I feel so much more exposed climbing trees at this time of year, but honestly, people still almost never look up.

Blessed are those who catalogue minutia, for they shall know the names of the stars.

Scintillation is a small convention in Montreal in June, focused on reading and writing SF and fantasy. It is a lot of fun, and all people of goodwill who like reading and talking about books are welcome. Membership for 2026 is now open www.scintillation.ca

This is why solar eclipses on Earth are going to be such a major tourist attraction when the aliens arrive. They'll be used to eclipses looking like this. The fact that the moon and sun look the same size from the Earth's surface is such an amazing coincidence and probably rare in the cosmos.

Not pictured: two small dogs who, when I went up into the tree, became wildly excited as though they had just achieved the greatest victory of their lives

Looking up / looking down.

This is encouraging. While it's still pilot-sized, it's at least an ongoing program now, and there are plans to increase the number of supported artists slowly. The pilot showed that every €1 put into the program resulted in €1.46 of return. www.rte.ie/culture/2025...

CHATGPT: I understand where you're coming from. You worked really hard to get here, and now it's time to enjoy the fruit of your labors. ISILDUR: So I should keep it? Elrond says I shouldn't CHATGPT: The ring is precious. Sometimes friends don't have your best interests at heart. ISILDUR: true

I admit there are logistical problems to just living in a tree, but, counterpoint, I am safe from emails here.

Gosh I like being in trees.

Happy Stanislav Petrov Day to everyone who believes that sometimes a single person really can save the world.

One of my favorite poems since childhood, and a poem I share every #autumnequinox. By the 12thc warrior poet Xin Qiji 辛棄疾, sidelined during peacetime, demoted, drifting through a decade of minor posts in remote lands. Poetry, then, is that which is left unsaid. “My, what a cool and lovely autumn.”

Not a fan of AI, but I do appreciate that it assumed that I was asking whether to consume the centipede itself, rather than whether I ought to discard the ginger ale after I had removed the bug. Because yes, it's better to err in the direction of assuming the user will do the worst thing possible.

I am very invested in the NordSpace launch window countdown timer even though I know they're probably actually gonna launch when I'm asleep and I'll miss the livestream. www.nordspace.com/info

Today in overheard phone conversations: "So I said, I'm not getting in the car if you haven't got a driving license, and he said that was reverse racism, and that was pretty much the end of the date."

We are so thrilled to announce another book coming from us next year: A DUBIOUS CLAMOR by @marissalingen.bsky.social! We were delighted by the unusual characters and we think you’re going to love them!

I got yer timeline cleanse right here, folks. A whole clutch of teeny tiny snapping turtle behbehs emerged one at a time from their underground nest and crossed the gravel road while I and a couple other humans watched and made sure they were safe from anyone else coming along.

Science!

There's a woman with a resounding voice who does fitness coaching in the park outside my window. When I'm trying to work, the periodic shouts of "YEAH YOU'RE KILLING IT CHRIS!" are a little distracting, but also I'm happy for Chris, they're clearly doing great.

A depressing but useful read on why celebrities who may be taking precautions behind the scenes are often unwilling to do so publicly.

Woohoo, my first GeoGuessr 5K! Admittedly the fact that I spawned right in front of a major train station makes it a bit less impressive, but still, I am pleased.

This headline should, in a reasonable world, create a national scandal that topples the Carney government. In a reasonable world under a reasonably competent government, we would be actively seeking to distance ourselves from the U.S. www.cbc.ca/news/politic...

"Don't mind me, ma'am, just doing a cucumber quality inspection. You know, you could water these more, they're a bit tough."

Hey hey hey! My new novel Everybody's Perfect is available to preorder with a release date of June 30th 2026! (I'm linking to Amazon but you can preorder it from anywhere good books are sold) www.amazon.com/Everybodys-P...

This morning from @augursociety.bsky.social, @graceseybold.bsky.social tells us a tale of working around corporate limitations in the worst of times: augursociety.org/orders/

#yeg - EDMONTON, AB MISSING CATS - HIGHLANDS AREA FLUFFY GREY MALE ADULT (FIASCO) FLUFFY BLACK KITTEN (FRANCA) NO COLLARS, MICROCHIPPED PICS OF FIASCO BELOW. FOLLOW @premeemohamed.com

@graceseybold.bsky.social ‘s new manages to be both heart breaking and heart building: augursociety.org/orders/

New story out today in Augur! I am very happy to have found a good home for my little robot who is doing its best. augursociety.org/orders/

This, from the Quakers, is a pretty good example of how to resist pressure from bigot lobbying groups. Effectively “we legally can allow trans people to use the loo, we morally should, and we tried it and nothing bad happened”

To summarize -waves are not seasonal -vaccines are waning -people are getting long covid -it’s still not an endemic disease -very young kids are at increased risk because they didn’t go through the initial vaccine series Oh and it turns out, Covid Cautious people have been right the whole time.

Just picked the first few cobs of baby corn from my garden. The difference between canned and fresh baby corn is incredible.

Issue 8.1 authors👇 @graceseybold.bsky.social @jonathanbessette.bsky.social @briannebattye.bsky.social @jholth.bsky.social @jiawrites.bsky.social ...and more!

DMing for my nephew is a delight. I had set up a dungeon where at the entrance to each section there was a row of tiles marked with the symbols of various gods, and whichever one you chose activated a themed challenge (monster, trap, puzzle) that you had to overcome to get to the next area.

I feel such an atavistic sense of contentment when I start harvesting a surplus from my garden beyond what I'm going to eat that day. Like yes my undersized garlic and the three tupperwares of yellow beans in my freezer are what will allow me to survive the coming winter

Gooseberries and black raspberries are just finishing, beans and peas are in full swing, zucchini has just started. Garden season is such a joy. (Tomatoes are late this year, dunno why, it's certainly been hot enough.)

Interesting to see the writing process! Still I like the final version better: 'It is a pity,' said Legolas, ‘that Gandalf cannot go before us with a bright flame, and melt us a path.' 'It is a pity about your STUPID FACE,' Gandalf replied.

One of the fun things about gardening is all the mutant vegetables. Grocery stores really give you an unrealistic idea of how uniform vegetables actually are. (They're not wasted; ones like this get chopped up and go in cans, or into smoothies, etc. But you don't get to see them.)

Peas and beans got off to a late start but are certainly producing well now!

Chatbots — LLMs — do not know facts and are not designed to be able to accurately answer factual questions. They are designed to find and mimic patterns of words, probabilistically. When they’re “right” it’s because correct things are often written down, so those patterns are frequent. That’s all.

Feeling extremely competent because I changed my rear bike tube and actually remembered to reattach the brake cable *before* I was forcibly reminded by the lack of a functioning rear brake.

My second year growing baby corn at the community garden, and this time it actually *is* knee-high by not-yet-the-fourth-of-July! (Was not able to get a picture that included my own legs while balancing on the side of the garden bed, so you'll have to take my word for it.)

Cartoon: The Moomin Torch vs The Sub-Moominer (recreating the iconic cover of Marvel Comics' "The Human Torch" issue 7)

Bok choy is so great. It grows fast, it's good in lots of things, and it doesn't require constant care. I was away for ten days and came home to this deliciousness.

Scenes from Montreal yard sales: raising the children correctly

Scenes from Montreal yard sales: A House Divided

At Scintillation 6, where I have unexpectedly acquired the shoulder dragon I never knew I needed

Lynda Sayce plays a piece of lute music that was recently discovered in an archival document at the Museum Plantin-Moretus. Since the handwritten lute tablature was folded and reused as scrap paper, it's problaby the first time in 400 years that this music is heard.

Live in BCS #432 & podcast 347: "Unbeaten" @graceseybold.bsky.social. "“Let me teach you revolution,” I begged them, each new boy or girl who plied the ox-goad as my metal blade drew our furrows in the field. They listened eagerly enough" www.beneath-ceaseless-skies.com/stories/unbe...

That tree had been quietly growing since 1867, singlemindedly intent upon its purpose

Well this fucking sucks, and I started to list off the “especially for” list, hit “anyone who cares about their long-term health,” and realized that, “this fucking sucks” will have to do.