iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Ergative Absolutive @ergative.wandering.shop.ap.brid.gy · 30/09/2026

Overheard on campus today: 'You can survive any type of fall; it's just a matter of how well you convert your vertical to horizontal momentum at the bottom.' File under: 'Why teenagers think they're immortal', volume XIXX.

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Ergative Absolutive @ergative.wandering.shop.ap.brid.gy · 21/09/2026

I've been teaching this class for years and years now! I have everything prepared for the first day tomorrow. Lecture slides are updated. Handouts are printed! It's all ready! I've done this so many times! Why am I nervous? #academicChatter

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Ergative Absolutive @ergative.wandering.shop.ap.brid.gy · 16/09/2026

Some of my colleagues are beginning to feel the last-week-before-teaching-starts pressure and getting into very polite arguments on Teams chat over the meaning of 'references' vs. 'bibliography'. #academicChatter

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Ergative Absolutive @ergative.wandering.shop.ap.brid.gy · 16/09/2026

Ten years on, I have decided to watch the Night Manager. I say. It's very good, isn't it?

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Jérôme Petazzoni @jpetazzo.hachyderm.io.ap.brid.gy · 15/09/2026

If you like science fiction: StoryBundle is currently offering the "2026 Space Opera Sisterhood Bundle". For $30 (or more if you feel generous) you'll get 15 DRM-free ebooks. You can see the details of the bundle (and buy it) here: storybundle.com/space I am a huge fan of StoryBundle […]

hachyderm.io

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Ergative Absolutive @ergative.wandering.shop.ap.brid.gy · 15/09/2026

I solved a problem at work this week and I feel very, very smug about it. I should not have had to solve it. IT should have solved it, because IT created it. But IT was incapable of solving it --- in fact, IT insisted that the solution I found did not exist --- but IT was wrong, and I solved it […]

wandering.shop

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Ada Palmer @adapalmer.wandering.shop.ap.brid.gy · 12/09/2026

A 300-million-year-old tree species declared extinct in the wild in the 1990s now numbers around 10,000 mature trees. China’s cliff cypress survives almost entirely in and around Chongqing’s Xuebaoshan reserve, the product of two decades of seed-banking and propagation work that just won an […]

wandering.shop

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Ergative Absolutive @ergative.wandering.shop.ap.brid.gy · 11/09/2026

Behold an innovation in academic publishing that, astonishingly, is an IMPROVEMENT, not an abomination. Instead of marking up proofs and sending them back, I am allowed to make direct edits to the publisher's source file in LaTeX. Is this genuinely new, or have I just been publishing in old […]

wandering.shop

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Ergative Absolutive @ergative.wandering.shop.ap.brid.gy · 10/09/2026

I so much do not want to be updating reading lists and course Moodles in preparation for the new semester that I deep-cleaned my dishwasher. And did laundry. ANd took out the recycling. #academicChatter

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Ergative Absolutive @ergative.wandering.shop.ap.brid.gy · 10/09/2026

I have been asked to provide some samples of my calligraphy for my calligraphy guild's website. The requester knows me well enough to specify, 'nothing controversial, no swearing . . . ' Hah, nothing controversial. Kindness is controversial these days. I […] [Original post on wandering.shop]

Two pages of foundational calligraphy, with the following text:

My Invisible Horse and the Speed of Human Decency

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Matthew Olzmann

People always tell me, “Don’t put the cart
before the horse,” which is curious
because I don’t have a horse.
Is this some new advancement in public shaming—
repeatedly drawing one’s attention
to that which one is currently not, and never
has been, in possession of?
If ever, I happen to obtain a Clydesdale,
then I’ll align, absolutely, it to its proper position
in relation to the cart, but I can’t
do that because all I have is the cart.
One solitary cart—a little grief wagon that goes
precisely nowhere—along with, apparently, one
invisible horse, which does not pull,
does not haul, does not in any fashion
budge, impel or tow my disaster buggy
up the hill or down the road.
I’m not asking for much. A more tender world
with less hatred strutting the streets.
Perhaps a downtick in state-sanctioned violence
against civilians. Wind through the trees.
Water under the bridge. Kindness.
LOL, says the world. These things take time, says
the Office of Disappointment. Change cannot
be rushed, says the roundtable of my smartest friends.
Then, together, they say, The cart!
They say, The horse!
They say, Haven’t we told you already?
So my invisible horse remains
standing where it previously stood:
between hotdog stands and hallelujahs,
between the Nasdaq and the moon’s adumbral visage,
between the status quo and The Great Filter,
and I can see that it’s not his fault—being
invisible and not existing—
how he’s the product of both my imagination
and society’s failure of imagination.
Watch how I press my hand against his translucent flank.
How I hold two sugar cubes to his hypothetical mouth.
How I say I want to believe in him,
speaking softly into his missing ear.

White copperplate calligraphy on red paper:

Hail, Pterry, full of rage, the muse is with thee. Blessed art thou among authors, and blessed is the fruit of thy brain, Discworld.

Hail Pterry, Father of Great A'Tuin, who channeled rage into compassion blessed are thy words.

Text by @ultragotha.bsky.social‬

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Ergative Absolutive @ergative.wandering.shop.ap.brid.gy · 06/09/2026

Behold, she is done! This is, without a doubt, the most complex project I've ever undertaken, and I'm very proud of myself for seeing it through to the end. #humanArt #noAI #artistsofMastodon #IslamicGeometricart

Panel composed of large tesselating stars, hexagons, and bow-tie shapes, each filled with symmetrically twining white biomorphic designs on a dark blue background. The outlines of the shapes are also in dark blue channels, and the border around the panel is dark blue with a little picket-fence type design running along it in white.

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Ergative Absolutive @ergative.wandering.shop.ap.brid.gy · 05/09/2026

RE: wandering.shop/@ergative/1171555983… To anyone who was interested, these turned out to be an absolute scam. These things are just bolted plates that mimic the shape of the component parts of the original, but do not actually work in the slightest. Ignore the geared dotting […]

wandering.shop

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Ergative Absolutive @ergative.wandering.shop.ap.brid.gy · 03/09/2026

I'm seeing a lot of discourse around the new Harry Potter series, and much of it is built not only on condemning JKR's behaviour, but also criticising the text itself. I'd like to suggest that the second half -- the criticism of the text -- is not relevant and even a distraction.

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Ergative Absolutive @ergative.wandering.shop.ap.brid.gy · 03/09/2026

"there are some really exciting innovations in the pre-dosed laundry detergent space . . .'' This is your sign to stop scrolling youtube shorts and do literally anything else.

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Arturo Serrano @carturo222.ohai.social.ap.brid.gy · 31/08/2026

Before tonight, I was the only Colombian to ever win a Hugo. As of tonight, I am the only Colombian with two Hugos.

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Ergative Absolutive @ergative.wandering.shop.ap.brid.gy · 30/08/2026

RE: wandering.shop/@ergative/1171555983… These are on aliexpress now too. A bunch of them have 1-star reviews, reporting indignantly that they look nothing like the picture. I have bought two of them which, as far as I can tell from the most realistic-looking images, have two […]

wandering.shop

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Ergative Absolutive @ergative.wandering.shop.ap.brid.gy · 30/08/2026

Other than modern Hebrew, I don't know of any dead language that's been successfully revitalized. I'm crossing all my fingers and toes that Siraya can keep it up. #linguistics news.mongabay.com/2026/08/siraya-la…

news.mongabay.com

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Ergative Absolutive @ergative.wandering.shop.ap.brid.gy · 28/08/2026

Horatio: So Milo Yiannopoulos goes to 't. Hamlet: Why, man, he did make love to this employment. He is not near my conscience. His defeat Does by his own insinuation grow. ’Tis dangerous when the baser nature comes Between the pass and fell incensèd points Of mighty opposites.

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Ergative Absolutive @ergative.wandering.shop.ap.brid.gy · 28/08/2026

Progress! You have to understand that these take ages to paint. I spent two hours last night doing just one of those hexagons. #humanart #islamicgeometricart

Partially painted panel of blue and white Uzbek biomorphic decoration (white vinework on blue background), laid out in a geometric grid of stars and hexagons and bowtie shapes. The central star, four partial stars in the corners, and two complete hexagons along the long midline have been fully painted. Four half-hexagons at the edges and all the bowties and partial bowties have their designs outline, but remain unpainted.

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Elen Le Foll 🇫🇷 🇬🇧 🇩🇪 @elenlefoll.fediscience.org.ap.brid.gy · 28/08/2026

🚨 The deadline for abstract submission for the Second Workshop on Replication in the Language Sciences (sites.google.com/view/worela2) taking place on 8–9 July 2027 in Cologne has been extended to 15 September 2026 (final extension). 🚨 We invite […] [Original post on fediscience.org]

WoRela 2 Website
8-9 July 2027
Photo of nightscape of Cologne with the cathedral
University of Cologne, Germany
Building cumulative knowledge in the language sciences through
reproducible, robust, and replicable research findings
CALL FOR ABSTRACTS

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Ergative Absolutive @ergative.wandering.shop.ap.brid.gy · 26/08/2026

Hey, @thisismyglasgow , do you have any photographs of that gorgeous white art-deco building right across from the Argyle St exit of St Enoch subway station? I've tried to photograph it many times from my phone, but I don't have the right lens or something […] [Original post on wandering.shop]

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Ergative Absolutive @ergative.wandering.shop.ap.brid.gy · 25/08/2026

These ebay ads for this snail-shaped ruling pen dotted-line drawer are hilarious. Clearly ai-generated by a model that has absolutely no idea how they're supposed to be used. I'm debating buying one anyway, because I've never seen these available for purchase outside of wildly expensive vintage […]

wandering.shop

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Ergative Absolutive @ergative.wandering.shop.ap.brid.gy · 25/08/2026

Work in progress of my Uzbek ceramics-inspired panel. Designs taken from Dr Esra Almahal's excellent book on Islamic biomorphic patterns. Materials are gouache on hot-press watercolour paper. #humanart #islamicgeometricart

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Ergative Absolutive @ergative.wandering.shop.ap.brid.gy · 20/08/2026

Yes, I COULD just whip up a quick placeholder figure in paint or powerpoint and plop a screenshot in my document draft. OR --- and bear with me here --- I could spend an hour coding it up in tikz, because my brain is shot from drafting this all day and I can't write words any more. #academicChatter

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Ergative Absolutive @ergative.wandering.shop.ap.brid.gy · 20/08/2026

Welp, just sent an all-staff email about the importance of getting feedback to students in a timely manner, and unfortunately typed (and sent) 'feedy speedback' without noticing. Naturally, a colleague immediately noticed. I guess I'm glad they're reading what I send! #academicChatter

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Ergative Absolutive @ergative.wandering.shop.ap.brid.gy · 20/08/2026

Just clicked off a youtube video (that had already been feeling fairly AI-ish in its script) at the line, 'Now, I don't have the math skills to work this out, but ChatGPT tells me . ..'

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Ergative Absolutive @ergative.wandering.shop.ap.brid.gy · 19/08/2026

A very hearty greeting to the two gentlemen sitting by me on the train this morning, both of whom sported very fine octopus tattoos on their left hands. They showed no signs of being acquainted; they simply shared a morning commute and excellent taste in personal adornment.

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Ergative Absolutive @ergative.wandering.shop.ap.brid.gy · 16/08/2026

I regret to announce that as of about 1am this morning, British House Spider season has begun. I'm afraid I had to evict Reginald out the window, but I have no doubt that his leggy chums will emerge from the walls before too long. I'll make sure to reunite the lads in short order.

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Ada Palmer @adapalmer.wandering.shop.ap.brid.gy · 14/08/2026

The world is closing in on trachoma, the leading infectious cause of blindness. Seven more countries have eliminated it in the past year, including Egypt, Australia and El Salvador, taking the total to 32. The number of people needing antibiotics and hygiene programmes has halved in a decade […]

wandering.shop

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Ergative Absolutive @ergative.wandering.shop.ap.brid.gy · 14/08/2026

Me: We're almost halfway through the book. Isn't it a murder mystery? Shouldn't we have a dead body by now? 5 pages later, the (first?) victim is pushed down the stairs.

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Ergative Absolutive @ergative.wandering.shop.ap.brid.gy · 10/08/2026

That whole 'Linked in added a slop-reporting button' smells an awful lot like 'Linked in is getting people to provide free data about features that are commonly associated with AI slop, which will be helpful data for developing new LLMs that do not have those features.'

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Ergative Absolutive @ergative.wandering.shop.ap.brid.gy · 08/08/2026

Did you know about Pikiwedia? If you don't know about Pikiwedia, you need to learn about Pikewedia. I swear, I'm got to assign something about speech errors and spoonerisms from this. pikiwedia.netlify.app/Dog #linguistics

pikiwedia.netlify.app

Pikiwedia: Dog

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Reposted by Ergative Absolutive

Ergative Absolutive @ergative.wandering.shop.ap.brid.gy · 06/08/2026

Hey, folks! Do you know of any unisex/open toilets? Add them here! I just went on and added my work building, which is fully open to the public during business hours, and has single-sex toilets on the ground floor, but two single-occupancy unisex rooms on the upper floors. (There's a space to […]

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Ergative Absolutive @ergative.wandering.shop.ap.brid.gy · 06/08/2026

wandering.shop

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Ergative Absolutive @ergative.wandering.shop.ap.brid.gy · 04/08/2026

Bought some books in London. See if you can guess which books Mr Absolutive selected, and which I selected.

28 books laid out on the floor. From left to right, top to bottom, we have

Lady Eve's Last Con (Rebecca Fraimow)
City of Saints & Madmen (Jeff Vandermeerr)
Gogmagog (Jeff Nono & Steve Beard)
Spread Me (Sarah Gailey)
A book of decorative papers entitled Art Forms in Nature (art by Ernst Haeckl, an unfortunate 19th century white supremecist, but my god the man could draw a jellyfish like no other)
The Windhover (Lorna Alecock)
Just the Plague (Ludmila Ulitskaya)
Aetherial Worlds (Tatyana Tolstaya)
Regiment of Women (Clemence Dane)
May We Feed The King (Rebecca Perry)
The Architects (Stefan Heym)
Black Bag (Luke Kennard)
Quick Service (PG Wodehouse)
Company for Henry (ibid)
The Scandalous Confessions of Lydia Bennet, Witch (Melinda Taub)
The Odyssey (Homer, trans. Emily Wilson)
The Winged Histories (Sofia Samatar)
Slow Gods (Claire North -- although to be fair this was a book I already owned; it just came with us on the trip to London)
The Eye of the Leviathon (M. A. Carrick)
CD: Gamba Sonatas by Bach, Handel, and Scarlotti, played by Steven Isserlis & Richard Egarr)
The Pastor's Wife (Elizabeth von Arnim)
By the Pricking of her Thumb (Adam Roberts)
So in the Spruce Forest (Ali Smith)
Ordinary Saints (Niamh Ní Mhaoileoin)
When God was a Rabbit (Sarah Winman)
Soviet Milk (Nora Ikstena)
Illumination: Gold and Colour: Tools|Materials|Techniques|Projects for using gold and colour and creating mediaeval miniatures (Patricia Lovett)
Kieron Smith, boy (James Kelman)

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Ergative Absolutive @ergative.wandering.shop.ap.brid.gy · 01/08/2026

Hey, y'all, if you have an opportunity to see a production of Arcadia, you should. It's very very very good.

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Ergative Absolutive @ergative.wandering.shop.ap.brid.gy · 01/08/2026

I have now seen Hadestown. I understand the hype. Wow. 'Why do we build the wall' is a perfect song. Persephone was very good, and the the guy who played Hades was phenomenal. The young lovers were less interesting. Eurydice was fine. Orpheus didn't quite have the upper register his part […]

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Ergative Absolutive @ergative.wandering.shop.ap.brid.gy · 26/07/2026

RE: mastodon.art/@ThompsonArt/116985740… Lookit the pretty bullfinch + cowfinch! My favourite birds. We have some in our back yard that come and eat out of our bird feeder hanging outside the kitchen window.

mastodon.art

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Ada Palmer @adapalmer.wandering.shop.ap.brid.gy · 25/07/2026

London let its roadsides run wild, and butterflies are starting to return London’s transportation authority has doubled its wildflower verges in two years to 520,000 m², about 100 Trafalgar Squares, and butterfly sightings are up more than 50% […]

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Ergative Absolutive @ergative.wandering.shop.ap.brid.gy · 25/07/2026

Guys, @glasgowbell.co.uk continues to delight. AI-free local journalism, full of charming human editorial voice. The discussion of the boathouse fire is masterclass in how to imply culpability without committing to anything libellous […]

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Ada Palmer @adapalmer.wandering.shop.ap.brid.gy · 24/07/2026

Southeast Asia has flipped from mangrove villain to mangrove hero. The region drove nearly 60% of global mangrove losses up to 2010; since then it has swung to a net gain, supplying about 43% of the world’s recovery. Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science… #ShareGoodNewsToo

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Ergative Absolutive @ergative.wandering.shop.ap.brid.gy · 24/07/2026

It baffles me that the SFF community doesn't seem to know more about Chris and Jack. How am I the one always sharing their skits! www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jjxbkze-UR8

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Ergative Absolutive @ergative.wandering.shop.ap.brid.gy · 24/07/2026

TFW you finish revisions on a paper and resubmit it, only to IMMEDIATELY discover a PERFECT citation that would have been a PERFECT piece of evidence to support a claim in the literature review #academicChatter

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Ergative Absolutive @ergative.wandering.shop.ap.brid.gy · 23/07/2026

RE: wandering.shop/@NerdsofaFeather/116… Guys, this was a stunning trilogy. Book 1 came out nearly 10 years ago, but it is painfully relevant to the current world, and also timelessly relevant in its clear-eyed view of people and society. I try to express how much I loved […]

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Ergative Absolutive @ergative.wandering.shop.ap.brid.gy · 22/07/2026

it's a good sign you're close to being done with revisions when you find yourself making edits like changing `We make the following distinction between X and Y: . . .' to 'We distinguish between X and Y as follows: . . .' #academicChatter

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