iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Zero Shep @zero.shep.id · 10/09/2026

...this pack of miniature sticky notes was in my bottle of Japanese chewing gum. Because Lotte Black Black is known for its marginal caffeine content, I'm wondering if this is a common "Good luck with studying" trinket they include

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Zero Shep @zero.shep.id · 10/09/2026

Me when all my brakemen fall off, probably

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Zero Shep @zero.shep.id · 07/09/2026

Nah, not a sim; miniature driving trains at the railway museum in Saitama

Miniature train driving experience at Saitama Railway Museum. An E235 rapid transit car in picture.

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Zero Shep @zero.shep.id · 24/07/2026

The European style two-tone horns on the new Acelas are definitely different.

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Zero Shep @zero.shep.id · 14/07/2026

Hanging out with a friend at Princeton Junction on the Northeast Corridor. The equipment doesn't change much, but sometimes you do see something special that makes the entire day.

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Zero Shep @zero.shep.id · 09/07/2026

I saw Big Boy! Magnificent machine. The logistics behind getting this thing from Cheyenne to both coasts and back must have been enormous. Thank you for your hard work, UPRR :3

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Zero Shep @zero.shep.id · 04/05/2026

Most of them do move too. The museum gives rides through some beautiful Connecticut marshland.

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Zero Shep @zero.shep.id · 04/05/2026

New York Transportation Weekend at Shore Line Trolley Museum, CT, housing a collection of iconic streetcars and subway cars from throughout history. It was fun; there was a particular brand of nerding out which you find only amongst trolley and subway car preservationists...

Hudson & Manhattan Tubes car 503, the predecessor to the PATH train. Immaculate restoration.

Lo-V 5466, of the original Interborough Rapid Transit subway in New York.

Car 4573. It ran on the streets of Brooklyn.

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Zero Shep @zero.shep.id · 29/04/2026

Really neat place. There's a lot to check out; their steam program is a joy.

Engine C62 2 on the turntable at Kyoto Railway Museum right before they put her away for the day.

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Zero Shep @zero.shep.id · 31/03/2026

Japan was neat. So much to see and too little energy. I hope to go back :3

Delicious ramen at Ichiran, a fast casual place where you sit at a bar partitioned off from your neighbors and can have your food in relative peace.

The Thousand Tori Gates at Fushimi Inari Shrine in Kyoto. We got there around noon and the crowd was a little overwhelming.

Quiet alleyway outside Kaz Ryu, a mom and pop sushi restaurant in Kyoto.

The Tokaido Shinkansen; it's two hours from here in Kyoto to Tokyo at a top speed of 285kph/177mph. I stood here in the station for a while and saw nearly subway frequencies of service.

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Zero Shep @zero.shep.id · 28/03/2026

I'm saying it now; the Tokkaido Shinkansen (and likely the rest) is boring. The real interesting stuff happens on the subway and commuter lines. Having said that, the O.G. for HSR is always gonna be the Shinkansen c:

Nighttime Tokkaido Shinkansen near Osaki Station with cherry blossoms

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Zero Shep @zero.shep.id · 23/03/2026

This one can be bribed into being happy for you with dog soda

Smiling Shiba Inu being cradled in a person's arms. On the table next to them is a green soda topped with ice cream and maraschino cherry.

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Zero Shep @zero.shep.id · 17/01/2026

I've been on a train journey c:

Roomette accommodations on one of the newer Superliners. Outside, snowy and cloudy Washington State with unknown mountain in the background. This is Amtrak's Empire Builder, where I did an out-and-back from Seattle to Essex, Montana.

Switching move in Spokane, WA where they coupled up to the section of train which arrived from Portland, OR. Now on the point is a General Electric P42 locomotive, one of the good old favorites.

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Zero Shep @zero.shep.id · 29/12/2025

The tree at Rockefeller was nice; glad I saw it before the season's over. I might start describing a ridiculous New York City gathering as "Soylent Green crowded"

In background, the tree at Rockefeller Center which has been wrapped almost entirely with lights, with a brilliant star on the top. In the foreground, an unusually dense New York City crowd.

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Zero Shep @zero.shep.id · 19/11/2025

Whoever made up this office name clearly has never watched a Looney Tunes cartoon

A Sprinter-style van adorned with logos of the NYC Mayor's Public Engagement Unit (PEU) with slogan "PEU is here for YOU!"

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Zero Shep @zero.shep.id · 08/11/2025

You will receive the Order of Lenin for this. ...plus a thousand rubles!

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Zero Shep @zero.shep.id · 13/09/2025

*banging fists on table* have sex Have Sex HAVE SEX

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Zero Shep @zero.shep.id · 20/08/2025

I'm seeing more AI in subway adverts. To quote Comrade Bryukhanov, it's disgraceful, really...

AI art of woman in subway sneaker advertisement in a dynamic pose. Her fingers look off.

AI art of woman squatting in suggestive pose in subway sneaker advertisement. There are Asian style lanterns lining the street and all of them have irregular characters on them.

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Zero Shep @zero.shep.id · 13/07/2025

Reminder: if you're ever at odds with someone in authority, tell them Major Bhurov allows it.

Lyudmila Ignatenko in Chernobyl in the scene where Major Bhurov allows it.

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Zero Shep @zero.shep.id · 27/06/2025

I'm watching Comedians in Cars and a great point was brought up which reminded me of one of my own wishes: I've always wanted the Orca from Jaws. It's utilitarian, which is probably my favorite aesthetic.

Side view of Quint's boat, the Orca, in the 1975 blockbuster film "Jaws."

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Zero Shep @zero.shep.id · 27/06/2025

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Zero Shep @zero.shep.id · 19/06/2025

That "before" shot was AFTER the "after" shot...

Misleading Youtube thumbnail showing WTC-Cortlandt on the IRT No. 1 Line after it was rebuilt as "Before," and the original Cortlandt Street after it was destroyed in the 9/11 attacks as "After."

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Zero Shep @zero.shep.id · 06/06/2025

From what I remember, it was a neat operation and it seemed as though the staff took pride in their work (I didn't get the whole experience because of a miscommunication; see alt text.) Worth the visit in conjunction with other sightseeing; may need someone to interpret if your Mandarin isn't strong

Alishan No. 21 waiting to leave, with crowd looking on

The Shay with train crossed a boulevard and made a station stop in the yard. My cousins misheard a PA announcement and we de-trained in a panic, and the train continued up the line without us ;-;

Among the rolling stock on display in the yard, this four-axle road switcher of unknown type. Each truck has side rods.

Another portion of Alishan visited on another day; similar road switcher waiting to push the train up the line. I believe this was more of a shuttle to a trail head.

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Zero Shep @zero.shep.id · 05/06/2025

I've personally confirmed as of early 2023 that at least one of them is still operating; others are on display. My family took me to two separate sections of Alishan; one was operated with a Shay and the other a diesel.

Shay logging locomotive pulling wood coaches on Alishan Forest Railway in Taiwan on an overcast day. Red diesel locomotives of unknown make in the background.

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Zero Shep @zero.shep.id · 06/05/2025

I mean... It IS the lower that makes the hot load shoot out of the gun barrel

Tweet "gun nut twink I call him my lower receiver *gasm emoji*"

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Zero Shep @zero.shep.id · 07/04/2025

"When you grow up without something you... spend a lot of time thinking about it."

Robot Roz and Fink the Fox looking sad and contemplative.

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Zero Shep @zero.shep.id · 29/03/2025

In the short time I've been in Seattle, I've come to learn a couple things about myself... ...but also train handling on other passenger railroads (don't "stand them up" making a station stop)

Cab car of a push-pull Sounder commuter train

Amtrak ALC-42 locomotive at King Street, Seattle

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Zero Shep @zero.shep.id · 13/02/2025

Late but, four Zero-coded characters:

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Zero Shep @zero.shep.id · 12/02/2025

Introduce yourself with four movies

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Zero Shep @zero.shep.id · 12/02/2025

I think about this scene from Spirited Away from time to time. Anybody who's union and works with other crafts recognizes the theme.

Screen cap of Spirited Away of Kamaji, the boiler worker, admonishing Chihiro. Caption "And you, better watch it. You can't just take someone else's work."

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Zero Shep @zero.shep.id · 15/01/2025

Wanted to finish watching The Polar Express; they pulled it from streaming. Watching The Train (1964) instead. This film is to train buffs what Bridge Over The River Kwai is to Ron Swanson.