iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Nate Allen @mossyfoot.pdx.social.ap.brid.gy · 25/10/2026

Pretty pleased with my rudimentary striping skills on my X-Wing winter #bicycle helmet.

A bicycle helmet with a visor. Retro reflective tape is used to make red and white stripes down the centerline. The Star Wars resistance icon is mirrored to the sides.

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Nate Allen @mossyfoot.pdx.social.ap.brid.gy · 05/10/2026

Installed the #HTPC now the endless software tweaking begins.

What looks like an ordinary Sony SL -5000 Betamax player in a home theater cabinet with a television above. It is showing the Jellyfin web interface and some obscure television comedies.

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Nate Allen @mossyfoot.pdx.social.ap.brid.gy · 04/10/2026

The Sony #Betamax SL-5000 #HTPC is done, now just to see if it will actually fit in the TV hutch. I plan to weigh the parts I have removed from it - it is substantially lighter after gutting.

The front of the Sony Betamax SL-5000 VCR shot from the left corner. My favorite part is the SIMULATED WOOD CABINET sticker, they were very proud of that. And of course the fake maple burl. The original clock blinks 12:00 PM in blue.

The front of the player from the right corner. The top door of the split cassette door has been replaced by a Blu-ray player. The lower door reads Betamax. It is very eighties.

The unremarkable back of the VCR. An Optiplex ultra small form factor PC is back here but it's hard to find, my goal. There are various bits and bobs in the foreground.

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Nate Allen @mossyfoot.pdx.social.ap.brid.gy · 02/10/2026

Oh if you are making anything, this is the most amazing hook-and-loop (ie Velcro) ever made. It is strong like bull in all directions.

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Nate Allen @mossyfoot.pdx.social.ap.brid.gy · 02/10/2026

Hoping to solve the remaining engineering challenges with my Betamax #HTPC build this weekend: rerouting the Optiplex power switch and LED to the Sony switch (involves soldering fine wires, I am scared haha) and what to do about the cassette door - does it hinge […] [Original post on pdx.social]

The cassette doors of a Sony Betamax player, gutted. They are opaque lexan, and the bottom door has a Betamax decal. As designed the doors are swung inward by a servo motor, but I didn't want to have to figure out how to preserve all that and integrate it with software. An external Blu-ray player sits on top.

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Nate Allen @mossyfoot.pdx.social.ap.brid.gy · 27/09/2026

I like how normal the back of my Sony Betamax #HTPC build looks even upside-down. There's a Dell Optiplex hiding here.

The back of a VCR. It looks normal except for the USB and other PC ports in a cutout at the bottom of the lower grille

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Nate Allen @mossyfoot.pdx.social.ap.brid.gy · 24/09/2026

A little girl pointed out to us that "Millie has A STAR ON HER NOSE!" in an awed voice and, yep. #DogsOfMastodon

A close up of a yellow Labrador mix dog's head and nose, while she sleeps. Her nose is dark brown, but she has a pink star-shaped birthmark on the top of her left nostril.

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Nate Allen @mossyfoot.pdx.social.ap.brid.gy · 21/09/2026

More #HTPC project pics. It is considerably lighter now. If anyone could use the various boards, motors, linear actuators, and so on I have removed from it they are yours for the cost of shipping. Sony made all of this stuff and it seems very very well designed.

A close up of the left front side of the VCR with the face plate removed. There are three orange circuit boards with buttons and an old ancient blue led clock. It's made in Japan and it's marked No Jewels for some reason. It's beautiful.

The RF tuner module mounted behind the power supply, with some hefty cables and connectors.

A shot from the side of the VCR from the left with the top off. The RF cables have been pulled free. A giant aluminum heat sink faces the side of the case.

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Nate Allen @mossyfoot.pdx.social.ap.brid.gy · 21/09/2026

Progress on my 'hide a #HTPC inside an old Sony Betamax player case' project. As my wife is a professional jeweler, my allocated home workspace is the dining room. It's all disassembled now and the clock still works. I am going to hide a Blu-ray drive behind the cassette doors.

A Sony SL-5000 Betamax VCR with its top cover and face plate both removed. The faceplate rests on top. The original clock works. Two days later and pounds of VCR stuff removed it still works!

The scary power bits of the VCR before I started removing things and cleaning it. It has several decades of dust everywhere. Part of the transformer is a coil of copper ribbon the size of a small apple.

What I am calling the tape handling pan, from the front. The lexan doors for the tape are opened. A lot of parts have been removed. This steel part is what all the various motors and actuators that manipulated the tape attached to.

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Nate Allen @mossyfoot.pdx.social.ap.brid.gy · 29/08/2026

We came across this tribute that neighbors had made coming home from walking #Millie. #DollyParton #TimCurry #Portland

A big rainbow heart drawn in chalk with Dolly Parton written below. The interior of the heart is filled with tributes and song names and lyrics.

R.I.P. DR. FRANK-N-FURTER is written in chalk along the outlines of the top of a pair of red lips, Tim Curry's specifically from The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Tim Curry is written below dripping pink tears.

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Nate Allen @mossyfoot.pdx.social.ap.brid.gy · 29/08/2026

Nice comfortable ride, the #Slate, pretty zippy. Totally happy with my preorder decision. Visibility was good overall except looking over your shoulder because of the necessary B pillar, but it's easy to see your corners. Best compliment I can give it is that it rode like my Element.

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Nate Allen @mossyfoot.pdx.social.ap.brid.gy · 21/08/2026

Oh man we hadn't had our favorite #Portland #chef cook for us in like nine years but #OswaldoBibiano is holding it down at his new place #BarSiete and it was so good y'all and we'll be eating there every week again like in olden times. bar7.net

A photo of a bar menu and a margarita in a glass. A slice of jalapeno and lime float on it and the rim is covered in salt and powdered chilies.

Three small cups with the best salsas you will ever eat. One is jalapeno based, while the others are made of red chilies.

A roast pork shank on a plate garnishes with cilantro and radish garnish, in a pool of a bean sauce. In the background is my wife's dish, Zuizas.

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Nate Allen @mossyfoot.pdx.social.ap.brid.gy · 13/08/2026

@portlandcafe there was a whole special show of #antique #bicycles at the #Portland Art Museum some time ago. I really love the design of the bottom right frame and I wonder if such a bicycle could be made with a springy frame today.

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Nate Allen @mossyfoot.pdx.social.ap.brid.gy · 18/07/2026

These thistles on our morning walk were swarming with #bees.

Spiky ball-shaped flowers with honeybees crawling over them.

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Nate Allen @mossyfoot.pdx.social.ap.brid.gy · 17/07/2026

#Bees are hard to photograph. But they are loving the thyme plants and the fireweed (pictured) I planted for them. Fireweed is a native plant that makes exceptionally clear honey.

Two Italian breed honeybees in flight, preparing to land on small light purple flowers. The flowers grow from spikes from spindly plants with long, thin leaves, and lean against a wooden fence. Some are still developing and aren't open yet.

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Nate Allen @mossyfoot.pdx.social.ap.brid.gy · 01/07/2026

The secret ingredient in Operation: Get a Lab Mix to Swim - off screen geese. A recent camping trip to Prineville Reservoir, which is an #InternationalDarkSky park where you can see the stars.

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Nate Allen @mossyfoot.pdx.social.ap.brid.gy · 10/06/2026

Having an #HVAC discussion and I wonder if a misconception about modern "mini-split" #heatpumps is that you're limited to having that thing on each wall in each room. You aren't. Our house was built in 1934 and the rooms are all small - this wasn't open-plan […] [Original post on pdx.social]

A furnace in a messy basement. It has some flexible hoses attached to it and a white PVC pipe that drains condensed water to a pump.

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Nate Allen @mossyfoot.pdx.social.ap.brid.gy · 09/06/2026

Tacos Tumbras for lunch, they have lengua. You can't go wrong with a #taco truck in the Home Depot parking lot. #Oregon #TheDalles

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Nate Allen @mossyfoot.pdx.social.ap.brid.gy · 09/06/2026

If you're in #TheDalles, #Oregon, I recommend #TheCoffeeShop. It's kind of my idea of the platonic ideal of a coffee shop and their avocado toast with hot honey is excellent.

One of those Instagram type photos of food. In this case, it's the uneaten half of a pair of avocado toast on a thrift store plate, with a Roadrunner mug in the background with the remains of a latte. Beep beep!

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Nate Allen @mossyfoot.pdx.social.ap.brid.gy · 06/06/2026

#Oregon, where you can get just as good a #sake made right here as you could get in #Japan.

An unfortunately slightly blurry picture of two masu, cedar wooden boxes with open tops used as sake cups for nigori sake, stacked. A bottle of Momokawa Diamond sake is in the background.

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Nate Allen @mossyfoot.pdx.social.ap.brid.gy · 24/05/2026

The first thing to get over with Millie to prep for camping is that apparently she's afraid of smoke. #DogsOfMastodon

A medium sized Labrador mix, moping on a dog bed next to an outdoor chair on a concrete patio. She's not paying attention to the BBQ!

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Nate Allen @mossyfoot.pdx.social.ap.brid.gy · 03/05/2026

The third stop is always #WolvesAndPeople farmhouse brewery. The #beer is brewed in the barn behind Mandy. Now home.

A woman and a mid-sized Labrador mix standing on a gravel parking lot in front of the Wolves & People brewery, a barn probably built in the late 1800s or early 1900s. There are outdoor tables and a wall of firewood.

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Nate Allen @mossyfoot.pdx.social.ap.brid.gy · 02/05/2026

Millie making friends at the #RedHillsMarket in #Dundee #Oregon, while we wait for our sandwiches. This is step two on our usual excursion to wine country.

Millie, a Labrador mix, making friends with two older gentlemen I don't know. We are all sitting in chairs made out of barrel staves around a steel fire pit.

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Nate Allen @mossyfoot.pdx.social.ap.brid.gy · 02/05/2026

Step one in our normal tour of #Oregon #wine club pickup day at #RemyWines where we have been members for over a decade.

A woman in a white light jacket is sitting at an outdoor table holding a glass of water. Behind her, Millie the lab mix looks expectantly at her, ears erect.

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Nate Allen @mossyfoot.pdx.social.ap.brid.gy · 27/03/2026

Mandy wearing a red toque hat wearing a paper frog hat, and that frog is also wearing a toque with a paper frog hat. It's toques and frogs all the way down.

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Nate Allen @mossyfoot.pdx.social.ap.brid.gy · 18/03/2026

Mandy filmed Millie while she was doing one of her favorite things: rolling around on my side of the bed and covering herself in my stink. #DogsOfMastodon.

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Nate Allen @mossyfoot.pdx.social.ap.brid.gy · 07/03/2026

If you need something to do today in #Portland, today's the first day of the #PortlandSaturdayMarket. Mandy's almost ready for your business!

A smiling woman in a craft show booth, surrounded by her jewelry and sculpture.

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Nate Allen @mossyfoot.pdx.social.ap.brid.gy · 05/03/2026

Huge thanks to @Anne_Montano_Art for these very cozy fingerles gloves I can wear at work in my freezer of an office! They are so soft and fit perfectly. I will be making a donation to Anne's local food bank. We already have a recurring gift for ours. Check out Annie's artwork!

A man still in his jammies wearing grey fingerless gloves with his hands resting on the keyboard of a laptop.

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Nate Allen @mossyfoot.pdx.social.ap.brid.gy · 15/02/2026

Millie loving you in three pictures.

Millie sitting on the couch. She is a yellow lab/pitbull mix. She looks at you sweetly.

Millie reaching out with her giant paw to get attention.

Millie with her eyes closed and her mouth wide open as she prepared to thoroughly lick you right in the face. It does look a bit like she's about to kill you, but with sweetness.

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Nate Allen @mossyfoot.pdx.social.ap.brid.gy · 11/01/2026

Millie was a perfect lady on her first visit to a #dog park. #DogsOfMastodon

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Nate Allen @mossyfoot.pdx.social.ap.brid.gy · 05/01/2026

Millie just woke up from her pre-dinner nap.

A mama street dog curled up in a leopard print fleece blanket, like a cape around her. She has a small scar on the bridge of her nose, an old bite wound from the before times.

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Nate Allen @mossyfoot.pdx.social.ap.brid.gy · 02/01/2026

Millie sleeps through the night. We have never had this before in our time with #dogs. #DogsOfMastodon

Two happy people on a couch with Millie, the dog.

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Nate Allen @mossyfoot.pdx.social.ap.brid.gy · 31/12/2025

Y'all, y'all, y'all, we met this gal tomorrow and probably keep her. She's from Lake Chapala, Guadalajara Mexico.

A very comfortable dog lazing in the couch, her hindquarters covered by a blanket. She is smiling.

A frontal shot of the dog. She's about 18 inches tall at the shoulder and has erect, expressive ears. She radiates calm in front of a Christmas tree.

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Nate Allen @mossyfoot.pdx.social.ap.brid.gy · 18/11/2025

Well thanks to some figurine modeler who only distributed their figures in individual parts (base, terrain topper, model) I now know how to combine three models into one using #Blender. Thanks, lazy modeler! Next I think I need to learn how to pose models that are […] [Original post on pdx.social]

A plastic figurine of a scowling goblin riding a worg, sitting on a table in my back yard.

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Nate Allen @mossyfoot.pdx.social.ap.brid.gy · 06/10/2025

I have learned of bicycle ponchos. What is the best #Portland -approved rain poncho for city commuting for a sweat-prone shorter person on a folding bike (pictured)? #biketooter @bikenite.

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Nate Allen @mossyfoot.pdx.social.ap.brid.gy · 20/09/2025

@mandy_allen is showing her #jewelry and #sculpture today at the #Portland #SaturdayMarket. My usual setup jobs are done except for 'being slightly taller'. Come by and say Nate sent you!

A woman in a craft booth, hanging up floral-inspired wall-hanging sculptures made of copper wire and sheets of colored aluminum.

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Nate Allen @mossyfoot.pdx.social.ap.brid.gy · 16/09/2025

Big props to the young #activist in my neighborhood who's making these handmade signs. #activism

A child's handmade protest sign which shows a multicultural group of stick figures cheering as they push Donald Trump away in a dumpster. The text "Dump Trump" is written across the top. The sign is on typing paper and is stapled to a telephone pole.

Another handmade protest sign. This one shows a drawing of the Earth with the text "Stop polluting our world!". Donald Trump stands on top of the planet and looks his usual unhappy self.

This protest sign has two smaller Earths, labeled 1 and 2. The number two planet has the "no" symbol crossing it out. The text reads "There is no Earth 2! (I'm talking to you, Trump!)" The letter T in Trump is a poop emoji. Nice touch.

This protest sign has a large crown in the middle with the text "No kings!!!" There are four smaller crowns, one in each corner, each crossed out with the "no" symbol.

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Nate Allen @mossyfoot.pdx.social.ap.brid.gy · 11/09/2025

I should just create an account that posts this automatically when needed.

A cartoon explaining Karl Poppler's paradox of tolerance. "Should a tolerant society tolerate intolerance? The answer is no. When we extend tolerance to those who are openly intolerant, the tolerant ones end up being destroyed. And tolerance with them. Any movement that preaches intolerance must be outside of the law. As paradoxical as it may seem, defending tolerance requires to not tolerate the intolerant."

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Nate Allen @mossyfoot.pdx.social.ap.brid.gy · 08/08/2025

This is a neighbor cat named Pikachu that we have known since he was a kitten. He's a good test of my reflexes as he never grew out of his play aggression and will savagely attack you without warning. He's the greatest #cat.

A mostly white shorthaired cat rolling around on the ground and looking up.

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Nate Allen @mossyfoot.pdx.social.ap.brid.gy · 30/07/2025

My wife saw a #wasp investigating the top of our mailbox. Some sort of insect has filled a cylindrical piece of vinyl trim with grass. I would guess this is the work of a native leaf-cutter #bee, and unfortunately the wasp was laying eggs alongside the bee's own eggs to prey on their young.

A green mailbox slot on the side of a house sided with off white vinyl siding. There is a piece of trim above it with bits of grass stuffed in each open end.

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Nate Allen @mossyfoot.pdx.social.ap.brid.gy · 28/06/2025

Turkish Rambo at the #HollywoodTheatre, y'all. With live score and voice acting. If you live in #Portland, you can be a part of this too, just become a member.

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Nate Allen @mossyfoot.pdx.social.ap.brid.gy · 18/06/2025

Interesting find, #OpenForge 2.0 floors print better on their sides. At least in this two batch before I try to scale up. Less perimeter for things to cool off too fast I think and curl. These will be two inches square when done, and this view is of the sides. #ttrpg #terrain #3dprinting

A filament 3d printer printing two parallel rectangles about 1cm wide, whatever 2 inches is in cm is in length, and about 1 cm thick. The job is only perhaps 10 percent complete.

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