iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Geoff Micks @faceintheblue.bsky.social · 13h

That's a great deal. For anyone who likes a really smart take on 'cosmic dread popcorn fiction with heart and a sense of humour,' Jason Pargin has basically invented his own genre.

000

Geoff Micks @faceintheblue.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

The only other person in the world with my name (to my knowledge) was in Ireland in the 1990s. I say 'was' because his online footprint stopped around the time I went to university. I have a terrible feeling he died an early death.

110

Geoff Micks @faceintheblue.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

I lived on Euclid Ave in Toronto in my mid-20s. I look at addresses all the time in my career, and it jumps out at me how many different cities have a Euclid Street or Avenue or Road or what-have-you. I guess 19th & 20th Century city planners all knew their ancient Greek geometers and logicians.

000

Geoff Micks @faceintheblue.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Spotted this on LinkedIn. As a conference producer (of one kind or another) for 17 years, this is a solid piece of 'who can I send this to who will understand both the terror and absurdity of this?' humour.

000

Geoff Micks @faceintheblue.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

The Phoenix was a big part of my early 20s. I really had nothing to do with it as all in my 30s. If it's going to move out to where I'm living now that I'm in my 40s? Well, I'm long past my clubbing days, but I'd go see some live music from time to time to support a Canadian/Torontonian institution.

001

Geoff Micks @faceintheblue.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

I lived in Chatham, Ontario, from the third grade until the end of high school. For about half that time, my father ran his business in an office across from a bar called Mike's Place. It burned down last night after 48 years in business. That seems worth sharing. cknewstoday.ca/chatham/news...

cknewstoday.ca

UPDATE: Overnight fire causes roughly $1M in damage to Chatham restaurant

A fire has caused $1 million in property damage to Mike's Place restaurant and bar in Chatham.

010

Geoff Micks @faceintheblue.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

AI is the furthest realization of the tech industry's philosophy of building valuations on the sizzle, not the steak. Hundreds of billions in economic activity churning around on the premise of what it could do someday, and do you want to be left behind? Meanwhile, it doesn't actually generate ROI.

010

Geoff Micks @faceintheblue.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

There is a lot of criticism about the value and utility of a university education these days. My best single takeaway from my time at university was discovering over and over again that not only was I not the smartest kid, but that there are lots of type of 'smart' and I'm average at most of them.

020

Geoff Micks @faceintheblue.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Saw this katydid (bush cricket) yesterday. I immediately recognized it from the last time I saw one on a beach in Algonquin Provincial Park ~20 years ago. I've also 'not seen' hundreds between now and then. Their camouflage is so good, you need them on a contrasting background to pick them out.

010

Geoff Micks @faceintheblue.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Do you ever write out a script to be read aloud, use a semicolon, and ask yourself, "Who's that for?"

000

Geoff Micks @faceintheblue.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Baby shampoo doesn't sting if you get it in your eye. Who decided adults should suffer? I want to be treated like an infant!

000

Geoff Micks @faceintheblue.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

I enjoy that Toronto's Old City Hall stands next to Toronto's New City Hall, which has been the 'New' city hall for ~60 years while also being only ~60 years older than the 'Old' city hall. I enjoy a lot of boring things, I guess...

010

Geoff Micks @faceintheblue.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

How interesting! I've been aware in a vague way for years that many of Toronto's wards had names before they were numbered. I didn't realize they were all named for saints, or that so many of them do live on in political and transit monikers ~120 years after they were abandoned.

110

Geoff Micks @faceintheblue.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

I love a clever bookstore with a clever sign.

010

Geoff Micks @faceintheblue.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Why is it whenever we calmly, quietly like something, someone tries to turn it up to 11 and ruins it? (Canada is strangely the world's largest consumer per capita of Kraft Dinner/Boxed Mac'n'Cheese. I struggle to imagine a single Canadian who'll consume this product more than maybe once on a bet.)

010

Geoff Micks @faceintheblue.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

A few days ago I heard: "God is the name of the blanket we throw over The Mystery to give it shape" And I have the distinct impression this is going to be something I repeat from time to time for the rest of my life that best articulates my preferred flavour of agnosticism.

010

Geoff Micks @faceintheblue.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

I got a haircut this morning. My new regular barber is Iranian. At the end of every visit he asks me if I want my eyebrows trimmed. No one has ever asked me that before. Is it a Persian thing, or am I getting to that age where it's becoming an issue, or have my eyebrows always needed maintenance?

100

Reposted by Geoff Micks

Carausius @carausius286.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

This fresco depicts Cerberus, guardian of the underworld with Hercules left, who subdued him, and Mercury right. It was buried in a tomb for 2,000 years and only uncovered in 2023, which makes its vibrancy even more remarkable. 🕰️C1stBC-2ndAD 🏛️Tomb of Cerberus, Giugliano #FrescoFriday

7427115

Geoff Micks @faceintheblue.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

I'm a happily married homeowner with a cool job who regularly travels for work and play, and I've written five novels. Twenty-year-old me thinks I've got it all figured out. Boy, do I have news for that guy...

010

Geoff Micks @faceintheblue.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

I was raised going to a barbershop where you waited your turn and talked with the other guys in the shop. There was a real culture to it. It took time, but that's okay. To this day, I don't like making an appointment. I like just walking in, but that's not how the world works anymore. Ah, well.

000

Geoff Micks @faceintheblue.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

This is my current take on the whole conversation. What does 'Associate Member' mean? There is no answer yet. We're making it up as we go along. Hopefully mutually beneficial outcomes and diversifying economic and political alliances among like-minded peoples. The details will come in time.

000

Geoff Micks @faceintheblue.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Have we gotten to the point where we're far enough from Nickelback in their prime that we can listen to them 'ironically'? (Really just nostalgically for the time in our lives when it was so mainstream it wasn't cool to be a fan while also knowing every word to every song...)

000

Geoff Micks @faceintheblue.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

I am still experimenting with when to leave for work in the mornings to arrive on time. Today I left ten minutes earlier than usual and arrived fifteen minutes earlier. That's how much traffic ramps up on a minute-by-minute basis in Toronto as you get closer to 9 am.

000

Geoff Micks @faceintheblue.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Do you ever get a parking spot so good you wish you were on a more serious errand?

000

Geoff Micks @faceintheblue.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Cinematographer Roger Deakins and his wife have an in-depth, nerdy cinema podcast. I'm listening to the episode with director Denis Villeneuve. I've been a fan for years, but I had not appreciated how thoughtful, kind, generous, and deliberate he is about his art until now. pca.st/episode/6e87...

pca.st

Denis Villeneuve - Director

EPISODE 25 - DENIS VILLENEUVE - Director. Team Deakins spends some time talking with their friend and frequent collaborator, the brilliant director Denis Villeneuve (BLADE RUNNER 2049, ARRIVAL,…

100

Geoff Micks @faceintheblue.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

25 years ago I was in my first year of university. While walking to an early morning class I saw students huddled around a television. I saw the second plane hit live on TV. I was sure it was the start of a world war. I decided to join the Navy. (I didn't, but that's where my mind went that day.)

001

Geoff Micks @faceintheblue.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

I drive to work most days now with the new job. Those 'Baby On Board' bumper stickers really work! I haven't rammed a single car with one of those yet. I don't know how all the other cars I haven't smashed into are managing to keep me at bay, but those bumper stickers are a gold-plated investment.

000

Geoff Micks @faceintheblue.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Tomorrow is my one-month anniversary at the new job, and so far I've managed to finish each day at Inbox Zero. I don't know how long I can keep that streak alive, but for right now every day ends with an adrenaline surge. I am not used to being on top of my inbox looking down on a daily basis!

020

Geoff Micks @faceintheblue.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

A sad truth I have discovered as someone who came to the Beard Game late in life? By the time it's long enough that you're running your fingers through it rather than rubbing your chin through it, that's when it's time for a trim. Otherwise you are going full Mountain Man, and that's a one-way trip.

000

Geoff Micks @faceintheblue.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

For the last year I've been adapting three of my books into a weekly audio drama. I have a sticky note on my monitor that reads, "Slower. Slower! Yes, even slower than that." (The Toronto accent lends itself to speed, and a writer can always read their own work faster than others want to hear it.)

120

Geoff Micks @faceintheblue.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Conundrum is a word that is a lot of fun to say aloud —it just trips off the tongue, 'Con-None-Drum'— but when using it in print you feel both self-conscious of the spelling, and it also cries out for a synonym. There are so many other fine options once the pleasant audio component is not a factor.

100

Geoff Micks @faceintheblue.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

My internet wanderings took me to reading about the founder of SONIC Drive-In. (Don't ask. I go all over.) After the Second World War he came back to his hometown and worked as a milkman before switching to bread delivery, because, quote, "Bread is lighter than milk." Smart man! I like this guy...

000

Geoff Micks @faceintheblue.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

It's funny where the mind goes sometimes. I've just remembered decades ago I briefly dated a woman whose father was a volcanologist. The relationship didn't last for all kinds of reasons, but my greatest regret —I guess to this day?— is that I never got to talk to her dad. He was a volcanologist!

000

Geoff Micks @faceintheblue.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

What a great illustration of my actually having an accent. I'd've done this as: Worcestershire = “Were-Stir-Sure” (I feel I'm right?) omnipotent = “ohm-nip-po-tent” (I'm probably wrong) reticent = “Ret-uh-SENT” (wrong again?) epitome = “Ee-pit-oh-me” (right?) The other two I agree with.

000

Geoff Micks @faceintheblue.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

I'm in my mid-40s —also an avid reader— and I have a list of 'must-read-before-I-die' books. Cannery Row (most of Steinbeck, really) is on that list. My list is longer than I am likely to live. That doesn't mean I don't keep adding to it.

020

Geoff Micks @faceintheblue.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

One of the microwaves at work has a 'push to unlock the door' button that you don't need to press to put your food in, only to get it out after the timer goes off. I have never seen this before. I thought I'd A) broken the microwave, and B) was going to need to pry the thing open to get my lunch.

000

Geoff Micks @faceintheblue.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

A real killer of productivity is when you have something scheduled for just far enough into the future that you can't start a new task for fear of setting it down again to prepare for whatever it is you've got coming up. I just... Wait, I guess? Do more prep than I strictly speaking need?

010

Geoff Micks @faceintheblue.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

My wife just said, "I'm not really into Pinterest," like that would surprise me. I would have bet every dollar in my bank account against a bent paperclip that she wasn't into Pinterest. We got married. We planned a wedding. She never showed me her vision board. She is NOT a Pinterest person.

000

Geoff Micks @faceintheblue.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

When there's more than one Arby's, how would you spell that? Is the plural of Arby's a grammatical impossibility? Have I spotted a glitch in the English language capable of making it burst into flames like 1960s-era television robots when presented with a paradox?

000

Geoff Micks @faceintheblue.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

I know it has already become very popular for people to wish Carney was a little more this or a little more that. He didn't get a very long political honeymoon. There was too much to do. He is the Prime Minister Canada needs right now. He's the man for the moment, and we're lucky to have him.

010

Geoff Micks @faceintheblue.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

"It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife." Equally timeless and true? At the end of every month, B2B salespeople close deals on the mutual understanding that whatever happens now counts towards this target, not the next one.

000

Geoff Micks @faceintheblue.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

I appreciate there's never a 'good' time to schedule road maintenance, but surely morning rush hour was not the right time to close the left-turn lane from Bloor onto The Kingsway? That's an awful lot of traffic to pile up, most of whom can't see what the holdup is until they're in it. #Toronto

000

Geoff Micks @faceintheblue.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

Two and a half weeks. It has taken me two and a half weeks to finally internalize that my new company's front door is a push, not a pull, despite the shape of the door handle. ...They hired me in large part for my wits.

000

Reposted by Geoff Micks

Paul and Storm @paulandstorm.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

[P] Even ignoring her tremendous contributions to music and entertainment, just spend a few going through at the "Philanthropy" section of her wiki. *That* is how to live a life. RIP to a genuine American treasure. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolly_P...

en.wikipedia.org

Dolly Parton - Wikipedia

151569352

Geoff Micks @faceintheblue.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

I think I walk the fine line between 'a lot of tabs open' & 'too many tabs open' with the natural grace of a cat patrolling the fence-top of a back alley. To one side I risk forgetting something. On the other lies chaos. I saunter along productively and confidently, ignoring the call of the void.

010

Geoff Micks @faceintheblue.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

I spent nine formative years growing up in neighbouring Kent County. My wife tells me I'm weird about corn. I feel I've already eaten a lifetime's worth in my childhood. I don't seek out more now. She didn't understand, until one day my Dad mentioned eating corn on the cob with his spaghetti...

220

Geoff Micks @faceintheblue.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

New people have joined my new company. I am no longer the newest new guy! (This is a bigger landmark than some people would think in the working world.)

000

Geoff Micks @faceintheblue.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

I first watched the movie Predator as a kid on TV, edit for time and to make room for commercials. The bit with the spaceship at the beginning was cut. I'm just thinking through how late in the movie you know it's an alien if you didn't see that 20 seconds at the start. More than halfway through?

100

Geoff Micks @faceintheblue.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

I stained my shirt at lunch. I'm a few minutes away from the end of the day having gotten away with it. (No new coworker seems to have noticed yet.) This is me about to walk briskly to my car...

000

Geoff Micks @faceintheblue.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

I have the strangest song stuck in my head. Do you remember Satan was a sympathetic gay character in the movie South Park: Bigger, Longer, Uncut? He had a song where he wants to live 'Up There' in relation to coming up & ruling the Earth. I've got him singing about it running in a loop in my head.

010