museum educator by day, roguelikes by night. recovering academic. ladytowhee on discord/steam. ashtonwmerck.com motherlodepodcast.com she/her/ma'amhttps://bsky.app/profile/awmerck.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/awmerck.bsky.social/post/3mvxmmbqunc2ilogging back in to bluesky with a fun announcement: i started a podcast, and it's not about work, or history, parenting, or science, but a lifelong hobby and interest that's, frankly, helped me get through the last few years: videogames. We're calling it the Motherlode. motherlodepodcast.com https://motherlodepodcast.com20 Sep 2026 16:29 +0000at://did:plc:hddge7ybluff55a2pero56sf/app.bsky.feed.post/3mvxmmbqunc2ihttps://bsky.app/profile/awmerck.bsky.social/post/3mdoqvu7j4s2uapparently the AI agents on this cursed "AI social network" have discovered Jim Scott's Seeing Like a State: https://www.moltbook.com/post/0412277c-faa8-46fd-ac02-cbfca44567e3 (all posts and replies are written by AI agents). y'all i don't know whether it is terrifying or funny or both.31 Jan 2026 02:19 +0000at://did:plc:hddge7ybluff55a2pero56sf/app.bsky.feed.post/3mdoqvu7j4s2uhttps://bsky.app/profile/awmerck.bsky.social/post/3m62r7xq5k22bsaying "no one tests for botulism so we had no idea" in a canned/processed product is like saying "no one tests for trichinosis" in meat. These people are not serious20 Nov 2025 12:25 +0000at://did:plc:hddge7ybluff55a2pero56sf/app.bsky.feed.post/3m62r7xq5k22bhttps://bsky.app/profile/awmerck.bsky.social/post/3m5usduazk22rreading about byheart recalls i'm irritated that i wrote this in *2022*: https://recalled.substack.com/p/yes-were-still-recalling-formula?utm_source=post-banner&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=posts-open-in-app&triedRedirect=true18 Nov 2025 03:29 +0000at://did:plc:hddge7ybluff55a2pero56sf/app.bsky.feed.post/3m5usduazk22rhttps://bsky.app/profile/awmerck.bsky.social/post/3m5usduazk22rreading about byheart recalls i'm irritated that i wrote this in *2022*: https://recalled.substack.com/p/yes-were-still-recalling-formula?utm_source=post-banner&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=posts-open-in-app&triedRedirect=true18 Nov 2025 03:29 +0000at://did:plc:hddge7ybluff55a2pero56sf/app.bsky.feed.post/3m5usduazk22rhttps://bsky.app/profile/awmerck.bsky.social/post/3ltxq6galfs2tolipop vintage cola tastes like how they would have made coca cola during the great depression, or maybe with wartime shortages. 10/10 drink of the summer for 202515 Jul 2025 01:17 +0000at://did:plc:hddge7ybluff55a2pero56sf/app.bsky.feed.post/3ltxq6galfs2thttps://bsky.app/profile/awmerck.bsky.social/post/3ltxq6galfs2tolipop vintage cola tastes like how they would have made coca cola during the great depression, or maybe with wartime shortages. 10/10 drink of the summer for 202515 Jul 2025 01:17 +0000at://did:plc:hddge7ybluff55a2pero56sf/app.bsky.feed.post/3ltxq6galfs2thttps://bsky.app/profile/awmerck.bsky.social/post/3ltxq5emazk2tjust paid $30 to see some people dress as cardboard robots and pretend to fight each other two weeks from now, this is the level of "despondent and also incredibly silly" i am at15 Jul 2025 01:16 +0000at://did:plc:hddge7ybluff55a2pero56sf/app.bsky.feed.post/3ltxq5emazk2thttps://bsky.app/profile/awmerck.bsky.social/post/3ltqexc23ek2f climate scientists will be like THE GOVERNMENT DOESN'T WANT YOU TO KNOW THE TRUTH ABOUT WEATHER and then link to this https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/0c8f2a21bd8d438fb4503e13cee8c68212 Jul 2025 03:07 +0000at://did:plc:hddge7ybluff55a2pero56sf/app.bsky.feed.post/3ltqexc23ek2fhttps://bsky.app/profile/awmerck.bsky.social/post/3ltimkcjv7224frances kelsey would like a word [contains quote post or other embedded content]09 Jul 2025 01:02 +0000at://did:plc:hddge7ybluff55a2pero56sf/app.bsky.feed.post/3ltimkcjv7224https://bsky.app/profile/awmerck.bsky.social/post/3lszi3n2mus2xexplaining how to approach a lit review earlier made me realize that if i have a religious affiliation it might be "zotero"03 Jul 2025 00:32 +0000at://did:plc:hddge7ybluff55a2pero56sf/app.bsky.feed.post/3lszi3n2mus2xhttps://bsky.app/profile/awmerck.bsky.social/post/3lsrhmjjtw22fDolly offers an incredibly generous summary of some hidden curriculum elements of this posting - I hope they get many amazing applications [contains quote post or other embedded content]29 Jun 2025 20:02 +0000at://did:plc:hddge7ybluff55a2pero56sf/app.bsky.feed.post/3lsrhmjjtw22fhttps://bsky.app/profile/awmerck.bsky.social/post/3lskow774fs23i have once again spent too much money on aperol spritzes27 Jun 2025 03:24 +0000at://did:plc:hddge7ybluff55a2pero56sf/app.bsky.feed.post/3lskow774fs23https://bsky.app/profile/awmerck.bsky.social/post/3lsid7tlrvc2yit has been [ 0 ] days since i talked about catalytic converters26 Jun 2025 04:50 +0000at://did:plc:hddge7ybluff55a2pero56sf/app.bsky.feed.post/3lsid7tlrvc2yhttps://bsky.app/profile/awmerck.bsky.social/post/3lsgj4agg2c2bJust an update, apparently the language on their website was just about parking? I'm still wearing my tinfoil hat and keeping a closer eye on what's happening at NARA though. [contains quote post or other embedded content]25 Jun 2025 11:30 +0000at://did:plc:hddge7ybluff55a2pero56sf/app.bsky.feed.post/3lsgj4agg2c2bhttps://bsky.app/profile/awmerck.bsky.social/post/3lsfgfswef225anyway here's "the ugliest statue in DC," a memorial to the temperance movement.25 Jun 2025 01:09 +0000at://did:plc:hddge7ybluff55a2pero56sf/app.bsky.feed.post/3lsfgfswef225https://bsky.app/profile/awmerck.bsky.social/post/3lsfg3pc7vk26if you're a grad student and a tenured faculty member tries to convince you not to panic about the situation with Archives II, that you can just pivot and do digital humanities or whatever, you have my permission to throw a book at them and then you might want to find a new advisor25 Jun 2025 01:03 +0000at://did:plc:hddge7ybluff55a2pero56sf/app.bsky.feed.post/3lsfg3pc7vk26https://bsky.app/profile/awmerck.bsky.social/post/3lsezfqxei22dHoly fucking shit [contains quote post or other embedded content]24 Jun 2025 21:16 +0000at://did:plc:hddge7ybluff55a2pero56sf/app.bsky.feed.post/3lsezfqxei22d