Mistral N
@mistraln.bsky.social
writer, software developer, and immersive designer based in Northeast Ohio
Logged in just to repost this because I've done it again
December 10, 2025 at 10:38 PM
Logged in just to repost this because I've done it again
Reposted by Mistral N
Tbh It's actually okay to suck at stuff you enjoy doing. You don't have to gear into competition or be the absolute best. Existing and having fun is just as worthwhile. You don't have to make money off it. You don't have to get published. You can literally just create it, fail, learn, and make more
May 22, 2025 at 7:37 AM
Tbh It's actually okay to suck at stuff you enjoy doing. You don't have to gear into competition or be the absolute best. Existing and having fun is just as worthwhile. You don't have to make money off it. You don't have to get published. You can literally just create it, fail, learn, and make more
Reposted by Mistral N
I feel like community has become such a buzz word that sometimes we forget that to be a community, you will run into imperfect people. You'll have to listen to a long winded story you aren't interested in from some old guy. You'll have to take out the trash or fix a toilet when no one else will.
May 11, 2025 at 6:04 PM
I feel like community has become such a buzz word that sometimes we forget that to be a community, you will run into imperfect people. You'll have to listen to a long winded story you aren't interested in from some old guy. You'll have to take out the trash or fix a toilet when no one else will.
Solving the "how many verses of Echad Mi Yodeya do you REALLY have to sing" quandary in the most my-family way possible: singing only the Fibonacci-numbered verses
April 14, 2025 at 11:52 PM
Solving the "how many verses of Echad Mi Yodeya do you REALLY have to sing" quandary in the most my-family way possible: singing only the Fibonacci-numbered verses
Reposted by Mistral N
Worth resharing with credit:
Source: letter.visualgrowth.com/p/cringe
Source: letter.visualgrowth.com/p/cringe
March 30, 2025 at 2:40 PM
Worth resharing with credit:
Source: letter.visualgrowth.com/p/cringe
Source: letter.visualgrowth.com/p/cringe
Reposted by Mistral N
Hey. The fragmentation of the social media landscape has been hard on indie #scicomm 🧪 projects
So if you'd like to follow a podcast that's enthusiastic about #linguistics, could you check out @lingthusiasm.bsky.social?
And if you think your followers might like to, could you give this a repost?
So if you'd like to follow a podcast that's enthusiastic about #linguistics, could you check out @lingthusiasm.bsky.social?
And if you think your followers might like to, could you give this a repost?
March 29, 2025 at 7:29 PM
Hey. The fragmentation of the social media landscape has been hard on indie #scicomm 🧪 projects
So if you'd like to follow a podcast that's enthusiastic about #linguistics, could you check out @lingthusiasm.bsky.social?
And if you think your followers might like to, could you give this a repost?
So if you'd like to follow a podcast that's enthusiastic about #linguistics, could you check out @lingthusiasm.bsky.social?
And if you think your followers might like to, could you give this a repost?
Reposted by Mistral N
As the @peculiarityshop.bsky.social's Cosmic-themed mystery boxes start reaching their owners, I wanted to highlight a few of my favorite things I made for this box. SPACE IS COOL.
March 26, 2025 at 5:48 PM
As the @peculiarityshop.bsky.social's Cosmic-themed mystery boxes start reaching their owners, I wanted to highlight a few of my favorite things I made for this box. SPACE IS COOL.
Reposted by Mistral N
I swear. Writing is the only discipline where we make people feel like failures for practising. How many songs does a violinist learn that never wind up in recital? How many studies do painters do? Acting exercises. Tennis for fun.
You're allowed to write without the intention of publishing.
You're allowed to write without the intention of publishing.
I wrote seven novels before Someone You Can Build A Nest In. I didn't just throw away drafts. There are some eras of my life and spirit that will go unpublished.
And that's okay, because they helped me become the writer I am. They weren't failure. They were education.
And that's okay, because they helped me become the writer I am. They weren't failure. They were education.
I have heard so many newer writers—including extremely good ones!—bemoan that they think they're a failure because they might have to throw out a half-finished draft and start over.
Throwing out a draft is
a) very very normal and
b) progress, not failure.
Throwing out a draft is
a) very very normal and
b) progress, not failure.
March 26, 2025 at 8:17 PM
I swear. Writing is the only discipline where we make people feel like failures for practising. How many songs does a violinist learn that never wind up in recital? How many studies do painters do? Acting exercises. Tennis for fun.
You're allowed to write without the intention of publishing.
You're allowed to write without the intention of publishing.
I ordered an ice scraper online, and all the shipping and confirmation emails described it as "INFLTBLE SALLY W/TRT SCK," which is definitely not what it was called when I ordered it 🤔
March 25, 2025 at 1:18 AM
I ordered an ice scraper online, and all the shipping and confirmation emails described it as "INFLTBLE SALLY W/TRT SCK," which is definitely not what it was called when I ordered it 🤔
Reposted by Mistral N
I run our advanced game design class game jam-style, basically. They get a prompt/restrictions and about 90 min to make a simple prototype.
#1 mistake students make I warn them against: they spend the entire time arguing about which idea is the best one instead of just… making one and seeing.
#1 mistake students make I warn them against: they spend the entire time arguing about which idea is the best one instead of just… making one and seeing.
revising a confluence doc or paper map for weeks before touching the engine is not iteration. refactoring a system when you better understand its needs is not wasted work. you're measuring 10 times and cutting none. gamedev is ITERATIVE. fucking get STARTED as soon as possible and update it in-place
March 23, 2025 at 2:45 PM
I run our advanced game design class game jam-style, basically. They get a prompt/restrictions and about 90 min to make a simple prototype.
#1 mistake students make I warn them against: they spend the entire time arguing about which idea is the best one instead of just… making one and seeing.
#1 mistake students make I warn them against: they spend the entire time arguing about which idea is the best one instead of just… making one and seeing.
Reposted by Mistral N
I made some questionable life choices last night, but on the upside I now have a puzzle on the door to my office!
![A series of book covers that seem...slightly off, with a headline reading "[ ]omething missing", with the Simon and Schuster logo in the bracketed space](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:uxmp3lgnfy46wqk3iuvhs4zr/bafkreifh5ajndzd5ormi2jt7gl2fyhbklde24ahnphnhofwlvrrkbowjzq@jpeg)
March 20, 2025 at 9:46 PM
I made some questionable life choices last night, but on the upside I now have a puzzle on the door to my office!
Reposted by Mistral N
Been thinking about chapter 2 in @moudhy.bsky.social book that highlights the birth of writing, in ancient Mesopotamia — thanks to transactions.
Today, an in-situ sign remains near an ancient Ziggurat:
“The first written words started here”
Let that sit with you for a sec.
📸 Mesopotamia Tourism
Today, an in-situ sign remains near an ancient Ziggurat:
“The first written words started here”
Let that sit with you for a sec.
📸 Mesopotamia Tourism
March 15, 2025 at 10:19 PM
Been thinking about chapter 2 in @moudhy.bsky.social book that highlights the birth of writing, in ancient Mesopotamia — thanks to transactions.
Today, an in-situ sign remains near an ancient Ziggurat:
“The first written words started here”
Let that sit with you for a sec.
📸 Mesopotamia Tourism
Today, an in-situ sign remains near an ancient Ziggurat:
“The first written words started here”
Let that sit with you for a sec.
📸 Mesopotamia Tourism
Reposted by Mistral N
i think i have a good short story idea, i say. now to write it- my pants immediately fall down and i trip down three flights of concrete stairs, killing myself instantly
March 14, 2025 at 7:28 PM
i think i have a good short story idea, i say. now to write it- my pants immediately fall down and i trip down three flights of concrete stairs, killing myself instantly
Oh the things we do for immersive theater
March 16, 2025 at 1:48 AM
Oh the things we do for immersive theater
Writing about a character named Emil and so far I have accidentally referred to him as "Evil" and "Email"
March 15, 2025 at 4:49 PM
Writing about a character named Emil and so far I have accidentally referred to him as "Evil" and "Email"
Why is this post tagged twice with "crimes"
March 14, 2025 at 9:27 PM
Why is this post tagged twice with "crimes"
Reposted by Mistral N
was just told by @mistraln.bsky.social "your polycule sounds like my job"
March 9, 2025 at 3:33 PM
was just told by @mistraln.bsky.social "your polycule sounds like my job"
Reposted by Mistral N
New story! "Infinite Halves" by J.L. Akagi! buff.ly/JgpJtu6
March 4, 2025 at 9:40 PM
New story! "Infinite Halves" by J.L. Akagi! buff.ly/JgpJtu6
Reposted by Mistral N
typical book project timeline
March 4, 2025 at 3:08 PM
typical book project timeline
Reposted by Mistral N
New story! "10 Visions of the Future; or, Self-Care for the End of Days" by Samantha Mills! buff.ly/td7xqdv
March 4, 2025 at 9:10 PM
New story! "10 Visions of the Future; or, Self-Care for the End of Days" by Samantha Mills! buff.ly/td7xqdv
Reposted by Mistral N
Nancy By Ernie Bushmiller
February 28,1947
February 28,1947
February 28, 2025 at 12:42 PM
Nancy By Ernie Bushmiller
February 28,1947
February 28,1947
Coming out as aeromantic (my actions can be predicted via analysis of cloud formations and weather conditions)
February 22, 2025 at 1:19 AM
Coming out as aeromantic (my actions can be predicted via analysis of cloud formations and weather conditions)
Reposted by Mistral N
Wrote about my favorite in-class challenges for when I teach intro level programming hdyar.com/blog/posts/f...
My Favorite Programming Challenges for the Classroom
When teaching programming, I use a hybrid-flipped approach. I use video and “remote lecture” activities (flipped-classroom) purely as a way to prioritize the time I spent watching students program in ...
hdyar.com
February 21, 2025 at 4:20 PM
Wrote about my favorite in-class challenges for when I teach intro level programming hdyar.com/blog/posts/f...
What a callback to the out of print British cipher book I read as a kid. Thank you Randall Munroe
February 21, 2025 at 10:18 PM
What a callback to the out of print British cipher book I read as a kid. Thank you Randall Munroe
The blessing and curse of obsessing over a narrative so much and for so long that your emotions stop working
February 20, 2025 at 10:39 PM
The blessing and curse of obsessing over a narrative so much and for so long that your emotions stop working