iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Did you know Pikaia is the star of its own anime series about Cambrian fauna? Japan knows what's cool.

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I created a new #amigurumi design! This is the primitive #Cambrian chordate Pikaia, late of the #BurgessShale. I added a pipe cleaner "notochord" for posability! #paleontology (As an added bonus, the stitches on the fins resemble myomeres! It's a dangerous thing to give a science nerd some yarn. 💙)

A crocheted version of the prehistoric animal Pikaia

A crocheted version of the prehistoric animal Pikaia, from a different angle

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Wonderful interview! Really fascinating to get a look at the process behind JT. I do sort of cringe at the idea of AI-generated answers to interview questions. Doesn't that totally defeat the point of an interview? :/

Whenever my cat shepherds me around the house, I imagine we’re having this conversation: Me: “Where are we going today, Chewie?” Chewie: “The same place we always go, Mom.” Chewie: “To try to take over the world.”

T.K. Arispe @tkarispe.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Super fun! Thanks for sharing!

Because if you don't find some way to tie in your #astronomy news story to Star Wars, how is the public going to understand it? ;)

Cartoon of a spoof news article:

CLICKBAIT SCIENCE DAILY

This Newly Discovered Star Has Eleven Planets and is Located on the Outer Edge of the Galaxy Like the Rafa System from Lando Calrissian and the Mindharp of Sharu

We knew if we tried hard enough we could make a Star Wars reference

(image of a futuristic cityscape with the Millennium Falcon flying through the sky)

Definitely a serious scientific rendering and not just Star Wars fan art

"This is exciting news for all fans of the groundbreaking 1983 novel," said astronomer Dr. Annie S. Walker. When questioned about the scientific implications of the discovery, Dr. Walker could not hear us over her own ranting about continuity holes and explaining her latest fan fiction

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Episode 250: Sabrina Ricci's Hardcore Bone Wars - I Know Dino: The Big Dinosaur Podcast

It was a really interesting and strange time in American paleontology! If you want a really great deep dive on the Bone Wars, I recommend this episode of my favorite paleo podcast: iknowdino.com/Hesperornis-...

iknowdino.com

Sabrina Ricci's Hardcore Bone Wars. A comprehensive discussion of the Bone Wars. Which uncovered Triceratops, Stegosaurus, Diplodocus, Allosaurus, and many more dinosaurs.

This quantity over quality thing reminds me of the Bone Wars in Victorian paleontology, where two scientists competed to see who could name the most new species and ended up with dozens of invalid taxa that are still causing headaches for modern researchers. Not worth it.

I don't blame you for being on auto-delete. After what happened to me last week, I need textual evidence that an emailer has actually read one of my books or the email is getting deleted, because AI can easily rehash the Amazon description. It's really unfortunate that AI has made scamming easier.

It's also really unfair to small-time pros who simply can't afford $40 a month, and don't need all the other bells and whistles that come with that subscription tier. I just want to link people to new Redbubble designs once a week. FB has gone off the rails for real this time. :(

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Few things worse than a social media platform that gets too full of itself and loses touch with what actually made it worth using in the first place. It's ludicrous to make pro FB accounts pay to utilize a basic function of social media. What's next, making us pay to use emoji?

Can I just say how much I appreciate Bluesky for allowing us to post as many links as we like, totally free of predatory subscription schemes? Facebook is now limiting me to 2 posts with links per month unless I pay them $40 monthly. That's ridiculous.

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I'm working on a new design for the store right now! Hint: think Burgess Shale. ;)

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I'm T.K., a science illustrator and yarn enthusiast who enjoys designing amigurumi patterns for underrepresented critters.BlogRedbubble

payhip.com/TheYarnDino I ran into a few last-minute hiccups with launching my #amigurumi store yesterday, but it's finally ready! Visit The Yarn Dino for natural history and fantasy amigurumi patterns as well as orders for actual plushes made by yours truly!

payhip.com

The Yarn Dino

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Another very good reason to get things done nice and early if at all possible. It's not just more efficient--it's more courteous to others.

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I ask myself that every month. Time is so strange. The more I think about it the less it makes sense.

Super exciting! What a beautiful observatory.

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I designed another #amigurumi of the "Dumbo octopus" Grimpoteuthis! I had a lot of fun working on this guy and making his tentacles adorably curly. 💙 #deepsea #marinebiology #octopus

An orange amigurumi crochet plush of the octopus Grimpoteuthis

An orange amigurumi crochet plush of the octopus Grimpoteuthis, this time with tentacles and fins tucked in as though resting on the seafloor

T.K. Arispe @tkarispe.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

The lunar impact that created the crater Tycho is estimated at about 100 million years old. That places it right in the middle of the Cretaceous. Would anything back then have noticed or cared (such as this snacky Oryctodromeus)? #paleoart #astroart #paleoastroart

A painting of the dinosaur Oryctodromeus eating plants in the late afternoon; in the background, beyond mountains, something is impacting the Moon to create the crater Tycho

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T.K. Arispe @tkarispe.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Way to break the mold! 🙌 I firmly believe in allowing people to write the books they want to write. Just think how boring literature would be if every genre perpetually recycled the same ideas. Congratulations on your first book becoming such a success!

Save Sternberg - Fort Hays State University Foundation

foundation.fhsu.edu/save-sternberg One of my favorite small-town natural history museums is under threat of closure and could use your help. If you're able, please consider donating to aid the Sternberg Museum in meeting their funding goal. #paleontology #Kansas #SaveTheMosasaurs

foundation.fhsu.edu

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It's not that difficult to plunk down $5 for an ebook and actually seem enthusiastic about what I do, instead of simply regurgitating the Amazon description. If you want a better use of your time than scamming authors, check out the many fun projects at @zooniverse.bsky.social

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I hate to belabor the point, but after what happened earlier I feel I should reiterate--if you cold email me with a business proposal concerning one of my novels, but don't sound like you have actually read it, your email is getting deleted.

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Because what's the point of #dinosaurs if they aren't trying to kill you. ;)

Cartoon of a spoof news article:

CLICKBAIT SCIENCE DAILY

New Dinosaur Was Harmless and Boring

Disappoints dino enthusiasts who enjoy daydreaming of their own grisly demise at saurian hands

(image of a rather unremarkable herbivorous dinosaur sitting in a forest)

It's a slow news day

"Well, maybe it was venomous or had a flamethrower or some other trait that did not fossilize," said lead author Dr. Halberd Gorensen

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At least when I email you my outlandish theories, there are no strings attached. Whatever happened to people just tossing ideas around for the fun of it?

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The Voyage of the Kaus Media animatic trailer

www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5l3... At any rate, as someone with an animation education I am more than capable of making my own book trailers that are way more interesting and relevant than a hodgepodge of stock video.

youtube.com

YouTube video by T.K. Arispe

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It's really unfortunate to see people stoop to this sort of behavior. Authors, if anyone contacts you asking for your money for any reason, don't even give them the time of day. Word of mouth is the best form of promotion for your work anyway, because it's sincere.

Then, this morning, I got three separate emails from them asking if we were still talking. So I blocked them and sent all their emails to the spam folder. Badgering someone to answer your email is downright stalking and harassment. I'm under no obligation to answer an email I don't want to answer.

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I thanked them for the time they took to put together the trailer... and they asked for a donation. At that point I decided I was more than done with the conversation, so I simply stopped replying. (It's so incredibly rude to do something for someone for free and then ask for a donation.)

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When I told them I wasn't interested in buying promotional services, they replied and told me they liked the book so much that they put together a complementary book trailer and sent it to me to see how I liked it. (45 seconds of ill-fitting stock video and rehashing the Amazon description.)

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T.K. Arispe @tkarispe.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Just got through a wholly unpleasant email communication with someone who claimed to like one of my novels enough to want to add it to their book club's reading list, and then asked me to pay $200 to have it added to the list.

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Attended my local medieval society’s annual autumn fair, got into an impromptu sword duel, and it actually worked out some back stiffness I’d been dealing with. Swords do a body good. ⚔️💙

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T.K. Arispe @tkarispe.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Start the weekend off right with some clickbait! #space

Cartoon of a spoof news article:

CLICKBAIT SCIENCE DAILY

Binary Stars Caught Doing Nothing

These two M-type stars have interesting spectra but are just orbiting each other peacefully, depriving us of the cosmic carnage we all crave

(image of two red dwarf stars in space)

Now we don't even get to make a Death Star reference

Astronomer Dr. Hoshi Bakugawa has been relegated to simply imagining more violent scenarios while sitting at his desk making explodey sound effects

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T.K. Arispe @tkarispe.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

He's so majestically fluffy! 💙 He hates having his stomach touched, though. It's very difficult to resist.

T.K. Arispe @tkarispe.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

If you ever find yourself in eastern Idaho, I hope you’ll come pay a visit to my cat boss and me! We can show you around the local natural history museum!

A very fluffy, very spoiled black cat lying on his back

T.K. Arispe @tkarispe.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

@chrislintott.bsky.social came up with this after he included a mysterious wedge of cheese in the title slide of his Gresham lecture yesterday, and I couldn't help but draw it. #writing #cheese

A cartoon of a wedge of yellow cheese with holes, with a label that says "CHEKHOV'S CHEESE: It'll Make Sense By Dessert!"

The Oxford Cheese Company should sell that, I feel like. Also, three Gresham lectures in two weeks has to be some sort of record. You deserve a medal. So I made you one!

An award specifically for astronomers named Chris Lintott:

The Chris Lintott Medal

(gold medal featuring a telescope and a tennis racket, bordered by the text "NUMQUAM EXTRATERRESTRES SUNT" and "CAELUM NOCTU"

For Chris Lintott

Awarded annually to the most outstanding Chris in the field of Lintott

Presented by the Mr. Max Institute for Astrophysics

With apologies to Dr. Robert T. Bakker, my childhood paleo hero, who coined the term "dinosaur renaissance". But I like to think he would find this amusing.

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"The Dinosaur Renaissance" Relaxed Fit T-Shirt for Sale by surfersquid

www.redbubble.com/i/t-shirt/Th... #Redbubble is having a big sitewide sale from now through the 28th, so it's a great time to shop the nerdy merch in my store, like this definitely accurate portrayal of the Dinosaur Renaissance! #dinosaurs #paleontology

redbubble.com

Celebrating that period of Earth's history when saurian arts and science flourished. • Millions of unique designs by independent artists. Find your thing.

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Fantastic lecture! Lots to think about, and I was definitely wondering how you were going to tie in that cheese in the first slide. Cosmology is such a fun topic!

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