iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Matt Cengia @mattcen.com · 15/09/2026

What do I have to do to *not* have my Copilot access renewed and get monthly emails about it? I didn't ask for subscription and I don't use it!

Your GitHub Copilot access has been renewed. Hi there, Thank you for renewing your free access to GitHub Copilot. Your access to GitHub Copilot will be reviewed on 2026-10-14. GitHub Copilot checks eligibility monthly per our policy. No steps are needed on your end. We hope you enjoy using GitHub Copilot and participating in the developer community.

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Matt Cengia @mattcen.com · 29/08/2026

The start of this morning's #PyConAU keynote seems to be an excuse for @daedalus.eigenmagic.com to show off his various sticker designs. And I'm not at all disappointed by this!

A design of a sign saying: "DANGER: DO NOT CONNECT TO THE INTERNET"

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Matt Cengia @mattcen.com · 28/08/2026

Oi @pyconau.bsky.social! Why is this the first time I'm seeing this pic!? Would like a high-res copy plz & thank. #PyConAU

A slide about session chairs, showing a pic of me presenting on stage with wide eyes, and open mouth, and looking like I'm conducting an orchestra

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Matt Cengia @mattcen.com · 21/05/2026

I'm sure this bollard fought valiantly but ultimately failed in its quest. This is a relatively small alleyway so I doubt it wouldn't have been hit by anything larger than a light commercial vehicle, so it seems… inadequate for its task

A steel bollard about 10cm in diameter, bent almost 90° against the ground

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Matt Cengia @mattcen.com · 21/05/2026

I see somebody turned down the render distance again

A photo from my balcony in which you can barely see the silhouette of a nearby building, let alone anything else, due to dense fog

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Matt Cengia @mattcen.com · 02/05/2026

Here's the LG setting in question, and a creepy notification I noticed in the process of checking it.

By turning Live Plus on, you understand that the content displayed on your TV can be recognised, and the viewing information may be used to provide you with an enhanced viewing experience and personalised services including content recommendations and advertisements. Please review the Privacy Policy and relevant User Agreements in the TV Settings menu for more information.

Last month, you watched TV for an average of about 1 hours per day and used HDMI2 the most.

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Matt Cengia @mattcen.com · 09/04/2026

This is such a shitty dark pattern (unsurprising, from a major supermarket). If you're not paying attention, you could easily thing these "I'm Perfect" onions are more expensive because they're "higher quality", rather than because they're twice the quantity, by weight, than the other option.

- Coles Brown Onions | 1kg; $3.80 ($3.80/ 1kg)
- Coles I'm Perfect Onions Prepack | 2Kg; $5.30 ($2.65/ 1kg)

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Matt Cengia @mattcen.com · 06/03/2026

If you think of it as iPhone 16 Pro hardware with keyboard/trackpad etc, it makes sense that it might only have a single USB 3.2 Gen 2×1 port on-board, but having 2 identical unlabelled adjacent ports isn't great UX.

The edge of a citrus-coloured MacBook Neo, showing two USB-C ports with no labelling on the chassis. The image itself has two added labels highlighting one port as "USB 3 (USB-C)" and the other as "USB 2 (USB-C)"

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Matt Cengia @mattcen.com · 01/03/2026

@openvibe.social FYI I'm seeing this bug on v1.15.0, iOS 26.3/iPhone 16 where hashtags or mentions (or links?) are shown without white space separation.

Problem example, from https://stream.labr.online/federation/i7IVNUdDR

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Matt Cengia @mattcen.com · 30/01/2026

At the #ScoutsVictoria Leader of Adults conference in Williamstown today! As usual, we're operating on Scout Time! 😂

A smiling white masculine person wearing a blue scout uniform with a red and green scarf. In the background is a courtyard full of other people in scout uniforms.

A stage with a big slide that says: "LOA
CONFERENCE
2026
Welcome
we start at 9am" in the corner is a photo timestamp: 9:23AM. There's a rover standing at the pedestal to the side.

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Matt Cengia @mattcen.com · 25/01/2026

Clothing too comfortable? Maybe you should try shopping at …

A sign for clothing store "Witchery", but the W fell off.

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Matt Cengia @mattcen.com · 23/01/2026

More conference venues should have hammocks. #EverythingOpen

A sun-lit pair of white legs and black shoes in an orange and yellow hammock, with some grass and trees in the background

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Matt Cengia @mattcen.com · 12/01/2026

Yes thank you VicEmergency I acknowledge receipt of your air quality warning.

3 identical phone notifications about air quality from the VicEmergency app, all received at the same time.

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Matt Cengia @mattcen.com · 07/01/2026

100%! Also "The relationship anarchists urge to flirt with everyone" reminded me of this design, by @tygerwolfe.bsky.social! 😂 www.cafepress.ca/+,1816961636

A velociraptor with an impressive mane, coloured blue, pink, and purple in the style of the bisexual pride flag, above the text "No friends - only prey"

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Matt Cengia @mattcen.com · 30/12/2025

Wow I don't think I'd have ever thought to look at Private Relay as a culprit here (I've never quite understood it's scope of influence). Can reproduce, but only when Use general location is selected. Country/TZ works. Makes me think they're trying to geoblock "international" IPs.

iCloud Private Relay settings. IP Address Location: Maintain general location or (selected) Use country and time zone

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Matt Cengia @mattcen.com · 17/12/2025

Just look at these clowns. 😂 #SwinginBellaChristmas @geraldinequinn.bsky.social I love this outfit, by the way! An excellent show as always!

Mal Webb and Geraldine on stage, on all fours, while Casey Bennetto sings off to the side

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Matt Cengia @mattcen.com · 11/12/2025

There's something super funky going on with the encoding of… oh. … of the encoding of your link posts in the main Bsky app view (both mobile app and web). But apparently *not* in the reply view, apparently (so I guess it's *not* a problem on your end?). Just FYI.

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Matt Cengia @mattcen.com · 28/11/2025

Yes ok thanks Apple I get it.

Two different panels on my iPhone Home Screen showing that I only got 3hrs 44min of sleep last night.

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Matt Cengia @mattcen.com · 24/11/2025

This, for example, is actually the kind of good experience I'd expect (putting aside my other objections to the social media age assurance debacle): www.auspayplus.com.au/connectid-po...

How it works

ConnectID has partnered with global compliance platform k-ID to deliver age assurance tools for some social media platforms. ConnectID will be one of various options available to users to verify their age, alongside other age verification, age inference, and age estimation tools. When users select ConnectID, they will be redirected to their banking app to confirm they are over 16.

The bank then confirms whether the user meets the age requirement and with the user's consent, returns only a simple “yes” or “no” response to the social media platform. No other identity documents are uploaded or shared, and no personal data – not even a name or date of birth – leaves the bank.

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Matt Cengia @mattcen.com · 24/11/2025

Post a movie that takes place where you're from

The poster for Holding The Man, 2015. Two men holding each other and smiling, almost kissing

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Matt Cengia @mattcen.com · 20/11/2025

Dear Kmart, If a product is not _available upon request_ at a given store, you should not be describing it as "in stock" on your website. When I asked, the person at the service desk said my closest store with this item was … further away than the three listed here.

Section of the Kmart website showing a product as "In stock" for an "In-Store" pickup at my three nearest stores

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Matt Cengia @mattcen.com · 20/11/2025

TFW you drop your phone, and pick it up to find a nice crack on the edge of the screen. Only to subsquently realise that the crack is only on the glass screen protector and the phone itself is fine. 😅

A phone whose edge clearly has a crack in the glass

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Matt Cengia @mattcen.com · 10/11/2025

How does this happen? These are all to the same email address and their body is effectively identical. My best guess is a bug or race condition with a message queuing system that means the message gets picked up multiple times before being removed from the queue. It's a bit annoying.

Three identical emails from Ko-fi, subject: Join the $500 discount code challenge 🎉

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Matt Cengia @mattcen.com · 14/09/2025

I just opened the Fitbit app on my phone, and noticed it *finally* has a dark mode! Decided to see how long that's existed (in case I just hadn't noticed). Their change log is … unhelpful.

"Version history" for the past 8 releases of the Fitbit iOS app dating back 3 months, all with only the description: "Bug fixes and performance".

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Matt Cengia @mattcen.com · 14/09/2025

Looking forward to @pyconau.bsky.social 2026, directed by the excellent @gdayitsjack.bsky.social! Will I see you there? Sofitel, Brisbane Central, August 26-30, 2026! Tickets on sale now!

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Matt Cengia @mattcen.com · 27/08/2025

Nice try, CoinJar! ("CoinJar is proud to support Scams Awareness Week 2025 partnering with the ACCC to help you identify and avoid scams. Test your skills and learn how to protect your assets!" It sounds legit, so I don't *think* the "win a free iPad" messaging is deliberately scammy-sounding)

An email.
From: CoinJar
Subject: Can You Spot a Scam? Take the Quiz and You Could Win an iPad!

Scams are evolving, and in 2025, Australians are projected to lose billions of both dollars and crypto to fraud. With scams becoming more …

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Matt Cengia @mattcen.com · 12/08/2025

This 2FA prompt was so unusually huge that it took me a good 5 seconds to work out what I was looking at.

Screenshot of https://theconsole.webcentral.au/login
The right half of the page describes their "new, refreshed, customer panel".
The left half has *huge* text saying "Login" above a traditional username/password form.

Screenshot of https://theconsole.webcentral.au/2fa
The right half of the page is blank with a navy blue fill.
The left half has huge text: "Enter the 6-digit code from your authenticator app. This helps us keep your account secure by verifying it's really you." taking up 7 lines; almost the entire left of the screen,above 4 pale grey boxes with grey circles in them and a blue "Verify code" button

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Matt Cengia @mattcen.com · 05/06/2025

Celt fute. Light melete dater.

A photo of my upside-down face against a white/washed out background.
I'm looking at the camera from above, smirking, and have messy wet hair and some stubble. The top of my naked torso is also visible, as is the green pounamu dangling from my neck.

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Matt Cengia @mattcen.com · 24/05/2025

Psst, hey kid! Want a fuck?

A dog-eared white business card with "One Extra Fuck" printed on it in a stylish typeface

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Matt Cengia @mattcen.com · 21/05/2025

Ah, Substack, being even more creepy with their overt tracking links.

Screenshot of the previous posted link with a huge banner: "Lex Roman, a subscriber of Hickman's Hinterlands, shared this with you."

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Matt Cengia @mattcen.com · 13/03/2025

Read the room, LinkedIn.

A screenshot of a small Firefox browser with obvious macOS window decoration, displaying a banner which says "LinkedIn is better on the new Windows app"

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Matt Cengia @mattcen.com · 10/03/2025

In #CapeTown for #NomadWeek this week! Give a shout out if you're also around!

A Nomad Week banner in the foreground, with Table Mountain in the background under a semi-cloudy late-afternoon sky.

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Matt Cengia @mattcen.com · 01/03/2025

Ah, the two genders: circle atop a triangle pointing up, and circle atop a triangle pointing down.

Two toilet doors each with a symbol as described in the post.

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Matt Cengia @mattcen.com · 20/01/2025

#EverythingOpen badge hacks! Write your name larger in Sharpie because the default font is unreadable at a distance! Also tie a small double-knot at the bottom of one side of the lanyard so it's not so ridiculously long! Find me for a Sharpie!

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Matt Cengia @mattcen.com · 28/12/2024

More right-handed bias! If I pour fabric softener from the left, I risk it spilling out the side. If I do it from the right. At least spillage won't end up on the floor!

The detergent compartment of a washing machine. There's a large (both wide and long) detergent receptacle on the left, and a very small fabric softener receptacle on the far right edge.

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Matt Cengia @mattcen.com · 25/12/2024

My sister gave us biscuit-baking kits as gifts, and mine got a special label, as a nod to A Swingin' Bella Christmas! bellachristmas.bandcamp.com/track/my-sis...

A glass jar with a green lid, and a label with a picture of a christmas tree and the text "Season's Greetings!"
Inside the jar, in layers, are flower, suger, chocolate chips, and other ingredients
There's a hand-written tag which says:
"My Sister's Christmas Biscuits
- Combine with 100g creamed butter, 1 small egg (beaten), 1/2 tsp vanilla extract, & 1tbsp milk.
- Mix with hands to form cookie dough.
- Leaving 2-3cm between biscuits, bake in 180° oven for 12-14 minutes.
Enjoy!"

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Matt Cengia @mattcen.com · 23/12/2024

Huh, likely unrelated, but I got this one in August too.

Disclosure Notice ordered by the Federal Court of Australia

Secure Parking made misleading representations about its Secure-a-Spot online booking service

Following legal action by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), the Federal Court of Australia has imposed a penalty of AUD $10.95 million on Secure Parking, declaring that it engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct and made false or misleading representations, in contravention of the Australian Consumer Law.

Secure Parking represented to consumers that by using its Secure-a-Spot online booking service a consumer would have a parking space reserved for them for the time, date and location specified in the booking they had paid for, when that was not the case. These representations were made on Secure Parking's website, in subscriber emails, in Facebook posts and in YouTube videos.

The Federal Court ordered that this letter be sent by Secure Parking to all subscribers on its customer database. More information in relation to the action taken by the ACCC is available on the ACCC's website at https://www.accc.gov.au/

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Matt Cengia @mattcen.com · 16/12/2024

Here, have a timeline cleanse!

6 ducklings in a park. They're fluffy and adorable

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Matt Cengia @mattcen.com · 14/12/2024

The variety of definitions of "remote" in the context of jobs in infuriating as someone trying to find true remote work (being able to work from anywhere with internet and not tied to a specific timezone) www.linkedin.com/posts/nav-ra...

Can we please settle on a definition of "remote"?

The emotional roller coaster of seeing my favorite companies offering remote roles, only to discover they are...

- "remote" (must be based in the U.S.)
- "remote" (within 20kms of our main office)
- "remote" (as long as you're in the EST timezone)
- "remote" (except for California because taxes)
- "remote" (anywhere in the northern hemisphere. We don't associate with those below us)

Let "remote" be "remote" and anything else be "kinda remote".

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Matt Cengia @mattcen.com · 11/12/2024

OK but real talk what's with the inconsistent comma usage, APH.

approximately 5,000 times
received over 9200 times

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Matt Cengia @mattcen.com · 18/11/2024

In my densely populated residential area, this thoroughfare is quite convenient. I understand the safety implications of pedestrians around trucks, but think a better solution is to cordon off a small safe #pedestrian path, rather than prohibit access entirely. #DesireLine

An alleyway between two residential streets beside a shopping centre loading dock. On the ground is a freshly painted red rectangle with a white "No Pedestrians" symbol and text. There's also a parked Bertocchi meat truck. 📷 @saul.remotequeer.co

desire line (noun): A path that pedestrians take informally, rather than taking a sidewalk or set route; e.g. a well-worn ribbon of dirt that one sees cutting across a patch of grass, or paths in the snow. -- Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License • More at Wordnik: https://www.wordnik.com/words/desire%20line

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Matt Cengia @mattcen.com · 13/11/2024

I'll be speaking at #PyConAU in just over a week! Come say hi and see my talk "Three Django Apps in a Trenchcoat: Writing an event management website with not a lot of time" pycon.org.au/attend

Join me at PyCon AU 2024 for

Three Django Apps in a Trenchcoat: Writing an event management website with not a lot of time

PyCon AU will be at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre on 22-26 November 2024.

Register today!
pycon.org.au/attend

Matt Cengia and Luke Byrnes
Eureka 2, Sunday 2:10 PM

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Matt Cengia @mattcen.com · 16/09/2024

Also can we talk about the fact this is a 6.8MB PNG?!

"Celebrating 10M users 🎉
#8,082,319
Matt Cengia @mattcen.com
Joined Sep2, 2024"
The image with the above text was a 6.8MB PNG with 6000x4800 resolution.

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