iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Mark Morton @bustingmychops.com · 29/08/2026

80 million National Insurance cards were issued by the UK government between 1984 and 2011. The photo used to illustrate them on Wiki is the one issued to Zacarias Moussaoui, the only person ever convicted in an US civilian court of a crime in connection with 9/11 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zacaria...

The UK National Insurance card issued to Zacarias Moussaoui

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Mark Morton @bustingmychops.com · 15/08/2026

Every day I come past this on the train into Leeds. I really hope it’s the HQ of a McBusted-style Canadian pop and country singer-songwriter slash 1980s British boy band supergroup.

A sign for K D Bros, a car repairing business in Leeds. Photo take from a passing train.

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Mark Morton @bustingmychops.com · 31/07/2026

According to www.worldometers.info/world-popula... the population of the UK passed 70 million today.

A screenshot from https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/uk-population/ saying that the live population of the UK is 70,001,419z

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Mark Morton @bustingmychops.com · 07/07/2026

“Yo Infantino. Change the score to 27 to zero to the USA.”

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Mark Morton @bustingmychops.com · 03/07/2026

When you get signal, here’s an amended version based on your ideas!

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Mark Morton @bustingmychops.com · 03/07/2026

A fun thing I can do is create test users in the preview database. This is what AI thinks today’s new creation Pomodoro Waitrose looks like.

The AI interpretation of the name Pomodoro Waitrose.

Pomodoro Waitrose sounds like a very posh tomato-themed minor aristocrat.

They’d probably look like this:

A tall, impeccably dressed person in a linen blazer the colour of passata, with a crisp white shirt, olive-green trousers, and loafers they describe as “casual” despite costing £240. Their hair would be glossy and swept back like they’ve just stepped out of a Tuscan deli advert.

They’d carry a reusable Waitrose bag containing:

* San Marzano tomatoes
* sourdough
* basil in a little pot
* one suspiciously expensive bottle of olive oil
* a receipt long enough to suggest poor impulse control

Their vibe would be: “I’m just popping in for milk” but emerges with burrata, heritage carrots, and opinions about tinned tomatoes.

They might introduce themselves as:

“Pomodoro Waitrose. Food writer, allotment enthusiast, and reluctant podcast guest.”

Basically: a tomato who went to private school.

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Mark Morton @bustingmychops.com · 30/06/2026

Love dogs? Love protecting the UK's critical infrastructure? www.gov.uk/government/n...

Two dogs sitting side by side on a grassy hilltop at sunset. The dog on the left is a brown and white Springer Spaniel with a black collar, panting happily with its tongue out. The dog on the right is a golden Labrador with a red collar, looking directly at the camera. In the background, the sun is setting over a coastal landscape with a river winding through the valley and the sea visible in the distance.

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Mark Morton @bustingmychops.com · 30/06/2026

The National Grid report a record power use dip at 0039 this morning. Millions of viewers watching a thrilling penalty shootout in the Germany-Paraguay match make sure they turn off their TVs before ‘Mrs Brown’s Boys D’Movie’ came on.

A screenshot of the BBC One schedule showing Mrs Brown’s Boys D’Movie on after the football

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Mark Morton @bustingmychops.com · 17/06/2026

Chrome ain’t a fan either.

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Mark Morton @bustingmychops.com · 16/06/2026

Since the change, I’m getting the attached error when trying to view it on the DWP internal network.

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Mark Morton @bustingmychops.com · 15/06/2026

About as safe and useful as Brass Eye’s Chris Morris locking his kids up in a filing cabinet

A still from the paedogeddon episode of Brass Eye, where Chris Moyles locks his children up in a filing cabinet to keep them safe.

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Mark Morton @bustingmychops.com · 10/06/2026

Blackburn, I am in you. Or one of you. And perhaps not yet but soon. #GiveBlood

Text message from the blood donor service saying: “Thank you so much for donating on 20/05/2026. Your donation has now been issued to Royal Blackburn Hospital. Every donation counts.”

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Mark Morton @bustingmychops.com · 29/05/2026

Another essential infographic

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Mark Morton @bustingmychops.com · 25/05/2026

Saw ‘The Christopher’s’ yesterday. One of the best Ian McKellan films I’ve ever seen. Plus every scene with him and Michaela Cole was a tour de force. 9/10

The poster for the film ‘The Christophers’.

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Mark Morton @bustingmychops.com · 26/04/2026

I wish I’d been in the meeting at Canterbury hospital where they’d asked “Shall we name our haemodialysis unit after a local worthy?”

Part of the plan of Kent & Canterbury hospital showing the “Thomas Becket Haemodialysis Unit”

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Mark Morton @bustingmychops.com · 25/04/2026

A headline for @visitwakefield.bsky.social Spotted at The Hepworth, a cutting from the Yorkshire Evening Post in 1955. “Leeds is an Ugly City” says Helen Kapp, Director of Wakefield City Art Gallery.

Leeds is an Ugly City, She Says

Y.E. News Reporter

Miss Helen Kapp, Director of Wakefield City Art Gallery and Museum, told members of Leeds Rotary Club at their luncheon meeting in the Griffin Hotel today: "Don't let anyone tell me that Leeds is a handsome city."

Miss Kapp, who was talking on "Why bother about art?" said that Leeds, like Wakefield, and almost every other city in the country, with a few places excepted, was ugly.
The reason for this ugliness was that we had thrown the artists away, refusing to use them.

Factory Visits

From a great number of visits to factories she had come to realise that products were not being designed by artists, although since the war a few mills and factories had begun to realise how important it was to have artists...

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Mark Morton @bustingmychops.com · 20/04/2026

Support your local newsagent. Where else would you find the Sunday Sport, the Financial Times, the Morning Star and the New York Times in one place?

Two shelves in a newsagents with the Sunday Sport, the Financial Times, the Morning Star and the New York Times.

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Mark Morton @bustingmychops.com · 20/04/2026

I’m trialling whenever I procrastinate to break the thing down to very small steps, sometimes using AI. And when I don’t know what to do first, I’m using a spin-the-wheel app to decide. See the attached. Slowly unpicking what I’ve spent a lifetime doing.

A colourful spinning wheel graphic with the question 'Which room to spend 10 minutes tidying and cleaning today?' at the top. The wheel is divided into sections labeled: Kitchen, Front hallway, Bedroom, Front yard (if not wet), Living room, Bathroom and hallway. Each section is a different color, and the wheel is ready to be spun to randomly select a room.

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Mark Morton @bustingmychops.com · 08/04/2026

I’m still getting used to the terminology and acronyms used at DWP. I mean, this is what they call the area that has hot water, fridges and microwaves.

The kind of sign you find on the doors of meeting rooms, but this one is labelled ‘Tea point’.

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Mark Morton @bustingmychops.com · 07/04/2026

At some point tomorrow, the secret Quarry House sunroof will open ☀️

A screenshot of the BBC weather app showing that in Richmond Hill, Leeds tomorrow it will get to 21°C

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Mark Morton @bustingmychops.com · 04/04/2026

If you see this, I implore you to post a picture from whatever device you’re using with no explanation.

Mosaic artwork depicting a historical scene with a central figure in a wide-brimmed hat and a beaked plague doctor mask, gesturing with one hand. In the background, people are working in a field, and red poppies are visible, symbolizing remembrance. The artwork has a golden, textured style.

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Mark Morton @bustingmychops.com · 03/04/2026

One of the digital beauties of visiting east Kent is that IMDb suggests films that are being shown nearby. In Calais.

IMDb app screenshot displaying showtimes for Pathé Cité Europe cinema. The screen shows the cinema's address and distance. Below, movie listings for 'Project Hail Mary' and 'Hoppers' are shown with ratings, release year, age rating, duration, and available showtimes for today and upcoming days.

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Mark Morton @bustingmychops.com · 30/03/2026

Just thinking about the first charity website I built. In 1998, I hand-coded a site for an org I volunteered for. I was very proud of the JavaScript that listed the weekly schedule so the current day was always at the top of the diary page. Thanks to Emily Vander Veer and her book for helping me.

The cover of ‘JavaScript for Dummies’ by Emily Vander Veer

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Mark Morton @bustingmychops.com · 30/03/2026

This escalated quickly… From a careers site. A list titled ‘Selection of jobs using the value of I want to use my practical skills in a job.” Animal care worker Assistance dog trainer Baker Beauty therapist Beekeeper Bomb disposal technician

Selection of jobs using the value of I want to use my practical skills in a job.

Animal care worker
Assistance dog trainer
Baker
Beauty therapist
Beekeeper
Bomb disposal technician

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Mark Morton @bustingmychops.com · 29/03/2026

I’ve started waffling about train journeys at @markontrains.bsky.social This account will still be a brain dump of other stuff that is important to me: cats, tech and being nice to people.

The concourse at Kings Cross station, taken from the mezzanine level, with the lattice ceiling lit red.

On a grey day, a well lit tunnel under the railway line at Edale station

The front three carriages of an Intercity 225 train which had broken down on platform 2 of Shipley station.

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Mark Morton @bustingmychops.com · 28/03/2026

Dear Lidl. When I buy quick-to-cook petite potatoes, you may want to change what appears on the self-service checkout screen.

The screen of a Lidl self-service checkout where the display shows ‘Microwaveable baby’ and misses off the word ‘potatoes’.

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Mark Morton @bustingmychops.com · 28/03/2026

I’d never noticed how scary pansies are.

Close-up of a purple and yellow pansy flower with dark centre and green foliage in a garden setting.

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Mark Morton @bustingmychops.com · 16/03/2026

It shows that I enjoy my new job and aim to stay: every recurring event in my Outlook continues until the month I retire.

A calendar of May 2040 whilst setting the end date of a repeat event in Outlook.

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Mark Morton @bustingmychops.com · 16/03/2026

I wanted a clock that I could see from my bed, to stop me checking my phone and then doing 3am scrolling. So now I have one that projects the time on to the ceiling

The temperature - 16.2°C - and the time - 12:04 - projected on to the ceiling in red.

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Mark Morton @bustingmychops.com · 14/03/2026

I nearly became the 15th richest person in the world this morning after the Waterstones refund system thought the ISBN was the price.

Digital display on a payment terminal showing the message: 'VOIDED DINNER AT FRI -1 X £97,837,913,932”

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Mark Morton @bustingmychops.com · 11/03/2026

HMRC's Virtual Empathy Hub is really good. They’ve adapted the GDS accessibility personas as part of their accessibility awareness-raising work. personas-prototype.herokuapp.com

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Mark Morton @bustingmychops.com · 10/03/2026

Archived What’s App groups of COVID #34

A screenshot of a What’s App group called ‘Family Quizzers’. The group’s icon is a picture of Bob Holness presenting ‘Blockbusters’z

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Mark Morton @bustingmychops.com · 07/03/2026

Dear Mountain Warehouse, Why do you only sell these socks in children’s sizes? Kind regards, Mark, aged 52 and ⅞

Pink knitted unicorn slipper sock with a white snout, closed embroidered eyes, a silver horn, and a fluffy blue-and-purple mane

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Mark Morton @bustingmychops.com · 07/03/2026

Let’s not name their killer. Let’s name Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman and mourn their young lives and the fact that their families never got to see who they would have become in life.

A photo of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman in their red Manchester United kits.

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Mark Morton @bustingmychops.com · 07/03/2026

There’s nothing like Other’s People Children getting older to make you feel ancient. It seems like yesterday I suggested to my niece that sat in a wheeled basket in Matalan whilst I pushed her round the shop. Today, she’s 16 😢⏳❤️ Happy birthday M.

A small girl sits in a Matalan basket on wheels and looks up at the photographer who will shortly be pulling her and pushing her round the shop.

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Mark Morton @bustingmychops.com · 07/03/2026

I applaud the public’s support - in this YouGov survey - on not letting AI rip off copyrighted material, but you do have to block Googlebot from downloading your site. Should we be making search engines obey the same restrictions?

Results of a YouGov survey

Under what circumstances should Al companies be allowed to 'scrape' content from publishers and artists (i.e. automatically extract their content to use to teach their Al models how to create similar content)?

Should be allowed regardless of any objections the publishers or artists may have
3%

Should be allowed by default, unless the publishers or artists have expressly denied permission
7%

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Mark Morton @bustingmychops.com · 27/02/2026

I’m *so* happy I had the idea to colourise one of my parents’ wedding photos. June 1969 when Colin married Susan.

A smiling newlywed couple pose arm in arm outdoors in front of a brick wall. The groom wears a dark suit, light patterned tie, and white carnation boutonniere, while the bride wears a white dress and veil and holds a bouquet of peach, burgundy, and white flowers.

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Mark Morton @bustingmychops.com · 19/02/2026

I’d never heard of the rubber duck method of debugging. I wonder if that’s why my desk at work has a small blue duck on top of the monitor? blogs.mtu.edu/computing/20...

A small blue plastic duck with a yellow beak affixed to the top of a computer monitor.

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Mark Morton @bustingmychops.com · 18/02/2026

Walked across Leeds city centre to give blood. Only to find out that my appointment is NEXT Wednesday. I have to wait 7 more days for free biscuits 😢

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Mark Morton @bustingmychops.com · 09/02/2026

I don’t know why ‘Overboard’ is number 8 in the top 10 Netflix films in the UK, but it’s great to see it again.

A screen-grab of Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn in ‘Overboard’.

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Mark Morton @bustingmychops.com · 26/01/2026

New year. New job. New commute. Hello DWP content designer role.

Me. A middle aged bald man smiling. Stood at Shipley railway station. Grey coat, white shirt, ref headphones.

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Mark Morton @bustingmychops.com · 15/01/2026

Trying to use as many of my Northern complimentary passes before I start my new job a week on Monday. Today I’m heading for the Cumbrian coast to tick off stations I’ve not been to before.

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Mark Morton @bustingmychops.com · 27/12/2025

Blessed Twixmas to you and yours.

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Mark Morton @bustingmychops.com · 25/12/2025

As well as three humans, I also spent my Christmas Day with these two ❤️

A black cat hiding round the back of a Christmas tree

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Mark Morton @bustingmychops.com · 25/12/2025

The run-up to Christmas and Christmas Day in one step-counter graph.

A graph of steps taken showing lots of every day until Christmas Eve and hardly any on Christmas Day.

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Mark Morton @bustingmychops.com · 23/12/2025

If ChatGPT is now giving me help to understand the rules of Mornington Crescent, then we *are* all doomed.

Q. When playing Mornington Crescent, I thought you could only be in Nidd if you were in Yorkshire?

A. In Mornington Crescent, “being in Nidd” isn’t a geographical requirement so much as a game state / penalty box.

There’s a well-known variant (introduced on the show in North Yorkshire) where if your movement is blocked you’re declared “in Nidd” and have to stay put for the next three moves (often causing a pile-up where everyone ends up in Nidd).
Wikipedia

It is named after a real place in North Yorkshire (and the River Nidd), which is probably where your “only in Yorkshire” idea comes from.
Wikipedia

So: you can be “in Nidd” anywhere on the network—unless your group is playing a house rule that only triggers Nidd while you’re in Yorkshire, in which case… I admire your committee’s commitment to regional purity.

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Mark Morton @bustingmychops.com · 14/12/2025

Kirsty MacColl is not just for Christmas. If you love ‘Fairytale of New York’ but don’t know what else she recorded before she was tragically killed in 2000, please find her back catalogue on your music streaming app of choice.

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Mark Morton @bustingmychops.com · 11/12/2025

I walked from Braystones to Nethertown on Monday to try to tick them and Corkickle off, but due to train crew issues, Northern had to taxi me from Nethertown to Whitehaven, so I have to go back to do those two another day.

A Northern Rail train passes the beach between Braystones and Nethertown.

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Mark Morton @bustingmychops.com · 18/10/2025

Mooching around Lister Park before going in to see the Turner Prize #VisitBradford

The fountain of the landscaped gardens with Cartwright Hall in the background

A grey squirrel in the leafy grounds of Lister Park

The Lister Park boating lake and autumnal brown-leafed trees beyond.

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