iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Catherine Partsch Conlan @catconlan.net · 21h

my kid has had this theory for years

$A wall calendar of Minnesota Wild players posing with puppies. September is Brock Faber and a golden retriever named Lambeau. Faber is out with a skull fracture. Kid added the caption “another piece of evidence that these calendars are cursed”$

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Catherine Partsch Conlan @catconlan.net · 29/09/2026

Other kid leaned how to do an oil change on this car, and the intricacies of the master cylinder, and then was SO pissed when Covid meant she couldn’t drive it to her prom.

A girl and a man are standing next to the car with its hood up. They’re both wearing jeans and and tshirts and she has a baseball cap and a pony tail. It’s a sunny day in the woods and they don’t know they’re getting their picture taken.

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Catherine Partsch Conlan @catconlan.net · 28/09/2026

the tow guy said “poor ol girl” when he saw it

the burned out totaled husk of a 1970 Chrysler Newport Custom on a tow flatbed. Burned trees, live trees and a gorgeous blue sky

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Catherine Partsch Conlan @catconlan.net · 26/09/2026

last fish weekend of the season at the Earthwood 🥲

Fried lake whitefish filet, fries, an (1) hush puppy, homemade slaw and homemade tartar sauce and a half-full pint of Castle Danger Cream Ale at the bar

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Catherine Partsch Conlan @catconlan.net · 23/09/2026

learned how to drive a skidsteer today: currently sending this to every Operating Engineer I know asking them if I’m doing this right

POV: sitting in a skidsteer seat with a scoop full of rocks held high enough that the driver can put their legs up crossed, as if relaxing, which I am doing in leggings and low top chucks (not OSHA rated). Many Building Trades give Operating Engineers shit for having a cushy job.

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Catherine Partsch Conlan @catconlan.net · 22/09/2026

sometimes the lake reminds me of the Minnesota flag

Gitchigami/Lake Superior looking chunky dark blue with white caps; the sky is a lighter blue and down by the horizon it looks like the light blue on the Minnesota state flag

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Catherine Partsch Conlan @catconlan.net · 21/09/2026

sorry, I heard it and I had to because it almost works

John Mccrae of CAKE with a speech balloon for the quoted post, implying he is singing it -- it almost fits in a verse to the CAKE song "Short Skirt/Long Jacket." ALMOST!!!!

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Catherine Partsch Conlan @catconlan.net · 21/09/2026

On the side is FINE. On a Korean bbq sandwich, fresh and thin sliced? Sure. But this needs to stop.

Menu entry reading SOUTHWEST BACON $16.50
Single smash patty, pickles, pepper jack, fresh jalapeños, thick cut bacon, crispy onions and honey chipotle aioli

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Catherine Partsch Conlan @catconlan.net · 18/09/2026

hey what's the deal with this superstar

Minnesota wild d-man Quinn Hughes looking especially haunted and exhausted and basically ill, or possibly having a holy vision. I know that's just how he is but are we sure he's not a vampire? I mean really sure

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Catherine Partsch Conlan @catconlan.net · 16/09/2026

found the photo, can't find the KD blog post detail. RIP my search history

Brent Burns about 25 years old, grinning shirtless in bed, one tooth missing, outstanding bed head, just a big ol goofball with good shoulders; he would definitely make you some KD if you were hungry

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Catherine Partsch Conlan @catconlan.net · 14/09/2026

I was just thinking about this text I got from my kid a few years back

Trxt exchange

Kid: Uh oh

Me: What

Kid: It's my junior year and I'm discovering Joy Division

No no it's okay — that's a normal development stage.

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Catherine Partsch Conlan @catconlan.net · 14/09/2026

“Tommy Stinson’s living room furniture would never”

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Catherine Partsch Conlan @catconlan.net · 13/09/2026

poutine twice in one week? with this blood pressure??

poutine with a velouté gravy, green onions, tiny diced tomatoes and not-fried cheese curds in a classy hotel restaurant dish on a plate

poutine with brown gravy and fried curds in a basket lined with tissue paper in a townie bar, and a glass of cab sav

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Catherine Partsch Conlan @catconlan.net · 12/09/2026

to be very clear I think crying over monarchs migrating is 100% valid AND ALSO

Screen shot of a tweet from Katie, @psychogf_ at 1:33 p.m., Nov. 22, 2015

Do you ever start crying about something and then the next day you get your period and you're like I knew I wasn't a weak ass bitch

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Catherine Partsch Conlan @catconlan.net · 11/09/2026

my journals are not that compelling, but this did confirm we were at the Nov. 2 show. Also in this entry I mention applying for the job I eventually got in Russia.

“Matt & I went to see Sugar last night. It was cool. Jayhawks (w/him) on Sunday.”

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Catherine Partsch Conlan @catconlan.net · 11/09/2026

old Doonesbury collections continuing to influence young readers

a text from my kid saying “also i'm
watching golfers and this sounds weird but there's one guy who stands exactly like the characters in doonsebury”

a photo of a frame from an early Doonesbury cartoon where Michael says “bonjour, roomie!” and B.D. is standing with a beer and saying “weell, look who’s back!”

B.D. has a 1970s quarterback build and a bit of a beer belly, and he slouches.

My kid texts “like this is him”

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Catherine Partsch Conlan @catconlan.net · 11/09/2026

this is how weird myths get started

night vision trail cam shot of two deer legs. Yes, just two, and yes, just the legs, no body or hoofs or anything. It’s unsettling.

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Catherine Partsch Conlan @catconlan.net · 09/09/2026

There's a gray fox couple that seems to be hanging around and I'm so happy about it. They come to the apple tree in the night to pick around what the deer don't eat and maybe pick off a cottontail or groundhog

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Catherine Partsch Conlan @catconlan.net · 07/09/2026

Klobuchar greeting the corn crew

Klob greeting union members next to an enormous trailer full of corn husks.

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Catherine Partsch Conlan @catconlan.net · 07/09/2026

got my annual hug from Tom Cvar but forgot to take a pic because Peggy showed up.

Minnesota Lt. Gov. and current U.S. Senate candidate Peggy Flanagan and Iron Range Labor Assembly President Tom Cvar standing in a park while people take pictures.

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Catherine Partsch Conlan @catconlan.net · 07/09/2026

Members of Building Trades unions boil A LOT of roasting ears for the Duluth Central Labor Day picnic

Guys in shorts, golf shirts and baseball hats boil corn in big pots outside.

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Catherine Partsch Conlan @catconlan.net · 07/09/2026

Laborers local 1097 dishes up sides at the brat shack at the Iron Range Assembly’s Labor Day picnic in Virginia, Minnesota.

People in Bright, Orange Laborers T-shirts, inside app plywood, shack, dishing up potato salad for people peeking in the window

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Catherine Partsch Conlan @catconlan.net · 07/09/2026

little side quest, haven’t been here in years

Memorial stone for Paul and Sheila Wellstone near Eveleth, Minnesota. It is covered with coins, stones, flags, stickers, pins, and a rebel loon sign.

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Catherine Partsch Conlan @catconlan.net · 07/09/2026

Carlton County Labor Assembly float in the Labor Day parade in Cloquet, Minn. County commissioners Dick Brenner and Marv Bodie are grand marshalls. Dick died last week and is being honored posthumously.

parade float covered in red, white and blue signs and bunting, with a giant Carlton County Labor Assembly seal at the back. People are standing on the float.

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Catherine Partsch Conlan @catconlan.net · 06/09/2026

got this whitefish sandwich from a food truck this afternoon and it utterly defeated me; I had to have a nap to recover

Whitefish sandwich with a little cheese (unnecessary), two large pieces of fried whitefish, some tartar sauce (vivid) on a homemade bun.

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Catherine Partsch Conlan @catconlan.net · 06/09/2026

THE 2ND AMENDMENT PROTECTS THE THE 1ST AMENDMENT

a trailer RV with a tire cover on the spare. The cover has a flag and a couple semiautomatic rifles on it with the words

THE 2ND AMENDMENT

PROTECTS THE

THE 1ST AMENDMENT

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Catherine Partsch Conlan @catconlan.net · 06/09/2026

everyone else in the merc paddock during a red flag at monza: let me sit under a fan in my regular clothes and cool off George, delicately: get me my cooling suit