iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Colin McMillen @mcmillen.dev · 17/09/2026

your sexcult thread is apparently popular enough to have broken skywriter's cloudflare

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Colin McMillen @mcmillen.dev · 16/09/2026

i... don't quite think that's right

amazon listing for the new Fire Emblem game, showing it's available for Switch 2 on... CD-ROM

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Colin McMillen @mcmillen.dev · 15/09/2026

"what does Hello Kitty meat taste like?" is not a question i had ever considered before

image of a real product called "Spam Limited Edition Hello Kitty"

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Colin McMillen @mcmillen.dev · 14/09/2026

no thanks, i'll stick with ape jpgs

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Colin McMillen @mcmillen.dev · 13/09/2026

this is the horniest cracker box i've ever seen

TO A HANGOUT YOU MAKE INTO A NIGHT

Unstoppably toppable, Toasteds® crackers are perfect for sunset picnics, rooftop get-togethers, and nights of memory making.

It all starts with TOASTEDS®

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Colin McMillen @mcmillen.dev · 11/09/2026

whyyyyyy would you sort days of the week by length

website screenshot showing days of the week: Friday, Monday, Sunday, Tuesday, Saturday, Thursday, Wednesday

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Colin McMillen @mcmillen.dev · 08/09/2026

Timelapse video of our cactus blooming and fading, over the span of 50 hours.

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Colin McMillen @mcmillen.dev · 08/09/2026

the 1980s were a wild time

Playboy cover advertising an article: "Cocaine: How Dangerous Is It? A Special Report"

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Colin McMillen @mcmillen.dev · 06/09/2026

even IRL -- AI will never top this, for example

the "ecce homo" painting that some well-meaning but poorly-talented restoration artist turned from a realistic painting of Jesus to something that looks like a monkey out of a kids book

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Colin McMillen @mcmillen.dev · 02/09/2026

GNIS itself has the lake as "Lake America", and searching for Lake Ontario instead gives a random small lake in North Dakota that's named that. The *map tiles* on GNIS's viewer still say "Lake Ontario", but the actual underlying data source has said "Lake America" since August 27th.

Screenshot of GNIS Record History, showing Lake Ontario being edited to Lake America on August 27, 2026 at 3:57 PM EDT.

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Colin McMillen @mcmillen.dev · 02/09/2026

Moulton was right about one thing: after an August Globe/Suffolk poll had him trailing by double digits, he said the poll results were "wildly off". It's just that they were wildly off in Markey's favor. (Polls said a 16-point difference; the actual margin was 30 points.)

Moulton has since, and repeatedly this campaign, apologized to the trans community for his comments, saying “he was sorry if my comments hurt you.”

“We don’t accept a younger politician with older politics,” transgender activist Tyler Hack, who founded a political action committee to elect pro-trans candidates to federal office, said at Markey’s election night party. “Throwing trans kids under the bus is . . . a dealbreaker.”

Even as the snipes became sharper, public opinion polls showed a largely consistent race, with Markey often in the lead by double digits. After a Suffolk/Globe poll showed Markey with a double-digit lead last month, Moulton dismissed polling in this election cycle as being “wildly off.”

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Colin McMillen @mcmillen.dev · 02/09/2026

Moulton didn't even come close to winning his hometown. Really love to see it.

Result for Salem (95% of votes counted): Markey 67%, Moulton 33%

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Colin McMillen @mcmillen.dev · 02/09/2026

GOOD JOB EVERYONE, MOULTON GOT COMPLETELY DUNKED

latest projection showing Markey beating Moulton 65-35

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Colin McMillen @mcmillen.dev · 30/08/2026

using VPN to escape the mad whims of a petty tyrant

VPN connected to Canada, atop Google Maps showing "Lake Ontario" instead of "Lake America"

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Colin McMillen @mcmillen.dev · 30/08/2026

might as well just give them a 4 month supply of unlimited beer kegs

OpenAI ad offering 4 months free chatgpt to college students

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Colin McMillen @mcmillen.dev · 28/08/2026

i don't speak French at all but thanks to @gretchenmcculloch.com and @lingthusiasm.com, I immediately understood this French-Canadian meme

reddit screenshot. on the left side, a fight with "LAKE AMERICA VS LAKE ONTARIO". on the right side, a person smoking and saying "TABARLAC"

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Colin McMillen @mcmillen.dev · 28/08/2026

Most will do something like "it's Lake America for US users only, Lake Ontario for everyone else", which is how OpenStreetMap has handled it as well (after a lot of debate / edit wars):

The name of the Gulf became politically contentious in January 2025, especially on maps. As OSM is not a consumer-facing product per se, the OpenStreetMap Foundation's longstanding policy regarding geopolitical disputes is to prioritize the on the ground rule by default but also record information about notable alternative claims, so that data consumers such as renderers and geocoders can choose what to present to end users.

As of February 2025, the Gulf's node has tags indicating its many names, most notably:
Key Meaning Value Justification Introduced
name Common name in the local language Golfo de México Most of the Gulf's littoral countries speak Spanish. 2020
name:es Common name in Spanish globally Golfo de México Traditional name. 2010
name:en Common name in English globally Gulf of Mexico This name remains overwhelmingly popular both in the U.S. and abroad and so far continues to be used by most news and print media. 2008
official_name:en-US English name preferred by U.S. government agencies Gulf of America Official U.S. federal government position per GNIS and GNS, as ordered in Executive Order 14172. The order is only binding on the U.S. federal government, but the name is very unpopular according to opinion polling and so far rarely used in news or print media.

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Colin McMillen @mcmillen.dev · 28/08/2026

at 7:16 one of the robots appears to miss a kick so spectacularly that its own head falls off, but it just keeps fighting

two robots face off. one of them is missing its head but who cares

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Colin McMillen @mcmillen.dev · 26/08/2026

oh hey, the same Steve Hilton who's married to Rachel Whetstone, who was Google's head of PR for years and who once personally called me on the phone to make TERFy arguments about why Blogger shouldn't allow adult content

“When Trump was elected for a second time, promising to carry out the largest deportation program in American history, Brin did a 180. He has since forged close ties with the Trump administration and become more politically active—particularly in California, where he has backed conservative candidates including former reality TV star Spencer Pratt, who campaigned for Los Angeles mayor with a promise to crack down on homelessness; and Steve Hilton, a British former Fox News host who is running for California governor with Trump’s endorsement. Hilton opposes California’s proposed “billionaire tax,” a Democrat-led plan that Brin and other Silicon Valley leaders have been fighting to kill.”

Excerpt From
“Google’s Sergey Brin and “MAGA Girlfriend” Gerelyn Soto Are Part of Silicon Valley’s Move to the Right”
Sylvia Varnham O’Regan
Vanity Fair
https://apple.news/AJVdZ8ObPQQKwaqN0ciUXSg
This material may be protected by copyright.

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Colin McMillen @mcmillen.dev · 25/08/2026

No cheating. Post the last photo of the sky from your camera roll. (I'm on my laptop so this is the most recent sky photo that's been copied to this specific device.)

a common tern flying, with water and sky in the background

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Colin McMillen @mcmillen.dev · 20/08/2026

A red-tailed hawk made a brief stop on a nearby roof. #birds

a red-tailed hawk standing on a roof. its head is to the side and you can see its tongue a bit

a red-tailed hawk on a roof, looking approximately at the viewer

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Colin McMillen @mcmillen.dev · 20/08/2026

Wild that the first president of Harvard University served before Columbus even "discovered" America

Google AI Overview for "first presidents of Harvard", listing Henry Dunster as having served from 1440 to 1454

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Colin McMillen @mcmillen.dev · 20/08/2026

a line of chocolates and gummy bears called "Boner Bears" has undeclared Viagra. they're still available in Large Quantity on amazon. we are truly living in a golden age of government deregulation

FDA recall announcement: "JXK Enterprises, Inc Issues Voluntary Nationwide Recall of Boner Bears Chocolate Due to Undeclared Sildenafil"

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Colin McMillen @mcmillen.dev · 19/08/2026

bye felicia (My @bostonglobe.com subscription is paid up through Sept. 21, but will no longer be recurring after that time. The editorial board hand-waving Moulton's record on trans rights and subsequent "sorry you were offended" non-apology is not acceptable.)

my Boston Globe account page, showing i've been a paid subscriber since August 2018

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Colin McMillen @mcmillen.dev · 19/08/2026

TIL that, for probably very stupid federal funding reasons, the Somerville Animal Control Officer's responsibilities include: counter-terrorism (UASI "provides financial assistance for high-threat Urban Areas to prevent, protect against, mitigate, respond to, and recover from acts of terrorism")

Animal Control will work with Homeland Security Lieutenant to procure equipment and monies made available by UASI Agreements and maintain an emergency response plan for pet owners coordinating with other authorities on evacuation centers and pet friendly shelters.

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Colin McMillen @mcmillen.dev · 18/08/2026

ran 10k and came home and stood in front of the window AC like

Cristo Redentor statue in Rio de Janeiro, with arms splayed wide

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Colin McMillen @mcmillen.dev · 18/08/2026

How long until law enforcement starts regularly subpoenaing Google AI Overview to see whether users answered "yes" to any questions that potentially lead to self-incrimination?

followup questions asked by AI Overview in response to a query about car insurance:

If you'd like, tell me:

Is the car still registered with your local DMV?

Do you still owe money on a loan for this vehicle?

I can help you figure out the safest and cheapest option for your situation.

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Colin McMillen @mcmillen.dev · 18/08/2026

It's telling that for American police departments, "a cop informing the public about a Flock installation that happened without any civilian oversight" gets significantly more disciplinary action than the average cops who murders an innocent person. www.wired.com/story/the-co...

A disciplinary agreement signed in early 2024 does, however, state that Pichardo made “critical statements to the media” about Flock and the department’s leadership. Pichardo maintained that his comments were constitutionally protected speech. The department expressly denied that position in the agreement.

After consulting an attorney, the Pawtucket police union came to the conclusion that Pichardo’s comments were constitutionally protected and sent the city a letter warning that if it disciplined him, it would likely violate his rights. According to union lodge president Michael Cioe, the department initially sought a six-month suspension but reduced the proposed punishment after the union threatened litigation.

Rather than fight the case through disciplinary hearings and possible state or federal litigation, the two sides reached an agreement. Pichardo would serve a 30-day unpaid suspension for speaking to the paper.

Pichardo said he accepted the deal because he didn’t want his coworkers to see him as their enemy. “I wanted the war to end,” he says.

By then, the department had already opened another investigation into his conduct.

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Colin McMillen @mcmillen.dev · 17/08/2026

The "Progressive Turnout Project" took in $390 million and only $20M of that went to actual candidates, plus $50M to organizing and turnout efforts. But 82% of the fundraising was just overhead (most of it: sending more spam to raise more money).

This graphic summarizes the expenditures across an eleven-year period (2015–25) to Harry Pascal’s network of eight PACs (Progressive Turnout Project, Dem Turnout 2024, democracyFIRST PAC, Progressive Takeover, Stop Republicans, Stop Trump, Turnout the Vote, and Dem Turnout 2026).

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Colin McMillen @mcmillen.dev · 10/08/2026

Wirecutter has an article about how the acquisition of gelato brand Talenti (by Unilever) slowly ruined the quality of the result product. but the main thing that struck *me* w/ the article was its unintended commentary on the 2016 acquisition of Wirecutter by NYT & its subsequent enshittification.

screenshot of a Wirecutter article on mobile, in which there is one sentence of actual article text. screen space is instead reserved for: an AI chatbot, a header, and an ad for "The Wirecutter Store"

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Colin McMillen @mcmillen.dev · 09/08/2026

imagine being a billionaire and spending your life savings on anti-aging bullshit instead of simply being Lenny Kravitz (aged 62)

Lenny Kravitz concert poster from his 2026 tour. He looks maybe mid-30s at the latest

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Colin McMillen @mcmillen.dev · 05/08/2026

For the last 20 years, US power generation has held steady (rather than increasing linearly), and the proportion that is relatively clean continues to increase.