iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Now I am become Jeff, the destroyer of Whorls @trollbreath.com · 22/09/2026

Welcome to fall officially, by the way. Amazing how fast this month is moving. Soon enough it'll be October, and we'll be planning our trip to Ottowa for Can*Con. Random picture of trees turning colors, not mine, and not recent, but pretty.

A large field, with trees on the other side in brilliant y8ellow and orange colors passing away into the distance over rolling hills towards blueish mountains in the distant background.

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Now I am become Jeff, the destroyer of Whorls @trollbreath.com · 21/09/2026

I just realized I'm only a year younger than Ian McKellan was when he starting film work on the first Lord of the Rings movies, and I'm just thinking... what? No. Is impossible. Then I see him without the Gandalf makeup and it all makes WAY more sense.

A picture of sir Ian McKellan taken circa 1999. It's in black and white, and he's wearing a dark shirt that blends in with a dark background. He's staring at the camera with a slight smile, his right hand pressed against the side of his face.

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Now I am become Jeff, the destroyer of Whorls @trollbreath.com · 21/09/2026

Easy. "Pool of Radiance." I played it on my commodore 64, and it was the first time I stayed up all night gaming. I'd enjoyed games before, but this was when games became a real passion.

An ad for the 1988 computer game, Pool of Radiance, released by Strategic Simulations, Inc. It was the first real Dungeons and Dragons game you could play on your computer, with turn based combat system using the AD&D rules. Besides advertising text, the image shows the cover art that was on the box, a male coded warrior with shoulder length golden hair parted in the middle, wearing silver chain mail and a white cloth gamberson over it. He's holding a long sword with both hands and looking up and sort of to his left. A golden dragon is passing from behind him to the left, shooting out a flame. In the foreground on the right is a table with part of a skull peaking out of the side of the image.

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Now I am become Jeff, the destroyer of Whorls @trollbreath.com · 17/09/2026

I'll be participating in Flights of Foundry this weekend. Here's where you can find me. I'll be moderating the Friday night and both Sunday sessions. And please come to my reading! I may do one of the Fox & Troll stories again like last year.

Graphic showing my schedule for Flights of Foundry online convention.

Friday, September 18th
6:00 PM EDS (18:00 UTC): Dealing with Rejection & Criticism

Saturday, September 19th
7:00 AM EDS (11:00 UTC): Game Recommendations!
10:00 AM EDS (14:00 UTC): Reading!
12:00 AM EDS (16:00 UTC): Short Fiction Magazine Structure
5:00 PM EDS (21:00 UTC): Finance & Short Fiction Markets

Sunday, September 20th
6:00 AM EDS (10:00 UTC): When the Story Call Calls You:
Writing for Anthologies and Very Specific Story Calls
4:00 PM EDS (20:00 UTC): You Can Just DO That? Launching
Magazine (also featuring Jennifer Reynolds)

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Now I am become Jeff, the destroyer of Whorls @trollbreath.com · 07/09/2026

Fascist assholes always run back to the same fashion cues. They are trying to defend these mock up dress uniforms by claiming it's not fascist because it's inspired by the uniforms in "Starship Troopers," which just reminds me how stupid they are on top of their fascism.

A picture of the concept dress uniforms for Space Force, which look suspiciously like Nazi uniforms from the 1940's, an intentional design cue by basing them off the movie "Starship Troopers," which itself was designed to reflect a fascist America (which is the America Donnie and his dipshits are pushing us towards).

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Now I am become Jeff, the destroyer of Whorls @trollbreath.com · 04/09/2026

As with all things, there's a balance. And they've found one that works for them. The family is not dogmatic either. Some of them do get vaccinated, and choices are left to each individual, not dictated. But Ethan does remind me of Doug from The Good Place. He has his code and sticks to it.

Doug Forcett holds a little snail in a scene from the Good Place, as Janet and Michael look on. Doug represents being good to the point of being used by others, but he lives by his code however hard it may be.

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Now I am become Jeff, the destroyer of Whorls @trollbreath.com · 04/09/2026

I mean sure... it nailed my home state. But it cheated with the Italian sandwich question. Almost no one else outside of Maine calls it that (to be fair, it had already pretty well honed in on New England, though at that point it was saying "Vermont.")

A picture depicting a map of the United States with colored gradient lines from dark blue through a neutral beige to a dark red. Dark red is the area most likely to represent your dialect and where you're from or spent the most time, thus reflecting your speech patterns. In my case, it nailed me as being from Maine. Test is at mydialect.us

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Now I am become Jeff, the destroyer of Whorls @trollbreath.com · 01/09/2026

Happy 2 year anniversary of my longest submission! It's been two months since the last contact from the editor (who assured everyone they were definitely about to make final decisions). When this queue ends, I have a blog post ready. Assuming I even remember the submission call at that point.

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Now I am become Jeff, the destroyer of Whorls @trollbreath.com · 26/08/2026

The Enormous Egg, by Oliver Butterworth. Apparently Mr. Butterworth was pretty early to the conclusion that birds are dinosaurs, because a chicken lays an enormous egg that hatches into a triceratops. I got it at my first Scholastic book sale. and it launched my love of reading.

The cover of The Enormous Egg, by Oliver Butterworth, a 1950's children's book about a boy discovering his chicken laid a huge egg which soon hatches into a triceratops. It shows a boy with a button down shirt, sleeves rolled up, starring at a nest of hay where an egg lays broken in half (the triceratops has hatched) and a startled chicken looking at the egg as well.

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Now I am become Jeff, the destroyer of Whorls @trollbreath.com · 19/08/2026

Did I mention this is coming soon? No? Yes? Hey, this is coming soon! Trollbreath Publishing's first anthology, collecting the short stories and poems published in the magazine's first 6 issues! Scheduled for release on November 3rd, and should available for pre-order by the start of October.

Cover for our first anthology, Trollbreath Magazine Volume One (2024-2025). It shows a stylized scene of tall, gray-green trees with a small figure near the bottom in red like a girl wearing a red cloak. Edited by Jennifer & Jeff Reynolds

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Now I am become Jeff, the destroyer of Whorls @trollbreath.com · 18/08/2026

It's been A Day. We just said goodbye to Luna, our elder kitty, who was as cold and remote as her namesake, and whom we loved. But age had taken its toll, her legs were no longer working well, and other indignities had beset her. Losing a loved pet never ceases to hurt like hell, does it.

This is Luna from last year, pretending she's adorable, when really she was quite aloof and cold and very much a "you shall not touch me unless I deem it time for a meal, and then only until such as I have your attention upon which you will feed me; no, means no, and picking me up is always a no. No!"

She was loved and will be missed greatly.

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Now I am become Jeff, the destroyer of Whorls @trollbreath.com · 16/08/2026

We watched the first few episodes of Mrs. Davis, which came out a couple of years ago but we'd missed. It's a delightful, absurdist dark comedy about a nun on a mission to destroy the world AI that most people love. Also, she's literally married to Jesus. Also, Excalibattle. Also Jezebull.

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Now I am become Jeff, the destroyer of Whorls @trollbreath.com · 10/08/2026

An image of the Lion Nebula from the James Webb Space Telescope that was just released. Such a beautiful look at the intricate structure caused by the central star going supernova and, now a white dwarf, emitting radiation which cooks the gases and forms the shapes. Science!

Massive stars undergo supernova explosions at the end of their lives, but these kinds of events are few and far in between. Most of the universe’s stars have lower masses, like the one belonging to NGC 2392. When a lower-mass star can no longer sustain itself with nuclear reactions in its core, the star becomes unstable and pulsates, losing its mass by shedding its outer layers, which then turn into shells of gas and dust called a planetary nebula. (Stars at this life stage are responsible for producing much of the universe’s observable dust.) The star’s radiation drives the ejected material away, leaving behind the very hot stellar core, also known as a white dwarf.

In the Lion Nebula’s case, the death of the oxygen-rich central star has left behind a white dwarf that is “cooking” everything from the inside and producing a bubble of ionized gas as it does. The gas bubble, which forms the lion’s face, is expanding over time and destroying dust that is in its path. Understanding why the swept-up gas has a complex structure of rings and shells, a common feature in planetary nebulae, is an ongoing endeavor.

The mane of the lion is the interior of a dust shell that is being illuminated by the white dwarf at the center. The tufts of hair, which look like cometary tails of material, are compact clumps of dust that have survived the stellar core’s radiation and protect the material that lies behind them.

Webb’s imagery “freezes” this planetary nebula in time, though the star’s death, and its tumultuous effects, go on. NGC 2392 will continue to undergo changes as its gas and dust migrate away from the stellar core. Astronomers estimate the lion will eventually disperse in approximately 10,000 years — a relatively short period in astronomical terms.

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Now I am become Jeff, the destroyer of Whorls @trollbreath.com · 08/08/2026

The majesty of the snow leopard, one of nature's most beautiful predators. 1. Beautiful 2. Gorgeous 3. Elegant 4. Cowabunga!!!!!!

An image of a snow leopard clinging to a narrow cliff wall. Beautiful creature with white fur dappled with light brown hairs and black spots. Long tail dragging down behind it.

Another image of a beautiful snow leopard crossing a mountain view. So regal.

A third image of a snow leopard, this one in movement. Tail up high, bounding across a snowy field, eyes on its prey. Amazing.

A final image of a snow leopard in full leap looking... ah... like a black and white kite with the tail going the wrong way. Sort of as if a fur rug was tossed in the air and it sort of spread out... I can almost hear this creature saying "cowabunga!"

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Now I am become Jeff, the destroyer of Whorls @trollbreath.com · 07/08/2026

There's certainly more than a few along the coast of Maine. Now I want to hire a photographer to go recreate famous dramatic gothic romance book covers.

Cover for the book "The Devil's Mirror," which was apparently a gothic romance title. In the background is a large mansion in pale gray colors, possibly moon lit, a single light shining in the tower room above the turret. A woman is nearer the viewer, in a blue gown, with long, loose black hair, running away from the house towards a small fountain with cherubs spewing water in the middle like some sort of eerie take on Cupid and other innuendos that will remain unspoken.

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Now I am become Jeff, the destroyer of Whorls @trollbreath.com · 03/08/2026

Today marks day 700. Just 30 more days to go to get to that fabled two-year mark. In the meantime, here's a picture of my favorite library during a snow storm a few years back. Sure is lovely.

A picture of the Pittsfield, Maine, public library in a snow storm. Very picturesque.

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Now I am become Jeff, the destroyer of Whorls @trollbreath.com · 02/08/2026

The first of the month surge is always a fraught time for first readers. You go from "manageable, manageable, manageable" to "slow down, I'm drowning!" in a flash. But seriously, keep the submissions coming! We're pleased with how this year has gone. It's a lot of work, but work we love.

Image of Cosmo the Troll. He's a grin skinned guy with a sly smile and one snaggle tooth sticking up out of his mouth. He's wearing a bowler style cap with googles, wearing chainmail with some rips in it, and holding a ray gun.

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Now I am become Jeff, the destroyer of Whorls @trollbreath.com · 28/07/2026

Did I mention we have our first anthology coming this fall? No? Well, it's now mentioned. With lovely cover art by Betidraws, it captures all 60 stories and 24 poems published in our first six issues. More information coming soon! (right after we finish getting issue 9 ready for 9/1 release).

The cover for our upcoming anthology, Trollbreath Magazine Volume One (2024-2025). The art, "Little Red Riding Hood," is by Betidraws and shows a small red figure walking away from the viewer through a forest filled with huge, fantastically tall trees. Several small mushrooms mirror the look and shape of her cloak. Colors are predominantly a gray-green for the trees, and yellow for the background, with her cloak and mushrooms a faded rusty red.

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Now I am become Jeff, the destroyer of Whorls @trollbreath.com · 27/07/2026

For me, though, it'll be hard to supplant Oh Brother, Where Art Thou? as the best Odyssey adaptation. Strays much further from the source material than Nolan does, but is perhaps one of the great treats of late 20th century film making. If you've never seen it, do. Also features fake beards.

The three main characters from "Oh Brother, Where Art Though?" (George Cloon, Tim Blake Nelson, and John Turturro) wear fake beards as they take the stage to sing as the Soggy Bottom Boys.

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Now I am become Jeff, the destroyer of Whorls @trollbreath.com · 27/07/2026

Also, I was surprised to learn Armand Assante has kept working since he starred in that adaptation. His career really fell down the well after that and his Judge Dredd appearance.

Armand Assante, in black with a cut and some blood on his face, stands with his back to a large, bronze colored military robot with glowing orange eyes, in a still image from the 1990's movie Judge Dredd.

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Now I am become Jeff, the destroyer of Whorls @trollbreath.com · 27/07/2026

The Odyssey. Am I right? You know I am. I might see it. Maybe even in Imax. Mostly because of all the hype for/against. But hearing Joyce Carol Oates thinks the 1997 Hallmark channel two-part is the best adaptation, with its wonky green screen effects and Monty Python-level beards, is hilarious.

A clip from Monty Python's Life of Brian movie. A number of people stand together wearing robes and head dresses indicative of ancient middle east traditions. Several of them are clearly women who are wearing bad fake beards. The words being spoken by someone else are "Are there any women here today?" implying the women are disguised so they can attend the stoning.

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Now I am become Jeff, the destroyer of Whorls @trollbreath.com · 25/07/2026

New anthology, whose this? My hard cover copy of "Trunk," from Metaphorosis publishing and edited by B. Morris Allen, has arrived. I really love when a story gets a print copy I can hold in my own two hands. Pre-order now. Releases on August 1st.

Cover of the anthology called "Trunk: Stories That Took the Long Way." It's black with a picture of the front half of an elephant looking left across the cover. The word Trunk travels down along beside the elephant's actual trunk. At the bottom left it says edited by B. Morris Allen.

Internal page for the anthology "Trunk: Stories That Took the Long Way." The story title is "Falling Jupiter," by me, Jeff Reynolds. The visible text reads:

TIME: 10:45:08 AM SOL-GMT
WTNS: 1,073,051
EVNT: T-00:74:52

I bent over, pulled the eel suit up my legs, felt it tighten against my skin. I could see the numbers for the audience rising in my feed as Witness count passed one million. A few emotes popped up to share sexual feelings concerning my body. I didn’t need the distraction, so I swept those connects, locking them for twenty minutes.

Gwilym came into the ready room and stepped behind me. “Let me help,” she said, pulling the suit up my back and holding it so I could slip my hands into the sleeves. We got along well. We loved well.

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Now I am become Jeff, the destroyer of Whorls @trollbreath.com · 25/07/2026

Welcome new followers! I'm not nearly as much the delightful raconteur as my joking post about the CyberEdsel would make me seem. But if you like thoughts about writing, music, anti-LLM, pop culture takes five years behind the moment, and politics, consider me seen. And if you don't, well...

A cover parody of the Nancy Drew Mystery series. This one has the image of Nancy in a red dress, leaning over a cabinet she's opening that's full of old bottles with stoppers. She's holding a candle and turning to look back over her shoulder towards the reader as though something is approaching from outside the image. The title reads: The Secret of the Missing Fucks.

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Now I am become Jeff, the destroyer of Whorls @trollbreath.com · 24/07/2026

This is correct. Perfection was already achieved, we need no further adaptations of this story.

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Now I am become Jeff, the destroyer of Whorls @trollbreath.com · 23/07/2026

Stop trying to make Summerween a thing, advertisers. Summerween is never going to be a thing (and apologies to anyone who celebrates it and have made it a thing, I'm specifically referring to marketing and advertising by retailers).

A picture of the character Ron Swanson from Parks & Recreation television show. He's wearing a rust-red pullover shirt with a collar and two buttons at the top, a hint of white t-shirt showing beneath. Above him is the caption "there's no such thing."

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Now I am become Jeff, the destroyer of Whorls @trollbreath.com · 02/07/2026

Love your thoughts, and love the flag you chose. We fly a replica of the 33 star Fort Sumter flag (aka the Tie fighter flag) because fuck fascists and racists with their confederate flags.

Replica 33 star flag, which was unique
to Fort Sumter.

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Now I am become Jeff, the destroyer of Whorls @trollbreath.com · 30/06/2026

I was just thinking of the second car I owned, and one of my favorites. A slightly rusty 1985 or 86 Subaru Loyale (Leon in other places), which I got used in 92. A boxy station wagon that was a champ in snowy weather. My wife has a 2017 Crosstrek, but it's just not the same as The Beast was.

Picture of a 1989 Subaru Loyale taken from Wikipedia/Wikicommons. A dark gray station wagon sitting in a desert area with a light tan dune behind it and rocky mountains in the back ground.

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Now I am become Jeff, the destroyer of Whorls @trollbreath.com · 28/06/2026

We were there, and caught a glimpse of King after the show ended. I had a feeling he went back stage to meet Patton. Show was awesome, by the way. He's hilarious, as was his opening act (whose name eludes me at the moment, but soon as I recapture it I'll post, she deserves more attention).

A picture of Patton Oswalt with Stephen King, after Patton's show last night in Gardiner, Maine.

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Now I am become Jeff, the destroyer of Whorls @trollbreath.com · 24/06/2026

Also, can you tell when the wind shifted and started coming off the ocean? Yeah... you can tell... 78 was nice while it lasted....

In image from my weather station showing temps climbing to 78 degrees before the wind shifted to come from the south, off the ocean, when sent it plunging to 65 in a matter of a minute or two.

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Now I am become Jeff, the destroyer of Whorls @trollbreath.com · 24/06/2026

Okay, I'd never seen this one before and as a model train lover, it made me laugh out loud.

A picture of Russel Crow from the movie Gladiator, only they have photo shopped him wearing striped overalls and a hat like an old time train engineer would wear, holding a toy steam engine. The caption reads "Are you Not Into Trains!?"

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Now I am become Jeff, the destroyer of Whorls @trollbreath.com · 21/06/2026

Well, our rise/set are going to be just about the earliest in the Eastern Time Zone (USA).

A picture of a sun rising graphic with the word Jonesport beneath it. Below that and to the right are the words Maine, and United States. To the right of the picture it says June 21, 2026. Sunrise 4:45 AM. Sunset 8:18 PM.

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Now I am become Jeff, the destroyer of Whorls @trollbreath.com · 21/06/2026

Happy Solstice, my fellow sunward travelers. We spent our afternoon yesterday kayaking on Tunk lake. A little windy and choppy, but it was definitely a good day and we never have enough time these days to go commune with nature. Welcome to summer, northern hemisphere.

A picture of Tunk lake taken by Beth Comeau, which appears on the Natural Resources Council of Maine website page for Tunk: https://www.nrcm.org/explore-maine-map/donnell-pond-and-tunk-lake-region/

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Now I am become Jeff, the destroyer of Whorls @trollbreath.com · 19/06/2026

My characters Fox and Troll from their first published story, "Fox and Troll Steal Math." Artwork by Daniel Pinal, who can be found on Instagram. www.instagram.com/danielpinala...

Troll leans out of an alley, wearing a brown jerkin and bronze wrist guards, dark pants. In front of him, little fox, in her red vest, white shirt, with her bushy tail, leans to look the other way. A bronze colored and many legged automoton is passing by, and steam/fog swirls around the image. The artwork is by Daniel Pinal. https://www.instagram.com/danielpinalarts/?hl=en

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Now I am become Jeff, the destroyer of Whorls @trollbreath.com · 18/06/2026

TR: "Pool pretty!" ALL: "Not a pool." TR: "Obama couldn't fix!" ALL: "Is that algae?" TR: "It's fine! It'll clear up!" ALL: "Still algae." TR: "Hydrogen peroxide!" TR: "Pretty pool! So blue!" ALL: "Oh look, now the blue paint is peeling." TR: ... TR: "Biden's fault! China! Pretty stock market!"

New image of the reflecting pool in DC shows that, not only is the algae still there, but now the blue paint that the Trump administration spent tens of millions to paint on the bottom of the pool is peeling up in big batches. Most corrupt and incompetent administration ever.

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Now I am become Jeff, the destroyer of Whorls @trollbreath.com · 17/06/2026

Where do you get your lobster from. Wrong answers only.

Picture of a Mardens store, which is a chain of stores in northern New England that sells cheap goods from other failing or liquidated stores, so you never know what you might fine.

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Now I am become Jeff, the destroyer of Whorls @trollbreath.com · 13/06/2026

You can sure find some uh… stuff?… at the thrift store

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Now I am become Jeff, the destroyer of Whorls @trollbreath.com · 11/06/2026

Here me out: what about a NOG? Newsletter Blog. A blog that shares newsletters from groups of related authors and mags. Not reposting, just provides a listing when a new one is released, the topics/articles listed, and links back to host. One stop newsletter browsing. ... must think on this...

Aaron Eisenberg in the role of Nog from the show Deep Space Nine. He wears a nice tuxedo, the suit jacket off and the tie undone and dangling on either side of the buttons on the front of his white shirt. He's sitting on a sofa, holding a cane with his right hand, his left resting in a pillow.

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Now I am become Jeff, the destroyer of Whorls @trollbreath.com · 09/06/2026

I enjoy a meaningless personality quiz as much as the next person, and this one was more fun than usual. A chance to think about your own personal philosophies. www.theodramatist.com/early-modern...

A results box from a personality quiz with the following text:

The Empiricist
c. 1689–1776 · England & Scotland · the evidence of the senses
Locke, the Essay Concerning Human Understanding

The mind starts as a blank page, and everything written on it comes through the senses—so test your claims against what you can actually observe, and hold even your best conclusions loosely. Certainty is mostly a flattering illusion. Push the reasoning far enough and even cause and effect dissolve into habit. Better a little doubt, a little toleration, and a decent regard for what actually works.
Representative figuresJohn Locke, George Berkeley, David Hume

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Now I am become Jeff, the destroyer of Whorls @trollbreath.com · 02/06/2026

"What's he doing up there?" "Fuck if I know." "Hey Larry! Whatcha doing!" "Watching!" "Watching what!" "That!" "A moon?!" "That's no moon!" "What'd he say?" "He said that's no moon." "Fuck's that mean?" "What's that mean, Larry?!" "It's not a moon! See?!" "What, the green glow?!" *deathstar fires*

Rebel trooper in half-egg helmet sits in a tiny basket of metal at the top of a high pole overlooking the jungle as x-wing fighters fly past heading off to attack the death star. However, the question of how effective a guard post this would be, let alone how he'd get up and down, has never really been answered other than "rule of cool." It looks kinda cool, therefore it is.

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Now I am become Jeff, the destroyer of Whorls @trollbreath.com · 01/06/2026

Bluesky Harvest was actually a lot of fun. Try it out. You don't need to log on, just have it search your profile name. I get a kick out of looking at stats and numbers, so this tickled my brain first thing in the morning. My favorite graphs. I am a, uh... sweary bastard. Sorry/not sorry.

A word cloud of words I've used on Bluesky in 2026 so far, which shows I uh... I swear a lot. Maine is the largest by far, but shit seems to be second, and fucking is large enough to be easily noticeable. So... yeah. I'm a sweary bastard.

A graphic showing I've used alt-text 96% of the time, which is good, but not quite the 100% I want. I missed a few when, for some reason, the setting to require alt-text got flipped off for a bit. It's a great reminder to include it

A graphic showing the image of the bluesky accounts I interact with the most (mainly likes). Congratulations Elizabeth Bear and JP Gowner for being my top 2! I see some friends, family, and a whole lot of writers I admire, so it's a good reveal.

My writing stats for 2026. I love stats, and I love prying into them, so kudos to whomever built this little fun tool.

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Now I am become Jeff, the destroyer of Whorls @trollbreath.com · 26/05/2026

Yep, we get it. The difficulty of laying out poetry is one of the factors we think about before we even buy a piece.

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