Melissa Santos

data nerd. community builder. reader, crafter, boardgame player. into sewing and baking.

pronouns: she/her
vanity domain: https://www.lettervalue.com
books: ansate (npub1l6k…lr8p)
bluesky: @ansate.bsky.social

Public Key

npub104lght4x7t24rpkl3x04n5v370709w6ghghjsak38786whzsqnssqp3efr

NIP-05 Address

[email protected]

Profile Code

nprofile1qqs86l5t46n09423sm0cn86e6xgl8l8jhdyt5tegwmgnlra8t3gqfcgpz3mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerpd46hxtnfduqs6amnwvaz7tmwdaejumr0dsqpj04x

Publishing to

relay.damus.io

nos.lol

Author Public Key

npub104lght4x7t24rpkl3x04n5v370709w6ghghjsak38786whzsqnssqp3efr

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Last Notes

2026-08-11 23:20:00 GMT

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OK! We are almost certainly meeting Tuesday Sept 22! 6-8?? 5:30-7:30?? Where shall we meet? Some great SE cart pods include: Hawthorne Asylum, John’s Marketplace, and the Heist. Tell me about other options! There’s gotta be something in inner N/NE? Anything west that won’t be too hard to reach at that time?
#pdxFedi
https://pdxfedi.jampdx.net

2026-08-07 23:33:05 GMT

HELLO #pdxFedi friends!!! it is time to plan our next #pdx area get together! My September weekends turn out to be limited (double repair cafe month! https://www.repairpdx.org/repair-events ) but I definitely heard from folks that weeknight options might be appealing.
Here's a poll for What Day Should We Meet. Choose all that work for you. Probably a park if the weekend, a food cart pod if a weeknight. As usual, I want to hear your opinions if they are more nuanced than a poll allows 😀
/cc @npub1q0f…3mf0

2026-02-09 04:45:58 GMT

reading recommendations wanted:
I'm looking for a romance author who is at least queer friendly (and some queer relationships!) I don't really want a series. I want the beach read kind of books where there's a main thread but also a friend thread and maybe even a few others. It all comes out happy in the end, and no one is annoyingly perfect. Contemporary setting would be nice, but not required.
(Having read _22_ books by Jill Mansell in the last 6 years, I think I have binged her stuff as hard as a I want to - I specifically want something similar but more queer)
#bookstodon #romance

2026-01-21 01:03:04 GMT

#knitting update:
turns out, I had been doing baby's first cast on loops instead of a real cast on, and that was why my last two attempts failed so utterly.
Using
https://knitting.com/long-tail-cast-on/
and
https://sheepandstitch.com/library/long-tail-cast-on-for-beginners-traditional-method/
i learned long-tail cast on.
I also picked a flat pattern to do with the fingering weight: https://swatchophile.wordpress.com/2013/11/25/sheesha/
it is very nice to have an achievable project again!
https://social-coop-media.ams3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/media_attachments/files/115/930/386/856/388/567/original/f9994245ca28cbed.jpg

2026-01-05 01:13:12 GMT

#knitting advice - any good references for how to do my first lace blocking? The lace is very nearly knit and I can’t wait to see how it comes out!

2025-12-23 04:30:29 GMT

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mostly i just.. stopped engaging instead of complaining to anyone, so few peopel have pushed me to Get Over it

2025-12-23 04:29:58 GMT

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and well now it's so long ago... surely i should just forgive and be over it

2025-12-23 04:27:00 GMT

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and also it was someone famous in the community who was a dick to me on SO

2025-12-23 04:26:37 GMT

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thanks! yes, that fits in with my noodling

2025-12-23 04:23:40 GMT

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as someone who hasn't used stackoverflow in 13 years since someone was mean to me... I get it. :|
but i like that it feels like a reminder to me to be kind and welcoming. like i want to anyway, but maybe it's also something I can do to convince people to not use LLMs

2025-12-23 00:07:38 GMT

i’ve been thinking about a thing I saw that said “ stack overflow: you’re absolutely wrong, chatgpt: you’re absolutely right”
and i think there’s soemthing important about how AI doesn’t attack people for being wrong
or put people down, etc
like if we want people to talk to people instead, the people should be more freaking welcoming

2025-12-17 00:07:30 GMT

#knitting question- how do i take a finished piece of knitting off the needles but not let it unravel? Ideally i would love a tutorial that shows pictures. Would accept a video in a pinch.
Is this “casting off”?
Alternatively, how do i add a new piece of yarn so i can keep knitting? I have about half a functional scarf, but plenty more yarn

2025-11-26 15:29:45 GMT

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Thanks so much!

2025-11-26 15:03:54 GMT

I know, today we make pie.
But thinkign ahead to next week - what’s your favorite carrot cake recipe and what do you love about it?
I definitely am including an ask for a cream cheese frosting recipe

2025-11-18 03:26:19 GMT

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it worked!

2025-11-17 16:43:50 GMT

setting a public intention to work on volunteer data stuff for about an hour. there, I said it out loud, so I can't just check social media the entire time.

2025-10-23 01:44:03 GMT

The Fediverse is full of people who i totally remember and enjoy and have no idea of the name or handle of. Anyway here’s a deeply on sale textbook about ants for that one person who is really into ants https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691228525/ants

2025-10-20 22:49:07 GMT

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Something like that! !@npub1q0f…3mf0 is one of those group coordinator accounts that boosts everything that mentions it (unless it has the ! In front) this is slightly better than following the hashtag because if you follow it, the posts will be boosted into your timeline, vs hashtag follows only surface the posts that match that your server already federates with?
(Maybe it only boosts from folks it follows?)

2025-10-20 22:01:30 GMT

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Hello, i am way out on the east side of Portland, but i host a bunch of stuff online as well. Check out #craftClub #slowBookClub and #pdxFedi (where we are organizing our next area meeting)
Definitely had some people from Hillsboro and Beaverton last meeting!

2025-09-30 20:22:51 GMT

I've started volunteer helping with data for Health Care for All Oregon #HCAO and as well as working with the data the org has, I'd love to pull together some health outcomes/opportunities/needs data, especially for the state of Oregon.
Whatever we can use to tell the story of universal healthcare being good and worth it and helping all kinds of people.
sources for county/zip/city data very welcome, I can do the aggregates or make maps
#data #healthCare #Oregon
boosts welcome

2025-09-24 00:49:46 GMT

#pdx Roller Skating at Mt Scott community center report! There is indeed a basement roller rink. $6 adult drop in fee, $2 skate rentals. Open skate is 4-6:30 on Tuesdays and Thursdays (and another time on Sunday) it starts filling up with people around 5.
I skated for less than an hour, did not fall at all (only had one really close moment 😅) took many breaks. Every muscle in both legs is still quivering 30 minutes later, especially my shins. My lower back had opinions. So sweaty

2025-09-01 18:24:24 GMT

While I'm scheduling all the things:
The next Digital Community Work Session will be Tuesday Sept 16 at 6p Pacific
https://luma.com/uqz5epim signup if you want reminders!
It's the boringest possible meeting to drop into - we're mostly quietly working on things, but if you need to set aside an hour or two so that you will actually do a thing, you may also find this time valuable.

2025-09-01 17:44:38 GMT

The next Fedi #CraftClub meeting will be Sunday, Sep 7, at 10a pacific/1p eastern!
https://everytimezone.com/s/3220943e
We're usually there for 2 hours.
Craft Club is meant to be a chill space - I ask that you not bring up politics. I want people to be able to talk about their personal lives and experiences, but this is a time to not dwell upon the horrors.
sign up at https://luma.com/zwlceh7t to receive an email with the zoom link (should arrive about an hour before)
#fiberArts #knitting #crochet #sewing

2025-09-01 00:19:48 GMT

Is anyone using https://karrot.world/#/welcome ( @npub195y…qkaa ! )
it looks like my jam, tho I have done well with event planning sites instead of full group coordination sites.
#openSource #community #meetupAlternatives

2025-08-31 02:02:24 GMT

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#PDX the voting has concluded and we're having a Fediverse meetup on Sunday, Sept 14, at 1p, at Laurelhurst Park.
Let's say it's 2 hours - drop in any time in there that works for you!
Let's meet near the stairs up to Ankeny on the north side of the park (I think that's just west of the bathrooms)
Bring picnic blankets, chairs, snacks, whatever will make you comfortable. It's a park, so kids and dogs are welcome (everyone else will have theirs!)

2025-08-28 00:40:55 GMT

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#PDX !!!! let's have a fediverse meetup!!
please select all options that work for you:
if none of these work for you, please @-me with some future suggestions. we should do this more than once, and I love organizing things and then being loud about them.
pls boost, tag in your local pals

2025-08-26 22:04:38 GMT

had a great hangout with @npub1373…lc7d today - we decided that we should definitely have a #PDX Fediverse meetup while we can still do it in a park!
Location Ideas:
- Laurelhurst Park
- Irving Park
- North Park Blocks
- plz suggest more if you like!
Day ideas:
Sept 5/6/7
Sept 12/13/14
Sept 20
Timing Ideas:
4, 5 or 6p if a Friday
11, 1, or 3p if Sat/Sun ( I can't do the earlier 2 on the 13)
Let's narrow ideas and then make some polls to decide!
/cc @npub1dmh…q26c @npub1fd2…f2f9 plz tag in other PDX friends!

2025-08-21 21:01:32 GMT

hey social.coop members! We, the organizing circle, want to share more with the community about what we're up to and what volunteer work is needed. One experiment towards that is that I'm hosting an Open Discussion Hour on Sunday Aug 31, 9am pacific time (https://everytimezone.com/s/9e79e376 )
I'm not posting the meet link publicly, but if you're a social.coop member, dm me for it or go look in the server announcements (visible on mastodon web, probably also some apps)
Come say hi! Bring questions!

2025-08-13 16:00:38 GMT

checking out a free? coworking space today. (Bridgespace supposedly has free coworking on Wednesdays)
will this help me get this take home project done, or will it just be a massive distraction?? 🙃

2025-08-07 23:56:56 GMT

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oooo i have not actually been to that provence location. solid choice

2025-08-07 23:37:03 GMT

#pdx best place in portland to take someone for sunday brunch? MUST have outdoor seating for my covid avoidant self. we’re willing to wait because the main goal is hanging out, but would like to eat eventually
bonus points if it’s a fun neighborhood to explore after!

2025-08-06 17:11:26 GMT

CSA email says i will receive 1.5-2lbs of tomatoes
I was expecting more than 2 tomatoes
The tomatoes:
https://social-coop-media.ams3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/media_attachments/files/114/982/930/655/252/203/original/27e5d28b1cf5e683.jpeg

2025-08-06 03:37:52 GMT

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recipes and or advice for baking the perfect blackberry crisp?

2025-08-05 23:43:55 GMT

Summer is idyllic. We just spent a little over an hour picking blackberries together as a family.
tomorrow is CSA share day. (I get one every two weeks, which is plenty!)
I have a picnic for a volunteer thing Friday!
An internet friend is coming into town this week and we're going to hang out!
Yes, I am appreciating this time of unemployment. Summer is a good time for it.

2025-08-02 17:56:30 GMT

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<3 i used to have more of this. I'm not positive what changed. maybe I just got better at sleep!

2025-08-02 17:43:51 GMT

rollercoaster trajectory of being social:
- be anxious about the event in the hours leading up to it, and then arrive early because waiting is hard
- happy to see people, but feeling awkward about actually interacting in the moment
- ruminate about every dumb thing you did or said
- sleep
- wake up happy you went to a social event.
bonus: go to another social event hours after waking up.

2025-07-22 23:55:59 GMT

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oooo I was wrong and I did get a buddy today! winning all around!

2025-07-22 23:04:50 GMT

#SlowBookClub report, on finishing book 1: Storytelling with Data.
The "club" part didn't go super well. We had 4 attendees, then 2, then I don't think anyone is showing up today.
BUT I did read the book. and that was my main goal.
I am going to alternate statistics and economics books with some of the other non-fiction I've been wanting to read.
Given the response to my other thread, I think we'll have a very different audience for book 2!

2025-07-14 16:55:06 GMT

reassure me:
when someone reaches out to say hi and schedule lunch and is sad they haven't seen me in 5 years, I should try to concentrate on feeling grateful and happy and should shout down the voice that is beating myself up for not staying in touch better?

2025-07-10 03:44:27 GMT

Ok! I caught my negative thought. I examined it and decided that it was not a good reason to feel bad.
Problem: i still feel bad, now i am just mad at myself for being upset and then feeling bad.
Suggestions for how to break out of feeling bad? And not just spiraling because you feel bad, so you must have done something wrong?

2025-06-19 01:03:22 GMT

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reminder that I have 20+ years of data experience and I'm looking for some kind of Data Scientist/Analyst/Analytics Engineering gig, remote in the US (I'm in Portland, OR)
I would like to be doing something that makes the world a bit better, and every one has data, so it seems like that should be possible.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/amsantos/
Reboosts and links to job posts are most welcome!
#GetFediHired

2025-06-19 01:01:05 GMT

I found 11 jobs to apply to today.
If you're looking for tech work, there's definitely LinkedIn (the worst, but I live there now.) but..
You should also know about
- https://builtin.com/
- https://zensearch.jobs/
- https://us.welcometothejungle.com/
(the last two were new to me)
and now @npub1sr0…pz5c !
#GetFediHired

2025-05-31 01:43:19 GMT

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it's amazing how much having a friend to help makes a difference! great job!

2025-05-26 00:48:57 GMT

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... i have ruined my appetite for chocolate cake by making it a lot recently! but will still check it out :D

2025-05-26 00:38:09 GMT

I have no plans this evening.
I am having friends over tomorrow. Many but not the majority of whom are vegan.
I have one olive oil cake (containing eggs) and i have focaccia sitting in the fridge to be baked tomorrow morning (vegan)
I have fruit and novelty potato chips too!
I have like four hours to kill and i am contemplating baking another thing. Maybe a sweet vegan thing?
Suggestions very welcome, esp if you will be here

2025-04-30 01:04:55 GMT

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also if you have any better ideas for getting > 100 albums of photos off of meetup than saving each album page as a Complete Webpage via Chrome, I am all ears.

2025-04-30 01:00:48 GMT

BONUS Digital Community Working Session time! it might be a short one, but I'll probably be here fighting with meetup for at least an hour:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/86027469648?pwd=b48cJv4QTEEKiIPpHktoDWWsIszK4s.1
come hang out! complain about meetup! tell me about what smol (or large) computer things you are working on!

2025-04-17 15:02:36 GMT

I'm on the data job market, and I want to hear about your jobs, especially the weird and interesting ones!
I have been working in Product Analytics as a Data Scientist/Analyst with some light modeling the last few years. I have a PhD in Applied Math and can lean more into math - or I could lean the SQL direction for an Analytics Engineer role.
20+ years exp including being the only data person at small companies
https://www.linkedin.com/in/amsantos/
No AI, No Crypto
#GetFediHired #FediHire #PleaseBoost

2025-04-12 23:19:27 GMT

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I was reasonably useful! I need to remember scissors and pins next time.
Everyone was very nice. I intend to make a monthly habit of it.
I am going to introvert really hard for the remainder of the weekend

2025-04-12 17:12:23 GMT

today: first time volunteering at the repair cafe!
I have no idea what I'm doing, or if my home sewing skills will even be helpful in this context. but imma try.

2025-03-16 17:58:57 GMT

ideas for what to do with a bunch of focaccia that's past it's prime? like might it make decent bread pudding?

2025-03-08 04:52:03 GMT

the PDX Community https://pdx.community site is really starting to fill out with events!
I also want to point out Alder Commons https://aldercommons.org where a ton of stuff is being hosted, and in a covid-avoidant way.
Fedi meetup at next month's First Friday Friends? https://app.aldercommons.org/program/first-friday-friends 😉
#pdx #resources #community

2025-02-13 01:02:33 GMT

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I am realizing that the true problem here is that I don't own any ramekins

2025-02-13 00:10:06 GMT

Ok my foodies, i want to make something decadent for dessert for tomorrow’s date night, but also something small, 2-4 servings. Mildly prefer something chocolate. I am comfortable cutting a recipe in half, but less sure for smaller fractions.
Open to things like “world’s best mug cake”!

2025-02-07 19:31:24 GMT

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yes please!

2025-02-07 18:41:29 GMT

I'm moving to a role where I am doing longer term projects, and mostly project-based work.
Realizing that means that I am going to get positive feedback a LOT less often - the way I work now, I do something small-but-useful almost every day, and I get to bask in that.
It's going to be weird having much less frequent feedback - and even if the ratio of positive:negative stays the same - I think it will feel worse because there is less frequent positive?

2025-01-12 18:21:20 GMT

#pdx TODAY https://www.sincerestudiopdx.org/event-details-registration/free-supplies-sale
help sincere studio move by taking some of the things they don't want to move - lots of supplies will be available
#sewing #crafting

2024-12-07 01:29:03 GMT

I love how menacing it sounds when the yoga teacher says "we are coming up on our final few rounds of breath"

2024-11-10 16:57:33 GMT

Anyone want to do a video hangout this afternoon/evening or tomorrow during the day?
Or play boardgames online? Or have any fun, low energy suggestions for how i might fill my time?
I will get some sewing in, trying to decide if i want to bake something, generally just have more quiet time than i know how to fill for a bit.

2024-10-18 15:07:44 GMT

#rstats #statistics I'm consulting on a decision tree that some colleagues are working on - in the end they want grades A-F, so 6 buckets, but the buckets are ordinal.
this feels to me like it should be something more special than just a regular decision tree? like we might want to know that the buckets have an ordering?
would appreciate any thoughts and publicly available references. we're doing this in R.

2024-09-19 03:29:31 GMT

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oooo great reminder to put in that I want to mentor more!
I was just writing the "i just won't even know if you want me to work off hours"

2024-09-19 03:08:36 GMT

I'm trying to write a "guide to working with me"
what are good questions to answer in such a doc?
(it feels a bit cheezy, but it even if I fail to be brave enough to share it, I think it will do me good to practice explaining things like "how i would like to get feedback")

2024-08-24 15:03:44 GMT

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you’re one of the people I’m saddest not to meet irl! We crossed paths at a csv,conf some years ago, and i love seeing all the cool stuff you’re up to!

2024-08-22 03:08:14 GMT

the next Computer Crafting event will be 6p Pacific, Tuesday Sept 24! https://everytimezone.com/s/6a3a5a0a
It is simply a time to sit together and work on any computer-y projects we have. Totally allowed to hang out just to see what everyone else is working on!
The focus is on finding local community in #pdx for me, but anyone is welcome to the online sessions
For now, I'd like to do it as a calendar invite - if you're interested, tell me what email to invite you at!
boosts welcome