iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Joe Thompson @kensey.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Apropos of nothing but my own flash of memory, let me relate my personal tale of Generations Divided By a Common Tongue:

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Joe Thompson @kensey.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

This was literally my first thought (well, I guess I should now say "my forebrain's first thought"...) when I saw this article.

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Joe Thompson @kensey.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Boy, for a publication that traditionally considers itself the media avatar of the Internet age, Wired's own website sucks absolute ass at really basic stuff like "I want to change my subscription address so the print magazine still gets to me after I just moved".

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Reposted by Joe Thompson

Justin Garrison @justingarrison.com · 30/08/2026

It's always fun to run software you created until the API changes and the CVEs hit

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Joe Thompson @kensey.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

Just read about a proposed Soviet "nuclear train" design that, instead of the usual "put a steam turbine and a reactor on a locomotive" plans, went for a more direct use of nuclear forces: opposed pistons in cylinders filled with just-subcritical UF6 gas.

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Joe Thompson @kensey.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

"We're in engineering, and something's fucked up because Wesley was too horny..." -- @andrewti.bsky.social describing a scene in ST:TNG "The Dauphin", and really, weren't the "because Wesley was too horny" episodes (there were more than one!), retrospectively, some of the best in TNG?

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Joe Thompson @kensey.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

We're moving the same week our oldest started college. How it's going so far:

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Joe Thompson @kensey.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

"I have no notes or record of what you're referring to." People sometimes forget damnatio memoriae wasn't only done to the record of a malfeasant sovereign, but a punishment given even to lesser people who went above and beyond the call of ordinary asshattery. It's richly deserved in this case.

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Joe Thompson @kensey.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

I mean this is less funny and more "hmmmm...." when you wonder just how many Silicon Valley VC-backed-startup leaders are regularly using mind-altering substances and basically in a cult already.

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Reposted by Joe Thompson

Dr. Stephanie @punkrockscience.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

I just saw a meme that said “get in losers, we’re reclaiming the emdash”. People. PEOPLE. Where are your STANDARDS? It CLEARLY should be “get in, losers — we’re reclaiming the em dash.”

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Reposted by Joe Thompson

austin (e/accordion 🪗) @thebadcode.com · 28/06/2026

look if you’re in the target demo for an apple tv show, it will come to you in an impossible dream

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Joe Thompson @kensey.bsky.social · 25/07/2026

"...there were like some Star Trek episodes where [...] it's like 'hey, I made this weird little alien freak' and then Gene Coon would take a bunch of cocaine, go into a room and not come out for four days, and then come out with an episode. That's how you do sci-fi back in the day."

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Joe Thompson @kensey.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

I swear I saw a post just in the past couple of weeks about why abstracting your architecture behind an "environment" variable in Terraform is a bad idea.

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Joe Thompson @kensey.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

I got the ick when I read Linus' statement late last night, but couldn't fully articulate why.

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Joe Thompson @kensey.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

Listening to the bit in the latest @wtyppod.bsky.social about Justin's emotional support quart container, made me imagine Obi Wan Kenobi saying "He's more plastic now, than man... twisted and evil."

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Joe Thompson @kensey.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

Apparently the incredibly overreaching Flock C&D is in fact fake. It should go without saying, but... do not do this kind of thing.

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Joe Thompson @kensey.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

Hey @wmata.com -- Metro cars 6028 and 6029 have A/C issues, and your online chat isn't picking up.

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Joe Thompson @kensey.bsky.social · 24/06/2026

Submitting to your local KCD is a great way to get started with conference presentations.

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Joe Thompson @kensey.bsky.social · 30/05/2026

Not constantly using chatbots for everything all the time these days is starting to feel a little like being on the second away team in "Return of the Archons".

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Joe Thompson @kensey.bsky.social · 09/05/2026

TIL Canadian military officer Arthur Peuchen, first-class passenger on Titanic, lost his wallet overboard while climbing down the ropes to take the second rower position on a lifeboat that was already being lowered but was short a rower.

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Joe Thompson @kensey.bsky.social · 22/04/2026

Did Hammacher Schlemmer (indirectly) cause the breakup of the Beatles? Follow the chain of falling dominoes from a silly, deliberately-useless catalog item to "Magic Alex" and the financial disaster of Apple Corps' ersatz recording studio: shoddygoods.meh.com/p/the-beatle...

shoddygoods.meh.com

The Beatles and the Nothing Box: Shoddy Goods 093

Did Hammacher Schlemmer help break up the greatest band of all time?

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Joe Thompson @kensey.bsky.social · 03/04/2026

It's that time of year in the mid-Atlantic when the trees and flowers are blooming, and the days are sunny, low-humidity and in the low 60s, so sitting outside in the sun over lunch is absolutely wonderful.

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Joe Thompson @kensey.bsky.social · 26/03/2026

In other news I just learned New Zealand used to have an eagle that weighed up to 40 pounds and had up to a 10-foot wingspan. Basically, imagine an eagle the size of a goddamn basset hound, with wings as wide as an economy sedan's wheelbase is long.

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Joe Thompson @kensey.bsky.social · 17/03/2026

If you see this, post a rabbit 🐰

Beatrix Potter's Peter Rabbit, trying to hide in a metal watering can.

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Joe Thompson @kensey.bsky.social · 15/03/2026

It is incredibly fun to watch @asavage.bsky.social geek out over learning about cool stuff other people (in this case, National Park conservators) do.

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Reposted by Joe Thompson

Crowsa Luxemburg @quendergeer.bsky.social · 14/03/2026

i actually think it's lowkey problematic to joke about stabbing caesar bc for some low income senators becoming tyrant is literally the only route out of poverty

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Joe Thompson @kensey.bsky.social · 15/03/2026

I now possess, probably not the *only*, but certainly one of the no doubt *few* instances of @xkcd.com #311 signed by Summer Glau.

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Joe Thompson @kensey.bsky.social · 14/03/2026

Alan Tudyk has just made a major reveal onstage with Nathan Fillion at Awesome Con: he hates the entire concept of "pup cups" because of the unpleasant effects on his dogs' digestion.

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Joe Thompson @kensey.bsky.social · 09/03/2026

OK, I admit I never watched the Peter Jackson Hobbit movies but now I might have to.

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Joe Thompson @kensey.bsky.social · 08/03/2026

"58% of senior developers are considering quitting because of legacy software." Scary stat from Eric Hendricks' talk about burnout at #scale23x.

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Joe Thompson @kensey.bsky.social · 16/02/2026

Just saw a post presenting a narrative that the current generation of IT cool-kids is comparing notes not on things like "how much did you ship?" but "how many agents are you running?" In my case the answer is "zero", and yes I do consider that a flex.

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Joe Thompson @kensey.bsky.social · 22/01/2026

Saw a sentence in an old Business Insider profile of Satya Nadella that knocked me back a step: "When something didn't work he was unafraid to ditch projects, such as skipping Windows 9 to go straight to the superior Windows 10."

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Joe Thompson @kensey.bsky.social · 16/01/2026

It always feels weird to get a charity solicitation that is *specifically* about including them in my estate planning. Like they're saying "Hey, we figure there's a decent chance you'll die pretty soon. Make sure and keep that money coming in one last time after you do, eh?"

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Joe Thompson @kensey.bsky.social · 15/01/2026

If the below feels absolutely inscrutable, well, you should see what it's reacting to.

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Joe Thompson @kensey.bsky.social · 12/01/2026

At least twice a week I do this: - walk into living room - set phone down on the back of couch - set laptop down next to phone on back of couch - start laptoppin' - laptoppin', laptoppin' - need phone - where is phone? look all around room

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Joe Thompson @kensey.bsky.social · 11/01/2026

At the suggestion of a loved one, I will be quitting my IT job and creating a new restaurant-industry startup, which produces daily riddles and trivia for coffee shop chalkboards.

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Joe Thompson @kensey.bsky.social · 10/01/2026

Having a slice in a pizza joint in Boston, and the counter guy (who sounded vaguely Eastern European while taking our order), sings along when the muzak starts playing Kenny Rogers' "The Gambler". Kenny Rogers, global ambassador of fellowship?

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Joe Thompson @kensey.bsky.social · 07/01/2026

I grew up in an era of paper documents, but almost everything I read today is some form of digital. That has its advantages -- but there has been a longstanding gap in capability of digital vs. paper content, that I am happy to report has finally been closed: ctan.math.illinois.edu/graphics/pgf...

ctan.math.illinois.edu

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Joe Thompson @kensey.bsky.social · 06/01/2026

So, we all know the formal pronunciation of "kubectl" is "kyoob-control". ...But how is "eksctl" pronounced?

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Joe Thompson @kensey.bsky.social · 29/12/2025

I used to work for an ISP owned by Coran Capshaw, who manages the Dave Matthews Band. The management office (and merch operation) was in the same open-plan building as us. Dave used to come by semi-frequently and take coffee+bagel orders for everyone in the building (usually about a dozen people).

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Joe Thompson @kensey.bsky.social · 29/12/2025

Wait, there's new Gumball episodes?!

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Joe Thompson @kensey.bsky.social · 29/12/2025

This reminds me of talking to a data scientist about interpretation of satellite sensor data to plot cloud cover, ice cover, bare rock vs. grassland vs. forest vs. urban development, etc. maurycyz.com/misc/raw_pho...

maurycyz.com

What an unprocessed photo looks like: (Maurycy's blog)

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Joe Thompson @kensey.bsky.social · 25/12/2025

Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.

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Joe Thompson @kensey.bsky.social · 22/12/2025

I love the understatement you get in Wikipedia articles when the author goes hard on "neutral point of view". Like this from the article on Operation Underworld during WWII:

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Joe Thompson @kensey.bsky.social · 22/12/2025

No, Gemini, that's exactly the opposite of the meaning.

Google's AI overview misunderstands the line "No cheeses for us meeces" from _Muppet Christmas Carol_:

Al Overview:
"No cheeses for us meeces!" is a memorable quote from The Muppet Christmas Carol, said by Rizzo the Rat about his fellow mice (meece) when Scrooge offers them cheese, highlighting their dislike for it and becoming a beloved holiday line.

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Joe Thompson @kensey.bsky.social · 21/12/2025

"Give me one good reason why I should memorize this." "I'll give you *five* good reasons -- one, two, three, four, FIVE!" "Those are good reasons!"

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Joe Thompson @kensey.bsky.social · 19/12/2025

I remember listening to the @oxide.computer and Friends podcast episode on the challenges of "virtualizing time" -- now throw relativistic time differences between planets into the mix! iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3...

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