Mark Downie

@poppastring.com

1413 Followers 677 Following

🧑🏾‍💻OSS (dasBlog) 🏢PM @ Microsoft (Visual Studio, Core AI) 🏀📖🎸 ✝️ 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 🇺🇸 poppastring.com/blog

A mural on a white wall shows two England soccer players. The player on the left, wearing jersey number 10, holds a piece of food. The player on the right, wearing jersey number 17, carries a large tray filled with fried chips. To the left of the mural is a brick wall with a black sign that reads “FISH & CHIPS” in red letters.
A book titled Sistah Samurai: A Champloo Novella rests on a surface. The cover shows a stylized figure in a red kimono holding a katana, with an afro and headband, painted in a bold brushstroke style of red and gray. A small pin featuring a cartoon character with an afro and glasses sits on top of the book. Handwritten text appears near the top edge.
A medium-shot photograph taken inside an art gallery, displaying a framed painting on the left and a dark digital metadata overlay on the right. The painting, rendered in a modernist style with soft, geometric planes and a muted color palette of blues, tans, and browns, depicts a person with brown skin wearing a brimmed straw hat and a light-colored, long-sleeved shirt. The subject is seated and resting their chin thoughtfully on their right hand, with their elbow resting on a surface.
Four pale lavender roses in full bloom, clustered closely together among green leaves, with more softly blurred rose bushes in the sunlit background.
An Indigo colored bird sitting on btanch contrasted against a blue sky
A hand holds two books. The top book is Black in Blues: How a Color Tells the Story of My Body by Imani Perry, featuring an expressive painted portrait in blue and brown tones. Beneath it is The Edge of Space-Time: Particles, Poetry, and the Cosmic Dream Boogie, a minimalist cover with black text and a circular graphic.
A formal meeting in the Oval Office where four people in business attire stand around the Resolute Desk. One person opens a white Apple‑branded box while the others observe. The room’s gold curtains, military flags, and a portrait of Ronald Reagan are visible in the background.
A view from a steel bridge overlooking a calm river lined with autumn trees, with sunlight reflecting on the water and a second bridge visible in the distance.
A full disk image of Earth, as seen from the Orion capsule. The planet is a pale blue, swirling with white clouds and glowing slightly lighter blue in place from reflected light. From about 8 to 9 o'clock, a large brown landmass is Africa, with the Iberian peninsula twinkling with lights just where the planet curves. At the 1 o'clock spot, aurora glow in a thin green glow, just barely separated from the planet's surface. Earth is set against the black of space. Credit: NASA/Reid Weisman
A large outdoor mural painted on a beige brick wall showing a stylized blue‑and‑purple profile of a person facing right, with their hair forming birds, geometric shapes, and floral patterns. Bright flowers in blue, yellow, and red surround the figure, along with a red bird near the shoulder.
A large gray heron stands in shallow water near reeds and driftwood, its long neck extended and orange bill pointed forward as it watches the water.
A red headed wood pecker an a near vertical tree branch
A brown hawk sitting on a branch against a cloudless blue sky
Water fall surrounded by trees with some snow and ice on the ground.
A towering dark figure stands upright in a gallery space, its smooth surface embedded with tiny illuminated points that resemble stars scattered across a night sky. The sculpture’s stance is steady and grounded, with arms relaxed at its sides, and overhead track lighting highlights the glossy, celestial texture. The surrounding room is minimal, drawing full attention to the luminous, cosmic presence of the figure
A vinyl cover of the jazz album A kind of blue, by Miles Davis.
Bronze statue of the words LOVE
A top-down view of three books stacked on a neutral-toned carpet. The primary book in the center is "The Originalism Trap" by Madiba K. Dennie, featuring a white cover with a large red "X" made of two quill pens. Partially tucked behind it to the right is "Fear of a Black Republic" by Leslie M. Alexander, showing a blue and red cover. In the background, a large black hardcover titled "Elizabeth & Margaret" by Andrew Morton is visible.
Two books on medieval history lie side by side on a textured gray fabric. The left book, Oathbreakers by Matthew Gabriele and David M. Perry, features a medieval sword hilt and subtitle about a fraternal war that reshaped Europe. The right book, The Bright Ages, has a blue and gold decorative cover and a glowing review quote from the Boston Globe.
A modern architectural structure with a sweeping arched roof and expansive glass facade, perched on a scenic hillside surrounded by greenery. The building features a curved outdoor deck supported by cylindrical columns and tiered wooden seating inside, where people are gathered in a relaxed, open setting.
Football league table showing statistics for West Ham United, Burnley, and Wolverhampton Wanderers after 15 games, including wins, draws, losses, goal difference, and points.
Guggenheim Museum Bilbao with curving titanium-clad forms, Louise Bourgeois’ spider sculpture “Maman” in front, and colorful balloon sculpture near entrance, set along the Nervión River with cityscape and hills in background.
Exterior of a modern building featuring a stone wall engraved with a poetic quote in large capital letters: “LIVE IN EACH SEASON AS IT PASSES BREATHE THE AIR DRINK THE DRINK AND RESIGN YOURSELF TO THE INFLUENCE OF THE EARTH.” The inscription promotes mindfulness and connection to nature. Adjacent metal siding and glass doors reflect a passerby, with landscaped surroundings and contemporary architecture.
A pair of swans swimming on a lake
Modern high-rise skyscraper with a twisting glass and metal facade, curving dramatically at the base. The building features a geometric canopy with lights, surrounded by trees, other buildings, and a paved street with road markings.
A picture of a basketball player with USA on the front of his jersey. The printed text next to the picture reads "Melo: 'Would be very happy walking away from the game' with three golds Knicks star Carmelo Anthony said that if an NBA title continues to elude him, he "would be very happy walking..." "
White Gothic styled church
Low-angle view of the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C., showcasing its bronze-colored lattice facade inspired by historical ironwork. The cube-shaped building stands against a clear blue sky, with three birds in flight on the left side, adding motion to the serene scene.
A tall chapel with stained glass stretching to the ceiling.
Strained glass windows in a variety of colors. Light is spilling into the church.
Painting of a black woman sitting at a table.
A portrait of of three black women
Settings page for Notepad. It shows Spell check, Autocorrect and Copilot switched off.
Side view of a waterfall, surrounded by trees.
A mosaic of roman gidess in flowing blue robe. Bathed in sunlight and holding a scroll.
DC Metro concrete coffered waffle vault ceiling.
A drop down list with "Froala", "TinyMCE", "NicEdit" and "Text Area" options. "TinyMCE" is selected.
corona-like shape rises dramatically, echoing the silhouette of a Yoruban sculpture.
A button with "Think Deeper" label
A table about 3PT % in the NBA by decade: | **Decade** | **Top 10 Shooters' Avg. 3P%** | **League Avg. 3P%** | |------------|-----------------------------|---------------------| | **1980s** | ~45% | 28.9% | | **1990s** | ~44% | 34.7% | | **2000s** | ~43% | 35.6% | | **2010s** | ~43% | 35.6% | | **2020s** | ~42% | 36.1% |
Eagle sitting in a large nest.
Showing the ticker for NVIDIA at a share price of 118.98 (16.58% drop)
A graph showing StackOverflow usage, in summary: - Steep rise of between 2008-2014 - Stable period 2014-2020 - Gradual decline 2020-2022 - Steep decline from Nov 2022
A screen shot of the "Open Microsoft Edge Developer Tools" dialogue. At the bottom is a check box suggesting that Edge will "Remember my decision"
A man in a gray shirt playing a black bass. Head is nodding vigorously with the beat.
White building in the shape of an infinity symbol sitting on the edge of a lake. There are rows of buildings in the background.
Hawk sitting on a branch looking down toward the ground
Van Gogh Mulberry Tree, lots of vivid colors, the painting is projected onto a wall.
A gigantic red statue that reads the word "ART" set against the Columbus Ohio skyline.
Statue of a woman in a flowing dress and she is holding a child above her head toward the sky.
view overlooking a lake, with white clouds in a blue sky