iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

AG @troyella.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Oh! I’ve got one of these. She looked *exactly* like that.But she’s seven now.

Blue-grey British Shorthair, pretending she’s fierce (she is actually quite fierce).

AG @troyella.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

I’m not inherently anti-AI. I am anti-AI being under the total control (or lack of control) of the absolute worst people in the world. Per Ed Zitron:

“If — and this is not a foregone conclusion — there is ever an Al that we, as a society, should fund and build infrastructure for in pursuit of some civic good, it is not the one peddled by Elon Musk, Sam Altman or Dario Amodei.”

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AG @troyella.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 >gasps for breath< 😆😆😆😆😆😆😆🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣😂😂😂😂😂🤣🤣🤣🤣😆😆😆😆😆🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Screen shot of Sam Altman saying that we should all trust him to do the right thing.

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AG @troyella.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Passport to Piddington.

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AG @troyella.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Camouflaged cat. (Hope the knee feels better soon).

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AG @troyella.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Hmm. Here’s my Apple Maps screenshot from right now (in the UK). Is it possible Trump is not telling the truth? Or maybe these things depend upon where you are.

A screenshot of Apple Maps (from a UK user). The most easterly of the Great Lakes is clearly labelled ‘Lake Ontario’.

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AG @troyella.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

Watching Pattinson, I couldn’t get David McCallum out of my head. Which was quite distracting Pattinson has a very 1970s face, somehow. Or maybe it was just the haircut.

A young David McCallum. Or is it R-Patz?

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AG @troyella.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

Sure, why not? Let’s get the Trivago bloke to have a go. What’s to lose? www.theguardian.com/football/202...

Photo of two men.

On the left, out-going German coach Julian Nagelsmann.

On the right, that bloke from the Trivago ads.. no sorry, it’s actually Jurgen Klopp. Widely tipped to be the in-coming German coach.

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AG @troyella.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

Post a random picture or else everything will go bad in July.

A vintage advert for Maypole margarine, featuring a cartoon of a small girl in short dress, socks and sandals, eating a piece of bread and - presumably - margarine.

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AG @troyella.bsky.social · 28/06/2026

And Budapest is as beautiful as ever.

Budapest parliament building on the Danube, seen through a tram window

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AG @troyella.bsky.social · 28/06/2026

Fountains on Margaret Island made the heat bearable though.

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AG @troyella.bsky.social · 26/06/2026

Seems like a good time to share this ‘know your climate change denier’ graphic.

Graphic showing the four main types of climate change denier: 1) it’s too late 2) other people should do something 3) we can sort it out without actually doing anything disruptive 4) any change will be too disruptive/unfair/expensive

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AG @troyella.bsky.social · 06/06/2026

Is Robbie Gibb still in charge of BBC news? Because there is no way in the world he was ever going to be remotely impartial.

In his youth, Gibb and his brother Nick were recruited and trained by the National Alliance of Russian Solidarists, a right-wing Russian anticommunist organisation. They pretended to be tourists in Russian cities in order to smuggle letters to and from dissidents.

The National Alliance of Russian Solidarists formed in response to the older generation of Russian émigrés (veterans of the White movement) whom NTS-members perceived as stagnant and resigned to their loss in the Russian Civil War of 1917–1923. The young people who founded NTS decided to take an active role in fighting against communism: by studying the newly emerging Soviet culture and the psyche of persons living in the Soviet Union, and by developing a political program based on the concept of solidarism.

The organisation worked closely with the Nazis during the occupation of Russia, moving their headquarters to Berlin and acting as local administrators and collaborators.

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AG @troyella.bsky.social · 25/05/2026

Pick a Bond Villain from photos you already have in your phone.

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AG @troyella.bsky.social · 30/04/2026

"voters will stand outside the gates of their children’s’ new school or the new hospital wing that saved their partner’s life and tell the cameras that Labour has done nothing for them and all politicians are the same. They are not, some want to find money to properly fund the NHS, and some don’t."

"..voters will literally stand outside the gates of their children’s’ new state of the art school or the new hospital wing that has saved their partner’s life and tell the TV cameras that Labour has done nothing for them and all politicians are the same. Well they are not, some want to find the money to properly fund the NHS, and some don’t."

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AG @troyella.bsky.social · 30/04/2026

From @jontybloom.bsky.social "..govt-financed healthcare (in 2025) was £280bn, a real-terms increase of 4.2% from 2024.. 11.4% of GDP, up from 11.1% in 2024. Just like last time, Labour is quietly fixing the ability of the state to serve the people, and like last time no one will notice."

"Just like the last time they were in power Labour is quietly fixing the ability of the state to serve the people, and like last time no one will notice."

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AG @troyella.bsky.social · 17/03/2026

Len Deighton, RIP. At least we have something to remember him by.

A section of our bookshelves, showing a couple of dozen Deighton titles.

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AG @troyella.bsky.social · 19/01/2026

“We no longer feel an obligation to think of peace.”

Two British Shorthair cats (one blue, one lilac). United in their unshakeable conviction that dinner is late and somebody will pay.

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AG @troyella.bsky.social · 18/01/2026

Robert Jenrick. Also Robert Jenrick.

Screenshot from today’s Guardian, quoting Robert Jenrick moaning about the Tories being the party of posh people. He says the divide in British politics has become Reform’s worker’s party versus the Tory posh party.

Screenshot from an article describing Jenrick’s multi-million pound house in Herefordshire that dates back to 1680.

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AG @troyella.bsky.social · 11/01/2026

Post a pic of the venue where you saw your first concert and the band or artist.

University of Sheffield Students' Union building, pretty much how it looked in 1986. Couldn't find a picture of the actual Lower Refectory.

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AG @troyella.bsky.social · 09/01/2026

Goodfellas, opening line: “As far back as I can remember I always wanted to be a gangster. To me being a gangster was better than being the president of the United States.” Not even Scorsese foresaw a time when you could be both at once.

Screenshot showing a picture of Donald Trump and quoting his speech about taking Greenland, either the easy way or the hard way.

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AG @troyella.bsky.social · 24/12/2025

Glorious production of Singin’ in the Rain at Manchester’s Royal Exchange this afternoon. Complete with *real* local rain too. Good to see they keep it warm so the cast doesn’t get pneumonia. Perfect way to enjoy Christmas Eve.

The Royal Exchange theatre, just before the start of Singin’ in the Rain. Don Lockwood’s hat and coat, hanging on a mic stand, waiting for him to show up.

Explanation of the system used to collect local rain to use in the production.

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AG @troyella.bsky.social · 12/12/2025

In our nod to modern traditions, today sees the start of our now-annual war of attrition between us, the Christmas tree and the cats.

A newly-decorated Christmas tree in my living room. Currently without cats. But not for long.

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AG @troyella.bsky.social · 05/12/2025

'Tis the season.. Yea, all the clockwork Santas did turn towards the East and make their way to Bethlehem. And the animals and the trolls and the Moomins kept company with them, for to give them succour. And they found the Holy Family wrought in dowling, watched over by a clicky-clacky penguin.

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AG @troyella.bsky.social · 14/09/2025

Fear not. We will always have Amanda Root.

Picture of the peerless Amanda Root and Ciarán Hinds as Anne Elliott and Captain Wentworth in Persuasion.

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AG @troyella.bsky.social · 02/09/2025

Using one photo already on your phone, what is the announcement tomorrow at 2?

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AG @troyella.bsky.social · 09/08/2025

I, for one, welcome our new Danish ferry overlords.

Photo of the DFDS ferry from Karlshamn to Klaipeda as it enters the Coronia Lagoon.

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AG @troyella.bsky.social · 23/07/2025

Why is it GER/ESP, rather than DEU/ESP or GER/SPA? #Euro25

Screenshot of a television, showing the GER/ESP score line.

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AG @troyella.bsky.social · 05/07/2025

Drop something blue from your gallery.

Mount Fuji against a blue sky, taken from the bullet train from Osaka to Tokyo.

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AG @troyella.bsky.social · 04/07/2025

He’s far too busy sorting out his gifts. Farage on his own has blagged nearly 10% of the total gifts received by MPs in the last 12 months.

MPs have received £1mn in gifts over the last 12 months. 10% of which have gone to Nigel Farage.

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AG @troyella.bsky.social · 10/05/2025

Advanced Engineering from Germany.

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AG @troyella.bsky.social · 12/04/2025

Yes. Much as I love Miranda. Needed to be a tall Texan. With a moustache.

Head shot of a grizzled Texan man, with a moustache. Height unclear.

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AG @troyella.bsky.social · 20/03/2025

Looks like people have heard the news.

Tesla’s share price dropping like a big ol’ stone, for the last hour or so. This may be a response to the recall of 46,000 faulty Teslas.

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AG @troyella.bsky.social · 07/03/2025

I have to admit, I asked ChatGPT to translate it for me, which helped! I’ve put the translation in the alt-text. Although I don’t know why anyone would think that *more* jobs than expected might get added to the US payroll right now.

This message is discussing the upcoming **Non-Farm Payrolls (NFP)** report, which is a key economic indicator released every month in the United States. The NFP report shows the number of jobs added to the U.S. economy (excluding agriculture).

- **Consensus at 160K**: The general expectation is that 160,000 jobs will have been added in the report.
- **Whisper at 125K**: This is the "whisper number," which refers to a less publicized, unofficial estimate from insiders or analysts. It suggests a lower number of 125,000 jobs added.

The rest of the message is about how the report is expected to play out:

- **Unlikely to see a big miss**: This means it’s unlikely the actual job numbers will significantly differ from the consensus (e.g., a big drop or increase that would cause major surprise).

- **Second-order impact of DOGE cuts or economic slowdown**: This refers to indirect effects that could influence the market. "DOGE cuts" might refer to the impact of changes in speculative markets or digital currency volatility (like Dogecoin). Economic slowdown could also impact job growth, but neither is expected to cause a big disruption in the NFP results this month.

- **Chaos print over 200K**: If the NFP report comes in at over 200,000 jobs (a number higher than expected), it would likely cause significant market reactions, often described as "chaos" because of how much the market might move in response.

- **$ goes 🚀🚀🚀**: The "$" refers to the U.S. dollar. If the report shows over 200K jobs, the dollar is expected to rise significantly in value, as strong job growth often signals a healthier economy and can lead to interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve.

In summary, the message is predicting that while the consensus for the NFP report is 160K jobs, if the report exceeds 200K, it could cause the U.S. dollar to soar.

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AG @troyella.bsky.social · 04/03/2025

Trumpspotting. Expect less life.

Assuming that the past six weeks are predictive of what's coming next, expect an age of anxiety, expect the elimination of tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of jobs, expect the decimation of liberal institutions to go on for all four years of Trump's second term, expect government services to deteriorate, expect reduced funding of the safety net, expect more homelessness, hunger and disease.

Expect poverty, expect the financial starvation of universities and of nongovernmental organizations, expect unannounced raids, unreliable data, an America increasingly aligned with authoritarians worldwide, expect a pervasive climate of suspicion and a preoccupation with revenge. Expect more suffering, more fear, less security and less happiness.

In other words, expect the worst.

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AG @troyella.bsky.social · 31/01/2025

Without downloading any new pics, where are you at mentally?

My two cats, staring the fuck out of you.

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