mastodon 4.8.0-nightly.2026-10-06Husband to a Boliviana. Daddy. Emperor of the Renaud Empire. Data journalist for stltoday.com. Computer historian at breakintochat.com. Lover of Atari, BBSes and retro tech.
Joe Negri was such an easygoing and friendly person in Mister Roger’s Neighborhood: music shop owner and jazz guitarist in the “real” world, and Handyman Negri in Make-Believe.
He lived a long full life, and he certainly blessed me and my kids through his involvement in MRN. Rest in peace, Joe Negri.
https://www.cbsnews.com/pittsburgh/news/joe-negri-mr-rogers-neighborhood-dies-age-99/
The Voters Guide for the August primary election is in today's print edition of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch newspaper!
It's also available online:
https://www.stltoday.com/votersguide/
Get informed before you vote!
Tonight as I monitor St. Louis-area municipal election results, I'll be using the Wayback Machine SPN2 API to archive data files from county election authorities as they change.
The last time I tried this (2024), it didn't work very well, but it feels like @internetarchive@mastodon.archive.org infrastructure has improved a lot post-hack, and my tests this week have been encouraging. We'll see how it goes tonight.
Biked to work this morning. Pretty weird to ride across Cass Ave. over I-44 and see no cars below (the interstate was closed after an enormous sinkhole opened near a bridge footing this weekend)
Also on the bike ride to work: racing the turkeys.
Vernon Gentry has purchased at least 69 properties north of Delmar Boulevard in St. Louis since 2023 — more than half of them since last year's tornado.
The reason? There are still so many homes not yet too far gone that he can buy, gut, rehab and rent out at affordable rates, he says.
https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/business/article_959be361-73a5-4e8c-b701-8809fb6769a9.html
A wild morning. I biked to a polling place, voted, then rode to a park for my 3rd attempt hunting morel mushrooms.
I had no luck my first two tries — at Pere Marquette on Sunday, and a mid-county park on Monday.
After an hour today, I was about to quit, when I saw one! ... I came home with 13!
https://www.joshrenaud.com/family/archives/2026/04/a-longcut-to-mushrooms.html
It's funny how grief can surprise you.
I have been blogging for more than 20 years now. In recent days I was revisiting early posts about my kids, trying to fix broken video links. I came across one particular post I had long forgotten about.
It was a little bittersweet at the time I wrote it, but 18 years later, it hit home and resonated in a new way I couldn't have expected back then.
I wrote an essay about my rediscovery:
https://www.joshrenaud.com/family/archives/2026/01/the-day-jadzia-noticed-adam.html
Praying for Eduard Löwen after the death of his wife, Ilona.
From an interview before this season: "Jesus is my greatest treasure because he is enough. ... I know he will be there to pick me up ... and that's why I can still remain joyful."
Only one donor so far — Blackford "Beau" Brauer, president of Hunter Engineering — has donated to fund St. Louis police Chief Robert Tracy's side job at UMSL, but a pledge from Emerson may be on the way.
https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/article_ea389290-e181-43f1-aa28-17eeef51c4a3.html
#stl #stlouis #localnews #news #localjournalism #police #publicsafety
The Olympics are coming back to St. Louis! (a few games, at least)
https://www.stltoday.com/sports/professional/mls/city-sc/article_8f9b004b-e734-435b-a0a3-df04cd9e1730.html
Looking forward to attending the Tolkien Society's #Westmoot again this year with Josie (seen here showing off her shirt at Graham Cave State Park in Missouri).
Still trying to decide if I should submit a talk proposal. I have what I think might be a decent idea, but I'm not sure yet.
A blight that has bedeviled Kinloch for seven years is finally shrinking. Over the past week, workers have begun gnawing at a 6-acre mountain of shingles and other solid waste.
It wasn't always like this. Two derelict buildings on the site began as schools: Kennedy Junior High and Kinloch Senior High. Later they served as City Hall and a community center.
#environment #dumping #waste #stl #stlouis #kinloch #missouri #history #localnews #localjournalism #datajournalism
@gruber@mastodon.social What was the point of the final two sentences in your graf beginning "John Siracusa has a long memory..."?
If you can't think of worse design crimes, then why waste words quibbling?
Drop the last two lines so the graf is simply: "John Siracusa has a long memory, cares deeply about Mac design, and is not prone to hyperbole (putting it mildly)."
Much better.
Violence spiked this spring at 13th and Cass, just north of downtown St. Louis. Six people were shot dead in an eight-block area over a span of 66 days.
Police, homeless advocates and business owners chalk it up to drug use, growing homeless camps and abandoned properties.
https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-courts/article_e25f952c-da4e-49c3-9fb8-87888aaa136e.html
#news #localnews #journalism #localjournalism #stl #stlouis #crime
I bet you wish YOU had a journalist for a son!
🚗 🧙📚
In 12 hours, I'll be headed to Minneapolis with my daughter for #Westmoot26. I'll be giving a presentation about storytelling in Tolkien's home and in our own homes. Very excited!
If you're going, too, I hope to see you there!
