iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Seamus Byrne @seamusbyrne.me · 14/10/2026

Updated iOS and now get suggestions to make AI emoji to make my messages more ‘fun’, I guess? A flood of nudges in every available white space to press the AI button and surrender a little more agency to the system…

Screenshot of Apple Messages. One blue bubble says “Car windscreen was frosty this morning!” The message space below it is empty. Above the keyboard a suggested option says “Creat Genmoji” with “frosty car windscreen” below. I will not be tapping this suggestion.

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Seamus Byrne @seamusbyrne.me · 10/10/2026

I seem to have awakened to find myself in a dark room. #PAXAus

Wide shot of large theatre full of people. It’s dark. Deep blue light fills the venue. The screen on stage says “The Dark Room”.

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Seamus Byrne @seamusbyrne.me · 10/10/2026

Chatted to Holly Longdale and Clay Stone on the state of World of Warcraft and where we’re going next. Podcast dropping soon for @sifterhq.bsky.social!

Clay, Seamus and Holly smile for the camera in front of a blue media wall that features Blizzard and World of Warcraft Forever logos.

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Seamus Byrne @seamusbyrne.me · 09/10/2026

Did Albert Park Parkrun. A lovely course around the lake.

Midshot of Seamus standing by the lake. It’s a cloudy morning. The water is still.

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Seamus Byrne @seamusbyrne.me · 08/10/2026

What’s up? For me it’s some work and then #PAXAus today.

Seamus in an elevator. Fancy contrasting floor tiles of a stone, maybe marble. Brushed steel door behind him. He’s facing the mirror taking a selfie.

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Seamus Byrne @seamusbyrne.me · 27/09/2026

This century has been full of perfectly good tech that could last decades but for shitty plastic fabrics dissolving or rubberised coatings that turn gooey.

Photo of a gaming headset where the orange headset cushions have decayed and frayed and are not going to last any longer.

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Seamus Byrne @seamusbyrne.me · 15/09/2026

They didn't even try to make this chart do any real work. Might as well have written some numbers in a table.

Chart screenshot. While the read out of data points makes sense, the visual chart shows grey bars and pink bars to represent 2024 and 2026, respectively, but all of the grey bars and pink bars are identical in length no matter their listed values:

Amount Due
Monthly prices of US ad-free streaming plans have escalated in the past two years

Service / 2024 / 2026
Netflix Standard, $15.49, $19.99, +29%
Disney+ Premium, $13.99, $18.99, +36%
Hulu Premium, $17.99, $18.99, +6%
Peacock Premium, $13.99, $19.99, +43%
Paramount+ Premium, $12.99, $13.99, +8%
HBO Max Standard, $16.99, $18.49, +9%
Apple TV, $9.99, $14.99, +50%

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Seamus Byrne @seamusbyrne.me · 12/09/2026

I see @elprezau.bsky.social had already proven my point! 😆

Screenshot of two earlier skeet’s from this thread.

Seamus Byrne
I thought it was a bit. But also board gamers are Kallax groupies so I guess there is solid nerd cred for this specific storage solution?

Nathan C
I am a devout follower of the Kallax so I'm all for this. :D

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Seamus Byrne @seamusbyrne.me · 07/09/2026

You’d never have guessed who was actually just off camera.

Nathan Fielder laughing looking past the camera, with a concrete wall behind him.
He’s wearing a white shirt and black tie. It is from his famed meme about having friends off camera.

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Seamus Byrne @seamusbyrne.me · 30/08/2026

How it started. How it’s going. A glorious Sydney day for a long run. Got a participation medal and everything! Thanks to all who threw money into my ACRF fundraiser. Over $1,200 because people love science and hate cancer.

Dawn at North Sydney Oval with a crowd of runners waiting for the start. Large trees as the dawn light filters through.

Me, smiling and point at the Opera House sails behind me. Thousands of people are on the steps. Pretty sure they’re all here for me. Gorgeous sunny day. Pure blue sky.

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Seamus Byrne @seamusbyrne.me · 19/08/2026

On this day… but how is this FIFTEEN years ago??

Seamus standing in front of the Yoda fountain at Lucasfilm in San Francisco. He is pointing sideways toward Yoda with a shit eating grin.

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Seamus Byrne @seamusbyrne.me · 05/08/2026

Spent my day at Melbourne Law School for an excellent workshop on Creative Labour as Data Labour. Great job @jakegoldenfein.bsky.social on bringing the day together. The coffee shop is also very cutely named.

Close up on coffee cup with ‘Amicus’ stamped on the side. The cup sits on an outdoor table with a quiet street scene in the background.

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Seamus Byrne @seamusbyrne.me · 18/07/2026

Time for an Odyssey. Apparently it’s going to play in the strip between the curtains as Nolan intended.

Photo of a hand giving a thumbs up with a red curtain in front of a cinema screen.

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Seamus Byrne @seamusbyrne.me · 01/07/2026

The button Google Docs users need is here.

Partial screenshot of Google Docs showing the Gemini menu open. The 'Bottom bar preferences' is highlighted with a sub menu showing two options - Minimise and Turn off. Turn off is now ticked.

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Seamus Byrne @seamusbyrne.me · 29/06/2026

When the coffee order reads like a maths formula. The secret to a happy and productive day?

Top down on a coffee cup lid with “LF+1/2S” written on and “Shay”. Street ground in background.

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Seamus Byrne @seamusbyrne.me · 13/05/2026

Why’s everyone talking about the Steam Controller again? I’ve had one for a decade and I haven’t used it in years!

Photo of the original Steam Controller from 2015, held up in front of a wooden cupboard.

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Seamus Byrne @seamusbyrne.me · 12/05/2026

Suddenly remembered how fun Stuntman Ignition was.

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Seamus Byrne @seamusbyrne.me · 02/05/2026

Half marathon off we goooo.

Photo of a crowd of runners standing on a Sydney street, palm trees lining the right, a hint of the Opera House in the background. A clear sky with wispy clouds just after dawn.

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Seamus Byrne @seamusbyrne.me · 02/05/2026

Spied a 2005 Robo Rally in a local op shop. Never played it. Should I grab it?

Robo Rally board game site on a shelf against a white brick wall. The dress of an old doll peeks in on the left side of the image.

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Seamus Byrne @seamusbyrne.me · 16/04/2026

Can’t believe BlueSky razzed you all like this. Ooof.

Screenshot of Bluesky interface, with the “Best of Follows” list selected (also visible are Friends, Discover, and OnlyPosts). The interface shows no posts, with the dummy post tiles below the list name.

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Seamus Byrne @seamusbyrne.me · 10/04/2026

It is a good morning. A long run lead me to a lovely bush path. Just lovely.

A bushland dirt pathway flows directly to the white light of a sunrise. Thin trees fill the mid ground of the scene with lots of gaps for the light to filter through. Branches form an arch at the top of the foreground. It is peaceful.

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Seamus Byrne @seamusbyrne.me · 21/03/2026

This shit still exists lol.

An ATM style machine in a shop says lBiy Bitcoin Here” beside a newspaper stand and some gift cards.

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Seamus Byrne @seamusbyrne.me · 05/03/2026

My ScreenTime tracking is so drunk. Or I’ve found a way to triple my space-time before afternoon tea.

Screenshot of Apple ScreenTime widget, showing 25h 44m. Tracking shows a graph of hourly bars, some of which go beyond, 2 hours per hour, and it is just past 4pm. Final text reads: Productivity & Finance 4h 6m, Social 3h 8m, and Utilities 50m.

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Seamus Byrne @seamusbyrne.me · 24/02/2026

I don't understand this juice but I like it.

Screenshot of Bluesky 'Trending' breakout box. Reads:
Trending
1. X-Files Live
2. Antiques Roadshow
3. Susan Rice
4. Music Challenge
5. Jack Hughes

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Seamus Byrne @seamusbyrne.me · 23/02/2026

Some amazing cloud iridescence at Jones Beach on Sunday. Lasted about 20-30 minutes. Much more vibrant in my eyeballs than in the camera too.

A wide shot of a beach and sky with wispy clouds and a streak of rainbow iridescence near the top of frame. Low in frame is sand at the left and sea to the right, with houses and green hills in the distance.

Sky shot with wispy clouds on a blue sky, with subtle iridescence in the middle of the frame. A full rainbow spectrum can be identified.

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Seamus Byrne @seamusbyrne.me · 22/02/2026

Some of you will appreciate my wife’s amazing new mug. Burleigh collab with William Morris Gallery for a Strawberry Thief mug. So good.

Photograph of a mug in the traditional blue and white of Burleighware ceramics with the William Morris Strawberry Thief pattern. It shows a pattern of organic leaves and flowers with strawberries and a bird stealing a strawberry.

Underside of mug showing the maker imprint, which reads: (Strawberry Thief)
by
BURLEIGH
MADE IN ENGLAND
WILLIAM
MORRIS
GALLERY

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Seamus Byrne @seamusbyrne.me · 19/02/2026

Kids are playing Overwatch again so I scored some solid nerd Dad cred when Ms17 wanted to show her friends my box of Lucio-Ohs from 2018 Blizzcon.

Box of Lucio-Ohs sitting on a blue chair with a blue and white William Morris floral pattern cushion.

Box art is blue field with green, yellow and white text styling, with a large image of the character Lucio turning toward the camera holding a spoon. There is a bowl of yellow and green Lucio-Ohs at the bottom quarter of the box.

Box text reads:
Overwatch Lucio-Oh’s
Sonic Vanilla Artifically Flavored
Overwatch Get a free loot boost
Earn loot faster

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Seamus Byrne @seamusbyrne.me · 19/02/2026

I’m doing part-time mat leave cover at legendary design firm Arup this year. It’s been great to see how they genuinely work hard to live strong values in all their work and in their support for staff. This three story flag in the Sydney office is pretty great.

Wide photo of an internal void of a multi story office from above. A three story pride flag hangs in the void.

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Seamus Byrne @seamusbyrne.me · 17/01/2026

2016? Let’s see what we’ve got here… Some mugging for the camera with Ben Brode? That was a fun time.

Seamus is on the left. Ben is on the right. Seamus pulls a suspicious oooh face. Ben has his hands throwing shapes while looking incredulous about nothing in particular.

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Seamus Byrne @seamusbyrne.me · 14/01/2026

Post a game you remember playing that nobody else remembers.

Box art for a game. “Legend” is in a large medieval font. The artwork shows a stone bordered window with a cowled figure with glowing eyes, mixing a glowing material being mixed in a mortar and pestle.

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Seamus Byrne @seamusbyrne.me · 05/12/2025

Hoped a ‘Learn more’ link might help me get somewhere with removing my email address, but…

Screenshot from a PayPal email:

P
Help & Contact | Security | Apps
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PayPal is committed to preventing fraudulent emails. Emails from PayPal will always contain your full name. Learn to identify phishing
Please con
warncamai Trantinfouchwthis, click
Not sure why you received this email? Learn more

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Seamus Byrne @seamusbyrne.me · 02/12/2025

PhD first year review - passed! I am now officially a candidate! 🎉

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Seamus Byrne @seamusbyrne.me · 10/11/2025

Hi mate. Great seeing you at PAX. Such a fun chat.

Seamus stands right of frame beside a cardboard cutout of TV and internet personality Bajo, and another cardboard cutout of a woman beside him. There is a “2.30pm daily” sign behind the cutouts. Seamus points and smiles at Bajo as though they’re having fun together. The background is a wide view of the show floor at PAX Australia.

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Seamus Byrne @seamusbyrne.me · 07/11/2025

Forgot one of the cool jokes we managed to get into the decor of the new CBS Interactive office (CNET, Gamespot, ZDNet) back in the day. We had decals around the office of Australian inventions. This one with added Magritte (and beside the emergency stairs for extra credit).

A white office wall has a black decal sticker of an electric drill. It is directly beside a fire stair door to the left, with the fire escape information also alongside. A sticker caption below the drill reads: "Ceci N'est Pas Une Percer" with the English "This Is Not A Drill" below.

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Seamus Byrne @seamusbyrne.me · 05/11/2025

First heroic raid tier completed in WoW with a guild. Woop woop! Lots of work, lots of fun, great experience.

13 purple “void dragons” in formation in the video game World of Warcraft, lined up for a photo after the group earned these dragon mounts after completing the latest raid. The bottom row of six sit on a grey ground while the rest fly above them. The background is a space-like sky in dark blues and purples.

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Seamus Byrne @seamusbyrne.me · 30/10/2025

Campus security identified an impostor.

A group of people stand in an outdoor courtyard. Four are general people milling about. One is in a red spacesuit from the game Among Us. Another is in a high visibility orange shirt with Campus Security written on the back.

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Seamus Byrne @seamusbyrne.me · 29/10/2025

Darcey and Hiro bid you good day.

A white ragdoll cat with blue-grey points fills most of the frame, sitting up tall and looking downward. A ginger Siberian cat skulks alongside at the left, looking like mischief. They sit atop a white washing machine. A wicker basket and a folksy artwork sit behind them.

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Seamus Byrne @seamusbyrne.me · 28/10/2025

Enjoying the game as I train home. I have another 90 minutes here. Do they? I expect someone will end this when I’m in a bad reception spot. #MLB

An iPad sits on a train tray table. The endless Blue Jays v Dodgers baseball game is on screen, showing a wide shot of the diamond. The train features are mostly grey with greenery speeding past out the window on the left of frame.

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Seamus Byrne @seamusbyrne.me · 26/10/2025

An Irish donkey for your timeline courtesy of my Mammy who is back home for the rest of the year. This is from her neighbour’s field.

Grey-brown donkey looks at the camera in centre of frame. It stands in a green field, with lovely rolling green fields and tree lines off into the distance. Fluffy grey clouds fill the sky.

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Seamus Byrne @seamusbyrne.me · 22/10/2025

ABC News doing Leo Sayer dirty. Once a pop star always a pop star? Maybe a better word than “former” to describe his modern cultural status?

News item screenshot. Includes image of sandstone entrance to Berrima Gaol. Text reads:
Leo Sayer leads fight against proposed Berrima Gaol redevelopment

By Brooke Chandler
ABC Illawarra
Topic:Regional Development and Planning
Tuesday 21 October
Sandstone front gate, people walking in, architectural drawing
The owner wants to redevelop Berrima Gaol as a multi-purpose attraction for both locals and tourists. (Supplied: Blue Sox Developments)
In short:
Plans to transform a historic former jail in the NSW Southern Highlands into an accommodation and hospitality venue are now one step closer.
The project has dismayed some residents, including former international pop star Leo Sayer.
I have circled the word “former” in red.

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Seamus Byrne @seamusbyrne.me · 20/10/2025

Paused Wednesday recently for long enough that the Apple TV screensaver started, which then caused this analog horror incident when we returned. Perfection.

Photo of a TV screen with the Wednesday TV show name and her face in extreme close up. Everything has shifted into a low bitrate black-white grainy form with glitchy artefacts everywhere. Rather spooky.

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Seamus Byrne @seamusbyrne.me · 11/10/2025

This is not designed to be a comfortable daily ride. I guess I am a user and not a program.

The author lies uncomfortably on a futuristic motorcycle, or light cycle, from Tron. It has a massive front wheel and red lights trimming its edges. A red wall sits to the right. Seriously, he looks uncomfortable.

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Seamus Byrne @seamusbyrne.me · 09/10/2025

I can hear and smell these pictures. (Game Worlds is great!)

A yellow wall in an exhibition is filled with photographs from 1990s LAN parties. Old monitors, blue cables, and ‘90s vibes abound.

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Seamus Byrne @seamusbyrne.me · 09/10/2025

Refuelling in Albury. Halfway there!

Two men sit in a McDonalds eating sad fast food. They are looking at the camera and are kind of smiling but also clearly tired.

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Seamus Byrne @seamusbyrne.me · 08/10/2025

Melbourne road trip begins!

Hand holding up a white takeaway coffee cup. Text is “F 1/2”. Background is a town street blurred into the distance.

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Seamus Byrne @seamusbyrne.me · 02/10/2025

I read this as "most expensive upgrade ever" and it's also accurate. Having switched off Game Pass earlier this year it was like breaking a spell. I can't imagine paying this kind of money just to be allowed to play a game I already purchased online.

screenshot of text. highlighted part says: we're rolling out our most expansive upgrade yet. full text reads: gaming, in-game benefits (including Riot Games titles) and a revamped Rewards with Xbox experience. For Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers, we’re rolling out our most expansive upgrade yet, including more day one games than ever before, Fortnite Crew

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Seamus Byrne @seamusbyrne.me · 13/09/2025

Infinity Castle LET’S GOOOOO!!!

Popcorn box with the key art for Demon Slayer Infinity Castle. The art features the cast looking kick ass and ready for battle. The bottom of the box says LARGE many times. The box is held in front of a blank white cinema screen in the distance.

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