iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Rene Astle 🇨🇦🌻 @castle88.bsky.social · 6h

I assume this is unfinished. Please let it be unfinished.

Rene Astle 🇨🇦🌻 @castle88.bsky.social · 17h

And before the "but bill 44" people come in, there's a difference between "hey munis, you need to build enough housing for your people" and "hey munis, you're not allowed to build enough housing for your people".

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Rene Astle 🇨🇦🌻 @castle88.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

I largely ignore my email now. I'm unlikely to get an email from Oprah or a real film producer or whatever. I'm sure nothing can go wrong with this strategy.

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Rene Astle 🇨🇦🌻 @castle88.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Space is bananapants! And awesome! This is so cool, and just in time for spooky season.

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Rene Astle 🇨🇦🌻 @castle88.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Apparently true, but not just guinea pigs: "The species that must be kept in groups of at least two animals are guinea pigs, mice, gerbils, rats, degus and chinchillas, and Japanese quails, macaws, cockatoos, parakeets, parrots, canaries, estrildid finches and [...] lovebirds."

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Rene Astle 🇨🇦🌻 @castle88.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

From my outing with visiting family today. Can you spot the lizard in the one with the yellow and magenta leaves?

Some bright pink and deep red flower with a yellow centre - I don't know what kind it is

Tree leaves taken from below against a blue sky

Yellow leaves mixed with red/magenta ones and with a hidden lizard.

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Rene Astle 🇨🇦🌻 @castle88.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Visited the Royal BC Museum yesterday with family. I really like what they're doing with Old Town, telling a more diverse version of BC's history. The video about the Hayashi photography studio in Cumberland is well worth the time.

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Rene Astle 🇨🇦🌻 @castle88.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Yeah, and apparently he's gone *up* in popularity ... smfh. At least Smith has gone in the right direction.

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Rene Astle 🇨🇦🌻 @castle88.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

I know. I didn't even know there were two kinds when I bought my acoustic bike. To quote past self: "What hellish thing is this?!"

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Rene Astle 🇨🇦🌻 @castle88.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

I feel like there are other ways to ensure confidentiality (that stated reason) besides destroying this important record.

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Rene Astle 🇨🇦🌻 @castle88.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

This is an interesting documentary. One of the points it makes is that crypto preys off of our sense that our systems are broken. Who knew that guy from the OC had an economics degree. www.cbc.ca/radio/thecur...

cbc.ca

Our banking system has problems, but cryptocurrency is worse, says Ben McKenzie | CBC Radio

Ben McKenzie, who once starred in hit teen drama The O.C., investigates cryptocurrency in his new documentary Everyone Is Lying to You for Money.

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Rene Astle 🇨🇦🌻 @castle88.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

I came to say the same thing. I need something like that.

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Rene Astle 🇨🇦🌻 @castle88.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

I am undecided whether I'll vote NDP as I have or Green. I can get over my anger, but if the NDP wants my vote this time, they need to give more than "big scary Trump", "scary Cons" (even if they are scary) and "Build BC strong".

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Rene Astle 🇨🇦🌻 @castle88.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

I love these old machines. I makes me think of my old Singer sewing machine and its fabulous attachments.

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Rene Astle 🇨🇦🌻 @castle88.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

How can you make us choose. I have to give the lead to Tantoo Cardinal because of her extensive discography. And her and Graham Greene were a joy in Echo. Though bonus points to Simu Liu for his comments on Dragons Den, saying not everyone can afford to not work to focus on their hustle.

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Rene Astle 🇨🇦🌻 @castle88.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

I love Brother Cadfael. I read a few of the books, though I mostly know the character from the show with Derek Jacobi. "None of us are good just because we say we are." I'm paraphrasing - it's been awhile.

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Rene Astle 🇨🇦🌻 @castle88.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

I realize this is a serious post but my first thought was "it also affects corgis!" Won't anyone think of the corgi and their short little legs?

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Rene Astle 🇨🇦🌻 @castle88.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

You say that but I'm mildly traumatized.

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Rene Astle 🇨🇦🌻 @castle88.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

"Let's be closer to Europe" ...okay, let's do this then. Not holding my breath.

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Rene Astle 🇨🇦🌻 @castle88.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Could be cluelessness. I had no idea part of my handle belongs to fricking nazis. I likely used it because of my time living in Asia - 4 is death so 8 is not death and two eights is 2x lucky. Time to investigate claiming my domain ... but AI has ruined support at so many places, including netfirms.

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Rene Astle 🇨🇦🌻 @castle88.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

The way he runs up that log - I'd be hugging it as I slowly made my way up.

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Rene Astle 🇨🇦🌻 @castle88.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Retail services are already private. That Starbucks isn't run by the government. What they're talking about is baggage handling, runway operations, things like de-icing.

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Rene Astle 🇨🇦🌻 @castle88.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

This is not true - it's privatizing operations, ALL operations, not just stores and parking.

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Rene Astle 🇨🇦🌻 @castle88.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Before my morning brain caught up, I thought it was a tree in the middle of the road. Nope, just the bus people.

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Rene Astle 🇨🇦🌻 @castle88.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Also the plans to change our labour laws don't seem very EU, though in fairness, I don't know their laws that well - just that they will go on general strikes in a way that we won't.

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Rene Astle 🇨🇦🌻 @castle88.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

"Services" or "operating concessions" don't mean just the shops and retail space. It means ALL operations.

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Rene Astle 🇨🇦🌻 @castle88.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

I've been in training all week for Day Job - I am so tired I forgot we have a new story running at Armchair Alien. The art is from the artist listed as grandfailure on Depositphotos. I use their art a lot - I like the style. armchairalien.substack.com/p/the-collec...

armchairalien.substack.com

The Collectors Part 1

A sort of sci-fi story about what happens when debt is bought and sold

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Rene Astle 🇨🇦🌻 @castle88.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Wow, they're sucking up everything, aren't they? We recently had a lovely little local grocery sold to PE (even worse, it was under the guise of 'employees will get the chance to own some of the business').

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Rene Astle 🇨🇦🌻 @castle88.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

I can't imagine being a caver but I'm glad there are people studying these spaces.

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Rene Astle 🇨🇦🌻 @castle88.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Why is BC Hydro spending money buying gas-fired plants instead of investing that in renewables? 🤦‍♂️

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Rene Astle 🇨🇦🌻 @castle88.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Not sports but I remember a miniseries (movie) on Banting and Best and the discovery of insulin when I was young. I agree, we need more - or an easy way to find and watch them. they may exist, and I just don't know.

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Rene Astle 🇨🇦🌻 @castle88.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

It's a great time to stock up your digital TBR shelf.

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Rene Astle 🇨🇦🌻 @castle88.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Supper tonight was largely from the allotment garden), not counting the biscuits. I made stew with onion, carrots, celery, tomato, and cabbage plus some of last year's dried beans. Store-bought additions were black beans, tomato paste, soy crumbs and spices. It was tasty. Too bad I freestyled it.

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Rene Astle 🇨🇦🌻 @castle88.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

This is a great opportunity to stock up your ereader. I've read and enjoyed both Hope is the Thing with Feathers and On Impulse.

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Rene Astle 🇨🇦🌻 @castle88.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

I don't like that it's Lime - I personally won't use it, while I would if it were Evolve - however, there's already a mechanism for municipalities to coordinate. It's called the CRD. Show me the details of how it would work if you expect me to vote yes.

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Rene Astle 🇨🇦🌻 @castle88.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

I could have taken a streetcar downtown! 😔

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Rene Astle 🇨🇦🌻 @castle88.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Wow, that heading does not reflect what's in the article - the article is much, much worse.

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Rene Astle 🇨🇦🌻 @castle88.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

No, that's not a bike. A motorcycle sure, but anything like that can stay on the roads.

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Rene Astle 🇨🇦🌻 @castle88.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

And make sure that plan includes not just wills and such, but that people know where everything is and how to access it.

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Rene Astle 🇨🇦🌻 @castle88.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

No! As someone who lives on a busy road, the quietness of EVs is one of their benefits.

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Rene Astle 🇨🇦🌻 @castle88.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

No! That is not okay. Though good if you got some writnig done.

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Rene Astle 🇨🇦🌻 @castle88.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

What I'd like to see is a law where the feed algorithms are a matter of public record, where they can be examined and explained by people smarter than myself.

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Rene Astle 🇨🇦🌻 @castle88.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

I recently read Here Comes the Sun by Bruce McKibben (I think that's the author's name), where I learned this factoid. And they'd end up with way, way more energy if they converted those ethanol corn fields to solar farms.

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Rene Astle 🇨🇦🌻 @castle88.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

I don't have kids, but one of my favourite things about Victoria's (and the CRD's) all ages and abilities separated bike infrastructure is seeing people of all ages. Teen heading to somewhere on their own. Families out cycling, teaching kids to rid.

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Rene Astle 🇨🇦🌻 @castle88.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

Same. People will realize it's really dark in the morning even when they're already at work AND it'll be getting dark when they get home.

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Rene Astle 🇨🇦🌻 @castle88.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

I wonder if I'd have a great sleep or if I'd get nightmares from the wedged walls if this were my bedroom.

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Rene Astle 🇨🇦🌻 @castle88.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

Ooh, shiny things! I'm with Dragon and Crow.

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