Nick Poole

Serial Hobbyist, Systems Thinker, Frustrated with a world that seems to insist on suffering despite material abundance.

Queer Engineer, He/They, Electron-Gun-Slinger.

Toots about Electronics, Social Politics, and Mental Health.

Patreon for Tube Stuff: https://www.patreon.com/integratedtherm
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/SignalDitch
Blog: https://www.nickpoole.me/
Codeberg: https://codeberg.org/NPoole

Public Key

npub13pvwdyh6wlmg3g0vymh692d2du0e2t2cpxru2k438sjcvd7wcc5qgcmy38

NIP-05 Address

[email protected]

Profile Code

nprofile1qqsgsk8xjta80a5g58kzdmaz4x4x78u494vqnp79t2cncfvxxl8vv2qprpmhxue69uhhyetvv9ujumt0d4hhxarj9ecxjmnt4sphrs

Publishing to

relay.momostr.pink

Author Public Key

npub13pvwdyh6wlmg3g0vymh692d2du0e2t2cpxru2k438sjcvd7wcc5qgcmy38

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Last Notes

2026-09-13 14:38:04 GMT

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Skyfish is also the name of a company that builds "autonomous drones and aerial surveillance platforms"
I'm gonna [redacted]

2026-09-13 14:07:55 GMT

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The artist renderings stuck in my head, and every few years I'd think, "what the hell was that?" and try to Google it, to no avail. The other day, out of nowhere, I saw the concept invoked by online conspiracy theorists in a Japanese webtoon! I finally have a name for this stupid thing that's been stuck in my head for decades: skyfish!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rod_%28optical_phenomenon%29
They're what happen when winged insects fly past a camera, get duplicated by long exposure, and misinterpreted.

2026-09-13 14:02:40 GMT

For years I've occasionally remembered a TV program I watched at my grandparents' house when I was young. I believe it was a History Channel documentary (they were pedaling silly bullshit even then) about some crypto zoological phenomenon of either large, high-altitude or tiny, ubiquitous flying creatures with either many wings or undulatory wave-wings (cont.)

2026-09-04 04:50:22 GMT

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edit: keeping it simple.
I'm based in the US. I'm interested in hearing from anyone who thinks they can hire/contract me.

2026-09-02 17:16:35 GMT

Hey all, I'm looking for work!
My contract with a private research foundation is not renewing this month for financial reasons, so I'm on the search—somewhat urgently—for a new remote job!
If you or your organization could use my services as an Electrical Engineer, Contract Manufacturer, Product Designer or Creative Technologist, please reach out! I will update my CV later today, but in the meantime it can be found here:
https://www.nickpoole.me/cv/
#getfedihired

2026-06-15 22:30:56 GMT

A friend just sent me a meme that said "Happy Pride Month to Home Depot for not selling a single piece of straight wood"

2026-02-22 23:10:45 GMT

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Whole. Banana.
This despicable object is a whole banana, perforated and freeze dried. More than any other sample I've handled today, this has a sort of lithophonic quality. Tapping on it with my fingernails or cartoonishly bashing two together produces a sound not unlike fired clay.
Taking a bite feels like making a mistake in the crafting aisle. It's a very hard foam. It tastes like fresh banana. Everything is fine except... ah, it has become goo...
https://assets.chaos.social/media_attachments/files/116/116/804/699/330/678/original/af5c673a3dd1df25.jpg

2026-02-22 23:06:06 GMT

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Red Dragon Fruit
I like fresh dragon fruit, it's a relatively delicate flavor. Concentrating it does it no favors, unfortunately.
This crispy bastard starts off with a really wonderful strawberry flavor, but not as sour, just sugary sweet. You barely have time to enjoy it, however, because it's followed up by a much stronger flavor of... English Ivy? Thistle? Some kind of latex-bearing weed? Whatever it is, surely it's poisonous.
Plus you get a mouthful of hard, sharp seeds.
Rating: 3/10
https://assets.chaos.social/media_attachments/files/116/116/762/136/836/239/original/b25ed8c8eeedfd6f.jpg

2026-02-22 22:59:24 GMT

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Watermelon
I was very excited to taste this horrifying flesh cube.
The texture is pure Styrofoam, which gives way to a fibrous and chewy texture more closely resembling fresh watermelon. Freeze drying removes arguably the best part of the watermelon experience, namely that it's cold and wet. It also, however, concentrates the sugars.
Strong, cloyingly sweet watermelon flavor with a hint of the cucumber essence of watermelon rind. Not refreshing, but tasty.
Rating: 7/10
https://assets.chaos.social/media_attachments/files/116/116/745/161/903/331/original/2b88184d7be6a28f.jpg

2026-02-22 22:54:09 GMT

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Star Fruit
I'm a big fan of fresh star fruit, but it has a very subtle flavor. I was excited to find out what it would taste like concentrated by the freeze drying process.
It's nearly indistinguishable from green apple chips, if you've had those. Just thin, dehydrated slices of green apple. Texture, flavor, the whole thing. Now that I look at it, it even has the appearance of an apple cut through the core.
Sweet. Tangy.
Rating: 7/10
https://assets.chaos.social/media_attachments/files/116/116/741/108/251/057/original/d225b0e3e1929704.jpg

2026-02-22 22:50:33 GMT

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Orange
Whole orange slices, peel and all. It smells strongly of citrus and has a pleasantly glassy texture. The peel is a little tough, like candied orange peel. The flesh just flakes apart.
This tastes like an ingredient if you just take a bite out of the side, with peel and pith included. The flesh itself is delightful. Very sour. Almost like a powdered orange drink mix.
Rating: 5/10
https://assets.chaos.social/media_attachments/files/116/116/724/130/451/650/original/e45f24a6efba735c.jpg

2026-02-22 22:42:39 GMT

Eating and reviewing a small variety of freeze dried fruit that I impulse bought online, a thread.
https://assets.chaos.social/media_attachments/files/116/116/692/909/087/035/original/5ac2791bbea9f8b0.jpg

2026-02-16 18:03:35 GMT

Large Whisker Array
https://assets.chaos.social/media_attachments/files/116/081/620/299/628/544/original/6ad50c17ac78b8db.jpg

2026-01-25 05:18:11 GMT

The marshmallow is toasting herself.
https://assets.chaos.social/media_attachments/files/115/954/041/841/338/223/original/4b8c104690dd32ed.jpg

2026-01-05 02:49:35 GMT

Mom said she spent the day reading and listening to Zizek. She asked what I think of him and I said basically that he's inconsistent but he gets it right sometimes and I like his philosophy more than his approach to Marxism. I said I prefer Varoufakis on that and she said that she just watched him interview Zizek and she liked him too.
This is the political equivalent of the time I found out Dad was listening to my Marilyn Manson CDs in the car.

2026-01-03 08:52:07 GMT

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I'm not saying "smartphone bad," or "socialism is when no smartphone," or even "smartphone socialist hypocrite." those arguments have all been made with varying degrees of sincerity and they're all garbage.
I'm saying bad things are bad. Conflict minerals are bad, hell, probably most manned mining operations are bad. Slave labor is bad. Sweatshop assembly is bad. But none of them are necessary to make your life easy. They're necessary to make a few people rich.

2026-01-03 08:47:26 GMT

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Capitalism paves the way for fascism by spreading lies like "You couldn't have cheap, accessible technology without slave labor. No one likes it, but that's just how it has to be." Of course you can, it just doesn't make a few hundred people wealthier than the rest of humanity.
But if you believe that, it's just a few steps to "You can't have safety and security without ethnic cleansing. No one likes it, that's just how it has to be."

2026-01-03 08:44:02 GMT

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If someone can watch YouTube videos of young Congolese guys digging Coltan in an unventilated mine shaft without tools or PPE on a tantalum-containing smartphone that they're essentially required to own, then you only need to make their next thought "well, I couldn't have a smartphone without that happening" and now they'll accept any injustice. You just have to convince them that it's _their_ fault and that they had no choice. Then you can make as many utilitarian arguments as you want.

2026-01-03 08:37:32 GMT

In a society where people are routinely conditioned to tolerate evil for convenience, it's very easy to convince them to buy even greater convenience with even greater evil.

2025-11-30 23:24:43 GMT

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That's actually a great idea

2025-11-30 23:19:17 GMT

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I still own http://www.xn--5gqa1j3dya825ea03ata150u.com/ but there's nothing happening there, lol.
(If you have a secure browser that doesn't just display IDNs in their native character set without warning, this points to www.乇乂丁尺卂丁卄丨匚匚.com)

2025-11-30 23:17:25 GMT

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I also briefly owned "thesexnumber.com" and "theweednumber.com"

2025-11-30 23:15:43 GMT

Looking through my various registrar accounts and I was reminded of the time that a group of us were waiting on a Lyft in the parking lot outside Bay Area Maker Faire and one of my friends pulled out a pack of cigarettes and my other friend goes, "Oh, fuck yeah, cigarettes" and I thought that was so funny that I bought "fuckyeahcigarettes.com" from my phone right there. I held on to it for a bit and never knew what to put there. I ended up making it an alias for Philip Morris until it expired.

2025-11-24 01:33:10 GMT

I'm sorry to have to do this, but please take a moment to read:
Phil Torrone, Managing Director of Adafruit—using various accounts named "ptorrone" on various platforms—has undertaken a campaign of bullying and harassment against various people in apparent response to an argument that took place on Bluesky, the details of which I'm not clear on.
In the course of this campaign, anyone stepping in to defend his targets has also become a target.
As of yesterday, this includes myself.
🧵

2025-10-09 22:39:03 GMT

"Sunlight-as-a-Service" is up there with trading "water futures" in terms of things that sound like they would get someone stomped to death in a just world.

2025-08-22 01:12:34 GMT

Warm little kitty paw prints on the sofa
https://assets.chaos.social/media_attachments/files/115/069/753/605/931/680/original/e20b24f63892ddad.jpg
https://assets.chaos.social/media_attachments/files/115/069/753/660/929/291/original/d693023ba04dfb3b.jpg

2025-08-21 01:59:43 GMT

I think arguing over things like "metric vs. imperial" is a great pastime for people who like to act smart but don't actually make things.

2025-06-30 21:52:05 GMT

Me sowing in KiCad: Haha fuck yeah!!! Yes!!
Me reaping with tweezers: Well this fucking sucks. What the fuck.

2025-06-02 17:40:58 GMT

There's a body-language thing that Adam Savage does that I think is really clever and considerate. Whenever he's inspecting something that someone else has made and he wants to look up close, he'll hold his hands behind his back. This reassures the creator that although he's getting close, he's not going to touch anything. That way he doesn't put them in the awkward position of having to say, "please don't touch that it's dangerous/fragile"

2025-03-28 00:10:53 GMT

https://assets.chaos.social/media_attachments/files/114/237/151/110/583/401/original/32a2368dfe69bbb8.png

2025-02-28 04:05:43 GMT

I've been laid off!
Now that I'm urgently looking for work, here's a thread of projects and career accomplishments from my 14 year tenure at SparkFun Electronics.
If my skills would be useful to you and you're open to hiring remotely, my DMs are open!
https://assets.chaos.social/media_attachments/files/114/079/530/063/529/088/original/0f38889a4b0f2dad.png

2025-02-27 17:30:44 GMT

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If anyone is hiring a remote engineer, I'm available. I have extensive experience in circuit design, schematic capture, and layout as well as parts sourcing and design for manufacture. I also have experience designing mechanical parts and enclosures for 3D printing and injection molding. I've also designed and sourced packaging, including both graphical and dimensional components. I'm proficient in the use of KiCAD, Fusion360, etc. I also write firm/software in a limited selection of languages.

2025-02-27 17:20:13 GMT

I was just laid off from SparkFun. It was sudden and cowardly. I logged on for a weekly status meeting and Nate had HR with him.
14 years this Saturday.
And now I'm unemployed in the midst of what is already a very difficult mental health crisis recovery.
Your boss is not your friend.

2025-02-10 22:00:38 GMT

More Renders!
https://assets.chaos.social/media_attachments/files/113/981/823/737/125/977/original/d1435ae5cd9e3978.png
https://assets.chaos.social/media_attachments/files/113/981/823/780/653/099/original/e504002b140c2b87.png
https://assets.chaos.social/media_attachments/files/113/981/823/865/839/801/original/fafecf38de88dc6b.png
https://assets.chaos.social/media_attachments/files/113/981/823/899/772/663/original/eb702e441f4d656c.png

2025-02-06 18:59:00 GMT

I made this in 2016 and it's still just as true as ever :rainbow_heart:
https://assets.chaos.social/media_attachments/files/113/958/471/166/456/326/original/6a743e1920ddff19.jpg

2025-02-06 02:10:08 GMT

If you want to post a selfie from one of the many many many many protests that are happening and going to happen, well that's a choice you can make for yourself.
PLEASE DO NOT POST PHOTOS OF OTHER PEOPLE'S FACES
You may say, "Well they were in public without a face covering so they obviously didn't mind," but I'm telling you the less evidence that any particular person was there, the better. Don't be the reason someone is harassed by image boards, law enforcement or other right-wing militias.

2025-01-05 04:38:49 GMT

I just checked in with the art department, we have enough cyberpunk art of Asian women as "companion" robots. No one needs to make another one ever again, we have enough of them already. Thank you!

2024-10-11 21:48:52 GMT

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Sorry if that's a bummer for anyone who's just here for a cute cat pic. I CW'd it.
I'm two months into the most difficult period of anxiety and panic that I'll hopefully ever have to deal with, I'm adjusting to new drugs and I still feel very very bad every day. I don't work, I get overstimulated by _things I enjoy_, and I spend most of my time Journaling and trying to calm myself down.
I cannot save a mouse right now.
But I've been a vegetarian for 35 years, so...

2024-10-11 21:44:31 GMT

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The cat, having checked Mastodon and seeing she was getting roasted, has finished the grim deed.
For those of you saying I should have saved the mouse, I usually would, and I don't blame you for missing the larger context of my mental health crisis and slow, agonizing recovery which has prevented me from doing many things I normally would
I do try to live in harmony with the nature here (the black snakes in the house usually get the mice before the cat does) but I'm barely... here

2024-10-11 15:55:34 GMT

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Now the cat's picking the mouse up and carrying it to one side of the room, then slowly following it back across the room. Not stalking it, just casually following it.

2024-10-11 15:54:25 GMT

It's getting cold in this ancient house that I've purchased, and that means it's mouse season, as they come in from the cold for dropped Goldfish crackers.
I was alerted to this fact when a mouse UNDER MY DUVET woke me up crawling on my leg this morning. About an hour later, I guess it chose me over the cat and CAME BACK.
Twice, reader. Twice this morning, I've discovered a mouse crawling on my bare skin.
Anyway, here's my award-winning mouser doing fuck all.
https://assets.chaos.social/media_attachments/files/113/289/592/618/769/772/original/fd1a79c1b86c30e0.jpg

2024-08-06 22:42:52 GMT

Watching Walz at the rally and this guy is... such a slam dunk.
Look, he's a USian politician, it's an election for head of the do-evil-shit machine, but in the context of US electoralism? This is going to be _materially_ better than the alternative for a lot of people.

2024-07-03 11:23:43 GMT

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😂

2024-07-02 05:32:38 GMT

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A post for all seasons

2024-07-02 01:42:42 GMT

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I also had this feeling

2024-06-14 17:55:08 GMT

https://assets.chaos.social/media_attachments/files/112/616/253/149/612/656/original/729c3dafc78602f2.png

2024-06-13 06:56:37 GMT

Love to read an old Hackaday article about a guy with dope project and then click through to her github :trans_flag:

2024-06-05 02:56:45 GMT

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🤩

2024-06-04 22:42:39 GMT

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I am always saying this

2024-06-03 21:59:23 GMT

Please enjoy this recreational Fusion360 exercise :rainbow_heart:
https://assets.chaos.social/media_attachments/files/112/554/913/741/518/635/original/7fbe2fc76837ab65.png
https://assets.chaos.social/media_attachments/files/112/554/914/118/244/139/original/0ec857bf2c54bebd.png
https://assets.chaos.social/media_attachments/files/112/554/914/550/758/625/original/410d886a17b52b2c.png
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