January 16
January 9
New York City Housing Visualization
A visualization on some of the findings of the New York City Housing and Visualization Survey [more inside]
A visualization on some of the findings of the New York City Housing and Visualization Survey [more inside]
January 8
Relationship Evaluation Form, redux
Back in 2001 I made a Relationship Evaluation Form™ as a PDF you could print and fill out for your ex. Now it's updated it with 100% more web-interactivity! [more inside]
Back in 2001 I made a Relationship Evaluation Form™ as a PDF you could print and fill out for your ex. Now it's updated it with 100% more web-interactivity! [more inside]
January 5
January 3
Hamster Mortis Audioboook
Hamster Mortis: an informational, gory, educational, and frank children's book about death and decay, turned into an audiobook (with video). [more inside]
Hamster Mortis: an informational, gory, educational, and frank children's book about death and decay, turned into an audiobook (with video). [more inside]
December 27
"See all the other memes I made"
A couple of years ago I started creating 'Image Macros'. Basically it's just found photos with some smart / stupid tags. Some of them are semi-NSFW or politically-suspect. Most of them make sense only if you squint. But I like doing it, so there...
A couple of years ago I started creating 'Image Macros'. Basically it's just found photos with some smart / stupid tags. Some of them are semi-NSFW or politically-suspect. Most of them make sense only if you squint. But I like doing it, so there...
December 22
Long Dog (and other elongated animals)
Long Dog is the exciting new card game where everyone competes to make the longest dog (or other elongated animal). It's pretty good fun. In this online version, simply click on the question mark above to extend (or possibly end) your dog (or other animal). How long will your dog be? (Single player only, I'm afraid, but if you really want to play it competitively, I suppose you could all open a version of this on your phones simultaneously and try to beat each other that way.)
Long Dog is the exciting new card game where everyone competes to make the longest dog (or other elongated animal). It's pretty good fun. In this online version, simply click on the question mark above to extend (or possibly end) your dog (or other animal). How long will your dog be? (Single player only, I'm afraid, but if you really want to play it competitively, I suppose you could all open a version of this on your phones simultaneously and try to beat each other that way.)
December 15
mynderMail v2 - send a note to yourself others as fast as you can type it
I got sick of composing a new email every time I wanted to send myself a note (which is often, as I have random ideas all the time). So I (re)wrote this app. mynderMail lets you send an email to yourself as soon as you can type it out! The first line of the message will become the subject of the email, and the rest will become the body. [more inside]
I got sick of composing a new email every time I wanted to send myself a note (which is often, as I have random ideas all the time). So I (re)wrote this app. mynderMail lets you send an email to yourself as soon as you can type it out! The first line of the message will become the subject of the email, and the rest will become the body. [more inside]
December 10
Eating Litter (a poem)
One of my hobbies is picking up trash. I never know if my code or my book writing is as good as it can be. Maybe there's some slight change that could make it run ten times faster or sell ten times as many copies. But an hour spent picking up trash is roughly as optimized as it can be, and there's always trash that needs to be picked up. I've commented about it on mefi here and here. It's meditative and it gets me outside while I catch up on podcasts. Anyway, here's a poem about eating garbage: [more inside]
One of my hobbies is picking up trash. I never know if my code or my book writing is as good as it can be. Maybe there's some slight change that could make it run ten times faster or sell ten times as many copies. But an hour spent picking up trash is roughly as optimized as it can be, and there's always trash that needs to be picked up. I've commented about it on mefi here and here. It's meditative and it gets me outside while I catch up on podcasts. Anyway, here's a poem about eating garbage: [more inside]
December 9
Ideal Conditions Calculator
hey all, I've built this micro site which has been helpful for me to figure out when the ideal conditions will be for projects I've been working on! maybe it can be useful to you too! thank you! xx
hey all, I've built this micro site which has been helpful for me to figure out when the ideal conditions will be for projects I've been working on! maybe it can be useful to you too! thank you! xx
November 27
Motif: create patterns, see them repeat
Motif is a free, open-source web tool for creating grid-based repeating patterns. You draw on a customizable grid and can instantly see your design tile in a live preview. [more inside]
Motif is a free, open-source web tool for creating grid-based repeating patterns. You draw on a customizable grid and can instantly see your design tile in a live preview. [more inside]
November 18
Short Fiction about Academic Tech
I'm working on a productivity suite for myself and other folks who work in fields adjacent to the academic humanities. The suite is called VIRENS, from the Latin word for "flourishing." When I'm struggling with big academic concepts, I sometimes write fiction to help me figure them out. This long short story (~7500 words) is a way to communicate what VIRENS does through a day in the life of the harried and forgetful assistant professor Dr. Vera Green. It's got details of how I've intertwingled Obsidian and reference managers and scripting and file automation, along with a couple classroom scenes, a little bit of campus intrigue, and a three-legged cat named Gaius. A PDF is available. I'd be grateful for any feedback either about the story--yes, it's trying to suggest why other people might be interested in this system I'm building, but I'm having fun with Dr. Green's character--or about the suite itself, with the scripting and templates currently about 70% complete.
I'm working on a productivity suite for myself and other folks who work in fields adjacent to the academic humanities. The suite is called VIRENS, from the Latin word for "flourishing." When I'm struggling with big academic concepts, I sometimes write fiction to help me figure them out. This long short story (~7500 words) is a way to communicate what VIRENS does through a day in the life of the harried and forgetful assistant professor Dr. Vera Green. It's got details of how I've intertwingled Obsidian and reference managers and scripting and file automation, along with a couple classroom scenes, a little bit of campus intrigue, and a three-legged cat named Gaius. A PDF is available. I'd be grateful for any feedback either about the story--yes, it's trying to suggest why other people might be interested in this system I'm building, but I'm having fun with Dr. Green's character--or about the suite itself, with the scripting and templates currently about 70% complete.
November 16
TSOFA - The Simple, Offline Flashcard App
Anki, Quizlet, Brainscape... I dislike all these overcomplicated flashcard apps. I just want the software equivalent of index cards, so I created TSOFA - The Simple, Offline, Flashcard App. It's exists entirely in a single HTML file you can view in the browser. Check out this demo. You can edit the flashcards directly in the file, using just text or HTML tags. Or you can use this editor app. It also supports a CSV string for the flashcard content so you can import flashcards from other apps. Otherwise, it's just a simple, free flashcard app: No server, no ads, no registration, no premium features to pay for, no dependencies, no build process, no cloud sync. You can suggest improvements or report bugs on the GitHub repo.
Anki, Quizlet, Brainscape... I dislike all these overcomplicated flashcard apps. I just want the software equivalent of index cards, so I created TSOFA - The Simple, Offline, Flashcard App. It's exists entirely in a single HTML file you can view in the browser. Check out this demo. You can edit the flashcards directly in the file, using just text or HTML tags. Or you can use this editor app. It also supports a CSV string for the flashcard content so you can import flashcards from other apps. Otherwise, it's just a simple, free flashcard app: No server, no ads, no registration, no premium features to pay for, no dependencies, no build process, no cloud sync. You can suggest improvements or report bugs on the GitHub repo.
November 12
Tri-Con: The Trident Conference for Speculative Fiction
The first annual writing conference for speculative fiction in Kjipuktuk | Halifax, Nova Scotia takes places May 15–17, 2026. Guests of Honour are Amal El-Mohtar (Author), Kurestin Armada (Agent), and Carl Engle-Laird (Editor).
The first annual writing conference for speculative fiction in Kjipuktuk | Halifax, Nova Scotia takes places May 15–17, 2026. Guests of Honour are Amal El-Mohtar (Author), Kurestin Armada (Agent), and Carl Engle-Laird (Editor).
November 11
DOCTYPE magazine
I’ve brought back ’80s BASIC type-in magazines… but for web pages. DOCTYPE contains 10 web apps to type in, including games, toys, puzzles and utilities. Also features specially commissioned artwork inside and on the glossy cover.
I’ve brought back ’80s BASIC type-in magazines… but for web pages. DOCTYPE contains 10 web apps to type in, including games, toys, puzzles and utilities. Also features specially commissioned artwork inside and on the glossy cover.
November 8
The Immortal Remains
"The world had an expiration date, and Samantha Wen planned to die before it came. She just needed a little help." This is the opening line from my science fiction novel The Immortal Remains, available today! [more inside]
"The world had an expiration date, and Samantha Wen planned to die before it came. She just needed a little help." This is the opening line from my science fiction novel The Immortal Remains, available today! [more inside]
November 5
Metformin (Glucophage) may have made me smarter.
Metformin is a prescription medication used to lower blood sugar levels, though it's also rumored to increase longevity (among other benefits). My doctor prescribed it to me for pre-diabetes. I soon noticed that my reaction time improved. This was an unexpected, serendipitous result and not part of a formal self-experiment. Since reaction time has been shown to correlate with cognitive function, there's a possibility that metformin made me (slightly) smarter. [more inside]
Metformin is a prescription medication used to lower blood sugar levels, though it's also rumored to increase longevity (among other benefits). My doctor prescribed it to me for pre-diabetes. I soon noticed that my reaction time improved. This was an unexpected, serendipitous result and not part of a formal self-experiment. Since reaction time has been shown to correlate with cognitive function, there's a possibility that metformin made me (slightly) smarter. [more inside]
November 4
Agent Cupcake: The Unicorn Spy
It's publication date for my new middle grade graphic novel Agent Cupcake, about a kid who is recruited by a spy agency run by mystical beasts has to learn real-world spy techniques in order to solve a magical mystery.
It's publication date for my new middle grade graphic novel Agent Cupcake, about a kid who is recruited by a spy agency run by mystical beasts has to learn real-world spy techniques in order to solve a magical mystery.
November 1
Halloween costume: the night sky
For 2025, I made a light-up costume of constellations in the night sky and documented the making-of process along the way. [more inside]
For 2025, I made a light-up costume of constellations in the night sky and documented the making-of process along the way. [more inside]
October 31
Jabo's Annual Halloween Cartoon 2025
It’s that time o’ year once again. The trees are losing their leaves, there’s a chill in the air and everyone is wondering when Death’s shadowy IQ test results will arrive. In that sinister spirit, I offer the 24th venomous visions of my Jabo's Annual Halloween Cartoon 2025. I was lucky to find those semi-expired anxiety pills in order to steady my shaky hand and guide my pen in finishing this year’s nightmare. Happy Halloween, Dia de los Muertos and Apocalypse should that come around!
It’s that time o’ year once again. The trees are losing their leaves, there’s a chill in the air and everyone is wondering when Death’s shadowy IQ test results will arrive. In that sinister spirit, I offer the 24th venomous visions of my Jabo's Annual Halloween Cartoon 2025. I was lucky to find those semi-expired anxiety pills in order to steady my shaky hand and guide my pen in finishing this year’s nightmare. Happy Halloween, Dia de los Muertos and Apocalypse should that come around!
October 27
New York City election endorsements (ballot proposals and judges)
I blogged my research into the six ballot measures and 29 judicial candidates for the 2025 New York City general election. I don't think there's any other non-paywalled source that collates the different local bar associations' evaluations of the candidates in the 7 competitive judicial elections; my post includes possibly the first publication of the Queens County Bar Associations ratings, as I think neither QCBA nor local media have published them yet. I also met some of the judicial candidates and incorporated my impressions of them into my recommendations.
I blogged my research into the six ballot measures and 29 judicial candidates for the 2025 New York City general election. I don't think there's any other non-paywalled source that collates the different local bar associations' evaluations of the candidates in the 7 competitive judicial elections; my post includes possibly the first publication of the Queens County Bar Associations ratings, as I think neither QCBA nor local media have published them yet. I also met some of the judicial candidates and incorporated my impressions of them into my recommendations.
October 15
New MeFiCoFo board elected
The 2025 election for the board of the MetaFilter Community Foundation (MeFiCoFo) has ended and the results are in this MetaTalk thread.
The 2025 election for the board of the MetaFilter Community Foundation (MeFiCoFo) has ended and the results are in this MetaTalk thread.
October 13
Vote here
...for Metafilter's new Board of Directors. Voting ends tomorrow, Tuesday, October 14th, 2025, at 11:59pm Eastern. Timeline. History. Discussion.
...for Metafilter's new Board of Directors. Voting ends tomorrow, Tuesday, October 14th, 2025, at 11:59pm Eastern. Timeline. History. Discussion.
October 10
Resynthesizing "Invention in D Minor" from Switched-On Bach
I attempted to recreate a track from Wendy Carlos's groundbreaking Switched-On Bach album with the help of some software and a cat. [more inside]
I attempted to recreate a track from Wendy Carlos's groundbreaking Switched-On Bach album with the help of some software and a cat. [more inside]
The 1% Guild
An exclusive club for those who live life on the edge - you can only get in and apply for membership if your battery is at 1% (requires battery-driven device and Chrome-ish browser).
An exclusive club for those who live life on the edge - you can only get in and apply for membership if your battery is at 1% (requires battery-driven device and Chrome-ish browser).
October 9
I gave a lecture about my Egyptian furniture replicas
Several years ago I posted a project about an Egyptian lattice stool I’d made during the lock-down. The warm reception here inspired me to contact various museums and ask to examine a bunch of ancient pieces of furniture first hand. A surprising number gave me access, allowing me to make ever more accurate copies. Fast forward to this last Tuesday and I delivered a one hour lecture/slideshow plus Q&A at the fabulous Museo Egizio in Turin, Italy [more inside]
Several years ago I posted a project about an Egyptian lattice stool I’d made during the lock-down. The warm reception here inspired me to contact various museums and ask to examine a bunch of ancient pieces of furniture first hand. A surprising number gave me access, allowing me to make ever more accurate copies. Fast forward to this last Tuesday and I delivered a one hour lecture/slideshow plus Q&A at the fabulous Museo Egizio in Turin, Italy [more inside]
October 6
Dot Battle - a Javascript Physics Toy
Watch a battle for survival play out over a few minutes on your screen. An allegory for existence? A meditation aid? An excuse to watch some colored balls bounce around for a minute or two? Dot Battle is all these things.
Watch a battle for survival play out over a few minutes on your screen. An allegory for existence? A meditation aid? An excuse to watch some colored balls bounce around for a minute or two? Dot Battle is all these things.
October 2
September 30
Vote for the MeFiCoFo Board of Directors here
...starting October 1st. The Election Committee (atoxyl, dg, joannemerriam, and NotLost) is pleased to announce the election is kicking off tonight! Voting runs from Oct 1, 2025, at 12:01am ET to October 14th, 2025, at 11:59pm ET and new board members begin their term on November 14, 2025. [more inside]
...starting October 1st. The Election Committee (atoxyl, dg, joannemerriam, and NotLost) is pleased to announce the election is kicking off tonight! Voting runs from Oct 1, 2025, at 12:01am ET to October 14th, 2025, at 11:59pm ET and new board members begin their term on November 14, 2025. [more inside]
September 17
Archive/Convert your Typepad Blog
I made a tool to scrape your entire Typepad blog and if you want to, migrate it to WordPress. It's a collection of Python scripts will save all your content, preserve your media, and generate a WordPress import file. [more inside]
I made a tool to scrape your entire Typepad blog and if you want to, migrate it to WordPress. It's a collection of Python scripts will save all your content, preserve your media, and generate a WordPress import file. [more inside]
September 16
Some lessons from an indie TTRPG zine fundraiser
I contributed some work to an indie TTRPG zine project, a friend organised and printed the project, raising $3,600 for legal aid with it. Their blog post contains useful takeaways about running such a project, with an emphasis on fundraising and project management. [more inside]
I contributed some work to an indie TTRPG zine project, a friend organised and printed the project, raising $3,600 for legal aid with it. Their blog post contains useful takeaways about running such a project, with an emphasis on fundraising and project management. [more inside]
September 10
Food + Cooking at Skool
Beginner, Intermediate or Advanced Cooks - a community to explore food & cooking, hosted by Australian chef & author MJ de Paulo (gomichild). Home cooks welcome! [more inside]
Beginner, Intermediate or Advanced Cooks - a community to explore food & cooking, hosted by Australian chef & author MJ de Paulo (gomichild). Home cooks welcome! [more inside]
August 26
Nominations open for MeFi board
You can nominate yourself! Community members with an account for at least 30 days are encouraged to nominate themselves for the first election to the board of the MetaFilter Community Foundation. Please keep the thread to just nominations, user names only. Thank you!
You can nominate yourself! Community members with an account for at least 30 days are encouraged to nominate themselves for the first election to the board of the MetaFilter Community Foundation. Please keep the thread to just nominations, user names only. Thank you!
August 20
VTV music video station
I made my own version of MTV, complete with animated idents, but for weird and terrible novelty songs (there are hundreds of them in there).
I made my own version of MTV, complete with animated idents, but for weird and terrible novelty songs (there are hundreds of them in there).
August 15
A Kids' Gamebook Introducing Money Management & Entrepreneurship
When Daphne receives a $10 loan, she begins a week-long entrepreneurial adventure. It's up to the reader to guide her through a world of choices about earning, spending, and saving. From helping neighbors, choosing to spend on a treat, to making and selling flower hair clips, every decision shapes her journey and reveals valuable lessons. [more inside]
When Daphne receives a $10 loan, she begins a week-long entrepreneurial adventure. It's up to the reader to guide her through a world of choices about earning, spending, and saving. From helping neighbors, choosing to spend on a treat, to making and selling flower hair clips, every decision shapes her journey and reveals valuable lessons. [more inside]
August 6
Fuzzy Fruit - a Match-3 game
I wrote and released a match-3 game on Itch.io, and I hope you like it. The only monetization is a tip jar. It does not have a cooking or fishing mini-game, sorry. [more inside]
I wrote and released a match-3 game on Itch.io, and I hope you like it. The only monetization is a tip jar. It does not have a cooking or fishing mini-game, sorry. [more inside]
August 5
Poemagraphs
I'll be posting two short audio pieces per week — Tuesdays and Thursdays. Half-poem half-prose? I call them Poemagraphs. Some older than others. Subscribe to get an email notification when new ones get posted. [more inside]
I'll be posting two short audio pieces per week — Tuesdays and Thursdays. Half-poem half-prose? I call them Poemagraphs. Some older than others. Subscribe to get an email notification when new ones get posted. [more inside]
August 4
MeFi userscripts: MeFi Navigator Redux
MeFi Navigator Redux is an updated, slimmer version of the original MeFi Navigator script. [more inside]
MeFi Navigator Redux is an updated, slimmer version of the original MeFi Navigator script. [more inside]
Sub/Title - a movie dialogue game
Have a good ear for dialogue? Match the subtitle to the correct movie. Use a series of clues if you get stuck. You've got five lives; can you make it through five levels? An endlessly replayable casual game.
Have a good ear for dialogue? Match the subtitle to the correct movie. Use a series of clues if you get stuck. You've got five lives; can you make it through five levels? An endlessly replayable casual game.
August 1
8-Bit Recipes
I took a group of collections of recipes published on Loadstar, that Commodore 64 disk magazine I'm helping to preserve, and made a small website out of them. Use them for whatever you wish, but please keep the credit to its creator James T. Jones, and don't use them to train any cockamamie LLMs.
I took a group of collections of recipes published on Loadstar, that Commodore 64 disk magazine I'm helping to preserve, and made a small website out of them. Use them for whatever you wish, but please keep the credit to its creator James T. Jones, and don't use them to train any cockamamie LLMs.
July 26
The Scroll Art Museum
ASCII art was popular in the 90s as a way to create pictures from text (especially punctuation characters.) If you learned to program in this time, you likely created a program in BASIC that was 10 PRINT "HELLO" followed by 20 GOTO 10, producing an infinite loop of HELLO down the screen. Once the screen filled up, the text would scroll upwards. We can use this effect to create a sort of animation, which I call scroll art. I've featured several pieces on https://scrollart.org [more inside]
ASCII art was popular in the 90s as a way to create pictures from text (especially punctuation characters.) If you learned to program in this time, you likely created a program in BASIC that was 10 PRINT "HELLO" followed by 20 GOTO 10, producing an infinite loop of HELLO down the screen. Once the screen filled up, the text would scroll upwards. We can use this effect to create a sort of animation, which I call scroll art. I've featured several pieces on https://scrollart.org [more inside]
July 24
MeFi Board election proposal
The election committee has posted a proposal for conducting an election to seat a Board of the MetaFilter Community Foundation. This is posted with a view to obtaining feedback from the community on the proposal. Please review it and provide your feedback in the MeTa link above, not in this thread.
The election committee has posted a proposal for conducting an election to seat a Board of the MetaFilter Community Foundation. This is posted with a view to obtaining feedback from the community on the proposal. Please review it and provide your feedback in the MeTa link above, not in this thread.
July 14
Pixel Piranhas
I really can't stand the helplessness I feel when reading about all the events that shouldn't be happening. So I made this little browser extension that lets loose a horde of cursors that slowly tear up, eat up the offending web page. Remove it from existence for a tiny bit. I call them Pixel Piranhas.
Available for Firefox and Chrome (for desktop).
Youtube video of them in action.
I really can't stand the helplessness I feel when reading about all the events that shouldn't be happening. So I made this little browser extension that lets loose a horde of cursors that slowly tear up, eat up the offending web page. Remove it from existence for a tiny bit. I call them Pixel Piranhas.
Available for Firefox and Chrome (for desktop).
Youtube video of them in action.
July 4
Primesweeper
Minesweeper, but with prime numbers. It gives you a grid with 17 primes, 95 ‘hard’ non-primes and 5 easy-to-spot non-primes, so you can use a mixture of maths and Minesweeper logic.
Minesweeper, but with prime numbers. It gives you a grid with 17 primes, 95 ‘hard’ non-primes and 5 easy-to-spot non-primes, so you can use a mixture of maths and Minesweeper logic.
June 29
Is There A Cooking Mini Game?
Inspired by the Is There A Fishing Mini Game? BlueSky account, my one (also on BlueSky) tracks games with cooking mini-games, mechanics, even cookbooks and cafes. Suggestions for all kinds of games (video, board, tabletop, etc) are welcome!
Inspired by the Is There A Fishing Mini Game? BlueSky account, my one (also on BlueSky) tracks games with cooking mini-games, mechanics, even cookbooks and cafes. Suggestions for all kinds of games (video, board, tabletop, etc) are welcome!
June 26
Which Year 2.0 (photo year guessing, now w/ per-photo stats & archive)
About three months ago this game was posted here and I received a lot of useful feedback. Since then, I've added per-photo guess distribution graphs (so you can see how other players guessed), an archive/calendar to replay any past daily challenge, UI improvements, and a countdown timer. I'd greatly appreciate any thoughts on these updates!
About three months ago this game was posted here and I received a lot of useful feedback. Since then, I've added per-photo guess distribution graphs (so you can see how other players guessed), an archive/calendar to replay any past daily challenge, UI improvements, and a countdown timer. I'd greatly appreciate any thoughts on these updates!
June 24
A Book Of Ghosts
A Book Of Ghosts is a collection of 50-odd illustrated poems about ghosts (although the illustrations are of distinctly varying quality, I'm afraid). [more inside]
A Book Of Ghosts is a collection of 50-odd illustrated poems about ghosts (although the illustrations are of distinctly varying quality, I'm afraid). [more inside]
June 17
This Princess Kills Monsters
It's publication day for my book, This Princess Kills Monsters! A princess with a mostly useless magical talent takes on horrible monsters, a dozen identical masked heroes, and a talking lion in a quest to save a kingdom—and herself. It's a queer retelling of "The Twelve Huntsmen", one of the Grimm Brothers' weirdest fairy tales.
It's publication day for my book, This Princess Kills Monsters! A princess with a mostly useless magical talent takes on horrible monsters, a dozen identical masked heroes, and a talking lion in a quest to save a kingdom—and herself. It's a queer retelling of "The Twelve Huntsmen", one of the Grimm Brothers' weirdest fairy tales.
June 16
Every EV available in Australia
Australia has no domestic EV manufacturers and has opened the gates to the world for imports. I've put together a site for comparing what's available in the Aussie market and some stats on sales, country of manufacture, battery chemistry etc.
Australia has no domestic EV manufacturers and has opened the gates to the world for imports. I've put together a site for comparing what's available in the Aussie market and some stats on sales, country of manufacture, battery chemistry etc.
Blobulator
I made a Blobulator. It's a blob with a clicky-clonky selector wheel on top and turning it changes the lights and sound. [more inside]
I made a Blobulator. It's a blob with a clicky-clonky selector wheel on top and turning it changes the lights and sound. [more inside]
