iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Rohan Williams @briefutopia.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

it's a brilliant series and most of it is YouTube

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Hall Lab @halllab.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

This is great to hear - and it was fun contributing to this piece with @whelanfj.bsky.social - who did all the actual hard work!!

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Rohan Williams @briefutopia.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

beautiful and very clear evening overlooking the Chao Phraya #bangkok

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Ketan Joshi @ketanjoshi.co · 03/06/2026

I will obviously do a proper thread later of the big new UN report into AI environmental impacts but here is the link if anyone wants to have a look unu.edu/inweh/collec...

unu.edu

The Environmental Cost of Artificial Intelligence: Carbon, Water, and Land Footprints

AI’s rapid growth drives huge energy, water, and land use, raising environmental and equity challenges across its global infrastructure.

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Jo Wolff @jowolff.bsky.social · 03/06/2026

Very pleased to see my 'What could a human right to participate in science be?' in Royal Society Open Science (open access) This paper certainly would not exist had it not been for the gentle persuasion and strong support of @michelamassimi.bsky.social royalsocietypublishing.org/rsos/article...

royalsocietypublishing.org

What could a human right to participate in science be?

Abstract. At first sight, the idea of a human right to participate in science may seem absurd. Many assume science must be the preserve only of those with

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Rohan Williams @briefutopia.bsky.social · 30/04/2026

yeah...true believers are like that

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Dave Baltrus 🦦 @surtlab.bsky.social · 30/04/2026

Very complicated individual…but did change the course of genomics and synthetic biology through sheer force of will

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Rohan Williams @briefutopia.bsky.social · 20/03/2026

random photos of Saint Peters NSW before redevelopment around Appleby and Hutchison..this must be at Tortuga Studios ?...part 1/n #stpeters2044

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🦇Harper 🔜 ANE 🦇 @2manystripes.bsky.social · 13/02/2026

we live in the ruins of a greater civilization

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Meredith Rawls @merrdiff.bsky.social · 05/02/2026

Really can't make this stuff up I did not have a fast-tracked FCC application for an actual megaconstellation (1 million satellites) justified as "taking the first step towards becoming a Kardashev Il-level civilization" on my 2026 bingo card What are we doing friends

Federal Communications Commission
45 L Street NE
Washington, DC 20554
News Media Information 202-418-0500
Internet: www.fcc.gov
DA 26-113
Released: February 4, 2026
SPACE BUREAU ACCEPTS FOR FILING
SPACEX'S APPLICATION FOR ORBITAL DATA CENTERS
ICFS File No. SAT-LOA-20260108-00016
Comments/Petitions Due: March 6, 2026
Response to Comments/Oppositions to Petition Due: March 16, 2026
Replies to Responses/Oppositions Due: March 23, 2026
By this Public Notice, the Space Bureau (Bureau) accepts for filing and seeks comment on an application by Space Exploration Holdings, LLC (SpaceX) for a new non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) system of up to one million satellites. This satellite system will represent the "first step towards becoming a Kardashev Il-level civilization - one that can harness the Sun's full power," according to SpaceX.
On January 30, 2026, SpaceX filed an application seeking authority to launch and operate a new
NGSO satellite system of up to one million satellites to operate as the "Space Orbital Data Center system" (System). The System will operate at altitudes ranging from 500 km to 2,000 km and in 30 degree and sun-synchronous orbit inclinations within orbital shells spanning up to 50 km each. The proposed satellites will use high-bandwidth optical inter-satellite links and conduct telemetry, tracking, and command (TT&C) operations.* The Bureau seeks comment on the application and the associated requests for waiver.

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Royal Society of Biology @rsb.org.uk · 19/01/2026

Despite more than half the world living in urban areas, little is known about the soil microbes that support cities’ precious and precarious green spaces. Could they create healthier cities? Read the article in the latest issue of The Biologist: thebiologist.rsb.org.uk/biologist-fe...

A green park with trees in front of skyscrapers

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Phil Hugenholtz @xrefugee13.bsky.social · 17/01/2026

This is such a shock. Such a smart and generous guy gone too soon.

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Matt Olm @mattolm.bsky.social · 16/01/2026

I've long respected Peer Bork's work as top- tier in the field and always hoped to get to chat with him at a conference someday. Very sad to see this.

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Rohan Williams @briefutopia.bsky.social · 17/01/2026

sorry to hear this sad news...I met Peer when he joined the SCELSE SAB, and enjoyed some very good discussions with him. His advice, at both organisational and individual level, was invaluable

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Ketan Joshi @ketanjoshi.co · 08/01/2026

You can use fossil gas permitting documents to help track data centre development in the US. This is maybe a lil clue that they're not all running on beautiful clean energy www.404media.co/researchers-... @404media.co

404media.co

Researchers Are Hunting America for Hidden Datacenters

The nonprofit research group Epoch AI is tracking the physical imprint of the technology that’s changing the world.

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Rohan Williams @briefutopia.bsky.social · 08/01/2026

www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3US... despatches from a bygone world...I had a brilliant and inspired science teacher (Glen McCaffrey) who showed us this short film series in Year 8...small things that can be hugely influential on life's trajectory

youtube.com

The Search for Solutions, Trial & Error - Human-Powered Record & More (1979) | 16mm Film Scan

YouTube video by 16mm Time Machine

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Rohan Williams @briefutopia.bsky.social · 05/01/2026

there is a very nice dim sum place in that complex as I recall....

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Joe Calhoun @jbc3.bsky.social · 31/12/2025

The SCALE of destruction is really hard to fathom. This, obviously, is just one example. It will take a *generation* or more to recover and much will be lost irrevocably. We are watching the burning of the Library of Alexandria.

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Rohan Williams @briefutopia.bsky.social · 29/12/2025

www.timeout.com/singapore/ne... very sorry to see this excellent restaurant close its doors...particularly for weekend dim sum. With Kinokuniya on the floor below, it made for a near-perfect Saturday or Sunday...

timeout.com

East Ocean Teochew Restaurant at Orchard to close on December 28 after more than three decades

The management cites the lack of successors as the reason for this closure.

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Rohan Williams @briefutopia.bsky.social · 22/12/2025

Tanjong Pagar docks, looking south from the SAM cafe. On the right you can see the eastern end of Sentosa, and in the between the gantry cranes, either the western end of Batam or Lumba Besar or possibly Bulan. An unusually clear day for the parts...

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Rohan Williams @briefutopia.bsky.social · 13/12/2025

www.nature.com/articles/d41... an excellent piece by @rochmyaningsih.bsky.social in @nature.com this week about the massive impact of the (under- and mis-reported) recent SEA tropical cyclones...'the world has mostly overlooked this emergency'

nature.com

The Indian Ocean disaster is a climate tragedy — and needs more attention

A region unused to tropical cyclones has had three in a week. The world needs to ask why this happened, not look away.

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Rohan Williams @briefutopia.bsky.social · 01/12/2025

thanks @annizlab.bsky.social for hosting and thanks Klas for a great talk and a very stimulating visit to @scelse.bsky.social !

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Rohan Williams @briefutopia.bsky.social · 30/10/2025

both on YouTube and well worth a look

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Rohan Williams @briefutopia.bsky.social · 30/10/2025

but to answer your question..TTSS 2011 has to my mind, a somewhat manufactured feel. Although there are some brilliant performances...particularly Jim P and Ricky

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Rohan Williams @briefutopia.bsky.social · 30/10/2025

certainly a good flick...but for what its worth, I prefer the TV version with Alec Guinness, as well as his counterpart series of Smiley's People

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Rohan Williams @briefutopia.bsky.social · 23/10/2025

Carl Gibson-Hill, as seen at the National Library of Singapore

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derek guy @dieworkwear.bsky.social · 20/10/2025

most people don't want politics that hurt other people. we just want a long overcoat like david bowie and affordable housing

David Bowie in Japan. He's waling up some steps while wearing a long black coat and smoking a cigarette.

David Bowie in Japan. He's standing in front of a train while wearing a long light-colored coat.

David Bowie in Japan. He's riding a subway car while wearing a long dark-colored coat.

David Bowie in Japan. He's walking away from a train while wearing a long black coat, gray checked scarf, charcoal trousers, and black shoes.

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Emanuel Maiberg @emanuelmaiberg.bsky.social · 17/10/2025

wikipedia's data shows that AI is siphoning traffic away from the site, which is a danger to its sustainability. ironically Wikipedia is more important than ever to users who want reliable information instead of slop, and to AI companies that need it for training data www.404media.co/wikipedia-sa...

404media.co

Wikipedia Says AI Is Causing a Dangerous Decline in Human Visitors

“With fewer visits to Wikipedia, fewer volunteers may grow and enrich the content, and fewer individual donors may support this work.”

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Will Anderson @willaanderson.bsky.social · 16/10/2025

And here is a link to the wildlabs.net post about the microgrant. wildlabs.net/funding-oppo...

wildlabs.net

NEW! eDNA Collaborative 2025 Microgrant | WILDLABS

Funding for low-cost DIY Fluorometers by DIYNAFLUOR

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opal nova @opalnova.bsky.social · 16/10/2025

will we take climate change seriously now?

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Darren Dahly @statsepi.bsky.social · 12/10/2025

I read and write, I explore and I question, I design and script and analyse, I interpret and communicate. I do this to train my mind in the hopes of one day generating new knowledge. New knowledge that might even be useful, and that no algorithm can yet be trained on.

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Rohan Williams @briefutopia.bsky.social · 08/10/2025

arxiv.org/abs/2510.05195 a wonderful outreach book just posted on on #arXiv by the African Network of Women in Astronomy (AfNWA). These personal narratives are hugely important for young people to see their way forward, esp. w/o the presence of immediate role models.

arxiv.org

Inspiring stories from women in astronomy in Africa

In preparation for the International Astronomical Union (IAU) General Assembly (GA) 2024, the first GA held in Africa, the African Network of Women in Astronomy (AfNWA) embarked on a visionary project...

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Rohan Williams @briefutopia.bsky.social · 18/09/2025

"There was a glow in the sky as if great furnace doors were opened." Arthur Machen, The Hill of Dreams (1907)

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Arcadia Science @arcadiascience.com · 16/09/2025

Introducing AutoOpenRaman, an automated, inexpensive microscope setup for Raman spectroscopy! We recapitulated many features of expensive commercial systems using economical hardware and open-source software 🧵 [1/8] research.arcadiascience.com/pub/resource...

research.arcadiascience.com

AutoOpenRaman: Low-cost, automated Raman spectroscopy

We developed AutoOpenRaman, an automated, inexpensive microscope for Raman spectroscopy. We recapitulated many features of expensive commercial Raman spectroscopy systems using economical hardware and...

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Rohan Williams @briefutopia.bsky.social · 19/08/2025

aka a 'bullshit artist'...to evoke an old Australian phrase...

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Rohan Williams @briefutopia.bsky.social · 19/08/2025

really sorry to see the #theprojector #singapore shutting down...great films, spaces and vibes...the pop-up at Riverside Point was my favourite. Blade Runner at the Pasir Panjang Power Station was unforgettable. Thanks to everyone involved, esp. the volunteers, and good luck for future ventures

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Rohan Williams @briefutopia.bsky.social · 18/08/2025

Sunday afternoon walk at Marina Coastal Park #Singapore

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Rohan Williams @briefutopia.bsky.social · 11/08/2025

wonderfully put...even in translation you get that same feeling from reading Thomas Mann, Alejo Carpentier or Hermann Hesse

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Lisa Onaga @lisaonaga.bsky.social · 09/08/2025

Today marks the 80th anniversary of the A-bombing of Nagasaki. In this podcast, Nagasaki mayor Shiro Suzuki discusses the importance of pursuing a culture of peace: "We have to move forward, even if it is one little step" "to realize a world without nuclear weapons" open.substack.com/pub/annelise...

open.substack.com

Nagasaki Mayor Shiro Suzuki

On the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombing, Nagasaki Mayor Shiro Suzuki calls on the world to remember—and act.

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Rohan Williams @briefutopia.bsky.social · 31/07/2025

and beyond the main text and display items, it is easy to forget how much work is required to now get a paper to submission. Collating, checking, formatting, re-checking the Supplementary material, public database submissions for raw data and the overall onerous processes associated with submission

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Rohan Williams @briefutopia.bsky.social · 31/07/2025

I found developing the skill (and it took me a long time) of chipping away at the text at random locations in short chucks is well worth it

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