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poppastring.com
Mark Downie
@poppastring.com
1.1K followers 550 following 970 posts
🧑🏾‍💻OSS Contributor (dasBlog)
🏢PM @ Microsoft (Visual Studio, Core AI)
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poppastring.com/blog
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poppastring.com
Architect Terry Farrell, best-known for the postmodern MI6, died recently. My favorite building is his KK100 skyscraper, which is the world's tallest building by a British #architect.

[Photo by Carsten Schael]
Modern high-rise skyscraper with a twisting glass and metal facade, curving dramatically at the base. The building features a geometric canopy with lights, surrounded by trees, other buildings, and a paved street with road markings.
October 3, 2025 at 2:31 AM
poppastring.com
Visual Studio 2026 has just landed! #VisualStudio2026

review.learn.microsoft.com/en-us/visual...
September 9, 2025 at 5:05 PM
poppastring.com
Why am I seeing a reference to a 9-year-old story on the front page of espn.com/nba. Slow period for the #nba I guess :)

www.espn.com/olympics/bas...
A picture of a basketball player with USA on the front of his jersey. The printed text next to the picture reads "Melo: 'Would be very happy walking away from the game' with three golds Knicks star Carmelo Anthony said that if an NBA title continues to elude him, he "would be very happy walking..." "
August 27, 2025 at 2:18 PM
poppastring.com
Watching John Wick and was reminded of the beauty of the Sacred Heart Basilica in #Paris during the closing scene.
White Gothic styled church White Gothic styled church from the side. Two people walking up the steps Interior of a Gothic style church, an image the Christ on the ceiling with arms stretched open A series of stone steps with an iron railing in the center. Trees lining the right side and buildings on the left
August 27, 2025 at 12:39 AM
poppastring.com
Well, this was exactly why I prioritized going to the National Museum of African American History & Culture in DC this year. We all assumed it would come to this. #dc #museum
Low-angle view of the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C., showcasing its bronze-colored lattice facade inspired by historical ironwork. The cube-shaped building stands against a clear blue sky, with three birds in flight on the left side, adding motion to the serene scene. Abstract portrait painting displayed on a white gallery wall, composed of vibrant dots, dashes, and splashes in blue, red, yellow, purple, and white. The face emerges from dense clusters of color, contrasted by blank areas in the background. A small placard with artwork details is mounted to the right of the painting. Vintage Boeing Stearman PT-17 Kaydet biplane suspended from a museum ceiling, painted in blue and yellow with 'ARMY' lettering and U.S. military roundels on the wings. The open cockpit, radial engine, and black propeller with red and white tips are clearly visible. Background includes aviation history displays under dim lighting. Museum exhibit panel titled 'THE PARADOX OF LIBERTY' in bold white capital letters on a black background. Above the title, a portrait of Thomas Jefferson in a yellow coat is displayed alongside text discussing the contradiction between America's founding principles of freedom and the reality of slavery. The exhibit is set in a dimly lit space with polished concrete flooring.
August 22, 2025 at 2:01 PM
poppastring.com
👀
August 20, 2025 at 7:23 PM
poppastring.com
St Chappelle has some of the best examples of Gothic stained glass in the world #paris
A tall chapel with stained glass stretching to the ceiling. A tall chapel with stained glass stretching to the ceiling. A tall chapel with stained glass stretching to the ceiling.
July 16, 2025 at 4:32 PM
poppastring.com
Bon Dia from Sagrada Familia #barcelona
Strained glass windows in a variety of colors. Light is spilling into the church.
July 7, 2025 at 3:34 PM
poppastring.com
Part of Elizabeth Catlett's exhibition in DC #art #dc
Painting of a black woman sitting at a table. Three statues of woman. The one in the foreground is facing forward and has her head titled upwards and is hugging herself.
May 30, 2025 at 5:44 PM
poppastring.com
An exhibition of Elizabeth Catlett's work - A black revolutionary artist.
A portrait of of three black women Wooden fist Crafted human Head made out of stone or ckay Crafted human made from clay
May 26, 2025 at 1:21 AM
poppastring.com
AI in Visual Studio (and even Notepad) is entirely optional. You are not obligated to use any of it, and you have the option to switch it off entirely👍🏾

#notepad #visualstudio

learn.microsoft.com/visualstudio...
Settings page for Notepad. It shows Spell check, Autocorrect and Copilot switched off. Settings page for Visual Studio installation with the Copilot option unselected.
May 23, 2025 at 1:24 AM
poppastring.com
Visited Quarry Trails Park today, the waterfall was in full flow after our recent rainfall.

I even spotted a new bird!!!

Orchard Orioles (not shown here)
#columbusmetroparks
Side view of a waterfall, surrounded by trees.
May 8, 2025 at 1:45 AM
poppastring.com
The striking mosaic of Minerva in the Library of Congress. #dc
A mosaic of roman gidess in flowing blue robe. Bathed in sunlight and holding a scroll.
May 5, 2025 at 2:25 AM
poppastring.com
Loved the ceiling of the DC #Metro station. One of my favorite examples of Brutalist #architecture.
DC Metro concrete coffered waffle vault ceiling.
May 5, 2025 at 2:15 AM
poppastring.com
Yep! Admin Settings allows you to select from several editing options when you Create/Edit posts. I only really use Windows Live Writer though.
A drop down list with "Froala", "TinyMCE", "NicEdit" and "Text Area" options. "TinyMCE" is selected.
May 5, 2025 at 12:49 AM
poppastring.com
Got to visit the National Museum of African American History and Culture and it was amazing. My advice is to go now; we have to assume it will be ruined in the next few cycles.

www.dcnewsnow.com/news/local-n...

#nmaahc
corona-like shape rises dramatically, echoing the silhouette of a Yoruban sculpture. corona-like shape rises dramatically, echoing the silhouette of a Yoruban sculpture. A white wall with text on it: "Cultural Expression"
April 27, 2025 at 1:15 AM
poppastring.com
This option on Copilot for "Think Deeper" makes a night and day difference in results, it is also substantially slower but in general very much worth it. #AI
A button with "Think Deeper" label
April 22, 2025 at 2:26 AM
poppastring.com
Has 3PT shooting actually improved in the #NBA or are just more teams and players more comfortable taking 3PT shots.
A table about 3PT % in the NBA by decade: | **Decade** | **Top 10 Shooters' Avg. 3P%** | **League Avg. 3P%** | |------------|-----------------------------|---------------------| | **1980s** | ~45% | 28.9% | | **1990s** | ~44% | 34.7% | | **2000s** | ~43% | 35.6% | | **2010s** | ~43% | 35.6% | | **2020s** | ~42% | 36.1% |
April 19, 2025 at 3:32 AM
poppastring.com
Watchtower Einderheide is a bat-friendly wooden lookout in the Netherlands with a curved cut-out that reveals a spiral staircase sits at its core.

The studio decided to incorporate habitats for tree-dwelling bats into the structure.

Photos by Karl Banski.

#architecture
April 6, 2025 at 8:50 PM
poppastring.com
Hey, it's ok to be the odd one out.
March 12, 2025 at 1:24 AM
poppastring.com
Bald eagle nesting near downtown Columbus #614
Eagle sitting in a large nest.
March 8, 2025 at 10:42 PM
poppastring.com
This is not well thought out
March 6, 2025 at 6:23 PM
poppastring.com
What are we doing?
February 27, 2025 at 12:27 AM
poppastring.com
This is gearing up to be a rather large single day loss, I am assuming the efficiency gains of the competing #LLM is not just hyperbole.
Showing the ticker for NVIDIA at a share price of 118.98 (16.58% drop)
January 27, 2025 at 6:51 PM
poppastring.com
Are LLMs making StackOverflow irrelevant?

blog.pragmaticengineer.com/are-llms-mak...
A graph showing StackOverflow usage, in summary: - Steep rise of between 2008-2014 - Stable period 2014-2020 - Gradual decline 2020-2022 - Steep decline from Nov 2022
January 22, 2025 at 3:36 AM