iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Clare M. Dowding @claredowding.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

I'm re-reading John Buchan's novel 'The Courts of the Morning' (1929), and it appears that whatever else may have changed in the last century, when it comes to humanity some things never change (the speaker is Sandy Arbuthnot, Lord Clanroyden):

"First of all, I need hardly tell you that the world today is stuffed with megalomania. Megalomania in politics, megalomania in business, megalomania in art - there are a dozen kinds. You have the man who wants to be a dictator in his own country, you have the man who wants to corner a dozen great businesses and control the finance of half the world, you have thee man who wants to break down the historic rules of art and be a law to himself. The motive is the same in nevery case - rootlessness, an imbalanced consciouisness of ability, and an overweening pride. They want to rule the world, but they do not see that by their methods they must first deprive the world of its soul, and that what would be left for their dictatorship would be an inanimate corpse. You see, for all their splendid gifts they have no humour." (Book I, Chapter IX).

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Clare M. Dowding @claredowding.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

No cheating, post your lock screen.

A photo of a volcanic lagoon in Nicaragua at sunset, with the surrounding hills in the background, the orange light of the setting sun reflecting off the water, and a portion of wooden railing in the foreground. Taken by me in November 2013.

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Clare M. Dowding @claredowding.bsky.social · 18/07/2026

Stop scrolling and post two characters who bring you happiness:

David Marciano as Detective Ray Vecchio and Paul Gross as Constable Benton Fraser in the 'Due South' episode "Red, White or Blue".
They are both looking at someone out of shot, and just visible is the bomb which is attached to both of them.

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Clare M. Dowding @claredowding.bsky.social · 04/06/2026

*needle scratch* Ea-Nasir: Now, you may be wondering how we got here ...

A post on an internal Teams chat:
A photo of a padded envelope, a delivery note, and two copper ingots of different sizes.
The message accompanying it reads "Hi All - A message here for the attention of our colleagues in Physics, Engineering and Geography. We have had a delivery with no name or dept, and it contains two ingots of copper. Can you each ask around in your teams to see if anyone ordered these?"

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Clare M. Dowding @claredowding.bsky.social · 02/06/2026

Post a poster you used to have on your wall. As a teenager, I had this (I think it stayed in my room for years, then went the way of all flesh when my parents moved). (Screenshot taken from a slightly shonky image online, sorry about that.)

Poster showing the four main characters in Red Dwarf: Kryten, Lister, Cat (as Dwayne Dibley), and Rimmer (as 'Ace' Rimmer), with the slogan above
"In Space No-One Can Hear You Smeg"

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Clare M. Dowding @claredowding.bsky.social · 01/05/2026

Post your warning sign (despite the very clear instruction to the contrary, in one of the houses we lived in when I was a child, this ended up in the corridor):

An enamelled metal sign which reads "Il est absolument interdit de déposer quoi que ce soit dans le couloir" (translated: 'It is absolutely forbidden to leave anything in the corridor').

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Clare M. Dowding @claredowding.bsky.social · 01/03/2026

I'm sure I'm not the only person finding resonances in the readings for Morning Prayer today: the psalm asking God to do something about injustice in the world, and Jeremiah reminding us that God has always told humanity how we should live. One day we'll listen to God; sadly it appears not today.

Psalm 74.19-20:
Look upon your creation, for the earth is full of darkness, full of the haunts of violence.
Let not the oppressed turn away ashamed, but let the poor and needy praise your name.

Jeremiah 22.3:
Thus says the Lord: Act with justice and righteousness, and deliver from the hand of the oppressor anyone who has been robbed. And do no wrong or violence to the alien, the orphan, and the widow, nor shed innocent blood in this place.

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Clare M. Dowding @claredowding.bsky.social · 26/02/2026

I mean, it's a decade since I finished my doctorate so the memories may have faded a bit, but I don't quite remember the whole process being *that* bad ...

Generated headline as if on a piece by Allister Heath:
"We are witnessing the final, agonising death of Britain at the hands of anchorites"

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Clare M. Dowding @claredowding.bsky.social · 23/02/2026

My timeline this evening; guess how unsurprised I am at how society has (not) changed since Le Guin was writing 🙄.

Post from Dana Goldberg @dgcomedy.bsky.social:
The president, who drones on about protecting women's sports, publicly mocked the women's gold-medal hockey team. A reminder this was never about protecting women's sports and it was always about transphobia and misogyny.

Followed by a post from Ursula K Le Guin Bot @leguinbot.bsky.social:
"Why are men afraid of women?"
"If your strength is only the other's weakness, you live in fear," Ged said.
"Yes; but women seem t fear their own strength, to be afraid of themselves."
"Are they ever taught to trust themselves?" Ged asked.
"No," she said.

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Clare M. Dowding @claredowding.bsky.social · 06/01/2026

It's snowing in central London, at the same time that the BBC Weather app is predicting 0% chance of preciptation for the next three hours. One of these things is therefore incorrect ...

Photo of various connected brick-built buildings, with snow lying lightly on ledges (you may be able to see snowflakes as well, but the window is rather dirty).

Screenshot of BBC Weather app forecast for Covent Garden, showing cloud but 0% rain (or snow) until around 5pm this afternoon.

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Clare M. Dowding @claredowding.bsky.social · 21/11/2025

In a similar vein, the other day I saw a poster advertising "The Last Days of Pompeii: The Immersive Exhibition". Could be a life-changing experience, I guess ...

Photo of the poster mentioned; the image on the poster is of a volcano erupting *very* enthusiastically.

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Clare M. Dowding @claredowding.bsky.social · 05/11/2025

Really not the point of the Guardian piece on Joe Marler, but my estimation of Adam Jones (which was already fairly high) has just gone up:

Screenshot from the Guardian article on Joe Marler:
"Still, his scrum coach at Quins, the Wales legend Adam Jones, described him as 'misunderstood', saying he was a lovely bloke, protective of his friends, who just needed reminding every now and then to keep it all in check. Jones's method was to play a video of Wales defeating England in the 2013 grand slam match in which Marler played."

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Clare M. Dowding @claredowding.bsky.social · 02/11/2025

It's the small things which make a big difference:

Screenshot from the Sport section of the Guardian website, 2 November at 19.16:
Headline 'India rejoice in first Women's World Cup triumph as South Africa chase falls short' - categorised as "Cricket".
A few lines below it, a separate piece with headline 'India make light work of Australia attack to level T20 series' - categorised as "Men's cricket".

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Clare M. Dowding @claredowding.bsky.social · 21/10/2025

I just love the Welsh propensity for either deep pessimism or unwarranted optimism: at the time of writing, the poll on the BBC Sport website asking how many of the four men's rugby union Tests we might win this autumn demonstrates both positions: (1/2)

Screenshot of results of poll on BBC Sport website, asking people how many Tests they think Wales' men's rugby union team will win this autumn.

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Clare M. Dowding @claredowding.bsky.social · 18/09/2025

It keeps reminding me of parts of Beyonce's 'Formation' video - only Queen Bey did it much, much better:

Screenshot from video of 'Formation' by Beyonce: she's standing on a porch in New Orleans (possibly?), flanked by four black men wearing black suits and white shirts, one of whom is wearing a red fez and one of whom is wearing a black top hat. Beyonce herself is wearing a black dress and a black hat with a very large brim; at the moment of the screenshot, she has her head down so you can't see her face, just the hat.

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Clare M. Dowding @claredowding.bsky.social · 15/08/2025

When they call them baby potatoes, they're not wrong!

An open bag of Co-op British baby potatoes, with a tiny little potato resting on it. The potato is less than an inch long (yes, I measured it) - more of a spudling than a proper spud.

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Clare M. Dowding @claredowding.bsky.social · 19/07/2025

Check it out now, the plant spray bottle!

A branded plastic bottle with a nozzle attachment, intended for spraying plants.
If you can hear the phrase "plant spray bottle" without the aforementioned musical accompaniment, either you're more strong-willed than I am, or you're too young (either way, lucky you!).

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Clare M. Dowding @claredowding.bsky.social · 11/07/2025

I'm aware that it's not unusual for cricket matches to be stopped for strange reasons (ladybirds at Lord's yesterday, for instance), but how, on one of the hottest and sunniest days of the year, certainly in the south-east, can bad light have stopped play at Canterbury?

Screenshot of score from BBC Sport website: Kent Spitfires 109-6 (16.0) vs Somerset (yet to bad) - delay due to bad light.

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Clare M. Dowding @claredowding.bsky.social · 03/07/2025

See also: when your small car is still too big for a small parking space, maybe find somewhere else - not do what the driver of this vehicle did. Photo taken by me some years ago in Rome - ah, yes, OK, as you were ...

View along a street of a row of cars parked alongside a pavement as normal, except for a Mini which wouldn't fit in the available space long-wise, so is parked with its bonnet and front wheels on the pavement (at a slight angle). This was 2010, so it was back when Minis were actually smaller even than other small cars ...

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Clare M. Dowding @claredowding.bsky.social · 08/05/2025

Like a number of universities, mine is part of the Warp-It scheme to reuse furniture and other things. This means we get emails offering items from other universities, and today's offering includes these - I'm sure there is or could be a story in there somewhere ...

Screenshot of part of email showing items listed which can be available if not claimed by anyone at the University of Cambridge first:

Cantab Gown x1

Cryogenic vessels x2

Height measure (with bag) x3

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Clare M. Dowding @claredowding.bsky.social · 05/05/2025

Thank you - there is a setting which gives a prompt every time an image is posted, to help with getting into the habit:

Screenshot of BlueSky's 'Accessibility' options, showing box which can be ticked as a reminder to require alt text before posting.

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Clare M. Dowding @claredowding.bsky.social · 25/04/2025

For some reason, I'm reminded of the Important Note re the Scots, Irish, and Picts in '1066 and All That':

IMPORTANT NOTE:
The Scots (originally Irish, but by now Scotch) were at this time inhabiting Ireland, having driven the Irish (Picts) out of Scotland; while the Picts (originally Scots) were now Irish (living in brackets) and vice versa. It is essential to keep these distinctions clearly in mind (and verce visa).
[From '1066 And All That' by Walter Sellar and Robert Yeatman, chapter 2]

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Clare M. Dowding @claredowding.bsky.social · 06/04/2025

Certainly looks like some people will be remembering it for a while ..

Screenshot of BBC Sport rugby page, with headline "Sale lead holders Toulouse as match starts late after parachutist rescued from stadium roof".

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Clare M. Dowding @claredowding.bsky.social · 01/04/2025

This may be of interest to parishes or groups in the catholic tradition of the Church of England who are looking for funding for a particular project. (For information, the late Revd Anna Matthews was a Trustee, and they are looking to build a fund within the Trust in her memory.)

Flyer for The Lady Peel Trust, publicising the Lady Peel Legacy Trust Awards 2025:
"Strengthening Catholic Mission and Ministry in the Church of England"
The trustees will award grants of up to £2500 for projects that encourage vocation, education, mission or liturgical formation within the catholic tradition of the Church of England.
For further information see: www.ladypeeltrust.org
Deadline: 12th May 2025

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Clare M. Dowding @claredowding.bsky.social · 16/01/2025

*Crocodile Dundee voice* "That's not a big candle - this is a big candle"

Side view of the sanctuary area of the Strand Chapel at King's College London, set up for the Advent Carol Services. On the right is the high altar, with a purple, red and gold altar frontal. In front of the altar is a triangular candle stand (technically, a hearse) with 11 candles lit on it, and another one lit at the foot. In front of that, and in the centre of the photo, are two large candles (four feet tall by three and a half inches wide), placed on spiked stands fixed to the floor. There is a Christmas tree in the rear left of the photo.

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