iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

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eolaí the artist @eolai.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

An Irish #painting "To The Beach" came as much from a love of places where people could be avoided, because people, they're the worst. Specifically this is that part of south Mayo protected by Killary harbour, the ocean and the mountains, as you look across to north Connemara. #SpéirGhorm #ArtYear

Landscape format in loose painterly acrylics on canvas panel. By a patch of gravel in the foreground, is an open gateway between concrete posts in a dry stone wall through which we see a view down into a green field, following a stone track, with grass down the middle, to a five-bar gate to another field of brighter green surrounded by stone walls. Beyond it lower down is the yellow of the beach. Past that a maroon hill slopes down from the left and the glassy blue-grey ocean is on the right with a couple of dark long slim islets of maroon. Along the horizon is a low ridge of mid-blue hills with hints of beach edging in a few places, and behind it are gentle mountains of paler blue-lilac. Sky is loose and wild mixtures of greys with a few touches of orange and of green. Photo was taken before my signature was added.

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Adam Keiper @adamkeiper.com · 30/09/2026

just had fun explaining this to my 7-year-old

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tom t @bankphysics.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Thanks to @audiodrama.bsky.social for the shoutout. They recommend some great shows, so we're really honoured!

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eolaí the artist @eolai.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

A #painting from everyday Ireland, "Sheep, Stone Wall II". If you see sheep every day, that is. Like I used to, when I had a little dog and we'd walk for miles stopping every so often to let the sheep look at us as we'd talk about the countryside and how yellow it all seemed. #SpeirGhorm #ArtYear

Square canvas in acrylics. Against a background of all golden yellow in varying painterly shades, some more orange, are four sheep. They are white with navy, almost black, heads, legs and shadows underneath. No eyes can be made out but their ears project out sideways. All are standing except the nearest which is sitting facing towards the viewer. The wool is lilac in the middle with touches of pink as it transitions from the white on top in the sun to navy in shadow and when dark wool. Wool color edges are not blended but hard in a stylised fashion. Behind them in the mid-distance is a low dry-stone wall of navy and white stones, with seven navy fence posts rising at intervals from it. In the foreground are some darker low tufts of a green created by a dark blue washed over with yellow. Photo taken before my signature was added.

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tom t @bankphysics.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

It's probably obvious, but I hadn't known that the landscaped median of Park Avenue in #Manhattan was the site of an 1800s railroad. I think some of it still there - but now underground up as far as 125th st. This pic from 1893 shows it as it was back then... #NYC

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T.E. Bean @tebean.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

HERE BE POSTCARDS! Surely you want one? Perhaps even need one? Might possession of an 𝙄𝙉𝙁𝙄𝙉𝙄𝙏𝙀 𝙉𝙄𝙂𝙃𝙏 𝙀𝙔𝙀𝙎 postcard be a biological imperative, for you are but an organism responding to the ancient call of the rectangle? A mammal with a profound and inexplicable craving for cardboard?

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tom t @bankphysics.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Going out to walk the dog once the rain stops* Why not take along a riveting tale Classic #ScienceFiction #SciFi Podcast, A Brilliant Void? You could travel to NYC in 1858 and follow a young man on a dark and wonderful journey into the microscopic... stg-productions.simplecast.com/episodes/the...

stg-productions.simplecast.com

The Diamond Lens, A Brilliant Void | A Brilliant Void

Adapted from the short story by Fitz-James O'Brien. A young man becomes obsessed with the wonderful world he finds while looking through a microscope. Classic Irish Science Fiction.

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Irish Literary Times @irishlittimes.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

And now for some good news: "Visits to public libraries around Ireland have increased by two million in the last two years. New figures show that almost 16 million visits were made to Ireland's libraries in 2025, compared with nearly 14 million in 2023." www.rte.ie/news/ireland...

rte.ie

Public library visits increased by two million nationwide

Visits to public libraries around Ireland have increased by two million in the last two years, new figures show as National Public Libraries Open Day takes place nationwide.

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tom t @bankphysics.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

So this is my question: we know Leeuwenhoek as the father of microscopy, and he is sometimes called the father of microbiology ... but is it possible he was also a key figure in art history? 🧪

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tom t @bankphysics.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

And what is intriguing about this is that we know Vermeer had a collection of optical instruments, including high quality lenses - and many have speculated that he used these lenses in his art. Including David Hockney: www.physicsresourcebank.com/post/david-h...

physicsresourcebank.com

David Hockney, and My Favourite LC Physics Question....

Reposting this from years ago to mark the passing of David Hockney. t must be either evidence of Stockholm Syndrome or excessive nerdiness that I have a list in my head of my favourite LC Physics ques...

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tom t @bankphysics.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

This is a set up Hockney did to show how clear an image could have been created by artists of Vermeer's generation if they had good lenses (and we know Vermeer had good lenses)... He argues that the realism of Renaissance painting is due to the use of lenses. 🧪

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tom t @bankphysics.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

I was prompted into this search by Leeuwenhoek's improbable appearance in #NYC in 1858 - playing a central role in The Diamond Lens, where his advice sends a young man on a dark and wonderful path ... stg-productions.simplecast.com

stg-productions.simplecast.com

A Brilliant Void

Audio drama - beginning with three classic Irish Science Fiction stories adapted from A Brilliant Void, an anthology published by Tramp Press, bringing these stories to life with great actors, expert...

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tom t @bankphysics.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

He opened a drapers shop in Delft in the 1650s and did well in business. Drapers then would use a magnifying glass to examine the quality of a cloth, but he was dissatisfied with this, and this led to him developing an entirely new process for making better lenses, and eventually microscopes.🧪

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tom t @bankphysics.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Also living in Delft at the time was the painter Vermeer. The two were contemporaries and both prominent citizens in a small town. And we know that they knew each other because Leeuwenhoek was an executor for Vermeer's will - which suggests to me they were far more than acquaintances.... 🧪

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tom t @bankphysics.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

In particular, he asserted that the moving objects he saw through his microscopes must be alive - and thus the whole world of microbiology was born. Enough for any one man. But I was intrigued by a sidenote in his life story...

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tom t @bankphysics.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Beyond this, many believe that Vermeer's painting, the Geographer, is actually of Leeuwenhoek. It's hard to imagine that the two men would have met without Leeuwenhoek explaining to his friend how he could use lenses to make his work better - and hard to image that Vermeer wouldn't listen. 🧪

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tom t @bankphysics.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Among the arguments that Hockney makes is the fact that Vermeer repeatedly painted people beside brightly lit windows. Possibly an artistic choice, of course - but also possibly a way of creating a bright enough image on a canvas that he could paint over. 🧪

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tom t @bankphysics.bsky.social · 08/02/2025

How cool is this? An effect that can be seen some data projectors - mainly those built by Epson, as far as I can tell - and it combines a wonderful demonstration of polarisation with colour mixing. Shown here with a polarising filter, but it will work with many sunglasses....🧪

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tom t @bankphysics.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

stg-productions.simplecast.com

A Brilliant Void

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tom t @bankphysics.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

I searched for Leeuwenhoek online, mainly as a way of figuring out how to spell his name. But it brought me down a rabbit hole. What an intriguing story, beginning with the fact that he was a draper by trade and how that led to the discovery of microscopic organisms... and possibly much more. 🧪

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tom t @bankphysics.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

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tom t @bankphysics.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Looking for something to listen to on the the way home? Great stories, well told - where extraordinary things happen in extraordinary ways. Classic Irish Sci Fi audio drama... stg-productions.simplecast.com

stg-productions.simplecast.com

A Brilliant Void

Audio drama - beginning with three classic Irish Science Fiction stories adapted from A Brilliant Void, an anthology published by Tramp Press.

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tom t @bankphysics.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

🧪The 3rd and final episode of our series of Classic Irish Science Fiction, Lady Clanbevan's Baby is out now. Written at a time (1915) when radioactivity was an exciting new thing, full of energy, so surely the more you got of it the better... #ScienceFiction #SciFi stg-productions.simplecast.com

stg-productions.simplecast.com

A Brilliant Void

Audio drama - beginning with three classic Irish Science Fiction stories adapted from A Brilliant Void, an anthology published by Tramp Press.

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tom t @bankphysics.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

🧪A reminder that the stories in the Brilliant Void podcast all came from this great anthology from @tramppress.bsky.social - expertly edited by @jfennellauthor.bsky.social A really great read. Wonderful stories, wonderfully told. tramppress.com/product/a-br...

tramppress.com

A Brilliant Void

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tom t @bankphysics.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Cast and director, during the recording of Lady Clanbevan's baby... Classic Irish #ScienceFiction #Sci-Fi audio drama from 1915, when radioactivity was new and exciting... stg-productions.simplecast.com

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tom t @bankphysics.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

IN 1958, Ford had a concept car, the Nucleon, that would run on nuclear fusion. As you can probably guess, it never went into production

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ΜΑΝΟΣ ΤΡΑΧΙΑΣ™ @trahias.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Gerard Byrne (Irish Artist, born 1958) "We're All In This Together", 2020. Oil on Canvas, 75 × 50 cm. Private Collection. #art #painting #artist #BlueSkyArt

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tom t @bankphysics.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

So I did a little digging and it turns out they were quite common: the 'electric victoria' mentioned probably looked like the photo here. 'Victoria coaches' were open with a retractable hood. (so electric convertibles were already a thing!) stg-productions.simplecast.com/episodes/lad...

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tom t @bankphysics.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

why classic sci-fi still matters: '...the science fiction of the past gives us an insight into how our ancestors imagined their future: it tells us what they hoped for, what they were afraid of, and what they considered inevitable.' (from @jfennellauthor.bsky.social) stg-productions.simplecast.com

stg-productions.simplecast.com

A Brilliant Void

Audio drama - beginning with three classic Irish Science Fiction stories adapted from A Brilliant Void, an anthology published by Tramp Press. The project aims to reintroduce listeners to a largely fo...

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tom t @bankphysics.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

stg-productions.simplecast.com

A Brilliant Void

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tom t @bankphysics.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

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Labubus of Borg @noodledealer.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Sci-fi by an Irish writer from 1858 so if you like weird speculative fiction, well performed podcasts, old stories or especially microscopes, listen to this.

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Reposted by tom t

tom t @bankphysics.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

🧪A story from 1915, when radioactivity was new and exciting, and when it seemed obvious that exposure to such a powerful source of energy must be good for you... www.physicsresourcebank.com/post/back-wh...

physicsresourcebank.com

Back when radioactivity was new and exciting...

The final episode of our podcast, Lady Clanbevan's Baby, is out now. You can find it here (or wherever you get your podcasts): A Brilliant VoidI found this story fascinating. Written in 1915, it featu...

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tom t @bankphysics.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

In Lady Clanbevan's Baby, a scientist had mis-used his expertise with radioactivity in his youth, and had lived to regret it. 🧪 Listen here or, on your usual podcast platforms. Search for A Brilliant Void ... stg-productions.simplecast.com

stg-productions.simplecast.com

A Brilliant Void

Audio drama - beginning with three classic Irish Science Fiction stories adapted from A Brilliant Void, an anthology published by Tramp Press.

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