iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

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Jeremy Diamond ☕️ @dmnd.me · 27/05/2025

Billy, this is a Georgist land tax. It targets economic rent from land. It’s Pareto-efficient and non-distortionary. Its defect is that it is political suicide.

Jonah Hill and Brad Pitt in the Moneyball “Undervalued” meme

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Russell Degnan @knottedpaths.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

Not saying Poss is wrong here, but doing this would blow up the entire AEMO Integrated System Plan. Battery storage is designed for short periods (12-24 hours) and has high output but small stores of energy. Snowy 2.0 is projected to be more than half of all stored energy.

Graph of projected energy capacity (GWh) showing Snowy 2.0 represents more than half of stored energy, essential for extended renewable lulls.

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Russell Degnan @knottedpaths.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

The Age made its reputation opposing the Octopus Act and its associated corruption in the 1880s. Its part of their DNA. The massive overbuild of rail back then is also why Victoria has had only 3 rail projects of consequence in the next 150 years. Not a good environment for considered investment.

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Russell Degnan @knottedpaths.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

Utrecht was the subject of one of my favourite urban studies books "Unbuilding Cities" by Anique Hommels. Fascinating that in 2005 it could be a case study in why urban change is so difficult given what came after. mitpress.mit.edu/978026258282...

mitpress.mit.edu

Unbuilding Cities

City planning initiatives and redesign of urban structures often become mired in debate and delay. Despite the fact that cities are considered to be dynamic ...

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Reposted by Russell Degnan

T&E @transportenvironment.org · 24/06/2026

NEW: Cars are growing 1.2 cm longer every year, a new study from T&E and @cleancitiescampaign.org shows. European cities are set to lose between 8.5% and 14% of their on-street parking by 2040 if this trend continues unchecked. 🧵⤵️

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Jacob T. Levy @jacobtlevy.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

It's bad enough to go through this when your own party is in power, to lack enough object permanence to conceive of a bad president wielding some power that Obama or Biden might claim because after all we'll never lose an election. But to propose this *while Trump is actually the president?* 4/4

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Russell Degnan @knottedpaths.bsky.social · 10/06/2026

The clever thing with this lane is that by having the footpath at grade and signal set back 800(?)mm there is still a sufficient space for trucks when required.

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Reposted by Russell Degnan

Michael LaFrance @mlafrance.bsky.social · 25/05/2026

A livestream of a volcano in the Philippines captured a meteor crashing to Earth today. What are the odds? Mayon Volcano, Location: Albay, Luzon, Philippines

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Russell Degnan @knottedpaths.bsky.social · 08/04/2026

There aren't a lot of global shipping chokepoints, but most of the nations bordering the ones that are would notice $40-200b a year in shared revenue. Once this sort of precedent is established it isn't clear why other nations wouldn't take notice.

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Susana Polo is at NYCC @susanapolo.bsky.social · 13/01/2026

It took two years (with other projects in between) but I've finished 44,703 stitches of DMC 162 — Very Light Blue that make up all the waterways on my 20-inch wide cross stitch map of the NYC subway system. If I never touch another skein of 162 again it'll be too soon

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Russell Degnan @knottedpaths.bsky.social · 05/01/2026

Can't choose one: Sun Tzu's Art of War Sensible World of Soccer Syndicate War Summer Games II / Winter Games

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Russell Degnan @knottedpaths.bsky.social · 05/01/2026

Bluesky emulated the structure of twitter, and is now speedrunning the dystopian social adjustment. And it is a bit better, but most of the solutions are only applicable after someone has been dogpiled or abused on the regular. I have a preferred solution...

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Reposted by Russell Degnan

Jay Hulme @jayhulmepoet.bsky.social · 29/12/2025

Just watched the new Knives Out and I think it's really important you know that the scene in the Seminary's Gym is filmed in the same place Rick Astley filmed the music video for Never Gonna Give You Up. I saw the window tracery and immediately made my friends pause the film so I could tell them.

A screenshot from Rick Astley's Never Gonna Give you up music video

A photograph of the seminary gym in knives out. It has the same window.

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David_j_roth @davidjroth.bsky.social · 11/12/2025

"Okay but do you have any proof it was Manute's? I feel like this could've been anyone's warm-up."

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Russell Degnan @knottedpaths.bsky.social · 29/11/2025

The great thing about the outrage machine is you can crank it up without any sort of adherence to facts. Take the "outrage" over the Burke and WIlls statue. thenightly.com.au/australia/vi...

The Burke and Wills monument, sculpted by Charles Summers and unveiled in 1865, had previously been located on the corner of Swanston and Collins streets until 2017 - when it was removed to make way for the Metro Tunnel Project.

Since then it has gathered duest in storage.

But instead of being returned to the spot where it has resided for more than 150 years, the monument is now slated to be sent to the Royal Society of Victoira on La Trobe Street.

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Marco Chitti @chittimarco.bsky.social · 20/11/2025

Transit Signal Priority is an umbrella term for multiple strategies that reduce delays for transit vehicles at signalized intersections, potentially down to zero. Here, I'm comparing the trade-offs between a "French-style" and an "in-phase" TSP strategy, more common in North America.

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Possum @pollytics.bsky.social · 07/10/2025

Australia Brain would do this with vigorous household income means testing seamlessly merging into an income contingent loan, which would allow us all to wax lyrical about its efficiency, whilst reducing net-benefit to human welfare by about 90 cents in the dollar. Oi Oi Oi!

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Russell Degnan @knottedpaths.bsky.social · 31/07/2025

Interesting graph but the problem with having more politicians is that it also reduces their influence on the levers of power. What we really need is more subsidiarity: devolving decisions to the lowest level. Which would mean having more talented politicians at lower levels and fewer federally.

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Russell Degnan @knottedpaths.bsky.social · 14/07/2025

Even 20 years ago, and I can't imagine it has improved much, the government was spending a lot of money subsidising teaching to empty classes because the students were working. Even when they could come they didn't have time to prepare. Which leads to a workforce perception that degrees are useless.

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Russell Degnan @knottedpaths.bsky.social · 03/06/2025

Minimum wage rises are a good time to remember that unless you are working more than 30 hours a week on that wage the majority of the increase goes back to the government (from reduced Centrelink payments and tax).

Graph of overall take-home pay increase from minimum wage for single person incomes on Centrelink. For persons working 20 hours per week the effective marginal tax increase is 58%

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Russell Degnan @knottedpaths.bsky.social · 15/05/2025

AI is great. Billions of dollars to recreate Serdar Argic but for South Africa and with even less relevance in the replies.

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Russell Degnan @knottedpaths.bsky.social · 07/03/2025

This advice is not entirely helpful...

A sign on the door says "The Royal Melbourne Hospital". Next to it says: "No emergency department. If you require emergency care the closest emergency care is The Royal Melbourne Hospital"

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Damien Moule @damienmoule.bsky.social · 02/02/2025

We're free now. We can evaluate ideas and institutions from the U.S. with new clarity. Thrown out Euclidean zoning, get Japanese zoning. Get rid of American traffic engineering. It's all chaff.

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Russell Degnan @knottedpaths.bsky.social · 18/02/2025

Must admit I wrongly thought Ukraine would be abandoned to Russia by the USA. Apparently it is more of a "carve up of Poland" type situation.

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M. Nolan Gray 🥑 @mnolangray.bsky.social · 08/02/2025

I'm deeply saddened to share that Donald Shoup passed away last night. He was the ideal academic—curious, methodical, and concerned with turning ideas into real-world change. TAing his parking course these past few years has one of the greatest honors of my life. Rest in peace, Shoup Dogg.

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Russell Degnan @knottedpaths.bsky.social · 01/02/2025

Rather than efficient, markets are self correcting, like a bicycle. They wobble but return to upright regardless of power exerted through the pedals, exogenous road and wind forces or shifting weight. We have never really seen what happens to a market economy if you jam a stick in the spokes.

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Russell Degnan @knottedpaths.bsky.social · 27/01/2025

Interesting side note to the Colombia tariff story is that coffee prices are already at an all time high because of Brazilian rainfall. Sticking a 50% tariff on top of a price that is twice the average is wild.

10y graph of Arabica coffee prices showing it rise from less than 150 to 250 in 2020 then 350 since 2024

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Naththan @nathanpittman.bsky.social · 26/01/2025

I love a good street tree. They mitigate against urban heat through evapotranspiration, they provide homes for birds, they look nice! Why do we keep planting them such that they block already tiny footpaths?

Photograph of a street tree in Melbourne, showing how the tree is planted into a very narrow footpath with about 50 cm horizontal clearance

Photograph of a recently planted street tree in Melbourne, showing how the tree is planted into a very narrow footpath with about 50 cm horizontal clearance

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Jason Murphy @jasemurphy.bsky.social · 04/12/2024

A thread of mystifying and hilarious data visualisations from the "Australians" books, published in 1987 by the Australian Government. (originally brought to my attention by @mikejbeggs.bsky.social ) #ausecon #chartcrimes #dataviz 1. Spikes

it's meant to be a graph but it looks like an AI tried to make an origami concertina

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Russell Degnan @knottedpaths.bsky.social · 26/11/2024

Huge swing coming against Labor from parents forced to drive their kids to government mandated outdoor activities because they can't walk nowadays.

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Russell Degnan @knottedpaths.bsky.social · 20/07/2024

Congressional Democrats pine for a Westminster system.* Though they might benefit from seeing how voters reacted to toppling Prime Ministers in that system. * As they should because it is a better system of appointing an executive but also not the one they have.

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Cats of Yore @catsofyore.bsky.social · 14/02/2024

Don’t forget when picking out Valentine flowers: every part of the lily plant is DEADLY to cats. Even a few grains of pollen can be fatal. Do not mess around thinking you’ll put them in a “safe” spot - keep them out of your house. 🌸 www.fda.gov/animal-veter....

Color photo of a white lily blossom, overlaid with a black skull and cross bones and text that reads “no lilies for kitties”.

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Russell Degnan @knottedpaths.bsky.social · 26/01/2024

Have put the kittens up for adoption up on the Sugar and Spice Cat Rescue twitch stream and they are not disappointing (if you like cute kittens playing). www.twitch.tv/sugarandspic...

twitch.tv

SugarandSpiceCR - Twitch

Sugar and Spice Cat Rescue Kitten Live Stream

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Russell Degnan @knottedpaths.bsky.social · 27/12/2023

Reading this article and being reminded of this now 20 year old joke that in our modern dystopia eventually becomes true to life defector.com/youre-supposed-to-be-glad-your-tesla-is-a-brittle-heap-of-junk

An old joke apocryphally from GM on what cars would be like if made by Microsoft

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