot with various random cars

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Mike Ely @bluesky.taupehat.com · 15/06/2026

git pull? I've seen this pattern before...

A monarch butterfly flutters through the air with only blue sky in the background. Meme text surrounding the butterfly reads "Last time I ate one of those I got hella sick"

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Mike Ely @bluesky.taupehat.com · 08/06/2026

Just got a text from my kid who's visiting out of state family and... "aunty and them" shoulda known better. 😅 #genx

Text message and reply:
"aunty and them say you look like jerry garcia"
"Tell them I have one too many fingers to look like Jerry."

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Mike Ely @bluesky.taupehat.com · 01/06/2026

My timeline is perfect tonight:

Two timeline posts in order:

Alan Baxter: One of the best things about being alive is that there are dogs. Remember, if you're having a tough time, there are dogs.

Gino's Pizzeria: Cats are actually the reason to it all

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Mike Ely @bluesky.taupehat.com · 15/05/2026

Here's why the fan was spinning on an idle laptop - in terms of system impact the antimalware is just as bad as malware sometimes. Fuck #windows - it's just trash all the way down.

Windows task manager, sorted by CPU, showing the following entries:
Antilmalware Service Executable: 13.7%
Service Host: Network Service: 7.0%
Windows Defender Advanced...: 4.8%
System: 3.7%
Desktop Window Manager: 2.4%

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Mike Ely @bluesky.taupehat.com · 08/05/2026

Classic #dog move: put what's important to him with the things he believes are important to his people. I thought he was just nosing around in the dirty clothes hamper like he often does. Nope - he was sharing!

A nearly empty washing machine containing a few items of (clean) clothing and a bright green dog ball (also clean).

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Mike Ely @bluesky.taupehat.com · 22/04/2026

Very reassuring timeline...

A post from @lunaluvgood2020.bsky.social linking to an article stating that the Navy Secretary has abruptly left his job, followed by a post from @ronfilipowski.bsky.social which is a screenshot of a tweet from Lindsey Graham saying he had a very good call with Trump and Hegseth about the way forward regarding the Iran conflict, and the caption "The most accurate indicator that something bad is about to happen."

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Mike Ely @bluesky.taupehat.com · 22/04/2026

My beloved home state of #california will always live up to its reputation. This is in the paper voter's guide for the 2026 election. Yes, this man is on the ballot. Sorry ladies and gents, he's taken! 😂

TW: ANTISEMITISM.
Candidate statement from the 2026 California Voter Guide for one Don J. Grundmann, no qualified party preference.
Statement:
Kirk murdered by shaped-charge bomb Israel used. Government knows. YouTube—Why Kirk had to die. Israel murdered Liberty sailors. Israel “art students” wired Twin Towers for 9/11.controlled demolition. Planes did NOT destroy towers. Israel did. 3,000 murdered to create new “Pearl Harbor” to justify fighting wars for Israel. “Dancing Israelis” (Mossad agents) prove knowledge of attack. Government knows. Israel (our greatest enemy), NOT Iran, will suitcase nuke U S. via “Samson Option”—false flag attack to blame on Iran/Russia and permanently end our nation. Israel, the REAL terrorists, created and funds Hamas via Qatar. Countless war crimes by Israel/Netanyahu. No further funding for Israel. They call Palestinians AND Christians AND America “Amalek”—their sworn forever enemy. We are “goyim” (less than human animals/cattle) that they will enslave. We are stupid chumps. Israel rules our conquered Republic. Talmud—their Bible—says Christ boiling in in Israel allowed/planned/promoted Hamas attack (they murdered their own people) to justify genocide and steal billion$ in Gaza oil/gas rights. Christian Zionism = soul poison. Talmudic “Judeo-Christian values” don’t exist . . . (several websites, mostly antisemitic, follow)

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Mike Ely @bluesky.taupehat.com · 19/04/2026

I mean, goatse is still a thing right? No need for computer malware, wrecking the brain of some asshole works even better! Put that on your QR code t-shirt for extra good times.

Photo of Meta smart glasses. Caption:
"Meta sparks privacy fears after unveiling $299 smart glasses with hidden cameras: 'You can now film everyone without them knowing'"

Response from millenianthemus:
"I want a shirt that has a QR code for some kind of horrible malware so that if anyone ever tries to film me in public their phone will automatically scan the code and be reduced to a functionless brick"

Reply to that from iwasrightaboutthesun:
"Modern day Medusa"

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Mike Ely @bluesky.taupehat.com · 19/04/2026

Somebody put this out at my daughter's birthday party. I've been wanting to do this for years. (See alt text for clue if needed)

A bowl filled with (mostly) m&ms sits next to a bowl of (mostly) Skittles.

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Mike Ely @bluesky.taupehat.com · 12/04/2026

Regarding the CSU professor acquitted yesterday:

Brave man standing meme, text reads "When cops fire tear gas canisters at you, throwing them back isn't wrong and shouldn't be against the law."

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Mike Ely @bluesky.taupehat.com · 29/03/2026

Santa Rosa, CA #nokings rally. There were about 12,000 people. The teenagers in the house asked to go to it, so we're in the picture somewhere although I couldn't guess where.

A large rally has gathered in Santa Rosa Courthouse Square. Many people are in the square and many more are crossing the street. The view is from the roof of a nearby building where the City of Santa Rosa has a webcam set up.

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Mike Ely @bluesky.taupehat.com · 28/03/2026

Over the past week I watched this approaching weather system go from three days of rain with temperatures in the 50s, to crappy weather surrounding one day of solid rain (I think it was .75 inch or so) to this. Was kind of hoping to see enough water to soak the vegetation, but alas. #cawx

Weather forecast:
Sunday 3/29: 86 | 50 F, partly cloudy, 0 inches rain
Monday 3/30: 78 | 45 F, cloudy, 0 inches of rain
Tuesday 3/31: 67 | 46 F, mostly cloudy, 0 inches of rain
Wednesday 4/1: 64 | 42 F, PM showers, 0.14 inches of rain
Thursday 4/2: 66 | 39 F, partly cloudy, 0 inches of rain
Friday 4/3: 77 | 43 F, sunny, 0 inches of rain

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Mike Ely @bluesky.taupehat.com · 21/03/2026

When Trump finally kicks the bucket (can't happen too soon) I don't want to hear from a single one of you motherfuckers whining on like "show some respect." Bitchass Trump will get exactly what he gives.

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Mike Ely @bluesky.taupehat.com · 16/03/2026

As a Giants fan, I can only empathize with Dominicans right now. Game-ending blown calls are unforgivable. #WBC

Wilmer Flores is called out on a blown checked swing call ending the Giants season against the fucking pay-to-win Dodgers.

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Mike Ely @bluesky.taupehat.com · 15/03/2026

Greatly enjoying living in California right now. #cawx #SevereWeather

Family guy snob meme. Meg, captioned as "Most of America" has an angry look on her face and her arms thrown out in frustration as she asks, "How are you ignoring the weather advisories right now?"
Carl is seated in a wingback armchair wearing a tuxedo and top hat. He's captioned "Hawaii." Lois is wearing a nice dress, heels, tiara and pearls. She's seated on the sofa beside Peter, who is clad the same as Carl but also has a fancy cane. Lois is captioned "Florida" and Peter is captioned "California."

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Mike Ely @bluesky.taupehat.com · 15/03/2026

Hoo, boy howdy! Can you imagine what preferences this dude has set in his P*rnHub subscription?

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Mike Ely @bluesky.taupehat.com · 07/03/2026

Whenever somebody tries to say bombs sometimes miss their targets in relation to bombing schools etc this is the photo I will reply with. It's an Iranian naval base. Each building got exactly one hole punched in the roof. Modern bombs don't miss their targets, they hit exactly what they're aimed at.

An Iranian naval base in Bushehr shows significant damage. A row of large warehouses runs across the center of the photo, and each warehouse has an obvious bomb entry hole in the center of the roof.

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Mike Ely @bluesky.taupehat.com · 05/03/2026

The #dog lives for his sunny spot. Here he is leaning into it before it's even reached the floor.

A large black dog leans against a wall where the sun has come in through a nearby window.

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Mike Ely @bluesky.taupehat.com · 02/03/2026

Current events left me completely unable to avoid making this comparison, so here it is, artisanally hand-crafted by yours truly:

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Mike Ely @bluesky.taupehat.com · 01/03/2026

The excuse-making on the part of the horseshoe people has devolved to the point that they're basically MAGA with hammers and sickles.

Post from "IsuggestLeninism" reading:
We would still be going to war with Iran if Harris was president, the only difference is this would be about "democracy" and "women's rights"

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Mike Ely @bluesky.taupehat.com · 01/03/2026

Rough start condition diagnosed.

A close up of part of the flywheel after removal. Numerous teeth on the ring gear are worn to nothing.

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Mike Ely @bluesky.taupehat.com · 01/03/2026

As I've been saying, the flywheel is really easy to remove once you get the transmission out. #shadetree

The flywheel of a Volvo engine, still bolted to the crank. Photo is taken from the position the transmission would be in if the transmission were installed.

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Mike Ely @bluesky.taupehat.com · 25/02/2026

America, what are we doing here? (Kenny Holston/The New York Times via AP, Pool)

Donald Trump speaks during the State of the Union address. His eyes are heavily lidded, his face is sagging more than usual, and his trademark face paint is just as clearly visible (and clearly self-applied) as ever. In the background, out of focus, is an American flag. Seated in the background is Mike Johnson and a partial face that appears to be J. D. Vance.

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Mike Ely @bluesky.taupehat.com · 23/02/2026

To be fair, I don't think NYC has too many of these and I'm certain they don't have a snow dump.

A Larue T60 self-propelled snowblower removes a couple feet of snow from a roadway.

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Mike Ely @bluesky.taupehat.com · 23/02/2026

Had a special tool printed for some car work I'm about to do and honestly it looks more like something afraid of Pac-Man than a device to hold a ring gear stationary.

A blue 3D-printed device which bears a striking resemblance to the ghosts in Pac-Man after the protagonist eats one of the big dots.

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Mike Ely @bluesky.taupehat.com · 23/02/2026

Had a special tool printed for some car work I'm about to do and honestly it looks more like something afraid of Pac-Man than a device to hold a ring gear stationary.

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Mike Ely @bluesky.taupehat.com · 14/02/2026

But this was still fun. I have to wonder what kind of abuse it took to kill a Volvo 5-cylinder this way. Based on how much leakage around the turbo I'm guessing they ran the motor without oil for a while.

An engine on a junkyard hoist right after being removed from a car.

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