iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Joel

Happy fall — sneaking in one leaf at a time in Portage Park, Chicago.

Large tree with left side turning red and rest In yellows to green leaves. Blue sky behind. Outside Rickover Academy in Portage Park.

Joel @jtmac1709930.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Slip lanes are notoriously dangerous and Normal, IL blocked off this one with a jersey barrier reading “pedestrians live here.” This is the energy we need all across our great state.

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Joel @jtmac1709930.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Amtrak timetable win: the Lincoln Service works out perfectly for a day trip to Bloomington/Normal for 10am-3pm work meetings.

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Joel @jtmac1709930.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Expanded Amtrak Borealis capacity coming online soon: “Amtrak will add a fourth passenger car to the service in just a few weeks” 🎉

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Joel @jtmac1709930.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Another beautiful afternoon at the Chicago Botanic Garden, a twenty minute walk from the UPN Braeside Metra station.

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Joel @jtmac1709930.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Celebrating an early birthday dinner for my husband at Cellar Door Provisions, via the CTA 56 bus. Doing my part to normalize taking the bus to Bib Gourmand restaurants 🫡

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Joel @jtmac1709930.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Today’s haul from the finest bike-based seed collection crew on the North Branch. These seeds will be used to revegetate sections of LaBagh Woods that have been cleared of invasive species like buckthorn.

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Reposted by Joel

Andrew Hipp @andrewlhipp.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Polyphemus moth caterpillar parasitized. @mortonarboretum.bsky.social Ware Field bur oak experiment this morning.

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Joel @jtmac1709930.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

🚨Transit/lego enthusiast alert: the Chicago Botanic Garden currently has a scale model of their Farm on Ogden facility and it includes the Central Park pink line station.

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Joel @jtmac1709930.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

I keep my Ortliebs on my bike at all times because you never know when someone will give you a native shrub.

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Joel @jtmac1709930.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

Tiny upgrade to NW side bike infrastructure just opened: separated bike path on Forest Glen Ave from Catalpa to the North Branch Trail.

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Joel @jtmac1709930.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Lots of bike commuters this morning, despite the heat and humidity. #bikechi

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Reposted by Joel

Block Club Chicago @blockclubchi.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

The owner of the Portage Theater says the space will reopen. He has launched a foundation to pay for repairs. blockclubchi.co/4wWdy1Y

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Joel @jtmac1709930.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

Moth monitoring at LaBagh: always a good opportunity for moody atmospheric photos of the woods at night.

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Joel @jtmac1709930.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

Portage Park, I regret to inform you that our neighborhood’s hot new Izakaya restaurant is… bitcoin-themed. Sigh.

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Joel @jtmac1709930.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

Checking in on some of our northern spicebush plantings at LaBagh Woods, and I am pleased to report that they are THRIVING! Producing a ton of fruit, and I found seedlings popping up on their own nearby.

Berries on a northern spicebush (Lindera benzoin) at LaBagh Woods in Chicago.

A seedling northern spicebush (Lindera benzoin) at LaBagh Woods in Chicago.

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Joel @jtmac1709930.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

We’re finally upgrading our little bungalow with mini splits! Very excited about our first home decarbonization project.

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Joel @jtmac1709930.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

My favorite Metra station might be the weird little ultra-skinny one at Zion on the UPN.

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Joel @jtmac1709930.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

One of my favorite late summer botanizing finds: ironweed buds about to burst, looking like little raspberries. 📍LaBagh Woods

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Joel @jtmac1709930.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

If Metra ran UPNW trains to McHenry on weekends, it would really ease the logistics for my weekend suburban bike and birding adventures. Glacial Park and McHenry Dam are great sites, but biking there from Crystal Lake eats up a lot of time.

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Joel @jtmac1709930.bsky.social · 08/08/2026

Back to my neighborhood suburban bike adventure portal.

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Joel @jtmac1709930.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

July moth monitoring night at LaBagh Woods

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Joel @jtmac1709930.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

Swamp rose mallow is such a nice alternative to rose of sharon/common hibiscus. It’s native, the blooms are bigger, and it’s much less weedy.

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Reposted by Joel

Mark Copelovitch @mcopelov.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

I look forward to all the reports & coverage about all of the internal problems & mistakes of all of these other institutions, in the same way that universities are constantly blamed (& blaming themselves) for “declining trust.” “Compared to what?” news.gallup.com/poll/712436/...

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Reposted by Joel

United Northwest Side @unitednwside.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

United Northwest Side is proud to endorse Ed Bannon for Chicago School School Board in District 1A. As a member of the board this past term, Ed has worked to advance a vision in which every student has the fully resourced public schools that they deserve… (1/ )

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Joel @jtmac1709930.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

Allegheny Monkeyflower in bloom at LaBagh Woods.

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Joel @jtmac1709930.bsky.social · 19/07/2026

Bedraggled teenage robin that decided to hang in the backyard with me this afternoon. Friendly little guy, but also seemed confused and somewhat alarmed by everything going on around it.

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Joel @jtmac1709930.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

Anyone on the NW Side know if something is in the works for the building between the MDN and UPNW tracks on the north side of Montrose? It’s been vacant since I moved to the neighborhood three years ago, and fence just went up with a posted permit for masonry repairs.

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Joel @jtmac1709930.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

Great news for the NW Side!

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Reposted by Joel

Joey Politano🏳️‍🌈 @josephpolitano.bsky.social · 11/07/2026

This month, we got our first data on the Kansas City Streetcar riverfront extension that opened mid-May—in combination with the main street extension to UMKC, ridership has more than doubled compared to last year! The system now has more ridership than the Portland streetcars

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Joel @jtmac1709930.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

I worry one of these times we’re going to get a runoff between Willie Wilson and whoever the FOP is backing. We need ranked choice voting so badly in Chicago.

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Reposted by Joel

Alderman La Spata @aldermanlaspata.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

Coming soon to Wicker Park: The city's first all-pedestrian crossing phase outside of the Loop!

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Joel @jtmac1709930.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

There’s something magical about biking an overgrown trail at dusk.

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Joel @jtmac1709930.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

Moth art on the Skokie Valley Trail at Lincoln Ave.

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Joel @jtmac1709930.bsky.social · 12/07/2026

Native buttonbush growing along the north branch of the Chicago River

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Joel @jtmac1709930.bsky.social · 11/07/2026

Squirrel with croissant. 📍LaBagh Woods

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Joel @jtmac1709930.bsky.social · 11/07/2026

Snake friend at LaBagh Woods. An auspicious start to our volunteer work day!

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Joel @jtmac1709930.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

Are the Six Corners flex post flowers spreading, or did I just not notice the ones down by Kilpatrick before?

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Joel @jtmac1709930.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

From my ten-hour Amtrak layover in Rochester, NY yesterday: birding the Genesee River trail, beer and a book, and checking out downtown.

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Joel @jtmac1709930.bsky.social · 05/07/2026

Via/Amtrak Maple Leaf for the first leg of my trip home.

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Joel @jtmac1709930.bsky.social · 05/07/2026

Rainy hike at Tommy Thompson Park on the Toronto lakefront (no relation to the former Wisconsin governor)

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Joel @jtmac1709930.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

First time riding Go Transit, which provides regional rail for the Toronto area. The bilevel cars feel very similar to Tri-Rail in south Florida.

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Joel @jtmac1709930.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

Alarmingly bad transit infrastructure: all-glass bus shelter, south side of large building, no trees, zero shade nearby. It’s over 90F today, and I think this building qualifies as a public health hazard. 📍Burlington, Ontario