iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Sam Herdman @whattafiasco.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

The sound of this week: wind in the trees, the pittering of acorns falling onto the pavement, and the pop-crunch of car tires running over them.

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Sam Herdman @whattafiasco.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Really enjoyed “Waste Tide” by Chen Quifan this week, except for this bit near the end:

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Sam Herdman @whattafiasco.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Finally made it to Jazz Sundays at Liberty Hall (LFK) after a year of good intentions. It’s a speakeasy style listening room that used to be a small storage room. There were about thirty of us including the jazz quartet and the bartender. What a great intimate setting for live jazz.

A dark speakeasy style listening room with a jazz quartet playing.

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Sam Herdman @whattafiasco.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

In remembrance, a few weeks ago I was able to visit the Yayoi Kusami infinity room at the Crystal Bridges art gallery.

The inside of an infinity room filled with large black round lanterns with colored spots lit from within. It’s a small but trippy space.

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Sam Herdman @whattafiasco.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

Seemed like a good day for some fancy cheese. Appearances were not deceiving. (No Tallegio, alas, but I did get some Humboldt Fog.)

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Sam Herdman @whattafiasco.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

“Coyota/e” by Hector Dionicio Mendoza currently on display at Crystal Bridges. One of my favorites from this visit.

A cardboard sculpture of a coyote over the black silhouette of a woman’s body.

Detail of the coyote’s head showing construction details.

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Sam Herdman @whattafiasco.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

Getting buzzed by hummingbirds because of my bright red phone case just never gets old. Likely a female or juvenile ruby-throated hummingbird (no red visible at all), and it hung around long enough to have cussed me out for false advertising.

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Sam Herdman @whattafiasco.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

Today’s moment of joy was walking up to my front door, trying to figure out why there was a random stick laying on the porch right in front of it. And then the stick did a quick lizard dash under my door plate, too fast to have a chance to identify him. 🦎

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Sam Herdman @whattafiasco.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

Currently reading “When We Were Real” by Daryl Gregory, set in a world that has learned that it exists in a simulation. But also “Love Code” by Anne Aguirre, in which a sentient AI finds itself involuntarily transferred into an organic body. What a weird combo.

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Sam Herdman @whattafiasco.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

Sometimes I get an image in my head and just have to draw it. I found out that there’s a version of the Running of the Bulls where the “bulls” are roller derby players with plastic baseball bats. At least I’m now a bit better at drawing cow heads.

A bull-headed roller derby player armed with a plastic baseball bat and safety gear, ready to chase down runners on the streets of NOLA.

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Sam Herdman @whattafiasco.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

Too hot to cook. Decided on a cold bean soup made with black beans, diced tomatoes, and some fresh diced green onions, plus pickle brine and seasonings. (Because cooking from the pantry is always good.) But I was nearly foiled by a terrible can opener. I made it work but it’s time for a new one.

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Sam Herdman @whattafiasco.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

After over 1300 miles of driving in two days, it doesn’t seem unreasonable to take a day off just to exist in one place.

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Sam Herdman @whattafiasco.bsky.social · 04/07/2026

I’d been considering seeing some other regional opera, and Des Moines just announced they have Philip Glass (Orphée), Benjamin Britten (Billy Budd), and Offenbach (Tales of Hoffmann) next July. Yeah, gonna pencil that into the calendar.

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Sam Herdman @whattafiasco.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

Random person in a random grocery store asked to get past my cart to get some sour cream. We did the pleasantries and then she wished me a happy pride and I returned the sentiment. Only later I realized I wasn’t wearing a pride shirt or rainbow socks. It was nice.

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Sam Herdman @whattafiasco.bsky.social · 15/06/2026

I saw the movie Ace Ventura: Pet Detective a very long time ago, and pretty much all I remember about it is that I had no desire so ever see Jim Carrey again. Recently, sitting at a table of other grown up nerds, I was reminded of exactly why I felt that way.

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Sam Herdman @whattafiasco.bsky.social · 26/05/2026

Finished my first shirt based on the Twig & Tale Scenic top pattern. Used some of the leftover binding from my last quilt to add contrasting trim. Perfect? No, but I like it. It also reminds me of how long ago I last wore a woven shirt. Time to find some cotton jersey to play with.

A shirt made from a batik style fabric without lighter blue fronds scattered over a darker navy blue base. The neckline and short sleeve cuffs are finished with a fabric with bright orange and red wavy stripes and a scatter of navy blue irregular spots. It’s rather colorful.

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Sam Herdman @whattafiasco.bsky.social · 24/05/2026

That moment of panic when you go to set in sleeves cut from a fabric without an obvious right side and things aren’t lining up right. Did you really not cut two different sleeves? Take a deep breath, make sure everything is turned the right way, and thank past you for marking all the notches.

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Sam Herdman @whattafiasco.bsky.social · 19/05/2026

You know how, no matter how much you read, there are always “holes” in your Important Books Read list? One of mine was “Slaughterhouse Five” and holy cow is it worth the time.

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Sam Herdman @whattafiasco.bsky.social · 19/05/2026

Finished my latest quilt! Seams don’t all match? Quilt along the seams anyway as if it was intentional. Then the bright yellow for the back was just a little too short, giving me an excuse to insert a stripe of the fabrics from the front. Much happiness.

A quilt on the end of a bed. It is pieced in a geometrical pattern that shifts from blues to greens to yellows and browns.

A small geometrical pattern quilt laid out to show the entire front.

A small quilt laid out to show the back which is bright yellow with a single stripe made up of all the fabrics used on the front.

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Sam Herdman @whattafiasco.bsky.social · 11/05/2026

It’s a quilt top full of mistakes, including a major design change that happened on the fly in response to an early mistake. Mismatched seams and lessons learned but this one will be big enough to use as a couch quilt.

A pieced quilt top with four horizontal bands in light blue, green, yellow, and orange. Over this is a horizontal geometric chain-like pattern done in straight lines in darker matching hues. Many of the seams don’t match up properly which mars the effect of the pattern, but it’s still a satisfying second quilt.

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Sam Herdman @whattafiasco.bsky.social · 09/05/2026

Got my stack of blocks trimmed and decided what layout to use for the quilt, so I can start putting things together this weekend, unless the weather is too nice. And then I got a bit of fencing in this evening and it was still light out when I drove home. That’s a good day.

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Sam Herdman @whattafiasco.bsky.social · 08/05/2026

Continuing my campaign of doing whatever I feel like. Cut out the blocks for my next quilt and started playing with layouts. Got some fabric pre washed for my next shirt project. Pulled some old knit shirts out for recycling for another project. Pretty soon it’s time to get the oil paints out again.

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Sam Herdman @whattafiasco.bsky.social · 02/05/2026

If you’re chatting up a stranger at the opera and all you talk about is how much you contribute to charities and how you just couldn’t imagine Porgy & Bess as an opera? I decided it wasn’t the time to compare Carlisle Floyd’s Of Mice and Men to Harry Partch’s Barstow.

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Sam Herdman @whattafiasco.bsky.social · 26/04/2026

Didn’t make it to Richmond for the NAC but I did make it to a low stress local epee tournament this morning. Did I remember to eat a good breakfast? (No.) Did I take ibuprofen this morning? (No.) Did I remember to take a snack? (No.) But I showed up and had a good time, and that’s what it’s about.

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Sam Herdman @whattafiasco.bsky.social · 15/04/2026

Got to spend my evening helping a small galumph of under twelve kids (and a parent or two) wrap their heads and bodies around fencing saber. So much fun. Tomorrow night I’ll get to switch back to epee.

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Sam Herdman @whattafiasco.bsky.social · 07/04/2026

Watching the Artemis II flyby this evening, I improvised a 4” quilted box made from some of the scraps from my quilt. Nice low stakes practice and puzzle solving while watching amazing images from the moon and listening to happy scientists. #QuiltSky #MoonJoy

A small, squarish quilted box in pink and green strips of fabric.

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Sam Herdman @whattafiasco.bsky.social · 06/04/2026

Reverse engineered and made a folding reusable grocery bag from an old bedsheet while watching the Artemis II flyby coverage. Not a bad lunchtime.

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Sam Herdman @whattafiasco.bsky.social · 05/04/2026

The busy lap quilt is done. In the middle of making it I realized that, no matter how I finished it, it was going to be wonky and decided that was ok. It was reminding me of a tide pool so I appliquéd a beach item to each block with embroidery. Then used the scraps to make a binding. I am pleased.

Folded small quilt with teal, gray, pink, and black triangles making a modified Balkan puzzle block. The blocks are separated by dark blue floral dashing with pink keystones. In the middle of each block is a beach themed appliqué with hand embroidery. One visible block has a shell and the other has a glass bottle.

The edge of a small folded quilt is turned back to show the teal lining and a hand embroidered tag.

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Sam Herdman @whattafiasco.bsky.social · 31/03/2026

Got the piecing done for my small wonky quilt then decided to add some appliqué and then embroidery on top of that before I quilt it. In the process I’ve ripped many seams and add also had to restitch some by hand. Doing lots of things I’m not good at all at once, and having fun.

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Sam Herdman @whattafiasco.bsky.social · 30/03/2026

If you’re feeling in need of external validation, getting two suspicious little dogs to decide that you’re an ok person who is now required to pet them on demand is a wholesome thing.

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Sam Herdman @whattafiasco.bsky.social · 20/02/2026

Today’s self-care (aka distraction) activities include: writing my first (and maybe only) check of the year, wrestling with HTMX 2 falls out of three, going to a coffee shop to sketch for an hour, doing a parking lot transaction of coffee, trying a mochi donut (eh), and replays of women’s curling.

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Sam Herdman @whattafiasco.bsky.social · 06/01/2026

If you liked the Japanese film “Shall We Dansu?” (yes, there’s an English language remake but the OG is better), and/or you enjoyed “Strictly Ballroom”, please do check out “10 Dance” on Netflix.

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Sam Herdman @whattafiasco.bsky.social · 15/12/2025

Finally settled on a design for my holiday card this year. Back to linocut again and I managed to carve and get the initial printing done. If the ink dries in less than a week, they might get some hand coloring. I have no idea if the recipients like them but they make me happy.

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Sam Herdman @whattafiasco.bsky.social · 27/11/2025

It’s that time of year when I confirm once again that advertising that importunes me to Buy Stuff to prove that I am Celebrating just makes it easier to buy even less.

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Sam Herdman @whattafiasco.bsky.social · 29/10/2025

Too much time on the road today, but I got to see the autumn leaves lit by the late afternoon sun and reflected in the Susquehanna River.

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Sam Herdman @whattafiasco.bsky.social · 03/10/2025

About once every ten years I remember how good the music from the band Yes is. Today I also was reminded of just how great an art form a well composed album is. Of course today I was also thinking about 3D printing giant slide mounts to use as frames for art. Need to finish a few projects first.

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Sam Herdman @whattafiasco.bsky.social · 12/09/2025

Standing in a long, slow moving line in the dark means sometimes you can’t help but hear the weirdest conversations: “Hey, did I tell you that my mom… uh… saved my foreskin.” “Uh. Maybe I meant umbilical cord?”

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Sam Herdman @whattafiasco.bsky.social · 06/09/2025

Art supplies I ordered were running a few days later than expected. So of course they show up on my doorstep literal minutes before I have to leave for the evening. (These are the problems I can enjoy.)

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Sam Herdman @whattafiasco.bsky.social · 15/07/2025

TFW the protagonist in a random fantasy novel takes a swipe at a grocery co-op in a town halfway across the country from you and you give the book the stink eye because you know exactly which co-op is being sassed because you regularly shop there when you’re in the town.

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Sam Herdman @whattafiasco.bsky.social · 02/07/2025

I love seeing the beautiful things my friends make.

A Damascus blade knife with forged guard and wrapped grip.

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Sam Herdman @whattafiasco.bsky.social · 30/06/2025

Visual migraines are so weird. Happily, I don’t get headaches to go with them.

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Sam Herdman @whattafiasco.bsky.social · 22/06/2025

This morning I was pretty sure the craziest thing I’d hear all day was a weekend news lady worrying that if we make AI that acts like people, what happens when the AI calls in sick? Yeah, that’s so many kinds of fucked up.

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Sam Herdman @whattafiasco.bsky.social · 19/06/2025

Painting clouds thanks to a photo sent to me by a friend. It could use one more pass for details, but it was a pleasant palate cleanser to get me back to the oil paints.

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Sam Herdman @whattafiasco.bsky.social · 22/05/2025

Took a little more time playing around with some light graphite today.

Light graphite drawing of the faces of a young man with slightly curly hair and a crooked bow tie.

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Sam Herdman @whattafiasco.bsky.social · 17/05/2025

The world is… *waves hands expansively* but today at least, I’m in a good mood.

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Sam Herdman @whattafiasco.bsky.social · 28/04/2025

I am once again in possession of a valid passport. No plans to go anywhere it’s needed just yet, but I feel better having it.

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Sam Herdman @whattafiasco.bsky.social · 27/04/2025

Sometimes you can casually put pencil to paper and suddenly feel the leveling up flowing through your arm and fingers. More practice.

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Sam Herdman @whattafiasco.bsky.social · 10/04/2025

Gyoza: the sense of dawning horror when I realize that I only have 50 gyoza wrappers, enough for just half the filling I prepared. Time to head to the store to get more wrappers so they can thaw by tomorrow morning. But they taste good! And the pleating was fun and not difficult.

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