iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Jon Hancock @bigjackbrass.social.vivaldi.net.ap.brid.gy · 21h

The medal-winning British Pogo-Stick Team showing the form that made them unbeatable back in the eighties.

Screenshot of the BBC Archive YouTube channel showing a thumbnail labelled "1984: Life as a BT Apprentice | Job Bank | BBC Archive". Thumbnail is a still from the programme showing half a dozen figures in blue boilersuits, each of them standing on foot pegs near the top of telegraph poles and using a strap around the pole to secure them safely.

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Jon Hancock @bigjackbrass.social.vivaldi.net.ap.brid.gy · 17/10/2026

“No no, it’s just for bodybuilding, I swear.”

Screenshot of sciencealert.com. Headline: Scientists Discover an Erectile Dysfunction Drug Could Also Regenerate Muscle.

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Jon Hancock @bigjackbrass.social.vivaldi.net.ap.brid.gy · 16/10/2026

Heavy sigh. Updated the computer OS and of course it won’t mount the external hard drive it’s been perfectly happy with up to now. After fiddling around I managed to get it to ask for the password, but it rejects it. Tried connecting the drive to my iPad […] [Original post on social.vivaldi.net]

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Jon Hancock @bigjackbrass.social.vivaldi.net.ap.brid.gy · 15/10/2026

I spend so much time seeing people with ukuleles that whenever I look at a photo of someone playing the guitar it looks like one of those old novelty photo postcards, the ones with a trick black and white picture of someone riding a grasshopper, or […] [Original post on social.vivaldi.net]

Screenshot of YouTube. A man wearing grey trousers, blue T-shirt and a light grey baseball cap suits in front of two microphones, playing a tenor ukulele. On-screen text: MATT DAHLBERG, ALA KAULIKE SPRUCE, "REMEMBER", KANILE'A STUDIO SESSIONS.

Screenshot of YouTube channel. A man wearing jeans and a grey and white shirt in a broken foliage-like pattern is sitting in front of two microphones, playing a guitar that obscures much of his body. On-screen text: JEFF PETERSON, KG-4 PRO, "LAULE'A", KANILE'A STUDIO SESSIONS.

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Jon Hancock @bigjackbrass.social.vivaldi.net.ap.brid.gy · 15/10/2026

A few chores done or in progress, so doing my best to stay relaxed and not overdo it. A beautiful black cat on my lap, Gerald Ross on the stereo, and a fresh cup of tea are three things helping me to achieve this goal. #Ukulele #Tea #Cats

Screenshot of music player showing the album “Swing Ukulele” by Gerald Ross. Cover divided vertically roughly 60/40 between light and dark blue, with picture of a brown wooden Ukulele on the left hand side. Title and artist’s name on the right, above a list of some of the songs. Track playing is “What’ll I Do?”.

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Jon Hancock @bigjackbrass.social.vivaldi.net.ap.brid.gy · 15/10/2026

It’s so important to grasp the opportunities that life throws up.

Screenshot of BBC News website. Headline: Dog that hunts invasive 'sea vomit' honoured as animal of the year.

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Jon Hancock @bigjackbrass.social.vivaldi.net.ap.brid.gy · 14/10/2026

My practice companion, Madeline Kahn, helping me to get better at playing the ukulele. Apparently. #Cats #CatsOfMastodon #Ukulele

Madeline Kahn, a particularly comfortable tortoiseshell and white cat, curls up for a snooze on an old once-white sherpa fleece.

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Jon Hancock @bigjackbrass.social.vivaldi.net.ap.brid.gy · 13/10/2026

How on earth can they afford an apartment in that neighbourhood?

Screenshot of : Smithsonian magazine website. Headline:
A Family of Barn Owls Has Moved Into New York City's Upper West Side, Perhaps the First to Nest in Manhattan in Modern History.

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Jon Hancock @bigjackbrass.social.vivaldi.net.ap.brid.gy · 13/10/2026

In order to ensure that new purchasers are psychologically suited to the instrument, all new ukuleles are fitted with a Rorschach test. #Ukulele

Rear view of an Ohana SK-70BWE soprano ukulele, showing it's yellowish and dark ebony back. The grain in the bookmatched wood resembles an inkblot test.

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Jon Hancock @bigjackbrass.social.vivaldi.net.ap.brid.gy · 11/10/2026

Meanwhile, in the world of Amazon reviews… (A review for a 30ml tester pot of water-based wood stain in an antique mahogany colour)

Screenshot of a very confused Amazon review for some wood stain. Text: A must have addition to improve wifi.
Verified Purchase.
Fabulous.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 21 December 2025.
Colour Name: Antique Mahogany.
Size Name: 30ml TESTER.
Fantastic.

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Jon Hancock @bigjackbrass.social.vivaldi.net.ap.brid.gy · 10/10/2026

Carrie Fisher there, not letting me out of the room without further fussing. #Cats #Caturday #CatsOfMastodon

Carrie Fisher, a particularly charming black cat, lies curled around on her back, paws in front, looking back at the camera and wondering why I’ve stopped making a fuss of her.

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Jon Hancock @bigjackbrass.social.vivaldi.net.ap.brid.gy · 09/10/2026

Honestly, I never use most of the tools on my Swuss army knife.

A 1947 black and white photograph of a young man making nylon stockings at a Nottingham factory. He is fitting a stocking to a flat, leg-shaped form folded out from a row of similar metal shapes all hinged at the bottom end.

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Jon Hancock @bigjackbrass.social.vivaldi.net.ap.brid.gy · 09/10/2026

Meanwhile, in the world of Amazon reviews…

Screenshot of an Amazon review. Text: Nancy Nix-Karnakis.
**** Not as good as the first two for my needs.
Reviewed in the United States on 18 October 2013.
Format: Paperback| Verified Purchase.
Not as good as the first two for my needs. Too much work. Too bad. Too much work. Too bad.

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Jon Hancock @bigjackbrass.social.vivaldi.net.ap.brid.gy · 08/10/2026

But what am I supposed to do with my life now? 😲 #Ukulele #Forums

Screenshot of downforeveryoneorjustme.com. Text: It's not just you!
forum.ukuleleunderground.com is down.
Last updated: Oct 8, 2026 at 8:58 PM (2 seconds ago).

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Jon Hancock @bigjackbrass.social.vivaldi.net.ap.brid.gy · 08/10/2026

Opened YouTube and was immediately faced with this absurdity. “Al-generated ad”? Surely not! #AI #Slop #Temu #ButIRepeatMyself

Screenshot of YouTube advert showing a large shed in woodland. The structure appears to be made of untreated timber. There are two windows, or what appear to be windows, through which absolutely no light can be seen. Double doors are wide open, letting us see the interior: apparently the interior exists in another dimension, where angles need not match the exterior even slightly; and where a fire can burn in a stone hearth without smoking to the whole room, even though the outside of the shed has no chimney. Text: TEMU BLOW OUT SALE.
16x10 Wooden Garden Cabin.
Al-generated ad. The promotion is not sponsored by Marlborough Timber.

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Jon Hancock @bigjackbrass.social.vivaldi.net.ap.brid.gy · 08/10/2026

If it could raise 2m that would probably be a big help, too.

Screenshot of BBC News website. Headline: Sinking church faces closure if it can't raise £2m.

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Jon Hancock @bigjackbrass.social.vivaldi.net.ap.brid.gy · 07/10/2026

Today’s roll is… #Dice #FudgeRPG #RPG (and I found the setting to change the colour of the dice)

Screenshot of fudgerpg.com showing the online Fudge dice roller. The dice are displaying one plus sign and three blank faces, for a result of Good (1).

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Jon Hancock @bigjackbrass.social.vivaldi.net.ap.brid.gy · 05/10/2026

Okay, could we maybe not go all Rogue 417 on top of everything else right now? mastodon.social/@arstechnica/117388…

Cover of ROGUE 417, Campaign Setup and Resource Book for Tri Tac Games and The Morrow Project, by Richard Tucholka. Black and white, illustration of an armed survivor standing in urban ruin by Doug Blanchard, tagline After Doomsday You Will Survive!

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Jon Hancock @bigjackbrass.social.vivaldi.net.ap.brid.gy · 05/10/2026

One of those things that used to pop up all the time on social media, largely before anyone noticed how much information some of them were trawling, but I found this an interesting exercise. I’ve not put them in any sort of order—deciding what shouldn’t […] [Original post on social.vivaldi.net]

Grid of nine album covers under the title My9Albums. Describing all of the individual covers is sadly going to be far too much for both alt-text and me, but the titles and artists are: Peter Gabriel Plays Live; Little Feat Waiting for Columbus; Warren Zevon A Quiet Normal Life; Jean Michel Jarre Oxygène; XTC Black Sea; Thomas Dolby The Golden Age of Wireless; Talking Heads Stop Making Sense; The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band Cornology; Who’s Afraid of the Art of Noise?

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Jon Hancock @bigjackbrass.social.vivaldi.net.ap.brid.gy · 04/10/2026

Is it me or does this approach rather miss the actual cause of the problem?

Screenshot of The Guardian website. Headline: Germany –
Women given free cycling shorts to prevent upskirting on Oktoberfest amusement
ride.

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Jon Hancock @bigjackbrass.social.vivaldi.net.ap.brid.gy · 04/10/2026

I think you misspelt “33% increase” there, Netflix. #Netflix

Screenshot of email notification. Text: Netflix – Price update coming soon. We're here if you have any questions.

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Jon Hancock @bigjackbrass.social.vivaldi.net.ap.brid.gy · 03/10/2026

The YouTube algorithm serving up perfectly tailored adverts, as usual. #Ukulele #YouTube

Screenshot of an advert for some crap or other on YouTube. The picture shows a small deer walking past a tree where a trail camera is fixed. The caption inexplicably reads “Compare top 5 Ukulele models - Best 5
Ukuleles For Beginners”.

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Jon Hancock @bigjackbrass.social.vivaldi.net.ap.brid.gy · 02/10/2026

An unexpected shout-out for the "ukelele" on the AudioPilz YouTube channel! Hang on a sec… 🧐 #Ukulele #BadGear

Screenshot of The Bad Gear show on YouTube. The host—a bald, bearded white man wearing a black T-shirt and glasses—is sitting in front of what look to be white IKEA bookshelves and speaking to camera. At his shoulder a still image has popped up of a young woman playing a Cordoba ukulele on a subway train, smiling along with the other passengers. A text box on the image reads "Stop hating Roland and get back to hating ukeleles" (Sic).

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Jon Hancock @bigjackbrass.social.vivaldi.net.ap.brid.gy · 02/10/2026

"Damn annoying cough I seem to have developed, though…"

Black and white illustration from a comic showing an apparently naked man walking untouched through a raging fire. Speech balloon text: I TRANSFORMED MYSELF INTO ASBESTOS! THE FLAMES CANT EVEN SINGE ME!

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Jon Hancock @bigjackbrass.social.vivaldi.net.ap.brid.gy · 02/10/2026

Colossal: “Wild Hijinx and Hilarious Happenstance Reign in the 2026 Comedy Wildlife Awards” www.thisiscolossal.com/2026/10/come… #Photography #Wildlife

Photograph by Scott Suriano, “Morning Calisthenics”. A bear, centre frame, the foreground and background forming horizontal bands of brown, white and blue from the soft colours of the riverbank, river, distant trees and hills, and sky. The bear is balancing on its rump and reaching a forelimb towards its opposite rear paw, giving the appearance of doing sit-ups.

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Jon Hancock @bigjackbrass.social.vivaldi.net.ap.brid.gy · 01/10/2026

It’s a small gesture (and of course it’s a promotional item for the shop), but I appreciate that many booksellers still choose to include a simple bookmark with an order. Functional, recyclable, no need for anything fancy or intrusive. And of course for […] [Original post on social.vivaldi.net]