iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Loren Heinold @lorenheinold.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Average age for today’s bluegrass jam session: mid 40’s. Balanced by a 9 year old on fiddle and an 80 year old on banjo. Beijing is lovely sometimes.

Bluegrass jam session in Chaoyang Park, Beijing

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Loren Heinold @lorenheinold.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Mar-a-lago Sober: zero alcohol but high as a kite on Adderall and malignant narcissism

Wapo headline: Trump is sober about the midterm prospects for Republicans, advisers say

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Loren Heinold @lorenheinold.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Happy Labor Day! As someone running a business with a few hundred employee, we do have executive to entry level employees pay ratios that are not 1:1. Currently around 3-4:1 (the average executive age is close to 2x the entry level age). I guess still better than the S&P average of 312:1

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Loren Heinold @lorenheinold.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

Went down a rabbit hole re: the Chinese 7 day week history. Found a note (from CE 759) about what to do if you can’t remember the day of the week: “忽不記得，但當問胡及波斯并五天竺人總知” If you suddenly don’t remember, you should simply ask the Hu, the Persians, and the people of the Five Indias; they all know [it].

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Loren Heinold @lorenheinold.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

I don’t love China all the time, but bluegrass jam sessions with mostly local musicians remind me there’s a lot to like about living here.

Beijing Pickers jam session at Spuds, an Irish pub in Beijing

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Loren Heinold @lorenheinold.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

I’ve traveled in both Canada and North Korea; this is insanity. Even on a guided tour meant to show North Korea in the best possible light to visitors, we spent hours on the captured USS Pueblo “learning” how evil an enemy America is. What the hell are we doing? www.nytimes.com/2026/08/18/u...

nytimes.com

Threatening Friends and Courting Enemies in Trump’s ‘Upside-Down World’

The president’s hostility to allies like Oman, Canada and South Korea, and his affection for adversaries like North Korea, may still shock some. But it comes as little surprise after a decade of uphea...

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Loren Heinold @lorenheinold.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

Frank Herbert: “Good government never depends upon laws, but upon the personal qualities of those who govern. The machinery of government is always subordinate to the will of those who administer that machinery. The most important element of government, therefore, is the method of choosing leaders.”

Quote from Children of Dune:
“Good government never depends upon laws, but upon the personal qualities of those who govern. The machinery of government is always subordinate to the will of those who administer that machinery. The most important element of government, therefore, is the method of choosing leaders.”

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Loren Heinold @lorenheinold.bsky.social · 18/07/2026

Successfully chased my vomiting cat off of the carpet and onto the easily wipeable hardwood floor. Solid start to the day.

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Loren Heinold @lorenheinold.bsky.social · 17/05/2026

Note to self: a “pinch” of salt is a meaningless measurement to a four year old. Ended up with a (small) handful, would have otherwise been a great pizza

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Loren Heinold @lorenheinold.bsky.social · 16/05/2026

My daughter’s first vinyl record of her own #vinyl

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Loren Heinold @lorenheinold.bsky.social · 24/04/2026

Chinese screen addiction getting a bit ridiculous. My Didi driver tonight has 3 different screens including one where he’s watching a chef’s livestream, all while weaving in and out of traffic. Love it. #China

Didi (Chinese Uber) driver driving while watching 3 different screens including a chef livestream

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Loren Heinold @lorenheinold.bsky.social · 19/04/2026

Impressive. Beijing South Railway Station built huge waiting rooms for people using ride hailing apps. Every door #, aisle # and parking spot shows on the screen, as does the license plate of all cars called. Can wait in a comfy chair and see exactly where one’s car is. Not perfect but pretty good

Screen showing the Didi (Uber of China) pick up situation at Beijing South Railway Station

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Loren Heinold @lorenheinold.bsky.social · 19/04/2026

Didn’t expect to see a drone rental vending machine in a third tier city in Hebei (Cangzhou). $0.15 for the first time renting, a few dollars for the next one. A few minutes to download an app and you’re flying a phone with high quality photos and videos downloaded to your phone.

Drone rental vending machine in the Nanchuan Laojie area in Cangzhou, Hebei

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Loren Heinold @lorenheinold.bsky.social · 17/04/2026

Rough day burger testing for the restaurant. Might sound nice but trying multiple iterations per day is actually a chore.

Top image: picture of carnitas double patty burger with chipotle BBQ sauce and coleslaw
Bottom image: same burger in hands wig orange background

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Loren Heinold @lorenheinold.bsky.social · 15/04/2026

Five years ago he was a mangy stray, now his morning scritch demands are through the roof

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Loren Heinold @lorenheinold.bsky.social · 11/04/2026

A cat who appreciates (proximity to) a good book #Caturday #Booksky

Squeaky the cat sleeping next to two novels - A Memory Called Empire and Bat by Jo Nesbo

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Loren Heinold @lorenheinold.bsky.social · 05/04/2026

C’mon Beijing. Great translation resources (at least for simple things like restaurant menus) is free and easy accessible even without a VPN. No need for “Yunnan rose fermentation and vomiting” to show up on a menu in 2026 🤮

Beijing restaurant menu with various baked products and insane translations including “Coconut milk hot spring vomiting” and “Yunnan rose fermentation and vomiting”

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Loren Heinold @lorenheinold.bsky.social · 27/03/2026

Woke up 2 hours early because the cats were screaming to be fed. *just* as I finished giving them food my wife told me she had fed them 10 minutes before. Liars.

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Reposted by Loren Heinold

🦋 kris🌻⋆⋆⋆ @eviebauer727.bsky.social · 20/03/2026

This is haunting. Lebanese cellist Mahdi Saheli playing Armenian composer Aram Khachaturian's Andantino in the ruins of southern Beirut after Israeli bombings. 💔 #Lebanon #Beirut #Israel

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Loren Heinold @lorenheinold.bsky.social · 01/03/2026

Robot coffee server technology all ok but clearly designed by tech people not thinking of the customer. Coffee was fine but came out scalding hot in thin cups with no lid or cardboard protector, had to set the coffee down until it cooled down enough for me to walk around without it burning my hand

Robot coffee server in Beijing at the China Film Museum

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Loren Heinold @lorenheinold.bsky.social · 25/02/2026

Nostalgic vinyl purchase at a Chinese mall

Barenaked Ladies’ Stunt record behind record player

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Loren Heinold @lorenheinold.bsky.social · 19/02/2026

Thor is pretty relaxed about the women’s hockey gold medal game going to overtime

Orange cat stretched out full length on chair

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Loren Heinold @lorenheinold.bsky.social · 16/02/2026

Expected lots of robots on the CCTV New Year’s Eve Gala but didn’t expect this much robot breakdancing #China #breakdancing

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Loren Heinold @lorenheinold.bsky.social · 16/02/2026

Happy Chinese New Year’s 年年有余

Lunch table spread for Chinese New Years. Fish, beef, lamb, babaofan, and lots of side dishes

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Loren Heinold @lorenheinold.bsky.social · 15/02/2026

Stayin in my wife’s hometown in Inner Mongolia for Chinese New Year, silver lining is I don’t need an alarm to wake up because dozens of barrages of massive fireworks wake me up without one

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Loren Heinold @lorenheinold.bsky.social · 10/02/2026

This article made me sick to my stomach. It seems that most "libertarians" are about as principled as "evangelical Christians"...if you supported/support Trump, the labels you choose to identify yourself are just that, labels. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/09/o...

nytimes.com

Opinion | Libertarians: We Told You So

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Loren Heinold @lorenheinold.bsky.social · 09/02/2026

First 3 books of 2026 are…in the books

Picture of 3 novels: Ursula Le Guin’s The Dispossessed, Robert Heinlein’s Stranger in a Strange Land, Arthur Clarke’s 2001 A Space Odyssey

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Loren Heinold @lorenheinold.bsky.social · 07/02/2026

Chinese hot sauce stock replenished

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Loren Heinold @lorenheinold.bsky.social · 07/02/2026

Promo shot for the weirdest possible Brokeback Mountain sequel

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Loren Heinold @lorenheinold.bsky.social · 03/02/2026

It’s that time of the (Chinese) Zodiac again, time to pat some horses’ asses, 马年要多拍马屁！

Budweiser display of horses’ asses in Sanlitun, Beijing

Outdoor mall display of a horse’s ass in Beijing CBD

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Loren Heinold @lorenheinold.bsky.social · 27/01/2026

Fun times…can’t use CITIC’s online banking because I need to update the driver…can’t update the driver because multiple anti-virus programs insist it is corrupted with malware…nice one, CITIC

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Loren Heinold @lorenheinold.bsky.social · 17/01/2026

Started to watch the show Ponies and was really confused as to why the lady who does awesome Trump lip sync videos had the lead role in a Cold War thriller.

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Loren Heinold @lorenheinold.bsky.social · 11/01/2026

Was it worth it to cook the turkey bone broth down for 5 hours? Yes, yes it was. #soup

Winter soup with turkey stock, sausage, carrots, celery and potatoes

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Reposted by Loren Heinold

Toussaint Egan @thesaintoftous.bsky.social · 09/01/2026

I saw this video of a Vietnam vet in the fur coat yelling at ICE and thought to myself, "this is missing something," before I realized, "Ah, of course, the Ether instrumental. It's so obvious."

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Loren Heinold @lorenheinold.bsky.social · 09/01/2026

A Beijing Didi driver wanted to pick a fight with me today after he learned I was American (he asked). He said “what would you think if another country sent troops and kidnapped your President?!” I told him “that would be amazing, all for it.” Jaw drop followed by a pleasant conversation #China

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Loren Heinold @lorenheinold.bsky.social · 05/01/2026

Me: Nice Duplo tower, kid. What’s up with all the eyes? 3 y.o.: It’s a watchtower, Daddy. Me:

Colorful Duplo tower with eye block pieces

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Loren Heinold @lorenheinold.bsky.social · 03/01/2026

Mixue Bingcheng HQ in Zhengzhou. Crazy lines of people waiting to get in. #China

People waiting in line outside Mixue Bingcheng HQ

Mixue Bingcheng mascots representing different countries where there are stores

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Loren Heinold @lorenheinold.bsky.social · 27/12/2025

It’s a brave new world (moka pot Christmas gift)

Espresso in a cup with a mustache decoration on a black and white two tone coaster

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