iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Muddy Matt @muddymoles.bsky.social · 20h

So much of the world today is stupid views earnestly held. If people could focus on making things less stupid we might get somewhere.

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Muddy Matt @muddymoles.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

I don't think there's a successful argument available until or unless it makes an emotional appeal. It can't just be transactional. That's very hard to do when our national discourse is fear of the other.

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Muddy Matt @muddymoles.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Took the new type from Amsterdam to Antwerp in May. Comfortable and fast and well priced, took my bike with me

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Muddy Matt @muddymoles.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

I am guessing this guarantees Labour win the Islington by-election?

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Muddy Matt @muddymoles.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

I think the fact they are all in the show biz industry inhibits them - Alan Carr, Jonathan Ross and Stephen Fry last year could all arguably 'influence' the career of other players. Not people you might want to get on the wrong side of? Vs randoms off the street

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Muddy Matt @muddymoles.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

The only distinction that matters is: Are you a nice person or a scumbag? And the only behaviour that matters is: Treat people like they are nice people until they prove otherwise. That's it. Crack on!

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Muddy Matt @muddymoles.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Traffic engineers seem set on giving traffic engineers a bad name (not aimed at Ranty but whoever designs this sort of stuff ... shakes head)

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Muddy Matt @muddymoles.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

568ml of your finest, please barman

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Muddy Matt @muddymoles.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

No, still a terrible idea! 🤣

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Muddy Matt @muddymoles.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

I think it's the difference between connecting the world, enabling access to knowledge and building services off that platform (commercial or otherwise). And exploitation, pure and simple.

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Muddy Matt @muddymoles.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

I have finally clocked this fact this week. By my maths, 10,000 miles a year costs £155 a month in diesel at £1.95 a litre (roughly £8.90 a gallon) and 48mpg. Yet my energy supplier is offering 12,000 miles for £37.50 a month. Or £27.50 if I drive 8,400. At this point it's becoming a no-brainer

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Muddy Matt @muddymoles.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

I was there in May for a cycling tour with fellow Muddymoles. It was a genuine delight!

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Muddy Matt @muddymoles.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Yes, 120-130mm has a lot going for it, the sweet spot for many riders

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Muddy Matt @muddymoles.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

The thing with AI is it's built to take instruction from natural language rather than code. But as humans we know when we say one thing it's often understood as another (just ask my wife!). Right there is the problem. We struggle talking to humans, why think we can talk to machines? #AI

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Muddy Matt @muddymoles.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Maths, science, even History tells you 'what'. Philosophy tells you 'why'. You have to think something before you do something. And thinking doesn't take place in a vacuum...

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Muddy Matt @muddymoles.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Jeremy Keith's House of Games!! Waiting on your next Nursing Home Noir mystery next 😁

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Muddy Matt @muddymoles.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Oh please, this is such tedious trolling. Reminds me of Monty Python... 'is this the right room for an argument...?'

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Muddy Matt @muddymoles.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Agreed but it might be necessary. If that's the case, the only political way is to show others are paying their fair share. The super rich most definitely are not and while the absolute returns might not be huge (due to all sorts of 'dodges'), the politics of it is very important

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Muddy Matt @muddymoles.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

I think the only way tax rises for the majority are going to be politically acceptable is if there is a very high marginal rate for the highest earners and solid investment in stopping tax fraud. Squeeze them til the pips squeak you could say

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Muddy Matt @muddymoles.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

All this is beside the point of the thread. Pedestrians and bikes are arguing over a tiny space given to them. Restrict cars in cities and give the space to people on bikes, scooters, mobility carriages etc. and all this argument goes away. The trees ARE the wood.

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Muddy Matt @muddymoles.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

The injury rate is not the point. Our drivers are so feral most people do not cycle at all. I promise you drivers are nuts - I've had bottles thrown at me, abuse, vans passing me with the passenger door open and the passenger shouting at me, cars stop and reverse back at me.

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Muddy Matt @muddymoles.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

I've been lucky to see Springsteen about 8 times I think in the UK and Ireland, including the incredible Seeger Session band (taking nothing away from the great E.Street.Band) I would love there to be another European tour, I have a whole gang of friends and family ready to go! :-)

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Reposted by Muddy Matt

The War on Cars @thewaroncars.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Put another way, it’s not “Now do cars.” It’s a question of whether or not drivers are asked to take collective responsibility for the behavior of all other drivers in the way people ask of “cyclists.”

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Muddy Matt @muddymoles.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

This is dancing on the head of a pin. There are many flavours of pedestrians, cyclists, drivers, bikes, e-bikes, scooters blah blah. But the infrastructure is the weak point. Give more space to active travel and protect from cars and most issues resolve themselves cf Amsterdam

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Muddy Matt @muddymoles.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

I get confused by the trans issue - as many do - am I right in thinking being a woman is a cultural behaviour that anyone can adopt, vs being female is a biological fact (even though biologically there are many grey areas)? Can't we judge people by their actions (good or bad) over anything else?

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Muddy Matt @muddymoles.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Is it that there's a national curriculum or is it that Ofsted is the only oversight body among our devolved services with the power to hold schools to account and harm careers if they don't focus on improvement? Imagine if applied to water companies for example Imagine what it means for devolution

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Reposted by Muddy Matt

Joanne Harris @joannechocolat.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

This is just to say... I have stolen the work that you spent years creating and which you were probably hoping would pay your bills But online sharing doesn't count It's actually a compliment So fuck you BTW, I'm a fan

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Muddy Matt @muddymoles.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

This depressing outcome directly harms all children , most especially those with genuine need. The best - and long term cheapest approach - is to reinstate comprehensive classroom support with specific support for those most in need.

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Muddy Matt @muddymoles.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

In a system where routine support for all children is rationed - with a significant reduction in classroom support staff that can provide early and effective help - it is both logical and highly predictable that many parents will use every lever available to them to access that support.

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Muddy Matt @muddymoles.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

Woah that's shocking. I don't mind anyone making a profit but really object to exploitation

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Muddy Matt @muddymoles.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

I think getting excited over a screensaver just because it's in a car is a little infantile tbh. If it was on your laptop it would be 'meh!'

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Muddy Matt @muddymoles.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

This would make a far more effective cycle lane. If you want a tram, build a proper one and stick it in the road :-)

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Reposted by Muddy Matt

BladeoftheSun @bladeofthes.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

Crazy that we hear about Train Drivers who get £60,000 a year for driving a train. But we never hear about the boss of Tesco who gets £30,000 a day and doesn't even pay tax in the UK. Or the £250m a day that the likes of Amazon, Vodafone, BP and Shell don't pay in tax.

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Muddy Matt @muddymoles.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

I do get it - we are lucky to still have one 507 when the rest of the 507/508 fleet are long gone. Multiple units are generally cheaper to run and battery versions could work well for private lines. It's just not really preservation (or heritage?), more like a repurposing in my view.

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Muddy Matt @muddymoles.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

While technically impressive, I'm not sure this is what preservation is about? I can't see the 4VEP or Hastings Thumpers being converted to battery, much less e.g. Tulyar or the Flying Scotsman. So why is it OK for a 507?

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Muddy Matt @muddymoles.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

God I hated BR blue. It was news (and brave) if someone tried white window surrounds Most of the time it was dirty, drab and uninspiring. At least it was a consistent brand identity, but it spoke to me of a service that aspired to nothing.

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Muddy Matt @muddymoles.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

To those saying electric cars are not the answer. I agree. Fewer cars, not newer cars. But EVs are clearly where we are headed regardless of what US or German auto makers do. EVs 'trump' ICE (the irony). If you can, walk, cycle, take public transport. Guess what? Most of us can.

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Muddy Matt @muddymoles.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

As ever, the US is not the whole world. No reason except politics why US EV tech couldn't be used elsewhere in the world if it was competitive. These are global companies. Whereas the Chinese are going to eat all our lunches. German auto sector has the same problem and lobbying accordingly.

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Muddy Matt @muddymoles.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

Unless you've experienced the 'Dutch Alps' (the headwinds), you're not qualified to comment!

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Muddy Matt @muddymoles.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

Personally I'd argue parts of Belgium -at least the Flemish bits I've ridden - are at least as good. Partly because there is reasonable infrastructure but more importantly, driving standards are high because their insurance insists on it. It's a game changer.

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Muddy Matt @muddymoles.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

Why was he dressed as Snow White?

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Muddy Matt @muddymoles.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

I think put a penny on income tax for all but introduce a super high marginal rate for the very rich as in the 70s. Not so much because it would raise money, but as a means of making the 1p for all acceptable. Separately, focus on the evasion/avoidance issues. Tax must been seen to be fair

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Reposted by Muddy Matt

Natalie Bennett @nataliegreenpeer.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

Powerful and important letter about artificial so-called intelligence from Sheila Hayman from Minderoo Centre for Technology and Democracy, University of Cambridge, in the FT today

$Margaret McGirr’s letter (“AI can lend a hand, but it will struggle to replace one”, July 21) and Chine McDonald’s guest column (“This retro revival is more than a longing for the past”, Opinion, August 7) both touch (sic) on something that should be obvious, but is carefully ignored by almost everyone in the tech world. Namely that our intelligence is embodied, evolved and biological, and inseparable from our bodies. The brain’s job is to control the body in the world; it is the last organ to develop. Every square centimetre of our hands (and of the rest of our skin) contains about a 170 touch sensors or nerve endings, sensitive to different kinds of touch: a slap, a burn, a caress, a hug — each of which travels to different parts of the midbrain, prompting the appropriate response. Quickly to the autonomic nervous system for something dangerous; more slowly via a different channel for something carrying meaning. In addition to the hand’s limitless versatility, it is self-repairing, regulates its own temperature, knows without being programmed how much pressure to exert on an egg, a tennis ball or a day-old chick, and can fuse neurologically to whatever it holds. So when we put a glass down on the table or slide a knife through an apple, we feel the table, or the apple, not the glass or handle in our hand (try it!). Finally, and most urgently, the entire human body — including the hands — does everything on 25 or so watts of completely renewable energy: a tiny fraction of what a humanoid robot, even one of the current primitive iteration of robots, needs. The “retro revival” is thus not cultural nostalgia. It’s millions of years of evolution crying out to be heard, before we suppress it totally in the service of an automated — and dead — planet. Sheila Hayman Member of the Advisory Board, Minderoo Centre for Technology and Democracy, University of Cambridge, London NW1, UK$

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