iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

noel @noelkirkpatrick.com · 13/07/2026

We're off to Shizuoka on one of the nicer train options, and it includes a lightly cushioned foot rest. (There's a sign on it that says to take off your shoes.)

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noel @noelkirkpatrick.com · 04/07/2026

At a resale store and found these. Truly, only for the most serious of peeping toms.

A Nikon 20x120 binocular telescope. The price tag on it is for 462,000 yen.

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noel @noelkirkpatrick.com · 26/01/2026

The regional pudding manufacturer Marlowe using the last line of The Long Goodbye on the back of their super-cute tin of biscotti is definitely A Choice. (www.instagram.com/p/DT99Pwbk6Q...)

A screenshot from Instagram from @marlowe_official features a yellow tin that has an illustration of cats and paw prints on it. English-language text on the tin reads "I never saw any of them again — except the cops. No way has yet been invented to say good-bye to them."

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noel @noelkirkpatrick.com · 25/01/2026

Margie poses like a Bond villain who should have a cat in their arms.

A black-and-tan tortoiseshell cat sits with one of the front paws curled underneath her other front paw.

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noel @noelkirkpatrick.com · 02/01/2026

I am nothing if not consistent. letterboxd.com/noelrk/year/...

A screengrab of Noel's Letterboxd stats for 2025. It lists 434 films logged and reviewed and 720 hours watched. The most watched actor is Jackie Chan and the most watched director is Buster Keaton.

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noel @noelkirkpatrick.com · 16/12/2025

Margie was tired yesterday afternoon.

A black-and-tan tortoiseshell cat gives a big yawn, with her tongue slightly rolled up.

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noel @noelkirkpatrick.com · 30/10/2025

Margie says she needs more exposure, whatever that means.

A black-and-tan tortoiseshell cat sits in a loaf position on a soft, white surface. Sunlight enshrouds her body.

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noel @noelkirkpatrick.com · 29/10/2025

To give you an idea. There are also warm shelves in the convenience stores.

A selection of bottled and canned hot drinks—mostly coffee—in a Japanese vending machine.

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noel @noelkirkpatrick.com · 02/10/2025

We've been in the Donkey Kong minecart ride line for almost two hours. This bit of artistic design was pretty cool, though.

An artistic representation of a level from the original Mario Bros. game features Donkey Kong on a downward-sloping incline, a barrel rolling down it.

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noel @noelkirkpatrick.com · 27/09/2025

@tekgo.org Just for you, a Gundam scarecrow

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noel @noelkirkpatrick.com · 09/09/2025

She's helping me practice writing and saying hiragana characters.

A black-and-tan tortoiseshell cat sleeps on her side, front paws tucked a little under her chin. A human foot is gently pressed against her belly.

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noel @noelkirkpatrick.com · 09/09/2025

Margie says to look at your goals head-on. And, if possible, do so while sitting in a very cute way.

A black-and-tan tortoiseshell cat sitting on her hind legs in her cat tree, with one front paw perched on a higher part of the cat tree.

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noel @noelkirkpatrick.com · 06/09/2025

Just eating a large egg sando in a cafe as the stereo cycles through classical music, opera, Josh Groban ("To Where You Are"), and Barbara Streisand ("A Woman In Love").

A large egg sandwich sliced into thirds sits on a plate with a small salad, an orange slice, and a corn Cheeto (basically).

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noel @noelkirkpatrick.com · 05/09/2025

I struggled a good bit this week. AND I get to walk home to this view after getting groceries and trying to (and succeeding buy OTC meds for Saralyn.

A rice paddy stretches to the horizon, with various styles of densely packed together houses. The sky is littered with thick gray clouds after a heavy rainfall.

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noel @noelkirkpatrick.com · 31/08/2025

No murders, only blue trains

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noel @noelkirkpatrick.com · 27/08/2025

Here's a goofy Margie. You've earned it.

A black-and-tan tortoiseshell cat stares down at the camera from atop a cat tree. She is sitting in a weird position, with one of her rear legs and front legs parallel to her head.

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noel @noelkirkpatrick.com · 26/08/2025

We may be taken care of; we honestly don't know. But here's Chun-Li.

A gilded statue of Chun-Li from Street Fighter.

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noel @noelkirkpatrick.com · 26/08/2025

Meanwhile, here's Ryu from Street Fighter

A gilded statue of Ryu from Street Fighter posed in front of the Kashihara City Tourist Information Center.

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noel @noelkirkpatrick.com · 25/08/2025

Margie's doing fine in Nara. Saralyn got her the exact same kind of cat tree (different color, however) and she's been very happy with it. As you can see.

A black-and-tan tortoiseshell cat is curled up asleep in a cat tree cube, with three of her four legs sticking out.

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noel @noelkirkpatrick.com · 24/08/2025

Our neighborhood isn't particularly urban (or even suburban), and that means we're close to several rice paddies. When you walk by them, all you smell is the rice, and it's the best scent.

A rice paddy in a Japanese neighborhood.

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noel @noelkirkpatrick.com · 23/08/2025

Hello, Nara Prefecture. Hello, new home.

A view of a neighborhood in Nara Prefecture.

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noel @noelkirkpatrick.com · 21/08/2025

(Margie said her cool and dramatic goodbye a few days ago.)

A cat sits on the window sil, looking out at the urban neighborhood below her.

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noel @noelkirkpatrick.com · 07/08/2025

I mean, probably, yeah.

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noel @noelkirkpatrick.com · 04/08/2025

Having trouble triggering new standard orders (probably because I just need to cave and advance the narrative), but I have finished building monorails and roads. Sam's tired.

A screenshot from Death Stranding 2 shows Sam sitting in a slightly curled position, sleeping near a large piece of mining equipment.

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noel @noelkirkpatrick.com · 04/08/2025

Celebrating her birthday in her preferred fashion.

A black-and-tan tortoiseshell cat stretches out (curved style) in a cat tower cube.

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noel @noelkirkpatrick.com · 01/08/2025

Updated my Letterboxd top 4 in honor of the back-to-school season.

The posters for the movies The Faculty, Cherry Falls, Battle Royale, and Jennifer's Body.

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noel @noelkirkpatrick.com · 27/07/2025

Motoring through some narrative, which involves a lot of mountain trekking.

A screenshots from Death Stranding 2. In it, the sun is rising on a snowy mountain landscape. Sam stands there, weighed down with cargo.

The Moon looms large in the high-altitude sky in this screenshot from Death Stranding 2. Sam is seen zooming down a zipline, almost as if he's slashing a portion of the Moon away.

A screenshot of Death Stranding 2. The nighttime sky of this high-altitude snowy mountain scene is illuminated with a visible nebula. Sam stands just to the left, cargo stacked high on his back.

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noel @noelkirkpatrick.com · 22/07/2025

@tekgo.org Hey, Pat, it's me, Margiecat from the DHV Tacoma. Did you know that you can sometimes rub a cat's belly and it not be a trap? Try it the next time you encounter a cat. You might be surprised at what happens.

A black-and-tan tortoiseshell cat stretches out, showing a floofy belly.

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noel @noelkirkpatrick.com · 12/07/2025

I've been driving a lot, partially because the game is rather on rails this time. But I decided I would walk to my BFF Heartman's place. Especially worth it when the song kicked in.

A screenshot from Death Stranding 2. It shows an expansive landscape of mountainous black, rocky ground. Walking on it is Sam, his back obscured by a tower of packages. Far off in the horizon, a water-filled caldera is shrouded in clouds. Behind it appears to be a rust-colored canyon.

A screenshot from Death Stranding 2. It shows the Sun setting behind some clouds, reflecting off an ocean. In the immediate background and foreground is a shadowy black ridge. Sam, his backpack tall with packages, walks along this ridge.

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noel @noelkirkpatrick.com · 09/07/2025

But I do love building roads, so I'm not complaining...... Too much.

In a screenshot from Death Stranding 2, Sam stands on an elevated road looking over the game's idea of a post-apocalyptic western Australia.

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noel @noelkirkpatrick.com · 09/07/2025

People just love building bridges that don't serve a purpose while I just lug metals and ceramics to make roads. There was a road paver near this bridge that goes nowhere! ¹ ¹The bridge on-ramped to a completed road, but they didn't place the bridge well so you collide with a bunch of rocks.

A screenshot of Death Stranding 2 shows Sam looking at a long bridge during the nighttime.

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noel @noelkirkpatrick.com · 26/06/2025

Of course Lauren Tsai is here. I still think about her, sitting all alone in IKEA.

Lauren Tsai sits in an IKEA showroom as shown in an episode of Terrace House: Aloha State.

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