iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Tony Bowden @tmtm.com · 16/07/2026

Next set of Travel Tiles ticked off are a couple of coastline cases at Ninamaa. These each required going a little bit off-road, but not by very much. A route from here to that one remaining unvisited cell further south looked a bit nasty though, so I'll have to get that from the west another time.

Travel tiles map from Tabasalu up to Suurupi, and down to Vaana-Jõesuu. The two tiles in the very north west corner, at Ninamaa, were previously marked as my having never cycled there, but are now highlighted as newly visited.

Coastline out at Ninamaa, beyond Suurupi.

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Tony Bowden @tmtm.com · 11/07/2026

Woot! Eight new travel tiles unlocked on this ride via Sõrve and Tutermaa. Slightly annoyed that I didn't think to take a 100m detour to fill that remaining gap at the top, but I'll have to go back and take the route via Vahi and Kiia at some point, so must remember to do so then.

Travel tiles map showing eight tiles around Vaila, Vääna, Humala, and Kütke highlighted in green to show that I've now cycled that route.

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Tony Bowden @tmtm.com · 10/07/2026

With Kopli/Paljassaare ticked off, I'm quickly running out of unvisited tiles that are under 20km away *and* actually reachable. The next of those to be ticked off is Ilmarise mets. I've cycled through here countless times, but seemingly never with the cycle map app tracking it before.

Travel tiles map showing one tile as yet unvisited: the area I know as Ilmarise mets/terviserada, though the map only shows Pääskula mägi.

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Tony Bowden @tmtm.com · 08/07/2026

After the tip of Kopli, the next most obvious missing tiles to fill were Paljassaare. I've been up the east side before, but never the west, so this was a good excuse to go explore that. 🧵

Cycle Map Travel Tiles, with two hexagons as unfilled: the Paljassaare peninsula north west of Tallinn, Estonia.

Map of the Paljassaare peninsula showing large areas that are inaccessible, as much of the area is a nature reserve.

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Tony Bowden @tmtm.com · 07/07/2026

After Sunday night's adventures, last night had a much simpler goal: fill the tile at the very top of Kopli. Most of it is the BLRT factory/shipyard, which AFAIK has no public access, but that's fine because the top corner of Süsta park is easily accessible, and does the trick nicely.

Travel tiles zoomed right in at the the tip of the Kopli peninsula in Tallinn, which is still unfilled (unvisited). Most of this is the BLRT GRUPP factory and shipyard, which has no public access (AFAIK. If it does, please let me know, so I can go explore!), but there's a little park with the very western tip crossing into the unvisited tile. Easy pickings!

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Tony Bowden @tmtm.com · 05/07/2026

Today's Travel Tiles goal: can I check off those three gaps to the west of Kiili? Unlike the similar gap from Saue to Saku the other day, this one has the drawback of there not actually being any roads going across here. In fact there are very few roads to be found here at all. Adventure ensues… 🧵

Travel Tiles showing hexagons of areas visited vs unvisited by bike. There is a gap of three tiles in the middle between Kiili in the east, and the Tallinn-Viljandi highway in the west. There is no obvious route between the tiles, and indeed how to even access them at all is not immediately clear.

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Tony Bowden @tmtm.com · 04/07/2026

Yesterday was rained out, but today I filled travel tiles #281 and #282 by taking a ride up to the new viewing platform at Muraste/Meriküla. I had hoped to enter at the bottom and exit at the top, but the elevator doesn't seem to be working yet, so I just had to go back the way I came. 🧵

Travel Tiles map of the area to the west of Tallinn, showing (in a very rough form) the route of today's bike ride by lighting up each hexagon travelled through. This includes two newly filled tiles (with thicker borders) up in the top left corner at Muraste. One of them is 99% sea, but a tiny sliver of road cuts across the bottom left so by the Rule of the Tile™ I get to claim it ALL!

22 metre tall viewing tower connecting Meriküla and Muraste. The tower has 7 lesser viewing platforms at each level on the way up from the bottom in Meriküla, and a much bigger one jutting out at the top level, where you can also exit and be in Muraste, saving yourself the 8km round trip by road.

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Tony Bowden @tmtm.com · 02/07/2026

Today's bike ride let me fill in travel tiles 279 & 280 by taking a different route between Saku and Saue. Rather than the standard cyclepath that mostly follows the ringroad, this time I took the entirely-new-to-me road across via Üksnurme and Rahula (and got to see a _lot_ of horses on the way). 🧵

cycle.info travel tiles map with two previously empty hexagons now highlighted as visited on the road between Saku and Saue

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Tony Bowden @tmtm.com · 01/07/2026

A quick lunchtime spin and tile #278 is filled. I'd been putting this one off because large chunks of Suur-Sõjamäe are aggressively unfriendly for cycling _and_ most of the traffic is trucks, but once you reach the city limit, there's a rather cycle path now almost the whole way to Lagedi. 🧵

Map of Tallinn with hexagons for areas visited. One new area highlighted out past the airport on Suur-Sõjamäe

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Tony Bowden @tmtm.com · 01/07/2026

For the last year I've tried to track everywhere I've cycled using @cycle.travel Travel Tiles, and I'm quite pleased with the process. It's a lot of fun working out to fill in lots of the gaps, but with most of the low-hanging fruit taken, I guess I'm going to have to start going further afield…

Map of everywhere in the vicinity of Tallinn I've cycled in the last 12 months.

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Pear 🍐 @purelypear.bsky.social · 01/05/2026

If you need to go somewhere and not spend any money, please visit your local library. Library crawls are awesome. Every library is its own little world.

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Melissa & Chris Bruntlett @modacitylife.com · 22/09/2025

With 29% of all trips made by bike and 64% of bike trips made by women, Osaka is a cycling city beyond compare. What makes it even more remarkable is these gains were made in spite of very little dedicated infrastructure. So what can we learn from a place that didn't build it, and they came anyway?🧵

People of all ages and abilities wearing regular attire ride sturdy, upright bicycles on the streets of central Osaka.

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Jonathan Cohn @jonathancohn.bsky.social · 21/08/2025

"Arguably the most lucrative innovation to come out of Silicon Valley in the past decade and a half has been a willingness to break the law. " prospect.org/power/2025-0...

prospect.org

What Trump Learned From Silicon Valley

Before DOGE’s lawbreaking spree, there was ‘blitzscaling.’

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Journal of Democracy @jodemocracy.bsky.social · 17/08/2025

Today, Bolivians will vote to decide the fate of their democracy. "[Bolivia] is a nation rich in strategic resources, sitting at the crossroads of the Andes and the Amazon, and increasingly targeted by authoritarian powers. What happens here will ripple across the region."

journalofdemocracy.org

Why Bolivia’s Election Matters So Much | Journal of Democracy

The small South American country has become a strategic foothold for authoritarian powers. Its election is hugely important for the future of democracy across the region.

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Gail Ramster @gaillyk.bsky.social · 26/06/2025

My book is published today 📚. It’s called Designing Inclusive Public Toilets: Wee the People, written with @jo-anneb.bsky.social. It’s part inclusive design guide, part manifesto for better public toilets 🚽. Buy copies for all your friends! 🎁. Here’s what you’ll find inside 🧵

Copy of the book 'Designing Inclusive Public Toilets' in front of white bathroom tiles. In the foreground is a rubber duck.

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Michelle Ye Hee Lee @myhlee.bsky.social · 03/06/2025

By far my favorite part of South Korean elections: election night graphics. SBS television station kills it EVERY. TIME. They play these clips all night and they get more and more unhinged and creative as the night goes on.

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Tony Bowden @tmtm.com · 03/06/2025

Ooh, the pope has appointed a new Bishop of Urgell: press.vatican.va/content/sala... Which, because crazy history, means a new Head of State in Andorra: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Co-prin...

press.vatican.va

Resignations and Appointments

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Tony Bowden @tmtm.com · 12/05/2025

I completely missed this story at the time, but en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_Ch... is setting off all my "Rabbit Hole! Rabbit Hole! Back away quickly!" alarms…

en.wikipedia.org

2018 China–African Union espionage allegations - Wikipedia

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David Smith @dsmith890.bsky.social · 30/04/2025

In this new guest post for Moldova Matters Jules shares his experience and impressions of biking around Moldova. Through stories and (amazing) photos he describes the hospitality and beauty of this small country. open.substack.com/pub/moldovam...

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Tony Bowden @tmtm.com · 28/04/2025

Tracking down info on someone who's vanished from the Government of Myanmar website was difficult enough without getting sidetracked by idly wondering why we still call the language "Burmese"… and then deciding to find out. 30 minutes later, I've learned enough to understand much less than before.

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Nicki Kenyon @nickikenyon.bsky.social · 16/04/2025

The judges of the National Superior Court found that Humala and Heredia received almost $3 million in illegal contributions from Odebrecht and the government of then-Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez. apnews.com/article/peru...

apnews.com

Peruvian court sentences former President Humala and wife to 15 years for money laundering

A Peruvian court has sentenced former President Ollanta Humala and his wife, Nadine Heredia, to 15 years in prison for laundering funds received from Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht to finance ...

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Tony Bowden @tmtm.com · 08/04/2025

I'm not sure if it's more shameless or less if it's not actually Patreon, but it's been a while since I plugged Shuffled — the weekly guide to what's going on everywhere else in the world, told through the lens of the political defenestrations that rarely get international coverage. So duly plugged.

shuffled.beehiiv.com

Shuffled

What's going on in the rest of the world

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🎃 Imani Gandy Corn 🎃 @angryblacklady.blacksky.app · 07/04/2025

I just need everyone to watch this and understand I have been laughing about it for 24 hours

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Tony Bowden @tmtm.com · 10/03/2025

Spent a while at the weekend wondering where all the new Shuffled subscribers were coming from. Turns out it was this week's webcurios (thanks @mattmuir.bsky.social) [Beware though: even with claimed reading time of 37 minutes", that's likely an order of magnitude low if you start following links…]

webcurios.co.uk

Webcurios 07/03/25 – webcurios

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Casper Kessels @casperkessels.com · 04/03/2025

What if you could explore Wikipedia on a map? A little project I've been building with a friend over the past months! wikiexplore.org

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Nicki Kenyon @nickikenyon.bsky.social · 01/03/2025

I fully admit that I'm biased when it comes to Ukraine. I fully admit that I'm emotional. That's why I tried to use a variety of sources in this rather long article and keep it as factual as possible. I hope I've succeeded. open.substack.com/pub/ireneken...

open.substack.com

Ukraine: Lies and Realities

Separating Facts from Emotions

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Tony Bowden @tmtm.com · 26/02/2025

I probably spent a couple of hours yesterday down the Călin Georgescu rabbit hole for the latest Shuffled update, so of course today they have to turn the knobs up to 11. English reporting seems to be lagging substantially: www.digi24.ro/stiri/actual... is the best I've found for updates in Romanian

shuffled.beehiiv.com

Shuffled 2025-07

Political comings and goings from February 12th to 18th

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Larissa Borck @larissaborck.bsky.social · 18/02/2025

In France, journalists of the magazine Le Point have tried to set Wikipedia volunteers under pressure following an edit to the Wikipedia article about the paper. They threatened to reveal the user’s identity and even tried to contact the user’s presumed employer. (…) #Wikipedia

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Tony Bowden @tmtm.com · 11/02/2025

Every week I try to keep Shuffled as free from US content as possible figuring that's well covered everywhere else. This week I would've gotten away with it if it weren't for those meddling Belgians. But there's plenty of lesser-reported shenanigans from the rest of the world to make up for it

shuffled.beehiiv.com

Shuffled 2025-05

Political comings and goings from January 29th to February 4th. Peru, Nicaragua, Taiwan, Colombia, Myanmar, Belgium, Syria, Norway, and more.

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Tony Bowden @tmtm.com · 11/02/2025

A bunch of government ministers recently resigned in Costa Rica to be eligible to run for President in 2026. Colombia seems to have a similar "no-public-offices-in-the-last-12-months" rule. I'm assuming other countries have this too, but I'm struggling to find much info. Anyone have any pointers?

delfino.cr

Cinco jerarcas renuncian en fecha límite para aspirar a la presidencia en 2026

Este 30 de enero el presidente de la República, Rodrigo Chaves Robles, anunció la renuncia de cinco de sus jerarcas.

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Tony Bowden @tmtm.com · 10/02/2025

Er, what, now? There used to be a Terry's Chocolate Apple?! Though I suspect there's actually a very good reason why it's long since forgotten…

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Prof Julia Steinberger 🌹🌱🌍 #ClimateAction #Fightfascism @jksteinberger.bsky.social · 08/02/2025

First of all, don't indulge in false comfort if you are lucky enough to not be in the US. Odds are, the neoliberals/fascists in your country are, at this very moment, looking at Trump&Musk, learning, and planning the ways they can take down your own democracy and government. 3/

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Anton Gerashchenko @antongerashchenko.bsky.social · 09/02/2025

⚡️ The historic moment of Estonia leaving the Russian-fed power grid. On February 8, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia left Russia and Belarus energy system. By the end of the day today, they will have joined the European grid.

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RTÉ News @news.rte.ie · 08/02/2025

Dublin City Council libraries have introduced a device to help tackle winter blues and Seasonal Affected Disorder

rte.ie

Dublin libraries hope Lightboxes can tackle SAD

Dublin City Council libraries have introduced a device to help tackle winter blues and Seasonal Affected Disorder.

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Tony Bowden @tmtm.com · 05/02/2025

This week's Shuffled shenanigans take us on a whirlwind tour of Bolivia, Ireland, Israel, Maldives, Tajikistan, Tonga & more: shuffled.beehiiv.com/p/shuffled-2... Canada gets a brief look-in, but if you're more interested in their southern neighbour, I would recommend these sources instead: 🧵1/4396

shuffled.beehiiv.com

Shuffled 2025-04

Political comings and goings from January 22nd to 28th

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Tony Bowden @tmtm.com · 31/01/2025

#TIL Indonesia's parliament also has a distinct body made up of all members of both houses, and a leadership structure different from that of either house. Other countries may occasionally bring both houses together, but AFAIK no-one else treats that as a sitting entity with its own Speaker etc.

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Tony Bowden @tmtm.com · 30/01/2025

A lesser known part of this is that most English libraries let you join if you live anywhere in the UK, not just locally. You can visit once, get your card, and then borrow online. When I lived in England I probably signed up for about 20. Greatly increases the selection available.

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Tony Bowden @tmtm.com · 29/01/2025

Samoa seem to be getting a bit more non-sporting-related attention than usual, albeit due its intersection with current US affairs via the crazy RFK Jr measles story (www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...). But it's been a busy month for domestic shenanigans there too … 🧵/1

nbcnews.com

Experts saw Samoa's plunging vaccination rates as a crisis. RFK Jr. saw an opportunity.

New details show how Robert F. Kennedy Jr., then chair of an anti-vaccine group and now Trump’s pick for health secretary, sought to exploit a deadly vaccine accident.

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Tony Bowden @tmtm.com · 26/01/2025

TIL that the UK House of Lords generally only accepts two new members per day, thus why it's taking so long to bring in the new batch. But in researching _why_, I'm now at the 1998 Select Committee Report, and the edge of a potentially very deep rabbit role about the history of parliamentary hats…

publications.parliament.uk

House of Lords - Ceremony of Introduction - Report

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G██████ 🇮🇪 🇳🇿 @genesis.eurosky.social · 24/01/2025

I love this. So many middle-aged and older women in NZ are discovering tramping (hiking) and getting out there while they still can. I'm one of them, but I'm nowhere near as inspirational as this lady. thespinoff.co.nz/society/25-0...

thespinoff.co.nz

The Spinoff Essay: Walking off the old me

In my late 50s, I discovered long-distance hiking – and woke up to a new life infused with the rhythms of nature.

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Tony Bowden @tmtm.com · 21/01/2025

Another glorious week's worth of political updates from around the world is winging its way out to subscribers. Also available at shuffled.beehiiv.com/p/shuffled-2... — but if you haven't already signed up, you really should…

shuffled.beehiiv.com

Shuffled 2025.02

Political comings and goings from January 8th to 14th

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Tony Bowden @tmtm.com · 15/01/2025

I seem to have been suckered into turning my tracking of political offices into a weekly newsletter. Comments, suggestions, corrections, etc very much welcome. And subscriptions, of course! shuffled.beehiiv.com/p/shuffled-2...

shuffled.beehiiv.com

Shuffled 2025.01

Political comings and goings from January 1st to 7th

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The Public Domain Review @publicdomainrev.bsky.social · 08/01/2025

🥁 Announcing the Public Domain Image Archive! 🥁 We are v excited to share our new sister-project, the Public Domain Image Archive (PDIA), a curated collection of 10k+ out-of-copyright historical images, all free to explore and reuse: pdimagearchive.org @pdimagearchive

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Mike Dickison @adzebill.bsky.social · 08/01/2025

So many heritage organisations, artists, community groups, and small businesses are in denial because they’ve put years of work into building a Facebook or Instagram platform that is rapidly go down the drain and they’ll lose it all.

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Siobhán McElduff @siobhanmcelduff.bsky.social · 03/01/2025

Every time I go to a public library I begin to believe again that we can create amazing things that are just there for all to enjoy and use for free.

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Morgan Golf-French @zenothankyou.bsky.social · 25/12/2024

Equity = funding for wikimedia contributors in e.g. Central Africa to ensure that entries on, say, Chad are written by people with expert knowledge rather than some rando in Iowa. Safety & Inclusion = funding to help contributors deal with disinformation, persecution, and complex/repressive laws

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Dave Palfrey @01factory.bsky.social · 19/12/2024

Yay! English Wikipedia has finally made it! 20.003%! At long last, over 20% of biographies on the English Wikipedia are for women. It may not seem much of a milestone, but a decade ago, that proportion was down at 15.53%

Table showing the number of biographies broken down by gender, in different language wikipedias: English wikipedia has 2,040,570 biographies in total, and 408,183 (20.003%) of them are female.

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