iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Thanks! My legs don't like me today though 😀

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Good luck! It seemed completely out of reach to me 6 months ago but the consistency of the plan helped a great deal

Yeah I've found Runna really good. Keeps things relatively varied, easy to adjust, syncs well with other apps. By default it ramped distance too fast for me but you can slow it down.

Mark in Berlin @markjb.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

I've been #running casually for 10 years or so. My life goal has been sub-20 5k, but at the tender age of 39 I thought that might be out of reach. Since spring I've followed a Runna app plan, and it turns out all those long, slow miles actually work! Yesterday: 500km for the year, 19:41 5k 🎉

A Strava screenshot showing top 10 5k running times, cropped to the top 1.

A big medal thing says 19:41, 3:56/km

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I saved up for a smart telescope recently, tonight's the first clear night for it. Set it up on our little balcony in Berlin, blipped a few app buttons not expecting too much, and HOLY SHIT

The moon. But like, exceptionally moony. Moontacular. Shot through a telescope. Faintly frightening, lots of craters and dark bits and shit.

Sweet little space guy called the dumbbell nebula. Looks a bit like an apple core. Wild stuff.

Mark in Berlin @markjb.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

That's just called glasses mate

A BBC In Depth headline reading: They were labelled 'pervert glasses'. Will a camera-free version transform their image?

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Mark in Berlin @markjb.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Not pictured - the wiry bits digging into my head 😆

Mark in Berlin @markjb.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Daughter made this awesome flower crown at the community festival. She then refused to wear it, so I had to do the honours, and I may finally have found my kind of headwear.

A man in a jazzy print shirt does a sort of blue steel expression but misses it and looks a bit like a duck instead. He wears a flowery wreath on his head

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Mark in Berlin @markjb.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

Behold the mega éclair. Hark at its stately glory. Fear its untold power. #foodsky

An absolutely gigantic chocolate eclair in the process of being cut by a bread knife.

The thing is more than a foot long. It glistens with a chocolate glaze picked out in white icing, possibly some kind of ancient runes

The eclair now cut open to reveal a centre absolutely packed with chocolate cream.

It's from the Recolte patisserie near Paris by the way

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Mark in Berlin @markjb.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Disneyland Paris parade goes harder than I expected

An animatronic, metallic segmented dragon breathes a jet of fire, smoke swirling from its nostrils. It's backdropped by a cloudless sky

In the background a pink french townhouse style building and a small tree.

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Mark in Berlin @markjb.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

Well yesterday was fun, wasn't it? I wrote a @eiserne-internationals.com report on that first day of the season feeling, a boat trip, and a wild game of football. NB: we're between websites, so I span this up - shout if it breaks 😀 #unveu eiserne-internationals.netlify.app/posts/union-...

eiserne-internationals.netlify.app

Lustri’s chaos pixies pull off an epic collapse and an epicer comeback against Frankfurt · Eiserne Internationals

Match reports, travel and terrace talk from the Eiserne Internationals — the international supporters of 1. FC Union Berlin.

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Reposted by Mark in Berlin

Eiserne Internationals @eiserne-internationals.com · 26/08/2026

This Friday we'll be attending the @unionberlin.bsky.social International Party, be sure to drop by! 🙂

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Mark in Berlin @markjb.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

Die Sanitäter waren sofort da bei uns. Und die nette Ärzte von ASB waren großartig und haben ihn gründlich und freundlich untersucht. Es gibt so viele gute Menschen in unserem schönen Verein. Danke an alle! #fcunion #unveu

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Mark in Berlin @markjb.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

Eine schlechte, aber auch gute Erfahrung gestern. Mein Papa ist in Sek 4 wegen der Hitze ohnmächtig geworden (es geht ihm wieder total gut). Viele Leute sind geeilt, um zu helfen, Wasser zu geben, die Sanitäter zu holen usw. 1/

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Reposted by Mark in Berlin

Joe Bryant @awaydayjoe.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

My club @ipswichtown.bsky.social play here on Saturday… 🌳🌳🏟️🌳🌳 FC Union Berlin🔴⚪️ Very cool club, amazing fans & an iconic stadium🔥 This is what it looks like. If you’re going, say #Eisern 👋 from me. You may see my #Lego stadium! #FCUnion #itfc

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Reposted by Mark in Berlin

852dude @852dude.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

Bro. People are cool as fuck.

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Mark in Berlin @markjb.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

All timer #sunset tonight in Berlin, shepherds must be absolutely thrilled

A fiery orange-red sunset with jagged clouds over a landscape of trees, with a gravel path leading into the distance

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Mark in Berlin @markjb.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

Farewell, sweet Aeropress prince. 11 beautiful, caffeinated years together. We made I'd guess 5000 coffees together, all over the world. Your rubber seal thingy may have perished, but your memory never will.

An aeropress with a shit load of miles on the clock

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Mark in Berlin @markjb.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

1989 away so not the newest...

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Mark in Berlin @markjb.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

Thanks Mark - I'm begging for a goal at the very least but not getting my hopes up after preseason so far!

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Mark in Berlin @markjb.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

Hamburg bound - first time seeing Everton in person for about 15 years today! #efc

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Mark in Berlin @markjb.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

We were at the Freibad in Glottertal a few times! My SC Freiburg souvenir is I saw enough Synthesia Ultras stickers to last several lifetimes. They will live in my head forever

Mark in Berlin @markjb.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

Seems so! And beautiful turf it is too. If you see a slow moving guy sweating up hills in orange, it's me

Mark in Berlin @markjb.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

Morning run views in the hills above St Peter - savouring this before we're back to Berlin!

A horse on the ridge of a hill in morning sunlight, with shaded hills in the distance

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Mark in Berlin @markjb.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

Spectacular moonrise over the Black Forest tonight, phone camera never does it justice 😀

An orange moon rising framed by an apple tree and the hills of the High Black Forest

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Mark in Berlin @markjb.bsky.social · 25/07/2026

Morning run with a view in the Hochschwarzwald! Almost worth the endless uphill slog to get up here 😀

Mark in Berlin @markjb.bsky.social · 19/07/2026

"What if, instead of warmups and stuff before the game, we unleashed the biggest wave of bullshit imaginable? What could that look like?"

Mark in Berlin @markjb.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

Freiburg has some excellent selling points. You can be on a tram in the middle of the city, your child randomly asks to go on a cable car, and 20 minutes later...

A child looking out of a cable car window over green pastures

View from a cable car window of evergreen forests far below

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Mark in Berlin @markjb.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

Fun fact: 80% of nations could improve their World Cup performance, by learning this one weird trick FIFA don't want you to know.

The Collins dictionary definition of the word 'defend':

defend
(dɪfend IPA Pronunciation Guide)
Word forms: defends, defending, defended
1. verb B1+
If you defend someone or something, you take action in order to protect them.
Every man who could fight was now committed to defend the ridge. [VERB noun]
His courage in defending religious and civil rights inspired many outside the church. [VERB noun]
They would have killed him if he had not defended himself. [VERB pronoun-reflexive]
[Also V n against n]
Synonyms: protect, cover, guard, screen More Synonyms of defend

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Mark in Berlin @markjb.bsky.social · 26/06/2026

Also a potential answer to 'why did you miss your flight, Mark?'

Mark in Berlin @markjb.bsky.social · 26/06/2026

Adding to the list of reasons why I think BER is actually a good airport

Public world cup viewing in the airport at Berlin Brandenburg

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Mark in Berlin @markjb.bsky.social · 20/06/2026

Spent a few days in Italy last week and of course the food was great overall, but holy smokes this little place next to the beach in Albisola. The friendly lady who runs it turns out the most beautiful seafood from her tiny kitchen. Look at these prawns! 📍Rosa dei Venti, Albisola 🇮🇹

A view from a restaurant table of luscious green plants and a shaded pathway leading under a bridge to a beach. Wooden boats line the side of the path

A plate of the biggest, juiciest prawns just perfectly cooked with a touch of honey (Gamberi Al Miele)

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Mark in Berlin @markjb.bsky.social · 13/06/2026

Morning run with a different vibe today! 🇮🇹

Mark in Berlin @markjb.bsky.social · 12/06/2026

Tired: suit bags Wired: suit duffel bags

Just a plain old black duffel bag, also the merest hint of a baby in the corner.

SURPRISE the duffel bag is actually a suit bag

Mark in Berlin @markjb.bsky.social · 12/06/2026

Berlin, Berlin, wir fliegen aus Berlin!

View from a plane window shortly after take off. A green landscape with a field of solar panels, and a rainbow on the horizon

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Mark in Berlin @markjb.bsky.social · 10/06/2026

I'm trying to play a game of never take the same route twice and every time I find a nice new path!

Mark in Berlin @markjb.bsky.social · 10/06/2026

A gorgeous run through the Wuhlheide in the cool after rain tonight. Berlin's green spaces are something quite special.

A verdant meadow bordered by trees in full bloom. A gravel path with a distant cyclist winds through the middle.

Clouds bubble in the evening light above

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Mark in Berlin @markjb.bsky.social · 10/06/2026

I need to inform you that Séfi is at it again #fcunion www.reddit.com/r/soccer/com...

Girlfriend meme with the guy (labelled Andras Schäfer) looking at a girl labelled Long Range Thunderbastards and ignoring his girlfriend, labelled Tap Ins

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Mark in Berlin @markjb.bsky.social · 07/06/2026

I do see the logic, I still find it a bit weird. I'm not sure too many people are changing tram platform at *checks notes* Volkspark Wuhlheide 😀 When I first came here I had some near misses, because I had never seen half green half red crossings!

Mark in Berlin @markjb.bsky.social · 07/06/2026

Sure, we could line up the crossing signals, that's one option. But we could also

A German pedestrian crossing with 3 sets of signals. The middle one is green. The nearest and furthest are both red.

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Mark in Berlin @markjb.bsky.social · 04/06/2026

Thank you - this was fun to learn!

Mark in Berlin @markjb.bsky.social · 04/06/2026

100%, it's fascinating. Cheese and fermented things in general I also find interesting - somebody must(?) have been bold enough to say "look I know it's bubbling and it's been in the sun for 6 days but trust me, we should eat it"

Mark in Berlin @markjb.bsky.social · 04/06/2026

One of the two Accepted Flavours from the Crisp Amt.