Here's the artpack so you can see all the other great work too! 16colo.rs/pack/mist0825
Husband to a Boliviana. Daddy. Emperor of the Renaud Empire. Lover of Atari, BBSes, retro tech, and Tolkien. Journalist at stltoday.com. The guy behind breakintochat.com.
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Here's the artpack so you can see all the other great work too! 16colo.rs/pack/mist0825
šļø #ANSI Swordfish II from #CowboyBebop I made for the @mistfunk.bsky.social #anime artpack!
Murders through August in Baltimore, Detroit, Dallas and Philadelphia, 1960 - 2025:
If you'd like to see some of my recent graphics or stories, you can find them here: www.stltoday.com/users/profil...
And if you enjoy the amazing work you read this weekend, then please consider subscribing. There are some good deals. www.stltoday.com/exclusive/su...
Did you know STLtoday.com is FREE all weekend (through Tuesday)? So many stories from across St. Louis ... hard-hitting, surprising, inspiring. Please read ā and share! @stltoday.com
And if you enjoy the amazing work you read this weekend, then please consider subscribing. There are some good deals. www.stltoday.com/exclusive/su...
If you'd like to see some of my recent graphics or stories, you can find them here: www.stltoday.com/users/profil...
Did you know STLtoday.com is FREE all weekend (through Tuesday)? So many stories from across St. Louis ... hard-hitting, surprising, inspiring. Please read ā and share! @stltoday.com
This super-short video shows some of the stages of composition. vimeo.com/772836105/e9...
Throwback to 2019 when I created a portrait of the father of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Joseph Pulitzer, for ANSI art group Blocktronics. 16colo.rs/pack/blocktr...
Years ago, when I interviewed Paul Witte and Herb Flower, we talked about the weird business model of door games. They were unique in seeling a few extras, like a graphical front-end client, a standalone version of the game, and even a physical map of the world. breakintochat.com/blog/2020/09...
Reading the novelization of the movie "Wargames". When we first come across David Lightman, he is thinking about Atari's Star Raiders.
If you've ever driven past the St. Louis Airport, you've probably seen the Rev. David E. Taylor's billboard. Since 2017, it has borne a succession of bizarre ads sporting Taylor's photo ... and dozens and dozens of crutches, walkers, and wheelchairs. www.stltoday.com/news/local/c...
If you've ever driven past the St. Louis Airport, you've probably seen the Rev. David E. Taylor's billboard. Since 2017, it has borne a succession of bizarre ads sporting Taylor's photo ... and dozens and dozens of crutches, walkers, and wheelchairs. www.stltoday.com/news/local/c...
They donāt even offer no ads for employees! š
I'm dorking out this morning reading an article written 2019 about an old BBS game called "Trade Wars 2001" which i remember playing back in middle school. This game was actually pretty awesome. Long before MMOs and online gaming, there was this... breakintochat.com/blog/2019/07...
A long post I never meant to write. But there's such irony in the fact that Tolkien hated Nazis for perverting Northern mythology, and now they're doing it to him. He'd be more upset at what he'd see as a perversion of his faith. Whatever his faults, he believed in empathy, pity, and mercy. #tolkien
AI can never replace your unique perspective on the world
The FBIās new monthly report format debuts amid increasingly heated national rhetoric on crime. And St. Louisās omission from the data leaves a gap at a moment when having a consistent, comprehensive picture of national crime trends is critical. www.stltoday.com/news/local/c... #crime #stl
The FBIās new monthly report format debuts amid increasingly heated national rhetoric on crime. And St. Louisās omission from the data leaves a gap at a moment when having a consistent, comprehensive picture of national crime trends is critical. www.stltoday.com/news/local/c... #crime #stl
āIsrael assassinated a Pulitzer prize-winning journalist, a young man who had suddenly become the face and voice of the desperate people of his homeland, Gazaā¦The military made no attempt to obscure this brazen strike on civilians, which is a war crime," @polgreen.bsky.social writes.
Glad you enjoyed it! Break Into Chat has lots of good interviews and remembrances of other BBS games, too. breakintochat.com/blog/categor... Make sure you leave a comment with your own memories!
When exactly and where does #STL plan to actually use that much-Instagrammmed, heavily photographed $150,000 bike lane sweeper? Because I'm tired of carrying my bike across the Mississippi River on McKinley Bridge. The gap between the shiny posts and promises and actual reality continues to grow.
Attorney Catherine Hanaway, a former Missouri House Speaker, could step in to his position
After I discovered a state website was exposing the Social Security numbers of hundreds of thousands Missouri teachers, Andrew Bailey played a key role in Gov. Parson's decision to falsely accuse me of a crime, and demand that I be prosecuted. www.stltoday.com/news/local/c...
āGiven the damage (Andrew) Bailey inflicted on the reputations of both the Attorney Generalās Office and the state of Missouri, he will not be missed.ā
In the Ville
The first day of classes was not without glitches. Dozens of buses were delayed up to an hour or longer. Several students showed up to schools not knowing they were closed due to tornado damage. None of the school buses appeared to be even half-full. stltoday.com/news/local/e...
If you know me, you know I love St. Louis more than any place in the world. I see this new job as an opportunity to tell people-driven stories about the economic realities of living in St. Louis, especially in places and neighborhoods that often go overlooked.
The fate of a controversial 440-acre data center is in doubt following allegations that the site is largely owned by a relative of St. Charles Mayor Dan Borgmeyer. āļø Ethan Colbert www.stltoday.com/news/local/s...
Congrats!
Just what everyone was waiting for to kick off Football Season! You can now watch the games produced by Scott Snella's Franchise Football BBS Door Game w/FF Expansion Pack. Also included-Salary IGM and FA Patcher bbswordle.com/ffe @a-net-online.bsky.social @kirkman.bsky.social @hypernode.bsky.social
You know the story before the web, there was the BBS ā blazing 300 baud modems, Atascii, ASCII & ANSI art, door games, file transfers, and message bases buzzing. Now itās back, of course faster, and covered as a column for COMPUTE!ās Gazette. #RetroComputing #BBSing #ComputeGazette
You might get a kick out of these interviews on Break Into Chat (or indeed the whole website): breakintochat.com/blog/2019/07... breakintochat.com/blog/2013/05... Also, BBS games are still a thing! People still write them today, including Shooter Jennings (!) breakintochat.com/blog/2015/09...
www.eneba.com/hub/news/bug...
The new episode of STL Soccer Talk is complete and posted!
ICYMI: Here's my conversation last week with St. Louis on the Air about the @stltoday.com public pay database, and why these are such important records. www.stlpr.org/show/st-loui...
This flew under the radar: An uranium enrichment plant is planned near Cape Girardeau www.stltoday.com/news/local/b...
If you enjoy the presentation, please check out my "Break Into Chat" blog, where you can find more fascinating, obscure retrocomputing stories and interviews! breakintochat.com/blog/ #retrocomputing #retrogaming #history #longreads
At @kansasfest.bsky.social a few weeks ago, I shared the story of cartoonist Ya'akov Kirschen's quixotic quest to break into the computer industry. Based on years of research, this presentation has it all: old video games, comics, Jewish education, and more! www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5Vw...
At @kansasfest.bsky.social a few weeks ago, I shared the story of cartoonist Ya'akov Kirschen's quixotic quest to break into the computer industry. Based on years of research, this presentation has it all: old video games, comics, Jewish education, and more! www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5Vw...
The lifelong Republican was known as a straight shooter who was not swayed by partisan interests.
I love BBSes as much as anyone, but I donāt miss having to talk to sysops by phone to get verified to use their boards.
Billy Longās stint running the IRS lasted 2 months. Now Trumpās sending him to Iceland as ambassador. My earlier story with @amierjeski.bsky.social looked at why he was such an unusual choice: www.propublica.org/article/bill...
How much did St. Louis-area public servants earn in 2024? From mayors to teachers to police, the new edition of the Post-Dispatch's Public Pay database has the answers. To put it together, we wrangled more than 100 records requests and cleaned often-messy data. stltoday.com/pay
I returned to @stlonair.bsky.social as a guest today to discuss the @stltoday.com Public Pay database! I really enjoyed it. If you missed it, you can listen to the discussion here: kwmu-adswizz.streamguys1.com/stl_on_the_a... And explore the database here: stltoday.com/pay
I returned to @stlonair.bsky.social as a guest today to discuss the @stltoday.com Public Pay database! I really enjoyed it. If you missed it, you can listen to the discussion here: kwmu-adswizz.streamguys1.com/stl_on_the_a... And explore the database here: stltoday.com/pay
A 2016 project to stabilize a dam near popular swimming spot created "a predictably dangerous place" ā where 6 people have drowned in 9 years. Sam Totoni talked to scientists, residents, and the local, state and federal agencies involved, to untangle the mess. www.stltoday.com/news/local/g...
The Corps said swimmer safety was never part of the design process & that safety assessments are outside of its purview. āIt's shocking to me that they said that," said one expert. "As a licensed engineer, your first duty is to protect public safety and welfare.ā www.stltoday.com/news/local/g...
I'm slated to be on "St. Louis on the Air" today at noon to talk about the Post-Dispatch's Public Pay database. Tune in to 90.7 FM, or visit www.stlpr.org to listen! But, more importantly, check out Public Pay here: stltoday.com/pay.
Has the USGS website ground to a halt for anyone else? I'm trying to use Earth Explorer ... it was working, and then it stopped. And now when I try to load anything on the USGS domain, it all times out.
$3,888 at Top Golf $1,689 for four nights at Caesar's Palace in Vegas $1,282 for eight nights in an Airbnb in Atlanta Using taxpayer $$ for personal gain. Meanwhile, kids suffer www.stltoday.com/news/local/e...
Josie and I have become boot twins. She broke one of her little toes a few weeks ago. And apparently I broke my big toe when my bike slid out while I was riding home from work on Tuesday (went down a path I should not have while trying to get from Cass to the Riverfront Trail).
Ever wonder about the VIP treatment Matthew McConaughey gets at the University of Texas? FOIAball, a new site covering college football through public records reporting, is coming next week. So subscribe now: foiaball.com
See "Nosh Kosh" ā a Jewish take on Pac-Man ā and other Apple II computer games by the late cartoonist Yaakov Kirschen in this video from KansasFest 2025! www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5Vw...
In this video, you'll learn how this celebrated cartoonist got into computers and see his Apple II games in action ā including "Nosh Kosh," a Jewish take on Pac-Man. www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5Vw... #retrocomputing #retrogaming #apple2forever #appleii #kansasfest #kfest2025
Last weekend at @kansasfest.bsky.social, I gave a new presentation on the lesser-known legacy of the late Yaakov Kirschen. Best known as cartoonist, he also developed fun computer games and innovative software in the '80s. But his projects were almost lost to history. www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5Vw...
If you have an interest in the Apple II, Apple III, the Apple IIgs or any of the other computers from the early days of Apple Computer, please consider giving @kansasfest.bsky.social a follow here on bsky!
Last weekend at @kansasfest.bsky.social, I gave a new presentation on the lesser-known legacy of the late Yaakov Kirschen. Best known as cartoonist, he also developed fun computer games and innovative software in the '80s. But his projects were almost lost to history. www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5Vw...
How much did St. Louis-area public servants earn in 2024? From mayors to teachers to police, the new edition of the Post-Dispatch's Public Pay database has the answers. To put it together, we wrangled more than 100 records requests and cleaned often-messy data. stltoday.com/pay
Self-proclaimed explorer Tom Croat of the @mobotgarden.bsky.social is one of three local employees in the @stltoday.com public pay database who have been serving the public at their respective agencies since the 1960s. Profile by @namrathaprasad.bsky.social. www.stltoday.com/news/local/g...
Self-proclaimed explorer Tom Croat of the @mobotgarden.bsky.social is one of three local employees in the @stltoday.com public pay database who have been serving the public at their respective agencies since the 1960s. Profile by @namrathaprasad.bsky.social. www.stltoday.com/news/local/g...
What did Apple do to the background noise in the City game tonight? Canāt hear much of crowd or whistles or anything ā¦ just the announcers.
How much did St. Louis-area public servants earn in 2024? From mayors to teachers to police, the new edition of the Post-Dispatch's Public Pay database has the answers. To put it together, we wrangled more than 100 records requests and cleaned often-messy data. www.stltoday.com/news/local/g...
"It is obviously the case that we are creating information, culture, and benchmarks for society faster than we can figure out how weāre going to make sure theyāre preserved." - Philip Bump @pbump.com, in a Q&A for the Vanishing Culture report. š blog.archive.org/2024/11/04/v... š³ļø #VanishingCulture
"Mom and Me" is one of two graphical chatbots (or "biotoons") created by Israeli cartoonist Yaakov Kirschen in 1985-86. They were two of the earliest entertainment programs for the ST, sold in ANTIC's catalog. breakintochat.com/blog/2022/11...
Earlier this year a copy of the monochrome version of āMom and Meā for the ST came up for sale. This version has never been archived. So I tried my best ā but lost. And the winner wouldnāt make contact to talk about archiving. Oh well.
This year, @namrathaprasad.bsky.social returned to help us do the data wrangling. Stay tuned for her profile of one of the area's longest-tenured public employees, which will publish later this week.
How much did St. Louis-area public servants earn in 2024? From mayors to teachers to police, the new edition of the Post-Dispatch's Public Pay database has the answers. To put it together, we wrangled more than 100 records requests and cleaned often-messy data. www.stltoday.com/news/local/g...
Among local govts, St. Louis is in a class by itself with its glacial handling of records requests. For a 3rd straight year, the city took 100+ days to answer the Post-Dispatch's annual request for payroll data. St. Louis County needed just 8. www.stltoday.com/news/local/g... @stltoday.com
Thanks so much!
I'm giving a new presentation on the computer curiosities of cartoonist Yaakov Kirschen! Today, 1:30 p.m. CT at KansasFest. #retrocomputing #kansasfest #kfest2025 #kfest
After years of research, I published a 6-part deep dive into a forgotten computer protocol called āInstant Graphics and Sound.ā In the (mostly) text-only, pre-Web world of the 1990s, IGS enabled Atari ST BBSes to offer vector graphics, animation, sound and music. breakintochat.com/blog/categor...
If you'd like even more nerdy deep dives, there's plenty on my website, Break Into Chat ... Like my seven-year quest to reach the ending of "Thieves' Guild", a door game for Atari ST BBSes. TG had a graphical front-end client with amazing pixel art. ... breakintochat.com/blog/2020/09...
... Or my interviews with the creators of BBS door games, such as: * Amit Patel (SRE), who became one of Google's first engineers and helped popularized the motto "Don't be evil" * Gary Martin (TradeWars 2002) * Shooter Jennings. Yes, the musician. breakintochat.com/blog/categor...
Whaaaa.....?
That may be, though I've never seen police myself in North Riverfront Park or on the Riverfront Trail. But vehicles on the trail or in the trees (having used the trail to get there) is a regular problem. I've witnessed vehicles on fire, used for sex acts, etc. And probably the source of dumping.
There shouldn't be any vehicles on the trail, but I routinely encounter them. This morning, in the space of a few minutes, I had to go around a black truck on the trail itself heading north. Then, just off the trail, I saw a black Toyota Camry and a few feet away from it, a burning white truck.
Biked the St. Louis Riverfront Trail to work this misty morning. This trail *should* and could be a jewel of the city, but it is marred by access issues, and people abusing it. Today I rode past a burning truck near the tree line between the trail and the river. Called it in to the fire department.
20 years ago, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch ran this doubletruck listing the names of every employee -- including me. If we were to do something like this today, we wouldn't need anywhere near that much space to list everybody. And that's a serious problem for the future of our nation.
And thatās a winner!
This 2nd half has been one of the most exciting from City SC in quite a while. Iām in the basement yelling. My son, playing TOTK on the couch beside me, keeps shushing me.
I did not realize Viking river cruises operated on the Mississippi! Early this morning I came across their ship, moored just south of the Arch, during my ride from the Chain of Rocks down the Riverfront Trail. Turns out the Viking Mississippi line launched in 2022: www.stlmag.com/culture/trav...
Another day, another open records violation from the city of St. Louis. Death by a thousand cuts
@holovaty.com on developing a feature because ChatGPT is incorrectly telling people it exists: "I'm happy to add a tool that helps people. But I feel like our hand was forced ... Should we really be developing features in response to misinformation?"
Alfred Montgomeryās path to the sheriffās office started decades ago in north St. Louis. Claims about his background and college degrees donāt always check out.
Today PC Gamer posted a lovely article about Herb Flower and Gunman Chronicles. They also linked to my interview with Flower and Paul Witte about their amazing Atari ST BBS door game āThievesā Guild.ā Iāve received a handful of visits thanks to that link. Yay! Butā¦
ā¦ there is apparently a spam blog network that immediately reposts in full the content of articles posted on PC Gamer. Today my blog got dozens of pingbacks from these fake versions of the article. (But no pingback from the original) Sigh.
Anyway, if youāre looking for a fun retrocomputing longreads rabbit hole, check out my Thieves Guild odyssey: breakintochat.com/blog/2020/09... Followed by the Witte/Flower interview: breakintochat.com/blog/2020/09...
Anyway, if youāre looking for a fun retrocomputing longreads rabbit hole, check out my Thieves Guild odyssey: breakintochat.com/blog/2020/09... Followed by the Witte/Flower interview: breakintochat.com/blog/2020/09...
ā¦ there is apparently a spam blog network that immediately reposts in full the content of articles posted on PC Gamer. Today my blog got dozens of pingbacks from these fake versions of the article. (But no pingback from the original) Sigh.
Today PC Gamer posted a lovely article about Herb Flower and Gunman Chronicles. They also linked to my interview with Flower and Paul Witte about their amazing Atari ST BBS door game āThievesā Guild.ā Iāve received a handful of visits thanks to that link. Yay! Butā¦
š®š Itās that time of year game history friends! šš® The July 2025 issue of ROMchip: A Journal of Game Histories is HERE! š¹ļøš www.romchip.org š get cozy, get reading šāØ SUBSCRIBE: eepurl.com/crCul1 DONATE: bit.ly/3ve1oqZ š§µ below!
Frankly, I impress *myself* with my ability to balance these dual roles with such grace and dedication.
"Initially, I thought I would only do that one grave or maybe only do it for a few years. But now, after 51 years, I am still doing it." Fantastic profile of Paul Kamphoefner, one of St. Louis's last gravediggers who dig by hand. www.stltoday.com/news/local/s... #stlouis #stl
Oh wow, you guys were practically in my backyard! I'm just 2-3 blocks from there.
Dropping charges is nice, but too little too late after they handed the journalist (who has a legal work authorization) over to ICE.
Is the former city counselor - who made City Hall even less transparent - arguing for more employees to handle requests or state laws that further restrict open records? People should be wary of officials advocating for less transparency, ESPECIALLY in this era
I am *loving* the Blues' new secondary logos. The Fleur and STL marks are particularly fantastic. Kudos to the designers. #stl #stlouis #nhl #stlblues