Tessera

Mike Bruin

@mikebruin.bsky.social

Husband, creative guy, homelab tinkerer, liberal, dog dad, work-in-progress… 🐸 💙 🏳️‍🌈 🐻 ☕ 💻 🛠️ (he / him) Bellingham, WA 🌲🦥🌲 Opinions are mine. Content will be nerdy tech; dog-related; love of high desert landscapes, & more...

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Mike Bruin @mikebruin.bsky.social · 21h ago

Scooter has been, and I quote, "...a total snotball this morning". We had to abort the walk. Maybe some chase and sniffing activity this afternoon will be more successful. #PTSDpup #snotball #toddlerpup

We repurposed a spiral-bound grade book (a thrift store find) to be a medication administration record and behavior log. Today's note states: "* Was a total snotball this morning", followed by a hand-drawn frowny face emoji. The comment is written on graph paper with green lines for the minor divisions and red lines for the major divisions.

Scooter is laying on the floor and napping after being a difficult-to-deal-with pooch this morning.

Mike Bruin @mikebruin.bsky.social · 5d ago

First, think of a dishwasher as a multi-dimensional array of dishes and optimize for packing efficiency by iterating over... #advicefromadishwasherpackingexpert #choredaddy

Mr. Joshua @pantspants.bsky.social · last mo.

Mike Bruin @mikebruin.bsky.social · 7d ago

I'm taking a break from my usual projects to work on some creative found-object assemblages like this upside-down robot. I'll post a non-upside-down photo after the newly glued on "exhaust port" dries. #foundobjectassemblage #foundobjectart #robot #exhaustportanus

The photo shows a mostly finished, upside down, robot sculpture. Two legs are attached to the bottom of an old gum tin. The robot's arms and red head are also attached to the tin. Between the robot's legs are some freshly glued on washers for the robot's "exhaust port". The bottom third of the photo shows the blue workbench surface scattered with unused parts and gizmos.

Mike Bruin @mikebruin.bsky.social · last wk.

I was organizing in the garage and ran across this ancient #RadioShack #mercury switch that's gotta be 25 years old or older. It's heading to the Whatcom County household #hazardouswaste disposal site tomorrow ⚠️

The photo shows an old electronics part, "Experimenter's Mercury Bulb Switch", in a blister-pack from RadioShack and sitting on a purple background. The plastic bubble containing the mercury switch is tinted yellow from age.

Mike Bruin @mikebruin.bsky.social · 2w ago

Similar vibes 🦝🚘 #jimothy #smartcar #lovethemboth

A two-image collage with a light and dark gray Smart car on the left-hand side and Jimothy (a light and dark gray raccoon with short-spine syndrome) on the right-hand side.

Mike Bruin @mikebruin.bsky.social · 2w ago

🦝 #jimothy should take the 🚂 #Amtrak up to 🌲 #Bellingham and hang out with 🦥 #slothy for a day or two

Mike Bruin @mikebruin.bsky.social · 3w ago

This sounds awesome! #jimothy #art

Councilmember Alexis Mercedes Rinck@councilmember-amr.bsky.social · 3w ago

Join us next weekend to celebrate our newest local icon Jimothy as we present a proclamation in his honor to commemorate Jimothy Summer. We invite all local artists to bring their Jimothy-themed art for a friendly art competition. Long live, Jimothy!

A poster for an event celebrating Jimothy the raccoon on July 26 at 12:00pm at Bergen Place Park

Mike Bruin @mikebruin.bsky.social · 4w ago

This gives me hope that there's also a "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" meme out there #bringoutyourdead

Darren and Poley@darrenandpoley.bsky.social · 4w ago

Just talked to my old friend Mitch McConnell for 20 minutes.

Haley joel osmont speaking to bruce willis in the sixth sense

Mike Bruin @mikebruin.bsky.social · 4w ago

🐶 #Scooter and I were on a new walk this morning and a thought popped into my head, "What if the Universe dropped Scooter into our lives to slow me down and force me to relax? #deepthoughtsonwalks #PTSDpup #acceptance

Mike Bruin @mikebruin.bsky.social · last mo.

We're half-way through the year. I feel conflicted about that. #midyear #toomanyshoulds? #hauntedbymytasklist

The image is a square that is half shaded (from upper-left corner to lower -right corner) representing, to me, that we are in the middle of 2026.

Mike Bruin @mikebruin.bsky.social · last mo.

🇨🇦 Happy Canada Day to Canadian friends and Canadaphiles! 🍁☀️🦫❄️🏔️🌲

Theo Moudakis@theomoudakis.bsky.social · last mo.

Please enjoy my cartoon in today's Toronto Star

Mike Bruin @mikebruin.bsky.social · last mo.

#Scooter was a better balance of relaxed & hypervigilant for today's vet visit. I even got him to lie down and settle for treats while we waited. He had a general wellness checkup, annual vaccinations, plus a stream of treats to bolster his fortitude! 🐶 #PTSDpup 💉 #VaccinesWork! 🏆 #goodboy

Scooter (a black German Shepard-Lab mix dog with brown paws and white chest in the center of the photo) looks at me while we wait in the vet's exam room. He knows I have a bag of high-value training treats (not seen in the photo) on my lap. There is a bright red lead attached to Scooter's harness at his chest and to the gentle leader head collar around his nose.

Scooter turns his head toward the exam room door (not seen) as he listens to something happening in the hallway.

Scooter has been given the "OK" to eat a pumpkin-and-checken treat from my hand. The amazing thing is that he's sitting down and focused on treats, not worrying about being at the vet's office.

Second amazing thing - I got Scooter to lie down and settle for treats. That's kinda a breakthrough for a high-anxiety, stimulus filled location like the vet's office. He was pretty much a good boy the entire time.

Mike Bruin @mikebruin.bsky.social · last mo.

Bakerview Road lived up to its name yesterday ✨ #MtBaker #PNW #NeedToRememberThisViewInFebruary

A quick photo taken while I was stopped at a red light. Looking out my windshield is a great view of snow-covered Mount Baker. The mountain and snow are white, blue-gray, and darker blue-gray. The surrounding mountains and foothills are various shades of dark blue to blue-gray. Half of the mountain is obscured by trees that line the road - but it's still impressive.

The sky is filled with clouds, and their colors mirror the various blues and grays of the mountain and hills. Electrical wires cross the top half of the image and the street is at the far bottom of the photo. A row of three cars, in the bottom right of the photo, is in front of me waiting at the stoplight.

Mike Bruin @mikebruin.bsky.social · last mo.

Great, now I have meta anxiety 😵🫨😵‍💫 #ImposterSyndromeIsForEveryone!

Vincent Riemer@vincentriemer.social · 2mo ago

Hanging this up in my office as I prepare to start my job search

Cartoon of a woman behind a laptop looking at "camera" with the text: "QUIZ: Are You Even Good Enough to Have Imposter Syndrome?"

Mike Bruin @mikebruin.bsky.social · 2mo ago

☀️ Happy #DeclinationAngle maximum 😎 #summersolstice

A black and white illustration showing the Earth's axial tilt and sun rays, above a graph of the solar declination angle which peaks at 23.45° on the Summer Solstice in June.

Mike Bruin @mikebruin.bsky.social · 2mo ago

🐶 Scooter is (slowly) learning that you can't chase your favorite ball if you don't give up your favorite ball... 🥎 We also had a mini-sniffing game as I tossed kibble into the grass for him to find 🐾 ⚡ Burning off morning energy so his other dad can sleep in 😴

Scooter (a mostly German Shepard dog, wearing a light blue harness is in the upper right corner of the photo) sniffs around for the kibble I've tossed him while he keeps a eye on his favorite ball orange ball with a blue stripe (lower left corner of the photo). There is a row of square, dusty grey-red bricks in the grass and a small section of a cedar fence can be seen behind Scooter.

Mike Bruin @mikebruin.bsky.social · 2mo ago

🌲Doing some maintenance at our trailer. #MtBaker #Demming #MapleFalls #Glacier

A view into the bright blue sky. The sun is behind the tops of a group of pine trees on the left side of the photo. On the right side of the photo one of the pine trees stretches from the right-hand side of the photo to the middle-top of the photo. The wind “whooshes” through the top of the trees causing them to gently sway. Birds and insects provide the soundtrack for this view.

Mike Bruin @mikebruin.bsky.social · 2mo ago

🌒 The waxing crescent moon will pass in front of Venus around lunchtime today (06/17). I hope we have clear skies for it. #lunaroccultation #coolspacestuff For #Bellingham, WA: 🟢 Start time: 11:42 AM 🔴 Stop time: 12:54 PM in-the-sky.org/news.php?id=... www.livescience.com/space/astron...

Lunar occultation of Venus

17 June 2026: The Moon will pass in front of Venus, creating a lunar occultation visible from countries and territories including the Contiguous United States, Canada, Brazil and Venezuela amongst oth...

in-the-sky.org

Mike Bruin @mikebruin.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Long Saturday traveling to Seattle and back to visit mom. It's definitely summer there ☀️🌹🌼🪻 The rose was seen in the Jackson Street Plaza planters, outside the King Street train station. The red yarrow was seen in the Capitol Hill neighborhood.

A rich red yarrow flower is in the middle of the image with out of focus grass and sidewalk in the background. Wikipedia link for yarrow follows.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Achillea_millefolium

A rich yellow-orange hybrid tea rose, similar to the colors of a California poppy, is in the middle of the image with light and dark green rose leaves in the background. Wikipedia links for California poppies and hybrid tea roses follow.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eschscholzia_californica
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hybrid_tea_rose

Mike Bruin @mikebruin.bsky.social · 2mo ago

🐧 The Bellingham Linux User Group (BLUG) meets on the third Wednesday at the Bellingham Makerspace. Details on Meetup: www.meetup.com/hamster-open...

An event card for the Bellingham Linux User Group (BLUG) Meetup - Show & Tell on June 17th at the Bellingham Makerspace.

Mike Bruin @mikebruin.bsky.social · 2mo ago

One trillion US dollar bills laid end-to-end would stretch roughly 1.04 times the average distance from Earth to the Sun (~93 million miles or ~156 million km). So if you started at Earth and aimed toward the Sun, the line of bills would pass the Sun & continue about 4 million miles beyond it.

Mike Bruin @mikebruin.bsky.social · 2mo ago

🔹Support "Skype A Scientist" 🔹Challenge misinformation! 🔹Look great! P.S. Don't be so intensely focused on taking the selfie that you forget to smile 😆 #BiologyIsBiggerThanBinaries #SkypeAScientist

I'm wearing a t-shirt that says "BIOLOGY IS BIGGER THAN BINARIES"Y. The shirt is black with a white and pink design showing an insect, flower, and bee in white, black, and bright pink.

Sarah McAnulty, Ph.D.@sarahmackattack.bsky.social · last yr.

I'm so happy people are so into these shirts! Pre-orders will be open until the end of the month. They were designed by @franzanth.bsky.social & will be printed here in Philly on 100% cotton Next Level Tees. Pink is *only* available until 5/31 Get 'em here: Squidfacts.bigcartel.com

2 versions of the same design, all of which say "Biology is bigger than binaries", with a central image of a bee, a clownfish, and a lily. The one on. the left is pink, the right is orange,

Mike Bruin @mikebruin.bsky.social · 2mo ago

#Wildroses seen yesterday near the #Fairhaven Village Green #bellingham #WA

Bright pink wild roses with light yellow centers are roughly in the middle of the photo. They are surrounded by bright green rose leaves. You can see several of the rose petals have fallen to the ground. They are dots of hot pink among the stones, moss, and tiny weeds.

Mike Bruin @mikebruin.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Have a great #Pride Month! 🏳️‍🌈

The image is a coloring page I downloaded, printed, and colored with colored pencils. The top of the image has a rainbow with the progressive pride colors sitting on two clouds that have green, blue, and purple bands running through them.

The words "HAPPY PRIDE MONTH" are below the rainbow and each letter is a different rainbow color.

Mike Bruin @mikebruin.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Exhausted pup. Yesterday's doggie daycare included a training session. I could tell he was tired when I picked him up. He napped in the backyard until primary human came home from work. #scooter #rescue #ptsd #Brad=primaryhuman #Mike=backuphuman

Scooter, a German Shepard mix rescue dog, is lying on his side as he naps in the grass in our backyard (seen in the upper-right background of the photo).

In the foreground of the photo is a orange-ish terracotta pot with a small-leafed green plant and a yellow-green plant with long slender leaves. Two other,smaller pots are seen in the middle of the foreground. They only contain hopes, poorly executed gardening ideas, and a small weed or two.

Mike Bruin @mikebruin.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Happy 100th birthday, Allen Ginsberg 🪷 📚 ☸️ 📢 #june3rd1926 #AllenGinsberg en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allen_G...

The image is a black and white photo of a young Allen Ginsberg. He is seated cross-legged, and is wearing dark pants and shirt. A small rectangular watch is on his right wrist, and he is wearing glasses. Two framed artworks are on the wall behind him.

Mike Bruin @mikebruin.bsky.social · 2mo ago

A moment of serendipity offered me a view of the Seattle International District - Chinatown #paifang (arch). #SunnySeattleSunday #SeattleID en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Histori...

The Seattle International District - Chinatown paifang (arch) appears in the left 2/3's of the photo. It has red columns and a gold roof. The back of a red bus can be seen a block away waiting at a stop sign, and a silver Prius-like car is seen facing the viewer and starting a turn to the right side of the photo. A large, light-red dragon wraps around a light pole on the far left of the photo and the backs of two traffic warning lights are seen at the top of the photo hanging from a wire -- almost looking like hanging lanterns. The sky is a vibrant blue and it was a bright sunny day around noon.

Mike Bruin @mikebruin.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Finding (and enjoying) more of #Bellingham 's public #art. #NoraBruhn #RailroadAve #peony #mural #Washington www.cascadiadaily.com/2025/aug/07/...

A peony mural, painted by artist Nora Bruhn, fills the side of a parking garage on Railroad Avenue in Bellingham, WA. It is lit by sunlight filtering through a nearby tree, creating a dappled pattern on the mural.

Mike Bruin @mikebruin.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Yeah, I can. You're a lazy-ass, public nuisance #spammer. I hope space aliens 👽 abduct you to their galaxy 🌌 and you inadvertently save the human race because after studying both of your brain cells 🧠, they assume we're too stupid to bother invading 👾. #expirespammerexpire

The image shows a screenshot of a text message from a (very) likely spammer. The phone number is pixelated. The message states, "I got your number , can you guess who I am ?"

Under the message is information from my mobile provider: "If you did not expect this message from an unknown sender, It may be spam." followed by a big button with "Report Spam" in blue text.

Mike Bruin @mikebruin.bsky.social · 3mo ago

"Fix Friday" status is: ✅ Finalized, 🏰 fortified, and 💅 fabulous" My homelab Forgejo server was sidelined by a sub-optimal backup script that Claude Code had written. OpenCode + Kimi(K2.6) diagnosed the problem, updated the script, and wrote a nice post-mortem so I can learn more.