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Upbeat Former Prof

@upbeatprof.bsky.social
1.9K followers 3.1K following 5.7K posts

And remember: you must never, under any circumstances, despair. To hope and to act, these are our duties in misfortune. -- Boris Pasternak, Doctor Zhivago Skeets are my own+do not reflect views of employers past or present.

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Upbeat Former Prof @upbeatprof.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
"you can't beat death but you can beat death in life, sometimes. and the more often you learn to do it, the more light there will be."
The Laughing Heart, by Charles Bukowski

your life is your life
don't let it be clubbed into dank submission.
be on the watch.
there are ways out.
there is a light somewhere.
it may not be much light but
it beats the darkness.
be on the watch.
the gods will offer you chances.
know them.
take them.
you can't beat death but
you can beat death in life, sometimes.
and the more often you learn to do it,
the more light there will be.
your life is your life.
know it while you have it.
you are marvelous
the gods wait to delight
in you.
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Upbeat Former Prof @upbeatprof.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
spouse and i foster dogs occasionally. they are all Very Good Dogs and it is a joy to be a waystation on their journeys to happy, loving homes! here are a few of them.
Foster pup looking plaintive.A very cute little pup in a blanket after getting a batha goofy foster dogA happy puppy following adoption
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Upbeat Former Prof @upbeatprof.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
The whole museum is amazing, I'm just a terrible and lazy photographer. Also the dinos move me.
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Upbeat Former Prof @upbeatprof.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
An emotional visit to Philly's Academy of Natural Sciences. Hopefully today won't be its last day.
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Upbeat Former Prof @upbeatprof.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
TFW you get home from a trip and discover... That your spouse has eaten not the rest of the cake, but *the rest of the middle layer* of the cake
2/3 of 2/3 of a cake. One third removed the normal way, one third removed transversely, by a mysterious force known as "a spouse who really loved that middle layer"
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Upbeat Former Prof @upbeatprof.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
grammar pedant partner
A red pen (looks Bloody) with text reading "write a horror story using only 3 words"
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Upbeat Former Prof @upbeatprof.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Interior design is my passion
A small hotel kitchen. The fridge door is open but it opens towards the wall so nobody except very skinny persons can use the fridge
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Upbeat Former Prof @upbeatprof.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
I am not cool but I am here watching Ben Böhmer and Rüfüs Du Sol
An outdoor stage at night, with fog machines going and a Rüfüs Du Sol logo lighting up both sides of the stage
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Upbeat Former Prof @upbeatprof.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
a group of drillers needs to drill
Describe your favorite movie as boring as possible
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Upbeat Former Prof @upbeatprof.bsky.social · 16/08/2026
See a Thunderbirds show from the 94th floor ✅
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Upbeat Former Prof @upbeatprof.bsky.social · 09/08/2026
This reminds me somehow of the first bit of literature that ever blew my mind
"To enjoy bodily warmth, some small part of you must be cold, for there is no quality in this world that is not what it is merely by contrast. Nothing exists in itself. If you flatter yourself that you are all over comfortable, and have been so a long time, then you cannot be said to be comfortable any more. For this reason a sleeping apartment should never be furnished with a fire, which is one of the luxurious discomforts of the rich. For the height of this sort of deliciousness is to have nothing but the blanket between you and your snugness and the cold of the outer air. Then there you lie like the one warm spark in the heart of an arctic crystal."

- Herman Melville, Moby-Dick or, The Whale
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Upbeat Former Prof @upbeatprof.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
A screenshot of consecutive skeets referencing explosive diarrhea
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Upbeat Former Prof @upbeatprof.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
Went looking for Nick Lane books, got more than I bargained for
Amazon's search results for Nick Lane are wide ranging
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Upbeat Former Prof @upbeatprof.bsky.social · 21/06/2026
every time they doubled the storage capacity on those bad boys
guy from old Maxell tape ad
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Upbeat Former Prof @upbeatprof.bsky.social · 06/06/2026
today we get to dog-sit one of our former fosters! 💕
a shaggy little man straight from the pup rescueshaggy little man straight from the pup rescue, tugging at our heart stringsthe little guy is now a healthy size, growing his beautiful hair back, and relaxing into his furever home
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Upbeat Former Prof @upbeatprof.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
finally time to put in a 2nd set of replacement ear cushions. considering i've worn these headphones about 60 hrs/wk since March 2020, i am sort of surprised this is just the 2nd set.
a pair of noise-cancelling headphones, halfway through replacing the ear cushions
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Upbeat Former Prof @upbeatprof.bsky.social · 09/04/2026
Kingsley and Redford, sittin on a Cray
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Upbeat Former Prof @upbeatprof.bsky.social · 05/04/2026
Best star trek crew, wrong answers only
the gang from Mystery Men
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Upbeat Former Prof @upbeatprof.bsky.social · 14/03/2026
sleepy puppy
puppy sleeping kinda goofy
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Upbeat Former Prof @upbeatprof.bsky.social · 13/03/2026
we're fostering a muppet for a couple of days
happy foster pup sitting up. he's been washed as best we can, but he'll need a pro.
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Upbeat Former Prof @upbeatprof.bsky.social · 06/03/2026
could be worse! for example, here's mine
The cover of Enigma's first album, MCMXC AD
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Upbeat Former Prof @upbeatprof.bsky.social · 02/03/2026
Stephen Colbert's 2006 commencement address to Knox College
Stephen Colbert's commencement address to Knox College ends with:

Cynicism masquerades as wisdom, but it is the farthest thing from it. Because cynics don't learn anything. Because cynicism is a self-imposed blindness, a rejection of the world because we are afraid it will hurt us or disappoint us. Cynics always say no. But saying "yes" begins things. Saying "yes" is how things grow. Saying "yes" leads to knowledge. "Yes" is for young people. So for as long as you have the strength to, say "yes."

and that's The Word.
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Upbeat Former Prof @upbeatprof.bsky.social · 21/02/2026
Liquid Glass is terrible
Norman Rockwell's painting, Freedom of Speech
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Upbeat Former Prof @upbeatprof.bsky.social · 31/01/2026
blep!
puppy sleeping. blep!
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Upbeat Former Prof @upbeatprof.bsky.social · 30/01/2026
the puppy learned to make my spouse's face after a brilliant pun
puppy is not amused
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Upbeat Former Prof @upbeatprof.bsky.social · 30/01/2026
in the mood for sausage
ruin a movie by replacing one word in the title with "sausage"
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Upbeat Former Prof @upbeatprof.bsky.social · 28/01/2026
ask and ye shall receive, at least this time :)
foster pup is snuggled up with a foster parent
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Upbeat Former Prof @upbeatprof.bsky.social · 28/01/2026
puppy has resting "8th grade machine shop teacher disappointed in my work" face
foster puppy is not amused
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Upbeat Former Prof @upbeatprof.bsky.social · 27/01/2026
frenz. is bedtime.
a puppy has fallen asleep with her head smack on the floor even though the rest of her is in the puppy bed.
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Upbeat Former Prof @upbeatprof.bsky.social · 25/01/2026
occasionally we foster dogs. this week it's B! she's very sweet.
B is a cute bownish puppy with white paws and tummy. she's playing with a small red ball, which is juuust big enough that she can't easily grab it by biting
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Upbeat Former Prof @upbeatprof.bsky.social · 01/01/2026
"Trading satellites for substance Let spectators pay their way We'll invade the Trevi Fountain Now that everyone must pay"
Trevi fountain
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Upbeat Former Prof @upbeatprof.bsky.social · 25/12/2025
bought ourselves wild birthday cakes
two fancy desserts shaped like hot dogs
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Upbeat Former Prof @upbeatprof.bsky.social · 07/12/2025
my thought on one of tonight's Bluesky topics.
an old copy of the memoir "All Creatures Great and Small," by James Herriott
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Upbeat Former Prof @upbeatprof.bsky.social · 26/11/2025
You’ve been kidnapped. The characters from the last TV show you watched are trying to rescue you. Who’s coming to save you? I like my chances
the cast of Vanina
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Upbeat Former Prof @upbeatprof.bsky.social · 22/11/2025
like if Stifler went glam
Seann William Scott
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Upbeat Former Prof @upbeatprof.bsky.social · 20/11/2025
IKR?? like, literally a random page, #9 is 🔥🤣
nine ways of using false inferences to prevent change. A list. Number nine is the listener is cataloging meaningless information into a personal system of classification.
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Upbeat Former Prof @upbeatprof.bsky.social · 20/11/2025
they don't make management books like this anymore
A book entitled "the change resisters: how they prevent progress and what managers can do about them"
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Upbeat Former Prof @upbeatprof.bsky.social · 12/11/2025
breakout rooms
Xzibit "yo dawg" meme saying "i heard you like meetings"
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Upbeat Former Prof @upbeatprof.bsky.social · 10/11/2025
i made arancini
four arancini in a bowl. intermediate stages in the background
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Upbeat Former Prof @upbeatprof.bsky.social · 02/11/2025
one of my favorite sports images of all time. the heart of a champion.
2004 ALCS Game 4. the Yankees have won the first 3 games. it's the bottom of the 9th and the Red Sox are down 4-3, so it's looking pretty damn bleak.

Dave Roberts has just been called in to pinch run from first.  there is a smile on his face as he looks to steal 2nd base and spark the greatest comeback in baseball history.
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Upbeat Former Prof @upbeatprof.bsky.social · 29/10/2025
Post a perfect album from the 90’s that isn’t Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, or Alice In Chains.
the album cover of Rancid's album Life Won't Wait
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Upbeat Former Prof @upbeatprof.bsky.social · 08/10/2025
What is it that feels so weird about this evening... ? Got it. I'll be damned. I'm not playing Lazarus's game, or even Sandy Locke's; I'm playing mine, and I'm far better than I ever dreamed!

The sensation was giddying. He seemed to be walking up steps inside his head until he reached a place where there was nothing but pure white light, and it showed him as plainly as though he were telepathic what his opponent was planning...

-- John Brunner, The Shockwave Rider
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Upbeat Former Prof @upbeatprof.bsky.social · 26/09/2025
this look 🤣
a good dog giving human side eye
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Upbeat Former Prof @upbeatprof.bsky.social · 31/08/2025
fun day. we saw Commissario Montalbano's house! and the Vigata police station! and Montalbano's office!
a house on a beach in Sicily. it's not especially impressive as a house, but it's cooler if you know the TV series "Commissario Montalbano" aka "Inspector Montalbano"another shot of the house on a beach in Sicily. it's not especially impressive as a house, but it's cooler if you know the TV series "Commissario Montalbano" aka "Inspector Montalbano"a lovely building entrance way in SicilyInspector Montalbano's office.
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Upbeat Former Prof @upbeatprof.bsky.social · 20/08/2025
Post a non-religious photo you think of as holy
Dave Roberts is in the zone while taking a big lead at first base, during Game 4 of the 2004 ALCS, between the Yankees and the Red Sox. The Yankees lead the series 3-0, and it's the bottom of the 9th inning with the Red Sox trailing 4-3. Roberts has just been put in as a pinch runner for Kevin Millar. Mariano Rivera, the greatest relief pitcher of all time, is on the mound.

The season is on the line. As Bill Simmons puts it, "Rivera knows Roberts is going to try to steal second base. EVERYONE knows Roberts is going to try to steal second base."

and Dave Roberts has the faintest hint of a smile on his face, because he is *exactly* where he wants to be.
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Upbeat Former Prof @upbeatprof.bsky.social · 20/08/2025
Post a non-religious photo you think of as holy.
a still from the final scene of Koyaanisqatsi. 

a rocket engine tumbles down across the sky, still burning after the rocket itself exploded during takeoff.
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Upbeat Former Prof @upbeatprof.bsky.social · 07/08/2025
Sven the raindeer says, glumly, "I'm 37?"
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Upbeat Former Prof @upbeatprof.bsky.social · 25/07/2025
What athlete's expression will remain with you for the rest of your life?
Kevin Garnett: anything is possible
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Upbeat Former Prof @upbeatprof.bsky.social · 04/07/2025
the unrated version:
"egg in a jacket" or "egg in a hole" or "hothouse eggs" or any of a hundred other names
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Upbeat Former Prof @upbeatprof.bsky.social · 18/06/2025
a meme in which half a grapefruit holds off the incredible power of modern pharmaceuticals
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