iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

John-Paul Flintoff @jp.flintoff.org · 14h

Important people in the neighbourhood The friendly cyclist. Based on a real person (obviously?). flintoff.org/important-people-in-th…

Line drawing of a figure on a bike, waving.

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Comma Press @commapress.bsky.social · 20h

FOLLOW LIVE TONIGHT! 👇🎉 📻 Listen Here www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m... 📘 Order the Collection commapress.co.uk/books/bbc-na...

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Tyler King @tyleraking.com · 29/09/2026

A key component of the Cambridge Analytica outrage was your friends subjecting you to data theft without your consent or knowledge. Facebook is running the same playbook on your text messages. Even if you’re not on Meta properties, they’re ingesting your interactions.

Aten installed Muse on both his iPhone and a Mac mini that he uses to test out various Al agents and tech. It took Meta a single day to begin "helpfully" pitching article ideas based on texts he'd sent to a podcast co-host.
When he asked Muse how it got the information, it said that it read banners from incoming texts. But that's not true, either.
After doing a little digging, Aten says Muse synced 187,000 lines from his Messages database, despite Full Disk Access being Off.

Unless Aten is the most popular person on the face of the planet, I sincerely doubt he'd gotten 187,000 lines of text in roughly 24 hours. What happened is that, without permission, Muse went into the app and downloaded the information.
He had not given Muse permission to access Messages, and full disk access was not enabled. It just went ahead and uploaded those texts anyway.
Muse can take "unexpected actions" indeed.

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John-Paul Flintoff @jp.flintoff.org · 29/09/2026

"Have we gotten to the point where we have to constantly be in a parasocial dialogue with our computers?" On the weirdness of Google search now. sancho.bearblog.dev/google-weird/

sancho.bearblog.dev

When did Google get so f-ing weird?

I recently had an experience while doing a simple Google search that was so profoundly weird that it stopped me in my tracks. Understanding this Google se...

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John-Paul Flintoff @jp.flintoff.org · 28/09/2026

"Even people who still read books aren’t finding it easy to read the sorts of books people who read books used to read."

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John-Paul Flintoff @jp.flintoff.org · 28/09/2026

Just be writing, by hand Practising my handwriting again recently – cursive, or “joined-up” as we called it at school – in response to an inspiring post by Neal Stephenson (see below): "Just have notebooks lying around, or on your person. Write gr… flintoff.org/just-be-writing-by-hand

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John-Paul Flintoff @jp.flintoff.org · 27/09/2026

Always someone else doing it too Every time I start something new, broadly sensing that it was entirely my own idea – well, there’s always someone else doing it too. I have come to think that this is a fundamental law of the universe – and sh… flintoff.org/always-someone-else-do…

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John-Paul Flintoff @jp.flintoff.org · 26/09/2026

On the pains of indecision Geoff Dyer’s Out Of Sheer Rage is about a young writer trying to settle into a writing project. You don’t need to be a writer to recognise his agonising indecision: I had thought about subscribing to Canal Plus as a wa… flintoff.org/on-the-pains-of-indeci…

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John-Paul Flintoff @jp.flintoff.org · 16/09/2026

137,832 words of saying thank you I have now pulled my comments out of three social media exports. Not the posts – the comments. The things I typed underneath other people’s posts. There are 13,116 comments, amounting to 137,832 words. More t… flintoff.org/137832-words-of-saying…

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John-Paul Flintoff @jp.flintoff.org · 24/09/2026

Creepy, no? One of the characteristics of the internet in recent years is a kind of ungenerous, restrictive quality that stops people going somewhere else, tries to keep us under control. I realise that this has infected me too: I’ve hidden away so much that previou… flintoff.org/creepy-no

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John-Paul Flintoff @jp.flintoff.org · 24/09/2026

Say the number, then stop Twice in the last month, someone has paid my asking price for a portrait. I mention this because I’ve written before about the opposite experience – being told the price was absurd, then spending an unreasonable amount of ti… flintoff.org/say-the-number-then-st…

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John-Paul Flintoff @jp.flintoff.org · 21/09/2026

Let a photo cross the fold A photo that crosses the fold becomes an event. A spread from my A Speccy Man Has A Breakdown One of the nicest things you can do in a Micro-Memoir is let a single photo run right across two facing pages, so the reader … flintoff.org/let-a-photo-cross-the-…

A photo running right across a double-page spread of a book

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John-Paul Flintoff @jp.flintoff.org · 17/09/2026

How to find patterns in millions of words? I’ve asked Claude to read my entire archive: hundreds of thousands of words in the posts and comments on social media. And 1.2 million words published on my website, or approximately 15 novels… flintoff.org/how-to-find-patterns-i…

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John-Paul Flintoff @jp.flintoff.org · 16/09/2026

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John-Paul Flintoff @jp.flintoff.org · 15/09/2026

What I found in the LinkedIn download Yesterday, LinkedIn sent me everything I’ve ever posted there: - 1,680 posts - 106,448 words - January 2011 to August 2026 That’s more words than in any one of my eight books. About 350 of the posts… flintoff.org/what-i-found-in-the-li…

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John-Paul Flintoff @jp.flintoff.org · 15/09/2026

Thanks - out of the blue Just got a very welcome thank you card out of the blue from someone I know only through LinkedIn. Well, not out of the blue. But absolutely unnecessary and unexpected, and arriving a long time after what initially prompted it… flintoff.org/thanks-out-of-the-blue

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John-Paul Flintoff @jp.flintoff.org · 14/09/2026

The pain of abandoned projects - I totally share this feeling. But your friends may be right when they say that, despite it all, a ton has been achieved. Keep going Tom!

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John-Paul Flintoff @jp.flintoff.org · 14/09/2026

766 companies had a list with me on it This afternoon both Meta and LinkedIn sent me emails saying that my exports were available to download. So I downloaded. The Meta files were huge! About eight years ago, I stopped doing much on Fac… flintoff.org/766-companies-had-a-li…

Meta's Export your information dialog, showing two available downloads. John-Paul Flintoff on Facebook, 876 MB, expiring 18 September 2026, and jpflintoff on Instagram, expiring 17 September 2026.

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John-Paul Flintoff @jp.flintoff.org · 14/09/2026

A Little Bit Wild Most evenings, Peanut rises out of slumber and gets A Little Bit Wild. There may be a bit of fake snarling. Bit of jabbing a paw at someone. Standing and staring at a person right in the eye, no blinking. Then she goes out of the house f… flintoff.org/a-little-bit-wild

Line drawing of a schnauzer getting up with slightly wild expression.

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Hassinator @hassinator.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

a great letter in the times today. perhaps worth sharing in these troubled times. #RNLI #heroes

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John-Paul Flintoff @jp.flintoff.org · 13/09/2026

LinkedIn came back - without my posts The first export is back. LinkedIn returned a lot – but not, as far as I can tell, the posts themselves, which were the main thing I wanted. I definitely opted to download everything when given the chance,… flintoff.org/linkedin-came-back-wit…

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John-Paul Flintoff @jp.flintoff.org · 13/09/2026

I asked Facebook for everything I ever posted Like many people, I look back on the social media years as somewhat lost. I posted enthusiastically for years, and the platforms got crummier and crummier. This morning I set a timer for twenty-five m… flintoff.org/asked-facebook-for-eve…

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John-Paul Flintoff @jp.flintoff.org · 05/09/2026

Somebody wanted to buy Hunter A couple came in who did, in fact, buy a portrait of somebody else. But for quite a while they were occupied with Hunter Davies, at the bottom of whose portrait I had written that it was an artist proof – and for a good stret… flintoff.org/someone-wanted-hunter

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John-Paul Flintoff @jp.flintoff.org · 01/09/2026

"kind of like the noise two pigs would make if they’d been eating hot gravel then opened a newspaper at a page that offended them" Thank you for this @dj-acid-reflux.bsky.social

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John-Paul Flintoff @jp.flintoff.org · 01/09/2026

A kind of domestic altar There can’t be many places in a house more important to the people who lives there than the mantelpiece. Discuss. On this one: two clocks, two cats, and two framed photos. Work in progress on a portrait of a couple in a … flintoff.org/a-kind-of-domestic-alt…

drawing of a framed artwork above the mantelpiece. Objects on the shelf include photos.

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John-Paul Flintoff @jp.flintoff.org · 30/08/2026

75 secs on Instagram I made a video recording of my Instagram feed. I opened the app, started scrolling, and captured exactly what appeared for one minute and fifteen seconds. Then I watched the video back, pausing at every item, and made a tally in my n… flintoff.org/75-secs-on-instagram

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John-Paul Flintoff @jp.flintoff.org · 29/08/2026

A room full of other people's rooms On the morning of the private view, I was unavoidably delayed at home for reasons too boring to go into. Early in the afternoon, I received an email from the gallery asking, er, was I coming in soon because the pict… flintoff.org/contain-multitudes-wrap

Toby and JPF in the empty gallery, four framed pictures leaning against the wall along the skirting, not yet hung

On the walls: the Peggy Jay Gallery with seven framed portraits hung in a line, JPF standing at the right with his hands on his hips, looking at them

Nancy, left, and Harriet and friends listening as JPF talks at the private view, glasses in hand

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John-Paul Flintoff @jp.flintoff.org · 29/08/2026

Susan, who is currently doing the Micro-Memoir course, sent me a note saying her story doesn’t contain a lot of emotion. I replied: It was just something fun that happened flintoff.org/just-somethi...

flintoff.org

It was just something fun that happened

A participant on the Micro-Memoir course said her story didn't contain much emotion. Our exchange about the message in a bottle she found, published with permission.

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John-Paul Flintoff @jp.flintoff.org · 29/08/2026

Poetry landscape I Forever and ever amen. Felt like doing something with a more obviously “wrong” line. A bit of a relief. Colours are vibrant. Trying not to make a big deal about – whatever! flintoff.org/poetry-landscape-i

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John-Paul Flintoff @jp.flintoff.org · 28/08/2026

A band on a missile First published (with permission): 28 August 2026 Last updated: 28 August 2026 Recently, I received a finished piece of work from Richard Varhman, a participant on the Micro-Memoir course. His book Greenham Uncommon is a fictionalise… flintoff.org/a-band-on-a-missile

Protect And Survive illustration by Richard Vahrman for Greenham Uncommon, showing band members astride a missile named Good Vibrations

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John-Paul Flintoff @jp.flintoff.org · 28/08/2026

What you never see coming Flynn Coleman, on enjoying what data can’t: A life turns on what it never saw coming… We can chart the movements of the sun and moon with astonishing precision and still be mesmerised when one disappears behind the other. … flintoff.org/what-you-never-see-com…

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John-Paul Flintoff @jp.flintoff.org · 28/08/2026

Come fly with me This morning I turned into a bird. But don't worry, I'm ok. flintoff.org/come-fly-with-me

Nine panel comic of JPF turning into a bird.jpeg

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John-Paul Flintoff @jp.flintoff.org · 28/08/2026

Worse than Trump tariffs? A petition for small businesses selling into and across the EU: It is now easier, cheaper and less bureaucratic for an independent artist to ship a parcel across the globe than to send a letter to their neighbour within the… flintoff.org/worse-than-trump-tarif…

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John-Paul Flintoff @jp.flintoff.org · 26/08/2026

A small staff of my own Not exactly a tool, not exactly an assistant. LLMs give you access to categories of labour, Craig Mod wrote recently, that individuals like him and me would otherwise be priced out of. Specialists you couldn’t otherwise afford t… flintoff.org/a-small-staff-of-my-own

Drawing of JPF at his computer with a crowd of assistants around him.

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John-Paul Flintoff @jp.flintoff.org · 25/08/2026

A memorable part of our day Please tell me it’s not fake. I just got this message on Instagram: Hi John-Paul! My name is (redacted) – I live in New York and was recently on vacation in London with my fiancé. We took a day trip to Hampstead and h… flintoff.org/a-memorable-part-of-ou…

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John-Paul Flintoff @jp.flintoff.org · 25/08/2026

Is £80 a lot for a book? Kev Green, on LinkedIn, about A Speccy Man Has A Breakdown Why so expensive? £80 is cost prohibitive for many. I’ve no doubt from the reviews it’s a great book but even I’d be hard pressed to pay that for a largely unknown. Please f… flintoff.org/why-so-expensive

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John-Paul Flintoff @jp.flintoff.org · 25/08/2026

The picture I couldn't frame Leaving the portrait of Hunter Davies on a table at the gallery, with no frame, turned out to be a really good idea. I don’t know why I didn’t think of doing it earlier. That’s the artist’s proof, with its tissue peeled back.… flintoff.org/hunter-on-the-table

The artist's proof lifted from the table, tissue folded back, with the framed pictures on the wall behind.

Hunter Davies drawn twice in the same first-floor room he has worked in for decades, at his desk and in his armchair.

Two visitors at Burgh House, standing over the unframed portrait where it lay on the table.

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John-Paul Flintoff @jp.flintoff.org · 24/08/2026

I couldn't post about it in my own street Teresa is one of my neighbours, a very encouraging woman. She works as a coach, which isn’t the point of this, and she has a picture I made for her some years ago. She is on my mailing list, so she knew the… flintoff.org/teresa-and-lyndale-ave…

Illustration dated 2021, showing white terraced houses with grey-shuttered windows, a tall clipped conifer, a yellow trellis with climbing plants, a pink tiled bay roof, and black railings bordering a sloping street.

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John-Paul Flintoff @jp.flintoff.org · 24/08/2026

My parents came to see the show My parents came to Burgh House this week. It’s the first time either of them has seen my work on a gallery wall since I was 14. Like other visitors, they didn’t go round in any particular order but zigzagged – stopping at on… flintoff.org/parents-at-the-show

My mother, in a blue jacket, looks up at framed prints on a gallery wall beside exposed brick.

My mother, hands clasped, looks up at a print in the Burgh House corridor; my father stands further down the hall by more framed prints.

My father, in a tan suede jacket, walks along the Burgh House corridor looking at framed prints, an exit sign visible ahead.

My mother, seen from behind, looks at a framed print of a book-lined living room with a patterned rug.

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John-Paul Flintoff @jp.flintoff.org · 23/08/2026

The G-Wiz gets its comeuppance At the private view of my portrait show at Burgh House this week, a man walked in who was at one point going to produce a television film about me driving my G-Wiz from John o’Groats to Land’s End, or possibly the o… flintoff.org/the-g-wiz-gets-its-com…

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John-Paul Flintoff @jp.flintoff.org · 23/08/2026

I wouldn’t want one I’ve had some lovely conversations in the last few days but today has not started well: Soon after opening, two people walk round the empty gallery, look at every picture but don’t once look at me – and as they walk out one says “I would… flintoff.org/i-wouldnt-want-one

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John-Paul Flintoff @jp.flintoff.org · 22/08/2026

Gallery visitor, peering closely At Burgh House, Hampstead. He seems taken with my portrait of Mark Stephens. flintoff.org/gallery-visitor-peerin…

Drawing of a man with a woolly hat and rucksack peering at a picture in a gallery.

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John-Paul Flintoff @jp.flintoff.org · 22/08/2026

Nearly thirty years later My mother was a lawyer. As a small boy I used to sit under her desk, keeping out of the way of visiting senior partners. So when I got my first staff job in journalism, at Legal Business magazine, the language of the profession was alre… flintoff.org/mark-stephens

Mark Stephens in his office, drawn four times against yellow walls, wearing a tie and working at his computer, with photographs of him at other moments of his life on desk and shelves.

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Rislandr 🇪🇺 🔰 @rislandr.eurosky.social · 20/08/2026

Atproto Spaces could become a Substack killer 🤞

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John-Paul Flintoff @jp.flintoff.org · 16/08/2026

I concede Van Gogh is quite good flintoff.org/checking-out...

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John-Paul Flintoff @jp.flintoff.org · 16/08/2026

What might I find by querying a 30-year writing database (of my own writing)? flintoff.org/what-thirty-...

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John-Paul Flintoff @jp.flintoff.org · 15/08/2026

When you get busy - overwhelmingly busy - try singing Moon River. A tip from Jane, who got the idea from someone else. - Portrait of Jane in her office is in my show at Burgh House, Hampstead, 19-23 Aug

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John-Paul Flintoff @jp.flintoff.org · 13/08/2026

Everything doesn’t happen "for a reason". But everything can eventually make sense, and come in useful somehow. 🧵/1

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John-Paul Flintoff @jp.flintoff.org · 10/08/2026

Power down in the eclipse to reduce fossil fuel upswing octopus.energy/eclipse/#faqs @octopus.energy

Opt into the Eclipse Power Down session.

Why should I use less electricity during the eclipse?
While the moon is blocking the sun, solar generation will plummet at the same time as home energy demand spikes. By powering down together in Saving Sessions like this one, we can help take the strain off the grid and avoid the need to switch on extra fossil fuels.
Did you know that in just one hour, the sun delivers enough energy to the top of our atmosphere to power humanity for one whole year? It's practically begging to be harnessed into solar energy.
We've answered some FAQs about our Eclipse Power Down, and you'll find the full terms and conditions here.
凹

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