iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Simon Lock (Aergan) @aergan.com · 04/10/2026

Tap fell off at 1:20AM in our hotel room. Fucking wonderful. Glad I carry a fucking screwdriver kit.

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Simon Lock (Aergan) @aergan.com · 12/09/2026

Found a scathing amendment notice on Java use in mine the other day.

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Simon Lock (Aergan) @aergan.com · 28/08/2026

Was also very relevant to my interests.

Konami Teenage Mutant Heroe Turtles arcade board

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Simon Lock (Aergan) @aergan.com · 28/08/2026

Appears to be happy with its new life passing butter.

TPLink Omada controller interface showing statistics

TPLink omada controller interface showing wireless access points

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Simon Lock (Aergan) @aergan.com · 28/08/2026

Happy replacement AP day to those who celebrate

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Simon Lock (Aergan) @aergan.com · 21/08/2026

I highly recommend sanding and or filing it back so it's flush with the housing but also leaves a gradient gap between the PCB and it. Also means no sharp edges.

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Simon Lock (Aergan) @aergan.com · 20/08/2026

I was tolerating it until that bit at the end - what in the absolute fuck was that supposed to be? It looks like someone took a cutting room floor scrape of an unused SMS Disney game level and slapped a Wreck It Ralph version of Gilius onto it.

what in the fuck is this supposed to represent

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Simon Lock (Aergan) @aergan.com · 17/08/2026

I haven't missed having to generate & sign kernel modules and use mokutil to import the .der Hopefully some vigilant maintainer unfucks the nvidia package repository for openSUSE Tumbleweed by the next major release.

nvidia-smi output showing a presumably working latest nvidia driver under Linux

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Simon Lock (Aergan) @aergan.com · 17/08/2026

Things I was not expecting to have to do on my lunch break.

Defeated by dependency hell, installing the nvidia driver via the .run

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Simon Lock (Aergan) @aergan.com · 15/08/2026

Today in being an Nvidia user under Linux. #opensuse #nvidia

Anakin and Padme meme depicting Nvidia's release strategy

Myrlyn under openSUSE Tumbleweed showing a mandatory update for the currently installed KMP with no prior versions.

Longerm KMP is matched against the new released KMP, no supporting userspace packages for it either.

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Simon Lock (Aergan) @aergan.com · 09/08/2026

Very happy with the update!

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Simon Lock (Aergan) @aergan.com · 09/08/2026

Still continues to be a favourite across The Movie toylines.

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Simon Lock (Aergan) @aergan.com · 17/07/2026

I had this figure back in the 90's - assume it's based off the same character iteration? (Legends Knightquest Batman)

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Simon Lock (Aergan) @aergan.com · 11/07/2026

Ta - earlier release than mine :)

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Simon Lock (Aergan) @aergan.com · 07/07/2026

Grabbed Martha is Dead as I'm overdue a replay :)

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Simon Lock (Aergan) @aergan.com · 07/07/2026

3050 Ti is my discrete inbuilt GPU (interface switches between that and the 3080 egpu). I required Fedora or OpenSUSE to get that to work with any chance of success; I chose geeko. Initially i had a few issues (Windows did too) with this setup. Since 595 open from March, it's been very stable.

OpenSUSE Tumbleweed running on somewhat avant garde hardware

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Simon Lock (Aergan) @aergan.com · 03/07/2026

More Columns after updating the OS on this thing. Added a chunk to my previous score before needing to do other things.

Columns for the Mega Drive running emulated on an R36S

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Simon Lock (Aergan) @aergan.com · 01/07/2026

Not really played in a few years but can still get a reasonable score.

Columns, SEGA Mega Drive on an R36S (emulation handheld)

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Simon Lock (Aergan) @aergan.com · 29/06/2026

You could have colour matched each prototype to a different TMHT as well ending on the best turtle for the final design. (Best meaning not this one in the tub)

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Simon Lock (Aergan) @aergan.com · 29/06/2026

Not quite the retail box set, but I do have the pieces.

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Simon Lock (Aergan) @aergan.com · 26/06/2026

WiFi and BT wise, I'm using a TP-Link AC600 Nano, deshelled and wired into the USB point points. I also added some heatsinks.

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Simon Lock (Aergan) @aergan.com · 26/06/2026

It does yep! Also have Half Life, Sonic Mania, GTA Vice City running on it.

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Simon Lock (Aergan) @aergan.com · 22/06/2026

One of Tom's other aliases is "the tooth fairy". He holds no dentist qualifications but is very experienced with extractions.

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Simon Lock (Aergan) @aergan.com · 17/06/2026

Bubble Bubble gives a challenge

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Simon Lock (Aergan) @aergan.com · 15/06/2026

Played a bit of Metal Slug X last night on my #NEOGEO #MVS.

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Simon Lock (Aergan) @aergan.com · 13/06/2026

Another game taking barely 10mins to restore as only needed a single sanding pass on smooth. Very little compound needed versus starting now as well.

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Simon Lock (Aergan) @aergan.com · 13/06/2026

Took nearly 40mins (allowing cool down between passes) to successfully restore this game (which belongs to a friend).

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Simon Lock (Aergan) @aergan.com · 13/06/2026

Onto the real test, a PS1 game that has a deep scratch in the protective layer causing it to not load properly. With PS1 discs like this, you have to sand it out carefully in 20 sec passes allowing it to cool down or the coating will delaminate from the disc causing major damage.

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Simon Lock (Aergan) @aergan.com · 13/06/2026

Very messy. Wear gloves as this stuff sucks the moisture out of your skin. Onto buffing with compound #2 (separate pad) and then a final polish by hand with the JFJ anti static spray.

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Simon Lock (Aergan) @aergan.com · 13/06/2026

Buffing pass with compound #1.

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Simon Lock (Aergan) @aergan.com · 13/06/2026

Sanding done. Onto buffing with compound #1 for 1 min. Far too much compound being used here than normal but the pad needs to be resaturated after having many years of non-use.

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Simon Lock (Aergan) @aergan.com · 13/06/2026

Test disc, my Aqua Kitty DX soundtrack which I use for all my CD related testing. A bit worse for wear given the abuse it sustained (including getting jammed in a LaserActive). Took a bit of time to get back into the swing of things. Despite being "Easy" there is still a learning curve per disc.

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Simon Lock (Aergan) @aergan.com · 13/06/2026

With the glue cured, new lid goes on. Will test when health allows but it's in a much better state to be able to save some discs again.

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Simon Lock (Aergan) @aergan.com · 13/06/2026

Sadly not quite out of the woods; taking the old pins out for the lid caused some cracks to occur (as they were glued in). I've super glued the cracks for now which is under enough pressure that it should not be an issue. Machine cleaned up to the best of what I can be bothered with.

$Stress fracture in case hinge support$ $Stress fracture in hinge support$ Glued repaired area

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Simon Lock (Aergan) @aergan.com · 13/06/2026

So, a couple of weeks later, it turns up. Total $78.99 (£61.15 including VAT). Hilarious.

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Simon Lock (Aergan) @aergan.com · 13/06/2026

The original is pretty disgusting and beyond repair. The company now ships to the UK, but the part is $55 and shipping is $83.64 to $111.78, excluding taxes and duty. But, they have an affiliated eBay page...which includes eBay global shipping as an option. This shipping is $10.82. 😂

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Simon Lock (Aergan) @aergan.com · 13/06/2026

My JFJ Easy Pro has been out of commission for many years due to the hinges being held together by super glue (some previous owner, some me keeping it limping along). This is an entry level professional device. Replacement parts have been unobtainable until recently because no shipping to the UK.

Original knackered JFJ easy pro lid mechanism

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Simon Lock (Aergan) @aergan.com · 12/06/2026

"GenAI was used in every aspect of the business" You don't say.

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Simon Lock (Aergan) @aergan.com · 08/06/2026

Yes! I recovered mine not too long ago

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Simon Lock (Aergan) @aergan.com · 03/06/2026

Example of a CPU01 with a failed C59. Eventually it will eat away at traces and vias causing damage to the board leasing it to inevitably fail. The capacitor itself will be acting as a pulldown resistor producing a fair amount of heat and putting it within the draw range of blowing the fuse.

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Simon Lock (Aergan) @aergan.com · 30/05/2026

Find which are not dead/faulty then find a donor board for them to live on. Just looking over my donors, I don't really have any suitable boards. Left has a delamination bubble and right has Nintendo's C59 fuck up result. Last time I made one up from scrap was for an SFC board (took 7 systems).

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