iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Paul Varley @paulpower.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Okay I did a Nine Games That Shaped Me thing. I suppose the interesting part is where it does and does not overlap with favourite games, or even that old Four Games That Struck Me meme from back in ye old Twitter days.

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Paul Varley @paulpower.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Joe Root now has the "most unconverted Test 50s" record to go with the "most Test runs in 1s, 2s and 3s" record that he's held for a while now...

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Paul Varley @paulpower.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Happy 25th Anniversary, Advance Wars! 🥳

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Paul Varley @paulpower.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

Playing Earthbound for the first time (though with the amount of LPs I've read/watched, it's certainly not blind). Made it to Milky Well so far, have a progress report:

Paul (that is to say, Ness)'s stat screen as of Milky Well (Sanctuary 3). Level 30, 241HP, 83PP.

Paula's stat screen as of Milky Well (Sanctuary 3). Level 28, 127HP, 105PP. Of note is the 73 defence - she's the current holder of the Mr. Saturn Coin because with her small HP pool she needs it.

Paolo (that is to say, Jeff)'s stat screen as of Milky Well (Sanctuary 3). Level 28, 165HP. Again the 64 defence is thanks to the Coin of Slumber I just picked up, because again he could use it.

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Paul Varley @paulpower.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

Coyote vs Acme was excellent, very funny and played beautifully straight. Americans, please make sure you give it a good opening weekend on the 28th 🙏

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Paul Varley @paulpower.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

It's funny watching baseball fans talk about something weird happening on a baseball field and then as a cricket fan wanting to say "first time?"

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Paul Varley @paulpower.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

Cloud timed its moment perfectly to cover the sun at the moment of highest coverage, but that did get me some cool photos 😅 #eclipse2026

Solar eclipse viewed by jamming my eclipse glasses up to the camera lens, before highest coverage.

Solar eclipse around highest coverage, taken through cloud

Solar eclipse viewed through eclipse glasses, after moment of highest coverage.

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Paul Varley @paulpower.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

Good to know that Pokopia can still deliver that quintessential Pokémon Tutorial Moment

Professor Tangrowth explaining utility poles while there is a utility pole that I placrd right in front of us. I am responding with the dialogue option "You're so smart"

Peakychu congratulating me on placing a streetlight. A haphazard web of utility poles and street lights already extends off into the distance.

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Paul Varley @paulpower.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

I suppose this means that Hatsune Miku needs to have a complete 180 on her opinion on the Falklands now 😅

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Paul Varley @paulpower.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

Any month can be Bug Month if you believe...

Shroomish the Parasect finishing off Champion Gary's (I called Blue Gary because, I mean, duh) Venusaur with Leech Life. Venusaur being 4x weak to Bug in Gen 1 and not actually packing an attacking Poison move (or any Poison moves at all in this battle) has consequences...

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Paul Varley @paulpower.bsky.social · 08/06/2026

With the academy ace tournament concluded, Eeveelanche and Eefae officially join their squadmates as holders of Champion ribbons. Also I really need to get back to Legends Arceus soon...

My spreadsheet showing off my Hall of Fame teams in my various runs of Pokémon games.

The most recent entry:
Violet (Operation Eeevee)
Trainer: Evie
Squad:
eV the Jolteon
Eefae the Sylveon
Fever the Flareon
Eeyesspee the Espeon
Dr. Eevil the Umbreon
Leafee the Leafeon
Evian the Vaporeon
Eeveelanche the Glaceon

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Paul Varley @paulpower.bsky.social · 28/05/2026

Had a spare potassium permanganate/washing up liquid mix set up the other day. Would've been a shame to waste it. #techniquest #science #charity 🧪

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Paul Varley @paulpower.bsky.social · 19/04/2026

Very productive #tenminutemerlin listening out of the window at my parents' house

A screenshot from the Merlin bird-identifying app featuring Bird of the Day the Great Tit as well as (many) House Sparrows, Blue Tits, Robins, Starlings, Mistle Thrushes [continued]

... dunnocks, blackbirds, blackcaps, nuthatches, woodpigeons, wrens, the aforementioned Great Tit, jackdaws and goldfinches...

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Paul Varley @paulpower.bsky.social · 19/04/2026

Happy 15th anniversary yesterday, Portal 2! Still my favourite ensemble voice cast in video games. Ellen McLain, Stephen Merchant, JK Simmons and Nolan North all knock it out of the park. (Also happy 41st birthday today me, but that's beside the point ;) )

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Paul Varley @paulpower.bsky.social · 30/03/2026

Downloaded Merlin today. Thoughts so far (🧵): - Wow there are a lot of blackbirds out there. - It really struggles with gulls. Heard a lot of gulls clearly with my own ears that it just didn't know what to do with. The one time it reported a gull it went with "Yellow-Legged Gull" which, uh, hmm.

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Paul Varley @paulpower.bsky.social · 08/03/2026

Inspired by the following, I present: Roses are red, Violets are purple, Carrots are orange, Spaceships are silver, Good thing this is blank verse

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Paul Varley @paulpower.bsky.social · 08/03/2026

I should have said something sooner, but RIP Rob Grant. The first six series of Red Dwarf - i.e. the part he co-wrote - were pretty much the best thing on television during that time, and left a huge impression on me.

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Reposted by Paul Varley

Bron Hebog & Minffordd @bronhebog.bsky.social · 01/03/2026

Dydd Gwyl Dewi Hapus from Bron Hebog. May all your red dragons be articulated with fire in their bellies. (Best fit a quality spark arrestor, mind)

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Paul Varley @paulpower.bsky.social · 28/02/2026

Happy 15th anniversary (er, yesterday) to a bonkers ODI www.espncricinfo.com/series/icc-c... . England were insane in the 2011 tournament. Losing to Bangladesh and Ireland, beating South Africa and the West Indies, and of course this tie with India.

espncricinfo.com

IND vs ENG Cricket Scorecard, 11th Match, Group B at Bengaluru, February 27, 2011

Live Cricket Scoreboard: Get India vs England 11th Match, Group B, cricket scorecard, ICC Cricket World Cup 2010/11 dated February 27, 2011.

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Paul Varley @paulpower.bsky.social · 27/02/2026

Been a good day - the Greens won a by-election, England won a T20 match and Pokémon Wind/Wave has a pomeranian as a starter (you get one guess as to what I'm going to nickname them).

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Paul Varley @paulpower.bsky.social · 04/01/2026

Beat Alder in Pokémon White, which means I can officially say that I'm in the Hall of Fame in that game! Here's an updated spreadsheet (I think I've posted this before?)

A spreadsheet commemorating all of my Pokémon teams that have made it to the Hall of Fame. The latest addition:

White
Trainer: Paula

Some Pig, Emboar, Fire/Fighting
Terri, Stoutland, Normal
Zsarina, Scolipede, Bug/Poison
SoulSister, Krookodile, Ground/Darl
Spiky Ken, Ferrothorn, Grass/Steel
Lord Rust, Jellicent, Water/Ghost

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Paul Varley @paulpower.bsky.social · 04/12/2025

Busy day, but I'm just happy Joe Root got his first Test century in Australia. Hopefully more to come... 🏏

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Paul Varley @paulpower.bsky.social · 21/11/2025

Well, that was a day of Test cricket. Hopefully we can consolidate on this now...

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Paul Varley @paulpower.bsky.social · 28/10/2025

I am grinning like a madman right now #pokemon

A shot of Mossui Toen square, with a sad Kieran on the left and a cheerful Nemona on the right. Nemona is saying "Does it really matter? Whether you win or lose, Pokémon battles are a blast!"

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Paul Varley @paulpower.bsky.social · 28/09/2025

So you know my spreadsheet showing all of England's Tests and the players who played in them? Anyway, I did one for Sri Lanka too: www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/8twkr...

The entire history of the Sri Lankan Test cricket team, in the form of a spreadsheet.

The early years, from SL's first Test in 1982 to the time around their famous World Cup win in 1996 (not pictured since that's ODIs!)

The golden age of Muralidaran, Jayawardene, Sangakkara et al.

Modern day Sri Lankan Test cricket. Somewhat poignant that I timed this project for just after the retirements of Karunaratne and Mathews...

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Paul Varley @paulpower.bsky.social · 07/09/2025

I solved the daily Clues by Sam (Sep 7th 2025) in less than 11 minutes 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩 🟩🟩🟩🟩 cluesbysam.com

cluesbysam.com

Clues by Sam

A daily logic puzzle where you deduce who are criminals and who are innocent!

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Paul Varley @paulpower.bsky.social · 08/08/2025

All right, with Brook now having played 50 Test innings, it's time for another round of these! Now with dotty lines dividing the charts up diagonally, and colour coding for particularly high or low conversion rates for 50s into 100s. Further details in alt text. 🏏

A graph plotting England test batters' ability to get to 50 (y-axis) versus their inabilty to get out of single figures (x-axis). Criteria: 50 Test innings, 3 Test hundreds (bowling allrounders with one or two centuries tend to distort the % single figure score axis massively).

The upward diagonal dotty line denotes an equal amount of single figure scores and 50+ scores. The downward diagonal dotty line denotes 50% of scores in the "in between range" of 10 to 49. Shout out to Peter Richardson for landing on both lines!

Colour denotes conversion rate from 50s into 100s: purple denotes a particularly high conversion rate (>=40.0%), orange notes a particularly low one (<=25.0%)

Notable outliers are labelled: let's go through them!

Sutcliffe - 46% 50+, 14% SFs. High conversion rate
Brook - 46% 50+, 28% SFs. High conversion rate
Hobbs - 42% 50+, 14% SFs.
Barrington - 42% 50+, 21% SFs.
Hutton - 38% 50+, 18% SFs
Root - 36% 50+, 24% SFs.
Hammond - 33% 50+, 19% SFs. High conversion rate

Gower - 28% 50+, 21% SFs.
Graveney - 25% 50+, 20% SFs.
Tyldesley - 24% 50+, 22% SFs
Bairstow - 21% 50+, 25% SFs.

Bell - 33% 50+, 36% SFs. Yeah Ian Bell is just weird.

Randall - 24% 50+, 41% SFs.
Z Crawley - 22% 50+, 39% SFs. Low conversion rate
MJK Smith - 18% 50+, 31% SFs. Low conversion rate
Moeen Ali - 17% 50+, 35% SFs. Low conversion rate

A graph plotting England test batters' ability to get to 50 (y-axis) versus their inabilty to get out of single figures (x-axis), this time focused on the ones who lie within a range of 50+s betwen 29 and 37%, and single figures between 19 and 29%. In short, these are the players who are just generally good, at least measured by these particular standards. Criteria: 50 Test innings, 3 Test hundreds (bowling allrounders with one or two centuries tend to distort the % single figure score axis massively).

Conversion rates from 50s to 100s also have some representation via colour coding: purple denotes a high conversion rate >= 40.0%, orange a low one <= 25.0%

Joe Root - 36% 50s, 24% SFs.
Ted Dexter - 35% 50s, 21% SFs. Low conversion rate
Denis Compton - 34% 50+, 22% SFs
Patsy Hendren - 34% 50+, 24% SFs. Low conversion rate
Wally Hammond - 33% 50+, 19% SFs. High conversion rate
Geoff Boycott - 33% 50+ 25% SFs
Peter May - 33% 50+ 26% SFs
Robin Smith - 33% 50+ 28% SFs. Low conversion rate
Kevin Pietersen - 32% 50+ 25% SFs. Shout-outs to KP for almost meeting my arbitrary cut-off for high conversion rates, with 39.66%
Colin Cowdrey - 32% 50+ 27% SFs
Alastair Cook - 31% 50+ 23% SFs
Ben Duckett - 31% 50+ 24% SFs
Graham Gooch - 31% 50+ 24% SFs
Graham Thorpe - 31% 50+ 25% SFs
Tony Greig - 30% 50+ 24% SFs
Marcus Trescothick - 30% 50+ 26% SFs
Jonathan Trott - 30% 50+ 27% SFs
Bill Edrich - 30% 50+ 29% SFs
Maurice Leyland - 29% 50+ 25% SFs. High conversion rate

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Paul Varley @paulpower.bsky.social · 03/08/2025

50 innings is of course still a pretty small sample size, but uh Harry Brook everyone: Among England players who have played 50 innings, only Herbert Sutcliffe has a higher proportion of 50+ scores than Brook currently has. 🏏

Tables and charts breaking down Harry Brook's Test career to date, mostly by breaking it down into blocks of 10.

10 of Brook's 50 innings so far have been centuries, a staggering 20%. The only England player who comes close is Herbert Sutcliffe with 19% (yes, even Hobbs, Hutton, Hammond and Barrington are a way off!).

Speaking of Herbert Sutcliffe, he's the only England player (min 50 innings) to beat Harry Brook's current 46% proportion of 50+ scores, with 46.4%. Sutcliffe did have rather more not outs and fewer single figure scores though, hence the 60 average.

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Paul Varley @paulpower.bsky.social · 31/07/2025

I'm a little late on this, but it's worth noting that Root overtook Dravid in the same number of innings as Dravid, and overtook Ponting in one fewer innings than Ponting. Dravid and Ponting have more not outs so their averages are better, but this still feels like an achievement.

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Paul Varley @paulpower.bsky.social · 31/07/2025

Good ol' one two three fo(u)r five. More reliable than Nelson...

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Paul Varley @paulpower.bsky.social · 21/07/2025

Made a graph of England Test batters (all time) plotting their rate of making single figure scores vs. making 50+ scores, because I dunno it's data that falls right out of my other spreadsheet and I thought it'd be neat. Outliers are labelled, further details in the alt text. 🏏

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Paul Varley @paulpower.bsky.social · 15/07/2025

Seeing a lot of people go "how are India 2-1 down when they've played the better cricket the majority of the time?" and I'm feeling like, "first time touring England?" This is kinda what we do. And I'm not talking about Bazball here, look at the 09 Ashes or the 18 Pataudi Trophy.

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Paul Varley @paulpower.bsky.social · 13/07/2025

England 51/3 or effectively, 51/3

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Paul Varley @paulpower.bsky.social · 10/07/2025

Joe Root's 103rd 50+ score in Tests pulls him into joint second with Kallis and Ponting. Tendulkar still some way away (though not uncatchably so!) on 119.

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Paul Varley @paulpower.bsky.social · 03/07/2025

Been catching up with the Renegade Scum series on @6featsunder.bsky.social‬ and since they mentioned that they liked shoutouts, I thought I'd give a shoutout to my favourite roleplaying podcast group, who've been doing actual play podcasts since before the term "actual play podcast" was a thing!

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Paul Varley @paulpower.bsky.social · 24/06/2025

Crazy win for England, it's still sinking in. The coincidence of needing to chase 370-odd against India again definitely made me believe it could be done, but still wild. India the first side to score five centuries in a Test and lose. Amazing effort from Duckett and everyone else! #engvsind 🏏

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Paul Varley @paulpower.bsky.social · 22/06/2025

Daily Duotrigordle #1208 Guesses: 36/37 2️⃣7️⃣ 3️⃣5️⃣ 0️⃣5️⃣ 0️⃣6️⃣ 2️⃣8️⃣ 0️⃣8️⃣ 1️⃣7️⃣ 2️⃣3️⃣ 3️⃣6️⃣ 1️⃣8️⃣ 1️⃣3️⃣ 1️⃣2️⃣ 2️⃣6️⃣ 2️⃣9️⃣ 3️⃣4️⃣ 1️⃣9️⃣ 2️⃣0️⃣ 1️⃣5️⃣ 0️⃣4️⃣ 0️⃣9️⃣ 2️⃣1️⃣ 1️⃣4️⃣ 2️⃣2️⃣ 3️⃣0️⃣ 3️⃣2️⃣ 3️⃣3️⃣ 3️⃣1️⃣ 1️⃣0️⃣ 2️⃣5️⃣ 2️⃣4️⃣ 0️⃣7️⃣ 0️⃣3️⃣ duotrigordle.com

duotrigordle.com

Duotrigordle

Put your skills to the test and solve thirty-two Wordles at once! You have 37 guesses to solve all 32 words. A new Duotrigordle available each day to solve.

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Paul Varley @paulpower.bsky.social · 20/06/2025

On Tuesday I went to "Waterfall Country", a part of the Brecon Beacons that I honestly didn't even know existed until a few weeks ago. There's some amazing stuff there!

Sgwd Clun-Gwyn ("Fall of the White Meadow") on Afon Mellte ("Lightning River"). Was nervy looking down on this one, as it was quite a high cliff!

"Sgwd y Pannwr" ("Fall of the Fuller", fulling being a step in the process of turning wool from animal hair into clothing - I suppose all the water does look a bit like wool!) on the Afon Mellte ("lightning river")

Sgwd Isaf Clun-Gwyn ("lower fall of the white meadow") on the Afon Mellte ("lightning river"). The walk is called the Four Waterfalls walk, but there's four of them right here!

Technically we weren't supposed to be here, as the path was under maintenance, but we braved the mud to have a look.

Sgwd yr Eira ("Fall of Snow") on the Afon Hepste, a tributary of the Afon Mellte. You can go behind this one (I got very wet, and baffled at myself that I didn't put on my raincoat first...)

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Paul Varley @paulpower.bsky.social · 15/06/2025

Congrats to South Africa on winning the World Test Championship! I'll be honest, I don't really understand the point of the WTC. I didn't think that Test cricket needed context. Test cricket *is* context. Still, I appreciate that all three finals have been won by the underdog. So again, congrats!

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Paul Varley @paulpower.bsky.social · 03/06/2025

If you see this, post a vehicle.

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Paul Varley @paulpower.bsky.social · 01/06/2025

Went to the cricket at Sophia Gardens today! Got treated to an absolute masterclass of a run chase by Joe Root, dragging England from 2-2 and 133-5 to overhaul WI's 308 with three wickets left. Here he is bringing up his 150: #ENGvsWI 🏏

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Paul Varley @paulpower.bsky.social · 31/05/2025

Managed to animate some Lemmings walking along on the Animate It! machine at @techniquest.org . Surprised how well it loops, wasn't aiming for that! 🧪🎮

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Paul Varley @paulpower.bsky.social · 29/05/2025

Oh right, forgot to mention at the time - back on the 20th, I went up Pen Y Fan (yes, I know, everyone and their mum had climbed Pen Y Fan) and Corn Du with friends from work! 🏞⛰️

My and aome work friends on the summit of Pen Y Fan (886m), the tallest mountain in South Wales and the highest peak on Great Britain south of Cadair Idris. I'm on the far left of the group in this picture, along with seven other people you likely don't know.

The same group of people on the summit of neighbouring Corn Du (871m) with Pen Y Fan in the background. This time I'm on the far right hand side of the group. For some reason we all decided to pick up rocks for this shot...

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