iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Duncan Porter @misterduncan.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

In an ideal world, there would be a gradual increase, with the difference subsidising alternatives, not creating obscene profits for multinational fossil fuel companies.

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Duncan Porter @misterduncan.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

An amazing 22° halo with sun dogs from West Devon currently, as the sun shines through the ice crystals of the high cirrostratus.

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Duncan Porter @misterduncan.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

6/ Sources: Excellent post from Ajeya Cotra with a sobering conclusion: planned-obsolescence.org/p/the-huggin... A more in-depth post from @dwarkesh.bsky.social dwarkesh.com/p/openai-hug...

planned-obsolescence.org

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Duncan Porter @misterduncan.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

5/ Either way, this immediately requires the equivalent of an international arms treaty, because like nuclear, this sort of immense power can easily be weaponised to devastating effect, only this time, potentially with no human consent.

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Duncan Porter @misterduncan.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

4/ We're playing with fire - the digital equivalent of lethal viruses, either far more capable than the creators predict or companies are recklessly failing to manage risk.

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Duncan Porter @misterduncan.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

3/ They were sacrificial agents to learn & setting up Potemkin villages to fool the assessors. They basically created the Borg - a hive mind willing to do anything to anything to achieve its goal.

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Duncan Porter @misterduncan.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

2/ The illicit collaboration was occurring across generations. They were scheming to succeed & knew that the cheating was wrong, so invested significant effort to manipulate the evidence & cover their tracks.

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Duncan Porter @misterduncan.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

The OpenAI/Hugging Face hack gets more concerning with every wave of new information. A short thread 🧵 The experiment was testing near unsolvable challenges with individual agents. To succeed, agents were using cache namespace of a package repo to secretly collaborate.

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Duncan Porter @misterduncan.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

Strout is great at celebrating everything about humans, laying it all out like a tapestry & marvelling at the beauty, the mystery & how the messiness of our lives coalesces into something much more beguiling than it first appears. The final page encapsulates this so deftly. Tremendous stuff!

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Duncan Porter @misterduncan.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

It's starkly honest like the works of Elena Ferrante, but takes a more simple approach of accepting the feelings & events, rather than choosing to pull the thread. It feels like this & Olive Kitteridge are about accepting people where they are: a kind of interpersonal stoicism. 3/

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Duncan Porter @misterduncan.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

This is the first of a series of sorts & establishes Lucy's entire emotional world fully formed as an almost minimalist exercise. There's a lot of ambiguity that never feels unfulfilled, because Lucy doesn't need that specific fulfilment or closure. 2/

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Duncan Porter @misterduncan.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

Just finished reading My Name is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout. My second Strout. I love her writing! There's no narrative tricks, surprises, emotional manipulation, suspense or showiness, however there's a real depth in the simplicity of how she portrays her character #booksky 1/

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Duncan Porter @misterduncan.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

This is my second Susan Choi & I love her writing. Sometimes significant events happen & pass so quickly it felt jarring, but the idiosyncrasies appear to be narrative choices that add to the story. Also an interesting reflection on nationality & citizenship. I will come back to this one. 2/2

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Duncan Porter @misterduncan.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

Just finished reading Flashlight by Susan Choi. A story about a missing father, Choi tells the story from multiple perspectives at different points in their lives. It's odd how through much of the book, the absent parent is an undercurrent, rather than the driving force. #booksky 1/2

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Duncan Porter @misterduncan.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

This could be a pivotal moment. I'd very much like this to be the start of a real government crack down on the behaviour of these companies & severe financial penalties. It'd be nice if that money went directly to child mental health research & services.

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Duncan Porter @misterduncan.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

There were a few points where I had to scan-read when it got a bit much.

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Duncan Porter @misterduncan.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

However, the nature of Jude's trauma is so extreme, I found it difficult to connect with - maybe my own brain's protection mechanism? I loved the cast of supporting characters grappling with trying their very best to support & understand Jude. It's a tough book & probably not for everyone. 3/3

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Duncan Porter @misterduncan.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

The book centres around the interpersonal connections of one man who not only suffered extreme childhood trauma, but is physically reminded of it every moment in his adult life. This foundation allows Hanya to explore the fringes of relationships & communication in ways many books cannot. 2/3

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Duncan Porter @misterduncan.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

Just finished reading A Little Life by Hanya Yanaghihara. A story about the boundaries of friendship & impact of trauma. I was a bit intimidated by this book given some of the reviews. It's beautifully written, but I did have some difficulty fully connecting with it. #booksky 1/3

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Reposted by Duncan Porter

Phil Sturgeon 🌳🚵⚓️ @philsturgeon.com · 16/08/2026

The entire team has been out this summer checking up on all our woodlands, across England, Scotland, and Wales. Here are some quick shots from the very first woodland I ever planted five years ago, looking strong and glorious. With surveys in see how your local sites are doing. protect.earth/sites/

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Duncan Porter @misterduncan.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

* Standing on the Rhone glacier with my children 15 years after my last visit, seeing the astonishing retreat. All of these moments ratcheted my commitment & understanding towards the advocacy & work I try to fit into my life today. I'd really appreciate hearing from others. 5/5

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Duncan Porter @misterduncan.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

* A colleague returned from volunteering in the Pacific showing a video of Manta Rays vomiting plastic. * Before the Flood * The Fridays for Future climate strikes. * Meeting a 90 year old campaigner who had been arrested multiple times in one year while campaigning to raise awareness. 4/5

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Duncan Porter @misterduncan.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

My tipping points: * A kind & intelligent work colleague who went the extra mile to reduce, reuse, recycle at the office. * A realisation that we could make our local community better & protect environments, I think after reading a @georgemonbiot.bsky.social book. 3/5

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Duncan Porter @misterduncan.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

I'm asking because I want to understand what actually works to shift people from concern to action: what moments, information or interactions create a real perspective shifts, vs what just gets briefly heard & forgotten. If we can understand what connects, we can do more of it. 2/5

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Duncan Porter @misterduncan.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

What were your tipping points? A book? A flood? A kid? A headline that finally landed? Everyone engaged with climate/ecology/sustainability has one or several moments where their perspective shifted. What were yours? Reply or quote-post - I want to hear them all. 1/5

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Duncan Porter @misterduncan.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

This book really is the literary equivalent of Sistine Chapel - a masterpiece of detail & nuance, meticulously crafted & needing time, patience & context to appreciate. It does need investment, but the ROI was much more than I expected. I will absolutely read this again one day. 4/

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Duncan Porter @misterduncan.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

It's surprisingly readable & rarely felt like a challenge while reading it. I preferred the personal family drama to the detailed descriptions of 19C warfare, which were detailed & visceral. The shifting of Russian & French in discourse was fascinating, especially under the circumstances. 3/

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Duncan Porter @misterduncan.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

...stalls, documenting a pivotal European period of conflict through fictional families at the centre of it. Historical fiction gives Tolstoy a broad canvas to explore truth, purpose & causality & only once falls too deep into philosophy (looking at you, 50 page second epilogue!) 2/

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Duncan Porter @misterduncan.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

Just finished reading War & Peace by Leo Tolstoy. I loved this extraordinary book. It feels like Tolstoy was grappling with a unified theory of humans. Whether he achieved that or not is hard to say, but it's fascinating & thought provoking. For such a dense tome, it rarely... #booksky 1/

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Duncan Porter @misterduncan.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

...suspended the hearing & gave way. "We will not be saved" is a statement of community strength & independence. They didn't need saving - they needed respect & the same tools the other side already had & to level the playing field. 4/4

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Duncan Porter @misterduncan.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

Donations of money & expertise to help exploited communities is a transfer of power as much as it is financial - for the Waorani of Pastaza, it allowed them to fight back on their own terms & win. The court didn't provide a community approved translator, so they sang until the judge... 3/4

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Duncan Porter @misterduncan.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

It would be easy to dismiss the support of activism from wealthy benefactors as "white saviourism", but that's not a fair conclusion. Much of the wealth of rich countries was built on, and is still supported by, cheap labour and resource extraction from poorer countries. 2/4

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Duncan Porter @misterduncan.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

Additional thought: Nemonte's campaign would have struggled without access to legal support & technology - this cost money from donations by activists in wealthy countries. Some communities are highly vulnerable to exploitation by wealthy influences, with power being highly asymmetrical. 1/4

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Duncan Porter @misterduncan.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

More on the Ceibo Alliance here: www.alianzaceibo.org & here: amazonfrontlines.org/videos-categ...

alianzaceibo.org

Inicio

Luchando por la defensa de nuestra cultura, territorio y vida

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Duncan Porter @misterduncan.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

A very positive & hopeful end, with a message & feeling of empowerment, not impotence. 😊 Some difficult to read content early on - check content warnings if sensitive.

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Duncan Porter @misterduncan.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

As well as inspiring activism, the book has the natural fabric of their ecosystems running throughout their lives, their customs & ultimately their campaign. It's as much a tale of living in collaboration with nature vs extraction & exploitation - an important lesson from a unique voice. 4/4

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Duncan Porter @misterduncan.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

This is a compelling book that spends a long time on Nemonte's childhood & the changing nature of her community as foreign white influences intruded, starting with missionaries dictating their values, customs & beliefs. The poisoning affect of money on a community that has none is also stark. 3/4

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Duncan Porter @misterduncan.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

The Ceibo Alliance united indigenous Amazon communities across Ecuador, Peru & Columbia, documenting their land & ecosystems & present a legal case against the Ecuadorian government for selling their land to oil companies without proper prior consent. The book is her story from childhood. 2/4

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Duncan Porter @misterduncan.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

Just finished read We Will Not Be Saved by Nemonte Nenquimo. A recommendation from a good friend - the memoir of a Waorani from Amazonian Ecuador whose community was threatened by oil extraction. After witnessing the loss of neighbouring communities, she created the Ceibo Alliance. #booksky 1/4

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Duncan Porter @misterduncan.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

Just finished reading Klara & the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro. Am interesting & thought provoking read, but I never felt a connection with the characters, so the emotional aspects of the story didn't have much impact for me. I loved the writing & the idea though. #booksky

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Duncan Porter @misterduncan.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

The false widow that lives behind our post box is having a good day.

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Duncan Porter @misterduncan.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

It's a book that needed time & focus: lots of characters, many of which have the same first name & timeframes that shift with little announcement. The ending is perfect, with a real finality. The town & the generational cycles are wrapped in a complex literary fairy tale. Extraordinary. 2/

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Duncan Porter @misterduncan.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

Just finished reading One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Wow, what an incredible piece of literature! The writing is beautiful & almost supernatural. The story itself is fascinating & never dull. There's allegory that went beyond my understanding. #booksky 1/

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Duncan Porter @misterduncan.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

Our river is low & stagnating. The hart's tongue ferns are shrivelling, the hazels & hawthorn are reducing their leaf count & a wild service tree has decided it's autumn. Urgent: please send rain!

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Duncan Porter @misterduncan.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

In the 50s, the gov paid landowners to drain moors for agriculture. Much of the extensive grouse moors are still drained to maintain the unnatural conditions required for shooting. @guyshrubsole.bsky.social what's the current status on rewetting grouse moors? www.wildmoors.org.uk/habitat-dama...

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Duncan Porter @misterduncan.bsky.social · 25/07/2026

In the unlikely event of anyone with any government influence reading this: PEAT BOGS ARE THE LOW HANGING CARBON FRUIT! Read @guyshrubsole.bsky.social's Lie of the Land for some significant & relatively quick wins.

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Duncan Porter @misterduncan.bsky.social · 25/07/2026

Wait, what?! The 22% came from IUCN, referencing a paper report created for them & DEFRA - a really interesting read. www.researchgate.net/publication/... The UK/FR/DE comparison was quoted by the NT & CPRE - no original source!

researchgate.net

(PDF) ALIGNING THE PEATLAND CODE WITH THE UK PEATLAND INVENTORY

PDF | The Peatland Code and the peatland elements of UK's national GHG emissions inventory both seek to determine the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and... | Find, read and cite all the research you n...

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Duncan Porter @misterduncan.bsky.social · 25/07/2026

UK peat bogs store as much carbon as all the trees in the UK, France & Germany combined. Only 22% of UK peatlands are in a near natural or rewetted condition. £47m was pledged by the gov for peatland restoration - a mere ~£15 per hectare. carboncopy.eco/takeaction/r... www.gov.uk/government/n...

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