James Austin

@jamestaustin.com

399 Followers 832 Following

Staff Writer for Wirecutter, covering hobbies and games. Let's talk about dice and meeples!

A screenshot of the Royals White Sox game. Top of the eighth, no outs, and a score of Royals: 1 White Sox: 22
The “big thumbs up” meme in the first panel is a group of stick figures with stick figure on the outside and the words “I’m not in that f*cking political party”. In the second panel is one of the group members giving a big thumbs up to the outsider The third panel is the group going back to their businesses
A number of Bluesky posts saying some variation of “oh my god”, one gif of a 77-year old ball dude in MLB fielding a foul ball, And one more “oh my god” post which all refer to the Knicks third win in the 2026 NBA Finals
A close up of what seems to be an AI generated map of the US showing where world cup teams will be located. This is zoomed in on the Kansas City group (showing the flags of Algeria, Argentina, England, and the Netherlands) which has a marker in Kansas City
A still from the intro to Star Trek Next Generation featuring the Enterprise floating through space. Blue title text reads: “Fuck it. Let’s do a literature-based holodeck adventure”
A shot of Gordon Ramsey looking down with a caption “Finally, some good fucking food”
A woman from the movie Clue wearing a black evening gown. Holding her hands to either side of her head and saying “It-it-the—flames—flames…flames…on the side of my face…breathing…breathing—heaving breaths…heaving—“
Ben Aflac sadly smoking a cigarette outside
The "are ya winning son?" meme. A stick figure drawing of a person with a hat and a cigar coming into a room saying "Are ya winning, son?"
A photo of a nautical flag. It’s a flag with alternating diagonal stripes of yellow and red. Underneath is the meaning of the flag, quoted as “I am dragging my anchor”
A meme from the movie Zoolander which features Zoolander gesturing to a model of the "Dereck Zoolander Center for Kids Who Can't Read Good" with a caption "What is this? A game store for ants??"
A screenshot from the Terry Pratchett novel "The Truth" it reads as follows: “Then who is running the city?” said William. “I don’t know,” said Mr. Slant. “That is not my concern. I–” “Mr. Goodmountain?” said William. “Large type, please.” “Got you,” said the dwarf. His hand hovered over a fresh case. “In caps, size to fit, ‘Who Runs Ankh-Morpork?’“ said William. “Now into body type, upper and lowercase, across two columns: ‘Who is governing the city while Lord Vetinari is imprisoned? Asked for an opinion today, a leading legal figure said he did not know and it was no concern of his. Mr. Slant of the Lawyers’ Guild went on to say–’“ “You can’t put that in your newspaper!” barked Slant. “Set that directly, please, Mr. Goodmountain.” “Setting it already,” said the dwarf, the leaden slugs clicking into place. Out of the corner of his eye William saw Otto emerging from the cellar and looking puzzled at the noise. “‘Mr. Slant went on to say…’?” said William, glaring at the lawyer. “You will find it very hard to print that,” said Mr. Carney, ignoring the lawyer’s frantic hand signals, “with no damn press!” “‘…was the view of Mr. Carney of the Guild of Engravers,’ spelled with an e before the y,” said William, “‘who earlier today tried to put the Times out of business by means of an illegal document.’“ William realized that, although his mouth felt full of acid, he was enjoying this immensely. “‘Asked for his opinion of this flagrant abuse of the city laws, Mr. Slant said…’?” “STOP TAKING DOWN EVERYTHING WE SAY!” yelled Slant. “…Full caps for the whole sentence please, Mr. Goodmountain.”
The "Squidward watching Patrick and Spongebob through his window" meme image.
A selfie of me with a giant scoreboard screen in the background that reads “Royals WIN!”
A quick scanning video over seven sets of gemstone dice, including lapis lazuli, blue vein stone, bloodstone, African jade, and others.
A picture of a cosplayer dressed as Sundry Sydney, a character from the Dimension 20 season A Starstruck Odyssey.
A screenshot of the Apple Firness app showing 12,861 steps and 6.14 miles walked.
Two posts on the Bluesky skyline in order: From @kendrawcandraw.bsky.social‬ “I love to push a button and receive a pellet. A delicious treat for me? Might as well push it again. If it gives me a small electric shock once in a while, well, that's just the cost of doing business” From @swiftonsecurity.com‬ “Remember to hit like and subscribe thx”
A screenshot of the Wikapedia entry for Ford Prefect, from Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy: "Although Ford had taken great care to blend into Earth society, he had "skimped a bit on his preparatory research," and thought that the name "Ford Prefect" would be "nicely inconspicuous." The Ford Prefect was a popular British car manufactured from 1938 to 1961, and Adams later clarified in an interview that Ford "had simply mistaken the dominant life form" of Earth. This was expanded on somewhat in the film version, where Ford is almost run over while attempting to greet a blue Ford Prefect."
Screenshot of an Aftermath article reading as follows: "How do you decide how long to play for, or when to end your play session for the night? Do you have any tips that aren’t spoilers, but also aren’t the same “NO SPOILERS!” videos that tread the same ground about strategic dead ends and notebooks? Did it take you as long to realize the pun of the game’s name as it took me?"
A screenshot of an email from the Strava app congratulating me for gaining Local Legend status in my neighborhood
A screenshot of an email subject line reading "Breaking: Another SpaceX Starship
A screenshot of the Strava app showing a 29.24 mile ride in Denver Colorado
A screenshot of a Strava ride showing a 6.85 mile ride from earlier today.
Screenshot of an Apple Fitness step count showing 27,355 steps taken.
Two skeets, the top one reading “I’ve seen reports about the new Blueskyers: They’re eating the dogs! The people that came in. They’re eating the cats!” Followed by: “Animal rescue org feed Nebraska Humane, Crits for Cats, Crouton, Friends of Bear, etc”
A screenshot of a Bluesky notification saying “New follower! Eurydice has followed you.”
A screenshot of my account with Re-Skeeting a tweet from the @infinitescream.bsky.social feed (which was just "AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH") and saying "Honestly the best day/time to discover that the Endless Screaming feed made the jump from Twitter"
A photograph looking out into a valley between two sections of the rocky mountains featuring some small lakes and pine trees in the valley
A graphic representation of the Royal's win probability going from 1% in the top of the first inning to 100% by the bottom of the ninth.
A poster-like image of Dimension 20's new season called "Never Stop Blowing UP" which features the cast and gives the vibe of "The Absolute Best 80s Action Movie You Rented at Blockbuster in 1995"
A screenshot showing the Slack Status screen with a yellow triangle with an exclamation point and the words "Issues loading Slack for less than 1% of customers"
A screenshot of the MLB Spring Training standings from RSN Stats showing the Kansas City Royals having won 11 of their 16 games in the Cactus League
A picture of Spicy and Sour lamb dumplings from Xi’an Famous Foods
A shot of a turkey cut for serving
A vertical panorama shot of a small lake in a valley between two mountains in the Rockies
A swan spreading their wings while little swanlings walk out of the water.
The "Oh, my God, he admit it!" meme from "I Think You Should Leave"