It's the first time a nonfiction piece of mine's published. When I read it back, I was in tears,not to say I was moved by my own writing, to say that I'd written from a place of urgency to a point that I'd forgotten "I" had written this. I had no memory of it at first thecommononline.org/i-teh-ran/

Recommendations – Without an Algorithm If 2020-2024 was about using ALL the big tech tools, following algorithms and testing the water of AI and LLMs, 2026 is starting to be the opposite. Here are some of the things that I'm on about and articles I've been reading these days as I try my best to…

what if i told you, through the power of forensic analysis, we are closer than ever to knowing the exact Far Side cartoon that is making Sting smile in this iconic photo. 🧵 👇

DOG AT THE OLYMPICS FULL COMPETITION HIGHLIGHTS

Today I'm going through old photos and deleting ones I don't need. Came across this one of me almost exactly 6 years ago - February 2026. Apparently I was studying for the years-long practical exam that would come in less than a month. I'm a little worried about what Flagg's up to these days...

You can really tell how much wilder we got as a culture. By the 80s it was up to 9 1/2 weeks!

Three Good Things – 16 February 2026 It's a good day - a holiday Monday and I'm back with #3GoodThings - one from my life, one from the world, and one that you can do.

Sushi Rejection Project Update! I'm at 6 / 100 and have my acceptance and rejection stats for the last 5 years, here you go: Starting in August of 2020: acceptances - 85 rejections - 836 it's ALMOST (1/??) #WritingCommunity #Writing #WritersSupportingWriters #Writers #LitMags

This was fun for me as a former zoology major in university: 🦁 Animal #929 🐻 I figured it out in 9 guesses! 🟥🟧🟨🟨🟩🟩🟨🟩🟩 🔥 1 | Avg. Guesses: 9 metazooa.com #metazooa

Three Good Things – 12 February 2026 As always, striking the balance between life and writing presents challenges. When I'm not meant to be cooking dinner I generally get on my bike for an hour or more - which will go up as the rides go outside. On the days I ride my bike to work I don't read so I…

January Reading Inspired by my friend Rupali's recent post, I write a bit about what I have been reading these days. Will it be a monthly thing? We shall see.

Three Good Things – 31 January 2026 Missed a day because life was life-ing but back at it today with three more good things in my life, in the world and that you can do..

Three Good Things – 29 January 2026 Today it's still cold out and I'm still posting three good things from my life, from the world and that you also can do.

Three Good Things – 28 January 2026 Today as usual there are three good things: One I appreciate from my life, one (and actually a bonus second one this time) story of someone doing good in the world, and finally a way you can also be part of bringing good into the world.

Three Good Things – 27 January 2026 Three more good things today - one thing being helpful in my life, one good thing from out in the world at large, and then a good thing you can do to help someone else.

Hey all, the lack of decent CWs, filters or unactionable doom posts (I get it, we're not all here for the same reasons) has me not checking this site anymore. To get in touch, find me at zirk.us/@toddtyrtle where I can better curate my feed.

Three Good Things – 26 January 2026 It's probably a good thing to start looking at "three good things" again but I thought it might be interesting and helpful for more to look at three things from three angles. One thing from my life, one thing from the world, and a final good thing that you can…

Coping with Chaos in Uncertain Times The news, amplified and endlessly repeated by social media has made this a hard beginning to 2026 for me. What am I doing to keep my head on straight and find ways to help others?

SO EXCITED to post my Unsolved Mysteries #SpeculativeFiction story, I thought it was only in print until today! Eeeee! If you like the 80s and Robert Stack and some really fabulous reality shifting, please do read: stonecoastreview.org/issue-19/per...

Why Are We Here? We all came to the Internet and social media for something. Most of us seemed to get what we wanted for a while but now many of us are sticking around platforms out of inertia even as they get worse. What am I doing instead?

Oh WOWIE WOW, I'm in this! Eeeeee! milkcandyreview.home.blog/2025/06/26/p... (yes I double-checked 8 times)

A little whimsy seen on the way to the subway station. A tiny snowdog with surprisingly expressive minimalist features.

Yorkshire #WritingCommunity humans? Are you out there? I'm after a quick eye on a short piece that's set in Yorkshire, my hope is that it will pass muster with actual Yorkshire residents. If you're up for giving your verdict, please let me know.

I am so excited to see this piece from @sagetyrtle.bsky.social out today. It’s a good one and gives me Inside Number 9 or Black Mirror shivers in a good way.

2026 Week One – Bits and Bobs Before heading back to work Todd talks about what's still good on the Internet and the cost of fun

I really love "Dad for a minute" over on Lemmy - people who either don't have a dad or a good relationship with their own post and people respond to them as a father figure. It's lovely and wholesome. This was particularly beautiful - but look at the other posts as well.

Well there was a new experience for 2026: Going live on YouTube with my Hindi teacher and talking to random people. It was really fun but wow - I haven't stretched my brain like that since my first few Hindi classes over 10 years ago. So good!

As I get more frustrated with massive social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram and FB, I'm more and more drawn back to my own blog. I may have 16 subscribers but I enjoy the vibe there and the lack of a need to cater to an algorithm. (1/3)

I really love this idea. I'll be following this closely for sure. Who knows? Maybe I'll try the home version!

Reframing Goal-setting for Flexibility In today's entry I talk about my goals for 2026 - but also about the need to not put all one's eggs in one basket but to eat a few along the way to sustain yourself.

where my mind goes whenever people complain that a bike lane is a waste of space because it’s underused

I love this piece by my partner @gooutsidetoday.com -- the analog world is still there, it's always been there:

I have not stayed up so late working on a puzzle in recent memory. This was hugely addictive fun: Find 45 groups of 45 in this massive list of words: thomaswc.com/2025.html

Rumours of The Death of Joy are Greatly Exaggerated Today I think about "weaponized nostalgia" and its cure, searching for the clues within your nostalgia to find the joy around you.

Your heartwarming story for the day. www.bbc.com/news/article...

“By reading this plaque, you have made a valuable addition to the number of people who have read this plaque” … an important heritage moment on the streets of Toronto (by artist Sarah Lazarovic).

Funny Numbers xkcd.com/3184/

For a long time after moving to Canada we caught up on all the Canadian 80s music we missed. I thought I'd found most of it but today I heard one I missed: youtu.be/ET68tvKOkuU?... #Toronto #Canada

Try balancing your time reading about rich and powerful people doing evil with regular people doing good. You'd be surprised what a difference it makes. I remember the lunch ladies in my school so this brings back fond memories. bittersoutherner.com/issue-no-12/...

"Even if the #vaccine isn't a perfect match, it still does quite a lot to reduce disease severity" www.cbc.ca/news/canada/... #CBC #news #flu #influenza #Canada

Remember how I said I have it written into my foreign-language contracts that my work has to be translated by an actual human? This shit is why. Those book translations are gonna suck. They'll save money putting out books that are going to be painful to read. That's not a great long-term strategy.

This flu seems to come with horrid repetitive fever dreams. But I did get a break briefly with a dream of riding my bike on a lovely summer morning north of Toronto. Then I remembered "Oh no! I'm supposed to be home sick!" and turned around and rushed toward home.

Just starting to get over this one right now (what I assume is this - COVID negative) and it's the sickest I've been in recent memory. And it seems to spread so quickly.

You “road tax” reminder

The person who checks their notifications is, afterward, exactly the same person who wanted to check their notifications five minutes ago. The thin desire reproduces itself without remainder. The thick desire transforms its host. www.joanwestenberg.com/thin-desire...

This isn’t a niche issue. This isn’t “just cyclists.” When a city abandons part of its street network the effects ripple outward... into traffic flow, safety, maintenance, and daily life for everyone. One decision. Entire city. 📣 Contact Council before 9am Dec 16.

I only just saw that the video about Lael Wilcox's record breaking around the world cycle trip is up on YouTube for free now. What an excellent watch that was! #cycling

YESSS I have been waiting for this for so long!