Nicolas Ward
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ultranurd.net
Nicolas Ward
@ultranurd.net
130 followers 140 following 300 posts
Cloud securitician and AWS principal engineer. Married to Andrle. I like Star Trek, books, games, Lego, and politics that reduces harm. Opinions are my own. Ⓥ

Much more active over on Mastodon https://tacobelllabs.net/@ultranurd
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ultranurd.net
Nicolas Ward @ultranurd.net · Nov 11
Claimed my username On Here but unlikely to post much. Might see if there are a few people I miss from Twitter who have landed here but not Mastodon. I've otherwise found my post-Twitter home over at tacobelllabs.net/@ultranurd and of course my permanent home is always going to be www.ultranurd.net
ultranurd.net
Roumd Bun https://blog.ultranurd.net/2026/01/16/roumd-bun/
An almost spherical brown rabbit with short ears crouches on the bark between two houses. A covered gas grill is visible to the right. The scene is dimly lit by a streetlight from the left.
January 17, 2026 at 1:57 AM
ultranurd.net
@quiglin.bsky.social Happy birthday! Hope it's a good one!
January 13, 2026 at 6:00 PM
ultranurd.net
To the Moon and Back https://blog.ultranurd.net/2026/01/12/to-the-moon-and-back/
A screenshot of the steps view of the health app for recent dates. Most of them are normal, between 6000 and 16000, but on the 7th and 8th almost 4.3 billion! Screenshot of health step statistics that has a horizontal bar graph: On average, this year's step count is higher than last year's. 780,911,621 steps/day 2026 9,003 steps/day 2025 And a vertical bar graph with an average line: Over the last 7 days, you took an average of 1,227,142,335 steps. Screenshot of steps health statistic with a day progress graph showing I'm way behind You're taking fewer steps than you usually do by now. •Today 5,995 steps • Average 249,812,118 steps A weak view bar graph of steps showing Wednesday and Thursday with massive bars above 4 billion and nothing else visible.
January 13, 2026 at 3:31 AM
ultranurd.net
PinkSky https://blog.ultranurd.net/2026/01/12/pinksky/
A city hillside and tall fir tree on the right with a mostly cloudy sky reflecting back a painterly pink-orange glow from the sunset to the west (out of frame to the right) A panorama of the same view, showing more of the hillside and surrounding buildings with the railing in the foreground distorted.
January 13, 2026 at 2:11 AM
ultranurd.net
Otherwatch https://blog.ultranurd.net/2026/01/08/otherwatch/
Close up of an Apple Watch on a hairy wrist with the legs of a small dog blurry in the background. The screen reads "Storage Full Try removing music or photos using the Apple Watch app on iPhone." with an OK button. The upper right shows the Personal focus icon and that it is 4:38 PM. Screenshot of the storage view showing the bar graph mostly light grey for Other and 30.8 of 32 GB used. Apps are listed but the largest is the Messages cache at only 636.8 MB An open palm holds an Apple Watch connected to its charger. The screen is showing the spinning shutdown lozenge ring animation. The same storage view showing a much smaller bar and only 8.5 GB used. The largest apps are Podcasts and Music at only about 30 MB each.
January 9, 2026 at 8:02 AM
ultranurd.net
Veganuary Treat https://blog.ultranurd.net/2026/01/08/veganuary-treat/
A colorful tie dye abstract depiction of a three scoop ice cream cone is labeled "NOW SCOOPING THE VEGANDULGENCE® SERIES" and next to it is a large red sign "LIMITED EDITION FLAVORS" The menu board on the right lists them all: Death by Chocolate Chocolate Cake (v) Chocolate Pistachio Milk & Cookies (v) Peanut Butter Brittle Caramel Fudge (v) Bananas Foster w/ Candied Pecans (v) Blood Orange Froyo Creamsicle (v)
January 9, 2026 at 4:34 AM
ultranurd.net
Play It Again, SAM https://blog.ultranurd.net/2026/01/07/play-it-again-sam/
Dozens of smiling chibi white clouds hang in a large atrium in several rows A masked child in a black hoodie and glasses stands in front of an exhibit entrance, lit from above by a space spotlight. The text behind him reads "Tariqa Waters: Venus Is Missing" in a vintage computer typeface A massive bead barrette sculpture with about five foot diameter pinkish beads and big black elastic bands. Through the band you can see the artist in a piece on the wall wearing a futuristic spandex jumpsuit coming through a round portal. A huge pink and white spacecraft that kinda resembles a hair dryer flies off to the right, surrounded by disco balls and blown glass bead barrettes. The room is fairly dark.
January 8, 2026 at 7:46 AM
Reposted by Nicolas Ward
willquinnart.bsky.social
Daily bunny no.3192 is tampering with the past
Bunnies are at the location of the time portal in "City At the Edge of Forever" (the Star Trek episode.) It is a donut-shaped glowing rock, with ruined columns strewn around it. One bunny has just run through the portal, head-first, as two other bunnies try to stop them.
January 7, 2026 at 4:52 AM
ultranurd.net
I’m Awake https://blog.ultranurd.net/2026/01/06/im-awake/
A small black and tan Yorkshire Terrier is so cozy into a too large poofy beige dog bed that his head has disappeared under the edge of it to the upper right.
January 6, 2026 at 5:22 PM
Reposted by Nicolas Ward
phoenixofgrunvale.bsky.social
"A History of Warner Bros. Through Mergers"

Because no one else would make it, I decided to. Yoicks, and away! #WarnerBros #Netflix #VideoEditing
January 5, 2026 at 3:27 AM
ultranurd.net
Utopia Planitia https://blog.ultranurd.net/2026/01/04/utopia-planitia/
A large grey Lego starship model sits on a small oak coffee table facing to the left on a back stand. Behind it is a lit modern wooden Christmas tree full of ornaments. The sharp eyed can spot a small Enterprise-C ornament visible in the lower left. Also on the table is a small shuttlepod model and a plate with a row of all of the TNG main cast minifigs. Behind and to the right is the edge of a TV stand with a blue HomePod on it. A smiling bearded white man in glasses holds the huge Lego model of the Enterprise, angled down to see some of the top details. He is wearing a dark grey t shirt with a top down schematic of said starship on it. Behind him is a stereo console and a tall snake plant as well as an open window showing a neighboring house. Blasphemously he is wearing white Star Wars Christmas patterned flannel pajama pants. The same man and location, but this time he's cradling the model and looking down at it like it's a baby A super close up of an edge of the model during construction, looking through an incomplete opening to a child obscured by the model, his hair just visible above it. His wide open eye is completing filling the view through a gap in the model, Gowron style
January 5, 2026 at 2:43 AM
ultranurd.net
2025 Wrapped https://blog.ultranurd.net/2026/01/01/2025-wrapped/
A screen shot showing orange top podcasts display from Overcast. The stats with square podcast logos are: ATP 47 hours Upgrade 39 hours The Greatest Generation 36 hours Connected 30 hours The Incomparable Bootleg 18 hours Greatest Trek 16 hours Buff 14 hours Downstream+ 11 hours Clockwise 11 hours 360 hours total listening time in Overcast StoryGraph 2025 wrap up showing 32 book covers in four columns. It's a lot of graphic novels and a mix of genres. A StoryGraph 2025 wrap up showing that I read 32 books and 9433 pages, mostly fantasy and graphic novels. The most popular book I read was Fourth Wing and the least popular was the new D&D book Heroes of Faerûn Screenshot of in progress YouTube replay showing my top 3 channels are Game Changer Shorts, Dropout, and Make Some Noise.
January 2, 2026 at 4:49 AM
ultranurd.net
Foggy Moon https://blog.ultranurd.net/2025/12/31/foggy-moon/
A view of lit townhouses across an alley through fog with a barely visible moon above blurry through the clouds and fog. It is from the bottom of a driveway with another townhouse to the right and a wood fence to the left.
January 1, 2026 at 2:09 AM
ultranurd.net
Deconstructed Feast https://blog.ultranurd.net/2025/12/30/deconstructed-feast/
Pinkish chunks of Beyond meat are mixed in with partially browned onions in a large black cast iron pan The same pan, the beyond meat mostly browned and some peas mixed in A glass lid covers a stainless steel pot full cubed potatoes Eight rough blobs of biscuit dough sit on parchment paper on a baking sheet, the grid viewed from above
December 30, 2025 at 10:42 PM
ultranurd.net
Let This Be Your Last Cattlefeed
December 28, 2025 at 5:50 AM
ultranurd.net
Empty Deck https://blog.ultranurd.net/2025/12/27/empty-deck/
The central parking deck of a car ferry, completely empty. The shot is at an angle from the fore port side looking astern. The steel industrial structure and fluorescent lighting is visible. A yellow and black striped caution hatch is just in frame on the right.
December 27, 2025 at 6:10 PM
ultranurd.net
Neighborhood Lights https://blog.ultranurd.net/2025/12/26/neighborhood-lights/
A photo at night of a craftsman style home whose front porch is covered in Christmas lights. There are strands down the railings and posts and icicle lights from the eaves. There are some wrapped fir trees on either side of the front stairs. On the left foreground is a red maple tree that still has its leaves. A house at night mostly obscured by their front tree. They have a lit display of gift boxes on the right and then their broad front stars on the left have the railing and poles wrapped in classic pink tone small colored lights.
December 26, 2025 at 6:16 PM
ultranurd.net
Schnitzel https://blog.ultranurd.net/2025/12/25/schnitzel/
Six seitan tenders boiled in chik'n broth in a ceramic baking dish. The broth has deeply colored the sides. A counter set up for breading and frying. Three white shallow bowls in front are filled (from right to left) with peppered flour, egg replacer, and panko bread crumbs. Behind a black wire cooling rack rests in a rimmed cookie sheet with red silicone tongs next to it. Close up of a large ceramic dutch oven with four breaded schnitzels frying in shallow oil. Three have been flipped where a fried side is already facing up. Six fried schnitzel sit on the cooling rack, drying.
December 26, 2025 at 3:04 AM
Reposted by Nicolas Ward
merriam-webster.com
Merriam Christmas
December 25, 2025 at 2:50 PM
ultranurd.net
The Cookiening II https://blog.ultranurd.net/2025/12/24/the-cookiening-ii/
Two cookie sheets with parchment paper sit on a ceramic cooktop. They are full of balls of dark chocolate cookie dough. The shot is framed so that there is a vertical gap between the two sheets and the other sides of the sheets are out of frame. A stainless steel saucepan full of melted chocolate covered with sifted powdered sugar. A red silicone spatula is just in view on the lower left. A black metal wire cooling rack viewed from above and covered in cookies. The cookies are frosted with glossy chocolate and each is topped with a single whole pecan. A close up of one pecan topped cookie from the side, with the other cookies on the rack out of focus in the background.
December 25, 2025 at 7:20 AM
Reposted by Nicolas Ward
riotgrlerin.bsky.social
xmas movie posters but with muppets: thread
Beaker in Die Hard.
December 24, 2025 at 2:19 PM
ultranurd.net
Eepy https://blog.ultranurd.net/2025/12/23/eepy/
A tiny Yorkshire Terrier falling asleep, his eyes barely open, sitting on a lap. The man is wearing jeans and the Yorkie is looking to the right with his ears up
December 24, 2025 at 2:16 AM
ultranurd.net
The Cookiening https://blog.ultranurd.net/2025/12/22/the-cookiening/
Neat rows of light small cookies on one side of a cooling rack are overwhelmed by a huge pile of brown cookies on the right side. Some empty baking sheets with parchment paper sit on the counter in the foreground.
December 22, 2025 at 11:20 PM
ultranurd.net
@sensornoise.com I had a high school friend with a Passat who would always use the flip out key jokingly as if it were a switchblade threat
December 19, 2025 at 2:42 PM
ultranurd.net
Snowflakes https://blog.ultranurd.net/2025/12/17/snowflakes/
A collection of paper snowflakes in various patterns and sizes sits on a glass table. Their shadows project through into the light colored chairs that are pushed into the table, seen among its wooden legs A couple of paper snowflakes on a glass table. The larger one on the right has mostly diamond cutouts A green and white handled pair of Fiskars brand right handed scissors sits on a pile of paper scraps on a glass table. An entirely hexagonal outline paper snowflakes sits on a glass table. It has a number of internal struts and cut outs making mostly nested hexagons.
December 18, 2025 at 1:28 AM