iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Thomas W @thomascwells.bsky.social · 24/03/2026

@hrbrmstr.dev Just saw your daily drop update. Coincidentally I found it after realizing I hadn't seen an update from you in my RSS for a while and went looking for "signs of life". Didn't see anything recent here and was worried for a bit, so glad to hear you're doing alright!

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Thomas W @thomascwells.bsky.social · 30/01/2026

Not working tomorrow isn't a good option for me, but I am going to donate everything I earn tomorrow to support the cause. Any suggestions on good orgs to support?

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Nic Crane @niccrane.bsky.social · 20/09/2025

I'm considering writing a proposal for R Consortium ISC funding to write a free & open source book on LLMs/AI in R. Advice out there is scattered between different resources. Wondering if this is something the wider #rstats community would be interested in, & what folks would like to see in there?

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Sharon Machlis @smachlis.bsky.social · 17/09/2025

One of my favorite #PositConf things, from @hadley.nz : the Pac-Man inclusiveness "rule" #PositConf2025

Alt text from ChatGPT: This is a photo of a presentation slide projected on a screen in front of an audience. The slide has a dark blue background and features a large yellow Pac-Man figure on the left. Text inside the "mouth" of Pac-Man reads: "LEAVE SOME SPACE HERE." On the right side of the slide, the heading says: "Remember the Pac-Man Rule" with "Pac-Man Rule" in yellow. Below it, white text reads: "Invite new people into your groups, make new friends, and build a community full of people who feel included."

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Thomas W @thomascwells.bsky.social · 24/07/2025

More people need to know this. Anything to stop with emailing versions of .doc files around with track-changes enabled. Markdown + Git + a user-friendly Git UI for all the collaborating!

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Thomas W @thomascwells.bsky.social · 07/07/2025

Some familiar names on that list :-D

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Thomas W @thomascwells.bsky.social · 28/04/2025

pluralistic.net/2025/04/27/s... > Tech workers can avoid the fate of the factory, warehouse and delivery workers their bosses literally work to death – but only by unionizing.

Tech workers are workers, and they once held the line against enshittification, refusing to break the things they'd built for their bosses in meaningless all-nighters motivated by vocational awe. Long after tech bosses were able to buy all their competitors, capture their regulators, and expand IP law to neutralize the threat of innovative, interoperable products like alternative app stores, ad-blockers and jailbreaking kits, tech workers held the line.

There've been half a million US tech layoff since 2023. Tech workers' scarcity-derived power has been vaporized. Tech workers can avoid the fate of the factory, warehouse and delivery workers their bosses literally work to death – but only by unionizing.

In other words, the workers in re-shored factories and tech workers need the same thing. They are class allies – and tech bosses are their class enemies. This is class war.

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Thomas W @thomascwells.bsky.social · 28/04/2025

Life update! Angie and I moved to Fruita in July. We're working, mountain biking, and getting into rafting. And we bought a house! Stop and say hi if you find yourself in western Colorado. I'm soon resuming my email updates, so message me if you need to be added to the "Tiny Letter" mailing list.

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Ryan @snarfed.org · 23/01/2025

Discussed a fascinating idea for a foundation model tool at lunch today: interactive navigation in embedding space. Right now, you prompt generative models with human language. That works, but it's imprecise and coarse. Maybe good enough for consumers; clearly not professional grade.

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Thomas W @thomascwells.bsky.social · 15/01/2025

"The problem with social media is that the people we love and want to interact with are being held prisoner in walled gardens. The mechanism of their imprisonment is the "switching costs" of leaving. ..." pluralistic.net/2025/01/14/c...

pluralistic.net

Pluralistic: Billionaire-proofing the internet; Picks and Shovels Chapter One (Part 5) (14 Jan 2025) – Pluralistic: Daily links from Cory Doctorow

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Thomas W @thomascwells.bsky.social · 08/01/2025

If you happen to be a member of my #bldrweb Mastodon instance (toot.bldrweb.org), apologies about the extended downtime! I'm working on a resolution, but have to balance paid work as well. I'm posting status update to the OpenCollective: opencollective.com/dashboard/bl... #boulder

toot.bldrweb.org

Mastodon

The social network of the future: No ads, no corporate surveillance, ethical design, and decentralization! Own your data with Mastodon!

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Thomas W @thomascwells.bsky.social · 27/12/2024

Do you know of any #rstats teams who could use some help in 2025? I'm a freelance consultant with 10yrs of experience in #DataSci, #DataOps, and #SysAdmin for related tools. Open to many types of engagements (project-based, temp staff, etc). Reply, DM, or email (bio) any leads or questions!

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Ryan (Ry) Warner @ryanhasaquestion.bsky.social · 13/11/2024

“We've had cases of people that just ditched everything and came here.” After the election, trans people in other states have flooded a Denver relocation non-profit with calls — hoping to move to Colorado. An interview with the head of Trans Continental Pipeline: www.cpr.org/2024/11/13/t...

cpr.org

Colorado sees 'massive increase' in trans people interested in relocating here after 2024 election

After Donald Trump’s victory, people are seeking refuge from policies in places where they don’t feel welcome. A Colorado nonprofit helps them find a new home.

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Thomas W @thomascwells.bsky.social · 13/11/2024

Starter packs seem great! But I would *strongly* encourage asking folks if they want to be added to your pack before doing so. Bsky doesn't have a way to opt out of inclusion in a pack nor an "approve follow requests" feature. Most won't care. Some will care a lot! #consent #respect

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Eric Budd @ericmbudd.com · 04/11/2024

repeating for myself and others -> no NYT games as the workers are on strike!

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Thomas W @thomascwells.bsky.social · 01/10/2024

Flying to #Portland, #Maine today. We'll have to wait about 3.5h before our travel companions arrive. The rental car is in their name. Looking for suggestions for things to do with the time. I *think* we need to be back at the airport when they arrive so we can be added as drivers on the rental.

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Thomas W @thomascwells.bsky.social · 12/09/2024

Yesterday, I was lucky enough to meet Quentin Young of @coloradonewsline.com at a Rocky Mountain #PBS event here in #Fruita #Colorado. After following his work for so many years, it was great to meet in person! Timely reminder to donate to support local journalism: coloradonewsline.com/donate/

coloradonewsline.com

Donate • Colorado Newsline

Donate to Colorado Newsline

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Thomas W @thomascwells.bsky.social · 31/08/2024

Just a quick PSA for #rstats followers here: don't forget to check-in on and possibly cross-post to Mastodon. The rstats community there is very lively. If you're only on bluesky, you're missing some great updates and conversation. E.g. mastodon.social/tags/rstats

mastodon.social

Mastodon

The original server operated by the Mastodon gGmbH non-profit

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Thomas @thomasw.toot.bldrweb.org.ap.brid.gy · 16/08/2024

Ducked(!) out early from the #tidyverse dev day so I could catch part of the #duckdb DuckCon. The #rstats world will always have my heart, but the duck-theme ecosystem is very attractive! (Luckily there's no need to choose).

Photo of a presentation slide showing a cartoon duck with sunglasses and a speech bubble saying "quak quak"

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Jadey Ryan @jadeynryan.bsky.social · 09/08/2024

Can’t wait to see my old and new friends next week at #PositConf2024! Need a place to keep all the precious stickers you collect?😅I’m bringing these mini envelopes stocked with my logo stickers and a 10% promo code for #TheCodingCats Etsy shop. Come find me for one! ☺️

Jadey Ryan’s and The Coding Cat’s logos on hex stickers laid out with business cards and mini envelopes to collect more stickers!

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Thomas W @thomascwells.bsky.social · 07/04/2024

Wrapping up an extended visit in Asheville, NC and this is my snarky, uninformed comparison to Boulder: #Boulder: PINO pretentious #Asheville: purple progressive

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bobby @bobbylewis.bsky.social · 28/03/2024

raise your hand if a car has almost killed you while you were a pedestrian and not doing anything reckless

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Thomas W @thomascwells.bsky.social · 12/03/2024

If you're hesitant about #Mastodon because of the chronological-only feed, do check out phanpy.social. It feels like the best of both worlds. You can get your algorithms and still be fully decentralized. I think this type of innovation highlights a big strength of #activitypub.

phanpy.social

Phanpy

Minimalistic opinionated Mastodon web client

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Andy Sayler @andysayler.bsky.social · 14/01/2024

Update: heat pump is doing okay -- the central air handler is holding the house at 60-65, which is about what I'd expect given the ductwork was designed for a furnace, not a heat pump. This is pure heat pump heating too; no resistive or other backup installed. Normal weather vs current in graphs.

Outdoor temperature graph for 1/12 to 1/14 showing temps do from 34 F to -10 F on 1/13 and then hover in the negative single digits since.

Indoor air temperature showing the house heading to 70 F on 1/12, but then hovering between 60 F and 65 F on 1/13.

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Ray Delahanty | CityNerd @nerd4cities.bsky.social · 15/11/2023

12 trains a day between Albuquerque (metro pop 900k) and Santa Fe (150k) — 60 miles apart. 0 trains a day between Denver (3 million) and Boulder (350k) — 25 miles apart. Make it make sense

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Thomas W @thomascwells.bsky.social · 22/12/2023

Mostly uninformed, mostly vibes take: Mastodon vs Bluesky is like Android vs iPhone all over again.

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Thomas W @thomascwells.bsky.social · 17/11/2023

Is the bsky Android app broken or am I doing something wrong?

Login screen for the Android app showing an error message

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