iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

J. B. Rainsberger @jbrains.ca · 05/09/2026

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It starts with making lists. It leads somewhere much more significant, if you give it time.... youtube.com/shorts/nEzwD...

youtube.com

The Power of Knowing that You WILL Get Around to It

J. B. Rainsberger @jbrains.ca · 04/09/2026

When starting a project, I notice three stages: 1: Deal with the torrent of new things. 2: Rest. (Do the minimum it takes to tread water.) 3: Hack away every day until you find your groove. So many folks feel guilty in Stage 2 and rush to Stage 3. I recommend against it. youtu.be/5UOn6auOFjM?...

youtu.be

Anticipating the Guilt of Wanting to Rest

J. B. Rainsberger @jbrains.ca · 29/08/2026

When you need pizza late, please call your order in early, so we know to keep the light on for you. Thanks! (And thanks to the person who did that for us tonight!) www.minnedosabowl.ca/gutters-pizza

A lit sign reading "Minnedosa Bowl" outside the Minnedosa Bowl building, captured at night.

J. B. Rainsberger @jbrains.ca · 27/08/2026

One Weird Trick for snapping myself out of the Blaming Stance, when all I _want_ to do is tell everyone else that everything is all their fault. The Blaming Stance is strong in this one. 💪 🤷 youtu.be/Fi4qNt7f67k?...

youtu.be

Snapping Myself Out of the Blaming Stance

J. B. Rainsberger @jbrains.ca · 19/08/2026

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Sometimes, when you submit a feature request, they actually ship it! Even a bank!! "We made improvements based on feedback from customers like you. Now, sort by date to view your most recent transactions first, or your oldest."

An announcement of a new feature at a banking web site, including "We made improvements based on feedback from customers like you. Now, sort by date to view your most recent transactions first, or your oldest."

Sarah Rainsberger @sarah11918.rainsberger.ca · 17/07/2026

Reposted by J. B. Rainsberger

It's in the paper, so I guess it's official now! See you soon, Manitoba! It's been a minute... #5pinbowling #Manitoba #Westman

A black and white newspaper article from The Minnedosa Tribune "Passing the torch: Minnedosa Bowl begins its next chapter as owners Alan and Debbie Tarn hang up their bowling shoes." There are two photos of the couples: me and Joe on the left, and the outgoing owners of the bowling centre Debbie and Alan on the right. The article describes the 65 year history of the bowling centre, the legacy of the outgoing owners, and Joe and I as "the successors."

Includes the anecdote from Joe, "I joked on Facebook that someone needed to buy the place so that I wouldn't."

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J. B. Rainsberger @jbrains.ca · 23/06/2026

One more weekend, one more tournament. This time, a playoff appearance. Now 15627/60.9 games, averaging 256.6. This is a new level of performance for me. #5pinbowling

J. B. Rainsberger @jbrains.ca · 23/06/2026

I'm planning to uproot my life and move, but I don't feel stress from the explosion of things to do, because of #GTD. I have a long list of things to do. I keep having more ideas. There's on the list. I'll get to them. I won't forget anything important. It'll be fine. #GettingThingsDone

J. B. Rainsberger @jbrains.ca · 23/06/2026

There is a new address for forwarding my mail! On August 1, 2026, we become owners and managers of Minnedosa Bowl & Gutters Pizza (& Lounge) in lovely uptown Minnedosa, MB! #5pinbowling Stay tuned for information on leagues, tournaments, casual bowling, and theme nights. minnedosabowl.ca

minnedosabowl.ca

Minnedosa Bowl

Join us for a fun bowling experience! Perfect for bowling birthday parties and family outings. Enjoy delicious pizza at Minnedosa Bowl!

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J. B. Rainsberger @jbrains.ca · 19/05/2026

Two weekends. Two tournaments. 40 qualifying games. Zero playoff appearances. Still, for the first time, scoring 10001 for 40 consecutive tournament games, averaging 250.025. Round numbers aren't so important, but a milestone is a milestone. #5pinbowling

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J. B. Rainsberger @jbrains.ca · 05/05/2026

When interactions "go wrong", the very thing you are most likely to complain about and try to change is the very thing that most people find hardest and most painful to change about themselves. Result? Merry chaos. I propose an alternative that might actually work. blog.jbrains.ca/permalink/th...

blog.jbrains.ca

The Fundamental Irony of Human Interaction — The jbrains Blog

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J. B. Rainsberger @jbrains.ca · 02/05/2026

Strategy: Say things so egregious and obviously stupid that the listener is stunned into inaction and can only :shrug:. Example: "All women love ballrooms." I would call it "genius" if I thought it were intentional.

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J. B. Rainsberger @jbrains.ca · 24/04/2026

"I should add a comment to this task for next year to visit their shitty site in Chrome, because it doesn't work in Firefox." I did that last year and failed to notice the note.

media.tenor.com

a man in a suit and sweater stands in front of a sign that says ' the '

Alt: Larry David as Larry David in Curb Your Enthusiasm, looking his normal uncertain self.

J. B. Rainsberger @jbrains.ca · 24/04/2026

The Doctor is In at #devoxxgr. Join me for free consulting or coaching. Simply sit down and let's start!

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J. B. Rainsberger @jbrains.ca · 21/04/2026

Is there truly nobody struggling with mock objects out there? I asked Claude Code to generate an example of a Java project using mock objects and it generated my Point of Sale teaching example.

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J. B. Rainsberger @jbrains.ca · 16/04/2026

"Should I pull more tickets?" These two answers are clearly wrong: "Yes" and "No". A helpful answer is significant more complicated. We handle these questions are other thorny problems as part of Office Hours. Not free, but excellent. office-hours.jbrains.ca

office-hours.jbrains.ca

Mentoring with jbrains

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J. B. Rainsberger @jbrains.ca · 15/04/2026

"Playing Well With Others: An Example" Choosing not to perpetuate LinkedIn as a cesspool of self-proclaimed thought leaders yelling past each other. blog.jbrains.ca/permalink/pl...

blog.jbrains.ca

Playing Well With Others: An Example

LinkedIn is full of strong opinions, weakly articulated. You don't have to succumb to the temptation of yelling back about how wrong people are. You can brea...

J. B. Rainsberger @jbrains.ca · 07/04/2026

Few things can wake you up quite like downloading accounting information and then seeing a bunch of it disappear. At least, this time, there was a simple explanation for their bug.

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J. B. Rainsberger @jbrains.ca · 25/03/2026

When I started practising #GTD I didn't realize that I would come to know focusing on a task itself as rewarding and even addictive. I notice more and more, when I feel scattered, an abstract longing for doing something I can focus on.

J. B. Rainsberger @jbrains.ca · 23/03/2026

Consider treating your inbox as containing options, not obligations. I know: it's easier said than done. Even so... blog.jbrains.ca/permalink/yo...

blog.jbrains.ca

Your Inbox As Options, Not Obligations

J. B. Rainsberger @jbrains.ca · 20/03/2026

I just drafted 1400 words about mock objects (and why you might struggle with them) that have been trying to get out for a long time now. These words might see the light of day, but members of The jbrains Experience are reading them now. ;) experience.jbrains.ca

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J. B. Rainsberger @jbrains.ca · 19/03/2026

I'm looking for Ottawa/Gatineau folks willing to help me with some office space. I am thinking of scheduling a remote workshop that would run 2 hours on 2 consecutive days, particularly May 12 and 13.

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Reposted by J. B. Rainsberger

Atmosphere Community @atmosphere.community · 17/03/2026

The @oredev.org conference is interested in an atproto architecture talk. The CFP is open until the end of March - get your submission in before AtmosphereConf! oredev.org/callforpaper

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J. B. Rainsberger @jbrains.ca · 17/03/2026

It's a little thing, but when you can't figure out which window you need, you need to set the window title using a`tmux` configuration setting you barely understand. Everyone starts somewhere. jb.rainsberger.ca/permalink/byobu-s…

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J. B. Rainsberger @jbrains.ca · 11/03/2026

Fixed a detect and accidentally added a feature. #realgitcommitmessages

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Reposted by J. B. Rainsberger

Cat Hicks @grimalkina.bsky.social · 11/03/2026

In college I discovered I was good at chess, which was a surprise to me. My dad was into chess, and taught classes titled Logic; I was always fascinated by the exercises of those courses, but simultaneously, the men of that church community treated any demonstration of my success as a party trick

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J. B. Rainsberger @jbrains.ca · 11/03/2026

Unit tests don't merely run more quickly because they execute a smaller part of the system. They eliminate irrelevant details, which makes spotting the mistake less expensive. #softwaretesting #softwaredesign

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J. B. Rainsberger @jbrains.ca · 09/03/2026

"I hate planning meetings!" Maybe. Maybe it would help if you saw people actually _planning_: - changing the plan to reflect changing reality - taking our anxiety seriously about missing deadlines - figuring out what to say "No" to, then actually saying it What do you think?

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J. B. Rainsberger @jbrains.ca · 27/02/2026

A programmer's act of love: documenting and reporting an apparent defect in painstaking detail, then removing as many superfluous words as possible.

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J. B. Rainsberger @jbrains.ca · 24/02/2026

I highly _highly_ recommend this interview. It's long. Very long. Feature-film length. Even so, I love Dr Hassan's emphasis on what works when trying to help folks out of harmful beliefs, rather than what makes one feel superior over them. www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Ulv...

youtube.com

Dr. Steven Hassan: Are You in a Cult and Don’t Even Know It?

YouTube video by Trevor Noah