iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Stephen J. Beard @stephenbeard.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Funny how Combo experiences ONLY happen in cars, no? Has anyone ever eaten them at home or the movies? 🤔

Stephen J. Beard @stephenbeard.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Nah — not unreasonable. That’s something I would not expect going into the experience cold & based solely on the “ramen bar” descriptor.

030

Stephen J. Beard @stephenbeard.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

My brain turned this into "McGriddle," and I'm all like "TWO BITES!"

010

Stephen J. Beard @stephenbeard.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Oompa-Loompas may have been involved with pretzel cane harvesting, but they were unionized and paid full wages, health care & benefits. The Combos brass ain’t monsters.

010

Stephen J. Beard @stephenbeard.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

We’d talked about a documentary of this process, maybe narrated by Attenborough? It’s been a minute since that trip.

010

Stephen J. Beard @stephenbeard.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

*no actual reaearch was harmed in the making of this theory!

010

Stephen J. Beard @stephenbeard.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

It’s been a minute, but it involved harvesting stalks of pure pretzel cane from the fields, a super-involved kiln-drying process and a precise injection of cheese-flavored bird beak slurry into the dried stalks. Chop, package & ship — a classic farm-to-gas station success story! 😂

110

Stephen J. Beard @stephenbeard.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

This is so much milder than what @joetamborello.bsky.social and I imagined for the Combos origin story (also on a road trip, where Combos convos seem to happen naturally).

210

Stephen J. Beard @stephenbeard.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Totally. I also remember getting swallowed up by the California Raisins promotion at Hardee’s.

000

Stephen J. Beard @stephenbeard.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

These look very similar to the style of the “Muppets Babies” happy meal toys … gotta be roughly the same vintage c.1989 (source: I’ve had a couple that have somehow followed me since then)

110

Stephen J. Beard @stephenbeard.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Classic Phase 3 Enshittification, right there. Or maybe 3.7? Lost track a long time ago with Meta.

0290

Stephen J. Beard @stephenbeard.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

Not meant as a slight on the modern & diverse gaming community, but I weaned myself off my video game addiction when disks & cartridges were still a thing. If I were still an avid gamer today, this horseshit would be enough to force me to break the habit, full-stop.

000

Stephen J. Beard @stephenbeard.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

This is cool & fascinating. I wonder what stuff like this could open up in right-to-repair and DRM discussions?

110

Stephen J. Beard @stephenbeard.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

Had this exact beef as a Cubs fan. It was a free subscription via T-Mobile, so not too upset, but it has been pretty much useless to me.

010

Stephen J. Beard @stephenbeard.bsky.social · 19/07/2026

Don’t think I realized Smurfs and Muppet Babies were head-to-head — I distinctly remember watching both! (peeling off from Gummi Bears, with that sweet theme song)

001

Stephen J. Beard @stephenbeard.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

Wordle 1,852 3/6 🟨🟨⬜⬜⬜ 🟩⬜🟨🟨⬜ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Lucky 2nd guess paved way for 3/6, but it was an odd word for sure!

000

Stephen J. Beard @stephenbeard.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

To whomever made it impossible to block “@“ mentions or opt-out from “Everyone” tags from internal colleagues in Microsoft Teams: you’re a monster.

000

Stephen J. Beard @stephenbeard.bsky.social · 21/06/2026

If you wander the right (wrong?) path through our library’s maker space and digital labs, it’s possible to never see a single print book. Wild, but still cool.

020

Stephen J. Beard @stephenbeard.bsky.social · 19/06/2026

But yes, you were among so many cool and interesting people who emerged from that time!

110

Stephen J. Beard @stephenbeard.bsky.social · 19/06/2026

I just want to go back to a simpler time when threads with headers like “Illustrator or Freehand?” and “Anyone going to SND in San Jose?” were my clickbait kryptonite. Before smartphones, I could weigh in, close my browser, and forget about the conversations until the next day.

120

Stephen J. Beard @stephenbeard.bsky.social · 16/06/2026

I wonder how many of them are like me, who very occasionally clicks on something interesting-looking from FB or IG that turns out to be a Threads link? Because that’s the only time I ever visit.

010

Stephen J. Beard @stephenbeard.bsky.social · 08/06/2026

That was my reaction, too, but watching the trailer has me thinking this will stick closer to the books. Loved the 70s series, but it strayed in so many zany ways.

130

Stephen J. Beard @stephenbeard.bsky.social · 07/06/2026

That’s good. I’d add a toss-up between “Confederacy of Dunces” and “Masters of Atlantis.”

010

Stephen J. Beard @stephenbeard.bsky.social · 15/05/2026

But I still take exception with “delicious food!”

010

Stephen J. Beard @stephenbeard.bsky.social · 15/05/2026

*yeah, technically TWO sentences, and yes, I’ve been in a McDonald’s in the past 6 months and get how all of this works.

110

Stephen J. Beard @stephenbeard.bsky.social · 15/05/2026

Noting use of “technologically advanced” & “create jobs” in same sentence above a photo of automated order screens and zero workers.

151

Stephen J. Beard @stephenbeard.bsky.social · 07/05/2026

This just needs a portrait of the “Worst Person You Know” to complete the theme!

120

Stephen J. Beard @stephenbeard.bsky.social · 07/05/2026

Invisible Guy is like a live-action version of NOT ME from the Family Circus!

010

Stephen J. Beard @stephenbeard.bsky.social · 05/05/2026

Just realized this is my sixth straight primary with no newsroom Election Night pizza. 🗳️🍕

000

Stephen J. Beard @stephenbeard.bsky.social · 04/05/2026

Wait, are you showing them … respect???

110

Stephen J. Beard @stephenbeard.bsky.social · 01/05/2026

I wouldn’t want a roundhouse kick to the face from anyone wearing those bad boys, for sure!

0110

Stephen J. Beard @stephenbeard.bsky.social · 22/04/2026

I’d add that its lack of “auto-advance on delete” functionality in iOS is pretty cool, too (in the same way you no doubt meant “cool”). 😎

010

Stephen J. Beard @stephenbeard.bsky.social · 15/04/2026

I ❤️ user-submitted google photo spheres.

A screenshot captured 04/15/26 of a Google Maps photo sphere shows a ghosted image of the top half of a woman and a body-less arm floating in mid-air in a public park.

000

Stephen J. Beard @stephenbeard.bsky.social · 15/04/2026

Took me a couple of seconds of back-and-forth scanning to see it.

010

Stephen J. Beard @stephenbeard.bsky.social · 11/04/2026

Loving every second of the Artemis return coverage. I fist-pumped at this exchange!

010

Stephen J. Beard @stephenbeard.bsky.social · 10/04/2026

Still raging a bit at the “Purple” category. This puzzle wasn’t my favorite, though Gonzo is in my top 3 Muppet characters. Connections Puzzle #1034 🟨🟨🟨🟨 🟪🟪🟪🟪 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟦🟦🟦🟦

010

Stephen J. Beard @stephenbeard.bsky.social · 10/04/2026

The quote could’ve packed an extra punch were it etched in stone at the base of his statue.

010

Stephen J. Beard @stephenbeard.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

And I'd be remiss not to share that the red herring in no way threw me off a purple-first result. Nice try, NYT. :) Connections Puzzle #1026 🟪🟪🟪🟪 🟦🟦🟦🟦 🟨🟨🟨🟨 🟩🟩🟩🟩

000

Stephen J. Beard @stephenbeard.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

I realize, too, that it comes off a bit like Hansel's take on Sting!

020

Stephen J. Beard @stephenbeard.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

Convinced that this google trends snapshot is proportional to the red herring in today's NYT Connections.

Screenshot of a Google Trends list captured at 9:17 a.m. that shows 'cardi' 'drake' and 'stallion' among top searches. Those names were among the clues in the NYT Connections puzzle.

200

Stephen J. Beard @stephenbeard.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

I think I occupy a weird space -- love for Bruce as a human, poet and an American symbol & ideal, but absolutely neutral on his actual music style. We could average that to 'like' I guess. [ducking from the rotten fruit hurled by NJ 🤣]

100

Stephen J. Beard @stephenbeard.bsky.social · 31/03/2026

Wheels are turning up here for a new road snack. I always forget about electric baked biscuits!

010

Stephen J. Beard @stephenbeard.bsky.social · 28/03/2026

They make walks fun! Babybel cheeses are my usual go-to.

110

Stephen J. Beard @stephenbeard.bsky.social · 28/03/2026

I have a years-long tradition of pre-loading my coat with unique snacks — pre-packaged or otherwise — that I just randomly pull from my pocket and offer to my family. My wife documented today’s road snack: a meringue.

130