iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Vic Kostrzewski (cost-CHEF-ski, he/him/his) @wokecyborg.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

Ruin a book by adding a word: The Body Count of Monte Cristo

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Vic Kostrzewski (cost-CHEF-ski, he/him/his) @wokecyborg.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

Ruin a book by adding a word: Treasure Love Island

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Vic Kostrzewski (cost-CHEF-ski, he/him/his) @wokecyborg.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

It's #WorldMentalHealthDay 10 things that work for me if I work'em 1. Talking therapy 2. Meeting my friends regularly 3. Bike rides 4. Mindfulness meditation 5. Being with my wife 6. Being with my cat 7. Putting away my phone 8. Drinking sth else besides 3 coffees a day 9. Doing art 10. Live music

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Vic Kostrzewski (cost-CHEF-ski, he/him/his) @wokecyborg.bsky.social · 14/04/2026

RIP Moya Brennan. Listening to this wonderful concert & having a bit of a sulk. www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2vI...

youtube.com

Clannad: Live at Christ Church Cathedral

YouTube video by ClannadOfficial

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Vic Kostrzewski (cost-CHEF-ski, he/him/his) @wokecyborg.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

#ThreeGoodThings I watched recently: "Re: Poland's Milk Bars" on Arte TV. A documentary on cheap eateries in PL. I had no idea of the roles they play. "BTS: The Return" on Netflix. Creative process on steroids. Fascinating. Artemis II launch on YouTube. Once a space nerd, always a space nerd :)

NASA’s Space Launch System rocket carrying the Orion spacecraft launches on the Artemis I flight test, Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2022, from Launch Complex 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA’s Artemis I mission is the first integrated flight test of the agency’s deep space exploration systems: the Orion spacecraft, Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, and ground systems. SLS and Orion launched at 1:47 a.m. EST, from Launch Pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

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Vic Kostrzewski (cost-CHEF-ski, he/him/his) @wokecyborg.bsky.social · 31/03/2026

#ThreeGoodThings I'm working on this week: 1. #Accessibility checks on a set of websites I built recently 2. Lists of useful resources for aptitude tests 3. Research into an article on Irish identity (alt text: an animated figure drinking coffee and working at a computer)

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Reposted by Vic Kostrzewski (cost-CHEF-ski, he/him/his)

Twonks @twonks.bsky.social · 25/03/2026

The Jetsons lied to us

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Reposted by Vic Kostrzewski (cost-CHEF-ski, he/him/his)

Andromeda @ulveheksa.bsky.social · 17/03/2026

From the Point of View of a Cat ~ Karel Capek (translated by Dora Round - originally published in Intimate Things, 1935)

FROM THE POINT OF VIEW
OF A CAT
This is my Man. I am not afraid of
him. He is very strong, for he eats a great deal; he is an Eater of All Things. What are you eating? Give me some!
He is not beautiful, for he has no fur. Not having enough saliva, he has to wash himself with water. He meows in a harsh voice and a great deal more than necessary. Sometimes in his sleep he purrs.
Let me out!
I don't know how he has made himself Master; perhaps he
has eaten something sublime.
He keeps my rooms clean for me.
In his paws he carries a sharp black claw and he scratches with it on white sheets of paper. That is the only game he plays.
He sleeps at night instead of by day, he cannot see in the dark, he has no pleasures. He never thinks of blood, never dreams of hunting or fighting; he never sings songs of love.
Often at night when / can hear mysterious and magic voices, when / can see that the darkness is all alive, he sits at the table with his head bent and goes on and on, scratching with his black claw on the white papers. Don't imagine that I am at all interested in you. I am only listening to the soft whispering of your claw.
Sometimes the whispering is silent, the poor dull head does not know how to go on playing, and then I am sorry for him and 1 meow softly in sweet and sharp discord. Then my Man picks me up and buries his hot face in my fur. At those times he divines for an instant a glimpse of a higher life, and he sighs with happiness and purrs something which can almost be understood.
But don't think that I am at all interested in you. You have warmed me, and now I will go out again and listen to the dark voices.
Translated by Dora Round; revised by the editor. Originally published in Intimate Things, 1935.

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Reposted by Vic Kostrzewski (cost-CHEF-ski, he/him/his)

Giraffe 🖖🏾 @spottedgiraffe.bsky.social · 14/03/2026

There’s petty and then there’s ✨opera petty✨ 😂

USE PROMO CODE
CHALAMET
TO SAVE 15% ON ALL TURANDOT TICKETS

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Vic Kostrzewski (cost-CHEF-ski, he/him/his) @wokecyborg.bsky.social · 02/03/2026

Rory Gallagher's birthday! Last year, I was delighted to help put together a piece on OpenLearn which discussed the parallels between Rory's lyrics and hardboiled crime fiction which he was a big fan of. www.open.edu/openlearn/op...

open.edu

Hardboiled Blues: Rory Gallagher’s Blues Lyrics Revisited

How are blues lyrics similar to crime fiction? Which books influenced musician Rory Gallagher’s music? Follow Dr Lauren O’Hagan’s investigation. Then see if you can tell blues lyrics apart from ...

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Reposted by Vic Kostrzewski (cost-CHEF-ski, he/him/his)

Tom Roberts @tpgroberts.bsky.social · 27/02/2026

Hannah Spencer walking into Westminster, sucking her teeth, tutting, and muttering "tell you what, you've had some cowboys in here."

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Vic Kostrzewski (cost-CHEF-ski, he/him/his) @wokecyborg.bsky.social · 27/02/2026

Have a Friday, have a song "John Ball" has the vibes I'm feeling, buoyed by this morning's news. And this recording by Rolling Harmony has all the sweet harmony & energy you need. www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ys1j...

youtube.com

Sing John Ball

YouTube video by Rolling Harmony

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Vic Kostrzewski (cost-CHEF-ski, he/him/his) @wokecyborg.bsky.social · 20/02/2026

"Hey boss, so it took me a week but I finally coded the conversion from twinkies cakes to bald eagles for the room planner like you asked." "Awesome, ship it." "Now that the hard bit is done, do you want me to also clone it for... you know... the rest of the world?" "Nah, too much hassle."

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Vic Kostrzewski (cost-CHEF-ski, he/him/his) @wokecyborg.bsky.social · 11/02/2026

I like to think that somewhere out there, Piers Morgan felt a sudden sharp sting of pain in his chest

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Reposted by Vic Kostrzewski (cost-CHEF-ski, he/him/his)

UoY Digital Accessibility Unit @uoydigacc.bsky.social · 30/01/2026

RNIB Bookshare is a fabulous resource and underpins so much accessible text provision in UK higher education.

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Reposted by Vic Kostrzewski (cost-CHEF-ski, he/him/his)

Bruce Springsteen @brucespringsteen.net · 28/01/2026

I wrote this song on Saturday, recorded it yesterday and released it to you today in response to the state terror being visited on the city of Minneapolis. It’s dedicated to the people of Minneapolis, our innocent immigrant neighbors and in memory of Alex Pretti and Renee Good. Stay free

youtu.be

Bruce Springsteen - Streets Of Minneapolis (Official Audio)

YouTube video by Bruce Springsteen

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Vic Kostrzewski (cost-CHEF-ski, he/him/his) @wokecyborg.bsky.social · 28/01/2026

@mozilla.org choosing to pump billions into AI instead of making sure that Firefox and Thunderbird stay usable. 🤮 Gonna point to this post in a year or two when the bubble's gone and everyone's rushing to find people who remember how to maintain/develop their product. www.cnbc.com/2026/01/27/m...

cnbc.com

Mozilla is building an AI ‘rebel alliance’ to take on industry heavyweights OpenAI, Anthropic

Mozilla is looking to deploy its roughly $1.4 billion in reserves to support "mission driven" companies and nonprofits, and is particularly focused on AI.

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Vic Kostrzewski (cost-CHEF-ski, he/him/his) @wokecyborg.bsky.social · 27/01/2026

"Do not think that one has to be sad in order to be militant, even though the thing one is fighting is abominable. It is the connection of desire to reality (...) that possesses revolutionary force." (Michel Foucault)

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Vic Kostrzewski (cost-CHEF-ski, he/him/his) @wokecyborg.bsky.social · 26/01/2026

1. Went out to get flowers & chocolates. Occasion: Monday. 2. Pleased with the pattern I'm working with for my design course. 3. Discovered Internet Archive Scholar: a great website for archived research papers. #ThreeGoodThings #3GoodThings scholar.archive.org

scholar.archive.org

Rate limit reached

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Vic Kostrzewski (cost-CHEF-ski, he/him/his) @wokecyborg.bsky.social · 25/01/2026

Please tell me his character doesn't get killed off somewhere along Episode 5

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Vic Kostrzewski (cost-CHEF-ski, he/him/his) @wokecyborg.bsky.social · 25/01/2026

How to Uninstall America "I wish this post could do more. All I’m hoping to do here is this: in six steps, I’ll take you through a process of making the software you use every day less US-centric." cost-chef.ski/2026/01/25/h...

cost-chef.ski

How to Uninstall America – Vic Kostrzewski – Learning Designer, Translator, Project Manager, Publisher.

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Vic Kostrzewski (cost-CHEF-ski, he/him/his) @wokecyborg.bsky.social · 24/01/2026

Windows => Zorin OS Office (sorry, *checks notes* Copilot somethingsomething) => Proton Mail / Calendar / Drive / Docs Edge / Chrome => Vivaldi Browser ChatGPT / Copilot => Mistral AI Tested and used all of the above. Not perfect, but less evil. Switch, don't snitch. gizmodo.com/microsoft-re...

gizmodo.com

Microsoft Reportedly Turned Over BitLocker Encryption Keys to the FBI

Microsoft claims it receives about 20 requests for BitLocker keys a year.

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Vic Kostrzewski (cost-CHEF-ski, he/him/his) @wokecyborg.bsky.social · 19/01/2026

I heard there was a maths formula for Blue Monday, and I heard it didn't make sense. Well, there are some things you *can* do about it, ways to make sure you have a good day. Last year, I helped prepare a game that lets you learn those! #BlueMonday #LifelongLearning www.open.edu/openlearn/co...

open.edu

A perfect day: how well do you know your happiness hormones?

How to have a good day? Do our choices have an effect on our happiness hormones? Try our interactive activity and see if you can help make Rowan's day better!

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Vic Kostrzewski (cost-CHEF-ski, he/him/his) @wokecyborg.bsky.social · 16/01/2026

nope, sorry to disappoint, rent-free in my head now

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Vic Kostrzewski (cost-CHEF-ski, he/him/his) @wokecyborg.bsky.social · 05/01/2026

Happy 2026, BlueSky. Trying to keep it social on this social meejum. I'm going to be in London 21 Jan - attending BETT 26 from 10 a.m. to until AI agitprop's coming out of my eyeballs, and then Tate Modern/Britain. If you want to join me for either of these, DM

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Vic Kostrzewski (cost-CHEF-ski, he/him/his) @wokecyborg.bsky.social · 19/12/2025

How your email finds me See you in 2026, everybody

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Vic Kostrzewski (cost-CHEF-ski, he/him/his) @wokecyborg.bsky.social · 10/12/2025

"So, er, do you want music? I can put on some music. What would -- Hildegard of Bingen. Sure, we can do that."

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Vic Kostrzewski (cost-CHEF-ski, he/him/his) @wokecyborg.bsky.social · 03/12/2025

A selection of texts from Marcin Wicha's "Smallest Change" is now freely available from Words Without Borders. This is some of the best #writing and #translation work I've seen this year. Huge kudos to @martadziurosz.bsky.social ! wordswithoutborders.org/read/article...

wordswithoutborders.org

Children's Days - Words Without Borders

This poignant selection of the late Polish writer Marcin Wicha’s droll columns paints an impressionistic portrait of parent-child relationships.

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Vic Kostrzewski (cost-CHEF-ski, he/him/his) @wokecyborg.bsky.social · 01/12/2025

#London friends and connections: let me know if you fancy a quick in-person chat soon :) Will be in town 16 Dec (evening), 17 Dec (most of the day) and 18 Dec (morning).

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Vic Kostrzewski (cost-CHEF-ski, he/him/his) @wokecyborg.bsky.social · 28/11/2025

#Brexit effects: GDP down 6-8% Investment down 12 to 18% Employment down 3 to 4% Productivity down 3 to 4% £40-80bn hole in UK budget each year ... but sure, scapegoat the refugees. siepr.stanford.edu/publications...

siepr.stanford.edu

The Economic Impact of Brexit

Other

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Vic Kostrzewski (cost-CHEF-ski, he/him/his) @wokecyborg.bsky.social · 28/11/2025

Me: "30 Nov is way to early to start singing carols" Also me: *is several mince pies & one Panettone deep into Christmas diet* I will not be taking questions at this time

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Reposted by Vic Kostrzewski (cost-CHEF-ski, he/him/his)

Notes from Poland @notesfrompoland.bsky.social · 25/11/2025

The EU court has ruled that Poland must recognise the marriage of a Polish same-sex couple who married in Germany, even though Polish law does not allow such marriages. The ruling requires Poland to change its system for recognising such marriages so as not to discriminate against same-sex couples.

notesfrompoland.com

EU court orders Poland to recognise same-sex marriages conducted in other member states

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Vic Kostrzewski (cost-CHEF-ski, he/him/his) @wokecyborg.bsky.social · 20/11/2025

A prediction I heard this year was that, worldwide, #EdTech was heading for a split between those deemed worthy of human attention, connection and careful teaching - and those about to be fed AI slop. The irony is that thousands of pounds of student debt still isn't enough to spare you the slop tube

theguardian.com

‘We could have asked ChatGPT’: students fight back over course taught by AI

Staffordshire students say signs material was AI-generated included suspicious file names and rogue voiceover accent

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Vic Kostrzewski (cost-CHEF-ski, he/him/his) @wokecyborg.bsky.social · 18/11/2025

Posting this now so I can smugly link to this when everyone on here suddenly becomes a quantum computing expert.

Distracted boyfriend meme. Boyfriend is "literally everyone in 2026", neglected girl is "AI", new girl is "quantum computing".

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Vic Kostrzewski (cost-CHEF-ski, he/him/his) @wokecyborg.bsky.social · 03/11/2025

Proud I could help make this happen. "Irish Gothic" is a collection which will help you as you explore the Irish roots of Gothic literature (and possibly try writing your own stories in the genre). 🦇 #LifelongLearning #CreativeWriting #Gothic #Halloween www.open.edu/openlearn/ir...

open.edu

The Irish Gothic collection on OpenLearn

What is it about Gothic stories that captures our imagination? And why do so many of its tropes and motifs lead to Ireland?

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Reposted by Vic Kostrzewski (cost-CHEF-ski, he/him/his)

Zack Polanski @zackpolanski.bsky.social · 16/10/2025

British.

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Vic Kostrzewski (cost-CHEF-ski, he/him/his) @wokecyborg.bsky.social · 10/10/2025

The cells that glopped together to form Simon Jenkins in 2016 are long dead now in 2025, and never a brain cell among them all these years

Headline from today's piece by Simon Jenkins: "We all know Brexit's to blame for the crisis facing UK steel - it's time for politicians to be honest and reverse it." Headline from Simon Jenkins' article from 2016: "Ignore the prophets of doom. Brexit will be good for Britain"

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Vic Kostrzewski (cost-CHEF-ski, he/him/his) @wokecyborg.bsky.social · 26/09/2025

The difference between Mr Politician telling you that you won't be required to carry your Britcard & Mr Roundabout Painter walking up to you with a broken beer bottle wanting to see your Britcard is that one of them is in front of you with a broken beer bottle wanting to see your Britcard

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Vic Kostrzewski (cost-CHEF-ski, he/him/his) @wokecyborg.bsky.social · 22/09/2025

Friends don't let friends design inaccessible web content that could land someone in jail. It's 2025, y'all. Get these contrast checkers out. It's okay, you'll still have plenty of colours to play with.

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Vic Kostrzewski (cost-CHEF-ski, he/him/his) @wokecyborg.bsky.social · 19/09/2025

Reposted in rage as I know getting your bike nicked sucks. Then clicked through to read the happy ending. YAY

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Reposted by Vic Kostrzewski (cost-CHEF-ski, he/him/his)

Phil Sturgeon 🌳🚵⚓️ @philsturgeon.com · 19/09/2025

Anyone out in Bath today. If you spot this bike and tell me where it is I will pay you fuckin handsomely. Pop a lock on it I’ll literally give you £500.

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