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Chris Hessert

@chessert@mastodon.online

mastodon 4.8.0-nightly.2026-10-06

Retired US Army musician and techno geek. Plays with antique toy trains.

307 Followers

333 Following

50 Posts

Joined November 04, 2022

Code:

https://github.com/hessert

Pronouns:

he/him

Chris Hessert @chessert@mastodon.online

· 1w ago

Good things... Continuing a very bizarre trend (given the previous 5 years), I did stuff. • made my bed, 2nd time this month (in the morning)! • more indoor cleaning — I'd be pleased to have this return as a regular habit • cooking beef stew from scratch, new recipe (mmmm, the house smells good!) • starting work on my home music studio by learning Garage Band (Mac/iOS) and Audacity • updated equipment wishlist for home music studio: purchases will come this Winter #3GoodThings #GoodThings

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Chris Hessert @chessert@mastodon.online

· 2w ago

Good things... • it's officially Fall now, and the leaves are indeed changing colors here in NEPA • turned on the heat today, and the new boiler/flash water heater is working great: temps are right where I set the thermostats, and the whole system is much quieter (money well spent) • thought I lost my debit card today, but then it jumped out of my (wrong) pocket with my iPhone 1/2 #3GoodThings #GoodThings #Grateful

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Chris Hessert @chessert@mastodon.online

· 1mo ago

Good things: • romping through the Endless Mountains in Baby Blue • carmel apples (with peanut crumbles) at my local Aldi — seems kinda early for Halloween, as we aren't even to September yest, but... • hot chicken wings for dinner — didn't have to make 'em, or clean up! • living in NE Pennsylvania: it is beautiful, and it smells nice too #3GoodThings #GoodThings #NEPA

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Chris Hessert @chessert@mastodon.online

· 2mo ago

Replying to

@MiaMarkTwo@syzito.xyz I’m relieved that they didn’t just shoot her, as well as proud of her.

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Chris Hessert @chessert@mastodon.online

· 2mo ago

Replying to

@RickiTarr@beige.party The cultural myth of white supremacy must be defended, at all costs! 🙄 I'm so grateful for my upbringing, where those beliefs were on the outer fringes of my awareness.

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Chris Hessert @chessert@mastodon.online

· 2mo ago

Replying to

@drewph@ieji.de @maxleibman@beige.party Ditto. Sites only get one strike from me now, not three.

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Chris Hessert @chessert@mastodon.online

· 2mo ago

Replying to

@dkmackinnon@ottawa.place Is that on par with bombing Iran, closing the Hormuz Straight, and throwing the World economy into complete turmoil? Asking for a 🎃 🤡 I know?

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Chris Hessert @chessert@mastodon.online

· 3mo ago

Some good things... • super clean bill of health from Baby Blue's 60k mile service (2012 Mazda MX5 Miata) at a Miata shop • mechanic was full of praise: "cleanest, best I've ever seen, immaculate underneath" • ~100 miles driving Baby Blue, 1/2 with new spark plugs, trans oil, and diff oil • saw a Bald Eagle land in a tree next to the road as I drove past • ~3 miles walking/hiking • a couple hours spent just sitting outside in Nature #3GoodThings #3GoodThingsToday

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Chris Hessert @chessert@mastodon.online

· 3mo ago

Replying to

@Nonilex@masto.ai “It was a misunderstanding on Justice Alito’s part,” the spokesperson added. A good summation of the entirety of Alito's alleged "career". He holds no opinions that weren't paid for.

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Chris Hessert @chessert@mastodon.online

· 2mo ago

Replying to

@th@social.v.st Kash Patel (US FBI Director).

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Chris Hessert @chessert@mastodon.online

· 2mo ago

Replying to

@Wallflower@beige.party Whoo boy! I'm an ancient man. But I feel you need some love and encouragement from your relatives? Like the Siblings, Aunts, Uncles, Cousins? And if those aren't options, I hope your community here on Mastodon can boost you up: I think you deserve it.

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Chris Hessert @chessert@mastodon.online

· 3mo ago

Replying to

@djlink@mastodon.gamedev.place Sometimes admiration, sometimes incredulity, sometimes horror, and often hilarity.

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Chris Hessert @chessert@mastodon.online

· 5mo ago

Replying to

My oldest sister was heading off to college the next Fall... one of the colleges she'd narrowed her choices to was Kent State. Needless to say, the murders there freaked her out.

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Chris Hessert @chessert@mastodon.online

· 3mo ago

A very nice day! 🌞 🙂 · Cubs blow up the Blue Jays 2-16 · beautiful weather in NEPA (again) · excellent Chicken Marsala cooked from scratch, without a recipe #3GoodThings

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Chris Hessert @chessert@mastodon.online

· 2mo ago

Replying to

@bruce@darkmoon.social @wyatt_h_knott@mstdn.social @alice@lgbtqia.space So you've never seen Crows getting pummeled by Bluejays? It definitely happens (by other bird species too). 🙂

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Chris Hessert @chessert@mastodon.online

· 2mo ago

Replying to

@Wallflower@beige.party Wow! That is a great photo. 🌝 🙂

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Chris Hessert @chessert@mastodon.online

· 3mo ago

Replying to

@RegGuy@mstdn.social @markarayner@mas.to That’s how lasting childhood memories are made. 😉

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Chris Hessert @chessert@mastodon.online

· 2mo ago

Replying to

@CiaraNi@mastodon.green That is truly lovely. Thank you!

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Chris Hessert @chessert@mastodon.online

· 3mo ago

Replying to

@bluejay@ohai.social Boosted for the steam locomotive, the Strasburg Rail Road, and Pennsylvania. 🙂

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Chris Hessert @chessert@mastodon.online

· 4mo ago

Replying to

@RickiTarr@beige.party My grandma Hessert (Dad’s mom) was a wonderful cook/baker, and taught my Mom. We ate a wide variety of fresh foods & frozen veggies. Nothing sticks out as repetitive to me. Dad was so/so, but became a good bread baker ~middle age. My sisters are both excellent cooks/bakers. I learned to cook at home, and worked managing restaurant kitchens in college. I’m a competent cook, but never bake (too much cleanup). My ex-wife and I split the cooking while we raised our kids.

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Chris Hessert @chessert@mastodon.online

· 5mo ago

Replying to

@potterybyosa@mastodon.social Your pottery is very beautiful. 🙂

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Chris Hessert @chessert@mastodon.online

· 5mo ago

Replying to

When ya'll are groovin' on Marvin Gaye's "What's Goin' On?" today, I can hear that and remember listening to it at the time it was released. I can also remember what I was doing while listening to it: along with every other song I hear from that era. Wouldn't trade any of that for the World. Songs like this aren't discoveries to me: they are my youth, life... and irreplaceable. 2/2

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Chris Hessert @chessert@mastodon.online

· 5mo ago

Replying to

@selzero@syzito.xyz Well then, I suppose it's unfortunate I'm an Atheist: no thoughts or prayers. Guess he'll just go to where he deserves to be, according to his own religion?

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Chris Hessert @chessert@mastodon.online

· 3mo ago

Replying to

@NorcalGma2@sfba.social I self-educated through reading, on many topics growing up. Attending a very large HS, I’d ditch classes and read for hours in the HS library. Read voraciously at home, too. I don’t regret any of that time: I think it was well spent. I plan to start going through classic English literature again this coming Winter. 📚 🙂

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Chris Hessert @chessert@mastodon.online

· 4mo ago

Replying to

@Giliell@mastodon.social @freakboy3742@cloudisland.nz 👆 This!!

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Chris Hessert @chessert@mastodon.online

· 4mo ago

Replying to

@NorcalGma2@sfba.social You are a treasure here, and your presence & toots are delights.

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Chris Hessert @chessert@mastodon.online

· 4mo ago

Replying to

@Chloeg@mastodon.art Very nice! Reminds me of our lake shore here in NEPA, including the lighting. 🙂

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Chris Hessert @chessert@mastodon.online

· 4mo ago

Replying to

@joyce@hcommons.social Sorry to learn you’re in pain, and I hope you recover fully over the weekend. Good to know you got outside, and that you made progress on your book: well done! 🙂

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Chris Hessert @chessert@mastodon.online

· 4mo ago

Replying to

@IveyJanette@mastodon.social Ticket sales go through the roof! 🤣

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Chris Hessert @chessert@mastodon.online

· 4mo ago

Replying to

@joyce@hcommons.social Congratulations!

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Chris Hessert @chessert@mastodon.online

· 5mo ago

Replying to

@nlowell@zirk.us An American chestnut tree over 10 years old is quite an achievement. My Grand Uncle Luther tried for years on his own to grow and improve them. One of our local hardware stores now offers young Chestnut trees each Spring. And one of my cousins here in NEPA has a couple adult Chestnuts (20+ yrs old) in their yard.

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Chris Hessert @chessert@mastodon.online

· 5mo ago

Replying to

Those traits are largely inherited, but I have refined them further with education and experience. I'm not a snob, but I don't understand why anyone should be willing to accept low quality in a product? 2/2

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Chris Hessert @chessert@mastodon.online

· 3mo ago

Replying to

@jawarajabbi@mastodon.online @QasimRashid@mastodon.social Wait until you inherit a significant sum, and discover it’s not taxed at all until you reach something like $3mil. 🇺🇸

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Chris Hessert @chessert@mastodon.online

· 2mo ago

Feels mostly like a wasted day, but I did manage to... • resuscitate my old Lenovo desktop computer • pull out and update my Raspberry Pi 4B after a few years in storage • spend some quality (but hot) time in the cockpit of Baby Blue And today's haze is definitely forest fire smoke from Canada. Hope they're able to contain all that soon! Poor air quality is a rarity here in NEPA. #3GoodThings #3GoodThingsToday

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Chris Hessert @chessert@mastodon.online

· 3mo ago

Replying to

@richardinsandy@c.im Boy howdy. American here.

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Chris Hessert @chessert@mastodon.online

· 2mo ago

Good things... • awake before dawn, after a decent sleep • groceries fetched, liquor restocked • recyclables taken to county recycling center • yard work complete • less Canadian forest fire smoke today • temperatures back to NEPA Summer normal (81˚F/27˚C), with low humidity and a nice breeze • Cubs resume play at home vs. the Twinkies, after the All Star break And now, I proclaim Happy Hour here at Schloss Hessert, and pour myself a dirty Martini. Cheers! 🍸 🙂 #3GoodThings #3GoodThingsToday

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Chris Hessert @chessert@mastodon.online

· 3mo ago

Replying to

@Daojoan@mastodon.social

There is no substitution for inherent good taste. Upbringing has something to do with it*, but so do education and experience... especially travel.

Not talking about class here, but the opportunities your parents or situation are able to provide you to experience art, different cultures, music, foods, etc. Things that spur your interest in new experiences.

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Chris Hessert @chessert@mastodon.online

· 2mo ago

Replying to

@BrianJopek@mastodon.world I added a bottle of Laphroiag single malt this afternoon — which I'm enjoying right now. No particular reason, just... imagining how much more I'll enjoy it when Delirium Jumpin' Tremens pops off to the nethersphere. Maybe this week? 🥃

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Chris Hessert @chessert@mastodon.online

· 4mo ago

Replying to

@freakboy3742@cloudisland.nz My absolute favorite in the Army were the 35+ slide presentations which the presenter read to you verbatim off the screen, with few or no illustrations. Always time well spent. /s 🤣 🫡

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Chris Hessert @chessert@mastodon.online

· 3mo ago

Things...

• nice fireworks display last night * • today is my birthday (65) • hunting for antique toy trains on eBay • drinking good, hot coffee

They shoot the fireworks from the high school, which is across the golf course, a lake, and up a hill. So I have a fine view from my front lawn/driveway. Very convenient! Lots of folks come watch them from the golf course across the street. I've got plenty of free parking. 😉

#3GoodThings #GoodThings #Birthday #Fireworks #Coffee

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Chris Hessert @chessert@mastodon.online

· 2mo ago

Good things... • up and moving early, after a good sleep with lots of dreaming • productivity: way up after a couple negative days • tried a new place for lunch: cheap and very tasty (tacos) • signed up for NFL Sunday Ticket (I hope this is a good thing?) • reached out to my plumber, though I haven't heard back yet (I don't blame him if he's pissed) 1/2 #3GoodThings #GoodThings #ForwardMotion

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Chris Hessert @chessert@mastodon.online

· 5mo ago

Since I am retro, and still own retro equipment...

let's see what other people think of my current (and very aged) speaker system? 😉

https://www.digitec.ch/en/page/my-retro-21-bose-set-up-and-how-great-the-90s-speaker-system-sounds-22621

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Chris Hessert @chessert@mastodon.online

· 2mo ago

Replying to

@Thatmermaid_J@beige.party I'm pretty much disinterested, having read the Odyssey a few times. But then, I also can't remember the last time I bothered to see a first run movie in a theater? Probably when my kids were still kids, so like... 20 years ago?

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Chris Hessert @chessert@mastodon.online

· 5mo ago

Replying to

@wikitree@genealysis.social I really like the idea, certainly better than all that data privately held, IMHO?

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Chris Hessert @chessert@mastodon.online

· 1mo ago

Replying to

@tante@tldr.nettime.org Project and deflect are straight out of the Nazi playbook.

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Chris Hessert @chessert@mastodon.online

· 5mo ago

Replying to

@diffrentcolours @FediGarden @BrianTransplant My first thought, too.

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