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John Vantine (he/him)

@w00t.bsky.social
1.7K followers 385 following 620 posts

Trail runner, ally 🏳️‍⚧️, live music aficionado, SEO OG at GoodRx, occasional van adventurer, full-time life enthusiast in hot pursuit of the perfect slice 🍕 Santa Cruz-based. Blogging since '98, today I write words at j0hn.com.

PostsRepliesMedia
John Vantine (he/him) @w00t.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
@johnmu.com have y'all seen this? script.google.com pages ranking (in traditional organic & AIOs) for some reasonably competitive YMYL terms. Seems sketchy. Feels like an SEM lander that has no business ranking on the merits of its content alone.
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John Vantine (he/him) @w00t.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
This is really cool. I'm in the health space, so I don't want to see the photos 😆 but can we expect to see query data in this report at some point?
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John Vantine (he/him) @w00t.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Unfortunately it shipped from China, the cost + effort to mail it back isn’t worth it.
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John Vantine (he/him) @w00t.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
This is very good.
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John Vantine (he/him) @w00t.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
At what point is it downright deceptive for a store to use AI-generated product photos? I ordered a "Monaco Knitted Short Sleeve Shirt", supposed to look like the 1st image, but what came in the mail was this POS in the 2nd image 😂 Straight to the donate pile. drakoessentials.com/products/men...
An AI-generated product photo pictured on drakoessentials.com. Do not shop with this company.A super low quality t-shirt that I received from drakoessentials.com
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John Vantine (he/him) @w00t.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Country music, but make it untz. 3 hours of nonstop high octane twang from Sturgill Simpson (via Johnny Blue Skies) at the Greek in Berkeley last night.
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John Vantine (he/him) @w00t.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
This article accuses folks of being "too lazy to do a Google search", overlooking the fact that most Google queries have a generative answer at the top, and now they're pushing folks from Google search directly into AI Mode. We're being force-fed slop, and it takes an active effort to avoid it.
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John Vantine (he/him) @w00t.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
I tuned in for a few min just as they were moving from WLTP>Helix and it sounded great.
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John Vantine (he/him) @w00t.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today on this 112th day of September...
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John Vantine (he/him) @w00t.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
I am beyond grateful for the next-level convenience that "AI chatbots" bring into my life every single day. We're truly living in the future.
My insurance company forces me to use a "health chat bot" in order to take action, but it doesn't understand even the simplest commands, and the only fallback option to choose is "Something Else".
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Reposted by John Vantine (he/him)
Nicholas Grossman @nicholasgrossman.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
Evidence keeps accumulating that LLMs are a powerfully useful technology for people who already know what they're talking about, and a dangerous outsourcing of cognitive function for people who don't. This can occur within a single individual, who knows a lot about some things and not about others.
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John Vantine (he/him) @w00t.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
Great show from Osees at The Chapel in SF last night. High energy, moshpit and crowdsurfing throughout the show… which I safely observed from the comfort of the balcony 😂 👀 @oseesarchive.bsky.social
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John Vantine (he/him) @w00t.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
Diggin, thank you for the morning jams, hope you're well bub <3
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John Vantine (he/him) @w00t.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
Thank you! First album I’ve purchased on Bandcamp in a minute. Bought a copy for a friend as well!
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John Vantine (he/him) @w00t.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
This is a black metal album about a pony named Bill. I'm hearing equal parts shoegaze, black metal, and... super nintendo soundtrack. It's beautiful and wonderfully weird and gives me a strange sense of hope for humanity. @lammoth.bsky.social www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8WQ...
youtube.com
Lammoth - Onward (Full album, 2026) | Blackgaze
YouTube video by Antifascist Black Metal Network
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John Vantine (he/him) @w00t.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
Dialing in caffeine, in general, is a game changer. I spent many years just drinking cup after cup of coffee throughout the day, with no intention, and I can't imagine going back to that now!
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John Vantine (he/him) @w00t.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
I switched to decaf at the beginning of this year and it's been a *massive* upgrade for my nervous system. I'm still a big-time coffee snob and I'm grateful for the abundance of incredible decaf options out there, allowing me to maintain my precious morning bean routine.
Decaf bean options from FrequentDecaf beans from Hydrangea next to an Aeropress XL
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John Vantine (he/him) @w00t.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
God bless www.reddit.com/r/thirdwaved...
reddit.com
thirdwavedecaf
Inclusive community of specialty decaf coffee aficionados.
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John Vantine (he/him) @w00t.bsky.social · 02/08/2026
It’s the best. Feel so lucky to have it nearby.
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John Vantine (he/him) @w00t.bsky.social · 02/08/2026
Beautiful evening at the Santa Cruz Quarry Ampitheater with Joe Russo’s Almost Dead last night. This venue is such a gem, and I’ll be back to see Acid Bath and the Melvins in just a few weeks!
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John Vantine (he/him) @w00t.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
It's an amazing venue, very underutilized IMO. So stoked for this show.
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John Vantine (he/him) @w00t.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
Running back down to the Mediterranean in Menton on our final day of running.
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John Vantine (he/him) @w00t.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
Impossibly blue alpine lake on the approach to Refuge de Merveilles… after climbing nearly 8,000 ft in an afternoon!
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John Vantine (he/him) @w00t.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
Caught in a traffic jam near Madone de Fenestre 🐄 🐄 🐄
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John Vantine (he/him) @w00t.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
Caught in a hailstorm about 5 miles away from Refuge de Longon. The novelty wore off pretty quickly when the hail started to hurt.
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John Vantine (he/him) @w00t.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
No! Sounds awesome, thank you. Will check it.
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John Vantine (he/him) @w00t.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
So much nostalgia for this formative period of musical discovery. Streaming just doesn't hit the same.
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John Vantine (he/him) @w00t.bsky.social · 19/07/2026
It was! Never higher than like 9k, but we covered close to 30k of vert over 5 days.
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John Vantine (he/him) @w00t.bsky.social · 19/07/2026
Still in awe of the landscapes we moved through over 5 days and 90 miles of mountain running in the French Alps, from Saint-Étienne-de-Tinée to Menton.
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John Vantine (he/him) @w00t.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
Sitting on top of Black Rock Pass in Mineral King, Sequoia National Park, waiting for friends, loving life. It’s real good out there 😎
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John Vantine (he/him) @w00t.bsky.social · 26/05/2026
Big Basin never ceases to amaze 😍
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John Vantine (he/him) @w00t.bsky.social · 30/03/2026
I love the lil Animal Collective & Panda Bear section
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John Vantine (he/him) @w00t.bsky.social · 14/03/2026
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John Vantine (he/him) @w00t.bsky.social · 13/03/2026
Hope you’re enjoying this wonderful Bay Area weather. See you there!
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John Vantine (he/him) @w00t.bsky.social · 13/03/2026
Perfect timing, I've been out of the UM loop for a bit and I'm stoked to see them (for the first time in a year or so) tomorrow night, thank you.
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John Vantine (he/him) @w00t.bsky.social · 06/03/2026
I’m so disappointed.
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John Vantine (he/him) @w00t.bsky.social · 02/03/2026
Morning sun showers in the Santa Cruz mountains 😍
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John Vantine (he/him) @w00t.bsky.social · 13/02/2026
Skimming the timeline, I saw "tour" mentioned here and got stoked over a FNM tour! Just a book tour. Still cool. Let me know how that book is!
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John Vantine (he/him) @w00t.bsky.social · 13/02/2026
Respect.
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John Vantine (he/him) @w00t.bsky.social · 08/02/2026
Is he good? Decent music? I keep going back to the Tunde arms/upper body programs.
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John Vantine (he/him) @w00t.bsky.social · 07/02/2026
Of course you're going to say that. I've never seen you post anything positive about the band, even when they were playing well.
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John Vantine (he/him) @w00t.bsky.social · 07/02/2026
It's a decent spot for sure. Right in the heart of town, walking distance to lots of good stuff. I've seen a ton of good shows there over the years.
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John Vantine (he/him) @w00t.bsky.social · 07/02/2026
Did you see his hat?
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John Vantine (he/him) @w00t.bsky.social · 07/02/2026
Stay soft. trailhead.ultrasignup.com/travel-lifes...
trailhead.ultrasignup.com
“Stay Soft”: A Complementary Mindset to "Stay Hard" » Trailhead Media from UltraSignup
Mental strength comes in all shapes and sizes. This opinion piece explores “Stay Soft" a complementary mindset to David Goggin's famous saying "Stay Hard" in ultrarunning.
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John Vantine (he/him) @w00t.bsky.social · 07/02/2026
Dyno?
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John Vantine (he/him) @w00t.bsky.social · 07/02/2026
Same, I thought it was a solid jam. Nope, cover.
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John Vantine (he/him) @w00t.bsky.social · 07/02/2026
I thought the Humu jam sounded cool, apparently that's a newer tBeam/cover thing. Compositions sounded decent but jamming felt pretty tame to me. I'm hopeful they'll get there once again, and I'll keep checking in. Will prob hit the Berkeley show in a few months.
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John Vantine (he/him) @w00t.bsky.social · 07/02/2026
Alright, let's see how they're doing.
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John Vantine (he/him) @w00t.bsky.social · 05/02/2026
Getting after it. My man!
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John Vantine (he/him) @w00t.bsky.social · 05/02/2026
Wow, you can't make this stuff up. You should be honored, tbh 🤣
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