iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Martin Kirk @markofcalth.bsky.social · 16h

Oh no... Is Rees-Mogg going to become the redemptive leader of the Conservative Party after Badenoch eventually gets canned?

100

Martin Kirk @markofcalth.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

There's definitely a pro-Leftist base for KR, especially with Syndies not being explicitly authoritarian in the same way as the Soviets were historically

0150

Martin Kirk @markofcalth.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

"Driver, when I said 'find a hull down position' I did NOT mean IN THE RIVER!"

020

Martin Kirk @markofcalth.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

If such a society /did/ exist, bigots would just make up some new distinction to be hateful about anyway

1170

Martin Kirk @markofcalth.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Can't be the same. Colonialism is when boats. (Sarcasm, obviously)

080

Reposted by Martin Kirk

Rebecca Solnit @rebeccasolnit.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Time for this classic again.

156164675552

Martin Kirk @markofcalth.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

That's, uh, that's a remarkably clear frontline for a graphic about something unrelated...

001

Martin Kirk @markofcalth.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Far too unbelievable, as well!

000

Martin Kirk @markofcalth.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

It also reads like an opposition campaign rather than a sitting government seeking re-election. Labour, if you want me to be optimistic, you could govern in a way that encourages optimism!

110

Martin Kirk @markofcalth.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

I was about to make a joke about "it doesn't", but the 5th Republic has been remarkably stable by French standards! "It works" has probably been it's most defining feature 😂

240

Martin Kirk @markofcalth.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

It should be a scandal that the Culture Secretary *isn't* making use of free tickets!

020

Martin Kirk @markofcalth.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

The lack of a spike in the data for '21 is genuinely shocking to me. It's an inflection point, but doesn't look out of trend with the previous years

001

Martin Kirk @markofcalth.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Yeah, if she were my local MP, I certainly wouldn't vote for her!

000

Martin Kirk @markofcalth.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

...it took me far too long to realise that what I was reading and what I understood (unisex bathrooms, presumably what she meant) are, uh, not the same thing

020

Martin Kirk @markofcalth.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

What do you class as offline? While I don't know many people significantly younger than me IRL, my impression is that there's been more movement towards smaller online spheres (eg through Discord). That could also be a sign of how online I am though 😂

000

Martin Kirk @markofcalth.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

How up-to-date is a review from 2020? One of the things they called out in the conclusion is a need for further investigation (though many of their conclusions/concerns do seem to have been well justified by events since), do you know if there has been anything similar that's more up&to-date?

091

Martin Kirk @markofcalth.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

It may be due to how crazy the rest of the British Right has gone, but I'm beginning to have a grudging respect for him for genuinely seeming to believe in his opinions. I don't agree with most of his views, but they do at least seem to be sincerely held. Jeez, we have a low bar these days...

010

Martin Kirk @markofcalth.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

The only people it's discriminating against are non-drinking football fans! Assuming tickets are more expensive to make up for the lack of drinks sales. It may just be discriminating against the rights of football stadiums to make even more profit...

000

Martin Kirk @markofcalth.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

I use Jlab Jbuds Sport, and they seem pretty good. I haven't shopped around to know what a reasonable price is, though.

110

Martin Kirk @markofcalth.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

I think they're assuming progressives would still prefer a Labour government to a Reform one, rather than classing it as a progressive party. Labour aren't always making that an easy choice to stomach though

210

Martin Kirk @markofcalth.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Wait, are they equating England to *shudders* FRANCE? Outrageous! (Joking, obviously. Though I can imagine some people having exactly this complaint)

000

Reposted by Martin Kirk

👻madeline bOoOoOoOodent👻 @oldenoughtosay.com · 24/09/2026

okay, today’s spicy hot take because I’ve seen this three times already this morning: The U.K. does not have any such thing as a ‘legal name’ this is a good thing! unequivocally! this means it also applies to people we don’t like

27677127

Martin Kirk @markofcalth.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Though increased fees are also largely irrelevant, now I think about it. The total amount of my loan is irrelevant, at current rates I'm never going to pay it all off (because of the interest it generates)

010

Martin Kirk @markofcalth.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

I'm in favour of not increasing fees (I'd actually make it free), but only by increasing government funding for universities. That said, student loans are permissive enough that increased fees are certainly doable

100

Reposted by Martin Kirk

Ian King @twoht.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Now listen here, it's Bi Visibility Day, and @samwhyte.bsky.social has got some choice words to say about it. Extrremely choice, in one case,. unexpecteddelirium.substack.com/p/having-it-...

unexpecteddelirium.substack.com

Having it both ways and having it neither

Sam Whyte is guesting this evening, and she’s got a thing or two to say on this Bisexuality Visibility Day.

3176

Martin Kirk @markofcalth.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

I hope Rubio knows how easy it would be for Russia to end the war. They could just stop! At any time!

120

Reposted by Martin Kirk

Ash Oro @ashoro.co.uk · 22/09/2026

1/23 Sorry, this will be long... There is a lot of shouting about what happened in the Channel yesterday. So I want to go back to basic law. Not immigration policies or political rhetoric. At sea, the starting point is simple: Preservation of life comes first under all maritime conventions.

26895469

Martin Kirk @markofcalth.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

I think the most important issue facing the British people is the fact that most British people are convinced that immigration is an issue. But "The media" isn't one of those options, so 🤷

040

Reposted by Martin Kirk

John Bull @garius.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

one of my proudest moments was being told by a former Gove staffer that he once angrily proclaimed: "I am NOT an eldritch horror!" in a team meeting, because of me.

2462297

Reposted by Martin Kirk

Athena Kugblenu @athenakugblenu.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

"So, to the person who says it's a snowflake generation, just try living 24 hours as a 16-year-old." Its about time we assumed collective responsibility for the environment we've created for children www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

bbc.co.uk

Young people are not snowflakes, head of mental health review says

Speaking exclusively to the BBC, Prof Peter Fonagy says being young is much harder now than it was.

311633

Martin Kirk @markofcalth.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

I'm now picturing them reloading it like a cannon 😂

010

Martin Kirk @markofcalth.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Ambiguity (or a first strike policy) is a necessary part of deterrence! If both sides have an absolute ironclad "no first use" policy, then that leaves completely free room for conventional warfare between the two.

000

Reposted by Martin Kirk

Alan Baxter @alanbaxter.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

The kids are all right.

1297

Martin Kirk @markofcalth.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Oh, I just meant "no German Navy > no Anglo-French alliance > no pro-European sentiment in Britain to encourage the EU." It's a tenuous link, I'll admit 😂

090

Martin Kirk @markofcalth.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

"The Imperial German Navy is responsible for the birth of the European Union. Discuss"

1130

Martin Kirk @markofcalth.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

"We've got this thing that looks ridiculous, is CLEARLY compensating for something, and no-one knows how much use it will be. What should we call it?"

140

Martin Kirk @markofcalth.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Oh, no. Infantry Guy has returned!

000

Martin Kirk @markofcalth.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

The way they're posing definitely makes it look like they shot it down with AKs

020

Martin Kirk @markofcalth.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Sadly, I think the biggest risk (as a combination of likelihood and impact) is a significant number of companies laying off large numbers of employees without society being prepared for it. And that doesn't need AI to work, just for those companies to *think* it does

020

Martin Kirk @markofcalth.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

🤮🤮🤮 That's what it sounded like to me...

000

Martin Kirk @markofcalth.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Yeah, I assumed he meant actual medieval europe, and it seemed a little weird

020

Martin Kirk @markofcalth.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

The Auld Alliance is rekindled in the name of independence, this time between Scotland and Quebec

020

Martin Kirk @markofcalth.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

You mean Captain in the Life Guards James Blunt (Kosovo)? And anyone who doesn't know the story, please look it up!

050

Martin Kirk @markofcalth.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Yeah, hence my question. The 1erGM indemnity is comparatively nowhere close in terms of offsetting the cost of the war! But in 1871, their economy was probably also less crippled, so maybe more able to offset the impact? But the French economy was rightly a higher priority for France than Germany's

120

Martin Kirk @markofcalth.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Proportional to what? To the damage inflicted, the size of the economy, or inflation-adjusted? Because the Franco-Prussian War and the Great War are very different in scale!

100

Martin Kirk @markofcalth.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Having joined my local club this summer, I highly recommend it!

020

Martin Kirk @markofcalth.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

I'm seeing far too much politics at the moment that comes across as "I want things to get worse now so they'll get better faster afterwards (once the right people have been punished)" and I don't understand why people think it's an uncontroversial opinion

010

Martin Kirk @markofcalth.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

I wouldn't say I'm a hater, but I'm gluing them onto another base anyway, and the puddle mostly just acts as a larger surface to glue them down. I think some kind of tab or peg is a better solution, but that requires the base to have some depth, and either to be drilled or custom

101

Martin Kirk @markofcalth.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

That third image could be used for a few different wars!

020