iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Oddball the blue

World Bollard Association™️ @worldbollardassoc.bsky.social · 27/01/2025

💛WIN A BOLLARD💛 The most popular competition in the history of social media is back. It's the prize you've all been waiting for. Repost and follow to be in with a chance of winning this gorgeous Monoscape Bridgeford Smooth Grey Concrete Bollard worth £252.42. #WorldBollardAssociation

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Oddball the blue @oddballtheblue.bsky.social · 25/01/2025

And now I remember why I don't dibble into the Glenfiddich IPA whisky too often. It's got a much heavier burn than most (extra bite from the hops?) but overall not a massive standout.

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Oddball the blue @oddballtheblue.bsky.social · 24/01/2025

Dear YouTube. Has anyone done QA on the app? Comments are a mess (who ever needs to see replies anyway), the back button is a law unto itself and is it so hard to go from shorts to long form and back again without the app having an schizophrenic episode?

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Oddball the blue @oddballtheblue.bsky.social · 24/01/2025

#vss365 "Er' th's stain up t'wall, has it always bin there?" Gary asked after noticed a mottled mark in the top corner of the shed. "Dunno, 's not blood at least or oil." Came the nonchalant reply. "'s more of #fawn colour." This however raised an eyebrow, Fred never got so technical over colours.

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Oddball the blue @oddballtheblue.bsky.social · 22/01/2025

#vss365 "Gary, tighter, go on, harder... HARDER ye wimp!" "Any tighter'n'll cut circulation off" "'s not my fault yer snapped #lace off last time." Fred and Gary took safety suits seriously but custom ones made do have their downsides when it comes to being strapped into them.

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Oddball the blue @oddballtheblue.bsky.social · 21/01/2025

#vss365 "Awww bugger - Run!" Worrying words to hear. Especially in the vicinity of the shed. After 10 arse clenching minutes had passed Fred finally confessed "I dropped't FOOF n' was expecting more of a FOOM so I ran." "Now thee tells me. Tha was proper #pucker factor 5." Gary retorted unclenching

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Reposted by Oddball the blue

Larry & Paul @larryandpaul.bsky.social · 20/01/2025

🇺🇸 BREAKING: Goodbye, USA. 👇🏻 Watch the latest report from #BrokenNews, then please share. youtu.be/CrGpAIBc754?...

youtu.be

Goodbye, USA - #BrokenNews

YouTube video by Larry & Paul

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Oddball the blue @oddballtheblue.bsky.social · 20/01/2025

#vss365 wires #crisscrossed the shed floor, attached to machines and levers to Fred finally triggered them one by one. "it's alive, IT'S ALIVE!" Was his jubilant response. "Will tha' shut up makin bloody racket. Some of us were tryin' ta sleep.. an what's wit all sodding wires?" Gary grumbled

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Oddball the blue @oddballtheblue.bsky.social · 19/01/2025

#vss365 "'Ow deeps tha 'ole now then?" Fred, exacerbated by Gary's continued exploration of the rabbit warren asked. "Don' need much more, I can almos' #slithy down t' bottom. Almost... Almost...." Famous last words as it turned out as Gary sink from view.

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Oddball the blue @oddballtheblue.bsky.social · 18/01/2025

#vss365 "Gary, hast' thee sen 'ole int' garden?" Grumbled Fred. "Yup, why'd'you think it got s' big? Didn't seem like a problem a'first but ye knows 'ow quickly I get lost digging #rabbit_holes." Fred should have known better than to ask when power tools & pickaxes were scattered on the floor.

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Oddball the blue @oddballtheblue.bsky.social · 17/01/2025

I'll never understand some public bins... Take for example the bin outside the copse of trees on my way to work. It not close to a bus stop, there's no houses nearby or parking. But there's a cheap electric fan heater abandoned by the side of it. There's got to be some story behind it.

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Oddball the blue @oddballtheblue.bsky.social · 17/01/2025

#vss365 "Gary! What the hell is this?" "'s a #cloak Fred" "Then why can' I take it off?" "Ahhh, that'd be th's things fault. 's a cloakin' device" was Gary's sheepish reply whilst moving aside to show the blinkenlights on his newest box of tricks.

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Oddball the blue @oddballtheblue.bsky.social · 16/01/2025

#vss365 "been shoppin' Gary?" Eyebrow raised and obvious stated. "Yep, been buyin' tartan paint, a yard of fallopian tube an a long stand" "Took a while then?" "Longer than you'd think"... A #fool and his money Fred mused to himself.

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Oddball the blue @oddballtheblue.bsky.social · 16/01/2025

#vss365 "is that?.. is tha' really what I think 't is?" Remarked the incredulous Gary. "Yep, made'a York stone too" Fred replied snuggly before closing the gate on a ¹/50 scale model of the #Labyrinth they planned to make as a 'summer' project. "Shame there's no Argonauts thou'"

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Oddball the blue @oddballtheblue.bsky.social · 15/01/2025

Well that's one game of my "Todo" list. Only had it for 25+ years... (Doom Episode 1-4). Now to go through Doom II and the master levels.

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Oddball the blue @oddballtheblue.bsky.social · 14/01/2025

#vss365 it was quiet down by the shed too quiet. Gary was still chatting away but the #silence was deafening. It later transpired that he'd been inspired to see if 'silence is golden' as it getting closer to the end of the year and his teabag budget was getting thin.

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Oddball the blue @oddballtheblue.bsky.social · 12/01/2025

#vss365 Gary retreated from the shed more quickly than usual. Suspiciously so to Fred's mind who was just coming up the path, milk bottle in hand "wh'ts tha going s'fast for?" "Stoich ratio's a bitch wh'n that volume o' #dust 's involved, so wait till't settled will thee?" Came Gary's terse reply.

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Oddball the blue @oddballtheblue.bsky.social · 11/01/2025

#vss365 Tongue out, full of concentration, mother on speeddial & double rubbered for protection Gary finally picked up his tools and began to clean up the shed. 4 hours later & the mess was worse than ever. Fred, ever the rational mind chipped in "#Quit whilst tha's ahead'n I'll go put kettle on"

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Oddball the blue @oddballtheblue.bsky.social · 11/01/2025

YASssssssssss! The (blue)tits are back!

Picture of a hedge and bare Apple tree branches. Sat on one of the branches is a very small blue tit bird busy looking at the various bird boxes around the back garden.

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Oddball the blue @oddballtheblue.bsky.social · 10/01/2025

#vss365 on calmer days Fred felt it was time to relax, read a book over a cup of tea and generally take it slow. The book in question was a thesis on quantum entanglement, stimulating his more #esoteric knowledge on how to apply this to half a tennis ball and nails that would not stay still...

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Oddball the blue @oddballtheblue.bsky.social · 10/01/2025

Well, that's a sucky lesson learned. OMV didn't play nice with swapping drive arrays in a kackhanded manner. Probably best to scrap it and start from scratch (in fairness I sort of knew it wasn't it's final form but now I've got all the drives and array done dockers working over permissions)

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Reposted by Oddball the blue

Jerry Chen @jcsalterego.bsky.social · 10/01/2025

oh thank god. wait

a screenshot that shows a no-entry icon and "Only people who get the joke can reply"

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Oddball the blue @oddballtheblue.bsky.social · 10/01/2025

#vss365 "Sugar?" Asked Fred whilst heading towards the kettle. "Nope, I'm #sweet enough already" Gary cheerfully answered back. "I meant for the playlist ye tit. From System o't down" Was Fred's less cheery reply...

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Oddball the blue @oddballtheblue.bsky.social · 09/01/2025

So apparently I am in fact a complete moron... Acquired 3 new hard drives for my NAS box (all 6TBs) to replace some 1TB drives, all straightforward so far. But like a complete tit I got excited and ahead of myself, swapped the drives over and forgot to tell my drive array so now it's sulking.

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Oddball the blue @oddballtheblue.bsky.social · 08/01/2025

#vss365 It'd been one hell of a bad day in the shed for Gary. First his favourite meter blew a fuse, then he cooked a capacitor in a PSU, before finally triggering an unrestrained exothermic reaction on the work bench. "Good day?" Fred enquired. " #Guess " came the somewhat charred response.

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Oddball the blue @oddballtheblue.bsky.social · 08/01/2025

#vss365 "A shot o' vodka, 3 o' gin 'n a dash o't vermouth. Th'n shake and serve with lemon twist. It's eleven o'clock somewhere I suppose..." Fred knew the recipe better than most but what he'd forgotten was Gary asked for the moped and not the #vesper martini.

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Oddball the blue @oddballtheblue.bsky.social · 07/01/2025

#vss365 "Look tha' silly sod, it's easy. Ye #measure twice n cut once" stating the ever obvious, Gary felt further discussion unnecessary. Fred however... "It's fine and dandy wit wood, but atoms don't hold still long enough when pokin' em wit electron beams" countered.

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Oddball the blue @oddballtheblue.bsky.social · 05/01/2025

#vss365 "Now, I don' mean t' #question your life choices but really?" Fred challenged Gary. With a gallic shrug, Gary returned to his cross-stitch. What Fred didn't know was the treads were perfect for high temperature applications. Especially for the "Danger, hot surface" tea cosy.

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Oddball the blue @oddballtheblue.bsky.social · 05/01/2025

Hurray for British weather. One very hackneyed family moaning that there's no snow that they can see causing all the delays, thankfully our train is running only a minute behind. The bad news? Seat reservations have been cancelled so total scrummage finding seats. First world problems I suppose.

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Oddball the blue @oddballtheblue.bsky.social · 04/01/2025

#vss365 the random bubbling, jars of odd coloured liquid and bags of questionable green organic matter filled the shed. "It's alive! IT'S ALIVE!" Fred squealed with #delight. "'s only first 'om brew o't year, no need t'get that excited" Gary remarked before returning to his blueprints.

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Oddball the blue @oddballtheblue.bsky.social · 04/01/2025

[Current drinking mood] - actually feel like a larger for once.

Photo of a horsehair crab, one empty glass of beer behind it, whilst it's busy quaffing a second with what appears to be great vigour.

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Oddball the blue @oddballtheblue.bsky.social · 03/01/2025

So we've found a pub/bar thats part Danish owned... Part Rick Astley owned. They have plaques around with certain words on the marble table tops. And so SWMBO is trying to take pics of all of them to complete the set (we're sat by "to be together forever with you")

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Oddball the blue @oddballtheblue.bsky.social · 03/01/2025

#vss365 "So now we got tha driveshaft installed 'ow long before she makin power?" Gary enquired, having finally got all the gears plus drive lines installed & trued. "just a'soon a's this PM's finished muckin up 'er legacy. 'Not for #turning'? We'll see won't we..." Was Fred's mischievous response

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Oddball the blue @oddballtheblue.bsky.social · 02/01/2025

#vss365 "Moar power, tha needs more power!" Roared Gary as the twitching needles, glowing dials and various warning lights flickered indicating insufficient juice. "That's all we got you silly sod. I told thee t'use #fresh lemons but nooo" came the gruff response from Fred.

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Oddball the blue @oddballtheblue.bsky.social · 01/01/2025

#vss365 "Gently now, ye can't twist t'knob too quick 'n' pulling it leads t' accidents" came the ever helpful and sage advice from Fred. "tha knows wha' tha' doin'" responded Gary. Who knew tuning the oscilloscope #resolution could be so stressful?

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Oddball the blue @oddballtheblue.bsky.social · 01/01/2025

So warnings in advance but I shall be picking up vss365 again after something of a hiatus to see if I can actually manage a while year this time. This does mean the return of Fred and Gary for which I can only apologise.

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Oddball the blue @oddballtheblue.bsky.social · 29/12/2024

That moment you realise you're old when you're stomping around a night club with kids old enough to be your progeny in sensible hiking boots...

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Reposted by Oddball the blue

Stansaid Airport @stansaidairport.bsky.social · 28/12/2024

How fast was that rollercoaster going?

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Oddball the blue @oddballtheblue.bsky.social · 28/12/2024

So it's not a school night but I drew the short straw to take the kids home. Once at home wife asks if I can make the next bus out. For some parents not a problem, but for my two .... No, they want to stay up to finish homework. Emotionally challenged on if I should be proud or call them nerds..

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Oddball the blue @oddballtheblue.bsky.social · 28/12/2024

The most tragicomic of birthday cakes...

Picture of a green birthday cakes. It's got some nice piping around the edges and the top simply reads thus - "Sorry your birthday is in December so nobody gives a shit."

Brutal.

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Reposted by Oddball the blue

Mandeville was cavendish_maid 📎 🇺🇦 @mandeville24.bsky.social · 24/12/2024

Could two followers please copy and re-post this tweet to show that someone is always there? National Suicide Prevention Hotline Call: 0800 689 5652 (UK) 1-800-273-8255 (USA) 1.833.456.4566 (Canada)

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Oddball the blue @oddballtheblue.bsky.social · 27/12/2024

Got reminded this evening that my uncle is the spitting image of Kratos if God of war game (the newer ones where he's an old and cantankerous git)

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Oddball the blue @oddballtheblue.bsky.social · 27/12/2024

That awkward moment when you realise you've become a needle junkie. Then having to explain to your parents that you mean for record player cartridges, which still invokes a look of pity.

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Reposted by Oddball the blue

Glennyrodge @glennyrodge.bsky.social · 27/12/2024

“You boy, what day is it?” “Fucked if I know, sir”.

Scrooge sticking his head out the window.

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Oddball the blue @oddballtheblue.bsky.social · 22/12/2024

I might have geeked out a little bit*.... * Lies. Geeked out alot. I've seen other Next machines but not THE NEXT MACHINE. See alt text for the potted history.

Picture of an early 90s black Next computer (a 12cm by 12cm by 11.5cm cube shape), complete with matching CRT, keyboard and mouse. The machine itself has a half peeled faded white label on the front.

The significance of this particular machine cannot be understated, especially since you're reading this as part of its legacy.

It's the very computer Sir Tim Berners-Lee created the first web site setting the final foundation for the world wide web (the internet was already a thing but it didn't share information like the web yet)

Close up shot of the top of the black Next machine. You can see it's marked "PROPRIETE CERN" on both the computer and keyboard with white spray paint.

Without this thing I wouldn't have the job I do today, or at least the fundamental technology would likely be very different.

It's also a good example of what happens when pretty smart people get bored and go off to solve a problem during down time.

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Oddball the blue @oddballtheblue.bsky.social · 21/12/2024

Booo. I've been informed I'm not allowed to have a midnight hotel bath.

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Oddball the blue @oddballtheblue.bsky.social · 21/12/2024

[Current drinking mood] yes, it's mulled. Right now any excuse for a drink. Seriously hard to tell if it was a crowd or a scrum and if you get close enough to see the spite in my eyes at least be polite about barging past. Pretzel was good though.

Festive mug of overpriced mulled wine (at least it had kick) in a gift mug (that will never get used again save for requiring 200ml of liquid on account of it being smaller than the kids first cups).

It's sat next to an over browned... Ney almost burned pretzel on a wood plank that's serving as a table.

Hordes of non-Wulferhamptonians are mercifully out of view.

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