iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

James A. Hodges @jameshodges.net · 20/09/2026

It’s a good question, especially since there are plenty of double-sided DVDs

Diagram of DVD storage setups (single sided vs double sided)

James A. Hodges @jameshodges.net · 11/09/2026

My main recollection from 9/11/01 was seeing smoke over the horizon in my hometown 50mi away at the Jersey shore. But I always doubted myself-- was I just imagining it? Today I can confirm, that plume blew due south and was visible from space. Image from CBS17 in Raleigh NC, shared via FB today

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James A. Hodges @jameshodges.net · 11/09/2026

Shared this "Art of DJing" article with my students because it's a fun way to discuss knowledge organization: ra.co/features/3392 Upon review, I learned something new: Avalon Emerson appears to be left-handed. One of us, the rarified 10%

A woman with brown hair and glasses turning knobs on retro-looking audio gear. She is wearing a Casio watch on her right wrist.

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James A. Hodges @jameshodges.net · 24/07/2026

SJSU mentioned! 🥳 (from Benjamin Breen's "Tripping on Utopia)

excerpt reading as follows: Lilly’s near-death experience—what he called his “incident”—took place on May 7, 1964, a Thursday. That Saturday, Gregory Bateson could be found sitting in an auditorium at San Jose State University, participating in a symposium on the “problems and potentialities” of LSD. The event had been organized by one of Bateson’s former colleagues from the Mental Research Institute. Frank Barron was also there, having fled the Leary circle by this time, but still a true believer in the transformative power of psychedelics.

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James A. Hodges @jameshodges.net · 29/05/2026

Returned to the site of my PhD for an IMLS symposium on provenance

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James A. Hodges @jameshodges.net · 22/05/2026

Greetings from Silicon Valley! Enjoy the funny dance now because these things will probably be committing atrocities in a year or two 🥳

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James A. Hodges @jameshodges.net · 08/05/2026

My paper "Historicizing Web-Based Environmental Data Dashboards: Surfrider.org, 1997-2025" has been accepted for publication in Internet Histories 🥳 It compares data structures, web source, and supporting documents from 1997 to 2025, to show how citizen science data curation changes over time

Slide with title of paper and image of San Clemente pier in Orange County, California (long pier into ocean framed by palm trees)

Diagram of research method listing three steps: 1: Capture samples (1997, 2011, 2025), 2: Analyze Data Structures (format, fields), 3: Analyze Web interfaces (source code, visual design)

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James A. Hodges @jameshodges.net · 09/04/2026

In honor of the Artemis II mission, I decided to open this “Apollo Space Pen,” which I purchased as a souvenir from the Kennedy Space Center as a child in the 1990s. It didn’t work, but I have contacted the Fischer Space Pen company regarding their lifetime guarantee

“Apollo space pen,” new in faded packaging which claims ability to write at any angle, upside down, under water, over grease, and in extreme temperatures

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James A. Hodges @jameshodges.net · 13/03/2026

This email for a Department of War cybersecurity initiative looks like a laser tag ad

“The ascend initiative. The future of cyber education will be decided in Pittsburgh. Be there”

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James A. Hodges @jameshodges.net · 06/03/2026

From NYT interview with Alysa Liu This is why I like the French designation of “sport de glisse,” aka gliding sports. We don’t really have an equivalent in English but it’s really useful as a way to categorize sports like skiing & ice skating together, along w/ others like skateboarding & surfing

“It’s the glide. You can’t get that anywhere. Roller coasters, you go fast and they’re smooth, but that’s not glide. I love gliding. Ah! Even roller skating, it’s not as smooth. It’s because you’re on a blade that’s so thin. It feels so whimsical and ethereal. When I went skiing, I felt it. I glided for the first time since I quit, and I was like whoa.”

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James A. Hodges @jameshodges.net · 19/02/2026

Captcha prompt: Identify the kitchen object to prove you're human Captcha image:

completely indiscernible image designed to show viewers what life is like after experiencing a stroke

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James A. Hodges @jameshodges.net · 17/02/2026

I love how much paratextual information accumulates on an old scientific report. Here we see at least 3 or 4 different layers of document history before it became the Biodiversity Heritage Library's canonical scan

Cover of 'wind sea and swell: theory of relations for forecasting', with stamps from martin j pollak memorial library, woods hole oceanographic institution, and others

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James A. Hodges @jameshodges.net · 13/02/2026

Happy adoption anniversary, Snake! Four years ago we adopted this Texas dirt dog with a messed up eye and named her after the eyepatch-wearing protagonist of “Escape from New York.” Her eye is fine now, but the name and the legend remain

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James A. Hodges @jameshodges.net · 12/02/2026

I really like this NTS radio show, and I listened to several episodes before I realized that the thumbnail was very subtly different each time

13 very subtly different photos of the same woman holding a 12" record in front of a record shelf

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James A. Hodges @jameshodges.net · 31/12/2025

My big 2025 plans were: 30 surf sessions, 6 days snowboarding, and no broken bones. I am pleased to report I was successful on every count 🫡

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James A. Hodges @jameshodges.net · 16/11/2025

With all due respect there are only like five people who live here, half of them are transient NPS tenants, and the other half probably voted for Sliwa

Map of New York City highlighting Jacob Riis Park in the Rockaway peninsula

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James A. Hodges @jameshodges.net · 16/11/2025

Arrived in DC for the annual ASIS&T conference 🚂 Speaking on this panel, which the Official Conference App says is a “session with big attendance!” 🥳 Come see for yourself in Conference Theater at 2pm tomorrow (Monday) 🌎 #ASIST #ASIST25

Flyer for “panel 16: geographic information in information science research” Monday November 17, 2pm-3:30pm. Session with big attendance

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James A. Hodges @jameshodges.net · 03/10/2025

"television is reality, and reality is less than television"

Still from "Videodrome" (dir. David Cronenberg, 1983)

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James A. Hodges @jameshodges.net · 30/09/2025

Update: I’ve placed a new entry in the “embarrassing” tier (but he does at least have the right footwear)

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James A. Hodges @jameshodges.net · 11/09/2025

Just received SJSU School of Information’s 2025 Research Excellence Award 😊🏆☺️🏆

Plaque commemorating 2025 SJSU school of information research excellence award

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James A. Hodges @jameshodges.net · 05/09/2025

🌊🌊🌊 I've arrived at #4S2025 - and found out my panel was rescheduled! 🌊🌊🌊 Come check out OCEANS OF DATA 🌊🌊🌊 10:40AM tomorrow, Saturday Sept 6 🌊🌊🌊 Summit (Convention Center) 331

477. Oceans of Data: Knowledge Production in Aquatic Environments
Panel
10:40 to 12:30 PM
Summit (Convention Center)
331
Participants:
From Data Streams to Outflow Streams: Reverse-Engineering a Coastal Water
Monitoring Initiative James Hodges, San José State University
Distributive Efficient Sea Hannah Tollefson, University of Toronto
Countercultural Techniques: Wave Forecasting, Shoreline Media, and the
Technocultural Origins of Coastal Meteorology Rob Arcand, McGill University
Chair:
James Hodges, San José State University

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James A. Hodges @jameshodges.net · 04/09/2025

Flying to Seattle for #4S2025 this evening! Can't wait to present our panel "Oceans of Data" on Saturday

Oceans of Data: Knowledge Production in Aquatic Environments
Sat, September 06
1:30 PM - 3:20 PM
335
Summit (Convention Center)
Closed Panel
Description
Despite covering more than two thirds of the earth’s surface area, water poses myriad challenges to human sensoria characterized by “terrestrial bias” and conditioned primarily to interpret above-water phenomena (Jue, 2020).

This panel examines the social and technical construction of aquatic knowledge, drawing case studies from the intersections of natural and social sciences to explore the ways that aquatic milieus demand unique forms of engagement when compared with those occurring on land. Papers examine the human knowledge generated through interaction with water in both personal and global scales, as well as their complex interrelations.

Marie Lecuyer examines aquatic burial rituals offshore from Hong Kong, showing how marine zones dedicated to the scattering of ashes pose new contestations to longstanding cultural practices.

James Hodges reverse-engineers the data curation pipelines used to evaluate coastal water’s relative cleanliness or pollution.

Rob Arcand compares military, amateur, and commercial meteorological practices aimed at predicting the behavior of waves.

Owen Stewart-Robinson examines the relationship between large-scale underwater phenomena and personal practices of listening among underwater acoustics researchers.

Hannah Tollefson examines the application of just-in-time management in managing cargo vessel traffic near Vancouver, B.C., showing how management practices once used to discipline workers are now rescaled to govern much vaster ocean spaces.

Taken together, these papers highlight the diversity of social and technological interventions aimed at mediating and rendering legible the features of aquatic environments. Each paper highlights a unique set of practices, while also highlighting the unique demands that aquatic environments pose on knowledge production.

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James A. Hodges @jameshodges.net · 31/07/2025

Here's the info on our 4S panel, "Oceans of Data" (ft. Hannah Tollefson, Owen Stewart-Robinson, Marie Lecuyer, and Rob Arcand)

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James A. Hodges @jameshodges.net · 29/07/2025

‘Disneyland is there to conceal the fact that it is the "real" country, all of "real" America, which is Disneyland (just as prisons are there to conceal the fact that it is the social in its entirety, in its banal omnipresence, which is carceral).’

Man in Disney Pluto suit standing far away behind chain link fence

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James A. Hodges @jameshodges.net · 29/07/2025

“The Disneyland imaginary is neither true nor false: it is a deterrence machine set up in order to rejuvenate in reverse the fiction of the real.” -Baudrillard

Selfie of myself standing in front of Disneyland castle

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James A. Hodges @jameshodges.net · 24/07/2025

RIP Hulk Hogan. I tried to find the famous tweet where he thought Bam Margera was dead but I found something much stranger instead

Google search result for “hulk hogan bam margera tweet” that shows a picture of Jeffrey Epstein and Donald Trump for some reason

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James A. Hodges @jameshodges.net · 22/07/2025

Mom knows I like heavy metal 🥺

Text from mom reading “Izzy Osborne died” (spelled wrong)

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James A. Hodges @jameshodges.net · 25/06/2025

The democrats are going to commission a $500 million study on why this message didn’t resonate with voters

Andrew Cuomo on TV saying “I’m not perverted, I’m just Italian”

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James A. Hodges @jameshodges.net · 24/06/2025

"lossless compression entails a certain amount of philosophical cynicism ... it assumes nothing will ever alter the basic encoding of the world, even as the surface effects of encoded objects shift from one shape to another." -Galloway and LaRivière, 2017 Cue the "nothing ever happens" meme

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James A. Hodges @jameshodges.net · 16/06/2025

Bill de Blasio was the best NYC mayor of my lifetime

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James A. Hodges @jameshodges.net · 17/05/2025

Look what came in the mail 👀

Book: “writing on raving: an anthology”
Edited by Zoe Beery, Geoffrey Mak, and McKenzie Wark

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James A. Hodges @jameshodges.net · 13/05/2025

When they ask me to review a book not knowing I have a polemic on some adjacent topic just waiting to be unleashed

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James A. Hodges @jameshodges.net · 01/05/2025

What would Miyazaki think about this horny Totoro mural on the side of a smoke shop

Graffiti mural of Totoro slapping a woman on the butt

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James A. Hodges @jameshodges.net · 18/03/2025

today both deepseek and chatgpt failed me on the relatively simple task of calculating average wordcount among entries on an annotated bibliography

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James A. Hodges @jameshodges.net · 28/02/2025

Just stumbled on this meme I made in 2018. How small-minded I was, thinking our next great tragedy would “only” be as significant as 9/11, instead of the 1.5 million (and counting) Covid death toll, which is like five 9/11s …I was right about the economy though

Meme reading “ima keep it real with you chief: it’s time to start hoarding resources before a 9/11 scale disaster ends this period of insane economic inflation”

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James A. Hodges @jameshodges.net · 18/02/2025

Got a hardcover copy of “Perspectives on Paradata” from the press this weekend. Contains the last work I cowrote with the late Ciaran Trace before she passed 🥺

Hardcover book: “perspectives on paradata: research and practice of documenting process knowledge,” edited by Isto Huvila, Lisa Andersson, and Olle Sköld

Table of contents including “the role of paradata in algorithmic accountability” by Ciaran B Trace and James A Hodges

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James A. Hodges @jameshodges.net · 26/01/2025

I went to see “Recording the Ride: The Rise of Street-Style Skate Videos” at Museum of the Moving Image this weekend. This Sony CCD-VX3, used to film Zoo York’s “Mixtape,” was one of my favorite displays. An east coast classic, but also a reminder that not *everything* was shot on VX1000

Sony CCD-VX3 camcorder with cassette tapes and poster advertising Zoo York Mixtape

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