Hannah Main
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hannahmain.bsky.social
Hannah Main
@hannahmain.bsky.social
230 followers 160 following 170 posts
Social scientist interested in questions about rural life in Atlantic Canada. Based on the South Shore of Nova Scotia.Trying not to take any of this too seriously!
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hannahmain.bsky.social
If you’re video calling me during my workday, it better be for a good reason!
Video call featuring a young buck right outside the kitchen window
November 12, 2025 at 11:23 PM
hannahmain.bsky.social
My first aurora! I have driven to the beach at midnight just to try to catch a glimpse— what a gift to view it from our veranda at 10pm. And what a gift to live in this beautiful universe, on this improbable planet.
Aurora borealis effect in sky with silhouettes of poplars, pines, and other trees in the foreground.
November 12, 2025 at 2:11 AM
hannahmain.bsky.social
This was empty last night
A 1000l cistern full of water from rainfall
October 31, 2025 at 2:17 PM
hannahmain.bsky.social
Sleeping in after staying up late to watch the Jays win. Stacking wood, doing laundry, planting garlic, savouring a Chicory Blue lunch, reading a new Wendell Berry book… the ideal country Saturday.
October 25, 2025 at 4:20 PM
hannahmain.bsky.social
Go Blue Jays!
October 24, 2025 at 10:33 PM
hannahmain.bsky.social
I’m in a Facebook group about leaving academia, and saw this horrifying post about someone leaving because… their university is replacing teaching staff with AI. Apparently an R1 in the US, too!!
Text from anonymous Facebook post in group: “I am/was an associate teaching professor. My university had major layoffs over the summer and eliminated almost all teaching faculty, including me. I learned that they're planning to replace all of us with Al instructors and they have already hired an Al solutions architect to implement this. That's largely irrelevant, but seems like something we should all be bracing for. I was given until the end of this AY (Summer, 2026).” A comment by another Facebook user under the post: “UCI. They laid off a good chunk of the humanities earlier this year but then brought most of us back on. They played their hand a little earlier than I think they were ready to but in the process they exposed the long term vision of replacing faculty with grad students who use Al to teach. A former student of mine told me she was being trained to use Al to teach the course she was assigned. There's a lot more to all of this that's too long to get into but yeah, really seems like the UCs are leaning into Al instructors and it's more a matter of when than if, unless our union stays strong enough to fight this and students vote with their dollar by not attending Al universities” Comment thread: I'm sorry but what?!? There are Al instructors now? May I ask what field you were in? I live in New Zealand, where this hasn't happened yet, but this is a genuinely terrifying development VioletJackfruit6047: it happened across my university, for all teaching faculty regardless of field, in the US at a large RI state university. The new Al profs will be rolling out in Fall, 2026. Anonymous member 804: i am flabbergasted. This is unbelievable. Facebook comment from original post author: l am not in the social sciences, but it is happening across departments, so there, too. They eliminated almost 200 roles in nearly every department and all of the responsibilities of those roles are being assigned to the new Al architect, who is tasked with "solving instructional shortfalls with Al technology." As far as we can tell this will be done without input from the departments, either.
October 23, 2025 at 9:56 AM
hannahmain.bsky.social
Maurice finding the sunny spots in the new house, a series of photos:
#cats
A cat lounges indoors in a patch of sunlight A cat reclines on a sunny windowsill A cat lays stretched out indoors in a patch of sunlight from patio doors A cat sits on a chair in front of a window
September 29, 2025 at 5:53 PM
hannahmain.bsky.social
A week ago, we closed on an off-grid house in rural Nova Scotia. We’re still settling in, and Dartmouth will always have a huge chunk of my heart, but it’s paradise here.
Morning view of a workshop, fruit trees, and greenhouse with an overcast sky. View of the house at night, with the stars in the background. A creek at sunset, surrounded by greenery. A forest with evening sun poking through the trees.
September 18, 2025 at 5:23 PM
hannahmain.bsky.social
Chance the Rapper’s Letters— my kind of Christian music 🔥
Dear mega church, I hope this letter finds you 'fore I do Fund a new building to hide you, I'll still be behind you Elaborate theatrics to blind you Nickel and dime you, but I knew I've watched you worship idols Brand a Bibles, sell it for double Brandish rifles, curse and libel Withhold shelter from niggas for survival First Lady's walking around with furs and titles Watch you spit in a man's face and call it "God" But when it's really on your dogma, it's Silent Bob You just take them government checks and smile and nod I rebuke you in the name of the Child of God I boil a pot of Living Water 'til it's scaldin' hot And pour it on the altar of the false fallen gods That means the church and the state, I'm here to separate
August 15, 2025 at 10:43 PM
hannahmain.bsky.social
Oh hey scam messagers, I WISH we had radar speed cameras in Nova Scotia!
Text message reading: Service Nova Scotia: Our system speed camera shows your radar ticket still hasn't been paid, to avoid any loss of demerit points pay by August 13, 2025 See Nova Scotia Administrative Code 15C-16.003, if you do not complete payment by August 13, 2025. we will do the following: 1. report it to the DMV violation database; 2. suspend your vehicle registration effective on August 13, 2025. 3. suspend your licence for 30 days 4. referral to a toll booth with a 35% service fee 5. you may be prosecuted and your credit score may be affected. Pay Now https:// novascotia.yzsafedriving.cc
August 13, 2025 at 7:32 PM
hannahmain.bsky.social
Thank god the lakes aren’t closed
Two women on paddle boards on Dollar Lake, Nova Scotia
August 11, 2025 at 10:11 PM
hannahmain.bsky.social
I’m cleaning out bookshelves in preparation for a yard sale this Sunday and I found an edition of Friedman’s Capitalism and Freedom that I must have picked up used at some point and never read. If you buy this at my yard sale I need you to know that I DID NOT HIGHLIGHT THIS
A book page with various sections highlighted, including “public housing cannot therefore be justified on the grounds of neighborhood effects or of helping poor families.”
August 8, 2025 at 11:39 PM
hannahmain.bsky.social
yikes, Nova Scotia.
Weather for Halifax. Showing 0mm precipitation today and none expected for the next 10 days. Simpsons meme showing Ralph Wiggums chuckling “I’m in danger.”
August 5, 2025 at 6:00 PM
hannahmain.bsky.social
Thank god postmedia owns our local paper now 🙄
July 25, 2025 at 3:14 PM
hannahmain.bsky.social
This was my first day in the group and it’s been a real treat 😅
Facebook comment: We may be related
July 24, 2025 at 1:00 AM
hannahmain.bsky.social
I asked a question in a local Facebook group about learning about ancestors and got the most Maritime answer 😅 I have follow-up questions because I do not know the community and I do not know what the hollow is or where Vera Allen’s home is. Reminds me of a @jamesmullinger.bsky.social sketch
Facebook comment: Georgie was born on Cape D'Or. Her father later lived in the house in the hollow beyond Vera Allen's home.
July 23, 2025 at 7:36 PM
hannahmain.bsky.social
Advocate Harbour and Joggins. I grew up near the Bay of Fundy, and it never ceases to impress.
Sunset over dykelands, reflecting off the bay of Fundy, with Cape Chignecto in the distance. Advocate Harbour, Nova Scotia. An interpreter from Joggins Fossil Centre uses a laser pointer to highlight a segment of a fossilized tree in a cliff. 322 million years old. Me at Joggins. The number of fossils at my feet are innumerable!
July 22, 2025 at 11:34 PM
hannahmain.bsky.social
Last night at Kejimkujik Lake
A lake beach at dusk. tree branches frame the photo. A man (the author’s husband) with a towel walks towards the water
July 16, 2025 at 7:30 PM
hannahmain.bsky.social
In about 2008 or 2009 my family stopped at Summerville Beach for an afternoon. Ever since then, it’s been my dream to stay at the Quarterdeck. I finally got to go this past weekend and it was everything I dreamed of.
A bedroom with patio doors overlooking a pristine beach
June 23, 2025 at 7:12 PM
hannahmain.bsky.social
Spotted at Cafe Goodluck!
A copy of the South Dartmouth Post on a patio table beside an iced latte
June 9, 2025 at 7:43 PM
hannahmain.bsky.social
Mother duck with three ducklings at the Halifax public gardens. I wish I had another photo of the paparazzi surrounding them— the handful of people like me who stopped, hushed, and stood watching them.
June 3, 2025 at 5:35 PM
hannahmain.bsky.social
I will take any opportunity to eat cheese as a main course.
Halloumi (pictured), paneer, mac and cheese… ok what other cheese-based entrees am I missing?
A halloumi and rice bowl with cucumbers, tomatoes, and a generous helping of cilantro sauce. Pink lemonade on the side makes for a colourful dinner!
June 2, 2025 at 9:38 PM
hannahmain.bsky.social
Some headlines from Halifax newspaper the 4th Estate, February 1970. Nothing new under the sun…
Landlords Use Many Tricks TENANTS NEED SUPPORT NOW! With soaring rents and grasping landlords squeezing more and more money out of tenants, and in the midst of what can easily be described as a housing crisis in many areas of Nova Scotia, the government of Premier G.I. Smith must get involved in the relationship between tenant and landlord.
May 30, 2025 at 5:32 PM
hannahmain.bsky.social
AHANS has released the Halifax point in time count for 2024. Over 1,000 actively experiencing homelessness in the HRM, including at least 123 children with no fixed address. www.ahans.ca/statistics
Total Number of People Experiencing Homelessness On November 25, 2024, the minimum number of people identified as experiencing homelessness in HRM was 1,132 (1,009 adults and 123 children). This enumeration number includes a combination of observed homelessness from the Street Count, official bed count reports from shelter and health sites, and survey information for individuals & families who would not have otherwise been counted based on where they reported staying on the night of the Count (this would include those who stayed with others and several who were in vehicles which were not noted on the Street Count tally sheets). The number of people experiencing known homelessness in 2024 was almost double that of the 2022 Count results (586)
May 28, 2025 at 8:59 PM
hannahmain.bsky.social
To be fair, the walk near the office is nice too…
Bushes bursting with purple and pink flowers at the Halifax Public Gardens
May 27, 2025 at 4:26 PM