iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

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Janice Braden, Associate Member of EU @janicebraden.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

I’m not sure we would be happy to know how compromised the back end of the Canadian government’s digital footprint is housed and driven from the US. Cory Doctorow says it is substantial, esp since the AI push.

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Aleeza Gerstein @acgerstein.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

As seen in rural Manitoba. 🇨🇦❤️

A sign that says
Hot food
Cold drinks
Tackle
Cannabis!

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By Cory Doctorow (GPG 0xBF3D9110957E5F4C) @doctorow.pluralistic.net · 24/08/2026

By repealing Bill C-11 and legalizing reverse-engineering and modification of digital technology with consent of its users and in accordance with privacy, consumer and labour rights, Canada will gain a devastating counter to Trump's tariffs. 53/

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Canadian History Ehx @cdnhistoryehx.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

On Aug. 18, 1964, The Beatles landed on Canadian soil for the first time. They didn't land in Toronto, Montreal or Vancouver. It was Winnipeg. And their visit there was a massive event for locals. This is the story. 🧵 1/9

Four members of the Beatles—John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr—standing on an airplane staircase, dressed in suits and ties from the 1960s. John Lennon, on the left, wears sunglasses and raises his left hand in a wave, while Paul McCartney, second from the left, smiles and waves with his right hand. George Harrison, second from the right, makes a playful face with his mouth open and hand near his face, and Ringo Starr, on the right, holds his jacket and looks forward. The black-and-white photo captures them against a clear sky, with a metal railing visible in the foreground.

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Jess McLaughlin, PhD (they/them) @jfmclaughlin92.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

okay y'all, im losing my mind here so time to ask for help- can a German speaker who can decipher old cursive make sense of of the info about the parents on this birth record?

Three cells of an old birth record from Bohemia. I would transcribe what it says, but that is sort of the crux of the issue here

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Didi is a trans immigrant 🏳️‍⚧️ @didichanoch.northsky.social · 08/08/2026

It's gonna be our first Saturday at the bookstore! On one hand, more people can visit due to not working. On the other hand, people here apparently have things called "cabins" where they go on summer weekends. So I guess we'll see how it goes!

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Aleeza Gerstein @acgerstein.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

This deserves to be ratio’d and I’m very disappointed that hasn’t happened. What f-ing myth are you speaking of in the year 2026? This isn’t the 1990s (where this was also proved as utter BS). #LillithFair @rollingstone.com - Do better.

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Witch Doctor @witchdoctor.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

Millennials don’t have houses because we’re eating genderfluid avocado toast 🧪

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Colin Duggan 🇨🇦 @bailefios.ca · 20/07/2026

Canadians are so good at forest management we have a national music video explaining how our woodsmen get the work done and still have time to dance and get laid… I’d like to see an American try to be that talented.

youtu.be

CANADA VIGNETTES: LOG DRIVER'S WALTZ | Full Animated Film | National Film Board of Canada

YouTube video by NFB

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Katie Mack @astrokatie.com · 17/07/2026

Probably more helpful to think of them not so much as “Canadian wildfires” but rather “climate change wildfires currently consuming Canada”

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Richard Price 🇨🇦 @voscovery.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

For the Carney climate doubters the new PMOs CEO was his right hand person GFANZ. Her role is to align capital and drive net zero governance and data tracking into every aspect of Canada and harmonize with global carbon reduction initiatives. davidmclaughlin2025.substack.com/p/coo-for-pm...

davidmclaughlin2025.substack.com

COO for PMO Announced

Now do this for PCO and the public service as a whole.

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Aleeza Gerstein @acgerstein.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

For transparency around rejection, add me to the list of Canadians who never had a grant that wasn't streamlined (triaged) at CIHR during the ECR period. I only bought three tickets, but was stuck in the 50-75% bin. Will do a big rewrite and resubmit to a different panel in the fall. 1/2

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Johnny “Euro Hoser” Renton @johnnyrenton.bsky.social · 05/07/2026

This petition, demanding that the Feds regulate AI data centres to the degree they should be (and the way most big tech should have been over the past 20 years), is worth signing. The grifters, criminals & bandits behind AI will steal our energy, public money and more if they aren’t held to account

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Aleeza Gerstein @acgerstein.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

How insane it would be if Canada won on the 4th of July. 🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦

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By Cory Doctorow (GPG 0xBF3D9110957E5F4C) @doctorow.pluralistic.net · 25/06/2026

It's not often that someone on a panel says something that makes my jaw drop, but that's what happened earlier this week when the moderator of a panel I was on in Toronto described jailbreaking an iPhone as "rampant theft of IP." 1/

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Brian Pincott @bpincott.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

The crisis continues. My partner had to administer nakoxone to someone unconscious & unresponsive on our front porch today. It was the 2nd person that had to be dosed this afternoon on our block. Yes, #wpgpoli, this is a community crisis. #winnipeg #manitoba #drugcrisis

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Scott Billeck @scottbilleck.bsky.social · 12/06/2026

Wasted time. open.substack.com/pub/scottbil...

Aleeza Gerstein @acgerstein.bsky.social · 11/06/2026

I’ve been rereading Persepolis. If you never read it, do it now. If you read it before, I highly recommend the reread. It was a powerful read in the early 2000s, in 2026 even more so.

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Dave Jorgenson @davejorgenson.bsky.social · 23/05/2026

Colbert guest hosted a public access TV show in Monroe, Michigan a day after the Late Show ended. Guest star: Jeff Daniels Special appearance by: Eminem Musical director: Jack White Genius. youtu.be/jJTXB5uT_C4?...

youtu.be

Only In Monroe --- May 22, 2026

YouTube video by Stephen Colbert

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Aleeza Gerstein @acgerstein.bsky.social · 21/05/2026

Apparently, I have discovered how to age in reverse, and undergrad me is giving a keynote at CanFunNet this year! I'm biased in many ways, but this is a wonderful, trainee-centred, online (inclusive) meeting. Not just for Canadians or those in Canada ;-) Register today!

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Jacquelyn Gill @jacquelyngill.bsky.social · 15/05/2026

Today, the University of Maine's Vice Chancellor for Finance and Strategic AI Integration (who made $243,000 last year) sent UMaine campuses an announcement that we have partnered with OpenAI with a contract for ChatGPT Edu. I sent him the following questions:

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Amelia McNamara @amelia.mn · 15/05/2026

Today I'm at Data Tech from MinneAnalytics, hosted by Best Buy. datatech2026.sched.com Starting the morning attending a panel about the data science and AI job market. #DataTech2026

datatech2026.sched.com

Data Tech 2026 Schedule

Check out the schedule for Data Tech 2026

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Aleeza Gerstein @acgerstein.bsky.social · 01/05/2026

One more #SCEECSEE20 grad memory, from Banff, 2011. We were staying in a much fancier hotel than most of us grad students were used to. We knew it was fancy because we were given robes. So one night we did the obvious thing and had a raucous robe party. A much delayed sorry to whoever was next door.

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Aleeza Gerstein @acgerstein.bsky.social · 30/04/2026

I secretly snuck into the first #SCEECSEE20 meeting! I had just come back from six months of backpacking and landed in Toronto a couple of days beforehand. @ariannealbert.bsky.social I subsequently attended and paid for (well, @sarperotto.bsky.social grants paid for) many more in grad school. 1/2

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Aleeza Gerstein @acgerstein.bsky.social · 27/04/2026

Bottom left is my desktop. It’s what I see when I waken my laptop. It still makes me gape in wonder every time.

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Aleeza Gerstein @acgerstein.bsky.social · 17/04/2026

In the words of my grumpy first born during the walk to school: winter and spring are fighting and winter is winning.

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Aleeza Gerstein @acgerstein.bsky.social · 14/04/2026

It is depressing to live in a province purportedly governed by the NDP and a country by the Liberals and yet to be continually subjected to a near full slate of fiscal conservative policies at both jurisdictional levels. #mbpoli #canpoli

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Jess Calarco @jessicacalarco.com · 13/04/2026

Same goes for every "genius" academic or scholar.

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Aleeza Gerstein @acgerstein.bsky.social · 13/04/2026

everything I want to do on my computer seems to be getting harder and Microsoft autoupdate somehow got turned back on and I don’t want to use AI to summarize any goddamn thing in a PDF and is there a name for post moon joy depression that enshittification is real and it doesn’t have to be this way?

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Guy Gavriel Kay @guygavrielkay.bsky.social · 09/04/2026

So, @mcnallyrobinson.com in Winnipeg are one of my true ‘home bookstores’ and they now offer free shipping anywhere in Canada for orders of $50 and up. I just placed another order and thought I’d alert others they can do this. They’re great. I sign there with every book release. Happy reading.

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Aleeza Gerstein @acgerstein.bsky.social · 07/04/2026

The only good part of this is that I’m now following most of the other people who negatively quote posted it 😝

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Shannon Proudfoot @sproudfoot.bsky.social · 06/04/2026

It's really worth watching the moment when Jeremy Hansen suggests that a crater on the moon - a "bright spot" we'll be able to see from earth - be named Carroll for Carroll Taylor Wiseman, the late wife of commander Reid Wiseman. www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1Cw...

youtube.com

Crew of Artemis II share an emotional moment after naming new crater after a lost loved one

YouTube video by CTV News

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Aleeza Gerstein @acgerstein.bsky.social · 06/04/2026

I am simultaneously thrilled (and pulled K1 out of class to watch the record being broken and craters being named) and utterly depressed that the world is mostly just carrying on as if this crazy amazing awesome inspiring (pun intended) feat of science and humanity isn’t happening. #Artemis

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askpippa.bsky.social @askpippa.bsky.social · 06/04/2026

Not a single TV station or network, that I can find on our set, has dedicated time to live broadcasting this historic #Artemis Moon fly. Lots of exciting things happening that would make great TV. How can we encourage science culture if we don't make things like this exciting? #CBC #CBS #CTV #Global

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Aleeza Gerstein @acgerstein.bsky.social · 06/04/2026

“Negative observations are still science”. Yes!!! #artemis

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Kate @rin-doodles.bsky.social · 04/04/2026

Oh, cool - the NDP is helping to combat phone spam.... ...Oh nevermind, they are giving taxpayer money to a company run by MB Conservatives so insurance companies can more easily use AI to spam my phone. Lovely. www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

cbc.ca

Manitoba NDP government loans $475K to Winnipeg AI call-screening company | CBC News

Manitoba's NDP government has provided financial support to another private business, this time in the provincial tech sector. Premier Wab Kinew's cabinet authorized a $475,000 loan to JasperVOCAL, a ...

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Julie Penner @julespenner.bsky.social · 29/03/2026

I’m at the Junos this weekend (yay, Canadian music!) and talked to a music organization whose funding was just drastically cut. The money is now going to defence spending. I expect to hear many of these stories in the coming weeks and months.

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Aleeza Gerstein @acgerstein.bsky.social · 29/03/2026

Tl;dr 8 million dollars to create a parallel road beside the existing road to stop non-existent illegal people crossing the human constructed line between Alberta and Montana. As an underfunded scientist all I can do is laugh at our collective stupidity.

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Dr Sarah Kidd @thefunguskidd.bsky.social · 24/03/2026

Dermatophyte enthusiasts, I recently read that a second ITS sequence type of T.indotineae had been identified. But can I find it now? Of course not! Can someone help me out? @drjorhodes.com @arnaudjabet.bsky.social @fhagen.bsky.social @aabdolra.bsky.social @sarah-delliere.bsky.social

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Monica H Green @monicamedhist.bsky.social · 16/03/2026

Absolutely essential reading for anyone considering those "unicorn" hiring positions in Canada. Observations from researchers who are already there: www.nature.com/articles/d41... 🧪

nature.com

The problem with Canada’s plan to buy scientific prestige

The government’s plans to poach 100 US researchers might make good economic sense. But what about the existing community?

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Dr. Lucky Tran @luckytran.com · 09/03/2026

Belated happy international women’s day!

Apgar scores came from a woman.
m&NA vacinces came from a woman.
CRISPR gene editing came from a woman.
Modern nursing came from a woman.
Hospital sanitation standards came from a woman.
Leukemia chemotherapy drugs came from a woman.
Malaria treatment breakthroughs came from a woman.
Hormone blood tests came from a woman.
Disposable medical syringes came from a woman.
Antifungal antibiotics came from a woman.
DNA structure imaging came from a woman.
Genetic "jumping genes" came from a woman.
Stem cell isolation came from a woman.
Medical statistics in hospitals came from a woman.
Pediatric anesthesia safety came from a woman.
Life-saving vaccine research came from a woman.
Cells used for modern medical research came from a woman.
Breakthroughs in human genetics came from a woman.
You came from a woman.
Women in Medicine

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Aleeza Gerstein @acgerstein.bsky.social · 08/03/2026

Thanks for writing this! I’ll be adding a link to it in my lab handbook and on the website for my undergrad scientific writing course.

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Nick Sousanis @nsousanis.bsky.social · 06/01/2026

In case anyone needs it for their syllabi, my statement in gen-Ai from the minicomic I made as a syllabus for class last semester. All online and printable here spinweaveandcut.com/fall-2025-sy...

a snippet of a mini-comic, at top - straight line stretches from point A to B. Immediately below, same dot at A, then becomes a curving, meandering line that winds through the page and ends at a point with rays and a question mark emanating from it. Text reads: "Nothing can do this for you - for that robs you of experience and conflates answers with learning. Rather, it's all the decisions you make along the way, the mistakes, struggles, and surprises! These pathways you create - this is learning.

https://spinweaveandcut.com/fall-2025-syllabi/

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DMartin @drddom.bsky.social · 06/03/2026

So my CIHR is submitted & I highly doubt that it will be funded...I think we'll be lucky if it's discussed. But let me tell you why I'm still excited about it & proud of it.

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