iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

James A @exeterdormouse.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

The inestimable (but always estimating) @timharford.ft.com imagines what CS Lewis's Screwtape might've made of AI. www.ft.com/content/f5d0...

My dear Wormwood,

I am pleased to hear that the patient has become enamoured of the Machine. Do not try to convince him that it is infallible. That crude approach will not long survive contact with the overwhelming evidence to the contrary.

You must be more subtle. He will learn to distrust it, yes, but his distrust can be kept at a theoretical level. It can easily be curdled into cynicism, an excellent state of affairs from our point of view. Questions about specific facts are what must be avoided. We want him complacent, not curious.

Encourage him to feel that fact-checking is a pedantic inefficiency that is beneath him. Let him enjoy his laziness and call it productivity. Humans have long tended to conflate having an answer with finding the truth. That’s the game.

Your affectionate uncle,
SCREWTAPE

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James A @exeterdormouse.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

#TheArchers There's still time for a "Murder She Sniffed" spinoff. The beloved Ambridge stalwart Lynda Snell MBE tours picturesque villages across the UK and beyond, troubleshooting pantos, fêtes, flower & produce shows, and hotel receptions, solving murders as she goes.

An image of Lynda Snell dressed as Agatha Christie, sitting in a quaint tearoom with her llama sidekick Barrington. She is holding a teapot talking to a vicar. Caption: "More tea, vicar? I'm glad your severe scone allergy has suddenly cleared up."

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James A @exeterdormouse.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

I missed the viral "multitasking mom at a San Francisco Giants game with her selfish husband". www.instagram.com/reel/DdrbfwC... I love that she's written her side of the story themomoftheyear.substack.com/p/im-the-mom...

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James A @exeterdormouse.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

#TheArchers *Resurrecting* Joe? Is this a Carol Tregorran type thing or a Palpatine type thing? It certainly isn't a Jesus type thing in Joe's case.

He's not the Messiah! He's a very naughty boy!

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James A @exeterdormouse.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

#FrontRow The series Station Eleven is brilliant. Perfect one-season story.

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James A @exeterdormouse.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

#TheArchers In a terrible mix-up that lands Alan in the bishop's bad books, the music for Carol's funeral consists of Silk Chiffon and Pink Pony Club; while at the wedding Pip goes up in a blaze to Fire Leap from "The Wicker Man". Somewhat surprisingly, the respective congregations approve.

Florence Pugh in Midsommar, garlanded with flowers and (added) flames

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James A @exeterdormouse.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

#TheArchers A couple of tweets from the past. RIP Carol

#TheArchers Carol: "I can sometimes still hear John's voice... 'Get that pillow off my face' is what I hear most often"
7:20 PM · Feb 28, 2016

"Is Carol selling her herbal tea at the Ambridge Christmas Fair? (Contents: Camomile, Ginger, Hemp, Nettle, Laudanum, Lemon) #TheArchers"
7:07 PM · Dec 14, 2014

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James A @exeterdormouse.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

On the face of it, this article would appear to be grossly offensive. Because of ME/CFS I do not have the capacity to read this article, let alone critically evaluate it. So I got an AI to summarise. I won't be linking to it.

A screenshot of a Telegraph post on X promoting an article titled “How having a disability became cool.”

The post says that a group of young people, “somewhat cruelly dubbed ‘sickfluencers’,” talk publicly about their medical conditions, adding that without the visible “accessories” of illness their conditions would be impossible to perceive.

Below the text is a red Telegraph graphic showing a hand holding several rolls of blue-and-white wheelchair-symbol stickers, reinforcing the article’s focus on disability and visible markers of illness.

Screenshot from ChatGPT.

I ask "Summarise the article's claims in no more than 50 words."

ChatGPT replies:

"The article argues that rising disability and chronic-illness diagnoses, especially among young women, are partly driven by social media, self-diagnosis, overmedicalisation and "sickness identities", encouraging unnecessary treatment, welfare dependence and economic inactivity while sometimes obscuring psychosomatic or relatively minor problems."

Screenshot from ChatGPT.

I ask "Is this article fair and accurate?"

ChatGPT replies:

"Not really. The article contains some accurate statistics and raises a few legitimate questions about overdiagnosis and the effects of social media, but as a piece about chronic illness and disability it is poorly balanced and repeatedly turns uncertainty into insinuation. Several of its medical claims are misleading or simply unsupported."

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James A @exeterdormouse.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

#TheArchers I think we all know where this is going...

Posts on a theme about Lily & Harrison shagging, being a couple, getting married, or having a baby by Christmas

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James A @exeterdormouse.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Last day of the holidays yesterday, at Budleigh Salterton

Estuary. Blue sky with white clouds. Stand of trees in the distance, sea beyond. Fence post in the foreground, showing tree rings

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James A @exeterdormouse.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

#TheArchers "Every Friday evening after work, Mr. Elliott undergoes a series of medical treatments designed to cheat death for another week."

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James A @exeterdormouse.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

This was at a demo by anti-fascist group "Exeter Together", protesting a rally by Yiannopoulos and his fellow alt-right provocateur Carl Benjamin. They were perceived as racist & misogynist. I still don't know if it's better to protest against him (so feeding his attention-seeking) or ignore him.

A diverse group of protesters in Exeter holds an “Exeter Together” banner and placards opposing racism and rape jokes on Exeter quay in 2019.

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James A @exeterdormouse.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

There are times I think etymologists are tempted just to shrug their shoulders.

WAFFLE

rumba /r^mba/ noun. a slow-paced Cuban partner dance in 4:4 time. "The rumba is my preferred style of entrance into any room."

Borrowed from Spanish rumba; Cuban Spanish, from rumbo ("spree, party"), meaning evolved from "ostentation, pomp, leadership," perhaps originally course of a ship," from rombo ("rhombus"), referencing the compass, which is marked by a
rhombus.

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James A @exeterdormouse.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

#TheArchers CONRAD: "You know, George, making coffee is very much like making love to a beautiful woman. Warm the pot. Don't rush. Plunge gently and firmly. And then you put in the milk." GEORGE: "Oops, sorry Conrad. I've got it all over your suit..." MARTYN: *sniggers*

Swiss Toni from "The Fast Show" in his car showroom

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James A @exeterdormouse.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

#TheArchers HARRISON: I know when I've been Tango'd! LILY: Sorry?? HARRISON: No I'm sorry. Before your time. LILY: Maybe you can explain the reference over tapas and a lipsing? HARRISON: A what?? LILY: Small savoury Spanish dishes. Soz. I forgot you're from Bolton. THIS COUPLE MAKES NO SENSE!!

A couple doing the Argentine tango. The man is dressed for taekwondo.

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James A @exeterdormouse.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

The eclipse was kind of underwhelming except through smoked glass. I was more captivated by these dappled shapes on the paper we'd brought for pinhole experiments.

A clipboard with a blank sheet of paper held outdoors, covered in dappled sunlight and leafy shadows.

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James A @exeterdormouse.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

Sasha is definitely more interested in lounging than in helping me study the eclipse

Black cat lying on warm stone in a garden

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James A @exeterdormouse.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

Not much change in light levels here as far as I can see, but large numbers of seagulls are going nuts. Maybe coincidental early evening insect snacking that I don't normally notice because I'm not typically examining the sky at this time!

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James A @exeterdormouse.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

Firefighters did well to stop the wildfire at Exeter's Mincinglake Valley Park from spreading to nearby houses. www.devonlive.com/news/devon-n...

Aerial view of parkland scarred with scorched land. Smoke still rising from some parts

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James A @exeterdormouse.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

#TheArchers I can't believe Sergeant Burns hasn't called in additional support from...

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James A @exeterdormouse.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

Strange liquid coating on the garden. I've not seen the like for months...

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James A @exeterdormouse.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

Is our new Prime Minister actually Joe 90 grown up, with dyed black hair? Because that would be great. He could become an expert in any policy area as necessary!

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James A @exeterdormouse.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

The worst bit of the dream though was having to engage with absolute dicks who insisted against all evidence that the 7 year-long zombie apocalypse was an extended scam by the government and who imagined that "... died WITH zombiism not FROM zombiism" was somehow a clever debating point. 🙄

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James A @exeterdormouse.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

Dreamt there was a worldwide zombie apocalypse lasting 7 years. But a solid half of the dream was the awkward year of adjustment afterwards, when people returned to their homes to find either dormant zombies or survivors who'd requisitioned the building and didn't see why they should move out.

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James A @exeterdormouse.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

Gorgeous light on Exeter quay earlier

River, brick buildings, blue sky, trees, geese and ducks in shadow in the foreground

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James A @exeterdormouse.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

23°C at midnight. This isn't normal.

Graph of forecast temperatures in Exeter, 12:25am on Monday 13 July.

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James A @exeterdormouse.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

#TheArchers Clive & Bert were getting on so well. What went wrong?

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James A @exeterdormouse.bsky.social · 04/07/2026

Newest member of the family. 🙂❤️

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James A @exeterdormouse.bsky.social · 28/06/2026

#TheArchers BRIAN: "Sometimes I think that being widowed is God’s way of telling you to disinherit your wife's children."

Mrs Overall says "Try my lovely macaroons"

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James A @exeterdormouse.bsky.social · 28/06/2026

Exeter is a great university, so what on earth is its management doing? Meanwhile, the government needs to get a grip: It's cut real term funding per student by 35% in the last decade, while doing its best to lose lucrative income from international students. #DefendExeterUni