iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Edward Alexander @makemeamap.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

I don't why we went away from the hot-cold knob you could set before even starting the car

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Edward Alexander @makemeamap.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Well Purdue gave their last three opponents 49, 52, and 38 points. Even Indiana State scored more.

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Edward Alexander @makemeamap.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Doing some late night mapping. Sometimes I think they look a lot cooler before I smash a bunch of labels and troop movements on top.

Grayscale map showing the terrain of the Beaver Dam Creek battlefield

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Edward Alexander @makemeamap.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

That was a video game on easy mode run, just hold down (unlimited) turbo and go

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Edward Alexander @makemeamap.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Seeing it officially spelled out as Gies Memorial Stadium makes it look like it's sponsored by a hospital

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Edward Alexander @makemeamap.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Also, going up to the counter to order off the 'menu' posted there: "I'll have sandwiches and good vibes please, thanks"

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Edward Alexander @makemeamap.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Putting up the finishing touches on some Cedar Creek maps, a project made substantially harder by the usually reliable Jedediah Hotchkiss essentially putting "here by dragons" on a crucial part his otherwise outstanding maps of the Shenandoah Valley

A portion of the Jedediah Hotchkiss map of the Shenandoah Valley, preserved by the Library of Congress, in which a large section east of Strasburg and south of Middletown (the Cedar Creek battlefield) is simply marked "unexplored."

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Edward Alexander @makemeamap.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Grand Canyon but make it a mountain instead

Screenshot from a mapping software showing the shaded relief inverted so the Grand Canyon looks like a tall ridge instead

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Edward Alexander @makemeamap.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Sax on the left is @emilywilliamsss.bsky.social, the hardest working horn in ska. Seriously, I think I've seen them onstage in almost ten bands by now

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Edward Alexander @makemeamap.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Bouncing Souls to close it out, reminded that my favorite bad smell is Chuck Taylors stuck on a beer-coated venue floor, iykyk

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Edward Alexander @makemeamap.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Suicide Machines played Destruction by Definition straight through, in other words half a song the entire set to catch your breath, hell yeah

The Suicide Machines on stage at The National in Richmond, Virginia

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Edward Alexander @makemeamap.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Lived in Richmond way too long before finally seeing Strike Anywhere

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Edward Alexander @makemeamap.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Burger restaurants (and punk bands) have no excuse. There's already a built-in minimalist charm.

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Edward Alexander @makemeamap.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

And he also really wants everyone to think it's just an intern (who's checkmating him)

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Edward Alexander @makemeamap.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

let's see a bull try to negotiate those obstacles

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Edward Alexander @makemeamap.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

I need to refresh myself on Immanuel Kant for the potential perfect joke, I thought to myself this afternoon, and I regret not doing so

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Edward Alexander @makemeamap.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

Nah, letting the quarterback mosey his way up to the line was perfect

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Edward Alexander @makemeamap.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

Regarding Matt Leinart in a Big Ten commercial, if you weren't in the conference when you played you don't get grandfathered in

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Edward Alexander @makemeamap.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Big news from the Illini tailgate: Joey Chestnut puts mustard on hot dogs when eating for leisure

Screenshot from @WhityRemarks on Twitter showing competitive eater Joey Chestnut next to Illinois blogging legend ALionEye

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Edward Alexander @makemeamap.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Illini football starting off their season tonight, a Thursday. What are we even doing here, besides prioritizing TV inventory above all else?

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Edward Alexander @makemeamap.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

Can't tell if this is a Netflix glitch or an easter egg

Continue Watching section of the Netflix homescreen in which it says there are 1889 hours and 5 minutes remaining in the film Memento

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Edward Alexander @makemeamap.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

Finding the opposite to be true for me personally lately, especially when the game overlaps with kids naptime. Do I really want to spend my little bit of time to myself being disappointed? It's given a license to bail early.

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Edward Alexander @makemeamap.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

If Illinois were to ever adopt one its rumored potential mascots, Martin Pescador would be such a good message board username

Lego box for its Kingfisher set, showing the name translated in other languages

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Edward Alexander @makemeamap.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

They got them doing that Angels headline meme

ESPN summary of Tarik Skubal fans six in six innings while the scoreboard says Dodgers 1, Cubs 5

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Edward Alexander @makemeamap.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

Made the mistake of going to Google for more info. AI is a scourge.

Google search result for Nate Lavender greyhound in which their unwanted AI overview that's forced to the top of every page informs me that the New York Mets pitcher is not a racing dog.

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Edward Alexander @makemeamap.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

There's a thing in college sports, re: the portal, where you want a player moving up a level instead of someone who couldn't see the field at a big program and is transferring out. That feels relevant for a candidate whose name recognition is from the other elections they lost.

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Edward Alexander @makemeamap.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

and people thought they wouldn't fit in the Big 12

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Edward Alexander @makemeamap.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

The owner sure is enjoying the spotlight before she plans to bail later this year - www.chron.com/life/travel/...

Chron article excerpt:

"Hammit is 62 years old now and has eyes on her own retirement. She wants to wait out Route 66's centennial before she sells the MidPoint, though, because nothing could get any better than being smack in the center of the action.

"'This is probably one of the most satisfying things I've ever done,' she says. 'It's not about the money–I've just had a blast in here, it's just amazing.'"

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Edward Alexander @makemeamap.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

If only there was a way CNN could've checked to verify the prices over the last few years

June 2026 menu, the basic burger is $14.50

June 2025 menu, the basic burger is $13.50

October 2023 menu, the basic burger is $11

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Edward Alexander @makemeamap.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

Oh so they're real shook. Hell yeah, union folks. Never let someone say a job is not worth a livable wage. Especially don't let anyone think they can get away with paying less "for love of the game," "you're lucky too work here" blah blah. Spent too long getting paid inadequately in a similar field.

Email from Lewis Ginter CEO: Dear Garden Patron,

Thank you for your long-time and passionate support of our Garden. We all deeply believe in the Garden’s mission to connect people to plants by inspiring communities to explore and conserve nature. This mission has garnered our organization’s national recognition as we nurture meaningful, mutually beneficial partnerships with diverse organizations in our community, including the Autism Society of Central Virginia, Families First, Feed More, ReEstablish Richmond and so many more. In addition, we serve as the home base for several botanically relevant nonprofits: Ikebana Society of Richmond, Central Virginia Nursery and Landscape Association, Richmond Horticulture Association, and Reynolds Community College Horticulture Department. Throughought the school year, we host over 10,000 school-aged youth in the garden for formal environmental education with a majority visiting from Title 1 schools.

Because of your support and the support of the Richmond community at large, we are a major economic driver across the region with our popular exhibitions, community days, festivals and concert series. Our Garden is a keystone to the cultural fabric of Richmond and is essential to this community.

The recent news and press around the Garden’s negotiations with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Union (Machinists) has threatened the very well-being of our Garden, your Garden, and thus the community. The very place you love has unfairly come under attack based on misinformation. To date, we have opted to provide minimal comments to the broader media about negotiations in order to protect the Garden and respect the negotiating process. However, given the impact of the Machinists’ actions this past week, I’d like to use this opportunity to share some facts about negotiations.

(and so on)

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Edward Alexander @makemeamap.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

If you just want to aggregate content for the love of the game then I dunno, just have a social media page that directly links the original content. Posting large chunks without checking with the author ain't cool.

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Edward Alexander @makemeamap.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

First pitch of the game too. It was notable when it organically formed late in a blowout and dudes would be drawn there to hang instead of bail on the game. To deliberately organize it before the start?

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Edward Alexander @makemeamap.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

Didn't make it one day with the new Illustrator update before I had to download an older version that doesn't run slow because it's trying to shove unwanted new AI generation functions into every step of what I'm designing

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Edward Alexander @makemeamap.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

Underrated music to get your baby to sleep to: the Age of Empires soundtrack

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Edward Alexander @makemeamap.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

my guy, the one thing most people know about you pertains to your feet

Football game photo of Dan Orlovsky running several feet out of the back of the end zone for a safety

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Edward Alexander @makemeamap.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

My kids pediatrician (who's great) just had a daughter of his own so I'm extremely curious to check in next year if he's changed some of the advice he'd been giving new parents

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Edward Alexander @makemeamap.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

Today's Illini haul dispels some notions I had about modern cards. All the different parallels can seem tedious but it's nice to have the orange one for school colors. Unlicensed sets can come in handy for portal transfers (and super cheap, at that).

Three sports cards relevant to the University of Illinois: a Berry Wallace autograph basketball card, a Topps rookie of baseball pitcher Andrew Hoffmann with an orange outline, and an unlicensed (uniform logos removed by photoshop) autograph of quarterback Katin Houser.

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Edward Alexander @makemeamap.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

The redundant West Virginia shirt reveal is like one of those political cartoons that has to overlabel everything so nothing is missed

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Edward Alexander @makemeamap.bsky.social · 25/07/2026

According to the numerous letters written by veterans to the National Tribune, a dozen different Union soldiers all pulled the trigger that killed A.P. Hill.

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Edward Alexander @makemeamap.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

I know why it's done and all but I'm still gonna laugh at the inclusion of this completely redacted, unnamed, noncontributing site in the Cedar Creek historic landmark form

The top of page 123 of the Cedar Creek Battlefield and Belle Grove Plantation National Historic Landmark Nomination form. An entire irrelevant section is entirely redacted.

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Edward Alexander @makemeamap.bsky.social · 18/07/2026

Have a shear session before the next SHEAR session?

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Edward Alexander @makemeamap.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

I'm sure this one's a pleasant enough dude, but the jump scare I got when seeing this in my inbox

Email received from Brock Turner but presumably not that one

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Edward Alexander @makemeamap.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

Absolutely despise this trend in modern cards. The 1991 design commemorating a 1998 season as part of the 2026 set. Just let things stand on their own.

Sammy Sosa baseball card from this year's Topps set but feating the 1991 design. The back, not shown, talks about the 1998 season.

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