iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Distant lightning and the rising moon over Barcelona.

A cityscape at night with street and building lights. There are clouds in the dark sky. In the distance the moon is rising, while lightning illuminates a distant bank of clouds near the horizon.

Back when the AI boom began I thought people would regret the failure of the semantic web. I'm at a data event in Barcelona, and baby, it's back. Big time. Time to brush up on your XSLT. I mean, I've been able to mention UNVTD formats and people have understood what I am talking about.

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Simon Bisson @sbisson.com · 21h

Microsoft adding ontology support to Fabric OneLake. RDF is back baby! (I was one of the RDF leads in an ecommerce consultancy back in 2001 or so. Dublin Core FTW.)

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Simon Bisson @sbisson.com · 23h

Good morning Barcelona. Thank you for the two phone alerts last night. Four phones. Two alerts. Pandemonium!

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Simon Bisson @sbisson.com · 28/09/2026

Today's #BirdOfTheDay theme is #BokehBirds. Photographing pigeons on our roof with a long lens at short range through the catio wire fence gives interesting bokeh effects. #birds #birding #wildlifephotography #putney #pigeon

A white and brown pigeon with pink legs against a bokeh green backdrop.

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Simon Bisson @sbisson.com · 28/09/2026

The view from the hotel lift instantly gives me an Alan Parsons Project earworm.

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Simon Bisson @sbisson.com · 28/09/2026

Solar farm in Perpignan with fruit trees growing under the panels.

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Simon Bisson @sbisson.com · 28/09/2026

Terribly dirty windows on this TGV, but the white dots are a potato phone shot of flamingoes near Narbonne. #birds #birding #wildlifephotography #narbonne #flamingo

A view of a lagoon in the south of France. The white dots are flamingoes, the dark birds some sort of cormorant.

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Simon Bisson @sbisson.com · 28/09/2026

Actually saw a pair of Camargue flamingoes from our TGV as it sped along a narrow spit of land alongside the etangs.

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Simon Bisson @sbisson.com · 27/09/2026

Sitting in a hotel room in Provence eating crisps and going through my editor's line edits on Chapter 1, as you do.

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Simon Bisson @sbisson.com · 27/09/2026

How fast is a TGV? Ours just overtook a light aircraft taking off from an airfield beside the tracks…

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Simon Bisson @sbisson.com · 27/09/2026

🎶“Don Dan Daaann!”🎶 The sound of SNCF.

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Simon Bisson @sbisson.com · 27/09/2026

Lille Europe. It is concrete and glass.

A very concrete station and plaza. With lots of glass.

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Simon Bisson @sbisson.com · 27/09/2026

First time into the EU with an Irish passport. Freedom of movement is back!

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Simon Bisson @sbisson.com · 27/09/2026

Today's #BirdOfTheDay theme is #Seabirds and the Alt is #Airborne. I take a lot of photos of the gulls down on the delta, and this fishing black-headed gull gives me a twofer as it takes off, vertically. #birds #birding #wildlifephotography #wandle #gull

A white and grey bird with red beak and legs takes off from clear water.

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Simon Bisson @sbisson.com · 26/09/2026

The brackets for our solar installation were due to arrive in November. Guess what turned up this monring with no warning?

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Simon Bisson @sbisson.com · 26/09/2026

Today's #BirdOfTheDay theme is #Pairs, photos with pairs of the same species in them. The Alt theme is #Green. A pair of black-headed gulls along St Clement's Bay give us a twofer by flying over an emerald-green sea. #birds #birding #wildlifephotography #jersey #gull

Two white and grey birds fly over green seas with rocks in the background.

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Reposted by Simon Bisson

Rob Turpin 🇺🇦🇵🇸🏳️‍⚧️ @thisnorthernboy.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Free shipping on all my prints at the moment…

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Simon Bisson @sbisson.com · 25/09/2026

100 words to go in chapter one. And it is making sense!

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Simon Bisson @sbisson.com · 25/09/2026

Are M83 the most interesting French electronic music group since Daft Punk?

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Simon Bisson @sbisson.com · 25/09/2026

Any list of best TV that doesn't include Person Of Interest is no list of mine.

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Simon Bisson @sbisson.com · 25/09/2026

The last Soft Cell album, Danceteria, is Marc Almond's reminisence of his years in New York, partying with folk like Andy Warhol and taking vast amounts of drugs. It's a gloriously cynical look at long gone decadence: The Rainbow Room to Crackland... The last mix was made two days before Dave died.

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Simon Bisson @sbisson.com · 25/09/2026

Today's #BirdOfTheDay theme, which is #Borbs - birds looking plump - and the alt theme is #Brown. A wren, with its lunch, down on the delta for a twofer. #birds #birding #wildlifephotography #wandle #wren

A small brown bird on a fence post. It is very round with an upright tail. There is a bug in its beak.

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Reposted by Simon Bisson

Mary Branscombe @marypcbuk.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

it looks like @sbisson.com and I won't make it to the Public Service Broadcasting concert (the whole of Race for Space) at Alexandra Palace on Saturday; anyone who can get to London want to buy two tickets?

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Simon Bisson @sbisson.com · 24/09/2026

I remain disturbed by this keyring I found in the street yesterday. I think it’s that the clearly sapient fries are screaming…

A keyring depicting a living fry packet full of living fries.

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Simon Bisson @sbisson.com · 24/09/2026

The new Downes Braide Association album, Trauma, is another perfect slice of deeply introspective prog pop. Some excellent collaborators, including guest vocals from Marc Almond. English nostalgic elegies, from a world where The Buggles had been influenced by Laurie Lee rather than J G Ballard.

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Simon Bisson @sbisson.com · 24/09/2026

The motor on the old smart cat feeder failed (boo! to PetSmart for not selling spare units) so we got a new one. Like many Chinese smart devices it uses the Tuya Smart Life platform, so is easy to add to Home Assistant. Bonus: it takes up to 12mm cubes, so Royal Canin maine kibble doesn't block it!

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Simon Bisson @sbisson.com · 24/09/2026

Today's #BirdOfTheDay is #TheDivers: photos of any diving bird. The alt theme is #BirdStare: any bird captured staring right back at you. This cormorant on the Point Pleasant pilings down on the delta wants to offer a twofer. #birds #birding #wildlifephotography #wandle #cormorant

A large dark bird standing on a wooden post. It has a yellow lower face, green eyes, and a white ring on its neck. The background is bokeh yellow.

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Simon Bisson @sbisson.com · 23/09/2026

Two-thirds of the way into chapter one of my next book... Not bad for a week where I have also written a column, had my first nasty cold in a good few years, and dealt with a crushed hand.

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Simon Bisson @sbisson.com · 23/09/2026

Today’s #BirdOfTheDay theme is #Raptors - any bird of prey. At sunset, a marsh harrier glides over one of the orchid preserves at La Mare au Seigneur on the west coast of Jersey. #birds #birding #wildlifephotography #jersey #marshharrier

A large raptor, its wings spread wide, drifts through a fading sky. It is brown, catching almost gold in the setting sun.

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Kasey Gifford @kaseygifford.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

This is my new favorite thing.

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Simon Bisson @sbisson.com · 22/09/2026

Tickets for next week's trip to Fabcon EU have arrived; London to Barcelona by train via Lille and Nimes. TGV Inoui goodness through the flamingoes.

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Simon Bisson @sbisson.com · 22/09/2026

Today's #BirdOfTheDay theme is #Redheads, any bird with red on its head/beak. The Alt theme is #Gull, any gull will do. This black-headed gull over a frozen Wimbledon Park lake gives us a twofer, with its red beak. #birds #birding #wildlifephotography #wimbledon #gull

A white bird with red beak and feet over an out of focus frozen lake

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Simon Bisson @sbisson.com · 21/09/2026

So I managed to crush my hand in a closing window at the weekend; I thought it was OK until I tried to pick something heavy up. Turns out that arthritis compression gloves provide just the support it needs to heal…

A black neoprene glove with ridges of support materials.

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Simon Bisson @sbisson.com · 21/09/2026

Today's office playlist is all of John Mitchell's Lonely Robot project. Asia/King Crimson-influenced prog pop.

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Simon Bisson @sbisson.com · 21/09/2026

Recent Reads: The Teacup Dragon Sanctuary. Jessica Thorne's cosy romantasy has higher stakes than most, underneath its tale of a mysterious island and its link to dragon magic, mixed with academic and social rivalries. An enjoyable confection, much like its tiny dragons that thrive on cream cakes.

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Simon Bisson @sbisson.com · 21/09/2026

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Simon Bisson @sbisson.com · 21/09/2026

The #BirdOfTheDay theme today is #LightAndShadow. A robin in and out of shadow on the old ivy-covered willow on the spit. #birds #birding #wildlifephotography #wandle #robin

A small grey, brown, and orange bird on a twig and under the shadow of higher branches. Behind it are ivy leaves.

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Simon Bisson @sbisson.com · 20/09/2026

Today’s #BirdOfTheDay it’s #CaptionThatBird - a bird photo that make you smile with a witty caption… "Shout, shout, let it all out These are the things I can do without Come on I'm talking to you, come on" A wren, singing. Loudly. #birds #birding #wildlifephotography #wandle #wren

A small brown bird on a twig. Its mouth is wide open and yellow.

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Simon Bisson @sbisson.com · 19/09/2026

Today’s #BirdOfTheDay theme is #Elegant; any elegant looking bird. There's nothing more elegant than a gull in flight, here a black-headed gull on the tideline at St Clement's Bay on Jersey. #birds #birding #wildlifephotography #jersey #gull

A white and grey bird skims the waves in a silver and blue sea.

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Simon Bisson @sbisson.com · 18/09/2026

New COVID vaccine has knocked me a bit flat; but hey, it's still better than the virus. Also getting my hand crushed by a self-closing window while testing a portable battery-powered bidet has not helped. Top tip: do not spray window's rain sensor by accident. Bonus lesson: that thing has some jet!

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Simon Bisson @sbisson.com · 18/09/2026

Last night to Samuel Johnson’s house (each room with its own definition) for a talk by @bryan-talbot.bsky.social and @eyedotter.bsky.social about their new graphic biography of Mary Wollstonecraft, Lo! An Amazon. Fascinating. Also Bryan sketched in our copy for us…

The cover of a book. A woman stands on a ship looking to the horizon.

Text:

LO!
AN AMAZON!
INTERESTING NARRATIVE
OF
THE LIFE OF
MARY WOLLSTONECRAFT.
Mary M. Talbot Bryan Talbot

A page from a book, signed by the authors with a sketch by the artist of a woman’s head.

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Simon Bisson @sbisson.com · 18/09/2026

Today's #BirdOfTheDay theme is #Paridae, any of the species. A great tit exploring a yew tree in a park in Brussels. #birds #birding #wildlifephotography #brussels #greattit

A small bird in a green and brown tree. It has a black and white head, a green back, and a yellow breast, with black, white, and grey wings and tail.

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Simon Bisson @sbisson.com · 17/09/2026

Today's #BirdOfTheDay theme is #ODG, any Owl, Duck or Goose. So how about a goose that's really a duck? An egyptian goose lands on the deck of one of the Point Pleasant houseboats. #birds #birding #wildlifephotography #thames #egyptiangoose

A large orange, white, and black bird lands on a red surface in front of a white wall. It is the deck of a boat.

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Simon Bisson @sbisson.com · 17/09/2026

Inside the cats' heads: THERE IS A FLY IN THE HOUSE And it is buzzing. <Maine Coon skidding ensues.>

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Simon Bisson @sbisson.com · 16/09/2026

"If you're building Frankenstein, stop." Sure, I am building an early 19th century German scientist who will then build a monster. Because I read books and I know stuff. www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

theguardian.com

‘If you’re building Frankenstein, stop’: JD Vance dismisses calls for AI regulation

US vice-president’s comments come as former Anthropic researcher revisits recent claim AI could destroy humanity

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Simon Bisson @sbisson.com · 16/09/2026

Looking at the comments on a BBC News story about Wandsworth's planned council tax rise (I know, I shouldn't have, but...) and many people are complaining that banding is wrong and tax should be on the number of people living in a property. And I go: "And you have just reinvented the poll tax."

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Simon Bisson @sbisson.com · 16/09/2026

Racists: Don't house them in hotels, lock 'em up in old army camps. Government: We're locking them up in old army camps. Racists: Not the one near where I live! Waaaah!

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