iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

John T (the GRA is silent) @grajohnt.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Did you know that anyone can propose US place names, and they can be named after someone five years after their death? In other news, I'm going to need some help finding the smallest penis-shaped body of water in the US.

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That Dragon Guy @paintyourdragon.bsky.social · 14/05/2026

Before/after revisiting an old RP2040 project while flopped out in bed with a cold. Buttery! The frame rate, I mean, not me. 🌍🧈👹💦 Fun fact: RP2350 is slightly slower at this despite everything.

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John T (the GRA is silent) @grajohnt.bsky.social · 10/05/2026

It's about to get really loud out there! (Megatibicen resh, just emerged from its nymph-stage exoskeleton)

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Benjamin Balthaser @blbalthaser.bsky.social · 24/04/2026

The problem is not that older faculty are sticking around - it’s that they are not being replaced. The argument of this piece is quite pernicious as it substitutes a class war btw workers and a neoliberal administration w an age war btw different ranks of workers

Professors Are Too
Old
The academy's gerontocracy problem is worse than anyone admits.

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GuyD @thenotoriousguy.bsky.social · 15/04/2026

My friend @drlucyrogers.com probably won’t have mentioned it, but she has a book coming out tomorrow, and it’s rather good www.penguin.co.uk/books/461507...

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Sarah O'Connor @sarahoconnorft.ft.com · 26/03/2026

In spite of all the talk of Claude Code and Codex meaning the end of humans writing code, software job adverts are actually going up, according to @jburnmurdoch.ft.com's crunching of millions of job ads for this week's The AI Shift www.ft.com/content/7325...

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Jeff Moore @utahgeohaz.bsky.social · 25/03/2026

Tower in Motion: Resonance Mode Analysis of Devils Tower; new from us, now published in GSA Today: www.geosociety.org/GSA/Publicat...

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John T (the GRA is silent) @grajohnt.bsky.social · 22/03/2026

Here's (I think) the infrasound recording of the #Houston #meteor sonic boom as it passed over here yesterday afternoon. Unconfirmed, but the timing is right. Via my @raspishake.bsky.social #RaspberryBoom

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John T (the GRA is silent) @grajohnt.bsky.social · 22/03/2026

@stevenjgibbons.bsky.social - could I get an opinion on whether you think this might be the sonic boom signature of the #Houston meteor this afternoon? Zooming in, it's vaguely N-shaped, but not enough to convince me. Timing is correct at ~21:40UTC Event: fireball.amsmeteors.org/members/imo_...

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John T (the GRA is silent) @grajohnt.bsky.social · 19/03/2026

I can't believe no one has done this, perhaps because it's somewhat questionable under Swiss law, but I had Gemini take the #Bern Canton coat of arms and replace the bear with a #BerneseMountainDog and change the colors. The red is for their big hearts, and white for the snow they love.

Argent, a bend Gules, overall a Bernese Mountain Dog rampant, ppr.

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John T (the GRA is silent) @grajohnt.bsky.social · 04/03/2026

IMPORTANT #RODENT NEWS: They can throw up. Was reading about #squirrel behavior yesterday and came across this 2025 paper: "Observation of a grey squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) suggests that some rodents can vomit" Rarely have I been so convinced by a paper just from Fig 1.

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John T (the GRA is silent) @grajohnt.bsky.social · 03/03/2026

Tiny (2.7mm wide) addressable RGB LED strips! Made sound-reactive using wled. More to come!

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John T (the GRA is silent) @grajohnt.bsky.social · 26/02/2026

Made a custom acrylic faceplate for my new Music Thing Modular Workshop System, and testing a POC of edge-lighting it. Lots of components means not a ton of light makes it to the middle, but it's not bad.

A modular synth edge-lit by warm white LED n00ds.

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John T (the GRA is silent) @grajohnt.bsky.social · 15/02/2026

It is ironically pretty expensive to buy cardboard shipping tubes from Amazon.

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John T (the GRA is silent) @grajohnt.bsky.social · 28/01/2026

I think I'm finally done making masks for the #KreweOfFreret #MardiGras parade - less than two weeks to go! These will be thrown from the Queen's float, so turn up if you want to catch one :) #BeMardiGras

An array of engraved and formed acrylic masks in various colors

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John T (the GRA is silent) @grajohnt.bsky.social · 24/01/2026

Starting a thread where I take things I've found on FB #Marketplace and use them for the most unhinged #car forum posts I can come up with.

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John T (the GRA is silent) @grajohnt.bsky.social · 23/01/2026

Let me tell you the unintentional *precision* it took me to back my car *exactly* onto this bottle of washer fluid such that it fell over, went under the tire, and sprayed its contents *directly* down my driveway. Couldn't do that again if I tried.

A flattened bottle of washer fluid on a driveway with its contents spread down the driveway.

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John Wiseman @lemonodor.bsky.social · 22/01/2026

1/ This Embry-Riddle aircraft reported GPS problems at Daytona Intl during the recent solar storm: They lost WAAS and couldn't do the RNAV GPS approach. It made me curious what the overall effect was on aviation, so I looked at aircraft GPS data worldwide. (Video from the ATC app: atc.com)

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John T (the GRA is silent) @grajohnt.bsky.social · 22/01/2026

I built one of those <$2 Tesla coil kits from AliExpress. Look at that adorable little spark!

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danniemcq @danniemcq.bsky.social · 20/01/2026

Cat wandered in front of the camera during the #aurora long exposure

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John T (the GRA is silent) @grajohnt.bsky.social · 14/01/2026

Laser cut and heat-molded masks for the New Orleans #MardiGras parade! Riding with #KreweofFreret again as part of the royal entourage. The parade route is highlighted, and each will come with a sticker so you can show where you caught it!

Mardi gras masks engraved with the parade route in purple/yellow and copper/black

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Matt Lanza @mattlanza.bsky.social · 14/01/2026

This story is quite something.

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John T (the GRA is silent) @grajohnt.bsky.social · 09/01/2026

How lazy are #Bernese Mountain Dogs? Here's ours, doing her self-imposed job of protecting the house from any hint of a stray noise outside. There's a reason they're called "tri-colored couch bears".

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John T (the GRA is silent) @grajohnt.bsky.social · 02/01/2026

This is why I call it "Random Number Generator Season" rather than "Winter" here in Houston. This year I've woken up to: Jan 1: 3C Jan 2: 18C

A graph of temperature over time in Houston showing a range in the last 2.5 days of 0C to 26C.

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John T (the GRA is silent) @grajohnt.bsky.social · 01/01/2026

I'm currently testing the waters doing some Intro to Making courses in my area. Does anyone have a favorite single-sided SMD learn-to-solder kit? I have some wonderful double-sided ones, but would prefer to teach the hot plate method for beginners. #makershelp

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John T (the GRA is silent) @grajohnt.bsky.social · 24/12/2025

They're in a hurry today, and I don't blame them.

A "package delivered" photo showing a blurry mess

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Jonty Wareing @jonty.bsky.social · 24/12/2025

Along with #duvetknowitschrismas, time for a new yearly tradition: #ITschristmas, where we share IT support horror stories from helping family over Christmas. Here's mine to start:

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John T (the GRA is silent) @grajohnt.bsky.social · 22/12/2025

I just made this Christmas ornament - I'm pretty sure it says "MERRY CHRISTMAS" in Babylonian cuneiform. Not very happy with the materials though - might have to send a sternly-worded letter to the supplier.

A cuneiform tablet 3D printed in metallic copper - held in a hand

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John T (the GRA is silent) @grajohnt.bsky.social · 21/12/2025

I had a 3D print finish yesterday with the spool like this. I should buy a lottery ticket.

A filament spool with less than half a wrap of filament remaining

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John T (the GRA is silent) @grajohnt.bsky.social · 20/12/2025

I got my hands on a #DJI #Neo2 last week in the UK, and have been testing it out today. Here it is in "Bicycle Follow" mode, set to be low and front left. Pretty impressive, especially given that it's entirely under tree canopy here! (And on the #Motocompacto, of course!)

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John T (the GRA is silent) @grajohnt.bsky.social · 20/12/2025

When they put it in quotes like that, I assume they're being sarcastic and I should just eat it anyways.

A white pack held in a hand that sasy SILICA GEL "DO NOT EAT" THROW AWA DESSICANT and some text in Chinese which I assume says, "Actually very tasty".

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John T (the GRA is silent) @grajohnt.bsky.social · 17/12/2025

TIL that war quoits (chakram) were actually a thing and not just made up for Xena. (Pictures from the Pitt Rivers Museum today)

Several silver war quoits in a museum display

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John T (the GRA is silent) @grajohnt.bsky.social · 10/12/2025

I upgraded the lighting in the laser cutter and now it just makes it obvious I need to clean the lid.

A closed well-lit laser cutter with a very dirty acrylic lid

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John T (the GRA is silent) @grajohnt.bsky.social · 10/12/2025

The #NYT games people say this isn't an English #word. Anyone disagree?

The New York Times Spelling Bee puzzle showing "gilet" not being a word.

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John T (the GRA is silent) @grajohnt.bsky.social · 09/12/2025

London/UK friends: I will be in London next week with some spare time - if anyone wants to meet for coffee etc, just let me know!

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John T (the GRA is silent) @grajohnt.bsky.social · 07/12/2025

My latest bit of silversmithing - a pendant requested by my niece. (I hate this one less than usual, but there are still parts I hate!) Made from brass, sterling silver, and jasper.

A pendant with a brass sun engraved with J+A set above a spiral of silver wire

The other side of the pendant showing the spiral of silver wire with a small red jasper cabochon tube-set in the middle of it

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John T (the GRA is silent) @grajohnt.bsky.social · 07/12/2025

Insight into my own creative process: one success and a pile of failures. We don't talk about #failure enough!

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Terence Eden @edent.tel · 06/12/2025

Do I know anyone in #Sydney? Fancy a drink tomorrow? We are on a flying visit to 'Straya and like meeting new Internet friends.

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Ben Darlow @kapowaz.net · 05/12/2025

Sadly my wife wouldn’t let me use him saying yippee ki-yay motherfucker.

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John T (the GRA is silent) @grajohnt.bsky.social · 04/12/2025

I'm going to need a bigger bag for that.

A small paper bag with a sticker that says "Bring France Home"

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Sung Kim @sungkim.bsky.social · 03/12/2025

What coding with an LLM feels like sometimes.

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John T (the GRA is silent) @grajohnt.bsky.social · 02/12/2025

Working on learning a technique I got from @jarkman.bsky.social - I've made a few dozen of these with various materials and variations and finally have one I'm happy with. Will post many failures soon!

A scribble in the shape of a christmas tree cut into acrylic and embedded with epoxy - about the size of a thumbnail and held between two fingers.

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John T (the GRA is silent) @grajohnt.bsky.social · 02/12/2025

Now THAT is what you want to find in an #Advent calendar

An 8mm hex wrench held in front of a Wera advent calendar

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dirkkoy.bsky.social @dirkkoy.bsky.social · 29/08/2025

Viewport 03

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John T (the GRA is silent) @grajohnt.bsky.social · 24/11/2025

This is finally getting close to being done - it has given me a lot of headaches this week!

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