iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Chris Lynas @fastness.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 04/10/2026

Look at our cat She has been trained (not by me, I would have said it was impossible) to "shake hands" She got a dreamie after - she is a very good cat

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Chris Lynas @fastness.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 04/10/2026

Looking to take my #penPlotter electronics into a more recent decade I've started looking into FluidNC with a FYSETC E4 instead of the EBB I have used in all of my plotters up to now Things I've learned: - my FritzBox WiFi router really, really doesn't want […] [Original post on mastodon.social]

A portrait aligned photo of a pen plotter sitting on a table next to a window. The plotter is further away, near to the camera there is a piece of paper with some rectangles on it: the largest of these is almost exactly 200x100mm (yay!). The smaller ones are 10mm on a side. To the right hand side of the paper is a control board for the plotter with silver sockets on one end and a colourful, rainbow set of jumper cables connected to the stepper motor plugs that were connected to the old electronics fixed to the plotters baseboard

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Chris Lynas @fastness.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 23/09/2026

I found this video of someone who made an integrating planimeter in #lego which not only shares how to make one but has a go at explaining how they work: youtu.be/TARMS2SegfI I rescued one that had been used by our designers back when we drew things on paper/film and they're fabulous […]

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Original post on mastodon.social

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Chris Lynas @fastness.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 31/08/2026

<grump>It's a bank holiday but because of international & timezone poopiness I have to do work from 1500 to 1900 today</grump>

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Chris Lynas @fastness.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 30/08/2026

Next weekend I'll be at the BS5 Art Trail (bs5arttrail.co.uk) with my #penPlotter I'll be at one of the community venues: St Ambrose & St Leonard's, near to St George park, in east #bristol bs5arttrail.co.uk/venue/saint-ambro… Last year […] [Original post on mastodon.social]

A white piece of paper with coloured lines made by a pen plotter. There are purple and pink lines, in wavy patterns made of horizontal lines that are twisted around. The lines don't quite line up so there are odd moiré patterns

A white piece of paper with coloured lines made by a pen plotter. There are blue, purple and pink lines, in wavy patterns made of horizontal lines that are twisted around. The lines don't quite line up so there are odd moiré patterns

A black and white pen plotter drawing showing a picture of an eye. The eye is represented by spirals of varying size, arranged in distorted grids laid on top of each other

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Reposted by Chris Lynas

emily, professional edge case @emily.fedi.uni.horse.ap.brid.gy · 23/08/2026

#3dprinting protip: you can just load whatever image you want as the print bed texture in your slicer

four instances of a wheel, sliced and ready for printing. the print bed is a photo of an orange cat

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Chris Lynas @fastness.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 18/08/2026

Feeding brother's cats: just about to do the litter tray (they're big moggies so they produce stupendously huge poos) and the clanker cleaner starts up so I'm hiding in the living room until it finishes because I don't know how to stop it in a way that will let it restart later

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Chris Lynas @fastness.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 17/08/2026

So I have Firefox set as my browser on Android. I have the switch set to block AI "enhancements" and yet somehow their new summarise page bullshit popped up today which is powered by AI Posted about it on the Play store and the dev response was "oh your settings might not be working, post about […]

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Original post on mastodon.social

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Chris Lynas @fastness.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 11/08/2026

Expressing thanks for the service that old bag has given over the many, many years I've used it. I was trying to work out how many: it might be over 15 years, could be over 20 New bag is not the same style and much more posh but I predict I will miss the […] [Original post on mastodon.social]

An almost entirely black bag sits on a yellow tablecloth. The bag is very new and unworn, it has a very wide padded strap and this is held together with a fixing that looks like (and might be?) an old fashioned seatbelt buckle. The bag is made by Chrome Industries and the word "CHROME" is visible on the bag flap

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Chris Lynas @fastness.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 03/08/2026

Yesterday we had a hummingbird hawk moth in the garden for the first time - no photos because it moved too fast but it was amazing

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Chris Lynas @fastness.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 01/08/2026

We've had a little vacuum cleaner for a while that gradually became unreliable to turn on or off and then eventually fully stopped working, this was a shame since it's quite effective, with beater brushes as well as suction Based on the way it failed I had a […] [Original post on mastodon.social]

A close to photo of the handle of a small vacuum cleaner. There is a hole where a round button used to be which exposes some PCB with green solder mask and a tactile switch in the middle. Yellow and blue wires have been soldered to one set of contacts on the tactile switch which lead to another tactile switch off a very similar type. The new switch is hanging in space on the end of the wires, not fastened to anything

The handle of a small vacuum cleaner, close up. In this photo the round green plastic switch cover that would normally press on a tactile switch inside the handle has been reinstalled. Right in the centre of the switch another tactile switch has been hot glued in place partially covering the "1/0" glyph that's often embossed (inbossed? It's cut into the surface) on on/off switches. Two wires, yellow and blue, run down to the lower edge of the switch where a part has been cut away and the wires vanish inside the vacuum cleaner through the space that has been cut back

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Reposted by Chris Lynas

Astronomer Royal for Scotland | Catherine Heymans @astroroyalscot.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

I'm absolutely devastated for colleagues at Jodrell Bank who found out this morning that funding for the UK's e-MERLIN radio telescope array will be terminated. This is a short-sighted move, to save a tiny fraction of the overall UK science budget. #SaveJodrellBank 🔭🧪 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

bbc.co.uk

Jodrell Bank's Lovell telescope faces axe in science cuts, BBC understands

Astronomers warn it would tear the heart out of UK science, and leave a generation untrained.

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Chris Lynas @fastness.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 17/07/2026

Commissioning my #EMFCamp installation in the Null Sector My #penplotter is now drawing the paths of aircraft it can see based on their ADSB transmissions - received live, not over the internet :) (Null Sector opens later this evening)

A CNC pen plotter on a dark coloured table inside a skyping container. The walls are white, the floor is dark coloured wood panelling. The desk has warning messages asking visitors not to touch

Close up photo of a white piece of paper with messy pen lines in a pattern where groups are roughly in parallel but there are multiple groups of directions and some cross. The pen plotter that has drawn the lines is mostly out of frame

A shipping container sitting on grass with others around it. Its doors are open and inside it the plotter from the other image is just about visible

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Chris Lynas @fastness.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 15/07/2026

For anyone going to #EMFCamp who likes badges and has stickers or other interesting small things to swap: we've seen the sticker exchange but would like to propose in addition a badge barter We'll work out more later and suggestions are welcome. I'll post […] [Original post on mastodon.social]

10 approx 40mm diameter badges, each with a different design, sitting on a grey fake granite pattern table. Some of the badges have colourful creatures with eyes and tendrils. Others are based on cells. There are cats and bugs and other things

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Chris Lynas @fastness.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 10/07/2026

One of the weird but cool things that happens when you share projects is that sometimes people do cool things with them Take this playlist: youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQQNsxNs… Someone built my #penPlotter then decided to make the series of videos (in French) […]

mastodon.social

Original post on mastodon.social

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Chris Lynas @fastness.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 09/07/2026

@philpem the listing looks like there are some odd things in the categories maybe @jarkman ?

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Chris Lynas @fastness.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 08/07/2026

@realcainmosni no, I actually don't. It's worse - I want to have automated computer-controlled pushing rake things to move normal models around without magnets

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Chris Lynas @fastness.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 08/07/2026

My #EMFCamp installation is a #penPlotter connected to an ADSB receiver that will plot paths of aircraft around the site in real time. It's going ok and mostly works well - no-one is more surprised about this than I am The problem is that someone at work this morning talked about how cool it […]

mastodon.social

Original post on mastodon.social

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Reposted by Chris Lynas

Ambivalent Dictator For Life @pikesley.mastodon.me.uk.ap.brid.gy · 24/06/2026

#EMFCamp idea: Mornington Crescent knockout tournament (Original Modern rules)

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Chris Lynas @fastness.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 24/06/2026

Status: in Total Recall mode with a wet tea towel wrapped around my head

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Chris Lynas @fastness.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 21/06/2026

I'm now mostly able to decode ADSB data from dump1090 and interpret them into tracks on the screen - I had some fun getting the data management to work reliably (I have no idea what I'm doing) but it's been running for a few hours Next step: getting the plotter to work with it

A screenshot of a Linux Mint desktop with some applications open. In foreground is a window with the title "adsbPlotter" which has a light grey background with some grey and black lines across it. Behind this is a Processing IDE window, only a little of the code is visible, not enough to read. Behind that is a terminal window showing white text on a black background, the text is a table showing information on aircraft: IDs, squawk codes, flight numbers and in a couple of cases heading and positions. This is the output of dump1090 that is decoding ADSB signals. from aircraft overhead. Behind that is a Firefox browser, maximised. Around the bottom left quarter is a grey circle - this is where I am, the tracks are mostly oriented from approximately west northwest to east southeast and are not uniformly distributed around the building because of things blocking the signals north and south with better visibility to the east

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Chris Lynas @fastness.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 20/06/2026

Me: I'd like to do a thing for EMF camp! EMF: we'd like you to do the thing Me: Shit

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Chris Lynas @fastness.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 17/06/2026

Passing on an invitation from my other half who is not currently engaged in Fediversal things: would anyone going to #emfcamp be interested in an informal session to learn about knitting a mitred square blanket? Also generally chatting about knitting? […] [Original post on mastodon.social]

An IKEA Poang chair in a sunbeam, with a cat on the chair enjoying the sun. The cat is black and white and sitting on her side, looking at the camera. The back of the chair is covered by a knitted blanket made from mitred squares of brightly multicoloured sock yarn, each square is different

The cat is called Parsnip and she particularly enjoys chewing the ends of bamboo double pointed needles of the type that are used to make blankets like this

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Chris Lynas @fastness.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 09/06/2026

I just uploaded some new KiCad source and gerber files for a power supply circuit board to support high voltage servos on an EBB-based plotter (or EBB clone, or perhaps anything that needs a servo) and also the new printable mounting parts for a full size servo - I've been using a full size […]

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Original post on mastodon.social

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Chris Lynas @fastness.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 03/06/2026

Back in the UK after being in Switzerland since last Saturday: getting train envy to a startling degree as I bounce my way to Paddington

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Chris Lynas @fastness.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 27/05/2026

Talking to our youngest and I wanted to refer to the "Ski Sunday" theme that they, being 17, hadn't heard Rather than search for "Ski Sunday theme" like a normal person I decided to do the tune search thing so I whistled the tune and it came up with this youtu.be/vocfGD9xYak which is […]

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Original post on mastodon.social

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Chris Lynas @fastness.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 22/05/2026

The first PCBs that I've designed has arrived :) I've been running my #penplotter with a high voltage brushless servo for a while but it was connected with an awful hacked-together nest of wires, perfboard and iffy sockets. This should both be better for me […] [Original post on mastodon.social]

Two green PCBs on a grey tabletop. The upper one is unpopulated showing only some pads and white silkscreen. The lower is populated with components. To the left there are two barrel jack sockets (for 12V in and a pass through to send the 12V on to the plotter board). In the centre of the board is a blue PCB with capacitors, inductors and other junk - this is a DC-DC converter which takes the 12V and steps it down to the voltage needed (it's not shown but I've been running the servo on 7V). To the right are two sets of three pin headers which allow the servo wire from the board to be attached and the output wire to the servo to come out

From the servo input we take ground and connect it to the output servo connector, we throw away the 5V from the board (the pin is soldered but not connected to any traces), and the output voltage pin is connected to the output from the DC-DC converter

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Reposted by Chris Lynas

Ambivalent Dictator For Life @pikesley.mastodon.me.uk.ap.brid.gy · 15/05/2026

More NeoPixels than one man can conceivably wear #EMFCamp

A hard-hat covered in NeoPixels, and three sets of goggles with NeoPixel rings around the eyes

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Reposted by Chris Lynas

Jonathan Hogg @jonathanhogg.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 13/05/2026

I took a photo of it next to a correct fork – I hope that you’re impressed I was able to touch it

Two forks lying on a chopping board. Some spice jars and bags are visible behind. One of these two forks holds a terrible and fearsome shape.

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Chris Lynas @fastness.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 13/05/2026

@jonathanhogg I dislike the shape of the one on the right but I've used ones like the one on the left and I've found it's round handle does not allow the roll axis to be properly constrained in the hand

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Reposted by Chris Lynas

Will in Bristol (Dine Naked) @dinenaked.co.uk · 12/05/2026

St George Park looked nice last night. #Bristol

Photo of some dandelion seed heads with the sun setting behind trees in the background

Some people sat in a patch of sunshine on grass in the park between big trees

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Chris Lynas @fastness.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 03/05/2026

@stepheneb It has been fun (I do like a CAD challenge) but this also isn't an entirely random connection: I had the pleasure of working with Henry some years ago :)

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Chris Lynas @fastness.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 29/04/2026

@amd we aren't all vegetarian (one is) but we don't eat a lot of meat. Pasta is generally done with green lentils. We do a three-bean chilli (kidney, canellini, borlotti). There's a lentil toad-in-the-hole we all like. There's a spicy red kidney bean dish that I got from a curry recipe book. In […]

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Original post on mastodon.social

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Chris Lynas @fastness.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 25/04/2026

I do not want a meat tea bag Thanks for clearing up that worry for me, PG Tips

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Chris Lynas @fastness.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 23/04/2026

It has been 0 days since I had to tell someone that averaging the major and minor axes of an ellipse and multiplying by pi is not a good way to get it's perimeter

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Chris Lynas @fastness.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 20/04/2026

Is there a word for the anxiety that pops up when you see someone you don't know recommend your shitty videos/code/other to someone?

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Chris Lynas @fastness.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 12/04/2026

Filing this plot under mostly worked, the final layer changed it completely. It was not, however, fast - it was about 8 hours in total for all four layers. The pens are a qualified success, the colours aren't perfect but they were fairly cheap You might wish to watch it go whirrbonk whirrbonk […]

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Original post on mastodon.social

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Chris Lynas @fastness.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 12/04/2026

@jsbilsbrough could be worth trying it a bit higher to see if things get better. I've seen that "torn up" shape when a line spread out too much and the next was extruded on top of it because the first line was too wide (this can also happen with over extrusion from out of tolerance filament) […]

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Original post on mastodon.social

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Chris Lynas @fastness.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 12/04/2026

@jsbilsbrough I can't speak for the stringing but the bits on the bottom left look a bit like some results I've had when the nozzle was too close to the bed

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Chris Lynas @fastness.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 12/04/2026

Trying some new plausibly CMYK pens in a halftone plot. Before where I've found the right colours the pens have had very large tips so they're not good for detail. These (Staedtler ball 4320, 10 pack assorted colours) are ballpoints so perhaps the better […] [Original post on mastodon.social]

A view from one end of a pen plotter. The main structure is made of extruded aluminium rails in the shape of a capital H. A plastic 3d printed pen carriage holds a yellow pen vertically near the centre of the frame. To the back the driver electronics can just be seen. The pen has been drawing small circles and dots on white A3 paper being held in place by a black surface that's actually an electrostatic noticeboard

Three pens sitting together on a mostly yellow tablecloth with white and dark abstract flower and plant patterns. The pens are pink, blue and black ballpoints, all three have their caps on

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Reposted by Chris Lynas

Matthew Dockrey @attoparsec.clacks.link.ap.brid.gy · 07/04/2026

Goose2 is installed!

Looking up at a metal goose, cut out of 1/2" plate, against a blue sky with whispy clouds. It is mounted on a black 8" pipe with two arms on either side supporting stainless steel crankshafts which can actuate the wings.

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Reposted by Chris Lynas

Matthew Dockrey @attoparsec.clacks.link.ap.brid.gy · 24/03/2026

Turning discrete math into art with the help of some industrial equipment -- the Gray Device! youtu.be/Z9X3dH5LjrM

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Chris Lynas @fastness.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 13/03/2026

Recently I heard of the "wug" test in linguistics and I was just reminded that when I was very small I was very, very insistent that a box was in fact a "boc" because then the plural would be "bocs" - one boc, two bocs At that early age I was apparently not prepared to put up with English's […]

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Original post on mastodon.social

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Chris Lynas @fastness.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 06/03/2026

We're remotely supporting an internal training course we run next week for our office in Bangalore - I count myself lucky that my bit is in the afternoon there so it's UK morning. Someone else in the team agreed to do a bit that starts 0400 UK time 😬

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Reposted by Chris Lynas

Matt Blaze @mattblaze.federate.social.ap.brid.gy · 04/03/2026

De-electrification, Philadelphia, PA, 2005 All the pixels, sturdier than they look, at www.flickr.com/photos/mattblaze/215… #photography

Abstract photo of railroad catenary pylons and wires against an indistinct grey sky.

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Chris Lynas @fastness.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 27/02/2026

Taking a lesson from my Nana today: if your cooking involves onions, do them first and do them early so the house smells lovely as long as possible for everyone waiting for the food (Lesson not taken: my Grandad would eat anything if it was covered in cheese and served on a pizza base)

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