Wendy Metcalfe
@wendymetcalfe.bsky.social
Author. Hopepunk SF and cosy fantasy. Loves big cats and sentient starships, and both appear in her stories regularly.
Reposted by Wendy Metcalfe
Re-posting this because from all the "yay Canada, this is good" responses, I see I didn't strongly enough stress the main point I meant to make, which is that well-intentioned efforts like this that rely solely on the honor system are essentially meaningless
Canada is refusing to issue ISBNs to books primarily generated with AI.
This illustrates both the urgency of the problem of the growing flood of slop books, and also the toothlessness of addressing it on the honor system without there also being consequences for lying
This illustrates both the urgency of the problem of the growing flood of slop books, and also the toothlessness of addressing it on the honor system without there also being consequences for lying
October 7, 2026 at 8:42 PM
Re-posting this because from all the "yay Canada, this is good" responses, I see I didn't strongly enough stress the main point I meant to make, which is that well-intentioned efforts like this that rely solely on the honor system are essentially meaningless
Reposted by Wendy Metcalfe
RIP. Margaret Hamilton, computing pioneer who led software development for the Apollo program, dies at 90
Margaret Hamilton, computing pioneer who led software development for the Apollo program, dies at 90 | MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Margaret H. Hamilton, a profoundly influential computer scientist best known for leading the software engineering team at MIT’s Instrumentation Lab during NASA’s Apollo program, died at age 90.
news.mit.edu
October 7, 2026 at 9:55 PM
RIP. Margaret Hamilton, computing pioneer who led software development for the Apollo program, dies at 90
sigh
I would kind of like to read a lady knight book in this recent trend of adult lady knight books where the lady knight is still a knight at the end instead of deciding she would rather live a less knightly and more domestic life with her love interest... maybe the fourth time will be the charm...?
October 7, 2026 at 3:54 PM
sigh
Reposted by Wendy Metcalfe
Can we get this on billboards all over America?
October 7, 2026 at 4:32 AM
Can we get this on billboards all over America?
Reposted by Wendy Metcalfe
From the new Private Eye
October 7, 2026 at 12:45 PM
From the new Private Eye
Reposted by Wendy Metcalfe
OnThisDay in 1849, Edgar Allan Poe passed away under mysterious circumstances. Of all the artists who gave life to Poe's macabre tales over the years, perhaps none captured them quite so brilliantly as the Irish artist Harry Clarke publicdomainreview.tumblr.com/post/8298154...
October 7, 2026 at 12:14 PM
OnThisDay in 1849, Edgar Allan Poe passed away under mysterious circumstances. Of all the artists who gave life to Poe's macabre tales over the years, perhaps none captured them quite so brilliantly as the Irish artist Harry Clarke publicdomainreview.tumblr.com/post/8298154...
good
The Dungeons & Dragons and Magic: The Gathering teams at Wizards of the Coast have just announced they're unionizing. In a letter of demands, the union has urged Hasbro and Wizards of the Coast leaders to stop pushing generative AI. https://bit.ly/4hMhPzG
October 7, 2026 at 1:56 PM
good
Anti-Prime Day starts…NOW! 🥳 Today through midnight on 10/7, enjoy free shipping site-wide, all while supporting local, independent bookstores.
October 7, 2026 at 6:54 AM
Reposted by Wendy Metcalfe
lol
October 6, 2026 at 2:19 PM
lol
oh. FFS. Here we go
again.
again.
The IceCube neutrino detector has won the 2026 Nobel Prize in physics.
The Trump administration has proposed slashing its budget in half in 2027.
The Trump administration has proposed slashing its budget in half in 2027.
October 6, 2026 at 2:16 PM
oh. FFS. Here we go
again.
again.
second royalties statement from
Ingram. Now
someone in the US
has bought all
five Thunderstrike novellas. Considering I'm
doing no marketing I'm counting this as a win.
Also wondering how people are discovering me.
Ingram. Now
someone in the US
has bought all
five Thunderstrike novellas. Considering I'm
doing no marketing I'm counting this as a win.
Also wondering how people are discovering me.
October 6, 2026 at 2:13 PM
second royalties statement from
Ingram. Now
someone in the US
has bought all
five Thunderstrike novellas. Considering I'm
doing no marketing I'm counting this as a win.
Also wondering how people are discovering me.
Ingram. Now
someone in the US
has bought all
five Thunderstrike novellas. Considering I'm
doing no marketing I'm counting this as a win.
Also wondering how people are discovering me.
my neighbour's son has been employed by Games Workshop since his graduation.
Must be a decade now. Owns his own house and pays taxes.
Must be a decade now. Owns his own house and pays taxes.
This gets said constantly, but it worth reiterating: Games Workshop being bigger than fishing is important to shout about because you wouldn't know it from government talking points, which are rarely about anything creative or artistic. Growth won't involve fish or steel, it will involve goblins.
October 6, 2026 at 9:41 AM
my neighbour's son has been employed by Games Workshop since his graduation.
Must be a decade now. Owns his own house and pays taxes.
Must be a decade now. Owns his own house and pays taxes.
Reposted by Wendy Metcalfe
Standing up to the balaclava nonces. Inspiring.
October 5, 2026 at 1:46 PM
Standing up to the balaclava nonces. Inspiring.
Reposted by Wendy Metcalfe
Literally everything I've written for public consumption is in the training data, often in more than one language. Via the Anthropic settlement I'm getting (not nearly enough) compensation for about 20 of them, but it's doubtful I'll ever get compensation for 28 years of writing on my blog, etc.
Been working on an opinion piece related to this & oh did I go down the rabbit hole. 🙃
I found out that your book, Old Man’s War, appears in a reconstruction of the LibGen material associated w/Books1 and Books2…so pirated. Not sure if you already knew that, but it makes your point rather literal
I found out that your book, Old Man’s War, appears in a reconstruction of the LibGen material associated w/Books1 and Books2…so pirated. Not sure if you already knew that, but it makes your point rather literal
October 5, 2026 at 9:27 PM
Literally everything I've written for public consumption is in the training data, often in more than one language. Via the Anthropic settlement I'm getting (not nearly enough) compensation for about 20 of them, but it's doubtful I'll ever get compensation for 28 years of writing on my blog, etc.
You know, it really would help when I release a new book
if I told people about it.
So here goes. Goldeagle courier must fight the War.
if I told people about it.
So here goes. Goldeagle courier must fight the War.
October 6, 2026 at 7:05 AM
You know, it really would help when I release a new book
if I told people about it.
So here goes. Goldeagle courier must fight the War.
if I told people about it.
So here goes. Goldeagle courier must fight the War.
Reposted by Wendy Metcalfe
Unsolicited writing advice, no. 12667:
This is going to be controversial, but hear me out:
Don't let anyone (ANYONE) in or out of publishing label you as "the new X", however popular X may currently be. You'll be judged as second-rate and unoriginal before your book has even come out...
This is going to be controversial, but hear me out:
Don't let anyone (ANYONE) in or out of publishing label you as "the new X", however popular X may currently be. You'll be judged as second-rate and unoriginal before your book has even come out...
October 5, 2026 at 3:29 PM
Unsolicited writing advice, no. 12667:
This is going to be controversial, but hear me out:
Don't let anyone (ANYONE) in or out of publishing label you as "the new X", however popular X may currently be. You'll be judged as second-rate and unoriginal before your book has even come out...
This is going to be controversial, but hear me out:
Don't let anyone (ANYONE) in or out of publishing label you as "the new X", however popular X may currently be. You'll be judged as second-rate and unoriginal before your book has even come out...
yes. They could've
chosen not to steal
our work instead.
chosen not to steal
our work instead.
To the person noting there is not enough money in the world to license every piece of intellectual property stolen for "AI" training: you're sooooo close to the point, friend, keep going, you'll get there if you try
October 6, 2026 at 6:54 AM
yes. They could've
chosen not to steal
our work instead.
chosen not to steal
our work instead.
Reposted by Wendy Metcalfe
This is your occasional reminder that generative "AI" in particular could have been developed on public domain materials and/or licensed and compensated works but the major players intentionally, methodically and systemically chose to steal labor from working creative folks instead
October 5, 2026 at 4:33 PM
This is your occasional reminder that generative "AI" in particular could have been developed on public domain materials and/or licensed and compensated works but the major players intentionally, methodically and systemically chose to steal labor from working creative folks instead
Reposted by Wendy Metcalfe
Banned Books Week.
They don't want you to read them, because they don't have answers for what they contain.
www.indexoncensorship.org/bannedbooksw...
They don't want you to read them, because they don't have answers for what they contain.
www.indexoncensorship.org/bannedbooksw...
Banned Books Week UK - Index on Censorship
The next Banned Books Week UK will be held 4-10 October 2026. It’s a week to celebrate the books that have been challenged, removed or silenced
www.indexoncensorship.org
October 5, 2026 at 1:15 PM
Banned Books Week.
They don't want you to read them, because they don't have answers for what they contain.
www.indexoncensorship.org/bannedbooksw...
They don't want you to read them, because they don't have answers for what they contain.
www.indexoncensorship.org/bannedbooksw...
Reposted by Wendy Metcalfe
🇷🇺An approved Communist Party rally in central Moscow did not go as planned. Protesters chanted “Fair elections,” “We want freedom,” “Freedom for political prisoners” and “Down with the Tsar” — referring to Putin. Police detained around 60 people.
October 5, 2026 at 8:13 AM
🇷🇺An approved Communist Party rally in central Moscow did not go as planned. Protesters chanted “Fair elections,” “We want freedom,” “Freedom for political prisoners” and “Down with the Tsar” — referring to Putin. Police detained around 60 people.
er... No. I'll pass on that, thanks. Now bankrupt AI
Translation: Sociopath elitist tech fascists who think they’re creating God and believe democracy is the enemy want us to finance our own demise to let them take over the world.
www.politico.com/news/2026/10...
www.politico.com/news/2026/10...
October 5, 2026 at 4:07 PM
er... No. I'll pass on that, thanks. Now bankrupt AI
Reposted by Wendy Metcalfe
one down. But still
far too many to go.
far too many to go.
Dennis Hastert, the longest-serving Republican Speaker of the House and a serial child molester who sexually abused teenage boys, has checked into hell at 84.
www.nytimes.com/2026/10/05/o...
www.nytimes.com/2026/10/05/o...
October 5, 2026 at 2:19 PM
one down. But still
far too many to go.
far too many to go.
i couldn't agree more.
October 5, 2026 at 2:14 PM
i couldn't agree more.