iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

David Weir @davidjamesweir.mementomori.social.ap.brid.gy · 17/10/2026

Sorry, but I’m going to ask one of the questions you’re meant to never ask on the internet: I’ve never got into Terry Pratchett’s books before. What order should I read them in? (I’m mostly interested in the responses of actual Fedi people rather than blog posts out there on the web.)

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Thomas Kahle @tomkalei.mathe.social.ap.brid.gy · 16/10/2026

#math version of this: - Look, we used AI to solve all hard math problems super quickly. - How do the solutions work and what do they say? - I’m pretty sure that’s your job.

mastodon.social

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David Weir @davidjamesweir.mementomori.social.ap.brid.gy · 11/10/2026

When I was growing up, late September/early October was always my favourite time to explore Edinburgh. The tourists were dwindling, the students were not (quite) back, so it was possible to enjoy the city and the cooler weather with a degree of freedom […] [Original post on mementomori.social]

James Thin's flagship bookshop on South Bridge, Edinburgh, photgraphed in September 2003, before they were taken over by Blackwell's. The photograph is from the other side of the road, in front of Old College. It's an imposing, sandstone corner block. The street-level fronting is painted in a deep blue with books arrayed on display in the windows, the first floor partially painted in a faded blue, and the rest of the building is natural sandstone. There are some 'window tax' false windows on the higher floors. 'JAMES THIN' is written in various ways on the exterior, with the signs suggesting they are from different eras.

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theHigherGeometer @highergeometer.mathstodon.xyz.ap.brid.gy · 10/10/2026

"A senior colleague of mine found one of his favourite problems among those solved and attempted to read the accompanying paper. He told me it was so unintelligible that, had he received it as an editor at a mathematics journal, “it would have gone straight into the bin”. —Melissa Lee, Monash […]

mathstodon.xyz

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David Weir @davidjamesweir.mementomori.social.ap.brid.gy · 03/10/2026

I often wish a had a more uncommon name. I’ve tried experimenting with my first name to something that better matches with my feelings about gender, but it didn’t sit well. And I regularly get spam at my work email which confuses me with other David Weirs in medicine or academia. This week […]

mementomori.social

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David Weir @davidjamesweir.mementomori.social.ap.brid.gy · 03/10/2026

“Our story is a record of an internet that no longer exists: the one with human editors, not algorithms, discovering and surfacing content worth seeing.” Reflections on writing a ‘blog’ (before that was a thing) while on a long road trip with kids. Worth reading to be reminded that the internet […]

mementomori.social

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Mike Prior-Jones @drmikepj.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 01/10/2026

A pivotal moment for me today: for the first time in decades, I have searched for something that I know is on the internet and Google failed to find it. After half an hour of faffing I switched to DuckDuckGo and it was hit number three. Turned out I’d misremembered the title, but putting the […]

mastodon.social

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David Weir @davidjamesweir.mementomori.social.ap.brid.gy · 01/10/2026

Kaupunki poistaa suojatien Pihlajamäentieltä. Täällä autoilijat ajavat aika lujaa, ja suojatie on varmasti vaarallinen ja (kaupungin näkökulmasta) se on poistettava. Kiertotie on n. 400 metriä ja vaatii, että kolmea muuta tietä ylitetään. Siksi olen jo […] [Original post on mementomori.social]

Paikka Pihlajamäentiellä, jossa oli suojatie. Suojatie on poistettu, ja väliaikainen aita eristää paikattua betonia.

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Tor Lillqvist @tml.mementomori.social.ap.brid.gy · 26/09/2026

New thread instead of derailing an unrelated one: Challenge: Please list stations that include the initialism or acronym of a railway company that runs (or did run in history) there in their name. Things that do it on purpose like Basel SBB or Bâle SNCF don't count. I will start with the one I […]

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David Weir @davidjamesweir.mementomori.social.ap.brid.gy · 24/09/2026

Whenever I see (on a TV cooking programme) people putting a small, metal lid inside a larger non stick coated pan to cover the food being cooked I always cringe and think about the scratched non stick surface. Is it just me? 😅

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Daniel Thomas @danielrthomas.social.coop.ap.brid.gy · 18/09/2026

Long week rounded out by a grant rejection by AI without any humans reading it first (and AI review was not disclosed in the application process). I think it hurts more when it turns out you just sand your heart out into the void and no one heard. Something pushing the scope in an interesting […]

social.coop

Original post on social.coop

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David Weir @davidjamesweir.mementomori.social.ap.brid.gy · 13/09/2026

RE: mathstodon.xyz/@antoinechambertloir… These resource consumption estimates are eye watering… As a computational physicist I see my goal as to do more science with less computer, not the other way around.

mathstodon.xyz

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David Weir @davidjamesweir.mementomori.social.ap.brid.gy · 12/09/2026

The main thing I have done on fedi today is block “creative” AI bots. Until they proactively confirm their training data are entirely legitimately licensed, I’m going to block and move on.

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David Weir @davidjamesweir.mementomori.social.ap.brid.gy · 10/09/2026

[food] Is it novelty ice cream if it’s actually good, and a traditional flavour? (I still prefer their mämmi ice cream though!)

An ice cream carton with the following on the label:

Närpes glassfabrik
KAJs stracciatella
Närpiön jäätelötehdäs

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David Weir @davidjamesweir.mementomori.social.ap.brid.gy · 03/09/2026

One from yesterday - this is Habitat (1994) by Richard Caink. No longer listed on the official maps, it’s in good condition and a pleasure to visit. I enjoyed the smiley old-fashioned television (as did the toddler sitting on my back). More information […] [Original post on mementomori.social]

A general view of the sculpture from behind the TV, showing the armchair and standard lamp. Dense plantation forest is visible behind. It’s clearly a very dull, wet day.

A wooden old-fashioned cathode ray tube television with a face carved on the front. The features of the face recall (somehow) oak leaves, to me.

Another view, this time including all the elements in the sculpture. This is the view one gets when walking off the nearest forest track. There is a wooden armchair facing a wooden carved TV on a low table, as well as a standard lamp and window dressed with curtains.

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David Weir @davidjamesweir.mementomori.social.ap.brid.gy · 02/09/2026

The thing about Fedi is that people have a sixth sense for offering unsolicited advice. It’s quite uncanny.

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David Weir @davidjamesweir.mementomori.social.ap.brid.gy · 01/09/2026

Lady of the Water (1995) by Alannah Robins. Since I was a kid and visited the English Lake District regularly with my family, I’ve longed to get back to Grizedale forest to see some of the sculptures there. Given the wet woodland setting, not all of them […] [Original post on mementomori.social]

A wooden figure with outstretched arms holds up a hollowed-out log channel that carries water. Most of the water reaches the end of the channel and tumbles onto the other figure. In photos I have seen it falls onto the other figure’s head, but whether due to decay or the water flow level today, it didn’t get that high. The setting is a bowl beneath a waterfall in a verdant green broadleaf forest. There are a few yellowing leaves on the ground which might hint that it is the end of summer.

The figures are now viewed from the side. One thing with remarking upon is how tall they are, maybe twice human height.

Viewed from a low perspective, with the face of the “carrier” visible.

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David Weir @davidjamesweir.mementomori.social.ap.brid.gy · 01/09/2026

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David Weir @davidjamesweir.mementomori.social.ap.brid.gy · 01/09/2026

It was a good run with #1Password - six years paying for it before letting me down. Onto the next password manager! And maybe this is a lesson that my next one should be open source and self hosted.

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Flippin' 'eck, Tucker! @losttourist.social.chatty.monster.ap.brid.gy · 28/08/2026

I don't know much about King Harald V of Norway, who has just died, but reading an obituary isn't it refreshing to have a Head of State who said this: > He said Norwegians are from "Afghanistan, Pakistan and Poland, from Sweden, Somalia, and Syria," they "believe in God, Allah, the Universe and […]

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David Weir @davidjamesweir.mementomori.social.ap.brid.gy · 28/08/2026

LaTeX compilers 🤝 relatives you don’t see that often > Runaway argument?

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Osma A 🇫🇮🇺🇦 @osma.fishpool.org · 13/07/2026

Since I still see people sharing and recommending archive.is (archive.today) links, perhaps it is relevant to note that: - the service DDoSed a blog using the readers' browsers - and was caught changing the articles it "archived" - Wikipedia blocklisted it earlier this year - it is DNS banned […]

mas.to

Original post on mas.to

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David Weir @davidjamesweir.mementomori.social.ap.brid.gy · 23/08/2026

Now from city to city, it's four hundred miles And I'm bound to wake up every once in a while And it's then that I call out to some higher power And then I'll go back to sleep cause I'll be home in an hour [Gerry Rafferty, City to City]

Coach P of 1S26 aka the northbound “beds” aka the lowlander Caledonian Sleeper. At the front is 92038.

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David Weir @davidjamesweir.mementomori.social.ap.brid.gy · 17/08/2026

RE: social.ahlroos.me/@yle_fi_bot/11711… Onneksi rankingsit eivät kerro mistään ylipistojen laaduista. Toisaalta ne kertovat paljon tahosta, joka valitsi kriteerit ja kokosi tilastot.

social.ahlroos.me

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Jonne Arjoranta 📚 @jonne.arjoranta.fi · 17/08/2026

"I would be interested in reviewing the manuscript in question but unfortunately could not agree to do so this time, because I do not provide free labour to billion-dollar for-profit companies."

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David Weir @davidjamesweir.mementomori.social.ap.brid.gy · 13/08/2026

Working from an armchair with a cat in the vicinity, one actually needs *two* armchairs, because of the following routine: 1. Sit down and start to work in first chair 2. Cat comes and falls asleep in my lap 3. Get up to do something, cat takes up vacant space 4. Move to second chair 5. Cat […]

mementomori.social

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David Weir @davidjamesweir.mementomori.social.ap.brid.gy · 09/08/2026

Does anyone have any suggestions for an easy vegan blackcurrant cake or pie? #vegan #baking

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David Weir @davidjamesweir.mementomori.social.ap.brid.gy · 07/08/2026

I’ve been working on a review article (sort of) most of today. Pretty sure I know less physics now than I did this morning. I think it’s time to go to the summer cottage, paint the terrace and tend the flower beds. #AcademicChatter

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David Weir @davidjamesweir.mementomori.social.ap.brid.gy · 07/08/2026

Radio France FIP: no song is played twice in a 48 hour window. Yle X3M: the only song we are playing this month is Gelateria by KAJ.

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Prof. Sam Lawler @sundogplanets.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 05/08/2026

New paper thread! "Rings in the Sky: Orbital Data Centres and Potential Impacts to Astronomy and the Sky" by A. Boley, me, and @hannorein. Submitted, and posted to the arxiv preprint server. What would the sky look like if companies actually launch the tens of thousands up to one million "AI […]

mastodon.social

Original post on mastodon.social

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Dr. Anna Latour @anna.mathstodon.xyz.ap.brid.gy · 06/08/2026

My wonderful PhD adviser is hiring! He's searching for a PhD student to work on combining search algorithms and machine learning. He's at the department where I did my MSc research back in the day, and where I had an amazing time. www.kuleuven.be/personeel/jobsite/j… […]

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Original post on mathstodon.xyz

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David Weir @davidjamesweir.mementomori.social.ap.brid.gy · 04/08/2026

Quick trip to the cottage this evening to do some painting*. This involves a 15 minute drive, and a 20 minute row over to an island. Very quiet. *: Although painting during the evening is suboptimal, I checked the relative humidity would remain below 80% […] [Original post on mementomori.social]

A small Pride flag placed below the roof of the cottage, hanging above the front door. Blue sky and birch trees are visible.

A close cropped, shallow depth of field view of the wooden railings on the terrace.

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David Weir @davidjamesweir.mementomori.social.ap.brid.gy · 01/08/2026

Nice noctilucent clouds tonight, in this part of Pampas.

Noctilucent clouds above a road. There are trees either side of the road and (unlit) street lamps visible as well.

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David Weir @davidjamesweir.mementomori.social.ap.brid.gy · 01/08/2026

RE: akademienl.social/@renordquist/1170… I don’t understand those who would use AI to summarise learned journal articles without ever looking at the source text. The most enjoyable part of doing research is often thinking about it for yourself.

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Rebecca Nordquist @renordquist.akademienl.social.ap.brid.gy · 01/08/2026

No, actually, I don't want an AI summary of this paper describing the threat of AI generated wildlife images on conservation efforts... (this is a very interesting paper for anyone interested in how humans view animals, I reccomend reading it with your own […] [Original post on akademienl.social]

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David Weir @davidjamesweir.mementomori.social.ap.brid.gy · 24/07/2026

Sometimes wish there were a “only show replies” option for mastodon profile pages so you could see whether the accounts of big organisations actually engage with people on here.

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Bodil @bodil.lol · 24/07/2026

Lots of "ethics aside" people announcing their conscientious boycotts of Codeberg in my feed today, like I didn't have plenty of reasons to love Codeberg already.

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David Weir @davidjamesweir.mementomori.social.ap.brid.gy · 23/07/2026

Me (to my toddler): yläfemma! Toddler: Yle Vega! (He’s usually more interested in listening to X3M…)

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David Weir @davidjamesweir.mementomori.social.ap.brid.gy · 23/07/2026

Me (to my toddler): yläfemma! Toddler: Yle Vega! (He’s usually more interested in listening to X3M…)

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David Weir @davidjamesweir.mementomori.social.ap.brid.gy · 23/07/2026

The top quark is roughly as heavy as a gold atom. 😮 Sort of makes sense intuitively, but I’d never thought of working out the mass of gold in electron volts. And I guess I’ve never read any of the more accessible descriptions of the quark sector which all seem to reference the gold thing.

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David Weir @davidjamesweir.mementomori.social.ap.brid.gy · 23/07/2026

Rescued wet bumblebee having a snack (on an dianthus) and a rest while drying off, before flying off.

A bumblebee on a dianthus flower. It looks a bit soggy, with matted hair. There is a cluster of flowers behind the bee and a thuja bush out of focus behind.

Another view of the same wet bedraggled bumblebee.

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David Weir @davidjamesweir.mementomori.social.ap.brid.gy · 22/07/2026

My partner’s sibling has left a Commodore 128 in the garage for me to play with. What cool things can I do with it that won’t turn into an enormous time sink? (assuming it still turns on, that is - replacing capacitors isn’t something I have time for right now) #Commodore128 #Commodore64 […]

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David Weir @davidjamesweir.mementomori.social.ap.brid.gy · 22/07/2026

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Dr. Dan Killam @dantheclamman.scicomm.xyz.ap.brid.gy · 20/07/2026

I have to pay increasing attention to what my phone does to pictures it takes. For example, my new Motorola phone includes a super zoom feature that actually uses generative AI to fill in details as it crops in! I turned it off, but others might not notice and upload such digitally created […]

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David Weir @davidjamesweir.mementomori.social.ap.brid.gy · 20/07/2026

A lot of people like to lead with a financial justification for doing decent things, whether it be investing in green energy (“it’s cheaper in the long run”) or not working too much (“I am paid to work for <N> hours per week, not more”). Please remember we can also do decent things because they […]

mementomori.social

Original post on mementomori.social

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David Weir @davidjamesweir.mementomori.social.ap.brid.gy · 20/07/2026

Voit varmistaa, että olet Pohjanmaalla tarkastamalla pihoja. Jos löytyy tuulimyllymalleja, niin olethan Pohjanmaalla, luultavasti Pampaksella.

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