iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Me at my Sunday best.

Today I learned that @nigella.bsky.social is on BSky and, friends, I have the delicious sense that life, in a small but significant way, may never be the same again.

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Drew Smith @drewpasmith.com · 29/09/2026

I should add that one of the smartest things (IMO) that the government did when designing the apartment solar scheme was reducing the number of required owner votes from 50% to 25%. This meant that three out of twelve owners could pass the resolution that gets us almost free electricity.

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Drew Smith @drewpasmith.com · 29/09/2026

Currently having 27.4kW of solar installed on the roof of our apartment complex. It's costing c.AUD50k, with the state government contributing 25 of that, and the owners the rest. Payoff period? About 18 months, at which point our electricity costs go to almost zero. Just need a battery now...

View through a window of a large red scissor lift raised outside a residential building. Its crossed steel arms dominate the foreground, with a tan brick apartment block, parked cars and a suburban street visible beyond in bright daylight.

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Drew Smith @drewpasmith.com · 28/09/2026

This is the only correct opinion. The Daytona looks a slightly chubby thug compared to the Ghibli.

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Drew Smith @drewpasmith.com · 28/09/2026

Speaking of M119s, today I will be installing a new fan clutch in the SL. Overheating in a Sydney summer is not cool. (i'll grab my hat)

Top-down view of a new automotive fan clutch assembly in an open cardboard box. The circular cast-metal component features prominent radial cooling fins, a central bearing and four mounting arms, with a small bag of hardware tucked alongside.

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Reposted by Drew Smith

Ryan McManus @ryantomorrow.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

My Waterford-loving Gran gran would have thought this a little gauche.

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Drew Smith @drewpasmith.com · 28/09/2026

In an alternative universe, in which I'd held onto Margot, this would have been high up my list of things to do. I'd have been tempted to go M119, but I suspect the 117 is an easier swap as there's less electronic stuff with which to be concerned.

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Reposted by Drew Smith

michael @banovsky.com · 26/09/2026

It has come to my attention that Renault is trying to revive Gordini with a concept that somehow looks like a ErreErre Fuoriserie but worse? As a result, I can no longer be truthful when making the statement, “All Gordinis are brilliant”. Thank you for your attention on this important matter.

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Alan Bradley @ajpbradley.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

I kind-of miss when the richest people in the world just spaffed their money away on sets of tastefully weird vehicles and kept their dubious beliefs and weirdness mostly to themselves. www.weirdcaroftheday.com/bentley-java/

weirdcaroftheday.com

Bentley Java

Weird Car of the Day #499: 1994 Bentley Java – Off-menu

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Drew Smith @drewpasmith.com · 25/09/2026

Stellantis' latest acquisition for the benchmarking pool.

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Reposted by Drew Smith

Weird Car of the Day @wcotd.com · 25/09/2026

Weird Car of the Day #499: 1994 Bentley Java – Off-menu www.weirdcaroftheday.com/bentley-java/ #wcotd #weirdcarbs

weirdcaroftheday.com

Bentley Java

Weird Car of the Day #499: 1994 Bentley Java – Off-menu

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Drew Smith @drewpasmith.com · 24/09/2026

Where TF is Joan Didion when you need her?

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Drew Smith @drewpasmith.com · 24/09/2026

And I thought I was bad with being pedantic about Mercedes' W, V, S, C and A model code prefixes...

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Drew Smith @drewpasmith.com · 24/09/2026

Why does this feel like a Wallpaper* shoot

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Reposted by Drew Smith

Rodney Brooks @rodneyabrooks.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

@doctorow.pluralistic.net flips it around, that too many of us humans are hallucinating about Claude having intent. He pushes us to be AI atheists. It is a provocative, but welcome, stance. pluralistic.net/2026/09/21/s...

pluralistic.net

Pluralistic: The Claude Delusion (21 Sep 2026) – Pluralistic: Daily links from Cory Doctorow

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Drew Smith @drewpasmith.com · 23/09/2026

I'm 4 seconds into a video on Bentley's small SUEV and, already, planetary annihilation feels like a better way to both begin and end this day. Where does one even begin with this? And I've not even seen the side or back yet. Oy. *rubs temples*

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Drew Smith @drewpasmith.com · 22/09/2026

What is up with Toyota/Lexus climate control systems? They’re always freezing fricken’ cold when I expect them to be mild. A setting of 23 degrees centigrade should not require a cardigan.

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michael @banovsky.com · 20/09/2026

Paywall removed ✌️ www.weirdcaroftheday.com/marvia-911-c...

weirdcaroftheday.com

Marvia 911 Carrera

Weird Car of the Day #490: Marvia 911 Carrera – Call 112

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Ken Tindell @kentindell.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

This! This is how AI will kill us: with the connivance of humans. Douglas Adams nailed all this years ago with the Electric Monk.

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Drew Smith @drewpasmith.com · 19/09/2026

(for context, as i’ve previously mentioned, I was there when Accenture signed a deal with Facebook to popularise the metaverse. and we all know how that worked out)

Screenshot of Accenture PLC (NYSE: ACN) stock information showing a price of US$181.29 as of 19 September 2026. The five-year chart shows the share price down US$157.94, or 46.56%, over the selected period, with a pronounced decline through 2025 and 2026. Additional figures shown include a 52-week high of US$291.09, 52-week low of US$118.15, P/E ratio of 15.196 and market capitalisation of US$116 billion.

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Drew Smith @drewpasmith.com · 19/09/2026

This is the closest we’ve come to witnessing mutually assured destruction since the time of Khrushchev and Kennedy and I wish the happy couple every success.

Screenshot of a CNBC Tech article with the headline: “Anthropic selects Accenture as first embedded evaluator to help implement Amodei’s slowdown proposal.” The article, by Ashley Capoot, is dated September 18, 2026.

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Drew Smith @drewpasmith.com · 19/09/2026

Are we still doubting the ability of the Chinese to build durable cars? Really?

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Drew Smith @drewpasmith.com · 19/09/2026

Labor&Wait was one of my favourite shops to visit when I lived in London. Members of the #browncar fraternity can understand why.

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Drew Smith @drewpasmith.com · 17/09/2026

in 2016, after living there for 10 years, I left the UK. I had a sense that this was about to happen. At the time it felt like the Brexit vote broke something in UK civil society. And if it wasn’t the cause of the break, then it seems to have been the accelerant.

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Drew Smith @drewpasmith.com · 17/09/2026

Ok, this has been a fascinating use case for an LLM: Autodesk Fusion 360, the CAD package with which I'm relearning... uh... CAD has an LLM-driven assistant built into it. It has direct access to the 3d model via MCP plus it can take and analyse screenshots to "see" what I'm seeing. It's amazing.

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Drew Smith @drewpasmith.com · 16/09/2026

Gotta keep sellin’ this chips, eh, Jensen? (mark’s so far behind he’d just as happily see the others burn, probs)

Screenshot of the Financial Times mobile website showing an article about artificial intelligence. The accompanying photograph shows a grey-haired man wearing glasses and a black leather jacket, speaking into a microphone while raising one finger. The headline reads: “Nvidia and Meta bosses reject efforts to co-ordinate AI slowdown.”

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e.w. niedermeyer @niedermeyer.online · 15/09/2026

ed sheeran makes a good point, there really are two paths to peace: doing something, and not doing something

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Drew Smith @drewpasmith.com · 15/09/2026

Last night, Chris made a mahoosive pot of pumpkin soup because our neighbours did a fruit and veg run to the wholesale markets on Saturday. We gave some of the soup to another neighbour, who gave us spanakopita (Greek cheese and spinach pie) in return. I love our building.

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Reposted by Drew Smith

Photography by Alfie Goodrich @alfie.photography · 15/09/2026

Back in 2008, I photographed this gentleman and his Isuzu 117 Coupé on the street in Aomonoyokocho. Beautiful car and he had a classy look, too. In January of 2025, I was walking on the Old Tokaido Road and spotted the same car, off the road, parked. Good to know it's still here. Hope he is, too.

Diptych of photos of an Isuzu 117 Coupé in Aomonoyokocho, Tokyo. Front and back views of the car. The rear view shows the owner walking towards the driver's side of the car.

Isuzu 117 Coupé tucked away off the road, parked. Photo made just off the Old Tokaido Road in Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo.

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Drew Smith @drewpasmith.com · 13/09/2026

Ah, Ed…. EEEEEEDDDDDDD!?!? (@niedermeyer.online that is) Zurich Insurance is offering discounts to Australian Supervised FSD customers. I’m looking forward/not looking forward to this… www.smh.com.au/business/con...

smh.com.au

‘Humans make mistakes’: Insurer offers discount to self-driving car owners

Fully self-driving cars are already on the road in Australia, now one major insurer is backing the safety claims of the futuristic technology.

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Stanley Pignal @spignal.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

We may have witnessed the most brazen cartel agreement in history—not negotiated in some back room but right there on social media. Which is: All AI frontier labs agree to constrain growth (ie cut spending on innovation) which reduces capital needs. Next step: "responsible" pricing of tokens?

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Drew Smith @drewpasmith.com · 12/09/2026

Posting apropos of *gestures broadly*… (we’re singing this in choir this season and every time we have so far, and every time I listen to this recording, I start crying)

youtu.be

Light of a Clear Blue Morning

YouTube video by Conspirare - Topic

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Drew Smith @drewpasmith.com · 12/09/2026

Big dog has entered the car wash.

A person walks a small dog on a lead across the wet pavement of a car wash, silhouetted in the foreground. Behind them, a dark Aston Martin sports car faces the camera with its headlights on, with other cars and the bright orange facade of a Total Tools store in the background.

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Drew Smith @drewpasmith.com · 12/09/2026

It’s kinda crazy to me how the end of civilisation at the hand of some SV manchilds has just casually slipped into the discourse and we’re all supposed to be like “huh, I guess that’s so…” and get on with our lives. Meanwhile, here’s a lovely 997 with an ambitious number plate and the GS in back:

Rear three-quarter view of a silver Porsche 911 Carrera S with the number plate “GT2” parked at a car wash, surrounded by other vehicles. Water mist hangs in the air and the wet pavement catches the sunlight, while a support column partially obscures the scene.

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Drew Smith @drewpasmith.com · 11/09/2026

I have no idea what this means but it combines Azealia Banks and a kangaroo so I’m here for it.

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Reposted by Drew Smith

Andreas Petros @petrospect.blog · 11/09/2026

Bears repeating here too via @mattxiv.bsky.social

i miss everything before ai.
i miss not wondering if every photo i see is real. i miss knowing someone's writing is their own. i miss when movies were crafted by human hands and brains, not the recycled work of other creatives stolen without their consent. i miss not being constantly threatened with "learn it or get left behind, " while being simultaneously told it will ultimately replace me regardless. i miss not having a lingering mental countdown for when that replacement will happen. i miss not knowing who sam altman is. i miss the social trust we all had before ai eroded it. i don't think a slightly-upgraded google search was worth all of this.

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Drew Smith @drewpasmith.com · 11/09/2026

Me: mum, I want some lipstick on a pig Mum: we have a pig with lipstick on at home The lipsticked pig at home:

Front three-quarter view of a dark grey Mercedes-Benz electric luxury sedan, showing its illuminated grille, Mercedes star hood ornament, LED headlights, sculpted front bumper and large multi-spoke alloy wheel.

It is a feral clash of forms, graphics, and textures, a facelift that is belatedly trying to add a traditional grille element to a car which was expressly designed without one.

It represents the worst kind of grotesquery in automotive design, wholly deserving of the epithetical description “lipstick on a pig”.

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Drew Smith @drewpasmith.com · 09/09/2026

Come for Bowie singing fag in hand. Stay for George Michael singing along in the background. (also, it takes a while for Annie to give the good stuff if I'm honest)

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Drew Smith @drewpasmith.com · 09/09/2026

Funny thing is, the nicest old money UHNWIs I know roll like this.

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Drew Smith @drewpasmith.com · 09/09/2026

I can't wait to see this. I'd I'm beyond grateful to @niedermeyer.online for his service. Watching the Musk brainworm destroy parts of automotive design and engineering culture, and the people who are responsible for its stewardship, has been beyond painful.

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Drew Smith @drewpasmith.com · 07/09/2026

Reposting apropos of nothing other than the biggest BSky drag I've seen in a while. I'll say it again: many designers knew this. Many actively counselled against it. But senior leadership, dazzled by Elon's derring do, said "BIG SCREENS LFG!" And the rest is history in the making.

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Drew Smith @drewpasmith.com · 05/09/2026

This isn’t a controversial opinion, even among (especially among) people who design cars for a living.

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