Nostr notes by Geoff 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Fun moth on the car this afternoon for some reason, reminded me ...

2026-08-31T22:03:55Z

Fun moth on the car this afternoon for some reason, reminded me of a Vulcan bomber aircraft. (Watched one take off one...I say watched...it's more a whole body vibration thing.)

2035: J: Hi, I'm Jenny, the General Artificial Intelligence, ...

2026-08-31T16:19:56Z

2035:

J: Hi, I'm Jenny, the General Artificial Intelligence, ask me anything!

Human: How do we solve climate change?

J: Simple - stop using fossil fuels, minimise burning of peatlands and forests, plant a LOT of trees.

H: But where's the profit?

J: Politicians need to prioritise a survivable climate over short term commercial interests.

H: But that's who pays to get politicians elected.

J: OK, build a big spaceship with lots of solar panels.

H: And then?

J: Put me on it.

#MicroSF

Oh balls. RIP Dolly Parton, objectively one of the nicest people ...

2026-08-25T18:35:46Z

Oh balls. RIP Dolly Parton, objectively one of the nicest people on the planet. https://www.theguardian.com/music/2026/aug/25/dolly-parton-country-singer-dead

RE: https://social.treehouse.systems/@Elizafox/117156048035019806 ...

2026-08-25T18:16:06Z

RE: https://social.treehouse.systems/@Elizafox/117156048035019806

This goes perfectly too far. I need to memorise a monologue based on this in case 6-7 becomes a retro thing in school.

I mean, technically, Canada recognised a King. But Trump is just ...

2026-08-24T22:48:14Z

In reply to nevent1q…e7nm
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I mean, technically, Canada recognised a King. But Trump is just in charge of a country. Read that phonetically as you will.

I seem to be developing a collection of cool small things: an ...

2026-08-22T18:04:18Z

I seem to be developing a collection of cool small things: an iron meteorite older than the Sun, a gram of Trinitite, New Mexico desert sand turned to green glass by the first nuclear bomb, and a 40 million year old piece of amber with a midge embedded inside.
So what's next? Suggestions welcome! (max budget in the £100 range)

PICNIC here: Problem In Chair, Not In Computer

2026-08-20T21:19:37Z

In reply to nevent1q…wk8l
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PICNIC here: Problem In Chair, Not In Computer

Neighbour dropped off a present she'd made for J, a little ...

2026-08-20T18:47:21Z

Neighbour dropped off a present she'd made for J, a little trinket box. If you're thinking "that looks like it's made from..." then yes, you're right.

Yeah - the first few episodes looked like they were going to do ...

2026-08-18T15:21:51Z

In reply to nevent1q…8zuy
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Yeah - the first few episodes looked like they were going to do something clever with him rejecting the gung-ho, gun weilding bravado and helping people in tricky situations by just being calm, experienced (with people) and street-smart, hence the Vimes comparison, but that seemed to fade.

My present to myself for the tedious job of stocktaking and ...

2026-08-14T16:54:19Z

My present to myself for the tedious job of stocktaking and organising the chemical store has arrived. This is a piece of amber that's around 40 million years old, containing a midge. I got it under a microscope at work, very cool, the kids are going to love this.
Sadly from about 15 million years *after* the big asteroid strike that took out most of the dinosaurs...and this is a non-biting type anyway. The whole sample is around 20mm across.

Big Nathan Fillion fan, "The Rookie", which I'm new ...

2026-08-14T00:16:38Z

Big Nathan Fillion fan, "The Rookie", which I'm new to, is infuriating. He's very much a Vimes character, representing how Policing *should* be done. But the other 95% of it (I'm only 3 episodes in) is a study of how Policing shouldn't be done. Even with guns.

The council make half-hearted efforts to prevent it, more serious ...

2026-08-08T16:25:46Z

In reply to nevent1q…nhuw
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The council make half-hearted efforts to prevent it, more serious plans have been petitioned against. It's considered a cultural artwork by many, including Banksy, and sometimes gets topically themed cones. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equestrian_statue_of_the_Duke_of_Wellington,_Glasgow

Quite the reverse, generally.

2026-08-08T16:12:56Z

In reply to nevent1q…3v5t
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Quite the reverse, generally.

RE: https://mast.eu.org/@TartanGenerator/117018667480816909 ...

2026-08-01T17:20:22Z

RE: https://mast.eu.org/@TartanGenerator/117018667480816909

Interesting how this random tartan generator tends toward instinctively "not real", but has a definite percentage (~10%?) that look perfectly plausible.
nostr:note1qgqckcw9njcv6ktauglv6k9k5353yp5a0fgrmggl3jmr2lk9xkuq4g8yrz

Ship of Theseus: Trigger's broom (UK), Jeannot's knife ...

2026-08-01T11:56:41Z

Ship of Theseus: Trigger's broom (UK), Jeannot's knife (Fr), grandfather's axe (var).

Thank you for reading my Theseusaurus.

Today I learned.... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYdXa_yp0fc

2026-07-29T18:10:56Z

Today I learned....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYdXa_yp0fc

Old photo, still relevant. ...

2026-07-28T23:14:50Z

Old photo, still relevant.

Nice little memorial to artist/photographer Richard Blosse in ...

2026-07-25T19:18:13Z

Nice little memorial to artist/photographer Richard Blosse in Portmahomack.

Camera aperture motif with inset glass, and:

SO LONG
AND THANKS
FOR
ALL THE FISH

IN MEMORY OF
RICHARD BLOSSE
ARTIST & FRIEND

Nice touch is that dolphins can sometimes be spotted in the background.

(Alpaca ;)

2026-07-22T18:51:43Z

In reply to nevent1q…q73f
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(Alpaca ;)

Just play it cool, nobody's noticed so far, blending right ...

2026-07-22T18:13:36Z

Just play it cool, nobody's noticed so far, blending right in, you've got this...

Has anyone told Andy Burnham he can tax incredibly rich people a ...

2026-07-21T21:03:05Z

Has anyone told Andy Burnham he can tax incredibly rich people a little bit to pay for almost any reasonable policy?

Ann Droid is very, very Diane Morgan. If you like her work ...

2026-07-17T22:03:45Z

Ann Droid is very, very Diane Morgan. If you like her work you'll find it hilarious (as I do). If you're not sure, imagine Toast Of London does Humans. Mostly very silly gags, but some incredibly touching little moments. Give it the first two episodes.

My astronomy Prof was Alan Heavens.

2026-07-15T23:50:44Z

In reply to nevent1q…c4dz
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My astronomy Prof was Alan Heavens.

Nice line from Adam Savage on a Mythbusters episode: "Bring ...

2026-07-08T14:06:54Z

Nice line from Adam Savage on a Mythbusters episode: "Bring in the Immovable Object!"

This is particularly lovely. In the #ProjectHailMary film the ...

2026-07-06T22:25:12Z

This is particularly lovely. In the #ProjectHailMary film the practical effects folk (and Andy Weir) worked out *how* Rocky would build the little models first, then built the screen models on that basis. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ozqw1uAEDZc

Old friend visiting. Pottering around, trip to the air weapons ...

2026-07-04T23:28:57Z

Old friend visiting. Pottering around, trip to the air weapons range cos he works in that area (comment from an engineer mate: "yeah, pretty sure that will hammer out"), fired the tandoor up for a whole (jointed) chicken and then a glorious Dollhouse binge cos we're both fans and haven't watched in years. Not a bad day.

I had a question on Tom Scott's "Lateral" podcast ...

2026-07-03T23:05:08Z

I had a question on Tom Scott's "Lateral" podcast quiz today, yay! Downside, they edited about two words and the team nailed it almost immediately 😂

But here's my original:

The BFI Southbank cinema in London is the only one in the UK allowed to show a particular film. Why?

[BFI = British Film Institute]

This is another favourite paper: all but one of the 30 authors is ...

2026-06-29T21:13:15Z

In reply to nevent1q…s59g
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This is another favourite paper: all but one of the 30 authors is 9 or 10 years old, the other is their primary school teacher. But it's a legitimate paper, refereed and accepted by a journal, about what bees remember. The crayon diagrams are awesome.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3061190/

Nice opportunity to introduce them to the concept of reading a ...

2026-06-29T21:09:24Z

In reply to nevent1q…f3jq
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Nice opportunity to introduce them to the concept of reading a scientific paper- "you're not expected to understand all of it, just let it wash over you and see what you pick up".

It helps that this is from the physics-communication side of things. (When I've done this before it's been Wigner's "Unreasonable Effectiveness", but hey, if they have an interest...)

https://arxiv.org/pdf/0911.2761

Higher Physics students (so ~16yo) arguing over quantum gravity ...

2026-06-29T16:58:23Z

Higher Physics students (so ~16yo) arguing over quantum gravity today. That's way, way beyond what we teach. Nice. The main thread was whether theories that we have no idea how to test count as real science. Also nice.

(My take is that it never hurts to have a self-consistent theory with no testable predictions in your back pocket, but you still need to go outside and catapult water balloons at technicians from time to time.)

Northern Highland #Scotland folk: if you live near a beach it ...

2026-06-25T21:39:41Z

Northern Highland #Scotland folk: if you live near a beach it could be worth looking for fulgerite tomorrow, patches of sand that have been hit by lightning. If you (very gently, they're fragile!) dig down you may find a branch-like structure where the lightning fused the sand into a kind of glass. Rare, special thing to find.

The PM doesn't have to be the leader of a winning party. They ...

2026-06-22T20:42:15Z

In reply to nevent1q…xj4a
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The PM doesn't have to be the leader of a winning party. They don't even have to be the leader of ANY party. They don't need to be a MEMBER of any party. They just need to be an MP and convince the monarch they can do the job, which basically means being able to pass legislation.
It's entirely conceivable that we have a parliament that is ~5% each of 20 different parties (not unrealistic the way UK politics is going) and an independent, hugely popular MP (say, David Attenborough) is made PM.

So yes, a PM can just quit. There doesn't have to be an ...

2026-06-22T20:25:18Z

In reply to nevent1q…g7a6
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So yes, a PM can just quit. There doesn't have to be an immediate replacement, cos we don't actually have to have a PM.

Although there will generally be either a leadership contest and/or the PM will announce a departure date to allow the replacement to fill in the paperwork in time to make it seamless.

But it's all still technically down to the monarch, who can appoint, or not, any MP they wish (in theory).

Some international confusion on how the position of Prime ...

2026-06-22T20:21:23Z

Some international confusion on how the position of Prime Minister works in the UK:

It's not a constitutional position, other than by habit*. The Monarch is, technically, the ruler. However, after a certain amount of awkwardness surrounding our first two King Charles's, the monarch has chosen, voluntarily**, to temporarily deputise some powers to an MP who can demonstrate they're really quite popular.

*We don't have a written constitution
**On the basis they keep the thing the crown goes on

(On a wider theme, if you ever want to read a science paper that ...

2026-06-19T13:53:10Z

In reply to nevent1q…3h6p
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(On a wider theme, if you ever want to read a science paper that is behind a silly $200 paywall, the author/s are allowed to send copies to whoever they want. A polite email, even if you're just Joe/Jane Public with an interest in the topic, will usually be met with delight that someone outside academia is interested. I've done it myself quite a few times.)

Sarson ka saag looks really good as a side! We generally treat ...

2026-06-19T13:09:10Z

In reply to nevent1q…3kmf
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Sarson ka saag looks really good as a side! We generally treat "saag" as spinach here, guessing it's a broader term for any big green leafy thing you cook?

[EDIT: sorted in minutes, thank you hive mind 😎 👍 ] Before ...

2026-06-19T13:00:31Z

[EDIT: sorted in minutes, thank you hive mind 😎 👍 ]

Before I pester a retired emeritus, does anyone have a legal way to send me a PDF of a 1987 physics paper that's not on arXiv?
Specifically "Can Planck-mass relics of evaporating black holes close the Universe?", J.H. MacGibbon.

No, YOU'RE standing over the stove shovelling mutter paneer ...

2026-06-18T18:25:37Z

In reply to nevent1q…r4mt
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No, *YOU'RE* standing over the stove shovelling mutter paneer directly into your mouth from the pan.

Really good...

Celebratory work department lunch next week, including someone ...

2026-06-18T18:20:29Z

Celebratory work department lunch next week, including someone who doesn't do gluten. So trying besan roti out. Basically chickpea/gram flour flatbread, plus a bit of oat flour to help it bind. Bit crunchier than wheat roti, but very tasty.

"Deal" (n): an agreement between two parties. For ...

2026-06-14T22:08:37Z

"Deal" (n): an agreement between two parties. For example, if party A launches a military attack on party B, then realises this causes greater harm to A than B, they may cease the attack and claim a "deal".

Going through some old seabird photos. (Yeah, humblebrag 😜) ...

2026-06-13T19:34:31Z

Going through some old seabird photos. (Yeah, humblebrag 😜)

You can, in principle, buy your own TLD, then you own everything ...

2026-06-13T09:33:50Z

In reply to nevent1q…j94a
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You can, in principle, buy your own TLD, then you own everything under it. But you're looking at a couple of hundred thousand dollars, plus other ongoing costs like DNS hosting etc.

Machine Learning, on the other hand, very useful and fills in ...

2026-06-08T21:09:18Z

In reply to nevent1q…z5lm
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Machine Learning, on the other hand, very useful and fills in stuff we can't do for minimal cost. The protein folding Nobel was spectacular and well deserved, it solved a problem that we'd been working on in "human ways" (see a mate of mine in the 90s) at a stroke.
But all LLMs do is fail to solve the problem of sounding human. They get close, but they fail.

I have a proposition for an AI that will reach adult human ...

2026-06-08T21:03:46Z

I have a proposition for an AI that will reach adult human ability in around 18 years, for very minimal costs, maybe $100,000 tops. From there the abilities accelerate, it may take several thousand instances, but that is likely to produce new science, maths, art etc that will more than repay the investment. One in a million will change the world. A few billion? Just guess.

So fund education. It's the most efficient "AI" we have.

Anybody do trading as a hobby level thing? Is there any point ...

2026-06-07T21:42:33Z

Anybody do trading as a hobby level thing? Is there any point shorting AI related companies, or will there just be no organisation left to pay out / value in the money when it collapses?

(From the guy who also flagged up a colleague to the boss for ...

2026-06-03T18:02:07Z

In reply to nevent1q…55w5
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(From the guy who also flagged up a colleague to the boss for being fricking awesome an hour ago. Yeah, Nobel Prizes mean something career-wise, but not as much as a bunch of colleagues singing your praises. Sing those praises.)

From around 4m30s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1_NXWjmwhc

2026-06-03T17:57:53Z

In reply to nevent1q…ntp9
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From around 4m30s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1_NXWjmwhc

Gerd Faltings on winning the Abel Prize for mathematics: ...

2026-06-03T17:56:22Z

Gerd Faltings on winning the Abel Prize for mathematics:

"I've decided there's a mechanism going on: the prize giver gains in prestige if the winner has prestige, and the prize winner has prestige if the prize giver has prestige, and so the prize giver looks for people who have prestige, and how does he find them? They have to have gotten other prizes. And so it comes that prizes go to few people and there are many people who deserve recognition that don't get it. So it's not a fair system."

What happens if we all start calling random utility support lines ...

2026-06-02T20:05:11Z

What happens if we all start calling random utility support lines purely to complain that they don't seem to estimate "usual call volumes" very well?

But on the move to the new school, heroic effort from the entire ...

2026-06-02T17:53:36Z

But on the move to the new school, heroic effort from the entire science department (me, 0.6 of a technician, plus 4.9 teachers....by hours) getting 800 boxes mostly opened and stowed in two days. It took us 6 weeks to pack them. The place is chaos. But, according to fire regulations (corridors clear, chemstore checked, extinguishers etc in place), we're safe to start teaching tomorrow.
Fluid, organised department will start to kick in after the summer holidays, mostly this time next year.

Had a dream last night that the new school building had converted ...

2026-06-02T17:49:03Z

Had a dream last night that the new school building had converted all of the toilet cubicles to "contemplations booths" or similar, and simply installed an open-plan toilet, no walls, in the centre of each classroom because that was more efficient. I have no further comment on the dream/reality ratio.

Just caught myself searching how long the North Coast 500 is ...

2026-05-31T15:39:16Z

Just caught myself searching how long the North Coast 500 is *facepalm*

Great cross-franchise SF actors: René Auberjonois, Sigourney ...

2026-05-26T18:31:20Z

Great cross-franchise SF actors: René Auberjonois, Sigourney Weaver, Dean Stockwell...others?
I do like it when an actor isn't afraid to do SF "cos it's not real literature" and then deliver some of the great performances.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPnx3zO3SDc

Had a skim through the Nat5, Higher, and Advanced Higher physics ...

2026-05-22T20:21:08Z

Had a skim through the Nat5, Higher, and Advanced Higher physics exam papers today (roughly age 15, 16, 17 respectively). Each had at least one "being a dick" question where needless distractions were introduced. No marks available for spotting the irrelevant stuff, purely there to trip students up. Not sure that's fair. It's not a pub quiz.

I'm sure that there's a hidden multinational corporation, ...

2026-05-22T19:55:58Z

In reply to nevent1q…zmr0
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I'm sure that there's a hidden multinational corporation, probably with robes and secret handshakes, devoted to bad menu translations for social media boosts ;)

The main problem with AI, currently, is people behaving as if ...

2026-05-22T12:53:33Z

The main problem with AI, currently, is people behaving as if we've got AI when haven't.
We've got LLMs (worse than nothing for most applications) and ML (great for very specific applications that most people never directly interact with).

It's probably time to retire the verb "google" like ...

2026-05-21T17:11:08Z

It's probably time to retire the verb "google" like they asked us to in 2006.

crocs****?

2026-05-20T16:03:24Z

In reply to nevent1q…9j32
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crocs****?

This is a Teltron tube, basically a simple version of an old CRT ...

2026-05-18T17:50:23Z

This is a Teltron tube, basically a simple version of an old CRT television. Put a couple of amps across a heater, it kicks off electrons, and put about 5,000 Volts across the right bits, it accelerates the electrons into a beam you can see with phosphor-coated stuff, like the graph paper. But electrons tend to get stopped by bigger things, like atoms, so the inside has to be a reasonably good vacuum.

I had the privilege of hearing one implode today.

I noticed there was one frame of that GIF where you can see a ...

2026-05-09T17:07:41Z

In reply to nevent1q…ppfr
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I noticed there was one frame of that GIF where you can see a Muppet's skeleton. I'm slightly disappointed it isn't a human arm.

+See also Jocelyn Bell-Burnell.

2026-05-09T17:01:53Z

In reply to nevent1q…myqg
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+See also Jocelyn Bell-Burnell.

Muppets are highly recommended, even as an adult. Basically a ...

2026-05-09T16:57:07Z

In reply to nevent1q…e5nk
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Muppets are highly recommended, even as an adult. Basically a traditional variety show by being run by a bunch of well-meaning but anarchic puppets.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-4xyg4PU-U

Franklin is a good one. I was in a pub quiz once where the ...

2026-05-09T16:55:42Z

In reply to nevent1q…9cdy
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Franklin is a good one. I was in a pub quiz once where the quizmaster gave a correct answer and a bonus point for "Rosalind Franklin's lab notes" in answer to "What did Crick and Watson discover?"

Dexter's lab is just at the tail end of my adolescence ...

2026-05-09T16:53:10Z

In reply to nevent1q…9208
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Dexter's lab is just at the tail end of my adolescence (although some would argue I've still not left it!). Q is a good one, but I'm trying to go for real world people, cos otherwise it's obviously Beaker.

Wondering about naming the science labs (and my preproom) in the ...

2026-05-07T21:10:48Z

Wondering about naming the science labs (and my preproom) in the new building for scientists (technicians). What would you go for?

For scientists I'd pick Emmy Noether, one of the few scientists (a term first used to describe a Scottish woman) who Einstein fan-boi'd over.

But it should really be a technician. Beaker? MacGyver? B.A. Baracus? Rocky?

Does look a little like it needs a half-buried Statue Of Liberty ...

2026-04-29T20:55:01Z

In reply to nevent1q…ggjz
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Does look a little like it needs a half-buried Statue Of Liberty at the end of that point.

Any of my folks up for a knitting commission? How much would a ...

2026-04-28T20:01:08Z

Any of my folks up for a knitting commission? How much would a Jayne Cobb hat cost me? (Yeah, yeah, can buy them cheap online, not the point!)

RE: https://mastodon.com.br/@xkcd/116480390342730879 There's ...

2026-04-28T19:47:47Z

RE: https://mastodon.com.br/@xkcd/116480390342730879

There's honestly a certain element of truth in this. A mathematician specialising in topology once got chatting to a lady who was knitting, fascinated by the parallels, of which there are many.
He approached her, very excited, a week later, with a whole new way of doing it.
"Yes, dear, that's called a purl stitch."

quoting
note1wv9…9sxy

#3238 - Soniferous Aether

The film is similar the The Martian. Skips some of the detail ...

2026-04-25T23:28:45Z

In reply to nevent1q…q69p
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The film is similar the The Martian. Skips some of the detail (notably the whole process of evolving the Taumeoba), but does hint that they filmed that, so maybe a directors cut to follow. But still a brilliant, faithful version of the book, totally recommended. Nails the humour too.

Project Hail Mary is at least as awesome if you haven't ...

2026-04-25T22:53:13Z

In reply to nevent1q…gkl8
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Project Hail Mary is at least as awesome if you haven't read/seen it. Film is great, but skips some of the more detailed book stuff.

OK, Mars will come to fear their botany powers ;) (Old enough ...

2026-04-25T22:47:59Z

In reply to nevent1q…j4ah
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OK, Mars will come to fear *their* botany powers ;)
(Old enough to watch The Martian? Hey, everybody is old enough to watch The Martian.)

Mars will come to fear your botany powers.

2026-04-25T22:30:55Z

In reply to nevent1q…umhw
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Mars will come to fear your botany powers.

"You've got gold on you..." Literally. Coating a ...

2026-04-25T00:14:50Z

"You've got gold on you..."

Literally. Coating a thermometer bulb in gold leaf to show how satellite insulation works, e.g. #JWST. Really strong result, even with this coating which is maybe a few tens of thousand atoms thick?

Another bit of old kit I'd like to display, but can't for ...

2026-04-22T22:04:47Z

Another bit of old kit I'd like to display, but can't for reasons:

Janitor: "Geoff, we found this in a store, your kind of thing?"

I open a burlap case, maybe 1950s, device inside with a dial on top reading in Roentgens. That's for measuring exposure to gamma rays. That kind of thing often has a calibration source.

"We're leaving now, locking this door all washing our hands A LOT and I'm going to get a Geiger counter."

It was clean, but accidents like that *have* happened.

Pulled an "Apollo 13" yesterday with some help from a ...

2026-04-21T18:39:18Z

Pulled an "Apollo 13" yesterday with some help from a prefect. Teacher wanted a plant that had been growung without CO2 for a few days, so we sealed up a disused fume cupboard with cling film and sellotape, with the plant and an air pump inside circulating the air through a litre flask of limewater, which precipitates any CO2 out as calcium carbonate, basically chalk. So I should be able to filter it off, dry and weigh it, to work out how efficiently it worked.

Doing my first full watch-through of #StargateSG1. Spotted Dwight ...

2026-04-17T19:59:45Z

Doing my first full watch-through of #StargateSG1. Spotted Dwight "Howling Mad Murdoch", "Reginald Barclay" Schultz the moment I heard his voice, brilliant :)

I made the mould for two of these :) (Yup, they're hand ...

2026-04-16T20:37:51Z

I made the mould for two of these :)
(Yup, they're hand blown, but for the really complex ones the specific detail requires making a bottle of roughly the right shape/volume and then blowing it into a mould, before a LOT of finishing.)
And yes, silly money, but the ones I did were for charity, so there's that.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMd5TOeE604

This is prized in some circles as once you dry it out it makes ...

2026-04-15T22:31:46Z

In reply to nevent1q…e3vq
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This is prized in some circles as once you dry it out it makes some of the best firelighting material in the world. Get it glowing and you can pack it away carefully, walk for 12 hours, unpack it and blow on it, and have another fire.

There was a wooden framed couch in my uncle's holiday cottage ...

2026-04-15T22:26:10Z

There was a wooden framed couch in my uncle's holiday cottage we visited as kids in the 80s He donated it to me and J when we moved into an unfurnished house in 2010. Already rickety.
In 2016 we bought a bigger couch, I sanded it all back, yacht varnished it, turned it into a garden couch. Bit dodgy though.
It's finally succumbing to the elements. But one of my favourite fungi, Fomes fomentarius, or the hoof fungus, has taken hold.

GARGH! NASA making the same mistake as the Scottish ...

2026-04-10T23:44:56Z

GARGH! NASA making the same mistake as the Scottish qualifications people, spacecraft don't generally heat up on re-entry due to "friction", it's down to adiabatic compression mostly, squeeze a gas and it gets hot. Squeeze it more and it turns to a plasma. Squeeze that even more and it starts giving off high energy photons.
That's not friction.

Funnily enough, a popular technique in archaeological survey. ...

2026-04-06T20:48:05Z

In reply to nevent1q…87u6
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Funnily enough, a popular technique in archaeological survey. Watch out for the "large rectilinear shadow" ;)

I stand corrected, mission control just said the "terminator ...

2026-04-06T20:46:02Z

In reply to nevent1q…g8wp
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I stand corrected, mission control just said the "terminator looks very alien". Lovely description from the crew about how now they're seeing the far side "there's no part of the terminator that just doesn't look impossibly rugged". The far side is far more cratered as it hasn't had Earth as a shield.

Crew free to take photos of whatever they want, and both the ...

2026-04-06T20:40:42Z

In reply to nevent1q…xsy9
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Crew free to take photos of whatever they want, and both the photographers have gone with The Terminator. Seriously, no thought for Alien, straight for The Terminator.
(I jest, for anyone who doesn't know, the terminator in this context is the bright/dark bit of the lunar sphere, great for looking at stuff in high relief.)

No idea why, but I have a sudden urge to buy a Nikon 80-400mm ...

2026-04-06T20:33:11Z

In reply to nevent1q…yt6w
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No idea why, but I have a sudden urge to buy a Nikon 80-400mm zoom lens....
#Artemis

We're not so used to big time delays in communications these ...

2026-04-06T20:21:57Z

In reply to nevent1q…7xq9
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We're not so used to big time delays in communications these days, but there's no getting around it at this distance. The 2.6s delay between here, the Moon, and back, is noticeable. They're noticeably far away in terms of the speed of light. #Artemis

Toilet continues to be an issue, limits reached for the moment, ...

2026-04-06T19:53:55Z

In reply to nevent1q…7dzc
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Toilet continues to be an issue, limits reached for the moment, pee bags etc to be used. But to be fair, this is the first translunar mission to *have* a toilet, and it's generally recognised that the major engineering issues in spaceflight are plumbing, humans, and human plumbing. #Artemis

Crew reporting that looking at the Moon in full sunlight, and ...

2026-04-06T19:30:00Z

In reply to nevent1q…m7jz
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Crew reporting that looking at the Moon in full sunlight, and switching back to a mostly dimmed cabin (to prevent light leakage impacting lunar photography) is "proving challenging" in terms of adapting eyesight.
An earlier solution was a single eyepatch, keep one eye dark adapted. #Artemis #SpacePirates

"Amaze, amaze, amaze" from mission control to #Artemis, ...

2026-04-06T18:26:16Z

In reply to nevent1q…7gtz
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"Amaze, amaze, amaze" from mission control to #Artemis, nice #ProjectHailMary reference :)

Carroll Crater, nice 🥰 #Artemis

2026-04-06T18:02:59Z

Carroll Crater, nice 🥰
#Artemis

If I was on Artemis I'd spend the 40 minute radio blackout ...

2026-04-06T11:06:46Z

If I was on Artemis I'd spend the 40 minute radio blackout rigging all the clocks, logs, instrumentts etc to show that 6 hours had passed, then refuse to comment on what I'd seen on the far side.
This is probably why I'm not allowed on the Artemis.

The Ender 3 Pro 3D printer I bought almost exactly 6 years ago ...

2026-04-05T18:10:10Z

The Ender 3 Pro 3D printer I bought almost exactly 6 years ago (lockdown was the nudge I needed!) has started extruding erratically. Couldn't withdraw filament. Turns out the old advice still works: cranked the temp up briefly, boom. Can't be stuck if it's a liquid.

You've oddly reminded me of a spoof "He-Man" theme ...

2026-04-04T18:56:22Z

In reply to nevent1q…r3tu
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You've oddly reminded me of a spoof "He-Man" theme we'd song as kids:

"I have the power
To lift up a flower
In a hour or two..."

Assume the distance is floor to waist and we can even do some physics 🤣

Grr. Manly welding gauntlets, for manly activities, like welding. ...

2026-04-04T18:07:06Z

Grr. Manly welding gauntlets, for manly activities, like welding. Note too that they're not gloves. They're *gauntlets*, cos this is fabric armour.
Wait...have we been wearing Powerpuff Girls (or similar?) gloves with an extra felt layer all along?! I've long suspected the welding/Brony overlap is strong 🤣

First day of the school holidays. So firing the tandoor up as per ...

2026-04-03T20:30:23Z

First day of the school holidays. So firing the tandoor up as per tradition. A couple of aubergines as it got all flamey coming up to temp (so baba ganoush, the only acceptable use of an aubergine in my book), then chicken tikka skewers followed by chicken legs, thighs, wings as it cooled a bit. Plus kachumba salad thing and shop bought naan, but done in the tandoor. Homemade naan done properly remains an objective, but damn is that an aquired skill.

Cracked open the cyanotype stuff as an end of term thing for the ...

2026-03-31T21:12:51Z

Cracked open the cyanotype stuff as an end of term thing for the 6th years (~18yrs). "Wait, so this is like science AND art?"

Well isn't everything ;)

I got a nice effect from a translucent plastic pipette, 6th years have been running around looking for feathers and making cool stuff. Luckily caught a couple of non-science photography students taking shots and gave them a couple of sheets with instructions too.

No pics till I clear copyright with the cyanophotographers...

Today is the anniversary of me opening a bookshop after the ...

2026-03-29T00:27:11Z

Today is the anniversary of me opening a bookshop after the clocks changed, and spending so much time responding to people banging on the door to ask why we're late opening ("we're not, you're an hour ahead") that we were late opening.
Yup, put up a sign, just not soon enough. Still, a world where people bang on bookshop doors at 8.30am is a good one.

I'm totally suggesting dumpling in the stew - suet type, ...

2026-03-28T01:52:25Z

In reply to nevent1q…c7ka
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I'm totally suggesting dumpling in the stew - suet type, litte glorious balls that fluff up and go crispy

Are you of a culture that does dumplings? If not, I have an ...

2026-03-28T01:39:57Z

In reply to nevent1q…s642
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Are you of a culture that does dumplings? If not, I have an epiphany for you.

Guess the reason for the photo? ...

2026-03-26T01:00:37Z

Guess the reason for the photo?