iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Really uncomfortable with the number of teachers I know or hear of using AI for well, nearly everything. Aside from any of the obvious pitfalls, it's an incredibly bad example to set for young people who need to develop, hone and practice their *actual* skills and capacities. #spéirgorm

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Yes, it's actually saved time and money, and she's much happier with the clothes. It gets to be an interactive thing for her too, she can choose the fabric and details herself.

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We had over 1000 plums this year. Having only ever had a handful in previous years, I was determined to do whatever I could with them. So... three types of umeshu, plum gin, eau-de-vie de pruneaux, plum jam, glacé plums, plum syrup, plum chutney, plum vingegars and many frozen plums!

A collection of jars and bottles with various plum products in brown, yellow, pink and purple tones. They are of differing sizes and shapes and sit on a green gingham tablecloth.

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... They are both very heavy with bureaucracy though, but in those countries, once you're through the bureaucratic hurdles, the cash + non cash benefits are overall greater. Our disability and care support amounts almost entirely to a single means tested payment. Hoping you're well Hannah!

... both have greater overall packages for households with a disability, care budgets, special tax codes & both have better pensions for carers. Actual € is slightly less, but I think quality of life may be higher because of fewer gaps in the systems and more infrastructure. Germany in particular.

There are good aspects to the Nordics, but they're a very different kind of system. I've been looking a lot at how France and Germany deal with care and disability and there are similar improvements we could make, particularly in the sense of welfare in the round, beyond a single payment ...

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Thanks! She had a blast on the actual day. She's so small and differently proportioned we've mostly given up on dresses from shops. I made bodice and skirt blocks for her measurements a while ago and we've never looked back!

Jodie's birthday dress had a Japanese theme (as does everything that Jodie wants lately) and it turned out really well.

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Almost evey time I read about the welfare systems of other EU countries, I subsequently end up writing to TDs to highlight problems with ours by comparison. In short, being interested in welfare policy AND wanting to do anything about it is time consuming. #spéirgorm

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Michael @mmchael.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

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Jodie is very small, but that's actually my husband, not me, and he's a little taller than I am. People do routinely think we're brothers.

Michael @mmchael.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Pretty tired today, but we manged to get out to see some really wonderful Indian drumming and dancing for Culture Night. Jodie was mesmerised!

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Michael @mmchael.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

The idea of 'No.10 North' being a secondary political nexus for the entire UK administration, but STILL being entirely within England itself, doesn't do much to dampen the (correct) notion that England unfairly dominates the union.

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Michael @mmchael.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Wait, sorry, but... *who* are the government 'pushing very strongly' for this? Is it not... *their own decision* Government 'committed' to introducing cost of #disability payment in budget jrnl.ie/7162389 #Spéirghorm #Spéirgorm

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Michael @mmchael.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

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gamera obscura october edition @ohrobin.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

The return to physical media is a radical act. A book in your hand or a record on the turntable belong to a world beyond subscriptions, licenses, and corporate permission, and they can be lent, inherited, annotated, repaired, and loved. They remain when the platform fails and the servers die.

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Michael @mmchael.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

I was a double carer for ten years, & no matter how inured you become to this stuff, it still stings. Care -of children, #disabled people and the elderly is the go-to example of undeniably necessary & difficult work in exchange for what often amounts to exclusion & derision. #spéirgorm #speirgorm

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Rita Wild @ritawild.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

RT if you’ve never had a tab of ChatGPT open, period.

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Michael @mmchael.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

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Jen Keane @zenbuffy.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

A significant contributor to the gender pay gap and the continuing financial disparity between men and women is the undervaluing of all of the unpaid care work done by women in Ireland. Women all over Ireland get up early, every morning, and go to work, unpaid and unvalued.

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Michael @mmchael.bsky.social · 11/07/2026

I finally gave in to Jodie's months-long campaign, and made Samin Nosrat's Miso Egg. I don't eat eggs, so I've no idea if they're good, but it was fun to do.

Some boiled eggs that have been cured with miso paste and turned a warm brown colour are sitting in a glass dish on a green gingham tablecloth.

One egg is sliced open showing a jammy textured yellow yolk. You can see that the miso has been absorbed into the edge of the egg white.

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Michael @mmchael.bsky.social · 27/06/2026

...and they're gone. They were wonderful.

Jodie is smiling and holding up two donut shaped Greek cookies, speckled with sesame seeds over her eyes. She has shoulder length brown hair and is wearing a white top and yellow gloves. The backdrop is a messy kitchen.

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Michael @mmchael.bsky.social · 27/06/2026

...and they're gone. They were wonderful.

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Hard to understand what the mass appeal to the public would be, in an investment scheme conjured up by Simon Harris, and with the involvement of Ires Reit, neither entity beloved by the people. #spéirgorm #spéirghorm

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Emma Rogan 🇵🇸 @emmadragon.bsky.social · 26/06/2026

I am always thankful that I grew up in a household with #disability, because it really forces you to see, in practical, societal and political instances -- injustice, prejudice and cowardice -- where it might have remained concealed.

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Are you an adult living with #MS experiencing difficulties with #thinking, #memory, or decision-making? 🧠 ✅Research by the University of Galway ✅Galway+Dublin '26 ✅Nationwide 2027 Join the COB-MS clinical trial designed to improve #cognitive issues in MS. www.cob-ms.com #spéirghorm #Pride #Brain

Poster for the COB-MS CLinical Trial with diverse group of people sitting, smiling and talking together.

Logos of:

MS Ireland, Health Research Board, University of Galway, and the Pride Progress Flag.
Multiple
Sclerosis
Are you an adult living with MS who experiences
difficulties with thinking, memory, or decision-making?
Then we're inviting you to take part in
COB-MS clinical trial
designed to improve cognitive issues in MS.
WHAT'S INVOLVED? WHY TAKE PART?HOW?
8 Sessions with
an Occupational
Therapist (OT)
2 individual, 6 in groups
Randomly allocated to:
Online In-person
Follow up assessments in:
Control
● 12 weeks
● 6 months
● 12 months
Simple & manageable
Dr. Sinéad Hynes is the lead investigator of
the COB-MS. She is a senior lecturer at the
University of Galway and a CORU registered
Occupational Therapist.
Looking for
participants
based in:
● Galway
● Dublin
Each session lasts
about an hour INTERESTED?
● Scan the
QR code:
● Or contact
us through:
cobms@universityofgalway.ie
085 114 6207
www.cob-ms.com
Help shape future
MS support.
Your voice matters
and we are stronger
together.

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Yes, we've had the experience of trying to find accessories for wheelchairs, even trying to make something ourselves, but to no avail.

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Like, umbrellas for rain are de rigeur and rain is merely a pleasant inconvenience compared to this.

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Like, umbrellas for rain are de rigeur and rain is merely a pleasant inconvenience compared to this.

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We need to normalise being safe in the sun to a greater extent. Jodie and I just moved through town with UV umbrellas and ffs, the number of looks or giggles we got was ridiculous. #spéirgorm #spéirghorm

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Michael @mmchael.bsky.social · 24/06/2026

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I was not made for mediterranean level heat, so I stayed inside and made Ladokouloura, or Greek olive oil biscuits, which I was made for.

A wire tray full of donut shaped orange and olive oil cookies dusted with sesame seeds (Ladokouloura). It sits on a green gingham tablecloth. There is a large casserole dish behind and some oranges nearby.

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I try! Today may be too hot to go near an oven at all though, I think I'll prefer the always rumoured thunderstorm.

Michael @mmchael.bsky.social · 24/06/2026

I was not made for mediterranean level heat, so I stayed inside and made Ladokouloura, or Greek olive oil biscuits, which I was made for.

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Trish Greenhalgh @trishgreenhalgh.bsky.social · 23/06/2026

One more time. Enjoy your swims but keep an eye.

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Michael @mmchael.bsky.social · 26/05/2026

A reminder on hot days like today to keep an eye on people with an intellectual disability & sensory issues. They may not fully comprehend the danger of the heat, & find it difficult to communicate feeling too hot or dehydrated. Talk to them about the dangers & help them take precautions.

jrnl.ie

Status Yellow high-temperature warning issued for eight counties

Met Éireann said temperatures could reach 30 degrees in some parts of the country today.

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Michael @mmchael.bsky.social · 23/06/2026

So many outlets referring to Starmer as 'decent'. In what way is making life painful and unsustainable for disabled people or trans people 'decent'? I wish it was more common to properly vet adjectives before use.

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It was for the first few days, but she left us with strong traditions and overall, it feels good to continue with them ❤️

Michael @mmchael.bsky.social · 21/06/2026

Reposted by Michael

Before I take up a new materials-consuming hobby, I always take a minute to remember the actual crate of unifinished medieval embroidery as a cautionary tale.

Embroidery hoops and frames are inside a clear plastic storage box. Two hoops featuring unfinished images of Medieval style figures are facing outwards. They are outlined but only part filled in.

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We've been keeping up with cooking because it's such a good grounding ritual, not to mention nourishing, but also keeping it simple. A pesto sans-fromage with apple.

On a tablecloth of green gingham sits a large bowl of penne pasta slathered in a bright green pesto, alongside some Italian red wine, a lemon and some glasses of water.

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We've been keeping up with cooking because it's such a good grounding ritual, not to mention nourishing, but also keeping it simple. A pesto sans-fromage with apple.

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