iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Cool Aardvark @cool-aardvark.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

Playing around with some Arduino code this morning. After going from a proper IDE like Visual Studio and Visual Studio Code, the Arduino 'IDE' is so limited! No go to definition, no list of symbols, just a text editor with the build process built in

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Cool Aardvark @cool-aardvark.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

So Superman III was written for 5 year olds, right…

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Cool Aardvark @cool-aardvark.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

Oh dear! knew Superman III had a bad reputation but I didn‘t think it would be this bad.

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Cool Aardvark @cool-aardvark.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

And light starts to return to normal #eclipse

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Cool Aardvark @cool-aardvark.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

The cut out of the sun is now clearly visible with the glasses, but I can’t get it on the phone. Doesn‘t seem any darker, yet but there is something different about the light

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Cool Aardvark @cool-aardvark.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

the best picture I’ve taken with My super high-tech Corn Flakes box camera so far

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Cool Aardvark @cool-aardvark.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

And in Bristol we have first contact #ecplise

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Cool Aardvark @cool-aardvark.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

As cosmic forces being to align (gravity is a cosmic force for sure), I’m off on an eclipse chace!

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Cool Aardvark @cool-aardvark.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

Throwing together a very ’Heath Robison‘ set up this morning to see if I can capture any of Wednesdays eclipse on camera. Its all very last minute, I’d 3D print if I had more time. Will be testing later today or tomorrow so I’m ready for the big day.

A corn flakes box with 2 different tops, one with a cut out for my very old binoculars (next to the box) and the other with a pin hole ‘lens’

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Cool Aardvark @cool-aardvark.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

Exciting news from Bristol! It is raining, okay it is the minimum amount of rain that can be called rain, but I'll take it.

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Cool Aardvark @cool-aardvark.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

Not what I wanted to be doing this afternoon, but the gods of 3D Printing have spoken so here I am!

My Prusa mini on the floor, in pieces as I remove suck filament from its open guts!

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Cool Aardvark @cool-aardvark.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

Settling in for a an evening of the 1st Night of the Proms (yay) and some ironing (less yay)

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Cool Aardvark @cool-aardvark.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

Watching Just One Thing on BBC2. The challenge this time is to drink 4 cups of tea a day. 4 Day a challenge!, 5 a day is my normal count!

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Cool Aardvark @cool-aardvark.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

Monday nigh, quiz night is back on BBC2! I have so missed #Mastermind and #OnlyConnect. Yes there is University Challenge, but that doesn’t appeal to me.

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Cool Aardvark @cool-aardvark.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

Ah weekday afternoons are back to normal, we have Richard Osmans House of Games back on!

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Cool Aardvark @cool-aardvark.bsky.social · 22/06/2026

Inspired by the current weather, I've sat down and hammered out nearly 1700 words on a new story, Nicks Cafe. It's a very strange, and I hope sultry story about an unnamed heros journey through the night as he heads for the The Dawn.

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Cool Aardvark @cool-aardvark.bsky.social · 22/06/2026

The, promised, storm is just about missing Bristol, but I’ve never seen so much activity on www.lightningmaps.org. Must be pretty intense if you under it! Good luck if you are.

lightningmaps.org

Real Time Lightning Map

See lightning strikes in real time across the planet. Free access to maps of former thunderstorms. By Blitzortung.org and contributors.

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Cool Aardvark @cool-aardvark.bsky.social · 21/06/2026

We are now 'half way in to the light'. Happy #solstice everyone

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Cool Aardvark @cool-aardvark.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

I’m not sure how this gets though YouTubes content control, but I’m glad it does. The soundtrack to Fight of the Navigator, an awesome synth soundtrack from Alan Ailverstri. This is pretty much peak 80’s for me! youtu.be/Lgczs37WmLU?...

youtu.be

Alan Silvestri - Flight of the navigator sound track (remastered)

YouTube video by Marc Bower

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Cool Aardvark @cool-aardvark.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

Phew! The Bing desktop wallpaper image has changed. The last one, a picture looking directly up under the arch de triumph in Paris, gave me awful vertigo. I couldn't look at it for more than a few seconds before I had to look away or open a window to cover it.

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Cool Aardvark @cool-aardvark.bsky.social · 13/06/2026

My #meshtastic node, aardvark-ht is back up. permanently and properly mounted, just about to do a range test

A Heltec v3 LORA module mounted in a custom 3D printed wall bracket which also holds the aerial with my very dated looking decor (so 90’s) in the background

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Cool Aardvark @cool-aardvark.bsky.social · 11/06/2026

At the #BristolBeacon for tonight’s Wallace Gromit and friends concert.

The stage at the Bristol Beacon, all set for the Wallace Gromit and friends concert

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Cool Aardvark @cool-aardvark.bsky.social · 10/06/2026

So it seems we might be entering the 'wilderness years' for #DoctorWho again. Don't worry it will be fine, I've been a fan long enough to have gone through this before and it came back stronger for the long break.

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Cool Aardvark @cool-aardvark.bsky.social · 04/06/2026

I know that Summer has properly started when the test match highlights on are on BBC2 on a Thursday evening. I can remember when the BBC used to have the whole test series.

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Cool Aardvark @cool-aardvark.bsky.social · 30/05/2026

I remember how, why I've put off setting up email on my new laptop! Trying to find the right password and server name combination in the many different versions I have in my password manager is a nightmare. Yes, I'm finally cleaning out the old ones this time.

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Cool Aardvark @cool-aardvark.bsky.social · 27/05/2026

While debugging a #HomeAssistant problem this morning, I really should have heeded the advice on @jeffgeerling.com teeshirt. Yes it was DNS! There was no local record for my #Prusa mini printer.

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Cool Aardvark @cool-aardvark.bsky.social · 26/05/2026

It’s all kicking off close by. Watching a lot of lightning activity near by on Lightning Maps www.lightningmaps.org and hearing the thunder, but I can’t see a cloud in the sky from where I sit!

lightningmaps.org

Real Time Lightning Map

See lightning strikes in real time across the planet. Free access to maps of former thunderstorms. By Blitzortung.org and contributors.

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Cool Aardvark @cool-aardvark.bsky.social · 21/05/2026

“I’m going to live forever, or die trying“. Vila Well, my friend you gave it a good shot, but sadly you died trying. #Blakes7

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Cool Aardvark @cool-aardvark.bsky.social · 21/05/2026

Oh that’s sad, Micheal Keating died today www.radiotimes.com/tv/sci-fi/mi... Well tomorrow evening I shall be watching a Vila centric episode of Blakes 7 in his honour. Any suggestions? I’m thinking maybe City at the Edge of the World

radiotimes.com

Michael Keating, EastEnders and Blake's 7 star, dies aged 79

Keating also had roles in Doctor Who and Casualty.

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Cool Aardvark @cool-aardvark.bsky.social · 15/05/2026

A new toy has arrive, just in time for the weeken!

My new cardputer advanced along with the LORA module and aerial all neatly arranged in its shipping box. It’s tiny!

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Cool Aardvark @cool-aardvark.bsky.social · 09/05/2026

Just watched Star Wars Episode 3, Revenge of the Sith and… It’s actually better than I remember, still its not a good film, but I can see how close it was to being a good or even great film. The first thing they could have done is cut the stupid 20 minute opening action sequence.

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Cool Aardvark @cool-aardvark.bsky.social · 04/05/2026

At the Bristol Beacon for the frist of this weeks 2 concert. Tonight it is Ludovico Einaudi. Been looking forward to this one for months, hopefully it proves to be worth the £100 kicket price!

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Cool Aardvark @cool-aardvark.bsky.social · 02/05/2026

Stopped wearing an Apple Watch today. After doing a test run of just using a ‘normal’ watch for 2 days and not really missing anything, it does seem overkill to me. Back to a good old Casio FW91. Be nice not having to worry about the battery going flat…for the next 5 years!

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Cool Aardvark @cool-aardvark.bsky.social · 29/04/2026

Interesting! I just sliced a downloaded model and got a warning from Prusa Slicer, that it contained a logo. What it had noticed was a ratchet that looks like…well, an ancient Hindu symbol that was hijacked by a certain facist regime in the mid 20th century.

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Cool Aardvark @cool-aardvark.bsky.social · 27/04/2026

Here be dragons! A very cool work of art, carved from a tree felled in storms early last year, or maybe 2024. A wonderful use of a huge old tree.

A fallen tree, carved in to the shape of Dragon, deep in the heart of St. Anne’s woods.

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Cool Aardvark @cool-aardvark.bsky.social · 27/04/2026

After a trying morning working from home, a walk in St. Anne’s wood at lunchtime was just what I needed

A wonderful woodland scene of dappled sunlight shining through the trees and undergrowth of St. Anne’s wood. A complete haven in the middle of Bristol

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Cool Aardvark @cool-aardvark.bsky.social · 23/04/2026

The Droids return to the M-Shed on Bristols harbour side 5th July 2026. this is always a fun and friendly gathering! I’ll be there, will you?

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Cool Aardvark @cool-aardvark.bsky.social · 22/04/2026

The, actua, joys of the commute via Bristol Ferry Boats on a morning like this!

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Cool Aardvark @cool-aardvark.bsky.social · 21/04/2026

Ah the joys of the commute, getting stuck behind the dredger

A dredger on the Feeder canal taken from Bristol Ferry Boats Independence

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Cool Aardvark @cool-aardvark.bsky.social · 20/04/2026

Having now used both Inkscape and Affinity Design, I can say that Inkscape does look dated, I'll take dated but functional over...whatever design idea Affinity uses? I just don't get it. Maybe I'm to old to understand it?

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Cool Aardvark @cool-aardvark.bsky.social · 12/04/2026

Here I am once again at the #BristolBeacon, today for a.National Children’ Orchestra concert with Anna Lapwood at the organ.

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Cool Aardvark @cool-aardvark.bsky.social · 05/04/2026

How far we have come...and yet, how far we still have to go.

Looking back from the Orion capsule of Artemis 2 to the crescent of a distant Earth

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Cool Aardvark @cool-aardvark.bsky.social · 03/04/2026

This, long, weekend is going to filled with DIY, starting with a little 3D printer work. And the soundtrack for this weekend is provided by #ClassicFM and the Hall of Fame.

The beginning of assembly of my Prusa printer enclosure, parts are scattered, as normal, across my living room floor!

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Cool Aardvark @cool-aardvark.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

The view from the mighty Matilda on my journey to work this morning, thanks to #BristolFerryBoats

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Cool Aardvark @cool-aardvark.bsky.social · 29/03/2026

Today is the first time I've vacuumed my flat since getting the 3D printer (yes, it is a man flat, so doesn't get cleaned very often!) and I think a good 20% of what was vacuumed up was 3D printer 'poop'!

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Cool Aardvark @cool-aardvark.bsky.social · 29/03/2026

Right, I think I’ve got all of my clocks updated. Now days its problem remembering which ones need updating and which ones don’t. It’s all very, wibbly-wobbly, timey-whimey!

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Cool Aardvark @cool-aardvark.bsky.social · 27/03/2026

Yes I’ve been to the Bristol Beacon a fair bit this years. This is the 5th of 10 shows I’ve got booked…so far.

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Cool Aardvark @cool-aardvark.bsky.social · 27/03/2026

At the #BristolBeacon, for the second time this week, this time its the #BSO playing John Williams.

The stage at the Bristol Beacon before the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra take to it to play John Williams classics

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