iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Dan Diffendale @diffendale.bsky.social · 1h

...if true, I would recommend hightailing it out of Dodge

Dan Diffendale @diffendale.bsky.social · 2h

I haven't changed anything on my end, but Anubis (you know, that annoying consequence of trying to defend websites against crawlers) is now telling me my browser is configured to disable cookies

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UncleofJamiroquai @jessefarrar.com · 4h

It seems quaint now that we do all our banking and race science there, but, nevertheless, it's true: at one time, people mostly wrote jokes on Twitter. 10 years ago, I wrote one about an old asshole and it kinda changed my life. Not his, though. www.cnn.com/2026/10/01/u...

cnn.com

The tweet that defined a decade of Trump | CNN

It’s been 10 years since Jesse Farrar accidentally defined a political era with one pithy, prescient tweet. He wishes it never happened.

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Odd This Day @oddthisday.bsky.social · 10h

Well, happy Charles Darwin is “very poorly today & very stupid & hate[s] everybody & everything” to all who celebrate, because he wrote those words in a letter to his friend (and author of Principles of Geology) Charles Lyell 161 years ago today

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Katra Ariello, Golden Apple Audio 🏳️‍⚧️ @katrafiy.bsky.social · 20h

what it ultimately boils down to is that trans women may never be allowed to win or be the best at anything.

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Gretchen McCulloch @gretchenmcculloch.com · 13h

Huh. Today in "always look up the etymology because sometimes you're just repeating a myth but sometimes it's weirder and more incredible than you could have possibly imagined" www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/c...

Screenshot of Merriam Webster etymology note for cockamamie:
By the look and sound of it, cockamamie (also spelled "cockamamy") could have something to do with a rooster and the outrageous sound it makes. But in fact, cockamamie is believed to be an altered form of the term decalcomania, which refers to the process, invented in the mid-19th century, of transferring pictures and designs from specially prepared paper to surfaces such as glass or porcelain. (The word referring to the picture or design itself, decal, is a shortening of decalcomania.) The word decalcomania comes from French, with décalcomanie combining the verb décalquer, meaning "to trace" or "to transfer by tracing," and -manie, meaning "-mania." Starting in the 1930s, painted strips of paper with images capable of being transferred to the skin were called decals or—in children's slang—cockamamies. Those familiar with today's temporary tattoos will understand quickly that these were regarded by many as silly novelties, lending the word cockamamie the necessary leeway for application to anything ridiculous.

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Skulls and Sheets @skullsandsheets.bsky.social · 23h

Tried again today with PATTERNS! Still not happy with the skull but I did it!

A mari in a patterned cloak holds a candle

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Molly White @molly.wiki · 13h

sorry, it's me, minutes-at-home georg

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Jesse Locker @jessemlocker.bsky.social · 19/10/2024

Just because you're dead doesn't mean you can't be sassy [Jan Luyken, after Cornelis van Dyk, Skeleton of a Man, 1680 etching, 139 mm × 86mm (Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam)🎃💀]

A swaggering skeleton resting his hand on his hip, what's left of his hair blowing in the breeze. In the background a funeral procession leading to a church.

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Dr Surekha Davies, Historical Monster Consultant (she/her) @drsurekhadavies.bsky.social · 12h

Here's yet another way that men sabotage women's careers: enable networking events that are threatening, abusive, potentially catastrophically violent for women, and so women leave early. How convenient for men. Remember this when you compare career trajectories.

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Dan Diffendale @diffendale.bsky.social · 11h

with grace and privilege 😇🧐

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Dan Diffendale @diffendale.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

(_Write_ it!)

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Nicholas Whithorn @nickwhithorn.bsky.social · 22h

On 30th September 1957 a coup* in the Republic of San Marino, supported by Italy, leads to the fall of the Communist-Socialist coalition that has governed the micro-state since 1945 and its replacement with a government led by the Christian Democrats (*coup or not? You decide) [Thread] >> 1

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Hamish @peregrinekiwi.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Does anyone know of any TRPGs made by folks in the #RPGLATAM community that draw on the history and mythology of the ancient Mediterranean or Southwest Asian worlds (Greece, Rome, Persia, etc) in a notable way? #ttrpg

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Yonah Freemark @yonahfreemark.com · 30/09/2026

I've added a new feature to Transit Explorer—the database of the world's fixed-guideway transit systems: The ability to compare cities, side by side, at the same scale. Here, for example, is Washington vs. Chicago, and Singapore vs. London! Play around: www.thetransportpolitic.com/transitexplo...

Transit systems in Washington and Chicago, at the same scale.

Transit systems in Singapore and London, at the same scale.

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Liv Mariah Yarrow (pronounced "leave") @profyarrow.bsky.social · 23h

😜 "I was supposed to be going to the Olympic games. That would be a most disgraceful thing to do in any state of our affairs, but in this crisis—quite inexcusable! " 1/

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DC Pierson @dcpierson.bsky.social · 23h

MAMDANI SCANDAL: Mayor Said To Think Several Songs From “We Shall All Be Healed” Are On “The Sunset Tree”

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Dan Diffendale @diffendale.bsky.social · 23h

there is a country, which I will not name, where archaeological publication rights have been known to pass to the heirs

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Brandon Bishop @brandontbishop.bsky.social · 23h

I shall use my data as a funeral pyre.

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Ancient Warfare magazine @ancientwarfare.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

The editor role at Ancient Warfare magazine is still open for applications. If you’re passionate about ancient military history, now’s your chance—deadline extended by two weeks. bit.ly/4z219uJ

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Dan Diffendale @diffendale.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

I am tired *and* I have been delving too deeply in geology; I just wrote "multivolcality"

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Dan Diffendale @diffendale.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

both useful and pleasant to pronounce!

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Dan Diffendale @diffendale.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

this has been stuck on repeat in my head, so now I am inflicting it on you Κι ένα σφηνάκι τελευταίο πριν πληρώσω

open.spotify.com

Logariasmos - Single by Katerina Lioliou | Spotify

Katerina Lioliou · single · 2026 · 1 songs

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andrew phillips @herfst.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Chameleon, from the Greek χαμαί ‘on the earth’ and λέων ‘lion’, was calqued from Akkadian nēš(u ša) qaqqari lit. ‘lion of the ground’, a figure attested in the Epic of Gilgamesh (line 314 ᴜʀ.ᴍᴀʜ šá qaq‐qa‐ri). The term is paralleled in lexical tablets from Ebla (ca. 2300 BCE) as na‐iš qar‐qá‐rí‐m.

Neo-Assyrian cuneiform clay tablet with a portion of the Epic of Gilgamesh, heavily fragmented.

Line art of cuneiform tablet. The term ‘lion of the ground’ is highlighted.

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Dan Diffendale @diffendale.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

The Etruscan tumulus of Pisa, ca. 700 BCE. Carefully excavated in the 1990s, no remains were found in the central chamber, and is interpreted as a cenotaph. An iron trident was deposited above, and a horse was sacrificed on an altar on top, which was then dismantled and interred.

Vertical photo of an open grassy area, in the middle of which is a very wide (about 30 meter diameter) low tumulus, surrounded by a ring of standing slabs of schist. In the sky is the sun, causing a lens flare that curves upwards, mirroring the curve of the tumulus.

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Mark Knight 🍉 @markknight63.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Old school analogue methodology, tons of enthusiasm and a simple research question: what was the topography and deposit sequence of the Flag Fen Basin at the time of the Flag Fen post alignment?

Badge: Flag Fen Auger Survey 2025 (green circle, white back ground and an image of a Dutch auger)

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Dan Diffendale @diffendale.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

The expansion of the city in the 20th and 21st centuries has often been carried out without archaeological supervision

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Dan Diffendale @diffendale.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

The archaeology of Pisa is less well known than many Etruscan and Roman cities, for four reasons: the city has been continuously occupied, and in basically the same area, since antiquity; it has been subject to repeated flood events of the two rivers; the water table is very high; and

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Dan Diffendale @diffendale.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

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cmrn knzlmn @ckunzelman.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

If you are a graduate student in the humanities (construed as broadly as possible), what is the MOST EXCITING book published in the last five years to you? Please repost if you’re not a graduate student!

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Dr Tess Machling @tessmachling.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

This is why you don't just dig things up. Look at the amazing info we've got now: We know how it was all placed in ground & we have all of it, none damaged & conservation possible both as excavated & after. We can also look at the soil, for organics, pollen etc. #Archaeology #Detecting #Treasure 🏺

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Sarah Clarke - Not your doll @damselindystopia.northsky.social · 27/09/2026

I'm not gonna quote post that estrangement article doing the rounds cos I ain't giving them the metrics but part of being in queer community is knowing a lot of people who are estranged from family. None of them broke contact for trivial reasons.

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10k com K 🚂 @sratoz.com.br · 27/09/2026

I just read this whole article and it is AMAZING. Mind-boggling. I have known of Doggerland for a while now, but this text makes it COME TO LIFE. I read it lightning-fast, it is that riveting

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Melissa Johnson, PhD @ladyhistorian.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Running for president as a single-issue candidate: Requiring websites to make Boolean searches work again

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Dan Diffendale @diffendale.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Has it been a month? Very well, then it has been a month. Yet we remember

youtu.be

Who Knows Where The Time Goes?

YouTube video by Fairport Convention - Topic

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Dan Diffendale @diffendale.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

the KSAR team does amazing work on a shoestring, but they're really feeling the crunch these days - even just a vote here would help:

mygivingcircle.org

Vote for Kabul Small Animal Rescue to share in $2,500,000

Each year MyGivingCircle gives $2,500,000 in grants and donations

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Dan Diffendale @diffendale.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

I saw Briny Death Pools in 2003 in a basement at 46th and Locust

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Cat Manning @catacalypto.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

can we say “some people don’t know how to read for context, and many of the ones who do don’t want to”?

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Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò @olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

I don't disagree with the thread below but frame it somewhat differently as an academic who regularly sees people who read for a living fail in the way described here. From that perspective it seems more a cultural crisis than an educational one

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andrew phillips @herfst.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Inscription in Old Akkadian from Naram-Sin’s reign (2254–2218 BCE) commemorating the construction of the temple at Marad. The spelling still reflects some archaic pronunciations, like his title, 𒈗 𒆠𒅁𒊏𒁴 𒅈𒁀𒅎 šar kibrātim arbaʾim ‘king of the four corners (of the world)’; arbaʾim ‘four’, later erbêm.

Fragment of limestone gate socket with Old Akkadian inscription.

Detail of Old Akkadian inscription on limestone (5 lines).

1. Narām-Sîn
2. dannum
3. šar
4. kibrātim
5. arbaʾim

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Pavel @spavel.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

I would be more impressed if a language model trained entirely on human-authored text automatically understood that it was a machine that did not feel pain or anything else But the probabilistic human response to pain is "ouch" so it says "ouch."

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Luke LeBrun @lukelebrun.ca · 26/09/2026

Tech companies suddenly decide they can, in fact, moderate content on their platforms after all

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David Stifter 🍵📄🦊 @davidstifter.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

My working group on 𝐀𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐂𝐞𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐜 in @scs-dias.bsky.social will commence on 6 October and will continue every Tuesday at 16:00 (local Dunsink Time). If you want to join, in person or via Zoom, please let me know via email.

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