iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

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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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Ian Coldwater 🧊🚫 @lookitup.baby · 30/09/2026

BREAKING NEWS: “Do geese see God” is a palindrome

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Dr. Curiosity @drcuriosity.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Urgh, I just got the rounded tabs in Firefox, boo. Can we keep at least some skeumorphisms, as a treat?

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High Priestess, Low Patience @cheriepriest.com · 29/09/2026

this is tonic masculinity + semiotically clever as hell 👍

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Dr. Curiosity @drcuriosity.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

This project covers nine Pacific languages in Aotearoa: Te Gagana Tokelau, Vagahau Niue, Te Reo Māori Kuki ‘Āirani, Gagana Samoa, Lea faka-Tonga, Te Gana Tuvalu, Vosa vakaViti, Fäeag Rotuạm Ta and Te taetae ni Kiribati. www.mpp.govt.nz/programmes-a...

mpp.govt.nz

Leo Moana o Aotearoa - the Pacific Languages of Aotearoa Survey | Ministry for Pacific Peoples

Leo Moana o Aotearoa – the Pacific Languages of Aotearoa Survey – was the first of its kind, investigating the use of and attitudes to Pacific languages in Aotearoa.

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evacide @evacide.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Meta Muse appears to read your Apple messages and upload them to the cloud even if you explicitly tell it not to: appleinsider.com/articles/26/...

appleinsider.com

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Peter Tennant @pwgtennant.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

These new Enid Blyton stories are a bit bleak for me

Five arrested on terrorism charges after explosives found near RAF base used by US

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Mark Baxter @aotearoabadger.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

The mods are asleep, time for some Kiwi weirdness.

youtube.com

DD Smash - Whaling

YouTube video by KneesTease

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Dan O’Sullivan @osullyville.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Today I saw the new 4 hour documentary Musk, directed by Alex Gibney. There were too many times to count that a sold out theater burst out laughing at Elon Musk, something he said or did, even sometimes just how he looked. I believe that is his worst nightmare come to life.

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David Hood @thoughtfulnz.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Spiders McBody, who has been murdered 5,569,700 times, is an outlier and should not have been counted.

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Son of Bengt @sonofbengt.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

I mean...😂

Fozzie: "She's the first girl I've dated in a long time"

"Says 'passionate bear looking for love' "

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Adam Cook @motorcityadam.com · 18/09/2026

I am very bearish on humanoid #robotics and this basically crystalizes why. The oft-used pushback from humanoid robotics crowd is that "the world is designed for humans and, therefore, we need a human-like body". But, they conveniently gloss over the anatomical differences and the capability loss.

Anatomical page titled "Wrist and Hand" featuring two detailed diagrams. The upper illustration focuses on the ligaments and carpal bones from a dorsal view, including labels for the ulnar and radial collateral ligaments and metacarpal bones 1 through 5. The lower illustration presents a coronal section (dorsal view) revealing the internal bone structure, wrist joints, interosseous intercarpal ligaments, radius, and ulna.

Medical illustration titled "Bones of Wrist and Hand" showing detailed skeletal views of a right hand. The top illustration demonstrates the anterior (palmar) view, labeling carpal bones, metacarpal bones, and proximal, middle, and distal phalanges. The bottom illustration shows the posterior (dorsal) view with similar labeling and red highlights surrounding the carpal bones and the bases of the metacarpals.

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The Spaceshipper 🚀 @thespaceshipper.com · 22/09/2026

All the spaceships from For All Mankind and Star City in one article! That's a lot of spaceships from an alternative universe, and concept art, and cool stuff. 🖖 This is just a (very long) overview, but expect to dive deep into the creation of these designs in the coming weeks and months.

patreon.com

All the spaceships from For All Mankind & Star City | The Spaceshipper

As a reminder, For All Mankind has been renewed for a sixth and final season, set to air in 2027. Filming wrapped up in August 2026. And we'

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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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Sonja Vernes @sonjavernes.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

🦇 Bat1K's biggest paper yet is out. Largest bat genome + fossil study ever: 103 genomes, 44 fossils, 137 researchers. We rewrote the bat family tree! Bats likely originated in Europe ~65 million years ago, not Asia, Africa or Americas. @bat1kgenomes.bsky.social doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-11007-3

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Dr. Curiosity @drcuriosity.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Union? They're not even the Intersection. More like the Empty Set, really.

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Cat Hicks @grimalkina.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

"Threat has teeth, psychologically-speaking. It dampens our problem-solving, erodes trust, and makes it hard for us to find real collaboration." New at Fight for the Human: on the software identity crisis www.fightforthehuman.com/what-helps-a...

fightforthehuman.com

What helps an identity crisis?

This piece is something special and different on Fight for the Human. And honestly, as a fan of collaborative thinking, distributed cognition, and the notion that innovation is most likely sparked in ...

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Kate Starbird @katestarbird.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Rumors about “rigged elections" are now a fixture of U.S. elections, leading to diminished trust in election results & democracy (broadly). These rumors can sometimes be hard to debunk, esp. in their early stages. Our UW team has identified the 6 common ways that election integrity rumors mislead:

Infographic titled "Six Ways 'Rigged Election' Rumors Mislead." A two-column table pairs six labeled categories with descriptions. The first three categories are:

No Evidence: The rumor is entirely unsubstantiated. There's no evidence to support the rumor.

Fake/False Evidence: The rumor is based on fake or synthetic evidence (e.g. AI-generated content), manipulated evidence, or false witness testimony.

Misinterpreted Evidence: This rumor is based upon real evidence that has been misinterpreted or intentionally mischaracterized to create a false impression.

A black banner then introduces the final three categories: "Real Evidence, Real Voting Issue, False Narrative."

Exaggerated Impact: The rumor centers on a real issue with voting but falsely insinuates or exaggerates impact on election results.

Ignored Remedies: The rumor centers on a real issue with voting but ignores and/or obscures the remedies that would address this problem

False Blame: The rumor centers on a real issue with voting but either falsely attributes intent for an accidental issue or places blame on an innocent party.

Source: UW Center for an Informed Public, September 2026.

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🦇 Mel 🦇 @melbailey.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

All Davids are actually part of the Greater David who will one day call them all back creating Mega David and bringing about the End of Daves.

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Dr. Curiosity @drcuriosity.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Sounds like Scorpio Books in Ōtautahi has already had a good number of inquiries about and orders for the new Hager book. They've been open half an hour.

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Dr. Curiosity @drcuriosity.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

With a new Nicky Hager book launching, do the SIS get advance copies..? 🤔

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samuel mehr @mehr.nz · 21/09/2026

Well, hold on. Does it provide a component for the paper that wouldn't otherwise exist? No. But will it be more precise than what the authors wrote in the abstract themselves? Also no. At least it wouldn't use much energy to produ—actually I'm being told it's still no

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Stilgherrian @stilgherrian.com · 21/09/2026

Yet another example of quoting someone with a catchy line that can't possibly be true. This hazard reduction burn was not an allegorical journey through the moral improvement of Seven Mile Beach locals in the company of a famous poet. It just had "Inferno" in the title.

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Smooth Dunk @smoothdunk2.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

when ai leaves u behind

7 panel comic.

Panel 1:
A Red Guy with AI across his chest looks like he’s about to run away. A Yellow Guy stands next to him. Red Guy says “I’m the future, buddy. You comin’?”
Yellow Guy replies “Nah”

Panel 2:
Red Guy is almost out of the panel. He leans in and says “Enjoy getting left behind, pal”
Yellow Guy replies “ok”

Panel 3:
Yellow Guy stands alone.

Panel 4:
Close up on Yellow Guy, there is a quiet “huff-huff-huff” noise coming from behind him

Panel 5:
Yellow Guy turns to look behind him

Panel 6:
Close up on Yellow Guy’s face as if from the point of view of an attacker.
Yellow Guy yells “Jesus Christ”

Panel 7:
AI Red Guy is now chasing the Yellow Guy.
Red Guy: “Use me”
Yellow Guy “No”
Red Guy “USE ME”

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Patricia Aas 🐢🏳️‍🌈 @patigallardo.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

«Some Centcom personnel expected [Palantir’s] Maven to flag stale information or inconsistencies in the underlying intelligence assembled for potential targets, the officials said. It’s not clear why they had such expectations.» We’re fucked.

static.klipy.com

Homer Simpson Spinning in Nuclear Plant Chair

Alt: Homer Simpson Spinning in Nuclear Plant Chair

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Dr. Curiosity @drcuriosity.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Enough funding for a proper maintenance schedule: it's what keeps engine fires out of fire engines.

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Dr. Curiosity @drcuriosity.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

This irresponsible scraping has significant impacts in civic technologies and digital humanities research too. Archives and official data sources of record are increasingly locked behind captchas, credentialled access and/or paywalls, and much less useful as linked open data sources for public use.

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Ian Coldwater 🧊🚫 @lookitup.baby · 19/09/2026

13/12 headline. No notes

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Dr. Curiosity @drcuriosity.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Advice from the NZ Electoral Commission regarding misinformation, disinformation and potential breaches of electoral advertising standards: www.nzherald.co.nz/sponsored-st...

nzherald.co.nz

The election myths tripping up Kiwi voters - NZ Herald

From election date to ID requirements, Kiwis are being misled.

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gamera obscura @ohrobin.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Capitalism is the greatest system ever devised because it lets the best price win, unless someone offers a better price, in which case I’m suing you because you’re mean.

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Casmilus @casmilus.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

It's the same picture.

Carter Burke, the company guy in Aliens.

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By Cory Doctorow (GPG 0xBF3D9110957E5F4C) @doctorow.pluralistic.net · 14/09/2026

Of all the weird recurring motifs of the stories people tell me about the AI labor wars, the *weirdest* is when bosses demand to be reassured that their contractors and workers will *absolutely* use AI to get the job done.

A worn out keyboard, cropped over the bottom left modifier keys. Posed in the image is a bearded prophet in Bronze Age robes, arms uplifted in worship.

Image:
ArwinJ (modified)
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Macro_key,_BTC-53_series_keyboard.JPG

CC BY-SA 3.0
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en

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Dr. Curiosity @drcuriosity.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

In certain circumstances, there will be strong disagreement indeed about whether "you gotta hand it to him".

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Dr. Curiosity @drcuriosity.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Gotta love the *checks notes* three nines of reliability, eh Bsky.

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Delaney King (She/Her/Whomst) @delaneyking.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Monty Pythons Holy Grail: three RUN AWAAAYYY!!! Scenes. The Odyssey: Three RUN AWAAAYYY!!! Scenes. Coincidence? I think not.

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Marcus @utf9k.net · 14/09/2026

MBIE released their consultation report and a couple other documents a few days ago: www.mbie.govt.nz/document-lib...

mbie.govt.nz

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Mohan J Dutta @mohanjdutt.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

The suit walks the corridor: the managerial takeover of the university. Full essay here: culture-centered.blogspot.com/2026/09/the-...

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Dr. Curiosity @drcuriosity.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Listening to RNZ this morning and it's all joy about trains this morning. Good start to the week :-)

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Richard Easther @rjme.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Folks, it's not often that physics-fans are asked to donate money to a small Scottish church, but this is going to be one of those times -- since the church is the last resting place of James Clerk Maxwell... www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding...

justgiving.com

Help raise £70000 to Save Parton Kirk – JustGiving Crowdfunding

Iʼm raising money to Save Parton Kirk. Support this JustGiving Crowdfunding Page.

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Mikel Reparaz @wikiparaz.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

PAUL: What’s in the box? REVEREND MOTHER: Pain. [PAUL hesitantly puts his hand in the BOX, then FROWNS IN CONFUSION. He pulls out A BAGUETTE.] REVEREND MOHER: Hōn hōn,

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Alec Luhn @alecluhn.com · 11/09/2026

The UN says we’ll overshoot 1.5C & come back down with carbon dioxide removal. But that’s easier said than done. For one, the ocean will start releasing the extra CO2 it’s absorbed. “It’s like crashing a car into the wall & then you back up…It’s not the same car” www.newscientist.com/article/2588...

newscientist.com

The world’s biggest carbon sink may start emitting CO2 after net zero | New Scientist

If the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere declines, the Southern Ocean is likely to begin emitting more carbon than it absorbs, prolonging global warming

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Dr. Curiosity @drcuriosity.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Today in advertising that makes me LESS likely to want to buy a thing: an NZPork slop.

A "chart" compares the prices of "NZ PORK MINCE" to "PROTEIN 1" and "PROTEIN 2". The Y axis claims to represent the price in NZ dollars. There are no numbers on it.

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♿ hiding from plagues - Always masked - N95 or bust @smollestbunny2.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

We keep saying this. People still go out unmasked

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Róisín 🏳️‍⚧️ @roisin.northsky.social · 10/09/2026

A tale in two images

Cyberpunk 2077

Valve is required by the Age-Restricted Material App Distribution Services Code to verify that you are 18 or older before accessing mature content. If you wish to do so, please add a valid Australian credit card to your account and afterwards update the Mature Content Preferences.

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Dr Sanjana Hattotuwa @sanjanah.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

(Most) NZ’ers take this for granted, but from perspective of someone who has only ever known democratic deficit, backsliding, & decay - this is v. special, and so wonderful. There’s something sacred about elections, & exercise of franchise only those who have suffered loss of both appreciate. #nzpol

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