iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Ardent Archivist @ardentarchivist.bsky.social · 4h

"Quintilius Varus, give me back my legions!"

Ardent Archivist @ardentarchivist.bsky.social · 14/10/2026

Well, I suppose it depends on your perspective; some might call it inauspicious! And since I’ll take the earlier Like as a yes, hicky burpy to youse! 🍻😉🍻

Memorial stone to the martyrs of the United Irishmen

The famous section from the Bayeux Tapestry which appears to show King Harold being killed by an arrow in the eye.

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Ardent Archivist @ardentarchivist.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

I had a tiny visitor last night (it can’t have been more than 2cm long). The side light is from a torch laid carefully on the ground:

A tiny yellow/brown frog crouches on a rough garden path at night. Torchlight illuminates it from the left hand side of the image.

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Ardent Archivist @ardentarchivist.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

I’ll bet she’s a material culture specialist, just like this one:

An elderly black and white barkaeologist- er, woofer - does the 'downward dog' in her latest presentation of material culture findings. 😋

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Ardent Archivist @ardentarchivist.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Aaaand, now it’s time to beg for food! 🤣

An elderly black and white dog stands in front of her person, willing them to get the message and produce food…
(It’s ok, my pup, I can read your mind almost as well as you can read mine! 🤣🥰)

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Ardent Archivist @ardentarchivist.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Gosh, La Woofe must be getting old (and that sun is really blazing) because that’s the second time today she’s called time out of her own accord to go sprawl in the shade. Usually Mum has to do that!

An elderly black and white dog sprawls in the shade, panting, her tennis ball carefully placed between her paws for when play recommences!

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Ardent Archivist @ardentarchivist.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Please feel free to share this widely.

Text which reads:

I understand that people are buying RNLI Christmas cards in order to add money to all the donations which are flooding in.

Now it appears that some are planning to buy them and send them to Reform's free post address.

Really, if you did that, it would cost them an awful lot of money.

But people want to know if such an address exists.

It does.

Reform UK
Freepost RTLT-ZXHY-KSDC
83 Victoria Street
London SW1H OHW

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Ardent Archivist @ardentarchivist.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Mmmm… clucking stew, half a bottle of wine in the sauce, the other half washing it down!

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Ardent Archivist @ardentarchivist.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

What a woman!! 💚💚💚❤️💚💚💚 www.bbc.co.uk/sport/boxing...

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Ardent Archivist @ardentarchivist.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

Someone has decided that dinner smells good… MY dinner! 🤣🤣

An elderly black and white dog is standing in the kitchen, looking hopefully at her human - might some of that good-smelling grub be for her?! 😋

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Ardent Archivist @ardentarchivist.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

Her Woofiness is all snuggled up to her Maisie Mouse…

An elderly black & white dog is snuggled up to her favourite toy (Maisie Mouse!), and lying comfortably on her bed. She looks up at her human, wondering why she can’t get peace to sleep…!

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Ardent Archivist @ardentarchivist.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

It’s Friday night… and the donut is in play! 🤣🥰🤣

An elderly black & white dog is trying to entice her human to play with her - there’s a squeaky donut on the go! Here, she’s trying to act casual, not looking at the toy…

An elderly black & white dog is trying to entice her human to play with her - there’s a squeaky donut on the go! Here, she’s doing the downward dog.

An elderly black & white dog is trying to entice her human to play with her - there’s a squeaky donut on the go! Here, she’s demonstrating the "look after your toys by licking them as much as playing with them" technique for which she is famous…

An elderly black & white dog is trying to entice her human to play with her - there’s a squeaky donut on the go! Here, she’s exhibiting the patented "Mum’s not getting the message" look of disgust. 🤣

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Ardent Archivist @ardentarchivist.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

Ahh! 😃 I should prob explain: it’s a Norn Irn thing, when you don’t know someone’s name, to refer to them as "yer man" or "yer woman". For the ultimate use of this, in this case knowing last name but nothing else, see below for a successfully delivered letter a few years ago:

Unlikely but true: an actual letter which was successfully delivered by the Irish postal service, addressed to:

Your man Henderson
That boy with the glasses
Who is doing the PhD up there at Queen’s in Belfast

Buncrana
Co. Donegall [sic]

We can only hope that yer man Henderson was properly appreciative of his heroic postie! 😃

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Ardent Archivist @ardentarchivist.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

Can’t remember if I shared this with you already, but The Fight made me think of it again:

"Do not raise your daughter to look for a knight.

Raise her to use the sword herself."

And I might add, to do so justly and fearlessly.

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Ardent Archivist @ardentarchivist.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

OK, I couldn’t help meself… so here ye go:

A silver shield bearing the arms(?!) of a certain author we all know:
Three sheds rampant above a gilded porcupine, surmounted by crossed quills (the other kind!)

The motto below reads:
"There is a story the bees used to tell…"

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Ardent Archivist @ardentarchivist.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

"I t’ought I taw a puddy tat…" 😃

The Lion Gate of Mycenae.
Someone else’s photograph - if I knew whose, I’d gladly give credit.

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Ardent Archivist @ardentarchivist.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

Perfectly expressed. 👏👏👏👏

"The tragedy of the Internet is that it has promoted the village idiot to the level of bearer of truth"
- - Umberto Eco

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Ardent Archivist @ardentarchivist.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

Don’t know when/if the rain will come today - it’s been threatening from time to time - but Someone has already had a pretty good session with the tennis ball this morning. And treats. 😋

An elderly black & white dog lies panting on the garden path, her tongue hanging out and a doggy grin on her face, after a good play session chasing a new tennis ball.

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Ardent Archivist @ardentarchivist.bsky.social · 19/07/2026

My proposed Minister for AI. (Showing my age!)

A blurry photo of Graeme Garden, of The Goodies (minus his computer for once)

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Ardent Archivist @ardentarchivist.bsky.social · 19/07/2026

🤣 I want everyone to know I was way ahead of the curve on this one:

A t-shirt with the symbol of a planet, and this text below it:
MEGA
Make Earth Great Again

Vote Count Binface

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Ardent Archivist @ardentarchivist.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

Ahh - from the man himself (we were both right!):

Interview with actor Sam Neill, who was born in Northern Ireland before moving to New Zealand at the age of seven.

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Ardent Archivist @ardentarchivist.bsky.social · 11/07/2026

Aye, there’s Count Binface and there’s BinBoy - and I know which one I’d vote for!

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Ardent Archivist @ardentarchivist.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

Already hitting the campaign trail on the Count’s behalf (I already had a couple of these t-shirts, which are a great dig at BOB (the Big Orange Baby)).

A sand-coloured t-shirt, with a graphic design that includes a planet and the caption:
MEGA
Make Earth Great Again

At the bottom it says: Vote Count Binface

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Ardent Archivist @ardentarchivist.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

🎶 "Yummy yummy yummy In my tummy - It’s an ice cream world!” 🎶 Okay. In this heat, I’m allowed to buy ice cream more than once a year. So there.

A bowl of ice cream with fresh raspberries and blackberries.

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Ardent Archivist @ardentarchivist.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

Someone’s just had a good session with the tennis ball… 😋 Honestly, this dog can produce the cheekiest expressions, then the next minute she looks like she’s laughing - I swear she has a sense of humour!

An older black and white dog looks at her human. She is lying on a footpath with both front paws dangling over the edge of the path, and her tennis ball is visible in the background.

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Ardent Archivist @ardentarchivist.bsky.social · 05/07/2026

Bess, of course, was right. 😉 Our dogs put up with an awful lot of nonsense from us! 🤣 Great shots and magical location, Sarah - thanks for sharing. And Bess is gorgeous. You must have a heck of a time trying to tire her out! 👀😋 Now who does that remind me of…

An older black and white dog lies in the sun in front of a red door.

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Ardent Archivist @ardentarchivist.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

And done (text in ALT if anyone wants to use/copy it - but change it up a bit so they don’t dismiss it as a bot):

Anything that involves chopping down mature trees - or any trees - is NOT the way to go. Just stop right there. Find another way.

- We have a climate crisis. Trees provide much-needed shade and help lower the ambient temperature in an urban environment.

- Climate crisis again: trees absorb carbon dioxide (greenhouse gas) and give off oxygen (fundamental requirement for life). Breathing is good.

- It takes one afternoon to chop down a row of mature trees; it takes forty (40) years to grow more like them.

- Trees are beautiful. Tarmac is not.

- Trees provide ecosystem support for a huge variety of other plants and animals. Nature is stressed to breaking point already - don’t make it worse.

- Trees provide drainage. Lots of very useful, very helpful drainage. NI Water needs all the help it can get.

DON’T DO IT.

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Ardent Archivist @ardentarchivist.bsky.social · 23/06/2026

Vae Victis—I am The Dacians (Aurum Regis). Which vanquisher of Rome are you? theodramatist.com

The Dacians
Under Decebalus

Aurum regis.

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Ardent Archivist @ardentarchivist.bsky.social · 21/06/2026

Solstice greetings to yez all! Beannachtaí an lae daoibh!

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Ardent Archivist @ardentarchivist.bsky.social · 20/06/2026

If this 👇 keeps up, it may be time to break out the summer-weight duvet. Bloody hasn’t been time for it before now…

Screenshot of a local weather forecast, showing warm days and uncomfortably warm nights. Blech.

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Ardent Archivist @ardentarchivist.bsky.social · 20/06/2026

If this 👇 keeps up, it may be time to break out the summer-weight duvet. Bloody hasn’t been time for it before now…

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Ardent Archivist @ardentarchivist.bsky.social · 19/06/2026

Never met a stuffed toy she didn’t like - squeak optional!

It’s donut time! An elderly black & white dog lies on her bed, some of her stuffed toys next to her. Her favoured donut is strategically placed under a front paw.

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Ardent Archivist @ardentarchivist.bsky.social · 13/06/2026

A lovely wee dog called Eric has gone missing in Carrickfergus - for details see the link below. Keep yer eyes peeled & please share widely among the Belfast/S. Antrim crowd! www.doglost.co.uk/dog/203683