iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

jex thomas @lastpinepress.com · 26/09/2026

Look who's earned a spot on our curious cabinet! It's @coreybrickley.bsky.social!

The inside of a cabinet featuring an anatomical model with removable organs, a mask that's half skull and half facial muscles, a hacipupu doll, a mold-o-rama set of pink flamingos, a porcelain hand holding a small skeleton model, a xenomorph miniature, and two art prints by Corey Brickley: Interiors 1 and 2.

jex thomas @lastpinepress.com · 24/09/2026

A bit of recency bias, I admit, but these are all games that shaped and expanded how I see the medium of video games My 9 games #My9Games my9games.net/en/share/9e8...

My 9 Games: the 9 games who shaped who I am

Night in the Woods
The Walking Dead
Space Quest 6: The Spinal Frontier
Gabriel Knight 2: The Beast Within
The Last of Us
Life is Strange 2
Pentiment
Citizen Sleeper
Norco

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jex thomas @lastpinepress.com · 31/08/2026

Been excited for this for a long time now.

Ryne: Life in the Footsteps of God's by Adam Dixon and Thryn Henderson.

A group sits around a campfire atop a floating plateau, held up by what appear to be tree roots or vines. The rocky landscape is bathed in twilight and the shadowy legs of two giant creatures frame the tableau.

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jex thomas @lastpinepress.com · 15/08/2026

Mine is a little bit of a mixed bag

Screenshot from Letterboxd on Jex's most recent watches: Rebel Moon (.5 stars), Repo Man (5 stars), American Madness (3 stars), Jurassic Park (5 stars)

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jex thomas @lastpinepress.com · 02/08/2026

This part make brain feel nice

A photo of an open closet. There are 5 guitar cases upright across the main area of the closet as well as a pedal board in a soft case. A backpack and miscellaneous cables hang on hooks on the wall. On a shelf, there are two Orange amplifiers (an Orange Crush 35RT and a slightly smaller Orange Crush 12 practice amp which has some books stacked on it. On the next shelf up, an Orange Crush Bass 50. While the other amps are covered in orange tolex, this one is Purple. To the left of the bass amp, some random pedals and other similar paraphernalia.

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jex thomas @lastpinepress.com · 01/08/2026

I'll be honest, I didn't miss this part of playing music with other people

The back of a Subaru Forester loaded up with music gear like amps and guitars and a pedal board and some stands

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jex thomas @lastpinepress.com · 23/07/2026

Heckin' good mail day from @evilhat.bsky.social and @olddog.games I purposely obscured the map because it's too fucking cool to show in a measly Bluesky post

A photo of a hardcover book which is mostly black with a large, stylized '68 on the cover. Inside the numbers are illustrations of hip scoundrels, protestors, and cops in riot gear, all in oranges and blues. A narrow card deck sits atop the book with yellow cover reading Blades '68 Faction Deck. To the book's left, a stack of various play aids.

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jex thomas @lastpinepress.com · 17/07/2026

This is what my app showed No clue how accurate it is tho Stay safe 💖

AQI 321
Air Quality Index

Hazardous
Health alert: Everyone's health may be considerably affected.

Forecast
Thu 303/152
Fri 202/51
Sat 402/46
Sun 328/175
Mon 342/36

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jex thomas @lastpinepress.com · 16/07/2026

What's up Milwaukee. AQI of 500 on the UWM campus...

Air quality

Current condition
500 Hazardous air quality

Health warning of emergency conditions; everyone is more likely to be affected.

Air quality index is a scale designed to help you understand how polluted the air is in a particular area.

Different air quality index ranges are associated with different health effects. The scale helps people understand potential risks to their health.

The number you see is based on a hybrid of AirNow's NowCast AQI and the U.S. AQI. It considers measurements for 6 air pollutants: particulate matter (PM2.5, PM10), ozone (O3), carbon monoxide (CO), sulfur dioxide (SO2), and nitrogen dioxide (NO2), over a period of 1-2 hours.

A selfie of Jex wearing a N95 in their office.

A picture from Jex's window of the UWM campus and east side of Milwaukee. It appears draped in fog, but it's actually wildfire smoke.

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jex thomas @lastpinepress.com · 14/07/2026

Also all of our window units except the one in the kid's room are currently broken and we don't have central air because our house was built in 1912

A screen shot from the Google Home app showing indoor temperatures:

Dining Room 84
Upstairs device 87

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jex thomas @lastpinepress.com · 03/07/2026

I'm pretty sure neither Jason nor Jeremy are on here, but @plusoneexp.bsky.social is. They're absolutely beautiful. And maybe the most intense packing job I've ever seen haha

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jex thomas @lastpinepress.com · 20/06/2026

Great mail day! I feel so grateful to have so many awesome, creative friends making such great stuff!

Tribe 8: Tribes in the Dark, a tabletop roleplaying game. The cover features three figures standing in a battle pose. On the left, a masculine figure, lithe but muscular, with light skin and wearing druidic garb is holding a long, hooked staff with a glowing lantern on the end. On the right, a feminine figure with light purple skin with tattoos on their arms and head, is extending their right arm, invoking a small, magical bird. The bird is simply growing purple. Finally, in the center stands a very large man with dark skin wearing a fur-lined vest, holding a sword over his left shoulder. The sword's end is serrated and looks like a leaf. He is scowling. There is a large tattoo on his exposed abdomen.

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jex thomas @lastpinepress.com · 01/06/2026

This is a cat check point. Relinquish your most recent cat picture on your phone.

A regal looking cat with a tipped ear. He has big tufts of fur coming from his ears.

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jex thomas @lastpinepress.com · 16/05/2026

Good mail day featuring @acoupleofdrakes.bsky.social and the band responsible for my favorite record of the year!

Rulebook for Hedge by a Couple of Drakes. The cover features three figures standing in front of a tower, surrounded by some kind of zombie horde. The figure in the middle wears red armor and holds a flaming staff. A long braid of hair flows behind them. On the right, an armored figure holds a circular, toothed blade. The figure on the left is covered in tree bark and one arm is outstretched, a tree-like limb stretching unnaturally toward the danger.

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jex thomas @lastpinepress.com · 16/05/2026

I tried to build on this for Bump in the Dark and provide the kind of guidance that I find most helpful when GMing.

Excerpt from Bump in the Dark featuring tables detailing action roll results and possible consequences.

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jex thomas @lastpinepress.com · 16/05/2026

These are all fundamentally the same move with slightly different wording, so we'll talk about them together. While deft GMs might quickly translate those into fiction (based on the already existing context), it can be challenging to think of exactly what happens next.

ACT UNDER FIRE
When you act under fire, roll +Cool. On a 10+, you do it. On a 7-9, you flinch, hesitate, or stall, and the MC can offer you a worse outcome, a hard bargain, or an unfortunate choice. On a miss, prepare for the worst.

DEFY DANGER
When you act despite an imminent threat or suffer a calamity, say how you deal with it and roll. If you do it ...
- by powering through, +Str
- by getting out of the way or acting fast, +Dex
- by enduring, +Con
- with quick thinking, +Int
- through mental fortitude, +Wis
- sing charm and social grace, +Cha

On a 10+, you do what you set out to, the threat doesn't come to bea. On a 7-9, you stumble. Hesitate, or flinch: the GM will offer you a worse outcome, hard bargain, or ugly choice.

ACT UNDER PRESSURE
When you act under pressure, roll +Cool.

On a 10+ you do what you set out to.
On a 7-9 the Keeper is going to give you a worse outcome, hard choice, or price to pay.

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jex thomas @lastpinepress.com · 12/05/2026

Got myself an early birthday present

A hand holding up a packaged action figure in front of a blank wall. It is the McFarlane Collector Edition Hellboy figure.

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jex thomas @lastpinepress.com · 06/04/2026

Damn that show fucking ruled. Milorgonaut is so goddamn good and Shitstorm blew my fucking mind.

Milorgonaut at the X-Ray Arcade. A guitarist, bassist, and drummer perform on a stage surrounded by amplifier cabinets. The bass player is screaming into a microphone.

Deterioration at the X-Ray Arcade. A guitarist and drummer perform on the same stage. A psychedelic skull adorns the wall behind them. The guitarist is also performing vocals.

Shitstorm at the X-Ray Arcade. Another band plays on the same stage. There is a vocalist screaming into the microphone flanked by a guitarist and bassist rocking out. The drummer is barely visible behind the vocalist.

Mellow Harsher at the X-Ray Arcade. A final band consisting of a vocalist, guitarist, bassist, and drummer performing on the same stage. The audience crowds up to front of the stage.

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jex thomas @lastpinepress.com · 22/03/2026

My first Halloween with @dearling-g0ldfart.bsky.social She crocheted the mask and made an incredible Julie.

Jex wearing a purple hoodie and a crocheted Maxx mask with foam teeth as well as yellow gloves with foam claws. Their partner is wearing a long blond wig, a white tank top, and low rise jeans -- dresses like Julie from the Maxx.

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jex thomas @lastpinepress.com · 18/03/2026

It was a very colorful mail day today

Three colorful books atop a purple sheet. On the left, VOIDHEART SYMPHONY featuring lots of pinks and purples and a set of characters facing off against a monster. In the upper right, ACCEPTANCE AND COMMITMENT THERAPY: DELIBERATE Practice TO DEVELOP AND ENHANCE SKILLS IN ACT, featuring orange and yellow and green floral and leaf like designs. In the lower right. PICO, orange and yellow and green and brown, tiny humanoid insects in the grass and dirt.

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jex thomas @lastpinepress.com · 27/02/2026

For the longest time here in Milwaukee we had a car that was like an anti-abortion, conspiracy theorist Dr Bronner's bottle, ngl kind of miss that crazy bastardmobile

A station wagon on the street in downtown Milwaukee, WI absolutely covered in weird political and conspiracy theorist messages, some in paint, some papered to the car or a makeshift eisel attached to the roof of the car.

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jex thomas @lastpinepress.com · 15/02/2026

Drop an album that was important to you when you were nineteen:

Album cover for The Day the Sun Went Out by Boy Sets Fire.

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jex thomas @lastpinepress.com · 05/02/2026

I used to have this on a shirt

A poster with the words CLASS WAR across the top. The As in Class and War are both anarchy symbols and the words are separated by a skull and crossbones. Beneath this, a high-contrast, black-and-white photo of a graveyard full of hundreds of white crosses in a field of grass. Across the bottom: WE HAVE FOUND NEW HOMES FOR THE RICH. The graphic design is pretty bad yet also iconic.

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jex thomas @lastpinepress.com · 24/01/2026

Yeah, it's not doing much, if anything. But I'm sitting here today feeling so angry and heartbroken and tired and helpless and scared about what's next. But I refuse to relinquish my hope that a better, kinder, more equitable world is possible, and that we will build it. Are building it now.

A white person resting their arm on their knee, the evidence of children -- markers scattered across the floor -- in the background. They are wearing a bracelet with pink, white, and silver beads reading FUCK ICE.

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jex thomas @lastpinepress.com · 18/01/2026

Just taking my computer to the hospital (my brother's house)

A black PC tower emblazoned with various punk and TTRPG related stickers, bucked into a car seat.

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jex thomas @lastpinepress.com · 11/01/2026

So I spent several hours unplugging and re-plugging cables, re-seating all the RAM sticks, praying to the PC Gods, etc., never thinking to check whether the white LED on the mobo actually meant anything besides "receiving power."

Screenshot from an article on the web, reading:

When your ASUS motherboard shows white light, it means there is a problem with the connection between your graphics card and motherboard. This can be caused by various reasons such as a loose cable connection, a faulty graphics card, incompatible hardware and more. In this post on MiniTool Website, we will show you how to troubleshoot ASUS motherboard VGA light white in detail.

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jex thomas @lastpinepress.com · 29/12/2025

Finally it's new guitar day for real

Jex sitting on a papasan style chair playing a purple Epiphone SG. They are wearing all black and there is a shelf full of books behind them.

An Epiphone SG Modern guitar with "purple burst" finish leaning up against a small Orange Crush practice amp and behind a board full of effects pedals.

An Epiphone SG Modern guitar with "purple burst" finish

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jex thomas @lastpinepress.com · 26/12/2025

When it's new guitar day but you gotta wait.

Picture of a green sticker on a cardboard box, reading:

CAUTION!
READ THIS BEFORE OPENING

We realize you really want to open this box and start playing your new instrument, but we strongly recommend you wait 24 hours before doing so. Sudden and drastic changes in temperature or climate can potentially damage the clear coat, finish, paint, or even the wood itself, which could also impact the playability and functionality of your instrument. Waiting 24 hours before opening its box will arrive the instrument to slowly adjust to your home/facility temperature and climate and will help avoid any related issues. This is particularly important during the winter months when climates are quite different across the country.

We know it's hard to wait, but please trust us on this one!

(800) 222-4700 | Sweetwater.com

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jex thomas @lastpinepress.com · 21/12/2025

Signal chain in the alt text Note that the US and the Blue Box are not meant to be stacked, but rather one or the other for weird leads. The RAT is running into the Big Muff though which tightens it up and adds some mids back in. (Note: Dials not currently set correctly.)

A photo of Jex's pedal board, which is fairly tightly packed.

The signal chain is as follows:

Ditto Looper > EQD Arrows pre-amp/boost > EQD FlexiLoops > [A: Devi Ever US Fuzz > MXR Blue Box] [B: ProCo Rat 2 > EHX Big Muff] > Korg Pitchblack Tuner > MXR Phase 95 > EQD Aurelius Tri-Voice Chorus > Joyo Tremolo > MXR Carbon Copy > TV Bona Fide buffer > Nux Loop Core > AB/Y

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jex thomas @lastpinepress.com · 29/11/2025

Part 2 - just reconfigured my pedal board. Am I planning to play my electric guitar any time soon? Probably not. But it felt really important.

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jex thomas @lastpinepress.com · 29/11/2025

Anyway I built a shelf for the workshop and started organizing and cleaning all the tools and the big old toolbox I inherited from my dad (tho didn't get very far on that, because they're kinda nasty)

Jex's tool shelf containing some power tools, hammers, pliers, screw drivers, and little drawers full of miscellaneous screws and stuff.

Jex's dad's old toolbox. It is rusty and disorganized. You can't see inside all the various little drawers, but if you could, you'd see that they're really gross inside.

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jex thomas @lastpinepress.com · 19/11/2025

*Great* mail day today featuring the absolutely beautiful Crescent and Exile by @ema-acosta.com and published by @mythworks.bsky.social (I also got all my Alien: Evolved Edition stuff today but none of it is as exciting as these!)

Jex holding Crescent 2e: Feelings-Delving Role Playing by Ema Acosta. The cover features a full-color illustration of several children climbing on a big red T-Rex on the shore of a lake. The kid on the dinosaur's snout has a fishing rod. Another child, on the dino's back, is ensnared in the fishing line. Another child jumps triumphantly off the tail. In the background, a mermaid dives off a waterfall and a snake hangs over the whole image. In the foreground, an alligator rises from the lake carrying a skull. The text of the title is embossed with gold foil.

Jex holding a copy of Exile: Dark Fantasy Role-Playing by Ema Acosta. The cover is black and red and features a young person with bat wings holding a sword that drips blood. A tendril of green smoke or flame rises from the figure's other hand. The text of the title is embossed with silver foil.

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jex thomas @lastpinepress.com · 05/10/2025

In good news, itch finally processed and released all the money from the Bump in the Dark Bundle for Indigenous Health and I was able to make the donation. Thank you to everyone who purchased the bundle earlier this year and helped make this possible!

A screenshot from PayPal that says "thanks for donating $2,269.00 USD to Gerald L. Ignace Indian Health Center, Inc."

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jex thomas @lastpinepress.com · 25/09/2025

Hecking good mail day with Sword Opera by my pals Eli Kurtz and @ericfarmer.bsky.social

Jex holding a paperback copy of SWORD OPERA: An RPG of Melodramatic Relationships and High-Powered Violence by Eric Farmer and Eli Kurtz. The cover features a beautifully rendered, high color image of a (melo)dramatic sword fight.

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jex thomas @lastpinepress.com · 20/09/2025

Attention vegetarians! The food that sustained you for a full decade or more has returned! Rejoice!

A photograph of an item on a Taco Bell ordering kiosk: the 7-Layer Burrito, noted to be 430 calories, "seven layers in harmony - refried beans and seasoned rice, reduced fat sour cream, guacamole, lettuce, diced tomatoes, and (word cut off)"

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