iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Chuck Sanders @chucksanders.org · 04/10/2026

Home from the hospital as of last night. My little man Bruce stuck to me like glue. I think he missed me. The hospital is no place for healing and rest, so far I can already tell I’ll be fine, given time, support, and proper pain management.

A grey Mini Schnauzer with a puppy haircut lays on my lap staring up at me with dark eyes and nose. His long black eyelashes are substantial even though they have been trimmed at the groomer.

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Chuck Sanders @chucksanders.org · 26/09/2026

A really nice evening at the DePaul basketball season tip off celebration. If you are in Chicago, come out to Wintrust Arena sometime, these women can play ball! Don’t worry, the men’s team got a turn 😀

The city shines in the background at the DePaul Blue Demons basketball season tip off celebration.
Coach Jill Pizzotti in a grey shirt holds the mic and introduces the women’s 2026-27 roster.

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Chuck Sanders @chucksanders.org · 21/09/2026

It really depends on how much space you are clearing. I picked up a used leaf vac for 100 bucks that’s kinda like a lawn mower. I have used it about once a year, it’s a bit too big for me but it’s super effective, and it’ll chip small branches. It has no exposed blades on the bottom and a big bag.

A Cub Cadet CSV 220 leaf vacuum painted yellow with a black plastic covered engine and front vacuum suction area. It looks a lot like a walk behind mower but it has a larger bag and no blades.

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Chuck Sanders @chucksanders.org · 15/09/2026

Thankfully for me and my like-minded partner, Victorian and Edwardian furniture is so out of style that if you look around, you can purchase beautiful old furniture for dirt cheap. It’s how we furnished our old Victorian home with period correct pieces. That curved glass piece? $50 at an estate sale

The parlor of my home, with period fainting couch, cabinet, and chairs.

A Victorian era curved glass cabinet with beautiful grain patterns

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Chuck Sanders @chucksanders.org · 13/09/2026

I don’t know what kind of party is going on here, but I’m sad I wasn’t invited.

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Chuck Sanders @chucksanders.org · 10/09/2026

My front door along with an interior door upstairs. The knob is plain black porcelain but the plate is lovely. Built in 1889. And I believe it is absolutely okay to have a favorite door knob!

The front door knob from my 1889 Victorian house. It’s pattern consists of an outer circle of horseshoe shaped semicircles, the inner portion is a circle of stylized flower/vines.

An interior black porcelain door knob with a shiny patterned backing plate

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Chuck Sanders @chucksanders.org · 09/09/2026

While not within the city limits, my all time favorite is Villa Nova on Pershing in Stickney. The sausage pizza is just perfect.

A tavern style pizza with two large sausage meatballs on each slice.

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Chuck Sanders @chucksanders.org · 28/08/2026

The hand embellished larger piece you did a while back is hanging in a prominent spot in my office! I preserved about twenty specimens in vials of alcohol. Still look beautiful. I have handed some to friends who appreciate their beauty. The regular ones are nice but Magicicadas are truly special.

A wet preserved Magicicada in a vial of pure alcohol.

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Chuck Sanders @chucksanders.org · 24/08/2026

This beautiful bird flew into my home today! Thanks to @jencmars.bsky.social for the lovely art.

A small side view portrait of a raven, hand painted on a soft toned paper by the talented Jen C Mars. The piece is matted in white and has a black frame.

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Chuck Sanders @chucksanders.org · 18/08/2026

This young guy showed up this afternoon

A young male deer stands in a gravel driveway in front of two cars under grey covers.

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Chuck Sanders @chucksanders.org · 11/08/2026

It’s that time of year again, Chicago folks of a certain age - if you know, you know. It’s too bad this isn’t a thing anymore. The kids in my family used to fight over the free pencil that came in the “Back to School” box of Jay’s potato chips. Not my pic, it was sent to me.

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Chuck Sanders @chucksanders.org · 10/08/2026

In Milwaukee for the Repo Man movie screening with Alex Cox speaking about the move and the Circle Jerks playing live.

A shot from the balcony at the Oriental Theater in Milwaukee, WI.

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Chuck Sanders @chucksanders.org · 09/08/2026

Tavern style with Italian beef and giardiniera, there’s a couple places in Chicago that make them. In Dixon, IL there’s a place called Angelo’s that makes spaghetti pizza that’s awesome. You want carbs? You came to the right place.

A spaghetti pizza missing a few slices. A serving spatula sits next to it in the pan. There’s an abundance of cheese, spaghetti, and meatballs.

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Chuck Sanders @chucksanders.org · 07/08/2026

I had two 125 lb Alaskan Malamutes when I was in my 20s. Besides this vocal behavior, I got the spring and fall undercoat blowout, the incessant pulling while walking them, and stamina for days. They were way more laid back than my friends husky and they were beautiful dogs. Here’s one of them

A large Alaskan Malamute lounges on a Greenberg with a floral pattern.

060

Chuck Sanders @chucksanders.org · 06/08/2026

Oh those were terrible. My kid was just at the right age to want to try those. They were worse that that jar that had alternating parts of peanut butter and jelly. OMG, it’s still available!!!!

A jar of Goober Grape by Smuckers. There are alternating stripes of jelly and peanut butter

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Chuck Sanders @chucksanders.org · 06/08/2026

Negative, I am (unfortunately) not mutuals with Erin, yet I see this on the web client. Firefox on Mac. @erinbiba.bsky.social

Screen shot of this new "Liked by feature" that says 1 quote, 25 likes, and Liked by Erin Biba

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Chuck Sanders @chucksanders.org · 04/08/2026

Peggy Lipton - model, actress, singer. Shown here in the two roles she is most known for. Norma Jennings in “Twin Peaks” and Julie Barnes in “The Mod Squad” What I learned recently is that she is Rashida Jones’ mother. She was married to Quincy Jones from 1974-1990. They had two kids.

Peggy Lipton in “Twin Peaks” as Norma Jennings

“The Mod Squad” cast photo featuring Michael Cole as Peter "Pete" Cochran, Peggy Lipton as Julie Barnes, and Clarence Williams III as Lincoln "Linc" Hayes.

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Chuck Sanders @chucksanders.org · 29/07/2026

I do love and appreciate Hello Kitty, but this is a hard no. A friend in Massachusetts sent me this pic, taken at their local Stop & Shop. @discontinuedfoods.bsky.social I see this as a future feature when it’s discontinued.

A can of Spam, with a red and blue label stating that it’s “Limited Edition Hello Kitty”
Hello Kitty is depicted on the label holding what I assume is a bento box?

020

Chuck Sanders @chucksanders.org · 28/07/2026

I am so sick of hearing the term "biological male" to describe trans girls and trans women. Fuck off with that shit.

A meme based on the classic pic from Pulp Fiction where Samuel L. Jackson is pointing a gun at someone off screen. The text reads "SAY BIOLOGICAL MALE ONE MORE TIME"

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Chuck Sanders @chucksanders.org · 26/07/2026

This is unfortunate. This Save a Lot grocery store at 2858 E 83rd St. in Chicago was modern, clean, and had a great selection of products at decent prices. There’s nothing for miles around besides corner stores. It’s a blow to the local community.

The now shuttered and shut down Save a Lot on 2858 E. 83rd. St. in Chicago. All windows and doors are covered with metal shutters and the parking lot is empty.

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Chuck Sanders @chucksanders.org · 26/07/2026

My partner let our dogs out, one ran right over by some plants, grabbed this guy and dropped him in the yard when she yelled “DROP IT!” He looked dead until I rolled him over. Just a minor scratch, thankfully. I let him curl his tail around my finger and I carried him to the front. Seems okay!

A juvenile opossum curls his tail around my finger. He has a small scratch on his hip but is otherwise okay.

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Chuck Sanders @chucksanders.org · 26/07/2026

These pics are from the construction of the Chicago expressways back in the day. They cut wide swaths through neighborhoods. My grandfather took these pics, and probably about 100 others. He worked as an engineer for the state. @ladytophamcatt.bsky.social @dmercer.bsky.social

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Chuck Sanders @chucksanders.org · 26/07/2026

The business I have consulted for since around 2000 got bought out so I got all my stuff out of my office. The warehouse area is fairly empty except for this working microwave. Analog dial control! I think the “Cuisine Control” dial is a little optimistic. In reality it’s just the temp control.

A 1970s Sanyo “Cuisine Master” microwave

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Chuck Sanders @chucksanders.org · 25/07/2026

Here’s a pic I found online that shows the home screen for BITNET Relay Chat. BITNET also had primitive newsgroups, listservs that would send newsletters, as well as email. Within a couple years, BITNET was dead.

The home screen from BITNET relay chat.

Your host is RELAY@FINHUTC (Finland).
Your last logon was at 08:39:23 on 03/17/89.
There are 67 users on 27 relays.
/HELP
** Relay Commands
/Bye . . . . . ... • Signoff from
Relay
/Channel <num> . . . . . Change to channel <num>
/Contact <host-nick> • Show Relay contact info
/Getop
• •
• Try to summon a Relay
operator
/Help. .
Prints this
list
/Info. .
... Send RELAY INFO
file
/Invite <nick> . . .Invite user to your channel
/Links
• Shows active
relays
/List. ..
•..... List active
channeLs
/Msg <nick> <text>
• Sends private
message
/Nick <newnick>.
•
•
•Change your
nickname
/Names <channel> . .
...Show users with
names
/Rates
. .
•Display message
rates
/Servers <node>... • Show relays serving node

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Chuck Sanders @chucksanders.org · 25/07/2026

My favorite part of those phones was that they were built to last. So when you were angry at someone and wanted to hang up on them with vigor, it was quite satisfying to slam the handset down as hard as you could. The handset also fit perfectly into the acoustic coupler on a 300 baud modem.

An example of a rotary phone with the handset nestled into an acoustic coupler on a very old modem, most likely 300 baud, as that’s about as much as this setup would reliably support.

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Chuck Sanders @chucksanders.org · 25/07/2026

These hydrangeas are loving this weather.

Some hydrangeas that are absolutely loving this weather. Off white puffy flowers with lots of green leaves growing along the side of a house, growing over the walkway

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Chuck Sanders @chucksanders.org · 23/07/2026

I do not remember these at all! And I was in the Evil Ernie/Lady Death "Fiend Club"

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Chuck Sanders @chucksanders.org · 23/07/2026

This surprise batch spontaneously came up around a bird feeder that I’ve been filling with sunflower seeds. Birds being messy eaters, I was gifted these lovely sunflowers.

A surprise sunflower, part of a small patch of sunflowers that spontaneously appeared around the base of a bird feeder that has been filled with sunflower seeds

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Chuck Sanders @chucksanders.org · 22/07/2026

Days like today remind me that Chicago is a beautiful city. Was at Rush University Medical Center for some labs and a visit. It’s so lovely outside.

A shot of Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. The building’s unique architecture stands against a blue sky with puffy clouds

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Chuck Sanders @chucksanders.org · 14/07/2026

I switch over to Buzzr and Tattletales is just starting. Jack Albertson (Grandpa Joe from Willy Wonka, and “The Man” from Chico and the Man) is on the panel. Jack won a Tony, Emmy, and Oscar during his career. And you should watch Chico and the Man just for Freddie Prinze, who was awesome.

A screenshot of Jack Albertson with his wife Wallace on the monitor below him. From the game show Tattletales

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Chuck Sanders @chucksanders.org · 10/07/2026

Yeah what else is new. I’m walking around like Fred Sanford these days.

A screenshot of a notification that says

“Low Walking Steadiness

Your Walking Steadiness continues to be low and you may have an increased risk of falling in the next 12 months.”

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Chuck Sanders @chucksanders.org · 08/07/2026

My travel companion Bruce, out for a drive in one of my silly old cars (Trans Am) to get dinner at a really great local small town place. He was a very good boy and he did have some mashed potatoes and a little piece of chicken as a treat.

A very good mini schnauzer sits in the grey cloth passenger seat of an old Trans Am, waiting to get going. He’s belted in with a harness.

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Chuck Sanders @chucksanders.org · 05/07/2026

I’m extremely lucky to have been chosen by my old man Bruce. By my side always day or night. An excellent travel partner that loves the car. Still a puppy at heart even though he’s around 11. He knows when I’m feeling bad and gives me extra attention.

Bruce the mini schnauzer a while back with a fresh puppy cut for the summer. Lounging as always under a blanket by my side. He loves blankets, particularly my electric blanket in my bed.

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Chuck Sanders @chucksanders.org · 01/07/2026

Perhaps ComEd shouldn’t have made all those sweetheart deals with data centers and made them pay for the actual impact they are having on the grid. Now they are requesting “Immediate Action” from us. Fuck ComEd.

Dear Customer,
We are reaching out with an urgent request.
Prolonged extreme heat has significantly impacted electrical equipment in your area, and demand on the local grid is at a critical level.
Without immediate customer action to reduce energy usage, outages in your community are possible in the hours ahead.
ComEd crews, engineers and system operators are working around the clock - repairing impacted equipment, deploying additional resources and activating every tool available to protect service in your neighborhood.
We Need Your Help - Right Now
To help prevent outages and protect your family, neighbors and community, please reduce your electricity use immediately, and especially between noon and 8 p.m., when demand is highest and the grid is under the greatest strain.
ComEd has also activated its voluntary load reduction program and is asking large commercial and industrial customers to cut their usage as well
- but every household matters.

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Chuck Sanders @chucksanders.org · 26/06/2026

Okay, these haven’t been around for decades, a lot of people won’t even remember them. I just got this pic from a friend. They are legit old school fried apple pies just like they used to make. Quote “THEY ARE DELICIOUS” @discontinuedfoods.bsky.social these might be of interest!

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Chuck Sanders @chucksanders.org · 22/06/2026

30 years ago today, a couple of kids rented a VFW hall and invited friends and family to help celebrate their wedding. There have been many challenges, but we managed to raise an amazing kid, and our partnership has gotten stronger and more resilient each year. I could not imagine life without her

A young couple - a white man in a black suit with short black hair and a white woman with blonde hair in a white wedding dress, stand together while a priest performs a wedding ceremony at a VFW hall. A white man with short dark hair wearing a grey suit (the groom’s brother and best man) looks on from the side.

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Chuck Sanders @chucksanders.org · 16/06/2026

I have a shed that has no electricity and I have no good way to get a line to it. I bought a battery and a 100 watt solar panel and wired up the inside for lights. The results were great. I finished at dusk the night before and by 9 AM the battery charged from 50 to 100%. I have working lighting!

A Bluetti AC50B battery “generator” with its status display showing a solar input of 84 watts and an AC output of 22 watts, which is running a couple bright led lights on the ceiling.

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Chuck Sanders @chucksanders.org · 14/05/2026

I just gave this to my daughter, she’s been laughing a lot. 🙂 “This is great!”

A twenty something white girl with brown hair reads the latest zine from Transplants, this time a parody of Cosmo.

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Chuck Sanders @chucksanders.org · 07/05/2026

You’d think with what they charge for brain surgery, they’d at least shave my entire head so I don’t look like a maniac. 🙄 Staples came out yesterday, everything is healing up, my vision is much better, and I start back on chemo tonight. That part kinda sucks but it’s keeping me alive.

A white man with white hair and glasses looks at the camera. He has a seam stapled together that goes from ear to ear over the top of his head. Only the front half of his head is shaved.

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Chuck Sanders @chucksanders.org · 06/05/2026

Meanwhile, in Chicago… ANUS up! Photo by my partner who loved this and was very excited to share this with me.

A picture of a Chicago pay to park street sign in zone 755 309. Someone has put a black sticker with writing in all white caps that says “ANUS”, so the sign effectively reads “ANUS up at ParkChicago.com”

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Chuck Sanders @chucksanders.org · 06/05/2026

Perhaps the “person of interest” should be the dumbass who set their gun on the toilet tank while they were shitting and then forgot it. What the fuck?

A screenshot from WGN showing a District 214 high school sign with the caption “Person of interest in custody after resource officer loses gun at northwest suburban school”

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Chuck Sanders @chucksanders.org · 01/05/2026

Best name in show business.

Opening credits from “Emergency”

RANDOLPH MANTOOTH
as
Firefighter John Cage

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Chuck Sanders @chucksanders.org · 29/04/2026

You would think common courtesy would eliminate the need for this sign, but here we are in 2026

A sign at the hospital today that reads:

WE KINDLY ASK THAT YOU BE COURTEOUS TO OTHERS AROUND YOU BY NOT USING YOUR MOBILE PHONE
ON SPEAKER.

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Chuck Sanders @chucksanders.org · 23/04/2026

The glass artist deserves an award for this piece.

A person stands at a table wearing a priest/pastor/minister/head conspirator outfit. In front is a couple in “let’s get married” outfits, including a wedding dress and a dark suit.

Behind all this is a large stylized stained glass piece depicting a double penetration sex scene.

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Chuck Sanders @chucksanders.org · 19/04/2026

I kinda wish these still worked on the network. I’m sure I’m looking back with rose tinted glasses, but I remember them being decent sounding, small enough to fit in your pocket, and had decent battery life.

A group of 4 Motorola cell phones, left to right - a Micro T-A-C Elite, Star Tac, RAZR V1 and V2.

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Chuck Sanders @chucksanders.org · 16/04/2026

Hey, I had my major surgery yesterday morning, two surgeons removed two soft tissue tumors, no involvement in the brain. This was not curative, as the margins would involve removing my eye and a lot more tissue. However, it will improve vision and pain and allow me to keep my eye a little longer.

A white man with a white close cut beard and very swollen eyes and face lays in a hospital bed a day after surgery.

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Chuck Sanders @chucksanders.org · 12/04/2026

Sure, the famous deep dish “Chicago” style is fine, but nobody gets that regularly. When locals want to get pizza, we order from a place that serves tavern style thin crust like this, or something slightly thicker. This is from Villa Nova in Stickney. Note the cut and the sausage distribution.

A thin crust 16” sausage pizza, cut tavern style with almost perfectly spaced balls of sausage throughout. Every piece gets two.

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Chuck Sanders @chucksanders.org · 31/03/2026

Yep this is the new normal weather in Chicago now. Weekly hail storms.

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