iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Nickolas Means @nmeans.dev · 17/07/2025

I was really hoping for a rain match, but unfortunately I’ve brought the Austin heat with me. Sorry Portland friends!

Nickolas Means @nmeans.dev · 29/03/2025

Third time seeing it live, know most of the words, even read the 800 page biography it’s based on. Still cried just as hard at the end. Hamilton is one of the best pieces of storycraft I’ve ever encountered.

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Nickolas Means @nmeans.dev · 20/03/2025

Welp, I managed to hold off on this rabbit hole for more than a decade. Long way to go on the art, but three weeks in and I’m making single-origin light roast Cortados I would be happy to get in a cafe.

A Cortado with art in the form of a slightly wonky heart.

A Gaggia Classic Evo Pro espresso machine in thunder black with a tamper and tamping mat in the foreground.

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Nickolas Means @nmeans.dev · 17/01/2025

My next talk will be on the lessons we can learn from the structural failure of this 10 year old IKEA Tobias chair that my son usually sits in but that I sat in tonight.

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Nickolas Means @nmeans.dev · 19/11/2024

Post a perfect album from the 90s that isn’t Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, or Alice In Chains en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Mo...

The album cover of "Play" by Moby, depicting the artist jumping high in the air against a teal gray backdrop.

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Nickolas Means @nmeans.dev · 17/11/2024

It's hard to explain what an honor it was to keynote #RubyConf. I've been fortunate to speak in some amazing places, but this was a chance to pour into a community that's given so much to me. So thankful @matz.bsky.social gave us Ruby and that Ruby brought us together! (Photo: @nodunayo.bsky.social)

Photo of me on stage behind the RubyConf podium.

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Nickolas Means @nmeans.dev · 17/11/2024

It was so good to see such a full crowd in Chicago for #RubyConf! Thanks so much to everyone who had a hand in putting together such a great event for our community.

A hotel ballroom with a stage and two screens on the left and a very full crowd filling the rest of the room.

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Nickolas Means @nmeans.dev · 15/11/2024

So, I did a talk at #RubyConf. A keynote, an incredible honor. But before I did it, I updated my slides with my BlueSky (and Mastodon) handles. When I came off stage, I saw this, and it’s been literal years since I’ve seen this on socials after a talk. I’m so glad we all picked a place finally.

A BlueSky iOS icon with 49 notifications

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Nickolas Means @nmeans.dev · 15/11/2024

Just hangin’ out, stayin’ warm, waiting for an L at midnight like I know what I’m doing.

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Nickolas Means @nmeans.dev · 15/11/2024

I have enjoyed Malort in Chicago. Mission accomplished.

A bottle of Malort among other bottles on a bar back.

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Nickolas Means @nmeans.dev · 13/11/2024

It’s a lot to pack for an otherwise minimalist traveler, but it always beats hotel coffee.

Aeropress mid-brew with a hand grinder and portable kettle in the background in a hotel bathroom

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Nickolas Means @nmeans.dev · 12/11/2024

This branch tunnel from ORD T1 to the central underground corridor is such a liminal space.

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Nickolas Means @nmeans.dev · 15/06/2023

WeatherStrip’s experimental dew point line sure is great for visually understanding just how miserable you’re going to feel if you walk outside right now. (Hi Austin friends. 🥵)

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Nickolas Means @nmeans.dev · 04/06/2023

I’ve been messing with my pourover technique a bunch lately, so I went out of my way to get a cup at one of my favorite shops this afternoon to reground myself. Good feeling to take that first sip and realize how good my cups at home have gotten.

Cup of pourover coffee from Houndstooth Coffee in Austin.

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Nickolas Means @nmeans.dev · 27/05/2023

Yo dawg, I heard you like James Hoffmann, so why don’t you use your James Hoffmann pourover recipe to brew some James Hoffmann coffee? (It was delicious.)

A Hario Switch brewer with coffee blooming on a Pearl Acaia S scale with a bag of Square Mile Cheriwet next to it.

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Nickolas Means @nmeans.dev · 11/05/2023

One of the biggest surprises of my adult life is that I’m a musical guy. Turns out that once I learned to appreciate storytelling for its own sake, there’s a lot of things I started to enjoy. I’ve been looking forward to this one all season.

Playbill for Broadway in Austin’s presentation of To Kill a Mockingbird.

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