iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Sameer Vasta @sameervasta.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Sent a few postcards from our trip to Montréal last weekend, and this one is my favorite.

Postcard of a cartoon smoked meat sandwich holding a cartoon pickle and can of cherry cola on a black background

Sameer Vasta @sameervasta.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

Sometimes you need to buy a bunch of clams, mussels, chicken, chorizo, shrimp, and crab and then make a paella for dinner. Just needs to be done sometimes.

Seafood paella in a paella pan on a table with plates and utensils and crab crackers all around

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Sameer Vasta @sameervasta.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

Spent part of Canada Day hanging out with some alpacas.

Black and white alpaca in foreground with brown alpaca behind it and trees and grassland in the background.

White alpaca staring at camera with wire fence and trees in soft focus in background

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Sameer Vasta @sameervasta.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

Things we do in June in southwestern Ontario: buy copious amounts of local strawberries. They are so good! We’re on our third full case this season already.

Pints of red local strawberries arranged into a case and photographed from above

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Sameer Vasta @sameervasta.bsky.social · 23/06/2026

Every June, we get a weekly peony delivery from Harris Flower Farm, and every delivery injects a wonderful feeling of delight into our days.

Photo of a bouquet of peonies in various shades of pink in a glass vase on a table, shot in soft focus

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Sameer Vasta @sameervasta.bsky.social · 19/06/2026

I didn’t score very high but I feel like their descriptions of me are fairly apt.

Screen capture of analysis of my presence and impact in various LLM models, showing a score of 243. GPT 5.5 describes me as “CANADIAN WRITER, EDITOR, AND DIGITAL STRATEGIST ASSOCIATED WITH CIVIC TECH, CULTURE, AND COMMUNITY-FOCUSED ONLINE PROJECTS.”

Screen capture of analysis of my presence and impact in various LLM models, showing a score of 243. Gemini 3.1 describes me as “A COMMUMICATIONS PROFESSIONAL AND WRITER KNOWN FOR HIS WORK IN PUBLIC SECTOR COMMUNICATIONS, DIGITAL STRATEGY, AND HIS
PERSONAL BLOG.”

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Sameer Vasta @sameervasta.bsky.social · 24/04/2026

Magnolia in the front yard is blooming. Makes me happy.

Pink magnolia flowers on a blurred background

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Sameer Vasta @sameervasta.bsky.social · 21/04/2026

Anyways, this little furball turns ten years old today, so we’re going to celebrate her with lots of treats.

Cleo the cat at 2 months old. Gray and black tabby kitten in an empty bookshelf looking up to the corner of the frame

Cleo at 7 years old. Grey-brown and black tabby fully grown cat sitting on a cat tree near the window looking outside

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Sameer Vasta @sameervasta.bsky.social · 18/04/2026

If you see this, quote with a picture of you in glasses.

Sameer Vasta, a brown man with short hair and a trimmed beard, wearing glasses and a grey sweater, sitting behind a table with a cup of tea in front of him

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Sameer Vasta @sameervasta.bsky.social · 17/04/2026

🥭 It’s Indian mango season! 🥭 Managed to get myself some cases of alphonso, kesar, and badami mangoes. Very excited. (Next challenge: consuming multiple cases of mangoes that will all be ripe in a few days.)

Case of unripe Alphonso mangoes encased in styrofoam mesh next to box lid of said mangoes

Case of unripe Alphonso mangoes in styrofoam mesh casings, all arranged neatly in three rows

Two unripe, bordering on green, badami mangoes

Alphonso mango cut open into little squares being held by a hand

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Sameer Vasta @sameervasta.bsky.social · 31/03/2026

This whole profile is actually quite excellent at describing me and my work, to be honest.

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Sameer Vasta @sameervasta.bsky.social · 23/03/2026

Went to see ‘Bloomland in Oz’ at the Royal Botanical Gardens this weekend. Really impressive. Still on for a couple of weeks and worth a visit if you’re in the area: www.rbg.ca/things-to-do...

Sculpture of Tin Man from Wizard of Oz with elaborate arrangements of flowers and plants around him

Sculpture of Wizard of Oz giant head with elaborate arrangements of flowers and plants around him

Sculpture of flying monkey from Wizard of Oz against the clear glass ceiling of a greenhouse

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Sameer Vasta @sameervasta.bsky.social · 04/03/2026

I have a magnet of De La Soul on my fridge at home, so it’s no surprise I was elated by their recent Tiny Desk Concert: www.npr.org/2026/03/03/g...

Fridge magnet of three De La Soul members posing on a three of diamonds playing card

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Sameer Vasta @sameervasta.bsky.social · 20/01/2026

Was a cold 20-minute walk to and from the bus stop today.

Screenshot of weather widget showing temperature as minus 17 and the windchill feeling like minus 27 degrees

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Sameer Vasta @sameervasta.bsky.social · 03/01/2026

Not sure what this says about my year to come.

Screenshot from Letterboxd year in review that says my most watched nanogenre is emotion, reality, raw

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Sameer Vasta @sameervasta.bsky.social · 30/12/2025

Spent the morning with some goats.

Brown goat chewing in paddock with other goats around

Brown and black goat bleating in a paddock

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Sameer Vasta @sameervasta.bsky.social · 26/11/2025

Always looking for an excuse to buy (and use!) new stamps, so this is just a delight: www.cbc.ca/books/new-st...

Six stamp designs by prominent Canadian cartoonists featuring the main characters from one of their most celebrated works reading the novels they appear in

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Sameer Vasta @sameervasta.bsky.social · 08/11/2025

Celebrating ten years of marriage to this amazing woman today. An amazing decade together; here’s to many more.

Photo of man in blue shirt (me!) and woman with white shirt (Lise!) holding hands close to each other while standing in a field of purple and orange wildflowers

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Sameer Vasta @sameervasta.bsky.social · 30/10/2025

About twelve years ago — pre-children — L and I went as “French Kiss” for Halloween and it was my favorite costume yet. (Not shown in the photo: the baguettes we were holding to go along with the berets and cigarettes.)

Man and woman wearing black berets and holding cigarettes, with black and white face paint to resemble the face paint of the band Kiss.

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Sameer Vasta @sameervasta.bsky.social · 23/10/2025

I recently had a sandwich at Bar Schiavoni in Modena that was sublime. I want to return to Italy just to eat that sandwich.

Hand holding a sandwich wrapped in foil stuffed with meat and tomatoes and sauce and greens

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Sameer Vasta @sameervasta.bsky.social · 20/10/2025

Got my copy of the Internet Phone Book today; was happy to see my little humble site in there. :) Excited to dive into the essays. More here: livingweb.metalabel.com/internetphon...

Front cover of yellow book titled “Internet phone book”

Listing of websites like a phonebook, with one entry saying “Sameer Vasta”

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Sameer Vasta @sameervasta.bsky.social · 18/10/2025

A beautiful fall day for a walk around the pond.

Large pond surrounded by trees of various colors with a blue sky and a few wispy white clouds

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Sameer Vasta @sameervasta.bsky.social · 28/08/2025

Have been enjoying some pretty spectacular sunsets this week. Feeling pretty serene.

Sunset over Lake Huron with streaks of clouds in the sky and waves crashing upon the beach in the foreground

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Sameer Vasta @sameervasta.bsky.social · 23/06/2025

Very much enjoyed going strawberry picking this morning, despite the heat.

Half-full quart of strawberries being held by a hand in front of rows of strawberry bushes out of focus in the background

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Sameer Vasta @sameervasta.bsky.social · 22/06/2025

I wonder if pickles think about me too.

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Sameer Vasta @sameervasta.bsky.social · 13/06/2025

Maybe broccoli doesn’t like you either.

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Sameer Vasta @sameervasta.bsky.social · 30/05/2025

It’s that time of year: Art Comp in #ldnont. If you’re in the area, it’s worth a visit to 100 Kellogg to check it out.

Three pieces of art, including two paintings and one sculpture, in a temporary art exhibit

Piece of art of a large mask in a temporary art exhibit

Sculpture of a woman in front of a black backdrop in a brightly-lit art exhibit hall

Hallway with art pieces on the side walls leading to a back wall that says ART COMP painted on it

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Sameer Vasta @sameervasta.bsky.social · 24/05/2025

Always lovely to visit some of my favorite places in Toronto — @agakhanmuseum.org, the Ismaili Centre, and the Aga Khan Park — for #DoorsOpenTO. Can’t believe it has been almost ten years since we got married here.

Glass dome of the Ismaili Centre raising up into the cloudy sky

Patterned and adorned windows of courtyard of Aga Khan Museum with sunlight pouring through

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Sameer Vasta @sameervasta.bsky.social · 09/05/2025

Got a few cases of alphonso mangoes and kesar mangoes from my mango supplier, so it’s going to be a sweet and delicious Mother’s Day weekend.

Unwrapped yellow, orange, and green kesar mango sitting on top of a case of styrofoam-wrapped mangoes

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Sameer Vasta @sameervasta.bsky.social · 07/05/2025

If you see this, post the most recent photo of yourself from your camera roll. No cheating!

Photo of Sameer Vasta sitting at a red picnic table smiling into the sunshine while he drinks an iced tea and a matcha latte in a plastic cup also sits in front of him.

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Sameer Vasta @sameervasta.bsky.social · 27/04/2025

I didn’t grab the best photos because it was cold and windy (and also because I’m not a great photographer), but in case anyone in #ldnont wanted to know, the cherry trees are blossoming brightly in Springbank Park near the Civic Garden Complex right now.

Closeup of pink cherry blossoms on a branch

Cluster of pink blossoming cherry trees in a park with a path running between them

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Sameer Vasta @sameervasta.bsky.social · 21/04/2025

In good news, it’s our cat’s ninth birthday today so here are some photos of her through the years.

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Sameer Vasta @sameervasta.bsky.social · 03/04/2025

Lots of good murals in #ldnont, but I’m always awed by this one on the side of The Grand.

Mural of woman with wings on the side of a large brick building, taken from parking lot with cars parked in the foreground.

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Sameer Vasta @sameervasta.bsky.social · 29/03/2025

Went to one for my wife’s birthday last year; I thought I wouldn’t enjoy it but ending up loving it. Highly recommend trying it out, but wear something comfortable: you’ll be reaching up and around with your arms and you need to be free to move around.

Two women with their hands above their heads ready to throw hatchets onto a wood board target in front of them.

Two men, one with his hands above his head and the other in a one-handed pitching stance, ready to throw hatchets onto a wood board target in front of them.

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Sameer Vasta @sameervasta.bsky.social · 26/03/2025

Had a couple separate from the flock (that lives down the street from us) the other day and just hop the fence over into our backyard. They’re huge — and totally fearless!

Wild turkey sitting on fence in backyard

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Sameer Vasta @sameervasta.bsky.social · 14/03/2025

The sun is out and Tom’s Dairy Freeze opened for the season today, so it’s a perfect day for some soft serve.

Cone of chocolate-dipped soft serve ice cream being held in a hand in a parking lot

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Sameer Vasta @sameervasta.bsky.social · 07/03/2025

Some days, all you want to do is start the morning with a cortado and a croissant breakfast sandwich.

Croissant stuffed with bacon, egg, and greens on a white plate on a brown wood table

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Sameer Vasta @sameervasta.bsky.social · 27/02/2025

Whatever @aworkinglibrary.com writes is always worth reading, but this one, on finding _our work_, particularly resonated with me: everythingchanges.us/blog/what-is... And as a career tech-adjacent civil servant, this passage hit hard.

Screenshot of text that reads: What’s under assault right now isn’t jobs. A great many jobs are being extinguished, and each lost job is a measure of misery for many people. But the greater heartbreak is the loss of work—the separation from meaningful, changeful work, and from the impacts of that work, from the world that comes into being when our work is oriented towards the living. It’s telling that so many of the jobs currently under attack are those of technology people performing civil service: these are people who chose work that was less glamorous, and less remunerative, than the standard tech path, but also more purposeful, more likely to actually deliver on tech’s otherwise empty promise of a better world. The message is clear: you will work for the needs of capital, or you will work not at all. That means it’s not enough to simply get the jobs back; we have to fight for the work, too.

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Sameer Vasta @sameervasta.bsky.social · 15/02/2025

It’s a good day for some sledding.

A child and an adult climbing up a snow-covered hill with a sled in their hand while two adults watch from the top of the hill and a school in the background

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Sameer Vasta @sameervasta.bsky.social · 10/02/2025

I used to write hundreds of letters a year; since having a kid, my pace of correspondence has dropped precipitously. Trying to reinvigorate that practice this year, starting by sending some letterpress postcards to a few friends.

Two postcards with a few potted cacti printed on them

Thank you card with citrus fruits printed on it and a yellow envelope

Two postcards, one with a pineapple printed on it, and the other with a seahorse printed on it

Two postcards, one with a series of brightly colored concentric circles printed on it saying “el sol” and the other with dark-colored concentric circles printed in it saying “la luna”

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Sameer Vasta @sameervasta.bsky.social · 28/01/2025

Fresh snowfall overnight, so a perfect afternoon for some sledding.

Child in floral snowsuit pulling up a red sled up a gentle hill with lots of snow everywhere

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Sameer Vasta @sameervasta.bsky.social · 28/01/2025

After a brief hiatus, the neighborhood wild turkeys have returned to using our backyard as a place of respite.

Wild turkey sitting on black backyard fence

Wild turkey sitting on black backyard fence, ready to jump off

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Sameer Vasta @sameervasta.bsky.social · 23/01/2025

If you see this post, post or quote repost a bridge from your photography or artwork.

View of San Francisco Bay Bridge from the shore during a vivid sunset with the water reflecting the the orange hues of the sky

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Sameer Vasta @sameervasta.bsky.social · 21/01/2025

If temperatures are going to be this cold, I think I need to invest in a good pair of long johns for the long walks to and from the bus stop every morning.

Screenshot of iOS weather widget saying the temperature is -17° with a feels like temperature of -27°

Screenshot of iOS weather widget saying the temperature is -21° with a feels like temperature of -28°

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Sameer Vasta @sameervasta.bsky.social · 14/01/2025

Needed a little pick-me-up after the past few weeks so I’ve decided to jump into some of the words of Mr. Rogers.

Hand holding a copy of the book “This Beautiful Day” by Fred Rogers

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Sameer Vasta @sameervasta.bsky.social · 12/01/2025

Just had the most delightful tin of Spanish sardines with a baguette for dinner so I’ll be riding this high all evening.

Open tin filled with packed sardines in olive oil with the lid of the tin sitting next to it

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Sameer Vasta @sameervasta.bsky.social · 10/01/2025

Not ideal weather for the ten-minute (each way) morning walk to the school bus stop.

Screenshot of weather app saying it is 18 degrees below zero outside with a feels like temperature of 23 below zero

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Sameer Vasta @sameervasta.bsky.social · 21/12/2024

Saw this poster in the window of a coffee shop and chuckled out loud.

Framed poster in window that says, “my love for you is like the construction on Eglinton…endless”

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