What's going on in Iran is absolutely heartbreaking. I know my Persian community needs every ounce of support, but words don't seem sufficient – so I made them Ash-e Reshteh.

On Holocaust Remembrance Day, we pause to remember the six million lives lost to hatred. We must not only remember; we must also resolve to end antisemitism and all forms of hate and invidious discrimination. "Never Again" must be a lived reality, not just a phrase.

Statewide elections in Texas - what a mess.

The ICE stories in this Reddit thread should shake every American, regardless of party, to their core. We no longer have a Constitution. This is fascism, pure and simple.

My friend wrote a book, so I thought I'd pick up a copy and see what I could learn from him.

This turkey vulture flew right over my head and landed on top of our power pole. It then proceeded to survey its surroundings, without seeming to mind me walking up for a photo opp.

Two dudes discussing the inexorable march of progress towards our dystopian destiny. (Aka Matt Soell helping with edits on my unpublished book.)

I wish I'd had a real camera, but I did enjoy a much needed break—hiking in the Northern Japan Alps.

I asked Gemini to write a Dr. Suess-style poem based on Trump's blathering here, and I enjoyed the result... www.politico.com/news/2025/06...

The purpose of these tariffs is to be able to lift them to those who bow down to him and sacrifice their dignity. That is what he did to the GOP, the billionaires, and is doing now to Big Law. Those who stand up will be punished, those who bend a knee and humiliate themselves will be rewarded.

No matter your station in life, there is astoundingly little separating you from those men in that cage behind Kristi Noem. No charges, no attorneys, no hearings, no trial. Just conjecture and brute force could be enough to justify completely dehumanizing you, too.

Do it.

I wrote about the importance of "prebunking," in light of rumors that Elon Musk may have purchased $40 million in Super Bowl ads to spread misinformation about the "fraud" and "corruption" in this vital agency. I hope you will read and share asharangappa.substack.com/p/prebunking...

This is always good advice.

KNOW YOUR RIGHTS www.aclu.org/know-your-ri...

For anyone else preferring to ignore the US news for a few days to insulate themselves from the madness, here's a bird making a hole to hide in, and a squirrel hiding in someone's else's hole, both from my yard this weekend.

I made dark sourdough rye for my sister for her birthday.

More adventures in focus, with a Cooper's Hawk. This is from a couple of years back.

I did a double take when I saw my employee's sweatshirt yesterday.

An old photo, but one that I'm fond of. Getting the focus right on this was a trick!

This yellow-rumped warbler has been hanging around our yard lately.

We celebrated the first day of 2025 with a funeral 😢💔

This old Queen butterfly photo I took came up on my TV's screensaver, and I really enjoyed seeing it on the big screen. This is my favorite type of butterfly.

In their an attempt to propagate, the trees in our yard have produced a prodigious proportion of pecans, pelting our roof and peppering our yard. I think this guy is fed up with them too.

I made a few vegetarian Persian dishes for my father-in-law's surprise 80th birthday party.

This is excellent advice.

My wife and our rescue pup curled up next to me on the couch. Why is there only one initial episode of Dune: Prophecy? Haven't we learned anything?

Oh wow, that's a whole lotta me talking (about Halo 2 development). youtu.be/WFVyTt5-CGQ?...

Halo 2 launched 20 years ago today. Ryan McCaffrey from IGN invited me on his podcast to discuss. I couldn't make it, so he asked me to rank the shipping multiplayer maps instead. I sent him my recollection of how I felt about them during development... www.ign.com/articles/hal...

It was a lovely mix of naivete, talent, and ambition!

Oh right, Halo 2 turns 20 tomorrow. I wasn't able to make the recording session for this podcast, but I still responded to Ryan... youtu.be/EiD8LIokIuM?...

Yes, I am that Max Hoberman. Someone gave me this for my wall a while back. T-minus 2 days and counting to Halo 2's 20 year anniversary, oh my!

Oh my oh my. Here's an old bird photo from my yard to ease your stress. This is one of my favorites, a male Northern cardinal.

This somehow feels appropriate this morning.

What a rollercoaster of a day. I wrote a sci-fi novel right before the pandemic, set in a dystopian orbital city in the far future. It's a reflection on our society, and a story about everyday folks caught up in sweeping, dramatic events. I'm doubling down on my commitment to get it published.

Ok, birds are very popular here and bread is mildly popular. Let's see about people and pups – me, my wife, and our two #SilkyTerrier rescues, to be precise.

Ok, I see people like birds here. How about bread? I picked up #sourdough baking as a hobby during the pandemic, and haven't quit. This includes buying wheat berries locally and milling them myself. Here's yesterday's loaves.

Just seeing what this place is about. Here's a red-bellied woodpecker from my yard yesterday.