iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Marcus Helmer 🇺🇸 @wellactuarially.com · 21/04/2026

Vaccines are as American as apple pie. historyofvaccines.org/blog/washing...

The Momentous Decision

Washington initially prohibited inoculation among his troops. The practice of variolation (the precursor to modern vaccination) involved deliberately infecting individuals with material from smallpox sores, typically leading to a milder case of the disease, followed by immunity. However, during recovery, which could take up to five weeks, patients remained contagious and temporarily weakened. Washington worried that inoculating his soldiers would leave them vulnerable to a British attack during their recovery period.

By early 1777, however, the general had reached a turning point. Observing continued losses to the disease and recruitment difficulties, Washington concluded that smallpox threatened the revolutionary cause more than British forces. On February 5, 1777, he issued a momentous order in a letter to John Hancock, president of the Second Continental Congress, mandating smallpox inoculation for all troops.

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Marcus Helmer 🇺🇸 @wellactuarially.com · 16/04/2026

Was wondering why Karl didn't want to go in his crate aaaand he was swooped.

A large black-and-tan dog, Karl, sits upright in the front of a black wire dog crate, gazing directly at the camera. Behind it, a smaller brown-and-white dog, Beto, peeks out from the back corner.

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Marcus Helmer 🇺🇸 @wellactuarially.com · 12/04/2026

Hit my GOAL goal for the week. Score goes up! Feel OK.

GOAL Score dashboard showing a current score of 40 out of a target of 70, displayed with a donut chart and a progress bar.

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Marcus Helmer 🇺🇸 @wellactuarially.com · 10/04/2026

I dig these absurdist posters that keep going up

A flyer stapled to a wooden utility pole with the headline "WHO'S RESPONSIBLE? I OPENED MY MAILBOX AND IT'S FULL OF MARBLES" in red and black text. Below is a photo of a mailbox overflowing with clear marbles. A section labeled "Each marble has a member of my family with RED EYES!" shows two marbles containing distorted faces, labeled "MY AUNT" and "MY SON." Underneath, red underlined text reads "WHO WOULD DO THIS!?" followed by "My wife won't stop crying now" and three photos of a blonde woman crying. A caption reads "Nothing will comfort her! Not even when I sing her FAVORITE SONG!" The flyer ends with bold red text: "DON'T DO THIS AGAIN!"

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Marcus Helmer 🇺🇸 @wellactuarially.com · 09/04/2026

I do practice problems and my score goes up. Also very confusing that this is called a GOAL score. My partner was very confused and asked "Why is your goal 32, shouldn't it be like 100?" No my GOAL is 32.

GOAL Score dashboard showing a current score of 32 out of a target of 70, displayed with a donut chart and a progress bar.

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Marcus Helmer 🇺🇸 @wellactuarially.com · 29/03/2026

And yet another terrible day in San Diego.

A shot of Petco Park from up in the stands with the Padres on the field.

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Marcus Helmer 🇺🇸 @wellactuarially.com · 17/03/2026

Made the adoption official today for this sweet boy.

Karl the dog — a black dog with brown feet — sleeping on a couch with his head and leg propped up on a pillow.

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Marcus Helmer 🇺🇸 @wellactuarially.com · 11/03/2026

Digitally via an app called Trilium. I keep my journal, notes on people, DnD notes, and math notes among other things.

A picture of math notes on Bühlmann Credibility in the application Trilium.

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Marcus Helmer 🇺🇸 @wellactuarially.com · 11/03/2026

Certified 100% goofball. And I'll take any and all tips on reducing reactiveness to people passing by.

A lab mix black and brown dog sitting on a couch staring directly at the camera.

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Marcus Helmer 🇺🇸 @wellactuarially.com · 09/03/2026

I'm a little shocked at the progress, first time playing together this morning.

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Marcus Helmer 🇺🇸 @wellactuarially.com · 09/03/2026

Progress! Karl has a second safe spot, the couch where he doesn't look at me and I don't touch him and don't stand up too quickly.

Karl, a mostly black dog with brown highlights ignoring the camera but looking comfy.

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Marcus Helmer 🇺🇸 @wellactuarially.com · 08/03/2026

YIMBYs only want one thing and it's disgusting.

Stonks meme except a construction worker in front of construction with the word "bild" as in "build"

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Marcus Helmer 🇺🇸 @wellactuarially.com · 24/02/2026

Seen on LinkedIn, a typesetting crime.

The probability density function of the Gumbel distribution. Laid out in the most unappealing way ever.

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Marcus Helmer 🇺🇸 @wellactuarially.com · 07/11/2025

Alright, when do we get to find out what Jack Donaghy was doing in D.C.?

Dialogue from 30 Rock Season 3 Episode 1

FEY: (As Liz Lemon) When did you get back from D.C.? How did you get out of your government job?

BALDWIN: (As Jack Donaghy) Uhm, I'm not at liberty to discuss that. That information is classified, at least until Cheney dies, which is going be a long time from now. That man is mostly metal. The important thing is I'm here, and I'm going to get my old job back.

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Marcus Helmer 🇺🇸 @wellactuarially.com · 01/11/2025

This is a solid first attempt at sourdough bread.

Two beautiful loaves of sourdough sandwich bread on a cooling rack.

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Marcus Helmer 🇺🇸 @wellactuarially.com · 28/10/2025

My goal is to be a bug with a big ass. Today's squats.

Today's squats:

135.0 lbs 5 reps

225.0 lbs 5 reps

235.0 lbs 5 reps

235.0 lbs 5 reps

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Marcus Helmer 🇺🇸 @wellactuarially.com · 20/10/2025

And some flight video too. Evidence for the buzz off interpretation because the picture is but a second before Hooty takes off.

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Marcus Helmer 🇺🇸 @wellactuarially.com · 20/10/2025

Hooty, the North Park Great Horned Owl, says hello! Or maybe buzz off!

Hooty, a great horned owl, glowers on a power line, lit by a street lamp against a dark sky.

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Marcus Helmer 🇺🇸 @wellactuarially.com · 18/10/2025

It is absolutely nuts at Waterfront Park.

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Marcus Helmer 🇺🇸 @wellactuarially.com · 19/09/2025

I'm totally enamored with this book and tearing through it. And recommending it to my sailor friends who will get a lot of more out of the sailing terminology than I have so far.

A cover of the book Sea People: The Puzzle of Polynesia, the quest to understand who first settled the islands of the remote pacific, where they came from, how they got there, and how we know... By Christina Thompson.

Cover is a map of a part of Polynesia and below is one of the high islands of Polynesia, though I'm not sure which.

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Marcus Helmer 🇺🇸 @wellactuarially.com · 12/09/2025

@freya.bsky.social Saw this meme variation of your post on reddit and thought you might appreciate it

Integrals are actually just a for loop:

The integral of f(x) from a to b with respect to dx is equal to the code

area = 0
for i in range(a, b, 1/bajillion): area += f(i) * 1/bajillion

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Marcus Helmer 🇺🇸 @wellactuarially.com · 06/09/2025

Before the end of this month I will have all of the key concepts in this book memorized. I am a hamster and this is my wheel.

A picture of the cover of "Loss Models: From Data to Decisions" 5th Edition by Klugman, Planjer, and Willmot.

Cover shows some severe earthquake damage to a road.

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Marcus Helmer 🇺🇸 @wellactuarially.com · 19/08/2025

Some personal news, I just got a PR squatting (at this body weight) and I'm very close to an all time PR. LET'S GOOOO

Set 1, 135.0 lbs for 5 reps

Set 2, 185.0 lbs for 5 reps

Set 3, 235.0 lbs for 5 reps

Set 4, 235.0 lbs for 3 reps

Set 5, 185.0 lbs for 6 reps

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Marcus Helmer 🇺🇸 @wellactuarially.com · 21/01/2025

Yes! I thought through the PWW in words and then paired it with the inner product proof. I've added your proof to my personal notebook right next to the inner product proof. Always this quote comes to mind.

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Marcus Helmer 🇺🇸 @wellactuarially.com · 19/01/2025

If you have not seen the inner product proof, it is delightfully straightforward! Let u and v be vectors defining the sides of the parallelogram and u + v and u - v be the diagonals. Since the inner product distributes over vector addition we have the following proof.

Demonstration.
(u+v)²+ (u-v)²
= u² + 2u•v + v² + u² - 2u•v + v²
= 2u² + 2v²
⬛

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Marcus Helmer 🇺🇸 @wellactuarially.com · 19/01/2025

Does anyone have a proof of the parallelogram identity, with two requirements, no use of inner product and no trigonometry? I would be delighted if anyone has one. I've tried but have not made any headway at finding a proof or devising my own. #MathSky

A parallelogram with consecutive vertices labeled A, B, C, and D. Diagonals AC and BD are drawn.

Beneath is the parallelogram identity,
2AB^2 + 2AD^2 = AC^2 + BD^2.

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Marcus Helmer 🇺🇸 @wellactuarially.com · 13/01/2025

He has walked some of that back after critique. www.strongtowns.org/journal/2023... I still think he's too anti-automated enforcement. Redesigning roads is better (if we had unlimited resources), I think we can all agree on that.

An excerpt from Charles Marohn's strong towns blog:
"Let me say that I think it is possible to develop a speed camera program that would improve safety, so I would love to engage with people who are serious about doing that. And honestly assessing results. I'm not seeing that in the current approaches, but Brendon Cline alludes to a program that sounds better than those I have encountered."

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Marcus Helmer 🇺🇸 @wellactuarially.com · 02/12/2024

I just went to his account to block him. But I gotta say it is honestly very funny that he thinks it is classist to assume most people don't know what empirical evidence is. I assure you, most people do not. And it is funnier considering the fact that he is mostly allergic to empirical evidence.

A quote post from Marshall Steinbaum, @econmarshall.bsky.social: "The issue isn't using phrases like "supported by empirical evidence" (indeed to imagine most people don't understand that is classist). The issue is that the phrase indicates a specific type of academic has veto power over your agenda, whom people rightly perceive as hostile to their interests."

In response to a post from Omar Wasow, @owasow.bsky.social: "The issue for Dem pols isn't "Latinx," it's phrases like "supported by empirical evidence." That's the education divide. I'm reminded of a quote from the film Precious in which a working class black girl comments on her middle class black teachers, "They talk like TV channels I don't watch...""

The post was sent on November 29, 2024 @ 5:13 AM.

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Marcus Helmer 🇺🇸 @wellactuarially.com · 27/11/2024

This is a harrowing read, but it's well worth your time. Resolving myself, once again, to do more to end homelessness. It is urgent that we build more housing. www.esquire.com/news-politic...

An article excerpt:

"It’s becoming clear how little help there is for the homeless. Here’s how things look from my car: Assistance doesn’t reach low enough. The social-services net is wide and catches many, but not the person living on the street. I asked the Warm Center, which specifically addresses homelessness, for ten dollars a day to help pay for the gasoline that keeps us alive and they responded with a hard silence.

We are all alone out here."

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Marcus Helmer 🇺🇸 @wellactuarially.com · 22/11/2024

A picture of your pet and what they were named after.

Beethoven the dog curled up in "his" new chair. Who is named after a St. Bernard, despite the fact he is not a St. Bernard.

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Marcus Helmer 🇺🇸 @wellactuarially.com · 13/11/2024

Not a starter pack. But I can always post more dog.

A beautiful Boxer/Pit dog joyfully biting down on a rope and being dragged across turf.

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Marcus Helmer 🇺🇸 @wellactuarially.com · 11/07/2024

In case I forgot what day it is, I was reminded this morning.

A toilet paper role that says "Holy 💩 You are 30!"

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Marcus Helmer 🇺🇸 @wellactuarially.com · 03/07/2024

Dog sitting Beto today and he is the sweetest boy. An actual angel.

A big brown dog curled up on the edge of a couch. Looking like he's deeply contemplating life or about to pass out.

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Marcus Helmer 🇺🇸 @wellactuarially.com · 09/04/2024

I told my mom to grab a colander for the eclipse and she sent this picture with the text "Did not work." 😂

A colander with rectangular slotting, which doesn't produce interesting shadows during an eclipse.

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Marcus Helmer 🇺🇸 @wellactuarially.com · 12/01/2024

I think I accidentally setup a slightly different problem (one fewer bounce). I was pretty happy with this modeling from one of my 8th graders in prealgebra. #iTeachMath

3 tape diagrams of descending height from left to right. The 2nd is 1/4 smaller than the 1st. The 3rd is 1/4 smaller than the 2nd. And each is broken into 4 sections.

The middle tape diagram has its fourths cut up into 42 cm. 3/4ths of the first is 168 cm tall (42*4). Leaving the remaining quarter at 56 cm.

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Marcus Helmer 🇺🇸 @wellactuarially.com · 09/01/2024

Still kind of sick, but I'm at work with what my students call my "Pig mask". Modeling mask wearing for them so hopefully they do it more? Please?

Mr. H very wide eyed wearing an envo mask with a pink face plate and holding a dark grey-green yeti mug embossed with "Mr. H" on it.

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Marcus Helmer 🇺🇸 @wellactuarially.com · 25/12/2023

Rooster says "Merry Christmas!" and "Ball is life!"

A very adorable and energetic black lab named Rooster who is vigorously wagging his tail.

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