iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

L Break Into Program @breakintoprogram.co.uk · 29/09/2026

I remember when I worked at Time Warner Interactive in Sale, we heard a commotion going on outside. It was Fred Dibnah driving Betsy down Washway Road. What an absolute legend.

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L Break Into Program @breakintoprogram.co.uk · 26/09/2026

I mentioned Gauntlet III in a previous thread, musing on how it was only Gauntlet in name. I'd forgotten that, in addition to the Amiga, ST, Spectrum and Amstrad versions, there was also a C64 port by Martin Howarth. www.lemon64.com/game/gauntle... Screenshot from the above lemon64 page.

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L Break Into Program @breakintoprogram.co.uk · 25/09/2026

I read Dune around the same time the David Lynch movie came out, so 1984(ish). It is rather good, and I'm pleased Villeneuve hasn't made a complete pigs ear of it. Though am rather fond of the Lynch movie too. Apart from Sting in his Lightspeed Briefs. That's just weird.

Philip Fry from Futurama doing a presentation just wearing Lightspeed Briefs.

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L Break Into Program @breakintoprogram.co.uk · 24/09/2026

No tools required, comes with all required. The pump looks feeble but works. Spare brake pads will come in handy. Bikes are very much a personal thing. I needed a cheap commuter that could tackle some hills and do up to 10 miles in reasonable comfort with decent range. Ticks all them boxes.

Box of supplied tools and spares; pump, reflector, airtag box, Chinese power adaptor, bag of bolts and screws, shipping bolt for front forks.

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L Break Into Program @breakintoprogram.co.uk · 24/09/2026

Old folding bike for scale. Well, it's Mrs B's white one, mine's black and orange but otherwise identical. The new bike is slightly bigger. The main differences are the seat and handlebars can be extended further, and the weight. I don't think I'll be lugging this up the station stairs for sure.

My new bike next to a white bike identical to the one I've been using to commute with.

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L Break Into Program @breakintoprogram.co.uk · 24/09/2026

Tricked it out with some accessories off the big bike. My panniers (which amazingly fit quite well) and a drink holder.

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L Break Into Program @breakintoprogram.co.uk · 24/09/2026

Took it for a quick test ride into the next village ahead of going into work tomorrow, packed a toolkit just in case. The handlebar needed tightening a bit more. Other than that felt very solid. Some more pictures of the bike.

Integrated rear lights powered off the main battery.

The display is quite nice and easy to read even in sunlight.

And the integrated front light, again powered off the main battery.

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L Break Into Program @breakintoprogram.co.uk · 24/09/2026

And this button was loose on the handlebar control unit. I've secured it with a dab of superglue for now and reached out to Engwe support for advice/replacement.

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L Break Into Program @breakintoprogram.co.uk · 24/09/2026

Now the niggles. I'm not 100% sure about this cable management in the folding hinge bit. It works, but looking at it makes me feel a bit uneasy. I guess on the odd occasion when I do fold it, I'll just need to make sure the cables/wires don't get compressed as I close it.

The folding hinge bit showing cables wrapped in flexible plastic conduit tubing.

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L Break Into Program @breakintoprogram.co.uk · 24/09/2026

My biggest concern was that the front brake calliper would need loads of adjusting so that it didn't squeak or catch. Thankfully it just worked. I've built bikes before, so this wasn't a biggie, but never had to deal with disk brakes before.

Bike upside down whilst I fit the front wheel, mudguard and brake caliper.

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L Break Into Program @breakintoprogram.co.uk · 24/09/2026

The bike is mostly assembled, just need to fit and adjust the handlebars, fit the front wheel and disk brake caliper, screw on the pedals, pop the saddle on, put some air in the tyres and some juice in the battery. The battery can also be charged in-situ, which would suit me better.

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L Break Into Program @breakintoprogram.co.uk · 24/09/2026

Think I'm getting over my cold now thank goodness. Just sound a bit croakier than usual. Managed to assemble my e-bike and took it on a quick test run. It's the equivalent of seven-league boots. Planning on doing the full commute, weather permitting. Should pay for itself within a year.

A box of tools and spares, and some kind of air tag clone.

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L Break Into Program @breakintoprogram.co.uk · 23/09/2026

Bike arrived this afternoon. Had arranged for a neighbour to receive it because work. Wasn’t expecting it today, but here it is. Full of a cold and sore throat so will probably assemble this at the weekend.

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L Break Into Program @breakintoprogram.co.uk · 23/09/2026

Researched and bought a bike online, so all I'm seeing now are adverts for bikes. Not bike panniers, locks, helmets or tools. Just bikes.

Weird Spongebob with the caption 'Algorithms'

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L Break Into Program @breakintoprogram.co.uk · 17/09/2026

Currently listening to Erasure: The Two Ring Circus

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L Break Into Program @breakintoprogram.co.uk · 15/09/2026

When prologues used to get to the point...

3D Monster Maze start screen. One page of glorious text that reads

ROLL UP, ROLL UP, SEE THE AMAZING TYRANNOSAURUS REX KING OF THE DINOSAURS IN HIS LAIR. PERFECTLY PRESERVED IN SILICON SINCE PREHISTORIC TIMES, HE IS BROUGHT TO YOU FOR YOUR ENTERTAINMENT AND EXHILARATION.

NEW GENERATION SOFTWARE COPYRIGHT M.E.EVANS

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L Break Into Program @breakintoprogram.co.uk · 12/09/2026

Bit of a long shot this. But there we go.

The same PCB but with two shiny new trimmers fitted.

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L Break Into Program @breakintoprogram.co.uk · 12/09/2026

Park the emulator up until I can be bothered to get a spare keyboard out of the shed. Might as well move onto the Dragon. Replace these potentially knackered trimmers.

A PCB with two variable resistors circled in red

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L Break Into Program @breakintoprogram.co.uk · 12/09/2026

Here's me typing 1 through to 0 then qwert, etc. I have no idea what is going on there. Just the number keys. Sigh.

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L Break Into Program @breakintoprogram.co.uk · 12/09/2026

Things I was frightened of as a child: Quicksand Volcanos Impending nuclear war Weird caterpillars The railway bridge near where we lived

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L Break Into Program @breakintoprogram.co.uk · 12/09/2026

There’s a lot of talk about the new Apple Watch constantly recording and transcribing what it hears. It’s an evolution of Live Listen Captions that’s been an accessibility feature for a while. Like smart glasses it’s a shame that human nature tends to using features like this irresponsibly.

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L Break Into Program @breakintoprogram.co.uk · 11/09/2026

New phone joy. Managed to apply the screen protector without getting any cat hairs underneath it. I must admit, that OLED screen is gorgeous. It doesn't feel much bigger than my SE, the thin edges make the world of difference.

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L Break Into Program @breakintoprogram.co.uk · 10/09/2026

It's important to note at this point that the Manchester Evening News is often referred to as the MEN.

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L Break Into Program @breakintoprogram.co.uk · 09/09/2026

Oh ffs. It’s the Voyager episode where someone steals Neelix’s lungs.

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L Break Into Program @breakintoprogram.co.uk · 08/09/2026

It's the 60th anniversary of Star Trek.

A cake with Starprise Entership iced on it with a picture of the Enterprise

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L Break Into Program @breakintoprogram.co.uk · 07/09/2026

This was the last personal stereo I owned. Before that I had a cheap Ferguson, which only did forward wind, a couple of Sony's, one with a radio, another with a radio and graphic equaliser. My sister owned one of these. Cheap mechanism, bold design. Posting under the right thread this time!

A Philips yellow wedge-shaped personal stereo.

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L Break Into Program @breakintoprogram.co.uk · 07/09/2026

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L Break Into Program @breakintoprogram.co.uk · 07/09/2026

Back to using this on the commute. Gorgeous technology like this deserves to be enjoyed in the way it was designed, not just sat on a shelf as a museum piece.

A personal stereo stood on its base with the front facing the camera

A personal stereo with the battery compartment removed showing 2 AAA batteries.

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L Break Into Program @breakintoprogram.co.uk · 06/09/2026

So much for chores. Someone is cumfy

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L Break Into Program @breakintoprogram.co.uk · 04/09/2026

I really don't like the new look VSCode. It just irritates me in a way I can't fully explain.

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L Break Into Program @breakintoprogram.co.uk · 04/09/2026

Not raining yet but what the heck. Fancied a change. So far it’s playing Beatles #1 flawlessly. Got INXS lined up for homeward journey. Must have put some miles on this personal stereo over the last 40 years or so.

Me holding the personal stereo in its protective case.

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L Break Into Program @breakintoprogram.co.uk · 31/08/2026

We were Betamax at first. My dad bought a humongous Sony top-loader from his boss. Pretty sure it was this model, if not very similar. No lightweight logic controls here. It weighed an absolute ton. Pretty sure it ran on coal.

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L Break Into Program @breakintoprogram.co.uk · 31/08/2026

And it turns out I'd bought a belt for it a couple of months ago and forgotten about it. So fully reassembled. Job's a good-un.

Me holding the repaired Aiwa personal stereo.

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L Break Into Program @breakintoprogram.co.uk · 31/08/2026

Mystery spring solved. I checked a service manual online and it told me where all the springs were. Turned out to be an earthing spring just about there. www.scribd.com/document/450...

The personal stereo with mystery spring fitted.

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L Break Into Program @breakintoprogram.co.uk · 31/08/2026

I hate fixing old cassette players, personal stereos doubly so. Thankfully Aiwa made this as easy as they could. Very easy to get at and repair the belt, and plenty of slack in the wires for PCB access. One of the motor wires came away, easy enough to resolve that.

The back of my Aiwa personal stereo with the back still removed.

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L Break Into Program @breakintoprogram.co.uk · 31/08/2026

Think the spring is a leftover from a previous project. Anyway, at least it all works again now.

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L Break Into Program @breakintoprogram.co.uk · 31/08/2026

Soldering done. Happy with that. What’s this mystery spring?

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L Break Into Program @breakintoprogram.co.uk · 31/08/2026

Okay. One fix has become two. I’ve managed to pull a wire from the PCB. Looks like the headphone socket just needs reflowing.

The headphone socket with dry joint on left hand side

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