iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Dread Pirate Zed @dreadpiratezed.bsky.social · 13/10/2026

This is the only red triangle I trust

Dread Pirate Zed @dreadpiratezed.bsky.social · 13/10/2026

A picture from the road this evening; the sky ahead was much darker than it appears here, and the sliver of rainbow really popped.

Eastbound on the 210, driving from clear skies into heavy rain. A shaft of sunlight and a sliver of rainbow are up ahead.

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Dread Pirate Zed @dreadpiratezed.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

Had to go to my archived Xitter to be sure, but I remember being pretty happy to vote for him for totally-unrelated reasons... (Here's the link from the screenshot: www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJxr...)

Screenshot of (downloaded, no-longer-active) tweet from 4 Nov 2022:
"Shall Associate Justice of the Supreme Court Joshua P. Groban be elected to the office for the term provided by law?"
(Yes, I _know_ it's a different Josh Groban. Shut up.)

with a YouTube link to Josh Groban singing "You Raise Me Up"

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Dread Pirate Zed @dreadpiratezed.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

It's candy corn season again, and you know what that means:

Some idiot in a black hat and shirt, displaying a scary expression and terrifying candy corn fangs

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Dread Pirate Zed @dreadpiratezed.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

The shift in monitor aspect ratios has been a pet peeve of mine for decades - shorter but wider monitors are less useful for, y'know, getting WORK done - and stealing even more off the bottom just seemed cruel. This layout looks weird at first, but trust me: you'll grow to love it.

Screenshot of Windows 11, 26H2 desktop with the taskbar relocated to the left side of the screen, freeing up 1/2" of extra space at the bottom

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Dread Pirate Zed @dreadpiratezed.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

It's a little bittersweet - because he was already old and arthritic, hence his wearing my warmup - but Chudik was just amazingly sweet, and this picture captures him pretty well.

A black Lab/shepherd mix dog is stretched out on the kitchen floor, looking soulfully up at his favorite person (my sweetie). He's wearing a man's white and black warmup jacket with the cuffs rolled up.

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Dread Pirate Zed @dreadpiratezed.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

A blast from the past: my 20-year old butt digging out a stump while my soon-to-be (now ex-) BIL watches

Skinny white boy (oh, how I wish I were still that skinny) shows remarkably poor shovel technique while digging a stump out of a front lawn. He's wearing a black T-shirt and ragged blue jeans. Another white boy, in black hoodie and shorts and red Vans, squats in the background observing. Both of them need a haircut desperately.

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Dread Pirate Zed @dreadpiratezed.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Stumbled across pictures from a trip to Péru back in 2012; couldn't resist this dog on a Lima sidewalk:

Dog of indeterminate ancestry - beagle mix? - squatting on a sidewalk, wearing a rainbow knitted cap, several scarves, and a pair of wire-rimmed glasses.

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Dread Pirate Zed @dreadpiratezed.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

I've been cracking up over it for weeks, so I decided to actually make a sign for it:

Two outline cartoon roosters holding microphones and apparently singing; caption is "Cock-a-doodle Deux: Karaoke @ Los Dos Gallos"

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Dread Pirate Zed @dreadpiratezed.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

🎶He likes to keep his fire engine clean It's a clean machine 🎶

Vintage Mack fire engine at Santa Monica Fire Station #1

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Dread Pirate Zed @dreadpiratezed.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

White Sun of the Desert (Yuri Gagarin famously watched this movie the night before AND stopped to pee on the tire of the truck taking him to the launchpad; both things are now tradition.)

Russian movie poster for "Белое Солнце Пустыни", starring Anatoliy Kuznetsov

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Dread Pirate Zed @dreadpiratezed.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Well, poop. Who knew a PNG with a transparent background would turn completely black when uploaded to Bluesky?

PNG that says:
IN THIS HOUSE
we don't throw away
PERFECTLY
GOOD FOOD.
we wrap it up carefully,
keep it in the refrigerator until it's inedible,
THEN
we throw it away.

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Dread Pirate Zed @dreadpiratezed.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Couldn't resist wasting a few minutes in Inkscape (I think I'll put this up on the fridge for a while)

PNG with transparent background that says:
IN THIS HOUSE
we don't throw away
PERFECTLY
GOOD FOOD.
we wrap it up carefully,
keep it in the refrigerator
until it's inedible,
THEN
we throw it away.

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Dread Pirate Zed @dreadpiratezed.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Saw this at karaoke and burst out laughing, had to share. The actual line is "even the simple things"; Party Tyme have managed to make Melissa Manchester much freakier (laudatory) than I ever thought she was.

Picture of Party Tyme Karaoke's version of Melissa Manchester "Midnight Blue", showing the line "Even the sinful things become rough / Haven't we had enough"

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Dread Pirate Zed @dreadpiratezed.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

If I worked at Microsoft, I'm not sure I could resist the temptation to replace "computer" with "shirt" or "hair"

Picture of Windows Update nearing completion, saying "You're 100% there. Please keep your computer on."

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Dread Pirate Zed @dreadpiratezed.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

At first I was completely horrified - but I clicked through and discovered that it stands for "Cybersecurity Awareness Month". Whew!

Screenshot of an email subject line from Dark Reading Webinars:
"Your 4-week CSAM plan is ready - join us next week"

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Dread Pirate Zed @dreadpiratezed.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

A fairly handsome piece of hardware, really; pity it's a nearly instant headache generator. Thank dog I'm not prone to seizures.

Hunter ceiling fan with dark wood blades, showing all the bright shiny reflective bits that make it an absolute stroboscopic nightmare should you dare to turn on the light and fan at the same time

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Dread Pirate Zed @dreadpiratezed.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

Just did the last two (one green/chicken, one red/pork) and they're even better, in a way this picture sadly does not capture. In any case: if you've got cold leftover tamales, this is The Way.

Two tamales on a plate, still hot from being pan-fried in brown butter. On the left, the chicken-in-green-chile tamal has broken open to show its contents, while the pork-in-red-chile tamal has maintained its structural integrity. Harsh lighting and a poorly-chosen white balance hide the golden brown crust on both tamales, and no picture could convey how good they taste.

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Dread Pirate Zed @dreadpiratezed.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

5 libraries where I actually have a card; 17 newly-available partner libraries. Dag nab.

Your Libraries:
Los Angeles Public Library
Santa Monica Public Library
LA County Library
Pasadena Public Library
Riverside Public Library

Partner Libraries:
Huntington Beach Public Library
Beverly Hills Public Library
Camarillo Public Library
Fullerton Public Library
San Bernardino Public Library

Partner libraries, cont.:
Buena Park Library District
Moorpark City Library
Whittier Public Library
Beaumont Library District
County of San Luis Obispo Public Library
Oxnard Public Library

Partner Libraries, cont.:
Murrieta Public Library
City of Commerce Public Library
Torrance Public Library
Alhambra Civic Center Library
Palm Desert Library
Redondo Beach Public Library

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Dread Pirate Zed @dreadpiratezed.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

It did get my style more or less right, but 'Edinburgh-based data tinkerer and "Queer Code Scotland" organizer' is fractally wrong.

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Dread Pirate Zed @dreadpiratezed.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

Here's an actual debit card receipt: no change!

Bottom of a Food4Less grocery receipt, showing what a debit purchase looks like. Receipt is crumpled but clean; I dug it out of my trash can before anything nasty got dumped on top of it.

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Dread Pirate Zed @dreadpiratezed.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

Tell me this isn't a story about healthcare affordability...

Screenshot from a Patch article:

Four people were freed from an overturned vehicle, according to the CHP. Five people were evaluated at the scene, but all declined transportation to a hospital and no serious injuries were reported.

https://patch.com/california/encino/s/kmmsr/sigalert-405-freeway-crash-overturns-cars-backs-up-traffic-to-105

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Dread Pirate Zed @dreadpiratezed.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

First Street®️ is the house brand at Smart & Final, and Tradewinds®️ is their house line of spices. I think whoever wrote this started out mentioning First Street®️ once or twice, and then decided to lean into the bit. (yes, it's from 2017 - I stumbled across the photo and cracked up all over again)

Recipe for "Peanut Butter 'n Apple Cookies" from the back of a bag of cereal, leaning so far into into Smart&Final's house branding that it feels like they're doing a bit:
First Street®️ margarine or butter, First Street®️ brown sugar, First Street®️ sugar, First Street®️ peanut butter, First Street®️ egg, First Street®️ vanilla extract, First Street®️ flour, Tradewinds®️ cinnamon, First Street®️ baking soda, First Street®️ Apple Dapples®️ cereal

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Dread Pirate Zed @dreadpiratezed.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

I didn't even notice the brand name on these cables when I ordered them, but it's perfect. Might make it my own brand.

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Dread Pirate Zed @dreadpiratezed.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

There's nothing like that personal touch to build relationships...

Screenshot of an email title: "FNAME, Your July Top 10 has Arrived"

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Dread Pirate Zed @dreadpiratezed.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

Flashing back three years to when tout les Blueskies were up in arms about the price...

Screenshot of posts from 8 December 2023:

This is NOT A DRUG; I wish people understood that.

It's basically a bone marrow transplant, except they take the patient's own stem cells, edit them with CRISPR, and re-implant them - after chemo to kill all of the un-edited marrow.
Plus if they mess up the editing, the patient gets blood cancer.

I'm not at all surprised that it costs $2M right now; I fully expect that price to come way down. But we're still talking about months of hospitalization; it's never gonna be $10K.

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Dread Pirate Zed @dreadpiratezed.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

This fine gentleman (sitting beside my mouse for scale) had been stowed away behind my radiator for... how long? I'm naming him Rocky.

A chunk of white granite, about the size of a baby's fist, sits on a simulated woodgrain desk next to a ProtoArc ergonomic mouse. The rock is approximately 1/3 the size of the mouse.

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Dread Pirate Zed @dreadpiratezed.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

I mostly avoid Edge, so it took a minute to find: Settings/click the hamburger/Privacy, search, and services/Site permissions/All permissions/Notifications

Screenshot from Edge settings showing the switches to block notification requests from sites you visit:
Privacy, search, and services/Site permissions/All permissions/Notifications
"Ask before sending" - turn OFF
"Quiet notification requests" - turn ON

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Dread Pirate Zed @dreadpiratezed.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

In Firefox: Settings/Permissions and data/Notifications

Screenshot from Firefox settings, showing the checkbox to block new notification requests
(Permissions and data/Permissions/Notifications)

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Dread Pirate Zed @dreadpiratezed.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

In Chrome: Settings/Privacy and security/Site settings/Notifications

Screenshot of Chrome settings page (Privacy and security/Site settings/Notifications) showing the radio button that disables all site notifications

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Dread Pirate Zed @dreadpiratezed.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

Date yourself with a snap of your first ever compute. (This wasn't "mine"; my dad had a night job programming reports and data extraction on this thing in the mid-70s, and once in a while I got to play with it. "My" first computer was a Kaypro 10 circa 1985.)

Wang 2200 Basic Computer

By StenSoft (Wikipedia) - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Wang2200.jpg, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17501469

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Dread Pirate Zed @dreadpiratezed.bsky.social · 26/06/2026

We were visiting Egypt when that whole thing happened, and I completely missed what it was about - but I did hear about it, so when I saw this storefront in Cairo I couldn't resist.

Cairo street scene; one of the businesses has a sign saying "art friend"

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Dread Pirate Zed @dreadpiratezed.bsky.social · 26/05/2026

I have always maintained that it's about a Bay Area favorite treat - the best ice cream sandwich money can buy. 🎶What is it? It's It!🎶

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Dread Pirate Zed @dreadpiratezed.bsky.social · 20/05/2026

I've been trying to get my sister to try falafel (it's one of my favorite things) so I sent her this pic the other day:

Metal dish containing 8 crunchy brown falafel, one of which has been cut in half to reveal the bright green inside. A small dish of herbed tahini sits in the middle.

(Sadly, it wasn't as tasty as it looked - a little bland for my taste. Still makes my mouth water to look at it.)

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Dread Pirate Zed @dreadpiratezed.bsky.social · 08/05/2026

The first time I was able to buy my own music coincided with a Pink Floyd tour - so I bought A Momentary Lapse of Reason and The Wall on the same visit to Tower.

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Dread Pirate Zed @dreadpiratezed.bsky.social · 17/04/2026

I have walked there! In February! In completely inappropriate footwear, and froze my ****ing toes!

MotoHakone - ancient Tokaido cedar lane
photographed 16 February 2010 with a potato

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Dread Pirate Zed @dreadpiratezed.bsky.social · 12/04/2026

It hasn't been everyone - out of curiosity, I looked up the attached list and it's not as bad as I remembered (indeed, a few people here that I still stan pretty hard) - but boy have there been a bunch of them.

From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slate_(magazine) -

Notable contributors and departments
Anne Applebaum (Foreigners)
John Dickerson (Politics)
Simon Doonan (Fashion)
Stefan Fatsis (Hang Up and Listen)
Ashley Feinberg (Politics)
Daniel Gross (The Juice)
David Greenberg (History Lesson)
Margo Howard (Dear Prudence 1998-2006)
Fred Kaplan (War Stories)[57]
Juliet Lapidos (Books / Explainer / Brow Beat)
Dahlia Lithwick (Jurisprudence)[57]
Michael Moran (Reckoning / Foreign Policy)
Timothy Noah (The Customer)
Meghan O'Rourke (The Highbrow/Grieving)
Daniel M. Lavery (Dear Prudence 2015-2021)
Robert Pinsky (poetry editor)
Phil Plait (Bad Astronomy / Science)
Ron Rosenbaum (Spectator)
William Saletan (Human Nature)
Jack Shafer (Press Box)
Eliot Spitzer (The Best Policy)
Herbert Stein (Dear Prudence 1997-1998)
Mike Steinberger (Drink)
Dana Stevens (Surfergirl through 2005/Movies)[57]
James Surowiecki (The Book Club)
Leon Neyfakh (Podcast)
Tom Vanderbilt (Transport)
Jacob Weisberg (The Big Idea)
Tim Wu (Technology/Jurisprudence)
Emily Yoffe (Dear Prudence 2006-2015, Human Guinea Pig)
Reihan Salam (Politics)
Laura Miller (Books and Culture)[57]
Carl Wilson (Music)

Past contributors
Emily Bazelon
Jamelle Bouie
Pete Buttigieg
Paul Boutin
Ian Bremmer
Phil Carter
David Edelstein
Franklin Foer
Sasha Frere-Jones
Atul Gawande
Austan Goolsbee
David Greenberg
Robert Lane Greene
Virginia Heffernan
David Helvarg
Christopher Hitchens
Jodi Kantor
Mickey Kaus
Patrick Radden Keefe
Paul Krugman
Steven Landsburg
Will Leitch
Farhad Manjoo
Louis Menand
Helaine Olen
Mike Pesca
David Plotz
Daniel Radosh
Bruce Reed
Jody Rosen
James Surowiecki
Julia Turner
Josh Voorhees
Rob Walker
David Weigel
Robert Wright
Matthew Yglesias
Fareed Zakaria

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