iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Amazingly, my Garmin watch says this was my stress pattern for the day. Sleep was apparently more stressful than a day in the NHS. Maybe the two weeks’ holiday did its job well then.

A graph of stress over the day showing the sleep hours with some stressful moments but the waking hours at almost no stress at all.

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Craig Nikolic @craig.nikolic.co.uk · 11/10/2026

Just back home from two weeks away in Rhodes, building some pre-winter resilience. The Atrium Palace hotel just north of Lindos is such a fantastic place. It’s the staff who make it that way. Would thoroughly recommend it to anyone. The hotel’s food disposal units are especially friendly:

A picture of a ginger and white young cat sitting politely with its fluffy tail rapped around its feet while waiting for food.

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Craig Nikolic @craig.nikolic.co.uk · 08/10/2026

“men who are strongly concerned about maintaining their sense of manhood” are generally scared little boys who spend their lives acting out to hide that fact. giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/... Real men don’t do climate change

In keeping with this finding, he also showed that men who are strongly concerned about maintaining their sense of manhood express less concern about the climate problem and say they feel less responsibility for managing it.

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Craig Nikolic @craig.nikolic.co.uk · 05/10/2026

My little bit contributing to unnecessary AI overuse.

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Craig Nikolic @craig.nikolic.co.uk · 02/10/2026

It’s more than a bit… woolly, but this I suppose is fair enough.

A screenshot saying:
The ideology furthest from you:
Feudalism (far-right) 37%

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Craig Nikolic @craig.nikolic.co.uk · 22/09/2026

Rush hour, peak train time, train due and the platform is empty. Very different to when I commuted in every day. Admittedly, I used to get a slightly earlier train, but the platforms used to be packed until after 8.

A photo looking down a train platform that is largely empty except for a few lone passengers.

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Craig Nikolic @craig.nikolic.co.uk · 21/09/2026

The Dartford Crossing payment site is second only to the TFL Congestion Charge one in how routinely abysmal it is to use.

A screenshot of the Dartford Crossing payment website with a big lettering showing "Sorry, there is a problem with the service"

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Craig Nikolic @craig.nikolic.co.uk · 14/09/2026

As an aside, I think this is a really good demonstration of why both mean and median are so important in things like this. The mean being twice median is because of 2-3% of people coming for our vaccs being from outside of NE London. If you use mean, you miss the local mass shown by median.

A map of GB & NI showing lots of blue dots, heavily focussed on London and the Home Counties, but with three each in Northern Ireland and Scotland and a reasonable number across the other areas of England and Wales.

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Craig Nikolic @craig.nikolic.co.uk · 14/09/2026

One suggested amendment I would make is that local is maybe a better focus than "smallest possible unit". This is the data analysis of who came to our vacc sites (main and pop-up) over 100k doses. People are reluctant to travel voluntarily for care, if you make it local, you minimise that. 4/

Average of patient travel (km) - 4.60
Median of patient travel (km) - 2.33

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Craig Nikolic @craig.nikolic.co.uk · 07/09/2026

I think that's finally it for my subscription of The Times. This is the number 1 story on their website today. If you were to read it, it's a disgruntled insider with unsubstantiated "I think" statement turned into a headline.

A screenshot of a news link showing:

Title: Just 1% of asylum pleas are genuine, says insider
Subtitle: Iraqi Kurds, Pakistanis and Bangladeshis are exploiting Home Office procedures and rules, claims official — who reveals their tactics for remaining in the UK

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Craig Nikolic @craig.nikolic.co.uk · 27/08/2026

An interesting badge to earn from my Garmin watch. Doing some strength work after a really lazy day.

A black screenshot showing a picture of a white wolf head and a sign saying “I am the Night”. Then below it “1pt - Record and activity between 10pm and 4am”

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Craig Nikolic @craig.nikolic.co.uk · 27/08/2026

Turned the dehumidifier on and it said it was 85% humidity. Checked Met Office website and it was “is that it? Wait until 9pm”

A screenshot showing rain symbols against times of 2100, 2200, and 2300 with humidity against each of 92%, 91%, and 88% respectively

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Craig Nikolic @craig.nikolic.co.uk · 19/08/2026

A pre-ULEZ heatmap of residents with asthma in our work borough of Barking & Dagenham in outer London. It'd be a ridiculous coincidence if the big red blobs near the most polluted bits of the borough were not linked to that pollution. Especially down the left side with the North Circular.

A map of Barking & Dagenham with a superimposed heatmap showing increased prevalence near the major roads and known traffic hotspots of the borough.

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Craig Nikolic @craig.nikolic.co.uk · 17/08/2026

And I question whether you really own a cat if you haven’t then put it on them like a wig.

A picture of a black and white cat with a loose pile of brushed hair on his head.

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Craig Nikolic @craig.nikolic.co.uk · 14/08/2026

Now my weight is stable at 12st 6lb, and a BMI of just under 25, I thought I'd show my weight loss journey of the last year. Two images, both with the same line, first is weight in KG, second is BMI.

A chart with a Y axis of weight in KG, X axis of months from August 2025 to today. The line shows a constantly decreasing line from 117KG to 79KG

A chart with a Y axis of BMI number, X axis of months from August 2025 to today. The line shows a constantly decreasing line from a BMI of 37 to 25.

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Craig Nikolic @craig.nikolic.co.uk · 12/08/2026

The colander effect here in Suffolk at peak eclipse

A lot of small images of the eclipse in circles

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Craig Nikolic @craig.nikolic.co.uk · 08/08/2026

Persephone enjoying the nice weather.

A picture of a black cat on her back lying on patio stones underneath a garden chair

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Craig Nikolic @craig.nikolic.co.uk · 28/07/2026

My watch is in an unforgiving mood today...

A picture of a watch face saying:
Move!
Limited movement for the last 90 minutes

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Craig Nikolic @craig.nikolic.co.uk · 18/07/2026

An email just now from Labour wanting me to rejoin the party. “Join Andy Burnham’s Labour Party”. Now, I sincerely dislike all capitals in messages but… IT’S NOT ANDY BURNHAM’S LABOUR PARTY. FFS. Labour at its best has always been a grand coalition, at its worst when it becomes about the leader.

A screenshot showing an email from Labour saying :

A message from Lucy Powell: Join Andy Burnham’s Labour Party

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Craig Nikolic @craig.nikolic.co.uk · 15/07/2026

You know when you get a machine that's annoying enough that you want to "nudge" it so it shows a proper figure? Well, the NHS's BMI calculator is that for me. Can it not show that BMI 25 dead on = "healthy"?! I know that BMI is a rough guide at best but under 25 is an important milestone for me.

A screenshot of a BMI calculation with the different groupings shown as coloured bar. There is a sign saying "Your BMI is 25. Your BMI is in the overweight category". There is an X right on the line between healthy and overweight groupings.

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Craig Nikolic @craig.nikolic.co.uk · 13/07/2026

"Verify your age" This is the oldest bank note in my wallet. I was already a pensioner when I got that as a brand new note in 1997.

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Craig Nikolic @craig.nikolic.co.uk · 10/07/2026

I really do grudge this. I know that the heat causes problems with this, it's the right thing to do, and we've not had one for over a decade ... but ... I know how much my damnable water bill has gone up over the years and I grudge being told what to do with water that I pay so much for.

A screenshot of an Anglian Water email saying there's now a hosepipe ban in place.

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Craig Nikolic @craig.nikolic.co.uk · 09/07/2026

Persephone, Queen of the Underworld, making sure her territory is safe after sunset.

A picture of a silhouette of a cat on a roof looking down

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Craig Nikolic @craig.nikolic.co.uk · 26/06/2026

I’ll take this and I’m damnably happy about it.

A screenshot that says “your closest match: Zohran Mamdani”

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Craig Nikolic @craig.nikolic.co.uk · 26/06/2026

The ChirpOMatic app is a fantastic thing

A screenshot showing that the app has recorded a Dunnock’s call with high confidence

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Craig Nikolic @craig.nikolic.co.uk · 26/06/2026

Still too hot here in Suffolk

A screenshot showing 31C in the next hour

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Craig Nikolic @craig.nikolic.co.uk · 19/06/2026

Local post box topper. Not all of this area has gone into Reform knuckle dragging then.

A crocheted cover on top of a post box. The topper is a rainbow inspired one for Pride Month.

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Craig Nikolic @craig.nikolic.co.uk · 19/06/2026

Seeing all the pics of the manky reflecting pool in the US made me remember the magnificent Taj Mahal view we had last winter in India.

A picture of the Taj Mahal from about 800m distance. The long blue pool leading up to it is in the foreground and looks sparkling and very clean.

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Craig Nikolic @craig.nikolic.co.uk · 16/06/2026

A bit different to the usual beastie I’m expected to evict from the house!

A picture of a stag beetle in a plastic box

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Craig Nikolic @craig.nikolic.co.uk · 15/06/2026

There’s not much as comfortable as a cat snuggled up to his fluffy bunny toys.

A picture of Aristotle, our black and white cat lying sound asleep on a pink blanket with five Jellycat toy bunnies looking like they’re watching him sleep.

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Craig Nikolic @craig.nikolic.co.uk · 15/06/2026

Well, that's particularly useful Nespresso.

For the love of coffee

Save £undefined when you add undefined undefinedpods to your basket
or
Save £undefined when you add undefined undefinedpods*

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Craig Nikolic @craig.nikolic.co.uk · 11/06/2026

A pic sent to me of Euston just now. How this station hasn’t had a major crush incident is beyond me. That busy with last-minute platform announcements is just daft.

A picture of a lot of people crowded onto the concourse of London Euston train station

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Craig Nikolic @craig.nikolic.co.uk · 05/06/2026

Just logging off for the week and saw this pop into my inbox from Blue Light Card. Now... that brings back memories. My first ever gig was seeing them in the Playhouse Theatre, Edinburgh in 1988.

An invitation to win Iron Maiden Tickets from Blue Light Card.

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Craig Nikolic @craig.nikolic.co.uk · 31/05/2026

The Google Health app really is annoying me now. Its data hoovering is just persistent and I may be hurrying up my replacement plans.

A screenshot of an iPhone data sharing permission screen where Google Health wants persistent access to location data.

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Craig Nikolic @craig.nikolic.co.uk · 26/05/2026

I decided to spend a bit more time with the Google Health app and … well. I’ll give an example of the “health” bits. It marked my resting heart rate as “poor”, so I looked at the detail. I’m pretty happy with a 65bpm average resting heart rate so that’s just rubbish then.

An image showing Resting heart rate (RHR) Poor

A chart showing resting heart rate with an average of 65 beats per minute.

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Craig Nikolic @craig.nikolic.co.uk · 22/05/2026

One of the main reasons we moved further out into Suffolk is days like this. I just love the natural noise of a nice spring day with the birds. Chirp-o-matic is telling me the noisiest bird is a particularly loud wren that’s in the bushes near me.

A screenshot of the app Chirp-o-matic showing a result of a wren for a noise check.

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Craig Nikolic @craig.nikolic.co.uk · 21/05/2026

My wife had a migraine last night and retreated to bed early meaning I was left to my own means. I fired up Hearts of Iron 4 and completed a game I've been at for ages with this result. Now, that's a challenge to achieve given just how much is thrown at "Communist China" in the early years.

A world map showing Hearts of Iron IV at the top. The map is pink-ish colour shaded with People's Republic of China over every landmass.

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Craig Nikolic @craig.nikolic.co.uk · 14/05/2026

Seriously England, get your act together with this weather. If I wanted weather like this in May I'd have stayed in Scotland.

A screenshot of the Met Office app showing weather for the next hour. 9 degrees celsius, feels like 7 degrees, heavy showers, 90% rain.

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Craig Nikolic @craig.nikolic.co.uk · 13/05/2026

One comment I saw on HSJ last month is pictured below. If an Exec thinks £2m of cash spend is not worth policing then I wonder how many other 6 to 8 figure pots of money are being wasted because they're beneath them. And they probably blame others for their deficit as well. 2/3

Everyone just calm down. A department which spends over £200bn is spening less than £2m on some really specific support.
Yes, could this have been done in house, yes, is this best value etc. Its £2m out of £bns of spend. This isn't really anything

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Craig Nikolic @craig.nikolic.co.uk · 07/05/2026

Each year, I reward myself when I finally get all our annual contracts signed off for the year (only five weeks into the FY, a new record!). This year, I've decided on a nice bottle of Macallan as a smooth alternative to my usual Islay peat monsters.

An image of a bottle of The Macallan single malt scotch whisky. This one is a 12 year old sherry oak cask bottle.

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Craig Nikolic @craig.nikolic.co.uk · 04/05/2026

The dehumidifier is saying it may be a bit sticky today at 86% humidity.

An image showing the number 86 in green numbering.

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Craig Nikolic @craig.nikolic.co.uk · 30/04/2026

@support.bsky.team A request. If you're going to change the mandatory scripts, can you please announce them in advance? The site just seemed to go down on my browser this morning until I allowed the 2nd script to run and then it was fine. Some of us are paranoid types who block scripts.

A screenshot showing two website addresses. bsky.app and bsky.network

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Craig Nikolic @craig.nikolic.co.uk · 22/04/2026

This reminds me of this pic from 2020, Chris Whitty making his point very firmly to Boris Johnson, Matt Hancock, and Dominic Cummings. Vibes of: "I ....ing told you not to do this, but what did you do? You did it anyway, and look where we are."

In addition to the text of the main post, this is an image of Chris Whitty briefing politicians with a firm and unhappy expression.

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Craig Nikolic @craig.nikolic.co.uk · 15/04/2026

Stuffed through the door just now by the current county councillor, who converted from Tory to Reform. He did an Evri and didn't ring the doorbell, instead he did a stuff & run away. Annoyed I missed him as I'd have loved to have shared my views with him.

A photo of a Reform UK election flyer showing a gurning Nigel Farage saying "Sorry we missed you! We called today to see YOU and hear YOUR VIEWS".

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Craig Nikolic @craig.nikolic.co.uk · 09/04/2026

Making a brew before a meeting, so decided to have a go while brewing. This took me 5 mins to get Feb 2026 data from the data.police.uk website, stick into PowerBI, and add a filter. This is all crime reports with weapons in Suffolk with a heatmap filter. 2nd pic is zoomed in a bit and all crimes.

A map image showing heatmaps over towns in Suffolk with a filter on the right hand side showing all crime types. It is filtered to "possession of weapons" crimes. These data are for February 2026.

A more zoomed in version of the Suffolk town of Lowestoft showing a heatmap of all crimes in February 2026.

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Craig Nikolic @craig.nikolic.co.uk · 03/04/2026

Now, if you see this as the number one search that comes up, what site do you think you're getting if you click on it? The BBC? No, it's a link to MSN. Two searches further down there's one to "The Independent", the URL is also to MSN. It's annoying enough that I've blocked MSN from my browser.

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Craig Nikolic @craig.nikolic.co.uk · 27/03/2026

My army war pension is going up by 3.8%. Each year I judge this against the pay rises the NHS gets and how the governments always complain that they’re having to make them. If inflation is at that level, any pay rise below it is effectively a pay cut.

Your Pension Increase
Each year, your pension is increased to ensure it maintains its value. The Pension Increase is based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) 12-month inflation rate in September of the preceding year, which was 3.8% in September 2025.
Pensions in payment are expected to rise by 3.8% from 6th April 2026.

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