iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Rob Hansen @rjhansen.bsky.social · 12/10/2026

That's your projection, because you're a jerk. I love math. I hold a graduate degree in it. I volunteer tutoring underprivileged local high schoolers in algebra. I do this because I'm tired of living in a society which treats apathy as normalcy. And I'm tired of pretending otherwise. Blocked.

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Rob Hansen @rjhansen.bsky.social · 12/10/2026

That's not my end. If it's yours, great. Me, I'm tired of living in a world where people are apathetic to the fact they can't do sixth-grade math. I find that apathy vexing, and I'm tired of hiding that from the world.

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Rob Hansen @rjhansen.bsky.social · 12/10/2026

Ruin a book by adding a word to the title. The Gospel According to Mark Wahlberg

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Rob Hansen @rjhansen.bsky.social · 12/10/2026

Unpopular hot take: PEMDAS is literally sixth grade math. If you once graduated from high school and now can't do sixth grade math, that's something to be ashamed of. Rolling one's eyes and wondering however anyone expects someone to knit because PEMDAS is … not a good look.

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Rob Hansen @rjhansen.bsky.social · 12/10/2026

Interviewer: Can you explain this gap in your resume? Engineer: Yes. Interviewer: Will you? Engineer: I have a complete engineering stack on file explaining all major decisions that went into design and execution of the finished product. Interviewer: Will you explain it to me? Engineer: Oh, hell no.

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Rob Hansen @rjhansen.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

If this asinine logic were to be taken seriously, US Postal Inspectors would be forbidden from inspecting post offices, drop boxes, and/or mailboxes whenever there was a ballot anywhere in them, due to the fact they are armed federal law enforcement officers.

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Rob Hansen @rjhansen.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

If you're sharing this, please don't. It's aggressively stupid. 18 USC 592 prohibits armed federal troops "any place where a general or special election is held". Elections are not held at drop boxes. Nor are they held in post office boxes for return-by-mail.

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Rob Hansen @rjhansen.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

which goosed the demand numbers even worse. This isn't rocket science. This was written up in economics journals. For this author to "ackshually there was no shortage" makes me question whether I ought take him seriously. I am thinking "no". See, e.g., www.manufacturing.net/supply-chain...

manufacturing.net

Why Stores are Wiped Out of Toilet Paper

Here's all you ever wanted to know about toilet paper during a pandemic.

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Rob Hansen @rjhansen.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

home from work, institutional TP use cratered and consumer TP use skyrocketed. Manufacturing being what it is, it took a while for the production lines to adjust to the new institutional/consumer mix the market now demanded. That created a shortage. The shortage in turn led to panic buying…

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Rob Hansen @rjhansen.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

Only problem is, the article is inaccurate. It says there was no supply problem for TP during the pandemic — but there certainly was. TP manufacture is split between consumer rolls and institutional rolls, where consumer-grade is more expensive & higher quality. When everyone started staying…

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Rob Hansen @rjhansen.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

If you don't want official public acts to traumatize kids, don't elect governments that commit official acts that traumatize kids. Don't you _dare_ look away from what the government is doing in your name.

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Rob Hansen @rjhansen.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

Contrary opinion: Not only should the Fort Hood shooter's execution be livestreamed, viewing should be a mandatory part of every high school civics class. "Soon you will be able to vote. When you are, remember that _you_ are responsible for things like this. Vote appropriately."

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Rob Hansen @rjhansen.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

So, yeah, I'm looking forward to the things you post. Here's to arguments about issues while recognizing common humanity.

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Rob Hansen @rjhansen.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

For whatever it's worth, I imagine I'm going to disagree with you on a lot of stuff, and I'm looking forward to it. Not because I'm looking for an opportunity for a brawl, but because you can strongly argue your side without dehumanizing the other side or being a jerk. That's rare.

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Rob Hansen @rjhansen.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Minor, almost insignificant nit: Eric Draven was quoting William Makepeace Thackeray's "Vanity Fair".

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Rob Hansen @rjhansen.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Ken, just sayin', Christ was scourged early in the Passion. Scourging has certain religious significance to many believers. Appropriating adjacent language to describe the GOP is a little ... it may alienate some people you're trying to support. It reads as a little flip about sincere faith.

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Rob Hansen @rjhansen.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Tab-and-slot scenes sell, but I just don't like writing them. It's nice to know some readers prefer other than tab-and-slot scenes. So, yeah, thank you.

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Rob Hansen @rjhansen.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Thank you, seriously. I'm working on a novel which requires one scene where Important Character Beats happen in such a scene and so it has to occur on-camera. It's hard to strike a balance between "you *have* had sex before, right, Rob?" and "so, uh, Rob, my wife is wondering about beta readers…"

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Rob Hansen @rjhansen.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Share this to confuse Hegseth. It's the Navy — great! Wait, it's music nerds? — Discharge! But they're all well squared away — Keep! They're talking woke things like compassion — Never! They're singing in Swahili — Dismiss! They're singing the Lord's Prayer! — HELP! www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKWQ...

youtube.com

Baba Yetu

YouTube video by United States Navy Band

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Rob Hansen @rjhansen.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

You're correct: but note the MAGA influencer crowd isn't shielded by Speech and Debate. I reshare this image attesting to the falsehood of its claim. I think this image is newsworthy for how Benny Johnson may have defamed Jack Smith.

Benny Johnson on Twitter/X writing, "Senator Eric Schmidt Just CAUGHT Jack Smith perjuring himself on the stand in his testimony."

Senator Schmitt's name is misspelled in the Tweet. The error is reproduced in this alt text for purposes of fidelity.

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Rob Hansen @rjhansen.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Because even rogue AIs intent on enslaving humanity have standards, Phil.

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Rob Hansen @rjhansen.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

He's from *Missouri*, for God's sake. You know, the state adjoining Iowa. He has texts about somebody going to a Hawks basketball game and he assumes it's the Atlanta Hawks? I actually feel insulted here. Missouri gone did us dirty. That wasn't a neighborly assumption to make.

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Rob Hansen @rjhansen.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

As an alumni of the University of Iowa, I have literally never been prouder to be a Hawkeye than I am right now, knowing we were the unwitting instrument of Schmitt publicly depantsing himself. Oh my God this schadenfreude tastes *just like* Mom's green bean casserole it's *amazing*.

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Rob Hansen @rjhansen.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

You could always train a super intelligence to recognize the pattern and make the substitution.

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Rob Hansen @rjhansen.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

I rarely participate in social media campaigns. I'm making an exception because I trust the people behind this one. ===== Check out The Vessel - A Feature Film From Cinema Therapy Studios on @BackerKit! www.backerkit.com/c/projects/c...

backerkit.com

The Vessel - A Feature Film From Cinema Therapy Studios

Cinema Therapy presents its first feature film: a horror comedy where a group of college friends get together for their annual weekend of fun and reminiscence. When things get weird, they're forced to...

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Rob Hansen @rjhansen.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Remember, folks: when you read something on bsky that feels true, that you want to be true, think twice before sharing it and do the math. Because it probably ain't true. 5/5 fin

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Rob Hansen @rjhansen.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

The idea these ballot shenanigans are specifically to exclude the tiny faction of expat Americans because their votes tend to carry the day in close elections is almost certainly untrue. It's way too much work to disenfranchise a community that doesn't swing elections anyway. 4/

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Rob Hansen @rjhansen.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

If there's a 100-vote margin of victory, a faction 150-strong that breaks 3:2 for the winning party only contributes 90 votes to the margin: this faction can no longer claim to have provided the crucial swing, as the outcome would be unchanged if they stayed home. 3/

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Rob Hansen @rjhansen.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Imagine an election where 10 different factions in a coalition combine together to get a 1-vote squeaker of a victory. That's a really close vote, and literally every faction gets to claim they provided the vote that clinched it. As victory margins get bigger, smaller factions lose this claim. 2/

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Rob Hansen @rjhansen.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Please stop resharing this. It's weapons-grade dumb. In a close election, *every* group of voters that breaks 51% towards the winning side gets to claim they were the ones who pushed it over the top to victory. No, overseas voters aren't special in close elections.

A BSky post reading, "Call your overseas American friends and make sure they vote! You know all the shenanigans around mail-in votes? Much of it is to disenfranchise overseas voters who often provide the winning margin in close votes!"

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Rob Hansen @rjhansen.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Watching Trump at the UN reminds me how happy I am to have left the Republican Party twenty-five years ago.

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Rob Hansen @rjhansen.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

As permissive as this is, I'm constantly dismayed to discover just how shockingly few people can clear it. It didn't use to be this way. It genuinely didn't. It shocks me what we have become and how helpless I am to change it. All I can do is maintain my standard. (Fin)

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Rob Hansen @rjhansen.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

For whatever it's worth, I enjoy the perspectives of people who disagree with me on important things but aren't jerks to people who disagree with them. I don't even care if they like me or have ever liked anything I've said. Disagrees with me? Not a jerk? I'm in. Please, make me disagree more. 1/

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Rob Hansen @rjhansen.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Confirmed from a USAF officer friend: USSF uniforms largely borrow their layout and color palette from USAF uniforms.

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Reposted by Rob Hansen

Ken Burnside @kenburnside.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

I was hoping I wouldn't have to do this, but...I have to do this. Theoden's final vet visit and cremation was a big chunk of change for me, and losing him, plus Ad Astra's webshop being down for most of August, means the budget hole is larger than I expected. I miss my fuzzy orange fellow. A lot.

paypal.com

Theoden's Final Vet Bill/Cremation Expenses

On August 6th, my cat, Theoden, had to go to the Urgent Care vet. His hyperthyroidism had concealed kidney disease, and the kindest thing to do was to say goodbye. While not as expensive as the Emerge...

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Rob Hansen @rjhansen.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

I have often threatened to cause RSA to be broken by getting a tattoo of it.

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Rob Hansen @rjhansen.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

If there is justice in this world, their troubles will continue for weeks.

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Rob Hansen @rjhansen.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

Seems like a dignified point to /end this. Zero sarcasm: **THANK YOU** for a vigorous, zealous, informed, and *civil* discourse on something we fundamentally disagree upon. You have been a true pleasure to interact with. Much respect. Health and knowledge to you!

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Rob Hansen @rjhansen.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

(That's probably authorial choice: when a conspirator confesses the entire plan to Clark, Clancy cuts away, lets it happen off-camera, and never gives us a clear summary.)

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Rob Hansen @rjhansen.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

We never see Qati coordinating with higher-ups: the entire campaign is decided at his level. He acts sua sponte. Whether Qati is upholding what he thinks are his patron's wishes by subverting the peace, or is taking revenge on his patron for abandoning him, is never explicitly shown.

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Rob Hansen @rjhansen.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

… in defense of your view, around Chapter 6 Qati's internal dialog shows how he feels sold out by people he thought were his allies in his war on Israel, and wants a fitting revenge. This would lend support to your interpretation that Daryaei was framed by a disgruntled former client-minion.

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Rob Hansen @rjhansen.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

Their alignment with Hamas is recent; credible links between the PFLP-GC (a faction of the PFLP) and Iran, via the PFLP-GC's leader Jibril, go back to '87. It's never explicitly said which faction Qati belongs to. Whichever one, he's fairly senior and holds the rank of Commander. *But*…

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Rob Hansen @rjhansen.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

His oldest books are still selling reliably. His post-2008 imprint has become the equivalent of a Mack Bolan series. I stopped reading Clancy at "The Bear and the Dragon," which was so painfully bad I stopped rather than read on and risk having my enjoyment of his earlier works become tainted.

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Rob Hansen @rjhansen.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

(Is it possible Qati is framing his own patron? Sure. Weirder things have happened. But absent the text being clear about the betrayal, it seems more reasonable to believe Qati was fulfilling his patron's orders.)

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Rob Hansen @rjhansen.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

I see no reason to assume Ryan is being honest: he's talking to a man hostile to American interests. If there's any text in the novel explicitly exonerating Daryaei, I've never found it. Qati, the mastermind of the plot, is explicitly named to be a member of the Iran-backed, Hamas-adjacent PFLP.

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Rob Hansen @rjhansen.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

Ryan finds out Iran is involved (via their ayatollah, Daryaei) *because Ryan is running CIA*. Is it really weird CIA would find out who was responsible before the President did? Who do you think the President gets his information *from*?

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Rob Hansen @rjhansen.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

Seriously. It's all in the book. Read the book. Until you do, I'm in the position of arguing against your interpretation of a book it appears you haven't read.

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