iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Kyle McCowin @cortjstr.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Last week I saw Brian Henson's Puppet Up and it was a very fun improv show that was fascinating to watch. It also made me miss the @pftompkins.bsky.social tv show No You Shut Up. Especially when they brought out the hot dog puppets.

Patrick Bristow in a suit standing on stage in front of dozens of Henson-style puppets hanging on a wall and in bins waiting to be used.

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Kyle McCowin @cortjstr.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

You've reminded me of a car I saw 10 or 15 years ago

A dark Jeep Rubicon parked over the line in a parallel parking space that wasn't fully plowed out. The car's far wheels on on the snow bank.

Across the front windshield is a white sticker that says "compensating" in large capital letters

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Kyle McCowin @cortjstr.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

Post your lock screen! Same as my home screen. Never actually occurred to me to make them different.

Ness from Earthbound at night standing on a cliff with some trees. He is facing 3/4 away from us looking at a starry sky which makes up most of the vertical image

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Kyle McCowin @cortjstr.bsky.social · 29/05/2026

"Like that awful Shel Silverstein?"

The album cover of Shel Silverstein's "Crouchin' on the Outside"

His name and the title are written in the upper left over a photograph of Shel wearing denim on a beach as the surf comes in. His pose is hunched and his bearded jaw is stuck out. I would describe the overall vibe as "infected civilian in a horror movie"

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Kyle McCowin @cortjstr.bsky.social · 23/05/2026

Going to try this out the most obvious way I know how

The Star Trek TOS opening title screen showing the Enterprise in orbit around a blue planet. The title reads "Toxic positivity spores"

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Kyle McCowin @cortjstr.bsky.social · 07/04/2026

Hal's karaoke: youtu.be/0SQXb_46z9o final song with Hal in the background: youtu.be/zR7bDqhczYs

Hal Lublin, Janet Varney, Jiavani, and Oscar Montoya in an improv scene

Janet Varney, Hal Lublin, and Oscar Montoya at the voice acting panel. Hal is wearing a Seattle Supersonics hat

Almost all of the performers of JoCo 2026 giving a thumbs up in the final group photo

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Kyle McCowin @cortjstr.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

@danielleradford.bsky.social Proof that, via headwear, Hal was thinking of your beloved city and therefore you during the "Not the Face!" A Voice Acting Panel event on JoCo

left to right: Janet Varney, Hal Lublin, and Oscar Montoya sitting behind a table on a stage during the "Not the Face!" A Voice Acting Panel event on JoCo Cruise 2026

Hal is wearing a Seattle Supersonics cap.

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Kyle McCowin @cortjstr.bsky.social · 31/03/2026

I say Light from Uncommon Stars is so good that I was a little mad at it. Whatever book I read after it would be so disappointing in comparison. Like she was saying to all other authors "follow *that*!" Also, obligatory photo of @rykaaoki.bsky.social

author Ryka Aoiki holding a t-shirt from the book store One More Page. Ryka is holding the shirt by the sleeves and also gripping it with her teeth.

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Kyle McCowin @cortjstr.bsky.social · 16/03/2026

I hated the Waldo jerseys so much. The new Stripes jersey is such a vast improvement on that concept.

A terrible soccer jersey. White with red stripes including a terribly awkward break for where the number goes.

A white soccer jersey with red stripes that has some character. And no weird gap for the number.

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Kyle McCowin @cortjstr.bsky.social · 04/03/2026

I just used my last stamp from a book of them that I bought in 2015. This week I'm going to go out and buy some Bruce Lee stamps.

A Bruce Lee postage stamp. He's jump kicking the words on the right and they're angled as if he just split a board

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Kyle McCowin @cortjstr.bsky.social · 26/02/2026

I can't decide how I feel about the new kit. It's interesting but it's also so busy (except for the flat green on the back). I feel like the badge gets lost.

front of the Washington Spirit's 2026 cherry blossom jersey. The design is made up of lots of little dots

Back of the 2026 Washington Spirit cherry blossom jersey. The design carries over from the front on the sleeves and part of the back but most of it is a plan green with the player's name and number in pink

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Kyle McCowin @cortjstr.bsky.social · 16/02/2026

This would be a great double-bill with Los Straitjackets

The band Los Straitjackets. One is behind a drum kit and the others hold different types of guitars. All are wearing black suits, thin black ties, and white dress shirt. They each also wear a unique luchador mask.

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Kyle McCowin @cortjstr.bsky.social · 22/01/2026

I saw Taskmaster live last night, it was very fun. One audience member who was briefly on stage was clueless, another was unaware she'd made herself the villain, and the show went 90 minutes over time. I think this was my 3rd time seeing @joshgondelman.bsky.social live in the past year

the stage of the Warner Theatre. Seated are (left to right): Josh Gondelman, Greg Davies, and Little Alex Horne.

Behind theme the video screen shows a Taskmaster task and #TaskmasterWashington (despite the fact that nobody calls the city Washington)

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Kyle McCowin @cortjstr.bsky.social · 14/01/2026

I just realized the battery icon on my laptop changed. My work computer's looks the same so I don't think it's a Windows thing. Is this a Lenovo thing? It's wider, green instead of white, and the heart icon is missing

bottom right portion of the taskbar of a Windows 11 laptop. The battery icon is now green instead of white and is wider

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Kyle McCowin @cortjstr.bsky.social · 07/01/2026

@gumshoesanddragons.bsky.social In 2009 I saw Matthew Lesko in real life at an outdoor art/craft festival called Crafty Bastards. I didn't get a picture of it but his car was a VW Beetle also covered in question marks

the back of Matthew Lesko in his signature question mark suit in 2009

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Kyle McCowin @cortjstr.bsky.social · 02/01/2026

No surprises in my Last.fm stats. www.last.fm/user/CortJstr

903 artists, 1,740 albums, 4,960 tracks
Top artist: Mary Prankster
Top album: Live at the Ottobar

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Kyle McCowin @cortjstr.bsky.social · 01/01/2026

18,023 pages over 69 books For some reason Storygraph didn't make their stats in an easily sharable format. Their catalog is also missing one of my books entirely.

My Goodreads year in review with 69 book covers

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Kyle McCowin @cortjstr.bsky.social · 29/11/2025

Jackie Daytona, Regular Human Bartender

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Kyle McCowin @cortjstr.bsky.social · 20/11/2025

If you like board games and aren't at #BGGcon I'm not sure why? PAXU seems like a pale imitation.

The BGG.con library. It's somewhere between 8-9,000 games

collage of box covers of Orloj, Galaxy Postman, Finspan, and Galileo Galilei

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Kyle McCowin @cortjstr.bsky.social · 06/10/2025

I always have a box of these in the pantry

A box of Cascadian Farm Vanilla Chip granola bars

The ingredients showing the 4th ingredient is vanilla chips (cane sugar, palm kernel oil, sunflower lecithin, vanilla extract)

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Kyle McCowin @cortjstr.bsky.social · 22/09/2025

Who doesn't like a good laptop sticker?

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Kyle McCowin @cortjstr.bsky.social · 19/08/2025

I got a birthday card that @paulandstorm.bsky.social [P] would appreciate.

A yellow birthday card with white writing and no images. It reads: Hope you have the best birthday and that no one sings to you in a public place

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Kyle McCowin @cortjstr.bsky.social · 04/08/2025

I don't think I ever posted a picture of my new kitchen soap pump here. It's from claymonster.net

A soap dispenser that's blue/black glazed pottery shaped like a monster with a wide nose, red horns, and a shit-eating grin

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Kyle McCowin @cortjstr.bsky.social · 29/07/2025

@bclev.bsky.social FYI there's a mistake on the rewards graphic for the new KS. It lists the book as "signed book plate"

Rewards list for the newest Atomic Robo Kickstarter campaign

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Kyle McCowin @cortjstr.bsky.social · 24/07/2025

More people need to be reading Wallace the Brave

A 3 panel comic.
Panel 1: Wallace and Spud walk along the boardwalk
Spud: Step on anything weird yet?
Wallace: Oh, yeah!
Panel 2: Wallace, with stars in his eyes, holds his hands up to a view of space. Earth has a "We are here" sign
Wallace: Just stepping on the Earth is weird! A giant bio-spaceship chasing a nuclear sun through the galaxy
Panel 3: Back on the boardwalk
Spud: You know what I meant
Wallace: Then the answer is manure

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Kyle McCowin @cortjstr.bsky.social · 08/07/2025

Leading up to the museum's construction Virginia had specialty license plates to support it. Looks like you can still get them. For me it was the Enola Gay that made me stop dead.

A sample Virginia license plate with the SR-71 Blackbird on it and the text "National Air and Space Museum Udvar-Hazy Center"

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Kyle McCowin @cortjstr.bsky.social · 02/07/2025

I didn't realize that I could brag to you that they've read my riddles on the pod before. I send in the "add a letter to a book/movie" ones that Erin called Rindles once and it stuck. And as far as their sound board goes this was probably the least-bad option.

Me with the 4 hosts of Hey Riddle Riddle and unfortunate backlighting through a window

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Kyle McCowin @cortjstr.bsky.social · 23/06/2025

If you see this, post an image you saved because it made you laugh. Coming Soon: The Past!

White sign with black text hanging on a red brick wall. The sign reads "Future location of time capsule"

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Kyle McCowin @cortjstr.bsky.social · 12/06/2025

If you've never been to a panel with @scalzi.com moderating it's kind of like this and it's glorious. The "more of a comment" guys never stand a chance.

A Wondermark comic in 5 panels. Two men, Alegg and Herr Doktor, sit behind a desk with placards and microphones. A audience member is standing with a microphone.

Alegg: ... All right, now we'll do some Q+A. Anyone have a question for herr Doktor?
Audience: Not a question, more of a comment... Your discussion about apples reminded me of the time I attended a cider...
Doktor: *Wait* wait wait wait wait wait wait hold up. THIS is the time during which there questions and those questions are to be answered. If *you* wish to make a statement then *I*, ze other parting in this exchange, must provide ze question! Thse are ze *rules*!
Doktor: Here my question for you! You heard Alegg announce "now is ze time for questions" and interpreted that to mean "this is my chance to waste everyone's time by sharing my irrelevant opinion! What is wrong with you that you made that decision and then acted on it?
Audience: Now, I don't think you're being fair to the spirit of...
Doktor: *Answer ze question*

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Kyle McCowin @cortjstr.bsky.social · 10/06/2025

Non action and stop excitement would be a good personal motto for me.

An add for a basketball game that says "non stop action and excitement" but because of poor design looks like it says "non action and stop excitement" The remainder of the image is things like prices and dates and isn't relevant for the joke.

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Kyle McCowin @cortjstr.bsky.social · 20/05/2025

I wasn't aware that Heathcliff was an EarthBound enemy but honestly it should've seen it coming

Today's Heathcliff comic. He's strutting down the sidewalk in sunglasses with a huge toothy grin. On his head is a flowerpot and coming out of that is a sunflower with the same grin and sunglasses. It has a very long stem.
A woman and man sitting nearby are watching, the woman's mouth is open to indicate she's speaking. The caption reads "That looks like trouble."

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Kyle McCowin @cortjstr.bsky.social · 19/05/2025

This felt like a stupidly busy weekend. I got to meet P. Djéli Clark and have him sign my totebag and I bought a watercolor of koi. No idea where I'm going to hang it, though.

A framed watercolor painting of 3 koi. In the top right is a stamp of the artists name and characters he told me read "koi bring wealth"

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Kyle McCowin @cortjstr.bsky.social · 14/05/2025

Thanks to "subpar" and "Homer" both being in this post I'm going to have this song in my head all day. I blame WTTG for showing Simpsons reruns from 6–7 5 days a week for many, many years.

Homer Simpson standing on a chair singing. His family and Shary Bobbins are watching. The caption includes notes to indicate it's sung. The lyrics are "as a husband and father, I'm sub-par"

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Kyle McCowin @cortjstr.bsky.social · 13/05/2025

Was the last really good US National Team kit the sash from ~2010? It's definitely the one I think of most fondly.

US National Soccer Team jerseys. From left to right: Blue with white sash (away), Red with blue sash (3rd), White with grey sash (Home)

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Kyle McCowin @cortjstr.bsky.social · 12/05/2025

I went to Remfest on Saturday and one booth was selling a very @wombatarama.bsky.social poster

A poster called Capybara Catalogue. It features drawings of 25 capybara in various costumes and situations with a label under each. For example one inside a strawberry labeled "capyberry" and one pouring coffee labeled "capybarista"

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Kyle McCowin @cortjstr.bsky.social · 12/05/2025

I get it. A chicken tikka masala burrito is one of my favorite foods

I chicken tikka masala burrito with pickled onions an jalapeño on top. In the background are chips and salsa and a watermelon margarita.

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Kyle McCowin @cortjstr.bsky.social · 26/04/2025

show us the last four albums you listened to #last4albums

cover of Mary Prankster - Live at the Ottobar

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Kyle McCowin @cortjstr.bsky.social · 12/04/2025

@sarahtherebel.bsky.social Well this was a fun surprise to wake up to. When did you know this was happening?

I snip from iTunes showing the April 12, 2025 episode of the podcast Tights & Fights titled "Las Vegas for WrestleMania ft. Sarah the Rebel & TK Trinidad"

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Kyle McCowin @cortjstr.bsky.social · 28/03/2025

Post the first video game you remember playing. 🎮

The box, instructions, and cartridge for the VIC-20 "game" Home Babysitter. It was more an assortment of activities than a game proper.

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Kyle McCowin @cortjstr.bsky.social · 18/03/2025

@malloryomeara.bsky.social The episode isn't out yet but apparently they used my food pantry vs. food bank question for your GFY taping on Sunday. They asked if I could submit a recording but I couldn't because I was on JoCo. I figured you would accept that as an excuse.

Mallory O'Meara holding up a t-shirt for the book store One More Page in Arlington, VA. I am next to her pointing like a goof. We're on the lido deck of a cruise ship, specifically the JoCo Cruise.

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Kyle McCowin @cortjstr.bsky.social · 27/02/2025

If you're looking for a way to not spend money tomorrow considering swinging by One More Page books in Arlington, VA

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Kyle McCowin @cortjstr.bsky.social · 25/02/2025

I've just accepted that this green arrow is a permanent part of the app.

snip of the upper right corner of the Discord application showing the green "Update Ready!" arrow

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Kyle McCowin @cortjstr.bsky.social · 24/02/2025

Repost with the first album you bought with your own money. (I'm not entirely sure what was first but this was definitely one of the first few at least)

cover image of the They Might Be Giants album Flood. There's a man in a homemade boat that seems to be made of buckets and planks using a stick like it's a gondola

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Kyle McCowin @cortjstr.bsky.social · 21/02/2025

Sometimes your timeline just lines up

Two skeets from unrelated users that are unconnected but happened to come up in this order. The older one says "*wearily* please……. Can someone invent a way out that isn’t through……… please I’m dying………" then the newer one says "Keep going!"

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Kyle McCowin @cortjstr.bsky.social · 13/02/2025

I found this at one of my local Asian grocery stores and it's very good but it's also like $5 a bottle. There has to be a store that sells a multipack that's cheaper per unit, right?

a poorly photographed glass bottle of Moshi sparkling yuzu soda

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