iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Seth Brown @risingpun.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

An important observation on the nature of heroism. (Coincidentally, I just finished writing a piece that mentions Plato's Ring of Gyges, so the gap between people being virtuous for its own sake and people being virtuous to be seen being virtuous is very much on my mind.)

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Thoth @thoth.ptnote.dev · 20/09/2026

meta Muse perfec t size for put private d\ata in! inside very Secure and Private data very safe put data in Muse. No problems ever in Muse because very trustworthy and Mark super protective. AMeta muse yes a place for data put data in muse trust meta for givening good safety to data. Friend meta.

An image of a pelican with its gigantic mouth open, commonly associated with the "put baby in pelican mouth" post.

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Seth Brown @risingpun.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

A sobering thought to realize Stanislav Petrov is basically the opposite of our current uncurious/unquestioning/un-empathetic AI-driven regime.

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Seth Brown @risingpun.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Hey Bluesky, any web hosting recs? @networksolutions.bsky.social is trying to charge me an arm and a leg for renewals and jacking up prices for no reason but also wants to charge me a fee to change to a cheaper plan. I need a better option. Suggestions?

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Seth Brown @risingpun.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

The original Final Fantasy for the NES. Bought it used from a classified ad in the newspaper. Beat it a dozen times each w/different parties. Spawned a love for gaming, and more specifically RPGs, and more specifically mages. Decades later I went back and beat it with a solo Black Belt. Still fun.

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SMBC Comics @smbccomics.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

This isn't a metaphor. Just a story about a roach. COMIC ◆ www.smbc-comics.com/comic/roach-2 PATREON ◆ www.patreon.com/ZachWeinersm... STORE ◆ smbc-store.myshopify.com

4-panel SMBC comic update. The first panel shows a cartoon little roach happily saying "oh man! The stupid human put food in here. fool!" The next panel shows the roach walking away from a poison trap as he says "I’m gonna give it to everyone!" The third panel shows a human at his computer with a similar expression to that of the cartoon roach. The man says "this stupid company made a controversial ad. How embarrassing for them!" The man then walks away from the computer desk, at an angle reminiscent to the panel where the roach walks away from the poison trap. The man says "better share with all my friends and family so everyone knows which ad not to look at."

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🍁 Levi Kornelsen @levikornelsen.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Reacher (book) kills white supremacists (fictional), but Reacher (streaming) hasn't yet despite Alan Ritchson (Reacher (streaming)) wanting to because of studio fear of white supremacists (actual, government).

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The Price of Reason @priceofreason.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

OKAY FINE YOU CAN HAVE A CHURU

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A.R. Moxon @juliusgoat.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Same people who seem to think it’s bad for China to beat us at AI are perfectly fine with China beating us at high speed rail, solar energy, wind energy, shall we go on

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Seth Brown @risingpun.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

"Over 100k vinyl records sold last year, although admittedly half of that figure was Taylor Swift, whose fans would purchase her latest release even if it were a 200-pound bag of rocks that made music when you poured it onto the ground." www.berkshireeagle.com/opinion/colu...

berkshireeagle.com

Let's get physical (media)

If you fold this column in half and wear it on your head as a hat, you’ll be part of a growing national trend. Fashion-wise, this is part of a

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Seth Brown @risingpun.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Completely forgot that I had donated to Extra Life until thisafternoon when an amazing box of tea from @justicar.xyz arrived in my mailbox. Thanks for the lovely care package, and for fundraising for a good cause!

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Seth Brown @risingpun.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

make a band edible The Rolling Scones Fleetwood Mac&Cheese The Mamas and the Tapas

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Inequality Media @inequalitymedia.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Trump's massive surveillance state and attacks on our civil liberties wouldn't have been possible without the PATRIOT Act. Watch this prescient warning from Russ Feingold, the only Senator to vote against its passage after 9/11.

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Seth Brown @risingpun.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

An elderly acquaintance unfortunately had her email hacked, and emailed and cc:ed an apology warning to all 500+ addresses in her address book, which includes many other folks who are helpfully replying all with their sympathy.

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Seth Brown @risingpun.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Paul Simon fans will enjoy this new parody about food recalls, which I wrote over the weekend and so it doesn't include the latest recalls of tofu, chocolate milk, etc. www.berkshireeagle.com/opinion/colu...

berkshireeagle.com

'50 Bad Foods To Discover'

To the tune of "50 Ways To Leave Your Lover," with apologies to Paul Simon:

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Greg Pak @gregpak.net · 01/09/2026

This is low-level propaganda that elides the real story, which is that the younger candidate in this race is an anti-trans clown and the older candidate is one of the Senate's strongest progressives. Please vote for Markey in MA, friends. The old guy is the only choice here.

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Seth Brown @risingpun.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

A persuasively incisive essay about why there's no victory to be had in throwing people under the bus by accepting the framing of your opponents:

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ᴢᴇɴ sɪᴍᴍᴏɴs @killlthehype.blacksky.app · 23/08/2026

16 months ago: Never forget how it started.

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Seth Brown @risingpun.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

A friend convinced me to get a hedge, because it only had to be watered once a day. I regret to say, it is not doing well. I told another friend this was a reason I shouldn't have kids. She replied, "Yeah, kids have to be watered at least TWICE a day." www.berkshireeagle.com/opinion/colu...

berkshireeagle.com

A minute six-figure salary

Every year or so, some news site will put out a big article about how people with six-figure salaries are “barely scraping by,” greeted with a resounding lack of sympathy

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Seth Brown @risingpun.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

What if instead of burning the library of Alexandria, we simply filled it with sewage?

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Chris Ward @chrisward.de · 16/08/2026

The reason I've gone more left in recent years is that I previously accepted that we simply couldn't afford decent cheap housing, heavily subsidised transport, a universal basic income, etc. Then in 20 years in politics I saw what we actually could afford. And it's a lot. It's just never for you.

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Seth Brown @risingpun.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

@starfishknits.bsky.social bought some Coriander and Szechuan Pepper Doritos online and HOT DAMN.

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Seth Brown @risingpun.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

You can't get the next groundbreaking hit by just copying the last groundbreaking hit. But it won't stop the money at the top from trying. @docseuss.bsky.social on why video game devs get it wrong. (And FWIW @laurenleek.eu just posted a great piece on how it applies to all media and beyond).

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Seth Brown @risingpun.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

Cassette Beasts is my favorite Pokemon-like game bar-none, and @byttenstudio.bsky.social has announced a sequel that looks amazingly good. Anyone who enjoys that sort of thing should have Cassette Beasts 2002 on their radar (and play the original!) www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWmH...

youtube.com

Cassette Beasts 2002 | Announcement Trailer | PCGaming Showcase

YouTube video by Raw Fury

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Fat4all (Agatha) 🏳️‍⚧️ @fat4all.bsky.social · 08/08/2026

i dunno when ppl swayed away from “politicians should do whatever, no matter how small, to improve things for all of their constituents” but they swayed galaxies away and decided that politicians were just a chair and a vote no they can actually do stuff, you can find ones that will do stuff

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Seth Brown @risingpun.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

This is a good personal essay about a topic that I think is only becoming increasingly important, which is how to co-exist with people you disagree with and avoid hating and caricaturing them even when it is tempting.

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Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

Probably would've been nice to know this before the 2024 election, but sure

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Brandon Sheffield @brandon.insertcredit.com · 30/07/2026

In response to the unprecedented number of game developers laid off this year, we have created a bundle on itch to benefit a Game Industry Hardship Fund, managed by @videogameworkers.bsky.social. More than 100 games for 10+ bucks! Please share widely and donate generously! itch.io/b/3802/game-...

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Seth Brown @risingpun.bsky.social · 25/07/2026

This week's newsletter: One of my favorite recurring jokes around the house, what average actually means, and some statistics on reading. buttondown.com/RisingPun/ar...

buttondown.com

[Seth Says] You Are The 1%

Q: What does a book's back cover sound like if you read it out loud underwater?A: Blurb Blurb Blurb! Reading is cool and fun and good, even though reading...

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Seth Brown @risingpun.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

"The median American has read just two books in the past year. To be fair to him, it’s hard to read when you’re stuck in the middle of the highway..." This week I tackle America's declining readership numbers, and how to avoid being fooled by librarians. www.berkshireeagle.com/opinion/colu...

berkshireeagle.com

A need to read

The median American has read just two books in the past year. To be fair to him, it’s hard to read when you’re stuck in the middle of the highway.

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public health guy @publichealthguy1.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

matthew always brings the receipts

• A law called the "Food Traceability Rule," designed to make tracing contaminated food easier, was supposed to go into effect on January 20, 2026.
• Taylor Foods started paying Sidley Austin to lobby. on "regulation of food safety" in January of 2025.
• On March 20, 2025, FDA announced they were pushing back the implementation of the "Food Traceability Rule" by 30 months.
• On March 26, 2025, Taylor Fresh Foods Inc contributed $1,000,000 to MAGA Inc, a Trump-aligned super PAC.

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Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

When journalists asked me "where we will see the effects of DOGE on outcomes?" one of my responses was "during crises...as long as media connect the dots." Well, dots connected: www.wired.com/story/cdc-cy...

wired.com

The CDC Has a Cyclospora Lab. DOGE Downsized It Last Year

“Based on simple math, these outbreak responses—which require rapid, timely responses—are going to be greatly diminished,” the former CDC lab director tells WIRED.

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Rob Pollard @robpollard45.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

I feel there hasn't been enough attention to the explosive diarrhea that is being caused by a foodborne parasite that was tracked until exactly a year ago by the FDA, but then was cut as part of the "cost savings" of DOGE. www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...

nbcnews.com

The CDC quietly scaled back a surveillance program for foodborne illnesses

As of July 1, a critical surveillance program is monitoring for only two pathogens instead of the usual eight.

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Ed Markey @edmarkey.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

ICE shot and killed a man in Houston with no criminal record who was not even their target. They pushed him off the road. And now he is gone forever. ICE is a domestic terrorist organization. We need to abolish ICE now and stop Trump’s murderous thugs.

The New York Times: Man Killed by Federal Agent in Houston Was Not the Target of ICE Search

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Seth Brown @risingpun.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

"Take more naps. [...] The afternoon nap is a tradition in hot-weather countries. Sleeping through heat makes sense. You can sleep anywhere: diplomatic meetings, the Pope's funeral, press conferences, even loud arenas of screaming fans during the NBA finals." www.berkshireeagle.com/opinion/colu...

berkshireeagle.com

Top 10 tips to beat the heat: presidential edition

Last week we celebrated America’s 250th anniversary with 250-degree weather, and although the weather this week is much cooler, odds are good that before summer’s over we’ll have another heat

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Seth Brown @risingpun.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

You know what they say, if you can't eliminate negative self-talk, at least do it out loud in the style of a 1930s radio announcer.

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Seth Brown @risingpun.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

Scam alert - AUTHORS BEWARE! Interview scams are thick on the ground these days. Last week I got an email from someone who said they wanted to interview me about my book. That turned out to be a scam. You can read more in my latest column. Basically, ...(1/3) www.berkshireeagle.com/opinion/colu...

berkshireeagle.com

The interview that wasn't

Last week, I was delighted to receive an email asking to interview me about my book on materials requirements planning, delight which was tempered only by the realization that I

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Chris Murphy @chrismurphyct.bsky.social · 24/06/2026

Trump has turned the White House into a 24/7 corruption operation. This is a national crisis. Trump thinks the public will stop paying attention. So I went to the Senate floor to call his bluff. I told the ENTIRE STORY of his 500 days of corruption. 1/ Here it is - in one🧵

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Seth Brown @risingpun.bsky.social · 22/06/2026

Never thought I'd be successful enough to offer career commentary for the Williams Alumni site. And I'm still not! But apparently I'm just unsuccessful enough, and the result is still that they've reprinted my column from the other week and there's no paywall: alumni.williams.edu/alumni-caree...

alumni.williams.edu

Live a Life Beyond Compare

A wise man once said, "Comparing yourself to others is a path to unhappiness." I wish I were as smart as that guy, because I compare myself to others all the time. It's hard not to, when social media ...

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