iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Monica @keystricken.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Today I saw a guy who had somehow hitched a bike trailer to a rental scooter and was just puttering happily along while it vibrated dangerously behind him. One of the best things I’ve seen all day.

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Monica @keystricken.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

I’m seeing it tonight with a friend! Very interested to see how the tone of the movie compares with the book.

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Monica @keystricken.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

You’re not alone, even in tech. There are just fewer and fewer of us. I’m not allowed to write a blanket anti-LLM policy for my team, so I limit as much as I can: no docs, no use when learning something new (make your own damn neurons do the work). I do feel more and more “eccentric” each month.

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Monica @keystricken.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Dammit Jess, stop posting all the same recs, and then some, thirteen hours before I do. (Dammit, me, always check if Jess has posted first.)

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Monica @keystricken.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Kachka is a Russian restaurant in SE with horseradish vodka and an unbelievable “oops all appetizers” option called the Zakuski Experience. It’s the first stop I make with all out of town friends. Broder Cafe for weekday brunch. For cocktails: Scotch Lodge, Green Room, Multnomah Whiskey Library.

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Monica @keystricken.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

My god, KC Green (“this is fine 🔥”) has done it again. A reaction shot I’m going to use 1000 times a day in group chats, work PRs, etc. He can’t keep getting away with this. (From his comic kcgreendotcom.com/PIGBUCKET/, hat tip to @ironspike.bsky.social for the rec!)

A six panel comic layout in black and white, of a close-up on a cartoon pig who is initially faced away from the viewer but slowly turning to face them. At first they appear only surprised, perhaps skeptical, but in the final frame their expression has evolved to one of restrained but astonished horror. The closest text representation of this expression is probably @___@.

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Monica @keystricken.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

I don’t even disagree with you, but if you were raised on skim milk in the 90s, then full fat tastes like extra-wet yogurt. Very upsetting! Low fat is the happy medium we can all agree on.

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Monica @keystricken.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

This is adorable (adorable adorable). 💕

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Monica @keystricken.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

I made the cousin of this soup the other day. If it helps: caramelize onions in a slow cooker, then reserve that liquid and combine it with homemade beef broth. Simmer more onions, mushrooms, celery, garlic, add cream, and salt with fancy salt because you can. You will see stars.

A mason jar filled with something liquid is photographed from the top, where a label on the lid reads “Cream of Excellence” with a date of 9/08/2026. The photograph is zoomed in specifically to avoid showing all the clutter on the counter.

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Monica @keystricken.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

I second all the folks talking about commercial guillotine cutters, but before you spend all that money on your order, *find* the bookbinder or letterpress shop that will help you do it. Whether they can is one question; whether they will is just as important!

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Monica @keystricken.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

The little Goblin Larry in the corner with his beers and his ._. face is *classic* Crispy. You are destined for this.

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Monica @keystricken.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Take your like and GET OUT 😜

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Monica @keystricken.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

The last owner of this house made some Odd Decisions.

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Monica @keystricken.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

I found a single (!) ceramic doll arm in the dirt I was excavating to fill this planter, and as someone who has read @tkingfisher.com’s A House With Good Bones, I knew what I had to do.

A young bay laurel is sitting inside a wine barrel planter, freshly filled with dirt, and a bone-white doll arm reaches out of the soil near the base of the plant, as if to grab you.

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Monica @keystricken.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Mine was always destined to be pigeons — I got obsessed with drawing / building them in my thirties, so of course my friends zero in on them when it’s time for memes, cards, gifts, etc. I highly recommend the “what are you a total gremlin about” decision algorithm.

A collection of stuffed hand-sewn pigeons displayed on a shelf in colors ranging from blue to gray to pink, showing different construction techniques (inner skeleton, bendable neck). One wears a label with the inscription “Pigeon #5, started 5.24, completed 5.25.2015”. Those were the days pigeons could be finished quickly; later versions would take weeks to finish.

Pencil sketches of a juvenile pigeon being handled at an urban sanctuary in NYC (drawn from photos taken on site), showing hard-to-get anatomical details of the body underneath the wing.

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Monica @keystricken.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

It does not say good things about how they read the road themselves. 😬

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Monica @keystricken.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

I’m so sorry. There are no words.

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Monica @keystricken.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

Absolutely not just you. Cars drive at a stop sign at 100% of their speed and hit the brakes just as they reach it. Makes it absolutely nerve wracking to be in the nearest lane. They seem to think they owe the rest of the world no communication whatsoever about their intent.

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Monica @keystricken.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Mutually Assured Pallets, an effective deterrence strategy.

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Monica @keystricken.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

I have up to INT_MAX fresh figs for you if you’re in the area in the next month! And I will be drying them too. Are you traveling at all?

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Reposted by Monica

burnlittlelight (she/her) @burnlittlelight.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Listen if you pull up to my place with a pallet of figs from your tree, you will get home to discover a pallet of figs from my tree.

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Monica @keystricken.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

… I see all y’all in my metro area who are liking this thread. You are playing a dangerous game and I respect it.

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Monica @keystricken.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

I just got a dehydrator this year, so I’m looking forward to seeing what this unlocks on the “year-round figs” tech tree.

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Monica @keystricken.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Now, most people are like “Sure! I’ll eat a fig!” to be polite, and that just doesn’t work for me. It’s a reverse tax, motherfuckers. There’s a minimum quota! Come a month from now when the “main” harvest ripens, I’m showing up to your house with a pallet jack.

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Monica @keystricken.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Beautiful! Do you also get an ironic punishment’s worth of figs every year? What do you do with them?

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Monica @keystricken.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

The thing to know about fig trees is, you have fucked around all year enjoying your pretty tree, and now it is the season for Finding Out. It’s a goddamn Strega Nona cauldron in living form, and no one knows the secret words. An eternity of figs is about to be inflicted on everyone I know and love.

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Monica @keystricken.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

It’s fig season and I just ran down the mail carrier with a takeout tray full of fruit, in case you want to know how the “smaller” first harvest crop is going.

A close-up photo of green figs on a branch; the leaves are enormous and could easily be used to cover the genitals of any nude model. Most of the fruit are unripe; there is one single fig drooping on its stem and looking kind of sad and old, which means it is PERFECT and will taste so sweet and good.

A zoomed-out shot of the branches of a fig tree showing figs everywhere, infinite figs, a whole world of figs about to ripen and splatter on the ground no matter how many I pick.

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Monica @keystricken.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

You could see the judges’ faces change as they took their first bite. This one was clearly AMAZING.

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Monica @keystricken.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

Pix Patisserie has done up this bake-off in STYLE. Lots of indoor and outdoor seating, snacks, drinks, big screens. Portland, again, reigns supreme in the food scene.

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Reposted by Monica

Jess Liotta 🍄 @jessliotta.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

Okay yall I’ve just practiced my signature bake again for the Big Portland Bake Show tomorrow and I am PUMPED and READY, come see me at Pix/Can Bar tomorrow and Sunday! Free to the public, this is the schedule:

Schedule for the big Portland bake show!

Drinks and snacks available inside at Can Bar. NO OUTSIDE FOOD OR DRINK.
Competition Day 1 (Saturday) Doors Open 9:00 AM
Signature Challenge 9:45AM - 12:00 PM
A single item challenge picked by the judges in which each baker shows off their baking ability, creativity and personality.
Signature Judging 12:15 PM
Spectator Spectacular! 12:30 PM - 1:00 PM
12 audience members get chosen to compete in the tent, turning a buffet of ingredients into their own showstopper!
Technical Challenge 1:45 PM - 3:30 PM
Each contestant must recreate a mystery bake chosen by the judges, using the same ingredients and "recipes" given to them.
DJ Action Slacks 2:30PM - 5:00 PM
Technical Judging 3:45 PM
Shake & Bake Happy Hour 4:00PM - 6:00PM
Audience Tent Event 4:30 PM - 4:45 PM
Announcement of Star Baker 5:00 PM
Competition Day 2 (Sunday) Doors Open 10:00 AM
Showstopper 11:00 AM - 2:30 PM
It's up to the contestants to bring their most impressive and elaborate bakes to the tent based on a predetermined theme.
Shake & Bake Happy Hour 2:30 PM - 5:00PM
Live Music: Steve Cheseborough and TRIO ACAÍ 2:30 PM - 4:45PM
Showstopper Judging 3:00 PM
Spectator Spectacular! 3:45 PM - 4:15 PM
Award Ceremony 4:45 PM
Find out who takes home the top prize - a 10 speed 6 qt stand mixer!

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Monica @keystricken.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

The best way to siphon money from Portland is to call it “housing assistance” and sit on it for years, like a dragon, before you magnanimously give it away to whatever you want.

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Monica @keystricken.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

HOW do you keep finding all these gorgeous inverts, it defies belief! You must be the Snow White of the Chicago area.

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Monica @keystricken.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

May I offer you: the smuggest cat

A gray cat looks at the camera with yellow eyes, his head angled at a perfect 90 degrees. A tiny tiny fang peeks out from one side of his mouth. He looks like he owns you, me, the building, and everything else he perceives.

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Monica @keystricken.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

Happy Birthday!!! 🎂🎂🎂 I hope you do something extravagant to celebrate!

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Monica @keystricken.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

Gonna show up to the competition with this printed out mad libs style, and see if I can fill in all the blanks.

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Monica @keystricken.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

I’m so glad it came in time! 💕

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Monica @keystricken.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

The helper robots were a webcomic of mine in years long past. I’d like to put them back online some day, but for now they live on in small drawings and marginalia. For REAL artwork, follow *this* lovely person — and wish her a happy birthday!

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Monica @keystricken.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

Proposing an art trade with my niece was a brilliant move to get me more practice (and more Niece Art). This is our second round of 👍 so I hope I can convince her to try another pose next time. Now to possibly RUIN EVERYTHING by adding an ink wash. It’s getting mailed either way!

Two drawings of a thumbs up side by side, each one part of a card that was/will be sent in the mail. On the right, a child’s drawing in pink marker with an orange border and yellow rays for ornamentation; the fingernails and pad of the thumb are included. On the left, an adult’s line drawing in pen, naturally more detailed, showing a full hand and forearm along with the curve of a watch.

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Monica @keystricken.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

100%, it’s not fair that they get pinched for a lesser crime, but I’ll take it if it means they’re fired and disgraced, and have a harder time finding new victims.

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Monica @keystricken.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

The Al Capone Theory of Sexual Harrassment! One of my favorite Internet essays, and it makes everything so much easier to explain. It sits right up there in the pantheon with the Crazification Factor. hypatia.ca/2017/07/18/t...

hypatia.ca

The Al Capone theory of sexual harassment

We developed the Al Capone Theory over several years of researching and recording racism and sexism in computer security, open source software, venture capital, and other parts of the tech industry…

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Monica @keystricken.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

Worst part is when your brain immediately retcons the progress because it *should* have looked like this the whole time! You rip out three giant yard bags of blackberries and in five minutes, you’re like “I mean, this looks… correct, did I even do anything”.

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Monica @keystricken.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

I don’t even *have* trypophobia (I think?) and it doesn’t matter, it is a cursed object that induces the phobia in you.

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Monica @keystricken.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

I finally saw it too and AAAAAAAAA

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Monica @keystricken.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

I was trying to draw all his little skin rolls but I think I ended up making him look like a starvation victim 😫 not that he would necessarily disagree, but it was not my intent.

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