iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

David Anaxagoras @davidanaxagoras.com · 02/10/2026

First of all, it was October...

“last night of the month. And if it’s around October twentieth and everything smoky-smelling and the sky orange and ash gray at twilight, it seems Halloween will never come in a fall of broomsticks and a soft flap of bed-sheets around corners.
But one strange wild dark long year, Halloween came early.
One year Halloween came on October 24, three hours after midnight.
At that time, James Nightshade of 97 Oak Street was thirteen years, eleven months, twenty-three days old. Next door, William Halloway was thirteen years, eleven months and twenty-four days old. Both touched toward fourteen; it almost trembled in their hands.
And that was the October week when they grew up overnight, and were never so young any more....”

Excerpt From
Something Wicked This Way Comes
Ray Bradbury

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David Anaxagoras @davidanaxagoras.com · 19/09/2026

Welcome to the world, Hot Ranch Loaded Wedges.

Headline: Woman Gives Birth to Baby Boy in a KFC Parking Lot, and What She Names Him Couldn’t Be More Fitting

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David Anaxagoras @davidanaxagoras.com · 11/09/2026

Pervert glasses? Apple watch eavesdropping? I have the perfect solution.

Maxwell Smart and the Chief sitting under a large transparent plastic dome known as "the cone of silence" from the TV show Get Smart.

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David Anaxagoras @davidanaxagoras.com · 09/09/2026

I feel like Michael Caine is trying to tell me something.

Two men having an argument. Caption: "Yelling: Plays aren't there until some asshole writes them!"

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David Anaxagoras @davidanaxagoras.com · 06/09/2026

Just what the hell goes on at these renaissance festivals?

Headline: Country jail to get $9.6M for expansion, repairs ahead of Texas Renaissance Festival

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David Anaxagoras @davidanaxagoras.com · 28/08/2026

This high praise from the AI search summary is impressive when you consider how little Ladd has to work with. His repair shop runs mostly on salvage, is in the post-apocalypse, and entirely fictional. He still gets the job done!

AI Slop Search Summary: "Ladd's Robot Repair has received positive feedback for it's quick and efficient service, with customers praising professionalism and communication throughout the repair process. Many clients recommend this service for its reliability and quality of work. [unrelated source links]

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David Anaxagoras @davidanaxagoras.com · 27/08/2026

25 DAYS OF ROBOTS—DAY 25: Giant Robo Johnny Sokko and his Flying Robot (1967) I desperately wanted my own giant metal protector who could fight giant rubber monsters. So I gutted a cheap Timex watch and converted it into a “radio control” for Giant Robo. All I needed was the robot.

Giant metal robot with red accents wearing what looks like an ancient Egyptian headdress. Image: Johnny Sokko and His Flying Robot (1967) / TV Tokyo.

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David Anaxagoras @davidanaxagoras.com · 26/08/2026

25 DAYS OF ROBOTS—DAY 24: Iron Giant The Iron Giant (1999) The Giant refuses his makers' programming. In the end, he chooses who to be. He chooses love over fear, life over destruction. His final act isn't just a sacrifice., it's his ultimate becoming.

A large robot looks down at us with a concerned look while a missile rises in the red skies above. Image: The Iron Giant (1999) / Warner Brothers.

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David Anaxagoras @davidanaxagoras.com · 25/08/2026

25 DAYS OF ROBOTS—DAY 23: Gort The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) Klaatu barada nikto.

Foreground: Closeup head and shoulders of giant metal robot featuring a visor. Background: A woman sits among geometric shadows, watching the robot. Image: The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) / 20th Century-Fox

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David Anaxagoras @davidanaxagoras.com · 24/08/2026

25 DAYS OF ROBOTS—DAY 22: Robot Zathura (2005) Finally, after 21 days of robots being tragically trapped in their programming, Zathura offers a radical solution: REPROGRAM

Enormous metal robot with eyes glowing red. A boy holds up a small game card featuring a stylized "Z". Image: Zathura (2005) / Columbia Pictures.

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David Anaxagoras @davidanaxagoras.com · 23/08/2026

25 DAYS OF ROBOTS—DAY 21: Maximilian The Black Hole (1979) Robot Blenderhands.

A deep red armored robot with a spinning blade weapon hands aboard a futuristic spaceship. Image: The Black Hole (1979) / Disney.

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David Anaxagoras @davidanaxagoras.com · 23/08/2026

Logitech MX Master. This is the only mouse my large hand can tolerate. See that aggressive hump? It jumps right up into your palm. www.logitech.com/en-us/shop/p...

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David Anaxagoras @davidanaxagoras.com · 22/08/2026

25 DAYS OF ROBOTS—DAY 20: Grandma "I Sing the Body Electric"—The Twilight Zone (1959) Grandma is a rarity: a female-presenting robot who isn't a male fantasy, threat, or tragedy. Her indestructibility creates space for Anne to grieve and trust again. When the job is done, Grandma knows to let go.

A grandmotherly android lying on the street, one hand outstretched. Image: The Twilight Zone (1959) / Cayuga / CBS

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David Anaxagoras @davidanaxagoras.com · 21/08/2026

25 DAYS OF ROBOTS—DAY 19: Fembots Six Million Dollar Man (1974) The perfect women. Programmable, obedient, and as beautiful or as deadly as John Houseman chooses to make them. Stronger than bionics and also good at dialing a telephone for you.

A female-presenting robot with long dark hair, neck scarf and brown blouse. Her "face" has been removed revealing the circuitry underneath, along with unsettling human-like blue eyes and a speaker mouth. Image: Six Million Dollar Man (1974) / Universal Television.

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David Anaxagoras @davidanaxagoras.com · 20/08/2026

25 DAYS OF ROBOTS—DAY 18: Dewey Silent Running (1972) is one of the most tree-hugging movies ever made, but technology isn't the bad guy. Nature is failed by humans who just stop caring. In the end, our last hope is a little robot drone who might take better care of the trees than we did.

A small, squat, boxy gray service robot with short orange legs, stands alone inside a greenhouse. A watering can sits on the grass nearby. Image: Silent Running (1972) / Trumbull/Gruskoff Productions.

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David Anaxagoras @davidanaxagoras.com · 19/08/2026

25 DAYS OF ROBOTS—DAY 17: Atom Pluto (2023) Pluto reinvents Astro Boy. Atom is a sweet, earnest little boy who happens to be one of the most powerful robots on Earth. Urasawa doesn't make him darker to make him deeper. Atom's kindness, empathy and vulnerability are his superpowers.

Close-up cast in warm sunlight of Atom, a young anime robot boy with short black hair featuring characteristic cowlicks and a red shirt, looking up with a sad expression. Tears well in his brown eyes and stream down his dirt-streaked face. Rocky ground fills the background.. Image: Pluto (2023) / Studio M2.

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David Anaxagoras @davidanaxagoras.com · 18/08/2026

25 DAYS OF ROBOTS—DAY 16: Protectors Chopping Mall (1986) Could anything be more 80s than the unholy love child of ED-209 and Johnny 5 protecting a shopping mall? Chopping Mall has it all: killer robots, lasers, synths, teens, corporate hubris. We can't let The Orange Julius fall to the commies!

A squat metallic security robot on tank treads patrols an empty shopping mall at night. Its head has a glowing red visor. Sparks scatter across the floor beneath it; an escalator, storefronts, lampposts, and potted plants are visible in the background. Image: Chopping Mall (1986) / Concorde / Trinity.

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David Anaxagoras @davidanaxagoras.com · 17/08/2026

25 DAYS OF ROBOTS—DAY 15: ED-209 RoboCop (1987) RoboCop is pure science fiction. Privatized public services, militarized police, lethal autonomous weapons, algorithmic decision-making, corporate immunity, and a product killing someone without jeopardizing the contract. Anyway, cool robot.

A massive armored bipedal robot with a squat, headless body and large cannons in place of arms dominates the foreground of a corporate conference room. Executives and technicians stand behind it, dwarfed by the robot’s enormous size. Image: RoboCop (1987) / Orion Pictures.

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David Anaxagoras @davidanaxagoras.com · 16/08/2026

25 DAYS OF ROBOTS—DAY 14: The Gunslinger Westworld (1973) The Gunslinger is programmed to be a relentless killer who isn't actually allowed to kill. He doesn't turn evil or rebel—the park safety systems fail. And he keeps doing his job…perfectly.

Close-up of Yul Brynner as an android gunslinger with his faceplate removed, exposing inner wiring and electronics. Image: Westworld (1973) / MGM

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David Anaxagoras @davidanaxagoras.com · 15/08/2026

25 DAYS OF ROBOTS—DAY 13: Johnny 5 Short Circuit (1986) is very 80s: Steve Guttenberg, Ally Sheedy, horrific brownface, and a charming, child-like Syd Mead robot BUILT FOR DESTRUCTION. Johnny 5 stood out because he was clearly not a guy in a metal suit. He didn’t need to look human to win me over.

A metallic robot with a boxy head, large round camera eyes, expressive metal eyebrows, stands in a warmly lit kitchen facing a woman seen from behind. The robot holds a can of soup in one hand. Image: Short Circuit (1986) / The Turman-Foster Company

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David Anaxagoras @davidanaxagoras.com · 14/08/2026

25 DAYS OF ROBOTS—DAY 12: Canti FLCL (2000) Male adolescence is having to deal with an uncontrollable protrusion growing from your body after getting smashed in the head by a Vespa-riding woman, from which eventually emerges a medical robot with a TV head who battles a giant mechanical hand.

A dramatic angle of a red animated robot with a TV-monitor head in the middle of a fight, surrounded by debris. Image: FLCL (2000) / FLCL Production Committee.

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David Anaxagoras @davidanaxagoras.com · 13/08/2026

25 DAYS OF ROBOTS—DAY 10: V.I.N.CENT. & BO.B. The Black Hole (1979) These two helpful, friendly, floating robot companions were a welcome respite from the menacing, dangerous and deadly robots stalking the USS Cygnus. Their round symmetrical form factor inspired a robot in one of my early stories.

Two roughly spherical floating metal robots with red accents and large cartoonish eyes face each other in a nondescript corridor. One appears heavily worn and battered with dents and exposed wires. Image: The Black Hole (1979) / Walt Disney Productions.

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David Anaxagoras @davidanaxagoras.com · 12/08/2026

25 DAYS OF ROBOTS—DAY 10: 2-XL My very own robot companion. He was inanimate but played interactive 8-track cartridges. When I shared 2-XL with fellow robot admirer and Glitch Techs's co-creator Dan Milano, it helped inspired his vocal performance for BITT, the helpful robot character on the show.

Photo of a 2-XL toy robot, a white and putty-colored molded plastic robot with black, yellow and red details and an 8-track cartridge player built in. Image: “2-XL Robot,” Science Museum Group. © The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum. CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. Source: collection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/objects/co8577216/2-xl-robot

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David Anaxagoras @davidanaxagoras.com · 11/08/2026

25 DAYS OF ROBOTS—DAY 9: M.A.R.K. 13 Hardware (1990) 90s industrial grunge arrived in full glory with M.A.R.K. 13, a relentless T-800-inspired post-apocalyptic killer robot. I first saw Hardware under…altered circumstances…that no doubt enhanced the movie's nightmarish, hallucinatory atmosphere.

The metal skull of a killer robot features glowing red eyes and is painted with an American flag motif. Set under dark, moody lighting and a grungy industrial atmosphere. Image: Hardware (1990).

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David Anaxagoras @davidanaxagoras.com · 10/08/2026

25 DAYS OF ROBOTS—DAY 8: Alicia The Twilight Zone (1959): “The Lonely” Alicia is loving, emotional, made to serve a lonely man. When no longer needed, a man shoots her in the face & discards her like garbage. Is this about a man mistaking a machine for a woman or men treating a woman like a thing?

A white woman with flowing long dark hair lies on the rocky desert ground, her face blown open reveling wires and various electronics. Image: The Twilight Zone (1959), "The Lonely"

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David Anaxagoras @davidanaxagoras.com · 09/08/2026

25 DAYS OF ROBOTS—DAY 7: HECTOR Saturn 3 (1980) A chromed-out skeletal murderbot before T-800. I was too young to see Saturn 3, so Hector existed for me only in the pages of Starlog. In my imagination he grew even more terrifying. Worse, he had no head—nothing human that might make him relatable.

A skeletal chrome robot with exposed wiring and a small instrument assembly where a head should be faces a man in a green jumpsuit in the dark corridor of a research station. Image: Saturn 3 (1980) / ITC Entertainment.

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David Anaxagoras @davidanaxagoras.com · 08/08/2026

25 DAYS OF ROBOTS—DAY 6: D.A.R.Y.L. D.A.R.Y.L. (1985) Like all kids, Daryl just wants to belong. He never has to prove he's real. His best friend Turtle loves him, so we love him. When scientists try to reclaim him, we already know what they can't see: he's a scared little boy who needs love.

A boy in a hospital gown lies on an inclined slab while a being scanned by a large medical device. Image: D.A.R.Y.L. (1985) / Paramount Pictures.

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David Anaxagoras @davidanaxagoras.com · 07/08/2026

25 DAYS OF ROBOTS—DAY 5: GIR Invader Zim (2001) Enthusiastic and cheerful robot built from discarded parts and passed off as "advanced". Loyal, hard-working…and high maintenance. GIR was a big influence for a robot in a sequel to this month's Lightspeed story (see top of thread).

An animated child-sized metal robot with a large head, protruding eyes, small body, and cyan lights/accents. Image: Invader ZIM (2001) / Nickelodeon Animation Studio

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David Anaxagoras @davidanaxagoras.com · 06/08/2026

25 DAYS OF ROBOTS—DAY 4: EG-6 Power Droid Gonk (Gonk) Gonk Gonk Gonk Gonk Gonk Gonk. Gonk Gonk Gonk Gonk Gonk Gonk Gonk. Gonk Gonk? Gonk.

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David Anaxagoras @davidanaxagoras.com · 05/08/2026

25 DAYS OF ROBOTS—DAY 3: Yoyo Holmes & Yoyo (1976) Robot detective Yoyo was indestructible…and funny. I wanted to be him. I made an access panel from cardboard, wire, and a calculator, taped it to my chest under my shirt, and wore it to school all day. No one knew I'd secretly become a robot.

Two men in an office. One is seated and talking on the phone. His chest has an open utility panel that reveals he is a robot. Image: Holmes and Yoyo (1976) / Heyday Productions / Universal Television.

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David Anaxagoras @davidanaxagoras.com · 04/08/2026

25 DAYS OF ROBOTS—DAY 2: Fixers *batteries not included (1987) Tech-inflected cobbler's elves. They represent hope that help will come when needed. I cannibalized my Millennium Falcon model to create my own tiny bot companions. Was informed they could not come with us out to dinner.

A small disc-shaped metallic robot with glowing blue orbs like eyes floats in the middle of a kitchen at night. Photo: *batteries not included (1987) / Universal / Amblin

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David Anaxagoras @davidanaxagoras.com · 03/08/2026

25 DAYS OF ROBOTS—DAY 1: BOX Box had one job: freeze food for humans. When the food ran out, he froze the humans. Alone, he made companions of frozen birds and heard them sing when the wind blew. Box was terrifying...and tragic. Even as a kid, I understood his loneliness.

A silver reflective humanoid robot with a box-like body and rounded head stands with arms outstretched in a dramatic gesture inside a frozen cave.

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David Anaxagoras @davidanaxagoras.com · 03/08/2026

25 DAYS OF ROBOTS In anticipation of my @lightspeedmagazine.com novelette "Ladd's Robot Repair" going live on 8/27, I'm sharing 25 robots that have fired my imagination. Some are cute. Some are terrifying. Most are just trying to do the job they were given—even after the job is no longer needed.

Cover of Lightspeed magazine Issue 195 (August 2026), featuring an astronaut-like figure standing on cliff, facing a large floating structure glowing with blue lights. Another figure is suspended in mid-air beneath the structure.

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David Anaxagoras @davidanaxagoras.com · 24/07/2026

Just look at Tyrone Power, man. I SAID LOOK AT HIM!

Tyrone Power crosses swords with Basil Rathbone in The Mark of Zorro (1940).

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David Anaxagoras @davidanaxagoras.com · 16/07/2026

Nolan's The Odyssey continues the long proud Hollywood tradition of keeping Greeks out of foundational Greek myths and epics.

Screen capture from Jurassic Park with modified caption: "Now, eventually you plan to have GREEKS IN your GREEK EPIC, right?"

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David Anaxagoras @davidanaxagoras.com · 12/06/2026

This movie gets better every time I watch it.

A young woman holds a glowing orb and exclaims, "I can feel it likes to be held."

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David Anaxagoras @davidanaxagoras.com · 08/06/2026

Oh. In case you want your kid to smell like vengeance, I guess.

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David Anaxagoras @davidanaxagoras.com · 08/06/2026

I swear I thought that was the Batman symbol for a sec. "Gotham Noir by the Dark Knight. With notes of rain-soaked alleys, spilled pearls, and childhood trauma."

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David Anaxagoras @davidanaxagoras.com · 27/05/2026

Do you use Best Pravdest for your Boormensid Pravides? If you aren't filing all your Fimall under Choir.Higge maybe you should!

AI slop illustration of file folders labeled with AI nonsense

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David Anaxagoras @davidanaxagoras.com · 26/05/2026

June 5, 10 AM Central: Join me at the Nebula Awards Conference for a virtual panel—"How To Get Your Next Big Break as a Speculative Fiction Author" with me, @wtalabi.com, @joycereynoldsward.bsky.social, @reasie.bsky.social, and Stewart Baker.

10:00 AM – 11:00 AM, (Virtual) Panel 2-8 – How to Get Your Next Big Break As A Speculative Fiction Author

With Wole Talabi, Stewart Baker, Marie Vibbert, David Anaxagoras, and Joyce Reynolds-Ward.
Authors are always looking for the next mountain to climb, a way to break out of the rut they’re in and level up. Successful authors are joined by Nebula finalists share their own struggles and successes, and discusses how to break old patterns and build yourself a bigger career as an SFF writer.

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David Anaxagoras @davidanaxagoras.com · 23/05/2026

OTD four years ago I ate five Taco Bell Mexican pizza's in one sitting.

A stack of four Taco Bell mexican pizza boxes waiting to be eaten, and one open box with a 1/2 mexican pizza remaining.

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David Anaxagoras @davidanaxagoras.com · 21/05/2026

chaOS Terminal -- now with themes.

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David Anaxagoras @davidanaxagoras.com · 21/05/2026

Building v0.2.2 of my post-apocalyptic terminal simulator game, chaOS. If your scans reveal a spike in radiation, your terminal output will become corrupted by radioactivity, but the effects gradually fade. Also, your feed gets slammed with targeted ads related to radiation.

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David Anaxagoras @davidanaxagoras.com · 18/05/2026

I’m teaching myself Python and building a weird terminal simulator game set in the world of my upcoming post-apocalyptic novelette "Ladd's Robot Repair." You pilot a glitchy walker through the ruins of the Tumbledown. Very much a prototype, but I’m having a blast. #gamedev #indiedev

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