iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Tess Snider @malkyne.com · 02/10/2026

Not the name I would have chosen for this product.

Four cans of "Unwell" energy drink, on a grocery store ordering page.

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Tess Snider @malkyne.com · 28/09/2026

Scrolling? I was programming. I was logging into BBSes. I was building peripherals...

A scare image snipped from Facebook. The text reads:
DID THE SCROLLING START BEFORE 16?

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Tess Snider @malkyne.com · 26/09/2026

Sometimes, your news feed serves up a perfect pairing.

Two news articles.
The first one is illustrated with a photo of Jensen Huang. It is from the Verge. The headline reads:

"Jensen Huang talks about AI and climate change like a supervillain."

The second article has an illustration of two people walking past each other. One is glancing back. There's a tall clock between them. This one is from the New Yorker. The headline reads:

"Why People Aren't Having Kids."

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Tess Snider @malkyne.com · 24/09/2026

Please don’t use fanciful language like “hive mind” to describe what sounds like a relatively trivial piece of software that polls four inputs and selects an output.

…the malware plotted its moves within a target system by polling up to four large language models (LLMs) about what it should do and taking its directives from that hive mind.

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Tess Snider @malkyne.com · 24/09/2026

That's especially true for folks in the US. Europe is "the old country," and every country is a theme park version of itself.

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Tess Snider @malkyne.com · 20/09/2026

JPMorganChase has this whole series of ads where they put the word "Growth" over a woman's breasts.

A picture of a smiling woman in a baker's apron. She appears to be in a kitchen with other women. The text printed over her is "Make Growth Happen." The word "Growth" hovers just above her breasts.

A picture of two women in aprons. They appear to be working in a kitchen. Superimposed over one of the women is the text "Make Growth Happen." The word "Growth" hovers just above her breasts.

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Tess Snider @malkyne.com · 19/09/2026

Anytime I see a paragraph start this way, I 100% know we’ve got some “AI” conflation incoming. Journalists, please stop doing this kind of equivocation. SUVs and bikes are both “vehicles,” but you don’t use the benefits of bikes as a way to rhetorically balance the excesses of SUVs, right?

But at the same time that AI fouled up the student-teacher relationship, the technology benefited other corners of campus. Researchers quickly discovered that AI is enormously useful for…

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Tess Snider @malkyne.com · 17/09/2026

The text below this might provide critical context to clarify the confusion caused by the headline, but no. It's not helping.

The driver accused of causing the bus collision now faces murder charges after a second tragedy unfolded in the skies above Chatsworth.

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Tess Snider @malkyne.com · 17/09/2026

This is just about the most confusing way you could have written this headline, Hollywood Reporter.

Woman Arrested on Murder Charge in Wrong-Way Bus Accident That Led to Deadly News Helicopter Crash

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Tess Snider @malkyne.com · 16/09/2026

During a play session in one of my old tabletop gaming groups, the party grabbed a bite at a made-up place called "Shawarma King," and it became a running joke. Every universe had a Shawarma King. One popped up in Futurama, much to my delight. Today, I have discovered there's one in Austin.

A picture of a party platter of Shawarma and what looks like a small salad, and maybe some tabbouleh? Underneath it, it says "Shawarma King."

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Tess Snider @malkyne.com · 07/08/2026

I was sent to a neurologist in conjunction with some chronic pain problems I was having, and he told me to take Doan's Pills and drink tonic water. My ears ended up ringing in two different pitches. They did not harmonize.

A picture of a box of Doan's Pills. It says:

EXTRA STRENGTH
DOAN'S
MAGNESIUM SALICYLATE TETRAHYDRATE 580 mg each (NSAID)
RELIEVES BACKACHE PAIN
24 CAPLETS

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Tess Snider @malkyne.com · 05/08/2026

Sometimes, I search for things that don't make any sense, just to see what comes up. Like, I'll be in my grocery store's online catalog, and I'll type "database," and it comes up with a stainless steel whisk.

A picture of a whisk. Underneath, it says:

$8.38 each
Kitchen & Table by H-E-B Stainless Steel Whisk, Each

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Tess Snider @malkyne.com · 04/08/2026

I don't know why Unity puts that close button in the upper right corner of their launcher. When you're opening the editor, and it hangs, that button just sits there, laughing at you contemptuously, knowing full well that you're going to have to kill the process, instead.

A picture of the Unity 6 launcher window. It is stuck on "Compiling Scripts" with a full progress bar. There is a useless close button in the upper right of the panel.

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Tess Snider @malkyne.com · 31/07/2026

I hate it when restaurants use an LLM to generate their food descriptions. No human being would write the phrase "the richness of turkey bacon."

A savory twist on a classic, our Gobbler's Delight Croissant combines the richness of turkey bacon, scrambled eggs, and melted cheese, all wrapped in a flaky, buttery pastry. A satisfying and filling breakfast treat that's sure to please even the biggest appetites.

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Tess Snider @malkyne.com · 30/07/2026

Wait, wait, I have an idea, Sam. But you're not going to like it.

Sam Altman says one of AI's underappreciated risks is that people may let the technology do so much thinking for them that their own mental muscles begin to weaken.

"One that I don't think gets much attention is how are we going to avoid cognitive atrophy?" the OpenAI CEO said on an episode of the "Invest Like the Best" podcast that aired on Tuesday, when asked about the most important unresolved questions facing AI.

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Tess Snider @malkyne.com · 22/07/2026

This is a classic AI video problem -- bizarrely exaggerated mouth shapes while speaking. Try saying the word "free" and note where the corners of your mouth are. Are they back by your molars? Most likely not.

A picture of a woman from an AI-generated video, saying the word "free." Her facial expression looks slightly unnerving, because her mouth is opened in an unnatural manner, with the corners pulled so far back that you can see her first molar.

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Tess Snider @malkyne.com · 17/07/2026

I am a big fan of scientists drawing their own diagrams. These green noodles and funky li'l macrophage guys are the best.

From https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3051004/

Diagram illustrating the location of tight junctions at the blood-cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) barrier. There are four choroid plexi in the brain, two in the lateral ventricles, one in the third and one in the fourth ventricle. The choroid plexus is lobulated with a single continuous layer of cells derived from the ependymal lining of the ventricles. These cells possess epithelial cell characteristics with a cuboidal morphology and are referred to as choroidal epithelial cells. Epithelial cells of the choroid plexus are linked by tight junctions, which contain trans-membrane and cytoplasmic proteins linked to an actin cytoskeleton. This forms what is termed the blood-CSF barrier.

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Tess Snider @malkyne.com · 16/07/2026

Every time I see this, I'm like, "Nah, man, you say that now, but we ALL know what you did."

Jeff Goldblum in his ill-conceived teleporter, in The Fly (1986).

000

Tess Snider @malkyne.com · 14/07/2026

He may be a bass, but he is also clearly yearning.

A Big Mouth Billy Bass. His body is bent so that he is facing the camera -- mouth open, as though to speak.

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Tess Snider @malkyne.com · 13/07/2026

This purple lighting is pure shopping mall.

An indoor pool surrounded by large windows and stone columns. There is a drop-ceiling around the walkway, which slightly overlaps the ceiling over the pool, with purple neon light illuminating the upper ceiling from below. The purple is weirdly dissonant with the all the warm-toned natural stone/marble in the scene.

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Tess Snider @malkyne.com · 10/07/2026

But that won't stop our reporters from writing articles.

There has been no meaningful update on the 84-year-old’s condition for weeks.

010

Tess Snider @malkyne.com · 10/07/2026

Aaaaahhhh, look at this one! We've got a bombshell reveal!

Bombshell McConnell Video Reveals Huge Emergency Response

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Tess Snider @malkyne.com · 09/07/2026

It is a common misperception that permissive licenses are anything goes. They are not equivalent to CC0. For instance, the MIT license requires that you include the original license on works that are copied in full or part.

The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software.

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Tess Snider @malkyne.com · 08/07/2026

These swooshes were not homemade with love.

More text on swooshes. One of them says "Homemade with love."

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Tess Snider @malkyne.com · 08/07/2026

Flint has had enough of this swoosh.

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Tess Snider @malkyne.com · 08/07/2026

OMG, this paint swoosh, again and again...

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Tess Snider @malkyne.com · 03/07/2026

"...for individual enjoyment only..."

Small print which reads "Watch images are for illustrative purposes only and may not be an exact representation of the final product. Trump Watches are intended as collectible items for individual enjoyment only and are available at www.GetTrumpWatches.com. While supplies last.

000

Tess Snider @malkyne.com · 03/07/2026

Alienware: Be more alien. Mom: We have alien at home. The alien:

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Tess Snider @malkyne.com · 02/07/2026

[I AM NOT A LAWYER.] My initial skim of the KIDS Act (H. R. 7757) suggests that (most) online games will probably be exempt because their primary purpose is gameplay, and any sharing of user-generated content is subordinate to that role.

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Tess Snider @malkyne.com · 02/07/2026

Also, different works have different needs. For instance, Caroline Blakiston was the Mon Mothma that "Return of the Jedi" needed, but was she the Mon Mothma that "Andor" needed?

Caroline Blakiston as Mon Mothma, in Return of the Jedi.

Genevieve O’Reilly giving a Senate Speech as Mon Mothma in "Andor."

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Tess Snider @malkyne.com · 23/06/2026

This is already a whole lot like the 2014 "White Christmas" episode with the guy who was blocked from seeing his family.

An image of a feminine figure walking past a building. She has been replaced by a gray and white silhouette.

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Tess Snider @malkyne.com · 20/06/2026

This is both cheesy, and just begging to destroy someone's knee.

An overblown wooden corner decoration, with a scrolling design. It is placed at the corner of a gigantic kitchen island, right next to a stool.

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Tess Snider @malkyne.com · 18/06/2026

Name a TV show you're positive nobody remembers but you QED (1982)

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Tess Snider @malkyne.com · 10/06/2026

It's definitely not prop-work. That would be a lot more intentional. I can't even tell what some of this is meant to be. Why does it look like there are carrots sticking out of the main platter? I think my favorite nonsense bit is this lumpy thing that looks kind of like a napping rubber ducky.

A beige lumpy thing on a green background. It looks kind of like a rubber ducky from a distance.

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Tess Snider @malkyne.com · 08/06/2026

Just now, it took me a moment to realize that it wasn't an amethyst geode.

An amethyst geode. It is lumpy, shiny, and purple.

020

Tess Snider @malkyne.com · 06/06/2026

This product looks like what happens to you when you run off with The Doctor, and he loses track of you for several hours on the wrong planet.

A weird-ass looking product, called SOLAWAVE. It says "Buy 1 Get 1 free" and "Red Light Therapy Mask & Chest Piece." The product appears to consist of a hard face plate, neck wrap, and chest plate. This one is pale pink. The mask has holes for the eyes and mouth, with an odd slit around the nose area. Red light bleeds around the edges in an ominous manner.

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Tess Snider @malkyne.com · 04/06/2026

Oh, I'm almost certain that his thumbnail image is AI-gen. I don't have a good version to analyze, but that looks like a Commodore 64 that's missing its logo plate, and the left-side key alignment is wrong.

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Tess Snider @malkyne.com · 02/06/2026

My armpit hurts so much. Why... WHY am I vertex animated, instead of having bone weights? MY GOD, I don't care about the performance!

A closeup of the crunched armpit of the space marine from Chris' post.

020

Tess Snider @malkyne.com · 02/06/2026

CCU obsessives are the weirdest damn people. This was a single player game with an ending. It shipped three years ago. Of course numbers have fallen off. You can't compare every damn thing to Skyrim. That was an extremely unusual case.

A YouTube thumbnail for a video entitled "How Starfield Lost 97% of its Players."

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Tess Snider @malkyne.com · 01/06/2026

LinkedIn people are wild.

The screencap reads:

Hi Tess,

Transition from Owner / Programmer to AI/ML Role at FAANG+ & get a $300k-500k Salary!

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Tess Snider @malkyne.com · 27/05/2026

The costume designers also did a great job of attesting a tradition of skirts within his family. To him, it's not something unusual.

The family of Jay-Den Kraag in Star Trek: Academy.

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Tess Snider @malkyne.com · 27/05/2026

Arguably while these looked bad, it's hard to beat this Jiffy Pop top in TOS. I hate the H-strap on this, because it's so stylistically incongruous with the wraps coming up from the breasts.

Angelique Pettyjohn in a bouffant wig and silver lamé bra with two wraps joining at the center of an incongruous H-strap. It appears to be an unreliable arrangement, likely to result in wardrobe malfunctions.

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