iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Farrah Bostic @farrahbostic.bsky.social · 1h

ICYMI this piece by @rtraister.bsky.social about what’s happening in Maine is essential reading. It contains the answers to why Jackson might win, and why he might lose. nymag.com/intelligence...

nymag.com

Troy Jackson, the Accidental Candidate

How the Democratic Party is seizing control of his Senate campaign.

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Alan Elrod @aselrod.bsky.social · 18h

This is just a relentlessly horrific story. It’s hard to adequately contextualize the moral desolation of this unfolding in the midst of a midterms against a ruling party helmed by inveterate rapists and rape apologists. www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news/congres...

phoenixnewtimes.com

Congressional candidate is raped while repairing her campaign signs

Embarrassed, she initially didn’t want to report attack. Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office's investigation is ongoing. A Phoenix New Times exclusive.

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The Fig Economy @figgityfigs.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Sometimes my wife and I like to send each other text messages as though they’re democratic fundraising messages, and I believe she has produced the jewel of the form.

, it's
and I
have some personal news to share with you.
Being a mom is one of the greatest joys of my life, and I feel deeply that we should have salad tonight
This year has been challenging in many ways, and I have immense gratitude for the kindness and support of family, community, and people like you who have continued to stand by me through everything. It means the world, and I wanted you to be among the first to know that squash is in the oven and kale is in the fridge.

As many of you are aware, ve been navigating one of the most challenging periods of my day while waiting for dinner.
Facing baseless federal hunger brought on by not eating since lunch, fighting for the working kids of this country, and now caring for a mean toddler and helping him grow up in a world that isn't always easy. But it has also reminded me exactly why I do this work and who I do it for.
I will never stop working to eat dinner. I will never stop fighting for what is right, even when there is also some feta in the fridge. And I will never stop being so very thankful that you are by my side in this important work and that there is tahini in the pantry for dressing
With love and gratitude,
stop to end

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WIRED @wired.com · 4h

What’s it like to be the richest man in the world? Find out for yourself.

buff.ly

Spend Elon Musk’s Money

What’s it like to be the richest man in the world? Find out for yourself.

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WIRED @wired.com · 4h

WIRED has partnered with Neal Agarwal of Neal.fun to create a visualization of Elon Musk’s massive wealth. Here’s how it came together.

buff.ly

How Massive Is Elon Musk’s Trillion-Dollar Fortune? Spend It Yourself

WIRED has partnered with Neal Agarwal of Neal.fun to create a visualization of Elon Musk’s massive wealth. Here’s how it came together.

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Farrah Bostic @farrahbostic.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Your damn right he was. The NHS is an absolute marvel. Boyle was right to make a whole big section of the Olympics opening ceremony about it. May it be funded forever.

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Farrah Bostic @farrahbostic.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Somehow the POS still had my stored method of payment though. I guess I believe automation can kill us but it’ll be more like this than a widespread apocalypse.

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Farrah Bostic @farrahbostic.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

We can’t fill one of your prescriptions because it’s missing some code and we have to wait for the doctor’s office to send the code. When I then went to pay for the one medication they had, the tablet made me fill out all the new patient forms. And still had the wrong phone number.

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Farrah Bostic @farrahbostic.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

We have to change back your gender. And update your address to the one we’ve had for you for 6 years to the one we had for you 12 years ago (they no longer had the one from the interim). And update your phone number to the one we’ve had on file for years. And also:

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Farrah Bostic @farrahbostic.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Today I went to have a prescription filled. According to the CVS app and website, there were no new prescriptions; according to the CVS app chatbot, there were. At the pharmacy? The check in tablet said no. The pharmacist said…

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Farrah Bostic @farrahbostic.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Wow. A few weeks ago I got my flu/covid shots. The insurance company had, in the policy renewal period, changed my gender. Only my husband’s employer could fix this, so to get my vaccines, CVS changed my gender on their database to match.

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The Onion @theonion.com · 06/10/2026

Tilly Norwood Moved To Trash Folder By Deranged Fan

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Farrah Bostic @farrahbostic.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

I know we’re facing various AI apocalypses - but my chief complaint is how much of my time they waste. If a phone call is the most efficient thing, let’s do phone calls. (Except the chatbots give bosses permission to reduce staffing, so…)

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Farrah Bostic @farrahbostic.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

The chatbot takeover is going great: Salon chatbot pretends to make an appointment but doesn’t. Pharmacy chatbot is the only way i can see my new prescriptions for some reason but is not smart, it’s just a phone tree. GP’s chatbot gives incorrect info to the GP’s medical staff.

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Jason Concepcion @netw3rk.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Nice good idea, let em take out the US Third Fleet, various air craft carriers and submarines , the marines at Pendleton, the Navy Seals, let’s see what else…

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Farrah Bostic @farrahbostic.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Each time I hear a journalist or commentator speak with satisfaction about ICE retreating, leaving, being driven out, I want to scream because…

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Eric Umansky @ericumansky.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

NEW FROM PP The Trump admin keeps denying immigration agents are grabbing Americans, so we tracked it 500+ Americans detained 70+ kids, some cuffed or zip-tied 60+ held after filming 36+ held for day+ w/o access to lawyer ~12 deported (yes, deported) projects.propublica.org/american-cit....

projects.propublica.org

More Than 500 U.S. Citizens Have Been Detained, Including Handcuffed or Held at Gunpoint, in Trump’s Immigration Crackdown — ProPublica

The government doesn’t track how often immigration officers detain U.S. citizens. So ProPublica did. We’ve found more than 500 Americans who were held against their will during this Trump administrati...

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Farrah Bostic @farrahbostic.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Dropped my dog with a neighbor for less than an hour today. The first chance he got, he busted through some shrub netting and headed back to our house so… he continues to take matters into his own paws.

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Farrah Bostic @farrahbostic.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

In case you would like a break from whatever today, have you seen my dog? He has deep cuteness expertise.

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Farrah Bostic @farrahbostic.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news but you’ll find that after you do a big purge of the contents of your home, you’ll do it again and ask yourself, “why did I keep this the first time?” Tempted to call for a small dumpster right now.

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Molly Coleman @mollycoleman.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Anyway, happy First Monday everybody, this Supreme Court term is going to be an absolute nightmare, just like they will continue to be until we decide enough is enough and get serious about court reform.

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Hansi Lo Wang (he/him) @hansilowang.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

TODAY (Monday, Oct. 5) is the deadline for registering to vote for the midterms in: AMERICAN SAMOA ARIZONA ARKANSAS FLORIDA GEORGIA INDIANA KENTUCKY LOUISIANA — in-person, mail (10/13 online) MISSISSIPPI MONTANA — mail (11/3 in-person) OHIO SOUTH CAROLINA — mail TENNESSEE TEXAS npr.org/vote

npr.org

How to register to vote and check your registration status

For the 2026 elections, NPR has collected deadlines and information on how to register to vote — online, in person or by mail — in every U.S. state and territory.

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Farrah Bostic @farrahbostic.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

(Also! Being extremely wealthy now requires far less staff than being royalty in the 16th century. Dinner isn’t “socializing” if you’re “raising money for global health” - but if a magician turns up it starts to seem social. And hey, data centers are gonna get built somewhere so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯)

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Farrah Bostic @farrahbostic.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

(Like, bad to destroy all of humanity, dying is terrible, also there is nothing especially valuable about people or relationships. Also unclear why the value of education in a post jobs world. For once I felt sympathy for Klein who must have felt like he was talking to a lunatic)

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Farrah Bostic @farrahbostic.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

(Made the mistake of listening to Klein’s interview with Gates which was very weird. AI jobspocalypse = OK, let’s accelerate, esp if it means he can deploy AI in poor nations in the global south. But also: we should have a whole of society debate about AI-as-a-weapon because that is obvi v bad.)

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Farrah Bostic @farrahbostic.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

The tech broligarchs (& the uncs like Gates) are able to traverse a lot of philosophical, ethical and policy ground in a few sentences and while this seems to be intended as indicative of great intellectual prowess it is always just self-aggrandizement. Nothing has to be coherent if it’s profitable.

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Farrah Bostic @farrahbostic.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Exactly - a ton of the town code is about preventing rental housing (eg to build an artists studio you have to submit art & proof you’ve shown/sold it somewhere). If it were more directional/less prescriptive, and better staffed so you could talk to someone, it’d be better.

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Farrah Bostic @farrahbostic.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Meanwhile I’m laughing at the approved revegetation list because all but one plant is only low-to-mid tolerant of shade and most of our lot is mostly in shade. What a fun joke.

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Farrah Bostic @farrahbostic.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Anyway: pretty soon the fire department will have to stop apologetically suggesting homeowners clear shrubs, leaves and needles from within 10 feet of their house envelope, and begging people to fell dead trees, and instead make the town pass new regs.

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Farrah Bostic @farrahbostic.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

This part of the world’s wealthy people do not have any sense of forest management, fire prevention, or disease abatement. None. Just aesthetics and property rights - real and imagined - and then the (mostly) well meaning nonsense of local regulations.

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Farrah Bostic @farrahbostic.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

(You also can’t get a deer fence over 6 feet installed without town approval. But deer are everywhere, and they carry tick, and they can jump 6 feet.) It’s fair that there is a lot of concern about overclearing. But the most expensive homes never seem to have to comply.

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Farrah Bostic @farrahbostic.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

So how to revegetate “cleared” land that isn’t cleared and can’t be planted? Just leave all the leaf mold underneath it. So that’s fine, I guess? Except: this area is starting to have summer forest fires because of drought and pine beetle blight. Also: ticks are a growing problem.

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Farrah Bostic @farrahbostic.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

On the most recent survey of our property (2018), the surveyor marked as cleared an area of our property on which a giant stand of native beech trees sits. Almost nothing grows under beech. They’re allopathic trees. We get a very cool fungus underneath and moss but that’s it.

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Farrah Bostic @farrahbostic.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

So in my little town there are clearing limits on your property. To be clear - we have cleared none of the property since we moved here. Ive done lots of planting in already cleared areas though native plant beds do not count as revegetation. But here’s the fun part.

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David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

I don’t think everyone realizes how bad things are for US science: For the fiscal year that just ended, the Trump regime withheld $1.4 billion from the National Science Foundation’s research budget, which is about 1/5 of its primary research budget.

nytimes.com

National Science Foundation Diverted $1.4 Billion in Science Funds Mandated by Congress (Gift Article)

The move, affecting about one-fifth of the National Science Foundation’s primary research budget, is the latest sign of how the White House is asserting more control over grants.

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Marisa Kabas @marisakabas.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

this reveals SO MUCH about legacy media

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Farrah Bostic @farrahbostic.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Oh also - that headline is totally stolen from @vermontgmg.bsky.social's newsletter Doomsday Scenario. You should read his latest: www.doomsdayscenario.co/p/it-s-the-a...

doomsdayscenario.co

It's the accountability, stupid.

Doing crime

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Farrah Bostic @farrahbostic.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Zoe Padgett holds a Master's in Survey Methodology from the University of Maryland and runs public opinion research at SurveyMonkey. Her team's work: surveymonkey.com/curiosity — including the quarterly AI tracking survey and their AI-and-jobs survey with CNBC.

surveymonkey.com

Curiosity at Work | SurveyMonkey

SurveyMonkey delivers People Powered Data to organizations around the world. From simple surveys to advanced feedback solutions and enterprise offerings, SurveyMonkey products work for any use case or...

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Farrah Bostic @farrahbostic.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

We also got into data centers — 53% of Americans oppose local construction, rising to 64% among people who actually know the issue. Padgett: "the cloud isn't up in the cloud. It's here on Earth in our local communities."

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Farrah Bostic @farrahbostic.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Padgett: "Gen Z is just really not having it." Meanwhile usage keeps climbing — daily/weekly AI use went from 24% to 38% since late 2024 — even as "concerned" stays the dominant feeling and "excited" barely moves off 17%. Are we having fun yet?

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Farrah Bostic @farrahbostic.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Trust by generation actually "criss-crossed": Gen Z's trust in AI-generated content went 50%→44% from 2023 to 2026. Gen X nearly doubled, 33%→48%. Boomers rose too. Usage is up across the board regardless — but people are using something about which they feel active distrust or deep ambivalence.

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Farrah Bostic @farrahbostic.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

I talked with @surveymonkey.com's Zoe Padgett about 3 years of tracking how Americans really feel about AI. Unlike previous technologies, we're seeing young people say "no thank you", while older generations are more optimistic. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/c...

podcasts.apple.com

The Cloud Isn't Up In the Cloud, with Zoe Padgett from SurveyMonkey

Podcast Episode · Cross Tabs · October 1 · 47m

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Monteiro @monteiro.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Also, libraries have copiers!

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Farrah Bostic @farrahbostic.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Here's the other thing that's changing - people are grasping for whatever degree of agency they can find - anything they can directly control. That used to feel like a good answer - voting with your wallet. Now they know that it's really not enough.

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Farrah Bostic @farrahbostic.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

This is what people tell me when I ask about their lives in any qual study I do about literally any topic - soft drinks, tech, libraries, online shopping, higher ed, whatever. People are EXHAUSTED. They don't expect things to get much better, but they do expect them to be at least this hard forever.

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