iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Joe McVeigh @eviljoemcveigh.com · 03/10/2026

I don't know... Pretty sure there has to be a window involved... Ah, heck it. I'll allow it!

Merriam-Webster definition of "defenestration"

Joe McVeigh @eviljoemcveigh.com · 03/10/2026

Top 10 songs about "defenestration": 1. "Out the window" by the Violent Femmes 2. ... Uh, that's all I got. I'll have to get back to you on this.

200

Joe McVeigh @eviljoemcveigh.com · 02/10/2026

There were so many funny and odd ones. I wish I could remember them all. And forget about translating "pitkä". The machine told us that some dinosaurs were 30 meters "tall" 😳

010

Joe McVeigh @eviljoemcveigh.com · 02/10/2026

Back in the day, me and my students would run famous Finnish people's names through Google Translate and for some reason it would give famous English speakers. I think one was Vesa-Matti Loiri >> Ja Rule 😂 Like, what??

110

Joe McVeigh @eviljoemcveigh.com · 23/09/2026

The authors also hate post-modernism if that makes you feel any better. Because of Marxists. And Nazi ideas.

Image shows a chart that purports to show that Post-Modernism is a fad. The text box says "Post-modernism, just like social constructivism, is a group of ideas that argue that Positivism (the world is the way we find it) is unsustainable. Therefore, the "postmodernists" argue it needs to be changed (this is also the Marxist approach). But changed to what? In fact the roots of this fad can be found in the literature that gave Adolf Hitler many of his Nazi ideas in the 1920s! This "methodology" has no redeeming features in logicm evidence or anything else."

011

Joe McVeigh @eviljoemcveigh.com · 23/09/2026

The year is 1985. It is the Dawn of Feminism.

100

Joe McVeigh @eviljoemcveigh.com · 23/09/2026

I have like a million questions. I mean, besides the nonsense in that text box, WHY DOES THIS CHART START AT 1985?!! Can I set this chart on fire? Are these articles about feminism, or ones that use feminist methods, or ones that discuss feminist theory?? The authors don't say.

100

Joe McVeigh @eviljoemcveigh.com · 23/09/2026

I know you probably think this is satire, but I can assure you it is not. Just the ramblings of an economist and two stats bros. All men (duh).

100

Joe McVeigh @eviljoemcveigh.com · 23/09/2026

Friends, I have just come across this insane chart in a book on research methods for students. The authors are calling Feminism a "fad".

Image shows a chart which appears to show that feminist articles over time have decreased, which apparently means that Feminism is a fad. The text in the chart says "Feminism as a way of seeing the world (like social constructivism) has been described as simply "wrong-headed to start with". The empirical evidence to support it has always been highly selective. It was a great "home" for the chattering middle classes in the rich countries who had more time on their hands than sense - working class women were just too busy working and they have always been excluded from any real "feminist" concern."

110

Joe McVeigh @eviljoemcveigh.com · 21/09/2026

Here's a flat adverb appearing in the @avcx.bsky.social crossword. What a great clue.

Picture shows a crossword grid.
Clue: Fast, perhaps (but not rapid)
Answer: Adverb

061

Joe McVeigh @eviljoemcveigh.com · 18/09/2026

brb gonna go propose Indo-European-Atlantean super family. It split when one branch sank.

011

Joe McVeigh @eviljoemcveigh.com · 18/09/2026

Definitely don't zoom in on the kindergartners and the "desk" they have. No wonder that one kid's legs look like that.

010

Joe McVeigh @eviljoemcveigh.com · 18/09/2026

🫠 Strange we don't get any words from this region Spanish/French/Atlantean peninsula.

110

Joe McVeigh @eviljoemcveigh.com · 18/09/2026

Commence discussion about Proto-Indo-European's origin. And strange language families. Wrong answers only.

110

Joe McVeigh @eviljoemcveigh.com · 18/09/2026

I can't remember where I found this image (LinkedIn probably), but it's some AI slop about linguistics and it is hot garbage. Check out where German words come from (Turkey lol). Check out the Old Norse coming from... Ireland.

Image is AI slop showing an incorrect map of Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. The map purports to show where words come from, but misplaces them on the map. German is in Turkey, Swedish is in Ukraine. It's tough to tell because the map is wrong.

240

Joe McVeigh @eviljoemcveigh.com · 14/09/2026

I'm teaching paragraph structure to my students this week and I can't wait to show them this mess. Topic sentence? Fuck you.

071

Joe McVeigh @eviljoemcveigh.com · 14/09/2026

This image is AI slop and you should delete it

010

Joe McVeigh @eviljoemcveigh.com · 14/09/2026

[Santa's little helper wheels by with a collar blocker] Grandpa Simpson: Hey, the lamp's running away! This made me laugh so hard that I understood comedy.

020

Reposted by Joe McVeigh

Jonathan Kasstan @jrkasstan.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

Rosen does historical #linguistics this week!

1164

Joe McVeigh @eviljoemcveigh.com · 28/08/2026

Fair enough, @puzzmo.com. The word I was looking for was "meeces"

110

Reposted by Joe McVeigh

Janne M. Korhonen @jmkorhonen.fi · 18/08/2026

What the most right wing government in Finnish history promised: 100 000 new jobs, reduced government debt What the most right wing government in Finnish history delivered: 100 000 new poor, greatly increased government debt

510336

Joe McVeigh @eviljoemcveigh.com · 08/08/2026

Thank you! Many of my students appreciate a clear policy (because they're the best like that). And yeah, literally all I want to do at work is help my students succeed

010

Joe McVeigh @eviljoemcveigh.com · 08/08/2026

I mean, I had a Schmidt t-shirt and he won the WS with the Phils when I was -3, so I get it. But how perfect is it that Spider-Man is a Mets fan? Just another aspect of the ol' Parker luck. 😬

000

Joe McVeigh @eviljoemcveigh.com · 08/08/2026

I saw that new Spider-Man movie and he had a Mets poster on his wall, which is how they show the audience that he's an antihero. Maybe a villain.

260

Joe McVeigh @eviljoemcveigh.com · 07/08/2026

Just in time for this semester, I have updated my AI policy. The main idea remains the same (no AI in my classes). But now there are more sources (many more unfortunately). Feel free to reuse, adapt and share! docs.google.com/document/d/1...

docs.google.com

AI policy and guidelines - Joe McVeigh.docx

You are strictly prohibited from using Generative AI (AI) or Large Language Models (LLMs) for research or writing assignments, including ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Copilot, Grammarly and Grok. Any submi...

184

Joe McVeigh @eviljoemcveigh.com · 22/07/2026

I can attest to marketing copy causing insanity. And I didn't even have AI to blame 🙃

020

Joe McVeigh @eviljoemcveigh.com · 09/07/2026

I definitely did a double take when I saw that name. Could be worse though.

010

Joe McVeigh @eviljoemcveigh.com · 20/06/2026

That's all for now. I hate these op-eds and so should you. They are bad and they make people dumber.

140

Joe McVeigh @eviljoemcveigh.com · 20/06/2026

I guarantee you that Loius didn't bother spending one second looking this up. He just went "I hate when people (women) talk like this. *type type type SEND*" Who's really to blame for imprecise language and verbal littering, Louis?

110

Joe McVeigh @eviljoemcveigh.com · 20/06/2026

And we can use “like” alongside of other words that mean similar things, such as “say” or “yell” or “think”. It doesn’t have to be one or the other. We’re not running out of space in English.

110

Joe McVeigh @eviljoemcveigh.com · 20/06/2026

You use BE + like. When I say “John was like ‘no way, man’” you understand John’s reaction. I can’t do that with “say” because then I would have to give John’s exact words. “Like” is USEFUL like that.

120

Joe McVeigh @eviljoemcveigh.com · 20/06/2026

And then there’s “like”. This word rules. It has multiple meanings and that’s great! It’s absolutely not imprecise or redundant. Think about it. You want to relay a person’s reaction after the fact, but you don’t want to give their exact words. What do you do?

110

Joe McVeigh @eviljoemcveigh.com · 20/06/2026

Chances are you learned what these words mean without being taught. And when you hear someone say them in conversation, you know whether to start talking or refrain from talking or say one word to help the other person.

110

Joe McVeigh @eviljoemcveigh.com · 20/06/2026

Linguists call words like "um" and "er" discourse markers and they are super duper important in conversation. When we are talking to someone, we use different ways of directing their attention or telling them to chime in or stay quiet. One of these ways is by saying “um” and “er” and “uh”.

110

Joe McVeigh @eviljoemcveigh.com · 20/06/2026

Basically, the audience of a speech is expected to listen quietly. There’s no reason for the speaker to send them any signals to keep listening. That’s important because of the kinds of words that “um” and “uh” are.

110

Joe McVeigh @eviljoemcveigh.com · 20/06/2026

No, not really. Language use depends on context. So if you’re giving a speech, you might want to avoid saying “um” and “er”. But that’s a very particular form of spoken language.

120

Joe McVeigh @eviljoemcveigh.com · 20/06/2026

But ok, let’s also talk about why these complaints are wrong. Aren’t these words “filler words” and doesn’t that mean they’re bad?

110

Joe McVeigh @eviljoemcveigh.com · 20/06/2026

Please, Louis, do not disgrace a hill with your inane complaints about subjects you do not understand. And please, @theguardian.com, stop publishing this crap.

120

Joe McVeigh @eviljoemcveigh.com · 20/06/2026

lol no. This is the first interview that HE POSTED on HIS OWN GD WEBSITE and within 30 seconds of speaking, he says both “um” and “uh”. I’m not watching any more. This is always what happens and it is so fucking stupid. www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRM_...

youtube.com

Louis de Bernières On Mussolini, Hitler & Other Accidents

YouTube video by Tippy RammaDamma

130