Mary Holstege
@mathling.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
Retired software engineer. Now I write programs to make art.
Will natter on about tech in general with forays into linguistics, football, cooking, politics […]
🌉 bridged from ⁂ https://mastodon.social/@mathling, follow @ap.brid.gy to interact
Will natter on about tech in general with forays into linguistics, football, cooking, politics […]
🌉 bridged from ⁂ https://mastodon.social/@mathling, follow @ap.brid.gy to interact
Pinned
Available today, my space opera novel, Atraxian Blue: https://books2read.com/u/b6ElAx
Chapter one preview available here:
https://mathling.com/books/AtraxianBlue/c003.xhtml
In which we meet our feckless hero, defacing a bulkhead in the name of art
#scifi #writing
Chapter one preview available here:
https://mathling.com/books/AtraxianBlue/c003.xhtml
In which we meet our feckless hero, defacing a bulkhead in the name of art
#scifi #writing
December 9, 2025 at 3:22 PM
Day one shower destruction
After all the huge bags of smashed up tiles they removed, it is hard to believe they still have more to hack out, but the top remains untouched
After all the huge bags of smashed up tiles they removed, it is hard to believe they still have more to hack out, but the top remains untouched
December 8, 2025 at 10:36 PM
Day one shower destruction
After all the huge bags of smashed up tiles they removed, it is hard to believe they still have more to hack out, but the top remains untouched
After all the huge bags of smashed up tiles they removed, it is hard to believe they still have more to hack out, but the top remains untouched
Reposted by Mary Holstege
3,150-year-old papyrus reveals the world’s earliest recorded labour strike. New analysis of the Turin Strike Papyrus—a detailed account from 1157 BCE—shows how artisans building the royal tombs at Deir el-Medina staged a coordinated walkout after going 18 days without grain rations. The document […]
Original post on wandering.shop
wandering.shop
December 8, 2025 at 5:04 PM
3,150-year-old papyrus reveals the world’s earliest recorded labour strike. New analysis of the Turin Strike Papyrus—a detailed account from 1157 BCE—shows how artisans building the royal tombs at Deir el-Medina staged a coordinated walkout after going 18 days without grain rations. The document […]
My ebooks are available as part of the Smashwords 2025 End of Year Sale, all month.
Official sale link: https://www.smashwords.com/sale (search Holstege)
Great for last-minute gifting: https://www.smashwords.com/about/gifts
#ebook #sale #Books2Read #indiebooks #eoysale25
Official sale link: https://www.smashwords.com/sale (search Holstege)
Great for last-minute gifting: https://www.smashwords.com/about/gifts
#ebook #sale #Books2Read #indiebooks #eoysale25
Smashwords – Sitewide Sale
www.smashwords.com
December 8, 2025 at 5:54 PM
My ebooks are available as part of the Smashwords 2025 End of Year Sale, all month.
Official sale link: https://www.smashwords.com/sale (search Holstege)
Great for last-minute gifting: https://www.smashwords.com/about/gifts
#ebook #sale #Books2Read #indiebooks #eoysale25
Official sale link: https://www.smashwords.com/sale (search Holstege)
Great for last-minute gifting: https://www.smashwords.com/about/gifts
#ebook #sale #Books2Read #indiebooks #eoysale25
Well, after three postponements, today is final the day when they come to smash up my ugly old leaking shower and replace it, one hopes, with something water tight and beautiful.
Fingers crossed.
The cats are SO not going to like this.
Fingers crossed.
The cats are SO not going to like this.
December 8, 2025 at 3:58 PM
Well, after three postponements, today is final the day when they come to smash up my ugly old leaking shower and replace it, one hopes, with something water tight and beautiful.
Fingers crossed.
The cats are SO not going to like this.
Fingers crossed.
The cats are SO not going to like this.
December 8, 2025 at 3:56 PM
#scribesandmakers 12/8 Share a single line from a song you like. Ask people to identify the song.
Nobody loves me, but my mother
And she could be jivin' too
Nobody loves me, but my mother
And she could be jivin' too
December 8, 2025 at 2:58 PM
#scribesandmakers 12/8 Share a single line from a song you like. Ask people to identify the song.
Nobody loves me, but my mother
And she could be jivin' too
Nobody loves me, but my mother
And she could be jivin' too
Chapters 21 and 22 of Atraxian Blue (https://books2read.com/u/b6ElAx) is up at http://mathling.com/books/index.html
Belle Epoch: Another funeral: in which there is another funeral
Back in medbay: in which Renny is dismayed to learn what has happened to hit
#scifi #writing #atraxianblue
Belle Epoch: Another funeral: in which there is another funeral
Back in medbay: in which Renny is dismayed to learn what has happened to hit
#scifi #writing #atraxianblue
Available now at your favorite digital store!
Atraxian Blue by Mary Holstege
books2read.com
December 7, 2025 at 5:10 PM
Chapters 21 and 22 of Atraxian Blue (https://books2read.com/u/b6ElAx) is up at http://mathling.com/books/index.html
Belle Epoch: Another funeral: in which there is another funeral
Back in medbay: in which Renny is dismayed to learn what has happened to hit
#scifi #writing #atraxianblue
Belle Epoch: Another funeral: in which there is another funeral
Back in medbay: in which Renny is dismayed to learn what has happened to hit
#scifi #writing #atraxianblue
December 7, 2025 at 5:04 PM
December 7, 2025 at 5:02 PM
December 6, 2025 at 6:01 PM
December 6, 2025 at 5:58 PM
Reposted by Mary Holstege
I should only ever have learned these names if I had met them as graduates or working in professional roles in the Canadian engineering profession.
Instead I memorized them decades ago while laying white roses at memorial gardens at other engineering schools.
#14notforgotten #polytechnique
Instead I memorized them decades ago while laying white roses at memorial gardens at other engineering schools.
#14notforgotten #polytechnique
December 6, 2025 at 5:58 AM
I should only ever have learned these names if I had met them as graduates or working in professional roles in the Canadian engineering profession.
Instead I memorized them decades ago while laying white roses at memorial gardens at other engineering schools.
#14notforgotten #polytechnique
Instead I memorized them decades ago while laying white roses at memorial gardens at other engineering schools.
#14notforgotten #polytechnique
December 5, 2025 at 7:16 PM
December 5, 2025 at 5:59 PM
December 4, 2025 at 3:38 PM
Palisade Green, sequel to Atraxian Blue available as ebook https://books2read.com/u/3RrNwn or print https://books2read.com/u/m0XB6y
Renny thought he'd escaped from his father. He thought he had his addiction under control. Then a bot turns up on his doorstep […]
[Original post on mastodon.social]
Renny thought he'd escaped from his father. He thought he had his addiction under control. Then a bot turns up on his doorstep […]
[Original post on mastodon.social]
December 3, 2025 at 5:04 PM
Palisade Green, sequel to Atraxian Blue available as ebook https://books2read.com/u/3RrNwn or print https://books2read.com/u/m0XB6y
Renny thought he'd escaped from his father. He thought he had his addiction under control. Then a bot turns up on his doorstep […]
[Original post on mastodon.social]
Renny thought he'd escaped from his father. He thought he had his addiction under control. Then a bot turns up on his doorstep […]
[Original post on mastodon.social]
Chapter 20 of Atraxian Blue (https://books2read.com/u/b6ElAx) is up at http://mathling.com/books/index.html
Time to leave: in which Lila returns to the ship to find things very much not to her liking
#scifi
#writing
#atraxianblue
Time to leave: in which Lila returns to the ship to find things very much not to her liking
#scifi
#writing
#atraxianblue
Available now at your favorite digital store!
Atraxian Blue by Mary Holstege
books2read.com
December 3, 2025 at 4:04 PM
Chapter 20 of Atraxian Blue (https://books2read.com/u/b6ElAx) is up at http://mathling.com/books/index.html
Time to leave: in which Lila returns to the ship to find things very much not to her liking
#scifi
#writing
#atraxianblue
Time to leave: in which Lila returns to the ship to find things very much not to her liking
#scifi
#writing
#atraxianblue
December 3, 2025 at 3:18 PM
December 2, 2025 at 4:05 PM
December 2, 2025 at 12:55 AM
Oh FFS: just saw an ad for a service that takes the screw ups of your AI agent and "unwinds" them
How about the option of not using an AI agent in the first place?
Capitalism: charge you to create a problem, then charge you to fix it
How about the option of not using an AI agent in the first place?
Capitalism: charge you to create a problem, then charge you to fix it
December 1, 2025 at 8:58 PM
Oh FFS: just saw an ad for a service that takes the screw ups of your AI agent and "unwinds" them
How about the option of not using an AI agent in the first place?
Capitalism: charge you to create a problem, then charge you to fix it
How about the option of not using an AI agent in the first place?
Capitalism: charge you to create a problem, then charge you to fix it
#writerscoffeeclub Dec 1: From where did the inspiration for your current WIP come?
I was reading a blog posting and someone trotted out that old saw "the map is not the territory" and I thought, well, what if it was? What if changing the map did change the territory?
Fantasy. I'm about a […]
I was reading a blog posting and someone trotted out that old saw "the map is not the territory" and I thought, well, what if it was? What if changing the map did change the territory?
Fantasy. I'm about a […]
Original post on mastodon.social
mastodon.social
December 1, 2025 at 5:40 PM
#writerscoffeeclub Dec 1: From where did the inspiration for your current WIP come?
I was reading a blog posting and someone trotted out that old saw "the map is not the territory" and I thought, well, what if it was? What if changing the map did change the territory?
Fantasy. I'm about a […]
I was reading a blog posting and someone trotted out that old saw "the map is not the territory" and I thought, well, what if it was? What if changing the map did change the territory?
Fantasy. I'm about a […]
Reposted by Mary Holstege
Chernobyl Fungus Appears to Have Evolved an Incredible Ability
https://www.sciencealert.com/chernobyl-fungus-appears-to-have-evolved-an-incredible-ability
That fungus is called Cladosporium sphaerospermum, and some scientists think its dark pigment – melanin – may allow it to harness ionizing […]
https://www.sciencealert.com/chernobyl-fungus-appears-to-have-evolved-an-incredible-ability
That fungus is called Cladosporium sphaerospermum, and some scientists think its dark pigment – melanin – may allow it to harness ionizing […]
Original post on mastodon.scot
mastodon.scot
November 30, 2025 at 1:20 PM
Chernobyl Fungus Appears to Have Evolved an Incredible Ability
https://www.sciencealert.com/chernobyl-fungus-appears-to-have-evolved-an-incredible-ability
That fungus is called Cladosporium sphaerospermum, and some scientists think its dark pigment – melanin – may allow it to harness ionizing […]
https://www.sciencealert.com/chernobyl-fungus-appears-to-have-evolved-an-incredible-ability
That fungus is called Cladosporium sphaerospermum, and some scientists think its dark pigment – melanin – may allow it to harness ionizing […]
November 30, 2025 at 5:09 PM