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nil.dev
Nily
@nil.dev
110 followers 620 following 97 posts
sleepy writer / artist / would-be game dev who does code stuff for a living. I live with cats. Prefer they/them. Usually nil or nilium elsewhere. Also https://nil.dev & https://big.trash.haus/@nil

Avatar by @catastrothy.bsky.social.
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nil.dev
Baked a cherry pie. Still waiting for it to cool down even if I think burning my mouth would be worth it.
A cherry pie sitting on a grey towel on a wooden cutting board. The pie top is golden brown with some darker brown spots where egg wash pooled and I didn't bother removing it. The edges of the pie are a bit cracked where the crust let some of the cherry filling out and it stuck to the sides of the pie dish. One bit of the cherry filling is still bubbling. The center oozed a bit where it was scored, showing the dark red filling inside.
November 22, 2025 at 6:50 AM
nil.dev
Tried to make mechado (the stew kind anyway, I think two years after I said I'd try to make it). No idea if I did it totally correctly but it tastes great.
A bowl of mechado over rice sitting in my cutting board. The mechado is a beef stew in a deep red sauce with red bell peppers, chopped carrots, barely visible sliced onions, and yellow potato chunks about the same size as the pieces of beef. The sauce is mixed into the rice and has a visible bit of oil around the edges of the bowl. There's a spoon stuck in it at the top.
November 17, 2025 at 6:27 AM
nil.dev
Slowly getting back to doing basic cardio every day, just walking on a treadmill at the moment. Probably also pick up rowing again because I did that a lot when my parents had a rowing machine (not sure if it's still at the house anymore). Kind of nice seeing the iOS fitness app fill up again.
A screenshot of the iOS Fitness app showing a calendar view (so a row per week, Monday through Sunday) of August 2025, with the first twelve days having filled out rings for (from the outside in) movement in red, minutes of exercise in green, and standing up at least once per hour in cyan. Above and to the right of each circle is a green dot, I don't know what they indicate. The remaining days have faded out rings because they're in the future.
August 13, 2025 at 2:13 AM
nil.dev
Baked a strawberry rhubarb pie again. This time no lattice top (they're a pain to do and the crust was already being difficult), though I don't get the top right anyway so it didn't seal entirely. Pretty sure it'll still be good. Just have to wait for it to cool.
A strawberry rhubarb pie in a dish seen from the top, with red, syrupy filling spilling out the edges and bubbling a bit because the top crust wasn't fully sealed with the bottom crust. The top of the pie is a flat crust with four slits radiating out from the center for venting. Some strawberry and rhubarb can be seen peaking through the slits.
July 21, 2025 at 6:47 AM
nil.dev
made beef stroganoff. haven't used rotini for this before somehow, but probably going to use it from now on. could've cooked the beef better but it works for being tired.
A bowl of beef stroganoff. The rotini noodles are pretty yellow and tinted darker brown from the sauce. There are sliced pieces of beef and mushrooms mixed in between the noodles. Some of the seasoning is visible on the noodles (pepper and thyme, mostly, as the paprika coats nearly everything). They strogan my off til I beef, as the younger generations would say.
July 2, 2025 at 6:20 AM
nil.dev
Made some kind of ginger beef with a slightly tangier sauce (some added rice vinegar and sugar, but not enough that either took over the flavor). Turned out pretty well.
A flat bowl of rice topped with stir-fried beef, broccolini, green bell peppers, and onions (along with minced ginger and garlic). The stir fry is lightly coated in a shiny brown sauce. A fork is sticking out of the right side of the bowl.
May 19, 2025 at 6:51 AM
nil.dev
Bird butt.
A bird's nest built between a column and beam of wood. An American robin's head (probably female but can't be sure) is sticking out of the nest with its bright yellow beak pointed to the left and staring at me while I take a photo of it. Its tail is sticking straight up in the air out the back of the nest, behind its head. The bird is most likely sitting on eggs. Its face is mostly dark brown with white lines above and below its eyes, along with white a mix of white and brown feathers along its throat (under the beak). The same nest and bird as the previous photo, but from the other side of the nost, showing just the robin's tail feathers and butt sticking up into the air. The tail feathers are nostly black with white tips. The post's eponymous bird butt.
May 3, 2025 at 8:56 PM
nil.dev
pretty sure she's a cat but I've had my doubts
Zorya, a short haired tabby cat, receiving tummy rubs while she rolls around in my lap and kneads the air. Her head is pressed into stomach and she has one eye closed because she just kinda does that when she's happy. I can safely say her tummy is very soft.
April 22, 2025 at 7:50 AM
nil.dev
Well, partly thanks to the horror I've inflicted on my little basil plant, I now have ginger beef.
Ginger beef with snap peas and yellow bell pepper on top of rice in a wide, flatter white bowl. The beef and vegetables are all coated in a dark sauce. This photo was taken while simultaneously staring at the video camera pointed at my kitchen so I can make sure my cats don't try to knock the wok off the stove or drink the soap out of the kitchen sink. The same ginger beef but in the wok I cooked it in. (No rice.) The lighting is a little blown out because of the overhead lights on the stove.
April 21, 2025 at 4:24 AM
nil.dev
Finn, a black cat, curled up into a ball and looking up at the camera like he's been here all day. He's laying on the covers of the bed I moved aside to get into it a few minutes ago. He has not been here longer than that. He doesn't want to be moved and only curls up like this when he knows he's going to be moved. Finn, slightly uncurling when he realizes I haven't picked him up and moved him yet. He's still in do-not-move-me mode but will be getting moved nonetheless. He has one paw outstretched now and both eyes uncovered, but is keeping a paw over the rest of his face.
March 23, 2025 at 7:07 AM
nil.dev
I don't know whose cat this is that visited me tonight but they were very friendly. Went out on my porch and they walked right up to me to get pet, and at one point seemed like they were going to climb my leg if I didn't reach down to keep petting them.
Gray tabby cat getting pet. Their eyes are slightly closed because they're trying as hard as possible to smoosh their head into my hand while I scratch their head. The same grey tabby cat, now standing up against my leg to get pet some more because they're unbelievably friendly. Continuing to pet the cat seemed necessary since it was clearly intent on getting to my hand by climbing my leg otherwise. The same gray tabby cat still getting head scratches because it is determined to get as much attention from me as possible. The gray taby cat sitting and raising its head so I can scratch behind its ear, along its cheeks, and under its chin.
March 4, 2025 at 8:17 AM
nil.dev
Normal bird.
Jade, the Panama amazon, hanging upside down from the top of her cage and leaning in to try to grab the camera with her beak. You can see in her one visible eye the madness that drives all amazons, plus an orange iris. Her feathers are pretty scruffy from general amazon antics like chasing the food dish around and trying to murder it.
February 18, 2025 at 8:51 PM
nil.dev
Smooshed cat.
A photo of Zorya, a small tabby cat, laying in my lap with her head pressed into my sweater and eyes closed while I scratch her head. She has one paw under her cheek and is kneading the sweater.
January 19, 2025 at 7:01 AM
nil.dev
Zorya is very cute.
A small tabby cat resting her head on my hand and index finger with her eyes closed while laying down in my lap, wedged between me and my desk. She appears to be melting into coziness.
January 4, 2025 at 8:44 AM
nil.dev
Zorya, just after jumping on my lap and a few minutes later. Completely normal cat.
Zorya, a short-haired tabby cat, sitting on my left thigh, looking a bit like a loaf of bread. She's looking up at the camera wondering why I'm not petting her. Her white whiskers stretch out a bit over an inch past the sides of her head. Zorya rolled over on her side (similar to how you'd cradle a child) in my lap with her legs stretched partway out across my left thigh. She has one paw on my stomach and is grabbing my shirt with her claws to pull herself up while I pet her head. Her eyes are partly closed. You can see some of the dark fur spots on her tummy.
November 14, 2024 at 7:44 PM
nil.dev
Photo from a couple years ago of a tiny rabbit that was hiding under my porch steps. I don't usually see them around, so was really lucky to get this photo before it ran off to hide somewhere else.
A small, wild rabbit hiding under my porch step to keep out of the rain. It's slightly smaller than a typical person's closed hand, especially with its tiny ears down against its back. Its fur is a mix of grey, brown, and black. It's hard to tell what it was looking at with its shiny black eyes. It probably just wanted me to go away.
October 24, 2024 at 6:06 AM
nil.dev
Godspeed, dog
Zorya, a small tabby cat, and Finn, a larger black cat, sleeping next to each other on my bed. They're both shrimp-shaped with their heads touching.
October 22, 2024 at 2:16 AM
nil.dev
Alright, if I post this, will the button finally go away?
A virtual certificate with text "Celebrating 10M users on Bluesky, #65,159, Nily ‪@nil.dev‬, joined on May 7, 2023"
October 20, 2024 at 8:57 PM
nil.dev
Zorya being completely normal.
#cats
Zorya, a tabby cat, laying on her side on my lap and using her claws to pull herself up my chest. Zorya laying on her side on my lap stretches out, with one hind leg stretched way out. You can see her tummy spots pretty well. Zorya on my lap, mostly on her back and in a hard to describe position, like she's trying to roll around but not quite succeeding.
October 19, 2024 at 10:32 PM
nil.dev
Zorya spent part of the morning being very concerned about this bird sitting on my backyard camera's power cable. Clearly a problem.
A bird, unsure of the kind (kinda looks sparrow-like but I don't recognize it), sitting on a thin USB power cable running along a thick wood beam. The bird has a white chest and throat, dark gray wings and head, and is very thin. Its wings droop slightly like it's tired. The bird's body faces the beam, but the bird is looking back and down towards where Zorya has slammed her head into the sliding glass door.
May 15, 2023 at 6:13 PM
nil.dev
I upset the balance by taking Tater's spot on the couch. He is forced now to take his place on the arm, degrading though it may be.
Three cats sitting to the right of me on the sofa. Tater, a very large fluffy tabby, is sitting on the sofa arm, looking dejected because I took his spot. The grim expression on his face tells of 3am carpet barf to come. Zorya, a small short haired tabby, lays on the seat of the sofa cuddling with Finn, a larger short haired black cat, who is asleep with one paw wrapped around Zorya. They do not look insulted the way Tater does. Nobody could ever look as insulted as Tater does.
May 13, 2023 at 1:58 AM
nil.dev
Finn's favorite spot lately is sitting on top of this towel on a shelf. He won't sit there unless the towel is there as well. Haven't figured out yet if he'll sit on the towel anywhere I put it since he seems disappointed when I remove it from the shelf.
A black cat laying on a small towel I left on the bottom of a bookshelf. It doesn't look comfortable.
May 10, 2023 at 12:57 AM
nil.dev
I guess in the absence of full consciousness because I'm forcing myself to not take a nap (to try to fix my sleep schedule), here's the beef broccoli I made a couple weeks ago following J. Kenji López-Alt's recipe from The Wok. Made curry tonight, but didn't take photos because it's kinda the usual.
A photo of beef broccoli, using broccolini, on top of rice in a white bowl. A photo of beef broccoli, using broccolini, in a wok. The wok is steaming and the sauce is bubbling. The broccolini is an especially vibrant green, standing out against the darker beef and sauce.
May 8, 2023 at 12:00 AM