iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Mark Picken @picken.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Oh yes! All about the crumble and the little jug of custard. A real shame that the Crown Inn at St Ewe is shutting in a few weeks. Love their Sundays roasts.

A dish with crumble on the left, next to a small jug of custard.

010

Mark Picken @picken.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

While we’re waiting for the flood repair to be done, we decided to get moving with the structural work in the garden. Top tip kids: avoid buying a house that uses timber posts for retaining walls…

Our three tiered back garden. It has wooden posts for retaining walls.

The builders have taken away the broken wooden steps, and dug footings next to the existing retaining wall.

Looking at the retaining wall. Timber posts have rotted away to reveal a membrane that is holding in the whole garden.

220

Mark Picken @picken.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

14 weeks after our flood, we have finally got the scope of work agreed to get the repairs done 👀 It's been so painful. At some point, I'll do a thing on the user experience. Now we're waiting for dates to have our stuff put in storage and get the work started… bsky.app/profile/pick...

010

Reposted by Mark Picken

Ben #ActNow 🔥🌳🌊 @benaldo.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

New job role at GDS: Deputy Director for Digital Standards and Inclusive Design. Deadline end of 8th October. Public sector only... Come be my boss! If you're nice, and good. www.civilservicejobs.service.gov.uk/csr/index.cg...

civilservicejobs.service.gov.uk

Quick Check Needed

01115

Mark Picken @picken.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

20 mile time-on-feet training run on a school night finishing at 10pm. Recovering with a non-alcoholic beer 🍺

My hand holding a can of Bavaria non-alcoholic beer.

010

Mark Picken @picken.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

I remember the Cardiff Half making a big push around sustainable travel to the event, as well as plastic and cups on the course. Then Whizz was announced as a sponsor…

130

Reposted by Mark Picken

the babahuck @tylerhuckabee.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

god this is good

flight of the concords scene with murray, brit and jemaine.

"How's this, then? Ed Sheeran, beloved by all, left without an opening band at present. Enter you two."

"What if we want a free Palestine, Murray?"

"I reckon you'll get lots of things for free when you're proper rockstars. This might be your ticket."

375201997

Mark Picken @picken.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Won £1 on the Octopus Enegry spin a wheel thing. Thinking about retiring now.

010

Mark Picken @picken.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

A bientot 👋🏻 🇫🇷

The view from Brittany Ferries’ St Malo as we wait to depart Portsmouth. I am looking at the back of the ship and can see cars below. There is a naval boat to the left. The sky is orange / yellow as the sun sets.

Two glasses of wine, and a small bottle, on a wooden table.

240

Mark Picken @picken.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

Running achievement unlocked: hit 200 miles in a month for the first time 🏃‍♂️ 💪🏻

A Strava screenshot showing my August running stats. I ran 330.32km (200 miles) and ran for 30 hours 55 minutes.

030

Mark Picken @picken.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

When you're on stand up and you tell the team that we've not got through to the next stage of a tender process, and they start to celebrate…

230

Reposted by Mark Picken

WuTangIsForTheChildren @wutangforchildren.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

Buckingham Palace band playing 9 to 5 for Dolly Parton

378154004303

Mark Picken @picken.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

I’ve got two browsers open. One logged into to my Microsoft account. The other attempting to get into a college parents webinar Teams meeting. It keeps telling me my Microsoft account doesn’t exist 🤦🏼‍♂️

120

Mark Picken @picken.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

Day 2 of attempting to sort out my eldest daughter's bus pass for college. So far it's involved 3 separate organisations (college, council and bus company) and multiple web pages and 'tools'. And the bus route the college has recommended doesn't appear on the bus company's timetable 🫠

A screen shot from my daughter's new college's website with some word salad about buying bus passes that is not easy to follow.

000

Mark Picken @picken.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

Polperro model village Drost effect: model village in a model village in a model village

The Polperro model village with small houses that recreate the small fishing village in Cornwall.

A small model of the model village in the model village.

131

Mark Picken @picken.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

I've got one very happy daughter with her GSCE results. Very proud of her for the work she put in. I can relax now 😅

110

Mark Picken @picken.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

This child mannequin at the Davidstow Airfield and Cornwall at War Museum is going to haunt my dreams.

A very scary looking child mannequin dressed in 1940s clothing : a white shirt, tank top and hat. The mannequin has a weird half smile.

292

Reposted by Mark Picken

RNIB @rnib.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

If you aren’t currently making your social media content accessible, you should give it a go. No one expects it to be perfect. Progress is better than nothing at all. We’ve got a handy guide to get you started: rnib.in/AccessibleSocialMedia

02612

Mark Picken @picken.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

Some proper heavy rain going on

010

Mark Picken @picken.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

Fun afternoon at @heligangardens.bsky.social watching Cornish legends Hedluv and Pasman.

000

Mark Picken @picken.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

16 mile training run with 8 miles tempo session in the middle. That’s 96.55 miles run in 2 weeks. No wonder I’m so hungry 😋 🤣

220

Mark Picken @picken.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

Figured out that the police outriders and Range Rovers we drove past just outside Truro earlier was the PM.

000

Mark Picken @picken.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

Morning run views 🐑 - 1 mile warm up, - 12 x 400m @ 5k pace with 2 minute jog recovery, - 1 mile cool down.

A flock of sheep tucking into their breakfast. The my are stood in a dry, brown field. There are trees around the edge. The farm gate is just visible on the left hand side.

000

Mark Picken @picken.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

Second severe alert of the year.

100

Mark Picken @picken.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

Spent the day editing and reworking a 6 page tender response down to the required 4 pages. My brain hurts now.

000

Mark Picken @picken.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

Shit eclipse photo 👌🏻

An attempt to take a photo of the solar éclair’s through my eclipse glasses. It looks like a glowy orange

010

Mark Picken @picken.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

A short trip to Teddington before an early morning drive to Heathrow to pick up my eldest after her month-long Camps International adventure in Tanzania 🇹🇿

The sun has nearly set over the river at Teddington. The water is flat and calm with some boats moored. There is an orange glow on the horizon.

120

Mark Picken @picken.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

7 mile training run this morning, taking me over 1,000 miles for the year. That's the earliest in the year I've hit the milestone 🏃‍♂️

000

Mark Picken @picken.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

This is going to be interesting to see how this plays out. Some of the social value questions in recent tenders have been challenging, and seem to be more suited to large consultancies, rather than SMEs. www.theguardian.com/society/2026...

theguardian.com

Government contracts to require job creation instead of green targets under new rules

Louise Haigh says taxpayer money must benefit local communities amid backlash from environmental groups

000

Mark Picken @picken.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

Refreshing lunch walk in the rain with my youngest.

001

Mark Picken @picken.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

Heavy rain in Truro. Stood at the front door watching it come down for a few minutes.

000

Mark Picken @picken.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

Weekend in Cwmbran with my youngest. Started with Cwmbran Park. First time I’ve got sub 22 minutes in four years 💪🏻

The boating lake in Cwmbran. A selection of birds, including ducks and geese line the side.

120

Mark Picken @picken.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

"Content designers, I am suggesting, are the feathered dinosaurs of the AI age. The same skills that already make them successful can now perform a secondary valuable function." Latest article from Jamie 👇 medium.com/@jamierturnb...

medium.com

The Evolutionary Prospects of the Content Designer

The AI revolution is altering the makeup of organisations, and with them the fabric of society. Traditional routes to power and prosperity…

110

Mark Picken @picken.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

Morning run views. Marathon training has started… again.

The sun rising over a farm field. There are trees around the edge. The sky is blue.

060

Reposted by Mark Picken

James O’Brien @mrjamesob.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

Not sure who did this but they should be arrested immediately.

1613483893

Mark Picken @picken.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

New sideline: providing JustPark tech support in the middle of a car park.

010

Mark Picken @picken.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

Much nicer for this morning’s progressive tempo run though.

010

Mark Picken @picken.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

Overnight rain, and quite cool and breezy. Feels weird.

010

Mark Picken @picken.bsky.social · 25/07/2026

A lone goose hanging out with some cows. Morning run views.

A parched farm field with a solitary tree on the left hand side. Cows are lying down. To the right is a lone goose in front of a feeding station. Clouds are low in the sky.

010

Reposted by Mark Picken

Prof. Stefan Rahmstorf @rahmstorf.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

Holiday in the climate emergency. No that’s not AI or edited, just a snapshot I just took with my phone on Lacanau beach in France. What future will this boy grow up in? It is in our hands, but time is running out.

9840201933

Reposted by Mark Picken

Marie Le Conte @youngvulgarian.marieleconte.com · 24/07/2026

cannot fucking believe that HMRC has this "ooooh what type of software is right for you" tool but there's no option for "I can't download software onto my computer", surely I'm not the only person who needs to use MTD and has a Chromebook, for the love of fucking christ

8916

Reposted by Mark Picken

Cornwall Council @cornwallcouncil.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

Looking for affordable family days out this summer? We've rounded up free and low-cost activities across #Cornwall, with plenty of ideas to keep the kids entertained for £5 or less. 🔗 fis.cornwall.gov.uk/synergyweb/C...

A pile of colourful beach toys on sand with a teal speech bubble saying 'Free and under £5 summer holiday activities!'

011

Mark Picken @picken.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

A good start by Cornwall Council and the other town and parish councils. I've spent the last 5 days feeling the after-effects of a bug that I potentially picked up in the sea last week. Be very interesting to see how this develops as it would be nice to get in the water and not fear getting ill.

000