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shrike.seattle.wa.us
Bartleby, the Scrivener
@shrike.seattle.wa.us
2.5K followers 430 following 480 posts
The Earth is not dying-it is being killed. And the people who are killing it have names and addresses. -- Utah Phillips

Now in zone 9a!

http://shrike.seattle.wa.us (Intermittently)
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shrike.seattle.wa.us
Bartleby, the Scrivener @shrike.seattle.wa.us · Oct 17
Intro Post Time:

I'm Michael, I live in Seattle and I tinker. I like retro computers, amateur radio, cycling, gardening, mycology and sturdy midcentury office furniture. I currently serve as the trustee for one of the oldest Amateur Radio Clubs in the world, W7YD at the University of Washington.
IBM PC 5150, the first PC Computer, displaying a terminal program logged into the University of Washington's Supercomputer Hyak. A vintage CRT Monitor, Model M keyboard mouse and speakers sitting on a table next to an amateur radio TNC and VHF radio. The CRT screen is displaying a DOS-based line map of the Seattle area from APRSDos, the original Automated Position Reporting System made by Bob Bruninga WB4APR. Several people sitting at a table operating amateur radio gear. The photo is from a ARRL Field Day student event at the Amateur Radio Club at the Univerisity of Washington. 4 tree logs in a log-cabin style stack. The logs have been drilled and plugged with mushroom spawn and are undergoing colonization.
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markpopham.bsky.social
RAX: *texting* you are the fire of my soul. the dessert moon over my lush oasis.

RICK STEVES: *replying* okay. a beautiful night here in prague
November 18, 2025 at 2:54 AM
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comraderobot.bsky.social
holy shit someone finally made good ai generated art

clocks.brianmoore.com
AI World Clocks
The current time as rendered by 9 different AI models. By Brian Moore.
clocks.brianmoore.com
November 14, 2025 at 8:44 PM
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sharonk.bsky.social
"We would rather be ruined than changed;
We would rather die in our dread
Than climb the cross of the moment
And let our illusions die."

—W. H. Auden, The Age of Anxiety
November 7, 2025 at 5:12 AM
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emveezee.bsky.social
Blinking bike lights are fine, get over it.
Even Normal Rockwell thinks so.
November 7, 2025 at 2:18 PM
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raxkingisdead.bsky.social
for a super long time i was too self conscious to say i love you to anybody ever and now that so many of my loved ones have straight up dropped dead before i could say it, i tell my friends i love them constantly, to a degree that is likely annoying
katie.bzky.team Katie Tightpussy, Editor-In-Chief @katie.bzky.team · 15d
FACT: you should be sappier with your friends and loved ones. there is no reason not to be.
November 3, 2025 at 4:40 PM
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katamaridumassy.bsky.social
Gary Larson dropping Cow Tools in 1982
Marty McFly in Back to the Future tells a crowd “I guess you guys aren't ready for that yet but your kids are gonna love it.”
October 28, 2025 at 1:08 PM
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thetechknight.bsky.social
Calling all commodore 1084S-P aficionados. How do I know which chassis I have for the flyback? I don't see a label anywhere
October 20, 2025 at 10:24 PM
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ruemcclammyhand.bsky.social
knives out is the perfect ‘have it on in the background’ movie bc if you’ve seen it once you can mostly ignore and you still get occasional gems like toni collette saying “i read a tweet about a new yorker article about you, you’re famous!”
October 18, 2025 at 12:26 AM
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cdi.bsky.social
Do I know any Portland folks looking for a PVM? 14" 14M2U. Was my first nice CRT, has been gathering dust for years now. Free to friend or friend of friend if you hit me up this afternoon; otherwise I'm listing it on Craigslist tomorrow (ugh). You come pick it up. DM me!
April 19, 2025 at 11:03 PM
shrike.seattle.wa.us
What were your best thrift/estate sale finds? I once got a 4-point Hudson Bay blanket at goodwill for $25. Also, on a whim one time I picked up a pair of binoculars at an estate sale for $18 that turned out to be mil-spec Fujinon Marine binoculars that sell for $800-$900 new.
shrike.seattle.wa.us Bartleby, the Scrivener @shrike.seattle.wa.us · Apr 18
There's no better feeling that picking up a neat thing at an estate sale then searching online to find out it's worth many times more than you paid.
April 18, 2025 at 8:00 PM
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lauren.rotatingsandwiches.com
an interesting thread in ian toll's pacific war trilogy is that the feared japanese zero was not the vastly superior fighter plane that i have been led to believe it was and american pilots adapted to its nimbleness a lot sooner than i thought, and well before better american planes arrived
“Zeros flew high cover over the G4Ms, but they were often positioned too far behind the bombers to interfere with the Wildcats’ initial diving attacks. Day after day, the Zeros entered the fray only after the Americans had sent several bombers down in flames. Joe Foss, a marine fighter ace, scratched his head at the tactics employed by his Japanese counterparts. Most were obviously highly skilled, but they failed to adapt to changing tactics and became predictable: “They tried the same thing all the time.”30 The Americans had long since learned to avoid “chasing tails” with the quick and maneuverable Zeros, and did not hesitate to dive out of a dogfight if the enemy gained an advantage. Foss praised the sturdy construction of the F4F and noted that many Americans claimed aerial victories after their planes had been shot up. “We were hit with Japanese cannons as well as their machine guns,” he said. “This was unable to knock us down unless it happened to hit the oil cooler or some oil line or gas line in the motor. On a head-on run at each other, we would usually blast the opponent out of the sky and[…]” Excerpt From The Conquering Tide: War in the Pacific Islands, 1942-1944: War in the Pacific Islands, 1942–1944 (Pacific War Trilogy) Ian W. Toll
April 17, 2025 at 4:40 PM
shrike.seattle.wa.us
LMAO "Ballardization" is back, baby!
typewriteralley.bsky.social Ryan Packer @typewriteralley.bsky.social · Apr 16
Today at the Seattle Council Comp Plan committee: Queen Anne residents pushing against additional density in their neighborhood via the cautionary tale of...Ballard.

"Please do not Ballardize Queen Anne Hill," one woman says after describing how the Ballard was ruined by renters.
April 16, 2025 at 11:14 PM
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retrotechdreams.bsky.social
Morpheus (UT99)
April 16, 2025 at 5:15 PM
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spindlypete.bsky.social
i do think it would be nice for more gardeners to put their USDA zone or comparable in their bios simply to avoid bumming each other out when posting impossibly early strawberries etc. we're a boastful and jealous lot and we need data data data
April 16, 2025 at 3:29 PM
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garius.bsky.social
Tidying up my piece on Rod Canion/Compaq.

Includes this little nugget of absolute shenanigans which I think most people in computing still don't realise happened.

If you were a PC clone company buying MS DOS after 1982 to bundle with your machine, you were getting one version back of Compaq DOS.
Forming the resistance. Having made the decision to cross the technical rubicon, Canion’s first call was to Bill Gates at Microsoft. Over the last five years, Compaq and Microsoft had built up a far closer relationship than anyone at IBM likely realised. In late 1982, Gates phoned Canion and asked him, with some concern, if Compaq were trying to get into Operating Systems. Surprised, Canion denied it. Gates admitted that Microsoft were hearing worrying reports from their dealer network. People were buying Compaq DOS on its own, rather than MS DOS. Both men knew the reason why. Compaq had been developing their own version of DOS that was as close to IBM PC DOS as possible. Gates had helped facilitate this by telling Canion exactly which version of MS DOS to use as a starting point. With Microsoft having to split development across PC DOS and other projects, their own version of MS DOS was now lagging behind in compatibility. This could have created friction between Compaq and Microsoft. But instead, Canion offered to do something extraordinary. Compaq would withdraw its own DOS from sale (unless purchased with a Compaq machine). He would then licence Compaq DOS back to Microsoft, who could rebadge it as MS DOS and sell it to as many other clone companies as Gates wanted. From Gates’ perspective, this was an incredible deal. It meant Microsoft could end all development on MS DOS, whilst still making the same money. If the other clone companies found out they were just getting old versions of Compaq DOS though, Gates pointed out, then there would be uproar. So Canion agreed to keep the entire deal secret. It would remain secret for almost forty years.
April 15, 2025 at 12:24 PM
shrike.seattle.wa.us
Happy Ruination Day, everyone.
April 14, 2025 at 4:37 PM
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gonebabygone.bsky.social
Tony Soprano: You kicked Miette. Dat’s gotta be resolved.
April 9, 2025 at 9:04 PM
shrike.seattle.wa.us
Post a warning
Photo of a door with the words "DO NOT" stenciled on it Photo of a door with the words "DO NOT" stenciled on it
April 9, 2025 at 9:50 PM
shrike.seattle.wa.us
This spring's garden project: convert this egregiously unnecessary expanse of pavement into something resembling a garden.
A picture of the front of a suburban townhome where the builders decided to pave 8 parking spots instead of a garden or a lawn. A car and a truck are parked at the end of the lot, and there is an expanse of asphalt large enough to park another 2 cars behind them.
April 7, 2025 at 7:36 PM
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spindlypete.bsky.social
fucking leash your fucking dogs!!! oh my god!!! i am going to start physically attacking people i see with off leash dogs and just yelling DON'T WORRY I'M FRIENDLY
April 3, 2025 at 10:17 PM
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commodoreblog.uk
Bring back Amber monitors.
March 31, 2025 at 10:02 PM
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commodoreblog.uk
Good Morning bluesky, it's finally Friday! Have a fantastic day🌞
#FridayWANG🍆
March 28, 2025 at 11:31 AM
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sheridesabike.bsky.social
TIL There's a Shoreline Tool Library and they are offering a free Garden Design workshop.
www.destinationshoreline.com/events/garde...
Garden Design II — Destination Shoreline
In this class, we’ll start to sketch out your space and brainstorm ideas for how to begin. As we work through each person’s project, we’ll learn more about design principles and ways to create a more ...
www.destinationshoreline.com
March 27, 2025 at 3:42 PM
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ruemcclammyhand.bsky.social
honestly feels like if i didn’t have my beautiful partner and my lovely fluffy cat and my silly little hobbies reading the news on the daily would be leading me to a much much darker version of myself. go hug a loved one!
March 16, 2025 at 4:17 PM