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SpookJ 👻

@SnoopJ.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy
116 followers 15 following 2.2K posts

Hi, I'm James. Eternal dilettante and purveyor of nonsense, much of it about #Python, physics, and #cycling. I tend to info-dump about #Unicode if you get me started. I […] 🌉 bridged from ⁂ hachyderm.io/@SnoopJ, follow @ap.brid.gy to interact

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SpookJ 👻 @snoopj.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy · 19/10/2026
tonight's play session involved me dedicating myself to carrying the clock around for a full day/night cycle and marking the in-game time of sunrise and sunset. this is not particularly useful information for our style of play, but anyway, here's a candid of that process in process
Widescreen screenshot of Big Walk, showing a player character looking down at a clock in their hands during the night time. Someone is shining a flashlight in their general direction, illuminating the area and the clock face.
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SpookJ 👻 @snoopj.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy · 19/10/2026
rarely have I had so much fun in a video game doing so much nothing
Wide-FOV screenshot of Big Walk, showing 4 players, all sitting in beach chairs. Three of the players hold another player's beach chair, creating a very silly-looking arc, and the fourth player (me!) holds a megaphone above their head.
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SpookJ 👻 @snoopj.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy · 17/10/2026
E G G
Screenshot of Animal Well, showing 52 eggs in the egg vault, with empty spaces for 12 eggs.
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SpookJ 👻 @snoopj.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy · 13/10/2026
Based "Major" Kusanagi #TheGhostInTheShell
Still-frame from THE GHOST IN THE SHELL (2026), close-up of KUSANAGI Motoko driving a car, speaking to Aramaki who is in the back seat off-camera. She says: "A lifestyle that prioritizes consumerism is the real act of violence against impoverished countries."
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SpookJ 👻 @snoopj.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy · 12/10/2026
Huhhhh, I've never previously noticed definition (6)
Kanji Study entry for the character 星 (star)

Entry 6 is: "perp, perpetrator, culprit, offender, suspect (slang) (police slang;  often written as ホシ)"
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SpookJ 👻 @snoopj.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy · 11/10/2026
Going to miss #Monsterdon this weekend because I'm visiting family, but I managed to say hello to Goji-san at least.
Photo of a Godzilla pinball table
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SpookJ 👻 @snoopj.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy · 09/10/2026
I'm tired, boss
Photo of a car touchscreen, showing options for a voice assistant

Toyota voice 
Listen for "Hey Toyota"
Reduced responses
Notifications
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SpookJ 👻 @snoopj.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy · 09/10/2026
Taking advantage of the travel to watch the rest of #TheGhostInTheShell, since I kinda fell off while it was premiering
Photo on-board an Amtrak Acela, a tablet resting on the table is playing The Ghost in the Shell
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SpookJ 👻 @snoopj.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy · 09/10/2026
First time on the Avelia (next-gen Acela) today, you can almost mistake it for civilized rail on the stretch just outside of Boston. Doesn't last long at all, though, once you hit Connecticut you're basically at Northeast Regional speeds anyway 😭
Screenshot of a GPS readout showing an instantaneous speed of 158 mph.
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SpookJ 👻 @snoopj.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy · 07/10/2026
I finally got to play with these tiles last weekend, it was fun! They definitely handle differently but there wasn't really any trouble. Well, aside from the fact that there aren't dedicated 500-point tenbou, so we were all drowning in 100-point sticks. Haven't […] [Original post on hachyderm.io]
Player POV shot of a game of riichi mahjong, being played on a tile set with bamboo backs. The player has just revealed their winning hand. A red 0p is the last discard. Winning hand (0 = red five) is:

33p 444m 340s 678 406m
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SpookJ 👻 @snoopj.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy · 05/10/2026
for reference
Official Mahjong Soul character art of Ichi-hime making an excited gremlin face and saying 【!絶好調!】 ("superb!")】
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SpookJ 👻 @snoopj.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy · 05/10/2026
not SakuKoko but drawing Sakuna-hime like Ichi-hime is a very good bit too www.pixiv.net/en/artworks/85910352 #SakunaOfRiceAndRuin #天穂のサクナヒメ #MahjongSoul
Drawing of Sakuna-hime in the style of Ichi-hime from Mahjong Soul, making an exaggerated gremlin face and saying 【!高貴な血!】(lit. "noble blood")
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SpookJ 👻 @snoopj.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy · 05/10/2026
www.pixiv.net/en/artworks/121738084 #SakunaOfRiceAndRuin #天穂のサクナヒメ
Fan art of Kokorowa-hime and Sakuna-hime, drunk on sake and lying on the floor. Kokorowa is babbling about beautiful women (【びくんっ♥ ぴくっ♥】) and Sakuna is mildly confused
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SpookJ 👻 @snoopj.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy · 05/10/2026
www.pixiv.net/en/artworks/86039824 #SakunaOfRiceAndRuin #天穂のサクナヒメ
Fan art of Sakuna-hime and Kokorowa-hime embracing and crying (Sakuna loudly, Kokorowa gently)
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SpookJ 👻 @snoopj.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy · 05/10/2026
www.pixiv.net/en/artworks/122458299 #SakunaOfRiceAndRuin #天穂のサクナヒメ
Fan art of Sakuna-hime and Kokorowa-hime
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SpookJ 👻 @snoopj.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy · 05/10/2026
man, reflowing UI is so cool
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SpookJ 👻 @snoopj.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy · 02/10/2026
[letters from the dating front] .
Table-level photo of the interior of a coffee shop, a barista in a touk pulls espresso in the background while customers wait. A mug with a coffee (including foam art) rests among several other drinking vessels.

Dark Souls style text overlaid reads "DATE SCHEDULED"
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SpookJ 👻 @snoopj.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy · 02/10/2026
test post please ignore
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SpookJ 👻 @snoopj.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy · 02/10/2026
PARDON?
Screenshot of text where the word "leaf-peeing" has been circled and a question mark drawn next to it

Plus, it's almost peak leaf-peeing season in the Boston area. Check out [this foliage map] from the state's Department of Conservation and Recreation to see the best time and location to see the colors change.
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SpookJ 👻 @snoopj.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy · 02/10/2026
is that good
Bar plot (ugh) of Anthropic's losses in FY 2023, 2024, 2025 as reported in a leaked copy of their S-1 filing reviewed by Reuters.

FY 2023: -2 bln
FY 2024: -8 bln
FY 2025: -42 bln
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SpookJ 👻 @snoopj.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy · 01/10/2026
Happy "Charles Darwin is poorly today" Day to those who celebrate 165 years ago today, Charles Darwin was having a rough one
Photo of Charles Darwin's hand-written journal entry from 1 Oct 1861 and digitized text of same

"But I am very poorly today and very stupid and hate everybody and everything."
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SpookJ 👻 @snoopj.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy · 01/10/2026
...?
Screenshot of an online form

Shipping address

Country/Region (United States)

First name (optional)

Last name
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SpookJ 👻 @snoopj.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy · 30/09/2026
hey quick question why is apod.nasa.gov suddenly serving an SSL certificate pointing to a domain for an "AI agent-ready enterprise content platform" that looks like Wordpress plus sprinkles for the brain-dead?
SSL certificate pointing to go-vip.co
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SpookJ 👻 @snoopj.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy · 29/09/2026
[maths about jellybeans] @ifixcoinops assuming an infinite supply of jellybeans and uniform probability of any given flavor, the chance of drawing the same combination of m flavors in a single pull is 1/49^m (i.e. 49^m combinations, only one of which is *your* […] [Original post on hachyderm.io]
Semi-log plot of "Probability of jellybean sadness" against "Number of pulls (5p each").

The probability of sadness begins at almost exactly 1.0 and begins to fall somewhere around 10 million pulls before bottoming out around 1 billion pulls. A red horizontal line marks the 10% sadness point.
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SpookJ 👻 @snoopj.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy · 27/09/2026
#BigWalk is an insufferably cute game. 12/10 I hope everybody learns the right lessons from its incredible sense of verisimilitude and immersion.
Screenshot of the video game Big Walk, one person holds up a paper map while two others point at it with laser pointersScreenshot of the video game Big Walk, a group photo of 4 people standing on some rocks overlooking a brushy plain.
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SpookJ 👻 @snoopj.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy · 26/09/2026
and then there's This Fuckin' Thing
Keychron wireless trackball that looks more like a butterfly knife with an orb in the center than it does like a mouse
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SpookJ 👻 @snoopj.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy · 26/09/2026
fortune favors me, my @WEATHERISHAPPENING umbrella arrived just in time for the weather to be happening #Boston #maWX
Photo of a large umbrella printed with the WEATHER IS HAPPENING logoPhoto of a large umbrella printed with the WEATHER IS HAPPENING logo
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SpookJ 👻 @snoopj.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy · 25/09/2026
#TheProdigy show last night in #Boston was pretty great. There were skellingtons. Thank you Mr. Skellington 🙏
Photo of The Prodigy on stage in Boston on 24 September 2026. The group are strongly backlit by stage lights and a massive projection of skeletons having a sword fight in the middle of a fire. It's sick as hell.Photo of The Prodigy on stage in Boston on 24 September 2026. The group are strongly backlit by stage lights and a massive projection of a single skeleton running through fire towards the camera. It's sick as hell.
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SpookJ 👻 @snoopj.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy · 23/09/2026
gonna take that as a 'no', then
Shiram Krishnamurthi (@shriramk@mastodon.social)

With AI tools, I remained on the fence/skeptical until Dec 2025. There has been a genuine technological revolution since then. I wouldn't tell other profs what they should do. But I think it would be hopelessly irresponsible of me, given *my* areas of speciality, to not know or care.

Sandor Spruit (@sandorspruit@mastodon.nl)

@shriramk Could you describe the nature of that technological revolution? What has fundamentally changed?

Shiram Krishnamurthi (@shriramk@mastodon.social)

@sandorspruit Genuine question: have you tried using it
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SpookJ 👻 @snoopj.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy · 23/09/2026
@glyph
Two-panel comic of a guy pouting and crossing his arms, then throwing his arms into the air in frustration and saying "I GUESS"
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SpookJ 👻 @snoopj.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy · 21/09/2026
Software bads
Software Bads

Some errors may arise to to external reasons: bad contanct, power loss, etc. If a sector is not completely or incorrectly written then the device reports an error when reading such sector even there is no physical damage (a software bad). The device is working normally excepting errors when reading some sectors. In such case you should fix the problem source (check if PCB contacts are oxidised, replace wires, provide reliable power, etc.) and continue accessing the device safely if there are no new errors and no other problems (and of course there was no hit, the device is not responding slow, etc.) Anyway it is recommended to make a copy to a healthy disk.
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SpookJ 👻 @snoopj.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy · 18/09/2026
a hell of our own design
screenshot of the Copilot CLI, which has "queued" a /quit action
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SpookJ 👻 @snoopj.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy · 18/09/2026
I think it's a nice rug. I was looking at rugs with even more vibrant (and light) colors but I enjoy the balance this strikes between "looks amazing" and "won't immediately show the faintest bit of dirt" It doesn't have far to go, this importer is in New York.
Photo of a large (9x12) rug with a Shiraz Kilim pattern, with multiple rectilinear borders and a pattern of diamonds builts from squares occupying the center. It is a dark rug primarily composed of reds, yellows, and blacks, but nevertheless stylish.
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SpookJ 👻 @snoopj.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy · 18/09/2026
Finding that copying news for AI is not fair use would solve this prisoners’ dilemma by putting all AI companies, OpenAI and Microsoft included, on an even footing. As Microsoft’s Dr. Glen Weyl put it, compensating creators is “in the best interests of my employer, of my country, and of many other groups I belong to.” SF1657. An illustration from a Microsoft document that is worth a thousand words shows why:

[illustration of Archimedes ("Content Creators") moving the Earth ("Tech Industry") with a lever]
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SpookJ 👻 @snoopj.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy · 18/09/2026
the ancient form of 鼠 is also quite evocative
Screenshot of a Unicode code chart showing the Seal block, filled with ancient forms of east asian glyphs. The ancient forerunner of 鼠 is pictured
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SpookJ 👻 @snoopj.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy · 18/09/2026
(you're not supposed to be able to see that, nobody's font supports that one (1) day after the release, but it will eventually look like this:)
Screenshot of a Unicode code chart showing the Seal block, filled with ancient forms of east asian glyphs. The ancient forerunner of 貓 is pictured
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SpookJ 👻 @snoopj.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy · 17/09/2026
oh thank god
Your Home feed has expired
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SpookJ 👻 @snoopj.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy · 16/09/2026
hey late-state capitalism, how's it going? oh. uh-huh.
40% off is now 50% off
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SpookJ 👻 @snoopj.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy · 16/09/2026
gonna be seeing this shot from AGUIRRE, THE WRATH OF GOD in my dreams. the whole time I was thinking "how the heck did they do this shot" and then IT GOT EVEN BETTER
Still-frame from the opening scene of Werner Herzog's AGUIRRE, THE WRATH OF GOD, showing a long line of conquistadors and their slaves trudging along a Peruvian mountain pass shrouded in mist, filmed from high above. The foreground has just a glimpse of a switchback the line has climbed up, revealing that the camera is placed even higher up and is shooting the far side of a local dip in the terrain.

It is a dizzying and breathtaking shot, and it looks even better in motion as the zoom pulls back.
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SpookJ 👻 @snoopj.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy · 15/09/2026
imagine if we just stuck to the ActivityPub vocabulary and called it Announcing here. I'm going to Announce your post. it is once again time for me to Announce one of my favorite posts. &c
Section 7.11 of the ActivityPub standard, "Announce Activity (sharing)"

 Upon receipt of an Announce activity in an inbox, a server SHOULD increment the object's count of shares by adding the received activity to the shares collection if this collection is present.

NOTE
The Announce activity is effectively what is known as "sharing", "reposting", or "boosting" in other social networks.
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SpookJ 👻 @snoopj.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy · 13/09/2026
bothered to grab my actual camera now that I'm satisfied with the repainted tiles thanks to @WEATHERISHAPPENING for a cozy rainy sunday stream for digital companionship while painting these, it was much less of a slog with da stream going
Close-up photo of mahjong tiles (5m, 5s, 5p), arranged in pairs. One of each of the pair has had its grooves repainted to be all-red, with a bright glossy paint which stands out next to the rich, dark tones of the original coloration. This set is now ready for "red fives" play.
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SpookJ 👻 @snoopj.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy · 13/09/2026
the difference is hard to see on-camera, but it's really important that there's no tint, especially on anything that will be visible when a tile is part of the wall. I went at them with a melamine sponge which I think is not quite abrasive enough, but it did […] [Original post on hachyderm.io]
Photo of some mahjong tiles (5p, 5m, 5s), two of each, one of each pair is repainted red
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SpookJ 👻 @snoopj.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy · 13/09/2026
Still gotta do something about the pink tinge, but that'll work!
Photo of a series of mahjong tiles (5p, 5m, 5s), each of which is shown twice, one in normal colors and one repainted red. There is a faint pink tinge to the tile surface of the repainted tiles
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SpookJ 👻 @snoopj.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy · 12/09/2026
nice
Mahjong tile (5m) resting on a paper towel with some nail polish wiped off on it. The tile has been painted red.
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SpookJ 👻 @snoopj.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy · 12/09/2026
the 80/20 rules holds strong. the 5s is pretty much as done as done is gonna get, there's still a faint red residue but it won't show at all after painting. the 5m is close to done, the rough texture on some of the engraving is just not responsive to anything […] [Original post on hachyderm.io]
Three mahjong tiles (5m, 5p, 5s) laid out on a piece of paper towel next to a pair of needlenose tweezers, a broken sewing needle, and a toothbrush. The paint has been almost entirely removed from the tilesCloseup of a mahjong tile (5p) showing that under the outer circumference of one of the 'dots', a crevice has formed and some green paint has accumulated there.
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SpookJ 👻 @snoopj.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy · 12/09/2026
Screenshot of the game Ruiner, a Hooligan on the street, wearing a cat hood and with a face-painted eye spot and whiskers, sticking her tongue out and hanging her hands like they are paws. She says:

"CATS. Cute Autonomous Transmissin Systems. Spies from Heaven. Find them, jack in, pull the data, get back to me. We'll split any Karma or intel you find."
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SpookJ 👻 @snoopj.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy · 12/09/2026
okay let's see what this is all about
Screenshot of the main menu of the game Ruiner
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SpookJ 👻 @snoopj.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy · 11/09/2026
gonna have a go at repainting the fives this weekend. the acetone doesn't harm the tile surface and it's working well on the paint, so I'll leave these dunked for now and have a go at them under magnification later
Photo of some mahjong tiles (5p, 5m, 5s) on a paper towel. Parts of the paint have been dissolved away, leaving behind the blank engraving ready for repainting.Close-up photo of some mahjong tiles (5p, 5m, 5s) on a paper towel. Parts of the paint have been dissolved away, leaving behind the blank engraving ready for repainting.
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SpookJ 👻 @snoopj.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy · 09/09/2026
Edit of XKCD #1404, two people walking and discussing over three panels:

1) A: Hear about that "impossible" [LLM feat]?

2) B: Yeah. Let me get this straight—they pumped [$2 trillion] into [the pursuit of knowledge]… and it only twitched a *little*?  A: Yeah.

3) B: *That's* surprising. If you pumped [$2 trillion] into *me*, I'd twitch a *lot*. A: But you're not pushing on the [bounds of human knowledge]. A: I might be. I do a lot of things. B: I guess we can't be sure.
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SpookJ 👻 @snoopj.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy · 08/09/2026
it definitely includes at least one of the excellent renderings of the "roadmaps" that exists on Wikipedia. Probably the one that maps the Basic Multilingual Plane. commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Roa… But ideally […] [Original post on hachyderm.io]
A graphical representation of Unicode's Basic Multilingual Plane (BMP). Each numbered box represents 256 code points. A legend lists defined ranges.
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