iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

TrishEM @pematson.bsky.social · 12/10/2026

Reminds me of some "hamburger" cookies that I made years ago for April Fool's Day with vanilla wafers, Nutella, and shredded coconut that I'd dyed green with food coloring. I'm not a baker like you, but I can assemble stuff!

Six miniature "hamburger" cookies on an egg tray. The "hamburger buns" are actually vanilla wafers that sandwich layers of Nutella for "meat" and green-dyed shredded coconut for "lettuce."

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TrishEM @pematson.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

Geri Sullivan, Bill Higgins, and Pat Virzi were the banana-costumed timekeepers for the Ig Nobel Awards recitations at @laworldcon.bsky.social !

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TrishEM @pematson.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

Sara Callori (purple blouse) reads a scientific paper about coin-flipping statistics during the Ig Nobel Awards recitations at the @laworldcon.bsky.social .

From left, Annalee Newitz listens, David Levine takes a photo, Cat Woman listens, Sara Callori reads, and Mason A. Porter listens, as the banana timekeepers approach.

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TrishEM @pematson.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

Cat Woman (center) reads about how ethanol consumption affects flight and echolocation in Egyptian fruit bats, as the banana timekeepers approach, as Annalee Newitz (left) listens and David Levine snaps a cellie.

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TrishEM @pematson.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

David Levine reads a paper about people sometimes choosing mean friends during the Ig Nobel Awards recitations at the @laworldcon.bsky.social . At left, @annaleen.bsky.social represses laughter.

Annalee Newitz covers her mouth and closes her eyes as David Levine reads aloud.

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TrishEM @pematson.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

"Cows, When Painted in a Zebra-Like Striping, Can Avoid (Biting Fly Attacks)" is read by Annalee Newitz during the Ig Nobel Awards recitations at @laworldcon.bsky.social .

Annalee Newitz reads as David Levine listens.

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TrishEM @pematson.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

Sara Callori reads a paper about mammalian respiratory failure during the Ig Nobel Awards recitations at the @laworldcon.bsky.social .

Sara Callori, center, reads aloud as Cat Woman and Mason A. Porter listen.

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TrishEM @pematson.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

Cat Woman (left) reads a scientific paper about fractures in uncooked (dry) spaghetti rods, as Sara Callori (center) and moderator Mason A. Porter (right) listenduring the Ig Nobel Awards recitations at @laworldcon.bsky.social .

Cat Woman wears what seems to be a cheetah-print jacket, Sara Callori wears a glittery purple blouse, and Mason A. Porter wears a yellow T-shirt.

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TrishEM @pematson.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

David Levine reads a scientific paper about intelligence and narcissism during the Ig Nobel Awards recitations at @laworldcon.bsky.social .

David Levine, center, reads aloud as a banana-costumed timekeeper watches (left) and Cat Woman listens.

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TrishEM @pematson.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

"Dung Beetles Use the Milky Way for Orientation" is read by Annalee Newitz during the Ig Nobel Awards recitations at @laworldcon.bsky.social .

Annalee Newitz wears a green jacket for her recitation of a scientific paper. At right is a banana-costumed timekeeper.

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TrishEM @pematson.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

Sara Callori, right, reads from a paper about punks negotiating their identities as they age, from the Ig Nobel Awards recitations at the @laworldcon.bsky.social (Car Woman, left, listens.)

Sara Callori, right, wears a glittery purple shirt as she reads from a scientific paper. Cat Woman, in what appears to be a cheetah-print jacket, listens.

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TrishEM @pematson.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

Cat Woman reads "Melody in Human-Cat Communication: Meow-sic" during the Ig Nobel Awards recitations at @laworldcon.bsky.social

The banana timekeepers loom menacingly over Cat Woman to encourage her to wrap up her reading.

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TrishEM @pematson.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

David Levine reads a paper about memory and semantics from the Ig Nobel Awards recitations at @laworldcon.bsky.social Annalee Newitz is at left and Cat Woman is at right, and they're all framed by banana timekeepers.

David Levine, center, reads a paper about memory and semantics from the Ig Nobel Awards recitations at @laworldcon.bsky.social
Annalee Newitz is at left and Cat Woman is at right, and they're all framed by banana-costumed timekeepers.

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TrishEM @pematson.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

Banana timekeepers return to their seats after Annalee Newitz (in green) finished reading from a paper about the fluid dynamics of a pasta sauce from the Ig Nobel Awards at @laworldcon.bsky.social

People in banana costumes resume their seats after Annalee Newitz' reading of the peppery pasta sauce paper.

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TrishEM @pematson.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

Ursula Vernon / T. Kingfisher gives a dramatic reading of the scientific paper "Pigeons in a Pelican" from the Ig Nobel Awards at @laworldcon.bsky.social !

Ursula Vernon, wearing a cowboy hat, sits and talks into a microphone. The foreground shows one of the banana timekeepers.

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TrishEM @pematson.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

Excited to be at the @laworldcon.bsky.social panel for Improbable Research: Ig Nobel Award Dramatic Readings!

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TrishEM @pematson.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

"Good from afar, maybe, but far from good." --Daniel Gonzalez, cleverly but unjustly self-deprecating his spooky forest-fortress drawing at the 20-Minute Masterpiece Competition at @laworldcon.bsky.social (during the final 10-minute round).

Daniel Gonzalez, artist, wearing shorts and a tee, with his long hair pulled back in a clip, holding a microphone, talks about his spooky forest/fortress sketch.

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TrishEM @pematson.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

Artists (from left) Daniel Gonzalez, Stan Sakai, Catherine Koon, and Tim Kirk share smiles after the 20 Minute Masterpiece Competition at @laworldcon.bsky.social . They sketched to prompts for 3 rounds of decreasing time (20 , 15, 10 minutes), but actually, there were no winners nor losers named.

The four artists stand in front of the paper-easels where they sketched.

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TrishEM @pematson.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

At the 20 Minute Masterpiece Competition panel at @laworldcon.bsky.social, artist Daniel Gonzalez sketched this to the prompt "SF fans building a homebrew spaceship" -- in just 15 minutes! After the panel ended, he graciously gave away his 3 sketches to members of the audience, and I got this one!

Artist Daniel Gonzalez, wearing a T-shirt and shorts, with his long hair in a loose clip, holds a microphone as he talks about his Sharpie sketch of a somewhat inept rocket-building crew.

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TrishEM @pematson.bsky.social · 06/06/2026

My Duolingo Spanish Score is 130! That means I've finished their course. Anyone want to recommend Spanish tv, movies or podcasts for me? Or other apps to keep learning?

The green Duo owl flies over a yellow star. Text: Duolingo Spanish Score 130, with a Spanish flag.

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TrishEM @pematson.bsky.social · 24/04/2026

How about a functional horse, like this riding-bird that Pip is taking through the wilderness in For Love of Mother-Not, the GURPS module based on Alan Dean Foster's book in his Humanx Commonwealth series?

Cover of GURPS: For Love of Mother-Not: Solo Adventure in Alan Dean Foster's Humanx Commonwealth. A redheaded youth (Pip) with a colorful winged serpent (Flinx) coiled around his neck and shoulders rides a giant, flightless, red-crested brown bird with powerful legs and talons, tacked with saddle, harness, and bridle, through a wilderness with large trees and rocky terrain. In the left foreground, a striped cat-dog predator is jumping away, with claws extended.

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TrishEM @pematson.bsky.social · 21/04/2026

Post yourself (in glasses) in another country (in this case, a windswept hill in Ireland, near some cows). Back when my hair was shorter, in 2019; I was there for the Dublin WorldCon. They're bidding again for 2029! @dublin2029.bsky.social

Wind and rain are making my then-short hair look bad, but the hillside view with two brown cows is pretty sweet. The sky is overcast. You can just see a fence, with orange lichen, at the bottom right corner, between the cows and me.

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TrishEM @pematson.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

IDK, thinking today of Hoover and the Bonus Army. I can certainly imagine something like this happening again nowadays, though. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonus_A...

On July 28, 1932, U.S. Attorney General William D. Mitchell ordered the veterans removed from all government property. Washington police met with resistance and shot at the protestors; two veterans were wounded and later died. President Herbert Hoover then ordered the U.S. Army to clear the marchers' campsite. Army Chief of Staff General Douglas MacArthur commanded a contingent of infantry and cavalry, supported by six tanks. The Bonus Army marchers with their wives and children were driven out, and their shelters and belongings burned.

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TrishEM @pematson.bsky.social · 06/02/2026

Here's @princejvstin.com at @capriconsfcon.bsky.social ready to answer questions about the @edmontonin2030.bsky.social bid to hold the 2030 #WSFS #WorldCon in Edmonton, Canada.

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TrishEM @pematson.bsky.social · 01/02/2026

Good morning, Womble! I am currently indulging in Melania: Devourer of Men, by J.D. Boehninger. It's not exactly high quality, but just the concept is amusing.

A brunette resembling Melania Trump, but with fangs, bat wings, and no legs, wearing a red camisole, flies above the New York City skyline, with clawed hands outstretched.

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TrishEM @pematson.bsky.social · 01/01/2026

New Year's Day feast, southern style! Bean soup with black-eyed peas (because the store was out of just black-eyed peas), with collards and cornbread.

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TrishEM @pematson.bsky.social · 03/12/2025

I don't love what #Duolingo has been doing this year, but I've persisted, and I'm proud of my progress.

Graphic: Duolingo 2025 year in review.
Picture of an, wings upraised, with stars and swirls, over a globe or crystal ball that says 2025. "I'm a top 1% Spanish learner on Duolingo! 110 Spanish score, 1303 longest streak, 196,064 total XP, 14914 minutes spent.

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TrishEM @pematson.bsky.social · 12/11/2025

Here's another with a really vivid red! No touchup, just the Night Sight setting!

Same as above, except the red is really vivid here!

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TrishEM @pematson.bsky.social · 12/11/2025

Gorgeous Northern Lights tonight! The red is visible to the naked eye, but this is using the Night Sight setting on my Pixel 6 camera.

A broad band of crimson stretches down from the sky toward the trees on the horizon on the lower left, surrounded by greens that fade into the black night.

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TrishEM @pematson.bsky.social · 18/08/2025

Root beer float (house ice cream with Boylan'sl and a Big Eddie sundae at Shug's in Seattle after the end of #WorldCon2025.

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TrishEM @pematson.bsky.social · 15/08/2025

Had truly delicious salmon Benedict, plus a tasty sausage donated by a friend, at Bacco Cafe near Pike Place. Potatoes were okay. Alas, the side order buttermilk biscuits were dry, crumbly (should be FLAKY), and barely warm. #Worldcon2025

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TrishEM @pematson.bsky.social · 14/08/2025

Bought a salad and water at the Seattle Convention Center (Summit) and stepped out onto the lovely green Terrace on the third floor for a quick and quiet lunch. A lovely break! Breakfast was delicious, but protein heavy, huevas rancheros at Los Agaves at Pike Place. #Worldcon2025

Boxed salad at the Terrace, an outside garden space at the convention center. Lots of empty tables and chairs here at 1 15!

Huevas rancheros on a thick corn taco with chorizo and other fixings at Los Agaves at Pike Place in Seattle.

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TrishEM @pematson.bsky.social · 27/07/2025

Hi Womble! I have a couple of ARCs in progress for future reviews, but right now I'm rereading Changer's Moon (1985) as I work on a retrospective of Jo Clayton's novels, which generally had female protagonists and addressed a lot of social issues during many adventures. What a great writer she was!

Cover of Changer's Moon, by Jo Clayton, featuring a green-skinned woman's head with flowers in her hair, floating in the sky, with a coyote's face in the moon (or a mirror), above a standard-bearer riding a multi-legged horse thing, advancing on a walled city.

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TrishEM @pematson.bsky.social · 07/05/2025

If you see this, post the most recent photo of yourself from your camera roll. No cheating!

Me, a woman, with my hair pulled back, in glasses, wearing a collared blouse with colorful geometric patterns.

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TrishEM @pematson.bsky.social · 20/03/2025

I've made the "hand gesture that they allege is proof of gang membership" myself, many times (I'm no crook). The pointer finger stands for "I," pointer and thumb at right angles make an "L," and thumb and pinkie make a "Y." This alleged "gang" symbol is just sign language shorthand for "I Love You."

Picture of a hand making the "I Love You" symbol.

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TrishEM @pematson.bsky.social · 18/03/2025

Kind of spooky! And the next Duolingo translation exercise was La sombra siempre estaba despierta: The shadow was always awake. Is this a haunting, or is it about Lamont Cranston?

Duolingo exercise: Lin is saying "Mientras cenábamos, la sombra me llamó."
(While we were eating dinner, the shadow called me.)

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TrishEM @pematson.bsky.social · 05/02/2025

This is even worse than Duo's owl-unicorn-centaur thing. Mind blown, I guess?

A brain with wide eyes and an open beak rises from Duo the Duolingo owl's head, with its eyes closed, beak agape, and either a shadow or scorch marks on top of its head (under the brain). Mind blown, I guess.
Text: "Voice of a generation
"You did 3 speaking challenges. Iconic work."

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TrishEM @pematson.bsky.social · 05/02/2025

Thanks, I guess, Duo, but I DO NOT LIKE this owl-unicorn-centaur chimera.

Duo the Duolingo owl's face, topped by a pink horn and a rainbow, is the "head" of a green horse with a pink tail. Duo text: "Flawless. 0 mistakes. You're like a pristine, freshwater pearl."

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TrishEM @pematson.bsky.social · 29/01/2025

Milestone: 1,000-day streak! I'm now at level 81 in Spanish, high B1 level in CEFR terms. Learn a language with me for free! Duolingo is fun, and proven to work. Here’s my invite link: invite.duolingo.com/BDHTZTB5CWWK...

Orange Duo owl, wearing sunglasses, outlined in yellow flames like a phoenix. "I'm on a 1000 day learning streak!"

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TrishEM @pematson.bsky.social · 11/01/2025

Duolingo 2024 year in review: I'm nearly at Duo's level 80 in Spanish, which is to say, nearly at high B1 (about a quarter through "intermediate") in CEFR terms.

Duolingo 2024 year in review:
(Picture of green Duo owl on top of "2024")
Top 1% rank,
940 longest streak,
96493 total XP,
10928 minutes spent.

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TrishEM @pematson.bsky.social · 02/01/2025

We had blackeyed peas on brown & wild rice, mixed turnip and mustard greens, and cornbread!

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TrishEM @pematson.bsky.social · 26/12/2024

Huh, IDK what kind of critter left those footprints there! We had some backyard visitors today here, but no snow.

Picture of a doe, a deer, a female deer, in a yard of scrub grass, behind a playset with a swing, in front of bamboo. Some red brick buildings are visible through the foliage.

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TrishEM @pematson.bsky.social · 02/12/2024

I've been working hard at learning Spanish! Top 1% of Duolingo learners, 2 years in a row! I'm at Duolingo level 75, equivalent to the middle of CERF B1.

Duolingo 2024 Year in Review: I'm in the top 1% of all Duolingo learners! (Image: muscular-looking Duo owl, wearing a "1" medallion, asking "Is your last name "Winner"?"

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TrishEM @pematson.bsky.social · 21/11/2024

Hey Duo, I don't need you judging anything except my language skills!

Duo the owl and Junior the kid character are dancing in celebration. Below, the Duolingo app says, "Perfect lesson!"
Below that, in smaller text, it says, "You made 0 mistakes. Unlike in real life."
I circled "Unlike in real life."
Below that, I wrote, "Judgy!"

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TrishEM @pematson.bsky.social · 30/10/2024

More of a line than I expected: 35 minutes to go through the line and vote, at 4 p.m. Wednesday. Vote early if you can, since lines will probably be much longer on Election Day. Your vote: Use it or maybe lose it!

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TrishEM @pematson.bsky.social · 21/10/2024

Learn a language with me for free! Duolingo is fun (although occasionally irritating or bemusing). I'm on a 900-day streak, mostly Spanish; I'm at CEFR level B1 now. Here’s my invite link: invite.duolingo.com/BDHTZTB5CWWK...

Orange background, orange owl, glowing yellow like a flaming phoenix. Text: I'm on a 900 day learning streak!

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TrishEM @pematson.bsky.social · 12/10/2024

Alas, we couldn't get the tech working for Twitch, so we talked instead in our @skiffyandfanty.bsky.social patron Discord. The podcast will be released to the public eventually. Meanwhile, here's my mild Evelyn Carnahan cosplay, from the beginning when she's a serious librarian.

Here I'm wearing a striped shirt and a kerchief-necktie, like Evelyn at the beginning of The Mummy 1999.

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TrishEM @pematson.bsky.social · 01/09/2024

If you see this, quote post with a beach photo from your gallery.

Tiny, rocky peninsula on Lake Superior, with pine trees or some kind of evergreen.

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