Mark Dowling

@markdowling.bsky.social

1597 Followers 489 Following

Toronto, ON. Originally from Cork with stops in Glasgow and Limerick. IT Manager. Dad to a boy living with autism. Interested in urban development, mass transit, science fiction, politics.

“Slave”, the computer controlling the spaceship “Scorpio” from season four of “Blake’s 7”
5:34巴 SoS = 12 Air Quality Health Index Current location Orange Warning - Air Quality Calculated at Toronto Downtown 5:00 am EDT Thursday 16 July 2026 10 + Very High Risk (10+) | At Risk Population Avoid strenuous activities outdoors. Children and the elderly should also avoid outdoor physical exertion. General Population Reduce or reschedule strenuous activities outdoors, especially if you experience symptoms such as coughing and throat irritation.
9:54 5G 55 Alerts 2 • Orange Warning - Air Quality From Now To 8:00 AM EDT 翻 Friday 17 Jul 2026 Issued at: 8:21 AM EDT Wednesday 15 Jul 2026 Impact level: High Forecast confidence: High Smoke from wildfires in northwestern Ontario is causing very poor air quality and reduced visibility. Conditions may improve Friday morning. During heavy smoke conditions, everyone's health is at risk regardless of their age or health status.
“And they said the worst thing was that McGregor didn’t transform the sport for the better, and I disagreed with that” (Still of Norm MacDonald and Jerry Seinfeld in a car, above text not shown in image)
Sister Michael from Derry Girls saying “you will go far in life, Jenny. But you will not be well liked”
The Atomium - a 102 meter tall metal building which is a representation of an iron atom, in Brussels
Weather display - orange warning heat, 35C feels like 46
Newsreader Xolothos Apollonia with a picture of Chris Waddle at top right (“The Fast Show”)
Colonel Lyudmila Raskova, a woman in a green KGB uniform, in “Star City” (Apple TV)
The “Jesus I see what you have done for other people” meme but with “Toronto” substituted for “‘me”
‘Mamdani’s speech has drawn plaudits, except among the New York Post, the Rupert Murdoch-backed newspaper, which bemoaned the mayor for soaking up the “spotlight with droning, nearly 10-minute speech” at the ceremony.’
‘Mamdani’s speech has drawn plaudits, except among the New York Post, the Rupert Murdoch-backed newspaper, which bemoaned the mayor for soaking up the “spotlight with droning, nearly 10-minute speech” at the ceremony.’
A group of doctors, almost all in white coats, stand nervously as one hands a clipboard to the other to read to the waiting Politburo members (“The Death of Stalin”)
Rhys Ifans, in glasses and a suit, standing in front of a plaque with a hammer and sickle
Screenshot of 1906 Viceregal Map showing Mallow-Fermoy-Lismore with a spur northward from Fermoy to Mitchelstown
Pope John Paul II making a fist pump
Madeira Airport with the nearer end held up by concrete supports
The three books of Kim Stanley Robinson’s Mars Trilogy laid out side by side
Wikipedia excerpt: “As a former President of Ireland, Hyde was accorded a state funeral. As he was a member of the Church of Ireland, his funeral service took place in Dublin's Church of Ireland St. Patrick's Cathedral. However, contemporary rules of the Roman Catholic Church in Ireland prohibited its members from attending services in non-Catholic churches. As a result, all but one member of the Catholic cabinet, Noël Browne, remained outside the cathedral grounds while the funeral service took place.”
A housekeeper is standing while a priest says in alarm “Dougal’s doing a funeral?! You let Dougal do a funeral?!”
Man standing at head of meeting table asks “what will our biggest Iran war problem be?” Man sitting at left says “finish too quickly to enjoy it” Woman sitting in middle says “liberation party too hearty” Man at right says “running out of ammo” Standing man glares at man on right Man on right thrown out window
Norman Rockwell’s “Freedom of Speech”
Text from my wife at 8.00am saying “OK, so I think it could be either -11 or there could be 3 to 4 inches of snow on the car. Both feels very unfair given that it is already St. Patrick's Day.” to which I have replied with a shamrock bubble
Man in short hair and fatigues points his hands towards an office chair branded ‘ARMY’ in an ushering fashion
The Wire - Stringer Bell, standing, grabs and tears up the minutes (aka “notes of a criminal fucking conspiracy”) taken by Shaun "Shamrock" McGinty, seated
Bluesky post dialog reads: "The post you're replying to was marked as being written in Portuguese by its author. Would you like to reply in Portuguese?" and offers a Yes button
Bugzilla notification that 26 years after opening, the bug/feature request about exporting address book entries to vCards in Thunderbird has been closed
Jake Paul sitting on his ass in a boxing ring after Anthony Joshua punched him in his dumb face
Post by Adam Klasfeld noting the 8th circuit paused this judge’s modest previous order blocking Feds violation of protester rights and that this proposed relief is MUCH more sweeping
Government of Canada travel.gc.ca United States travel advice Take normal security precautions [highlighted in a green coloured background] Latest updates: Editorial change Last updated: January 7, 2026 09:07 ET On this page Risk level Safety and security Entry and exit requirements Health
L-R Andy Richter, Norm MacDonald, Courtney Thorne-Smith, and Conan O’Brien, sitting behind a desk and leaning forward laughing as MacDonald retitles Thorne-Smith’s new movie “Chairman of the Board” as B-o-r-e-d”
USS Enterprise NCC-1701-C exiting a blue cloudy area, passing from left to right of image, nacelles partially obscured
“I am very intelligent meme” but the guy on the left carrying sticks says he’s on his way to play a “Life Without Buildings” gig, and the guy in the well on the right says “and yet you will play your gig in a building, I am very intelligent”
@naomirwolf tweeting on 5 Jul 19 “It was amazing to go to Belfast, which does not yet have 5G, and feel the earth, sky, air, human experience, feel the way it did in the 1970s. Calm, still, peaceful, restful, natural.”
The Simpsons “Good Lord, What is Happening in There” meme but “Canadians” are pointing at a door marked “USA”
Evan Solomon profile on Bluesky, with a note saying he is running to be a member of parliament, 1.2k followers, 1 following, 0 posts
Malcolm Tucker (tall loud Scotsman) standing in an open elevator doorway telling Nicola Murray “from bean to cup, you fuck up” in “the Thick of It”
Electoral advertisement for Mahmoud Ahmadinejad with his face top left, the Iranian flag bottom left, and a 1960s built Irish Rail GM locomotive to the right, with in Farsi above “The country is advancing as rapidly as a train.”
Listing of Adobe Acrobat MSP (patch) files between 26 Sept 2024 and 11 Dec 2025, growing from 690Mb to 1003 Mb in that time.
Green transit card saying TFI Leap with a leaping frog beside it, and an Alstom Citadis tram in the background
Eagle transporter from “Space: 1999”
Terence Stamp (older white haired man with angry expression) with caption “you tell him! You tell him I’m coming”
Baszucki: Good, so you’re aligning with what we did. High-five. Roose: But I’ve also been covering social networks —— Baszucki: Thank you for supporting our Roblox decision matrix. Roose: But I also remember 15 years ago when —— Baszucki: I’m so glad you guys are aligned with the way we run Roblox. High-five. Roose: Right, I also remember 15 years ago when Mark Zuckerberg was saying —— Baszucki: Is this a stealth interview where actually you love everything we’re doing and you’re here to stealthily support it?
TTC bus prediction showing next two buses >30mins away
Wikipedia screenshot noting that Rafael Edward Cruz was born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada and held Canadian citizenship until 2014
A man in a three piece suit writing in a notebook in front of a red 1910s car
Two button meme, one button says “screw over ALL renters” the other “protect seniors as they love to vote” and then a sweaty man captioned “Doug Ford”
Map of Delray Beach FL with a railway line running through it marked “79mph”
Lt Col Ferrando (white man with short hair in dark green camouflage) from Generation Kill
Volumes 1-3 of the James Blish (with J.A. Lawrence) original series Star Trek novelizations
Blake and Vila hold some Federation technicians in white boiler suits and a fully helmeted Federation security operative dressed in black - “Seek Locate Destroy”, Blake’s 7 Season 1
Bearded Geordi La Forge: Top - hand outward - caption KINGS Bottom - pointing in posture of agreement - THREE GOLDEN CROWNS
Malenkov (white man in glasses and white suit) in the “no, problem” scene in “the Death of Stalin”
Father Ted doing his Golden Cleric acceptance speech saying “and now we move on to liars”
Speeding offences It is an offence to drive over the speed limit. Our page on speed limits in Ireland describes the different speed limits in operation. If you drive over the speed limit, you will get 3 penalty points and a fixed charge fine of €160. If you do not pay the fine within 28 days, it increases to €240. If you do not pay this within 28 days (56 days from the original fine notification date), you will be summonsed to court where, if convicted, you could be fined up to €1000 and receive up to 5 penalty points. You can avoid going to court by paying €320 (twice the sum of the original fine) no later than 7 days before the court date specified in the summons.
The members of Queen lit from above while wearing black against a black background
Daily Mail article from 1934 titled “Hurrah for the Blackshirts” written by Viscount Rothermere, the owner
Naomi Wolf tweeting in 2019 “it was amazing to go to Belfast; which does not yet have 5G, and feel the earth, sky, air, human experience, feel the way in did in the 1970s. Calm, still, peaceful, restful, natural”