iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Jon Niola @jonniola.com · 04/09/2026

Finally got my Amity Jaws print mounted and framed. Looks great in my study! 😊

A poster with the words “Greetings from Amity Island- Amity means friendship” each character in Amity has imagery with divers, a beach closed sign and other imagery from the movie Jaws. Coming in from the bottom left is a shark overlapping the word Amity. The poster has a black frame and is mounted on no a dark blue wall.

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Jon Niola @jonniola.com · 12/12/2025

My rescues, Willow and Nico 😊

Two black and brown hound-mix dogs lying on a brown sofa.

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Jon Niola @jonniola.com · 03/12/2025

10 years ago today Scott Weiland passed away. He was one of the great lead singers of the 90s and 00s but he struggled with addiction. Having seen Stone Temple Pilots perform multiple times I could tell when he was clean or when he was using. Addiction is a tragic disease.

White man wearing jeans, an untucked white dress shirt and a neck tie holding a microphone to his mouth with his right hand. He’s bathed in blue lights on stage.

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Jon Niola @jonniola.com · 01/12/2025

Advice for Kash - time to hit the iron.

Meme featuring FBI director Kash Patel wearing a gray suit and a blue tie. The text says, "Do you even lift?"

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Jon Niola @jonniola.com · 20/10/2025

I see this photo as emblematic of what Trump has been doing to the United States. Tearing it all down to rebuild it in his own image. Few who know the White House would debate the need for larger event space. But this isn't the way to do it, and not with this fucking crook making all the decisions.

An excavator is seen tearing down the facade of the East Wing of the White House as construction workers with bright yellow safety vests and assorted hardhats look on. In the foreground the wrought iron fence is covered with plywood so those passing by on the sidewalk can't see much of what is going on.

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Jon Niola @jonniola.com · 29/09/2025

Grats on four years! I recently added your book to my collection 😊

Cover of The Software Engineer’s Guidebook by Gergely Orosz. The cover is a darker shade of blue with the title in light blue. The author’s title is dark blue on a yellow banner below the title.

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Jon Niola @jonniola.com · 28/09/2025

It was a great day for a hike to escape these crazy times even if only for a little while.

A worn dirt trail flanked on both sides by grass and trees. A smattering of sunlight makes its way through the tree canopy.

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Jon Niola @jonniola.com · 25/09/2025

I don’t feel comfortable with that kind of lead. Pollsters missed badly last gubernatorial election. Murphy won by only 3.2 points.

2021 NJ gubernatorial polling data showing incumbent Phil Murphy with a comfortable 6-11 point lead over challenger Jack Ciattarelli.

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Jon Niola @jonniola.com · 23/09/2025

New book arrived 😊 The Secret of Secrets by Dan Brown. I’ve enjoyed most of Dan Brow’s books in the Robert Langdon series except for Origin. That one really didn’t do it for me. Hoping this one brings me back.

Cover of Dan Brow’s book, The Secret of Secrets. The cover is a brick red color and the text on the cover is gold colored. On the left side is a keyhole with slight golden rays emitting from it.

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Jon Niola @jonniola.com · 18/09/2025

I vote with my wallet. If businesses want to capitulate to fascists they can count on getting no business from me. I managed to completely ween myself off of Amazon this year. Disney is next. Time to start cancelling some subs.

Order history on my Amazon account showing zero orders placed in the 2025 calendar year.

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Jon Niola @jonniola.com · 11/09/2025

I’ve largely been trying to eat/drink healthier, but there’s a lot going on in the world right now so forgive me for blowing off some steam.

Pint emblazoned with Stella Artois beer. The glass is sweating with condensation from the delicious ice-cold beer within.

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Jon Niola @jonniola.com · 11/09/2025

Willow and Nico say hi 🙂

Two black and brown hound-mix dogs, one large and one small lying down on a brown carpet.

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Jon Niola @jonniola.com · 06/08/2025

Our new puppy Nico 😊 Hound mix rescue. He’s getting settled in. Our other dog Willow is still figuring out what to think about him. The cats are not pleased to deal with a puppy again lol.

Black puppy with brown paws and brown eyebrows staring at the camera while lying on a beige blanket on a brown couch.

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Jon Niola @jonniola.com · 21/07/2025

So many pretty streets and alleys in Old Quebec City.

Alley with cobblestone street and brick and stone facade buildings on both sides. Above the alley there’s a canopy made up of different colored umbrellas artfully hung.

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Jon Niola @jonniola.com · 07/07/2025

Just FYI - on YouTube your placeholder image for the podcast is a Ramones album cover lol. Guessing that was an accident?

Ramones Bonzo Goes to Bitburg - Animan Boy cover.

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Jon Niola @jonniola.com · 04/07/2025

Holy hell they are now using the Social Security Administration email account to push political propaganda.

Social Security Applauds Passage of Legislation Providing Historic Tax Relief for Seniors
The Social Security Administration (SSA) is celebrating the passage of the One Big, Beautiful Bill, a landmark piece of legislation that delivers long-awaited tax relief to millions of older Americans.
The bill ensures that nearly 90% of Social Security beneficiaries will no longer pay federal income taxes on their benefits, providing meaningful and immediate relief to seniors who have spent a lifetime contributing to our nation's economy.

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Jon Niola @jonniola.com · 29/04/2025

If I can't vote on something, I vote with my wallet. I've had my Amazon account since 1995 and this is the first year I've not made a single purchase on Amazon. I've also actively been moving web services off of AWS, both personal and at work.

Screenshot from Amazon.com showing no orders placed in 2025.

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Jon Niola @jonniola.com · 16/04/2025

My Willow ♥️ She turned 4 last week 😊

Black hound dog with brown eyebrows and brown front legs laying on the couch.

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Jon Niola @jonniola.com · 25/03/2025

Haha @pfrazee.com sneaking in a Civ 5 element into his "reinvent the wheel" 😂

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Jon Niola @jonniola.com · 01/03/2025

Indeed. Skynet has been my WiFI SSID for years 😂

Wifi network connected icon with network named Skynet

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Jon Niola @jonniola.com · 21/01/2025

Below is officer Daniel Hodges. He was with the DC Metropolitan Police. He was crushed in a door and beaten by Trump's mob on January 6th, 2021. The perpetrator, Patrick McCaughey III from Connecticut, received a full and unconditional pardon from President Trump yesterday. Trump is a disgrace.

A white man with brown hair wincing in pain as he is being crushed in a door. He is wearing a black jacket with a police badge visible and is wearing a black police tactical helmet. His teeth are covered in blood.

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Jon Niola @jonniola.com · 09/01/2025

Most recent update to the in development plans: www.plainsboronj.com/DocumentCent...

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Jon Niola @jonniola.com · 09/01/2025

Adobe's Firefly generative AI is getting quite good, especially when you prompt it to make something as a painting.

Images generated by Adobe Firefly AI using the following prompt to describe what I wanted drawn.
A painting of log cabin on the shore of a lake. The evening sky has some hues of pink and blue from the setting sun. There is a campfire. Around the campfire are Adirondack chairs. The windows of the cabin reflect the campfire light. Over the lake fireflies can be seen taking flight.

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Jon Niola @jonniola.com · 23/12/2024

When I was in Vienna I visited the Imperial Treasury (Schatzkammer) and got to see the Imperial Crown of the Holy Roman Empire. This crown witnessed many significant moments in European history.

Gold crown adorned with jewels and cameos with a gold cross above the front.

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Jon Niola @jonniola.com · 19/12/2024

Best part about a meme like this is that there are many it can apply to 😂

Meme with a woman drinking from a teacup that says, “One day we will wake up to his obituary”

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Jon Niola @jonniola.com · 17/12/2024

That’s awesome. Willow is not as easy as she doesn’t often hold still lol 😂 Especially if I try to get her to wear a hat 😊

Black and brown hound dog wearing a blue Yankees ball cap.

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Jon Niola @jonniola.com · 16/12/2024

Still chuckling about this LOL h/t @phillipross.com

Depiction of poorly-fitting brown trousers, cuffed at the bottom over brown leather shoes standing on a white speckled flooring.

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Jon Niola @jonniola.com · 08/12/2024

Sometimes a simple cappuccino is what you need 😊

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Jon Niola @jonniola.com · 05/12/2024

Object mapping 😊👍 @soyuka.bsky.social makes it easier with the Symfony Mapper component. #SymfonyCon

Antoine explaining the origins of the Symfony mapper component.

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Jon Niola @jonniola.com · 05/12/2024

New and more efficient ways of serializing JSON streams in Symfony with @mtarld.bsky.social #SymfonyCon

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Jon Niola @jonniola.com · 05/12/2024

Symfony UX has really grown rapidly. @smnandre.bsky.social showing the growth in daily downloads over the last two years. #SymfonyCon

Simon in front of chart showing adoption of Symfony UX

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Jon Niola @jonniola.com · 05/12/2024

Server-side rendering is back. SymfonyCon keynote by @fabien.potencier.org #SymfonyCon Love that he’s wearing socks in honor of @weaverryan.bsky.social who wasn’t able to be with us today 😊

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Jon Niola @jonniola.com · 05/12/2024

Day 1 of SymfonyCon is finally here 😊 #SymfonyCon

Chart depicting the schedule for day one of SymfonyCon. Full schedule is available on the SymfonyCon website.

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Jon Niola @jonniola.com · 04/12/2024

When you are exploring a city you haven’t been to before those steps add up 😊

Apple Activity app showing 26,763 steps and 12.37 miles of walking today.

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Jon Niola @jonniola.com · 26/11/2024

I am happy to see Silo being so well received on AppleTV+. I first read the books when Hugh published his own books like 12 years ago and absolutely loved the story. I read the trilogy of books at least three times. The TV adaptation has actually been quite good 🙂

Screen shot from AppleTV app showing the TV show Silo as the number 1 show on the chart right now.

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Jon Niola @jonniola.com · 22/11/2024

First night tracking sleep with my WHOOP. I definitely have to work on getting more and better quality sleep.

Screenshot from WHOOP app showing insufficient levels of sleep.

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Jon Niola @jonniola.com · 18/11/2024

One of these days I need to clean up the Safari tabs on my iPhone…

Screenshot of Safari on iPhone depicting 130 open tabs.

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Jon Niola @jonniola.com · 15/11/2024

Here it is - OnlyPosts haha. I've not added it yet but it is under custom feeds.

Screenshot of OnlyPosts custom feed add button.

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Jon Niola @jonniola.com · 15/11/2024

A photo from my family's trip to London in July 2023. Went with 135mm to get a closer look at the face of Big Ben and never realized there was writing along the bottom. You can also see some dents in the minute hand.

Close up of Big Ben in London, England. Two faces of the clock are seen flanked by a cloudy blue sky. The gold accents are shining in the sun.

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Jon Niola @jonniola.com · 15/11/2024

One of these days I need to go back and curate a lot of my old RAW photos I've stashed in Lightroom. Found this gorgeous sunset photo I took in Castine, Maine back in July 2021. Just one of those moments when you are in awe of the colors of nature.

A bright orange setting sun slightly obscured by orange clouds. The reflection forms a vertical orange beam across the calm waters of a bay.

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Jon Niola @jonniola.com · 14/11/2024

Hmm not sure what's happening there. I have four options by default on post/reply box.

Screenshot of the options on a Bluesky post dialog box with an icon for attaching a photo, attaching a video, attaching a gif, or inserting an emoji.

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Jon Niola @jonniola.com · 11/11/2024

No social media network can be without pet photos. Here’s my dog. Her name is Willow 😊

My dog Willow. She’s a hound mix and she has black fur and tan accents on her eyebrows, cheeks, and legs.

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Jon Niola @jonniola.com · 11/11/2024

If you see this, post a concert photo you took. (Alice in Chains @ Hammerstein Ballroom NYC 2018)

Photo of Jerry Cantrell of Alice In Chains. He’s wearing all black and standing on stage in front of an illuminated background with hues of blue.

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Jon Niola @jonniola.com · 09/11/2024

The cool thing about working at Princeton University is that we have a lot of great sculptures on campus such as the bronze tigers in front of Nassau Hall.

Bronze sculpture of a tiger seated flanking the front entrance of Princeton University’s Nassau Hall. The tiger sculpture has a green patina from many decades outdoors.

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Jon Niola @jonniola.com · 08/11/2024

Having worked in the technology filed in multiple roles since 1994, I feel seen lol.

A matrix of comical images displaying how different technology roles see each other and themselves, such as QA seeing designers as a baby, or sys admins seeing themselves as Neo from The Matrix.

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