iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

I know I'm going on about this now but I just have to pull this fluffy description on the Super Nt+ store page to pieces.

"The definitive way to play original Super Nintendo & Super Famicom.

"A continuation of the original Super Nt - now with Bluetooth and 2.4g, evolved industrial design, OS, packaging, and more. Reimagining continued. At its core: an FPGA designed in house from scratch and backed by more than a decade of development. Rock solid. No emulation. Purpose-built 1080p for 2D gaming. Zero lag. Total accuracy. Super Nt+ is plug n' play out of the box."

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DeciderVT @decidervt.bsky.social · 19h

Analogue's existential fear of MiSTer is always a treat when it surfaces. It's hilarious to see that Chris Taber is still lashing out at other devices that he thinks are pissing into his tent, sidestepping the cast-iron fact that everything his company builds is technically a knock-off system.

An excerpt of Analogue's marketing copy for the Mega Sg+, written in their usual stuffy, self-important, pseudo-academic style. It reads:

"Mega Sg+ has the same unparalleled compatibility as Mega Sg. The core functionality of each system is engineered directly into an Altera Cyclone V, a sophisticated FPGA. We spent thousands of hours engineering each system via FPGA for absolute accuracy. Unlike the knock off and emulation systems that riddle the market today, you'll be experiencing Sega's 16-bit and 8-bit era free of compromises. Mega Sg+ is designed to preserve video game history, with the respect it deserves."

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DeciderVT @decidervt.bsky.social · 23h

Goodness, I'm dining well today.

An off-screen photo of the title of the classic TNG episode, "The Measure of a Man".

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DeciderVT @decidervt.bsky.social · 23h

Framing watching YouTube as fee avoidance is deeply disingenuous. The BBC would never commission the sort of stuff I subscribe to. It's fair because it'd never, ever be "television content". Ironically enough this overreach has me considering cancelling my licence fee for the first time ever.

An extract from the linked article. It reads:

"The Whitehall source explained that the move was “because people are able to use them to avoid paying currently”. They added: “It’s not fair that people are essentially able to watch television content but avoid the licence fee.”"

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DeciderVT @decidervt.bsky.social · 13/10/2026

A little mossy rock garden would be very tempting for a space of that size, especially if it had a few ferns. I always liked the idea of creating a small landscape like this and seeing how it weathers and ages over time.

Not my photo but I really like the tall rocks used as features here, as well as the smaller rocks used along the border.

Another rock garden, organised to fit a narrower strip of land. This one is surrounded by grey gravel, which isn't as pleasing. A small tree overlooks the moss garden in the background.

Detail from a larger moss garden, with some ferns. A small path passes by on the left, while trees in the background provide some shade.

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DeciderVT @decidervt.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

On to S2E1, "The Child". I'm enjoying the cute little flaws the HD versions reveal. In this case, bubbles between the plexiglass surface of the control panels and the transparencies underneath and a little chunk taken out of the fibreglass used for the transporter console.

An off-screen photo of a touch panel on the tactical station, on bridge of the Enterprise (NCC-1701-D). Large bubbles are visible between the plexiglass surface and the transfer applied underneath. It may have been good enough for the original standard definition broadcasts.

An off-screen photo of the recently-promoted Geordi La Forge, gazing at a transporter control panel.

The surrounding chassis of the console has a large chunk of fibreglass missing from the top edge and the overall construction of the moulding and painting looks charmingly crude. A visual reminder of the pace and budgets associated with syndicated television back in the 80s, before the age of "prestige" television began just over a decade later.

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DeciderVT @decidervt.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Over a decade ago my university peer group and I were able to individually throw together Unity prototypes during our first evening with the engine, with no prior experience of using it and a rudimentary knowledge of C#. You didn't need a high level of coding experience to get started.

Screenshot of a quote from the article. It reads:

“We made Unity Spark for the gamers who have spent a thousand hours inside a genre and know exactly what’s missing. The graphic artist who wants to bring their vision to life but doesn’t know how to code. Modders who now want to create something entirely new. That’s the opportunity we see: Folks with real creative conviction who can now fulfill their full potential.”

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DeciderVT @decidervt.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

A very different version of Frasier though! Still pompous in Cheers but very much one of the guys by the end. Plus I can't ever imagine Seattle Frasier wearing this.

Frasier Crane in Cheers, holding a microphone and wearing a Jungle Book-themed cardigan.

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DeciderVT @decidervt.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Terrible response to someone bringing up your post in his Discord.

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DeciderVT @decidervt.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

It's absolutely wild to me that the Prime Minister's speeches are intentionally leaked and reported on in this level of detail, a full day before he actually delivers the speech. "Burnham will say..." "He will add..."

An extract from a Guardian article, about Andy Burnham pledging a nationally-owned energy grid, proposed to compete with private providers. It reads:

"Government sources have suggested Burnham would signal his willingness to review the policy, but stop short of a pledge to scrap it altogether.

"Burnham will tell the conference on Tuesday: “We have a cost crisis. We all know it. The price of energy is crippling for businesses, and British bill payers pay some of the highest energy costs in Europe.

"“We have an energy system where prices are dictated in markets miles away, while families and businesses here shoulder the costs. Once again, the British public has lost control.”"

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DeciderVT @decidervt.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Found an old roll of Game Boy Camera photos on my desk yesterday. Sadly I don't have a digital copy of this particular photo but it's of me playing my brand new Virtual Boy, some time in 1999.

A faded, low-resolution, highly pixellated black and white image of me as a teenager, with my face planted firmly in my Virtual Boy. It was shot on my Game Boy Camera and printed onto a small roll of light blue thermal transfer paper, using the Game Boy Printer accessory.

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DeciderVT @decidervt.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Loved this write-up and I still love my GB Camera. In many ways it feels like the camera and printer combo led the way for the Instax craze now. You didn't need to glue the printed photos though, the thermal paper has a self-adhesive backing! Funnily enough I found the receipt for mine yesterday.

A receipt for a Game Boy Camera, bought from Electronics Boutique on Oxford Street on the 28th of February, 1999.

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DeciderVT @decidervt.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Sorting through paperwork and found some minty Nintendo posters from childhood. Cute to see A Link to the Past listed as "coming soon".

Detail from an old Super Nintendo promotional poster. A screenshot of The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past is shown, with the annotation "COMING SOON".

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DeciderVT @decidervt.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

I did, one of the LCD models with the etched glass. I didn't run anything particularly demanding on it but it was still fun! I can only imagine how far emulation on there has come since I traded mine in.

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DeciderVT @decidervt.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

"By continuing [to allow access for Gemini], you're agreeing to let Google Photos gain a deep understanding of your life." Possibly one of the creepiest titles for permissions I've seen in all the years I've been using Android. No thanks.

A pop-up in Google Photos, detailing permissions for using Gemini, Google's crap LLM, in conjunction with Google Photos. The complete set of permissions is grouped under the title "By continuing, you're agreeing to let Google Photos:", followed by three headings:

• Gain a deep understanding of your life
• Determine your location
• Use your queries to improve

The first set of permissions is opened in an expanded accordion component. It details Google's intent to cross-reference personal data from your Google account (such as age, gender and name) with data gleaned from your stored photos and videos. This is intended to furnish Gemini with context about your photos, allowing the user to search for photos by describing them. It also says that it would refine searches for friends and family by estimating your relationships with them.

But let's be honest, the real reason for this is so Google can continue using analysis of your personal photos to refine their LLM models.

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DeciderVT @decidervt.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

This really resonated. It's everywhere I look now, even down to the ChatGPT-generated posters I see advertising local community events. It's genuinely tiring. The person in the comments highlighting how this has infiltrated MiSTer is dead-on too. It's such a disappointment.

A quote from the article:

"The people I am most upset with by far are the architects of these big generative A.I. programs. How is something so resource-intensive allowed to run rampant around the world when they have proven to be ineffective in many ways, harmful and unprofitable? It is mindboggling to me. It has affected every aspect of my life, causing loved ones and colleagues to lose their jobs to hyped-up promises, infecting every piece of software I use at work and at home, clogging my own hardware with bloat and even managing to worm its way into my niche little hobby that was always “safe.” I am absolutely sick of the tech currently being marketed as generative A.I. and I want it to go away immediately. My life was better without it."

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DeciderVT @decidervt.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

More real-life consequences from the absurd culture war our governments insist on participating in. Also a reminder that Streeting ordered his review after other reviews into conditions like ADHD not only didn't tell him what he wanted to hear but directly challenged the narrative he was building.

"Disclosure of the NHS's widespread efforts to delay and deny access to assessments comes before the publication of a major government-commissioned review of the colossal increases in diagnoses of mental illness, as well as ADHD and autism, in recent years. It was ordered last year by Wes Streeting, the then health secretary, amid concern that the weight of requests for assessment, diagnosis and care was overwhelming the health service's ability to meet demand."

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DeciderVT @decidervt.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Sorting through some documents and found my dad's old reference sheet for the JAMMA standard, which was new at the time. (For context, he repaired and refurbished arcade cabs and fruit machines for a living.)

A yellowing sheet of paper, outlining the new JAMMA standard. Like many trade documents of the time, it's a reproduction of a typewritten note, with the values divided into columns by a hand-drawn table. I'm not sure if my dad drafted this himself or if it came from somewhere outside Interselect, the company he worked for at the time.

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DeciderVT @decidervt.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Just in case anyone needed to know how small they actually are.

A tiny videogame controller, being held by a much larger hand. Probably a good choice if you have smaller hands than the person demonstrating it.

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DeciderVT @decidervt.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

He's gorgeous! I just showed this photo to my wife and her eyes lit up. We have a little black cat of our own, he's a Bombay. He's magical.

A black Bombay cat, with deep, yellow-green eyes. He's a good boy.

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DeciderVT @decidervt.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

That's so lovely! We have a beautiful little black cat in our neighbourhood who stakes out our front door every morning. When he sees me leaving for work he runs over, miaowing very loudly and is very happy to get treats! Sometimes he catches me on my way home from work as well. He's a sweetheart.

A tiny black cat with a big heart, nibbling away at some well-deserved Dreamies.

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DeciderVT @decidervt.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Happened upon dinky little imitation CRTs made with curved 7.8" OLED screens, for sale at £755 on AliExpress. Just in case you were wondering if nostalgia and CRT fetishisation hadn't crossed over into silliness yet. www.aliexpress.com/item/1005012...

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DeciderVT @decidervt.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Related to the episode, I always loved Eric Menyuk as the Traveller. It's an interesting thought experiment to consider a timeline where he became Data instead of Spiner. From looking at his post-acting career though, it seems that our timeline is a better place for Menyuk being right where he is.

The Traveller, smiling as he listens to Picard encouraging the crew of the Enterprise to focus their thoughts on their duties and on supporting him, as someone they care about, before he takes the 1701-D over a billion light years back home.

Screenshot of an interview with Menyuk. The text reads:

"Let's bring everyone up to date. What are you up to these days?

"MENYUK: I am an attorney. I represent children with disabilities and I spend my days, as I just did, with a young family that has a child with a disability. And when they don't receive the services that they need, from state agencies or a school district or a federal agency -- whoever they need the services from -- I step in and try to get the services for the children."

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DeciderVT @decidervt.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Taking a moment to appreciate Wesley Crusher's futuristic knitwear. What no-one has worn before... or since.

Wesley Crusher, wearing a bizarre orange roll neck jumper that almost defies categorisation.

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DeciderVT @decidervt.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Trawling through eBay for a VCR so I can digitise some old tapes and I found this, the first video recorder we ever owned. (Not my photos!) My parents gave me this behemoth when they upgraded. It lived under my desk in my bedroom, where I used it to watch episodes of The X-Files I'd taped off BBC2.

A large, old Panasonic VCR in silver. It's about two feet wide, one and a half feet deep and about 25cm tall. It has large, colour-coded mechanical buttons and a simple analogue timer, which was reset with a button press.

The same model of VCR, pictured from the front. The buttons used to switch channels are visible.

A promotional photo of the same VCR, albeit rebranded as "National" instead of the Panasonic variant we had. The tasteful formica sides are visible.

A photo of the same VCR next to a 14" TV/VHS combi unit. This shows just how large the unit actually was. It also weighed a ton. An incredibly solid build.

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DeciderVT @decidervt.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

In sore need of some comfort food, so it's time to start another TNG rewatch — my first since reading the excellent Fifty-Year Mission oral histories. Currently enjoying the little quirks of Encounter at Farpoint and frowning at Roddenberry's writing credit, knowing how he cheated Dorothy Fontana.

A copy of The Fifty-Year Mission: The Next 25 Years, an excellent oral history of Star Trek by Mark A. Altmann and Edward Gross.

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DeciderVT @decidervt.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Tremendously lucky to have grown up a stone's throw away from a huge, overgrown cemetery. Good for getting out for the afternoon and clearing your head, despite being in the heart of the city.

Gravestones in the golden hour, surrounded by thick, overgrown ivy. The two gravestones highlighted by the sunlight are in the shape of crosses, while the gravestone in the foreground is of the usual shape.

A nondescript gravestone under some ivy. The roots of a nearby tree have displaced it.

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DeciderVT @decidervt.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Sadly there's a whole list of things that £889 or £1089 would be better spent on right now. Not to mention that I'm still feeling burnt by VR in general after PSVR1 and the Oculus Quest.

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DeciderVT @decidervt.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Sigh. Setting up my SN Operator and found that Epilogue are still enabling this beta feature in their shared software by default, after I previously reported it wiping the completed save data on my Wario Land GB cart.

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DeciderVT @decidervt.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Goodness. I paid about £40 for this exact model about fifteen years ago.

An eBay listing for a Sony PVM-1440QM CRT monitor. The price is £699.99, plus £69.99 for delivery to an address in the UK.

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DeciderVT @decidervt.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Realised that describing the Super Mario Bros. shirt I got from C&A in 1992 as "vintage" sadly means that I'm even older.

A young boy (me) with highly dubious dress sense (thanks Mum!), feeding a very enthusiastic horned goat. I'm wearing a white coat and incredibly blue jeans, with an impossibly high waistline. I'm also wearing a black Super Mario Bros. T-shirt, which I loved.

I'm also wearing a baseball cap with a green camouflage pattern, which was thankfully stolen from my backpack in school a few years later.

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DeciderVT @decidervt.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

I couldn't get over his face here.

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DeciderVT @decidervt.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

Based purely on my favourite toy from the Natural History Museum, it was Diplodocus. I was a big fan of Procompsognathus after reading the Jurassic Park novel as a kid, too. The idea of tiny dinosaurs was cute until I got to the bit where Hammond is trying to escape them!

A painting of two Diplodocuses. Or Diplodocii? I'll probably be wondering about that one for the rest of the day.

A size comparison of a Procompsognathus and a mouse. They may be terrifying and deadly but they're still a bit cute. (The Procompsognathus, that is!)

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DeciderVT @decidervt.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

It's not my place to judge physical appearances but... some people who choose to hold their items up for an eBay photo should really consider cleaning and cutting their nails beforehand.

A screenshot from Preoccupations' "Continental Shelf" video. A hand with long, sharp fingernails hovers menacingly over the face of a young woman, who has just woken up.

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DeciderVT @decidervt.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

Still figuring all of the features out but I finally got a very nice label printer for my eBay selling. Going to get the wi-fi set up next week and keep it in a cabinet in our living room. I've also sold 59 games on eBay recently and I'll keep going. Quite proud of that, after years of indecision.

A Zebra ZD421 label printer, pictured on my perpetually messy desk. Luckily I was able to buy it second-hand. The instructions are terrible but it makes my eBay packaging process a lot easier. Difficult to believe that I previously sold hundreds of games and used to write the addresses out by hand! Hopefully I'll have most of my collection sold off and pared down to the bare essentials if I keep up the momentum.

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DeciderVT @decidervt.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

For posterity. It was nice to come home to this today.

A screenshot of a post by @dark-shark.bsky.social, which posted a photo of an Oblique Strategies card earlier today.

The card reads: "Just carry on".

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DeciderVT @decidervt.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

Tickled by the absolute chasm specs-wise between the 5090 and the Steam Deck here.

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DeciderVT @decidervt.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

Taking a moment to appreciate the sheer psychosis behind: 1. Filling a vending machine entirely with Opal Fruits 2. Charging £1.75 a pack 3. Situating it in a *hospital*

A touchscreen vending machine, filled entirely with Opal Fruits. (Ask your dad.)

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DeciderVT @decidervt.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

Sadly the Time Boy I got with issue 1 of Nintendo Magazine System in 1992 has joined the calculators in Silicon Heaven. Not even a fresh battery could resurrect him.

A Time Boy, a small keyring styled to look like a Game Boy. The LCD screen used to display the time, which it'll never do again. A little piece of the past, now gone.

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DeciderVT @decidervt.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

My wife and I were very tickled to see this last weekend, just around the corner from the Jack White art exhibition we'd just visited. The universe has a sense of humour!

A shipping pallet, painted bright red, propped against an electrical cabinet by the side of the road on a London street.

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DeciderVT @decidervt.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

I thought that was a very different Terry Dwyer for a moment!

The cover of Terence Dwyer's book, "Composing with Tape Recorders: Musique concrète for beginners". In black and white, it depicts a quarter-inch reel of tape, a pair of rubber percussion beaters, a pair of scissors, an upturned wine glass, a box of matches, some elastic bands and what appears to be a cup of dried chickpeas — a ready-made toolkit for curious people channelling the spirit of Pierre Schaeffer from the safety of their bedroom or garden shed.

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DeciderVT @decidervt.bsky.social · 19/07/2026

It looks quite similar to what happened with my childhood SNES. F-Zero went all trippy. Disappointing but at least it looked interesting!

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DeciderVT @decidervt.bsky.social · 18/07/2026

Resurrected my Tamagotchi this morning, which has been dormant since 1997. I'm hoping that this isn't going to be a Talkie Toaster moment.

A green Tamagotchi keyring, with yellow buttons. An egg is bobbing up and down on the screen, ominously.

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DeciderVT @decidervt.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

This is going to be bittersweet.

The new Red Dwarf novel, by the sadly late Rob Grant.

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DeciderVT @decidervt.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

Weirdly I had an Australian copy of this in childhood, despite ordering from Gameplay in the UK. US-style box but with an Australian age rating and a PAL cart.

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DeciderVT @decidervt.bsky.social · 05/07/2026

Standing on the cusp of completely new, unexplored territory is one of my favourite feelings in games, ever.

A screenshot of Crimson Desert (PC). The armoured protagonist is standing on a snowy cliff at dusk, looking down into a valley of villages and forests. So much to explore.

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DeciderVT @decidervt.bsky.social · 23/06/2026

I should play Pilotwings 64.

A very sophisticated cat, enjoying a cup of tea with the morning paper. You know the one.

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