iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

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Mike Wiser @drmikewiser.bsky.social · 4h

Remember: Darwin's note of "I am very poorly today & very stupid & hate everybody & everything" was written on Oct 1 (1861). Thus we are free to celebrate Very Poorly And Very Stupid Hatred Day today.

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William Shakespeare @shakespeare.lol · 7h

Thou sayest the King grows mad, I’ll tell thee, friend, I am almost mad myself.

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Anna Holmes @annabookwriter.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Some things I wish I had known when I was a new writer: Being accepted by traditional publishers has less to do with skill than whether they think they can sell it. Just because publishers aren’t ready for a story doesn’t mean readers aren’t. Writing the book is the easy part. 🧵

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Chuck Wendig @chuckwendig.bsky.social · 13h

True not just in publishing/writing. Look at how this new Meta Muse basically jumps into the user's shit, mixes it around, gets it everywhere. Shares their address. Lies to their contacts. Sells their stuff at a low price. Do not let the vampire in. Hang garlic. Sharpen stakes.

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Garrett M. Graff @vermontgmg.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

We don’t spend enough time talking about just how WEIRD all these people are. This is just an incredibly weird and insecure thing to say. Imagine any other SecDef ever being this weird and insecure?!

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Charlie Warzel @cwarzel.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

There is a moment at the very very end of Abdul El-Sayed's podcast with Ezra Klein (book recommendation section) where he talks about the idea of "speaking truth to pain" and this will be staying with me for an extremely long time. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/25/o...

But there’s also something about truth to pain. We talk a lot about truth to power, but I think it’s actually a lot harder to speak truth to pain. I say that as someone who went to medical school, realizing that in a lot of our politics right now, we’ve got to get a lot better at speaking truth to pain if we’re going to get through some of these challenges that we have.

What does “truth to pain” mean?

It’s one thing to look power in the eye and say: You’re wrong about this. But there’s a way in which pain is very difficult to reason with. Because when somebody is in their pain, they’re in their trauma. They see that pain, and they may not see what’s causing it.

I remember just very explicitly being in a trauma ward with a gunshot wound patient and watching this big guy with his hand on his gunshot wound. All the folks are trying to pull his hand off his pain, that point of his gunshot wound, this clear vulnerability.

And this emergency room doctor had the presence of mind to be like: Everyone, stop. And she looks him in the eyes, and she’s like: I get that really hurts, and I’m so sorry that you’re here. You don’t want to be here. We don’t want you to be here. But if you don’t let us fix this, you could die. So I’m going to take your hand, and I’m going to move it off, OK? Because I need to get there so that you can live.

She was speaking truth to pain. He understands he’s at the hospital, he needs care, but he also doesn’t want anybody to touch the wound. Which is a natural thing. And I think it is a really great metaphor for how we think about a lot of these challenges we talked about today.

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Robert Reich @rbreich.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

The U.S. has withdrawn its last troops from Iraq, 23 years after a Republican president launched a war of choice based on lies that cost trillions of dollars, killed hundreds of thousands of people, and unleashed regional chaos. History doesn't repeat, but it often rhymes.

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Gin @ginjones.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

See down-thread for a summary of what Bree was told by the customer service reps.

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Elizabeth Warren @warren.senate.gov · 30/09/2026

I’ve been asked to weigh in on the debate over whether to bring an iced coffee to an interview. It doesn't matter. Iced coffee is NOT why it's hard to land a job right now, and it's NOT why Gen Z can't get ahead. Our economy is rigged. We need to change that.

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c0nc0rdance @c0nc0rdance.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Omigod, this is the most heartwarming story possible! Backpack (bear 89) is the son of the 2019 winner of Fat Bear Week, Holly (bear 435). In 2007, he injured his foot & a practice of riding on momma's Holly's back had a new meaning: he was mobility-restricted while it healed. So Holly moved him.

From DISCVR blog's Facebook page, a momma bear & a yearling cub on her back in the shallow water. I think the background has been swapped out, and I can't rule out some AI use there? God, Facebook has become the social media for AI slop : (

The title of the article, which I link below, is "How Bear 89 earned the name Backpack"

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ArtButMakeItSports @artbutmakeitsports.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Circus Performers, by Walt Kuhn, 1978, 📸 via @marisakabas.bsky.social

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Garrett M. Graff @vermontgmg.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

FBI Director Kash Patel this week has faced the worst data breach in FBI history, a deputy who quit because Patel was doing too many unconstitutional things, and partied with a suspected double agent. And it's only Tuesday. www.doomsdayscenario.co/p/the-disgra...

doomsdayscenario.co

The Disgrace and Danger of Kash Patel, Part II

A quick check-in on the FBI director's latest raft of scandals (including, of course, the bestiality).

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The Onion @theonion.com · 29/09/2026

Posture Adjusted To Equally Incorrect Posture

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Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Incredible. The 11th Circuit, in a 3-0 opinion (two Obama appointees and one Trump 1.0 appointee), agrees that Trump and his lawyers have failed to rebut the judge's finding that the entire IRS settlement was collusive, highlighting that no other explanation for their conduct was even offered.

IV
The appellants mount two main attacks on the district
court’s speech-related sanction. First, they argue that the court
lacked a sufficient basis to find that the lawsuit and the settlement
were collusive and that Messrs. Brito and Epstein acted in bad faith.
Second, they contend that the sanction is a broad and impermissible gag order which constitutes a prior restraint and violates the
First Amendment. We conclude that the appellants have not made
a strong showing that they will succeed on either of these grounds.

The appellants did not submit or offer any evidence to explain their litigation conduct or demonstrate that the lawsuit and the settlement were not collusive. Given the record before us, the
appellants have not made a strong showing that the district court
committed clear error in its collusion and bad faith findings

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Kat Abughazaleh @katmabu.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

I literally don’t know a single woman who hasn’t been raped, stalked, groped, harassed, or sexually violated in some way at some point in their life. If you choose to doubt and dox survivors, just know every woman in your life is disgusted by you.

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Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg @theradr.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Remember that repentance, atonement + attaining forgiveness are not the same thing. Focus on the first. 1) Own the harm, fully + completely 2) Begin to work to change for real, addressing root causes via therapy + education 3) AMENDS in convo w/SA experts* cot'd + *DON'T APPROACH VICTIM UNPROMPTED

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ASBMR @asbmr.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

🎙️ We’re excited to welcome the Bone Up Podcast to #ASBMR2026. Hosts Prof. David Armstrong and Dr. Richard Abel will be on-site capturing conversations and insights from the meeting, with short-form content recorded throughout the event and longer interviews to be released later this year.

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Robert "The Bobby Yaga" McNees @mcnees.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

There is no safe way for researchers to use the systems provided by OpenAI, Anthropic, or any of these other companies. They have all admitted that plagiarism is an integral component of what they do. If you put your work in – even if it's just to touch up a manuscript – they will take it.

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Victoria Strauss @victoriastrauss.com · 28/09/2026

More evidence of the hidden ways in which LLMs are powered by (likely exploited and poorly paid) humans

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David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

The techbros don't want you to see this trailer. Pass it on.

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Max Kennerly @maxkennerly.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

They keep using this line and it's nonsense for many reasons, but also, if that's truly the case, there are only about a dozen "fraudsters" per state: the insurers. No one else could benefit from this particular no-claims "fraud." So where are the prosecutions of health insurers? 🤔

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Chris Conaton @conatonc.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

A familiar story for anyone who follows @volts.wtf. “The Chronicle spoke to more than half a dozen grid experts…to try to understand why Texas’s notoriously unreliable grid had a remarkably reliable summer. The answer was unanimous: solar panels and batteries.”

houstonchronicle.com

Texas shattered energy demand records this summer. Here's why the grid held up.

Texas repeatedly broke electricity demand records this summer, but ERCOT avoided emergencies as booming solar and battery capacity helped keep the grid stable.

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Michael Ian Black @michaelianblack.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

How is not using a product you purchased fraud?

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Patrick Chovanec @prchovanec.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

A couple quick observations here, which should be obvious. 1) insurance “risk pools” work by requiring younger/healthier people who make few or no claims to sign up and pay premiums alongside older/less healthy people who do, essentially covering their costs.

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S.E. Sinkhorn @sesinkhorn.com · 26/09/2026

if you think this is just a trend puff piece, it isn't, I have literally had seven-year-olds running around my house going THAT'S SO AI

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IGN @ign.com · 26/09/2026

The seminal workplace comedy 9 to 5 is returning to theaters October 9 with ticket sales benefitting Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, which gifts free books to kids and promotes childhood literacy.

Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, and Dolly Parton celebrate as they have their boss tied up behind his desk in art for 9 to 5. Caption reads: Dolly Parton's 9 to 5 Returning to Theaters October 9

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William Shakespeare @shakespeare.lol · 25/09/2026

I dare not call them fools; but this I think, When they are thirsty, fools would fain have drink.

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Victoria Strauss @victoriastrauss.com · 25/09/2026

New #WriterBeware blog post: If you're a writer, you've probably gotten one (or more) of those AI-generated scam marketing emails or book club invites that make it seem like the sender really read your book. Here's a little peek at how it's done. writerbeware.blog/2026/09/25/h...

writerbeware.blog

How Those Personalized Generative AI Scam Emails Are Built - Writer Beware

One of the things I often hear from writers whose inboxes are crammed with incredibly personalized marketing or book club or editor impersonation emails–you know, the ones that make it seem the sender...

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G Elliott Morris @gelliottmorris.com · 25/09/2026

We have found one thing Donald Trump is more popular than: Flock cameras open.substack.com/pub/fiftyplu...

open.substack.com

Americans are skeptical of Flock cameras

Plus, polls about the economy, the United Nations, and how often people lie

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Gin @ginjones.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Reminder that A SECRET IN THE PUMPKIN PATCH is on sale ($2.99 instead of $4.99) through this weekend! Cozy mystery set in October at a farmers' market. #Booksky www.amazon.com/Secret-Pumpk...

Cover of A Secret in the Pumpkin Patch featuring a pile of pumpkins and a threatening-looking rusty rake.

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rahaeli @rahaeli.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Boosting again for people getting COVID vaccines (thank you for getting vaccinated!!) because my mentions are full of people finding it helpful. There is way more detail (and citations!) in the thread both up and down but this is the key info!

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Liz @smithdrygoods.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

I suddenly (after obsessively making them constantly for two weeks lol) have a dozen little decorative pumpkins I felted for Open Studios October 3rd 12-5 Studio 315 122 Western Ave Lowell Massachusetts westernavenuestudios.com/open-studios... They would also make excellent pincushions!

A stepped display featuring 12 tiny pumpkins in white or various shades of orange I made from loose wool using the needle felting technique.

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Ami Fields-Meyer @fieldsmeyer.com · 25/09/2026

We were mid-handshake and he pulled me in and grabbed tighter and got upset and raised his voice and said: "What are you talking about man?! Those aren't real people. They're illegal aliens!"

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🌬Breeze @cool-summer-breeze.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

This is the Stolen Neighbors Quilt. Each of the 11,000 squares represents a person taken by ICE in Minnesota.

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Thinking Person's Guide to Autism @thinkingautism.com · 19/09/2026

Beware Meta smart glasses: “Certain companies have used accessibility & disability rights as a Trojan horse for a tool that poses significant privacy & security threats—& the privacy concerns affect disabled people too.” Mother Jones's @juliametraux.bsky.social: www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

motherjones.com

Is Meta using disabled people to promote its glasses?

AI glasses are a double-edged sword for disabled people, who face unique risks from surveillance.

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Elizabeth Bear @matociquala.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Advice for my younger friends: if you want to encourage yourself to stay healthy and functional, to exercise and eat well... ...pick a couple of motherfuckers you really want to outlive.

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Chris Geidner @chrisgeidner.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

I can't take seriously (it's very serious) a right-wing character this season that the admin is seeking to give power being named Overton. I know I can't be first to this, but, come on.

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Martha Wells @marthawells.com · 24/09/2026

Behold, the prelaunch is open for the graphic novel of The Murderbot Diaries: All Systems Red!

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William Shakespeare @shakespeare.lol · 24/09/2026

Liege of all loiterers and malcontents, Dread prince of plackets, king of codpieces

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Gin @ginjones.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Yesterday's quilt without the cat model! #quiltsky

Lap quilt made with flying geese in orange on black, laid out in five columns with a column of squares and occasional yellow stars in between the geese. At the bottom from left to right are a pieced cat, pieced pumpkin and pieced basket. There's a narrow orange inner border and wider black border with printed mini pumpkins, then orange binding.

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Professionally Nosy @professionallynosy.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

My Rage Against the Machine/Les Mis mashup is complete. This is my interpretation of the quilt guild’s summer challenge “quilt with your interpretation and/or feelings towards our current ‘democracy’” all hand stitched.

Quilt hanging on a card catalog. Neutral background with navy cursive appliqué “Do you hear thr people sing?” The background is embroidered in red starting light and getting bolder the lyrics to “killing in the name” the quilting effect is a focused sunburst from the center.

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Robert Reich @rbreich.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

When Elon Musk's groups spent $20M+ on Wisconsin's 2025 Supreme Court race, his involvement backfired and his candidate lost by 10 points. Now his super PAC has quietly spent $14M+ on key midterm races, including the Texas Senate race. Would be a shame if people found out.

nbcnews.com

Elon Musk is flying under the radar in the Texas Senate race. Republicans want to keep it that way.

One Republican involved in the Texas Senate contest called Musk’s in-your-face campaigning in Wisconsin last year “a mis

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William Shakespeare @shakespeare.lol · 21/09/2026

All the commons Hate him perniciously

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Gin @ginjones.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

At the end of each manuscript, I get to a point where I've got X pages left, then I write like crazy for weeks on end, & check, & yep, still X pages left. Sigh. I've been stuck about 30 pages from the end for at least a month! Currently editing page 257 out of 290. Let's see if that ever changes.

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