Tim W RESISTS
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tim.union.place.ap.brid.gy
Tim W RESISTS
@tim.union.place.ap.brid.gy
740 followers 27 following 660 posts
I am an admin of The Union Place, and a proud AWU-CWA Local 9009 #Union member.

I'm a Staff SRE at Google, but all opinions are my own, and this account and instance […]

[bridged from https://union.place/@tim on the fediverse by https://fed.brid.gy/ ]
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tim.union.place.ap.brid.gy
#nokings #endbillionaires #unionstrong
A white man with sunglasses in a class 3 high viz poncho holding a "Hands Off our Unions" sign.
October 18, 2025 at 4:13 PM
tim.union.place.ap.brid.gy
It's not good when your drone video ends with a propeller visible... that wasn't visible at the start.

Going through some old footage from 2013, the degree to which a DJI Mini 3 outperforms this old Parrot AR Drone 2.0 is ... night and day.
September 21, 2025 at 8:40 PM
tim.union.place.ap.brid.gy
One of my favorite places to visit, and one of my favorite airports to fly in and out of: Saba!

A tiny Dutch Caribbean island, the runway is the shortest commercial runway in the world and has sheer cliffs at both ends. It's a load of fun, and the diving is great!

#saba #dutchcaribbean #scuba
A distant view of a small airport with one runway, surrounded by water on three sides. There's a solar farm and a small terminal. There's lush greenery in the foreground.
September 20, 2025 at 9:44 PM
tim.union.place.ap.brid.gy
Things you will take pictures of when you're building a house: random holes in the ground.

(Can you tell I'm scrolling through my Google Photos?)
A hole in some dirt, with a trench leading away from it. I honestly don't remember if this was plumbing or electrical.
September 20, 2025 at 9:03 PM
tim.union.place.ap.brid.gy
I stand by this #Untappd check-in.
An Untappd check-in of Michelob ULTRA that reads "I found this on the ground outside the community pool and hadn't checked it into Untapped yet, so, <ascii shrug>. Tastes like water I guess? I would drink it if I had no other choice." 1.5 out of 5.
September 20, 2025 at 8:58 PM
tim.union.place.ap.brid.gy
#google may have lost its soul (if a corporation could ever be said to have one), but there's still a lot of good #googlers around, and many of them have a great sense of fun.

From the Pittsburgh, PA, office. Taken back in 2023 so I have no idea if it's actually still there.
An indoor photo shows a large collection of rubber ducks. On the wall, several small wooden shelves are mounted at varying heights, each displaying a group of small, colorful rubber ducks and other tiny figurines. Below the shelves, a long black bench sits next to two wooden stumps. One stump holds a stack of dark-colored figures, and the other has two yellow rubber ducks on it. To the right of the bench, a very large, deflated-looking, yellow inflatable duck rests on the gray carpeted floor.
September 20, 2025 at 8:51 PM
tim.union.place.ap.brid.gy
Today in #dyndnshistory , the networking / server room of our first Manchester NH office.

It was still pretty messy at this point, as we were still moving in. I'm not sure if it ever got CLEAN, at least not while I was in the picture. I'm not good at being […]

[Original post on union.place]
A photo of a cluttered server room. In the center, a black metal rack holds several pieces of computer equipment, including a monitor, servers, and routers, with a tangle of wires hanging from it. To the right is an orange stepladder. A few cardboard boxes are on the floor. The walls are white and the floor is gray carpet.
September 20, 2025 at 8:31 PM
tim.union.place.ap.brid.gy
Ah, 2005 hybrid technology.

I remember being so excited about the Escape Hybrid - first US manufacturer hybrid, first SUV hybrid. It ... did not get particularly spectacular fuel economy. And when the gas engine turned off, so did the AC. This wasn't great in Davis, CA. It's hawt there.
The dashboard of a 2005 Ford Escape, with a tiny little screen showing an HV battery, electric motor, and gas engine, a "CD Changer Compatible" label on the radio, and glorious physical buttons and knobs for everything. The AC controls don't even have a thermostat, this was back when you had to choose your zone and temperature by hand like a savage!
September 14, 2025 at 10:40 PM
tim.union.place.ap.brid.gy
I'm pretty sure I took this photo while walking past the sign. I was a tourist. Oops.

(It's okay, we were on a guided tour. I swear. Close up look at Arecibo, definitely one of my top life experiences.)
A white sign with black text reading "No tourists beyond this point" in English and Spanish, with a lush green forest backdrop.
September 11, 2025 at 1:03 AM
tim.union.place.ap.brid.gy
OMG I can't believe I haven't posted this one to #dyndnshistory before. This is my ultimate geek cred photo: me, with Larry Wall (creator of #perl) and his wife Gloria (I'm super embarrassed to admit I just had to look that up). At Arecibo Observatory.

2002, Perl Whirl, #startuplife
Foreground: two white men and a white woman, man on the far right is wearing a "Will work for bandwidth :)" t-shirt, other man (middle) and woman (left) are both wearing Hawaiian/tropical style print shirts. The people are standing in front of the Arecibo Observatory's moving gantry and receiver mechanism in the background, with lush forest around.
September 11, 2025 at 12:59 AM
tim.union.place.ap.brid.gy
Is "covered with writing" a code violation for a circuit breaker box?

(Inside the Green Monster at Fenway Park - March 2014 so I'm sure it's all been completely re-graffitied since then.)
An electrical circuit breaker box attached to a concrete wall. Both the breaker box and the wall are covered with signatures in a variety of inks (and scratches in the concrete).
September 11, 2025 at 12:42 AM
tim.union.place.ap.brid.gy
I'm pretty down on Major League Baseball these days, and the Red Sox, but I have to admit, it was pretty cool when we were season ticket holders and they were in various phases of sucking so they did lots of exclusive ballpark events.

Inside the Green Monster!

#redsox #greenmonster
Me, a white guy, wearing a Red Sox hat and t-shirt, standing inside the viewing window inside the Green Monster at Fenway Park, in between the "Ball" and "Strike" counters.
September 11, 2025 at 12:18 AM
tim.union.place.ap.brid.gy
That time when they mowed Big Papi into the grass at Fenway...
The outfield grass at Fenway Park with an image of Big Papi (David Ortiz) mowed into it by extremely talented/creative groundskeepers.
September 10, 2025 at 6:41 PM
tim.union.place.ap.brid.gy
It's back, more #dyndnshistory !

Looking back through photos, here's a gem from our first "real real" office in Manchester, NH. I recall being so excited to move from CRT to LCD monitors - look at the massive bezels on those things! 2004 was such a different […]

[Original post on union.place]
A messy corner office featuring an L-shaped wooden desk and a tall, black leather chair with chrome accents. The desk holds a cluttered arrangement of dual computer monitors, a laptop, and various office supplies. On the floor, there's a black briefcase and several cardboard boxes.
September 10, 2025 at 5:20 PM
tim.union.place.ap.brid.gy
Most useful key label ever.
A red key tag label that reads "LOCKS"
August 14, 2025 at 12:44 AM
tim.union.place.ap.brid.gy
The boy is silly.

He loves belly rubs and also just loves laying belly up in the hopes it might get him one.

#dogsofmastodon
Orbit, a white miniature schnauzer with intact tail, laying upside down, back legs spread, and one front leg stretched out against a red hassock he's laying near.
July 24, 2025 at 5:41 PM
tim.union.place.ap.brid.gy
Board games: unpacked. #moving
A well-lit, eye-level shot captures a tall, dark wood and metal shelving unit packed with board games, topped by a large green Android robot plushie. To the left, part of a flat-screen TV on a matching dark wooden stand is visible. The shelves are filled with a variety of popular games like "Cards Against Humanity," "Catan Seafarers," "Ticket to Ride," "Monopoly," and "Sequence." The right side of the shelving unit features lighter wood shelves, with the top one holding a clear plastic storage bin, while a blue plastic slide leans against the wall to the far right.
July 12, 2025 at 10:04 PM
tim.union.place.ap.brid.gy
Name that datacenter.

(Not the same datacenter as Name that loading dock.)

#dyndnshistory
An aerial shot captures a large, sprawling commercial or industrial complex. The main building, centrally located, has a lighter-colored roof in its front section with many parallel, light grey lines, likely skylights or solar panels. Behind this lighter section, the roof darkens and appears to have numerous HVAC units and other equipment. To the far right, another dark-roofed section of the building has several rectangular cutouts or courtyards. The building is surrounded by extensive asphalt parking lots, some appearing empty while others show parked vehicles, particularly in the upper right corner. Curved roads and green spaces with trees and some bare patches of ground, indicative of winter or early spring, frame the complex.
July 12, 2025 at 12:38 AM
tim.union.place.ap.brid.gy
Name that loading dock.

(I'll follow up with hints.)

#dyndnshistory
An aerial view shows several buildings and a parking lot. In the center, a long, dark-roofed building with a slightly angled roof extends horizontally, with two light-colored rectangular objects on its roof. To the left of this building, two white cars are parked in a lot. To the upper right, there's an open area, possibly a lot, with what appears to be a blue tarp covering some items. Further to the right, a lighter-colored building is visible.
July 12, 2025 at 12:20 AM
tim.union.place.ap.brid.gy
Am I a criminal now?
A black four outlet block that reads "VERIZON EQUIPMENT DO NOT REMOVE NO SURGE PROTECTION", removed, in my hand.
June 20, 2025 at 12:02 AM
tim.union.place.ap.brid.gy
Don't use this outlet.
A US 120V power outlet, badly scorched and melted on the top socket. Very bad soup.
June 9, 2025 at 11:59 PM
tim.union.place.ap.brid.gy
Kids, don't try this at home.
A US 120V electrical socket with a metal pick tool inserted into one of the pins. There's no faceplate on the outlet either. Don't worry, it's the ground!
June 9, 2025 at 11:56 PM
tim.union.place.ap.brid.gy
Appomattox Court House: not actually where the Civil War ended.

That's at the McLean house, behind me as taking this photo. This was in fact the court house, now the visitor center, and of no consequence during the surrender.

Ironically the Civil War started on […]

[Original post on union.place]
A brick two story building, the Appomattox Court House.
April 18, 2025 at 3:42 PM
tim.union.place.ap.brid.gy
I bet the dinosaurs appreciate that we're not consuming their remains while learning about them.

#rivian #roadtrip #dinosaurs
The center screen of a Rivian R1S showing Steve Brusatte's "The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs" playing on Audible (I know, I'm sorry). Electricity, not dino remains, powers this ride!
April 18, 2025 at 2:39 PM
tim.union.place.ap.brid.gy
I fed Thorpedo Anna a mint today. She was American Horse of the year 2024. Apparently she doesn't get a sash for that. Or at least wasn't wearing it today.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thorpedo_Anna
A brown thoroughbred race horse, from the front but with her head turned to the side. A brown thoroughbred race horse from the front with her head mostly centered looking at the camera.
April 15, 2025 at 10:09 PM