iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Katy Swain

@katyswain.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy

24 followers 9 following 1K posts

The enormous old #trans woman you often see around #Carlton, the CBD and all the quality #Melbourne inner suburbs. You can't miss me; I look like the love child of […] 🌉 bridged from ⁂ mastodon.social/@katyswain, follow @ap.brid.gy to interact

Posts Replies Media

Katy Swain @katyswain.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 4h

Recently mentioned to my psychologist how many people over the course of my life (most recently @Dawn 💜) have disapproved of my tendency to go for self-deprecating humour, and how I recognise it may not be entirely healthy. He was adamant that no, it's actually a very engaging characteristic […]

mastodon.social

Original post on mastodon.social

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Katy Swain @katyswain.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 4h

[Transition progress report, personal] There's a personal context to this that I can't really talk about, but today has been one of those days where I really feel like me in a way that I haven't before. I like it. Bring it on.

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Katy Swain @katyswain.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 13h

Just had a young girl drag me into a boutique on Swanston St to sell me $200 worth of skin and nail care products. She's certainly an optimist. I left without making a purchase, of course, but in high spirits. It's nice to talk to someone, even if it's just to adamantly declare my modest fiscal […]

mastodon.social

Original post on mastodon.social

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Katy Swain @katyswain.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 15/10/2026

Making Katy's Pasta Con Carne for dinner. For the next few days. Everything I know about cooking I learned from Keith Floyd. Start with a glass of wine. Keep the bottle close to hand.

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Katy Swain @katyswain.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 15/10/2026

Somebody explain to me why it takes #Audacity a minute and a half to paste a 20 second clip from one track to another in the same project file.

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Katy Swain @katyswain.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 14/10/2026

I've been sniffly, scatterbrained, and headachy all day. Hope it's pollen plus a mild hangover; I don't have time to be ill.

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Katy Swain @katyswain.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 13/10/2026

I am a day and a half behind on my scrolling, but have been catching up, so I have a big grin on my face, and a tear rolling down one cheek, just like the emoji. Don't ever change, my fedifriends. (Unless your want to, in which case, please do.)

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Katy Swain @katyswain.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 13/10/2026

[Swearing, ice cream] Fuck me; I walked right past a supermarket this afternoon and I didn't buy ice cream! Now I have no ice cream! As the meme says, we're all trying to find the person responsible for this.

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Katy Swain @katyswain.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 13/10/2026

I had a great day today. I love being me. I woke up feeling awful and thinking I'd have a miserable slog, but it was leading up to doing a thing with people in the afternoon. And it turns out that people are lovely, and people are my new favourite thing, I feel so blessed. 🥲

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Katy Swain @katyswain.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 11/10/2026

Michael Wisher is an unrecognised genius. I can't think of any dramatic performance that is quite so astonishingly inventive and perfectly calibrated. Also Davros was the first TESCREAL techbro Utopian.

mastodon.online

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Katy Swain @katyswain.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 11/10/2026

The number of times in the last few years when I've thought "I've never worked so hard in my life. I'm so stressed out. And I've never been happier."…

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Katy Swain @katyswain.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 10/10/2026

Okay, that's near enough 7pm. Day done. Thanks for duping my circadian rhythm out of a couple of hours, AEDT.

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Katy Swain @katyswain.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 09/10/2026

Transition is the universal rule. Gender transition is just a special instance. If you think you were done when you graduated, or got the right to vote, or a drivers license, or married, or children, or professional success, or retirement, or ticked all the boxes on whatever transition checklist […]

mastodon.social

Original post on mastodon.social

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Katy Swain @katyswain.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 09/10/2026

Given the people running those systems are eugenicists, we should stop saying "social media" and start saying "the normal distribution". And instead of "the algorithm", "the dumbbell curve". We can keep calling their target audience "the mean", and ourselves "the outliers".

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Katy Swain @katyswain.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 07/10/2026

I've not been able to be useful all day, but even on my best days I probably only really do a few hours work. I've never understood work, and now that nobody wants to pay me for it I suppose it's academic. but as somebody who wants to do something useful with the last couple of decades of her […]

mastodon.social

Original post on mastodon.social

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Katy Swain @katyswain.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 06/10/2026

Today went really well. I did a lot of work leading up to it, but there have been other days that I put much more preparation into that were disastrous. So the way I feel now is not so much a result of work as luck. So a big hooray for today, and a little hooray for me. But if I'm going to take […]

mastodon.social

Original post on mastodon.social

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Katy Swain @katyswain.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 06/10/2026

I already knew this, but I've just confirmed it: standing in front of a roomful of intelligent people talking about something I know way too much about is my happy place.

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Katy Swain @katyswain.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 05/10/2026

[mh~] How do you tell whether you're flourishing or just barely hanging on? Asking for a friend.

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Katy Swain @katyswain.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 03/10/2026

Damn it. They should lable those little jars of garlic and ginger with completely different colours. I just made myself some ginger butter.

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Katy Swain @katyswain.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 03/10/2026

I just upgraded #Debian, which appears to have broken alt-tabbing to #Firefox (153.4.0esr). I've #GNOME configured to only alt-tab within the current workspace, but when I alt-tab to Firefox, instead of the last Firefox window on the current workspace that had focus, it now sends me to an […]

mastodon.social

Original post on mastodon.social

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Katy Swain @katyswain.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 03/10/2026

The more wealthy and influential an anglo American man is, the sillier his name is likely to be. eg. Marriner Stoddard Eccles, Beardsley Ruml, Grover Norquist, Newt Gingritch…

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Katy Swain @katyswain.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 03/10/2026

For #TransVoiceFriday on a Saturday this week, yet more Hitchhikers, and that grinding, croaking sound my voice does whenever I'm self-conscious about it.

mastodon.social

[Audio] Original post on mastodon.social

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Katy Swain @katyswain.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 02/10/2026

If I survive October with my sanity intact, I am going to need to reward myself. Anybody know a nice place in inner #Melbourne where one could get a pair of old, over-large, and ringing-with-Sony-Walkman-tinnitus ears pierced? Preferably not the sort of place where they might try to upsell me a […]

mastodon.social

Original post on mastodon.social

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Katy Swain @katyswain.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 02/10/2026

It is cold and wet, and I am not leaving the flat today. Further updates as events warrant.

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Katy Swain @katyswain.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 02/10/2026

Well, that was a catastrophe. Another RadioMMT interview fell to bits this morning due to connectivity issues on my end. Well, it was salvageable, in that my colleague can just edit out the couple of sentences I was able to contribute, and we just pretend I wasn't there. Only ever happens to me […]

mastodon.social

Original post on mastodon.social

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Katy Swain @katyswain.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 01/10/2026

Just had a social Zoom meeting with people from my masters degree. I was talking about the U3A course I'm running starting next Tuesday, and one of my former tutors (a pretty major figure in the MMT community, and just the loveliest guy), assured me that I'd do splendidly because — he said — I'm […]

mastodon.social

Original post on mastodon.social

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Katy Swain @katyswain.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 30/09/2026

Aunty Katy had too many instant noodles and vegetables and dumplings for dinner. Aunty Katy feels fat. Those are the most pressing problems in my life right now. I suppose I should be grateful.

Katy Swain @katyswain.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 29/09/2026

Well that's a pisser. Today's electrolysis appointment just cancelled, and they have a permanent two-month waiting list, so I just miss out till November, and then of course December is out because of the religious festival of buying kids plastic rubbish. Just spent the last three days […]

mastodon.social

Original post on mastodon.social

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Katy Swain @katyswain.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 25/09/2026

For the first time in two months, I don't have to do a #RadioMMT because I already did it. The chat Anne & I had about supermarkets ages ago is finally going to air in a few minutes. The podcast version should be up very soon, as Anne's had it ready for ages. She even did a little promo […]

mastodon.social

Original post on mastodon.social

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Katy Swain @katyswain.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 24/09/2026

One lasting legacy of the identica/Laconica/StatusNet years is that I'm still absolutely mad about REM.

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Katy Swain @katyswain.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 24/09/2026

Philanthropy (n): Tax-deductible activity by wealthy elites to distort or eliminate some element of public policy.

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Katy Swain @katyswain.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 23/09/2026

Going to a U3A tutor induction session this morning. At the first mention of "AI", I think I may have to throw a tanty and storm out.

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Katy Swain @katyswain.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 22/09/2026

The weather is getting warmer and the cockroaches are coming out of hibernation in the wall cavities. Here begins six months of starting every day in a cloud of insecticide, coughing. #renting

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Katy Swain @katyswain.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 22/09/2026

The days when you have Elton John songs running through your head over and over are not the best days.

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Katy Swain @katyswain.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 21/09/2026

Tried doing something with a computer. I'm now hoarse from shouting, shaking with rage, and can't think straight.

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Katy Swain @katyswain.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 20/09/2026

I am a weird old lady. I will never apologise for that. For all the other things, I am really, really sorry.

Katy Swain @katyswain.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 20/09/2026

[Auntie Katy is her own worst enemy] I have to be up and on top form early tomorrow. So I'm pissed, of course. Stone me. Who'd be me, eh? (Actually, I would. I'm pretty fantastic. Not always sensible, though.)

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Katy Swain @katyswain.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 20/09/2026

I'd love to live in a place with lots of canals. They seem very peaceful. Like long lakes with pubs positioned at reasonable intervals. I used to watch a lot of YouTube canal porn. Just have them running in the background while I had a cat on my lap. I don't really understand how they're long […]

mastodon.social

Original post on mastodon.social

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Katy Swain @katyswain.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 18/09/2026

RE: aus.social/@publicmoneypublicgood/1… Unemployment is not only preventable, it's "always and everywhere" a deliberate policy phenomenon. My friend and colleague John is not only awesomely well-informed, but good fun when dealing with a dour topic, so I strongly […]

mastodon.social

Original post on mastodon.social

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Katy Swain @katyswain.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 18/09/2026

Well, according to a poster stuck to the wall of the Curtin, this is a thing. I suppose I can hang around Parliament House for a while tomorrow morning. www.greenleft.org.au/2026-09/event/…

greenleft.org.au

We're Taking Over The Streets Again for Trans Liberation

Join our counter-demonstration against the racist “march for Australia” at 11am @ City Square in Naarm/Melbourne

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Katy Swain @katyswain.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 18/09/2026

Had a pretty good working day today. Never been to the City of Melbourne CBD library in Flinders Lane before. It's not so full of sightseers as the State Library, as there are no sights to see for the most part. Also, being that far south, it means that the Charles Dickens is on my way home, so […]

mastodon.social

Original post on mastodon.social

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Katy Swain @katyswain.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 17/09/2026

24 hours since enrolment opened, my #U3A course on #MMT is half full! Turns out people are interested in economics if you make it sound silly enough. Looks like I've three weeks to prepare an eight-week course. No pressure.

Katy Swain @katyswain.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 16/09/2026

The guy in the flat upstairs is stomping on the floor (my ceiling) while hooting and hollering. Where I used to live a few years ago, this sort of behaviour meant that one of my neighbours had secured some crystal meth and a carton of Jim Beam and cola, was cranking up the volume on Billy […]

mastodon.social

Original post on mastodon.social

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Katy Swain @katyswain.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 13/09/2026

I think two (possibly three) people independently posted about ABBA yesterday, so I woke up this morning with their songs going through my head. We had the Best of ABBA in our house when I was little, and it was on very high rotation. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Best_of_A… Phil Spector […]

mastodon.social

Original post on mastodon.social

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Katy Swain @katyswain.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 12/09/2026

Day one of going back to reading from my Home timeline, rather than from my much smaller list of friends who (mostly) don't post bad news all day every day. I've been unable to cope with more than a small fraction of the bad news for most of this year, but I feel a responsibility to keep up […]

mastodon.social

Original post on mastodon.social

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Katy Swain @katyswain.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 12/09/2026

Body and brain are just saying nope today, and I think I'll listen. Slept in, breakfasted by 10am, presentable by 1am. Put on a load of washing, then finally replaced the last of my cardboard boxes of books/CDs/etc. from the move to Melbourne (4 years ago) with solid, reasonably cockroach-proof […]

mastodon.social

Original post on mastodon.social

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Katy Swain @katyswain.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 11/09/2026

I need a big button to wear on my lapel that says "Do not talk to me about "AI". I will get angry."

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Katy Swain @katyswain.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 10/09/2026

Had a great afternoon. The convener of my U3A philosophy group has been on hols, so we've taken it in turns to nominate a topic and do the cat-herding. It was my turn today. I spent most of the last week prepping for it. It didn't go as planned, but as expected, and I'm still buzzing. I […]

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Katy Swain @katyswain.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 09/09/2026

Had a little man come round, ostensibly to check the fire alarms. It meant I had to tidy up, which put me out, though fortunately there are no fire alarms in the bathroom, so at least I could shut the door and leave that in it's usual horrifying state. Turns out he was also checking the […]

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Katy Swain @katyswain.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 08/09/2026

Just looked at myself and thought "Hey! We did it. You and me, old lady in the mirror." We are going to do so much more, but for the moment I'm happy with this. #transjoy

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