iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Mark Saltveit @taoish.mastodonapp.uk.ap.brid.gy · 04/09/2026

This "Equal Earth" map accuraty shows the relative size of different countries. The difference for Africa and South America is stunning!

The "Equal Earth" map which accurately shows the relative size of different land masses.

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Mark Saltveit @taoish.mastodonapp.uk.ap.brid.gy · 26/08/2026

Last 7 shows! Daily at 2:25 pm, Carbon Lounge 3 Plus 2 evening shows: tonight at 6:25 pm at The Tailor, 226 Gorgie Road by Meadowbank, and Friday at 6:15pm at 3 Ole Monks in Leith. Free show -- I'll pass a hat. Ego Tourism: How the Tao Made Me (a bit less) Weird #tao #dao #taoism #tao

Flyer for "Ego Tourism: How the Tao Made Me (a bit less) Weird", with an image of a middle-aged man wearing a bucket hat and large sunglasses with a ying/yang (taijitu) symbol over each eye, on a sky blue background.

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Mark Saltveit @taoish.mastodonapp.uk.ap.brid.gy · 22/08/2026

Not shabby, Edinburgh. Also, 64 degrees, sunny, not humid.

View of Edinburgh Castle on its mountain crag.

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Mark Saltveit @taoish.mastodonapp.uk.ap.brid.gy · 18/08/2026

I saw a lovely and uniquely earnest and positive show at #EdFringe, "Let People Like You." I know that's not the UK manner, but this mix of humor, original songs and poetry and a bit of dance was heartfelt and moving. Edalia Day is very talented as a singer […] [Original post on mastodonapp.uk]

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Mark Saltveit @taoish.mastodonapp.uk.ap.brid.gy · 02/08/2026

It's amazing that the Roman church of St. Peter in Chains - San Pietro in Vincoli aka S. Petri ad vincula - not only still exists, but has the relic of the chains themselves! You can argue about authenticity but I don't think anyone disputes that they go back […] [Original post on mastodonapp.uk]

An image of the relic chains in a glass case with a metal frame. The chains double back and forth multiple times -- looks like maybe ten feet of chain or more.

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Mark Saltveit @taoish.mastodonapp.uk.ap.brid.gy · 21/07/2026

A tree grows in Philly. (36th and Chestnut) #philadelphia

An extremely thin, branchless and leafless tree trunk on the side of an urban street. It almost looks burnt.

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Mark Saltveit @taoish.mastodonapp.uk.ap.brid.gy · 21/07/2026

This is a real store in suburban Philly. I'm sorry.

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Mark Saltveit @taoish.mastodonapp.uk.ap.brid.gy · 13/06/2026

Donald Trump is so vain! His minions deliberately missed the midnight deadline to take his name off the Kennedy Center, then hung a big white tarp so the gathered crowd could cheer when his name came down. It was removed between 3am and 4am. But there was a […] [Original post on mastodonapp.uk]

Worker removes the A in Donald Trump from the facade of the Kennedy center, seen through a gap in the tarp

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Mark Saltveit @taoish.mastodonapp.uk.ap.brid.gy · 22/05/2026

How to turn off this abomination: 1) go into YouTube Studio (ie click Your Channel, then Manage Videos) 2) click the blank square for all videos on the page, then click Select All 3) Just to the right, click the Edit drop down. "Shorts remixing" is way down […] [Original post on mastodonapp.uk]

This screen shot shows the menu command to turn off "Shorts remixing." In YouTube Studio (aka Manage Videos), after selecting all videos, this image shows the Edit drop-down, with "Shorts remixing" as the 14th item down.

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Mark Saltveit @taoish.mastodonapp.uk.ap.brid.gy · 18/03/2026

@pseudo-isidore.bsky.social This part right here? Thanks! I was just researching how steep (or not) the hill behind it is.

An arial photo of Rome by Charles West, zoomed in on and cropped to emphasize what I think is St. Peter's Basilica.

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Mark Saltveit @taoish.mastodonapp.uk.ap.brid.gy · 09/03/2026

It's spring in Vermont, and the perennial bicycles are pushing up their first pedals!!

In a deep snowbank, the tip of a bicycle pedal has been revealed by the melting snow.

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Mark Saltveit @taoish.mastodonapp.uk.ap.brid.gy · 03/03/2026

Here's a tricky puzzle! This section of Greek text appeared in in the (Latin) Einsiedeln itinerary, Einsiedeln MS 326 (9th c.) amidst a bunch of Latin inscriptions and poems. It's Greek-ish, maybe Coptish, but we can't assume the scribe understood Greek as […] [Original post on mastodonapp.uk]

A screenshot of Greek or pseudo-Greek text from a 9th century European manuscript. The text has odd word spacing and some characters are strange, others look Copic like the lunate S and the capital omega which looks like a W and not a horseshoe. My best attempt at a trancscription would be
"τον θεον λογον θενσε χρυσω
την θεοτα υπτον πετραν εν η
βεβηκωσ ουκλονυμ"

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Mark Saltveit @taoish.mastodonapp.uk.ap.brid.gy · 27/01/2026

I don't even think San Francisco is real. This place is a friggin' post card.

Sunset view of the Golden Gate Bridge from Fort Mason; green lawn in foreground, a thin sliver of bay and bridge in the middle, blue sky above with streakish clouds pointing right to the bridge spire.

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Mark Saltveit @taoish.mastodonapp.uk.ap.brid.gy · 19/01/2026

Ego Tourism: How the Tao Made Me (a bit) Less Weird www.palindromefight.com This week - 4 free shows in conjunction with the Ursula Le Guin exhibit at the Oregon Center for Contemporary Arts (OCCA), sponsored by taoish.org Vergennes, Vermont - Bixby […] [Original post on mastodonapp.uk]

Poster for the show Ego Tourism: How the Tao Made Me (a bit) Less Weird -- a middle aged man wearing a bucket hat and large sunglasses with yin/yang symbols (taijitu) filling the lenses, is seen from the shoulders up. The title is above his head, and the subtitle is inside the hat.
It also says "No tickets - just turn up!" and "PBH Free Fringe 2025" and has credits: written and performed by Mark Saltveit, directed by Olga Sanchez, Drawings (and this poster) by Jon Agee.

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Mark Saltveit @taoish.mastodonapp.uk.ap.brid.gy · 01/12/2025

Portland Oregon also has a bar called Cult Classics where they play such movies silently, over a heavy metal soundtrack. Currently: Flash Gordon (1980?). Also, they have a payphone. #pdx #portland

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Mark Saltveit @taoish.mastodonapp.uk.ap.brid.gy · 28/11/2025

If you're going to be in Portland, Oregon before February 8th, there is a great - and very interactive - exhibit on Ursula Le Guin, at the Oregon Center for Contemporary Art. Can't recommend this enough. #dao #tao #scifi #sciencefiction

Image of Ursula Le Guin and OP from her exhibit

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Mark Saltveit @taoish.mastodonapp.uk.ap.brid.gy · 04/11/2025

I guess ethic humor is acceptable again, so ... #jokes #oleandlena

4 jokes on strips of paper:

"Sven and Ole saw a funeral procession and Ole asked, "Who do you think died?" Sven replied, "I think it's the guy in the casket."

Lena called to Ole on the other bank of the river, "How do you get to the other side?"
Ole replied, "You are on the other side!"

After dating for 15 years Lena said, "Ole, maybe we should get married?" He
replied, "At this age, who would have us?"

Ole asked God why he made Lena so nice and round, "So you would love her." But why did you make her so stupid? "So she would love you."

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Mark Saltveit @taoish.mastodonapp.uk.ap.brid.gy · 02/10/2025

Vermonters! Come see "Ego Tourism" Friday at 11am, in Middlebury. Davis Family Library, room 230. Free. It's my one-person show about Daoism (aka Taoism), mixing comedy, cringe memoir and ineffable philosophy, as seen at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival this […] [Original post on mastodonapp.uk]

Poster for the show "Ego Tourism: How the Tao Made Me (a bit less) Weird".
The image is a middle-aged man wearing a bucket hat and oversize sunglasses with yin-yang (taijitu) symbols over the lenses.
Friday October 3rd, 11:00 am
Davis Family Library, room 230
Middlebury College
No tickets -- just turn up!

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Mark Saltveit @taoish.mastodonapp.uk.ap.brid.gy · 17/09/2025

Anyone on Academia.edu -- DON'T agree to their new terms of service when you next log in. It gives them irrevocable, forever rights to you name image and voice for anything they want!! Instead, open www.academia.edu/privacytakes in a separate windown, and use […] [Original post on mastodonapp.uk]

New terms of service for Academia.edu which grant them a "worldwide, irrevocable, transferable license , permission and consent for Acadmia.edu to use your Member Content and your personal information (including, but not limited to, your name, voice, signature, photograph, likeness, city, institutional affiliations, etc.) in any manner, including for the purpose of advertising"

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Mark Saltveit @taoish.mastodonapp.uk.ap.brid.gy · 09/09/2025

Trump's spokeswoman: "The Epstein birthday letter's signature is totally different! Not Trump's!" Here's a side by side comparison: (the article matches signatures from the same era and notes that his one-named signature ("Donald") is consistently similar […] [Original post on mastodonapp.uk]

Image of several signatures of Donald Trump from 1998 to 2003. They are extremely similar to the signature on the Epstein birthday card.

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Mark Saltveit @taoish.mastodonapp.uk.ap.brid.gy · 08/09/2025

Remember the birthday card from Trump that the Wall Street Journal reported is in Jeffrey Epstein's 2003 bithday book? The one Trump denies ever existed? The Epstein estate released a photo of it to Congress, under subpoena. I wonder what special shared […] [Original post on mastodonapp.uk]

A simple outline of a naked woman with very small breasts and text inside - Donald Trump's signature, at the botton, is placed in such a way that it resembles pubic hair.
The text is a dialogue that reads:

"Voice Over: There must be more to life than having everything.
Donald: Yes there is, but I won't tell you what it is.
Jeffrey: Nor will I, since I also know what it is.
Donald: We have certain things in common, Jeffrey.
Jeffrey: Yes, we do, come to think of it.
Donald: Enigmas never age, have you noticed that?
Jeffrey: As a matter of fact, it was clear to me the last time I saw you.
Donald: A pal is a wonderful thing. Happy Birthday - and may every day be another wonderful secret.

Donald J. Trump
/s/"

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Mark Saltveit @taoish.mastodonapp.uk.ap.brid.gy · 29/07/2025

The poster for my #edinburgh #fringe show has been spotted in the wild! The preview went well, excited for Saturday's premiere. "Ego Tourism: How the #tao Made Me (a bit less) Weird" Carbon Lounge on Cowgate, 16:40 #edinburghfringe

Poster for "Ego Tourism": a middle aged man wearing a bucket hat and sunglasses with taijitu (yin-yang symbols) over the eyes.

A lamp pole in Edinburgh with 8 posters, including one for Ego Tourism, August 2-24th at 16:40 except Tuesdays at Carbon Lounge, room 3, 208 Cowgate, at Blair Street below the Monkey Barrels. Part of the PBH Free Fringe so no tickets, just turn up!

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Mark Saltveit @taoish.mastodonapp.uk.ap.brid.gy · 10/07/2025

I love the relatively low alcohol of UK beers. In the U.S. it's hard to find any IPA as low ABV as their most alcoholic beer here.

A list of 6 beers, mostly IPAs, all less than 5.35% ABV.

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Mark Saltveit @taoish.mastodonapp.uk.ap.brid.gy · 04/06/2025

I settled on a poster design for my Edinburgh PBH Free Fringe show! Is the font too groovy, though? #edinburgh #edinburghfringe

Scarred-looking poster board with everything ripped away except a fragment with a man's dark hair (but not his face), next to the words "ONE MAN SHOW" in a groovy rounded font.

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Mark Saltveit @taoish.mastodonapp.uk.ap.brid.gy · 04/06/2025

Where should a medievalist in Sighișoara, #Romania go? Well, anywhere really. But at the end of the evening, it has to be the Voynich Pub! The bartender confirmed that it's named after the #manuscript, but confessed that they don't have a copy to look through […] [Original post on mastodonapp.uk]

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Mark Saltveit @taoish.mastodonapp.uk.ap.brid.gy · 10/04/2025

Settled on a name and (draft) image for my new #edinburgh #fringe show this year. Ego Tourism: Taoism in the Wild At the Carbon nightclub, wee room 16:25 August 2-24th (but not Tuesdays)

Tourist with a boony hat and taijitu (yin-yang symbol) eyes in front of a waterfall

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Mark Saltveit @taoish.mastodonapp.uk.ap.brid.gy · 24/03/2025

Fantastic (and long) article in Smithsonian about exploring Rome's ancient underground, especially aqueducts. www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/explo… @histodons

The Vicus Caprarius (City of Water), an underground museum in Rome

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