iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Eb @ebthen.bsky.social · 12/10/2026

Esme and her same-age human bestie hanging out after her bath.

Esme, a tiny chihuahua-type dog, being held by a human child in front of a colorful Halloween-themed backdrop. The child's face is pixelated. Esme is focused on something out of frame.

Esme, a tiny chihuahua-type dog, licking the face of the human child holding her in front of a colorful Halloween-themed backdrop. The child's face is pixelated.

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Eb @ebthen.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

I mean compared to his 2017 win at the same circuit.

Max Verstappen in 2017 on the podium at the Formula 1 Malaysia Grand Prix. He is clean shaven and looks less filled out.

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Eb @ebthen.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Now that it's been a bit, I found a photo that looks more or less like the one I would've got from the screengrab.

F1-branded poster of Max Verstappen as the winner of Round 16, the Bahrain Grand Prix, in 2026. Max's face has filled out with some age and he has a somewhat rugged mustache and beard.

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Eb @ebthen.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

I had to do a photoshoot with Bella for this hoodie from Petco's product-for-reviews program. Look at that face.

Bella, a tiny half-chihuahua wearing a light pink hoodie and a pleading expression, standing on a chair and foreshortened so her already giant eyes look absolutely enormous and more pathetic than usual.

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Eb @ebthen.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

I don't have any AC until at least next Monday and yesterday's high was in the 80s and it's been raining for like 24 hours straight so it's humid as hell. Don't fuck with me.

An exchange between me and another Bluesky user whose identifying details I have redacted, except for the three emoji in the user's display name. Those emoji are a Canadian flag, a watermelon and a Ukranian flag.

Redacted User: That's a weird way to spell "freed a victim of government sponsored human trafficking."

Also, if freeing the victims of human trafficking is a crime in the US, then the [all caps] fuck [end all caps] is wrong with you people?

Me: The who decide what are and aren't crimes are some of the most trash people in the country is only part of what's wrong here.

Redacted User: The fact that you let those people make those decisions with little actual protest is what's wrong.

Me: Yup it's all me not trying to make the world a better place. You should probably come and fix it all for us since you know how to.

Notes: The first post from Redacted User was 1 day before the screenshot was taken and had a total of two replies, one share and 11 likes.

My first post was made 2 hours before the screenshot was taken and had one like.

Redacted User's reply to me was made 8 minutes before the screenshot was taken.

My final reply was made 19 seconds before the screenshot was taken.

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Eb @ebthen.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

TIL about the Naked Man Orchid and now I have to know if I can have it as a houseplant. Image sourced from this WGN story: wgntv.com/video/the-na...

Close-up of pale lavender orchid flowers that look look like a crudely-formed man, with a torso, two arms, two legs, a tiny penis or tail between the legs, and a head with two dark spots and a lighter dark spot that look like eyes and a mouth. It also looks like the man is wearing a floppy hat. Orchids.

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Eb @ebthen.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

I can't believe this was four and a half years ago.

Esme, a tiny chihuahua-type dog with ginormous triangular ears and big eyes wearing a sweater with a geometric pattern, stands on her hind legs and focuses on something out of frame. The sleeves of the sweater almost entirely cover her forelegs.

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Eb @ebthen.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

I was thinking of these things if it wasn't clear.

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Eb @ebthen.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Randomly thought about Pratchett's Where's My Cow? I'm pretty sure I have this in my Discworld shelves but I can't check atm because Esme just flopped into my lap.

"Where's My Cow?", hardcover picture book by Terry Pratchett, illustrated by Melvyn Grant. The cover features a horned Holstein Friesian type cow looking back at the audience. The book is subtitled "A Discworld picture book for people of all sizes" and features a seal similar to a Caldecott or Newbery Book Award. The seal reads "OOK! Children's Winner for the Ankh-Morpork Librarians' Award".

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Eb @ebthen.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Makes a pretty clear line in values between "being a decent human being" and "being a defiant human being" though. Contrary to a lot of the vibes out there, defiance for its own sake isn't exactly something to admire.

Bluesky post from Andrew S., username [at] shouting boy [dot] bsky [dot] social.

Post text: I think the proper response to "you don't get to talk about X" often is, in fact, "try and stop me".

Note: A label indicates the user's pronouns are He/Him. The post was sent at 3:53 PM on Sep. 8, 2026. At the time the screenshot was made, the post had 5 likes and two replies.

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Eb @ebthen.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

Anyway this is Lola at about 8 weeks old on one of the last days I had with the whole litter in El Paso.

Lola, Teddy and Coco, eight week old chihuahua-type puppies, on the floor. Teddy and Coco are distracted by other things, but Lola is standing there in a shaft of light looking up at the audience pathetically, her head sticking through the trunk of a plush squirrel puzzle dog toy.

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Eb @ebthen.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

Also we haven't done Esme's birthday party yet and when I talked to my mom on Friday she was like "are you going to do a birthday party for Esme because I need cute birthday photos to send to Lola's mom because I don't have any of Teddy or Coco." I mean Esme's never had a birthday party like this.

Lola, a fat little chihuahua-type dog wearing a birthday cape and hat, sat on a platform with birthday photo props and either grinning happily or panting because of being fat and hot. TBH probably both.

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Eb @ebthen.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Update on Project Not Being Macbeth: I have managed to take down all of my aquarium stands and box up almost all the supplies I have except for the stuff related to my RO Buddie. I have documented all the stuff and am almost ready to put up my listing. Esme was very bored.

Esme, a tiny chihuahua-type dog, lying with her head flat on a pillow on a storage tote and looking blankly into the distance.

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Eb @ebthen.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

We just got an invitation to a birthday party tomorrow for Esme's sister, Lola. She looks the most like their dad of all of them and she is very loved.

A photo of Lola, a fat tan chihuahua-type dog, above text reading "Party for Lola [full name redacted] [location redacted] El Paso, TX 79936 Saturday, August 29 1:00–3:00.

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Eb @ebthen.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

I also dressed up like fire for Halloween the next year. Or more specifically "hot like fire". Because I used to say that about a guy I had a crush on. I wore more clothes I'd got while thrifting. Red pleather pants and a red velvet tank top and smoky eyeliner and red and orange paint in my hair.

A black and white bust photo portrait of me on Halloween 2005, my 20th birthday, with short spiky hair with light streaks in it, smoky eyeliner, and lip gloss.

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Eb @ebthen.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

The Tim Curry-Discworld link.

Tim Curry's character Ympr Trymon wears very over-the-top velvety wizard clothes in the movie adaptation of Terry Pratchett's The Colour of Magic.

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Eb @ebthen.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

That's bait. I don't need to bite it. Fuck that trash person though.

Screenshot of Bluesky trending topic #2: JK Rowling comments on trans adults

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Eb @ebthen.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

People will say things like this as though they truly believe that USian voters were actually adequately informed about these issues before being asked to vote on them by proxy of candidates. As though there hadn't been tons of money invested in making sure they voted against their best interests.

Bluesky post by a verified user whose information I have redacted.

Text: American voters hated wages rising faster than prices. Thought rising real wages and high monthly job creation was the worst economy ever.

So they voted for a candidate with inflation-raising policy who openly sided with the richest bosses. And got the lower wages and higher prices they voted for.

Note: The screenshot was taken two hours after the post went live.

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Eb @ebthen.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

I keep thinking about those books where the teacher is a vampire and whatever and I had to do some searching but I'm thinking of The Bailey School Kids.

Book #1 of The Adventures of The Bailey School Kids, Vampires Don't Wear Polka Dots, by Debbie Dadey and Marcia Thornton Jones. The book's tagline is "Meet the new teacher—she's something else!"

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Eb @ebthen.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

This is the kind of picture book I love. I didn't even discover my favorite picture book until I was an adult.

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Eb @ebthen.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

Three series that came to mind.

A hardcover edition of Nancy McArthur's The Plant That Ate Dirty Socks.

Hardcover library edition of Donald J. Sobol's first Encyclopedia Brown book, Encyclopedia Brown Boy Detective.

The first installment of The Boxcar Children series, The Boxcar Children, by Gertrude Chandler Warner.

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Eb @ebthen.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

I've been sitting on this one for months. Do not attempt to inflate yourself.

A kiosk in the party section of a supermarket with a printed and laminated sign reading: Please see a team member for assistance with balloons. [all caps] Do Not [end all caps] attempt to inflate yourself. Thank you and sorry for any inconvenience.

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Eb @ebthen.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

With alt text you can use until you get it redone and tweak once you do get it redone.

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Eb @ebthen.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

This is the photo they sent while she was in recovery. I was worried about that tongue. Might be early days but might also just be the future for Bella.

Bella, a tiny half-chihuahua, looking sad and pathetic in a cubby at the vet’s office. A little bit of her tongue is sticking out one side of her mouth and she is wrapped in a blanket.

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Eb @ebthen.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

Reposted with alt text:

Silas Soule, a clearly handsome young man in his twenties, seated, wears formal attire with a dress shirt, waistcoat, bow tie and coat, holding a cigar and wearing a ring on his left hand. Although the image is sepia-toned, Soule looks to have been a freckled redhead whose tendency is to be smiling instead of straight-faced according to the conventions of old-timey photographs.

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Eb @ebthen.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

I mean this guy. He was murdered in his 20s and before that he had already escorted escaping enslaved people to freedom and done two jailbreaks, along with the mentioned disobeying orders and whistle-blowing. But listen some people are just late bloomers. With alt text:

Silas Soule, a clearly ehandsome young man in his twenties, seated, wears formal attire with a dress shirt, waistcoat, bow tie and coat, holding a cigar and wearing a ring on his left hand. Although the image is sepia-toned, Soule looks to have been a freckled redhead whose tendency is to be smiling instead of straight-faced according to the conventions of old-timey photographs.

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Eb @ebthen.bsky.social · 25/07/2026

TBH what's happening here is I'm wondering if this is before or after Sparta got all Hegseth'ed. Like was Helen actually queen of the corrupt ignorant people or was this before then? Because I'd have run away too if I were stuck in that Sparta. Wikipedia source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laconop...

Aristotle criticizes the Spartans in his Politics: the helots keep rebelling; the Spartan women are luxurious; the magistrates (and especially the ephors) are irresponsible; reaching decisions by the loudest yell in the apella is silly; the wealth of the citizens is unequal (so that too many are losing the resources necessary to be a citizen and a hoplite); and the Spartiates let each other evade taxes, so the city is poor and the individual citizens are greedy. Above all, the Spartans know no other arts than war, so in peace they are incompetent and corrupt. The Cretan institutions, he says, are even worse.

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Eb @ebthen.bsky.social · 18/07/2026

Her butt exploded (as her vet put it. She ruptured an anal gland abscess and had minor emergency surgery on Monday. She has been living in her Comfy Cone all week).

Esme, a tiny chihuahua-type dog, wearing a soft recovery collar and looking mournfully at the audience.

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Eb @ebthen.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

The way I clapped my hand over my mouth at how absolutely hilarious the suggestion is that "rural areas" have been "festooned with benefits". That's not how any of this works and it's amazing to me that so many Dem voters believe otherwise.

Bluesky post from a user whose information has been redacted:

The Democratic Party spent every drop of its political capital on festooning rural areas with benefits and got nothing but hatred back.
Instead of doing more of that, we should put those resources into dense urban areas where the overwhelming majority of Democratic voters live and work.

Notes:
This was posted a day before the screenshot was taken.
There is one reply and four likes.

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Eb @ebthen.bsky.social · 07/06/2026

I love my Milwaukee Fastback. I have a slightly different model (the 1502 with onboard blade storage, recommended by Wirecutter) and it's great for things my Slice Ceramic Blade box cutter isn't quite right for. Slice Manual Box Cutter: a.co/d/0jbqd29M

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Eb @ebthen.bsky.social · 04/06/2026

Also I am now ready to share my haircut.

Selfie with my long black hair down and doing what it apparently does now, which is waves and spirals. My expression is quietly pleased.

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Eb @ebthen.bsky.social · 02/06/2026

They know damn well that this isn't going to benefit people or reduce "fraud". The whole point is just to not pay for the people who can't meet the administrative burden. It's not even a secret. It's their whole tactic.

Along with the new rule, the administration published an article Monday arguing that the Medicaid work requirement would lift at least 1.6 million Americans out of poverty, by encouraging more work and higher incomes. To support its analysis, staff members at the Department of Health and Human Services cited studies of work requirements in other social welfare programs. Not everyone who has studied those programs shares the authors’ view.

More specifically, the research on Medicaid has so far not supported the conclusion. Only one state that covered childless adults without disabilities has tried work requirements for Medicaid. In a 2018 pilot program in Arkansas, 18,000 people quickly lost coverage after failing to submit documentation proving their work status. A study found that the policy did not increase the number of eligible people who worked.

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Eb @ebthen.bsky.social · 24/05/2026

The article makes it pretty clear.

The Trump administration on Friday narrowed the definition of an “assistance animal” allowed to live with disabled tenants in housing, a move that could lead to thousands of animals and their owners being evicted.

In an internal memo obtained by The New York Times, the Department of Housing and Urban Development told leaders in its fair housing office that [begin added highlight] “effective immediately” the department would exclude emotional support animals [end added highlight] and more strictly police the definition of a qualified service animal when granting accommodations for disabled tenants.

Many landlords enforce a no-pets policy, or may charge renters a deposit or monthly fee for pets. Under the Fair Housing Act, disabled tenants can ask to have those restrictions waived to accommodate their disabilities.

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Eb @ebthen.bsky.social · 24/05/2026

I mean yeah no I don't find "roiling" conversations with people who don't care who they're harming exciting or fun. If that's what you want, be on Xitter and stop trying to convince the rest of us to go back.

Bluesky post by Corey Atad, blue check account, username at Corey Atad dot com

Post text: when this critique is made, it often feels like it's about politics, like the answer is to just let the Nazis on here, but that misses why X, despite it all, is still a more fun place. it's because the "no fucks given" style there means *more* willingness to engage in roiling, exciting conversation.

Note: the post was sent three hours before the screenshot was taken

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Eb @ebthen.bsky.social · 14/05/2026

Never done this before, and honestly I don't really think it's going to help, but I still want to have this available because if that screenshot is going to be out there forever being used to ridicule me, I want the surrounding context there, too. Posts 1, 2–4, 7–8, and 12.

Tweet by me, dated Nov. 18, 2022

I completely missed the chili/consent thing but actually I get the wheelchair analogy everyone is being reductive about.

It's not about the grabbing the wheelchair. It's about the assumption that your help is needed and wanted.

I don't necessarily agree but I get it.

Notes:

The tweet was posted at 2:09 PM.

eries of three tweets by me, dated Nov. 18, 2022

1. This could be my very last chance to do the Twitter Impossible Nuance™ so I have carpe'd some diem.

2. Also it makes a lot more sense if you don't ignore the second half of the tweet where the person adds "or deciding the elderly person waiting to cross the street MUST need help to do so".

3. And the thing is, the person who made the analogy is getting at something real that actually does have to do with ableism.
I had this conversation with my grandma last week. She was talking about how much she hates needing help—and how much she wants to be the one helping.

Notes.

Tweet 1 has one reply, four retweets and 67 likes.

Tweet 2 has two retweets and 48 likes.

Tweet 3 has one retweet and 66 likes.

Series of three threaded tweets by me, dated Nov. 18, 2022

1. My grandma is the kind of person who needs things to do and wants to be helpful.

But, like a lot of folks, it is much more about her and how she wants to help than it is about her considering or asking what the other person might want or need.

2. And, again, I'm pretty sure this is what the wheelchair analogy account was getting at.

It's the difference between the platinum rule and the golden rule.

The golden rule: treat others how you want to be treated.

The platinum rule: treat others how /they/ want to be treated.

The third tweet begins: Maybe you personally would be thrilled to have your neighbor turn up with

The third tweet cuts off and doesn’t show the rest of it.

Notes:

Tweet 1 here has two retweets and and 62 likes.

Tweet 2 here has one reply, six retweets and 113 likes.

Tweet by me, dated Nov. 18, 2022

What it has to do with ableism is just that this is a lot of what happens to Disabled people. TBH it's definitely at least part of what my grandma has hated about needing help over the last four and a half months.

The help she gets and the help she needs aren't always the same.

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Eb @ebthen.bsky.social · 26/04/2026

Also who wants to see the provided alt text because. I have to show you.

The "Add alt text" dialogue popover, showing the gif in the previous post with the default alt text: "a group of cats are standing next to each other in a dark room with the words waka chaka on the bottom."

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Eb @ebthen.bsky.social · 16/04/2026

Image 1 Source: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Jewish Population of Europe in 1933: Population Data by Country encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/a... Image 2 Source: World Jewish Population 2015 - Sergio DellaPergola (American Jewish Year Book) www.jewishdatabank.org/Studies/deta...

Map of “Jewish Population in Europe, 1933”. The countries aren’t labeled, but they have population numbers on them. The largest numbers are in then-Poland, with 3 million, and the Soviet Union, with 2,525,000. Poland is almost entirely surrounded by countries with Jewish populations of 155,000 and higher, with Romania’s population the next highest after Poland and the USSR at 980,000.

Other populations of note:

Germany with 565,000.
France with 225,000.
Great Britain with 300,000.

The countries are various shades of purple depending on their populations, with the highest numbers the deepest purple and the lowest numbers a pale pink. The map is notably quite purple.

Map of “Jewish Population in Europe, 2015”. As with the previous graphic, the countries aren’t labeled, but they do have population numbers on them. They are also colored purple on the same scale as the previous map. Immediately obvious is that there is no purple on this map as deep as Poland and the USSR on the previous map. In comparison to the previous map, this is quite pink. France is the deepest purple, at 467,500. The next deepest purple is the lavender of Great Britain, with a population of 290,000.

Russia is a slightly lighter lavender, with a population of 183,000, and Germany’s purple is another step lighter with 117,500. The area on the previous map that was the darkest purple with the highest populations, centered on Poland, is now a pale lilac, with most countries having Jewish populations of under 10,000.

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Eb @ebthen.bsky.social · 14/04/2026

Got sent this photo from today a little bit ago of Esme and her favorite small human.

Esme, a tiny half-chihuahua dog, sitting with a small child in a child-size chair, looking pretty darn smug about her situation. The child's face has been blocked out, but one hand is petting Esme and the other is holding a tablet with a show playing on it. The child has the handle of Esme's leash around the wrist of the hand petting her.

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Eb @ebthen.bsky.social · 10/04/2026

You wouldn't think so but she's not called Esme the Destroyer for nothing. I had to train her to trade me trash for treats. She games the system by keeping a stash of polyfil or shredded kleenex or whatever where I can't see it and only bringing me a small part of it and then going back for more.

A rug with several ugly bare patches where the pile has been pulled out of the backing by some sort of determined tiny monster.

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Eb @ebthen.bsky.social · 08/04/2026

That is, in fact, how she sees herself.

Bella, a very small chihuahua-type dog, sitting on a sofa looking up over her shoulder at the audience. Her nose and eyes are huge and her ears are back, making her look sweet and meek and pathetic.

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Eb @ebthen.bsky.social · 07/04/2026

Noticed the lines about "and I don't remember how many against the three when I was a boy Abyssinia Spain and Harlan County" and realized I didn't know what the Harlan County War was. But I'm learning now. Wikipedia source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harlan_...

The Harlan County War, or Bloody Harlan, was a series of coal industry skirmishes, executions, bombings and strikes (both attempted and realized) that took place in Harlan County, Kentucky, during the 1930s. The incidents involved coal miners and union organizers on one side and coal firms and law enforcement officials on the other. The Harlan County coal miners campaigned and fought to organize their workplaces and better their wages and working conditions. It was a nearly decade-long conflict, lasting from 1931 to 1939. Before its conclusion, an unknown number of miners, deputies and bosses were killed, state and federal troops occupied the county more than half a dozen times, two acclaimed folk singers emerged, union membership oscillated wildly and workers in the nation's most anti-labor coal county were ultimately represented by a union.

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