iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

John Bull @garius.bsky.social · 08/10/2023

Reposted by Randall Smith

On 8th Oct 1952 the worst civilian rail disaster in UK history happened in London. 112 deaths. 340 wounded. That accident, and the actions of one woman from Florida have saved THOUSANDS of lives since. That disaster helped lead to the creation of paramedics. /1 🧵 www.youtube.com/watch?v=YU60...

youtube.com

Harrow and Wealdstone Train Crash Newsreel

Newsreel footage of the aftermath of the 1952 Train Crash at Harrow & Wealdstone Station, which claimed the lives of 112 people and injured hundreds more.

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Randall Smith @rksmith.bsky.social · 08/10/2026

I think Daniel Savin is the editor for most ApJ experimental papers, and he is definitely in favor of multiple reviews. In my experience, getting a paper through him means it is truly a solid result.

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I was thinking of ApJ where my experience has been just one reviewer, in most cases. But absolutely, it has to scale this way when there are multiple reviewers or the system breaks down.

Ok, suggesting this to Dominic next time I see him….

If I were an editor, I also would look for and not accept an AI generated review. And someone who submits without doing adequate reviews…doesn’t get to submit any more.

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I’ve always assumed - and told my students - that the number of refereeing tasks you take on should at least equal, and ideally slightly exceed, the number of first author papers you submit. Same for proposals and review panels. Write 200 papers in a month? Plan on refereeing the same number.

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I’m sure it was only a “brief detention” based on a “reasonable suspicion”…

Now just wait for the memo telling you there are Four Dots on the sign…

Randall Smith @rksmith.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

“No, I will not look at you”

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Randall Smith @rksmith.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

If your experiment needs statistics, you ought to have done a better experiment. - Ernest Rutherford. (Ok, admittedly a bit simplistic, but there is a core of truth here…) — Ernest Rutherford www.brainyquote.com/quotes/ernes...

brainyquote.com

Ernest Rutherford - If your experiment needs statistics,...

"If your experiment needs statistics, you ought to have done a better experiment." — Ernest Rutherford

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I’ll have to disagree strongly here; I found the hall fascinating and have gone back multiple times. I never saw the original, but to my mind the layout was engaging and fun.

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Night Song – First Church Cambridge

I can recommend Night Song, on today from 7:30-8:30pm at First Church in Cambridge. No cost, no collection, nothing at all but great music. www.firstchurchcambridge.org/event/night-...

firstchurchcambridge.org

It’s got to be the Right Kind of walk…

I remember the time in a low-cost Japanese hotel where the temp was JUST a tad cooler than I liked. So I tried to get it a scootch higher on a remote control entirely in Japanese. Spent the rest of the night attempting to get anything other than Sauna or Iceberg.

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I like it! Just got the Covid and RSV, already had the flu one (it wasn’t too bad). Not much scheduled for tomorrow, maybe some reading, possibly movie watching.

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The black/white “IR” look was brilliant.

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Tho I feel confident an officer would happily claim they could, based on their “training and experience”.

My spouse has one that in MA a police officer cannot detain you for failing to use a turn signal if you are in a designated turn only lane.

I have an entire playlist of Arcus songs. Starting with “My Husband Makes Movies” from Nine. Note I didn’t say they were necessarily Happy songs…

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I haven’t yet gotten a paper or proposal obviously largely or entirely written by AI. Not sure what I’ll do, but I might simply return it with a “not interested” email.

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You’re not alone in that one - it’s creating all sorts of problems. So, I assume you know of Eureka Scientific as a handy place to provide a “shingle” as the lawyers say…

Randall Smith @rksmith.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

There are still deadlines. It has to be in by 5pm. Proposals submitted after 5pm will be rejected.

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Randall Smith @rksmith.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

A list (book?) of cases providing cites for utterly obvious propositions would be of real interest. Not to mention a fun read along the lines of “yes, counsel really did argue this…”

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Randall Smith @rksmith.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

I once took a class in thermodynamics from a math professor. At one point he noted how one could prove temperature and energy are linearly related. I asked what the constant relating them was. His answer…”why would I care?”

Randall Smith @rksmith.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Don’t think of it as raising your rates. Think of it as including a side salad with every lunch. What client could complain about a healthy-er lunch?

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Well, they have also lost a lot of their Evangelical, if they ever had it. For many I suspect the political power makes up for the loss.

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William Gibson’s The Peripheral is another option. Definitely near term, possibly too near term for comfort, honestly.

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The Murderbot diaries might fit the bill, though it’s probably not really near-term.

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Just out of curiosity, did she make an affogato or were the coffee and ice cream separated? Sounds like an interesting morning regardless…

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Woah….now that’s a callback.

“…and she can eat a pound cake in under a minute…” is one of my spouse’s favorite lines…

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Another one for the solutions pile!

Dr. Jessie Christiansen @aussiastronomer.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Reposted by Randall Smith

It’s Friday night! I’ve done enough this week. You’ve done enough this week.

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You’ve done enough this week. Time to take a well deserved break and enjoy a random photo.

A cappuccino and cocktail at a cafe in the piazza San Marco in Venice.

Looking at the radar, I really think we should be allowed to call this a mini hurricane. Minicane?

Dr. Jessie Christiansen @aussiastronomer.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Reposted by Randall Smith

It’s Friday night. I’ve done enough this week. You’ve done enough this week. ❤️🧡💛💚🩵💙💜

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Randall Smith @rksmith.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Taj Mahal LEGO done in both official white set and supposedly conceived but never-built-in-reality black version. The result of having a one LEGO set and a worldwide pandemic…

Two Taj Mahal done in Lego - one black, one white

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It’s good to be the boss. Oh, and to hold all the copyrights.

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Would you call this the “I’m just a singer in a rock & roll band” excuse?

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As I’ve heard this described as “the music that plays at the end of the Universe”…yes, seems appropriate.

Obviously there was a connection even then. The observers *I* knew at UW-Madison would’ve told me that theorists (as I was, then) can’t see it…

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smithsonianstarstruck.com

Please let me know if Janssen (55 Cancri Ae) ever shows up! That’s the one we featured in Starstruck (smithsonianstarstruck.com). Along with Sgr A*, of course. (You can imagine how long it took to explain that name to non-astronomers…they were convinced I was joking)

Smithsonian Starstruck Immersive Experience

Step into the cosmos at Smithsonian Starstruck: An Immersive Experience. Journey into deep space and witness the universe in motion. Choose your city!