iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Wet day for a river cleanup! Got soaked to the skin, but we hauled in two big bags of trash. 🤘 Cruising down the creek was quite serene—until it started bucketing down. 😅

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Matt @spannerhead.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Watching the second of Rex's excellent two-part documentary on the Sea Vixen, and a feeling is stirring that I've not experienced in a long time: The desire to recreate an aircraft out of Lego. I'd "fix" the offset canopy in the process though. #avgeek

youtube.com

Sea Vixen: A Magnificent Aircraft Haunted By Death

YouTube video by Rex's Hangar

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Matt @spannerhead.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Hot take: If Oldsmobile had changed the name of their entire brand to Aurora when the below debuted, it would have helped them hold on longer.

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Matt @spannerhead.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

757 followers! Which means it's time for POWER. 💪 Photo courtesy www.airliners.net/photo/Delta-... #avgeek

A Delta Airlines Boeing 757-200 blasting off the runaway at Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson Airport.

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Matt @spannerhead.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Had a very vivid dream last night I was behind the wheel of a black FB RX-7, just like the one I used to own. It sounded and felt EXACTLY like I remember it, and I've not driven an FB since 2014. Wild how the gestalt of a particular car can get so lodged in your subconscious.

Right rear view of a black 12A-powered Mazda FB RX-7.

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Matt @spannerhead.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Hiked by the Snowbird Mountain VORTAC station on the first day of my recent App Trail adventure. The facility looked well-tended and operational. I wonder how many of these are still around, and how much they're still used in the age of GPS? #avgeek

A man with a large backpack standing with his hand on a fence surrounding a white building with an aircraft navigational beacon on top.

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Matt @spannerhead.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Am I the only one who considers the first-gen Altima to be Best Altima? (everyone loves the third, especially the SE-R). Trim size, J30-esque styling, crisp 5-spoke alloys, a JDM SR20DET swap away from really waking up...

Front right angle of a maroon-colored first-generation Nissan Altima.

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Matt @spannerhead.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

About to enjoy a midday snack... This beauty's been hanging out on my back deck for the better part of a couple of months at this point. I just duck under its web.

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Matt @spannerhead.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

My lovely girlfriend is returning from a trip to New England, and for the final leg, she'll be on a Boeing 717, one of my bucket-list planes to fly on. Last of the legendary Mad Dogs. #avgeek I'm not jealous at all. 😅

Archival photo I took of a Boeing 717 parked at ATL's Gate A34.

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Matt @spannerhead.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Turns out the Appalachian Trail is pretty awesome, even when you get stung by 6 yellow jackets halfway into the first day of a 3-day, 35-mile hike. 🐝 And have a suspected alien sighting at the end of Day 2. 👽 Day 3 was uneventful other than being mostly downhill and my knees are utterly shot. 😅

Trail marker in Hot Springs, NC, the terminus of our 3-day hike.

My hiking companion taking a photo just on the other side of the Snowbird VORTAC station.

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Matt @spannerhead.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Postwar Armstrong Whitworth flying-wing airliner concept. Boy, I'm glad they included a pantry. I don't know if I could have taken this concept seriously otherwise. #avgeek Photo courtesy the Cancelled Aircraft FB group.

Cutaway rendering of a large flying-wing airliner concept, painted red, and powered by 8 jet engines.

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Matt @spannerhead.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Why do Panthers have this trim strip on the top of the C-pillar? I've always wondered. It seems superfluous, but obviously the body is designed in a different way than other cars'.

C-pillar detail of a Ford Crown Victoria, featuring an upside-side L-shaped piece of trim running along its top and back.

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Matt @spannerhead.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

747 followers! You all know what that means: Time for the Queen to take a bow. 🤩 #avgeek All photos courtesy airliners.net.

Upper angle of a Qantas Boeing 747-400 on the tarmac at LAX.

A Boeing 747-400 in KLM colors touching down on the displaced threshold at Princess Juliana International Airport in Sint Maarten.

A Virgin Atlantic Boeing 747-400 in flight with contrails from its engines.

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Matt @spannerhead.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Got a postcard (!) in the mail yesterday from a good friend in Seattle. I mean, who sends snail mail anymore of any kind? Needless to say, it made my evening.

A portrait-orientation postcard lying on a brown patterned tablecloth. The face of the postcard is a reproduction of the cover of the Tintin comic book Objectif Lune (Destination: Moon in English).

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Matt @spannerhead.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

I needed that W. Son's '09 F150 developed a gnarly misfire yesterday; he nursed it to a safe spot for the night. I drove over after work with a toolbox, but expecting to have it towed. Turns out the #3 spark plug blew out. Threads were even OK. Snugged it back down and it runs great. 🔧

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Matt @spannerhead.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Lived there for about six months right out of college. Lovely place, and it'll always been associated with runs on the beach and drives up and down A1A in the Supra with the targa top removed. 🤘

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Reposted by Matt

Pam Williams @pamkeenwilliams.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

More Hummer shots, but they will be gone soon. When the go-go juice hits cold—and your feathers file an immediate complaint. *Ruby-throated hummer #birds

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Matt @spannerhead.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

I love my four cats dearly, but Luna is hands-down my favorite feline on the Internet: www.instagram.com/heyloonyluna

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Matt @spannerhead.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

If you're going to fit a Mariah bodykit, you need to upgrade the rest of the car accordingly. 🤘 Other remarks: - Where's the S5's characteristic pistol-grip shift knob? - A factory CD player in 1989? 😮 - Must be a very mild turbo since the S5's 13B has the highest C/R of any Mazda rotary.

bringatrailer.com

No Reserve: Turbocharged, 29k-Mile 1989 Mazda RX-7 Convertible 5-Speed

Bid for the chance to own a No Reserve: Turbocharged, 29k-Mile 1989 Mazda RX-7 Convertible 5-Speed at auction with Bring a Trailer, the home of the best vintage and classic cars online. Lot #263,224.

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Matt @spannerhead.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Always hated this about French. I had all the other numbers down cold and it always takes me an extra beat to think of anything from 70-99. 🙄

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Matt @spannerhead.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

When trying to make your land yacht "fit" in the parking space at Walmart, you do what you gotta do.

A metallic gold 1970 Cadillac Coupe DeVille parked poor at a local Walmart.

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Matt @spannerhead.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Well, my son got into his first fender-bender today. In his defense, maneuvering an extended cab F150 around downtown Chattanooga isn't the easiest assignment for a relatively new driver. Everybody's fine and both vehicles are drivable, but he's still shaken up because that's his temperament. 😕

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Matt @spannerhead.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

737 followers! Featuring a photo of the variant after which Boeing should have just designed a clean-sheet aircraft and they wouldn't be in the position they are now. 🙄 #avgeek

A Boeing 737-300 (Classic) in Piedmont Airlines livery.

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Matt @spannerhead.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Just learned Wendell Berry died on Monday. What a week for passings... 😢

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Matt @spannerhead.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

Kyurem standees for my daughter's birthday table tomorrow. Just noticed Black Kyurem may need its tail glued back. 😕 #Pokemon

A trio of small cardstock standees of three different versions of the Pokémon Kyurem.

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Matt @spannerhead.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

Stardust Blue over black cloth? Base model (no sunroof)?? Pre-'83 (the first year with the undesirable "beehive" oil cooler)??? The rare two-spoke steering wheel???? The *perfect* spec FB for me. 🤌

bringatrailer.com

No Reserve: 1982 Mazda RX-7 S 5-Speed

Bid for the chance to own a No Reserve: 1982 Mazda RX-7 S 5-Speed at auction with Bring a Trailer, the home of the best vintage and classic cars online. Lot #261,475.

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Matt @spannerhead.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

RIP Tim Curry. You stole so many scenes in one of my favorite movies.

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Reposted by Matt

Danny Fearns @dannyfearns.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

Good morning Bluesky ☀️ This is one of the last coal powered sheep. The vast majority of UK sheep are now all electric ⚡️

Sheep grazing in fields, the one in the foreground with white smoke apparently coming out of its bottom

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Matt @spannerhead.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

“The choice came down to either severe but temporary economic instability or binding itself to a pseudo-democratic fiscal basket case of a nation, whose only apparent foreign policy objective has become domination for the gratification of its president’s slapdash vanity.” We're all Canadians now. 🇨🇦

nytimes.com

Opinion | Canada Said No to America. It Will Reverberate Far Beyond Its Borders.

Mark Carney has chosen suffering, but he did what Canadians elected him to do.

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Matt @spannerhead.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

Parked next to this beauty whilst getting my hair cut. 🤌 No, the giant 'Murica Truck is not mine. #weirdcarbs

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Matt @spannerhead.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

180K! I've put 22K on it in the past 20 months. Still love it. CEL is for a flaky EGR valve I have a replacement for but just haven't installed yet.

Instrument cluster of a 2003 Mazda MPV, showing 180,000 miles on the odometer.

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Matt @spannerhead.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

It should be noted that The Kings of Queen is a truly exceptional tribute band. They earned their keep last night with the frontman performing 6-7 (!) costume changes alone over the course of the set. Wow. 🤩

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Matt @spannerhead.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

After much component removal, I managed to crack the 986's engine and transaxle apart for better access for the boroscope. I still cannot locate the damn CPS bolt. 😡 Starting to think maybe it's still on the gravel driveway where I attempted the initial repair. I looked, but maybe not hard enough.

A 2002 Porsche 986 Boxster S's engine and transaxle bellhousing separated from each other about 3/4". I ended up pulling them apart 1-1/4" or so. Really trying not to pull the input shaft out of the torque converter.

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Reposted by Matt

Odd This Day @oddthisday.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

Happy National Potato Day (US) to all who celebrate

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Matt @spannerhead.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

Apropos of nothing, here's one of my favorite paintings.

I Saw the Figure 5 in Gold, a 1928 Futurist painting by Charles Demuth, currently on display at the Met in NYC.

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Matt @spannerhead.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

I greatly esteem whoever is driving this. #weirdcarbs

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Matt @spannerhead.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

727 followers! Flew on quite a few Piedmont Airlines examples during throughout the '80s. For my money quite a nice-looking bird. 🤌 #avgeek

Black and white press photo of the prototype Boeing 727-200 in flight.

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Matt @spannerhead.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

QOTD: What was your worst rental car experience? I drove a terrible-riding, cruise-control-less penalty box of a Nissan Versa from Raleigh to Atlanta. 👎

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Matt @spannerhead.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

Son of a buckeyed beaver. It *needs* me. #weirdcarbs www.facebook.com/marketplace/...

Exterior of a white 1989 Volvo 780 turbo, listed on Facebook Marketplace for $3,500.

Dashboard of a 1989 Volvo 780 turbo, listed on Facebook Marketplace for $3,500.

Tan driver's door panel of a 1989 Volvo 780 turbo, listed on Facebook Marketplace for $3,500.

Rear seats of a 1989 Volvo 780 turbo, listed on Facebook Marketplace for $3,500.

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Matt @spannerhead.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

Escort Wagon (!) at the airshow on Sunday. #weirdcarbs

Front right angle of a (ruined paint) red 3rd generation Ford Escort (US) wagon backed into a parking space.

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