iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Rachel Wente-Chaney @rachelwente.com · 28/09/2026

tl;dr: IT’S THE WRITTEN WORD

Screenshot of text from The Phaedrus

The text:
"For this invention will produce forgetfulness in the minds of those who learn to use it, because they will not practice their memory. Their trust in writing, produced by external characters which are no part of themselves, will discourage the use of their own memory within them. You have invented an elixir not of memory, but of reminding; and you offer your pupils the appearance of wisdom, not true wisdom, for they will read many things without instruction and will therefore seem [275b] to know many things, when they are for the most part ignorant and hard to get along with, since they are not wise, but only appear wise."

Rachel Wente-Chaney @rachelwente.com · 22/09/2026

A classic. From the article: It stood out to its creators, too. “I’ve always loved that cartoon,” Noble noted. Jones later called it “probably our most elaborate and satisfying production.”

Sketches and storyboard illustrations from What’s Opera, Doc? They include castle columns and spiral staircases.

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Rachel Wente-Chaney @rachelwente.com · 19/09/2026

For folks digging on the “girls team” choice…. www.nytimes.com/athletic/666...

Screenshot of article highlight:

“The boys’ game is so well endowed,” Ichiro said. “But the girls have to fight for every scrap they can get. I realized that I am in a unique position to give them something really meaningful. I’d be no match for the boys, but I could ramp it up to give the girls a competitive game and really help draw much-needed attention to their sport. I thought, ‘Wow, what a win-win. We’re a perfect match for each other.’”

So each year, he puts together a team featuring friends who have day jobs and other former pros, and seamlessly transitions back to his high school days as a pitcher to play against the girls.

As part of the festivities in Cooperstown, Ichiro was invited to an optional golf outing. He chose instead to spend that time at a neighborhood ballfield. Ahead of his upcoming event in Japan, he felt he couldn’t take time off from running, hitting and throwing. In fellow inductee Billy Wagner and his high-school senior son, Kason, he found willing partners. The work would pay off.

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Rachel Wente-Chaney @rachelwente.com · 14/09/2026

Welp. Out of the mouths of babes. 🎁: www.nytimes.com/2026/09/13/s...

A screenshot of the answers shared by Mary Foster in the linked article.

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Rachel Wente-Chaney @rachelwente.com · 10/09/2026

I’m in second week of daily joy with it. Yesterday was hard. No e, no r, no q, etc. Today’s letter set was better. And the data-nerd elements are a treat. Chuckled and thought of you when I saw my archetype. 🇫🇷

Screenshot of my Outlier Word DNA: The Francophile.

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Rachel Wente-Chaney @rachelwente.com · 27/07/2026

Earlier in the day, with camera moved a couple clicks east to follow progression of the new starts. Timelapse from 3:30-4:30 p.m. Brewer Fire #brewerfire #wildfire #centraloregn

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Rachel Wente-Chaney @rachelwente.com · 27/07/2026

Earlier in the day, same vantage point. Timelapse from 2:30-3:30 p.m. Brewer Fire #brewerfire #wildfire #centraloregn

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Rachel Wente-Chaney @rachelwente.com · 27/07/2026

#BrewerFire #centraloregon Goodnight room Goodnight moon Goodnight cow jumping over the moon Goodnight light And the red balloon . . . Goodnight stars Goodnight air Good night noises everywhere 26. July 2026, timelapse from 9:25-10:25 pm Brewer Fire #allthefires #wildfire #oregon

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Rachel Wente-Chaney @rachelwente.com · 27/07/2026

Tracked along the Grasshopper Fire as we were nearing intersection with 216.

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Rachel Wente-Chaney @rachelwente.com · 27/07/2026

Was returning home* yesterday and caught the front. *Ironically returning from a pre-evac stay with friends in Portland as Brewer Fire whips up near me. US 26 closed at Warm Springs on approach. Backtracked to Shimnasho and then through Wapanitia Canyon to Maupin to Madras and then home. Long day!

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Rachel Wente-Chaney @rachelwente.com · 10/07/2026

Fun, productive July Friday afternoon, learning with @sarahdateechur.bsky.social! Engaging session, killer soundtrack for our individual work time, and three new badges earned! 💪 🏅 #googleEDU @edumatch.bsky.social Thanks, Sarah!

Screenshot of a Google Notebook LM exercise on vibe coding

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Rachel Wente-Chaney @rachelwente.com · 29/03/2026

In a phrase: technology adoption curve at organizational/societal scale. Broadly. I’ve been using automobile adoption as a similar thinking frame lately, esp w/ the growing reconsideration of the things we got wrong in century before, e.g. ecosystem design. www.lib.uiowa.edu/exhibits/pre...

Text from the Univ of Iowa exhibit description page:

Automobiles were embraced by the public well before there were adequate roads on which to drive them. In fact, in the 1920s there were only a few hundred miles of hard-surface roads to accommodate millions of vehicles. The Lincoln Highway, a series of roads spanning the continent, was designated in 1913. It evolved into the interstate system - a massive public works project that slashed through cities and contributed to urban sprawl.

In the first decades of the twentieth century, the automobile was often considered a menace as careless drivers collided with horses and with each other, ran over animals, littered the roadsides with garbage and invaded private property. As the century draws to a close, some would say that little has changed to alter that view.
The interstate highways and secondary roads are more crowded than ever: the roadsides are lined with strip malls. But we have not lost the desire to come and go as we please. The obsession with "automobility" continues.

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Rachel Wente-Chaney @rachelwente.com · 27/02/2026

A lesson in perspective. (On approach, this is going to be close! From the rear angle, not close at all.) Shipwatching in Astoria, Oregon this afternoon.

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Rachel Wente-Chaney @rachelwente.com · 29/12/2025

Agree. The survivor remembrances carry an extra weight somehow. Last year, I was finally able to find a used copy of Gitta Sereny’s The German Trauma. It is a remarkable study. Adding a few pages here, related to your comment. I’ll bring it to you next time you’re out this way. (Or me back east.)

The cover of the book The German Trauma, written by Gitta Sereny.

A photo of page 139 in the book The German Trauma, written by Gitta Sereny.

A photo of page 263 in the book The German Trauma, written by Gitta Sereny.

A photo of page 28 in the book The German Trauma, written by Gitta Sereny.

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Rachel Wente-Chaney @rachelwente.com · 26/12/2025

AI reminders this evening on distinction between language and understanding. 1. Raye’s adorable post with her grandma, that “AI” gets so wrong. 2. Annual Christmas “Desk Set” viewing. I cackle by the time Hepburn gets to “Basil Underwood must die.” Desk Set, especially, is extra relevant rn.

A screenshot from the artist Raye’s Instagram showing a post with her and her grandma dancing to the song “Where is my husband
?”

I added a yellow arrow and disguise emoji pointing to the AI “see more” which incorrectly summarizes “funny family reactions to husband's return.”

A screenshot of the Instagram AI explanation of Raye’s post from the first photo. Full text of the explanation:

funny family reactions to husband's return

The user's query is likely referring to a heartwarming or humorous family reunion scenario, possibly inspired by a popular social media trend or a specific video featuring a husband's return home.
Funny family reactions to a husband's return can be priceless.
Here are some possible scenarios:
• The kids' excited screams and jumping up and down when they see their dad walk through the door.
• The wife's sassy or surprised reaction when her husband unexpectedly appears in the kitchen or living room.
• The family's comedic arguments or teasing that ensue when the husband returns home with gifts or treats.
• The kids' pretend indifference or cool demeanor, which often turns into uncontrollable excitement when they see their dad.
These moments are often captured in videos and shared on social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok, bringing joy and laughter to viewers.

Katharine Hepburn sitting at a desk with a rotary-dial phone at her ear, with closed captions of “Curfew Shall Not Ring Tonight”

She was reciting the poem “Curfew Must Not Ring Tonight.”

A still from the 1957 movie Desk Set of Spencer Tracy’s character saying “THE HUMAN ELEMENT--ENTIRELY UNPREDICTABLE” after having to shut down the large research computer built to replace some human work overheats at a few simple human queries.

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Rachel Wente-Chaney @rachelwente.com · 26/11/2025

Thought of you when I saw this.

Screenshot of a social media post by @KeenanWomack that reads:

Thanksgiving conversation topics
- Israel Palestine
- The election
- Gender
- reproductive rights
- Texas/A&M game (risky)

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Rachel Wente-Chaney @rachelwente.com · 28/09/2025

I got the chance this week to listen to and reconnect with my primary cybersecurity role model, @tarah.org. Tarah, your incisive and holistic views on risk continue to be a model for us all. And the delivery was perfect. Grateful for your continued work and leadership in this tiring domain.

Tarah, me, and a colleague standing in front of the stage with the event banner for Oregon Public Sector Cybersecurity Summit in the background.

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Rachel Wente-Chaney @rachelwente.com · 30/08/2025

Normally St Jude. And…I’ve recently been subbing in Ruth and Keanu, for reasons. (With apologies for the sacrilege.)

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Rachel Wente-Chaney @rachelwente.com · 19/07/2025

And I asked Socrates and Phaedrus and Plato and King Thamus, who concurred (a bit ahead of Sagan). “…you offer your pupils the appearance of wisdom, not true wisdom…” [slides from a keynote earlier this year with @sdlangford.bsky.social]

A presentation slide that contains this quote:

"For this invention will produce forgetfulness in the minds of those who learn to use it, because they will not practice their memory. Their trust in writing, produced by external characters which are no part of themselves, will discourage the use of their own memory within them. You have invented an elixir not of memory, but of reminding; and you offer your pupils the appearance of wisdom, not true wisdom, for they will read many things without instruction and will therefore seem to know many things, when they are for the most part ignorant and hard to get along with, since they are not wise, but only appear wise."

A presentation slide with the source of the prior slide’s quote:

Socrates
...on the myth of the creation of writing recorded in Plato's dialogue Phaedrus 14

370 BCE

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Rachel Wente-Chaney @rachelwente.com · 24/03/2025

Weird moment. I’m clearing out old screenshots from my photos this evening and this was from March 17, 2020! It must have been posted at the other place. (Embarrassed to say I don’t remember sketching it. 🙃) Another five years in a blink.

A photo and drawing of a haiku about spring (sunshine and mud).

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Rachel Wente-Chaney @rachelwente.com · 18/03/2025

We did! And a few years of good edcamping and conference encounters/snack breaking that followed.

A chalkboard with twitter handles from the Independent Schools Edcamp, March 2012

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Rachel Wente-Chaney @rachelwente.com · 17/03/2025

From a keynote colleague and I delivered last week. Same day, 2400 yrs later. 🥸 Short version (full quote on slides, w/lead-in): “you offer your pupils the appearance of wisdom…when they are for the most part ignorant and hard to get along with, since they are not wise, but only appear wise."

A slide from a recent keynote:

How many of us are old enough....

to remember when spellcheck was cheating?

when Googling was cheating?

when Texas Instuments calculators were cheating?

when a word processor was cheating?

when a slide rule was cheating?

A slide from a recent keynote that reads:

How many of us are old enough.... to remember when writing was cheating?

A slide from a recent keynote that reads:

"For this invention will produce forgetfulness in the minds of those who learn to use it, because they will not practice their memory. Their trust in writing, produced by external characters which are no part of themselves, will discourage the use of their own memory within them. You have invented an elixir not of memory, but of reminding; and you offer your pupils the appearance of wisdom, not true wisdom, for they will read many things without instruction and will therefore seem to know many things, when they are for the most part ignorant and hard to get along with, since they are not wise, but only appear wise."

A slide from a recent keynote that reads:

Socrates
...on the myth of the creation of writing recorded in Plato's dialogue Phaedrus 14

370 BCE

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Rachel Wente-Chaney @rachelwente.com · 09/02/2025

A bit cranky having to toggle off Siri learning on 50+ apps on each device after this week’s 18.3 update. Would love to learn it’s not necessary when I’ve toggled off at global #AppleIntelligence layer, but it seems to be unclear atm, so proceeding with caution.

Screenshot of Apple Messages app permissions after iOS 18.3 update, with “Learn from this App” toggled on by default.

Screenshot of Apple Health app permissions after iOS 18.3 update, with “Learn from this App” toggled on by default.

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Rachel Wente-Chaney @rachelwente.com · 06/01/2025

Played often growing up and still do! It’s a holiday break tradition (played a lot the past couple weeks at a handful of homes). One of the best games; always laughing and cussing.

Three people at a table playing the card game Mille Bornes

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Rachel Wente-Chaney @rachelwente.com · 03/01/2025

Rough estimate is I’ve driven this pass a thousand times the past 20 years, many during winter. And days like this still take my breath away. #MtHood (If our Oregon snowpack the past week is any indication, La Niña is arriving.)

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Rachel Wente-Chaney @rachelwente.com · 03/01/2025

There are indeed. 🙃 Hamburger menu (upper left) > Settings > Muted words and tags (screenshot example) You can expand terms beyond sample if it doesn’t catch enough. There are also lists you can create, but most are public and you will have the world’s cat lovers after you if they find it. 😉 +

A screen shot of the Bluesky app settings panel for muted words and tags.

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Rachel Wente-Chaney @rachelwente.com · 02/01/2025

My colleague, friend, and fellow CIO @iwolff.bsky.social woke up retired this morning! Cheers to you on a meaningful, collaborative, successful career. It’s been an honor to work alongside you for almost two decades now. All the best on your next chapter.

Two people, Don and me, sitting at a table with soldering tools, making interactive, light-up name badges for a tech conference.

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Rachel Wente-Chaney @rachelwente.com · 15/12/2024

Returning from Christmas markets trip. Photos of Stolpersteine (stumbling stones) discovered on this year’s walks. Sweet young Waltraud, may she especially rest in peace. The stones for babies are gutting. (I read more this morning about Aktion T4, Nazi involuntary euthanasia campaign.)

A photo of a brass block set into a stone walkway in Esslingen, Germany. It has an inscription on it in German. The toes of my shoes are in the lower left corner.

The stone reads, in English translation:

Here lies
Waltraud Buck,
Born: 1939
Admitted: 1940
To: Heil-und-Pflegeanstalt near Wiesloch facility
Murdered: 1941

A photo of two brass blocks set into a stone walkway in Frankfurt, Germany. They each have an inscription in German. The toes of my shoes are in the lower left corner.

The stone on the left reads, in English translation:

Here lived
Franziska Appel
Born: 1884
Deported: 1942
To: Lublin Region
Murdered

The stone on the right reads, in English translation:

Here lived
Herta Appel
Born: 1919
Deported: 1942
To: Lublin Region
Murdered

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Rachel Wente-Chaney @rachelwente.com · 07/12/2024

Nomnom. Cute lil Enzo and Izz. 💕 I know I don’t exactly count, but…. Here! 👋

A small golden lab (dog) sitting near a set of flower planters.

Two dogs, a chocolate lab and a golden doodle, sitting together on a porch, both wearing holiday bandannas.

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Rachel Wente-Chaney @rachelwente.com · 07/12/2024

Like the cute phone in this October’s CISA Secure Our World videos. :) (Hard not to feel attachment to these extensions of our world connections, à la @case.bsky.social cyborg anthropology.) Video: youtu.be/zCcX6aSXcLI?...

A screenshot of an anthropomorphized phone, walking on a forest path with bees, in an animated security video from CISA for 2024.

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Rachel Wente-Chaney @rachelwente.com · 28/11/2024

Dateline Chicago: Turkey survived the L crossing for yet another year. Happy thanks giving.

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Rachel Wente-Chaney @rachelwente.com · 19/11/2024

@cblouke.bsky.social makes it best. All thanks to you, Julie! Annual photo share and party planning kickoff (though earlier than usual):

A group of friends holding glasses of Eisenhower egg nog in a cheers towards the camera.

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Rachel Wente-Chaney @rachelwente.com · 17/11/2024

Agree. Eager to read the book. Case in point. The AR at San Diego Museum of Art is pretty fantastic. —Jules Tavernier, "Kilauea Caldera, Sandwich Islands (Hawai'i)," 1886.

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Rachel Wente-Chaney @rachelwente.com · 25/02/2024

My first visit was last fall. The stained glass is brilliant. And the Subirachs figures breathtaking, unexpected, and so intriguing.

Interior of La Sagrada Familia. Stained glass windows with sun streaming through.

Subirachs statues of figures with blocky, sad faces on the exterior of La Sagrada Familia.

Subirachs statue of Jesus, looking down with a blocky, sad face and his arms wrapped and tied to a column on the exterior of La Sagrada Familia.

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Rachel Wente-Chaney @rachelwente.com · 22/10/2023

Morning walk. Listening to @ajohnsocyber.bsky.social and Deb Cupp. Afternoon Cyber Tea #81: thecyberwire.com/podcasts/aft...

Misty sunrise with fall trees and a valley in the distance

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Rachel Wente-Chaney @rachelwente.com · 15/08/2023

Three of them. The Sisters. Photo is from the top of South, with Middle and North behind me. They’re as magical on my drive to work each day.

Me standing on the summit of South Sister, with the two others in the background. There is forest fire smoke in the distance and thousands of small butterflies in the foreground.

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Rachel Wente-Chaney @rachelwente.com · 04/08/2023

I’m hopeful about this. And very excited+grateful that @iwolff.bsky.social and @aprilmardock.bsky.social will be there representing our PNW region. Axios: White House will host summit to discuss rising cyberattacks on schools: www.axios.com/2023/08/03/white-hous…

First Lady Jill Biden speaks during a National Education Association event on July 4. Photo: Ting Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images

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Rachel Wente-Chaney @rachelwente.com · 01/07/2023

Returning here, after a few minutes there to add…. The owner bragged yesterday that it was highest traffic ever this past week. And then, 19 hours later posted the rate limit details. My spidey senses are that it’s not related to AI scraping. It’s just a convenient cover. I prefer the fail whale.

Screenshot from the owner of Twitter that reads:

To address extreme levels of data scraping & system manipulation, we've applied the following temporary limits:
- Verified accounts are limited to reading 6000 posts/day
- Unverified accounts to 600 posts/day
- New unverified accounts to 300/day

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Rachel Wente-Chaney @rachelwente.com · 29/06/2023

Goats and dogs. All hungry and throwing side eyes at the photo delay.

Two young goats standing near a barn with a pasture and hill behind them.

Four dogs sitting on a carpet, looking up at the person taking their photo.

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Rachel Wente-Chaney @rachelwente.com · 29/06/2023

“These scores and the required points are consistent over the past decade.” This could explain some things….

A screenshot from the head of Advanced Placement on Twitter.

The screenshot text is:
The 2023 AP US Government and Politics scores: 5: 13%; 4: 11%; 3: 25%; 2: 24%; 1: 27%. These scores and the required points are consistent over the past decade. I wish colleges were less stringent in the points they require for 3s/4s/5s in this subject!

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Rachel Wente-Chaney @rachelwente.com · 26/06/2023

Ben Thompson #stratechery (still not flying here with us!), this morning on the FTC/Amazon smackdown. He did a brilliant write-up on the internet and friction in 2013, juxtaposing the good and the bad, which is revived for analysis of the current complaint.

Screenshot from Stratechery that reads:

However, if you accept the premise of the previous paragraph, then it is inconsistent to complain about a company trying to educate consumers about the value they are deriving for a product in the course of canceling that product. To put it another way, the FTC’s complaint about dark patterns when it comes to signing up for Prime is rooted in the assumption that consumers lack knowledge and are easily tricked; the FTC’s complaint about Amazon presenting reasons to not cancel is rooted in the assumption that consumers are already fully-informed and ought to be able to accomplish their goal in as few clicks as possible. The better explanation is that the FTC is simply anti-business.

Friction and Aggregation Theory
If there is a single phrase that describes the effect of the Internet, it is the elimination of friction. With the loss of friction, there is necessarily the loss of everything built on friction, including value, privacy, and livelihood

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Rachel Wente-Chaney @rachelwente.com · 26/06/2023

Heard in Julia Roberts’s voice.

A still from the movie Pretty Woman. Julia Roberts is facing a salesperson standing in a clothing store. Julia is holding bags from a different store. She says, “Big mistake. Big. Huge.”

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