iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Alistair Bailey @ab604.uk · 26/06/2026

Nice sunset happening tonight.

Pink fluffy clouds at sunset in Southampton

Alistair Bailey @ab604.uk · 02/02/2026

Based on others work, I've created Claude Code configurations for R: modular skills (tidyverse, rlang, performance, OOP, testing), enforcement rules (security, testing, git workflow), workflow commands (planning, code review, TDD), and context management hooks. #claudecode #rstats

github.com

GitHub - ab604/claude-code-r-skills: Claude Code configurations for R development.

Claude Code configurations for R development. Contribute to ab604/claude-code-r-skills development by creating an account on GitHub.

4241

Alistair Bailey @ab604.uk · 09/04/2025

Trying to write a new section for our (stalled) lung neoantigens paper and finding these two articles by @dingdingpeng.the100.ci very helpful. The marginal effects opening paragraph always makes me laugh. www.the100.ci/2024/12/01/w... www.the100.ci/2022/05/27/%...

the100.ci

Writing about technical topics in an accessible manner

A wise man – I’m quite sure it was Brian Wansink – once pointed out that it is impossible to both read and write a lot. So, maybe reading a post about how to write just steals time from the more urgen...

182

Alistair Bailey @ab604.uk · 06/04/2025

#30DayChartChallenge Day 6: Florence Nightingale. A hexagonal density plot England of measles vaccination coverage for 5 year olds. There was one measles related death in England in 2024. Vaccines work.

#30DayChartChallenge Day 6 Florence Nightingale theme. A hexagonal density plot, where each hexagon show the vaccination coverage for local authorities in England for 5 year olds in 2024 and the colour indicates the coverage percentage. Where reported, the the lowest coverage was 75% and the highest 100%. One acute measles-related death was reported in 2024 in a young person who was known to have other medical conditions.

082

Reposted by Alistair Bailey

Eric Turkheimer @ent3c.bsky.social · 04/04/2025

I know it's a rough time to be talking science, but in case anyone wants some distraction, I wrote about the Tan et al (2024) analysis of heritability and polygenic indices for complex human behavior. Title: Is Tan et al The End of Social Science Genomics?

open.substack.com

Is Tan et al. The End of Social Science Genomics?

What happens when everything is unconfounded?

79733

Alistair Bailey @ab604.uk · 04/04/2025

For #30DayChartChallenge Big or Small, I couldn't resist re-creating the FT Alphaville chart on US tariffs: on.ft.com/4cddkuC. See the article for their interactive version. All the tariffs are big, but some are bigger than others! Code and country data is in my repo: github.com/ab604/charts...

Scatterplot of April 2025 US tariffs for 196 countries plotted against a guess of how the tariff was calculated using the trade balance for each country divided by their import amount in dollars divided by 2. For example, China has a balance with the USA of 295 billon and the US imports 439 billion worth of goods, which gives a guess tariff of 34% which is the same as the actual tariff. All EU countries have 20% tarriff imposed. This re-creates an interactive chart by FT Alphaville: https://on.ft.com/4cddkuC and the code and data I used for each country are at: https://github.com/ab604/charts-2025

092

Alistair Bailey @ab604.uk · 03/04/2025

For #30DayChartChallenge Circles, I chose the Moon. I made a webpage that updates each day with an image of the moon phase as it appears from Southampton in the UK. Today it is a waxing crescent moon, 19% of the way through it's cycle. The wepage is at ab604.github.io/moon-phase/

Image of the moon phase on the 3rd of April 2025 in Southampton in the UK where it is a waxing crescent moon, 19% of the way through it's cycle. It shows a pale yellow crescent on a black background. The image is from a webpage that updates each day with the current moon phase: https://ab604.github.io/moon-phase/

0191

Alistair Bailey @ab604.uk · 02/04/2025

For slopes #30DayChartChallenge I've made a simpler version of the Our World in Data graphic about cervical cancer and the Human papillomavirus: ourworldindata.org/hpv-vaccinat... Good news, vaccines work and prevent cancer! Source article DOI is 10.1016/S0140-6736(21)02178-4

Line chart for four cohorts of women screened for cervical cancer from 1989 to 2019. It reproduces an Our World in Data chart that shows how in England, younger cohorts vaccinated at school against the Human papillomavirus show dramatically lower rates of cervical cancer than older cohorts who were not vaccinated, when they reached the same age. Vaccination programmes for girls began in 2008 in England and then 2019 for boys. The DOI for the source data article used by Our World in Data is 10.1016/S0140-6736(21)02178-4

051

Alistair Bailey @ab604.uk · 01/04/2025

Trying the #30DayChartChallenge for the first time. I'm going to focus on my research interests, so here's plots of UK lung cancer diagnoses between 2000 and 2021 showing how most people who get lung cancer are smokers, and how England has the largest proportion of cases.

Stacked bar plots showing that England accounts for the majority of lung cancer diagnoses across all age groups in the UK and how in most age groups, people diagnosed with lung cancer are usually smokers. The data is for 45,563 patients diagnosed in the UK from January 2000 to December 2021. Source data from DOI: 10.21037/tlcr-24-241, Made by: Alistair Bailey, Code: https://github.com/ab604/charts-2025

092

Reposted by Alistair Bailey

Dr Lucy Foulkes @lucyfoulkes.bsky.social · 17/03/2025

Overdiagnosis of mental disorders is making headlines again, this time thanks to Wes Streeting. But it is true? (thread) www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

theguardian.com

Wes Streeting: there is overdiagnosis of mental health conditions

Health secretary says too many people are being ‘written off’ and that is driving ministers’ changes to welfare

63918

Reposted by Alistair Bailey

Martin Robbins @mjrobbins.com · 04/03/2025

New post! "To never risk a bad holiday or a crap meal is to experience a kind of living death. Without risk there is no learning, no growth, no surprise, no delight, no adventure, no anecdote for the dinner table, just the bland homogenous tyranny of ‘good’."

martinrobbins.substack.com

The war on curiosity

Behind the drive to AI lies a profound anxiety about our big messy world.

4238

Alistair Bailey @ab604.uk · 01/03/2025

And I like the light on the sea at this time of day.

Sea foam on the beach at Southbourne at sunset. The foam is blurred due from long exposure.

040

Alistair Bailey @ab604.uk · 01/03/2025

Beautiful sunset at Bournemouth this evening.

Photo of the sunset from the beach at Southbourne looking towards Bournemouth. Red sky fading to blue with the sea and sand.

0112

Alistair Bailey @ab604.uk · 18/02/2025

TIL that there is a legal alternative to SciHub for accessing academic articles: unpaywall.org . It's a browser extension for Firefox or Chrome and I wrote a short post: ab604.uk/blog/2025-02...

ab604.uk

Unpaywall: Legal alternative to Sci-Hub – ab604.uk

Browser extension to find legal versions of paywalled academic articles

000

Reposted by Alistair Bailey

Sam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · 12/02/2025

New post just out: "Technology vs Democracy" On the origins of Muskworld's ideology, which it's so much more dangerous than merely stupidity or corruption, and what might stop it. (£/free trial) open.substack.com/pub/samf/p/t...

open.substack.com

Technology vs Democracy

The origins and ideology of Muskworld

29345112

Alistair Bailey @ab604.uk · 30/01/2025

I wrote up a quick summary of a new short timescale HDX-MS paper by Michele Stofella et al. doi.org/10.1021/acs.... on my blog: ab604.uk/blog/2025-01... #HDX-MS #proteomics

ab604.uk

Summary of Stofella et al. 2025 – ab604.uk

Recalibrating Protection Factors Using Millisecond Hydrogen/Deuterium Exchange Mass Spectrometry

000

Reposted by Alistair Bailey

Alistair Bailey @ab604.uk · 23/01/2025

There's nothing novel in my blog post, but after chatting to a couple of students this morning who are 3 months into their PhDs, I thought I may as well write up a few of my old man's opinions on doing/thriving/surviving research: ab604.uk/blog/2025-01... #AcademicChatter

ab604.uk

Old man advice to new PhD students – ab604.uk

Opinions on the practicalities of doing a PhD after 11 years as a Post-Doc

061

Alistair Bailey @ab604.uk · 23/01/2025

ab604.uk

Old man advice to new PhD students – ab604.uk

Opinions on the practicalities of doing a PhD after 11 years as a Post-Doc

061

Reposted by Alistair Bailey

Daisy Christodoulou @daisychristo.bsky.social · 01/12/2024

Me in this week's Spectator. The misery of hope, and the despair of knowing things could be better. buff.ly/3ZaTcTX

092

Reposted by Alistair Bailey

Richard McElreath 🐈‍⬛ @rmcelreath.bsky.social · 27/11/2024

How does Approximate Bayesian Computation *ABC) work? @rabaath.bsky.social has a classic nice simple intro the ABC using the problem of infering the number of socks in a sample of laundry. There's a movie and a page with all the code. www.sumsar.net/blog/2015/07...

sumsar.net

Tiny Data, Approximate Bayesian Computation and the Socks of Karl Broman: The Movie

This is a screencast of my UseR! 2015 presentation: Tiny Data, Approximate Bayesian Computation and the Socks of Karl Broman. Based on the original blog post it is a quick’n’dirty …

29117

Reposted by Alistair Bailey

Alasdair Munro @apsmunro.bsky.social · 29/11/2024

My new post takes a look at the topic of “immunity debt” What does this term mean, and why has it been so controversial? What explains the weird reemergence of seasonal pathogens since the pandemic? Is Covid-19 damaging immune systems? Let’s find out! 💥 #MedSky #IDSky #PedSky 🧪

open.substack.com

What is "immunity debt"?

A new study sheds further light on this seemingly controversial issue

54722

Reposted by Alistair Bailey

Jon Yates @jonyates.bsky.social · 20/11/2024

🚨Largest ever 🚨 survey of UK teenagers on violence. 5 facts you need to know 👇

2115

Reposted by Alistair Bailey

James O'Malley @jamesomalley.co.uk · 19/11/2024

I'm pro-assisted dying in principle, but I'm not sure about the proposed law (FREE TO READ!) takes.jamesomalley.co.uk/p/no-law-or-...

takes.jamesomalley.co.uk

I'm pro-assisted dying in principle, but I'm not sure about the proposed law

Is no law better than a bad law?

3104

Reposted by Alistair Bailey

Stephen Bush @stephenkb.bsky.social · 19/11/2024

This week’s FT column: we’re living through an information revolution of a kind not seen since the Reformation.

ft.com

The problem of politics in a noisy age

We are once again having to readjust to a vast expansion in the amount of conflicting information at our fingertips

109526

Reposted by Alistair Bailey

Dan Quintana @dsquintana.bsky.social · 19/11/2024

Interlibrary loans rule. There was an article I couldn’t access after trying *everything*, so my last resort was an interlibrary loan request. A library in Munich had the article, so they photocopied it and posted it (in the mail!) to Oslo

Two photocopies pages of a journal article

3411

Reposted by Alistair Bailey

University of Southampton @unisouthampton.bsky.social · 19/11/2024

Today marks the 50th anniversary of @turnersims.bsky.social! 🥳 To celebrate, there's a special exhibition that explores old programmes, historic photos and memories from past performances. Visit the exhibition at Hartley Library's Level 4 Gallery. 🗓 Open until Friday 10 January.

0172

Reposted by Alistair Bailey

Dr Lucy Foulkes @lucyfoulkes.bsky.social · 18/11/2024

"It is as though we give ourselves permission to acknowledge the power of adolescent love in stories, but cannot acknowledge it publicly about ourselves." My article about teenage love now online www.theguardian.com/science/2024...

theguardian.com

The big idea: why we should take teenage love more seriously

Adolescent passions shape our future selves, and can be every bit as powerful – and perilous – as adult relationships

57620

Reposted by Alistair Bailey

Alistair Bailey @ab604.uk · 10/10/2024

If you've been an adolescent or know one, I recommend the book Coming of Age by @lucyfoulkes.bsky.social as a humane and nuanced account of the psychology of that time of life, and it's effect on the rest of it. Also discussed on Radio 4, starts at 15m 55s www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

bbc.co.uk

All in the Mind - Should we take teens more seriously? And the link between eating disorders and autism - BBC Sounds

Should we take teens more seriously? And the link between eating disorders and autism.

123

Alistair Bailey @ab604.uk · 10/10/2024

bbc.co.uk

All in the Mind - Should we take teens more seriously? And the link between eating disorders and autism - BBC Sounds

Should we take teens more seriously? And the link between eating disorders and autism.

123

Alistair Bailey @ab604.uk · 08/10/2024

Hello @historicalsoton.bsky.social. We did a small bit of local history with an intern recently that may be of interest to you and your audience. Details in this post: bsky.app/profile/ab60...

120

Alistair Bailey @ab604.uk · 08/10/2024

2024 marks 50 years since construction began on Southampton's Itchen Bridge. Explore previously unseen photos from then and now curated by our Ignite intern & the UoS Library Digital Scholarship Team: ab604.github.io/itchen-bridge/ #UoS #HistoricSouthampton

282

Alistair Bailey @ab604.uk · 02/10/2024

Saw an Allogator on my way to work today #Pareidolia #badpuns

An fallen tree with an old branch sticking ou that looks like an alligator with it's mouth open

100

Reposted by Alistair Bailey

Leigh Dodds @ldodds.bsky.social · 01/10/2024

GDS / gov digital folk, I was looking for some research and reckons on why FAQ pages are a bad idea. I can only find this blog post, was there anything else? gds.blog.gov.uk/2013/07/25/f... (Also, why does gov.uk now have FAQ pages?)

gds.blog.gov.uk

FAQs: why we don’t have them

We are often asked to put content in Frequently Asked Question format (FAQs). They’re a popular convention on the web, but we don’t recommend them and here’s why: They’re too slow FAQs are convenient ...

895

Alistair Bailey @ab604.uk · 30/09/2024

Hello @maxroser.bsky.social and @scientificdiscovery.dev Hope you don't mind, but I made a bot to post the Our World in Data Daily insight on Bluesky. bsky.app/profile/owid...

110

Reposted by Alistair Bailey

Prof. Emily Nordmann @emilynordmann.bsky.social · 27/09/2024

This year we did an extended induction with a full week of study skills. First up "how to study" - all the quiet bits out loud, but based on the science of learning. I've given this for years but it's had an update re: note-taking and AI. OER slides at osf.io/bkynw #AcademicSky 🧵1/4

78220

Alistair Bailey @ab604.uk · 22/09/2024

I moved my website ab604.uk from Hugo Academic to Quarto. I wrote some notes about it and the customisations I made - including how to update my publications page using a spreadsheet - that might be useful to others here: ab604.uk/how

ab604.uk

How I made this website – ab604.uk

Moving from Hugo Academic to Quarto

041