iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Christine Archer RVT 🇨🇦 @nerdrvt.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

And our scars remind us that the past is real

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Christine Archer RVT 🇨🇦 @nerdrvt.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

Traveling today for podcast reasons(!) and decided I need to watch this today. RIP Sam Neill.

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Christine Archer RVT 🇨🇦 @nerdrvt.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

My Armadillidium vulgare "Japanese Magic Potion" colony had babies! Look how tiny!

A thumb and index finger together with a small pinch of dirt between them. On the dirt are two baby terrestrial isopods. Only a mm or two in size.

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Christine Archer RVT 🇨🇦 @nerdrvt.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

Happy Canada Day from our fish room calendar Muskie! I asked my student employee to draw a very Canadian fish to commemorate the day. I'm from Ontario (specifically the Kawartha Lakes) so the Muskellunge was one of the first that came to mind for me. Can you think of another "Canadian" fish species?

A dry erase marker drawing on a scheduling calendar, of a muskellunge fish in a cartoon style. Snaggle teeth and big cartoonish eyes. The fish has a Canada flag pattern on the body. It is drawn specifically on the date for July 1st, Canada Day

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Christine Archer RVT 🇨🇦 @nerdrvt.bsky.social · 26/06/2026

I assume this was on purpose for attention, but this jacket legit looks like it came off a murder victim in some damp forest somewhere.

A Nike Windbreaker for resale on Thredup. It is beige with moss green and brown streaking. Supposedly tie-dyed, but looks like it came from the woods.

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Christine Archer RVT 🇨🇦 @nerdrvt.bsky.social · 22/06/2026

FB memory told me that the last time I went shark tagging with @whysharksmatter.bsky.social and the incredible Field School folks was 4 years ago. Need to go again some day :)

A woman looking into the camera, taking a selfie. She's wearing a KN95 mask and a grey-green hat with an embroidered trout and the text "fish want me". In the background is the gate info for gate C49 at Denver Airport.

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Christine Archer RVT 🇨🇦 @nerdrvt.bsky.social · 09/06/2026

Got my pre-order in for @whysharksmatter.bsky.social's new book! Can't wait! Get your own copy here: www.press.jhu.edu/books/title/...

Screenshot of a pre-order confirmation for David Shiffman's new book coming later in 2026: Why Sustainable Seafood Matters.

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Christine Archer RVT 🇨🇦 @nerdrvt.bsky.social · 08/05/2026

I meant to show you! Here's the board at my zoo's volunteer center with Why Sharks Matter as our book club book for July! I can't wait to discuss your book with my zoo colleagues :)

A board with a monthly book listed for a zoo volunteer book club. Notably, the July book is "Why Sharks Matter"

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Christine Archer RVT 🇨🇦 @nerdrvt.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

How you know when it's time for a new tape measure. RIP.

A tape measure with the metal tab that prevents the tape measuring roll from receding completely into the tape measure, broken off. It is sitting broken next to the tape measure. The actual tape is nowhere to be seen.

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Christine Archer RVT 🇨🇦 @nerdrvt.bsky.social · 14/03/2026

They're back! Come see the darling cownose rays with me at Stingray Cove at @denverzoo.bsky.social ❤️

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Christine Archer RVT 🇨🇦 @nerdrvt.bsky.social · 07/03/2026

I do wonder what happened to her wheel fairings, though. This was the photo I used to help sell her, after my grandfather was pressured to let her go. Now she's pantsless!

A private plane, a Piper PA-28-140 in white with orange livery along the fuselage.

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Christine Archer RVT 🇨🇦 @nerdrvt.bsky.social · 27/02/2026

Happy #PokemonDay! Can you believe Pokemon is 30 this year? Even though I'm a fish girlie, Bulbasaur will always be my first and my best. #Pokemon30

A woman standing inside a tropical pavilion at the Denver Zoo, next to a rendered version of the Pokemon Bulbasaur.

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Christine Archer RVT 🇨🇦 @nerdrvt.bsky.social · 16/02/2026

This weekend I graduated from the @denverzoo.bsky.social Docent class of 2026! This months-long course was 75+ hours of work. Research, being mentored by other docents, and learning about concepts like teaching with empathy and conservation optimism. Looking forward to interpretation at DZCA!

Gift bag full of interpretation materials provided to the class of 2026 Docents. The bag is customized for Christine, and depicts a stingray with a graduation cap on. On top of the bag is a Docent badge bar, awarded at graduation.

Group photo of new grad docents, smiling for the camera

Presentation on a screen illustrating the amount of commitment the 2026 Docent class has already committed in volunteering time to DZCA. 1655 shifts, 4596 hours, 24.8 years.

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Christine Archer RVT 🇨🇦 @nerdrvt.bsky.social · 12/02/2026

Welcome to my new followers! Happy International Day of Women and Girls in Science! And Happy #BlackHistoryMonth! Just wanted to share the podcast I do with my two incredible friends! Our most recent episode, I interviewed them about their experiences as POCs in animal science!

Graphic promoting the 71st episode of the "Gettin' Fishy With It" Podcast, entitled "Black History Month Feature: Black in Animal Science" The graphic features photos of co-hosts Josh Barber and Amber Park Chiodini

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Christine Archer RVT 🇨🇦 @nerdrvt.bsky.social · 02/02/2026

And I have the time stamped receipts! 😭

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Christine Archer RVT 🇨🇦 @nerdrvt.bsky.social · 27/01/2026

Middle seat (exit row) to ATL let's goo!

A woman with glasses sitting in the middle seat of a southwest airline 737-8 MAX, exit row.

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Christine Archer RVT 🇨🇦 @nerdrvt.bsky.social · 27/01/2026

Not on purpose, but I'm flying SWA on the first day they have assigned seats. RIP to these iconic relics of a very different time for the airline. All still standing at DEN as far as I can see.

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Christine Archer RVT 🇨🇦 @nerdrvt.bsky.social · 01/01/2026

Working on interpretive planning for the last portion of my docent training today- biofacts! One of my assigned biofacts is a pigeon skeleton mount. I have the perfect reference! @rosemarymosco.com's A Pocket Guide to Pigeon Watching!

The cover of Rosemary Mosco's book "A Pocket Guide to Pigeon Watching" with the subtitle "Getting to know the world's most misunderstood bird" being held up in front of some docent interpretation notes being worked on.

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Christine Archer RVT 🇨🇦 @nerdrvt.bsky.social · 29/12/2025

Today we lost our geriatric lady cat, Amelia. It is never an easy choice to make, but weeks of near round the clock support is hard, and it was time. She's the last of our "original" trio of cats, and the cat I adopted while I was in vet tech college. Going to miss this old greying lady a lot.

A feral kitten in the arms of a vet tech student wearing a lab coat and nitrile gloves, on intake to the vet tech clinic at Algonquin College. The kitten is a long haired brown tabby. This is my first ever photo of the kitten I adopted, who was named Amelia at the college.

Two brown tabby cats laying on a couch together. The left hand cat is a geriatric female named Amelia, a long haired brown tabby. The right hand cat is Salami, a medium haired male brown tabby.

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Christine Archer RVT 🇨🇦 @nerdrvt.bsky.social · 23/12/2025

How I feel in the race to the holiday, trying to prep the fish facility for holiday staffing levels. Fish photo from the NY Aquarium socials.

A pufferfish under anesthesia at the New York Aquarium. The fish has a tube pumping anesthesia-dosed water into its mouth and across its gills. It is set on a yellow cloth and the fish is looking pretty deflated out of the water.

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Christine Archer RVT 🇨🇦 @nerdrvt.bsky.social · 04/12/2025

Homeowner in @worldofwarcraft.blizzard.com before becoming one IRL. Things are just great.

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Christine Archer RVT 🇨🇦 @nerdrvt.bsky.social · 20/11/2025

Got judged by giraffes and unintentionally startled a lion grandma this morning.

Male giraffe Jasiri and female giraffe BB in their barn while animal care staff clean and enrich their yard.

Great grandma Neliah in the maternity yard, ready for breakfast!

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Christine Archer RVT 🇨🇦 @nerdrvt.bsky.social · 10/11/2025

Folks attending #AALAS2025: The zebrafish talks are in a venue outside! Cross the Rainbow Bridge (😭) and pass the massive theatre, go around the left side of it. If you see the giant Wyland (remember Wyland???) you are in the right place.

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Christine Archer RVT 🇨🇦 @nerdrvt.bsky.social · 09/11/2025

I got to use the air stairs on a 737NG and that was great! Long Beach Airport yiss!

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Christine Archer RVT 🇨🇦 @nerdrvt.bsky.social · 07/11/2025

Myself and my high school friends, 1998 or so? We had a summer trip to Algonquin Park each year to camp and hike. I still wonder what happened to Jeremy, the guy in purple. Still in contact with the other two.

Three guys and a girl perched or learning on a mossy rock on a hiking trail in Algonquin Park.

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Christine Archer RVT 🇨🇦 @nerdrvt.bsky.social · 07/11/2025

Was volunteering today at @denverzoo so I had to stop by Tropical Discovery to get a gar selfie for #GarWeek! The gar in TD are criminally hard to photograph (photoGARph) due to the shape of their habitat. But you can see from above how well they blend in! Nothing to see here, just some logs.

A selfie of a white woman with glasses and long brown hair smiling in front of a tank of gar fish at Denver Zoo.

4 gar fish from above in a large freshwater tank at Denver Zoo. They resemble logs.

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Christine Archer RVT 🇨🇦 @nerdrvt.bsky.social · 03/11/2025

Happy #GarWeek eve to those who celebrate. ...that means you because everybody should be celebrating these fishes! Here's a schedule of the events, be sure to check out and follow @garlab.bsky.social and the hashtag for everything!

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Christine Archer RVT 🇨🇦 @nerdrvt.bsky.social · 31/10/2025

So former PM Justin Trudeau went as Left Shark for Halloween? Interesting... #sharksnearme cc: @whysharksmatter.bsky.social

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Christine Archer RVT 🇨🇦 @nerdrvt.bsky.social · 31/10/2025

Gotta love it when a city like #Denver just says FU to pedestrians. Trying to get to my volunteering shift and my bus transfer stop and the sidewalk beside it are completely blocked. No notice the stop was closed and no way to get by without a massive detour. Stroads suck!

Looking northbound up Colorado Blvd. Some sort of road work is happening and pickup trucks are blocking the bus stop, cones are blocking the lane for the bus. Beyond the trucks, the already narrow sidewalk is blocked by work.

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Christine Archer RVT 🇨🇦 @nerdrvt.bsky.social · 13/10/2025

I normally give the media a break when talking about fish but this article on @vicemagazine.bsky.social is really egregious. This is why you maybe check with someone who is an expert on this topic before publishing. Short thread for why.

A screenshot of a Facebook post linking to a Vice Magazine article about fish in the pet trade. The post states "90 percent of aquarium fish sold in the U.S. are wild-caught, not bred in captivity. That means every time someone buys a neon tetra or clownfish from an online retailer, there’s a solid chance it was yanked straight from a coral reef." The picture is of a freshwater group of fishes found in the rift lakes in Africa.

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Christine Archer RVT 🇨🇦 @nerdrvt.bsky.social · 11/10/2025

Couple more lion photos from today. Finished the exhibit interpreter portion of my training with a 48 hour speed run, finishing with cassowary! Now on to tours and then biofact carts!

Lion mom Araali with one of her 8 week old cubs on her flank, on a heated rock in the lion maternity yard. The cub is looking up at mom with her mouth open.

Lion mom Araali with one of her 8 week old cubs on her flank, on a heated rock in the lion maternity yard. The cub is looking forward with her mouth slightly open and one upper canine slightly visible.

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Christine Archer RVT 🇨🇦 @nerdrvt.bsky.social · 11/10/2025

Completed my first docent shift with a mentor today. I was worried because I'm totally out of my element talking about mammals! But I got very lucky that the elephants were receiving foot care with a specialist. I could lean on my animal health knowledge for this shift! This is Billy.

A bull Asian elephant named Billy places his right front foot through a small door in a working wall in the elephant barn. He is receiving his twice annual foot care with a specialist.

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Christine Archer RVT 🇨🇦 @nerdrvt.bsky.social · 10/10/2025

This weekend in my zoo volunteering, I'll be stepping out of my comfort zone (i.e. having to talk about mammals!) as part of my Docent training. These mentoring sessions it'll be Asian elephants, ASCOs and tree kangaroos.

A bull Asian elephant at Denver Zoo Conservation Alliance uses his trunk to throw dirt over his back.

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Christine Archer RVT 🇨🇦 @nerdrvt.bsky.social · 08/10/2025

I got my @dftbarecords.bsky.social @hankgreen.bsky.social "We never left the water" shirt! I wore it to my aquaculture facility, where the #zebrafish all have jobs. They are helping us to learn all about developmental biology!

A woman in glasses with long brown hair standing in front of a zebrafish rack, which is a recirculating aquaculture system that can house thousands of small freshwater fish like zebra danios. She is wearing a blue shirt that features many fish dressed in human clothes and holding things implying they have occupations. The shirt says "we never left the water".

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Christine Archer RVT 🇨🇦 @nerdrvt.bsky.social · 22/09/2025

For #SundayFishSketch and #SciArtSeptember #reef theme, here's my completed epaulette shark tile from my first ever ceramic paining and glazing attempt! Hard to photograph because it's sooo glossy!

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Christine Archer RVT 🇨🇦 @nerdrvt.bsky.social · 21/09/2025

Looks like the sweat bees like my sunflowers a lot this year. Support native pollinators!

A sunflower flower head in bloom with a small iridescent green sweat bee on the flowers within the flower head.

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Christine Archer RVT 🇨🇦 @nerdrvt.bsky.social · 19/09/2025

Can I offer you a tamandua named Winnie getting a lil' avocado treat during a health exam and ultrasound at Denver Zoo Conservation Alliance in these trying times?

A tamandua named Winnie standing on her hind legs on a veterinary exam table, being hand fed avocado mash by an animal care specialist while a veterinary professional listens to her lungs with a stethoscope. This voluntary exam took place at the animal hospital at Denver Zoo Conservation Alliance, viewed from the public viewing area.

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Christine Archer RVT 🇨🇦 @nerdrvt.bsky.social · 18/09/2025

At least I got some nice dwarf tiger eye hybrid sunflowers this year. The property finally trimming the Manitoba maple in front of my place means we get some sun again. But the squirrels still ruined almost everything else.

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Christine Archer RVT 🇨🇦 @nerdrvt.bsky.social · 12/09/2025

Anyways, been spending a lot of time uncomfortable and just lying in bed elevating my hand, and our geriatric cat Amelia does not approve. During the day, it is *her* bed. So this has been my view.

A blurry close up of a geriatric brown tabby cat with a disapproving look on her face.

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Christine Archer RVT 🇨🇦 @nerdrvt.bsky.social · 08/09/2025

Hit 1000 miles on my lil' e-bike this morning. This is my "commuter" bike, and the one I'm limited to right now between carpal tunnel surgeries. Two flats and one new tire, lots of minor maintenance things, too. Fun lightweight lil' folding bike, and perfect for work commuting and short trips.

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Christine Archer RVT 🇨🇦 @nerdrvt.bsky.social · 02/09/2025

The ambassador animal dept was giving away books so I grabbed one that seemed fun.

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Christine Archer RVT 🇨🇦 @nerdrvt.bsky.social · 31/08/2025

My first time with #SundayFishSketch! My fish team went to a fundraiser pottery painting night this week, and I painted a couple ceramic tiles in #shark theme! Can't wait to see them glazed. My first attempt at any sort of art in a long time. Thankful I got carpal tunnel surgery finally.

Two ceramic tiles with drying paint on a table next to a paint pallette. The left tile is painted to mimic a whale shark's pattern, and the right tile is painted to mimic an epaulette shark.

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Christine Archer RVT 🇨🇦 @nerdrvt.bsky.social · 31/08/2025

It's still technically International Whale Shark Day where I live! Here's a closeup of a ceramic tile I painted at a pottery painting fundraiser event! Can't wait to see the finished, glazed product soon!

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