iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Andy Mabbett @pigsonthewing.org.uk · 55m

#firstbirdofmyday outside my Norwich hotel - a pair of Collared Doves. That's more than I've seen in north Birmingham in half a decade.

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Wikimedia UK @wikimediauk.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

We're proud to be part of the new N-RICH project, exploring how Wikidata and Linked Open Data can act as a shared connective layer for UK cultural heritage, helping collections, data services and research infrastructures connect across institutional boundaries.

wikimedia.org.uk

Wikimedia UK joins N-RICH project to connect UK cultural heritage through Wikidata - Wikimedia UK

Wikimedia UK is proud to be collaborating on a new project exploring how Wikidata and Linked Open Data can help create … Continue reading "Wikimedia UK joins N-RICH project to connect UK cultural heritage through Wikidata"

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Andy Mabbett @pigsonthewing.org.uk · 28/09/2026

On a train with no power sockets, like some primitive 20th-century re-enactment

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In Otter News @in-otter-news.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

After a long day at the aquarium, the otters help tidy their toys away. Payment is made promptly and entirely in ice cubes.

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fesshole 🧻 @fesshole.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

I never thought I'd be laughed at for saying I bookmark stuff on my phone for quick reference and use wikipedia daily for looking up stuff that interests me, but today, at work, I was. Imagine life never having gone down a wiki rabbit-hole. How utterly dull.

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Andy Mabbett @pigsonthewing.org.uk · 26/09/2026

The Pope had visited Lourdes. If the US has a new president in the morning, you'll know why...

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Andy Mabbett @pigsonthewing.org.uk · 26/09/2026

We need to protect free use/ fair dealing provisions

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Andy Mabbett @pigsonthewing.org.uk · 25/09/2026

They should refer to it as "The gulf, above Mexico"

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Andy Mabbett @pigsonthewing.org.uk · 25/09/2026

Something for my fellow Wikipedians to be aware of (the article notes the absence of Wikipedia pages for such organisations)

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Catherine Fletcher @catherinefletcher.info · 25/09/2026

A proper long-distance transport policy would bring back HS2 and put direct Eurostars on it from Manchester and Birmingham

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Andy Mabbett @pigsonthewing.org.uk · 24/09/2026

My Uncle Harry did this job for Harvo (the Birmingham malt loaf makers who ceased business in around 1973). He one went to a house where a needle had been found inside a loaf. He asked for the wrapper, which was duly retrieved from the waste-bin.

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Andy Mabbett @pigsonthewing.org.uk · 23/09/2026

"A Philadelphia teacher is facing criticism from her fellow colleagues..." As opposed to which other colleagues?

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Andy Mabbett @pigsonthewing.org.uk · 23/09/2026

Note he didn't say in which country.

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Open Data Manchester CIC @opendatamcr.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Open Data Manchester is now the fiscal host of Open Data Camp, providing back office and finance support for the UK's largest open data unconference. Friendly, inclusive, free. This year: Sat 21 & Sun 22 Nov, Birmingham Council House.… www.tickettailor.com/events/opendat…

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Petra Boynton @petraboynton.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Our headmaster played Pink Floyd's 'Another brick in the wall'. Then asked whoever agreed with it to stand up. Confident everyone would join me I leapt to my feet. I was alone. After the assembly he gave me a dressing down for my poor attitude which was apparently symptomatic of my wider failings

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Kevin Carmody @skinofstars.bsky.social · 11/05/2026

We have got to tackle Birmingham’s pavement parking problem

Child prevented from using pavement because a van is fully parked on it

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Andy Mabbett @pigsonthewing.org.uk · 21/09/2026

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

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Caroline Ball @heroicendeavour.eurosky.social · 21/09/2026

"Wikipedia is the most widely used reference work in history and one of the most valuable training resources available to the generative AI industry; and yet that same industry is systematically undermining the conditions that make Wikipedia possible." 👏

link.springer.com

Towards a practice of knowledge commoning: academics’ ethical duties to defend Wikipedia in the age of generative AI - AI and Ethics

Wikipedia is the most widely used reference work in history and one of the most valuable training resources available to the generative AI (genAI) industry; and yet that same industry is systematicall...

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Katrina Navickas @katrinanavickas.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Repeat after me, the legal definition of redundancy is that the work has "substantially ceased or diminished". This is not that.

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Michelle says: Be kind. Always. ❤️ @snarkysillysad.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

A wave of cormorants: #AGoodPlace Source: AccuWeather

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Andy Mabbett @pigsonthewing.org.uk · 18/09/2026

Your should all read this thread, but especially if you're ever padded or swam in the sea, or been on a boat, shop or ferry, on or near the British coast

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Andy Mabbett @pigsonthewing.org.uk · 18/09/2026

I'm going with "I don't care if a cold nose is a sign of good health; next time warm it up first!"

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Jess Rose @jesslynnrose.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Tattoo-loving bird-enthusiasts: Charlie is trying to tattoo every British bird on folks as he raises money for @rspb.bsky.social Visit him in Brum's best tattoo studio, the appropriately named Golden Goose. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

bbc.co.uk

'I'm trying to do a tattoo of every British bird'

Charlie Sullivan has so far ticked off 86 species and raised £2,000 for the RSPB.

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Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

AI is screwing up journal papers: Journal editor asks authors of 10 submitted papers to meet and discuss their paper. Of the 7 that showed up, 3 were unable to answer basic questions about the paper and 3 had difficulty when asked further questions on technical details… medium.com/@TmlrOrg/ask...

medium.com

Asking Authors About Their Own Papers

By Nihar B. Shah

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mrwamble.bsky.social @mrwamble.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

I made a site where you send your poem to a stranger and get real feedback back. No followers, no likes, no algorithm. Just your poem and someone who actually read it. penpalpoets.com #poetry #poetsofbluesky #amwriting

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Owen Boswarva @owenboswarva.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Job – Head of Data & Digital (fixed term) at the National Biodiversity Network Trust, apparently home-based nbn.org.uk/news/nbn-tru... NBN Atlas nbnatlas.org #biodiversity #opendata -adjacent

● Lead the NBN Trust's data and digital function, providing strategic and functional leadership across the NBN Atlas, related digital products and services, and the Trust's wider data and digital portfolio.
● Line manages the Trust’s data and technical team managers, ensuring clear priorities, strong performance, proportionate governance, and effective delivery across business as usual, funded projects, and strategic development.
● Ensure the Trust's data and digital work is led in a way that is inclusive, accessible, and supportive of a diverse range of staff, partners, and users.
● Deliver the Trust's 2-year organisational sustainability project, "Building a Sustainable Future for the UK's Biodiversity Data Heritage" (funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund), including the development and testing of value-added data and digital services, web-hosted products, and support offers that strengthen financial resilience without compromising the Trust's public good role.
● Support the strategic direction, stewardship, and future sustainability of the NBN Atlas, related digital products and services, and the Trust's wider technical delivery, ensuring that risks, opportunities, and investment choices are well managed.
● Play an active role in the NBN Trust's Executive Team, contributing to organisational planning, funding development, cross Trust collaboration, and external engagement where this supports delivery and the Trust's wider strategic objectives.
● The role provides strategic and functional leadership across the Trust's data and digital work, working closely with the Principal Software Engineer as the Trust's senior software engineering lead.

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Andy Mabbett @pigsonthewing.org.uk · 17/09/2026

Haiku for Roger McGough: Sometimes I feel like a priest in a fish & chip queue quietly think

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Andy Mabbett @pigsonthewing.org.uk · 16/09/2026

Among the worst culprits for not using alt text on images of screenshots seem to be journalists.

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Andy Mabbett @pigsonthewing.org.uk · 16/09/2026

I'm going to write an article with the headline: "Is Betteridge's Law Valid?"

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Enough Of That Now @andygilder.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

I'd like to wish Piddington Parish Council good luck in explaining why everyone in the village now has to pay the surcharge to use the NHS

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Andy Mabbett @pigsonthewing.org.uk · 14/09/2026

Lots here for my @wmau.bsky.social friends. Also those in South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, Yemen, Somalia and Caribbean

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Met Office - weather and climate @metoffice.gov.uk · 14/09/2026

🌍 54 million historical weather observations from 95 countries have been unlocked & made freely available online. 📚 With records dating back to 1837, the project enabled the discovery of an HMS Terror logbook & an international weather station network Read ⤵️ www.metoffice.gov.uk/blog/2026/ho...

metoffice.gov.uk

How 54 million historical weather records are being made globally accessible

For more than a century, the Met Office's National Meteorological Archive has held a treasure trove of historical weather data, some of it dating back to 1837. Now, thanks to a major project, tens of ...

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Sejal Sukhadwala @sejalsukhadwala.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

A novel set in an 18thC London confectionary shop mentions 'Piccadilly puff' - a puff pastry with lemon and spices. Did such a pastry exist? (Like, say, Tottenham cake or Chelsea bun). Quick google search only gives me a cigarette shop in Piccadilly called Piccadilly Puff.

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Andy Mabbett @pigsonthewing.org.uk · 14/09/2026

I've seen images of these works many times before, but never with anything to indicate scale; I always assumed they were a coupe of inches across..!

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Anne Applebaum @anneapplebaum.wsocial.eu · 14/09/2026

Your regular reminder: If the Russians stop fighting, the war ends. If the Ukrainians stop fighting, their land will be occupied, their leaders will be killed, their history and language will be erased, their children will be kidnapped to serve Russia.

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Andy Mabbett @pigsonthewing.org.uk · 13/09/2026

So they're not actually seeking any concessions from Putin at all? Well, what a surprise!

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Andy Mabbett @pigsonthewing.org.uk · 13/09/2026

"I'm really popular if you discount all the people who don't like me"

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Andy Mabbett @pigsonthewing.org.uk · 13/09/2026

Bluesky: I'd like to be able to turn on "Do not see replies", but for an individual poster (Someone who bizarrely replies to their own posts, expressing thanks each time they get liked or reposted)

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Dr Amanda McVitty @dramandamcvitty.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

If you care about governments being held accountable, then you need to know about disastrous cuts being planned for Archives NZ and the National Library. These cuts don't just make it much harder to do history. They undermine the institutions at the heart of our democracy.

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