iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Rory Hennell James @rorydhj.eurosky.social · 16/07/2026

Love it when I have 15 minutes left at the end of the day to tick something off tomorrow's to do list. Of course, there are several things on today's list that I didn't even start, but I did see a heron.

Tl;Dr, a very green pond with a heron at the far end.

A very green looking pond (I think it's mostly for drainage from the DESY campus?) surrounded by lush greenery. At the left edge is half a lamp post, because I'm really great at photo composition.

Right at the far edge of the pond a heron stands, looking very blown out because it's a very bright day and I don't understand how to use my phone camera. Seeing a heron was not on either to do list.

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Rory Hennell James @rorydhj.eurosky.social · 13/05/2026

I've made some dodgy grids in my time, but I don't think I've ever failed to add sample to half the squares 😁 #TeamTomo

A scanning electron microscope image of a cryoem grid. The grid is a circle about 3 mm across (here magnified about 100x), covered in small squares. Half of the squares are covered in a thick layer of sample, the other half are almost completely bare, with a very clean division between the two halves.

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Rory Hennell James @rorydhj.eurosky.social · 03/05/2026

I think I finally figured out how to shape Franzbrötchen. Still need some practice on getting the shape consistent though... I also made some spicy Twisty Strips from Nicola Lamb's Sift. #baking #backliebe

A Franzbrötchen (a cross between a croissant and a cinnamon roll, native to Hamburg) on a plate. They're really delicious, you should fly to Hamburg and try one. Next to it is a mug of overly-milky tea decorated with the message "The lemon is in play", shaped like a lemon, a reference to the brilliant radio sit-com Cabin Pressure.

A tray of pastries made of twisted viennoiserie dough. Not visible is the fact that they're made with a compound butter containing chili oil and soy sauce, making a delicious savoury snack, unlike most sweet viennoiserie.

Unbaked Franzbrötchen proofing in a proofing chamber, underneath a metal rack that will hold another tray of pastries.

The same tray of Franzbrötchen after baking. Some are well shaped, some have spread into each other.. One or two look a bit overdone. Next time I should probably make them each a bit bigger and spread them over two trays

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Rory Hennell James @rorydhj.eurosky.social · 26/04/2026

Who thought it was a good idea to hold a half-marathon in the afternoon? Still made it round and had a good time though

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Rory Hennell James @rorydhj.eurosky.social · 25/11/2025

It was really great to meet up with some fellow @smlea.bsky.social lab alumni last night. It was a great coincidence that Katharina and I were over from Germany at the same time!

A group of smiling friends sat around a pub table.

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Rory Hennell James @rorydhj.eurosky.social · 22/11/2025

It seems Eurostar are not willing to be outdone by Deutsche Bahn. Although they did rebook me got free, which was nice.

A text informing me that my Eurostar train is delayed by 25 minutes

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Rory Hennell James @rorydhj.eurosky.social · 12/11/2025

It's looking pretty amazing this evening

A flaming sunset above a small public park. In the background are some large industrial-looking buildings.

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Rory Hennell James @rorydhj.eurosky.social · 07/09/2025

Pretty pleased with my 3d-printed Jeol 1400. But does anyone in #TeamTomo or #cryoEM have a 3D model or technical drawings of a Krios/Aquilos/Arctis I could have a go at printing?

A 3D printed model of a Jeol 1400 transmission electron microscope. The microscope is a column of white plastic on a black base with black and gold accents.

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Rory Hennell James @rorydhj.eurosky.social · 20/07/2025

My first attempt at recreating the lemon curd bun I had at Lune in Melbourne

A canelé tin with twelve slots, each containing a swirl of viennoiserie (croissant) dough. Some look less like swirls and more like piles of spaghetti.

A cooling rack with 12 viennoiserie buns at the back and 11 pains au chocolat. Who can say where the 12th pain au chocolat went immediately after leaving the oven? The buns show high variation in how much they rose and a few have collapsed holes in the middle. The pains au chocolat are more consistent in shape but still variable in size.

A single viennoiserie bun on a plate with lemon curd oozing out of the top. It's not quite dark, but it's pretty poorly lit.

The same viennoiserie bun on a plate, this time sliced through to see the fluffy inside with more lemon curd in the middle(ish). I remembered to open the blind this time but it's still basically back lit without enough light.

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Rory Hennell James @rorydhj.eurosky.social · 09/07/2025

Had a great long weekend forging a sword for me and baking a cake for Mum. Now experiencing the joys of Stansted for the flight home the Hamburg!

A delicious chocolate layer cake covered in rich chocolate buttercream and a layer of giant chocolate buttons.

A bearded nerd holding one the tip of a blank sword blade into a propane-fired forge. Other smiths and blacksmith's tolls are seen in the background.

A bearded nerd looking extremely excited and posing with his new longsword. In the background are a grassy bank in front of a wooden fence and an overcast sky.

A sword blank protruding from the mouth of a propane-fired forge. The forge has chalk eyes with prominent eyebrows, so that it looks like a cross between the fire demon in Howl's Moving Castle and Slowpoke the Pokémon.

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Rory Hennell James @rorydhj.eurosky.social · 30/05/2025

But a bit less cloudy on the way down

A view down a mountain valley. In the left foreground there's a fast flowing waterfall in the right midground there is a lough. The rest of the image valley has dark rocks and luscious green slopes. The sky is bright blue in the left, with fluffy white clouds on the right.

A deep green mountain tarn (small lake). The tarn is surrounded by dark rock on the back left and bright green grass on the other sides

A mountain tarn visible at the bottom of a steep gully. The camera is in the bottom of the cloud, so the top of the image and the background are obscured. The foreground is green grass and a path leading to the gully.

A mountain slope with a mix of grass and loose grey rock. In the mid ground a black faced lamb peaks out from behind a ewe. In the background three men are walking up the ridgeline toward the upper right.

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Rory Hennell James @rorydhj.eurosky.social · 30/05/2025

Beautiful views from Carrauntoohil ☁️ 🇮🇪

A panoramic view from the top of Carrauntoohil, the highest mountain in Ireland. The peak is in heavy cloud, so only the rocky top of the mountain is visible.

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Rory Hennell James @rorydhj.eurosky.social · 08/12/2024

Just finished 'The Spear Cuts Through Water' by Simon Jimenez. A beautiful, enthralling story, with possibly the most interesting framing device I've ever encountered. Now onto 'Wind and Truth'!

The book cover of 'The Spear Cuts Through Water' by Simon Jimenez. Two figures, one with a single are and a spear, the other with two arms and a sword, are duelling/dancing. The figures are silhoutted on a bright green hand, whilst the rest of the cover shows a mysterious jungle in dark greens and blues, with red eyes hiding in the shadows.

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Rory Hennell James @rorydhj.eurosky.social · 03/11/2024

Spent the long weekend getting to grips with viennoiserie and I think I've got the hang of it, thanks to Nicola Lamb's Sift.

Six small croissants on a baking tray. Three are perfectly shaped, three less so. All look absolutely delicious if I do say so myself.

5 pain Suisse (Danish pastry filled with custard and chocolate chips) on a baking tray. The custard has spilled out quite a bit, but all 5 look absolutely delicious, if I do say so myself.

6 swirly Danish pastry buns in a muffin tin. They have puffed unevenly out of the tin, but they all look absolutely delicious, if I do say so myself.

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Rory Hennell James @rorydhj.eurosky.social · 20/04/2024

This sounds like a great opportunity for Dr. Colleague, shame they sent the email to me instead. Does anyone have Dr. Colleague's details so I can forward it?

Email reads:
Dear Dr. Colleague ,

Are you passionate about advancing microbial sciences on a global scale? If so, we invite you to apply for our esteemed Reviewing Editor Program at Microbiology Spectrum (Spectrum).

As an online, fully open-access journal, we pride ourselves on publishing high-impact research across basic, applied, and clinical microbial sciences. Joining our Reviewing Editor Program means being part of a dynamic community dedicated to advancing microbiology.
How interested are you in pursuing the Reviewing Editor opportunity at ASM's Microbiology Spectrum?
(1 = not at all, 5 = very interested)

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Rory Hennell James @rorydhj.eurosky.social · 11/01/2024

Took a few years, but I finally made a Croc-embouche. Managed to get it somewhat like the original art by @avivor.bsky.social

An illustration of a hybrid crocodile/croquembouche drawn by Aviv Or.

A croquembouche modelled to resemble a somewhat goofy crocodile.

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Rory Hennell James @rorydhj.eurosky.social · 10/12/2023

I must be a grown up now, I didn't eat any icing or marzipan! 🎄 ☃ 🎂

A Christmas cake decorated with a snowman, a tree, a present and a robin made of marzipan and fondant icing.

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Rory Hennell James @rorydhj.eurosky.social · 09/12/2023

This might be the best German innovation I've come across so far 🎄 🎂

A Christmas cake ready to be decorated with a sheet of pre-rolled marzipan

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Rory Hennell James @rorydhj.eurosky.social · 01/11/2023

My sample left it a day too late get in the spooky mood ❄ 💀

A lamellar cryo-electron tomography sample. Some blobs of ice in the background resemble a human skull.

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