iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Tom McLaughlin @tmclaugh.bsky.social · 12/10/2026

So if someone is doing this in the US all I can think is either no one did the math OR Americans are that desperate for money. :(

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Tom McLaughlin @tmclaugh.bsky.social · 12/10/2026

So the idea was pretty much to have western software companies spend money on user acquisition that was cheap for them buy relatively sizable to someone in the developing world. And the user could use that money to top off their SIM card.

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Tom McLaughlin @tmclaugh.bsky.social · 12/10/2026

Remember, a decade ago in the US unlimited mobile data wasn’t that common, data could be pricey, and it was people’s secondary means of internet access. But in the developing world it was comparatively even more expensive while also being thar person’s sole means of internet access.

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Tom McLaughlin @tmclaugh.bsky.social · 12/10/2026

Saw an ad for a mobile app similar to the app of a long gone company I worked for way back. Both paid / pay a user to download and use other mobile apps. It’s a form of paid acquisition to boost a mobile app’s metrics. But ours was aimed at the developing world. Make of that what you will.

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Tom McLaughlin @tmclaugh.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Guy next to me looks like a taller Ronnie James Dio. Also aliver.

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Tom McLaughlin @tmclaugh.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

At a show tonight. A Tuesday night Rock music. M And most people here are older than me. WTF?

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Tom McLaughlin @tmclaugh.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

I just spent $45 on t-shirts from a musician I like. But because he’s Canadian I had to pay $25 in duties. Fuck that clown and his trade war with Canada. On the bright side side, I will soon own a shirt that says, “I drive the speed limit cause there’s drugs in the car.” #shockwire

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Tom McLaughlin @tmclaugh.bsky.social · 26/05/2026

Even the burger has regional variations. The most unique I’ve found being: * Connecticut steamed * Oklahoma onion * Wisconsin cannibal sandwich (I’m counting this) * Mississippi slugburger * Iowa loose meat I think their heads would have exploded if I went into regional hot dogs. 🤯 3/

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Tom McLaughlin @tmclaugh.bsky.social · 26/05/2026

They traveled from Liverpool to Amsterdam which is about the distance from Boston to Baltimore. Along the US route I count in food cultures… three major * New England * Tri-state / NYC * Chesapeake two minor * Rhode Island * Connecticut one tangential major * Pennsylvania Dutch 2/

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Tom McLaughlin @tmclaugh.bsky.social · 26/05/2026

I find Europeans lack of comprehension about the size of the US amusing. Brits were asking the hotel concierge about the national dish of Amsterdam and when they learned he was American they made a comment about burgers and fries. We have commonalities but we also have much regional variety. 1/

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Tom McLaughlin @tmclaugh.bsky.social · 26/05/2026

Ever been on a flight and you don’t sleep on planes so you spend two and half hours internet stalking an infamous coworker you had 18 years ago and all you can find is some weird Instagram account that appears to be some local high school kids with some posts making fun of him? No? Me neither.

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Tom McLaughlin @tmclaugh.bsky.social · 17/05/2026

Happy first towing of the GN to all those who celebrate!

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Tom McLaughlin @tmclaugh.bsky.social · 28/04/2026

One thing I like about NY is I can order a gyro, pronounce it with a hard “g”, and no one thinks I’m uncultured.

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Tom McLaughlin @tmclaugh.bsky.social · 28/04/2026

Copilot’s new consumption based billing. I can’t figure out how much my past month’s usage will cost come June 1st. But I can see someone casually using copilot in vscode for a bit and suddenly being all “WTF?!?!”.

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Tom McLaughlin @tmclaugh.bsky.social · 27/04/2026

I’d like to congratulate GitHub for soon taking over the spot from Amazon for, “I tried this service and just got an absurdly high bill. Help! What do I do?”

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Tom McLaughlin @tmclaugh.bsky.social · 13/04/2026

I’ll also add that as a Principal expect a mix of tactical and strategic work. I expect to be valued from input just as much as my output. Any role that’s primarily output I’m just not interested in.

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Tom McLaughlin @tmclaugh.bsky.social · 13/04/2026

The question I think I’ll be asking the most is, “Walk me through the process of delivering a new service here.” I’ll be looking for: 1) person knows and can describe at least a process 2) process is consistent across interviewers More thoughts welcome!

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Tom McLaughlin @tmclaugh.bsky.social · 13/04/2026

Engineering org standards may sound boring but I realize they are fundamental towards enabling high performing engineering teams and organizations. And AI won’t fix this for orgs without them. It’s the orgs with them and are feeding them to agents that I think will see the most success with AI.

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Tom McLaughlin @tmclaugh.bsky.social · 13/04/2026

One thing I’ll be looking for from employers this time is how strongly the Engineering organization is run. Do they have processes and standards all teams are expected to follow? Because I’ve learned you can’t make good tools if no one agrees on what the experience should even be.

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Tom McLaughlin @tmclaugh.bsky.social · 13/04/2026

Decided to start looking for a new role. Preferably Principal or Staff in the Developer Experience space. I love making software delivery a painless and hassle free experience! Sometimes this exists on infra or DevOps teams without it even being named. Providing a good experience is just assumed.

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Tom McLaughlin @tmclaugh.bsky.social · 11/04/2026

Today I had Lenny Clarke tell me he liked my car while we were stopped next to each other at a stop light. This is my most Boston celebrity experience since the time Danny Ainge held the door for me at a 7/11.

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Tom McLaughlin @tmclaugh.bsky.social · 01/04/2026

You in for a treat. www.originalpoopknife.com/pages/the-st...

originalpoopknife.com

Original Poop Knife Story

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Tom McLaughlin @tmclaugh.bsky.social · 01/04/2026

Does anyone have a corporate “poop knife” story? Something you observed or even did that was just batshit outside of a certain employer and nobody even realized it?

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Tom McLaughlin @tmclaugh.bsky.social · 01/04/2026

Oh, no, this was something even more glorious. The Warriors + Escape From New York… and made by Italians. youtu.be/3rdJViqh4UU?si=YvtEN0geGpX…

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Tom McLaughlin @tmclaugh.bsky.social · 28/03/2026

And suddenly that one scene from 1990: The Bronx Warriors suddenly feels way more realistic. If you’ve seen this gem of a movie you know the scene.

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Tom McLaughlin @tmclaugh.bsky.social · 22/03/2026

People re talking about the end of CBS Radio as if they actually listen to news radio.

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Tom McLaughlin @tmclaugh.bsky.social · 21/03/2026

As someone who has always had difficulty with linear learning approaches and does best through inquiry and experimentation Copilot has been amazing for me. Far faster than my typical googling approach.

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Tom McLaughlin @tmclaugh.bsky.social · 16/03/2026

Today I used the term “brain vomit” in a meeting to describe what I’m doing creating CoPilot instruction files.

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Reposted by Tom McLaughlin

Giles Wilkes @gilesyb.bsky.social · 16/03/2026

Someone needs to send an ambulance to X

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Tom McLaughlin @tmclaugh.bsky.social · 04/03/2026

Was just looking for this. Saw about 10 cruisers fly down A St towards Seaport.

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Tom McLaughlin @tmclaugh.bsky.social · 22/02/2026

This incident is hilarious to me because there’s people who think others are dumb for not realizing this was Trump calling in under his typical pseudonym while simultaneously not realizing they’ve problem fallen for an AI or impressionist.

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Tom McLaughlin @tmclaugh.bsky.social · 19/02/2026

If you want to know how online dating is going, I received a message that called my profile refreshing and wholesome. I asked them how so and they said I gave off optimistic vibes about dating and finding someone. Then they deleted their account. 🙃

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Tom McLaughlin @tmclaugh.bsky.social · 07/01/2026

Amused at how much phishing is pretty much just saying, “Hello, my name is Mr. Burns. I believe you have a letter for me,” like Homer Simpson.

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Tom McLaughlin @tmclaugh.bsky.social · 06/01/2026

Really excited to see the foreign policy D team’s take on regime change. Say what you will, but the architects of the Iraq war were not dumb people. This current team is dumb people.

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Tom McLaughlin @tmclaugh.bsky.social · 03/01/2026

So… what happens if the DOJ fails to secure an indictment of Maduro? At this point I think it is prudent to plan for the most colossal of inept fuckups.

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Reposted by Tom McLaughlin

Dare Obasanjo @carnage4life.bsky.social · 03/01/2026

I still can’t get used to Marjorie Taylor Greene being the person in Congress that’s most meeting the moment.

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Tom McLaughlin @tmclaugh.bsky.social · 20/12/2025

New fear unlocked: I’m the archenemy of some guy I haven’t seen or thought about for 20 years.

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Tom McLaughlin @tmclaugh.bsky.social · 18/12/2025

WTF? I stayed up for that? That was just fucking dumb and useless. Just an old man being a whiny little bitch.

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Tom McLaughlin @tmclaugh.bsky.social · 18/12/2025

I can only imagine how dumb you must become listening to this guy over and over lie to you.

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Tom McLaughlin @tmclaugh.bsky.social · 18/12/2025

This guy loves to blame Biden for everything while conveniently forgetting much of our issues were caused by his colossal fuckup over COVID.

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Tom McLaughlin @tmclaugh.bsky.social · 18/12/2025

The absolute STUPIDEST people right now are about to get very excited.

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Tom McLaughlin @tmclaugh.bsky.social · 14/12/2025

Why do some people look good with bangs and other people just look like a fucked up lampshade?

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Tom McLaughlin @tmclaugh.bsky.social · 14/12/2025

17 year old me would be so excited to know I need to walk through the drive-thru of my local Burger King every time I want a late night whopper.

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Tom McLaughlin @tmclaugh.bsky.social · 30/11/2025

Best part of today’s flight was, “Ladies and gentlemen, as we begin our descent if you have any trash to throw out you’ll have to hold onto it. Also, the planes exits can be found at…”

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Tom McLaughlin @tmclaugh.bsky.social · 30/11/2025

I’m eating White Castle and drinking a Bud Chelada 22. And somehow this won’t even crack the 10th percentile of ways people will physically fuck up their health today here in Vegas. #aws #awsreinvent

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Tom McLaughlin @tmclaugh.bsky.social · 29/11/2025

Looks like I may be good. Even leaving on one of the flights I would have picked anyways.

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Tom McLaughlin @tmclaugh.bsky.social · 29/11/2025

Pretty sure I have a trip tomorrow, that I thought was Monday, and while I have a hotel I may not have actually booked the flight… 🤦‍♂️

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Tom McLaughlin @tmclaugh.bsky.social · 12/11/2025

What I hate most about the “I did my own research” crowd is now I feel like an idiot when when saying, “I literally just googled this” in an attempt to refute the most inane and pulled out of a person’s ass comments.

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