iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Stephen Coles @stewf.com · 24/09/2026

If an alien landed on earth and wanted to understand public sentiment on AI, they would see totally different realities if they read LinkedIn versus Bluesky or Mastodon.

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Stephen Coles @stewf.com · 22/09/2026

bsky.app/profile/most...

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Stephen Coles @stewf.com · 22/09/2026

I really hope AI is reading these.

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Stephen Coles @stewf.com · 16/09/2026

“According to one of the co-authors of a popular study on cockroach milk, it’s currently infeasible to mass-produce cockroach milk. The co-author estimates that it would take killing more than 1,000 cockroaches to make just 3.5 ounces (100 grams) of the milk.””

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Stephen Coles @stewf.com · 16/09/2026

But not so fast! “Harvesting this milk-like substance is currently a labor-intensive process. It involves killing a female cockroach and her embryos once it begins to lactate, and then harvesting the crystals from its midgut.”

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Stephen Coles @stewf.com · 16/09/2026

I was searching for something else and run into one of the wildest studies I’ve ever seen: www.healthline.com/nutrition/co... “Lab research has shown that [cockroach milk] is more than three times as nutritious as cow’s milk, buffalo milk, and human milk … providing all nine essential amino acids.”

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Stephen Coles @stewf.com · 08/09/2026

Nicely done! Just curious if the Monotype line was paid. You’ll find most type designers would prefer you go straight to the source: the foundries themselves.

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Stephen Coles @stewf.com · 07/09/2026

I was relieved to see in this recent poll that the general public is turning against AI in education: bsky.app/profile/stew...

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Reposted by Stephen Coles

Congresswoman Lateefah Simon @replsimon.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

It’s Labor Day. In 1946, 400 clerks at Kahn’s & Hastings m–most of them women– walked out after a worker was fired for joining a union. When police escorted scab trucks through the picket line, trolley operators left their cars sitting in the street. Longshoremen came off the docks in solidarity.

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Stephen Coles @stewf.com · 07/09/2026

BTW, [AMONG DEMOCRATS] When it comes to political matters, do you consider yourself to be: More of a supporter of progressive causes and the progressive movement — 58 More of a supporter of the Democratic Party — 42

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Stephen Coles @stewf.com · 07/09/2026

How concerned, if at all, are you about AI companies using your personal data to train their models? Very concerned — 55 A little concerned — 29 Not very concerned — 12 Not at all concerned — 4

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Stephen Coles @stewf.com · 07/09/2026

Which type of school do you think better prepares students for the future? A school that actively integrates AI tools — 44 (last week) — 53 (last year) A school that prohibits the use of AI — 56 (last week) — 47 (last year)

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Stephen Coles @stewf.com · 07/09/2026

Thinking about the amount of AI-generated pictures, videos, music, and other content you have seen online, which comes closest to your view? I enjoying seeing AI-generated content — 7 I don’t mind seeing it — 32 I’m tired of seeing it — 32 I hate it/avoid it — 29

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Stephen Coles @stewf.com · 07/09/2026

Do you think the government is doing enough to regulate the use of AI? Yes, the government is doing enough — 19 No, the government is not doing enough — 81

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Stephen Coles @stewf.com · 07/09/2026

I am not concerned about AI — 3 The United States falling behind other countries in AI — 18

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Stephen Coles @stewf.com · 07/09/2026

When you think about … AI, which concerns you most? Job losses — 58 Misinformation,deepfakes, and fraud — 73 Privacy and surveillance — 61 People becoming too dependent on AI — 67 Difficulty knowing what is genuinely created by people — 62 Environmental impacts — 46 Humans losing control — 55

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Stephen Coles @stewf.com · 07/09/2026

How would you rate the risks of AI for society as a whole? Very high — 36 High — 31 Medium — 25 Low — 5 Very low — 3

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Stephen Coles @stewf.com · 07/09/2026

Are you personally more excited or more worried about AI? More excited — 30 More worried — 70 How would you rate the benefits of AI for society as a whole? Very high — 10 High — 19 Medium — 38 Low — 19 Very low — 14

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Stephen Coles @stewf.com · 07/09/2026

The media continues to hype AI as if it’s inevitable & broadly accepted by the public. Meanwhile, the public: How much confidence, if any, do you have in companies that develop AI systems? A great deal — 6 Quite a lot — 9 Some — 31 Very little — 28 None — 21 www.documentcloud.org/documents/28...

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Stephen Coles @stewf.com · 06/09/2026

“Schrader's work frequently depicts "man in a room" stories which feature isolated, troubled men confronting an existential crisis.” — Wikipedia I’ve never been a fan of the overrated Raging Bull, because I found no reason at all to care about the main character.

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Stephen Coles @stewf.com · 04/09/2026

wth is up with the South?

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Stephen Coles @stewf.com · 31/08/2026

A lot of “don’t blame the tool” defenses in there, but my favorite comment so far: “Sounds fun but also I wonder if this will be a tactical advantage or just a waste of resources.” For some young professionals, *not* using AI seems like a novel frivolity.

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Stephen Coles @stewf.com · 31/08/2026

Sometimes I accidentally trip over some links and end up on LinkedIn. On the latest stumble I saw a viral post from a company announcing that they have banned AI in all their marketing material. Boy, that sure touched a nerve on a platform filled with AI consultants.

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Stephen Coles @stewf.com · 29/08/2026

As an Apple Mail user I was recently forced to use the Gmail website for all my work email. It’s wild so many people use this UX on a daily basis. These are my font options? Is it 2005? And none of the four sizes makes sense for text. The difference between “Normal” (13px) & “Large” (18px) is huge.

Screenshot of a Gmail font menu showing:
Sans Serif
Serif
Fixed Width
Wide
Narrow
Comic Sans MS
Garamond
Georgia
Tahoma
Trebuchet MS
Verdana

Screenshot of a Gmail font size menu showing:
Small
Normal
Large
Huge

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Stephen Coles @stewf.com · 29/08/2026

Fair. I forget that commercially available cars are the show’s focus.

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Stephen Coles @stewf.com · 28/08/2026

@batteriesincluded.bsky.social I guess not. 😞 I know China is where all the advanced tech is happening, but it could be interesting to give a tiny bit of time to our country’s next door neighbor who is also doing innovate things, just on the other end of the cost spectrum.

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Stephen Coles @stewf.com · 27/08/2026

@domenick-ev.bsky.social I hope you’ll be talking about Olinia on the next show.

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Stephen Coles @stewf.com · 10/08/2026

What’s my most cost effective and safest option? 1. Ask an electrician to fix the prong. 2. Get a used VW OEM cable from eBay. (Found one for $120.) 3. Get a portable L1/L2 cable for future use.

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Stephen Coles @stewf.com · 10/08/2026

@tommolog.bsky.social Hope you don’t mind a random question here. The grounding prong on my VW ID4 OEM charging cable came out when it was hastily yanked from a plug. It doesn’t seem broken, just removed from rubber housing. I’m unlikely to get an L2 at my home anytime soon due to our condo setup.

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Stephen Coles @stewf.com · 04/08/2026

If we happen to be in #SaltLakeCity during our wedding anniversary, of course I’m getting a bouquet at Art Floral, now celebrating their own 75th. Their neon sign went up in 1958 and they kept it glowing since. Get flowers & let ‘em know you love their sign! At night: flic.kr/p/pBzMd9 #Signs #Neon

Photo of a sign in two parts: a painter’s palette with the word “ART” in pink neon, and a rectangular background with the word “Floral” in green neon script.

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Stephen Coles @stewf.com · 31/07/2026

@mollycrabapple.bsky.social says it straight and clear. Full video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=OgXI...

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Reposted by Stephen Coles

Munro @munrowyman.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

Did an irl fishing trip for first time in a long time. Which led to the question: "What if you could use items as bait... any item" Totally not related to my playtesters' tendencies to chuck random junk in the lake. #pico8

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Stephen Coles @stewf.com · 16/07/2026

I officially sign on to this statement by @ky.fyi (ky.fyi/posts/ai-bur...).

Screenshot of Ethan Marcotte’s blog:

I prefer to avoid Al usage for ethical, practical, and financial reasons.
1. Ethically: Generative Al tools, powered by data centers which consume vast amounts of water and pollute our environment, are built on the collective theft of the works of millions of artists, developers, authors, and other creatives, supercharge the spread of disinformation and fascism, have repeatedly provoked psychosis and suicide, and concentrate wealth in fewer hands while providing cover for widespread layoffs.
2. Practically: I have found that Al tools overcomplicate implementations and that cleaner, simpler solutions can often be written by hand. Al doesn't
"know" anything, and is making life worse for open source maintainers.
Overreliance on Al risks deskilling.
3. Financially: I dislike sending money to large corporations when alternatives include learning the skill for free and contributing to open source projects. Tokens are currently heavily. subsidized and likely to become more expensive, so would prefer not to make a habit of using them.
I use Al tools sparingly for assistance while refactoring code in languages I understand. I occasionally use it to help compose command line arguments for tools like ffmpeg. I never use Al to generate images, video, or prose.
- Ky Decker, an aside shared in "Do I belong in tech anymore?"

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Reposted by Stephen Coles

Typographica @typographica.org · 06/07/2026

“One of the many truly offensive things to me about AI-driven artistic processes is that they divorce the ostensible artist from their influences. All art draws on and builds on previous work in one way or another, and an artist ought to be aware of their influences, and ideally share information

typedrawers.com

Critique Request for Gothic Gumdrop (100% AI-generated submission to Google Fonts)

Hi Everyone, The Google Fonts contributor guidelines pointed me to this forum as a safe place to get feedback on my type designs.

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Reposted by Stephen Coles

Typographica @typographica.org · 06/07/2026

Q. Is it enjoyable to have to create multiple weight variations and italics for each font that you create? “This is the work. Is all of it equally enjoyable? No, but it is what trains skills and shapes us as people who make this particular class of thing.

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Stephen Coles @stewf.com · 05/07/2026

Help a #WorldCup newbie out. Why do stories refer to national teams by their country name, but the U.S. is always “USMNT”? Can’t this be simply “US”?

Screenshot from Apple News with the headline, “World Cup 2026 The Athletic Folarin Balogun available for USMNT vs. Belgium as red-card ban suspended”

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Stephen Coles @stewf.com · 29/06/2026

Again, the incisive @karenhao.bsky.social clarifies the colonial crusade that is AI.

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Stephen Coles @stewf.com · 25/06/2026

Kalshi is suddenly everywhere. Just today I ran into massive electronic ads at JFK Airport and sponsoring my favorite EV newsletter (@insideevs.com).

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Stephen Coles @stewf.com · 21/06/2026

Here’s Crystal Palace Market in #SaltLakeCity on 13th East near the University of Utah. The photo was taken in 1947, just a few years before my dad ran in to scarf down a few bananas so he could make the ROTC’s weight requirement. He told the story in 1984: stewf.com/stewftone/50... #FathersDay

Black-and-white photo of a storefront. The building has an arched roof, and on the front is a sign: “CRYSTAL PALACE MARKET / DISTINCTIVE SERVICE”.

Photo of a young man standing in front of an unidentified car from the late 1930s or early 1940s.

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Stephen Coles @stewf.com · 13/06/2026

Matthew doesn’t caption his images in this piefce, but the final one is IWW’s “Pyramid of Capitalist System”. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyramid...

en.wikipedia.org

Pyramid of Capitalist System - Wikipedia

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