Sam Herdman
@whattafiasco.bsky.social
Retired code monkey, epee fencer, artist, avid SFF reader.
It’s that time of year when I confirm once again that advertising that importunes me to Buy Stuff to prove that I am Celebrating just makes it easier to buy even less.
November 27, 2025 at 12:38 AM
It’s that time of year when I confirm once again that advertising that importunes me to Buy Stuff to prove that I am Celebrating just makes it easier to buy even less.
Finally, a little sunshine.
November 4, 2025 at 6:09 PM
Finally, a little sunshine.
Too much time on the road today, but I got to see the autumn leaves lit by the late afternoon sun and reflected in the Susquehanna River.
October 29, 2025 at 3:46 AM
Too much time on the road today, but I got to see the autumn leaves lit by the late afternoon sun and reflected in the Susquehanna River.
About once every ten years I remember how good the music from the band Yes is. Today I also was reminded of just how great an art form a well composed album is. Of course today I was also thinking about 3D printing giant slide mounts to use as frames for art. Need to finish a few projects first.
October 3, 2025 at 5:07 AM
About once every ten years I remember how good the music from the band Yes is. Today I also was reminded of just how great an art form a well composed album is. Of course today I was also thinking about 3D printing giant slide mounts to use as frames for art. Need to finish a few projects first.
Standing in a long, slow moving line in the dark means sometimes you can’t help but hear the weirdest conversations:
“Hey, did I tell you that my mom… uh… saved my foreskin.”
“Uh. Maybe I meant umbilical cord?”
“Hey, did I tell you that my mom… uh… saved my foreskin.”
“Uh. Maybe I meant umbilical cord?”
September 12, 2025 at 3:19 AM
Standing in a long, slow moving line in the dark means sometimes you can’t help but hear the weirdest conversations:
“Hey, did I tell you that my mom… uh… saved my foreskin.”
“Uh. Maybe I meant umbilical cord?”
“Hey, did I tell you that my mom… uh… saved my foreskin.”
“Uh. Maybe I meant umbilical cord?”
Art supplies I ordered were running a few days later than expected. So of course they show up on my doorstep literal minutes before I have to leave for the evening. (These are the problems I can enjoy.)
September 5, 2025 at 11:53 PM
Art supplies I ordered were running a few days later than expected. So of course they show up on my doorstep literal minutes before I have to leave for the evening. (These are the problems I can enjoy.)
TFW the protagonist in a random fantasy novel takes a swipe at a grocery co-op in a town halfway across the country from you and you give the book the stink eye because you know exactly which co-op is being sassed because you regularly shop there when you’re in the town.
July 15, 2025 at 4:08 PM
TFW the protagonist in a random fantasy novel takes a swipe at a grocery co-op in a town halfway across the country from you and you give the book the stink eye because you know exactly which co-op is being sassed because you regularly shop there when you’re in the town.
I love seeing the beautiful things my friends make.
July 2, 2025 at 5:09 AM
I love seeing the beautiful things my friends make.
Visual migraines are so weird. Happily, I don’t get headaches to go with them.
June 30, 2025 at 9:02 PM
Visual migraines are so weird. Happily, I don’t get headaches to go with them.
This morning I was pretty sure the craziest thing I’d hear all day was a weekend news lady worrying that if we make AI that acts like people, what happens when the AI calls in sick? Yeah, that’s so many kinds of fucked up.
June 22, 2025 at 2:56 AM
This morning I was pretty sure the craziest thing I’d hear all day was a weekend news lady worrying that if we make AI that acts like people, what happens when the AI calls in sick? Yeah, that’s so many kinds of fucked up.
Painting clouds thanks to a photo sent to me by a friend. It could use one more pass for details, but it was a pleasant palate cleanser to get me back to the oil paints.
June 19, 2025 at 8:29 PM
Painting clouds thanks to a photo sent to me by a friend. It could use one more pass for details, but it was a pleasant palate cleanser to get me back to the oil paints.
Took a little more time playing around with some light graphite today.
May 22, 2025 at 9:11 PM
Took a little more time playing around with some light graphite today.
The world is… *waves hands expansively* but today at least, I’m in a good mood.
May 16, 2025 at 11:29 PM
The world is… *waves hands expansively* but today at least, I’m in a good mood.
Monday night pencil sketching.
May 13, 2025 at 2:23 AM
Monday night pencil sketching.
I am once again in possession of a valid passport. No plans to go anywhere it’s needed just yet, but I feel better having it.
April 28, 2025 at 6:50 PM
I am once again in possession of a valid passport. No plans to go anywhere it’s needed just yet, but I feel better having it.
Sometimes you can casually put pencil to paper and suddenly feel the leveling up flowing through your arm and fingers. More practice.
April 27, 2025 at 7:21 PM
Sometimes you can casually put pencil to paper and suddenly feel the leveling up flowing through your arm and fingers. More practice.
Gyoza: the sense of dawning horror when I realize that I only have 50 gyoza wrappers, enough for just half the filling I prepared. Time to head to the store to get more wrappers so they can thaw by tomorrow morning. But they taste good! And the pleating was fun and not difficult.
April 10, 2025 at 4:19 PM
Gyoza: the sense of dawning horror when I realize that I only have 50 gyoza wrappers, enough for just half the filling I prepared. Time to head to the store to get more wrappers so they can thaw by tomorrow morning. But they taste good! And the pleating was fun and not difficult.
Bought myself some halloumi today and I’m assigning 40% of the blame to @scalzi.com for his “When the Moon Hits Your Eye”. The rest of the blame is all mine, because, cheese.
April 1, 2025 at 9:54 PM
Bought myself some halloumi today and I’m assigning 40% of the blame to @scalzi.com for his “When the Moon Hits Your Eye”. The rest of the blame is all mine, because, cheese.
Drank my morning coffee outside on the balcony while listening to the birds, then sat outside again after dark eating homemade potstickers and watching the lightning of the storm front roll by just north of me. Still looking forward to the sound of rain overnight.
March 30, 2025 at 4:04 AM
Drank my morning coffee outside on the balcony while listening to the birds, then sat outside again after dark eating homemade potstickers and watching the lightning of the storm front roll by just north of me. Still looking forward to the sound of rain overnight.
Woke up in the middle of the night to a long rolling list of just things I know the administration is trying to destroy. Spent part of the afternoon drawing sketches that help nothing but my mental health.
March 22, 2025 at 8:35 PM
Woke up in the middle of the night to a long rolling list of just things I know the administration is trying to destroy. Spent part of the afternoon drawing sketches that help nothing but my mental health.
I am so out of the habit of being sick – thank goodness! But having no appetite for days is a new weirdness. It was a relief today to 1) feel hungry 2) decide on something that sounded appetizing and 3) tasted as good as I had expected. Joy!Steamed eggs for the win.
March 19, 2025 at 3:28 AM
I am so out of the habit of being sick – thank goodness! But having no appetite for days is a new weirdness. It was a relief today to 1) feel hungry 2) decide on something that sounded appetizing and 3) tasted as good as I had expected. Joy!Steamed eggs for the win.
I was in the mood to draw horses, so I grabbed some reference from pexels and headed off to a soulless chain. Today an employee stopped to tell me how amazing my drawing was. But he stood there looking so gobsmacked I wanted to put a pencil and sketchbook in his hands and ask him to draw. Make art.
March 3, 2025 at 11:25 PM
I was in the mood to draw horses, so I grabbed some reference from pexels and headed off to a soulless chain. Today an employee stopped to tell me how amazing my drawing was. But he stood there looking so gobsmacked I wanted to put a pencil and sketchbook in his hands and ask him to draw. Make art.
It’s never a bad day to practice drawing hands.
February 20, 2025 at 5:35 AM
It’s never a bad day to practice drawing hands.
Like to joke that, after awhile, the car learns its way. But if you tell the gps to go to <city> instead of <hotel address in city>, you may be in for a surprise come ten hours later when your car wants to visit <city center>. Luckily I saw the suburb name on an overpass before then. Whee!
February 16, 2025 at 1:50 AM
Like to joke that, after awhile, the car learns its way. But if you tell the gps to go to <city> instead of <hotel address in city>, you may be in for a surprise come ten hours later when your car wants to visit <city center>. Luckily I saw the suburb name on an overpass before then. Whee!
Today I wrote some code (just for fun), did some sketching, petted the cat, saw some cute babies, ate some tasty food, hung out with friends, didn’t slip on the ice, and realized that I’m leaving on Saturday, not Friday. Within arms reach, my life is pretty awesome.
February 13, 2025 at 3:14 AM
Today I wrote some code (just for fun), did some sketching, petted the cat, saw some cute babies, ate some tasty food, hung out with friends, didn’t slip on the ice, and realized that I’m leaving on Saturday, not Friday. Within arms reach, my life is pretty awesome.