iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Joel Crane @potatofi.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Small table service annoyance: "We'll take the check." "Ok!" *proceeds to clear table* Why not wait and clear the table after we leave?

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Joel Crane @potatofi.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Missing piece of the puzzle for my Finnish Retro Con showcase: a USB 56k modem. The supply of them online seems to have dried up. There are some random AliExpress ones, but they'll barely arrive in time and it's a total dice roll if they'll work. Not looking good.

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Joel Crane @potatofi.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

I just had a moment where someone demonstrated that a manual process I was doing could 100 percent be done with AI. I don't know how I feel. Embarrassed that I didn't think to try it? Depressed that AI is the "answer to everything"? Why don't I feel happy that AI has taken something off my plate?

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Joel Crane @potatofi.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

The skeuomorphism in my UI makes no sense, here. What are the drop-shadows on my buttons and tab bar landing on? The canvas is a 3D field, with depth!

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Joel Crane @potatofi.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

I like my Meraki MX75 firewall, but since it doesn't support UPnP, but I haven't been able to get it to work with my Original Xbox and Insignia (Xbox Live replacement). It should just be a matter of creating a DHCP reservation for the Xbox and forwarding UDP on port 3074, right? Wrong... strict NAT.

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Joel Crane @potatofi.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

One of the kids is watching The Martian at school this week, so we did a speed-run of the book and movie last night. I loved the movie when it came out, but consuming them back-to-back made me realize how many problems the movie has. Spoilers ahead.

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Joel Crane @potatofi.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Hang on Apple, hang on. Are you telling me that I have to remove all non-iOS-27 devices from my family before I can get “Ask to Browse”? Because we have some iPod touches, and my 2018 iPad Pro kicking around that I really want to keep using. support.apple.com/guide/child-...

support.apple.com

Update your family devices to iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS 27, watchOS 27, and visionOS 27

Update your family’s devices to version 27 or later of iOS, iPadOS, macOS, or watchOS for the new parental controls experience and learn what to do if a device can’t be updated.

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Joel Crane @potatofi.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Wow, 56k modem prices have skyrocketed. Last time I did a DreamPi setup, the modem was like ten bucks. Now they're easily $50, and I can't even find one of the Dell ones I've used before. Of course, I have one. In storage in the US. 🤦‍♂️

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Joel Crane @potatofi.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Table secured! @jeffgeerling.com's NTP showcase inspired me, I think I'll do vintage Wi-Fi (BlueSCSI + PC cards) clients, connecting to an AirPort, going across 56k to get out to the internet. With my vintage gear in storage on another continent, I'm piecing together something with what I have. 👍

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Joel Crane @potatofi.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Pretty sure my old macOS Cache Server is working. iPadOS 27 update went from "40 minutes remaining" to "3 minutes remaining", and generated about 4 GB of served data (blue spike). I updated another iPad, saw another 4 GB, and a second spike. Neat. 📷

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Joel Crane @potatofi.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

I think Linear is now approaching the "too bloated to be good" phase. What made it great is that it didn't do a lot. Now it does everything, and I don't think that's good.

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Joel Crane @potatofi.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

I stay up a bit late on Sunday nights to play Halo 2 on Insignia, but had some problems tonight. My NAT was randomly strict today. Series S possibly stealing port 5074? Meraki MX75 not supporting UPnP complicates things a bit. I got into a handful of matches but it mostly just failed.

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Joel Crane @potatofi.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Since my Game Boy cartridge trays have been so popular over the years, I decided to make a modular Gridfinity version. They're wider than a single Gridfinity square, so I staggered them, which it turns out makes finding games easier. www.printables.com/model/184097...

printables.com

Gridfinity Game Boy Cartridge Holders by PotatoFi | Download free STL model | Printables.com

Simple staggered Game Boy cartridge holders for Gridfinity. | Download free 3D printable STL models

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Joel Crane @potatofi.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

I somehow missed the Finnish Retro Con 2026 announcement! Stoked that they're back. It was hugely successful last year; the building was jam-packed. I'm hoping for a bigger venue, this time. I just fired off an email, asking if they need any more showcase tables... we'll see. 🤔 retrocon.fi

retrocon.fi

Finnish Retro Con 2026

Suuri retrokeräilijöiden tapahtuma Tampereella 7.11.2026

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Joel Crane @potatofi.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Can someone confirm, are these wasps at VCF Midwest to scale?! If so, I'm really glad that I couldn't make it this year! geerlingguy.github.io/vcfmw21-map/

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Joel Crane @potatofi.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

I absolutely love designing and building apps. I haven't ended up being involved in that in my day job, so when I find a random app (like spliit.app) that doesn't have an Android app, I'm instantly drawn to building that. Android isn't even my daily driver. I have an iPhone. 🤪

spliit.app

Spliit · Share Expenses with Friends & Family

Spliit is a minimalist web application to share expenses with friends and family. No ads, no account, no problem.

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Joel Crane @potatofi.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

I am continuously amazed with how often I ask access point and antenna vendors for a .CSV or Excel, showing gain values on the elevation and azimuth planes, only to receive an Excel file with some images embedded in it. It's like people don't understand what Excel is even for.

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Joel Crane @potatofi.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Ok, Siri does way more now. But can I add an approved website to my kids allowlist without slowly, manually drilling down through like 8 layers of menus in the Settings app when they're at school and the teacher has given them a limited amount of time to get to a new website to complete a project?

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Joel Crane @potatofi.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

One of my biggest issue with AI is how wordy it is. I can tell when someone wrote an email with AI, because of how fluffy it is. I end up dumping it into an LLM and asking for bullet points. It's brutally time-consuming and wasteful.

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Joel Crane @potatofi.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

After Gaming Nexus exposed the blatant privacy violations of LG TVs, I spent an hour thinking about how I could isolate the TV on my network. Not worth the effort. I’m just grabbing an Apple TV and disconnecting the LG. I’ll never buy another LG product ever again.

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Joel Crane @potatofi.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

My 13yo is irritated; school issued her a brand new Thinkpad, but was missing a piece of software. Instead of installing it, they swapped her machine for a completely destroyed one. She takes perfect care of her electronics (see 6yo Switch Lite). Ah yes, they're preparing her for corporate life. 🤦‍♂️

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Joel Crane @potatofi.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

Blog post: Softmodding an Original Xbox This is basically a collection of notes, just in case I need to do it again. Getting to use the original Microsoft Dashboard to launch games is my favorite development in Xbox modding. www.potatofi.com/posts/origin...

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Joel Crane @potatofi.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

Now I need a green one. I thought about getting an orange one before I saw the prices, and remembered that they were never sold publicly. Too bad nobody makes orange plastics for them!

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Joel Crane @potatofi.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

How I feel whenever I have in-depth conversations with LLMs, except instead of thatched-roof cottages, it's rainforests.

static.klipy.com

Burninate Trogdor

ALT: Burninate Trogdor

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Joel Crane @potatofi.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

Fun fact: for a few years, the Ethernet emulation on the PiSCSI used the actual MAC address of my real DaynaPort EtherMac SCSI. I'm a little sad that the issue got fixed. 🤪 github.com/PiSCSI/piscs...

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Joel Crane @potatofi.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

This is by far the most BS-free guide to softmodding an Original Xbox. It's gotten shockingly easy, and only needs two parts. www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZFp...

youtube.com

Modding an Xbox in 2 Minutes // Rocky5 + ENDGAME // Modding Made Easy! #shorts

YouTube video by doitall

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Joel Crane @potatofi.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

At our office, whenever a desk becomes unoccupied, I take 5 minutes to route and tuck all of the power cables through the cable management system that is built into all our fancy standing desks. It feels like guerrilla urbanism, or a victimless crime, or something.

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Joel Crane @potatofi.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

While playing an NTSC backup of Halo on my PAL Xbox, I encountered this unmanned Banshee in the canyon before you link up with Sgt. Johnson. This was after seeing the two usual banshees at the beginning of the map. Very strange.

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Joel Crane @potatofi.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

When you find the last missing receipt for your expense report (and it was a 5€ tip for the taxi driver).

static.klipy.com

Man's Moment of Satisfaction

ALT: Man's Moment of Satisfaction

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Joel Crane @potatofi.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

Finally started playing Halo: Campaign Evolved! It’s super good. Great art style, faithful map design. But, the new voice acting is way over-acted, just like Infinite. And the ring diameter is weirdly small. Plays great on Xbox Series S.

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Joel Crane @potatofi.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

Every time I look at the news and social media, I'm driven further and further from wanting to return to Idaho from Finland. Wildfires, shootings, unsustainable growth, the influx of right-wing extremism, horrible government overreach... I feel like the Idaho I loved doesn't exist anymore. 💔🥔

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Joel Crane @potatofi.bsky.social · 26/06/2026

Two different friends have texted me this week, excitedly telling me that they're about to buy a Bambu. I hate that the most polished and affordable 3D printer is also from one of the worst companies.

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Joel Crane @potatofi.bsky.social · 23/06/2026

#Pebble app update! I've released World Clock 1.1, which adds: 🪨 Pebble Time 2 support ☀️ Day/night icons 🕒 Improved layout and animations for Pebble Time Round RePebble App Store: apps.repebble.com/world-clock_... Rebble App Store: apps.rebble.io/en_US/applic...

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Joel Crane @potatofi.bsky.social · 16/06/2026

I'm having all kinds of fun with UI and pixel art on #Pebble, but figuring out a round UI is proving to be a challenge.

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Joel Crane @potatofi.bsky.social · 09/06/2026

I'm super stoked for House House! But, very sad that it isn't on Nintendo Switch, which is what our entire family is still on.

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Joel Crane @potatofi.bsky.social · 05/06/2026

If you just finished a site survey with Hamina Onsite, but you forgot to enable Broadcast AP Names, good news! You can fix it by adding a few point surveys. Video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1d9...

youtube.com

Hamina Tutorial: Adding AP Names to a Site Survey

YouTube video by Hamina Wireless

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Joel Crane @potatofi.bsky.social · 05/06/2026

This week I was at a networking event in Oslo. A Wi-Fi engineer at my table, having no idea about the history of Pebble past 2016, pointed at my watch and said, “Hang on. Is that a… Pebble? Why does it look so new?” The PT2 design clearly has classic #Pebble DNA! Nice work, @ericmigi.com!

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Joel Crane @potatofi.bsky.social · 02/06/2026

Thinking about UI adjustments for low-resolution Pebbles (144x168) and #Pebble Time 2 (200x228). It’s tempting to just bump fonts by a few sizes (pictured), but I’m leaning towards bumping fonts by only one size, and increasing data density a bit. PT2 sure is a joy to wear. Nice work @ericmigi.com!

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Joel Crane @potatofi.bsky.social · 25/05/2026

The fact that Slack uses Command + Shift + U to paste hyperlinks instead of Command + K is absolutely and completely diabolical. I'm amazed that they've gotten away with that.

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Joel Crane @potatofi.bsky.social · 23/05/2026

Mr. Cowie is living his best life.

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Joel Crane @potatofi.bsky.social · 21/05/2026

11: "GUYS, MOM IS USING AI."

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Joel Crane @potatofi.bsky.social · 16/05/2026

What are people using for offline file storage and archival these days? I'd like to have something I can write to, stick on a temperature-stable shelf (maybe have two copies in two places), and then come back to in decade if I need it. Use case: FCP libraries that I *think* I won't need again.

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Joel Crane @potatofi.bsky.social · 10/05/2026

From the archives: A prototype WLAN Pi NEO2 leave-behind sensor in 2020. It had two Wi-Fi adapters and a PoE splitter. I meant to intro it at WLPC, but forgot to pull it out from under the podium at the end of my talk. It got pretty hot, and took a long time to print, so I never released it.

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Joel Crane @potatofi.bsky.social · 09/05/2026

From the archives: 3D printing back in 2013 with Printrbots. We didn't have fancy stuff like auto leveling. We had wood! 3D printers made of actual wood! And we had to walk uphill in the snow, too! Both ways!

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Joel Crane @potatofi.bsky.social · 07/05/2026

11, as her older sister agonizes over an art project: “Pain is the best teacher.” “…at least, that’s what Bowser says.”

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Joel Crane @potatofi.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

Welcome to "Googling Idaho Gubernatorial Candidates Real Quick so you Don't Have To", a Bluesky thread. 🧵

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Joel Crane @potatofi.bsky.social · 04/05/2026

I work for a good company. Nice people. Great product. My industry has a bunch of great people with lots of friends. But making videos, speaking at conferences, being the "community guy"... I don't think I can do it anymore. Some negative people, tough competitors, and monotony leave me exhausted.

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Joel Crane @potatofi.bsky.social · 30/04/2026

Claude by @anthropic.com was/is my favorite LLM, but they shut off our entire company weeks ago with no explanation. They finally replied to our messages saying they would turn it back on, but it's been another week and... nothing. Most of the company is giving up and switching to other tools. ☹️

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Joel Crane @potatofi.bsky.social · 18/04/2026

I am doing a massive project to consolidate my locally-stored photos (plain filesystem), Google Photos, and Apple Photos to Immich, with photos dating back to the early 2000's. The hardest part has been timestamps. So many of my photos lack EXIF data.

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