Deb Chachra
@debcha.bsky.social
Engineering professor. Author of HOW INFRASTRUCTURE WORKS (on Riverhead in the US+, on Torva in the UK+). Interested in embodiment, materiality, metacognition, and systems. All enthusiasm is 100% genuine.
And this is closer to the teal that I love in mid-century government office buildings. [almost all the furniture in my flat is black or grey, you’ve now seen the exceptions].
November 17, 2025 at 8:06 PM
And this is closer to the teal that I love in mid-century government office buildings. [almost all the furniture in my flat is black or grey, you’ve now seen the exceptions].
IKEA very briefly did this metal cabinet in mid-century industrial green and I managed to snag one — it now lives in my workroom.
November 17, 2025 at 8:01 PM
IKEA very briefly did this metal cabinet in mid-century industrial green and I managed to snag one — it now lives in my workroom.
Timeline cleanse: Yesterday I was introduced to the teporingo (volcano rabbit) — it’s like a rabbit crossed with a pika and is only found on Popocatépetl and three of the other volcanoes near Mexico City: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volcano...
November 14, 2025 at 4:07 AM
Timeline cleanse: Yesterday I was introduced to the teporingo (volcano rabbit) — it’s like a rabbit crossed with a pika and is only found on Popocatépetl and three of the other volcanoes near Mexico City: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volcano...
I finally had a chance to finish my leadlight, btw.]
November 12, 2025 at 1:53 AM
I finally had a chance to finish my leadlight, btw.]
MC Escher has, appropriately, already designed and produced a print of your living space (it’s even called “Relativity”)
November 3, 2025 at 2:24 PM
MC Escher has, appropriately, already designed and produced a print of your living space (it’s even called “Relativity”)
Hallowe’en back in the land where Smarties are Smarties and Smarties are Rockets.
October 31, 2025 at 6:51 PM
Hallowe’en back in the land where Smarties are Smarties and Smarties are Rockets.
My cat Leroy likes to sprawl supine on the floor, and my illustrator friend @brucierosch.bsky.social made this photo of her being really silly even sillier.
May 10, 2025 at 10:25 PM
My cat Leroy likes to sprawl supine on the floor, and my illustrator friend @brucierosch.bsky.social made this photo of her being really silly even sillier.
My entry into this is extremely niche, but READ ALL ABOUT IT! was hands-down my favorite show as a child (which maybe explains a lot about me).
May 3, 2025 at 1:14 AM
My entry into this is extremely niche, but READ ALL ABOUT IT! was hands-down my favorite show as a child (which maybe explains a lot about me).
@rstevens.bsky.social I was in Chicago a few weeks ago, and brought back some coffee from a local roastery that gets that whole ‘coffee is infrastructure’ thing.
April 27, 2025 at 10:14 AM
@rstevens.bsky.social I was in Chicago a few weeks ago, and brought back some coffee from a local roastery that gets that whole ‘coffee is infrastructure’ thing.
The energy I bring to Bluesky
February 27, 2025 at 2:43 AM
The energy I bring to Bluesky
Yeah, you may recall my response to anyone who says any variant of “we’ve been through worse and we’ll get through this.”
February 6, 2025 at 11:59 PM
Yeah, you may recall my response to anyone who says any variant of “we’ve been through worse and we’ll get through this.”
If you happen to have an Atlantic subscription, there’s also this 2017 piece, “Gratitude for Invisible Systems.” www.theatlantic.com/technology/a...
[Sharing in the hope of contributing some ways to think or talk about these ideas and values to people who are dealing with these issues right now.]
[Sharing in the hope of contributing some ways to think or talk about these ideas and values to people who are dealing with these issues right now.]
January 28, 2025 at 4:07 PM
If you happen to have an Atlantic subscription, there’s also this 2017 piece, “Gratitude for Invisible Systems.” www.theatlantic.com/technology/a...
[Sharing in the hope of contributing some ways to think or talk about these ideas and values to people who are dealing with these issues right now.]
[Sharing in the hope of contributing some ways to think or talk about these ideas and values to people who are dealing with these issues right now.]
I shared this a couple of days ago:
December 28, 2024 at 3:01 AM
I shared this a couple of days ago:
Hah. I say nearly the same thing about my wristband tattoo — a reminder that I do always still have three neurons to rub together to make sparks.
December 9, 2024 at 1:16 PM
Hah. I say nearly the same thing about my wristband tattoo — a reminder that I do always still have three neurons to rub together to make sparks.
An essay on the unscalability of caregiving just crossed my desk, and it echoes the themes and language of my 2017 Atlantic piece “Why I Am Not a Maker” and my 2021 essay in Comment, “Care at Scale”. I am glad that these ideas are getting traction, but I am also really feeling this cartoon today.
December 2, 2024 at 10:00 PM
An essay on the unscalability of caregiving just crossed my desk, and it echoes the themes and language of my 2017 Atlantic piece “Why I Am Not a Maker” and my 2021 essay in Comment, “Care at Scale”. I am glad that these ideas are getting traction, but I am also really feeling this cartoon today.
Also, speaking of nerds and television, I made a quilted winter cover for the window-unit air conditioner in my TV-less living room.
November 28, 2024 at 12:49 AM
Also, speaking of nerds and television, I made a quilted winter cover for the window-unit air conditioner in my TV-less living room.
I should note that the ‘raised fist’ graphic came from Librarians Against DRM and I was inspired by Lester Beall’s posters for the WPA (as I’m sure you can tell) and the famous graphic for Québecois self-determination in the 1960s.
November 19, 2024 at 4:07 AM
I should note that the ‘raised fist’ graphic came from Librarians Against DRM and I was inspired by Lester Beall’s posters for the WPA (as I’m sure you can tell) and the famous graphic for Québecois self-determination in the 1960s.
I made my first-ever lino prints and I’m pretty happy about how they came out.
November 19, 2024 at 3:32 AM
I made my first-ever lino prints and I’m pretty happy about how they came out.
I’ve definitely been sent this by my friends.
October 30, 2024 at 4:03 PM
I’ve definitely been sent this by my friends.
@atherton.bsky.social So I have this exact poster in my living room (from the London Transit Museum) and I bought it because a) with climate change, “warmer” is not what you want in your subway and also…
October 21, 2024 at 1:37 PM
@atherton.bsky.social So I have this exact poster in my living room (from the London Transit Museum) and I bought it because a) with climate change, “warmer” is not what you want in your subway and also…
@darthbluesky.bsky.social My friend @brucierosch.bsky.social drew over this photo of *my* cat, Leroy, a few years ago and it makes me laugh every time I see it.
August 12, 2024 at 9:50 PM
@darthbluesky.bsky.social My friend @brucierosch.bsky.social drew over this photo of *my* cat, Leroy, a few years ago and it makes me laugh every time I see it.
August 12, 2024 at 7:34 PM
Also went for a dawn swim in the public pool at Barton Springs and was agog to discover that the human swimmers share the waters with two endangered salamander species, including this one that was only discovered in 1993: en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barton_...
June 23, 2024 at 6:12 PM
Also went for a dawn swim in the public pool at Barton Springs and was agog to discover that the human swimmers share the waters with two endangered salamander species, including this one that was only discovered in 1993: en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barton_...
Had a fantastic time in Austin — the BookPeople staff were wonderful, @austinkleon.bsky.social was the best interlocutor I could hope for, and I had a great, engaged audience who asked fantastic questions. Locals, Book People now has a stack of signed copies (with book-themed stickers!) in stock!
June 23, 2024 at 6:04 PM
Had a fantastic time in Austin — the BookPeople staff were wonderful, @austinkleon.bsky.social was the best interlocutor I could hope for, and I had a great, engaged audience who asked fantastic questions. Locals, Book People now has a stack of signed copies (with book-themed stickers!) in stock!
Austin, TX, friends, a reminder that one week today, I’ll be at BookPeople to talk about HOW INFRASTRUCTURE WORKS with the redoubtable @austinkleon.bsky.social!
More details and to RSVP: www.bookpeople.com/event/deb-ch...
More details and to RSVP: www.bookpeople.com/event/deb-ch...
June 13, 2024 at 10:07 PM
Austin, TX, friends, a reminder that one week today, I’ll be at BookPeople to talk about HOW INFRASTRUCTURE WORKS with the redoubtable @austinkleon.bsky.social!
More details and to RSVP: www.bookpeople.com/event/deb-ch...
More details and to RSVP: www.bookpeople.com/event/deb-ch...