iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

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Google Open Source @opensource.google · 18h

Every Oct 1 (10/1 = 101-key keyboard), Google Japan's Gboard team open-sources a DIY keyboard. 2026's Gboard Conveyor Belt Version brings the keys to you: 4 motorized belts, 116 Choc V1 switches, KiCad PCBs, STLs & firmware: github.com/google/mozc-devices/tree…

Google Open Source social card 01/04 for 101 Keyboard Day (10/1) by the Google Japan Gboard Team. Headline: "Looks Like a 10/1 Joke. Built as Real Open-Source Hardware." Subheadline: "For its 15th annual Oct 1 release, Google Japan's Gboard team open-sourced a motorized conveyor-belt keyboard you can actually build." Includes a split photo banner showing three upright blue, yellow, and red Gboard Conveyor Belt Version keyboards spinning on the left, and a green workbench mat flat-lay of 116 Kailh Choc V1 switches, 3D-printed belt links, and flexible PCBs on the right. Highlights complete KiCad schematics, 18 STL files, BOM, and Apache-2.0 firmware at github.com/google/mozc-devices.

Google Open Source social card 03/04: "'The Problem With Keyboards Is That They Stand Still'" (Repo Structure & Design Philosophy). Top spotlight banner shows a circular photo of one-handed typing on the upright blue conveyor keyboard next to a mouse, titled "One-Handed Typing via Rotational Key Delivery — Built on a waterfall model that rotates not just PDCA, but every character." Below is a 2x2 repository directory grid: (1) REPO // BOARD/: KiCad Schematics (Full PCB layouts and schematic data); (2) REPO // FIRMWARE/: Controller Source (Apache-2.0 source code for the M5Stack ATOMS3 Lite); (3) REPO // STLS/: 3D Printable Models (18 STL meshes for enclosure, sprockets, and 116 belt links); (4) DOCS // BUILDGUIDE.MD: Step-by-Step BOM (English & Japanese docs).

Google Open Source social card 04/04 (Bluesky @opensource.google edition): "Explore the Schematics, STLs & 15 Years of Gboard Builds." Top box ("OPEN SOURCE REPOSITORY & TEAM") lists: Team: Google Japan Gboard Team (15th Annual 10/1 Keyboard Release); Repository: github.com/google/mozc-devices/tree/main/mozc-conveyorbelt; Hardware Stack: KiCad, M5Stack ATOMS3 Lite, Kailh Choc V1 Switches; License: Apache License 2.0. Middle box ("PAST 10/1 OPEN-SOURCE KEYBOARDS IN MOZC-DEVICES") lists: 2025 Gboard Dial Version, 2024 Double-Sided Version, 2023 Caps Version (wearable hat), 2022 Bar Version (1.65m row), and 2021 Yunomi Teacup Version. Bottom call-to-action banner reads: "Clone the Repo & Read the Build Guide — ↑ Link in post above: github.com/google/mozc-devices."

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Erin McKean @emckean.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

It's newsletter day: this month's installment includes adder stones, Don Quixote's favorite book, and a link to all the links: buttondown.com/thingslearne...

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Erin McKean @emckean.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

I found this essay through @lifewinning.com's Perfect Sentences newsletter (buttondown.com/perfectsente...) but honestly it's brimming with absolute bangers: drlennecefer.substack.com/p/why-i-dele... "Systems do not change because a million people were briefly furious."

drlennecefer.substack.com

Why I deleted my Instagram and applied to run Little Caesars

In one generation, the most sophisticated behavioral engineering in history rebuilt how human beings pay attention. Our movements haven't noticed. Our opponents have.

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wordnik.com @wordnik.com · 15/08/2026

New on the Wordnik blog: Five Words From ... Vanishing Fleece, by Clara Parkes: blog.wordnik.com/five-words-f...

blog.wordnik.com

Five Words from … Vanishing Fleece | Wordnik

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Erin McKean @emckean.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

It's the 11th of the month, so time for another issue of Things I Learned While Looking Up Other Things! This one is a bit different, more of an essay, about "intense interest, briefly experienced" (but still with 11 links): buttondown.com/thingslearne...

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Erin McKean @emckean.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

the perfect data exploration website doesn't exi—oh wait: thanados.net

thanados.net

THANADOS

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Erin McKean @emckean.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

This is one of my favorite blog posts my coworkers in OSPO do: how does Google show up in open source?

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Ted Underwood @tedunderwood.com · 30/07/2026

My secret, Cap, is that I'm *always* angry about old books. For instance, here's a tiny slice of the millions of books 1931-1986 that have no commercial value, that are digitized, but that we're unable to use in large-scale research because they are illegal to share or display.

$a tiny random fraction of books in HathiTrust 1931-1980 in English that include the word "philosophy" somewhere in metadata$

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Erin McKean @emckean.bsky.social · 11/07/2026

It's the 11th of the month, so watch your inbox for a new installment of "Things I Learned While Looking Up Other Things", including seal finger, obviation, and the Jupiter of Jupiter: buttondown.com/thingslearne...

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Chaucer Doth Tweet @levostregc.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

Weirde & obscure wordes are not an elitist control thinge. Thei have hidden all thys tyme, & thei carrye wyth them great poweres & unforeseen futures. Wordes you have to looke up are wordes that businesse hath not bent ynto sad smooth chains to harness desyre. Lookinge up wordes ys rebellion.

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Erin McKean @emckean.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

Also very useful for time travelers

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wordnik.com @wordnik.com · 25/06/2026

New on the Wordnik blog: an interview with author Bennett Sims about all the great words in his zombie novel A Questionable Shape: blog.wordnik.com/quite-a-few-...

blog.wordnik.com

(Quite a few more than) Five Words from … A Questionable Shape | Wordnik

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Erin McKean @emckean.bsky.social · 11/06/2026

It's the 11th of the month! This episode of Things I Learned While Looking Up Other Things is more like Things I Learned While Looking AT Other Things (lots of art, plus unusual rocks, stereotypical names in pastoral poetry, and victories that aren't). buttondown.com/thingslearne...

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Erin McKean @emckean.bsky.social · 05/06/2026

I was just reading Johnson on this today: "But suppose the philological decree made and promulgated, what would be its authority? ... The edicts of an English academy would probably be read by many, only that they might be sure to disobey them." www.online-literature.com/samuel-johns...

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Erin McKean @emckean.bsky.social · 11/05/2026

It's the 11th of the month! In this installment: blithering sap-heads; holiday euphoniums, artist epitaphs, and frozen words: buttondown.com/thingslearne...

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Erin McKean @emckean.bsky.social · 29/04/2026

The Gel Conference is back! It was the first big conference I ever spoke at and one of the best I've ever attended: gelconference.com Highly recommended! (I have a conflict or I would be there for sure.)

gelconference.com

Gel 2026 Conference

Gel is back! Now 10 years after our most recent event, Gel 2016, the event returns on October 2-3 with the theme: Rebirth.

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Fiona Tribe @fionatribe.bsky.social · 23/04/2026

Yes, Swiss scientist Fritz Zwicky coined the term “dark matter” which is impressive, but he also coined the term “spherical bastard” to describe people who are bastards no matter which way you look at them, and I think that should be celebrated more.

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wordnik.com @wordnik.com · 12/04/2026

New on the Wordnik blog: Five Words from ... Dress Codes, by Richard Thompson Ford: blog.wordnik.com/five-words-f...

blog.wordnik.com

Five Words from … Dress Codes: How the Laws of Fashion Made History | Wordnik

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Erin McKean @emckean.bsky.social · 11/04/2026

It's the eleventh of the month: time for some more things I learned while looking up other things, including unwanted disciples, hating the number 17 for not being perfect, "women and children first", and the Medina standard: buttondown.com/thingslearne...

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LingComm @lingcomm.org · 02/04/2026

Reminder that the LingComm Grants close at the end of this month!

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Erin McKean @emckean.bsky.social · 05/04/2026

Happy linguistics-degree-word-assignment-day to all who celebrate: xkcd.com/2602/

xkcd.com

Linguistics Degree

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wordnik.com @wordnik.com · 23/03/2026

New issue of Logodaedaly, Wordnik's newsletter for word game enthusiasts! Interviews with game creators, upcoming events, and a call for new contributors! mailchi.mp/wordnik/logo...

mailchi.mp

Logodaedaly: the Wordnik word games newsletter (No. 25)

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Erin McKean @emckean.bsky.social · 22/03/2026

Absolutely this: "I’ve learned that when you coin a new term, the definition is not what you give it. It’s what people assume it means when they hear it." @simonwillison.net (simonwillison.net/2026/Mar/14/...)

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Erin McKean @emckean.bsky.social · 15/03/2026

You know if you want to desame-ify your writing you could always increase your vocabulary (said the dictionary editor for no reason 🤔) www.nature.com/articles/d41...

nature.com

AI can ‘same-ify’ human expression — can some brains resist its pull?

Emerging evidence suggests that LLM outputs can shape the text and thoughts of human users.

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Erin McKean @emckean.bsky.social · 12/03/2026

It's the 11th of the month! Time for another edition of Things I Learned While Looking Up Other Things, including the elusive mountain walrus, a stirring anthem against Daylight Saving Time, and Email Debt Forgiveness Day! buttondown.com/thingslearne...

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Erin McKean @emckean.bsky.social · 08/03/2026

I think about this book every year because it’s a murder mystery about daylight saving time and shuffling an hour of light around every year makes me want to kill somebody

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Will Li @williamlidc.bsky.social · 07/03/2026

If I can’t unionize Claude then it’s not conscious, next question

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Anne Bertucio de Hollembeak @annebdh.bsky.social · 27/02/2026

If you were laid off from Block (or anywhere) and want to stay remote, @roost.tools is hiring for multiple SWE roles and levels. If you're the kind of person who's deeply satisfied by figuring out why a service has multiple databases and ripping some out, we might be for you! roost.tools/careers

roost.tools

Careers | ROOST

Join the team at ROOST and help shape the future of open-source online safety.

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Erin McKean @emckean.bsky.social · 18/02/2026

“Each generation must discover its mission, fulfill it or betray it, in relative opacity.”

Sticker with black text on a yellow background reading “I find it kinda bussin’
I find it kinda cap
That the dreams in which I’m dying
Are the ones that kinda slap”

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Erin McKean @emckean.bsky.social · 17/02/2026

new post from Daniel on OSS docs! Always worth reading :)

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wordnik.com @wordnik.com · 16/02/2026

New on the Wordnik blog: Five Words from ... The Notebook, by Roland Allen ( @zibaldoni.bsky.social): blog.wordnik.com/five-words-f...

blog.wordnik.com

Five Words from … The Notebook: A History of Thinking on Paper | Wordnik

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Gretchen McCulloch @gretchenmcculloch.com · 14/02/2026

Roses are red Violets are prime This is the sort Of linguist that I'm

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Erin McKean @emckean.bsky.social · 12/02/2026

new marketing campaign for print dictionaries, as totemic items to ward off dementia: "researchers found higher scores in lifetime enrichment were associated with a 38% lower risk of Alzheimer’s disease ... enrichment included ... dictionaries and library cards" www.theguardian.com/society/2026...

theguardian.com

Reading and writing can lower dementia risk by almost 40%, study finds

Cognitive health in later life is ‘strongly influenced’ by lifelong exposure to intellectually stimulating environments, say researchers

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Kate McKean @katemckean.bsky.social · 11/02/2026

Over on threads someone just use ai;dr and we all need to adopt that right quick

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Erin McKean @emckean.bsky.social · 11/02/2026

This month in Things I Learned While Looking Up Other Things: the Odeillo Solar Furnace, broadcasting "Destroy Mount Rushmore", and searching for smells: buttondown.com/thingslearne...

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Jenny Cohn @jennycohn.bsky.social · 04/02/2026

🚨 Tell your Senators to vote NO on the GOP’s so-called “SAVE” Act”, which would: Require continuing voter purges w/ NO PENALTY for erroneous purges. Subject election officials to potential PRISON TIME & citizen suits for mistakenly registering a single voter—even if the voter is a citizen! 1/

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Derek Powazek @fraying.bsky.social · 01/02/2026

18 million per week. That’s what we are collectively paying to hunt and kill people in Minnesota. I never wanna hear that we can’t afford to take care of our fellow Americans ever again. Healthcare. Education. Infrastructure. We can afford it all. www.kare11.com/article/news...

kare11.com

Study shows Operation Metro Surge costs taxpayers $18 million a week

North Star Policy Action, a progressive research institute, released the study Thursday.

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solomons.bsky.social @solomons.bsky.social · 30/01/2026

If Graham can hold up this bill for venal and treasonous reasons, then @amyklobuchar.com & @smith.senate.gov can block the whole spending package until Dems get the GOP to agree to clawback ICE detention funds.

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LingComm @lingcomm.org · 23/01/2026

Working on a project bringing linguistics to broader audiences? The 2026 LingComm Grants are $300 USD grants to help you with your project! Please apply and/or share with any up and coming lingcommers you know! Details: lingcomm.org/grants #linguistics #langsky #lingcomm

Working on a project bringing linguistics to broader audiences? Apply for a 2026 LingComm Grant! Due: April 30, 2026. Details at link in bio.

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Erin McKean @emckean.bsky.social · 16/01/2026

and now you can subscribe for vol 2! paperairplane.pub#subscribe

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Erin McKean @emckean.bsky.social · 11/01/2026

It’s the 11th of the month, time for a new edition of Things I Learned While Looking Up Other Things! This month: hemerology, ubuesque, and the fattura della morte buttondown.com/thingslearne...

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Skeletired @skeletired.bsky.social · 11/01/2026

This implies that when given notice, these facilities will change their behavior and conditions for the better. So... Democrats should be requesting NON-STOP rolling daily visits to these facilities. Whatever the "tour" mode is should become permanent.

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American Dialect Society @americandialect.org · 10/01/2026

The 2025 Word of the Year is "slop," both as a noun for low-quality AI-generated content and as a combining form for anything of little value. Read the full press release. #WOTY2025 #ADS2026 #LSA2026 americandialect.org/2025-word-of...

americandialect.org

2025 Word of the Year Is “Slop”

New Orleans Marriott–Jan. 9—The American Dialect Society, in its 36th annual words-of-the-year vote, selected slop as the Word of the Year for 2025. More than three hundred attendees took part in the…

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Erin McKean @emckean.bsky.social · 08/01/2026

So sad to learn of John Langdon's death. His words-as-art were always a delight.

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Sherrilyn Ifill @sifill.bsky.social · 08/01/2026

Make it viral.

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Zxo @zxomon.bsky.social · 01/01/2026

Knowing that you are stable enough handle an emergency - the luxury that shouldn't be a luxury. I hope that, in 2026, that will become reality for many more people in the world.

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Erin McKean @emckean.bsky.social · 22/12/2025

There's a very nice writeup of my talk at OSS Tokyo in LWN! lwn.net/SubscriberLi... (gift link) Thanks again to the wonderful @kissane.myatproto.social and @ddbeck.com who created the Docs Advisor and Docs Archetypes (github.com/google/opendocs)!

lwn.net

Tools for successful documentation projects

At Open Source Summit Japan 2025, Erin McKean talked about the challenges to producing good pro [...]

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Dr. Damien P. Williams, dread portent down from a mountain cave @wolven.blacksky.app · 21/12/2025

Now would be a great time for a 10 episode, 20 hour prestige series about the ten years between 1916 and 1926, covering the establishment of the 8-hr work day & 5-day work week, in the US. Each episode would be one year & the middle episode should be entirely devoted to the Battle of Blair Mountain.

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