iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Looking at some prized picks and hoping for recovery for Rick Nielsen. I didn’t know until “Surrender” came blasting out of my car speakers that rock could be smart and sarcastic without losing its power. And they blew my mind several times live, thanks to his musicianship and showmanship.

Guitar picks with Cheap Trick’s Rick Nielsen on them

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Russ Somers @rsomers.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Got some work to do on this, but SO COOL! Breedlove fretless acoustic bass guitar.

Fretless acoustic bass guitar on a workbench

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Russ Somers @rsomers.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

When I was young that was all songs, except for Blue Oyster Cult, because I sent a self-addressed envelope to an address on one of their albums and they sent me all their lyrics. And I tied an onion to my belt, which was the style at the time.

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Russ Somers @rsomers.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

From the workbench…trying this one in Open E slide #slideguitar #songwriter

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Russ Somers @rsomers.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

A hot dog is a sandwich, and it’s pronounced “gif”, not “jif.” I don’t care how many followers I lose.

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Russ Somers @rsomers.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

As the economy gets tighter, the line between "cooking wines" and "affordable finds" shifts. This is an under-appreciated economic indicator.

A store aisle with labels for Cooking Wines and Affordable Finds, and no clear delineation between them

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Russ Somers @rsomers.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Ferris Bueller’s Layoff is the sequel you didn’t know you needed

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Russ Somers @rsomers.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Definition of commitment: changing the strings on a 12-string guitar

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Reposted by Russ Somers

OokeySpookeyWookey @eveyweveydevey.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

If you make music with an acoustic guitar, just saying, but I wanna hear the shuffle of your hands moving along the strings and fretboard... I love that shit.

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Russ Somers @rsomers.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

I share that with a friend of mine annually! He’s even worse than I am…if that is possible

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Russ Somers @rsomers.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Or go sideways down a CBGBs rathole: Television, Blondie, Talking Heads. Or backwards into progenitors: Patti Smith, MC5, ? and the Mysterians. Many directions to take it. Sharing music and music history with my son - who has great taste and turns me on to tons of stuff - is such a joy.

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Russ Somers @rsomers.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Frame it historically. Ramones incited the first wave of British punk, so follow them with Sex Pistols (I think you gotta), Clash, Generation X. Then go to the second wave of American punk with DJs, X, Husker Du. And then on to postpunk. Then when he gets to Green Day he’ll have context

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Russ Somers @rsomers.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

In the discussion about AI solving Navier-Stokes, this is being overlooked. “He…alleged that “the reply was ‘Why would you ruin your career?’” according to the statement.” Tech bros see academia as they see everything else…just another domain to be dominated.

Screenshot of an article detailing how OpenAI wanted to avoid giving credit to a math researcher who had worked with Anthropic

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Russ Somers @rsomers.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Playing with a new potential chorus

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Russ Somers @rsomers.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

Dear baristas of the world, I believe that “hot” should be the default value if the person ordering does not specify. Feel free to ignore this and I appreciate the work that you do.

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Russ Somers @rsomers.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

Alan Ritchson has had two fight scenes set to this song: one in Reacher season 4, and one in the movie Play date. So I assume he just likes the song. This may be the most useless fact that I know.

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Russ Somers @rsomers.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

It's my birthday, and it's #BandcampFriday! To celebrate both - and to make a point - here's my most popular song on the streaming platforms. So now's the time to buy it or buy a song from another deserving artist (there are so many!) on Bandcamp! russsomers.bandcamp.com/track/i-drin...

russsomers.bandcamp.com

I Drink My Whiskey Neat (I Don't Like Ice), by Russ Somers

track by Russ Somers

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Russ Somers @rsomers.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

The fact that Elvis Costello’s day job was computer programmer, and Graham Parker’s was pumping petrol, explains pretty much everything about the differences in their early work.

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Russ Somers @rsomers.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

Even before hearing it, I love it based on the title!

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Russ Somers @rsomers.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

And here’s the entire guitar workbench. New pegboard hooks, new attitude

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Russ Somers @rsomers.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

Spent the morning using a digital caliper to organize my mess of Allen wrenches. Missing three metric sizes from the big set, but I have redundancy in the small metric set. #thingstodowhilerecoveringfromopenheartsurgery

Several sets of organized Allen wrenches

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Russ Somers @rsomers.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

Really smart people bought my stuff on Bandcamp.

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Russ Somers @rsomers.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

Mexican President José López Portillo swore to “defend the peso like a dog”, only to devalue it weeks later. In retirement, anytime he went out in public people mocked him by barking at him. Beyond tearing Trump’s name off everything he has defiled, what will be our equivalent?

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Russ Somers @rsomers.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

And a very good thing it is! I admire her.

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Russ Somers @rsomers.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

Lake America. I’d say he’s out of ideas, but it’s likely more accurate to say he’s out of idea.

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Russ Somers @rsomers.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

I will be one of your few subscribers!

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Russ Somers @rsomers.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

Recovering from open heart surgery and can confirm. (And on track for many more Christmas mornings, swims, and even stupid arguments)

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Russ Somers @rsomers.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

I actively avoid reading or watching anything that “few know”, “no one is talking about”, or “so-and-so DESTROYS so-and-so.” But I do appreciate that they label clickbait bullshit so clearly.

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Russ Somers @rsomers.bsky.social · 26/08/2026