James Austin

@jamestaustin

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

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Bluesky

gamer

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James Austin@jamestaustin· 12d

A picture of the muppet Gonzo in a sweater vest and a tie

James Austin@jamestaustin· 15d

The meme from the good place that usually says “Jason figured it out?!” But the text is “we got swept by the Rockies? The Colorado Rockies?!?! This is a real low point…yeah this one hurts”

James Austin@jamestaustin· 19d

Couldn’t catch its whistle stop in Greeley today (headed to GenCon) but had time to see Big Boy steaming out of Denver this morning.

James Austin@jamestaustin· 21d

A text survey asking "What's going on?" with the possible answers:
"It's annoying or not interesting"
"I'm in this photo and I don't like it"
"I think it shouldn't be on Facebook"
"It's spam"
and the "I'm in this photo and I don't like it" option is selected.

James Austin@jamestaustin· 22d

First time at EAA #AirVenture was amazing!! So many cool aircraft!

A Navy Corsair airplane flys low to the right over a runway while a red Camaro convertible crosses in front and a man sits in the back waving to the crowd.

A silver B-52 bomber flying from right to left against a dark cloudy sky

Four planes of the UK’s Red Arrow flight demonstration team flying single file while trailing red, white, and, blue smoke against a pale blue sky.

A smiling woman in sunglasses stands in front of a white propeller airplane that looks like it’s smiling and photobombing her.

James Austin@jamestaustin· Jun 27

A screenshot of the Royals White Sox game. Top of the eighth, no outs, and a score of Royals: 1
White Sox: 22

James Austin@jamestaustin· Jun 25

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

James Austin@jamestaustin· Jun 11

The sports are on Bluesky:

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

James Austin@jamestaustin· Jun 3

This map is pure AI-slop nonsense, and not for nothing but that's Missouri bud.

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

James Austin@jamestaustin· May 22

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”

James Austin@jamestaustin· Apr 24

Me every time I come back to NYC:

A shot of Gordon Ramsey looking down with a caption “Finally, some good fucking food”

A slice of pepperoni pizza on a white paper plate.

A toasted everything bagel in a white Utopia Bagels wrapper

Dumplings in a red sauce with a mound is spices and some cilantro on top.

James Austin@jamestaustin· Apr 21

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—“

James Austin@jamestaustin· Apr 19

Ben Aflac sadly smoking a cigarette outside

James Austin@jamestaustin· Feb 27

I can't explain why but it's giving this energy:

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?"

James Austin@jamestaustin· Jan 30

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”

James Austin@jamestaustin· Jan 15

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??"

James Austin@jamestaustin· Oct 20

Don't wanna steal @rincewind.run's bit but this feels like an applicable (if long) Terry Pratchett QOTD:

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.”

James Austin@jamestaustin· Sep 23

Every Royals fan watching our boy Freddy take his team to the postseason:

The "Squidward watching Patrick and Spongebob through his window" meme image.

James Austin@jamestaustin· Sep 18

Got to see the #KCRoyals win live for the first time (after seeing them lose as visitors in five separate MLB stadiums). And on TTRPG night of all nights!

A selfie of me with a giant scoreboard screen in the background that reads “Royals WIN!”

A shot of a purple clouded sunset over left field in Kauffman stadium

James Austin@jamestaustin· Sep 2

Always down to chat about game stuff!! As a quick treat, here are some pretty math rocks I got as groomsmen gifts for my upcoming wedding:

James Austin@jamestaustin· Aug 6

New helmet bling! Courtesy of @drvarg01.bsky.social and his wonderful cycling newsletter Leg Day legday.substack.com

James Austin@jamestaustin· Aug 2

Saw some Dimension 20 Starstruck characters at GenCon today!

A picture of a cosplayer dressed as Sundry Sydney, a character from the Dimension 20 season A Starstruck Odyssey.

A picture of a cosplayer dressed as Plug, a character from the Dimension 20 season A Starstruck Odyssey, with his Butt Ugly Stuff Hut included.

James Austin@jamestaustin· Aug 1

GenCon day one step count:

A screenshot of the Apple Firness app showing 12,861 steps and 6.14 miles walked.

James Austin@jamestaustin· Jun 3

Just a fantastic series of posts to see in the Skyline:

James Austin@jamestaustin· May 12

I think Douglas Adams had it right in this respect. If aliens landed on Earth tomorrow, they'd first try to liaise with cars.

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."

James Austin@jamestaustin· Apr 22

It took me until reading this exact paragraph in the lovely @rcmacleod.bsky.social article about the game (aftermath.site/blue-prince-...) to realize that "Blue Prince" is a pun.

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?"

James Austin@jamestaustin· Mar 15

💪💪 Me and some other random Strava user are in a fight and I am currently winning!

A screenshot of an email from the Strava app congratulating me for gaining Local Legend status in my neighborhood

James Austin@jamestaustin· Mar 7

This Orlando Sentinel email subject line really getting to the point. www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/03/06/s... (It went on to say "lost during test flight" but feel like that was a bit redundant.)

A screenshot of an email subject line reading "Breaking: Another SpaceX Starship

James Austin@jamestaustin· Feb 23

New personal best distance!

A screenshot of the Strava app showing a 29.24 mile ride in Denver Colorado

James Austin@jamestaustin· Feb 8

The world is cruel and scary but also riding a bike in good weather is nice.