Rainer Simon
@aboutgeo.bsky.social
A collector of things worth knowing and things not worth knowing. Independent IT consultant and software developer. Digital Humanities/UX/IIIF/Image Annotation/Open Source. https://rainersimon.io
Pinned
Need to publish images as #IIIF — but have only 30 SECONDS to do it? tiny.iiif to the rescue! 🫨
• Drag & drop images → instant IIIF Image Service
• Create a folder → drag images in → instant presentation manifest!
Work in progress, but already a lot of fun. Ping me if you want to know more!
• Drag & drop images → instant IIIF Image Service
• Create a folder → drag images in → instant presentation manifest!
Work in progress, but already a lot of fun. Ping me if you want to know more!
I can finally share the happy news 🚀 liiive.now — my tool for real-time collaborative annotation of #IIIF images — is going open source!
First code is available here: github.com/rsimon/liiive
Self-hosted setup coming by end of February.
#OpenSource #DigitalHumanities
First code is available here: github.com/rsimon/liiive
Self-hosted setup coming by end of February.
#OpenSource #DigitalHumanities
January 30, 2026 at 9:35 AM
I can finally share the happy news 🚀 liiive.now — my tool for real-time collaborative annotation of #IIIF images — is going open source!
First code is available here: github.com/rsimon/liiive
Self-hosted setup coming by end of February.
#OpenSource #DigitalHumanities
First code is available here: github.com/rsimon/liiive
Self-hosted setup coming by end of February.
#OpenSource #DigitalHumanities
Need to publish images as #IIIF — but have only 30 SECONDS to do it? tiny.iiif to the rescue! 🫨
• Drag & drop images → instant IIIF Image Service
• Create a folder → drag images in → instant presentation manifest!
Work in progress, but already a lot of fun. Ping me if you want to know more!
• Drag & drop images → instant IIIF Image Service
• Create a folder → drag images in → instant presentation manifest!
Work in progress, but already a lot of fun. Ping me if you want to know more!
January 29, 2026 at 2:34 PM
Need to publish images as #IIIF — but have only 30 SECONDS to do it? tiny.iiif to the rescue! 🫨
• Drag & drop images → instant IIIF Image Service
• Create a folder → drag images in → instant presentation manifest!
Work in progress, but already a lot of fun. Ping me if you want to know more!
• Drag & drop images → instant IIIF Image Service
• Create a folder → drag images in → instant presentation manifest!
Work in progress, but already a lot of fun. Ping me if you want to know more!
Reposted by Rainer Simon
Great progress in our DH-RAG prototype #MachinaEmblematica <3 It works already quite well to explore the Latin texts and images.
Coming up next: analysis and evaluation of the retrieved contents and generated text to see how well the model actually performs!
Test it out at machina.ait.ac.at/chat/
Coming up next: analysis and evaluation of the retrieved contents and generated text to see how well the model actually performs!
Test it out at machina.ait.ac.at/chat/
January 22, 2026 at 11:56 AM
Great progress in our DH-RAG prototype #MachinaEmblematica <3 It works already quite well to explore the Latin texts and images.
Coming up next: analysis and evaluation of the retrieved contents and generated text to see how well the model actually performs!
Test it out at machina.ait.ac.at/chat/
Coming up next: analysis and evaluation of the retrieved contents and generated text to see how well the model actually performs!
Test it out at machina.ait.ac.at/chat/
Ended up vibe coding (sigh) a crude admin GUI for my IIIF setup. (A frustrating way to code… but fast I’ll admit.)
That's Cantaloupe (image server) + Astro (GUI) + NGINX (proxy) – bundled with Docker. Drag & drop images → instant IIIF 🚀
Still needs work + basic manifest editing, but it’s a start!
That's Cantaloupe (image server) + Astro (GUI) + NGINX (proxy) – bundled with Docker. Drag & drop images → instant IIIF 🚀
Still needs work + basic manifest editing, but it’s a start!
January 21, 2026 at 3:18 PM
Ended up vibe coding (sigh) a crude admin GUI for my IIIF setup. (A frustrating way to code… but fast I’ll admit.)
That's Cantaloupe (image server) + Astro (GUI) + NGINX (proxy) – bundled with Docker. Drag & drop images → instant IIIF 🚀
Still needs work + basic manifest editing, but it’s a start!
That's Cantaloupe (image server) + Astro (GUI) + NGINX (proxy) – bundled with Docker. Drag & drop images → instant IIIF 🚀
Still needs work + basic manifest editing, but it’s a start!
Quick Q to the #IIIF community: if I want to set up #Cantaloupe, quick & painless via Docker, what's the recommended image?
I've been using `uclalibrary/cantaloupe`. It's working great – I just want to make sure there are no other images I should be aware of that might be more recommended.
I've been using `uclalibrary/cantaloupe`. It's working great – I just want to make sure there are no other images I should be aware of that might be more recommended.
January 21, 2026 at 8:15 AM
Quick Q to the #IIIF community: if I want to set up #Cantaloupe, quick & painless via Docker, what's the recommended image?
I've been using `uclalibrary/cantaloupe`. It's working great – I just want to make sure there are no other images I should be aware of that might be more recommended.
I've been using `uclalibrary/cantaloupe`. It's working great – I just want to make sure there are no other images I should be aware of that might be more recommended.
Q to the hivemind: When using #Cantaloupe as a #IIIF image server, what are possible options for user-friendly management of image collections + manifests?
Looking for basic stuff like end-user-friendly bulk upload, basic metadata editing (for presentation manifests) and sorting into collections.
Looking for basic stuff like end-user-friendly bulk upload, basic metadata editing (for presentation manifests) and sorting into collections.
January 20, 2026 at 12:29 PM
Q to the hivemind: When using #Cantaloupe as a #IIIF image server, what are possible options for user-friendly management of image collections + manifests?
Looking for basic stuff like end-user-friendly bulk upload, basic metadata editing (for presentation manifests) and sorting into collections.
Looking for basic stuff like end-user-friendly bulk upload, basic metadata editing (for presentation manifests) and sorting into collections.
Need recommendations for nice pubs near the #BritishMuseum :-) (I remember being in a nice one a while back- The Cartwheel or something? But couldn't find it anymore...)
January 18, 2026 at 11:51 AM
Need recommendations for nice pubs near the #BritishMuseum :-) (I remember being in a nice one a while back- The Cartwheel or something? But couldn't find it anymore...)
Reposted by Rainer Simon
It's #DigitalFriday ! This is my routine appeal to #skystorians and all other academics prepping for teaching to share any software, hardware, online resources (primary, secondary, teaching tools, blogs) tips and tricks that they've found useful this week! #AcademicSky 🗃️(pls boost to relevant feeds)
January 9, 2026 at 8:27 AM
It's #DigitalFriday ! This is my routine appeal to #skystorians and all other academics prepping for teaching to share any software, hardware, online resources (primary, secondary, teaching tools, blogs) tips and tricks that they've found useful this week! #AcademicSky 🗃️(pls boost to relevant feeds)
We made a few tweaks to #MachinaEmblematica – our enigmatic guide to the Symbola et Emblemata, a 16th-century encyclopedia.
• Improved relevance ranking for image sources
• Inline thumbnails when images are explicitly mentioned
More UX and behavior tweaks are coming today + next week. Stay tuned!
• Improved relevance ranking for image sources
• Inline thumbnails when images are explicitly mentioned
More UX and behavior tweaks are coming today + next week. Stay tuned!
January 9, 2026 at 11:06 AM
We made a few tweaks to #MachinaEmblematica – our enigmatic guide to the Symbola et Emblemata, a 16th-century encyclopedia.
• Improved relevance ranking for image sources
• Inline thumbnails when images are explicitly mentioned
More UX and behavior tweaks are coming today + next week. Stay tuned!
• Improved relevance ranking for image sources
• Inline thumbnails when images are explicitly mentioned
More UX and behavior tweaks are coming today + next week. Stay tuned!
Reposted by Rainer Simon
Nominations are open for DH Awards 2025.
Anyone can nominate things that are #DigitalHumanities, available to voters, and updated in 2025. #DH
Nominations close 2026-02-26 and the only way something gets on the ballot. You only need to nominate something once.
dhawards.org/dhawards2025...
Anyone can nominate things that are #DigitalHumanities, available to voters, and updated in 2025. #DH
Nominations close 2026-02-26 and the only way something gets on the ballot. You only need to nominate something once.
dhawards.org/dhawards2025...
DH Awards 2025 – Call For Nominations | Digital Humanities Awards
dhawards.org
December 31, 2025 at 5:53 PM
Nominations are open for DH Awards 2025.
Anyone can nominate things that are #DigitalHumanities, available to voters, and updated in 2025. #DH
Nominations close 2026-02-26 and the only way something gets on the ballot. You only need to nominate something once.
dhawards.org/dhawards2025...
Anyone can nominate things that are #DigitalHumanities, available to voters, and updated in 2025. #DH
Nominations close 2026-02-26 and the only way something gets on the ballot. You only need to nominate something once.
dhawards.org/dhawards2025...
Reposted by Rainer Simon
Oops, left out the url to my web site that explains me more fully...https://kgeographer.org
I'm now seeking part-time development contract(s) after a semi-retirement phase of personal research. Projects or experiments in spatial humanities, geo-inflected NLP, LLM stuff, software design, data modeling & munging all possible. DM me if you think of something and RT if inclined. Thx.
December 21, 2025 at 3:03 AM
Oops, left out the url to my web site that explains me more fully...https://kgeographer.org
Reposted by Rainer Simon
Built a 2.5MB image classifier that runs in the browser in an evening with Claude Code.
I used a dataset I labelled in 2022 and left on @hf.co for 3 years 😬.
It finds illustrated pages in historical books. No server. No GPU.
I used a dataset I labelled in 2022 and left on @hf.co for 3 years 😬.
It finds illustrated pages in historical books. No server. No GPU.
December 19, 2025 at 12:08 PM
Built a 2.5MB image classifier that runs in the browser in an evening with Claude Code.
I used a dataset I labelled in 2022 and left on @hf.co for 3 years 😬.
It finds illustrated pages in historical books. No server. No GPU.
I used a dataset I labelled in 2022 and left on @hf.co for 3 years 😬.
It finds illustrated pages in historical books. No server. No GPU.
🎄 December = website refresh season!
I’ve just updated my site with more info on how I help Digital Humanities researchers, DH labs, museums, libraries, and archives with solutions for data exploration, annotation, and analysis — plus a selection of past projects.
Take a peek: 👉 rainersimon.io
I’ve just updated my site with more info on how I help Digital Humanities researchers, DH labs, museums, libraries, and archives with solutions for data exploration, annotation, and analysis — plus a selection of past projects.
Take a peek: 👉 rainersimon.io
rainersimon.io
Digital Humanities / IIIF / UX / Open Source
rainersimon.io
December 16, 2025 at 1:09 PM
🎄 December = website refresh season!
I’ve just updated my site with more info on how I help Digital Humanities researchers, DH labs, museums, libraries, and archives with solutions for data exploration, annotation, and analysis — plus a selection of past projects.
Take a peek: 👉 rainersimon.io
I’ve just updated my site with more info on how I help Digital Humanities researchers, DH labs, museums, libraries, and archives with solutions for data exploration, annotation, and analysis — plus a selection of past projects.
Take a peek: 👉 rainersimon.io
Reposted by Rainer Simon
First steps for pilot work on the automated transcription, translation, and entity/event extraction of Qing archival dossiers and their linking across other datasets and other archival and historical sources.
Impressive results even on cursive script.
Impressive results even on cursive script.
December 13, 2025 at 10:37 AM
First steps for pilot work on the automated transcription, translation, and entity/event extraction of Qing archival dossiers and their linking across other datasets and other archival and historical sources.
Impressive results even on cursive script.
Impressive results even on cursive script.
Reposted by Rainer Simon
🔊The Call for Proposals for the 2026 #IIIF Annual Conference is now open!
Read the full CfP and find a link to submit: iiif.io/event/2026/n...
Read the full CfP and find a link to submit: iiif.io/event/2026/n...
December 10, 2025 at 6:52 PM
🔊The Call for Proposals for the 2026 #IIIF Annual Conference is now open!
Read the full CfP and find a link to submit: iiif.io/event/2026/n...
Read the full CfP and find a link to submit: iiif.io/event/2026/n...
Clarification on what our "VLM pipeline" is (thx @miaout.bsky.social): code and utilities that chain together workflows across AI models – incl. the newer vision-capable language models (VLMs). Goal is to extract structured metadata from images.
Have material you'd like me to test? Ping me!
Have material you'd like me to test? Ping me!
Working with a small museum/archive/project with digitized images but little metadata?
I'm looking for testers for a VLM pipeline for auto-enrichment (transcription, captions, tags, IIIF). If you share a few sample images, I'll run them through + share results. Would love to hear your feedback!
I'm looking for testers for a VLM pipeline for auto-enrichment (transcription, captions, tags, IIIF). If you share a few sample images, I'll run them through + share results. Would love to hear your feedback!
December 5, 2025 at 11:28 AM
Clarification on what our "VLM pipeline" is (thx @miaout.bsky.social): code and utilities that chain together workflows across AI models – incl. the newer vision-capable language models (VLMs). Goal is to extract structured metadata from images.
Have material you'd like me to test? Ping me!
Have material you'd like me to test? Ping me!
Working with a small museum/archive/project with digitized images but little metadata?
I'm looking for testers for a VLM pipeline for auto-enrichment (transcription, captions, tags, IIIF). If you share a few sample images, I'll run them through + share results. Would love to hear your feedback!
I'm looking for testers for a VLM pipeline for auto-enrichment (transcription, captions, tags, IIIF). If you share a few sample images, I'll run them through + share results. Would love to hear your feedback!
December 3, 2025 at 6:05 PM
Working with a small museum/archive/project with digitized images but little metadata?
I'm looking for testers for a VLM pipeline for auto-enrichment (transcription, captions, tags, IIIF). If you share a few sample images, I'll run them through + share results. Would love to hear your feedback!
I'm looking for testers for a VLM pipeline for auto-enrichment (transcription, captions, tags, IIIF). If you share a few sample images, I'll run them through + share results. Would love to hear your feedback!
Q to the hivemind: I'm wondering if anyone else around here's been building RAG systems for cultural collections/museums?
I'm curious about what/how you're indexing. Metadata, transcripts/chunks? Images full or segmented? LLM-generated descriptions? What's your queries and response workflow?
I'm curious about what/how you're indexing. Metadata, transcripts/chunks? Images full or segmented? LLM-generated descriptions? What's your queries and response workflow?
November 27, 2025 at 6:02 PM
Q to the hivemind: I'm wondering if anyone else around here's been building RAG systems for cultural collections/museums?
I'm curious about what/how you're indexing. Metadata, transcripts/chunks? Images full or segmented? LLM-generated descriptions? What's your queries and response workflow?
I'm curious about what/how you're indexing. Metadata, transcripts/chunks? Images full or segmented? LLM-generated descriptions? What's your queries and response workflow?
Odd find of the day from #MachinaEmblematica: the Simivulpem, a wolf/monkey hybrid.
Story sounded plausible. But I wonder how much is just AI hallucination. Google only gave two hits, both on the Google Books edition of Symbola et Emblemata.
Any early modern creature lore experts who know more? 🙂
Story sounded plausible. But I wonder how much is just AI hallucination. Google only gave two hits, both on the Google Books edition of Symbola et Emblemata.
Any early modern creature lore experts who know more? 🙂
November 26, 2025 at 11:01 AM
Odd find of the day from #MachinaEmblematica: the Simivulpem, a wolf/monkey hybrid.
Story sounded plausible. But I wonder how much is just AI hallucination. Google only gave two hits, both on the Google Books edition of Symbola et Emblemata.
Any early modern creature lore experts who know more? 🙂
Story sounded plausible. But I wonder how much is just AI hallucination. Google only gave two hits, both on the Google Books edition of Symbola et Emblemata.
Any early modern creature lore experts who know more? 🙂
🎉 IMMARKUS 1.0.5 is out! The latest release of our open-source image annotation tool for humanities, heritage & museum professionals is now available – with bug fixes, productivity enhancements, and improved #IIIF annotation import.
Try it here: immarkus.xmarkus.org
Docs: github.com/rsimon/immar...
Try it here: immarkus.xmarkus.org
Docs: github.com/rsimon/immar...
November 25, 2025 at 6:58 AM
🎉 IMMARKUS 1.0.5 is out! The latest release of our open-source image annotation tool for humanities, heritage & museum professionals is now available – with bug fixes, productivity enhancements, and improved #IIIF annotation import.
Try it here: immarkus.xmarkus.org
Docs: github.com/rsimon/immar...
Try it here: immarkus.xmarkus.org
Docs: github.com/rsimon/immar...
The #MachinaEmblematica – our mysterious chatbot guide into the 16th century encyclopedia "Symbola et Emblemata" is now reasonably mobile-friendly.
Check it out if you haven't already!
machina.rainersimon.io
Check it out if you haven't already!
machina.rainersimon.io
November 24, 2025 at 2:31 PM
The #MachinaEmblematica – our mysterious chatbot guide into the 16th century encyclopedia "Symbola et Emblemata" is now reasonably mobile-friendly.
Check it out if you haven't already!
machina.rainersimon.io
Check it out if you haven't already!
machina.rainersimon.io
We built #MachinaEmblematica as an outreach/engagement tool rather than for research. But as someone with zero knowledge of 16C emblem books (or Latin!) I find it an amazing way to poke around & discover odd new things—far richer than randomly browsing #IIIF images alone.
machina.rainersimon.io
machina.rainersimon.io
November 21, 2025 at 5:49 PM
We built #MachinaEmblematica as an outreach/engagement tool rather than for research. But as someone with zero knowledge of 16C emblem books (or Latin!) I find it an amazing way to poke around & discover odd new things—far richer than randomly browsing #IIIF images alone.
machina.rainersimon.io
machina.rainersimon.io
@rockettara.bsky.social and I've been teaching the #MachinaEmblematica some new tricks: better image interpretation and conversational context, smarter source retrieval from the Symbola et Emblemata. It’s a bit slower now… we’ll work on that next. 😉
Try it here: machina.rainersimon.io
Try it here: machina.rainersimon.io
November 20, 2025 at 5:15 PM
@rockettara.bsky.social and I've been teaching the #MachinaEmblematica some new tricks: better image interpretation and conversational context, smarter source retrieval from the Symbola et Emblemata. It’s a bit slower now… we’ll work on that next. 😉
Try it here: machina.rainersimon.io
Try it here: machina.rainersimon.io