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Charles Engelke

@engelke.com
189 followers 85 following 724 posts

Retired. Xoogler developer relations at Google Cloud. Former CTO of Info Tech. Amateur Extra KC4L.

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Reposted by Charles Engelke
Jess Piper @piperformissouri.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Imagine being the worst Senator from Missouri when your only competition is Josh Hawley…
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Charles Engelke @engelke.com · 29/09/2026
Maybe the prisoner was so exemplary and turned his life around so much that he deserved a commutation to a shorter sentence. But a PARDON that let's him carry a gun and removes him from the sex offender registry? NO WAY!
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Charles Engelke @engelke.com · 29/09/2026
Not good ice cream.
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Charles Engelke @engelke.com · 25/09/2026
Even worse: you've seen one or two episodes and then stopped.
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Charles Engelke @engelke.com · 24/09/2026
Thanks. I did that. It shows me part of the post, and offers all of it if I give it my email address. But apparently all of it is only offered on the web to paid subscribers. Which is fine! You don't owe it to me. But it seems Substack really wants me to install its app, and I really don't want to.
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Charles Engelke @engelke.com · 24/09/2026
So do I have to not only give you an email address to read the post, I have to install an app I don't trust? I can't read on the web? That's too big an ask.
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Charles Engelke @engelke.com · 21/09/2026
Man, I wish I could sign up for the @jococruise.bsky.social thanks to their adding Simone Giertz. But I can't. Because I'm already signed up!
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Charles Engelke @engelke.com · 19/09/2026
They usually were, if not to end users, then to other businesses. Even rice cookers with "fuzzy logic" were called AI.
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Charles Engelke @engelke.com · 19/09/2026
When I was in CS grad school in the 1980s we generally defined "AI" as anything computers couldn't do YET. When they can do it reliably (like speech recognition, etc.) it's not AI anymore. There are tons of great, useful, AI technologies now, and more recently, a bunch of mis-sold garbage.
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Charles Engelke @engelke.com · 17/09/2026
Good reason to wear mirror shades.
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Charles Engelke @engelke.com · 07/09/2026
Yes, and it's based on written SF, which has a much better history of delivering on its puzzles than TV and movies.
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Charles Engelke @engelke.com · 07/09/2026
I almost never watch SF on TV for the same reason. They seem to grab on to an intriguing puzzle without figuring out a reasonable solution to it, and just come up with something completely lame. Like Battlestar Galactica. I read the Silo books until I got to the origin story. It's ridiculous.
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Charles Engelke @engelke.com · 05/09/2026
Grecian Formula. The commercials used to say it darkened the gray so gradually nobody would notice, except to think you looked younger. They showed a man going from pure white hair to shoe polish black as an example of the subtle change.
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Charles Engelke @engelke.com · 04/09/2026
I guess in Trump's America people don't love anybody, anymore. I do, though. Vaccine appoinment scheduled for Monday at noon.
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Charles Engelke @engelke.com · 04/09/2026
If you have a chance, walk down the street to the Columbia Cafe for the best Cuban sandwich. Or get a ride to the original Columbia restaurant in Ybor City (Florida's oldest restaurant) for fantastic Cuban food. columbiarestaurant.com
columbiarestaurant.com
Home | Columbia Restaurant
For more than 120 years, the Columbia Restaurant has served Spanish-Cuban cuisine to the state of Florida, using family recipes and tradition.
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Charles Engelke @engelke.com · 01/09/2026
MAR - Randy Zurcher randy4georgia.com GA 1st APR - Brandon Riker rikerforcongress.com CA-48 MAY - Jordan Wood electjordan.com ME-02 JUN - Bridget Brink bridgetbrink.com MI-07 JUL - Peggy Flanagan peggyflanagan.com MN Senator AUG - Kaela Berg kaelaforcongress.com MN-02
randy4georgia.com
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Charles Engelke @engelke.com · 01/09/2026
Previous donations, part 2: OCT - Mallory McMorrow mcmorrowformichigan.com Senate MI NOV - Mike Sacks mikesacksforcongress.com NY 17th DEC - Elijah Manley elijahmanley.com FL 20th JAN - Mac Deford defordforcongress.com SC 1 FEB - Oliver Larkin oliverforcongress.com FL-23
mcmorrowformichigan.com
Mallory McMorrow for U.S. Senate
Mallory McMorrow is a Democrat with a backbone. She knows that we need new leadership in Washington – and the fight will come from communities across the country, not from the same tired act in DC. In...
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Charles Engelke @engelke.com · 01/09/2026
Previous donations, part 1: APR - Nic Zateslo zateslo.us FL 2nd MAY - Kat Abughazeleh katforillinois.com IL 9th (came in 2nd, 1st next time!) JUN - leaderswedeserve.com JUL - Harry Jarin harrymd5.com MD 5th AUG - Jeremy Devito jeremytakesthehouse.org AL 5th SEP - Josh Turek turek4iowa.com Senate IA
zateslo.us
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Charles Engelke @engelke.com · 01/09/2026
Well, it's the start of the last month of 2026 primaries, and my last $1000 donation is to Christian Urrutia, running for the open New Hampshire 1st district. He's running to fight Trump's corruption and dictatorial actions, as well as healthcare for all, and taxing billionaires. urrutiafornh.com
urrutiafornh.com
Christian Urrutia for Congress
Christian is running for Congress to deliver bold, progressive leadership for New Hampshire.
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Charles Engelke @engelke.com · 31/08/2026
17 years older, and it's down to 2 for me. And only because of news stories about their controversies. Which I don't know anything about, either.
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Charles Engelke @engelke.com · 29/08/2026
Cover of "This Little President A Presidential Primer" by Joan Holub and Daniel Roode
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Charles Engelke @engelke.com · 28/08/2026
Why did the unnamed negative political group send this to us? My wife's name is White, but she would never vote for a Republican! Oh, I get it. They sent it to "The White Household". I hadn't realized Trump had issued another executive order directing USPS to preference delivery by race!
Unattributed negative political mailer attacking Democratic nominee for Georgia Governor Keisha Lance Bottoms. Full of falsehoods and distortions, and addressed to "The White Household".
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Charles Engelke @engelke.com · 27/08/2026
"Unitary Executive" is just a longer way to say "Dictator".
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Reposted by Charles Engelke
Joanne Freeman @jbf1755.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
Dolly’s final gift. At a time of extreme ugliness and hate, she has inspired an outpouring of love. It’s still out there, folks. Nowadays, that can be easy to forget.
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Charles Engelke @engelke.com · 25/08/2026
True. And this is also why we should be happy along with sad today, because she lived a great, full life, contributing joy and lifting up others. And set things up so that even after passing she continues to help others. A third of a billion books given to children so far is almost the least of it.
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Charles Engelke @engelke.com · 21/08/2026
Yes, like when Usenet connected North America with Australia via tapes transported via container ship. Good metaphor for lightspeed delay.
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Charles Engelke @engelke.com · 21/08/2026
Yes, he did. Called it something like "the net of a million lies" as I recall.
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Charles Engelke @engelke.com · 19/08/2026
Did the DOJ actually use the word "deportment" here? Or is the Brunswick (GA) News's headline writer vocabulary-impaired? Yes, this saves a letter over "deportation" but it doesn't mean the same thing at all! thebrunswicknews.com/news/local_n...
thebrunswicknews.com
DOJ announces deportments of men from Glynn, Camden counties
Ten men in Coastal Georgia, including one in Glynn County and three in Camden County, will be deported after re-entering the country illegally, the U.S. Department of Justice has announced.
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Charles Engelke @engelke.com · 17/08/2026
The reemergence of completely open racism, bigotry of all kinds, and even Nazi-ism is horrible. Muslims have done nothing to deserve this hatred. People point to extremists, forgetting that EVERY RELIGION and almost every philosophy has had extremists. It doesn't make their mainstreams evil!
nytimes.com
How Islamophobia Moved From the Fringe to the Mainstream in Texas (Gift Article)
Muslim communities have been growing for decades, particularly around Dallas. Now, conservatives want to roll up the welcome mat.
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Charles Engelke @engelke.com · 17/08/2026
Okay, @mcuban.bsky.social, this would require more taxes, ideally diverting current healthcare expenditures to them, but do you think it would work? Our current system is clearly extremely wasteful - is there enough waste to just cover everyone instead?
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Charles Engelke @engelke.com · 14/08/2026
A lot of people are making fun of this headline because Trump is so unpopular. They misunderstand. The "art" in defending him isn't SUCCEEDING in defending him, it's KEEPING A STRAIGHT FACE while "defending" the indefensible. And Leavitt is the all time GOAT at that.
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Charles Engelke @engelke.com · 07/08/2026
Dear Google (and @developers.google.com, etc.): they way you have decided to tie Messages for Web to my PHONE is idiotic. The WHOLE POINT of Messages for Web is to use when I DON'T have my phone to hand! This product manager is absolutely NOT as smart as they think they are.
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Reposted by Charles Engelke
Charles Engelke @engelke.com · 01/08/2026
There are just two more months in the primary calendar! For this penultimate month, I'm donating $1000 to Kaela Berg, running for Minnesota's 2nd Congressional District. She's a flight attendant and a union leader, is a Minnesota State Rep and ready to shake up the US House. kaelaforcongress.com
kaelaforcongress.com
Kaela for Congress
Kaela Berg is a mom, a lifelong Minnesotan, a State Representative, a flight attendant, a union leader, and a bookworm. Now, she's running for Congress.
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Charles Engelke @engelke.com · 01/08/2026
Previous donations, part 3: MAR - Randy Zurcher randy4georgia.com GA 1st APR - Brandon Riker rikerforcongress.com CA-48 MAY - Jordan Wood electjordan.com ME-02 JUN - Bridget Brink bridgetbrink.com MI-07 JUL - Peggy Flanagan peggyflanagan.com MN Senator
randy4georgia.com
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Charles Engelke @engelke.com · 01/08/2026
Previous donations, part 2: OCT - Mallory McMorrow mcmorrowformichigan.com Senate MI NOV - Mike Sacks mikesacksforcongress.com NY 17th DEC - Elijah Manley elijahmanley.com FL 20th JAN - Mac Deford defordforcongress.com SC 1 FEB - Oliver Larkin oliverforcongress.com FL-23
mcmorrowformichigan.com
Mallory McMorrow for U.S. Senate
Mallory McMorrow is a Democrat with a backbone. She knows that we need new leadership in Washington – and the fight will come from communities across the country, not from the same tired act in DC. In...
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Charles Engelke @engelke.com · 01/08/2026
Previous donations, part 1: APR - Nic Zateslo zateslo.us FL 2nd MAY - Kat Abughazeleh katforillinois.com IL 9th (came in 2nd, 1st next time!) JUN - leaderswedeserve.com JUL - Harry Jarin harrymd5.com MD 5th AUG - Jeremy Devito jeremytakesthehouse.org AL 5th SEP - Josh Turek turek4iowa.com Senate IA
zateslo.us
Nic Zateslo for Congress | Fighting for North Florida
Nic is a husband, Dad, Eagle Scout, and entrepreneur running to serve North Florida in Congress to protect our freedom and make life more affordable.
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Charles Engelke @engelke.com · 01/08/2026
This is a tough month with lots of great primary candidates. I decided on Kaela Berg instead of Leela Gray for Florida's 13th district because Gray has a smaller field of opponents and (I hope) will do well even without my donation. FL-13 is my sister's district, so I hope I'm right! leelagray.com
leelagray.com
Leela Gray - Veteran for Florida
Leela Gray is a retired Army Brigadier General, small business leader, and mom running for Congress to reopen the doors of opportunity in Florida.
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Charles Engelke @engelke.com · 01/08/2026
There are just two more months in the primary calendar! For this penultimate month, I'm donating $1000 to Kaela Berg, running for Minnesota's 2nd Congressional District. She's a flight attendant and a union leader, is a Minnesota State Rep and ready to shake up the US House. kaelaforcongress.com
kaelaforcongress.com
Kaela for Congress
Kaela Berg is a mom, a lifelong Minnesotan, a State Representative, a flight attendant, a union leader, and a bookworm. Now, she's running for Congress.
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Charles Engelke @engelke.com · 31/07/2026
I wish local Amazon logistics managed deliveries better. Almost every delivery starts out this way: - Out for delivery by 11:30 - Now between noon and 1:30 - Now between 2 and 4 - and now? Between 4:15 and 6:15 Sometimes they go to between 9 PM and 11 before giving up and saying "tomorrow". Maybe.
"Now arriving today 4:15 PM - 6:15 PM"
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Charles Engelke @engelke.com · 24/07/2026
My previous Scalzi ebook purchases were all in Kindle form. Though I can get some Kindle books (including Scalzi ones, I think) in EPUB, Amazon makes it a bit difficult.
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Charles Engelke @engelke.com · 24/07/2026
This is also a cool way to load up one of those cool tiny new, inexpensive XTEINK readers with a lot of good EPUB books! I did that with mine. www.xteink.com
xteink.com
Xteink | Ultra-Thin Paper-like pocket eReaders
Discover Xteink: the ultimate ultra-thin, paper-like eReader. Lightweight, portable & easy on the eyes. Get Free Shipping on all eReaders for a limited time—shop today!
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Charles Engelke @engelke.com · 23/07/2026
Well, maybe you'll never sell ANOTHER one! What about that, huh? (Um, except I've already preordered your next book. And if Amazon offered it, I'd subscribe to get every future book of yours as they came out. But maybe it would just be that one copy of each new book sold!)
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Charles Engelke @engelke.com · 23/07/2026
MegaRan was fantastic. Any chance of him returning?
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Charles Engelke @engelke.com · 23/07/2026
The proper verb to use with Trump is not "says", it's "lies."
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Charles Engelke @engelke.com · 23/07/2026
At a gas station in Malta, ID. It was true, too.
Gas station sign with prices for "UNLEADED 1 ARM. DIESEL 1 LEG."
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Charles Engelke @engelke.com · 20/07/2026
@svdate.bsky.social I liked your novels. Any chance of bringing the backlist out in ebook form?
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Charles Engelke @engelke.com · 19/07/2026
He does *say* all the right things, though... Other than the DNC connection, looks good.
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Charles Engelke @engelke.com · 19/07/2026
Jackson's on the DNC, the biggest obstacle to Democratic success there is. We've got to get rid of those do-nothing lumps. I hope I'm wrong about him, because he'll probably win the nomination.
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Charles Engelke @engelke.com · 17/07/2026
Tried watching Trump speaking, but I couldn't follow any of it. Run-on sentences, non-sequiturs, slurred words, and a droning monotone. How will this push his followers? I guess his operatives will come up with sound bytes and claim he said them.
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Charles Engelke @engelke.com · 16/07/2026
UTC only for the win. If we're going to uncouple the idea of 12 noon having the sun near zenith, then let's go all the way. New Yorkers, who seem to start work late anyway, can head the office around 15:00Z. While we're out, ISO 8601 date formats for EVERYTHING.
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