Can't wait!!

First snow of the year. So excited!

The hour is up! It's here! It's now!

The more survival crafting games I play, the more I feel like they're truly an endorsement of community, even if that's not what they set out to do. The sheer number of things you need to do in many of them is made easier by additional players and coordination.

Ich liebe Berlin.

Equating "old" with "decrepit" is horribly dystopian. In an acceptable society we would encourage each other to live healthy, active lives and it wouldn't be financially unattainable for most of us to do so.

This is an excellent perspective.

As I start doing more speaking about accessibility and inclusive design, I am reminded of something I think is worth sharing. A lot of folks think they are bad public speakers, I think everyone can be a great speaker (but they don't have to be ofc) Its just about nailing down your style

Custom character sheets anyone? ko-fi.com/s/d326648bdd

Thanks for joining us for the API panel today for #SLAcon | #APIConference - y'all were awesome! You can find some of my writing on both coding and business, as well as all my socials, at ags.run/u/mrdowden. Looking forward to hearing from you all!

For my final appearance this week, I'll be at the AMA session in Salon 2 with an outstanding panel of folks to answer questions about APIs, for everyone from beginners to experienced devs. See you there at 1:30pm!

🔥 What a kick-off for the day at API Conference Berlin! 🔥 Just moments ago, Michael Dowden took the stage with his keynote “Real-time Serverless APIs”, diving deep into the power of real-time streaming platforms like Firestore, and how they’re reshaping the way we connect client apps to data. 🚀

Hey folks, in an hour I'll be a part of the AMA panel discussion on APIs in room Salon 2; join myself and the entire panel for a place to bring up any questions you have, from beginners to old hands. Looking forward to seeing you there at 1:30pm! #APIConference #SLAcon

I truly appreciate everyone who attended my keynote today at #APIConference | #SLAcon today. You can find all of my blog articles and links at ags.run/u/mrdowden, and don't forget to reach out to me for a meetup before the conference is over; I'd love to grab a beverage and have a chat!

Good morning! In an hour, I'll be presenting my keynote address, Real-time Serverless APIs. In this discussion, we'll take a look at the out-of-the-box coding for API platforms: when to use this paradigm, when to avoid it, and implementation challenges for it. Maritim C at 9:00am! #APICon #SLAcon

Thanks to everyone who attended my talk on Coding Serverless Functions today at #SLAcon. Don't forget that you can find all of my blog articles and links to my socials at ags.run/u/mrdowden. Be sure to reach out if you want to talk more serverless or grab a cup of coffee!

Good morning #SLAcon attendees! Join me in about an hour for my talk on Coding Serverless Functions, where we'll look tactically at how to implement functions in a way that captures the serverless promise, without creating a maintenance nightmare. See you in Salon 3 at 11:30am!

I am once again back in Berlin for #APIConference and #SLAcon. Join me for talks at both events this week - including my keynote address on Real-time Serverless APIs! - and reach out to me via the links below if you want to get together for a chat over liquid refreshments! lnk.bio/mrdowden

Current status: living my best life in Berlin

I would like to talk with some airport designers and really understand their thought process. It seems to me that airports have ONE JOB and that is to cater to people who travel, with luggage and backpacks. We can talk all day long about tangential items like places to work or wrangle kids, but...

Fun @bsky.app bug: I logged into a second account on my phone so I could post on the business account during an event, but then logged out of that account after the event. Now I'm still getting push notifications for that account even though it's no longer connected and I can't see the messages. 🥴😵‍💫😖

So, why should you use Lore Link? We have a page that answers that!

This is why @josemonkey.com is so important.

Wrapped up #PlaythroughGC for @lorelink.com and got some delicious quesabirria for dinner. Now comes a long wait for a short flight home.

The floor is now open for day two of Playthrough in Raleigh, North Carolina! @mrdowden.com flew out from Indy this weekend to show you all how you can use Lore Link to organize all of your game notes into one easy-to-use space! Visit him at booth 103 and check it out! Have a great con!

please do not use llms to actually write your blogs. we can absolutely tell. and it means: 1. I don't trust what you're saying (or at least I don't trust any purported 'insight') 2. I don't feel like I'm listening to you (normally I _like_ listening to nuance) 👉 shorter, imperfect yet real👌

Booth 103 all set up for another day of #PlaythroughGC! Come visit me. @lorelink.com

Thanks to everyone who has stopped by the @lorelink.com booth at #PlaythroughGC today! We're here for another 5 hours today and back again tomorrow.

The floor is open at Playthrough Gaming Con! If you're in Raleigh this weekend attending, then make sure to go say hi to @mrdowden.com at booth 103. He'll be showing everyone how to use Lore Link, talking gaming and GMing, and wondering why he didn't bring anyone else with him! Enjoy the show!

If you call yourself "apolitical" but then claim to value ethics and emotional intelligence....no you don't. You just don't want to be uncomfortable.

This is peak Internet.

This is common and deeply disturbing behavior. It's also an absolute slap in the face and will permanently (negatively, obviously) change how I think of you and act towards you.

We're all set up in Booth 103! Please be sure to drop by and say hi to @mrdowden.com this weekend at #PlaythroughGC

This is standing ovation stuff by @sundress. Not a single word wasted, and so many quotable bits. A threat model for #accessibility on the web: https://alice.boxhall.au/articles/a-threat-model-for-accessibility-on-the-web/

Made it to the convention center, but first things first - grabbed coffee and breakfast.

Quick stop in Baltimore. @lorelink.com

Literally on the plane right now

Nothing like being at the airport before the coffee shop opens.

Are you a GM heading to Playthrough in North Carolina this weekend? If so, drop by booth 103 and let @mrdowden.com show you how Lore Link can help you organize all of your game notes into one convenient, easy-to-use place! You can find con info and tickets here:

I'll be in Raleigh this weekend! Please say hi if you're around.

Reminds me of my first retail job. Manager was training me on the register, and kept referring to it as a "POS." After a bit, he FINALLY turned to me and asked if I knew what that stood for. "Not in the context I think you're using it in..." "Well?" "Piece of shit?" " … you're not wrong"

Communication is important, especially in sales and marketing. One of the most critical mistakes I often see is people creating arbitrary TLAs (three-letter acronyms) in their outbound communication, or using terms that aren't commonly known.

Garmin has a really weak app game. Their messaging app doesn't actually connect you with someone when you invite them. It just sends them a link to the app and you have to connect in the app separately, and it requires a phone number setup and both parties have to use the same number.

To be quite frank @skylight.social, everything about the rollout of Skylight feels suspicious. It's unfortunate because I want a video platform that interplays with Bluesky, but you can't expect anyone to trust you currently. 1. The app publisher is just some dude (not a company, no web link).

We're live!

Tomorrow at 1 PM Eastern, @troxellstradingpost.com will be running the Lore Link Players through the starter adventure for Star Trek Adventures 2E! Join @markdc.bsky.social, @mrdowden.com, @twenty20sight.com, and @lunalapine.com as they run through "Infinite Combinations."

I spent the last 2-3 hours working on business plans for Q4 (prep time) and 2026 (expanded services and new projects). This includes my upcoming new YouTube channel (all the nerdy stuff) and which books I'm publishing next in the second half of the decade (whelp, I said it).

Hey, it's me! I'll be hosting Cannon Otter Studio on the Lore Link stream tonight. Watch us on Twitch and YouTube.

Hey. It's Monday. Have an update blog post. troxellstradingpost.mayhem.my/blog/monday-...

One of the first symptoms of organizational rot is an environment of dread where none of the rank and file dare speak candidly for fear of retaliation. When things go pear-shaped, you've silenced all of the people who might've mitigated or even prevented it.