iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

HighLevelMaker @highlevelmaker.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

An identical oops from a long time ago, this time with #StarWars books. This and that other are the only two times I've done this

Star Wars books, and some others, including two copies of Republic Commando: Triple Zero

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HighLevelMaker @highlevelmaker.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Oops. #Dune novels duplicity. Out of Navigators, Sisterhood and Mentats, I was almost certain one of those I still needed, but wasn't sure which. Looking (not carefully enough) through pictures of the books stored in the locker, it looked like I needed Mentats. I actually had all three

Mentats of Dune, purchased a few weeks ago

From one of the pictures of books stored in the locker taken quite some time ago, including...

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HighLevelMaker @highlevelmaker.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

An evergreen pleasure: deleting a title off the get-it list that was on there since the early/mid-2000s The numbers are priority key: 1 = low; 2 = medium; 3 = high; 4 = top #ClassicAlternative

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HighLevelMaker @highlevelmaker.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

In the tradition of album art depictions to nerd out over, some #ClassicAlternative Goodness obtained lately (Edition No. 19 it looks like)

Go-Go's - Talk Show
The Specials - The Specials
The Church - Remote Luxury
Bauhaus: The Sky's Gone Out
Sonic Youth - Goo
Dead Can Dance - Dead Can Dance [+ Garden Of The Arcane Delights]
Dead Can Dance - Aion
Echo & The Bunnymen - Crocodiles
The Alarm - Strength
Red Hot Chili Peppers - What Hits!?
Corey Hart - Fields Of Fire
Double - Dou3le

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HighLevelMaker @highlevelmaker.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

If you're representing officials running for election and are displaying the #RebelLoon you have my immediate and at least initial support. Choosing to condemn all this mistreatment of and thuggery toward immigrants and be in solidarity on this matter goes a hell of a long way with me

Representing Matt Little for Congress, in the 2026 Burnsville Fire Muster Parade

Representing Minnesota DFL, in the 2026 Burnsville Fire Muster Parade

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HighLevelMaker @highlevelmaker.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

The Sep 12 Event Three-Pack, the second of the #StPaul Festival Two-Pack only 20 blocks away: Selby Avenue Jazzfest

Selby Avenue Jazzfest in St. Paul, community market and exhibits

Selby Avenue Jazzfest in St. Paul, main stage

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HighLevelMaker @highlevelmaker.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

The Sep 12 Event Three-Pack, Event Two: the first of a #StPaul Festival Two-Pack. A non-drinker goes to #Oktoberfest. Might not be into beer, but am very much into Käzerspätzle

St. Paul Oktoberfest at the Germanic-American Institute

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HighLevelMaker @highlevelmaker.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

An Event THREE-PACK for Sep 12! First: Let's Have a Parade! The #Burnsville Fire Muster Parade. I said last year the festival itself is perpetually off the table and it still is. But the parade is absolutely a go

Burnsville High School football team, it appears

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HighLevelMaker @highlevelmaker.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

This is EXACTLY what I meant by "not much good goes on at fairs later at night." It was just before 10pm on 9-5, and anyone could have been victimized by this. I was there this day but had already left; this sort of thing is why www.twincities.com/2026/09/09/m... www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/ne...

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HighLevelMaker @highlevelmaker.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Let's say what it really is: these budget-priced properties attract RIFF-RAFF. Frustrating for us who go just to stay in a hotel. I've actually stayed here once (see dates) and somebody was howling like a banshee half the night kstp.com/kstp-news/to...

Reservation from 2018 for the Super 8 hotel on James Circle in Brooklyn Center, MN

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HighLevelMaker @highlevelmaker.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

🧵2026 #MNStateFair on Sep 5 Going by past experience, not much good happens at fairs after ~9pm, and most things close for the night around then anyway. And I'm not going anywhere near the midway due to too many negative experiences in the past. Wrapped up the night at the International Bazaar

Performance at the bandshell at the International Bazaar

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HighLevelMaker @highlevelmaker.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

2026 #MNStateFair on Aug 29 The Awesome Knit Headwear Montage 2

The second montage of awesome knit headwear: 6 main examples and a good-size additional assortment

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HighLevelMaker @highlevelmaker.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

2026 #MNStateFair on Aug 29 And here's where things truly get serious: The Awesome Knit Headwear Montage 1, and a bonus

The first montage of awesome knit headwear: 9 examples and a bonus Rebel Loon

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HighLevelMaker @highlevelmaker.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

2026 #MNStateFair on Aug 29 And now, the all-important knit headwear. First, the Pre-Show

An assortment of way-cool knit headwear, on a tree display

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HighLevelMaker @highlevelmaker.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

2026 #MNStateFair on Aug 29 and Sep 5 An assortment of knit apparel and items, and yarn work. Also featured is a citation of that one instance where #StPaul gets dissed, which led to the creation of #WinterCarnival

Knit apparel and items, with a Blue theme

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HighLevelMaker @highlevelmaker.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

2026 #MNStateFair on Aug 29 More creative arts protesting thuggery and recognizing Minnesotan solidarity. Rightfully labeled "occupation" here, and not "crackdown". The word "crackdown" carries undercurrents of legitimacy, and there was nothing whatsoever legitimate with this thuggery

Protesting thuggery and recognizing Minnesotan solidarity through creative arts

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HighLevelMaker @highlevelmaker.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

2026 #MNStateFair on Aug 29 I absolutely dig this every which way and then some

We had many useful things, not the least of which was Grl Pwr

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HighLevelMaker @highlevelmaker.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

2026 #MNStateFair on Aug 29 And some more of the exhibit protesting thuggery and recognizing Minnesotan solidarity

Protesting thuggery and recognizing Minnesotan solidarity. They had ... slippery shoes?

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HighLevelMaker @highlevelmaker.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

🧵2026 #MNStateFair on Aug 29 This style of headwear is one thing I would have liked to have joined in on, as a solidarity act, at the #NoKings protest on March 28, if I had known about it far enough ahead of time. I had only a cursory awareness of it beforehand; ditto with the #RebelLoon

Exhibit protesting all the thuggery that has gone on earlier in the year, by means of creative arts; most notably here, the red knit headwear with the tassels

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HighLevelMaker @highlevelmaker.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

2026 #MNStateFair on Sep 5 Inside the DNR Building. It's simple: don't be a goon. Be a...you know. And you get TWO choices! It looks like the #MNUFC one assists the DNR as well

Some of the many specialty license plates available here in MN. These ones benefit the DNR

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HighLevelMaker @highlevelmaker.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

🧵2026 #MNStateFair on Sep 5 View this with red/cyan 3D glasses; red on the left. Disclaimer: I didn't have any on hand and wasn't able to verify how well this worked

Red/cyan 3D anaglyph of a model of a house reminiscent of Fallingwater

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HighLevelMaker @highlevelmaker.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

🧵2026 #MNStateFair on Sep 5 Eco Experience Progress Center aka "the sewer is not a convenient abyss for disposing of things" and many more goodies

The water tower on the northeast side of the grounds, looking through the clerestory inside the Eco Experience Progress Center

Inside the Eco Experience Progress Center

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HighLevelMaker @highlevelmaker.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

🧵2026 #MNStateFair on Sep 5 Missed this last week in the bees and honey exhibit in the Ag Hort building. This (and one or two other things) are loosely inspiring some apparel I've had an idea about; I had outerwear in mind

Just visible on the left: a "2nd place" ribbon

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HighLevelMaker @highlevelmaker.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

2026 #MNStateFair on Sep 5 Rory!! Got to see her for the first time and of course I begin bouncing off the walls (doing WHAT??) -- some @mnaurorafc.bsky.social fun. And just before was Jack Brass Band: they were Entrant E Plus Sixteen at the Ted Bearth Grande Parade at #Oakdale Summerfest

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HighLevelMaker @highlevelmaker.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

🧵2026 #MNStateFair on Sep 5 Goldy, and the U of M Duluth mascot, Champ There was photo-op time. A disadvantage of not having the benefit of companions is no photographer; I had to go without

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HighLevelMaker @highlevelmaker.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

🧵2026 #MNStateFair on Sep 5 The apple fries, a new food this year, have been much hyped and rightfully so. The line looked fearsome but it wasn't much more than 30 minutes. You can get them with whipped cream on the side in addition to the caramel: "deluxe" ($13) vs "classic" ($10)

The Apple Fries vendor, with a small part of the line out front (it went around the corner and in front of the Visitors Plaza)

Apple Fries: fried apple slices, cinnamon+sugar tossed, served with caramel sauce non-viscous enough to be dippable

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HighLevelMaker @highlevelmaker.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

2026 #MNStateFair on Aug 29 Vote Here!--for WHAT??? At the Christmas hall in the Ag Hort Bldg. It says in quite small print on the box with the beads. There were a few of these, for different subjects (trees, wreaths, etc), around the hall

Tubes, in which you placed a bead, to vote for your favorite...I think this one was for the wreaths

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HighLevelMaker @highlevelmaker.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

2026 #MNStateFair on Aug 29 Looking up into the central tower above the rotunda in the Agriculture Horticulture Building and Below the tower

Floral exhibit at the Agriculture Horticulture Building central rotunda

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HighLevelMaker @highlevelmaker.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

2026 #MNStateFair on Aug 29 After the crop art, don't forget the scarecrows: Saint Small? Nothing scary here but I digress and Don't be a scaregoon. Be a...you know

A sort-of scarecrow sporting sports paraphernalia and awesome headwear

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HighLevelMaker @highlevelmaker.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

[2]🧵2026 #WoodburyDays Seen for the second time in 21 hours and #PanOProg being promoted. I don't recall seeing this in prior parades before

Winter Carnival Royalty and Our Favorite Krewe-with-a-K from Our Favorite Moonless Planet

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HighLevelMaker @highlevelmaker.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

[1]🧵2026 #WoodburyDays on Aug 30: Let's Have a Parade! Woodlane Dr was just repaved and relandscaped and was still being worked on last week. South Washington County Schools (united, I believe) Marching Band: a favorite I saw last year too

South Washington County Schools Marching Band

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HighLevelMaker @highlevelmaker.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

2026 #MNStateFair on Aug 29 Is this that one food truck I saw at the waterfront downtown on July 4--and went to and enjoyed a great deal? *goes through pictures* It is! (Although at the fair I'll prioritize Fair-specific concessions that otherwise aren't available the rest of the year)

Kosharina Egyptian Cuisine: near the big ramp (Dan Patch Park area) to the exhibit venue under the grandstand

...and at the waterfront downtown on Jul 4, 2026

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HighLevelMaker @highlevelmaker.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

🧵2026 #MNStateFair on Aug 29 The subject that draws what's probably the longest line at the fair, and for good reason: the #CropArt

Exhibit featuring "crop art": images made of seeds and other plant materials

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HighLevelMaker @highlevelmaker.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

2026 #MNStateFair on Aug 29 Let's Have a Parade. Actually, this parade was severely mismanaged. I appreciate the entrants (two of them I would be seeing at #WoodburyDays 21 hours later) but wonder--mismanagement notwithstanding--if it's really necessary

Participants in the robotics competition

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HighLevelMaker @highlevelmaker.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

🧵2026 #MNStateFair on Aug 29 Some atmosphere, from the lookout tower

Looking up at the lookout tower at the DNR pavilion

North, toward the Grandstand, from the lookout tower

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HighLevelMaker @highlevelmaker.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

#MNStateFair -- more posts to come; it's been a busy weekend I posted last year I would consider doing this, and... As you likely know, the lids to these buckets have a well-earned reputation for not wanting to go on. Some might call this "cheating". I call it "being prepared"

Sweet Martha's cookie bucket--with lid on--and [Spoiler Warning] two ziplock bags stuffed with enough of the cookies to allow for the lid to go on

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HighLevelMaker @highlevelmaker.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

#MNStateFair #CropArt Nobody likes me Everybody hates me I think I'll eat some worrrrrrrrrms Long skinny slimy worms Big fat juicy worms Itsy bitsy fuzzy wuzzy worms

Tom Emmer Eats Worms. (Tom Emmer is so egregiously and utterly out of touch with reality it's truly disturbing and frightening)

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HighLevelMaker @highlevelmaker.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

#Minnesota Two-Pack 2 of 2 Spotted this in the storage locker. Could this be an alternative to that ignition interlock program here in Minnesota you hear advertised? Probably not. You gotta wonder if this is (was?) an undiscovered miracle cure for hangover

"Smart Start" cereal, foodservice edition: the carton it came in. Never seen this, although I'm not much of a consumer of cereal. Maybe it was discontinued a long time ago

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HighLevelMaker @highlevelmaker.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

#Minnesota Two-Pack 1 of 2 It's simple. Don't be a goon. Be a...you know:

Specialty license plate featuring Our Majestic State Bird (the actual one)

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HighLevelMaker @highlevelmaker.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

To honor two greats we've just lost, I'll Work 9 to 5 Doing the Rock. You know the first of those, of course. But do you know the second? youtu.be/bTkEj_RI5bA #DollyParton #TimCurry

youtu.be

I Do The Rock

YouTube video by Tim Curry - Topic

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HighLevelMaker @highlevelmaker.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

It looks like I'll be Getting-Together with Minnesotans in Great fashion this weekend, and I'm about to begin bouncing off the walls (doing WHAT??) in anticipation #MNStateFair Busy weekend too: #WoodburyDays on Sunday (Aug 30)

From the 2025 fair: Looking toward the Coliseum to the south, from the lookout tower

From the 2025 fair: Looking north, I think at Dan Patch and Underwood

From the 2025 fair: Agriculture Horticulture Building, central atrium

From the 2025 fair: The bandshell called, beginning this year, the Luther Auto Bandshell. Margo Price is performing Saturday and Sunday (Aug 30 and 31)

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HighLevelMaker @highlevelmaker.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

[3]🧵 #InsomniaSalon Vol. 3 After the stage performances, we were invited to the waterfront. Nearly everybody had these glow rods and were using them as halos. I don't have a clue where/when/how these were distributed or if we were supposed to obtain them beforehand (not a travesty)

Walking a pathway past the bandshell and toward the waterfront, after the stage performances

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HighLevelMaker @highlevelmaker.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

[2] #InsomniaSalon Vol. 3 I was wanting to know who some of the artists were, but only an extremely basic flyer had been produced. They were introduced, but easy to miss. The newspaper article linked in last post mentions a couple of them

Again, although I have a couple names, I don't recall who was who. One performer (the one accompanied by the accordionist) I was especially interested in (the name like "Datura"--I know this isn't remotely right)

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HighLevelMaker @highlevelmaker.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

[1]🧵 #InsomniaSalon Vol. 3 at Raspberry Island in #StPaul, Aug 23 www.deeperwaterarts.org/insomnia-salon www.twincities.com/2026/08/22/t...

Aerial performers. I don't mean myself: this was taken from the bridge

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HighLevelMaker @highlevelmaker.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

Saw this at Rice Park during the quick #StPaul romp last Saturday. Possibly some celebrating going on here #MLV

Our Major League Volleyball franchise, the Minnesota Forge, begin play in January '27

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HighLevelMaker @highlevelmaker.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

A bit of a #StPaul romp afterward. Downtown is too desolate for a Saturday afternoon with fairly decent weather

Downtown St. Paul near the corner of Cedar and 10th, looking south. Central Presbyterian Church on the left

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HighLevelMaker @highlevelmaker.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

🧵2026 IndiaFest at the State Capitol in #StPaul. Let's Have a [mini] Parade! And this time, the food aspect wasn't a bust: a substantial quantity of paneer biryani, enough to be an only meal of the day

The mini-parade on the central corridor toward the Capitol: drummers

The mini-parade on the central corridor toward the Capitol: way-cool apparel

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HighLevelMaker @highlevelmaker.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

On Wednesday in #StPaul we indeed did what The Style Council didn't quite sing about: we clomb (a term learned from Tolkien's Legendarium) to the top--of the belltower-sans-bells at Landmark Center, that is. I posted about this last year too

Inside Landmark Center: the upper part of the stair tower to the belltower-sans-bells

Inside Landmark Center: the fifth and sixth floor part of the atrium, above the lattice work

Landmark Plaza: the park on the east side of Landmark Center

Plaza across the street from the north side of Landmark Center. This was under construction last year

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HighLevelMaker @highlevelmaker.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

Tomorrow, Aug 8, in #Minneapolis / #TwinCities: Twin Cities Solidarity Picnic www.solidaritypicnic.org Understand this clearly: the only reason I know about this is because somebody posted about it a couple weeks ago and chose to use a HASHTAG when doing so. Something to consider

solidaritypicnic.org

Twin Cities Solidarity Picnic

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