iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Alex McRoberts @alex.mcroberts.me · 05/10/2026

The gold tooling on the cover replicating Kintsugi is a really beautiful touch. No spoilers, but each of the sketches relate to stories throughout the book! Very easy to read too, which always helps! (reposted with alt text!)

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Alex McRoberts @alex.mcroberts.me · 01/10/2026

We live right by a forest; and we often hear them. One time, one landed right on my garden fence, and I only noticed it when i parked the car, looked up and it was 2 meters away from me. Couldn’t get a photo quick enough, but it flew a few more metres away and …

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Alex McRoberts @alex.mcroberts.me · 26/09/2026

It’s the Bluesky PDS name factory (even spotted my own Mushroom!)

A whole shelf of different mushrooms: Snow White, Enoki, Shimeji, Shiitake, Oyster, Portabello

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Alex McRoberts @alex.mcroberts.me · 19/09/2026

post your slack react speed dial

Here are my top 7 frequently used emoji:

1. Hand wave
2. Eyes looking left
3. Thank you shortened to T Y !
4. Thumbs up
5. Rolling laughing
6. Orange upvote arrow
7. White checkmark in green circle

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Alex McRoberts @alex.mcroberts.me · 06/09/2026

Just about made the first 1,000. Thanks to @bmann.ca and @jay.bsky.team

Screenshot of Sky Zoo.
My username, and user number 854.
The date, 28th February 2023 is the day I joined the Atmosphere

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Alex McRoberts @alex.mcroberts.me · 04/09/2026

Here’s two photos captured in August 2026 of the view in recent times!

The iconic view through the Fairmont Lake Louise rounded window showing Lake Louise, and the mountain backdrop surrounding it.

The view right at the window of Fairmont Lake Louise. There are two evergreen trees, and a courtyard in the foreground with people walking about.

Bluesky and white/grey clouds overhead above the beautiful turquoise Lake Louise.

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Alex McRoberts @alex.mcroberts.me · 28/08/2026

Now I just need a better name, a domain, hosting, and time. I will still note: Our scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should. pds.ls/at://did:plc...

An extremely rudimentary OpenDocument text editor that saves OpenDocument format documents to a PDS, using lexicon records.

It's not using spaces (yet), and it doesn't offer an export mode yet either.

Like I said, extremely rudimentary!

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Alex McRoberts @alex.mcroberts.me · 24/08/2026

Our scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should.

What happens when you run the Open Document Format XML Specification through an AI models, and generate ATProto lexicons?

You get lexically valid lexicons...

Here's a list of file names generated:

* defs.json
* document.json
* draw.json
* meta.json
* package.json
* presentation.json
* style.json
* table.json
* text.json

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Alex McRoberts @alex.mcroberts.me · 19/08/2026

I will not be taking questions at this time.

The UI of "post like" showing an AI generated post made from my last 100 posts.

"Spotted a U-2 at 60,000 ft off the coast today. Reminds me of that time I spent three hours debugging a missing space in my OAuth scope. Both involve staring at the sky and wondering where the signal went."

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Alex McRoberts @alex.mcroberts.me · 19/08/2026

Not quite Walter White…but painting with a paint sprayer is fun!

It’s me! Wearing a full painters coveralls with hood. Wearing a respirator, holding an electric Wagner spray painter - it’s Yellow and Black with a White canister holding the paint.

Behind is the garage I’m painting

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Alex McRoberts @alex.mcroberts.me · 19/08/2026

Accurate. Also revealing how different the UX of this is in Canada vs other countries.

Screenshot from Google AI Mode

Example Post Options

Option 1: The Decentralization Deep-Dive
"Is this a thing? Private data on AT Proto where you purchase content
-like a book-and the blob lives directly in your PDS so it can't be removed without your consent? I want my library to actually be mine again. 📚 #atproto #pds"

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Alex McRoberts @alex.mcroberts.me · 16/08/2026

Caught a thunderstorm in slow motion last night, in Calgary!

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Alex McRoberts @alex.mcroberts.me · 16/08/2026

🇨🇦 Lake Louis and Banff are 👌 🇨🇦

“The window” at Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise. It’s a round top arch window with a view that runs the entire length of the lake up into the Victoria Glacier and the mountains behind.

The lake is a beautiful turquoise colour, with evergreen trees on the mountains, and strata (the striped lines) of sediment on the mountains which are still topped with snow - even in mid August!

Lakeside at Lake Louise. A blue sky(!) above the turquoise lake, with the mountains running down into a V in the middle of the frame.

The strata (striped lines) show the sediment layers on the mountains which are covered by snow; with a blotchy cloud cover to boot

The view of Banff National Park looking across Banff town from the Banff Upper Hot Springs. The sky is many shades of grey with cloud cover. A splotch of blue in there too.

There’s a landscape of brown mountains as far as the eye can see, and some evergreen trees in the foreground.

The hot springs water running down a waterfall. The sulphur has turned many of the stones in yellow. The water is running at such a pace that it’s frothing with white

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Alex McRoberts @alex.mcroberts.me · 15/08/2026

Thanks. I just looked and can only see something around the Porteau Cove area?

BC Wildfire app map view showing an Out of Control fire in the Porteau Cove area

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Alex McRoberts @alex.mcroberts.me · 14/08/2026

Goodstuff on the outside. Goodstuff in the inside. Gone travelling!

A 10oz white Yeti coffee mug with a sticker of the Atmosphere’s own Goodstuff Goosetopher wearing their hat, holding their cane, and shining their miners torch

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Alex McRoberts @alex.mcroberts.me · 14/08/2026

@marcoarment.bsky.social 👋 small overcast.fm bug with the Ad removal button

The Overcast iOS app showing the atp.fm podcast.

The ad at the top of the now playing screen has a close button that it hovering on the edge of the background radius.

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Alex McRoberts @alex.mcroberts.me · 12/08/2026

Autographa Californica - very woody looking moth! /cc @dame.is

Autographa Californica has a pattern that looks like tree bark. With its wings closed it looks almost rectangular

Same moth - Autographa Californica with its wings a little open and buzzing - it just fluttered a bit to get here from the first photo

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Alex McRoberts @alex.mcroberts.me · 12/08/2026

Woah - there’s a USAF U2-S flying off the coast of Seattle, at 60,000ft! fr24.com/41204b0c

Screenshot of Flightradar24 showing the United States Air Force U-2S off the West Coast of Washington state

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Alex McRoberts @alex.mcroberts.me · 10/08/2026

The underside of a Douglas SBD Dauntless at the Abbotsford airshow... it's a blue sky!

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Alex McRoberts @alex.mcroberts.me · 10/08/2026

CF-18 Hornet on the left is taxiing back from it's flight demonstration while the MiG-17 is preparing to taxi to the runway for it's flight demonstration at Abbotsford Airshow.

In the foreground, the MiG-17 Fresco is taxiing right to left on the taxiway at Abbotsford Airport. In the background, a CF-18 Hornet is taxiing to a parking spot from left to right.

A trick of the eye, it looks like the nosecones of both jets are close to touching each other, but in reality, there's at least 40 metres of distances between the two.

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Alex McRoberts @alex.mcroberts.me · 10/08/2026

Bonus. Caught the RCAF Hercules going through the sun in the middle of a sun dog.

A cloudy sky over Abbotsford. The sun is in the centre of this photo, surrounded with a giant circle that looks like a rainbow. This is called a sun dog. Zooming in, just to the left of the sun is a Royal Canadian Air Force Hercules which was the jump platform for the Canadian Forces Skyhawks Parachute Display Team

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Alex McRoberts @alex.mcroberts.me · 10/08/2026

Two Royal Canadian Airforce CF-18 Hornet doing a “show of force” during a demonstration

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Alex McRoberts @alex.mcroberts.me · 10/08/2026

Reverse Reverse! A Royal Canadian Airforce Cyclone helicopter flying backwards

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Alex McRoberts @alex.mcroberts.me · 10/08/2026

Abbotsford Airshow makes for cool photos. Watch out for the video with the helicopter going in reverse!

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Alex McRoberts @alex.mcroberts.me · 04/08/2026

That captures it fairly well. Wildfire smoke over North Vancouver. Smoky clouds and an orange hue of the sun. Not much of a smoky “taste” in the air yet, thankfully. Time to close the doors and windows.

Orange smoky clouds and the orange glow of the sun peeking out behind a Japanese Maple tree, and several evergreen trees.

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Alex McRoberts @alex.mcroberts.me · 21/07/2026

Cracking day for a bike ride

Hollow tree with my bike parked in the centre of it. You ride through this tree as part of a route.

This is Circuit 8 Trail

Same tree, looking up at the crown shyness of the surrounding trees

The mountain ridge looking at the west side of Mount Seymour Provincial Park. I believe the “gap” is between Mount Elsay and Runner’s Peak

Looking up at Coliseum Mountain if Strava Maps are to be believed. Would love to hike it someday.

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Alex McRoberts @alex.mcroberts.me · 20/07/2026

Yes we went in September last year. Had dinner in his pub, and stayed in the nearby village. Beautiful little spot - all kinds of quaint. The hotel we stayed in - the last photo is over 400 years old! 🤯

Where else do you find a 136 year old bakery and cafe?!

The old stone brick and slate roof buildings

It’s a very English pastel blue sky with wispy clouds over the sandstone building and its slate roof

This hotel is over 400 years old. It’s made of sandstone and has a black and white striped upper outer wall. The misshapen roof looks crooked

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Alex McRoberts @alex.mcroberts.me · 16/07/2026

Yeah. I’ve been the same for moths. I mean months. I mean hello, look at my Photos library!!

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Alex McRoberts @alex.mcroberts.me · 16/07/2026

Licenses as AT Proto records?

The Anakin Padme meme.

Anakin says “we’ve got a trademark and we’ll license it”

Padme asks “licenses will also be AT Proto records, right?”.

Then, in classic Anakin Padme meme fashion, Anakin stares and Padme repeats the question.

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Alex McRoberts @alex.mcroberts.me · 08/07/2026

Snuck in a last minute Quarterfinal ticket for Switzerland vs Colombia. Managed to get seats in the Colombia end. This is my “whoops, wrong colours to sit here, but it’s OK, red for Canada” face. Turned into a Colombian fan for the day, their fans were great. We even learnt a chant or two!

BC Place with the Swiss flag in the foreground of the pitch, and the Colombia flag on the far end of the pitch. The FIFA emblem covers the centre circle.

So many Colombia fans at the stadium today - there is a sea of yellow!

A selfie. I’m wearing a red Canada shirt and a plain red cap. Pictured are a couple of Colombian fans behind me in yellow!

We didn’t know we were in the Colombia section!

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Alex McRoberts @alex.mcroberts.me · 02/07/2026

Looks like it happened again!

Danny Murphy, Former England midfielder on BBC website

A post titled "We did get him back' - Murphy on Bob the cat"

Body of the post reads:

Surprisingly there was a lot of interest... we did get him back six or seven weeks later. Unfortunately he had gone feral and we couldn't re-intergrate him in the home and he ended up living with my friend's parents in Preston.

That was the life he had and now he has passed away, unfortunately. Thanks for all the concern those who have been messaging us.

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Alex McRoberts @alex.mcroberts.me · 30/06/2026

Did somebody leave their laptop open ... www.bbc.com/sport/footba...

Danny Murphy, Former England midfielder on BBC One, made a post on BBC Sport coverage of the Ivory Coast vs Norway game.

"I used to have a cat called Bob and he jumped in the back of a Royal Mail van and he lost him."

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Alex McRoberts @alex.mcroberts.me · 26/06/2026

Pretty lucky to get to 3 World Cup games in Vancouver: 1. Canada 6 - 0 Qatar 2. New Zealand 1 - 3 Egypt 3. Switzerland 2 - 1 Canada

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Alex McRoberts @alex.mcroberts.me · 22/06/2026

What a cracking game - New Zealand vs Egypt in the World Cup at BC Place, Vancouver, Canada.

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Alex McRoberts @alex.mcroberts.me · 20/06/2026

This happened maybe a few seconds before I walked past the lavender in our back yard. A flower crab spider caught a poor bee. Look at the markings in the last photo on the spiders back - it looks like 2 eyes and a mouth!

A lavender flower stalk with a bee landed on it. Above is the white, flower crab spider which has attacked and killed the bee.

A closer view of rhe lavender flower stalk with a bee landed on it. Above is the white, flower crab spider which has attacked and killed the bee.

The closest view of the bee. There’s a fascinating marking on the spiders back, it look like a human face with 2 eyes and a mouth

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Alex McRoberts @alex.mcroberts.me · 16/06/2026

You think that’s bad? I was eyeballed by a cat this morning and The Guilt™️ was real

There is a ginger cat outside the back door of our house. The cat is framed behind a 9 framed window in the door

It IS a ginger and white cat. LOOK AT IT.

In the background is some patio furniture

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Alex McRoberts @alex.mcroberts.me · 03/06/2026

There is a USAF Stratotanker flying around Lower Mainland / Squamish at the minute!

Flight radar 24 showing the flight path of K35R a US airforce stratotanker.

It flew in from Spokane and has been doing laps above Whiterock, Surrey, North Vancouver, Squamish for the past 90+ minutes

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Alex McRoberts @alex.mcroberts.me · 02/06/2026

@samuel.fm on iOS 26.5, App Version v1.122.0, iPhone 13. There’s an erratic screen width bug. * View an image * Turn phone to landscape * Slide image around/zoom in/out * Turn phone to portrait * Text in other posts now no longer wrapped. I’ve seen it with replies and timeline. Hard to repro

6 posts from different posters in a thread. After viewing an image and following the steps in my post, the text from these other posters replying in a thread is no longer text wrapped to the width of the screen, and it seems to run of the right edge of the screen.

Unfortunately it’s erratic and seemingly hard to reproduce

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Alex McRoberts @alex.mcroberts.me · 30/05/2026

Can’t touch real grass? Touch grass-inspired astro turf instead.

Apple News app with The Washington Post

Can't do a European vacation?
Visit these 10 European-inspired U.S. cities.

These towns can transport you to lands where windmills spin, tulips bloom, hefeweizen flows and bilingual signs welcome - and välkommen or willkommen or witamy.

May 30 at 6:00 AM 2026

People walk along the shops and restaurants of Saint George Street in the historic district of St. Augustine, Florida. (iStock)

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Alex McRoberts @alex.mcroberts.me · 29/05/2026

I see your idle threat, and raise you ....

Google search "they sent me to bring you down"

Google's AI Overview response:

You'll have to do a lot better than that. It sounds like you were expecting me to crack or back down, but I'm not going anywhere. Whatever they are paying you, it's not enough to break this stride.

Tell them to try again.

Now, let's get back to what we were doing before you were so dramatically interrupted. What did you actually want to talk about?

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