iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Derek John Boczkowski @derekboczkowski.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Here's the conclusion of the article Cruz links to that says the opposite of what he claims is says about Writing-to-Learn studies. It's as if he asked an AI bot to find him a study about WTL that included the word "inconclusive."

Text from the article Cruz cites as evidence against learning coming from writing:

7. Conclusion

We have outlined five recent trends in the evolution of research on WTL. The first has been the adoption of increasingly sophisticated analytical tools as a means of critically evaluating theories and practices. Early work on WTL was comprised of theoretically driven claims as well as individual experiments, which produced varied and inconclusive results. During the past decade, researchers have used meta-analysis to objectively integrate the results of multiple studies. At the same time, meta-analysis has been used to identify the instructional variables and student characteristics that moderate the effects of writing on learning. Methods such as path analysis have been used to investigate the psychological processes and text characteristics that mediate the effects of writing on learning. The result has been a consensus that writing contributes significantly to learning with effects that, on average, are small to medium in size; however, these effects can be increased, depending on the extent to which moderator variables are mobilized.

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Derek John Boczkowski @derekboczkowski.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Yes, was just coming her to share this! Makes one wonder if Cruz let AI do the source gathering here. From the article:

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Derek John Boczkowski @derekboczkowski.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

Ah, that's the pic that was used for his 1976 Topps card!

1976 Topps baseball card of Nolan Ryan. The card has a whiteboard with two stripes at the bottom. The first one is pink with the name of the player "Nolan Ryan" in it. The second one is yellow, and has the words "pitcher" and "Angels," the team name, in it. There's a drawing of a baseball pitcher above the word "pitcher." the same photo from the original post is above the stripes, making up most of the card. It shows Nolan Ryan in the dugout with his hat, lifted slightly off his head.

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Derek John Boczkowski @derekboczkowski.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

He could use those legs to kick the abomination that is the Puffy Bear off the bed. www.puffybear.com

A creepy man-sized Teddy bear dressed in a t-Hirt and sweats is lying on its back and is intertwined with a woman, casually dressed, who has spooned into the bear, wrapping its right arm around her and tucking one of her legs between the two legs of the bear. the bear’s legs are crossed at the ankles. They are lying on a bed with way too many pillows.

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Derek John Boczkowski @derekboczkowski.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

Do we finally get an answer to Tom's question? Was it Spike?

A gif of the moment from MST3k's Eegah episode, where as the three characters being to move deeper off the road into the desert, a dubbed-over voice warns, "Watch out for snakes" and Tom Servo, in the MST3K theater, queries, "Who said that?"

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Derek John Boczkowski @derekboczkowski.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

With apologies to Harris Teeter and McGarth Darby . . . @scottaukerman.bsky.social , @pftompkins.bsky.social, Andy Daly: name a more iconic trio! Got to see @cbbworld.bsky.social in London tonight!

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Derek John Boczkowski @derekboczkowski.bsky.social · 19/07/2026

You’re not going to like this, as it’s from Wikipedia, but it’s sourced, and from your presence on here, I believe that this wouldn’t be problematic for you anyway. But it should be.

Text from Wikipedia:

UN Watch is a pro-Israel lobby group, 9161718) and primarily denounces what it views as anti-Israel sentiment at the UN and UN-sponsored events. 91[10]
The organisation also denounces human rights abuses including in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Darfur, China, Cuba, Russia and Venezuela, often using its allotted time at the UNHRC to allow for dissidents and human rights activists to speak.

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Derek John Boczkowski @derekboczkowski.bsky.social · 19/07/2026

Lisa, this screenshot is from the link you just provided, which supports the Wikipedia entry the other person posted:

Text from screenshot (I highlighted the last clause, “”though it is not in force elsewhere in Palestine.”

Summary
Same-sex sexual activity is prohibited in Gaza under the British Mandate Criminal Code Ordinance 1936. The relevant provision carries a maximum penalty of ten years' imprisonment. Only men are criminalised under this law.
The law was inherited from the British. It continues to be in operation in Gaza today, though it is not in force elsewhere in Palestine.

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Derek John Boczkowski @derekboczkowski.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

That’s what happens when you only collect petition signatures from billionaires en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013_Bo...

Text from the 2013 Boston Mayoral Election in the Candidates Section:

Withdrew/disqualified

Frank John Addivinola, Jr., candidate for state senate in 2010 and U.S. House of Representatives in 2012 (ran for councilor-at-large)[19]
Lee Buckley[19]
Robert Cappucci, former Boston School Committee member and retired Boston Police officer (failed to get enough signatures)[8]
Miniard Culpepper, reverend[19]
Will Dorcena, activist and at-large candidate for city council in 2011, brother of State Senator Linda Dorcena Forry (failed to get enough signatures)[20][21]
Althea Garrison, former state representative (ran for councilor-at-large)[19]
John Laing, businessman (failed to get enough signatures)[22]
Divo Rodrigues Monteiro, educator and poet[23] (ran for city council in District 4)[19]
Dave Portnoy, founder of Barstool Sports (failed to get enough signatures)[22]

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Derek John Boczkowski @derekboczkowski.bsky.social · 08/06/2026

This kind of feels like the baseball fan equivalent of Greg's Stillson using a baby as a human shield in the Dead Zone.

Martin Sheen as Senate candidate Greg Stillson in the Dead Zone, holding a child aloft to shield him from an assassination attempt.

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Derek John Boczkowski @derekboczkowski.bsky.social · 02/06/2026

I was woefully underdressed to meet @pftompkins.bsky.social and @scottaukerman.bsky.social at the @cbbworld.bsky.social Groundbeefing stop in Columbus. The show was hilarious and the cast were very tolerant of my effusion.

A picture of a silly fanboy standing behind comedic legends Paul F Tompkins and Scott Aukerman.

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Derek John Boczkowski @derekboczkowski.bsky.social · 27/05/2026

As MDATT were the act I was most disappointed about seeing when the concert list was released, allow me to say . .

A still from the movie Purple Rain, in which Morris Day has his arms outstretched and singing. The word "Waaaahhhhk!" [simulating a bird noise] is at the top and the word "Hallelujah!" is at the bottom, both in yellow font.

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Derek John Boczkowski @derekboczkowski.bsky.social · 07/05/2026

The ol’ Jessep “Bless up,”, natch.

A still of Jack Nicholson as Col Jessep from “A Few Good Men” with the caption “Bless up.”

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Derek John Boczkowski @derekboczkowski.bsky.social · 02/05/2026

When, after you claim, "I can handle it," that ABS hits . . .

A split screen of Cubs outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong tilting his head and squinting his eyes in disbelief on the left and the ABS graphic of the strike he challenged indeed being confirmed as a strike on the right.

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Derek John Boczkowski @derekboczkowski.bsky.social · 30/04/2026

Apparently also winning the Damning with Faint Praise Award twice.

An excerpt from the article:

According to his House biography, Corcoran "has published several novels (winning the Prometheus Award for best libertarian science fiction twice), and non-fiction books. When not writing software or books, he works on his farm in Weare, where he has lived with his wife for eleven years."

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Derek John Boczkowski @derekboczkowski.bsky.social · 28/04/2026

To the tune of "As Long As We've Got Each Other," the Growing Pains theme song: Baby,

A picture of the 1986 Topps baseball card of the legendary Razor Shines

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Derek John Boczkowski @derekboczkowski.bsky.social · 22/04/2026

“And how about that Marla Hooch? What a hitter!”

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Derek John Boczkowski @derekboczkowski.bsky.social · 21/04/2026

This paragraph shows how “both sidesism” continues to creep into modern thought. Complicating Said or Alexander’s arguments can be an important and worthy measure in the right class, but presenting a critique of a system does not necessitate and is not equal to critiques of that critique.

A paragraph from the article by Zimmerman in the Chronicle of Higher Education:

Professors cannot fulfill their obligations to their students — and to our democracy
- if they are not deeply committed to educating them. That means exposing
them to a wide range of ideas, which was once the heart of the liberal ideal. But no longer. In a recent study, the political scientist Jon A. Shields and two colleagues surveyed course syllabi to see if professors who assigned Edward Said's Orientalism also asked students to read lan Buruma's and Avishai Margalit's Occidentalism or other critiques of Said. They also looked to see whether teachers teaching The New Jim Crow, Michelle Alexander's now-canonical account of racism in criminal justice, also assigned scholars who took issue with Alexander, such as the Yale Law School professor James Forman Jr. or the Princeton sociologist Patrick Sharkey. Shields' conclusion was sad and altogether predictable: These kinds of pairings, these efforts at fairness and complication, are extremely rare.

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Derek John Boczkowski @derekboczkowski.bsky.social · 18/04/2026

The most offensive thing about that story is that the arresting cops are trying to be noodle humorists:

Text from the article:

The department said its officers carried out surveillance and identified the suspect, later sharing footage allegedly showing Augustine purchasing the sets. They said he was charged "for grand theft and booked at the Orange County Jail." The footage also showed dozens of mini-figures in bags, with cops saying the act amounted to "what we are calling a pasta-tively terrible plan." "If your master plan involves swapping LEGOs for linguine, we can promise your plan will be cooked al dente." Officer Ziggy Azarcon told CBS News, "These were definitely sets that were consistent with what he was purchasing and then returning." "These were Star Wars sets and Marvel sets, which have a very high value on the secondary market."

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Derek John Boczkowski @derekboczkowski.bsky.social · 15/04/2026

So many good answers here, but Kellogg’s 3-D baseball cards fanned the flames of a newly-acquired hobby that I’ve never managed to abandon.

A picture of the Bruce Sutter 1978 Kellogg’s 3-D baseball card. The background is blurred to make the picture of Sutter in the front stand out.

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Derek John Boczkowski @derekboczkowski.bsky.social · 15/04/2026

"It does appear to be the case that they're pushing up, because it's just competition. It's a race to the bottom.” Pushing up in the race to the bottom. Ah, the silver tongue and incisive wit of the Harvard Law student.

Two paragraphs from the article linked in the original post:

Mason R. Laney, an HLS student and Federalist Society member, said some judges begin hiring after just one semester of grades, while others have maintained the later timeline that has been traditionally used.

"It does appear to be the case that they're pushing up, because it's just competition. It's a race to the bottom," Laney said. "To get to these people early, you have to do that."

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Derek John Boczkowski @derekboczkowski.bsky.social · 27/03/2026

Look, I know I am an old English teacher, but reading the words “White House communications director Steven Cheung said that the ‘memes will continue’” makes me want to commit violence.

Excerpt from the linked article:

Over the past few weeks, official White House social media accounts have leaned on internet memes to flippantly promote the conflict, using clips from movies like "Iron Man" and "Top Gun," characters from cartoons like "SpongeBob Squarepants" and rap music overlaid on footage of unclassified videos of bombs striking Iranian targets.

"The war videos are cringe and disrespectful and gross," the senior White House official told MS NOW. "It makes me feel embarrassed."

In response to a request for comment, White House communications director Steven Cheung said that the "memes will continue and there isn't a damn thing this person can do about it because they have no influence. This person clearly isn't in the room and is a low-level staffer."

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Derek John Boczkowski @derekboczkowski.bsky.social · 20/03/2026

Seeing as how his face is a lot wider as a Ray, my guess is that he ran into this guy during the offseason:

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Derek John Boczkowski @derekboczkowski.bsky.social · 24/02/2026

I can’t decide if I’d be more depressed to find out that this was an AI creation or wasn’t.

A promo picture of a guy in the suit and a guy in a leather jacket whose back is to the guy in the suit. That standard plays by the books/rebel Porsche partner dichotomy.

CBS ORIGINAL
CIA
NEW SERIES TONIGHT
AFTER FBI
WATCH NOW

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Derek John Boczkowski @derekboczkowski.bsky.social · 21/02/2026

Cardinal Pizzaballa: the incisive words of Edward Said, the name of a Dom Deluise slapstick character.

From the Mondoweiss article describing the Catholic church’s response to Trump’s opportunistic land grab dressed as diplomacy “Board of Peace”:

“Earlier this month, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa was asked what he thought of Trump's board. He said, ‘I think it is a colonialist operation: others deciding for the Pales-tinians.’ Noting that Trump has said that permanent membership on the board carries a $1 billion price tag, Pizzaballa said, ‘I've never had a billion,
but above all this is not the Church's task: It is the
sacraments, the dignity of the person.’"

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Derek John Boczkowski @derekboczkowski.bsky.social · 19/02/2026

Quick! Someone call Willie Tyler and tell him that Lester has sprouted a moustache and gone rogue.

Picture of ventriloquist Wiliie Tyler, right and his dummy Lester, who had wondering costumes over the years, is dressed here in a ball cap and wearing glasses, not unlike Cam Newton in the photo above.

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Derek John Boczkowski @derekboczkowski.bsky.social · 18/02/2026

Lord help me, these fascists are making me 13 again.

The same image of RFK and Kid Rock drinking milk in a faux-grotto spring, but the “W” in the drippy white text “WHOLE” has been erased.

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