iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Colton Provias @cprovias.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

I still cannot bring myself to use vertical tabs. Screen real estate is too limited of a resource.

Colton Provias @cprovias.bsky.social · 04/06/2026

I gave @transit.app a try in NYC last week. Really cool and useful! Although it would be even better if it contained station maps. Maybe then people could find the J line in Fulton St.

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Colton Provias @cprovias.bsky.social · 13/02/2026

I just got the last document I need for my taxes. Now I know how Thanos felt when he finally obtained all of the infinity stones.

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Colton Provias @cprovias.bsky.social · 18/01/2026

I generally think I'm a rather benevolent person. I also like making sure my robot vacuum doesn't witness me opening the door so as to prevent it from learning about the outside world.

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Colton Provias @cprovias.bsky.social · 13/01/2026

I always find it safer to bike commute before the evening rush hour than during it after. Starting at 5 pm, the number of cars I see running lights and signs is ridiculously high.

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Colton Provias @cprovias.bsky.social · 02/11/2025

I'm currently visiting Japan and just heard a store use the EAS SAME header (the dissonant tones heard before an emergency weather alert) followed by an announcement of a sale. It actually scared me slightly for a moment thanks to the conditioning around that sound.

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Colton Provias @cprovias.bsky.social · 07/10/2025

News fatigue is real in the current era. However, skipping following the news for a few days is like returning to a series after missing a few seasons.

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Colton Provias @cprovias.bsky.social · 11/09/2025

Wait, TODO lists can actually shrink? I thought that was a myth!

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Colton Provias @cprovias.bsky.social · 07/09/2025

TIL the City of Palo Alto is named after a tree called El Palo Alto, or "The Tall Stick."

Night shot of a large redwood with a train bridge next to it.

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Colton Provias @cprovias.bsky.social · 02/08/2025

Third spaces should make a comeback.

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Colton Provias @cprovias.bsky.social · 20/05/2025

I'm a large fan of the urbanism movement. However, the widespread proliferation of the term "carbrain" sours it a bit. Posts containing the term focus primarily on generating anger and distrust, further deepening existing divides that stymie progress on improving urban systems.

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Colton Provias @cprovias.bsky.social · 06/05/2025

PSA: If a cyclist is holding their arm straight to the left, they are signaling that they are about to turn left. It is NOT a signal to pass on their left. #bikecommuting

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Colton Provias @cprovias.bsky.social · 29/04/2025

While I like Busuu, one issue I have noticed is the occasional overly-zealous language prescriptivist in the comments. I just encountered one exercise where the user correctly used casual speech, only to be derided by a commenter for "clearly poor education" due to a lack of formal grammar.

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Colton Provias @cprovias.bsky.social · 26/04/2025

The entropy of software tends to increase. The rate of increase increases by several orders of magnitude once it is released.

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Reposted by Colton Provias

Aaron D'Souza @aarondsouza.bsky.social · 25/04/2025

With the improved resolution of tennis balls over electrons, scientists can finally observe down to Planck length. Unsurprisingly, everything down there is just made of… well, planks.

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Colton Provias @cprovias.bsky.social · 15/04/2025

If you could have one superpower, what would it be and why is it perfect pitch?

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Colton Provias @cprovias.bsky.social · 30/03/2025

Just had the filesystem on my external RAID1 corrupt. Fortunately I recently set up off-site backup. If it wasn't for that, I'd be SOL. Remember: RAID is not a backup!

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Colton Provias @cprovias.bsky.social · 24/03/2025

To-do lists always seem to become harder to check on the longer they get.

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Colton Provias @cprovias.bsky.social · 05/03/2025

I have found myself suffering from library culture shock recently. My hometown in Pennsylvania had a very small, free library. Its usage was very limited, which was exacerbated by the limited selection it offered. The only thing that appeared to keep it going was its computer and Internet access.

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Reposted by Colton Provias

Joseph R. Lewis 周呂毅 @sanbeiji.com · 02/03/2025

Performed Samaagam with Sarod Grand Master Amjad Ali Khan, Amaan & Ayaan Ali Khan, Amit Kavthekar and the Googler Orchestra. youtu.be/ZxoqqoPdyOY

youtu.be

Samaagam by Amjad Ali Khan

YouTube video by Googler Orchestra

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Colton Provias @cprovias.bsky.social · 17/02/2025

I've been a Duolingo user ever since its beta in 2012. However, Busuu recently is starting to supplant it in my language learning process. Busuu still has some bugs, but the grammar lessons and community are something Duolingo has unfortunately lost over the past few years.

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Colton Provias @cprovias.bsky.social · 27/01/2025

I've recently migrated from regular Android tablets to tablets with e-ink displays. After 1 month, I'm finding that the experience has improved over the previous, even if the color rendering and refresh rates have not.

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Colton Provias @cprovias.bsky.social · 21/01/2025

In December, I helped the Googler Orchestra sync live to an animated film. While I can't post a video of the concert for licensing reasons, I did post a writeup of the process. coltonprovias.com/posts/202501...

coltonprovias.com

Syncing A Live Orchestra to Video

I lead the technical production for the Googler Orchestra, an orchestra comprised of Google/Alphabet musicians. This entails coordinating the technical requirements that a show main demand. Sometimes ...

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Colton Provias @cprovias.bsky.social · 21/01/2025

One of the biggest mistakes in web design is allowing a website to override how scrolling is expected to behave. Scrolling should translate a page vertically or horizontally within the viewport, not scrub through an animation of a product with no vertical motion. #webdesign

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Colton Provias @cprovias.bsky.social · 29/12/2024

Airlines should have jingles that play for announcements like train companies in Europe and Asia. It would make it quicker to judge if an announcement may be relevant to you or not within the first 3 seconds. #flying

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Colton Provias @cprovias.bsky.social · 21/12/2024

United airlines apparently has a feature that shows information on places you are flying over. Who needs an inflight movie when you essentially get to speedrun Wikipedia!

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Colton Provias @cprovias.bsky.social · 19/12/2024

It's that time of year again to start figuring out goals for the next year. I've got some ideas with some centered on writing more. As to if that will pan out, we'll see. At the very least, I've updated my website in preparation.

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Colton Provias @cprovias.bsky.social · 02/09/2024

Restaurants in airports should be required to bring card readers to the table for payment. It's 2024 and handing somebody your card to be run out of your sight shouldn't pass as acceptable anymore.

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Colton Provias @cprovias.bsky.social · 06/07/2023

I'm also on Mastodon at universeodon.com/@cprovias. I've generally been more active there, but I'll try this platform out some as well.

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Colton Provias @cprovias.bsky.social · 06/07/2023

I've finally caught COVID-19. While it isn't fun, it is an interesting learning experience. One terrifying fact so far is that Benzonatate, a cough suppressor, can cause you to choke if you accidentally break a capsule in your mouth. academic.oup.com/jat/article/41/5/4…

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