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davidcsimon.bsky.social
David C. Simon
@davidcsimon.bsky.social
2.4K followers 270 following 1.2K posts
Australian artist, writer, wildlife photographer, dungeon master, and bird-nerd. Autistic and depressed, but video games help. All photos are my own unless otherwise credited. All subjects are wild and living unless otherwise noted. No AI please.
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davidcsimon.bsky.social
David C. Simon @davidcsimon.bsky.social · 1d
I am spending way too much time in 2025 looking for alternatives to software/services that used to be excellent but have been undermined by idiot executives.
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davidcsimon.bsky.social
David C. Simon @davidcsimon.bsky.social · 1d
Are there any Spotify alternatives that let you discover new music while also playing local files and syncing across devices?

Some of my favourite tracks can't be streamed anywhere :/
4 7
davidcsimon.bsky.social
David C. Simon @davidcsimon.bsky.social · 1d
Eastern Spinebill enjoying our callistemon.
#birds
Photograph of a small honeyeater perched on a thin callistemon (bottlebrush tree) branch ending in a bright red flower resembling a bottlebrush. The bird is orange, black, and white, with a long curved black beak. Its red eyes are as bright as the flower. As before, but a tighter crop, and the bird now has its beak buried in the flower as it drinks nectar. With the light at this angle the crown of its seemingly black head shines with iridescence.
14 64
Reposted by David C. Simon
davidcsimon.bsky.social
David C. Simon @davidcsimon.bsky.social · 2d
The Gang-gang gang returned!
#birds
Photograph of a young male Gang-gang Cockatoo lit by the sun, portrait from the breast up. It is a grey cockatoo with splashes of yellow, white, and orange. Its head and crest still have only some of its mature red feathers, showing that it's a young male. Same species, different individual. Full-body photo of the cockatoo on a powerline, legs gripping it awkwardly as it tries to balance. This one has even less red on its head, and looks a little scruffier overall. Its head is turned to the same as it looks at the viewer.
2 24 110
davidcsimon.bsky.social
David C. Simon @davidcsimon.bsky.social · 2d
The Gang-gang gang returned!
#birds
Photograph of a young male Gang-gang Cockatoo lit by the sun, portrait from the breast up. It is a grey cockatoo with splashes of yellow, white, and orange. Its head and crest still have only some of its mature red feathers, showing that it's a young male. Same species, different individual. Full-body photo of the cockatoo on a powerline, legs gripping it awkwardly as it tries to balance. This one has even less red on its head, and looks a little scruffier overall. Its head is turned to the same as it looks at the viewer.
2 24 110
davidcsimon.bsky.social
David C. Simon @davidcsimon.bsky.social · 2d
I haven't been able to find the nest, but some Striated Thornbills kept tabs on me while I search the garden, so it may well be theirs.
#birds
Photograph of a Striated Thornbill - a very small passerine bird - perched on thin bare branches. The bird is shades of brown and olive with distinctive white striations on its face and breast.
5 41
davidcsimon.bsky.social
David C. Simon @davidcsimon.bsky.social · 4d
TINY EGG!!!
I found this fragment in my garden while looking for spiders last night. I'm fairly confident it's a Thornbill, but I couldn't say what species for sure (We have Brown, Yellow, and Striated Thornbills here).
#birds
Photograph of a fragment of a small egg, representing one end of the full shell. It is light brown/beige with sparse small red freckles. The egg is resting in the palm of the photographer's hand, and is narrower than his index finger. Close up on the shell fragment, clearly showing that the red freckles are part of the egg's colouration, not specks of dirt. The same shell fragment on lined paper next to a metal ruler showing it to be approximately 1.4cm long.
1 5 61
Reposted by David C. Simon
davidcsimon.bsky.social
David C. Simon @davidcsimon.bsky.social · 6d
A Laughing Kookaburra dropped by briefly.
#birds
Photograph of a Laughing Kookaburra, a large Kingfisher in white and brown with light blue patches on its wings and bright orange bands on its tail, perched on a power line. It is facing to the left of the viewer, leaning forward with its tail raised at 90 degrees to its body as it tries to balance on the wire. Its head is slightly turned to look at the viewer as if surprised to see them.
4 14 91
davidcsimon.bsky.social
David C. Simon @davidcsimon.bsky.social · 6d
A Laughing Kookaburra dropped by briefly.
#birds
Photograph of a Laughing Kookaburra, a large Kingfisher in white and brown with light blue patches on its wings and bright orange bands on its tail, perched on a power line. It is facing to the left of the viewer, leaning forward with its tail raised at 90 degrees to its body as it tries to balance on the wire. Its head is slightly turned to look at the viewer as if surprised to see them.
4 14 91
davidcsimon.bsky.social
David C. Simon @davidcsimon.bsky.social · 6d
Ahh, but how many people-actors are happy to work for obscene quantities of electricity?
1 8
Reposted by David C. Simon
planetoffinks.bsky.social
Joseph Fink @planetoffinks.bsky.social · 6d
correct. Every part of the story is a lie to pump up some shitty little start up
catacalypto.bsky.social
Cat Manning @catacalypto.bsky.social · 6d
I’m not talking about the “AI “actress”” thing because it is so clearly an astroturfed non-story which only benefits from people taking it seriously, even as outrage / distaste. It does not exist. It *will* not exist, at least as executed by these people. I refuse to fall for it.
89 500
Reposted by David C. Simon
davidcsimon.bsky.social
David C. Simon @davidcsimon.bsky.social · 6d
Crimson Rosella in the late afternoon sun.
#birds
Photograph of a small bright red parrot with blue and black wings and tail feathers, and blue cheeks. It is perched on a twisty eucalypt branch with out of focus leaves and sky in the background. The bird is facing the sun, which is creating a hilight in the bird's eye.
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davidcsimon.bsky.social
David C. Simon @davidcsimon.bsky.social · 6d
Crimson Rosella in the late afternoon sun.
#birds
Photograph of a small bright red parrot with blue and black wings and tail feathers, and blue cheeks. It is perched on a twisty eucalypt branch with out of focus leaves and sky in the background. The bird is facing the sun, which is creating a hilight in the bird's eye.
22 100
Reposted by David C. Simon
davidcsimon.bsky.social
David C. Simon @davidcsimon.bsky.social · 7d
Some Gang-gang Cockatoos visited yesterday!
It's a small flock of mostly immature males who grouped together after they were weened last Summer.
They're the local Gang-gang gang.
#birds
Photograph of a Gang-gang Cockatoo on a bare branch looking at the viewer. It's a small cockatoo (Galah-sized), mostly dark grey but with lots of yellow, orange, and green streaks and spots on its breast and belly. Its head still only has the first traces of its mature red plumage, mostly on the crest. Same species, different individual, close-up focusing on the face from the shoulders up. This one has a little more red on the head and crest, as well a patches of red starting to appear around its eyes and under its cheek.
3 26 170
davidcsimon.bsky.social
David C. Simon @davidcsimon.bsky.social · 7d
Some Gang-gang Cockatoos visited yesterday!
It's a small flock of mostly immature males who grouped together after they were weened last Summer.
They're the local Gang-gang gang.
#birds
Photograph of a Gang-gang Cockatoo on a bare branch looking at the viewer. It's a small cockatoo (Galah-sized), mostly dark grey but with lots of yellow, orange, and green streaks and spots on its breast and belly. Its head still only has the first traces of its mature red plumage, mostly on the crest. Same species, different individual, close-up focusing on the face from the shoulders up. This one has a little more red on the head and crest, as well a patches of red starting to appear around its eyes and under its cheek.
3 26 170
davidcsimon.bsky.social
David C. Simon @davidcsimon.bsky.social · 8d
It turns out this is probably Australomisidia kangarooblaszaki, and *not* Lozenge-shaped Crab Spider. The species was only described in 2008!

No, I don't know why it's called "Kangaroo Blaszaki".
davidcsimon.bsky.social
David C. Simon @davidcsimon.bsky.social · Apr 18
Lozenge-shaped Crab Spider!
(silly name for a beautiful creature)
#spiders
Photograph of a small spider on a green leaf. It is light tan/brown with cream and dark brown spots. I guess its abdomen is kind of lozenge-shaped, but lozenges come in many shapes, and yes I do mean the tablets not the actual rhomboid shape because that's just a diamond and the abdomen is definitely not a diamond. Can we come up with a better name for this sweet little spider please? Same subject, side view. Same subject, front view. It is looking directly at the camera with its four forward-facing eyes. From this angle its obvious that its pedipalps are quite large, suggesting that it's a male.
2 1 18
Reposted by David C. Simon
davidcsimon.bsky.social
David C. Simon @davidcsimon.bsky.social · 9d
Some Australian King Parrots from around my garden this week.
#birds
Photograph of an Australian King parrot in a tree surrounded by leaves, telephoto with the bird mostly filling the frame. The bird is green with bright red "pants", a blue back, and a bluish tint to some of its long tail feathers. It is reach up and nibbling on a leaf. Same subject, different individual with a more yellow/orange beak. Frame from the belly up lit by the late afternoon sun against a bokeh background. Same species but a male, with the bright red pants extending all the up to and covering the head. it is sitting in a Flame Tree surrounded by broad green leaves.
4 22 110
davidcsimon.bsky.social
David C. Simon @davidcsimon.bsky.social · 8d
This is not a debate. Don't use AI. I'll block you if I see you doing it again.
1
davidcsimon.bsky.social
David C. Simon @davidcsimon.bsky.social · 8d
Games are art.
But not all art is good, and no art has universal appeal.
Many of the great masters of painting are best known for their derivative fan art.
You don't have to like it for it to be art.
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davidcsimon.bsky.social
David C. Simon @davidcsimon.bsky.social · 8d
Please don't use - and especially don't rely on - Google AI (or any other AI based search engines/summaries). They're unreliable, built on theft, bad for the environment, and will straight up invent plausible-sounding answers if they can't find any relevant work to plagiarise.
1
davidcsimon.bsky.social
David C. Simon @davidcsimon.bsky.social · 9d
Some Australian King Parrots from around my garden this week.
#birds
Photograph of an Australian King parrot in a tree surrounded by leaves, telephoto with the bird mostly filling the frame. The bird is green with bright red "pants", a blue back, and a bluish tint to some of its long tail feathers. It is reach up and nibbling on a leaf. Same subject, different individual with a more yellow/orange beak. Frame from the belly up lit by the late afternoon sun against a bokeh background. Same species but a male, with the bright red pants extending all the up to and covering the head. it is sitting in a Flame Tree surrounded by broad green leaves.
4 22 110
Reposted by David C. Simon
mattcameron.bsky.social
Matt Cameron @mattcameron.bsky.social · 9d
hey @nytimes.com: there is no counterpoint here. There are no credible legal experts who would EVER say that the US military has any right or authority to blow civilian craft out of the Caribbean and kill their crews from afar without any provocation. There is no other side to this question.
"Some legal experts have called it a crime to summarily kill civilians not directly taking part in hostilities, even if they are believed to be smuggling drugs."
180 2.5K 11K
davidcsimon.bsky.social
David C. Simon @davidcsimon.bsky.social · 9d
I'm not into Halloween, but I will never not repost this comic.
It just makes me smile every time I see it.
rosemarymosco.com
Rosemary Mosco @rosemarymosco.com · 9d
Spooky season approaches, so I'm going to repost some of my Halloween comics from years past.
A four panel comic called Happy Halloween From The Birds. In panel 1, a pileated woodpecker has pecked its huge gaping rectangular holes in a pumpkin. In panel 2, a yellow-bellied sapsucker has pecked a face using its standard rows of small holes. In panel 3, a satin bowerbird has carved a pumpkin into a bower and placed its favorite blue candies all around it. In panel 4, a loggerhead shrike has impaled mini pumpkins on a fence's metal spikes and is saying "fight me."
1 3 14
Reposted by David C. Simon
davidcsimon.bsky.social
David C. Simon @davidcsimon.bsky.social · 11d
A bashful Crimson Rosella.
#birds
Close-up photograph of a bright red and blue parrot on bare tree branch. The bird's body is partly obscured by the branch, and it is gently pressing its beak and forehead against the branch as if it's embarrassed to be seen and would like to hide. (It's actually a very bold Rosella who has no problem with my presence, will happily jump onto my hand to eat seeds, and will eagerly chase away any King Parrots who come close. I'm not sure what it was doing at this moment.)
2 49 260
davidcsimon.bsky.social
David C. Simon @davidcsimon.bsky.social · 11d
A bashful Crimson Rosella.
#birds
Close-up photograph of a bright red and blue parrot on bare tree branch. The bird's body is partly obscured by the branch, and it is gently pressing its beak and forehead against the branch as if it's embarrassed to be seen and would like to hide. (It's actually a very bold Rosella who has no problem with my presence, will happily jump onto my hand to eat seeds, and will eagerly chase away any King Parrots who come close. I'm not sure what it was doing at this moment.)
2 49 260