iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Alec MacKinnon

Alec MacKinnon @alecmackinnon.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

Don't let the bumpy world get you down. Enjoy the tranquil sight of Coniston Water this evening #tranquil #sunset #lakedistrict

Lake at sundown. Across the water is the silhouette of mountain, the Old Man of Coniston. The Sun has gone down behind the mountain. The sky still glows yellow above the mountain, shading into light blue higher up. There are leafy branches of foreground trees at upper right and left. Two ducks head towards a clump of reeds at the left edge. The light of the sky is reflected in the rippled water.

Lake at sundown. Across the water at right is the silhouette of a mountain, the Old Man of Coniston, sloping down gradually to the left. The sky still glows yellow above the mountain, shading into blue higher up. The dark forms of the mountain and the trees along the far shoreline are reflected in the rippled water; below them the light of the sky.

031

Alec MacKinnon @alecmackinnon.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

Don't let the bumpy world get you down. Enjoy the tranquil sight of Coniston Water this evening #tranquil #sunset #lakedistrict

031

Reposted by Alec MacKinnon

pmamtraveller.bsky.social @pmamtraveller.bsky.social · 11/10/2026

Gustave Doré - Satan looking at the garden of Eden

841370

Reposted by Alec MacKinnon

Alec MacKinnon @alecmackinnon.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

A horror movie gang of hideous deformed potatoes. Feel free to give them names #horror

021

Alec MacKinnon @alecmackinnon.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

A horror movie gang of hideous deformed potatoes. Feel free to give them names #horror

021

Reposted by Alec MacKinnon

Chris Lintott @chrislintott.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

As expected, the Prime Minister's promise to sort out the mess of funding for Jodrell actually meant nothing - it seems the government would like it to be some sort of heritage theme park when you can go and see where we used to do science. 🔭

16232102

Reposted by Alec MacKinnon

Association for Scottish Literature @asls.org.uk · 07/10/2026

“Glasgow is a magnificent city,” said McAlpin. “Why do we hardly ever notice that?” “Because nobody imagines living here,” said Thaw […] “if a city hasn’t been used by an artist, not even the inhabitants live there imaginatively.” —Alasdair Gray, 𝘓𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘬 #Booksky 💙📚

32811

Alec MacKinnon @alecmackinnon.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

and there's Shipbuilding - what a song. But I think it was almost written for him so maybe it's not quite a cover youtu.be/Res3-YX4X8g?...

youtu.be

Robert Wyatt - Shipbuilding

YouTube video by bikkebooboo

000

Alec MacKinnon @alecmackinnon.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

also wonderful, yes - great choice! Also probably the only time Fred Frith appeared on Top of the Tops. But I really love that Chic cover

100

Reposted by Alec MacKinnon

Geoff Brumfiel @gbrumfiel.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

The IceCube neutrino detector has won the 2026 Nobel Prize in physics. The Trump administration has proposed slashing its budget in half in 2027.

392033712

Alec MacKinnon @alecmackinnon.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Beautiful. If I could click "like" more than once I would

120

Alec MacKinnon @alecmackinnon.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

I'm thinking this evening of good friends and colleagues in Brazil. Lula has his down sides but the alternative, to my mind, is much much worse. Fingers crossed

030

Alec MacKinnon @alecmackinnon.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Yes but ... I think, for "arresting", Trout Mask Replica more than gives it a run for its money, and from a place of profound strangeness

120

Alec MacKinnon @alecmackinnon.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

A - mostly - forgotten contemporary of Kepler, nicely recalled. Incidentally it's interesting to see how familiar the postdoc life must have looked then, wandering the continent trying to find a position, hoping your biggest supporters will work things out for you

010

Alec MacKinnon @alecmackinnon.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

They learn nothing from the past. They do not consider the future. There is only the present moment with the possibility of gain. This rupturing, of our relation with time, is their greatest offence against humanity

051

Alec MacKinnon @alecmackinnon.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

A scone and jam and coffee in an Emperor Frederick II mug from the gift shop of the Palazzo Reale in Palermo. Seems appropriate the morning after giving a talk about Michael Scot, Frederick's Court Astrologer

At left a blue side plate with a plain scone, sliced in two with margarine and blackcurrant jam on both hales. At right a mug with a reproduction on it of a medieval representation of Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II, seated on his throne, wearing a golden crown, red robes, royal blue stole, holding up a green leaf. Beside him is a falcon on its perch. He loved hunting with birds and wrote a pioneering, extremely learned book on falconry and the natural history of falcons

010

Alec MacKinnon @alecmackinnon.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

It's bad beyond the USA too. We in the UK seem quite close to giving power to Trump disciples when all the reasons this is a TERRIBLE idea should be plain for all to see

010

Reposted by Alec MacKinnon

Oblique Strategies @obliquestrategies.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Do something boring

197

Alec MacKinnon @alecmackinnon.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

It's a good word. Goes with "gales" in my recollection - fortunately not yesterday!

011

Alec MacKinnon @alecmackinnon.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

They'll repudiate ideas like this until they're in power. "I know nothing about Project 2025. I disagree with some of the things they're saying and some of the things they’re saying are absolutely ridiculous and abysmal" - Donald Trump, July 2024.

010

Alec MacKinnon @alecmackinnon.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

A beautiful, equinoctial morning in Linn Park, Glasgow this morning, Sun heading south, leaves beginning to fall. This poem, attached by @calligraphyoutside.bsky.social to a fence beside the path from the Snuff Mill Bridge, seemed to have sprung from the cusp between summer and autumn

Late summer morning light filtering through trees, still green and leafy but with lots of brown leaves now on the bank underneath them, to the right, and on the path at left

Poem by Emily Dickinson, 'As Imperceptibly as Grief', in beautiful handwriting on a laminated card, attached to a fence in a shady spot in Linn Park. At the top of the card we're told the Instagram and Blue sky accounts of @calligraphyoutside.bsky.social

111

Reposted by Alec MacKinnon

Charlotte Lydia Riley @lottelydia.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

literally thousands of jobs in higher education were cut *last year alone* and there's been almost no media coverage and no government action

8698221

Reposted by Alec MacKinnon

Christian Möstl @chrisoutofspace.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Amazing new reconstruction of sunspot number for the last ~1000 years by Saha et al. 2026: link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Sunspot number since the year 971, showing several long minima and the recent, more regular solar cycles

0148

Alec MacKinnon @alecmackinnon.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Help Parton save its church, final resting place of the great Physicist James Clerk Maxwell. Maybe the tale of my one and only visit will be encouraging (thread) www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding... #physics

justgiving.com

Help raise £70000 to Save Parton Kirk – JustGiving Crowdfunding

Iʼm raising money to Save Parton Kirk. Support this JustGiving Crowdfunding Page.

010

Reposted by Alec MacKinnon

Alec MacKinnon @alecmackinnon.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

A thread visiting James Clerk Maxwell's last resting place #jamesclerkmaxwell

001

Reposted by Alec MacKinnon

Institute of Physics @iop.org · 21/09/2026

What can a rainbow teach us about physics? In his 2025 IOP Isaac Newton Lecture, Sir Michael Berry HonFInstP explores centuries of discoveries, from Newton & Young to Airy, revealing unexpected connections between physics, mathematics & scientific thinking. Watch now: www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5yi...

youtube.com

Isaac Newton Lecture 2025: Professor Sir Michael Berry HonFInstP

YouTube video by Institute of Physics

051

Reposted by Alec MacKinnon

Alec MacKinnon @alecmackinnon.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

here's the cover of Don Melrose's book, Instabilities in Space and Laboratory Plasmas - a standard text for any of us studying the Sun's atmosphere or other astrophysical plasmas. The picture is of the Orion Nebula, north at the bottom strangely (is that because he's Australian? ha ha)

cover of 'Instablities in Space and Laboratory Plasmas', title in large font at the top, author's name (D B Melrose) at the bottom, black and white picture of the Orion Nebula in between

222

Reposted by Alec MacKinnon

RAS Library and Archives @astrolibrarian.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

An interesting space weather detective story drawing on historical records at @royalastrosoc.bsky.social @exeterunispeccoll.bsky.social and BT Group!

085

Alec MacKinnon @alecmackinnon.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Fantastic stuff. Jaw-dropping moments in every solo. Fire in the form of music

010

Reposted by Alec MacKinnon

Paul Halpern @phalpern.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Albert Einstein's connections to Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿: Einstein was inspired by work of Scottish physicist James Clerk Maxwell. Relativity has deep links with Maxwell's electromagnetism. In 1933, University of Glasgow awarded him an honorary degree and he spoke about general relativity. #physics #science

0111

Reposted by Alec MacKinnon

Paul Halpern @phalpern.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Statue of brilliant Scottish physicist James Clerk Maxwell on George Street in Edinburgh. It features his beloved Irish terrier Toby, with whom he used to discuss scientific ideas. Toby seems to have been a loyal friend and good listener 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇬🇧 edinburghnews.scotsman.com/whats-on/art... #Maxwell

1226

Alec MacKinnon @alecmackinnon.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

A thread visiting James Clerk Maxwell's last resting place #jamesclerkmaxwell

001

Alec MacKinnon @alecmackinnon.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

oh dear! It never occurred to me this might be messy. If I click on the top message myself that brings up the whole thread. Don't know if there's something I should have done differently. Anyway I'm glad you liked it!

100

Alec MacKinnon @alecmackinnon.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

we went home the longer way, by the Clyde coast. We stopped for something to eat in Seamill Hydro. Porpoises were swimming about just offshore. It rained before we got back to Glasow - quite a long day but very worthwhile. Time to go back

000

Alec MacKinnon @alecmackinnon.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

I'm overdue a return visit. I will not await another eruption of Eyjafjallajökull. In the meantime it is great to see the level of response to the appeal to save Parton church for the local community, heritage and science education www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding...

justgiving.com

Help raise £70000 to Save Parton Kirk – JustGiving Crowdfunding

Iʼm raising money to Save Parton Kirk. Support this JustGiving Crowdfunding Page.

110

Alec MacKinnon @alecmackinnon.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

It was a rather dull day, dry but cloudy (Scotland!). There are nicer photos than mine of the church and surroundings but here's a picture of the plaque on the wall of the kirkyard that states again how important Maxwell's work was for scientific understanding and for technology

plaque from the wall of Parton Church yard, commemorating "James Clerk Maxwell FRS, FRSE of Glenlair". It lists his positions: "Fellow of Trinity College Cambridge, Professor of Natural Philosophy at Aberdeen, Professor of Natural Philosophy at King's College London and first Cavendish Professor of Experimental Physics at Cambridge". Then, "His short life was rich in distinguished contributions to every branch of physical science - heat, light, mechanics. Above all, by unifying the theories of electricity and magnetism he established a sure foundation for modern Physics, Electrical Engineering and Astronomy and prepared the way for radio communication and television.

A good man, full of humour and wisdom. He lived in this area and is buried in the ruins of the old kirk in this curchyard."

100

Alec MacKinnon @alecmackinnon.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Hugh Hudson, Lyndsay Fletcher, Don and I travelled down to Parton and visited the church and graveyard. I drove. We signed the visitor book that was kept then in the village Post Office (is it still?), our names joining many others from Scotland, the rest of the UK and across the globe

100

Alec MacKinnon @alecmackinnon.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

We decided to make a wee pilgrimage with Don, to James Clerk Maxwell's grave in Parton. Any physicist would like to make this visit but just to underline its appropriateness, here are Maxwell's equations early on in Melrose's book

page 10 of Instabilities in Space and Laboratory Plasmas, Maxwell's equations at the top and their Fourier-Laplace transformed form underneath

100

Alec MacKinnon @alecmackinnon.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

In 2010 Glasgow hosted the National Astronomy Meeting, attended by about 2000 astronomers from the UK and beyond. The meeting coincided with disruption to air traffic due to the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajökull. Don was one of the participants who got stuck in Glasgow for a couple of extra days

100

Alec MacKinnon @alecmackinnon.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

222

Reposted by Alec MacKinnon

Colette Delawalla, PhD @cdelawalla.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

OH FOR THE LOVE OF GOD. Help us get this dumbass fired HERE: secure.actblue.com/donate/scien... youtu.be/PIwWsHy9RfE?...

youtu.be

Bessent: “Robert Oppenheimer was not a physicist...”

YouTube video by American Bridge 21st Century

3220056

Reposted by Alec MacKinnon

Dr Anna Clark @drannaclark.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

The Beethoven of Mathematics: Leonhard Euler, Swiss polymath, died #OTD 1783 , acknowledged by André Weil as attaining during his lifetime “undisputed leadership in all branches of mathematics, pure & applied”. Pastel portrait by Jakob Handmann, 1753 Kunstmuseum, Basel

58620

Alec MacKinnon @alecmackinnon.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Universities only function because most staff feel they're involved in something important, that they have a personal investment in. They regularly go over and above their contracted hours to make sure things keep working; not at all the 'dreaming spires' stereotype

030