iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Undead or Ghostly Variety Turtle @emmavaria.bsky.social · 7h

It occurs to me, perhaps somewhat belatedly, that the local populace might *not* acclaim me a hero of myth and legend for filling in their wadi with dry sand so I can drive heavy equipment over it more easily. #roadcraft #sand #pavedparadisejusttoputupaparkinglot

A screenshot from the video game Roadcraft. It depicts a rocky sandy desert setting in which a small oasis or watering hole is nearly completely full of sand, with only slivers of water around the very edges. A very large dump truck half full of more sand has apparently just driven over it, as evidenced by a trail of tire tracks leading across it and off screen.

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Undead or Ghostly Variety Turtle @emmavaria.bsky.social · 15h

Are we doing October New Year waterflows? My local watershed wishes to contribute this glacial meltwater stream from Tahoma (also known as Mount Rainier), Washington State. Ohanapecosh Glacier -> Ohanapecosh River -> Cowlitz River -> Columbia River -> Pacific Ocean

A photograph of a tiny whitewater rapid in a small stream flowing through the dense, lush vegetation of a temperate rainforest. The white of the water contrasts strongly with the vivid greens of the foliage and the near-black shadows of the scene. In the foreground, the water crashes against a large mossy stone as it comes to rest in the pool below. In the background, a fallen tree covered in moss spans the stream.

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Raven Amos (Spoopy Edition)🎨🐦‍⬛ @alaskanime.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

I'm probably going to get muted or blocked for this, but as a fellow science communicator, using AI-generated imagery/text is really a bad look all around. It not only steals from your fellow scientists because it's all trained on stolen data, it also makes up fake science.

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Ben from Spookily Drawn Swords @glenatron.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

The assumption is that it doesn't matter because no human will ever need to understand their output, and that assumption is way bigger than most programmers realise, never mind non-programmers. What I'm seeing is an engine for creating technical debt.

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

Inside me are two turtles. One is chilling on a sunny log. The other climbs up the side, rolling it over and dumping the first one

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Get To Know Nature @gettoknownature.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

An American Oystercatcher in some absolutely divine light at sunset For the #BirdOfTheDay theme of #BokehBirds #birds 🌿 #SunsetAndSilhouettes #silhouette

A shorebird with a long beak stands on a beach bathed in golden light. It is silhouetted against a blurry and brightly sparkling ocean.

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Undead or Ghostly Variety Turtle @emmavaria.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

New Turtle Talk post: On Communication. In this week's essay, we talk about talking! And the streak goes up to three. turtletalk.beehiiv.com/p/on-communi...

turtletalk.beehiiv.com

On Communication

Musings on "Never Ask, Only Guess" and other interpersonal communication strategies

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Undead or Ghostly Variety Turtle @emmavaria.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Birds are the best. They may look at you like this but they’re never gonna send you unwanted texts or emails. (Blue heron) #birds 🌿 This guy was unsure he wanted absolutely any of my photographer shit whatsoever. Gave me the side-eye for several minutes then left.

A photograph showing the top of a great blue heron's head peeking warily over the edge of a boat launch ramp. Barely more is visible than the black stripe which makes up the cap atop its head, and just enough of its white head to show one yellow eye just above the concrete edge.

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Undead or Ghostly Variety Turtle @emmavaria.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Just a reminder in this time of seasonal respiratory illness explosion that the Bible mandates wearing masks and social distancing in cases of contagious illness. Leviticus 13:45-46, NIV

This image consists entirely of text and is an excerpt from the Bible, book of Leviticus, Chapter 13, verses 45 and 46, New International Version. It reads as follows:

45 Anyone with such a defiling disease must wear torn clothes, let their hair be unkempt, cover the lower part of their face, and cry out, 'Unclean! Unclean!'

46 As long as they have the disease they remain unclean. They must live alone; they must live outside the camp.

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Undead or Ghostly Variety Turtle @emmavaria.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

The Wheel of the Year turns once again. Daylight wanes and nighttime reigns. Happy equinox, moots and friendos. Hope everyone's doing alright with the cooler weather, and that those of us with SAD are coping.

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Matt Caulder (They/He) @mattcaulder.com · 21/09/2026

Since I've had to remind multiple people over the last week: Microsoft is still under active BDS protest. That means Xbox and it's subsidies including Activision, Blizzard and Bethesda Yes that means the new Diablo. Yes that means the new DOOM. Yes that means World of Warcraft Forever

nogamesforgenocide.com

No Games For Genocide

The games industry is complicit in genocide. It’s time to divest.

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Undead or Ghostly Variety Turtle @emmavaria.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Streak goes up to two! As promised, this week's essay is about whale teeth, and specifically whether they're scary enough. Scary enough for what, you ask? Well, read to find out! turtletalk.beehiiv.com/p/on-cetacea...

turtletalk.beehiiv.com

On Cetacean Dentition

Musings on Leviathan, as represented in the biblical Book of Job

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Undead or Ghostly Variety Turtle @emmavaria.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

I have now successfully made my first weekly essay on beehiiv. (Second post total, but the first was instantaneous, not weekly, so doesn't count towards streak progression.) Anyone interested in polearms or knives? Or last week's delve into political theory? turtletalk.beehiiv.com/p/on-pokey-i...

turtletalk.beehiiv.com

On Pokey Implements

Musings on medieval polearms, modern infantry bayonets, and the connection between the two.

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Undead or Ghostly Variety Turtle @emmavaria.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

An infinite number of monkeys taking an infinite number of photos with an infinite number of smartphones will inevitably someday produce the complete works of Ansel Adams.

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Undead or Ghostly Variety Turtle @emmavaria.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Welp. Bit the bullet and signed up for beehiiv after all. So far I've been able to dodge AI use, unless they've completely ripped out what appears to be a traditional template system and replaced it silently with AI-based generation. It sure doesn't seem very AI. It's a kludgey finicky pain in the

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Undead or Ghostly Variety Turtle @emmavaria.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

This entire industry just all seems so... grindbro. "Build your brand! Build your base! Build your business!" I don't WANT to build a business! I want a website where people can come read an essay for free! Maybe, if they like it, they can sign up to be notified when new essays come out. That's all!

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Undead or Ghostly Variety Turtle @emmavaria.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

I write. Not, like, at a professional level, or big thinky thoughtful things like novels, but more just... periodic short essay- or article-like musings now and then over topics that interest me. I've got a handful written, and a number of stubs and notes and thoughts saved up for when... (cont'd)

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Undead or Ghostly Variety Turtle @emmavaria.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

I love thinking about how many Exxon Valdezes worth of crude oil is currently floating atop the Persian Gulf these days. >:(

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Undead or Ghostly Variety Turtle @emmavaria.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

Claims Utah, and I did live there for a few years, but Los Angeles is more accurate for a larger period of my life, and both are the darkest shade of red, so…? (Seattle is the most accurate for the longest timeframe though.)

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Undead or Ghostly Variety Turtle @emmavaria.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

So where do I go these days if I want a platform to publish articles or essays of my areas of interest to subscribers, but I don't want to give money to, y'know, people who platform and monetarily support Nazis?

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Undead or Ghostly Variety Turtle @emmavaria.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Finished my third playthrough of "I Was A Teenage Exocolonist" last night, and I've been sitting here thinking of ways I can Do Better next time; my epilogue was nothing like I'd wanted, and I fell short in several areas starting early on when I didn't understand how to progress particular subplots.

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Undead or Ghostly Variety Turtle @emmavaria.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

One of the most delightful things about following as many published authors as I do is that the incidence of "lol"-as-punctuation on my feed is really, really low.

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shauna @goldengateblond.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

yall are gonna hear me say this a lot so here goes again: make plans to vote in person, and do it as early as possible. literally make turnout this election too big to steal.

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Undead or Ghostly Variety Turtle @emmavaria.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

My religion? I'm made of star-matter from the dawn of time. I'm magnificent. You're magnificent. We are all magnificent. The only proper way to honour our magnificence, our inherent nobility as the literal children of the cosmos, is to be equally magnificent to one another and to our world.

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Undead or Ghostly Variety Turtle @emmavaria.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

"One of the most important games ever made"??? Wow. Tell me you're hyper target-fixated onto nothing but the AAA game studios and believe uncritically every single word of the marketing hype, without telling me... those things. "But I swear, Rockstar said..." Yeah. Yeah, I just bet they did.

This image is a screenshot of text. It reads, in full, as follows:

"We find ourselves at a troubling time right now. We're at the precipice of seeing one of the most important video games ever made leaked in full,"

It is an excerpt from an article published on Sunday, August 23, 2026 on the website insider-gaming.com and can be viewed in full at the following URL:
https://insider-gaming.com/redacted-gta-6-leaker-report-build-release/

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Undead or Ghostly Variety Turtle @emmavaria.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

Sometimes there comes a point at which you can't meditate to new discoveries about yourself. You have to decide who you are, not discover it. It's not intrinsically there waiting for you to arrive. Assembly is required.

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Undead or Ghostly Variety Turtle @emmavaria.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

Statement of allegiance: I am ride or die with Waverox. I am aware that virtually none of you will have any idea whatsoever what I'm talking about. That's fine. It is important only that I declare I am ride or die with Waverox. (This does not refer to the weird-ass creepy brain tracker thingy.)

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Undead or Ghostly Variety Turtle @emmavaria.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

PSA: Today is Patch Tuesday again, July 2026 Edition. The usual monthly warning applies to Windows users: Make sure and save anything you leave open or you are inviting your own peril, which may or may not occur predictably overnight tonight*.

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Undead or Ghostly Variety Turtle @emmavaria.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

Don't worry, it'll be back on again Monday morning before the markets open.

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Undead or Ghostly Variety Turtle @emmavaria.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

I don't have funding for your indie game, but I do have about 462 new colleagues for you.

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Kerstin Hall @kerstinhall.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

oh hey, it looks like Second Spear is on sale for $2.99. (I‘ve got about $60 left on my advance of this book, so if anyone feels so inclined…)

bookshop.org

Second Spear

Check out Second Spear - <p> <b>Kerstin Hall's <i>Second Spear</i> is the thrilling follow-up to the Nommo Award finalist, ...

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Undead or Ghostly Variety Turtle @emmavaria.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

Read @aptshadow.bsky.social's MADE THINGS last night while I was busy not sleeping. Shorter read, but I enjoyed it greatly. More than a whiff of @scottlynch78.bsky.social's Gentleman Bastards and Old Therazane in there, which I am forever a huge fan of. Thank you!

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Undead or Ghostly Variety Turtle @emmavaria.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

Today's gonna be an incredibly rough, brutal day. Keep your people close and be extra supportive even if they're being stronk. Check in and extend love and grace. It's gonna be a struggle remaining upright. Been awhile since I've had this pervasive feeling of stomach-sick dread.

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Undead or Ghostly Variety Turtle @emmavaria.bsky.social · 24/06/2026

Motherfuckers seem to think their job is to make a half-assed attempt to implement pre-established hardline party ideology, make excuses, and become a de facto ruling class with lifetime tenure rather than to faithfully represent their constitutents.

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Undead or Ghostly Variety Turtle @emmavaria.bsky.social · 09/06/2026

(reading about somebody's experience with a minor auto accident) We live in a world where we are required by law to purchase insurance, and required by financial survival and self-preservation to handle everything out of pocket rather than submit a claim against said insurance.

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Undead or Ghostly Variety Turtle @emmavaria.bsky.social · 05/06/2026

What’s your favorite movie from each decade of your life? 70s - The Godfather 80s - Blade Runner 90s - Heat 00s - The Fountain 10s - Arrival 20s - Encanto Apparently, I'm huge into slow-burn epic character dramas.

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Undead or Ghostly Variety Turtle @emmavaria.bsky.social · 05/06/2026

Just finished Dwain Worrell's OTHERWORLDLY last night, and my friends, that book is a wild ride. Enjoyed it quite a lot. Anyone know if he's here on bsky? I do like to be able to tag an author when shouting them out. Didn't see social media links on his website or any bsky result on a DDG search.

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Siobhan Beeman @siobhan.northsky.social · 03/06/2026

In 2028 I’m voting straight-ticket for the Vengeance and Retribution Party.

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Undead or Ghostly Variety Turtle @emmavaria.bsky.social · 03/06/2026

Burn WOTC to the ground. Lest we forget, it's only been a couple years since Wizards tried to throw the entire community under the bus with the OGL cash grab. They're showing themselves no better than the megacorps currently murdering the video gaming industry.

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Undead or Ghostly Variety Turtle @emmavaria.bsky.social · 02/06/2026

I'm tired of drowning in my own problems in my own head, so it's listening day again. What do y'all want to talk about? What's on your minds? What's important to you today? Upon what could you use a sympathetic ear?

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Undead or Ghostly Variety Turtle @emmavaria.bsky.social · 01/06/2026

Weird complicated unhappy feels tonight. Nothing anybody else did, or can do to help, just my brain being my brain.

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Undead or Ghostly Variety Turtle @emmavaria.bsky.social · 30/05/2026

I have FINALLY gotten around to reading DESTROY ALL MONSTERS by @sentencebender.bsky.social, which I finished late last night (okay, early this morning). Friendos, I LOVE THIS BOOK. It's all full of mental health and queer and feels and trauma and The Maxx. It is fantastic. Give it a try!

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Undead or Ghostly Variety Turtle @emmavaria.bsky.social · 30/05/2026

I am extraordinarily pleased. With the greatly appreciated assistance of @crowsnest.quest and others, my wee little collection has grown considerably to occupy its full shelf. Just looking at this array brings me nearly the same serotonin rush I get from scanning the comic shelves at a bookstore.

A photograph depicting a book shelf filled completely with graphic novels, a mix of iconic superhero books, Japanese manga, and queer fiction. The titles present include:

All Princesses Die Before Dawn by Quentin Zuttion
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller
Batman: The Killing Joke by Alan Moore
Galaxy: The Prettiest Star by Jadzia Axelrod and Jess Taylor
Galaxy: As The World Falls Down by Jadzia Axelrod and Rye Hickman
Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe
Ghost in the Shell by Masamune Shirow
The Epic of Gilgamesh by Kevin Dixon and Kent Dixon
Girl Haven by Lilah Sturges and Meaghan Carter
Hey Mary! by Andrew Wheeler and Rye Hickman
Kingdom Come by Mark Waid and Alex Ross
Love Languages by James Albon
Lumberjanes: The Infernal Compass by Lilah Sturges and polterink
Lumberjanes: The Shape of Friendship by Lilah Sturges and polterink
Lumberjanes: True Colors by Lilah Sturges and polterink
Lunar Boy by Jes and Cin Wibowo
Mac Hall Volume One by Matt Boyd and Ian McConville
Marvel 1602 by Neil Gaiman, Andy Kubert, and Scott Mckowen
The Complete Maus by Art Spiegelman
Neon Genesis Evangelion by Yoshiyuki Sadamoto
Two editions of Nimona by N.D. Stevenson
The Punisher: Welcome Back Frank by Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon
Penny Arcade collections 1-4 by Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik
The Sandman boxed set by Neil Gaiman
Sex Criminals Complete Edition by Matt Fraction and Chip Zoarsky
All-Star Superman Deluxe Edition by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely
Superman: Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow Deluxe Edition by Alan Moore and Curt Swan
V For Vendetta by Alan Moore and David Lloyd
Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons
Wintermoot by Nathan Shafer
X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills by Chris Claremont, Igor Kordey, and Brent Anderson

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Undead or Ghostly Variety Turtle @emmavaria.bsky.social · 25/05/2026

If anyone was waiting for an omen, this is officially it.

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Undead or Ghostly Variety Turtle @emmavaria.bsky.social · 24/05/2026

them: if you could live anywhere me: Just Anywhere In Space, only it's got to be within that volume of space claimed by the Culture.

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Undead or Ghostly Variety Turtle @emmavaria.bsky.social · 21/05/2026

I sometimes miss Livejournal, where if we wanted to muse over environmental storytelling we could just do it rather than having to break it up into twelve sequential posts in a thread. The fact that threads exist and are supported natively seems to support the need for longer-form posting options.

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Undead or Ghostly Variety Turtle @emmavaria.bsky.social · 21/05/2026

One of the things that I really appreciate in games is big open world sandboxes where you can just do.... whatever you want. Minecraft is a good example of this. There is no narrative, no plot to chase. Bosses exist, but only a few of them, they're all optional, and there are no quests to kill them.

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Undead or Ghostly Variety Turtle @emmavaria.bsky.social · 21/05/2026

The both of you who troubled to pay attention to such things will notice that it's been some time since I posted updates on my hovertank and related game projects. My last update, ironically but unsurprisingly, said "Not much progress. It'll be better next week." It was not better. It was zero.

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