iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

I tried to listen to this without headphones and after just a few seconds, Coal bit me. he usually reserves that for when he’s feeling ignored or overstimulated, but this was clearly a judgment on the horrible things coming out of my phone

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Mitch Hedberg: Sorry For The Convenience

important DC tip: sometimes the escalators in the Metro system are temporarily stairs. if you stand there blocking said stairs and looking lost when people around you are trying to make a train that only comes every 10-11 minutes at rush hour, you should try reading the room (platform)

static.klipy.com

Alt: Mitch Hedberg: Sorry For The Convenience

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my colleague who came over here from our old company right about when I did got a call from one of our former managers this morning, regarding someone else who’s worked both places and is coming back to us. when I tell y’all I wouldn’t have answered AND wouldn’t have let him leave a voicemail

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the worst thing about working in such a small industry is the ~drama~ like we’re constantly competing for the same contracts/work and sometimes for the same highly skilled employees, and I gotta just bite my tongue and be diplomatic about my old company.

meeps @mittenbird.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

happy birthday, Trouble! that big crinkly sheet of tissue paper at the bottom looks like the BEST present.

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meeps @mittenbird.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

in my defense, my distance vision is very poor and the sweatshirt is all lettering, no graphics, and looks almost like a sweatshirt I got for my birthday in 2004

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meeps @mittenbird.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

it’s kind of fall, so back to my old evening routine of seeing this dude in the distance coming out of the metro when I’m going in and thinking he has a CMU sweatshirt until I get closer and realize it’s actually a Washington Football Team sweatshirt

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honestly, mom, it was rude to make the kissy noise at me to get me to look so you could get a good picture of me

Coal, a sleek black cat with big golden eyes, glares at his mom. he is judging her for being silly to get him to look for a picture.

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good, now he knows what it’s like to be a Chip. building character and all that

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I’m more concerned about you exposing him to the University of Michigan

meeps @mittenbird.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

I wish I had appreciated those toys more. my aunt was in management at a McDonald’s back then and got us (me and my brother) a full set of these to share.

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the most dangerous thing in that neighborhood is a neighbor looking for a reason to believe you’re suspicious or don’t belong there. or maybe taking a misstep on uneven pavement.

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meeps @mittenbird.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

lmao what an absurd “article”. I’m a court reporter and the Arlington Circuit Court was one of my regular jobs for like three years. I’ve been in more danger walking home at night to my mom’s house in a small city in rural Michigan.

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meeps @mittenbird.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

it’s a good description, and sounds like a fascinating and engaging talk. the em dash thing is hard because I imagine most of us who have been using them in our writing for years are also people who wouldn’t use AI to write for us, yet that’s the first place a lot of people’s minds go now 😑

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meeps @mittenbird.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

it’s been 11 years since Lissy showed up. she was 100% tuxitude from day one. I miss my baby every day, but am so grateful for the nine and a half years we had together…and also maybe a little relieved her brothers don’t have the same diva tendencies 😅

Lissy Lou, a tuxedo cat, sits in a chair and glares across a dining table at one of the humans she has just adopted, looking rather cross. she has scuff marks on her nose.

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meeps @mittenbird.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

I gave Coal the pets and belly rubs he demanded, and he immediately went to the cat tree to wash the stink of human off, I guess

Coal, a shiny black cat, looks at the camera with his tongue out and one eye mostly closed while he vigorously washes one of his paws

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meeps @mittenbird.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Coal is busily pushing me into whatever position he wants me in so he can be most comfortable cuddled against my back, and he’s purring so loudly. kind of like living with a sleek, fuzzy bulldozer, and I wouldn’t change a second of it.

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meeps @mittenbird.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

sir, your tail. it’s so poofy. (he and his brother were zooming)

Steele, a gray tuxedo cat with a white mustache, bib, and socks, stands in front of a black dresser. his gray stripey tail is puffed up large.

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meeps @mittenbird.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

my name is Coal and I just bit my mom’s knee multiple times so she could be really confused about how I could possibly manage to do that 😾

Coal, a sleek black cat with golden eyes, looks fiercely at the camera

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for a while, my home river was the Chippewa, which I particularly miss this time of year and I can’t really put my finger on why.

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RT with your home river. my first home river was the Cheboygan, two blocks from the first place I called home. then it was the Pigeon, along which I spent many hours camping, hiking, and occasionally swimming despite the leeches. now it’s the Potomac and I wouldn’t advise doing any swimming there.

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maybe not a freak out, but we still had a high school football game on Friday the 14th (with extra cops) and our marching band tabled the show we’d been working on all summer to play patriotic music in a block while the cheerleaders held the largest American flag they could get in 3 days behind us

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wizardkitten @wizardkitten.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

I was almost asleep when the cats decided it was an awesome time to stampede across my legs and feet, then start having some sort of argument before puffing their tails and zooming up and down the hall a bunch of times. boys 🙄

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Reposted by meeps

"It is estimated that nearly 1,000 representatives from all 12 Anishinaabe Tribal Nations in Michigan came together Monday to stand for the water and against the continued operation of the Line 5 pipeline." This was the group leading the walk. It appears MLive is the only outlet to report on it.

mlive.com

Michigan tribes lead Mackinac Bridge Walk in united stand against Line 5 pipeline

Roughly 34,000 people participated in the 2026 Mackinac Bridge Walk on Labor Day.

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meeps @mittenbird.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

we joke about the space between the bed and the wall (with wonky, tippy headboard for cover) being the Coal Cat Cave. well, I guess this is the Steele Cat Sanctuary now, featuring dirty laundry and some artwork the boys helped me frame this weekend…and a little plastic hedgehog thing

Steele, a gray tuxedo cat with a white mustache, bib, and socks, peers out from a tiny space between a gray laundry basket and a stack of black frames leaned against a dresser. he has a white plastic hedgehog next to one front paw.

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meeps @mittenbird.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

hopefully you find a good solution! awfully bold of these mice to come in while you’ve got cats on duty.

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meeps @mittenbird.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

if you’ve got heavy gloves and good scissors, you may be able to cut the steel wool a little smaller to fit? I bought a kit with a roll of fine steel mesh, similar in texture to steel wool, which was great for plugging gaps with weird shapes/dimensions.

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meeps @mittenbird.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

one of Coal’s meows this morning sounded like my dad answering the phone. “yellooooo?” no idea how he did that, but it was pretty funny. of course when I laughed, he whipped his head around and glared at me. Fun Police Jr. is always on patrol.

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meeps @mittenbird.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

I’ve seen South Carolina merchandise (mostly hats) that shortens it to “COCKS”. when I was in high school in Michigan in the early 2000s, a lot of guys would come back from spring break with those hats…

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meeps @mittenbird.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

why does my son look like a Victorian orphan

Coal, a black cat with big gold eyes, gives his mom a thousand-yard stare

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meeps @mittenbird.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

it’s true 😅 thankfully this is only something I have to do every 8 years, but what a pain

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Reposted by meeps

Brian PJ Cronin @brianpjcronin.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

Apropos of nothing has someone written about the effects on the national psyche when a country’s citizens are being embarrassed every single day for years

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meeps @mittenbird.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

it’s really inconvenient. going to have to either take time off work to go into an office or go and get a money order to mail in with a paper form (because I don’t have checks) for something I should be able to do online from anywhere with a credit card.

meeps @mittenbird.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

the Virginia DMV mailed me a letter to tell me I could renew my license online, but apparently I have to go in person to set up an account to renew online? this is so stupid.

screenshot of Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles website:

You must visit a customer service center to set up an online account.

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my sister (in Michigan, a few hours from the Canadian border) sent me this one earlier

Trump “Lake America” social media screenshot with text underneath:

@ JamieBonkiewicz
I bet this goes hard if you're fucking stupid.

cat? no cat here, just a vampurr bat

Coal, a sleek black cat, is lying on his back in a cat tree with his head dangling upside down off the side and one front paw pressed against a window

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napping, the job at which cats excel just a little more than the rest of us 😍

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@wmata.com the operator of the blue line train to Largo (last car #3282, at Farragut West at 8:29 this morning) is wonderful. very clear, helpful announcements, especially for people who are visiting from out of town, and a smooth ride.

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Steele did not scratch my face last night! instead, he attacked my feet. technically, I didn’t ask him not to attack my feet, so…

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one of our nephews got his last book and this letter earlier this month 😭

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what a gorgeous boy! even if he has to be loved from a distance, anyone would be fortunate to have this sharp yet floofy fellow keeping an eye on all the comings and goings in their home. 🖤🤍

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tfw mom asked politely that you not scratch her face tonight, no matter how badly you would like some attention (he doesn’t do it on purpose; forgets he can retract his claws when he pats my face because I might be a little awake)

Steele, a gray tuxedo cat with a white mustache and white socks, sprawls on a beige carpet with laundry in the background. he looks a bit annoyed, with eyes narrowed and a slight frown.

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