iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

LD144 @magicapple.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Cucumbers. They went nuts.

LD144 @magicapple.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Creativity vs exploitation. Authenticity vs faking it. If personal creativity is all about being seen by others as a creative and not actually putting in the effort to create something, it's a weird take; performative and very sad.

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LD144 @magicapple.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

I agree. He's garbled as usual. And he seems to be almost inviting taking out LA and San Diego to prove his point. But I think he's talking about gas prices being a small cost to pay in this instance. He's still loathsome and utterly unfit and dangerous.

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LD144 @magicapple.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

I read a transcript and it was (as always), garbled. But I read it as him talking about gas prices. The small price to pay was the gas vs. Iran taking out a city. Then he suggested (almost gleefully gave permission) it could be LA or San Diego. Am I reading this wrong? Happy to be corrected.

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LD144 @magicapple.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

I was just visiting my son in San Diego and whoa.

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LD144 @magicapple.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Her face here speaks volumes about her character. Can you see it? I don't like what I see and I don't mean her appearance as much as her expression. She has dead, feral eyes and an unconvincing smile.

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LD144 @magicapple.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Or, you can easily grow lettuce indoors year round under grow lights.

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LD144 @magicapple.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

I'm still mad at them then. Doubly so. Old art teacher here. I wonder if they think everything they say or do is profoundly wonderful. Because, it's not. And doesn't have to be. I like this book. It's very encouraging. And it's also very true. If you want to try again? I'll stop now.

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LD144 @magicapple.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Started fermented sauerkraut today with cabbage and a couple of small shredded beets from the garden. It will turn surprisingly pink when it ferments!

Sauerkraut setup. Ziplock bag with brine used to keep everything under liquid.

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LD144 @magicapple.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

I mean, back in the day, this was pretty fancy.

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LD144 @magicapple.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Using AI is not making art. It's ordering an image that AI makes for you based on stolen art from artists. Even if you don't think your art is what you would want it to be now, it's miles better than AI because at least it's authentic and you made it yourself.

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LD144 @magicapple.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

This is the right approach. And yes, learning to draw is a teachable, learnable skill. May I recommend a book that will get you started? I've used this method to teach hundreds of students to draw. It works. Your drawing is a good first attempt! Keep at it.

Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain by Betty Edwards

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LD144 @magicapple.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

Grow enough for harvesting one head per day needed. For 2 people, I start 2-3 plants (seeds) a week, but if salads are infrequent in the winter, fewer. Grow lights. Kratky method. Basement salads year round. Also grow tiny tomatoes indoors.

Various lettuce and basil plants in mason jars under grow lights. Kratky method hydroponics.

Tiny Tom tomatoes growing under grow lights in basement. Kratky method hydroponics.

Lettuces growing under grow lights in basement. Kratky method

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LD144 @magicapple.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

I like this cartoon. It sort of sums up how I feel about AI. I'm a visual artist and AI makes me so angry. People are being lured into not learning to express themselves authentically.

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LD144 @magicapple.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

This Twonks cartoon pretty much sums up how I see it.

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LD144 @magicapple.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

Yup. This is Polyester, AKA "Murder." She was nice to people, but definitely not nice to other cats.

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LD144 @magicapple.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

We've had luck with a heirloom variety called Lehrertomate-Teacher Tomato Very early variety, enormous plant, but the first flush of fruits are huge and the flavor is remarkable. They are also meaty with just a few tiny seeds. You better believe we save the seeds every year.

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LD144 @magicapple.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

He has a primitive Neanderthal brow, a strong jaw with a very weak, petulant mouth, eyes that reveal weakness and a stunning lack of intelligence or empathy. His face uniquely reveals what he is and it isn't good...another narcissistic, incompetent, power-hungry wannabe.

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LD144 @magicapple.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

Is this a real photo without filters or AI embellishment?

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LD144 @magicapple.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

This is an excellent video about growing micro-dwarf tomatoes indoors. We do this with a variety called Tiny Tom but we use a soilless hydroponic method because fungus gnats defeated us using soil. Good information on controlling them in the video. This is absolutely a worthy project!

Kratky Method indoor tomato growing using grow lights and nutrient solution. Plants are growing in plastic bucket with a lid with holes in them to support the plants rooted in grow cups. Roots grow down into the nutrient solution.

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LD144 @magicapple.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

That's only part of the story. As an experiment, I grew a commercial variety alongside my regular heirloom tomatoes. Both looked amazing. The heirloom tastes great. Commercial one, meh, but it was firm after totally ripe. Bred for shipping and looks, not flavor.

A mixture of ripe tomatoes; some heirloom and others a commercial field variety, STM 2255

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LD144 @magicapple.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

This looks wonderful. Can you share your technique? I have a bounty of them myself.

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LD144 @magicapple.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

I figured out I shouldn't drown the air roots, so same. I've been growing Tiny Toms in larger containers so I don't have to top up every day. Seems to work. I admire your precision.

This is my little setup. Just foil covered mason jars. Rock wool sprouting blocks and net cups.

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LD144 @magicapple.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

#cucumbers #gardening This has been a late harvest because of early intense heat, but finally we have green beans and cucumbers. For some reason, lots of them. This is this morning's harvest.

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LD144 @magicapple.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

#Gardening This is the year of raccoons. We have a (very cute) family of them who visit the vegetable garden every night. Early on, they kept slugs in check. Now it's basically a nightly raid. Defensive measures needed. The fence has vulnerabilities we have to patch. But they're tenacious

Cucumbers and delicata squash. Avocados are just photobombing

I have to pick tomatoes as soon as they blush because we have a family of five raccoons who raid the garden and race me to get them way before they are ripe. Bowl on left are ones ripened inside. Peppers and white bowl are raccoon rejects.

Some of the culprits at 3am making their rounds

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LD144 @magicapple.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

I put the article in reader view and can see it. They target everyone but can zero in specifically on individuals.

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LD144 @magicapple.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

From the site: broken link. Cannot check my voter status.

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LD144 @magicapple.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

They're very cute and we love all our wildlife. But. They have taken to pooping in our courtyard, ripping green tomatoes from the plants, digging under the garden fence to eat unripe squash and tearing up the mulch to get slugs. Squash protected by a metal cage pinned down. They tore it off.

Why we can't have nice things. Raccoon tore an actual metal cage that was pinned down to the ground off and picked this delicata squash. It decided it didn't like it.

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LD144 @magicapple.bsky.social · 19/07/2026

We grow it indoors under a grow light in the basement year round. Kratky method. No bugs. No soil.

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LD144 @magicapple.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

You can do this. Only investment is the grow light and a few bits and pieces. You need to buy the nutrients to add to water, but once you've done that it is pretty easy and cheap.

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LD144 @magicapple.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

Here's the stuff we use to sprout. Sprouts in rock wool cubes and when roots start to show you drop the cup into the top of the jar filled with nutrients.

This is the type of stuff I use for growing. You can reuse the plastic net cups

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LD144 @magicapple.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

There's a way to grow lettuce without having a garden outside. You can use a grow light and Kratky hydroponic method. You need a table, light, mason jars and a few other items. We grow lettuce year round in the basement. Tiny tomatoes in the winter. It's handy and no contamination.

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LD144 @magicapple.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

Try growing your own indoors with a grow light if you have the room? Kratky hydroponics. Sounds complicated. It isn't. I grow in mason jars. Steady year-round supply. Very little effort. And you don't need a garden.

Lettuces and a few basil plants growing under a grow light in my basement

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LD144 @magicapple.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

You can grow your own indoors year round with a grow light. Fast. Easy setup. No soil. No bugs. You control the water. Kratky method. I use mason jars covered in foil to avoid algae in the solution. Fast and easy once you learn the process. Also grow tiny tomatoes in winter this way.

Assorted lettuce and herb plants under grow light

Lettuces growing under a grow light in the basement

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LD144 @magicapple.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

This is a blue hosta that is covered by this mesh. As you can see, it really doesn't show. And this hosta is one they usually mow down every year. Next to it is a motion detector sprinkler...which didn't stop them.

Picture of a blue hosta covered by plastic mesh.

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LD144 @magicapple.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

I found a solution for the deer eating hostas and other plants. This is a pretty cheap, very thin mesh. I drape it over the plant loosely and use garden staples to hold edges down. They can't get their lips past it and only chomp anything that sticks out. Best part is it's almost invisible!

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LD144 @magicapple.bsky.social · 15/06/2026

Yes. See above. Usdatamap.com

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LD144 @magicapple.bsky.social · 09/06/2026

I've been planting this variety for like 15 years and felt pretty silly when I found out that they crave nitrogen because this builds leaves which translates into bulbs. Our crop seems early too. Big stems do seem to mean bigger bulbs. Keeping fingers crossed. Just picked scapes this morning

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LD144 @magicapple.bsky.social · 09/06/2026

#garlic #scapes I just discovered the scapes were popping up on the garlic. It feels like it's a couple weeks earlier than usual? I'm not complaining. Making pesto!

The scapes appeared a couple weeks earlier this year. Kind of unexpected. These are the hard neck garlic scapes I just harvested this morning between rain drops.

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LD144 @magicapple.bsky.social · 06/06/2026

#caturday Happy Caturday from two stink bugs sunbathing together on the screen porch. The big one is a rescue. The little one is just photobombing.

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LD144 @magicapple.bsky.social · 25/05/2026

I'm really enjoying this. Want a few of mine? I saw you designed a tattoo. I'm fascinated by tattoos and what they say about the presence of the person who has them.

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LD144 @magicapple.bsky.social · 23/05/2026

Um...already happening without the actual mention of "slavery." But $1 a day seems a little close to that.

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LD144 @magicapple.bsky.social · 20/05/2026

Insider trading has benefited many who make trades just before an announcement by Trump on truth social that moves the market. The investigation is only starting but it's obvious what is happening.

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LD144 @magicapple.bsky.social · 16/05/2026

What's up with this expression on his face? He looks extremely uncomfortable and unwell.

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