iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Jennifer Ekstrand @bugsnbuns.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

I know we’re a bit past hobbit day, and it definitely feels like a missed opportunity. (Some of these are from my volunteer tomatoes, some from our CSA box.)

Bowl with lots of small tomatoes and some fresh mozzarella

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Jennifer Ekstrand @bugsnbuns.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Anyone have a favorite yoga nidra recording? (I haven’t done it since Boise, where the library offered a zoom event, but 4 hours of sleep is not getting the job done.)

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Charlie Warzel @cwarzel.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

There is a moment at the very very end of Abdul El-Sayed's podcast with Ezra Klein (book recommendation section) where he talks about the idea of "speaking truth to pain" and this will be staying with me for an extremely long time. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/25/o...

But there’s also something about truth to pain. We talk a lot about truth to power, but I think it’s actually a lot harder to speak truth to pain. I say that as someone who went to medical school, realizing that in a lot of our politics right now, we’ve got to get a lot better at speaking truth to pain if we’re going to get through some of these challenges that we have.

What does “truth to pain” mean?

It’s one thing to look power in the eye and say: You’re wrong about this. But there’s a way in which pain is very difficult to reason with. Because when somebody is in their pain, they’re in their trauma. They see that pain, and they may not see what’s causing it.

I remember just very explicitly being in a trauma ward with a gunshot wound patient and watching this big guy with his hand on his gunshot wound. All the folks are trying to pull his hand off his pain, that point of his gunshot wound, this clear vulnerability.

And this emergency room doctor had the presence of mind to be like: Everyone, stop. And she looks him in the eyes, and she’s like: I get that really hurts, and I’m so sorry that you’re here. You don’t want to be here. We don’t want you to be here. But if you don’t let us fix this, you could die. So I’m going to take your hand, and I’m going to move it off, OK? Because I need to get there so that you can live.

She was speaking truth to pain. He understands he’s at the hospital, he needs care, but he also doesn’t want anybody to touch the wound. Which is a natural thing. And I think it is a really great metaphor for how we think about a lot of these challenges we talked about today.

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Dr. Amy, PsyD 🎃 @dramypsyd.rmh-therapy.com · 30/09/2026

Friends, does anyone know what made this web? It wasn’t there last night and this is one of about five in our back yard this morning. I’m curious.

Spiderweb in a planter. There’s an iron angel decoration and the web goes from the angel’s wings down to the dirt.

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Michael Ekstrand @md.ekstrandom.net · 30/09/2026

Joe Konstan introducing the John T. Riedl Lasting Impact Award at #RecSys2026, recognizing work with a durable impact on the field. Happy to be a part of the committee who selected the first recipient and to carry forward John’s memory and legacy.

A photo of a convention room, with Joe on the stage and a slide with a brief bio summary of John on the slide.

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One of the Sarahs @one-of-the-sarahs.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Who wouldn't wasn't a Frog-legged leaf beetle to join them for coffee/tea?! www.teepublic.com/user/one-of-... #MerchMonday

Screenshot of a TeePublic coffee mug printed with a simple graphic of a shiny green beetle with thick rear legs and the text "Never Skips Leg Day."

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Jennifer Ekstrand @bugsnbuns.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

I’ve been taking advantage of @md.ekstrandom.net’s conference travel to slowly move our weightlifting space upstairs to our bedroom. There was a moment today when I realized that neither space was functional for my workout and I would need to carry weights up stairs in order to lift weights.

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Jennifer Ekstrand @bugsnbuns.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Congratulations! Will the audio eventually be available at libraries? (I assume as an audible exclusive I won’t be able to buy the audiobook elsewhere, but I get confused about just how exclusive their exclusive contracts are.)

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Jennifer Ekstrand @bugsnbuns.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Surgery went well. Will be a while for biopsy results.

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Jennifer Ekstrand @bugsnbuns.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Tegan and her octopus are spending a few hours together at the vet. I found what the vet thinks is probably a melanoma last night. It’s nice that it can come off today, but it requires sedation which is always risky for rabbits.

Tegan, a black lionhead rabbit, snuggled up with a red octopus stuffy

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Chris MacQuarrie @cmacquar.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Resurrecting an old meme in light of finding spotted lanternfly in Canada doe the first time

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Jennifer Ekstrand @bugsnbuns.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

500 day streak on Finch today. It’s remarkable how well this cute little app has helped with self-care for me. If you’re interested in trying it, here’s an invite finch.go.link/16m3L?adj_la... Or my friend code 4XMFHPE8YJ1 if you want to connect

finch.go.link

Finch - Your New Self-Care Best Friend

Meet your new self-care best friend! Finch is a self-care pet app that helps you feel prepared and positive, one day at a time.

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Jennifer Ekstrand @bugsnbuns.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

#CSA so autumnal I can almost smell cinnamon

Food on a table: apples, eggs, peppers, grapes, honey nut squash, cherry tomatoes, tomatoes, more peppers, garlic, butter leaf lettuce, cauliflower

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Jennifer Ekstrand @bugsnbuns.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Love being one of the people who reacts to poison ivy on the wind (and seeing it growing along running routes)

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Jennifer Ekstrand @bugsnbuns.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Do you include Swedish pancakes in your category of crepes?

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Geoff Bowden @geoffbowden.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

One of the biggest failures of universities is some of the lowest hanging fruit. Make the case to communities and states: do you like having doctors and teachers? Bridges and computers? Yes?You can’t have them w/o universities. Universities are for everyone, not just the people who attend them.

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Ben Miller @extinctmonsters.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

Was slumming it on fb and ig to see reactions to the Academy of Natural Sciences closing. It’s heartening that people are pissed. But it’s astonishing/enlightening how little understanding there is of what *any* museum is, who runs them, and how they’re funded. 🧵with dinosaur pics for attention

Museum display corral with cast skeleton of Tenontosaurus being attached by Deinonychus. Three baby Tenontosaurus following.

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Jennifer Ekstrand @bugsnbuns.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

I might be sweating like it’s summer on my run, but the CSA box indicates Fall is coming.

Food on a table: a jar of blueberry jam, eggs, cherry tomatoes, potatoes, onions, fennel, apples, green beans, butternut squash, cubanelle peppers, green tomatoes

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Trung Le Nguyen @trungles.com · 02/09/2026

So Emma Woodhouse is a pretty girl who is pretty smart, pretty rich, and pretty much has no problems whatsoever. We’re off to a roaring start.

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Jennifer Ekstrand @bugsnbuns.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

That’s a pretty compelling blurb.

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Sarah McAnulty, Ph.D. @sarahmackattack.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

Alright everybody, time to text the teachers in your life. The fall semester is open at SkypeAScientist and we are ready to match classrooms, scout troops, library groups, and more with scientists! Tell the educators in your life, and send them to SkypeAScientist.com

A frog uses its comically long tongue to catch a fleeing fly and the words say “send this to a teacher” pointing right. Then under the tongue it says “Skype a scientist matches classrooms with scientists for free Q&As” and there’s a little pond scene with lily pads and spatterdock flowers and a rock with a snail on it and a salamander with the words get a match at Skype scientist.com

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Jennifer Ekstrand @bugsnbuns.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

Thought I was going to get a quick #InverteFest photo when a hover fly started hanging out, but then it kept landing on my phone. Eventually got a photo.

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Jennifer Ekstrand @bugsnbuns.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

By upside down, I mean relative to the card’s fold. Intentionally drawing with an upside down reference is a useful technique, and I probably would have been more accurate that way.

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Jennifer Ekstrand @bugsnbuns.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

Of course I made the sketch upside down 🙃

Photo of Nyssa, a black Rex rabbit, sitting in a cat tree room. The photo is the reference for the sketch

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Jennifer Ekstrand @bugsnbuns.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

Probably just a fly 😉#InverteFest

Blurry photo of a picture wing fly: it has a reddish elongated face and long wings with a geometric pattern

Fuzzy fly that looks like a bee on the corner of a piece of wood

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Jennifer Ekstrand @bugsnbuns.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

The Schuylkill is also not a huge river. Big enough for regattas, but certainly smaller than the Des Moines River. Two years feels like an excessive amount of time to close it for repairs.

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Jennifer Ekstrand @bugsnbuns.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

There is mixed use trail along both sides of the river, but the pedestrian access to the trails is not great. There are bridges, but no safe way to get from the trails to the bridges (or at least not matching to get back to the path on the other side).

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Jennifer Ekstrand @bugsnbuns.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

I encountered six other pedestrians and a few cyclists while crossing Falls Bridge today. A lot of people I see are using it for recreation (which is important!) but some people are just trying to get somewhere.

View from Falls Bridge: a river reflecting sunshine, with trees on either side

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William Shakespeare @shakespeare.lol · 25/08/2026

[Exit Queen.]

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Jennifer Ekstrand @bugsnbuns.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

CSA reminder that baseball isn’t the only good thing found in corn fields.

Food on a table: kale, tomatoes, lettuce, basil, eggs, green beans, corn, cantaloupe, peppers, beets, grapes, watermelon

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Jennifer Ekstrand @bugsnbuns.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

This quote about “a sixth-generation Iowan is less Iowan than an illegal immigrant” bothers me. Iowa is a place not a gene. My family has lived in Iowa for generations. I grew up in Iowa. I’ve rogued corn and exhibited at the State Fair. Anyone currently living there is more Iowan than me.

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Jennifer Ekstrand @bugsnbuns.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

The thread consolidation required a bit more careful reading than my first glance.

Screenshot of this thread, starting with a post about shock collars, then jumping to “one of the reasons I really want an upright freezer in the garage”

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Sarah McAnulty, Ph.D. @sarahmackattack.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

Ecololgists!! This fall, the LEGO league's theme for their annual competition is ecosystems/biodiversity themed. We are going to need *a lot* of ecologists to help meet the demand. If you are willing to have a conversation with k-8 students about ecology, pls sign up here forms.gle/NbxitaXamK7B...

A teacher who is a fish has his fin on his hip and another pointing to the chalkbaord that says "Calling all ecologists skype a scientist needs you!" and a shrimp says "lego league jis coming" and a snail thinks "HELP!" and a seahorse says "This year's theme is ecosystems" and hot fish teacher says "Volunteer to speak with classrooms"

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Katie Mack @astrokatie.com · 17/08/2026

14 hours later and my mentions are still full of angry treatises about badly behaved cyclists. Bike lanes are not a reward for good cyclist behavior! They are infrastructure proven to make cities safer for ALL ROAD USERS. Whatever way cyclists have wronged you is irrelevant to the discussion!

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Jennifer Ekstrand @bugsnbuns.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

She did need more grooming assistance, especially for her face and ears. Age and not having someone to cuddle also made her seek out warm places—we probably would have gotten a heat lamp this autumn.

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Jennifer Ekstrand @bugsnbuns.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

Ten years is a long life for a bun, but not nearly long enough. 💔🌈

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Kate Clancy @kateclancy.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

Jesus fucking Christ covid vax REDUCED miscarriages and stillbirths. Also I'm one of the people who studied menstrual side fx of the covid vax to make sure we didn't invalidate peoples' real experiences, and to better set expectations for side fx. Ultimately the project made me even MORE provax!

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Michael Ekstrand @md.ekstrandom.net · 11/08/2026

“I don’t know what that dark circle is” isn’t what you want to hear when the emergency vet is looking at the ultrasound 😭😭😭.

A black Rex rabbit eating a large piece of green lettuce.

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Jennifer Ekstrand @bugsnbuns.bsky.social · 08/08/2026

Definitely more fun than catching my breath at stoplights.

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