colleen wood
@colleenwood
I teach political science at a big community college in Minnesota. I study digital politics and authoritarianism in Central Asia. Opinions expressed here are mine; views do not reflect the state of Minnesota or U.S. government.
yum town!!!! i think i might go for more frosting (or a thicker frosting? probably need to go to a special grocery store to get Smetana Smetana instead of sour cream) and am tempted to play with spices but pleased with the first effort
it was 93 degrees today, we don't have AC, but for some reason i was inspired to practice one of my state fair bakes: medovik. absolutely melted for hours, but hoping it's tasty (it has to sit in the fridge over night so the filling can soak into the eight [8] layers!)
alright time to draft syllabus language instructing students not to use google for coursework
It's not a new term, Levitsky and Way's 2010 book is named after an article they wrote in 2002. Competitive like "authoritarians hold elections and face opposition," just the rules of the game are stacked in the regime's favor
Real footage of me trying to explain this exact thing to a bar trivia host - the question was something about "what foreign food word means 'to spin'" and they didn't give points for döner. That man did not want an etymology lesson but boy did he get one (and I got $20)
double digit above-0 temps after days of double digit below-0 temps there was no sun, a real monday of a monday, the horrors are heavy, but dang: warm
There's a guy named STEVE G who does hints for Spelling Bee every day, I'm obsessed with him (well, moreso the rest of the Spelling Bee community commenters' obsession with him - Jan 1 was just people wishing Steve G a happy 2026). Steve G who are you??? Magazine profile of Steve G when???
a friend from college works on AI for education at google and every time i see stuff like this, i'm so bummed, because she had such a thoughtful, passionate approach to her education and has sold out for fancy clothes to hollow out young peoples' minds
Timeline cleanse: my dearest dearest friend got married this weekend and I helped make her bouquet from flowers her housemate grew in their garden
Me reading this essay about feeling haunted by paranoia that student writing is AI + giving shape to the spidey sense of knowing when I'm reading genAI text