Scott Purdy
@scottpurdy.bsky.social
Negative number can alter Ray Scott’s identity (9)
He got as far as Tonya Harding and The Exploding Whale before giving up. All of which is to say you people are picking vastly too generic/well-known characteristics of your states.
Question: if Sufjan Stevens did an album about your state, what would there be songs about? (sorry, Michigan and Illinois, you have to sit this one out.
I'll go first for Maryland:
1. Baltimore
2. Harriet Tubman
3. The Snallygaster
4. The pursuit of John Wilkes Booth
5. The Chesapeake
6. Crabs
I'll go first for Maryland:
1. Baltimore
2. Harriet Tubman
3. The Snallygaster
4. The pursuit of John Wilkes Booth
5. The Chesapeake
6. Crabs
December 2, 2025 at 1:43 AM
He got as far as Tonya Harding and The Exploding Whale before giving up. All of which is to say you people are picking vastly too generic/well-known characteristics of your states.
Weird way to say “enbys like puzzles and murder mysteries,” but Evan’s not wrong.
When you receive your transgender make sure to take proper care of them.
Trans women need magic the gathering for enrichment and at least one synthesizer.
Trans men need to be given a ukulele (accordion is also acceptable) and signed up for a kickball team.
Consult a nonbinary with questions
Trans women need magic the gathering for enrichment and at least one synthesizer.
Trans men need to be given a ukulele (accordion is also acceptable) and signed up for a kickball team.
Consult a nonbinary with questions
December 1, 2025 at 1:45 AM
Weird way to say “enbys like puzzles and murder mysteries,” but Evan’s not wrong.
I’d be curious if the divine auditor listed out every lie I’ve ever told my toddler, whether the sum total of all the others would exceed the number of times it has been “I understand.”
November 29, 2025 at 5:44 PM
I’d be curious if the divine auditor listed out every lie I’ve ever told my toddler, whether the sum total of all the others would exceed the number of times it has been “I understand.”
Reposted by Scott Purdy
Fun news for puzzle fans! The golden hare from the 1979 armchair treasure hunt book Masquerade by Kit Williams will be auctioned at Sotheby's, estimated at a value of £15,000 to £20,000 www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home... (Who wants to crowdfund with me? 👀)
Jewelled golden hare that sparked national treasure hunt set for auction
Artist and author Kit Williams hid a golden hare with clues to its precise location given in his 1979 book
www.independent.co.uk
November 27, 2025 at 6:30 PM
Fun news for puzzle fans! The golden hare from the 1979 armchair treasure hunt book Masquerade by Kit Williams will be auctioned at Sotheby's, estimated at a value of £15,000 to £20,000 www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home... (Who wants to crowdfund with me? 👀)
Reposted by Scott Purdy
Your annual reminder:
I am asking you, once again, to stop giving Mike Dukakis your Turkey carcasses
November 27, 2025 at 3:11 PM
Your annual reminder:
Oscar’s email to Bert and Ernie the week before football season starts:
garbage draft! it's the garbage draft! everyone should do garbage drafts!!
my best code is written in a two-step process:
1. kludge a working prototype together, don’t worry about the code AT ALL. the point is understanding how the requirements function in reality
2. destroy the prototype completely. build the app for real using my better mental model
1. kludge a working prototype together, don’t worry about the code AT ALL. the point is understanding how the requirements function in reality
2. destroy the prototype completely. build the app for real using my better mental model
November 24, 2025 at 9:14 PM
Oscar’s email to Bert and Ernie the week before football season starts:
Since it looks like the relevant local radio station has made the switch to 100% Christmas music already, I guess it’s time for your annual seasonal reminder that in the 1920s, the term “sleigh ride” was slang for doing cocaine.
November 23, 2025 at 3:53 PM
Since it looks like the relevant local radio station has made the switch to 100% Christmas music already, I guess it’s time for your annual seasonal reminder that in the 1920s, the term “sleigh ride” was slang for doing cocaine.
As usual, it’s always exceedingly weird whenever Hanselman’s professional activities come anywhere near my interests. I don’t think the windows of our youth where I played Zork and where he and I played computer games together overlapped, but it’s not impossible.
Open sourced Zork today opensource.microsoft.com/blog/2025/11... and ran it on a swarm of containers in the cloud 😂
Preserving code that shaped generations: Zork I, II, and III go Open Source
Microsoft’s Open Source Programs Office (OSPO), Team Xbox, and Activision are making Zork I, Zork II, and Zork III available under the MIT License.
opensource.microsoft.com
November 21, 2025 at 7:59 PM
As usual, it’s always exceedingly weird whenever Hanselman’s professional activities come anywhere near my interests. I don’t think the windows of our youth where I played Zork and where he and I played computer games together overlapped, but it’s not impossible.
Every November, I forget about Exploding Whale Day because of its close proximity to Edmund Fitzgerald Day, but Happy Belated Exploding Whale Day to all who celebrate.
A dead sperm whale has washed up on Nantucket for the first time in decades. It’s too big to move — at least until officials figure out a plan.
Dead Sperm Whale on Nantucket Is Too Big to Move, for Now
A local nonprofit said the 52-ton mammal is “far too big, awkward and heavy to remove.” A town official later said it could be dragged out to sea by Thanksgiving.
nyti.ms
November 21, 2025 at 12:31 AM
Every November, I forget about Exploding Whale Day because of its close proximity to Edmund Fitzgerald Day, but Happy Belated Exploding Whale Day to all who celebrate.
Can’t get the idea out of my head of a Tubular Bells/Golden mash-up called K-Pope Demon Hunters.
November 18, 2025 at 11:35 PM
Can’t get the idea out of my head of a Tubular Bells/Golden mash-up called K-Pope Demon Hunters.
I’ve been sick over the past week and reading social media while intermittently woozy on cold medication, so if someone wants to commission 25,000 words about my reading about the profile, the excerpt, and the retort, I’m sure I could churn out something appropriately florid.
November 18, 2025 at 4:47 AM
I’ve been sick over the past week and reading social media while intermittently woozy on cold medication, so if someone wants to commission 25,000 words about my reading about the profile, the excerpt, and the retort, I’m sure I could churn out something appropriately florid.
I don’t have a lot of interesting woke or anti-woke opinions, but my most America, Fuck Yeah opinion is that weather forecasts are far more relevant to the average person’s life experience than the temperature at which water boils, and so temperature should mostly be measured in Fahrenheit.
November 17, 2025 at 11:52 PM
I don’t have a lot of interesting woke or anti-woke opinions, but my most America, Fuck Yeah opinion is that weather forecasts are far more relevant to the average person’s life experience than the temperature at which water boils, and so temperature should mostly be measured in Fahrenheit.
Reposted by Scott Purdy
I went deep on SNAP, including the 50-year battle to make benefits more generous, and the unprecedented cuts and restrictions taking hold in the program, which are separate from and much more permanent than the recent payment freezes www.nytimes.com/2025/11/13/d...
Experts Say SNAP’s Food Budget Doesn’t Match How People Actually Eat
www.nytimes.com
November 14, 2025 at 5:04 PM
I went deep on SNAP, including the 50-year battle to make benefits more generous, and the unprecedented cuts and restrictions taking hold in the program, which are separate from and much more permanent than the recent payment freezes www.nytimes.com/2025/11/13/d...
My phone just tried to autocorrect “happy” to “GAO” and, yes I probably use the latter more than the former, but c’mon.
November 14, 2025 at 5:01 PM
My phone just tried to autocorrect “happy” to “GAO” and, yes I probably use the latter more than the former, but c’mon.
Reposted by Scott Purdy
boston sent vital assistance following the 1917 halifax harbor explosion (so awful it killed 1700 people), and as thanks, nova scotia has sent us a christmas tree every year. it’s a nice little tradition. this is the first time the boston mayor visited to retrieve it in person
In Canada, Wu helps chop down Boston's Christmas tree
Mayor Michelle Wu spent three days in Nova Scotia, saying she wanted to affirm Boston's relationship with Canada amid antagonism from the Trump administration.
www.boston.com
November 14, 2025 at 3:59 AM
boston sent vital assistance following the 1917 halifax harbor explosion (so awful it killed 1700 people), and as thanks, nova scotia has sent us a christmas tree every year. it’s a nice little tradition. this is the first time the boston mayor visited to retrieve it in person
Reposted by Scott Purdy
realized i didn't know the origins of "in the ballpark" meaning "approximately correct" and once again had it reaffirmed that you will never regret looking up the etymology of a word
November 14, 2025 at 3:58 AM
realized i didn't know the origins of "in the ballpark" meaning "approximately correct" and once again had it reaffirmed that you will never regret looking up the etymology of a word
Happy What Exactly Is It That I Do For A Living Again? Day to all who celebrate!!!
November 13, 2025 at 2:43 PM
Happy What Exactly Is It That I Do For A Living Again? Day to all who celebrate!!!
One problem with politics is that, even for the (I’d guess more than eight) Senators for whom it’s true, nobody can say “I never believed we would be able to actually win anything in a shutdown, because no one ever does. We highlighted the problem and are now stopping before the costs escalate.”
November 11, 2025 at 1:15 AM
One problem with politics is that, even for the (I’d guess more than eight) Senators for whom it’s true, nobody can say “I never believed we would be able to actually win anything in a shutdown, because no one ever does. We highlighted the problem and are now stopping before the costs escalate.”
Reposted by Scott Purdy
When November 10th falls on the second weekday, that's Taconite Tuesday
November 10, 2025 at 7:58 PM
When November 10th falls on the second weekday, that's Taconite Tuesday
I can’t find it, but I feel like we need the “we don’t know anything” breaking news graphic that shows up here in the immediate aftermath of disasters and shootings for thinly-sourced anonymous reports of potential shutdown deals, as well.
November 9, 2025 at 8:58 PM
I can’t find it, but I feel like we need the “we don’t know anything” breaking news graphic that shows up here in the immediate aftermath of disasters and shootings for thinly-sourced anonymous reports of potential shutdown deals, as well.
This is true and legitimately irritating, but at least some of these reviews are clearly getting at “GDT’s Frankenstein [successfully] makes you wonder who the real monster is [when so many past movie versions have not].”
I'm losing my mind over how many reviewers are like "GDT's Frankenstein makes you wonder who the real monster is." THAT'S THE STORY! That's the story Shelley wrote!
November 7, 2025 at 5:55 PM
This is true and legitimately irritating, but at least some of these reviews are clearly getting at “GDT’s Frankenstein [successfully] makes you wonder who the real monster is [when so many past movie versions have not].”
Your seasonal reminder (as borrowed from @debcha.bsky.social) that you can use advent calendars for the weeks leading up to anything:
shop-liquor.malort.com/products/202...
shop-liquor.malort.com/products/202...
2025 Malört Advent Calendar
Celebrate each day of December until Christmas with a 50mL bottle of Malört 25x 50mL bottles included
shop-liquor.malort.com
November 7, 2025 at 5:50 PM
Your seasonal reminder (as borrowed from @debcha.bsky.social) that you can use advent calendars for the weeks leading up to anything:
shop-liquor.malort.com/products/202...
shop-liquor.malort.com/products/202...
It’s not the main reason, but this is part of why I always recommend calling your Sen/Rep’s local office instead of their DC office. You’re much more likely to get an intern who is talking to constituents because they want to than because they have to pay their dues to get to a better position.
I have long argued that the single best thing you could do to improve the functioning of the US government is double the salaries of everyone working on Capitol Hill. Serving Congress shouldn’t involve poverty wages in DC. You could attract a much wider set of perspectives netting a better result.
people hate hearing this but it's 100% true, creating a huge pay gap between political leaders, their staffs, and other elites is a recipe for corruption. of course the flip side of that is taxes on the rich should be jacked way the hell up
November 7, 2025 at 5:24 PM
It’s not the main reason, but this is part of why I always recommend calling your Sen/Rep’s local office instead of their DC office. You’re much more likely to get an intern who is talking to constituents because they want to than because they have to pay their dues to get to a better position.
Reposted by Scott Purdy
tomorrow i'm hosting bird trivia in cambridge. the peeps and i worked very hard on the questions, playlist, etc. come thru www.eventbrite.com/e/birdy-game...
Birdy Games and Trivia at Tilde in Cambridge
An evening of birdy and bird-adjacent fun and games over tasty bites, great wine, great coffee, and good friends at Tilde with Cara Giaimo!
www.eventbrite.com
November 5, 2025 at 11:47 PM
tomorrow i'm hosting bird trivia in cambridge. the peeps and i worked very hard on the questions, playlist, etc. come thru www.eventbrite.com/e/birdy-game...