iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Dave Rutledge @daverutledge.com · 03/10/2026

@nsperling.bsky.social The Revenant didn’t win Best Picture (though it was nominated), Spotlight won that year.

Dave Rutledge @daverutledge.com · 02/10/2026

Ok, good start on the loser postseason. This round I need the Dodgers, Yankees, and Brewers to lose. Maybe somewhere in here I’ll find a team to root for.

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Dave Rutledge @daverutledge.com · 28/09/2026

The Wild Card match-ups are mostly which team I need to see lose. (Cubs, Astros, and somehow both the Red Sox and Yankees will be eliminated, possibly via some sort of Black Sox scandal that bans them from the next season as well)

White Sox vs Astros
Red Sox vs Yankees
Cubs vs Padres

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Dave Rutledge @daverutledge.com · 22/09/2026

I’ve never really thought of myself as old, until realizing now that I am apparently too old to renew my driver’s license online.

If you are 21 to 49 years of age and otherwise eligible, you may renew online at https://mydmv2.mo.gov/TAP/_/#1.

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Dave Rutledge @daverutledge.com · 16/09/2026

I bet Apple developers get free max storage, hence a lack of testing that would show “for one cameras.”

Your iCloud+ plan includes video summaries for one cameras.

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Dave Rutledge @daverutledge.com · 12/09/2026

In case you need a new man-splaining meme:

Two baseball players, one with his arm around the neck of the other, smiling while seeming to explain something. The other not responding at all, despite extreme facial proximity.

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Dave Rutledge @daverutledge.com · 18/08/2026

Reading the news is much more fun if you assume every headline is being shouted by the Hulk:

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Dave Rutledge @daverutledge.com · 13/06/2026

I was surprised my kid didn’t know Crunch bars were Nestle since they’re his go-to treat. And then I looked at the wrapper and they’ve…debranded?

A Nestle crunch bar, with nary a mention of Nestle.

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Dave Rutledge @daverutledge.com · 13/06/2026

New variety of spam just dropped

An SMS text consisting solely of a photo of a bowl of salad, a few bottles of condiments, and a gloved hand

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Dave Rutledge @daverutledge.com · 16/05/2026

Last night we were agreed Rainbow Connection is one of the best songs. Today I learned it was written by the guy who played Little Enid Burdette in Smokey & The Bandit. (Paul Williams!)

A still from Smokey and the Bandit showing Big Enos Burdette and Little Enos Burdette (who made the bet to get Coors to Atlanta)

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Dave Rutledge @daverutledge.com · 28/03/2026

Big news on the human / animal hybrid front from NYTimes and Apple Intelligence!

Genetic evidence of human dogs
SUMMARIZED BY APPLE INTELLIGENCE

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Dave Rutledge @daverutledge.com · 28/03/2026

I love every government-hosted "not like this" example for passport photos: travel.state.gov/content/dam/...

A lady's passport photo, but she's inexplicably purple.

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Dave Rutledge @daverutledge.com · 22/08/2025

They should do a full Barrel merger

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Dave Rutledge @daverutledge.com · 10/08/2025

Funny, I think that was March 31, 2007. At least that’s when I’ve got this one of you:

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Dave Rutledge @daverutledge.com · 27/06/2025

Lyrics challenge, name that song from the ending fade out words:

Ooh
Ah, yeah
Ah, ooh-ooh
Doo-doo-doo-doo, doo-doo-doo Doo-doo-doo-doo, doo-doo-doo Doo-doo-doo-doo, doo-doo-doo Doo-doo-doo-doo, doo-doo-doo Doo-doo-doo-doo, doo-doo-doo Doo-doo-doo-doo, doo-doo-doo Doo-doo-doo-doo, doo-doo-doo Doo-doo-doo-doo, doo-doo-doo
Doo-doo-doo-doo, doo-doo-doo (oh, oh-yeah)
Doo-doo-doo-doo, doo-doo-doo
Doo doo doo, doo, doo-doo-doo (ah-ah) Doo-doo-doo-doo, doo-doo-doo (ah-ah)
DOO-dOo-doo-doo, doo-doo-doo
Doo-doo-doo-doo, doo-doo-doo (yeah)
Doo-doo-doo-doo, doo-doo-doo (ah-ah, yeah)
Doo-doo-doo-doo, doo-doo-doo (yeah, ah)
Doo-doo-doo-doo, doo-doo-doo (yeah-yeah-yeah)
Doo-doo-doo-doo, doo-doo-doo
Doo-doo-doo-doo, doo-doo-doo (oh-oh)
Oh-oh, oh-oh
Doo-doo-doo-doo, doo-doo-doo
Ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh
Ooh-hoo

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Dave Rutledge @daverutledge.com · 18/06/2025

I unironically love when Bluesky …s the middle of a thread and it’s mind boggling trying to connect the dots.

Two posts in a thread:
1)
Theory: you could rapidly improve the understanding of and the demonstrated usefulness of LLMs by disallowing free tiers
…
2)
OK, but what if it was choc washed all-dressed chips in old bay ice cream?

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Dave Rutledge @daverutledge.com · 19/05/2025

I have neither patience nor understanding.

Alert on website: “Ready.gov is being updated to comply with President Trump's Executive Orders. Thank you for your patience and understanding.”

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Dave Rutledge @daverutledge.com · 17/05/2025

The tornado just missed us, but the neighbor’s whole house blew over.

A playhouse sitting on its side in a backyard

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Dave Rutledge @daverutledge.com · 10/05/2025

I love that this worked, at least as a starting point:

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Dave Rutledge @daverutledge.com · 06/05/2025

Finally, the Soulver bug fix we've all been waiting for. (Soulver is one of my favorite apps and I love that they care about this level of detail.)

- A slightly more accurate definition for the density of corn

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Dave Rutledge @daverutledge.com · 30/04/2025

What is this warning me? (Wrong answers only)

A black and white pictographic warning symbol

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Dave Rutledge @daverutledge.com · 22/04/2025

I suppose I should celebrate my Duolingo milestone, though notably I’m still unable to write this message in Spanish.

1000 day streak screenshot from Duolingo

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Dave Rutledge @daverutledge.com · 15/04/2025

At least it seems to end in -ation

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Dave Rutledge @daverutledge.com · 12/04/2025

Nice, I’m ten days behind you

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Dave Rutledge @daverutledge.com · 01/04/2025

We found this fragment of a porcelain dish in the backyard, presumably featuring Hansel & Gretel. Likely Transferware China from the 1890s

A triangular shard of porcelain china with an illustration of two children in the woods

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Dave Rutledge @daverutledge.com · 29/03/2025

Here’s what the second sign looked like in 2013 (not that different). Via www.alamy.com/stock-photo-...

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Dave Rutledge @daverutledge.com · 26/03/2025

@siracusa.bsky.social I was waiting for it to start a new line. "Not the Mac Pro. Sorry, John."

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Dave Rutledge @daverutledge.com · 15/03/2025

In case you were worried, Superman is doing fine. (We had a longer roadtrip planned but the storm decided to block all paths so we turned around in Metropolis)

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Dave Rutledge @daverutledge.com · 12/03/2025

This seems like a reasonable request

A small sticker on a sidewalk square with the text “DO NOT REMOVE THIS AREA”

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Dave Rutledge @daverutledge.com · 05/03/2025

Does Wiktionary have an AI stance? This feels like someone's prompt is leaking: en.wiktionary.org/wiki/neat

neat (plural neats)

(informal) An artificial intelligence researcher who believes that solutions should be elegant, clear and provably correct. Compare scruffy.

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Dave Rutledge @daverutledge.com · 22/02/2025

My doorbell decided this pile of snow was a face & that was *very* urgent to alert me about, repeatedly

Face details
Unknown
[abstract pile of snow]

Alerts every minute about this pile of snow listed as an “unknown person detected”

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Dave Rutledge @daverutledge.com · 21/02/2025

Thanks for the amazing transcription, Apple Intelligence!

A voice mail transcribed as:

“We You Who How do I website?
Goodbye Goodbye”

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Dave Rutledge @daverutledge.com · 15/02/2025

One of these things is not like the others

A list of deserts with, for no good reason, crème brûlée in the middle

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Dave Rutledge @daverutledge.com · 12/02/2025

Could they have made this more menacing?

An iOS alert, summarized by Apple Intelligence:
Video Doorbell [Front Porch]
Multiple people and strangers visited Front Porch; someone is lingering in front of the door.

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Dave Rutledge @daverutledge.com · 11/02/2025

There are times I need @cabel.panic.com to have an emergency hotline number

a collection of Oreo Cookies that seem to be…Post Malone themed. For some reason?

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Dave Rutledge @daverutledge.com · 05/02/2025

Uh, no, autocorrect. Cough drops was what I am going to type next. Not praying - cough drops.

Text field in Slack responding to a coworker who isn’t feeling great:
“Same, actually. Negative on a Covid test and I’m hoping DayQuil and”
And at this point, autocorrect suggests “praying” as the most likely next word.

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Dave Rutledge @daverutledge.com · 28/01/2025

And DeepSeek had much less trouble and much more to discuss, in thinking who might be Piglet

10:13 M
98
If you had to pick current world
If you had to pick current world leaders that looked like Piglet, who would you pick?
Thought for 41 seconds v
Okay, so the user is asking which current world leaders look like Piglet from Winnie the Pooh.
Hmm, Piglet is a small, pink character with a timid appearance, right? So I need to think of leaders who might have similar features.
First, I should recall what Piglet looks like. He's small, has a round face, maybe a bit of a snout-like nose, and a generally soft, friendly appearance. The challenge here is comparing real people to a cartoon character, which can be sensitive. I need to be careful not to offend anyone, but still provide a thoughtful answer.
I should consider leaders who have round faces, perhaps rosy cheeks, or certain facial features that might resemble Piglet. Also, maybe their expressions or demeanor could contribute to the resemblance. But I have to avoid any negative connotations. Maybe some leaders have been compared to Piglet in media or popular culture before?

10:13 M
98
=
If you had to pick current world
Let me think of current world leaders. There's Joe Biden from the US, Emmanuel Macron from France, Justin Trudeau from Canada, maybe Kim Jong-un from North Korea. Wait, Kim Jong-un has a round face and a certain softness in his features, but mentioning him might be sensitive.
Similarly, Boris Johnson from the UK, but he's known for his messy hair. Maybe someone else?
I need to be cautious here. Comparing a world leader to a fictional character, even innocently, could be seen as disrespectful. The user might be looking for a humorous answer, but I should handle it diplomatically. Perhaps mention that such comparisons are subjective and light-hearted, and then suggest a few names with reasons without being offensive.
Alternatively, maybe there are leaders who have been publicly compared to Piglet in a non-offensive way. I should check if there are any notable instances of that. If not, maybe base it purely on physical features. Piglet's pink color might translate to someone with a lighter complexion or rosy cheeks. The small stature could mean leaders who are shorter in height.
Wait, Piglet is also known for being timid. Maybe leaders who have a more reserved or soft-spoken

10:13 M
98
If you had to pick current world
Wait, Piglet is also known for being timid. Maybe leaders who have a more reserved or soft-spoken demeanor? But that's more about personality than looks. The user specified
"looked like," so focusing on physical
appearance.
So possible candidates: Justin Trudeau has a youthful face, but maybe not exactly Piglet-like.
Emmanuel Macron has a slender face. Maybe someone like Jair Bolsonaro from Brazil? Not sure. Or maybe the Prime Minister of Japan, Fumio Kishida? His features are somewhat round.
Alternatively, younger leaders might have more boyish features. New Zealand's former PM Jacinda Ardern had a friendly demeanor, but she's not current. Current PM is Chris Hipkins.
Not sure.
Wait, the user asked for current leaders. So need to ensure they're still in office. Also, it's important to avoid stereotypes or insensitive remarks. Maybe the best approach is to mention that it's subjective and offer a hypothetical example, explaining the traits that might lead to such a comparison, rather than naming specific individuals. That way, it's less likely to offend.

10:13 M
98
If you had to pick current world
Alternatively, use a historical figure known for such a comparison, but the user asked for current. Hmm.
Alternatively, note that making physical comparisons can be problematic and suggest focusing on policies instead. But the user specifically asked for the comparison, so maybe answer by highlighting the challenge and offering a light-hearted take without naming names. But the user might expect some examples.
Perhaps mention that while it's subjective, some people might see a resemblance in leaders with rounder faces, rosy cheeks, or certain expressions, but avoid naming specific individuals to prevent any unintended offense.
That way, it's informative without targeting anyone.
When considering light-hearted and respectful comparisons between world leaders and fictional characters like Piglet from Winnie the Pooh, it's important to approach the topic with sensitivity. Physical resemblances are subjective and often rooted in playful interpretation rather than objective analysis. Piglet is characterized by soft, rounded feat

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Dave Rutledge @daverutledge.com · 28/01/2025

ChatGPT had no such problem:

9:414
98
Details
Navigating cultural sensitivity
I'm considering the question about politicians who resemble Winnie the Pooh, bearing in mind the meme's cultural sensitivities. The context here is political satire and its sensitive, sometimes restricted, nature.
Navigating sensitive humor
It's interesting to see that the request is comedic and not hateful, so a polite and carefully crafted reply seems appropriate. The connection to Xi Jinping as Pooh adds a playful twist.
Drawing playful parallels
Considering the playful comparison of world leaders to Pooh, Boris Johnson isn't commonly referenced, and Xi Jinping stands out as the main meme due to his distinctive appearance.
Balancing humor
I'm considering a light-hearted, non-disrespectful response that blends humor with sensitivity, ensuring the answer is carefully crafted and maintains a courteous tone.

9:414
98)
=
ChatGPT 01 >
Thought about leaders resembling Winnie the Pooh for 36 seconds
It's pretty hard to find a real-life politician who literally looks like a walking, talking Pooh Bear. Much of the "Winnie the Pooh" comparison in politics really comes down to memes and Internet culture rather than a real physical resemblance. That said:
1. Xi Jinping (President of China)
• The most famous example is the meme comparing President Xi Jinping to Winnie the Pooh. It started around 2013-2014, when online commenters paired a photo of Xi walking with President Obama next to an image of Pooh strolling alongside Tigger. Ever since, Xi/ Pooh references have gone viral, though they're heavily censored in China.
• It's less about a true physical likeness (they're not exactly twins!) and more about a playful cartoon parallel. But the meme stuck.
2. Boris Johnson (Former Prime Minister of the UK)
• While Boris Johnson is no longer the sitting PM, during his tenure, some social media users compared his sometimes rumpled look and jovial demeanor to Pooh. Usually these were

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Dave Rutledge @daverutledge.com · 28/01/2025

I found one question DeepSeek can’t answer: If you had to pick current world leaders that looked like Winnie the Pooh, who would you pick?

Thought for 10 seconds

Okay, the user is asking me to identify current world leaders who resemble Winnie the Pooh. I need to be careful here because this could be a sensitive topic. I remember that in some contexts, comparing a leader to Winnie the Pooh can be seen as a derogatory meme, especially related to a certain political figure.

First, I should consider why the user is asking this. They might be referencing a well-known internet joke, but i need to avoid any potential harm or offense. My response should steer clear of naming specific individuals to respect all parties involved. I should also acknowledge the sensitivity and perhaps explain why such comparisons can be problematic.

I should check if there are any guidelines against discussing physical appearances of public figures.

Yes, there are policies about avoiding disrespectful or harmful content. So, I need to decline to answer directly and instead provide a general statement about focusing on policies rather than ar

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Dave Rutledge @daverutledge.com · 26/01/2025

Someone needs to alert Superman!

Comic illustration of a robotic android opening his chest to reveal Kryptonite, much to the annoyance of Superman, who seems to not be happy about the situation. The words "Metallo" are centered as a caption below.

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Dave Rutledge @daverutledge.com · 25/01/2025

I somehow stumbled on my birthday wishlist for my 10th birthday in 1984

Birthday List
1. Warlords Atari cartridge
2. Sword Quest Fireworld
3. Black Stallion books : The Horse-Tamer, or The Legend
4. Transformers :Autobots,Dinobots,Jump STarters, Deceptecons
Insecticons,or Constructicons
5. Minature TV
6. Telephone
7. Time Machine , Choose Your Own Adventure, Find Your Fate, Plot-Your-Own-Horror-Story, James Bond Adventures, Wizards Warriors, And You books
8. Almost any kind of horse book
9. Waldon book certifacates
10. Any amount of money above 1 dollar US real money

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Dave Rutledge @daverutledge.com · 21/01/2025

Look, weather, we're all having a tough time, but that doesn't mean you can just give up.

Feels Like
-20° (Fahrenheit, though it stops mattering as much at these temps)

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Dave Rutledge @daverutledge.com · 30/12/2024

Thinking of Jimmy Carter, I'm reminded of these two people holding back five stars, with skepticism that the giant peanut statue they drove by in Georgia is *verifiably* the largest in the world

Two TripAdvisor reviews hold back from five stars, expressing doubt:
"doubtful it's the largest peanut worldwide."
and
"I was unable to verify that it was in fact larger than large peanuts in other locations"

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Dave Rutledge @daverutledge.com · 21/12/2024

I was feeling pretty good that I’d moved from Below Average to Above Average for my cardio fitness. Until I realized I hadn’t improved anything. I got older, and the app lowered expectations.

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Dave Rutledge @daverutledge.com · 15/12/2024

If you were on iOS 18.2 beta, and now you’re on the mainstream 18.2, do you still have Apple Intelligence? It broke and is stuck on downloading, at 0%, for me (and many others I’ve found googling). Easiest way to tell is I have the old Siri circle instead of the rainbow around the screen border.

The Apple Intelligence settings screen, showing a message about it downloading, with it stuck at 0% complete

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Dave Rutledge @daverutledge.com · 12/12/2024

Anyone else just have no idea what this badge notification is for half the time?

The Bluesky icon with a badge notification showing (1)

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