iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Sam Connell @samuelconnell.3i.social · 26/07/2026

A shoutout today to Big Island Coffee Roasters. Been deeply enjoying their Hawaiian Harmony this week, with both Maui and Kaʻū beans in a fantastic blend. Mostly been drinking in my daily flat white, but this Sunday morning mug called for a longer immersion brew, courtesy of the Aeropress. #coffesky

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Sam Connell @samuelconnell.3i.social · 26/07/2026

I finally got my first perfect game. Thank you @johngreensbluesky.bsky.social for making this good bit of daily fun for the community! And a special shoutout to @hankgreen.bsky.social for the simple joy of my new daily 4x3. hankgreen.com/smush · Jul 26 756 pts · PERFECT 💯 · 19-day streak 🥞🥞🥞 🥞⭐🥞 🥞🥞🥞

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Sam Connell @samuelconnell.3i.social · 22/07/2026

Every once in a while, I'll land on a latte art moment that works. 99% of these ones are immediately drunk and the joy is consumed in the process. Every once in a while, a photo is taken, but I don't spend much time documenting my own life these days. Intentional peaceful old man approach to living.

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Sam Connell @samuelconnell.3i.social · 22/07/2026

What is your current coffee daily driver? For many years, I rocked a true value proposition aeropress, and enjoyed it. Four years ago, I finally invested in an espresso machine, and I must say, I enjoy that more. Starting my morning with a flat white hits the sweet spot for a daily driver. #coffee

Flat white with craptastic tulip latte art.

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Sam Connell @samuelconnell.3i.social · 16/07/2026

I ❤️ ExM coupled with ASLM. 0.7NA sheets are the 💩! Nice work y'all! "...ASLM mode provided isotropic high-resolution volumetric imaging with a raw resolution of ~0.45 µm, corresponding to an estimated effective biological resolution of ~100 nm after 4x expansion and ~30 nm after 16x expansion."

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Sam Connell @samuelconnell.3i.social · 08/07/2026

Almost as ugly as the vibram shoe thingies that some folks thought were the answer to many questions, but actually just raised many, many more questions. At least these shoe devices weren't pretending to be dainty ballet slipper flats that you could rock with business casual attire.

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Sam Connell @samuelconnell.3i.social · 28/06/2026

Photo credit below to my 3i colleague, Dan Giardina. Dan was at Mount Desert Island earlier this month for Light Sheet Fluorescence Microscopy (now with Simon Watkins at the helm) as he bookends this course with QFM. In case y'all needed some eye candy reminders of why you too should head to Acadia!

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Sam Connell @samuelconnell.3i.social · 28/06/2026

Eighteen years ago, I attended the Quantitative Fluorescence Microscopy Course, run by Simon Watkins and Dave Piston, at Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory in Maine. Adjacent to Acadia National Park, my wife and 4 year old son wisely came along - we discovered popovers at Jordan Pond House.

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Sam Connell @samuelconnell.3i.social · 26/06/2026

I had that same problem recently when a chair I had for 15 years stopped chairing the way I had grown to expect my chair to chair. I replaced it with a chair I do love and the cushion rocks and it does way more delightful things than I need it to do. I bought this Ergonomic Chair Pro from Branch. 🪑

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Sam Connell @samuelconnell.3i.social · 06/06/2026

2nd 20-0 crew, while watching the #Padres stink it up yet again.

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Sam Connell @samuelconnell.3i.social · 05/06/2026

Mark Nepo wrote this great book during/after a hard core cancer journey. Highly recommend this one for moments of real suffering, just like this.

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Sam Connell @samuelconnell.3i.social · 05/06/2026

Yes, of course I was fully listening during our HR Open Enrollment Benefits meeting at lunch...and I managed to roll a 20-0 Super Bowl champ squad.

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Sam Connell @samuelconnell.3i.social · 04/06/2026

Oddly enough, for this collection of players to be the one I landed on to hit 82-0 is kinda disappointing. I low-key hate both of these guards, not for their skills, but for how they conduct themselves on and off the court. That being said, lower joy than anticipated. www.82-0.com/share?id=Xbr...

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Sam Connell @samuelconnell.3i.social · 04/06/2026

OK...81-1 - as close as you can get without hitting it out of the park. But seriously, this is a squad.

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Sam Connell @samuelconnell.3i.social · 02/06/2026

OK, this silliness is good clean fun. 75-7, could have landed higher if I hadn't needed to grab 1980's Brooklyn shooting guard extraordinaire Mike Newlin.

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Sam Connell @samuelconnell.3i.social · 02/06/2026

70-12 first time through. It's silly fun though! I'll swing back and try again for sure.

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Sam Connell @samuelconnell.3i.social · 24/05/2026

Breakfast of champions today. I prefer classic all butter pie crusts - when I noticed the arrival of some graham crackers in the cabinet this week, the mind began to wander to creative uses. This here key lime pie was delightful with a flat white by its side. www.brianlagerstrom.com/recipes/key-...

Key lime pie, topped with whipped cream and bright green lime zest.

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Sam Connell @samuelconnell.3i.social · 02/05/2026

Alex, I hear you my man - I love them mangoes. The bromelain in these guys is....well having a noticeable affect on my mouth this afternoon. It's also keeping me moving a bit as I keep finding myself walking downstairs to grab another handful.

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Sam Connell @samuelconnell.3i.social · 13/04/2026

Maybe the White Sox can provide an offering? It's a bit early for the official giveaway, but...an overnight delivery of the prototype?

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Sam Connell @samuelconnell.3i.social · 03/04/2026

On a related note, I also recently teleported to the Nice Jazz Festival in my mind in July of 1990 where my teenage arse had the distinct pleasure of seeing Ray Charles perform. Definitely worth repeating as the only CD for the soundtrack for the rest of my days.

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Sam Connell @samuelconnell.3i.social · 26/03/2026

Dude...I haven't timed or tested in ~40 years. I also realized while doing so, I may also want a new clickety-clackety keyboard. I took a typing class on actual typewriters in middle school and hit about 125 WPM if memory serves where my little car roamed on the board at the front of the class.

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Sam Connell @samuelconnell.3i.social · 11/03/2026

This test is long...but kind of fun.

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Sam Connell @samuelconnell.3i.social · 10/03/2026

Well...there's this here book that y'all may or may not have heard of, or else I could answer your question in an entirely different way...and point you at your friend and mine, @johnfugelsang.bsky.social or maybe @mollyjongfast.bsky.social should have you both on her podcast at the same time.

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Sam Connell @samuelconnell.3i.social · 05/03/2026

I've made a fair amount of Roman style pizza di patate, and I am a big fan. Takes some work to get the cook right (precook the spuds), but it opens up the pizza to all different combinations of elements that taste great with potatoes! This one has crispy bacon in the mix - rosemary can be a delight.

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Sam Connell @samuelconnell.3i.social · 27/02/2026

Shoutout to Tatz Murakami et al in Nat Heintz's Lab at The Rock: AI-driven whole-brain cell mapping with highly multiplexed in situ hybridization. On behalf of the whole team at 3i, thrilled to see our CTLS rigs producing novel 3D datasets. Outstanding Paper y'all! www.cell.com/neuron/fullt...

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Sam Connell @samuelconnell.3i.social · 27/02/2026

Post a pic you took, no context, to bring some zen to the feed. A quick scroll serendipitously handed me this literal zazen poem written by my dad, in his Sierras church, a few decades ago. So I choose to add context and alter the arbitrary rules to place this poem on the altar of this zen feed.

Poem titled Grizzly Lake: Melting snow at the water line Daniel and I, warmed by our hike, dive right in. On the cliffs above he shows me a natural granite altar a sitting place for one and miles of snow-washed beauty. feeling invited, I sit zazen dive right in. Daniel gathers Arnica for the aches of friends smiles in the meadow below. I gather mountains. Even Han-shan had a companion.

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Sam Connell @samuelconnell.3i.social · 14/02/2026

1973 Volvo 145 - from the year I was born. My mom had another orange one a number of years later. I actually learned to drive in a 1977 Honda Accord...not a hot hatch, but absolutely a hatchback. I inherited this one - drove it until head gasket demise. Grateful to drive the hills in San Francisco.

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Sam Connell @samuelconnell.3i.social · 12/01/2026

I'd like to introduce you directly to Albus Dumbledog, the white wizard puppo. Named by a middle schooler who grew up immersed in the genre and longed for a very good boy with a very good name to be a very good companion through the darkness and light in this domain.

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Sam Connell @samuelconnell.3i.social · 01/01/2026

A blind squirrel finds a nut! I never technically "practice" latte art in any extended sessions, beyond the singular drink I'm about to consume or serve. But I do harbor an interest in having the capacity to put some tasty microfilm on top of a flat white - if it also makes one smile, it's a bonus!

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Sam Connell @samuelconnell.3i.social · 29/12/2025

Lots of my cooking over the holidays comes from family requests. This one is a shoutout to our 21 year old son, home from college for a break and what a blessing to have him here. He wanted a loaf to bring over to his GF's house to share as an act of kindness. One boule for us - one batard for them.

Two loaves of sourdough bread, a round boule on the left and an oval batard on the right. Both loaves are on a wooden cutting board.

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Sam Connell @samuelconnell.3i.social · 27/12/2025

A bundt cake ornament inspired a request for...well a bundt cake. When life gives you lemons and a humble request for bundt cake, lemon bundt cake to the rescue! This heart-shaped cake is dedicated to the Big Love of my Mother in Law & Father in Law (who just passed) who met in high school. #foodsky

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Sam Connell @samuelconnell.3i.social · 19/12/2025

The number 1 movie when you were ten years old will define your 2026. (I like it!)

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Sam Connell @samuelconnell.3i.social · 19/12/2025

Cinnamon Raisin Sourdough out of the oven this morning. Only made this guy once before, but with more family around, diversity of bread choices is a fun game for the baker in the clan. Spent plenty of time proofing (including overnight fridge) as the 200 grams of raisins was bound to weigh it down.

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Sam Connell @samuelconnell.3i.social · 04/12/2025

I have this version of the vinyl...and I totally agree.

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Sam Connell @samuelconnell.3i.social · 23/11/2025

A movie that takes place where you're from

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Sam Connell @samuelconnell.3i.social · 17/11/2025

What perfect album came out the year you turned 16?

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Sam Connell @samuelconnell.3i.social · 14/11/2025

Post a bird to support @sbworkersunited.org and warn your followers not to buy Starbucks for the duration of the strike. Searched "bird" in Photos & this seagull from Brannan Street Park in San Francisco asked to come and help out. He's been quietly chilling waiting to get to work for a decade.

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Sam Connell @samuelconnell.3i.social · 13/11/2025

What a crazy cool paper! First author @pierreucla.bsky.social with a large crew knocked it out of the park. (GIF below from @the.3i.social LLS) Quantifying cell traction forces at the single-fiber scale in 3D: An approach based on deformable photopolymerized fiber arrays www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

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Sam Connell @samuelconnell.3i.social · 11/11/2025

Happy Veterans Day to my favorite Vet. He traded Navy ROTC to pay his way through Berkeley (Bio + Physics) -eventually GI Bill paid for Med School after his service ended. Photos in one of his custom wheelchair(s) provided by the VA a few years before he passed from progressive supranuclear palsy.⚓

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Sam Connell @samuelconnell.3i.social · 28/10/2025

Very cool collaborative work between multiple groups across three institutions. Shoutout to @rhodamine110.bsky.social and his crew along with longtime @the.3i.social community @so-lets-kilab70.bsky.social for deploying 3i's #latticelightsheet for some particularly elegant chromatin microscopy. 🔥🔬🧠🧬🥽

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Sam Connell @samuelconnell.3i.social · 10/10/2025

Hear me out on this one. Made poke recently with steelhead loin - a surprisingly epic addition to the poke protein arsenal. Salmon adjacent, just less salmony, with super clean brininess and great mouthfeel. 11/10 would recommendo. Hit me up if you'd like the steelhead dealer.

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Sam Connell @samuelconnell.3i.social · 09/10/2025

....and a 3i customer visiting Heidelberg from Australia kindly sent me this photo of Nicole and @dvonwangenheim.bsky.social busy talking about microscopy with a handful of visitors to our booth.

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Sam Connell @samuelconnell.3i.social · 29/09/2025

Who knew today was National Coffee Day? Whelp, pretty much every day is coffee day on my calendar. Most of the time, I make a flat white, with occasional larger latte drinks, and a times smaller cortados. Iced drinks of various ilk also happen for others in the casa. How do y'all take your #coffee?

Flat white drink with a hack attempt at rosetta latte art.

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