iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Alex Weldon @alexweldon.bsky.social · 17h

Ornithologists and neuroscientists may finally be closing in on the nature of magnetic navigation in pigeons, planarians, and other animals big and small. It has taken half a century to do this, even knowing what we're looking for. What else don't we know? alexweldon.substack.com/p/pigeons-do...

alexweldon.substack.com

Pigeons Don’t Care About Your ‘Five Senses’

The science of perception is hard, okay?

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Alex Weldon @alexweldon.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Ever wanted to be one of those insufferable showoffs who can do cryptics? Well, now you can! alexweldon.substack.com/p/sunday-cha...

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Alex Weldon @alexweldon.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

It's becoming a recurring theme in my pigeon-posting to say I think realism ain't all that. It's not that I dislike realism, though, but that I see it as a means to an end, not a goal in its own right. alexweldon.substack.com/p/whats-the-...

alexweldon.substack.com

What’s the Fuss About Realism?

What the real world can and can’t do for your art, whatever your art may be

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Alex Weldon @alexweldon.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Hallucinations, delusions, and superstitions can arise from perfectly rational processes. They're the inevitable byproducts of any system that demands an answer from partial information that may or may not contain it. Often, that's worth the risk. alexweldon.substack.com/p/delusional...

alexweldon.substack.com

Delusional Pigeons, Bullshitting Dudebros, and Hallucinating Machines

Why pattern recognition goes wrong, and what we can do about it

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Alex Weldon @alexweldon.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Do you like doing Connections puzzles, like in the New York Times? Well, you'll hate this one, because someone's already solved it. Boo. The actual challenge is to find an alternative grouping in which all the groups but one follow the same pattern. alexweldon.substack.com/p/sunday-cha...

alexweldon.substack.com

Sunday Challenge: Missed Connections

With apologies to the New York Times

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Alex Weldon @alexweldon.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Just as nutmeg and cinnamon can evoke pumpkins, even in the absence of actual pumpkins, these beef ribs evoke toasting marshmallows over a campfire. According to my wife, anyway, who insisted I write up the recipe. alexweldon.substack.com/p/the-pidgin...

alexweldon.substack.com

The Pidgin Kitchen: Marshmallow Ribs

Neither marshmallows nor pigeons were harmed in the making of this smoker recipe

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Alex Weldon @alexweldon.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

The latest from the Pidgin Kitchen is this beef rib that Ronit called a “Marshmallow Rib.” Just as Pigeon Pie contains no pigeons, the Marshmallow Rib is devoid of marshmallow, but does have a toasted sweetness, soft texture, and campfire smokiness.

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Alex Weldon @alexweldon.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Anyone can have a pigeon these days, if they want to. And that's the reason most people don't. Taste in art is changing — I would say regressing – for related reasons that I expand on in this article. alexweldon.substack.com/p/the-death-...

alexweldon.substack.com

The Death of the Dovecote

What the history of pigeons can tell us about the future of art

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Alex Weldon @alexweldon.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

A nice, not-so-easy crossword puzzle to occupy you this fine Sunday. Also, answers to last week's Birds on a Wire puzzle, which no one attempted. alexweldon.substack.com/p/sunday-cha...

alexweldon.substack.com

Sunday Challenge — Pigeonhole Mini #1

A roost for the flock?

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Alex Weldon @alexweldon.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

There are so many more types of games today than there were fifty years ago that the word is starting to lose its meaning. How should we go about classifying games so that we can talk about differences in design philosophy and manage player expectations? alexweldon.substack.com/p/the-compas...

alexweldon.substack.com

The Compass of Games

Or, Why It’s Okay to Play Chess With a Pigeon

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Alex Weldon @alexweldon.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Pâté chinois is neither Chinese nor a pastry. The blé d'inde that differentiates it from other cottage pies is neither wheat, nor from India. In the same spirit, this "Pigeon Pie" contains no pigeons, but is a nod at pidgin languages and common culture. alexweldon.substack.com/p/the-pidgin...

alexweldon.substack.com

The Pidgin Kitchen: Pigeon Pie

No pigeons were harmed in the making of this vaguely Jamaican take on Québecois cottage pie.

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Alex Weldon @alexweldon.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Sunday Funday! At least, if your idea of fun is the same as mine. alexweldon.substack.com/p/sunday-cha... There's something here for everyone. A simple game to play, but also a test of your reasoning skills based on that game, if you're into something more brain-burning.

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Alex Weldon @alexweldon.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

To pick on someone is to peck at them, etymologically speaking. But it isn't always the biggest pecker that leads the flock. What can pigeons teach us about quiet leadership? alexweldon.substack.com/p/picking-on...

alexweldon.substack.com

Picking on the Pecking Order

On etymology and the quiet leadership of pigeons.

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Reposted by Alex Weldon

Trevor A. Branch @trevorabranch.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

This is seismic news for fisheries scientists. Northern cod is *the* iconic symbol of total fisheries collapse due to overfishing (and other factors) *and* the iconic symbol of a complete failure to recover for decades afterwards. This is like announcing the complete recovery of bison on land.

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Alex Weldon @alexweldon.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

As of today, I'm no longer a gambling journalist. My new thing is... pigeons. Why pigeons? Well, you'll have to read this post. Welcome to the Pigeonhole. alexweldon.substack.com/p/welcome-to...

alexweldon.substack.com

Welcome to the Pigeonhole

An introductory post, a quick lesson in SEO, a bit of family history... and also pigeons.

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Alex Weldon @alexweldon.bsky.social · 17/05/2026

** MONTEBELLO DAY 2026 ANNOUNCEMENT ** Everyone's favorite annual start-of-summer BBQ is scheduled for June 13, four weeks from now minus a day. I've created an event on FB and sent a message to the old group chat here, etc. but if you know anyone who needs an invite, tag them.

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Reposted by Alex Weldon

Sophie Labelle @assignedmale.bsky.social · 13/09/2025

The Groyper Wars

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Alex Weldon @alexweldon.bsky.social · 12/08/2025

Already looks like a lot less smoke from here at least.

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Alex Weldon @alexweldon.bsky.social · 12/08/2025

Can see the water bomber fighting the fire from my office window, with the benefit of a telephoto lens and some dehazing in Photoshop.

Smoke from a forest fire hangs over the view toward Bayer's Lake from Dartmouth East. The silhouette of a water bomber can be seen flying through the smoke. Cars drive on a highway in the foreground.

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Alex Weldon @alexweldon.bsky.social · 28/07/2025

A guy and his dogs motorboating around at Polly's Cove.

Small motorboat driving through a narrow straight. Rocky island in the background, covered in scrub. A lone man pilots the boat with two dogs on on board.

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Alex Weldon @alexweldon.bsky.social · 28/07/2025

Calm day at the Northumberland Strait last weekend.

Calm, shallow ocean with a sandy, orange bottom. Blue sky with wispy clouds above. Pictou Island barely visible in the extreme distance.

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Alex Weldon @alexweldon.bsky.social · 28/07/2025

Salt Marsh Trail a few weeks ago

Sunset on the Salt Marsh Trail. Orange and blue light, mirrorlike water, pine covered island with sharp reflection.

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Alex Weldon @alexweldon.bsky.social · 06/07/2025

Sorry. It was confusing this year being a month later than usual.

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Alex Weldon @alexweldon.bsky.social · 05/07/2025

Weather’s looking great for tomorrow! I’ve got two big pieces of sirloin cap, one already in the sous vide and the other to smoke. Will also be making the usual crowd-pleasing chicken thighs and pulled pork.

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Alex Weldon @alexweldon.bsky.social · 04/07/2025

No entry for “candlemaker”?

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Alex Weldon @alexweldon.bsky.social · 04/07/2025

I had some high 60s going for the immediate landing but decided I’d have to throw some style on it to beat you

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Reposted by Alex Weldon

Virgil Abt @abtnatural.bsky.social · 04/07/2025

Incredible scene. FBI: Do you like Marx? Mhmood Mamdani: I haven’t met him. FBI: No, no, he’s dead. MM: Wow, what happened? FBI: No, no, he died long ago. ... He wrote that poor people should not be poor. MM: Sounds amazing. www.warscapes.com/conversation...

BS: How was that? How long were you in jail?

MM: One night. They let you make one phone call, and I called the Ugandan Ambassador in Washington, DC, talked to him, and he said, “What are you doing interfering in the affairs of a foreign country?” I said, “What? We just got our independence! This is the same struggle. Have you forgotten?” Anyway, he got me out. Two or three weeks later, I was in my room. There was a knock at the door. Two gentlemen in trench coats and hats said, “FBI.” I thought, “Wow, just like on television.” They sat down. They were there to find out why I had gone – because this turned out to be big – it is after Montgomery that King organized his march on Selma. They wanted to know who had influenced me. After one hour of probing, the guy said, “Do you like Marx?”

I said, “I haven’t met him.”

Guy said, “No, no, he’s dead.”

“Wow, what happened?”

“No, no, he died long ago.”

I thought the guy Marx had just died. So then, “Why are you asking me if he died long ago?”

“No, he wrote a lot. He wrote that poor people should not be poor.”

I said, “Sounds amazing.”

I’m giving you a sense of how naïve I was. After they left, I went to the library to look for Marx. So that was my introduction to Karl Marx.

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Alex Weldon @alexweldon.bsky.social · 02/07/2025

Yeah, you definitely want to do the full loop, as the tip is the nicest part.

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Alex Weldon @alexweldon.bsky.social · 02/07/2025

Neat. Haven’t tried that one yet, I guess because it’s far enough up that way that I’d normally press on a little further than do Taylor Head.

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Alex Weldon @alexweldon.bsky.social · 27/06/2025

(And Polk’s quip about ICM being the road to being a pussy is an even less technical way of saying the same thing.)

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Alex Weldon @alexweldon.bsky.social · 27/06/2025

“Future game” is just a less technical way of saying “its own second-order effects” in this context. ICM doesn’t take into account how ICM considerations will impact future decisions. Taking that into account would usually have you revising ICM effects downward somewhat.

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Alex Weldon @alexweldon.bsky.social · 27/06/2025

(Still better to play for ICM than straight cEV but the real answer is probably somewhere between the two.)

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Alex Weldon @alexweldon.bsky.social · 27/06/2025

The problem with ICM is that it doesn’t consider its own second-order effects. When people are playing for ICM, the average cEV of decisions goes down for small stacks and big stacks are the beneficiaries of that. So there is added value to extra chips partially counteracting the ICM pressure.

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Alex Weldon @alexweldon.bsky.social · 23/06/2025

Likely two full-time jobs and one part-time, but the part-time one requires a strong grasp on poker strategy, breaking down high-stakes hands. The other two are contributing editor positions and a more general skill set.

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Alex Weldon @alexweldon.bsky.social · 23/06/2025

I'm soon going to need some editorial help at PokerScout and related sites. A few roles are available. An ideal candidate would have experience as a reporter, an editor, and a poker player, but any smart person with research and writing skills will be considered. Hit me up.

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Alex Weldon @alexweldon.bsky.social · 23/06/2025

** MONTEBELLO / “NON-TEBELLO” DAY REMINDER ** The annual barbecue was delayed a month and will be on July 5, starting around 4 PM. All are welcome. If it’s your first time or you forgot the address, shoot me a message.

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Alex Weldon @alexweldon.bsky.social · 13/06/2025

Despite denying US involvement, Trump has attempted to play up the value of the Israeli attack as leverage in negotiations with Iran. Political analysts have tended to reach the opposite conclusion, and speculators likewise seem inclined to call his bluff. www.pokerscout.com/israel-iran-...

pokerscout.com

Predictions Betting Exchanges Pounce on Israel-Iran Conflict

Crypto predictions exchange Polymarket has 30 propositions related to the Iran-Israel conflict. Odds of a US-Iran deal plunged overnight.

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Reposted by Alex Weldon

Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò @olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social · 10/06/2025

from "Classical Studies memes for Hellenistic teens" on FB

Plato's Cave allegory, illustrated. the shadows on the cave wall are captioned "increasingly insane and extreme positions", the prisoners labeled "internet users", the figures holding the shadow's shapes labeled "algorithms", the fire labeled "random internet users expressing their idiosyncratic beliefs". the space above the cave is labeled "literally just outside" and the philosopher freed from the chains of the physical world labeled "guy who logs off"

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Alex Weldon @alexweldon.bsky.social · 25/05/2025

I think I’ll you’re observing is that identity is fluid, not that it doesn’t exist. This is true on all scales. You’re still you even if you’re very unlike your six year-old self in many ways. “Civilization” existed in 1225 as in 2025 but it’s a better version of itself now etc.

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