iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

I don't want to be supporting DHH's hate speech. I #cancelled my #1Password subscription today. 1Password vault export is easy. #Bitwarden vault import is also easy. I selected the bitwarden.eu server for the new encrypted password vault during sign-up. More info & help in the great guide below.

010

Mike Bruin @mikebruin.bsky.social · 21h

Driving back from Seattle yesterday, playing some music from my younger days 🎶 #TheBestOfTheSeventies #Driftaway #DobieGray

The photo shows the media player console and screen in my van. The performer is Dobie Gray and the song is 'Driftaway'. There is a Woods Coffee sticker at the top-left corner of the console.

I took this photo when I was safely parked at a rest stop.

140

Mike Bruin @mikebruin.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

I replaced #Fedora #Gnome with #Debian Gnome on my main desktop. I'm not a cutting edge user, so the older kernel and older Gnome version aren't a problem 🐧

140

Mike Bruin @mikebruin.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

August 26th was Scooter's #gotchaday, second #birthday, and #NationalDogDay Scoots celebrated it at doggie daycare with us and his canine friends 🐕🐩🐶

The photo shows me (left) with a big smile, kneeling wearing a dark blue shirt with firetrucks and dalmatian "firedogs" on it. Birthday dog Scooter (center) is wearing a "HAPPY GOT ME DAY" party hat and a bandanna. Brad (right) is kneeling, wearing a green Smokey the Bear "RESIST" t-shirt and a big smile.

Scooter (center-right) is wearing a birthday cake hat and a pastel rainbow tutu. He has four other dogs his size around him wearing different multi-colored accessories as part of his birthday celebration. They are all hanging out in the daycare outside yard.

Scooter (center) is wearing a birthday cake hat and a pastel rainbow tutu. He has dogs on both sides of him wearing different multi-colored accessories as part of his birthday celebration. In the left corner if the image, you can see the black face of a fourth dog looking at Scooter. They are all hanging out in the daycare outside play yard.

180

Mike Bruin @mikebruin.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

My husband took this picture when I had a mouthful of food *and* was trying not to laugh at the, uh, "big poultry" comment he had just made. 🐓

The photo shows me in a restaurant booth. The booth has a paisley seat back and a thick carved wood back. Behind the booth, and in the upper-left of the photo is a metallic rooster decoration, and behind that is a yellow/tan-orange wall. I'm smiling with my mouth closed and trying not to laugh (and spew food). I'm wearing a black t-shirt and a green hoodie with neon orange trim. I'm also wearing a pair of big framed glasses.

1130

Mike Bruin @mikebruin.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Seen while running errands in downtown Bellingham yesterday 🍂

Photo of the back right side of a blue van that was parked in downtown Bellingham. The van has a woodcut-style bumper sticker that says, "WE RISE BY LIFTING OTHERS". The border of the bumper sticker has artwork of flowers against a pastel rainbow colored background.

A photo looking down at the sidewalk. My feet and part of my right leg are seen in the right-corner of the photo. some redish-orange and yellow-ish oak leaves are seen in the upper-left of the photo. It was a definite indication of fall.

140

Mike Bruin @mikebruin.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Happy International Bi Visibility Day! (Why not the whole week?) #BiVisibilityDay

The image is a cute cartoon cat with a word bubble saying, "I SEE YOU!". The background is the Bi flag which has a pink/magenta stripe at the top, a purple stripe in the middle, and a royal blue stripe at the bottom. The words "BI VISIBILITY DAY" and "23 SEPTEMBER" are on the left side of the image. The words "MARKED ANNUALLY SINCE 1999" and "BIVISIBILITYDAY.COM" are in the left lower corner of the image.

050

Mike Bruin @mikebruin.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

🍂🍁⛅ First day of Fall? No, no, no, no, no. That's gotta be way too soon. Are we sure about this? #AutumnalEquinox #TooFast

030

Mike Bruin @mikebruin.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

No #linux related situations came up yesterday, but I was ready 🐧

The photo shows me with my feet up on our wood-topped coffee table. I'm wearing jeans and the socks I'm wearing are gray with flapping penguins all over them. In the background (around my legs, the table, and out-of-focus) are dog toys, the front of an old brown striped couch, and some boxes.

170

Mike Bruin @mikebruin.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

🐶 #Scooter was being a whiny-ass-snot this morning, so we went into the backyard and I tossed/threw/bounced his favorite ball twice as much as we usually do. That'll teach him... 😉 #ActuallyAGoodBoy #OccasionalPITA #WhoIsTrainingWho

Scooter, a 2 year old German Shepard-Lab mix 2 year dog, takes a break from his whining to give me a sad look. He's standing at the edge of a kitchen cabinet, behind some yellow CAUTION tape that's knee-high for him. The path of the yellow caution tape is also mirrored by some blue painter's tape on the floor. It was our hope that we could remove the yellow caution tape and rely on the blue painter's tape to reinforce the "Stay Out of The Kitchen" message. A week of recent testing proved us wrong.

130

Mike Bruin @mikebruin.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

I told my buddy John that I’d wait for him by the fountain in Seattle’s Cal Anderson Park and watch the… #Seattle #funday #hangingout #urbanwildlife

A fountain in Cal Anderson Park, Capitol Hill. The fountain is cone-shaped and leans to the right in the photo. Water runs down the fountain’s rough surface, creating a rough, wet, texture. The sky above has gray clouds (which went away 10 minutes later) and the overall feel is late-summer chilly.

130

Reposted by Mike Bruin

Abdul El-Sayed @abdulelsayed.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Happy Hispanic Heritage Month! To the Hispanic and Latino communities in Michigan, we honor you and your strength, culture, and contributions to this country.

563643899

Mike Bruin @mikebruin.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

First time making #yeasted #gluten-free #bread 🍞 The proofing failed (I think I know why🌡️) but the flavor is great. There was enough success (and potential for even more success) to motivate me to try again next week. andtasty.com/gluten-free-...

The photo shows a loaf pan with somewhat flat gluten-free teff flour bread in it. The water used to activate the yeast was probably too cool and the bake needed to be longer. Pieces of parchment paper line the loaf pan and can be seen curled around the edges of the pan.

The photo shows a slice of teff-flour bread sliced off of a flat-ish, somewhat dense, loaf. Around the edges and top of the loaf (and slice) you can see air bubbles that tried to form as the loaf baked, and the bread had great flavor.

180

Mike Bruin @mikebruin.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

What was the celebration and why was the venue an I5 rest stop men's room? #ThingsInUrinals #SparklingBeverageCorks #ThingsSeenWhenDrivingSouth

130

Mike Bruin @mikebruin.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

The Scream snack pack… it was something to munch

The empty plastic tray from a multi-ingredient snack sits upright on a wooden cutting board. It kinda looks like a face. The tray has two smaller compartments that look like eyes. A larger mouth-like compartment is below them.

120

Mike Bruin @mikebruin.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

#fittedsheet folding success! My goal is to figure out what I did to make it work so I can repeat it at least once-a-quarter next year.

The image shows a neatly folded gray fitted sheet (bedding) sitting on a gray sheet that's already on a bed.

050

Mike Bruin @mikebruin.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

It's 🐾🐶 #InternationalDogDay, 🎂🎁 Scooter's birthday, and 🎉🗓️Scooter's Gotcha Day. There will be pictures. Lots of pictures ❤️

An image from "Bender's Game", Season 6, Episode 10 of Futurama.

Professor Farnsworth is shown in the middle of the image with two dogs on either side of him (all different breeds). The dogs are wearing a large amount of brightly colored mascara (pastel blue, green, and purple - though the doberman on the far right might not have any, or it's a subtle shade)

FARNSWORTH: Good news, everyone!
AMY: You perfected dog mascara?
FARNSWORTH: Far from it. If you ask me, they look like a bunch of hookers.

Professor Farnsworth has been working on a line of makeup for dogs, because "That's where the money is."

Image source: https://morbotron.com

030

Mike Bruin @mikebruin.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

Fuck you Ken Paxton and all the fucked-up Texas politics you enable🖕

130

Mike Bruin @mikebruin.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

Scooter and I were prepared for the warm weather today 🌞🌡️😎

Scooter, a mostly black and mostly German Shepard dog, is standing in a blue kiddie pool in our backyard with his tongue hanging out. There is a light gray and dark gray retaining wall behind Scooter; green grass under the pool; and various potted plants sitting on a patio in the foreground on the right side.

I'm wearing a sun hat (fisherman's hat?), sunglasses, and a light green and white short sleeve shirt. A sage-green house is behind me. I'm smiling and squinting. 79.3% of all photos of me have this combination.

050

Mike Bruin @mikebruin.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

🍞 Buy gluten-free bread in this economy? We do, but I'm also going to try baking GF alternatives. Today I bought chickpea flour and I'm going to try baking chickpea flatbread 🫓 or socca. Next month, I'll try making GF naan with gram flour and later injera with teff flour ✨

130

Reposted by Mike Bruin

The Whimsical Muse @whimsicalmuse.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

Surround yourself with the kind of people who are proud to have a library card.

312116318

Mike Bruin @mikebruin.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

I love the concept of a government for joy over oppression, and I’m 100% behind it ❤️

071

Mike Bruin @mikebruin.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

🌊 I watered half the pots on the patio and 3/4s of #Scooter. Trying to chomp the water spray (or bite the spray nozzle) is his second favorite game. Chasing after a Chuck-it ball is his most favorite-ist thing to do. Time to #relax and think about making dinner #barefoot #summertime #PTSDpup

My bare feet are up on a wood coffee table. There are still a few bits of grass on my right foot. Some of the black shorts I'm wearing show at the bottom of the photo. There is a media center in the background (behind my feet) and a cream and tan carpet to the left of my legs.

Scooter (a mostly black, mostly German Shepard pup) is lying on the floor below where I'm sitting on the couch. He's looking at a piece of stuffing he extracted from a stuffed toy the other day. We'll be finding fluff from that vivisected toy for days.

This photo is from earlier this summer, but it looks similar to today's water chomping play. Scooter stands in a bright blue kiddie pool in our back yard and tries to bite the water spray and the spray nozzle. The photo has caught him in mid-chomp. There is green grass below the pool and a retaining wall of textured gray concrete blocks can be see in the background.

140

Mike Bruin @mikebruin.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

I'm guessing even this requires a prior auth from them ☠️ #priorauthorization #healthcareforall

050

Mike Bruin @mikebruin.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

Presenting GEne, a #found-object #assemblage robot. The weathering and accent painting is kinda, mostly, almost complete. Though a bit monochromatic, I'm pleased with how it turned out. #foundobjectart #art #GEne

Front view of a found object assemblage robot against a white background. GEne has a red three-prong grounding adapter for a head (also the origins of his name); a body made from a gum tin; and arms, legs, and various "body" parts made from eclectic electrical and mechanical bits and gizmos. GEne's weathering and accent painting is an approach that's half web tutorials and half trial-and-error.

Back view of a found object assemblage robot against a white background. GEne has a red three-prong grounding adapter for a head (also the origins of his name); a body made from a gum tin; and arms, legs, and various "body" parts made from eclectic electrical and mechanical bits and gizmos. GEne's weathering and accent painting is an approach that's half web tutorials and half trial-and-error.

060

Mike Bruin @mikebruin.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

Scooter has been, and I quote, "...a total snotball this morning". We had to abort the walk. Maybe some chase and sniffing activity this afternoon will be more successful. #PTSDpup #snotball #toddlerpup

We repurposed a spiral-bound grade book (a thrift store find) to be a medication administration record and behavior log. Today's note states: "* Was a total snotball this morning", followed by a hand-drawn frowny face emoji. The comment is written on graph paper with green lines for the minor divisions and red lines for the major divisions.

Scooter is laying on the floor and napping after being a difficult-to-deal-with pooch this morning.

020

Mike Bruin @mikebruin.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

First, think of a dishwasher as a multi-dimensional array of dishes and optimize for packing efficiency by iterating over... #advicefromadishwasherpackingexpert #choredaddy

140

Mike Bruin @mikebruin.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

I'm taking a break from my usual projects to work on some creative found-object assemblages like this upside-down robot. I'll post a non-upside-down photo after the newly glued on "exhaust port" dries. #foundobjectassemblage #foundobjectart #robot #exhaustportanus

The photo shows a mostly finished, upside down, robot sculpture. Two legs are attached to the bottom of an old gum tin. The robot's arms and red head are also attached to the tin. Between the robot's legs are some freshly glued on washers for the robot's "exhaust port". The bottom third of the photo shows the blue workbench surface scattered with unused parts and gizmos.

020

Mike Bruin @mikebruin.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

I was organizing in the garage and ran across this ancient #RadioShack #mercury switch that's gotta be 25 years old or older. It's heading to the Whatcom County household #hazardouswaste disposal site tomorrow ⚠️

The photo shows an old electronics part, "Experimenter's Mercury Bulb Switch", in a blister-pack from RadioShack and sitting on a purple background. The plastic bubble containing the mercury switch is tinted yellow from age.

350

Mike Bruin @mikebruin.bsky.social · 19/07/2026

🦝 #jimothy should take the 🚂 #Amtrak up to 🌲 #Bellingham and hang out with 🦥 #slothy for a day or two

030

Mike Bruin @mikebruin.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

This gives me hope that there's also a "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" meme out there #bringoutyourdead

040

Mike Bruin @mikebruin.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

🐶 #Scooter and I were on a new walk this morning and a thought popped into my head, "What if the Universe dropped Scooter into our lives to slow me down and force me to relax? #deepthoughtsonwalks #PTSDpup #acceptance

040

Mike Bruin @mikebruin.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

We're half-way through the year. I feel conflicted about that. #midyear #toomanyshoulds? #hauntedbymytasklist

The image is a square that is half shaded (from upper-left corner to lower -right corner) representing, to me, that we are in the middle of 2026.

040

Mike Bruin @mikebruin.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

🇨🇦 Happy Canada Day to Canadian friends and Canadaphiles! 🍁☀️🦫❄️🏔️🌲

131

Mike Bruin @mikebruin.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

#Scooter was a better balance of relaxed & hypervigilant for today's vet visit. I even got him to lie down and settle for treats while we waited. He had a general wellness checkup, annual vaccinations, plus a stream of treats to bolster his fortitude! 🐶 #PTSDpup 💉 #VaccinesWork! 🏆 #goodboy

Scooter (a black German Shepard-Lab mix dog with brown paws and white chest in the center of the photo) looks at me while we wait in the vet's exam room. He knows I have a bag of high-value training treats (not seen in the photo) on my lap. There is a bright red lead attached to Scooter's harness at his chest and to the gentle leader head collar around his nose.

Scooter turns his head toward the exam room door (not seen) as he listens to something happening in the hallway.

Scooter has been given the "OK" to eat a pumpkin-and-checken treat from my hand. The amazing thing is that he's sitting down and focused on treats, not worrying about being at the vet's office.

Second amazing thing - I got Scooter to lie down and settle for treats. That's kinda a breakthrough for a high-anxiety, stimulus filled location like the vet's office. He was pretty much a good boy the entire time.

080

Mike Bruin @mikebruin.bsky.social · 22/06/2026

Great, now I have meta anxiety 😵🫨😵‍💫 #ImposterSyndromeIsForEveryone!

010

Mike Bruin @mikebruin.bsky.social · 19/06/2026

🐶 Scooter is (slowly) learning that you can't chase your favorite ball if you don't give up your favorite ball... 🥎 We also had a mini-sniffing game as I tossed kibble into the grass for him to find 🐾 ⚡ Burning off morning energy so his other dad can sleep in 😴

Scooter (a mostly German Shepard dog, wearing a light blue harness is in the upper right corner of the photo) sniffs around for the kibble I've tossed him while he keeps a eye on his favorite ball orange ball with a blue stripe (lower left corner of the photo). There is a row of square, dusty grey-red bricks in the grass and a small section of a cedar fence can be seen behind Scooter.

030

Mike Bruin @mikebruin.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

🌒 The waxing crescent moon will pass in front of Venus around lunchtime today (06/17). I hope we have clear skies for it. #lunaroccultation #coolspacestuff For #Bellingham, WA: 🟢 Start time: 11:42 AM 🔴 Stop time: 12:54 PM in-the-sky.org/news.php?id=... www.livescience.com/space/astron...

in-the-sky.org

Lunar occultation of Venus

17 June 2026: The Moon will pass in front of Venus, creating a lunar occultation visible from countries and territories including the Contiguous United States, Canada, Brazil and Venezuela amongst oth...

010

Mike Bruin @mikebruin.bsky.social · 15/06/2026

Long Saturday traveling to Seattle and back to visit mom. It's definitely summer there ☀️🌹🌼🪻 The rose was seen in the Jackson Street Plaza planters, outside the King Street train station. The red yarrow was seen in the Capitol Hill neighborhood.

A rich red yarrow flower is in the middle of the image with out of focus grass and sidewalk in the background. Wikipedia link for yarrow follows.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Achillea_millefolium

A rich yellow-orange hybrid tea rose, similar to the colors of a California poppy, is in the middle of the image with light and dark green rose leaves in the background. Wikipedia links for California poppies and hybrid tea roses follow.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eschscholzia_californica
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hybrid_tea_rose

040

Mike Bruin @mikebruin.bsky.social · 13/06/2026

🐧 The Bellingham Linux User Group (BLUG) meets on the third Wednesday at the Bellingham Makerspace. Details on Meetup: www.meetup.com/hamster-open...

An event card for the Bellingham Linux User Group (BLUG) Meetup - Show & Tell on June 17th at the Bellingham Makerspace.

040

Mike Bruin @mikebruin.bsky.social · 13/06/2026

One trillion US dollar bills laid end-to-end would stretch roughly 1.04 times the average distance from Earth to the Sun (~93 million miles or ~156 million km). So if you started at Earth and aimed toward the Sun, the line of bills would pass the Sun & continue about 4 million miles beyond it.

120