Sign in

Matt McIrvin

@mattmcirvin.mathstodon.xyz.ap.brid.gy
69 followers 11 following 644 posts

he/him I'm a programmer who was trained in physics long ago. If on Bluesky, follow @ap.brid.gy so I can see you. 🌉 bridged from ⁂ mathstodon.xyz/@mattmcirvin, follow @ap.brid.gy to interact

PostsRepliesMedia
Matt McIrvin @mattmcirvin.mathstodon.xyz.ap.brid.gy · 04/10/2026
Hiking around near Bush Hill
000
Matt McIrvin @mattmcirvin.mathstodon.xyz.ap.brid.gy · 03/10/2026
Old stone wall near Bush Hill, Bradford, MA
End-on view of an old stone wall, now a sort of linear pile of rocks extending into the wooded distance.
001
Matt McIrvin @mattmcirvin.mathstodon.xyz.ap.brid.gy · 03/10/2026
These folks apparently do voter registration drives at concerts, but their website is great too--for every state, you can find out how to register to vote and track your registration, voting methods and deadlines, sample ballots and such: www.headcount.org I learned about this site […]
mathstodon.xyz
Original post on mathstodon.xyz
014
Matt McIrvin @mattmcirvin.mathstodon.xyz.ap.brid.gy · 03/10/2026
Massachusetts says they mailed out our ballots on September 30th, so I guess they're in transit. If you applied for a MA mail ballot, you can track it here: www.sec.state.ma.us/WhereDoIVoteMA/…
100
Reposted by Matt McIrvin
Σ(i³) = (Σi)² @svengeier.mathstodon.xyz.ap.brid.gy · 30/09/2026
@mattmcirvin Also in CA - I'll do the same as in the last couple elections: wait for the ballot to arrive in the mail, fill it in, and drop it off at the local city service center down the road weeks before the election proper. In the past I got the text-confirmation that my ballot was received […]
mathstodon.xyz
Original post on mathstodon.xyz
003
Reposted by Matt McIrvin
reggie seidman @ennui.org · 30/09/2026
we're in CA which does a very good job at keeping us in the loop
011
Matt McIrvin @mattmcirvin.mathstodon.xyz.ap.brid.gy · 30/09/2026
For my friends and followers in the US: Are you registered to vote? If so, have you checked your voter registration to make sure it's still valid? (Your state government probably has a website where you can do it.) Do you have a plan for how you're going to vote (by mail, early, or on Election […]
mathstodon.xyz
Original post on mathstodon.xyz
238
Matt McIrvin @mattmcirvin.mathstodon.xyz.ap.brid.gy · 20/09/2026
Part of the reason I was interested in OpenStreetMap-related apps is that it turns out somebody mapped a vast network of hiking trails near my home that I wasn't even aware existed. Here I get a glimpse of a solar electricity-generating station that I hadn't been aware of either.
Trees in a wooded area with the tilted panels of a solar farm just visible through the trees in the distance.
000
Matt McIrvin @mattmcirvin.mathstodon.xyz.ap.brid.gy · 19/09/2026
This is an interesting project that I can't find much outside information about. It's using OpenStreetMap data, Wikipedia and other open sources to produce a more end-user-friendly map with clickable points of interest, a "satellite" layer, traffic info, a globe display, etc. mapcarta.com
000
Matt McIrvin @mattmcirvin.mathstodon.xyz.ap.brid.gy · 10/09/2026
Someone who knows about maps talks about the UN map projection story. The discourse on this has been awful. www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QpCpW0Xd-M
121
Reposted by Matt McIrvin
myrmepropagandist @futurebird.sauropods.win.ap.brid.gy · 02/09/2026
round like the bowling ball ... soft like the cloud... dangerous... like bear trap
103
Reposted by Matt McIrvin
myrmepropagandist @futurebird.sauropods.win.ap.brid.gy · 01/09/2026
Funk is coming back. I repeat The Funk is Returning. I didn't really notice it, just seemed like a musical style or a reference, but so many songs have that funky sound now, and every little band has some guy with the saxophone or other brass instrument instead of just electric guitars. The […]
sauropods.win
Original post on sauropods.win
7436
Matt McIrvin @mattmcirvin.mathstodon.xyz.ap.brid.gy · 30/08/2026
"Coyote vs. ACME" is surprisingly good, the funniest and cleverest Looney Tunes movie and it's not even close (unless you count "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" and it's about on par with that). Apparently the distributor paid $50 million to rescue it from Warner's ashcan and another $10 million or […]
mathstodon.xyz
Original post on mathstodon.xyz
352
Reposted by Matt McIrvin
Katharine Hayhoe @katharinehayhoe.com · 27/08/2026
The name Ontario was derived from the lake and it was used to refer neighbouring land over a century before both the confederation of Canada and the independence of the United States.
static.klipy.com
Toronto City Skyline Time-Lapse: Day to Night
Alt: Toronto City Skyline Time-Lapse: Day to Night
1042382
Reposted by Matt McIrvin
Owen Maresh @graveolens.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
youtu.be/-y8bGBE71yw?...
youtu.be
The first home computer was made of plastic! The Digi-Comp I
YouTube video by Chris Staecker
073
Matt McIrvin @mattmcirvin.mathstodon.xyz.ap.brid.gy · 11/08/2026
I just got accused of being AI in Reddit for the first time.
220
Matt McIrvin @mattmcirvin.mathstodon.xyz.ap.brid.gy · 10/08/2026
when I'm hungry I lose the ability to distinguish Github from Grubhub
112
Reposted by Matt McIrvin
Katharine Hayhoe @katharinehayhoe.com · 29/07/2026
Overnight, a masked bandit broke into our kitchen. Armed with opposable thumbs, he proceeded to sample everything on offer. I’d just visited the farmers market, so the menu was extensive. I can now share a highly specific peer-reviewed list of what this particular raider did & did not enjoy. 🧵
static.klipy.com
Raccoon's Evil Smile: 'Good, Good'
Alt: Raccoon's Evil Smile: 'Good, Good'
852136706
Reposted by Matt McIrvin
Chris Staecker @chrisstaecker.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
#foundmath on Camino de Santiago
Mathematically interesting graffiti of interlocking circles
041
Reposted by Matt McIrvin
Chris Staecker @chrisstaecker.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
Project for the rest of the summer is to finish the digital topology book I'm writing (with Dae Woong Lee). I will live-tweet every Figure I make, with no additional context. These are all made with tikz.
3327
Matt McIrvin @mattmcirvin.mathstodon.xyz.ap.brid.gy · 15/07/2026
You know, I keep thinking back to this guy who was on Facebook back when we read Facebook, who would comment on every single post in my Representative’s feed blaming everything on “the invaders”. The country was going to hell because of “the invaders”. It sure seems to me that it isn’t […]
mathstodon.xyz
Original post on mathstodon.xyz
000
Reposted by Matt McIrvin
Christian Lawson-Perfect @christianp.mathstodon.xyz.ap.brid.gy · 08/07/2026
This page is an astonishing mix of ancient and new HTML: www.orchidpalms.com/polyhedra/acroh… Clearly the author has made just enough changes over the years to keep it legible, starting from what looks like a frameset plus java VRML applet.
orchidpalms.com
Near Miss Polyhedrra
012
Matt McIrvin @mattmcirvin.mathstodon.xyz.ap.brid.gy · 26/06/2026
Seen via @olufemiotauwo on Bsky english.elpais.com/usa/2025-08-25/i…
english.elpais.com
In the heart of the Miccosukee, the Native American tribe that shut down Alligator Alcatraz
The community found refuge from white persecution deep in the Everglades swamps centuries ago. Together with environmental groups, they succeeded in forcing the closure of the immigration detention center built on their ancestral lands
011
Reposted by Matt McIrvin
emptywheel @emptywheel.bsky.social · 20/06/2026
Rubio now deporting legal immigrants based on who they support in their home country. www.nytimes.com/2026/06/19/u...
nytimes.com
Memo by Rubio Approved Detention of Immigrant Who Criticized Trump Ally
22482270
Matt McIrvin @mattmcirvin.mathstodon.xyz.ap.brid.gy · 10/06/2026
On the final day of my trip, I explore Dorney Park: mmcirvin.dreamwidth.org/516394.html
dreamwidth.org
Captcha Check
000
Matt McIrvin @mattmcirvin.mathstodon.xyz.ap.brid.gy · 10/06/2026
A full day at Knoebels: mmcirvin.dreamwidth.org/516166.html
dreamwidth.org
Captcha Check
000
Matt McIrvin @mattmcirvin.mathstodon.xyz.ap.brid.gy · 10/06/2026
An afternoon at Knoebels: mmcirvin.dreamwidth.org/515921.html
dreamwidth.org
Captcha Check
000
Matt McIrvin @mattmcirvin.mathstodon.xyz.ap.brid.gy · 10/06/2026
More Hersheypark: mmcirvin.dreamwidth.org/515663.html
mmcirvin.dreamwidth.org
Coaster trip 2026, day 2: Skyrush and more nostalgia at Hersheypark
I knew I wasn't going to be able to sustain a pace like the one I'd maintained for my first full day at Hersheypark. That was why I scheduled two days. Hersheypark is really two parks for me: It's one of the wildest coaster parks in the United States, but it's also the park I probably loved most as
011
Matt McIrvin @mattmcirvin.mathstodon.xyz.ap.brid.gy · 10/06/2026
I spend a day just riding most of the coasters at Hersheypark: mmcirvin.dreamwidth.org/515540.html
dreamwidth.org
Captcha Check
011
Matt McIrvin @mattmcirvin.mathstodon.xyz.ap.brid.gy · 10/06/2026
I spent last week traveling mostly around eastern Pennsylvania riding as many roller coasters as possible. Herewith, the start of the chronicle: mmcirvin.dreamwidth.org/515077.html
dreamwidth.org
Captcha Check
011
Matt McIrvin @mattmcirvin.mathstodon.xyz.ap.brid.gy · 24/05/2026
"I Love Boosters" review: Ha ha, they gave the guy who made "Sorry To Bother You" a budget. Never have the many preoccupations of Boots Riley been so spectacularly displayed on screen in the form of an absurd heightened reality. It stars Keke Palmer, which should be enough. I give it a zillion […]
mathstodon.xyz
Original post on mathstodon.xyz
010
Reposted by Matt McIrvin
myrmepropagandist @futurebird.sauropods.win.ap.brid.gy · 21/05/2026
You can tell a midwesterner ANYING about NYC and they will just believe it. A friend of mine is a tutor who charges about $190 per hour to teach Latin to fairly well off kids (she is really good at it and overbooked) My mom asked if she had few customers now because of all the rich people […]
sauropods.win
Original post on sauropods.win
030
Reposted by Matt McIrvin
myrmepropagandist @futurebird.sauropods.win.ap.brid.gy · 21/05/2026
“apterous” Reading scientific literature I’m often unfamiliar with words. “apterous” The heck? The subway train was between stations. No internet. No search. Could I just go on reading and figure it out later? I hate doing that. Eventually the book would be so confusing I would give up […]
sauropods.win
Original post on sauropods.win
313
Matt McIrvin @mattmcirvin.mathstodon.xyz.ap.brid.gy · 07/05/2026
@techconnectify.bsky.social talks about hybrid cars, emphasizing a point that I kind of suspected after driving one for a while: *Most* of the substantial efficiency gain just comes from them using an underpowered Atkinson-cycle engine (he explains what that is) to drive the powertrain […]
mathstodon.xyz
Original post on mathstodon.xyz
100
Reposted by Matt McIrvin
emptywheel @emptywheel.bsky.social · 06/05/2026
Reup: Like a bunch of pundits, @michaelscherer.bsky.social decided to scold abt conspiracy theories abt WHCD attack. He went further by affirmatively covering up Trump's own role in stoking conspiracy theories. If you want to fix the prob, it has to start w/Trump. emptywheel.net/2026/05/06/t...
emptywheel.net
The Complicity of Trump Conspiracy-Washer Michael Scherer - emptywheel
Where do self-congratulatory journalists get off, lecturing others about conspiracy theories about Cole Allen's attempted attack, when those same journalists don't call out Trump for his non-stop fire...
528356
Reposted by Matt McIrvin
Katelyn Burns @katelynburns.com · 24/04/2026
there's a protest i want to cover tomorrow about a 20 minute drive away, but there's a train line from my town to my destination so i checked out what the logistics would be for taking the train and back and it would involve 4 hours of waiting.
118613
Reposted by Matt McIrvin
cremevax👩🏻‍💻🏳️‍🌈​🇨🇦🇺🇦 @cremevax.infosec.exchange.ap.brid.gy · 23/04/2026
We went to see Anila Quayyum Agha’s show at the Seattle Asian Art Museum. This is the centerpiece of the show: an installation called “A Beautiful Despair (blue).” The show runs for a few more days.
In the center of the image is a blue cube, illuminated from inside. The cube faces are intricately patterned, and the patterns are projected below, on a white/yellow surface; above, on a pure white surface; and on the surrounding walls, which are a rich red.
254
Matt McIrvin @mattmcirvin.mathstodon.xyz.ap.brid.gy · 22/04/2026
The writer and YouTuber Jason K. Pargin recently commented on someone claiming, erroneously, that trying something with a 1% chance of success 100 times guarantees a win. He challenged people to give the actual probability in the comments, and many people gave the right answer by directly […]
mathstodon.xyz
Original post on mathstodon.xyz
121
Matt McIrvin @mattmcirvin.mathstodon.xyz.ap.brid.gy · 21/04/2026
You're so vain, I bet you think the song is about you that is constructed by following with its quotation the phrase "You're so vain, I bet you think the song is about you that is constructed by following with its quotation the phrase"
110
Matt McIrvin @mattmcirvin.mathstodon.xyz.ap.brid.gy · 19/04/2026
Take note: www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBYpuI7og8w
200
Matt McIrvin @mattmcirvin.mathstodon.xyz.ap.brid.gy · 14/04/2026
Attention: www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1h0NV0BxGo
001
Matt McIrvin @mattmcirvin.mathstodon.xyz.ap.brid.gy · 12/04/2026
it has dropped "The only thing that matters now: GET DOWN... GET DOWN..." tmbw.net/wiki/The_World_Is_To_Dig
tmbw.net
The World Is To Dig
The World Is to Dig is the 24th studio album by They Might Be Giants. It was officially released as a download via the TMBG Shop on April 10, 2026, with physical and streaming releases due April 14.
000
Reposted by Matt McIrvin
emptywheel @emptywheel.bsky.social · 10/04/2026
Peterr talks about how stupid it was for Trump to pick a fight with Pope Bob in the first place. emptywheel.net/2026/04/10/p...
emptywheel.net
Poor Tactics Make Any Strategy Impossible, Vatican Edition - emptywheel
Far too late, Trump finally has recognized that just because Leo is American doesn't mean he will bow down to Trump, and Leo has his number.
827270
Reposted by Matt McIrvin
curious ordinary @curiousordinary.bsky.social · 09/03/2026
In #JapaneseFolklore there was a strange #yokai phenomenon known as ashiarai yashiki (foot washing manor) where a giant, hairy, bloody, disembodied foot crashed through the roof of a house demanding to be washed. If it was washed it would then disappear only to return again... #MythologyMonday 1/2
Two women sit in a room and a huge dirty foot appears to hang from above. A water bath sits on the floor.
17213
Matt McIrvin @mattmcirvin.mathstodon.xyz.ap.brid.gy · 27/03/2026
In her spot of sun #catsofmastodon
A gray and white cat lounges on an ottoman in a spot of golden late afternoon sun, her fuzzy belly exposed
092
Reposted by Matt McIrvin
Chris Staecker @chrisstaecker.bsky.social · 14/03/2026
New video: The Lightning Calculator Quincunx WD-7. And some stories about the birth of statistics. youtu.be/iMCAHlOzr9E
youtu.be
Quincunx WD-7 by Lightning Calculator Galton board review / HowTo
YouTube video by Chris Staecker
083
Reposted by Matt McIrvin
myrmepropagandist @futurebird.sauropods.win.ap.brid.gy · 14/03/2026
[cis perspectives on trans people] I know 8 trans people well and many more as acquaintances. The 8 people I know well range from being an old childhood friend, to coworkers, to students, to neighbors. I'm mostly aware that they are trans at all due to the increase in anti-trans laws and […]
sauropods.win
Original post on sauropods.win
233
Matt McIrvin @mattmcirvin.mathstodon.xyz.ap.brid.gy · 08/03/2026
On the possibility that the Trump administration is hoping for, and trying to provoke, a major international terrorist attack in the United States. snyder.substack.com/p/the-desire-fo…
snyder.substack.com
The Desire for Terror
And the defense of democracy
000
Matt McIrvin @mattmcirvin.mathstodon.xyz.ap.brid.gy · 02/03/2026
Seen via Balloon Juice: A lot of the intra-left carping in the 2024 election cycle was encouraged by troll operations funded by Elon Musk, playing both sides of every wedge issue. www.thefarce.org/america-needs-to-p…
thefarce.org
America Needs to Prepare for Elon Musk Like He's a State-Sponsored Cyber Attack
His anti-virtue approach: scramble, divide, conquer.
022
Reposted by Matt McIrvin
emptywheel @emptywheel.bsky.social · 02/03/2026
This is monstrous.
39895359