iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Yup, just use Google, specify "web" (which removes AI summaries) and under "Search Tools" use "custom date" range with 01/01/2021 as the "until" date. If you teach your middle-schoolers to do this, you'll be giving them life skills beyond just making chocolate. :)

A screenshot of a Google Search page illustrating how to filter search results by date using the "Web" tab and the "Tools" menu. The search query in the search bar reads "how to make chocolate site:youtube". Red arrows and boxes highlight relevant features: the "Web" category filter (which blocks AI summaries), the "Tools" drop-down menu, "Custom range..." for date filtering, and an existing date filter set to "Before Jan 1, 2021".

Below this are expected search results of pre-2021 Youtube videos relevant to "how to make chocolate".

010

J. L. Yocum @jlyocum.com · 01/10/2026

Great stuff in 𝘼𝙢𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙙𝙖𝙢 𝙍𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙚𝙬 from Alina Stefanescu yesterday @alinaetc.bsky.social @amsterdamreview.bsky.social www.amsterdamreview.org/three-by-ali...

AMSTERDAM REVIEW

Henry Ossawa Tanner’s The Angel of Death Following Two Lovers, n.d.
— in memory of J. H. Prynne, whose death occurred on the day of this writing, and whose words acrost the threshold of what follows
Timelike and blind, I know you
delirium. As light knows its own lisp is what
cools the water’s surface. So you look forward
at this path with confidence. Fearless rambler, no rue in
crossing the yellow ochre and viridian blended in clover;
with time being yours, while mine is the eyeless
head turning backwards, noting the shadow
in my fear of love is also my love for sfumato, my
arms covered in bumps and lampblackwords.

The ship on your lips
steadies itself for the journey
and the bird rises like a wine-bruise
also; the hum of a manganese violet
from a distant orchard. I read the like-minded
frenzy of purple hues upon your cloak. From here
to darker, I know the feel of green
fields moving faster. Dewless
we go into the darkest shallows.

Alina Ștefănescu

181

J. L. Yocum @jlyocum.com · 19/09/2026

Me, singing to my cat: 🎼“Every cat in Catstantinople Lives in Istancat, not Catstantinople So if you’ve got a cat in Catstantinople, He’ll be catting in Istancat.” 🎶 My cat:

Orange and white cat lying on a bed with his belly showing and his head upside down and his forepaws outstretched and a derpy smile on his precious little face.

020

J. L. Yocum @jlyocum.com · 16/09/2026

Gerard Manley Hopkins had such a command of the music of language that, as a devout Buddhist, I'm not even bothered by his over-the-top Christianizing. Lock yourself in a closet and read this aloud to yourself — you'll see what I mean:

As Kingfishers Catch Fire
By Gerard Manley Hopkins

As kingfishers catch fire, dragonflies draw flame;
As tumbled over rim in roundy wells
Stones ring; like each tucked string tells, each hung bell's
Bow swung finds tongue to fling out broad its name;
Each mortal thing does one thing and the same:
Deals out that being indoors each one dwells;
Selves — goes itself; myself it speaks and spells,
Crying Whát I dó is me: for that I came.

I say móre: the just man justices;
Keeps grace: thát keeps all his goings graces;
Acts in God's eye what in God's eye he is —
Chríst — for Christ plays in ten thousand places,
Lovely in limbs, and lovely in eyes not his
To the Father through the features of men's faces.

222

J. L. Yocum @jlyocum.com · 11/09/2026

Here are some from my personal photo bank, taken over the last several years.

220

J. L. Yocum @jlyocum.com · 11/09/2026

Choose to live with a wild animal, you choose to live with the surprise attacks. (I do too, for the record — I very much choose to live with the surprise attacks.)

020

J. L. Yocum @jlyocum.com · 24/08/2026

No cheating. Share the last photo of the sky from your camera roll (if you feel like it)

Photo out the window of a commercial airplane, showing the Alps below, the sky above and the tip of a plane wing to the right.

020

J. L. Yocum @jlyocum.com · 10/08/2026

Needless to say, many of Gen Z's outfits do in fact look idiotic to us. Now, didn't we look like idiots to older Gen X folks and boomers when we were kids? Absolutely! (Please see Exhibit A: Photo of me, myself, in 2005, when I was 27 years old). 4/6

J. L. Yocum with giant muttonchop sideburns wearing a pastel turquoise lamé women's blazer over a vintage 70s t-shirt with v-neck, a large pair of women's sunglasses and a bandanna around a blonde wig.

100

J. L. Yocum @jlyocum.com · 25/07/2026

I hate the word "skeet", but I will defend with my life your right to use it.

Screenshot of the video for Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz AWW SKEET SKEET showing gold explosions in the background with text overlaying it reading "Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz "AWW SKEET SKEET"

020

J. L. Yocum @jlyocum.com · 22/07/2026

Another July, and another failed attempt to snag 4 weekend tickets to Yo La Tengo's Hanukkah shows at Bowery Ballroom. Looks like we're going on Tuesday this year. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Oh well, we now have 4.5 months to get work off the next day and find a late-night babysitter for our friend's kid.

Ira Kaplan of Yo La Tengo playing guitar with amps and synthesizers in the background, likely on-stage at Bowery Ballroom. White text at the bottom reads, in all caps, "Yo La Tengo announce 2026 Hanukkah shows at Bowery Ballroom."

141

J. L. Yocum @jlyocum.com · 15/07/2026

Thanks, I've dutifully added this to the list of thing that may wreak total worldwide ruin during my lifetime. But another takeaway from this article is that 25 years ago, IBM engineers could've passed as members of the band Pavement.

Image from the article shared in the post at the top of this thread, captioned: "IBM researchers in the lab during the 2001 factoring experiment. (Supplied: IBM)"

110

J. L. Yocum @jlyocum.com · 08/07/2026

Very considerate of American Airlines to hand out these free cat toys on every flight.

110

J. L. Yocum @jlyocum.com · 07/07/2026

@pwrmnstr.bsky.social and I leave Μάνη today to drive back to Athens, where we’ll be flying home to NYC tomorrow. This marks the end of a three-week visit to Europe for family weddings and family reunions, stretching from Germany to Greece.

121

J. L. Yocum @jlyocum.com · 27/05/2026

"Prologue for Ode to Road Runner" by Pedro Pietri What's your favorite poem to read aloud?

222
PROLOGUE FOR ODE TO ROAD RUNNER
A downtown train
A downtown train
A downtown train
A downtown train
A down down down down
town train down train town
A train downtown
A train downtown
A train downtown
A downtown train
A down down down down down train down train down train train down train down train down
A downtown train
A train downtown
A train town down
Part Two
train A town down down A train town
A downtown train
A train downtown
A downtown train
down train down town down train
A downtown train
A train town down

by Pedro Pietri

111

J. L. Yocum @jlyocum.com · 24/05/2026

A quick reverse-image search suggests that it’s Silver Surfer #16, but the source for this is a social media post on Threads, and I do not have a Threads account and do not know this random person who posted it. So, grain of salt and all that. @linecaro.bsky.social , there’s our salty answer :)

Screenshot of Threads post reading:

`
danjglickman >
comic threads 05/12/26
When not tormenting the Silver Surfer or erasing Spider-Man's marriage from continuity, Mephisto enjoys strolls down NYC streets talking about how much he hates humanity. Silver Surfer 16 (1970)
`

020

J. L. Yocum @jlyocum.com · 21/05/2026

But if I zoom out enough to get an image of the whole page, the resolution is too low (the letters too pixellated) for me to read the page on my device — see an attached example.

Low-resolution image of a scanned handwritten page from 1797

100

J. L. Yocum @jlyocum.com · 21/05/2026

But the problem for me in trying to read the scans as they exist is that when zooming in enough for the letters to be legible, I can only get a fragment of the page (whatever's visible on-screen) in an image download. See attached example.

Partial image of a scanned handwritten page from 1797

100

J. L. Yocum @jlyocum.com · 21/05/2026

Behold: Sir Dumdum the Mouse-Slayer

Cat sleeping on his back with his paws in the air

160

J. L. Yocum @jlyocum.com · 07/05/2026

Update on this story: New camera angle sheds light on some of the action

Orange and white cat fallen asleep with his face in a white ceramic bowl

001

J. L. Yocum @jlyocum.com · 06/05/2026

Breaking News! Update on this story

Smiling cat asleep on a bed next to a ceramic bowl, into which he has stuck his paws.

101

J. L. Yocum @jlyocum.com · 06/05/2026

The cat was being rowdy so I put catnip in a bowl next to him on the bed to shut him up. An hour later he’s passed out with his face in the bowl.

Orange and white cat smiling in his sleep on a bed with his head resting o an empty white ceramic bowl.

121

J. L. Yocum @jlyocum.com · 19/04/2026

BEHOLD! my meticulously organized t-shirt drawer. #springCleaning

An open drawer of t-shirts, organized via slotted compartments such that a sliver of each t-shirt design is visible, making it easy to see them all at once and choose from them without tossing them all around into an eventually untenable pile of wrinkled mess.

000

J. L. Yocum @jlyocum.com · 18/04/2026

I cut alcohol entirely out of my diet a month or two ago, and now my fridge is filled with non-alcoholic beers. Which is cool — now I can start drinking at any time of day and still operate heavy machinery later that night. Beer with breakfast? Hell yeah! It's 0.05% ABV, nerd. Stop razzing me.

A diner tabletop spread with a plate of eggs and bacon, including a cup of coffee, a glass of orange juice and a pint of beer.

030

J. L. Yocum @jlyocum.com · 01/04/2026

Took me an embarrassingly long time to figure out one pesky thing on today's puzzle. Really just a brain fart. But still no hints! Parseword #63 ⏱️ 1m41s ⭐️ No Hints #parseword #wordGames #games #wordNerdery #crypticCrossword #iAmANerd

Screenshot from the game parseword.com, reading:
```
Parseword
Daily Puzzle #63
·
Clue by Emily Cox and Henry Rathvon
Went after clean audio?

Your Results
Parseword #63
⏱️ 1m41s
⭐️ No Hints
Daily Puzzle Stats
13 Puzzles Solved
3 Current Streak
8 Longest Streak
next puzzle in 12 hours 57 minutes
```

110

J. L. Yocum @jlyocum.com · 01/04/2026

Considerably better at Maptap today than yesterday! www.maptap.gg April 1 98🎯 98🎯 92🏆 97🔥 98🎯 Final score: 965 #maptap #maptapGG #geography #games #geographygames #iAmANerd

Screenshot of the game maptap.gg: The planet earth, floating in space, viewed from the South Pole / Antarctica.

Above it is text that reads:

```
MapTap - Daily Geography Game
SCORE965

☰
Menu
MapTap #
649
April 1, 2026
Final Score:

965 out of 1,000
16 day streak!
New map tomorrow!
Unlocks in 9 hours, 3 mins

Share your score
Tap to open ↗▶ Play
```

010

J. L. Yocum @jlyocum.com · 01/04/2026

I guess I can't be perfect every day... but three strokes under par ain't bad, right? ✱ [✱ I hate golf, but couldn't think of a better metaphor. So albatross it is.] #travle #1204 +1 🟧✅✅✅✅ travle.earth #travleEarth #games #geography #geographyGames #iAmANerd

Screenshot of the game travle.earth, reading:

```
travle #1204
499
Played
99
Win %
113
Current Streak
113
Max Streak
Guess Distribution
Today's Global Leaderboard
Perfect
+0
+1
+2
+3
+4
+5
Failed
10k
9k
8k
7k
6k
5k
4k
3k
2k
1k
0
You
Top 64%
+1
+1
# Extra Guesses
# Games
Success! You got from Namibia to Djibouti in [redacted] guesses.
The shortest solution was [redacted] guesses.
{spoilers redacted}

Play more Travle!

United States game icon
United States
Weekly Challenge game icon
Weekly Challenge
Practice game icon
Practice

20+
Other maps
Copy Results
Done
```

010

J. L. Yocum @jlyocum.com · 31/03/2026

Another perfect! 27 seconds. Easy peasy. Parseword #62 ⚡️ 27s 💎 Perfect parseword.com #parseword #games #wordgames #crypticCrossword #wordNerdery #iAmANerd

Screenshot from the game at parseword.com, reading:

```
Parseword
Reference
Daily Puzzle #62
·
Clue by Emily Cox and Henry Rathvon
{spoilers redacted}
Your Results
Parseword #62
⚡️ 27s
💎 Perfect
Daily Puzzle Stats
12
Puzzles Solved
2
Current Streak
8
Longest Streak
next puzzle in 12 hours 58 minutes
```

000

J. L. Yocum @jlyocum.com · 31/03/2026

Never one to share only my victories, I ask you to behold my shameful defeat: www.maptap.gg March 31 93🏆 97🔥 68😁 90👑 63🫢 Final score: 785 #maptap #games #geography #geographyGames #iAmANerd

Screenshot from the game maptap.gg:
The planet earth hovering in space, viewing the South Pole/Antarctica. Around the equator are four blocks of unreadable white text hovering over the surface of the planet. Above is a box of text reading:

```
MapTap - Daily Geography Game
SCORE785

☰
Menu
MapTap #
648
March 31, 2026
Final Score:

785 out of 1,000
15 day streak!
New map tomorrow!
Unlocks in 9 hours, 23 mins

Share your score
Tap to open ↗▶ Play
```

000

J. L. Yocum @jlyocum.com · 31/03/2026

Perfect again today! (At travle.earth, and very little else.) #travle #1203 +0 (Perfect) ✅✅✅ travle.earth #travleEarth #geography #geographryGames #games #iAmANerd

Screenshot from the Travle.earth game, reading:
```
travle #1203
498
Played
99
Win %
112
Current Streak
112
Max Streak
Guess Distribution
Today's Global Leaderboard
Perfect
+0
+1
+2
+3
+4
Failed
26k
24k
22k
20k
18k
16k
14k
12k
10k
8k
6k
4k
2k
0
You
Top 58%
+1
# Extra Guesses
# Games
Success! You got from Luxembourg to Norway in {redacted} guesses.
The shortest solution was {redacted} guesses.

Play more Travle!

United States game icon
United States
Weekly Challenge game icon
Weekly Challenge
Practice game icon
Practice

20+
Other maps
Copy Results
Done
```

000

J. L. Yocum @jlyocum.com · 30/03/2026

Whiffed the third one pretty badly, but made up for it with bullseyes on the first and fifth. www.maptap.gg March 30 99🎯 92🏆 81🌟 93🏆 99🎯 Final score: 929 #maptap #geography #geographyGames #games #iAmANerd

Screenshot from the game maptap.gg, showing the earth from its southern polar cap view (over Antarctica) with four bits of unreadable white text floating above the earth roughly near the equator. The text at the top of the image reads:

```
MapTap - Daily Geography Game
SCORE929

☰
Menu
MapTap #
647
March 30, 2026
Final Score:

929 out of 1,000
14 day streak!
New map tomorrow!
Unlocks in 9 hours, 34 mins

Share your score
Tap to open ↗▶ Play
```

000

J. L. Yocum @jlyocum.com · 30/03/2026

Guess who's PERFECT today?! (It's me. I'm perfect.) #travle #1202 +0 (Perfect) ✅✅✅ travle.earth #travleEarth #geographyGames #geography #games #iAmANerd

Screenshot from the Travle.earth game reading:

travle #1202
497 Played
99% Win %
111 Current Streak
111 Max Streak
Guess Distribution
Today's Global Leaderboard
Perfect
+0
+1
+2
+3
+4
Failed
26k
24k
22k
20k
18k
16k
14k
12k
10k
8k
6k
4k
2k
0
You
Top 59%
+1
+1
+1
# Extra Guesses
# Games
Success! You got from Ireland to Slovenia in {redacted} guesses.
The shortest solution was {redacted} guesses.

Play more Travle!

United States game icon
United States
Weekly Challenge game icon
Weekly Challenge
Practice game icon
Practice

20+
Other maps
Copy Results
Done

000

J. L. Yocum @jlyocum.com · 30/03/2026

I’d agree. Emily Dickinson explained fairly easily how to tell 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 a poem is good, but as far as I can tell none of us know 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙩𝙤 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚 a poem good.

“If I read a book and it makes my whole body so cold no fire can warm me I know that is poetry. If I feel physically as if the top of my head were taken off, I know that is poetry. These are the only way I know it. Is there any other way?”

120

J. L. Yocum @jlyocum.com · 27/03/2026

I received a phone call while solving, hence the long time. But no hints! Parseword #58 ⏱️ 4m48s ⭐️ No Hints parseword.com #parseword #crypticCrossword #wordgames #iAmANerd

Screenshot from the game Parseword at parseword.com

It reads:

Parse word
Reference
Daily Puzzle #58 • Clue by Emily Cox and Henry Rathvon
HARD
(spoilers redacted}
Your Results
Parseword #58
© 4m48s
2 No Hints
< COPY RESULTS
Daily Puzzle Stats
9 Puzzles Solved
7 Current Streak
7 Longest Streak

next puzzle in 15 hours 57 minutes

010

J. L. Yocum @jlyocum.com · 27/03/2026

I scored 96%, 97%, 98% and 99% (in that order!) — then whiffed on the final answer, which (spoilers!) is in the U.S. (Still got 89% on that one though!) #maptap #geography #iAmANerd #games www.maptap.gg March 27 96🏅 97🔥 98🎯 89🎉 99🎯 Final score: 953

Image of the earth from its south pole, showing Antarctica; around the globe, four unreadable blocks of text hover roughly where the equator would be.

Text at the top reads:

Menu
SCORE
953
MapTap #644
March 27, 2026
Final Score:
953 out of 1,000
11 day streak!
New map tomorrow!
Unlocks in 10 hours, 8 mins

000

J. L. Yocum @jlyocum.com · 27/03/2026

Well, I got there in the shortest number of countries, but got one of them out of order, so no perfect score today... but there's always tomorrow! #travleEarth #geography #games #iAmANerd #travle #1199 +0 ✅✅🟩✅✅✅✅ travle.earth

Screenshot from the game travle.earth, with a graph showing my score, streak, etc.

Text reads:

"travle #1199
494
Played
X
99
Win %
108
Current Streak
108
Max Streak
Guess Distribution
Today's Global Leaderboard
You l
Top 66%
# Games
14k-
12k-
10k
8k-
6k-
4k-
2k-
Perfect
+0
+1
+2
+3
+5
# Extra Guesses
Success! You got from Belize to Argentina in 7 guesses.
The shortest solution was 7 guesses.
Play more Travle!
20+
United States
Weekly
Challenge
Practice
Other maps
Copy Results
Done"

000

J. L. Yocum @jlyocum.com · 26/03/2026

It does get a tad harder when you turn off "Learning mode," which I didn't even notice was on until yesterday, which is why I accidentally asked to see the definition today (hence the one hint I used). Parseword #57 ⚡️ 53s ✅ 1 Hint #parseword #crypticCrossword #wordgames #iAmANerd parseword.com

Screenshot from the game Parseword at parseword.com

It reads:

Parse word
［Reference
Daily Puzzle #57 • Clue by Christopher David Yudichak
Worry about Her Majesty, losing energy often
(Spoilers redacted)
Your Results
Parseword #57
$ 53s
/ 1 Hint
< COPY RESULTS
Daily Puzzle Stats
8 Puzzles Solved
6 Current Streak
6 Longest Streak

130

J. L. Yocum @jlyocum.com · 26/03/2026

Honestly, anything under 900 makes me ashamed. So today, I am ashamed. www.maptap.gg March 26 97🔥 99🎯 77👏 97🔥 69😁 Final score: 848 #maptap #geography #iAmANerd

000

J. L. Yocum @jlyocum.com · 26/03/2026

I can't amass a following, and I don't have clout — but at least I routinely brag about the dorky geography and word games I play on the internet! Here's the one I've been doing for a few years now: #travle #1198 +0 (Perfect) ✅✅✅ travle.earth #travleEarth #geography #games #iAmANerd

Screenshot from the game travle.earth; a map shows the 'disembodied' countries of Egypt and Ivory Coast, with text reading:

travle
Today I'd like to travle from Egypt to Ivory Coast
travle
Enter a country, territory...
Past guesses (click to show/hide):
Get a hint (0/3):
Guess (1/7)
Show next country outline
Show all country outlines
Show country initials
© 2025 Teuteuf Games
TEUTEUF

010

J. L. Yocum @jlyocum.com · 25/03/2026

Meanwhile, Parseword today was too easy. (I've maybe done far too many cryptic crosswords in my time...) (Context: Parseword was invented by the same guy who created Wordle.) #parseword #crypticcrossword #wordgames #iAmANerd Parseword #56 ⚡️ 29s 💎 Perfect 🥚 Learn Mode www.parseword.com/

Screenshot from the game Parseword.com, reading:

Parse word
Reference

Daily Puzzle #56 • Clue by Emily Cox and Henry Rathvon
Emily almost receives a digital message
(spoilers redacted...)
Your Results
Parseword #56
29s
Perfect
Learn Mode
< COPY RESULTS

120

J. L. Yocum @jlyocum.com · 25/03/2026

Had a few off days, but back up above 900 again! #maptap #geography #onlinegames #iAmANerd www.maptap.gg March 25 99🎯 93🏆 93🏆 98🎯 86🎓 Final score: 930

Screenshot from the game MapTap (at maptap.gg), with a globe showing Antarctica and unreadable white text hovering over the earth on a few spots near the equator. At the top is text reading reading:

Menu
SCORE
930
MapTap #642
Medal of Honor Day Final Score:
March 25, 2026
930 out of 1,000
9 day streak!
New map tomorrow!
Unlocks in 12 hours, 33 mins
Share your score

011

J. L. Yocum @jlyocum.com · 20/03/2026

...I continue to just slay at MapTap: www.maptap.gg March 20 98🔥 96🔥 99🎯 88🎉 96🔥 Final score: 944 #maptap #geography #dumbInternetGames

Screenshot of the game "MapTap" at MapTap.gg; shows MapTap #637 at the top, March 20, 2026, Score 944, with a photo of Fred Rogers, a globe underneath, with text overlaying it across the globe, much of it unreadable, but a blurb about Fred Rogers visible in front:

"Pittsburgh
Round: 1 (easy)
Score: 98% Distance: 103 km
Fred McFeely Rogers, born March 20, 1928, in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. He was shy, often sick as a child, and teased for his weight. After college, he planned to enter seminary. Then in 1951 he saw children's television for the first time ... loud, frantic, packed with commercials, and decided that if this was going to shape kids, it needed to be better.
So he built something radically different. Mister Rogers' Neighborhood ran for 33 years, 912 episodes, from 1968 to 2001. Rogers wrote more than 200 songs for the show. At the start of every episode, he walked through the door, hung up his jacket, changed into a hand-knit cardigan (made by his mother), swapped dress shoes"

000

J. L. Yocum @jlyocum.com · 14/03/2026

Post the best picture you’ve ever taken of your pet:

Photo of a fat, extremely handsome orange cat sleeping on his back with his hind feet spread apart and sticking up in the air while his forepaws are bent like little bunny paws.

030

J. L. Yocum @jlyocum.com · 27/02/2026

Taking you up on your offer of any century, namely the 1890s…

Cover of the book “Conquest of Bread” by Peter Kropotkin. Small, white “The” center-top; large black “CONQUEST” below it; a stylized globe with yellow oceans and red continents below that (Western hemisphere); small white “OF” below that; large black “BREAD” below that; then, in a black rectangular box, the white lettering of “PETER KROPOTKIN.” Decorative black borders in a square style. Red background.

111

J. L. Yocum @jlyocum.com · 30/01/2026

I don’t know why none of y’all ever told me about jalapeño-stuffed green olives, but I won’t be forgiving you for keeping it from me.

000

J. L. Yocum @jlyocum.com · 15/01/2026

I can't access it still — I have tried it on my laptop with Chrome, DuckDuckGo, Opera, Safari... tried it in Safari and Chrome on my iPhone... tried it on my Linux laptop with Chrome and Firefox... I have tried with and without a VPN on, to see if it's regional... no dice, can't access your site.

300