iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Jeremy Grossman @jerbaron.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

This one was tough. I guess I like sophomore albums.

"My9Albums" spread in order:
1. Pearl Jam - Live on Two Legs
2. Jethro Tull - Thick as a Brick
3. Dream Theater - Metropolis Pt 2: Scenes from a Memory
4. Pearl Jam - Vs.
5. Tool - Ænima
6. Yes - Close to the Edge
7. Down II - A Bustle in you Hedgerow
8. Godsmack - Awake
9. The Refreshments - Fizzy, Fuzzy, Big & Buzzy

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Jeremy Grossman @jerbaron.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

I think we should have laws instead of this

Text: bsky isnt ready for this but, if you need a reason to not use words like "clanker" that isn't "well its kinda not a great thing to do" (it isn't) imagine this:

future model that has you in its training data, knows you posted that word online with joy, and denies your insurance claim as a result

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Jeremy Grossman @jerbaron.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

This stuff always reminds me how in popular imagination flying cars just leads to traffic in the sky

Screenshot of overwatch map midtown with traffic jams off flying cars in the sky

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Jeremy Grossman @jerbaron.bsky.social · 29/05/2026

Reminder that this was just the straightforward tariff shakedown www.theguardian.com/world/2025/a...

Villagers whose farms in Vietnam will be bulldozed to make way for a $1.5bn golf resort backed by the Trump family have reportedly been offered rice provisions and cash compensation of as little as $12 for a square metre of land by state authorities.

Thousands of villagers will be offered compensation based on land size and location, according to a report by Reuters. The agency spoke to elderly farmers who said they feared they would struggle to find a stable livelihood.

The sprawling golf resort, the first project by the Trump Organization in Vietnam, broke ground as the country scrambled to reach a crucial trade deal with the US.

Vietnam, which is heavily dependent on exports, was facing the threat of a 46% tariff in April, which has since been reduced to 20% for many goods.

Vietnam’s prime minister said the project played an important role in deepening the country’s relationship with the US and that villagers would be reimbursed. Pham Minh Chinh added that he hoped the development would create jobs and improve livelihoods.

The project will include a 54-hole VIP golf course, luxury resorts, high-end villas and a modern urban complex, according to state media. Reactions among local people have been mixed, with many farmers suggesting the compensation rates are too low.

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Jeremy Grossman @jerbaron.bsky.social · 25/05/2026

In which we visit a small farmer-run tea collective in Baitang and purchase tea from the woman who harvested it.

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Jeremy Grossman @jerbaron.bsky.social · 24/05/2026

It's hard to communicate the vastness of the cityscape in the average tier 1 Chinese city

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Jeremy Grossman @jerbaron.bsky.social · 21/05/2026

Mom finally set her retirement date for later this year and I think she might have been celebrating last night

Texts with absolute gibberish and several images that say "I'm not going anywhere" and "how did it go?"

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Jeremy Grossman @jerbaron.bsky.social · 14/05/2026

Actually, there's one rule: the fingers always have to be fucked up

it's a stupid ai goblin thing with three fingers on one hand and four fingers on the other

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Jeremy Grossman @jerbaron.bsky.social · 05/04/2026

Box art is also revealed in the newsletter! I almost forgot!

Box art mock-up for the board game Cirque

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Jeremy Grossman @jerbaron.bsky.social · 17/03/2026

Do not talk to me about such things

Text of an email that reads: The new Nano Banana Pro is now in Google Ads.

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Jeremy Grossman @jerbaron.bsky.social · 18/02/2026

If only leftists were as enthusiastic about Cirque, the circus-themed board game I'm making, as they are about universal healthcare 🙄

Prototype cards for the board game Cirque, featuring the card "Shell Game" on top

Prototype playtesting sessions of Cirque.

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Jeremy Grossman @jerbaron.bsky.social · 02/02/2026

First trip on the new/old yellow line to/from Greenbelt

Wayfinder board at the College Park metro station

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Jeremy Grossman @jerbaron.bsky.social · 02/02/2026

Not bad given that I mostly ride my own bike and metroed for awhile after the car hit me

Capital Bikeshare recap. 108 rides, 317 miles, 26 hours

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Jeremy Grossman @jerbaron.bsky.social · 17/01/2026

And 2. If you have to to soften the lede, which is that this is a bunch of right wingers, which "many" have known since day 1, then the whole premise is doodoo.

The list leaned right, to be sure. Loury, who is Black, zealously opposes affirmative action. Mamet had called Trump "the best president since Abraham Lincoln." Hock served as chairwoman of an organization called Texas GOP 2020 Victory. Several of the academics had experienced backlash for taking conservative positions. These included Dorian Abbot, a geophysicist who'd had a planned lecture at MIT on extraterrestrial life canceled over his views on DEI; Peter Boghossian, who'd resigned from Portland State University in part because of the institution's response to his sending hoax articles to academic journals; and University of Sussex professor Kathleen Stock, who'd faced protests over her allegedly transphobic views, which she disputed.

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Jeremy Grossman @jerbaron.bsky.social · 17/01/2026

I'm not going to do a whole critique of the article but I will say that: 1. It changes the whole sympathy structure of the story to say "many contend" instead of "UATX people contend"

Text: The harshness of Lonsdale's diatribe would have been out of place on any college campus, but was particularly so at UATX, which had framed itself as a bulwark against the cancel culture that many contend has become common in the American academy. UATX's image had never been entirely nonpartisan, but Lonsdale's message signaled a decisive, rightward turn.

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Jeremy Grossman @jerbaron.bsky.social · 15/01/2026

We're coming down but it's a slow journey

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Jeremy Grossman @jerbaron.bsky.social · 14/01/2026

We just had dental surgery and we are the highest anyone has ever been

Cat on the floor looking up with huge pupils, the kind that would indicate a major drug event.

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Jeremy Grossman @jerbaron.bsky.social · 20/12/2025

Since we're sharing our creative projects from the year, I should report that @cirquegame.bsky.social is closing in on finished. Worked a lot on the rulebook today. This project has been sustaining in a way that nothing ever has been before.

Cirque card #84: Animal Act, a clown. The very real cat, Dr Frankenstein, makes a cameo here.

A page from the Cirque rulebook breaking down card architecture.

A picture of a game of Cirque in-progress.

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Jeremy Grossman @jerbaron.bsky.social · 29/11/2025

I don't think we need "but" in this thought. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/29/n...

NYT text: Police officers soon arrived on the scene, arresting a handful of protesters and placing metal barricades between the agents and the group outside. But the presence of local law enforcement did little to ease tensions.

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Jeremy Grossman @jerbaron.bsky.social · 11/09/2025

I have been designing a board game about the circus, and Darth, it has many very good animals bsky.app/profile/cirq...

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Jeremy Grossman @jerbaron.bsky.social · 05/09/2025

When you showhorn AI on top of unimpeachable tools like this, your life can only get better

Error message that says: We are not able to show the insights at this time. Please download the insights instead.

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Jeremy Grossman @jerbaron.bsky.social · 10/07/2025

Tomatoes are just about reaching the "can't eat this many every day" volume

Gardened eggplant, tomatoes, hot peppers, and zinnia flowers

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Jeremy Grossman @jerbaron.bsky.social · 05/07/2025

Happy Mass Sublimation Day in the nation's capital

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Jeremy Grossman @jerbaron.bsky.social · 16/06/2025

Another fantastic playtest with some very smart people at Game Kastle in College Park 🎪

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Jeremy Grossman @jerbaron.bsky.social · 10/06/2025

First public playtest was so much fun. Got some excellent feedback from some very nice and smart players. Headed to College Park this weekend for the same 🎪

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Jeremy Grossman @jerbaron.bsky.social · 08/06/2025

First official (public) playtest today 🎪 We've played a bunch at home, but have shared the game with very few people. I am very happy with the status of the prototype. Let's see what the status of the game itself is.