iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Infrapink (he/his/him) @infrapink.mastodon.ie.ap.brid.gy · 29/09/2026

So I guess this My 9 Games thing is going around. Here are mine. 1+2: A tie between Super Mario Bros and Commander Keen. These were the first two games I ever played, and they made me a gamer. 3: Doom. It's Doom innit. My dad had no problem with me killing […] [Original post on mastodon.ie]

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Infrapink (he/his/him) @infrapink.mastodon.ie.ap.brid.gy · 13/09/2026

I have officially read one book this year, but what a book it is. The Ottomans: Khans, Caesars, And Caliphs byvMarc David Baer covers the entire history of Ottoman Türkiye from the foundation of the dynasty by Osman I (Ottoman I) to the abolition of the sultanate […] [Original post on mastodon.ie]

The cover of The Ottomans by Marc David Baer. It shows a detail of the Suleiman Hunting With Selim, as if seen through an ornately-carved window.

At the centre of the image is the future sultan Selim II, riding a black horse and wielding a sword which the viewer can just make out he is using to kill a gazelle. Lobes around the centre show Selim's attendant and some hunting dogs.

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Infrapink (he/his/him) @infrapink.mastodon.ie.ap.brid.gy · 16/08/2026

If you haven't seen a solar eclipse in person, you are not prepared for how sudden the darkening it. It isn't a gradual process over two hours. Daylight remains as bright as ever right up until totality, at which point God ramps down the dimmer switch; you can […] [Original post on mastodon.ie]

A crowd of people and a few buses in a field in western Iceland. The people are mostly looking up at the grey cloudy sky. Some have cameras and telescopes.

This picture is brightly-coloured and well-lit, but the actual moment was darker; my camera did a bit of colour correction.

A cloudy grey sky hangs above a dark scene. Some buses can just be discerned, and if you look carefully, you can make out people in the darkness. A few phone screens stand out as points of light.

This is what totality looks like.

It's dark, but not so dark you can't see anything.

A group of people in a field in Rif, Reykjanes Peninsula, looking toward the north horizon. Many are pointing phones and cameras in that direction.

The field is dark, because it's directly under a total solar eclipse. However, the north horizon glows golden as if at sunrise, because it lies JUST outside the border of totality.

A darkish scene of people gathered in a field in western Iceland, mostly looking at the sky as the moon is at this moment directly in front of the sun.

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Infrapink (he/his/him) @infrapink.mastodon.ie.ap.brid.gy · 16/08/2026

The clouds thickened right before totality, so I wasn't able to get the corona. But they lightened up again just afterward, so I got a few shots of the sun growing again. #Eclipse #Eclipse2026

A very small crescent sun, almost completely clocked from sight by the moon, behind grey clouds. The clouds directly in front of the moon appear to glow faintly blue.

It's hard to see, but this photo shows a sliver of a crescent sun in the moment after new moon, as the moon continues to pass by the sun and allow its light to once again reach Earth.

A large crescent sun. The moon has moved past it a fair bit, leaving over half the sun visible, but it still has a large bite take out of it.

The entire thing is behind grey clouds, but the clouds directly in front of the sun appear to glow faintly blue.

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Infrapink (he/his/him) @infrapink.mastodon.ie.ap.brid.gy · 16/08/2026

All me eclipse photos were taken with my nice camera because my phone is absolutely not up to the task. But I didn't bring my laptop with me to Iceland; now that I'm home, I can finally post what I shot. #Eclipse #TotalEclipse #SolarEclipse #Eclipse2026

A cloudy sky, through which the sun can be discerned. The sun glows brightly, but has a bite taken out of it by the moon passing in front, giving it a crescent shape.;

A brightly-glowing crescent sun, seen through grey clouds.

A small crescent sun, seen through grey clouds. The clouds directly in front of the sun appear to be glowing faintly blue because of physics.

A nice, big crescent sun, seen through grey clouds. The clouds directly in front of the sun appear to be glowing faintly blue because of physics.

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Infrapink (he/his/him) @infrapink.mastodon.ie.ap.brid.gy · 13/08/2026

This afternoon is for unstructured cultural stuff so of course I'm at the #PenisMuseum . Tye waffles are pretty nice. I can't imagine tye irons are massed produce; how much did they cost? #Iceland #Reykjavik

A carved wooden statue of a huge penis with small, narrow penises growing from it.

A couple of penis-shaped Belgian waffled, topped with blueberries, meringue chunks, and syrup, with a small bowl of ice cream between them.

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Infrapink (he/his/him) @infrapink.mastodon.ie.ap.brid.gy · 12/08/2026

Finally got some WiFi in Rif, our final destination. There's a festival atmosphere here, too, and tourists, mostly American, outnumber locals at least 10:1 #Iceland #Eclipse2026

People milling about a hostel converted from a shed. The shed has an aurora borealis mural on the long side.

A slightly different shot of the same scene. This one shows the short side of the hostel, which has a Viking mural beneath its name, The Freezer.

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Infrapink (he/his/him) @infrapink.mastodon.ie.ap.brid.gy · 11/08/2026

The final stop of the day was Seljalandsfoss Waterfall, which of course I went behind. Genuinely fun experience if you're properly dressed. #Iceland

A view from behind a large waterfall as it plunges loudly into the ground, spraying up mist everywhere.

The cave behind the waterfall which does not contain any treasure

The waterfall from the other side, still thundering into the river at the bottom.

The bottom of the waterfall, seen from outside. Mist sprays everywhere from the constant force of the mighty impact

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Infrapink (he/his/him) @infrapink.mastodon.ie.ap.brid.gy · 11/08/2026

After the black sand beach, we went to Sólheimjökull Glacier. This is not at all what I expected. I always pictured glaciers as pristine, white, glittering sheets of ice, while this brought to mind the "dirty snowball" descriptions of comets. This, of course, is […] [Original post on mastodon.ie]

Sólheimjökull Glacier, which is not a pristine sheet of ice. It actually looks like a huge lump of rock, with black, grey, and white bits in a mottled pattern.

in reality, it's a whole lot of ice with volcanic sand frozen within it.

A selfie of me, a white fella with a beard and wearing a woollen beanie, with Sólheimjökull Glacier in the background

A mini-glacier in Sólheimjökull lake, which I guess must have calved off the main glacier.

Its peaks are pure black. The bottom parts consist of alternating layers of thick white ice and narrow black volcanic sand, giving it an almost zebra-like appearance.

A valley between two dunes of volcanic sand. A thin, scraggly strip of grass and moss grows defiantly along the very bottom.

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Infrapink (he/his/him) @infrapink.mastodon.ie.ap.brid.gy · 11/08/2026

And now I come to Tue black sand beach near Vík. It's a beach. Where the sand is black. But this isn't the kind of sand you'll be making castles out of. It's really a volcanic rock beach where some of the rocks are very small. #Iceland

A handful of black sand. It's much coarser than the golden sand most people are used to, with bigger grains and several visible pebbles.

A handful of black sand. It's much coarser than the golden sand most people are used to, with bigger grains.

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Infrapink (he/his/him) @infrapink.mastodon.ie.ap.brid.gy · 11/08/2026

Climbed to the top of Skógafoss Waterfall. Definitely worth doing if you're able. #Iceland

A wide waterfall tumbles over a semicircular impression in a mountain range. The rocky parts are covered in scraggly grass.

A view from the bottom of the waterfall as it thunders to the ground. Tiny human figures around the base give a sense of the immense scale.

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Infrapink (he/his/him) @infrapink.mastodon.ie.ap.brid.gy · 11/08/2026

About to climb to the top of Skógafoss Waterfall #Iceland

A wide, majestic waterfall tumbles between two flanks if stone. a line of people walk up the tail to the top

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Infrapink (he/his/him) @infrapink.mastodon.ie.ap.brid.gy · 10/08/2026

In the evening I went to see a lava show. This is an educational show where melted volcanic rock (degassed so nobody will die) flows down a bed of tephra, and the presenter, does cool tricks with it while explaining the geology and physics of lava and volcanoes […] [Original post on mastodon.ie]

A dark room in which the only thing that can be seen is a stream of lava flowing down a Stine channel.

The lava now pools in a basin at the bottom of the chute, glowing brightly.

The lava, now solidified but still burning hot, is lit up by artificial light. while it still glowed in the dark, in the light it just looks like lumps of grey metal with bits of black glass embedded.

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Infrapink (he/his/him) @infrapink.mastodon.ie.ap.brid.gy · 10/08/2026

First full day in Iceland brought adventures in FOOD! The food tour was structured around a multi-course meal, where we had a small plate in each of several local restaurants. First up was pastry at Bakabaka, where the chefs are absolutely not baka. Tue cinnamon […] [Original post on mastodon.ie]

Three delicious Icelandic pastries on a plate. There is a ¼ cinnamon roll, an oat slice with rhubarb jam, and a sweet filled puff pastry.

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Infrapink (he/his/him) @infrapink.mastodon.ie.ap.brid.gy · 10/08/2026

[Food, meat] I have eaten Hákarl. It's not something I will be seeking out again, but unlike Gordon Ramsay, I managed to swallow mine. In fairness, the bit I tried was mild enough to be palatable if you're into this sort of thing. Our guide said that the really […] [Original post on mastodon.ie]

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Infrapink (he/his/him) @infrapink.mastodon.ie.ap.brid.gy · 09/08/2026

This is the photo everybody posts, but it's easy to see why. This particular statue was a gift from America to celebrate the 1000th anniversary of the Althing. #Iceland #Reykjavik

At the centre stands a bronze statue of Leif Eriksson, now turned green. Leif is dressed as a Norse chieftain, wearing armour and with a cape billowing behind him. He holds a battleaxe in his right hand and a cross in his left, and a sword hangs from his left hip.

He stands atop the bow of a ship, carved from pale marble. The entire statue is REALLY BIG. It towers over the humans standing about it.

Speaking of things that tower, Leif is framed by Hallgrímskirkja in the background. If Protestants went for cathedrals, this would be a cathedral. Made entirely of pale concrete, he centre is an immensely tall tower with clocks on its four faces, tapering to a point with a cross on top.

Flanking the tower are hexagonal columns in the same material, the height of which decreases logarithmically as they get further from the centre so that they form graceful supporting curves. The whole effect makes it look like the central tower is rising up from the ground.

A close-up of the aforementioned statue of Leif Eriksson.

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Infrapink (he/his/him) @infrapink.mastodon.ie.ap.brid.gy · 05/07/2026

And now we get to the end. This was an incredibly impressive performance, and my pictures and videos don't really give it justice. If you ever hear that Seven Rivers of the Sun is being performed near you, go see it unless you need to care for someone's life or […] [Original post on mastodon.ie]

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Infrapink (he/his/him) @infrapink.mastodon.ie.ap.brid.gy · 05/07/2026

The colour correction isn't wonky,. the flares really were that pink. #Clonmel #JunctionFestival #Fire

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Infrapink (he/his/him) @infrapink.mastodon.ie.ap.brid.gy · 05/07/2026

Now the most important maiden of the precession performed her part of the dance. #Clonmel #JunctionFestival #Fire

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Infrapink (he/his/him) @infrapink.mastodon.ie.ap.brid.gy · 05/07/2026

And at the front, a maiden doing some REALLY impressive tricks with fire. #Clonmel #JunctionFestival #Fire

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Infrapink (he/his/him) @infrapink.mastodon.ie.ap.brid.gy · 05/07/2026

And here is the bulk of the fire. It was a warmish night, but all this fire was genuinely hot. So much fire. #Clonmel #JunctionFestival

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Infrapink (he/his/him) @infrapink.mastodon.ie.ap.brid.gy · 05/07/2026

There was a great variety of things in the precession. More fire than one might expect. #Clonmel #JunctionFestival

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Infrapink (he/his/him) @infrapink.mastodon.ie.ap.brid.gy · 04/07/2026

The maidens danced in the moon and scattered feathers to the crowd #Clonmel #JunctionFestival

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Infrapink (he/his/him) @infrapink.mastodon.ie.ap.brid.gy · 04/07/2026

It's hard to tell with the blurriness, but after a short while the precession was joined by more floats. #Clonmel #JunctionFestival

In the distance, a colourful illuminated tower flanked by lanterns held aloft. Closer to the viewer, a crowd of people following.

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Infrapink (he/his/him) @infrapink.mastodon.ie.ap.brid.gy · 04/07/2026

Then the marshals gestured for the rest of us to join the precession. So we did. #Clonmel #JunctionFestival

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Infrapink (he/his/him) @infrapink.mastodon.ie.ap.brid.gy · 04/07/2026

First, the lantern bearers walked past the towers so as to lead them forth. (Did you know you can add alt text to videos?) #Clonmel #JunctionFestival

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Infrapink (he/his/him) @infrapink.mastodon.ie.ap.brid.gy · 04/07/2026

At about 22:30, the precession started, and the marshals encouraged the gathered crowd to follow. There were a LOT of people there; it felt like half the town turned up. #Clonmel #JunctionFestival

Three colourful towers, shining with an inner light, followed by a precession of people holding lanterns on sticks.

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Infrapink (he/his/him) @infrapink.mastodon.ie.ap.brid.gy · 04/07/2026

Last night the Seven Rivers of the Sun came to Clonmel. A combination parade and precession, this is a festival of light and fire (a surprising amount of fire) which would be right at home at Diwali and possibly Nowruz. I took pictures! And videos! #Clonmel #JunctionFestival

A group of people in black clothes holding paper lanterns on the ends of sticks.

An inflatable tower. Light from within shines through a red-and-gold shaft and a green-and-orange onion dome.

A tower stands inflated, while another one is being inflated next to it. Both glow from inner light in blues, greens, and golds.

Three inflatable towers topped with onion domes. Inner light shines through pink, yellow, green, and blue fabric.

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Infrapink (he/his/him) @infrapink.mastodon.ie.ap.brid.gy · 04/07/2026

"To picture how AI might destroy society, imagine if the US govt ordered Microsoft to turn off Office 365" So, disruption for a couple of weeks as people figure out how to self-host again, after which things continue as before but better? "But nobody would have […] [Original post on mastodon.ie]

IMAGINE WAKING UP on Monday morning to discover that the US Government had told Microsoft to disable Office 365 for everyone outside the United States. No Word. No Excel. No Outlook. No Teams meetings. No Azure-based sites or applications.

Sure, there’d be some relief. But there’d be way more outcry.

Government departments would stop functioning. SMEs would grind to a halt. Bigger companies would struggle too, maybe even more. A huge chunk of the workforce would suddenly find that their productivity is a matter of American foreign policy. It may sound like a farfetched scenario. But replace Microsoft’s services with frontier artificial intelligence and it is not hypothetical.

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Infrapink (he/his/him) @infrapink.mastodon.ie.ap.brid.gy · 02/07/2026

Got out of work early because there is literally nothing to do, and was greeted by this. #Photography

A sunset.

The sun is below the horizon but its light still reaches Earth's surface. Wispy clouds scatter that light into a spectrum, intensely yellow just above the horizon, lightening to shades of pink and orange a bit further from the centre, which themselves give way to the blue of the sky.

Some large trees stand silhouetted against the light, and a sighted person could just make out rows of cars in the shadow by the shine they reflect.

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Infrapink (he/his/him) @infrapink.mastodon.ie.ap.brid.gy · 24/06/2026

[IEpol] No it isn't. Because the people leaving the money are dead. The reaper has taken them to have their hearts weighed by Anubis to determine whether they will spend eternity with the God of Abraham or in the shadows with Xibalba. The tax is paid by those […] [Original post on mastodon.ie]

Fine Gael TD Brian Brennan told the Dáil on Wednesday that one million people in Ireland do not have children.

“That is for many reasons – maybe life choice, medical or simply their personal choice. Under the current inheritance tax threshold, if a parent leaves a property or investment, there is a threshold of €400,000 but if an aunt or uncle leaves their property or investment to their niece or nephew, their threshold is 10% of this amount.

“This is simply unfair and it is actually discriminating against people who do not have children,” he said.

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