iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

They disinvented the VCR. You might think that the reason we don't have VCRs anymore is because VCRs were supplanted by DVDs, PVRs and streaming, but that's not the case. They had it in for the VCR from the very start, and they never stopped trying to kill it. Eventually, they succeeded. 1/

A 1960s family living room in which a mom, dad and two kids are mesmerized by a cabinet-style TV. The image has been altered. The TV has an early 1990s VCR atop it. The TV screen is displaying a cross-sectioned human head with brains and spine on display. A huge fist has materialized in the room, with bloody spiked knuckle-dusters, smashing into the VCR. The oil painting over the sofa has been replaced with a pulp image of a male head, its cranium removed and replaced by a dome. Inside the dome is a red eight-segment VCR clock, displaying 12:00. The background in the painting is a tangle of cassette tape. The whole image's colors have been boosted, giving it an overexposed look.

311367583

Reposted by Derek Graham

Mike Masnick @masnick.com · 27/08/2026

In case you wanted about 3,700 words on the problems with today's "settlement" that gives Meta way more power over how the internet works than it should have.

121536642

Reposted by Derek Graham

By Cory Doctorow (GPG 0xBF3D9110957E5F4C) @doctorow.pluralistic.net · 24/08/2026

The best time to have made Canada digitally sovereign would have been *before* an American president announced his intention to annex Canada and began explicitly deploying America's tech companies to attack his geopolitical adversaries. The second-best time is *now*. 52/

5315105

Reposted by Derek Graham

BlogMyWiki @blogmywiki.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

You can play an early online version of THE MIND CHILDREN text adventure here: blogmywiki.github.io/listenwithot... Move with s, n, sw etc. remember to examine things. You can also ‘save’ and ‘restore.’

Screen shot of white ZX Spectrum style text of an adventure game called The Mind Children

1165

Derek Graham @deejaygraham.github.io · 21/08/2026

Well I think you are going to love the future, whatever it contains

010

Derek Graham @deejaygraham.github.io · 21/08/2026

Ah yes but can it do AI and bitcoins?

100

Derek Graham @deejaygraham.github.io · 21/08/2026

What kind of “computer” is this science fiction??

110

Reposted by Derek Graham

By Cory Doctorow (GPG 0xBF3D9110957E5F4C) @doctorow.pluralistic.net · 21/08/2026

AI is alarming for many reasons: it's a dangerous financial bubble, an environmental catastrophe, and a tool for eroding wages and labor power. But in addition to all that, AI is an epistemic disaster. 1/

The North Pole at night, hand-tinted in blues and purples so it looks more like a moonscape. Protruding from the ice is the cross-sectioned head and neck of a man, his brains on display. Stepping over the leftmost mountains is a killer pulp robot, about to crush the head. Leaning against the rightmost mountains is a sneering, princely toff in a red frock coat, holding a cane that has penetrated the decapitated skull and lodged in the brains.

9455191

Reposted by Derek Graham

Dhruv Mehrotra @dmehro.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

NEW: Flock has said for years its cameras don’t identify or track people. We obtained the code for its police AI and rebuilt parts of it. The tool can find witnesses, surface associates, search people by race or physical description, and flag vehicles by how they move. W/ @dell.bsky.social

wired.com

Flock Has a Powerful New AI Tool for Police. We Got Its Code

Flock’s surveillance cameras have already sparked outrage. WIRED reconstructed its next-generation AI system, already in use by some police, to confirm it goes much further than tracking license plate...

141580785

Reposted by Derek Graham

By Cory Doctorow (GPG 0xBF3D9110957E5F4C) @doctorow.pluralistic.net · 08/08/2026

Hardly a day goes by without my getting email from someone looking for ways to do good with tech. From computer science students thinking about post-grad careers to seasoned coders with decades of experience, there's an army of hackers looking for a way to turn their expertise into public goods. 1/

The giant head of the Statue of Liberty. Around it are many medieval machines, tended by little medieval rude mechanicals. In the background is a crosshatched architectural drawing of some classical arches and such.

10580223

Derek Graham @deejaygraham.github.io · 08/08/2026

Or a new series of numbers stations?

120

Derek Graham @deejaygraham.github.io · 07/08/2026

Submitting an online form for a local business, I accidentally fell into the matrix @kevlin.bsky.social

Page of beeps and boops rather than the “thanks for your input” message I was expecting to receive

051

Reposted by Derek Graham

Amy Hoy @amyhoy.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

llms only “exist” to give one reply at a turn you: x llm: y then the whole process starts over. there is no continuity. each reply is 100% fresh. the context of your previous “conversation” is included, hidden from you, in every request you make. continuity is an illusion

1032472

Reposted by Derek Graham

Grady Booch @booch.com · 14/07/2026

I say this with all due respect but simultaneously with a rage that can unmake stars, a software-intensive system that “exhibits all the cognitive capabilities that the brain has” is not “a few short years away”. x.com/demishassabi...

x.com

Demis Hassabis (@demishassabis) on X

https://t.co/PTeDiv1b6L

714633

Derek Graham @deejaygraham.github.io · 10/07/2026

This particular child is nearly 30 and has a PhD :)

110

Derek Graham @deejaygraham.github.io · 09/07/2026

Lovely early birthday present with a definitely authentic, hand-written note from @doctorow.pluralistic.net himself. My favourite part is the sketch at the end shows us fighting together with Karl Marx against chatgpt

Cover of Cory’s book “The Reverse Centaur’s Guide to Life After AI”

Hand written note, definitely confirmed to be from the author, wishing me a happy birthday.

Second page of note showing four stick figures: Cory with a sword, me with a lightsaber? and Karl Marx with a gun, all facing off against a horse shaped chatgpt

2313

Reposted by Derek Graham

Cat Hicks @grimalkina.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

Can you, as one person, possibly make a difference in whether an unusual, creative, category-breaking book (a book without a marketing department or a budget behind it) succeeds? Yes you can, and I'm going to tell you why it's a hell of a lot more attainable than you think.

1188

Derek Graham @deejaygraham.github.io · 29/06/2026

Reporting you for copyright infringement :)

000

Reposted by Derek Graham

Ana Marie Cox @anamariecox.com · 17/06/2026

AI has been foisted upon us, for sure, but one reason it lands with so many is that LLMs *feel like* a solution for loneliness/estrangement/isolation: People who crave feedback and iteration but lack the courage or social capital to get it. Showing a first draft to someone is exposure. /1

14564104

Derek Graham @deejaygraham.github.io · 17/06/2026

…but is it intentional that the cover design has “poop” written out several times?

010

Derek Graham @deejaygraham.github.io · 17/06/2026

Peter Coad was one of the first authors to introduce me to OO back in the day

100

Derek Graham @deejaygraham.github.io · 17/06/2026

Finally going to be checking out this new #OOP fad all the kids are talking about

Teal and black cover of a “new” second-hand hardback copy of “object oriented programming” by Peter Coad and Jill Nicola from Yourdon Press

200

Derek Graham @deejaygraham.github.io · 17/06/2026

Shameless clickbait title for the talk “secrets most web developers don’t know - and managers don’t want you to know”.

240

Reposted by Derek Graham

Chris Oldwood @chrisoldwood.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

Choose pair programming Choose energised work Choose test-driven development Choose short iterations and frequent releases Choose continuous integration Choose refactoring the code to keep the design simple and malleable Choose your future. Choose XP.

The trainspotting meme about “choose life”

1126

Reposted by Derek Graham

Jason Gorman @jasongorman.bsky.social · 12/06/2026

Still places available for my final Refactoring out-of-hours workshop on Saturday June 20th at 09:45 BST/GMT+1 £99 + VAT for two packed hours of turning nasty code into maintainable code without the fear or the fires! www.tickettailor.com/events/codem...

tickettailor.com

Essential Code Craft - Refactoring – Zoom, Multiple dates and times - Tues June 16th & Sat June 20th £99 + UK VAT Refactoring is a foundational skill for software developer...

088

Reposted by Derek Graham

Jason Gorman @jasongorman.bsky.social · 05/06/2026

Finally, July 7-9, my flagship 3-day Code Craft workshop - 17 years in the making - goes on its final voyage. I appreciate this one will require your boss's approval. But it's HALF-PRICE until midnight tonight if you book online if you can expense it. codemanship.co.uk/codecraft.html

101

Reposted by Derek Graham

Jason Gorman @jasongorman.bsky.social · 30/04/2026

If your employer won't invest in training you in software engineering fundamentals, I'm running out-of-hours workshops especially for self-funding learners. Coming up: May 12 & 16 - Specification By Example May 19 & 23 - Test-Driven Development Register here: www.tickettailor.com/events/codem...

tickettailor.com

Codemanship

Codemanship – Professional-quality, reasonably-priced instructor-led training workshops for self-funding software developers investing in the...

012

Reposted by Derek Graham

Rhianna Pratchett @rhi.bsky.social · 28/04/2026

Happy birthday, Dad. Wish you were here. You’d know what to do. Or at least you’d know what to write. ❤️

Terry and Rhianna Pratchett dressed up for the launch of Dodger in 2012.

297146141870

Derek Graham @deejaygraham.github.io · 27/04/2026

Thought for the day: Paper plans don’t necessarily need to compile without error.

000

Reposted by Derek Graham

Jason Gorman @jasongorman.bsky.social · 26/04/2026

Improve communication, build shared understanding & reduce avoidable rework with Specification By Example. Live out-of-hours training for self-funding developers, product managers, UX designers, testers and other software design stakeholders. May 12 & 16 www.tickettailor.com/events/codem...

053

Derek Graham @deejaygraham.github.io · 17/04/2026

Zohran Mamdani is so unamerican he wants the country of Iran to be Mayor of New York after him #sad

Screenshot from insta of Mamdani saying “When I ran for mayor…”

010

Derek Graham @deejaygraham.github.io · 15/04/2026

Really enjoying the new productivity gains in Microsoft Teams where you can now reply to yourself with handy suggestions @kevlin.bsky.social #Perfect #Great #ThankYou

Redacted teams conversation with three suggested responses but no response from the other person that should prompt them.

000

Derek Graham @deejaygraham.github.io · 13/04/2026

It’s been a long time since I opened the GoF book so I’m going completely from imperfect memory

110

Derek Graham @deejaygraham.github.io · 13/04/2026

Chain of command? IIRC Each handler decides if it wants to execute or passes the message on?

100

Reposted by Derek Graham

Jason Gorman @jasongorman.bsky.social · 06/04/2026

In software development, the limits of team size are the limits of effective coordination - whether it's a team of humans or AI agents. Don't act surprised. We've known this for more than 50 years. codemanship.wordpress.com/2026/04/06/t...

codemanship.wordpress.com

The Mythical Agent-Month

Psst. If your boss won’t invest in training you in Test-Driven Development, I’m running out-of-hours workshops on April 7 and 11 specifically for self-funding learners. £99 + UK VAT. One of the mor…

0103