iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Rebecca Dean @rmdean.bsky.social · 12h

Confirmation. Really unfortunate!

A facebook post from Ingham County Animal Control and Shelter

On Wednesday, October 14, 2026, Ingham County Animal Control & Shelter (ICACS) officers were contacted by local law enforcement to assist with a cow at large near the northbound US-127 exit ramp at Lake Lansing Road.
According to information received, the cow fell from a livestock trailer after it was improperly secured during transport. The individual transporting the animal was reportedly unaware that the cow was missing until arriving at their destination over an hour away.
While we were coordinating a trailer to transport the cow, the cow subsequently moved from the highway area into nearby residential neighborhoods to the east, presenting an ongoing public safety concern.
Once it moved off the highway, ICACS officers attempted to chemically immobilize the cow in order to safely contain and secure the animal. Unfortunately, the medications had little to no effect, and the cow continued moving through the area.
As the incident progressed and the cow moved into a densely populated residential area with an elementary school in the immediate area, concerns for public safety drastically increased.
An additional attempt to chemically immobilize the cow was made with the assistance of a veterinarian who was brought to the scene. Unfortunately, this attempt was also unsuccessful.
Due to the continued inability to safely contain the animal and the ongoing risks to public safety, the decision was ultimately made to euthanize the cow. The animal was euthanized by local law enforcement using a firearm.
This was an unfortunate outcome to a challenging situation. Throughout the incident, repeated efforts were made to safely contain the animal and achieve a positive outcome. Unfortunately, as the situation escalated, the safety of residents and the surrounding community had to remain the priority.

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Rebecca Dean @rmdean.bsky.social · 14h

Unfortunately, I'm hearing rumors that the police shot the cow and it didn't make it. 😬😠😭

A black cow in a suburban yard, as seen through a picture window. There's a cop car off to the side. This is the same cow but not my picture or yard. It moved through too quickly for us to get a picture.

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Rebecca Dean @rmdean.bsky.social · 17h

There is a cow in the woods at the end of our block.

In the foreground are some orange maple trees. In the middle ground is a red truck belonging to a farmer who has lost his cow. Also, there is a police car with all of its lights running. Also, there is a truck with a blue cattle trailer attached. Behind our the elementary school playground, and woods at the end of our block. Somewhere in there is a cow.

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Rebecca Dean @rmdean.bsky.social · 19h

Unexpected humor by the county alert system

A picture of a text that says city of Lansing traffic alert: the ramp from NBUS 127 to Lake Lansing Road is temporarily closed as responders work to get a cow moooooo’ved along.

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Rebecca Dean @rmdean.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

My son’s iPhone has once again spontaneously changed its keyboard settings to Welsh. 🤷‍♀️

An iPhone keyboard with “gofod” and “mynd” instead of space and enter.

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Rebecca Dean @rmdean.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

I’m at a Yo Yo Ma concert I’m at a football game I’m at a combination Yo Yo Ma concert and football game

Yo Yo Ma on the big screen at the Big House

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Rebecca Dean @rmdean.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Also this gem. It’s a picture of my 5xgreat-grandmother!! She was 89 in this picture but she was born in 1779. It’s honestly just amazing to see this.

A picture of a really ancient looking woman in an enveloping 19th century black dress and white bonnet

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Rebecca Dean @rmdean.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Over/under on whether we end up in the basement?

An extraordinarily ominous looking cloud moves across central MSU’s campus

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Rebecca Dean @rmdean.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

I’ve been having anxiety attacks all day so I decided to try a long walk. I swear I checked the weather radar before I left.

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Rebecca Dean @rmdean.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

I stand by my previous statement.

A view of downtown Pittsburgh from across the Monongahela.

A view of the Monongahela through Pittsburgh with bridges and the cathedral of learning on the ridge

View of the confluence of the Monongahela and Allegheny rivers in downtown Pittsburgh.

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Rebecca Dean @rmdean.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

Pittsburgh is significantly cooler than I thought it would be. Also, I petition for every major city to have a cathedral of learning.

A view of the cathedral of learning through a window in the Carnegie museum.

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Rebecca Dean @rmdean.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

It behooves those who would fight against The Man to know enough about the system to at least recognize where threats lie. For example, as a member of this committee I can tell you we don’t actually vet questions. We just keep the calendar so multiple large surveys don’t go out at once.

A screenshot from a State News story about their survey methodology. It reads: We chose not to go through the university’s official process for sending surveys to students. That would have allowed us to use MSU’s email system to distribute the survey, but would have involved university administrators approving our questions. We decided that conflicted with our independent mission and opted to distribute the survey ourselves instead.

We used a list of students’ names and cell phone numbers obtained through public records requests (this is considered “directory information" in Michigan and thus not protected by federal privacy laws). We hired a vendor to send automated texts to every student on the list, containing a brief explanation of the survey and a link to the form. We incentivized participation with a raffle of basketball tickets and gift cards.

Though the responses were anonymous, we did collect MSU NetIDs as a way of verifying that all the respondents were actually students and that no one had filled it out more than once. It also allowed us to award the incentives. The identifying data was removed from the final dataset.

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Rebecca Dean @rmdean.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

Look at these charts. Really look. Basic vaccines had mostly been introduced in the 1960s. Look how much farther infant morality has fallen since then! How about life expectancy? Look how much that curve has smoothed out since vaccines. That recent dip? Covid-19. One of the "non-essential" vaccines.

CDC data on US infant mortality, showing that the infant mortality rate has fallen 92.7% in the past century.

US Life expectancy, showing significant increase from 1900 to 2024, with notable dips for the Spanish flu and Covid 19

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Rebecca Dean @rmdean.bsky.social · 08/08/2026

I’m told it’s International Caturday.

Two sisters cuddling. A tortie and an orange tabby on a blue ottoman

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Rebecca Dean @rmdean.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

I wish I had a camera that could capture the mirror-like quality of the Red Cedar today.

A picture of trees and the river bank reflected in the water

A view down the Red Cedar with trees lining the banks and reflecting in the water

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Rebecca Dean @rmdean.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

One thing I love about Lansing: every time I wear this shirt people start talking to me about their own progressive religion/church/synagogue and the love they have for the community.

An orange T-shirt with the words, Jesus loves all his sheep on front. There are cartoon sheep, and the wool of each one is colored to represent a different pride flag.

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Rebecca Dean @rmdean.bsky.social · 25/07/2026

TF kind of headline is that?!?

A newspaper article from Reuters. Shows picture of a bomb with headline “US missiles hit Iran as path toward de-escalation remains uncertain.”

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Rebecca Dean @rmdean.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

I was not prepared to find that this headline and this photograph were correctly paired.

Headline from the Lansing State Journal “Grand Ledge man has souvenir from first Lugnuts game in Lansing”. Paired with a photo of a man in full combat gear with his arm around a young Iraqi boy.

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Rebecca Dean @rmdean.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

Ugh. I’m getting that “smokers cough” I associate with fieldwork in a dusty area

Screenshot of the current air quality for East Lansing, Michigan, showing that we are in the hazardous or highest level of pollutants.

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Rebecca Dean @rmdean.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

They come in a variety of shapes. I’ve never seen one exactly like that but I usually find them in US contexts. They’re about that size and ceramic or glass usually. Here’s a picture of some.

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Rebecca Dean @rmdean.bsky.social · 28/06/2026

I had not previously noticed that google maps has marked the Pennsylvania Ave train bridge near Potter Park. 😂

A screenshot of google maps showing the train bridge over Pennsylvania Ave in Lansing, MI, labeled with the name "Penny the Truck Eating Bridge"

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Rebecca Dean @rmdean.bsky.social · 23/06/2026

I'm about to give my lecture on "sci com is hard because people don't care about facts or truth" to a new audience. This has literally lead to tears in the past, so pray for me.

The text of the poem "Differences of Opinion" by Wendy Cope

He tells her that the earth is flat
He knows the facts, and that is that.
In altercations fierce and long
She tries her best to prove him wrong.
But he has learned to argue well.
He calls her arguments unsound
And often asks her not to yell.
She cannot win. He stands his ground.

The planet goes on being round.

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Rebecca Dean @rmdean.bsky.social · 06/06/2026

I usually wear all black so it didn’t occur to me not to wear all black to meridian pride. Oh well, at least my nails are purple.

A hand with bright purple nails on a black skirt

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Rebecca Dean @rmdean.bsky.social · 02/06/2026

If you know anything about the demographics and politics of Michigan, this is the world’s most unsurprising map.

Map of Michigan counties showing their school vaccination waiver rates. Waivers are higher in very conservative areas, particularly the MAGA/militia parts of the state. Also some lower income areas.

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Rebecca Dean @rmdean.bsky.social · 17/04/2026

The Red Cedar keeps rising. If we get more water I’ll be swimming to work.

The banks of the Red Cedar with water all the way to the sidewalk. There are partially submerged trees in the middle ground. In the back is a bridge.

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Rebecca Dean @rmdean.bsky.social · 08/04/2026

The red cedar river is not where it usually is. Some denizens of campus are happier about this than others.

The red Cedar river at the very top of its banks. Trees can be seen partially submerged in the foreground. In the middle are two very happy Canada geese.

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Rebecca Dean @rmdean.bsky.social · 04/04/2026

Happy Catur…whoops. Sorry. That’s a basketball.

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Rebecca Dean @rmdean.bsky.social · 31/03/2026

I have to go to work. Who’s going to tell her?

A large orange tabby curled up in my lap.

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Rebecca Dean @rmdean.bsky.social · 20/03/2026

For my IR and assessment peeps.

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Rebecca Dean @rmdean.bsky.social · 18/03/2026

Legit question: is the GOP aware the two of these three categories are more likely to vote Republican?

Tweet from Senator Patty Murray that reads "If you are a married woman that changed your last name, student that moved away to college, senior & lifelong voter with mobility issues, Republicans' SAVE Act will make it HARDER and more EXPENSIVE for you to vote.

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Rebecca Dean @rmdean.bsky.social · 17/03/2026

I think this is going to need to be longer than an hour and a half.

A screenshot of the podcast the Ezra Klein show, with the episode entitled what Trump didn’t know about Iran.

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Rebecca Dean @rmdean.bsky.social · 12/03/2026

I was looking for this earlier. *For some reason* it’s all over my feed today.

Man smoking in the dark. The caption says “The truth is, these aren’t very bright guys, and things got out of hand.”

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Rebecca Dean @rmdean.bsky.social · 11/03/2026

It’s usually hard to tell that the Red Cedar is flowing at all.

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Rebecca Dean @rmdean.bsky.social · 10/03/2026

Thus dies 19yo’s dream of EU citizenship.

A text sent between two people. The first text says “how recently did we have ancestors that actually lived in Ireland?” the response is “1847.” she responded “damn so not very recently.”

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Rebecca Dean @rmdean.bsky.social · 10/03/2026

I read. Like, a lot. So I keep a spreadsheet of what I've read and take a few notes. Otherwise, I can't remember if it's worth reading again or if I'm willing to read the sequels. I was looking at my notes for the last couple of months. Not sure how helpful they really are. LOL

Spreadsheet with notes as follows:
Meh. Teenage b-grade drama
Kinda dull for a plot that involves ghosts, hidden bodies, incest, and a bunch of random creepy shit
Same universe as the Oregon prepper mystery. Ending made no damn sense but whatever
Worth reading
too poorly written even for me
Waaaaaaaah
There's so little depth it reads more like a plot outline. Not worth reading the rest
Still not sure why I'm reading these
Mystery about forensic dna. Not bad.
Not sure I actually read this
Noped the fuck out on page 2 when I realized it was Elon Musk fan fic
Honestly, not sure why I'm still reading this. It is so poorly written. However, the story is fun.
I got through about half of it. It has some serious potential, but the author is either 12 or an incel or both. The main character is just too unlikeable but also none of it makes sense from a character development perspective
Up in the air about reading the next one. Lots of nationalistic stereotypes. Mildly sexist. Decent read but plot jumps around. Having trouble keeping everyone straight.
Enjoyable. Didn't realize it was an erotic romance until too late
Too much teenage romance not enough actual mystery or interesting puzzles
Not bad but I got bored and never finished. Worth reading if you can't find anything else
Worth reading but main character is just a D and D manic pixie dream girl. Hoping she gets a personality at some point. Skyrim fan fiction, basically. Plot like a series of d and d campaigns with no overarching plot
It really needs a plot beyond she fights random things and gets stronger. OTOH I'm still reading.
Meh. Maybe if I'm desperate for a mystery
OK, this is actually a surprisingly interesting thought-experiment about inclusive evolution and collective action.
Mystery. Poorly written and absolutely nonsensical. Didn't get past the first few chapters

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