iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Flying Circuits @flyingcircuits.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

I've been up most of the last 48 hours trying to get a failure-is-not-an-option project out the door by COB Friday (barely made it — if it works). Just looked in the mirror and this quote barged straight in:

A scene from the Futurama TV show: Bender the robot is talking to his human friend Fry, who has been drinking A LOT of coffee. Quoth Bender: "You seem a tad wound up buddy. And your face is greasy. REAL greasy."

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Flying Circuits @flyingcircuits.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Just dawned on me that I have a McCoy/Spock relationship at work (I'm the McCoy), and it's making me laugh at stuff that previously pissed me off

A still from the original Star Trek with Bones facing Spock. They both have somewhat exhausted looks on their faces. Relatable.

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Flying Circuits @flyingcircuits.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

I think it's reminding me of this guy!

Mushu? Morshu? The shopkeeper in Zelda maybe? (plus memey YouTube Poop videos). A portly mustachioed elven person with a bombastic side-eye.

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Flying Circuits @flyingcircuits.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Trying to decode this expression... 🤔🪶

Bandit, the little Senegal parrot, has just taken a bath and is drying on his naptime perch. He doesn't have glasses, but somehow he's looking over them, with a slightly crazed or bemused look reminiscent of Willem Dafoe as The Green Goblin in Spider-Man (2002)

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Flying Circuits @flyingcircuits.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

This is what I think of from the description (random Google):

'60s mod atomic shapes, some of which aren't registered with their outlines

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Flying Circuits @flyingcircuits.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Remember the amazing videos of OV-105 Endeavour being moved through the streets of LA? Over the weekend I was honored to get a sneak peek at Cal Science Center's brand-new $500M Endeavour exhibit opening this fall, and fam; it's GLORIOUS!

After watching videos, your first view of the shuttle in its full glory. The lead-in experience was designed with help from Hollywood, and is outstanding.

This is the only shuttle being displayed in launch configuration, an incredible feat of engineering. The seismic mitigation was apparently significant (and as far as i could see, invisible!)

There are observation platforms at various levels. The uppermost has a glass floor! One payload bay door has been opened, but cleverly the shuttle looks buttoned-up from other angles.

Except for the tip of the tail, the area under the shuttle is completely open to visitors. All the volunteer docents I met had actually worked in the program. What an incredible and fitting monument to these amazing machines and the people who built them!

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Flying Circuits @flyingcircuits.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Like many birds, Bandit will greet you with a deep bow (and appreciates the reciprocation). But for some reason he doesn't care which direction he's facing, so sometimes it comes across as more of a butt salute.

Bandit, the little Senegal parrot, is showing his respect by bowing to you, but facing the other way so he's actually flashing his underfluffies (still a sign of respect)

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Flying Circuits @flyingcircuits.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Looks like I finally lost Google Assistant and now must use Gemini. A year ago I tried it with "what's the outside temperature?" (which assistant could handle), and it told me the outside temperature for "the United States" 🙄 I just tried it again, and it told me the same thing. 🤬 AYFKM Google?!

A question about the local weather which Assistant could easily handle and Gemini is in no way correct. Assistant was brain-dead stupid, but at least it worked correctly if you gave it the right prompt. I used assistant 20 times a day, this is absolutely fucking ridiculous.

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Flying Circuits @flyingcircuits.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Early morning ISS ops This never gets old

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Flying Circuits @flyingcircuits.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

It's always a good omen to see an EZ overhead, especially if it's being flown by a former astronaut! 🫡

A poor cellphone shot of a Rutan Long-EZ flying in the severe-clear Colorado sky. This unique aircraft design has a pusher propeller, wings, and outboard rudders in the back, and a small canard in front, making it look like a spaceship from the future rather than an incredibly clever design from the seventies.

An adsbexchange.com screen grab showing the owner of the aircraft as Colonel James Voss, former astronaut and professor emeritus at my institution. I am still angling for a ride!

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Flying Circuits @flyingcircuits.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Sad to be missing @dragoncon.org this year. :( Have fun, stay cool in your costumes, and post lots plz!

A meme which says "FUCK THIS SHIT IT'S DRAGONCON TIME". Clipart of an office worker tossing up papers in the air is in front of the iconic and mindbending dragoncon carpeting pattern. Have fun kids!

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Flying Circuits @flyingcircuits.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

Not a *great* picture, but I'm happy it turned out as well as it did!

The partial lunar eclipse on August 28 2026 from Boulder Colorado. This was near the start of the eclipse, the full moon has a dark bite out of the lower left.

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Flying Circuits @flyingcircuits.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

Not sure how big the holes are on yours, but this sort of jig (below) helps a lot when making "jalapeno poppers" on a grill (highly recommended!)

A metal stand with lots of holes for standing up stuffed chiles on a barbecue grill

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Flying Circuits @flyingcircuits.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

This week I'm babysitting a very sweet smoke alarm 💚🪶

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Flying Circuits @flyingcircuits.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

"₲₴₮ ₦₭Ø₦" ("just solder straight to the pads, it'll be fine")

An SD card with wires soldered to the pads

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Flying Circuits @flyingcircuits.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

When I was very little my mom drove a Plymouth Barracuda, which should tell you something about her. (It wasn't the best car for dealing with two small children, so she traded it in on a country squire station wagon, which should also tell you something about her. ❤️)

A 1970 Plymouth Barracuda, a two-door muscle car, in immaculate condition with deep blue metal flake paint and billet (?) wheels, being shown off at a local cars and coffee event.

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Flying Circuits @flyingcircuits.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

Yes. And I couldn't trash them after that. ❤️

the world book encyclopedia 1968 edition. each volume is bound in red "leather" with black contrast and gold lettering.

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Flying Circuits @flyingcircuits.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

Did they let the XB-70 out to stretch its wings? 🤔

A snip of the above air traffic diagram showing a bunch of Cessna-shaped aircraft and one delta-wing-plus-canard shape... (but if they're flying anywhere, it would be to Oshkosh)

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Flying Circuits @flyingcircuits.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

NOAA (❤️) runs a smoke prediction model that I like to keep an eye on. I like Pivotal Weather's page but if you search for "HRRR smoke" there are many others. Good luck (to us all)! www.pivotalweather.com/model.php?m=...

A screenshot of pivotal weather's hrrr vertically integrated smoke web page. It shows a representation of the continental US with areas of smoke in various shades from light gray to dark purple. You can clearly see the Canadian wildfires blanketing the northeast states with dense smoke.

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Flying Circuits @flyingcircuits.bsky.social · 04/07/2026

The Wikipedia page for the Swift Reboot Mission is a roller coaster ride. I hope we get livestreams for the docking (grappling) attempt in a few weeks. Good luck to all the teams! en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swift_r...

The mission patch for Katalyst's Swift Reboot Mission. A representation of the Swift spacecraft is being lassoed by a cowboy riding Pegasus (representing the Pegasus launch vehicle). The Latin phrase for "fortune favors the bold" circles the patch.

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Flying Circuits @flyingcircuits.bsky.social · 04/07/2026

(Also of interest only to me, is that my subconscious apparently interprets "the car a hit man would drive" as a black classic European convertible. Maybe because they can afford it? 🤷🏻‍♂️)

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Flying Circuits @flyingcircuits.bsky.social · 04/07/2026

Helping set up a nannycam for an elderly family member (with consent!), and the *extremely* stupid app did have this to offer:

A screenshot from an infuriatingly stupid nannycam product/app we are trying to use to simply monitor an elderly person (with consent). One of the many useless steps, *even for the intended use*, is that you are *required* to enter the subject's name and age (why?). But I did, and it happily responded: Week 4802, (subject) is 92 years and 4 months old." The icing is a decorative icon of alphabet baby blocks. For the record the subject is not there yet.

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Flying Circuits @flyingcircuits.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

Ran across this lovely (and sexagenarian) Magister at the Santa Fe airport the other day. The owner was nearby and mentioned it was for sale; I did not inquire about the price 💰

Per Wikipedia: The Fouga CM.170 Magister is a 1950s French two-seat jet trainer aircraft that was developed and manufactured by French aircraft manufacturer Établissements Fouga & Cie. Easily recognizable by its V-tail, almost 1,000 have been built in France and under license in West Germany, Israel, and Finland.

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Flying Circuits @flyingcircuits.bsky.social · 20/06/2026

Freshly-washed Bandit doing his best dragon impersonation

Bandit, the little Senegal parrot, has just been through a shower and a blow dry, both of which he loves despite his tough-guy glowering. His nape feathers are damp and sticking out like the sharp horns on the bony frill of a triceratops. He's holding his wings slightly open which makes him look like a linebacker. All and all pretty intimidating for someone who weighs 150 grams.

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Flying Circuits @flyingcircuits.bsky.social · 19/06/2026

Does slightly fictional count? 🥰

The red combat seaplane from the 1992 Japanese animated film Porco Rosso. This aircraft is fictional but appears to be a blend between the Savoia S.21 and the Macchi M.33. The aircraft is open cockpit with a single planing hull, a high monoplane wing with fixed outboard pontoons, and a single puller-propeller engine pod above the wing. The film's story takes place in the Italian Mediterranean between world war I and world war II. (And is highly recommended -ed)

At the end of the film we get a brief glance of a modern jet seaplane from the same company that designed the original. It also has a single planing hull, a single high engine, a V-tail, large bubble cockpit, and presumably wingtip dropdown floats ala the PBY.

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Flying Circuits @flyingcircuits.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

It's taken 40 years, but I think we're finally there:

A title card from Max Headroom: 20 Minutes Into The Future (1985). A brutalist city rises above purple smog. The tallest buildings are owned by TV channels, who control everything in this world. At the bottom of the frame is a title in a blocky computerish font noting the current date: "20 MINUTES INTO THE FUTURE"

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Flying Circuits @flyingcircuits.bsky.social · 16/06/2026

Just like when I was a kid, the top shelves in my bedroom hold boxed model kits I hope to build in my lifetime. Special effects legend Brian Johnson has smiled down on me for many years from the side of an enormous Eagle transporter kit that I now really need to get to. RIP and thank you sir! 🫡

A stack of cardboard boxes containing large-scale model kits. One is a Space 1999 eagle transporter kit, with a quote on the side from the craft's designer, Brian Johnson:

"It is rare to be a freelance special effects technician and achieve success in the film effects industry. Not always a smooth run but I have worked for some amazing directors and producers. It is rarer still to find the opportunity to design a lasting icon like the eagle transporter from the television production of space 1999. It was designed with a sense of practical durability and modularity as it would be needed for television effects production techniques required of the era. It brings me great joy to know that science fiction fans and modelers still hold my design of the eagle transporter in such high regard. This model kit from MPC offers everyone the opportunity to build their own eagle. Its authentic detail demonstrates years of research in documenting the original miniatures used in the show's production. Wouldn't it have been wonderful to have these kids available during filming?

Brian Johnson
Academy award winner and BAFTA winner and effects designer / director on Space 1999. Designer of the eagle transporter"

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Flying Circuits @flyingcircuits.bsky.social · 14/06/2026

Great question - it is! Here's this morning's map at the same scale. The overnight surface winds were roughly out of the south so this fits. The sensors measure small particulates so I wonder if it could have been pollen or something like that?

A purpleair air quality map of the Denver area from the morning of 6/14. The red/poor air quality area has moved about 50 miles northeast overnight.

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Flying Circuits @flyingcircuits.bsky.social · 14/06/2026

Got a smoke warning from my home weather station, so I ran home just in case. Usually it's from someone burning something in the neighborhood, but not this time… Then I see that the whole area has bad AQI, but there's no nearby fires, and we're surrounded by clean air… What is going on?

An AQI (air quality index) graph from my weather station, showing it getting worse over a number of hours, then getting better

An AQI map from a number of purpleair weather stations showing an area of poor air quality in the Boulder/Longmont Colorado area, surrounded by clean air

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Flying Circuits @flyingcircuits.bsky.social · 12/06/2026

I'm currently taking care of Ollie, who's one of the smartest birds I've ever met. I've heard him say at least 30 things, all in context!

A male eclectus parrot named Ollie. He has a large bright orange bill, a dark green head, beautiful dark eyes, and the rest of him is covered with down because he plucks his feathers due to trauma when he was younger. Despite this he's very personable and extremely smart!

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Flying Circuits @flyingcircuits.bsky.social · 06/06/2026

Atlantic Explorer open-basket balloon almost there! my.yb.tl/pertwood/?ut...

The Atlantic Explorer balloon approaching France

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Flying Circuits @flyingcircuits.bsky.social · 06/06/2026

Buckle your seatbelt and put your Clarks on... 👴🏻

A screenshot from an early version of Microsoft Flight Simulator showing an aerial view of (the former) Meigs Field on an island in lake Michigan. There are basically only four colors, sky, grass, water, and concrete. Very few buildings are rendered, the Sears Tower being one of them. I think this was the default home field if I remember correctly...

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