iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Bastian Blankenburg @databu.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

I really love @signal.org , but why does every 2nd desktop app upgrade (or so I feel) require re-syncing of the complete message history? That is really annoying and makes me delay upgrades a lot, which is not good security-wise. cc @meredithmeredith.bsky.social

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Seth Cotlar @sethcotlar.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

This term I’m teaching in Strasbourg and staying at a Chateau in which Nazis housed officers during the occupation. When the AfD won in Saxony-Anhalt I thought “that’s bad, but they’re not going to invade Strasbourg any time soon.” Now this.

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Seth Cotlar @sethcotlar.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Can confirm. This, for example, was at the top of my “for you” feed when I logged in to find an old post the other day.

Adolf Hitler • @Mein_Fuhrer__
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8:36 AM • 10/1/26 • 458K Views

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Auschwitz Memorial @auschwitzmemorial.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

3 October 1899 | A Polish Jew, Chaim Lin, was born in Serock. A capmaker. In #Auschwitz from 24 October 1941. No. 21971 He perished in the camp on 1 November 1941. --- Online lesson about Jewish prisoners at KL Auschwitz: lekcja.auschwitz.org/29_zydzi_en

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Bastian Blankenburg @databu.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Say hi please if you get the chance :)

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Martin Bourne 🏳️‍🌈 @astromartin.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Today is the last evening of what has been one of my favourite conferences! It was an absolute privilege and honour to have been asked to be a part of the Scientific Organising Committee for what has been the first international astronomical conference in the East African Community! #astro

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Bastian Blankenburg @databu.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

My friend co-organised this, so you probably met her (Shirley).. I’m delighted to find posts about it here on the astronomy feed!

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Bastian Blankenburg @databu.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Light pollution reduces contrast and therefore limits deep sky imaging. Narrowband or quad band filters can help. But seeing refers to atmospheric turbulence and is independent of LP. Try measuring it. Shooting later/in the early morning, or from a different location might help.

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Lisa Grossman @astrolisa.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

In reporting this, I learned that Russia launched a big space mirror in the 90s. Retrospective pieces c. 2015 were like "what a crazy, supervillain-y idea!" Now the idea is back, being taken seriously, and shining light (sorry) on the shortcomings of space law. 🔭🧪 www.sciencenews.org/article/refl...

sciencenews.org

Big space mirrors could bring Earth on-demand light — and upend our night sky

A space satellite that would offer light on demand has astronomers asking: Who controls the night sky?

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Tyler Nordgren @spaceart.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

Photographers, do you have a photo that though it came out great you wish you hadn’t taken for some reason? Here’s mine: Aug12 total solar eclipse in Greenland. Totality was brief and I wound up spending too long taking it. My memories are more of the camera than the scene. #photography #astro #art

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Bastian Blankenburg @databu.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

I get what you mean, but it absolutely is a STUNNING photo! Those glowing icebergs… thank you for taking and sharing it!

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Quinn Glabicki @quinnglabicki.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

Is That a Solar Farm, or a Train Track? In One Swiss Town, It’s Both. A pilot program placing solar panels between the rails has proven successful enough that the idea is spreading to Italy, France and Korea. Latest: www.nytimes.com/2026/08/28/c...

nytimes.com

Sun-Ways Is Testing Out Train Track Solar Farms

A pilot program placing solar panels between the rails has proven successful enough that the idea is spreading to Italy, France and Korea.

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Bastian Blankenburg @databu.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

Some first-light fun with my new Touptek AE676C and its included fisheye lens and IR (>850nm) pass filter: the Milky Way passing overhead, before it's completely eliminated by the full Moon rising over the trees. #astrophotography

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Bastian Blankenburg @databu.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

This M13 + NGC 6207 #astrophoto was supposed to be just a test shot for an adaptive deconvolution tool I’ve been vibe-coding. The Moon was up so I didn’t expect too much. Came out pretty neat though, I find.

An astrophoto of globular cluster M13 in the lower left, and tiny galaxy NGC 6207 on the top right. Colourful stars of different sizes are sprinkled across the image.

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Bastian Blankenburg @databu.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

Hotel prices in Luxor are through the roof for the 2 surrounding nights. But there are other towns on the path of totality along the Nile…

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Bastian Blankenburg @databu.bsky.social · 08/08/2026

That sounds weird. Which model? Are you using someone else’s initial prompt by any chance?

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Astronomy Picture of the Day 🪐 @apod.shinyakato.dev · 03/08/2026

🔭 Vaporizing Meteor Photobombs the Lacerta Nebula Image Credit & Copyright: Tom Burnett ap260803

A dark starfield has a faint red nebula near
the center. A bright streak crosses the image
horizontally from the lower left, filled with faint
evaporating wisps in many colors.
Please see the explanation for more detailed information.

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Yvette Cendes @whereisyvette.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

To be clear- this is catastrophic for radio astronomy, not just in the UK. If you shut down a facility like this not only do we use access to the facility, dozens (hundreds?) of jobs are gone and with it expertise that never comes back. Please write to your MP if you’re in the UK! 🔭🧪🎢

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Leila Belkora PhD, astrophysics @leilabelkora.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

A comment on the “infinite monkey theorem” (monkeys typing Shakespeare, eventually)—only it’s the 19th C astronomy writer Garrett P. Serviss relating Kepler’s account of the improbability of a random well-dressed salad. I love this story and Kepler’s wife’s wit. #histsci 🧪🔭

The reader will observe a little circle in the map, and near it the figures 1604. This indicates the spot where one of the most famous temporary stars on record appeared in the year 1604. At first it was far brighter than any other star in the heavens; but it quickly faded, and in a little over a year disappeared. It is particularly interesting, because Kepler—the quaintest, and not far from the greatest, figure in astronomical history—wrote a curious book about it. Some of the philosophers of the day argued that the sudden outburst of the wonderful star was caused by the chance meeting of atoms. Kepler’s reply was characteristic, as well as amusing:

I will tell those disputants, my opponents, not my own opinion, but my wife’s. Yesterday, when I was weary with writing, my mind being quite dusty with considering these atoms, I was called to supper, and a salad I had asked for was set before me. “It seems, then, said I, aloud, “that if pewter dishes, leaves of lettuce, grains of salt, drops of water, vinegar, and oil, and slices of egg, had been flying about in the air from all eternity, it might happen at last by chance that there would come a salad.” “Yes,” says my wife, “but not so nice and well-dressed as this of mine is.”

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AstroBin @astrobin.com · 26/07/2026

AstroBin's Image of the Day: "Blazing Meteor Streaks Across Mount Kawagarbo" by 四点 and Herculescyh www.astrobin.com/fcs88o/ #astrophotography

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Patrick Breitenbach @patrickbreitenbach.de · 26/07/2026

Remember: Karin Prien vor ein paar Monaten über „Demokratie leben“: „Vielfalt sehe ich nicht als staatliches Förderziel“.

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Hen Mazzig @henmazzig.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

It took less than 48 hours for Jews to be attacked in NYC after Mayor Mamdani's remarks on arresting Netanyahu, an empty campaign promise. Why is it that when we warn about attacks, people say we are "playing victim", but as soon as we are victims, they simply ignore us?

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Bastian Blankenburg @databu.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

Thank you. Also here in Kenya, light pollution forever spreading. On my way home from the dark site, whihc is Olorgesailie Prehistoric site, I stopped over at a place just off Ngong Hills. There's a new Kenya Power substation down in the Rift Valley floor, and it's ridiculously lit up at night.

Kimuka substation at dusk as seen from the top of the Rift Valley Escarpment near Ngong Hills, Kenya, 1km away. The land is already quite dark, but the substation is clearly visible because of its over-the-top lights, creating a fully white "blown out" stripe and lens reflections in the photo.

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Bastian Blankenburg @databu.bsky.social · 19/07/2026

I went to my closest dark site last night mainly for visual observation, but put my old Olympus Pen E-PL5 with Lumix 20mm lens on a simple TS EQ2.5 tracking mount to shoot this #astrophoto of the central Milky Way in the meantime. More info in alt text.

The central Milky Way from Scorpius on the lower left through Sagittarius in the centre to Serpens on the top right. The dark horse nebula is just right of the centre, “upside down”.

About 2.5 hours of 10-second exposures. Stacked and processed in Siril, Graxpert, Gimp.

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Protik Islam-Jakobsson @protik.bsky.social · 12/07/2026

"British historians write almost as if Britain had introduced Negro slavery solely for the satisfaction of abolishing it." — Eric Williams, historian and first Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago

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ex-Lethality Jane @lethalityjane.bsky.social · 12/07/2026

You could get mad about dead senator discourse *or* you could enjoy this video of sea lions who have retaken an island with a decommissioned lighthouse off the coast of Oregon and now use the staircase as a giant slide.

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Bastian Blankenburg @databu.bsky.social · 12/07/2026

Have to ask nowadays: is there sound evidence that this video is genuine and not AI-generated?

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Prof. Stefan Rahmstorf @rahmstorf.bsky.social · 12/07/2026

So schön kann ein Solardach sein: Bahnhof Rotterdam, wo im Jahr 2017 30.000 Solarzellen installiert wurden.

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Bijan Moini @bijanmoini.de · 11/07/2026

Künftig müssen sich Polizist*innen in Frankreich nicht mehr dafür rechtfertigen, wenn sie auf Menschen schießen; sondern die Getroffenen müssen beweisen, dass es zu Unrecht geschah. Das ist so schon wahnsinnig. Und erst recht, wenn man sich vorstellt, wer in Frankreich bald regieren könnte.

tagesschau.de

Neues Gesetz in Frankreich macht Schüsse von Polizisten zu Notwehr

Schüsse aus Polizeiwaffen gelten in Frankreich künftig als Notwehr. Opfer müssen beweisen, dass der Beamte die Waffe regelwidrig benutzt hat. Kritiker sind entsetzt und fürchten Straflosigkeit. Von Ju...

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Jehuda יהודה @jehuda.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

Das ist ja noch viel schlimmer und enthält ganz offen Antisemitismus und ist durch und durch faschistisch. Ich wusste nicht, dass die Studenten der HU so weit rechts stehen. Erschreckend.

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Tim Anderson @timothya1956.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

Centaurus A and Messier 83, imaged from Brisbane Queensland using a Seestar S50. Approximately 180 20-second exposures on each #astrophotography

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Bastian Blankenburg @databu.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

Nice! Two of my favourites, but I didn’t get to image or even view them much because it’s been all cloudy this year 🙄

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Patrick De Klotz @patdeklotz.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

THE US HAVING A WHITES-ONLY REFUGEE POLICY SHOULD BE A MUCH BIGGER STORY

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Jen Rubin @jenrubin.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

Norway and England should have to play the game on an air craft carrier in North Sea

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Men in Blazers Media Network @meninblazers.bsky.social · 05/07/2026

Cape Verde’s World Cup heroes have landed back home, greeted by saluting airport staff and hundreds of fans 🇨🇻 Today is also the 51st anniversary of the country’s independence. Have a day, Cape Verde 💙

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Ulf Buermeyer @buermeyer.de · 04/07/2026

Demokratie setzt voraus, dass die Menschen ihren (!) Behörden auf die Finger schauen können. Bitte unterschreibt die Petition, damit es auch morgen noch Informationsfreiheit gibt und Behörden halbwegs transparent arbeiten.

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Jordan Maples @maples-astro.bsky.social · 04/07/2026

I don't remember how I came across the coordinates for Le Gentil 3, but I'm glad I did. Idk much about it but it's a cool bit of dark nebula with a super dense star field. I'm not sure if I'm done editing it or if I want to keep trying processing it. Thoughts? #astrophotography #photography

The center of the frame is dominated by a dark nebula, whose filaments stretch largely across the screen. The dark cuts through a very dense star field whose stars have an overall redish hue to them. Three stars with blue halos dominate the top left of the frame.

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SETI Institute @setiinstitute.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

#PPOD: This image shows satellites crossing the night sky above the northern Atacama Desert in Chile over just one hour. It is a stack of a time-lapse video taken on 15 October 2025, about two hours after sunset. 🧪 🔭

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LobbyControl @lobbycontrol.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

Nun also doch: Union und SPD planen faktisch die Abschaffung des Informationsfreiheitsgesetzes IFG! Das geht aus dem heute morgen vorgestellten Papier der Koalition hervor. Werden die Pläne so umgesetzt, würde ein auch für die Zivilgesellschaft zentrales Transparenz-Instrument entkernt. 1/5

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Arne Semsrott @arnesemsrott.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

NEU: Die Bundesregierung plant den schwersten Angriff auf staatliche Transparenz in der Geschichte der Bundesrepublik. Das IFG soll abgeschafft werden. Das ist nicht nur ein Bruch des Koalitionsvertrags, sondern beschädigt Presse- und Informationsfreiheit massiv. fragdenstaat.de/artikel/poli...

fragdenstaat.de

Beschluss des Koalitionsausschusses: SPD und Union planen Abschaffung des IFG

Es ist der schwerste Angriff auf staatliche Transparenz in der Geschichte der Bundesrepublik: Der Koalitionsauschuss von SPD, CDU und CSU hat beschlossen, das Informationsfreiheitsgesetz de facto abzu...

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Dr Dan Shugar 🇨🇦 @watershedlab.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

"In my judgment, that plan was not sustainable over the long term..." As a Canadian environmental scientist focused on climate impacts, I have a very different opinion on what is sustainable over the long term, @mark-carney.bsky.social www.cbc.ca/news/politic...

cbc.ca

Carney says Trudeau-era climate plan was 'too expensive' and 'divisive' | CBC News

Prime Minister Mark Carney echoed critics of the previous Liberal government's climate plan in a video posted on Tuesday, saying the plan he inherited was too expensive and divisive.

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Dr. Matthias Lachenmann @lawchenmann.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

Es war nur eine Frage der Zeit, bis die Probleme mit den internationalen Datentransfers in die USA konkret werden. Die Gefahren steigen:

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Bastian Blankenburg @databu.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

That’s true for some things still, but less and less so. I’m using LLMs to do/help with a lot of things (coding, repairing hardware, …) that I’d otherwise not done, either because I’d not have had the time or the energy. Sure you need to verify results, but that it’s still much much faster.

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Mark Peifer (He, him) @peiferlabunc.bsky.social · 27/06/2026

Truly bizarre story of how two papers from the 1940s by physics pioneer Max Planck have been "retracted" from Naturwissenschaften, potentially by an algorithm, for anachronistic "plagiarism" issues, leaving the current editor baffled (but it is Springer Nature so.... www.science.org/content/arti...

science.org

Why have papers by one of history’s most famous physicists been retracted?

Springer Nature has removed two studies by Max Planck. A bot may be to blame

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Bastian Blankenburg @databu.bsky.social · 28/06/2026

Honestly I’m just as tired of premature AI/LLM bashing as I am of over-hyping it.

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Bastian Blankenburg @databu.bsky.social · 28/06/2026

Most responses here seem to reflexively assume this was about LLMs. But from what’s actually in the article it sounds more like custom-trained ML. Perhaps that includes some LLMs. But without going into depth and details, it’s hard to tell where exactly mistakes happened and why.

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