"I was being ironical."
LightNews LightNews
banner
uxchampion.bsky.social
"I was being ironical."
@uxchampion.bsky.social
4.5K followers 980 following 12K posts
Fun-loving user experience (UX) designer, former newspaper journalist, and USAF veteran. Enjoys classic rock and funky jazz, bocce, cycling, progressive politics, CDXX, smart writing, skillful photography, and cooking magnificent meals. 📎 #post4ever
Posts Replies Media Videos
uxchampion.bsky.social
Color graphic of a "No McDonald's" symbol, featuring the well-known McDonald's golden arches, overlaid with a bold, striking, red 'X'.
December 9, 2025 at 1:56 PM
uxchampion.bsky.social
Here's a couple more photos from the annual not-a-real boat regatta charity fundraiser event in Frederick, MD.

I snapped the photo on Saturday evening, while The Girlfriend™ and I were strolling the concourse alongside the downtown stormwater management canal better known as Carroll Creek.
Color photograph of a simulated Yellow Submarine (of The Beatles song fame) sitting in a stormwater management canal in downtown Frederick, MD. The display is one of more than 15 such 'boats' taking part in an annual holiday season fundraiser event for various local charities. A splendid time was had by all. (Photo credit: ux_champion) Color photograph of a scaled-down and simulated tug boat, decorated as the fictional widower Carl Fredricksen's home, from the Pixar animated feature film, "UP." The 'property' features a massive bouquet of imitation balloons, which carry the home skyward in the film. There is a white, picket fence surrounding the boat's deck, and clouds handmade from spray-in building insulation create the impression the tug is travelling through the sky. In the photo, the pretend boat is sitting in a stormwater management canal in downtown Frederick, MD. The display is one of more than 15 such 'boats' taking part in an annual holiday season fundraiser event for various local charities. A splendid time was had by all. (Photo credit: ux_champion)
December 8, 2025 at 9:36 PM
uxchampion.bsky.social
Text grab: In the city closest to where I reside, there is a stormwater management canal running through the middle of the downtown area. For most of the year it looks like the first photo. But between Thanksgiving and mid-March there is an imagination-enabled and lighted boat regatta with which local service groups and businesses raise money for worthy charity causes. The second photo is one I snapped on Saturday night, as we sipped mulled wine and strolled the concourse alongside the canal. I may post some more photos later, today, if folks like these. Color photograph of the Carroll Creek stormwater control canal system in Downtown Frederick, Maryland, after major improvements were made in the early 2000s. (No photo credit provided) Color, nighttime photograph of a small two-masted sailing ketch that has been artistically enhanced with long strings of swirling lights, transforming it into a Vincent Van Gogh-inspired artwork for an annual charity fundraiser boat regatta held in Frederick, MD. (Photo credit: ux_champion)
December 8, 2025 at 7:43 PM
uxchampion.bsky.social
NEW from WaPo:

Trump to announce $12 billion tariff relief assistance for farmers

The new assistance package is expected to particularly help soybean farmers, who have seen a precipitous drop in sales this year.

Free & unlocked story link: archive.ph/K0tIs
Color photograph of president donald trump, taken on Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2025. (Photo credit: Carolyn Van Houten/The Washington Post)
December 8, 2025 at 4:13 PM
uxchampion.bsky.social
It's a very special award. For a very 'special' leader. I'm told no one has seen anything like it before. 😏
Screenshot of a Twitter post including a color photograph of donald trump, looking either displeased or gassy (I'm never sure which it is). The same post, made by satirist Andy Borowitz, reads, "Trump Boasts That International Criminal Court in The Hague Has Invited Him to Receive Award."
December 6, 2025 at 7:28 PM
uxchampion.bsky.social
Here is some excellent holiday season cultural/social satire. Recommended!
Text grab: "Look, you have to understand that the magic of Christmas is limited." "Limited to flying to approximately 2.6 billion Christmas homes in one night and changing your body’s shape to slide down chimneys?" "I didn’t say it’s not powerful magic, Isaac. I said it’s limited magic."
December 6, 2025 at 3:05 PM
uxchampion.bsky.social
Most alcohol-related raccoon crimes stem from economic desperation. So it’s likely that rising grocery and electricity prices, combined with the impact of trump’s tariffs, led this raccoon down a dark path to the Hanover County (VA) Animal Protection Shelter. 🥴

www.usatoday.com/story/opinio...
Looks like another rough morning-after for "Pocket Flask Pete" Hegseth, America's only defense secretary with a documented blood alcohol reading of 0.46 percent! No, wait, I was mistaken. This is actually a photo of a raccoon that broke into a Virginia liquor overnight, became intoxicated, and then trashed the place before passing out on the restroom floor.
December 4, 2025 at 3:35 PM
uxchampion.bsky.social
"...ended eight wars in less than a year... "

One cannot help but wonder if Ms. Kelly goes home in the evening, following an announcement like the one she made today, feeling like the most bush-league, laughed-at, and tawdry street whore in all of Washington DC.

archive.ph/0ikXl
Anna Kelly, a White House spokeswoman, wrote in an email Wednesday that the USIP was “once a bloated, useless entity that blew $50 million per year while delivering no peace.” “Now, the Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace, which is both beautifully and aptly named after a President who ended eight wars in less than a year, will stand as a powerful reminder of what strong leadership can accomplish for global stability,” Kelly added.
December 4, 2025 at 1:33 PM
uxchampion.bsky.social
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth seems to be a war criminal. Without a war. An interesting achievement. [...] The killing of the survivors by this moral slum of an administration should nauseate Americans. A nation incapable of shame is dangerous, not least to itself.
— George F. Will
archive.ph/5lei9
Color photograph of a very animated U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, in an unspecified congressional committee meeting. Tell me he doesn't look exactly like The Joker, of comic book fame, minus the facial makeup. ;-)
December 3, 2025 at 3:33 PM
uxchampion.bsky.social
Just when you thought life couldn't get any more 'blissful and satisfying,' it is COOKIE WEEK at the NY Times!

Let me know if you see a particular cookie you would like to bake, but cannot access the recipe b/c of the paywall. I might be able to help. 😉

cooking.nytimes.com
Color photograph of a holiday cookie assortment, including many different colors, shapes, and textures. (Image credit: Rachel Vanni/The New York Times)
December 2, 2025 at 2:41 PM
uxchampion.bsky.social
Because there is no legitimate war between the [U.S. and Venezuela], the deliberate killings of the men in the boats “amounts to murder,” said Todd Huntley, a former military lawyer who advised Special Operations forces for seven years at the height of the U.S. counterterrorism campaign. Even if the U.S. were at war with the traffickers, an order to kill all the boat’s occupants if they were no longer able to fight “would in essence be an order to show no quarter, which would be a war crime,” added Huntley, now the director of the national security law program at Georgetown Law School."
November 29, 2025 at 2:39 PM
uxchampion.bsky.social
Good Morning, and Happy Thanksgiving to all who choose to celebrate the occasion!

I hope you're looking forward to the holiday feast and to catching up with friends and family, as much as I am!

Seeya at the adults' table! Gobble-Gobble! 🦃
The illustration depicts a humorous 'Thanksgiving Bingo' playing card prototype, featuring 25 squares with labels such as "Drunk on boxed wine," "Do shots with Grandma," and "KITCHEN FIRE."
November 27, 2025 at 4:01 PM
uxchampion.bsky.social
November 27, 2025 at 2:05 PM
uxchampion.bsky.social
Text meme: Focus on the process, not the outcome (No credit provided)
November 25, 2025 at 5:55 PM
uxchampion.bsky.social
Quincy Wilson is the youngest male track sprinter ever to earn an Olympic gold medal.

Wilson—who is a DC-area teen and widely considered the top male track prospect in the nation—has chosen the University of Maryland Terrapins over several top national track programs. Woohoo! 🏃‍♂️
Bullis High School (Maryland) senior Quincy Wilson, pictured here in 2024, committed on Monday night to attending college at the University of Maryland. (Photo credit: Craig Hudson/The Washington Post)
November 25, 2025 at 3:15 PM
uxchampion.bsky.social
The 'Mean, Greene, Conspiracy Machine' is takin' her ball and headin' back down to the hollow.

Angered by trump's refusal to back her dream of becoming a U.S. senator, crazy daisy Marjorie Taylor Greene says she has had enough.

Free & unlocked link to the WaPo story: archive.ph/qAi0q 🤨
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) was first elected to the U.S. House in 2020 and has been a longtime ally of the MAGA movement. (Photo credit: Sarah L. Voisin/The Washington Post)
November 22, 2025 at 1:37 PM
uxchampion.bsky.social
Judge blocks IRS from sharing data with DHS for immigration enforcement

Immigration officials asked the tax agency for help locating 1.2 million suspected undocumented immigrants in August.

Free & unlocked story link: archive.ph/aEVZN
Color photograph of U.S. Border Patrol official Gregory Bovino yelling at a motorist for blocking immigration enforcement vehicles in Chicago on Nov. 6, 2025. (Photo credit: Joshua Lott/The Washington Post)
November 21, 2025 at 11:13 PM
uxchampion.bsky.social
Attorney, politics commentator, and all-around savvy dude, Jay Kuo, on the growing concerns that incriminating content is being edited from the so-called Epstein files to protect Republican politicians and prominent party donors:

Free & unlocked document link: statuskuo.substack.com/p/everyone-t...
November 20, 2025 at 3:25 PM
uxchampion.bsky.social
Ask the man who knows about such things. 😄
Text post on social media: "It's shocking you couldn't find a high school stock boy at Home Depot who could have handled this more ineptly than Lindsey Halligan did," former Trump defense attorney Ty Cobb said after the proceedings had ended on Wednesday. "You know, taking an indictment that the grand jury never saw, having the foreman sign it, and then presenting it to a judge? That's the height of ineptitude and misconduct."
November 19, 2025 at 11:38 PM
uxchampion.bsky.social
Stephen Miller is the great-grandson of the "Mr. Freeze" character, from the 1966 Batman television series. 😜🤭
Color photograph of actor Otto Preminger, in the role of the villain "Mr. Freeze," in an episode of the 1966 "Batman" television series. Note the resemblance to White House presidential aide Stephen Miller. (Image credit: 20th Century/Warner Bros./DC Entertainment)
November 19, 2025 at 10:09 PM
uxchampion.bsky.social
Here's some better cover art for your book:
AI-enabled color illustration of a massive, sleeping pig that is sitting at the defense table in an American courtroom, dressed in a suit, an overly long red tie, and the beast is shown drooling from the snout and mouth. The pig has very large ears and bears a vague resemblance to Donald Trump. (No artist's credit provided)
November 19, 2025 at 2:57 PM
uxchampion.bsky.social
Former U.S treasury secretary Larry Summers said Monday night in a statement that he is “deeply ashamed” of his years-long connection to and communications with Jeffrey Epstein and will be “stepping back from public commitments."

Free & unlocked link to the WaPo story: archive.ph/GZpvK 🤨🤦‍♂️
Color photograph of former U.S. treasury secretary and Harvard University president, Larry Summers, at a July 2025 event in Sun Valley, ID. (Photo credit: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
November 18, 2025 at 9:19 PM
uxchampion.bsky.social
My apologies for the paywalled WaPo story link above, but it was the only available as the story was breaking.

Here's a free & unlocked version of the same story, for your reading pleasure: archive.ph/fV6LB
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) stands before a group that includes accusers of the disgraced late financier Jeffrey Epstein, at a news conference Tuesday on Capitol Hill. (Photo credit: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)
November 18, 2025 at 8:07 PM
uxchampion.bsky.social
Dan Rather, legendary television newsman, author, and raconteur, on the Epstein files, 47's sudden shift in political rhetoric regarding their public release, and the current state of play:
It "didn’t take a political savant to see that Trump was going to lose, with dozens of Republicans defecting and joining Democrats in their vote to release the files. "So, instead of admitting defeat, the president has given his very late-to-the-table blessing. Well, blessing may be a reach. He completely caved, but posted on social media, 'The House Oversight Committee can have whatever they are legally entitled to, I DON’T CARE! All I do care about is that Republicans get BACK ON POINT.' "One wonders what that point is."
November 18, 2025 at 6:30 PM
uxchampion.bsky.social
I formerly owned a Saab 9-3 Turbo sedan. The car was equipped with the OnStar vehicle roadside assistance app. The car's original owner told me that the service was disabled after one year of ownership, when he chose not to renew. But I always suspected SAAB or GM or whoever could just as easily restart the system and track the car anytime they wanted. 🤨
November 17, 2025 at 5:58 PM