iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Sam Erde @samerde.day3bits.com · 25/07/2026

One tiny change to my VS @code configuration has made life a lot easier for me. Markdown documents now open in preview by default, instead of in the editor. Editing them is still as simple as a double-click! Anyone with me?

Square VS Code-themed infographic titled “Open Markdown in Preview by Default.” Two configuration methods are shown side by side. Option 1 uses the Settings UI: press Ctrl plus comma or Cmd plus comma, search for “Editor Associations,” find “Workbench: Editor Associations,” select “Add Item,” then enter `*.md` as the key and `vscode.markdown.preview.editor` as the value. Option 2 edits `settings.json`: open the Command Palette with Ctrl or Cmd plus Shift plus P, select “Preferences: Open User Settings (JSON),” and add a `workbench.editorAssociations` entry mapping `*.md` to `vscode.markdown.preview.editor`. Below the options, a simplified VS Code window shows Markdown source for a README on the left and its rendered preview on the right. Footer text reads, “This one small change made working with project documentation much easier for me.”

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Sam Erde @samerde.day3bits.com · 29/06/2026

That time I had a Mohawk. 🤘 I was 25 years old and starting chemo. It felt like a good time to make the most of life with hair before it all fell out! (AMA) 💜

A picture of me at 25 years old with a Mohawk. I decided to have fun with it because I had recently started chemo and my hair was beginning to fall out!

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Sam Erde @samerde.day3bits.com · 09/06/2026

Still waiting for the staggered rollout of Microsoft's MAI models to hit my GitHub account. Have any of you seen them show up yet?

GitHub on the web with the model section list open.

The GitHub Copilot desktop app with the model selector list open.

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Sam Erde @samerde.day3bits.com · 09/06/2026

Microsoft's Work IQ agent is 𝙡𝙚𝙜𝙞𝙩. Don't waste time trying to coordinate your own schedule!

Prompt: "Looking ahead 3 months on my calendar, are there any days between Monday and Thursday that the 4-5 PM hour is consistently available? Does this trend repeat backwards as well?"

Initial Response: "I analyzed your calendar patterns using the available upcoming and past event data (over 100 meetings identified in the scan), focusing specifically on Monday–Thursday between 4–5 PM."

Work IQ's detailed response that outlines what shows up consistently on my calendar, what the forward-looking net pattern is, and what the backward-looking pattern is.

Overall trend summary that shows the best candidates to find available time on my calendar.

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Sam Erde @samerde.day3bits.com · 08/06/2026

🚨The MicrosoftExchangeOnline PowerShell module has been updated to 3.10.0 with breaking changes for some automated workflows! 👉 PowerShell 7.6 & Windows PowerShell 5.1 are the only supported versions! ⛔ PowerShell 7.2-7.3 will likely fail. ⚠️ PowerShell 7.4-7.5 𝘮𝘢𝘺 work.

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Sam Erde @samerde.day3bits.com · 08/06/2026

My absolute favorite AI response of the week: “I agree. This is exactly where “future-proofing” can accidentally become architecture cosplay.” 😂

Anime styled image of an over-caffeinated engineer going nuts in the architectural design and requirements gathering phase.

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Sam Erde @samerde.day3bits.com · 06/06/2026

STOP IT! I will not say I’m not jealous right now. Just asked the Internets what a Peanut Alexander is and found a drink that somehow combined many of my favorite things!

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Sam Erde @samerde.day3bits.com · 05/06/2026

Should we tell them about PowerShell? 😁

The Register:
“ Unix was built on the philosophy of small programs that can be easily piped together to build larger workflows, so that, say, the output of grep can be combined with other material through the cat (concatenate) command. As a result, developers, admins, and now AI agents write scripts that incorporate these commands.”

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Sam Erde @samerde.day3bits.com · 04/06/2026

I may or may not have blown my whole lunch break spinning up a new concept because I was frustrated by having inconsistent MCP server configurations scattered between different CLIs, IDEs, and providers. 😆 #GitHubCopilot #Claude #PowerShell #mvpbuzz

The 'MCP Anchor' word mark in shades of blue, with the title on the right and an icon on the left. The primary elements of the icon are an anchor with a hexagonal-shaped shackle on top of the anchor, a CLI prompt in the center of the shackle, and node-like branches coming off the left side of the shackle (the ring at the top of the anchor).

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Sam Erde @samerde.day3bits.com · 03/06/2026

My wife say's I'm too literal...

A GitHub issue titled "my wife say's I am too literal." It is tagged as "wont fix: works as designed."

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Sam Erde @samerde.day3bits.com · 03/06/2026

Sometimes I try different models and frontends just to see how well they are able to generate PowerShell code. Sometimes I am pleasantly surprised! Gemini / Flash-Light [Extended thinking] gave me a special failure today.

Prompt: Create a PowerShell script that uses the Microsoft.Entra module to list all users who are either directly assigned to or eligible for any Exchange Online or Compliance related privileged administrator roles in Entra ID. Also include accounts that are eligible for or directly assigned to the Global Administrator role.

Response from Gemini's Flash-Light with extended thinking: To perform this task, you should use the Microsoft.Graph module. While there are legacy modules (like AzureAD or MSOnline), Microsoft has consolidated all Entra ID management into the Microsoft.Graph SDK.

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Sam Erde @samerde.day3bits.com · 02/06/2026

I've been learning spec-driven development and agentic workstreams on a side-ish project with Codex. Unfortunately, I always hit usage limits within 30 minutes on this plan. Is this development approach always going to be very token heavy or do I just need to optimize?

You're out of Codex messages. Your rate limit resets on 1:11 PM. To continue using Codex, add credits or upgrade to Pro today.

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Sam Erde @samerde.day3bits.com · 27/04/2026

B-b-b-but....? <Sigh> Fine, I'll do it!

GitHub said there are merge conflicts. When I asked GitHub Copilot to resolve them, it responded that they are already resolved. They are not.

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Sam Erde @samerde.day3bits.com · 17/04/2026

It was fun while it lasted! 👨‍💻 Codespaces are great have when you can't install certain tools on your development system, but you can add them to a dev container and run in a @GitHub codespace!

You are out of monthly free usage or have exceeded your budget for Codespaces. Increase your budget to continue using Codespaces.

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Sam Erde @samerde.day3bits.com · 25/03/2026

If you need more proof that you can do anything with a little PowerShell and some DNS, look no further than...𝕯𝖔𝖔𝖒 𝕺𝖛𝖊𝖗 𝕯𝕹𝕾! github.com/resumex/d...

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Sam Erde @samerde.day3bits.com · 18/03/2026

#PowerShell 7.6 is released! Note: It's only available via GitHub or as a .NET tool installation for now. Keep an eye on WinGet and the Microsoft Store! 💫 github.com/PowerShell/P...

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Sam Erde @samerde.day3bits.com · 04/03/2026

It has been a long time since I started working on this side project, and DLL Pickle is finally ready for an RC! This #PowerShell module is a DLL pre-loader that helps you avoid version conflicts when connecting to Microsoft Az, Graph, EXO, Teams, and SPO! github.com/SamErde/DLLP...

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Sam Erde @samerde.day3bits.com · 23/01/2026

A fun bit of tech history from "The Moron's Guide to Kerberos" (2007). wpollock.com/AUnixSe...

Doug Rickard wrote to explain how Bones got its name. In 1988, he was working at MIT, with the Project Athena group. He was trying to get permission from the State Department to export Kerberos to Bond University in Australia. The State Department wouldn't allow it--not with DES included. To get it out of the country, they had to not only remove all calls to DES routines, but all comments and textual references to them as well, so that (superficially, at least) it was non-trivial to determine where the calls were originally placed.
To strip out all the DES calls and garbage, John Kohl wrote a program called piranha. At one of their progress meetings, Doug jokingly said, "And we are left with nothing but the Bones." For lack of a better term, he then used the word "Bones" and "boned" in the meeting minutes to distinguish between the DES and non-DES versions of Kerberos. "It somehow stuck," he says, "and I have been ashamed of it ever since."

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Sam Erde @samerde.day3bits.com · 22/01/2026

It's funny how quickly we forget things that we don't use frequently. It may have been pre-coffee, but still--this morning I had to be reminded how to use PowerShell find all Active Directory users in a specific OU. 😂 Never stop [re-]learning! ☕

Get-ADUser -SearchBase "OU=Users,OU=Tier2,DC=int,DC=day3bits,DC=com" -Filter *

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Sam Erde @samerde.day3bits.com · 15/01/2026

>_ The Microsoft.Entra PowerShell module is updated to v1.2.0 with bug fixes and AgentId commands from MSIdentityTools. 🪪 Also: v1.1.0 removed the version pinning of Microsoft Graph PowerShell modules from 2.25.0 so you can use newer versions now. 👏 github.com/microsoft...

Release Notes
1.2.0 - January 14th, 2026
Features
This release migrates the AgentId command set from MSIdentityTools into the entra‑powershell repository, delivering a production‑ready implementation for managing Agent Identity Blueprints and Agent Identities in Microsoft Entra ID.

Bug Fixes:
Enabled support for the -PreAuthorizedApplications parameter in the Set-EntraBetaApplication cmdlet, enabling users to configure pre-authorized applications for an Entra application.
The InvitedUser and InvitedUserMessageInfo parameter types have been updated. New New-EntraBetaInvitation commands now use interfaces from Microsoft.Graph.Beta.PowerShell.Models, while New-EntraInvitation commands use interfaces from Microsoft.Graph.PowerShell.Models.

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Sam Erde @samerde.day3bits.com · 04/01/2026

Have you ever wanted to automatically format a #PowerShell timespan as a string with the most relevant unit labels? Feel free to use my new 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁-𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲𝗦𝗽𝗮𝗻 function! github.com/SamErde/P...

$A screenshot of Windows Terminal running PowerShell 7 with default settings (no profile or nerd fonts). It shows several examples of using the Format-TimeSpan function: PS C:\> Format-TimeSpan -TimeSpan ([TimeSpan]::Zero) 0 seconds PS C:\> New-TimeSpan -Milliseconds 13500 | Format-TimeSpan -Abbreviate 13.50s PS C:\> New-TimeSpan -Days 1 -Hours 2 -Minutes 30 -Seconds 0 | Format-TimeSpan 1 days 2 hours 30 minutes PS C:\> $TimeSpan = New-TimeSpan -Milliseconds 1500 -Seconds 13 -Minutes 3 PS C:\> $TimeSpan | Format-TimeSpan -Abbreviate 3m 14s PS C:\>$

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Sam Erde @samerde.day3bits.com · 09/12/2025

⚡Adding Intune P2 features to Microsoft 365 E3 and E5 is getting a lot of well-deserved attention, but did you see the blip that isn't? Some Defender for Office P1 features are coming to E3 and E1 in 2026! 📧 www.microsoft.com/en...

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Sam Erde @samerde.day3bits.com · 04/12/2025

Hey, #EntraID people! 🧑‍💻 Check out v1.1.0 of the Microsoft.Entra PowerShell module! The past few releases have added some great improvements to try out. They also removed the pinned version requirement for the Microsoft.Graph.Authentication module! 🎉 github.com/microsoft...

$Modules = Get-ModulesWithUpdate -PassThru
Searching for installed modules matching patterns: *
Found 133 installed modules.
Checking the source repository for newer versions of the modules...
Microsoft.Entra: 1.0.13 → 1.1.0 🆕
Microsoft.Entra.Applications: 1.0.13 → 1.1.0 🆕
Microsoft.Entra.Authentication: 1.0.13 → 1.1.0 🆕
Microsoft.Entra.CertificateBasedAuthentication: 1.0.13 → 1.1.0 🆕
Microsoft.Entra.DirectoryManagement: 1.0.13 → 1.1.0 🆕
Microsoft.Entra.Governance: 1.0.13 → 1.1.0 🆕
Microsoft.Entra.Groups: 1.0.13 → 1.1.0 🆕
Microsoft.Entra.Reports: 1.0.13 → 1.1.0 🆕
Microsoft.Entra.SignIns: 1.0.13 → 1.1.0 🆕
Microsoft.Entra.Users: 1.0.13 → 1.1.0 🆕
Found 10 modules with updates available.
>> $Modules | Update-PSResource

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Sam Erde @samerde.day3bits.com · 25/11/2025

There's no controversy around the idea that you should not modify the default domain & default domain controller GPOs in Active Directory (except for setting account policies). Did you know you can use dcgpofix to reset them when they have been...mangled? learn.microsoft.com/...

$dcgpofix documentation: Recreates the default Group Policy Objects (GPOs) for a domain. To get to the Group Policy Management Console (GPMC), you must install Group Policy Management as a feature through Server Manager. Dcgpofix.exe is included with Windows Server and is located in the C:\Windows\system32\ folder. dcgpofix.exe restores only the policy settings that are contained in the Default Domain Policy GPO and Default Domain Controller GPO. Dcgpofix.exe doesn't restore other GPOs that administrators create, it's only intended for disaster recovery of the default GPOs. Important: As a best practice, you should configure the Default Domain Policy GPO only to manage the default Account Policies settings, Password Policy, Account Lockout Policy, and Kerberos Policy. Additionally, you should configure the Default Domain Controllers Policy GPO only to set user rights and audit policies.$

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Sam Erde @samerde.day3bits.com · 24/11/2025

Dear IT Vendors, FYI: Microsoft announced the rebranding of Azure AD to Entra ID in July 2023. Yes, not even 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 have replaced 100% of old references, but when you share an easily updated slide deck that 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 shows Azure AD branding, you lose a bit of credibility. 🙃

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Sam Erde @samerde.day3bits.com · 19/11/2025

Hey, PowerShell module users and developers: do you find it useful to create #GitHub releases whenever a new version of a module is published to the #PowerShell Gallery, or is that just extra for the sake of extra?

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Sam Erde @samerde.day3bits.com · 12/11/2025

Certutil is an amazingly diverse 25-year-old tool still used in production everywhere. Documented 1st and 3rd party solutions rely on it just as frequently as friendly TAs around the world do. 🤭 Maybe Microsoft could just open-source and we can "fix" it? 😅 #ADCS #PKI

A screen shot from Microsoft learn documentation that states:

Caution

Certutil isn't recommended to be used in any production code and doesn't provide any guarantees of live site support or application compatibilities. It's a tool utilized by developers and IT administrators to view certificate content information on devices.

Certutil.exe is a command-line program installed as part of Certificate Services. You can use certutil.exe to display certification authority (CA) configuration information, configure Certificate Services, and back up and restore CA components. The program also verifies certificates, key pairs, and certificate chains.

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Sam Erde @samerde.day3bits.com · 28/10/2025

I like to keep it pretty simple. Here's my Comply theme for Oh My Posh: github.com/SamErde/Powe...

Windows Terminal running PowerShell 7.5.4 with Oh My Posh.

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Sam Erde @samerde.day3bits.com · 24/10/2025

Friday PowerShell fun: other than being incredibly delicious, who can tell me why this is my favorite coffee to drink while writing code? ☕

A bag of Brazillian coffee from Verb coffee roasters.

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Sam Erde @samerde.day3bits.com · 13/10/2025

This is so [sadly] true! (+1️⃣for Reddit, etc.) Yet, it's still worth a chuckle and a friendly reminder: 👥 The community is what Y̲O̲U̲ ̲a̲n̲d̲ ̲I̲ create through how we choose to interact. We all win when we sincerely build each other up and help others succeed! 🤝

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Sam Erde @samerde.day3bits.com · 11/10/2025

An updated PDF chart of current Microsoft and GitHub certifications. arch-center.azureedg...

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Sam Erde @samerde.day3bits.com · 03/10/2025

🆕If you're curious which PowerShell modules have updates available, try running 𝙶𝚎𝚝-𝙼𝚘𝚍𝚞𝚕𝚎𝚜𝚆𝚒𝚝𝚑𝚄𝚙𝚍𝚊𝚝𝚎 from the PSPreworkout module.💡 👉Microsoft.Graph 2.31.0 is now out. www.powershellgaller...

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Sam Erde @samerde.day3bits.com · 01/10/2025

If you're looking for ideas for a useful (and maybe a little fancy) PowerShell profile, feel free to copy any or all of mine! It is now on my public PowerShell repository on GitHub. 🧑‍💻 github.com/SamErde/P...

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Sam Erde @samerde.day3bits.com · 30/09/2025

Does the latest release of Windows Terminal have an issue with nerd fonts? None of my installed nerd fonts will load all of a sudden.

Windows Terminal warning: Unable to find the following fonts: RobotoMono Nerd Font Mono. Please either install them or choose different fonts.

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Sam Erde @samerde.day3bits.com · 18/09/2025

Hard to top an evening with these quality guys and some amazing food! We may have also talked about a little bit of tech, too. 😁 @devclate.bsky.social, @franklesniak.com

From L to R: Sam Erde, Frank Lesniak, and Clayton Tyger; hanging out after dinner in Chicago.

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Sam Erde @samerde.day3bits.com · 12/09/2025

Math is hard! How's your Friday going? Don't forget to take a break for lunch, water, and a walk before you hammer down to 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙠𝙚𝙣𝙙! 😎

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Sam Erde @samerde.day3bits.com · 03/09/2025

This may or may not be a self portrait of me writing PowerShell. IYKYK. 😂

A squirrel is wearing an apron and shaving a yak in a barber shop. A bike means in the corner and a yellow rubber ducky sits on the counter.

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Sam Erde @samerde.day3bits.com · 08/08/2025

On a related note, the Get-WrappedCommand is very handy for getting information about the cmdlets that are imported during an Exchange Online remote management session. Check this out! #PowerShell #M365 #Security #Maester

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Sam Erde @samerde.day3bits.com · 08/08/2025

You have to love those moments when troubleshooting prompts you to dig a little deeper than usual and your curiosity is rewarded! Today I noticed the IsCloudShellEnvironment function in the ExchangeOnlineManagement #PowerShell module. Neat trick for workflows!

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Sam Erde @samerde.day3bits.com · 01/08/2025

Question for #Azure, #Sentinel, and maybe #KQL friends: is there any way to drill my Microsoft Sentinel monthly costs to determine which data sources (or tables) are contributing the most to the accumulated cost? #MicrosoftSentinel

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Sam Erde @samerde.day3bits.com · 21/07/2025

The Microsoft Graph SDK and Microsoft.Graph #PowerShell module version 2.29.1 are now available. No known significant issues since the 2.27 and 2.26 releases. I am able to connect with the Microsoft.Entra module and with Maester. 👍

PowerShell> Find-PSResource Microsoft.Graph

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Sam Erde @samerde.day3bits.com · 11/07/2025

If you used to look forward to watching this finish, it's probably time to get up, drink some water, stretch, and take an aspirin with me. 😅 Happy Friday!

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Sam Erde @samerde.day3bits.com · 07/07/2025

I started making a new #PowerShell module over the weekend. What do you think it might do? 👨‍💻 #DLLPickle 🤣

A stressed pickle trying to explain their code problem to a rubber duck.

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Sam Erde @samerde.day3bits.com · 02/07/2025

The Microsoft Entra PowerShell module has been updated to 1.0.9 with fixes for several functions. 🧑‍💻 Have you replaced your AzureAD and MSOL scripts with this yet? github.com/microsoft... #EntraID #PowerShell

Update-PSResource -Name 'Microsoft.Entra'
# or
Install-PSResource -Name 'Microsoft.Entra'

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Sam Erde @samerde.day3bits.com · 01/07/2025

Don't sleep on unused features that you're licensed for! #Copilot #M365

A chat with Copilot for Microsoft 365:

Me: Please summarize the key items that I need to follow up on or be aware of from the past two weeks that I was on vacation.

Copilot: Welcome back! Here's a comprehensive summary of the key items you need to follow up on or be aware of from the past two weeks (June 16–July 1) while you were on vacation. This summary is based on 80 emails, 4894 chat messages, 35 meetings, and multiple files and transcripts reviewed across your projects and teams.

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Sam Erde @samerde.day3bits.com · 29/06/2025

Quick note: GitHub repo descriptions don’t support markdown (but the readme obv does).

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Sam Erde @samerde.day3bits.com · 28/06/2025

So great to finally meet up with my good friend, teammate, and fellow PowerShell MVP for some sushi and ramen tonight! This guy is real! 🤘 Thanks, @devclate.bsky.social!

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Sam Erde @samerde.day3bits.com · 21/06/2025

I've been a bit MIA here and on my blog for the past few months. Major home renovations have taken up most of my free time, but I'm getting back in the groove, baby!

"We're back!" (Even though there's only one of me.)

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