Michael Engard
@engard.me
Writer and web developer. Rochester, NY. Of late: WordPress, TTRPGs, the open web. You may never read my book but at least I’m writing it.
Reposted by Michael Engard
This is true. It is the best email I got this year.
November 26, 2025 at 9:50 PM
This is true. It is the best email I got this year.
Reposted by Michael Engard
RSS rules. RSS never became less relevant. RSS is a way to claw your agency back from silicon valley algorithmic timelines. That said if you use it you really are a sicko
November 25, 2025 at 1:07 AM
RSS rules. RSS never became less relevant. RSS is a way to claw your agency back from silicon valley algorithmic timelines. That said if you use it you really are a sicko
Reposted by Michael Engard
I love this one a lady did about punctuation marks
November 22, 2025 at 3:34 PM
I love this one a lady did about punctuation marks
I’m gonna be using “a big question asked in a small way.” Star stuff.
Massive shoutout out to whoever handles the Royal Canadian Air Force’s social media account. They responded to every single comment on their already very solid Trans Day of Remembrance post and they responded like this…
November 22, 2025 at 1:17 PM
I’m gonna be using “a big question asked in a small way.” Star stuff.
Reposted by Michael Engard
ChatGPT’s signature writing style is everywhere now, and I hate it. It reminds me of when we tried mixing all the beverages at the soda fountain in middle school. We didn’t actually create the perfect drink, we just made a cloying monstrosity that lost everything good about its constituent parts.
November 19, 2025 at 5:17 PM
ChatGPT’s signature writing style is everywhere now, and I hate it. It reminds me of when we tried mixing all the beverages at the soda fountain in middle school. We didn’t actually create the perfect drink, we just made a cloying monstrosity that lost everything good about its constituent parts.
Reposted by Michael Engard
Some people are motivated by fear. Tell them a bad thing will happen - but here is something you can do about it! - and they'll spend lots of money on that survival kit or window hammer or whatever.
Oddly enough, they don't like being told they HAVE to do something for safety. They need to choose.
Oddly enough, they don't like being told they HAVE to do something for safety. They need to choose.
November 18, 2025 at 10:29 AM
Some people are motivated by fear. Tell them a bad thing will happen - but here is something you can do about it! - and they'll spend lots of money on that survival kit or window hammer or whatever.
Oddly enough, they don't like being told they HAVE to do something for safety. They need to choose.
Oddly enough, they don't like being told they HAVE to do something for safety. They need to choose.
Reposted by Michael Engard
Specifically, they like quick, easy solutions. ✨Magical✨ solutions. One simple trick! One little pill! Masking for months and vaccines? Nah. Horse dewormer? Sure!
They want the clever angle. The secret only smart people get. Because that means *they're* smart and important, right?
They want the clever angle. The secret only smart people get. Because that means *they're* smart and important, right?
November 18, 2025 at 10:38 AM
Specifically, they like quick, easy solutions. ✨Magical✨ solutions. One simple trick! One little pill! Masking for months and vaccines? Nah. Horse dewormer? Sure!
They want the clever angle. The secret only smart people get. Because that means *they're* smart and important, right?
They want the clever angle. The secret only smart people get. Because that means *they're* smart and important, right?
Reposted by Michael Engard
“Short bursts indicate an ICE sighting. Long whistles indicate agents making arrests. If you hear the whistle and you’re undocumented, said [Whitney Hu, a community activist and organizer with South Brooklyn Mutual Aid], ‘you hide. And if you’re somebody who’s not, you go to the street.’”
As ICE Street Raids Ramp Up, New Yorkers Stock Up On Whistles
Taking a cue from Chicago, community groups have distributed thousands of whistles in recent weeks — a grassroots system people in other cities have adopted to help neighbors sound the alarm.
www.thecity.nyc
November 17, 2025 at 1:44 PM
“Short bursts indicate an ICE sighting. Long whistles indicate agents making arrests. If you hear the whistle and you’re undocumented, said [Whitney Hu, a community activist and organizer with South Brooklyn Mutual Aid], ‘you hide. And if you’re somebody who’s not, you go to the street.’”
Reposted by Michael Engard
she’s a 10 but Excel thinks she’s October
November 13, 2025 at 8:08 AM
she’s a 10 but Excel thinks she’s October
Literally every rahaeli thread is fifty naive people lining up to go “but have you thought about—” and she goes “YES WE SETTLED THIS IN 2005 WHILE YOU WERE LEARNING TO EAT SOLID FOOD.”
We as a profession have tried all your ideas already! The reason we aren't using them is not that "corporations" are evil, it's because they very simply do not fucking work.
November 15, 2025 at 3:56 AM
Literally every rahaeli thread is fifty naive people lining up to go “but have you thought about—” and she goes “YES WE SETTLED THIS IN 2005 WHILE YOU WERE LEARNING TO EAT SOLID FOOD.”
Reposted by Michael Engard
Most people intrinsically want to have meaningful work and be of service to each other. But those who don’t or can’t should still be able to live a comfortable and dignified life at society’s expense.
"my least woke opinion is---"
That's enough. We've had enough people indulging in the "thrill of a little conservatism", as a treat. Of considering reactionary thought to be a salacious and taboo in a world descending into reactionary mania.
Give me your MOST woke opinions. We're bringing it back.
That's enough. We've had enough people indulging in the "thrill of a little conservatism", as a treat. Of considering reactionary thought to be a salacious and taboo in a world descending into reactionary mania.
Give me your MOST woke opinions. We're bringing it back.
November 14, 2025 at 2:52 PM
Most people intrinsically want to have meaningful work and be of service to each other. But those who don’t or can’t should still be able to live a comfortable and dignified life at society’s expense.
Reposted by Michael Engard
We (the world at large) are making enough fucking babies. We're cool on the babies. We need to start FEEDING the babies and VACCINATING the babies and WELCOMING the babies to various places, but we have babies out the wazoo. They just might have different melanin levels
November 13, 2025 at 10:18 PM
We (the world at large) are making enough fucking babies. We're cool on the babies. We need to start FEEDING the babies and VACCINATING the babies and WELCOMING the babies to various places, but we have babies out the wazoo. They just might have different melanin levels
For a book that concerns itself centrally and explicitly with the concept of “imagination,” I am really irked by how little of it there is to be found in The Rose Field.
November 13, 2025 at 2:35 PM
For a book that concerns itself centrally and explicitly with the concept of “imagination,” I am really irked by how little of it there is to be found in The Rose Field.
Reposted by Michael Engard
Here is my Bond idea: I'm imagining a Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead treatment, where the Bond movie is background to two hapless MI5 newbies.
November 11, 2025 at 2:07 PM
Here is my Bond idea: I'm imagining a Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead treatment, where the Bond movie is background to two hapless MI5 newbies.
I’m honestly trying to keep an open mind but I just don’t buy this. People are starving because Republicans chose to starve them. It’s on them by default. I can’t see any political upside for Democrats to *voluntarily* assume responsibility in whole or part.
not true that there’s nothing gained. we get SNAP for a year *guaranteed in future shutdowns*
this basically means “we go back tovshutdown in two months when they don’t agree to the tax credits, but people won’t starve because of SNAP and that will be because of Democrats”. that is a tactical win
this basically means “we go back tovshutdown in two months when they don’t agree to the tax credits, but people won’t starve because of SNAP and that will be because of Democrats”. that is a tactical win
November 10, 2025 at 1:00 AM
I’m honestly trying to keep an open mind but I just don’t buy this. People are starving because Republicans chose to starve them. It’s on them by default. I can’t see any political upside for Democrats to *voluntarily* assume responsibility in whole or part.
Reposted by Michael Engard
The lesson Dems just absolutely refuse to learn here is that more of the voting public respects villains than cowards.
November 10, 2025 at 12:14 AM
The lesson Dems just absolutely refuse to learn here is that more of the voting public respects villains than cowards.
Reposted by Michael Engard
You ever notice how many indie-darling and it-girl actresses suddenly had late stage career revivals after he got hit with that lawsuit and his power started waning?
Sean Young, Winona Ryder, Robin Wright, Jennifer Connelly, bunch of people suddenly reappeared
Sean Young, Winona Ryder, Robin Wright, Jennifer Connelly, bunch of people suddenly reappeared
jesus CHRIST i just, guys missed the whole POINT of metoo which was NOT about cases like depp v heard but about cases like "harvey weinstein literally ended and sidelined the careers of hundreds of actresses who wouldnt fuck him to advance their careers"
he spent DECADES saying "oh yeah they lying"
he spent DECADES saying "oh yeah they lying"
November 6, 2025 at 7:38 PM
You ever notice how many indie-darling and it-girl actresses suddenly had late stage career revivals after he got hit with that lawsuit and his power started waning?
Sean Young, Winona Ryder, Robin Wright, Jennifer Connelly, bunch of people suddenly reappeared
Sean Young, Winona Ryder, Robin Wright, Jennifer Connelly, bunch of people suddenly reappeared
Reposted by Michael Engard
A comment on "intelligent agents" from Donald Norman, written in 1994, still relevant in all aspects today. It's like we learned almost nothing about how to build, use, or govern software in 30 years. Except this time the anthropomorphizing is intentional.
From dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/...
From dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/...
November 7, 2025 at 12:41 AM
A comment on "intelligent agents" from Donald Norman, written in 1994, still relevant in all aspects today. It's like we learned almost nothing about how to build, use, or govern software in 30 years. Except this time the anthropomorphizing is intentional.
From dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/...
From dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/...
Reposted by Michael Engard
THIS IS SO GOOD
November 6, 2025 at 4:42 AM
THIS IS SO GOOD
Reposted by Michael Engard
Democratic party leadership has been on autopilot for ten years, they weren't losing to fascism, fascism isn't popular enough for them to lose to fascism, they were allowing it to fill the void where their leadership should have been. Tonight we're seeing that we have other options. They should too.
November 5, 2025 at 5:14 AM
Democratic party leadership has been on autopilot for ten years, they weren't losing to fascism, fascism isn't popular enough for them to lose to fascism, they were allowing it to fill the void where their leadership should have been. Tonight we're seeing that we have other options. They should too.
Reposted by Michael Engard
Non-zero chance that Trump has asked his staff how he can get on the ballot in 2026.
November 5, 2025 at 5:13 AM
Non-zero chance that Trump has asked his staff how he can get on the ballot in 2026.
Reposted by Michael Engard
This victory speech from Zohran Mamdani is the most profound Dem speech of its kind since Obama at the DNC in 2004.
November 5, 2025 at 4:44 AM
This victory speech from Zohran Mamdani is the most profound Dem speech of its kind since Obama at the DNC in 2004.
Reposted by Michael Engard
I’ve got that feeling you get when you just saw something that history books are going to spend a lot of time talking about.
November 5, 2025 at 4:47 AM
I’ve got that feeling you get when you just saw something that history books are going to spend a lot of time talking about.