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Chuck in the box

@virtualcharles.bsky.social
35 followers 146 following 106 posts

I like learning, teaching, and technology that enables those things. Also nachos. charlesofalltrades.com

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Chuck in the box @virtualcharles.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
#nashville folks, protect the zoo: c.org/TxBBThtHPd
c.org
Sign the Petition
Say NO to Proposed Data Center At The Nashville Zoo!
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Chuck in the box @virtualcharles.bsky.social · 03/02/2026
Happy Common Misconceptions Day! Take some time to update yourself! en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...
XKCD, a black-and-white stick-figure comic. A teacher stands at the front of a classroom holding a laptop and addresses unseen students. The teacher says: “Okay, middle school students, it’s the first Tuesday in February. This means that by law and custom, we must spend the morning reading through the Wikipedia article List of common misconceptions, so you can spend the rest of your lives being a little less wrong. The guests at every party you’ll ever attend thank us in advance.” Below the image is a caption that reads: “I wish I lived in this universe.”
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Chuck in the box @virtualcharles.bsky.social · 18/11/2025
Is it irony that Lemmy, a decentralized alternative to Reddit, is down due to Cloudflare outage while Reddit itself remains up? I think that’s irony. It’s certainly Alanis-style irony if nothing else.
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Chuck in the box @virtualcharles.bsky.social · 03/11/2025
Friendly reminder: Many companies have donation or even volunteer hour matching! Now is the time to give our money to food banks and make the corporate overlords do it too since they won’t otherwise.
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Chuck in the box @virtualcharles.bsky.social · 20/08/2025
Gotta say, I did not have radioactive shrimp on my bingo card.
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Chuck in the box @virtualcharles.bsky.social · 21/07/2025
Remember when optimizing your computer’s performance involved deciding how many colors you would acknowledge the existence of? 256? Thousands??Millions?!? Whoa, slow down, we’re not all made of VRAM there Richy Rich.
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Chuck in the box @virtualcharles.bsky.social · 03/06/2025
I generally like AI, but hate its capitalist use to replace people. But I also hate the exploitation of labor. So this… this is a doozy I have no idea how to feel about… alternativeto.net/news/2025/6/...
alternativeto.net
Microsoft-backed Builder.ai files for bankruptcy after AI found to rely on 700 Indian devs
Builder AI, a London-based AI startup, filed for bankruptcy after its AI platform 'Natasha' was found to rely on 700 Indian developers. Allegations of inflated invoices with VerSe also emerged. The co...
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Chuck in the box @virtualcharles.bsky.social · 03/06/2025
Man, I used to hate ironing. I still do. But I used to, too.
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Chuck in the box @virtualcharles.bsky.social · 16/05/2025
My kiddo’s on a school trip to DC and I wanted to make a joke about Jefferson and Mac and Cheese. Ended up opening a great conversation about how much of our “bad history” gets glossed over (AKA slavery). Found this great article tying the topics together: www.savortoothtiger.com/recipes/jeff...
savortoothtiger.com
Thomas Jefferson & James Hemings: Macaroni & Cheese (History & Recipe) — Savor Tooth Tiger
What exactly is the connection between Thomas Jefferson and Mac & Cheese? Did he invent it? No. Did he bring back macaroni from Paris to Monticello and serve it to many of our founding fathers? Sure d...
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Chuck in the box @virtualcharles.bsky.social · 14/05/2025
Ironically, I’ve been fighting an issue in some code related to properly escaping characters just this week, and then I come across this fascinating bug/story. rambo.codes/posts/2025-0...
rambo.codes
Cracking The Dave & Buster’s Anomaly | Rambo Codes
Gui Rambo writes about his coding and reverse engineering adventures.
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Chuck in the box @virtualcharles.bsky.social · 06/05/2025
I really dislike the term “vibe coding”, but as someone who falls into the middle ground of “not actually a programmer but knows enough to make sense of Stack Overflow”, I am really loving AI assisted code editors. Oh no, I can’t figure out why this function is failing, lemme just ask my sidebar.
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Chuck in the box @virtualcharles.bsky.social · 22/04/2025
You know there was probably a guy on the verge of launching a legitimate text-based toll-retrieval system who was sure it was gonna make his entire career
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Chuck in the box @virtualcharles.bsky.social · 28/03/2025
I’ve got this giant spreadsheet that I need to break into multiple spreadsheets. This is the sort of thing that BEGS me to automate it, but it’s just a small enough job for “it will take me longer to automate than to just copy paste it” to apply. And this fact is driving me insane.
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Chuck in the box @virtualcharles.bsky.social · 28/03/2025
A wizard through a desert with the text “Job interview: what’s this gap on your resume? Me:”
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Chuck in the box @virtualcharles.bsky.social · 27/03/2025
Will it work through Gamepass, or only with a standalone purchased version of the game?
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Chuck in the box @virtualcharles.bsky.social · 17/03/2025
A screenshot from a social media site that says “another perfect beautiful day to ingest stimulants and sit at computer. what a blessed life”
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Chuck in the box @virtualcharles.bsky.social · 12/03/2025
“finished with a classic doughnut-style hole” That robs you of cookie! That’s a clever cookie saving technique!
A screenshot from the Crumbl cookie app of a donut shaped cookie described as “A soft vanilla cookie crowned with a luscious pink glaze and rainbow sprinkles, finished with a classic doughnut-style hole!”
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Chuck in the box @virtualcharles.bsky.social · 10/03/2025
You know in True Lies, the terrorist with the video camera and the battery dies so the boss guy shouts ”Then get another one!!”? One of these days I’m gonna turn that into a GIF with a Parmesan shredder “Sorry sir, that was the whole brick”. “Then get another one!” One of these days.
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William Gibson @greatdismal.bsky.social · 10/03/2025
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Chuck in the box @virtualcharles.bsky.social · 06/03/2025
It looks like a lot of the previously disparate features are crossing over now. I was able to set it to the 4.5 model, chat back and forth in text, then turn on advanced voice mode and continue the same conversation. Previously it wouldn't let you mix those.
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Chuck in the box @virtualcharles.bsky.social · 04/03/2025
Everyone tells you stuff like this when you become a parent, and you think “that won’t be me”, but it will. One day you’ll look up, realize your baby is about to go to high school, and is never going to sit in your lap and play pretend sea creatures again. federicopereiro.com/the-invitati...
federicopereiro.com
~fpereiro
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The Onion @theonion.com · 04/03/2025
Pile Of Dirty Clothes On Bedroom Floor Starting To Mix With Pile Of Clean Clothes On Bedroom Floor
Pile Of Dirty Clothes On Bedroom Floor Starting To Mix With Pile Of Clean Clothes On Bedroom Floor
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Chuck in the box @virtualcharles.bsky.social · 28/02/2025
“This is trifficult.”
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Chuck in the box @virtualcharles.bsky.social · 28/02/2025
To further prove this point it looks like a genAI, having hoovered up all facets of our language, has no problem understanding this either...
A screenshot of ChatGPT, where I have asked it to visualize Zach’s “icemerpuppycorn” and it has done so quite successfully by creating an image of a dog whose back half is fish like, has a unicorn style horn, and is surrounded by ice.
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Mark Hamill @markhamillofficial.bsky.social · 27/02/2025
TOMORROW- Friday, February 28th is BLACKOUT FRIDAY! If you believe we are in danger of losing our Democracy forever, FIGHT BACK! Let's make our voices heard in numbers too big to ignore. JOIN US if you've had it with Comrade Krasnov. 🤬 🇷🇺 #24HourEconomicBlackout
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Patton Oswalt @pattonoswalt.bsky.social · 27/02/2025
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Chuck in the box @virtualcharles.bsky.social · 27/02/2025
The inspirational picture was on Tumblr if anyone wants to face this dilemma with me.
Two cheeseburgers stacked on top of one another that look absolutely delicious and amazing.
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Chuck in the box @virtualcharles.bsky.social · 27/02/2025
Today’s #firstworldproblems: I saw a picture of a really good looking cheeseburger so now I really want a cheeseburger for lunch but I really shouldn’t and even if I do I should wait until tomorrow because then it’s Friday which feels more acceptable to splurge but I also don’t wanna wait.
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Chuck in the box @virtualcharles.bsky.social · 25/02/2025
I did not have “MapQuest returns to relevancy by being a sarcastic beacon of light in a sea of corporate bootlickers” on my 2025 bingo card… gulfof.mapquest.com
gulfof.mapquest.com
Gulf of Map Explorer
Create and share your own custom Gulf maps with MapQuest
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Chuck in the box @virtualcharles.bsky.social · 25/02/2025
Playing Avowed and realizing I treat RPGs the same way I do real life: Exploring every corner in the hopes of finding something interesting while ignoring the main quest.
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batkaren @batkaren.bsky.social · 17/02/2025
KRANGAROO
A cartoon pic of a kangaroo with kind of dead eyes and its arms held out like a zombie—instead of a pouch on its stomach, I put Kramer from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles like he’s piloting the kangaroo exterior the same way he does that person suit thing on TMNT
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Chuck in the box @virtualcharles.bsky.social · 18/02/2025
I’ll pay for pro if you go back to single panels that don’t take me 20 minutes and require a research trip to the library to understand. (I’d put a winky emoji here but, meh)
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Chuck in the box @virtualcharles.bsky.social · 18/02/2025
These anti-homeless bench designs are getting ridiculous.
A bench that has been cut in such a way that there is no middle section at all, upon which to sit and has caution, tape strung across it and a traffic cone as if to protect people from trying to sit down on the nonexistent bench.
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Chuck in the box @virtualcharles.bsky.social · 15/02/2025
Ya’ll know they got them Bluesky logos out in real life now? Marketing’s crazy these days. ((Emperor butterfly posed for me at the TN Aquarium today))
Emperor Butterfly, a vibrant blue species, resting on a leaf.  Taken at the Tennessee Aquarium.
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Chuck in the box @virtualcharles.bsky.social · 11/02/2025
TIL I can’t upload a gif to Bluesky.
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Chuck in the box @virtualcharles.bsky.social · 11/02/2025
An animated GIF of a scene from the TV show The Simpsons wherein Marge says “sock puppets”, scaring homer who shouts “where!? where?!”
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Chuck in the box @virtualcharles.bsky.social · 10/02/2025
I never realized just how good Google Apps Script is until trying to do some of the same things with Power Automate.
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The Onion @theonion.com · 10/02/2025
Boston Dynamics Dog Unstoppable At Puppy Bowl theonion.com/super-b...
theonion.com
Boston Dynamics Dog Unstoppable At Puppy Bowl
GLENS FALLS, NY—Breaking its own record after scoring a touchdown to rack up its 600th point within the first quarter, the Boston Dynamics dog appeared unstoppable at the Puppy Bowl, sources confirmed Sunday. “It looks like Nacho is headed into the end zone, and—oh no, another brutal tackle from Spot, the robotic dog!” said game commentator Steve Levy, who clutched his head and winced as the gadget began emitting a high-pitched noise that caused the few still-standing puppies to crumple unconscious to the ground. “Oof, that’s gotta hurt! This is one dog that sure likes to play rough. It’ll be interesting to see what he does with the arm he’s protracting. Good God, Spot, no. That’s the referee! Run, everybody. Run for your lives!” At press time, the robotic dog was reportedly showboating with a victory dance on a pile of its opponents’ corpses.
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Chuck in the box @virtualcharles.bsky.social · 07/02/2025
My WFH sin is doing laundry so rarely that I convince myself I don’t actually own enough shirts/socks/underwear so I should just buy more when I run out.
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Chuck in the box @virtualcharles.bsky.social · 06/02/2025
Is today the day the Gunshow Dog realizes things are not fine?
A panel from the webcomic "Gunshow" wherein a cartoon dog sits surrounded by flames while saying "This is fine."
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Chuck in the box @virtualcharles.bsky.social · 06/02/2025
I'd love to say "but by the end of the third book democracy prevailed and all the n̶a̶z̶i̶s̶ IT people were punished appropriately!"... but, um... I won't spoil it... Man I hope there's no allegory!
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Chuck in the box @virtualcharles.bsky.social · 06/02/2025
Need a break from doomscrolling? I just stumbled across this: wikiscroll.blankenship.io
wikiscroll.blankenship.io
WikiScroll
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Chuck in the box @virtualcharles.bsky.social · 05/02/2025
I had to look those up, maybe!
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Chuck in the box @virtualcharles.bsky.social · 05/02/2025
A french fry is a salt delivery vehicle. Likewise, a baked potato is a butter/cheese/bacon/sourcream/chives delivery vehicle. In fact, is there any potato dish where the potato itself is anything more than a platform upon which other, greater, foods stand? I think not.
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Chuck in the box @virtualcharles.bsky.social · 05/02/2025
I hope mine is one of those chicken nugget transformers from the 80s that I had when I was a child and life still seemed worth living.
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Chuck in the box @virtualcharles.bsky.social · 03/02/2025
Classic Phil.
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Patton Oswalt @pattonoswalt.bsky.social · 02/02/2025
“Screaming. A million mouths screaming but also laughing the sky will bleed and there shall be a great flensing a burning away of the flesh it is coming there is no way to stop what is coming.”
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Rosemary Mosco @rosemarymosco.com · 01/02/2025
If you need me I'll be watching this thing again www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbCQ...
youtube.com
Jurassic Park With SCIENTIFICALLY ACCURATE Raptors [Animation] Part 1
YouTube video by CoolioArt
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Chuck in the box @virtualcharles.bsky.social · 29/01/2025
“Historians have a word for Germans who joined the Nazi party, not because they hated Jews, but out of a hope for restored patriotism, or a sense of economic anxiety… That word is ‘Nazi.’ Nobody cares about their motives anymore.“ -A.R. Moxon web.archive.org/web/20181031...
web.archive.org
Sky
Perhaps this will be hard to read. Laments often are. It may bring you comfort, or it may make you angry. It may make you think mo...
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Chuck in the box @virtualcharles.bsky.social · 25/01/2025
Another Vex Via competition today! #robotics
Faruq, the announcer from the TV series Battle Bots, making his signature announcement. Text on the image says “It’s robot cooperatively solving a gamified engineering challenge time”, where part of the text is overlaying the original word “fighting”.
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