iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

My favourite luggage carousel in Frankfurt.

A luggage carousel painted like a roulette wheel, black and red rectangles with numbers.

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I can think of worse airports to be delayed in than Turin. Seems a volcano is causing delays, so an extra hour. Usually when I’m away I feel like I’m putting on a couple kilo. This time I was living off cigarettes, coffee and tasting glasses of cider and kombucha, so loading some calories.

A pizza with meatballs and balls of mozzarella. It is bigger than I expected

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Boak & Bailey (Jess & Ray) @boakandbailey.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Meanwhile, images from home. Panels done on Friday, wondering if the storage and connections are done too.

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Reposted by Barry M

BLOG POST: Does your AI-generated beer app actually contribute something? Is it meeting a real need, or providing new information? Or did you just get excited about being able to make something with zero effort? boakandbailey.com/2026/09/ai-h...

boakandbailey.com

AI has made it easier than ever to make apps nobody asked for

We’ve been inundated lately with AI-written press releases about AI-built tools and websites focused on beer and pubs. Who is asking for this?

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Barry M @barmas.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Can’t be dealing with main character syndrome people on our shuttle bus so early…

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I honestly thought Albert @rosscider.bsky.social was pulling my leg when he told me our Jeremias Runde had won 1st place in the @3ccpa.bsky.social Perry Championship, and then I was told it also got Best in Show, Supreme Champion! Really not sure how to process that yet! 😁 Thrilled!

Bottle of our perry with a pear shaped wooden trophy, a rosette for champion, and the first prize for the dry perry category

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Barry M @barmas.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Good morning. What a day yesterday. Never gave a perry talk that had simultaneous translation into Italian and French, was very impressive to see the translators work. Moderated two talks, had main part of another. Today I just have networking and sessions. Tired.

Pedro Pavia who I introduced for a fascinating talk on an almost extinct cider tradition of Alto Minho, Portugal

Me giving an intro to what perry is and its cultural history.

A panel of makers or their representatives. From let to right, me, the famous Jerôme Forget, Ivo Freeman representing Tom Oliver, and Frederico Pedrolli

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Barry M @barmas.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Good morning. On my third cappuccino

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Barry M @barmas.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

The journey to Turin begins. Stress levels were very high this morning, so of course forgot to pack my proper camera. Oh well. Earphones in, time to try to wind down.

The old railway station at Oberschefflenz

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Barry M @barmas.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

That was a day. Need sleep. Found this small panther in my bed. She’s fast asleep now.

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Barry M @barmas.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Bloody hell, they started installing our solar panels today! Friend texted this morning asking if they can start, I said sure, when? Said he’d let me know. Look out window and they are there. Should be done by the end of the week.

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Barry M @barmas.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Had work to do in the cellar tonight, to get yesterday’s perry pressing underway. But took an hour out to chat with that maker in Portugal whose talk I will be introducing this week. A passion project, & very much a rural tradition on the edge of extinction, along with the apples that powered it.

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Barry M @barmas.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Marder during the day before. Anu was barking up this tree, took me a moment to spot it. Don’t know if is a pine marten (Baummarder) or a beech marten (Steinmarder).

A tall conifer tree, and quite some way up, a creature perched on a branch looming down on us.

Zoomed in, it’s a marten of some type. White chest, long fluffy dark tail.

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Barry M @barmas.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Goldparmäne. King of the Pippins in English, Reine des Reinettes in French, I love this apple. Makes a damn good cider too. Despite what the illustrator wrote, it’s originally French, and apparently has been around since at least 1510. A very old variety.

A bottle of Kertelreiter Goldparmäne cider

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Reposted by Barry M

Cider Review @ciderreview.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Born to RossFest: The 2026 Edition. A Cider Review collective submits its Ross Cider Festival 2026 report, by all accounts another wonderful event. @rosscider.bsky.social

cider-review.com

Born to RossFest: The 2026 Edition

A Cider Review collective submits its Ross Cider Festival 2026 report, by all accounts another wonderful event.

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Barry M @barmas.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Sorting and washing station set up. Waiting for the Christians to finish in the church at the end of the street, as they’ll frown on work being done. 😉

A pallet stacked with fruit crates, a stainless steel sorting table, and a big tub ready to receive water for washing the good fruit.

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Barry M @barmas.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

That camouflage works so well, I hardly noticed this container hidden on a small orchard. Does this count towards #barnsky @raynewman.bsky.social?

A shipping container stands at the edge of a strip of Land, with a hedgerow to the left of it, behind it a row if apple trees stretches along the strip. The door end of the barn has been painted with a tree trunk and some faded grass patterns. A wood pile stands along the long side of the container. Border collie stands to the right, waiting for me to get a move on.

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Reposted by Barry M

Andreas Krennmair @akrennmair.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

"If you want to make perry from scratch, you must first create the universe"?

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I finally finished the intro to this session, compressing nearly 2000 years of perry into 10 mins, then a little about the work we do before 3 other makers also share a bottle & present their local story. Will wrap up with a quote from Carl Sagan that encapsulates my feelings about these trees

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I still have nightmares from the last time I pressed this pear. But I’ve also made possibly the best perry I’ve ever made from it. Once. Presenting the Welsche Bratbirne.

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The Beer Nut @thebeernut.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Psyching myself up for tomorrow. That’s going to be a lot of sorting.

Under a pear tree, strewn with yellow and brown pears.

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Reposted by Barry M

Tomatoes and pears and Citra Cryo are among the ingredients of today's blog post: thebeernut.blogspot.com/2026/09/im-b...

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I timed this morning’s walk badly. By the time the sun rises, we’ll be walking through the woods.

I border collie giving with the side eye as she sits on the road. Behind her, the clouds are starting to glow orange as the Sun approaches from beyond.

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Barry M @barmas.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

I timed this morning’s walk badly. By the time the sun rises, we’ll be walking through the woods.

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So busy this week, some unexpected extra jobs for the other side business, & trying to arrange an event for April next year that might have turned into 2 events. Idiot 🤦‍♂️ Anyway, work behind the barn progressing. Neighbour’s daughter on site, she fine tuned the stone retaining wall today. Nice!

The new path and steps that run up the slope alongside the back of our barn. The paving has been finished.

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Barry M @barmas.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

It’s gonna be a long day. Recharging

A border collie sits on a country road, with the Sun rising just above the horizon behind her

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Barry M @barmas.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Either the dog is not well or she’s just fucking around, getting me out of bed every half hour so she can run around, snuffling outside.

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Barry M @barmas.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

I did order one last week. Not the big one I would maybe have liked, just not portable enough, but a decent size. Just got a mail that it’s on the way! 🍕 🥩 😋 That will count as my Christmas present too, I think.

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Barry M @barmas.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Heheh, just had a call from someone telling me we were in some system, asking of we’d like to be removed so we don’t get any more calls. The Lotto, she said, which I never played. I played along, she had my name, address, date of birth, …

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Barry M @barmas.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Well that’s lovely. A new customer ordered two mixed cases of cider and perry a couple weeks ago. He just mailed to say he was amazed by the perries and has ordered three more cases. That’s a really nice affirmation of what we’re doing (and I needed that). ☺️

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Reposted by Barry M

A “short” vid on the Bayerische Weinbirne (might have overdone it). A lovely one to harvest as they are so big, and makes a fantastic perry, if you catch them on time.

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A “short” vid on the Bayerische Weinbirne (might have overdone it). A lovely one to harvest as they are so big, and makes a fantastic perry, if you catch them on time.

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Ugh. A wave of stress rolled over me earlier as a lady at the council reminded me that the Nature Park market, at which we will have a stand, and for which I said I’d organise a fruit display and info posters on our joint projects, is in 4 weeks. Still have to finish prep for next week’s event…

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