iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Karsten Schmidt

@toxi.mastodon.thi.ng.ap.brid.gy

126 followers 7 following 601 posts

Intoxicating, non-toxic! 27+ years of interdisciplinary opensource R&D, software dev, computational art/design/craft/edu, landscape/nature photography, darkroom […] 🌉 bridged from ⁂ mastodon.thi.ng/@toxi, follow @ap.brid.gy to interact

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Karsten Schmidt @toxi.mastodon.thi.ng.ap.brid.gy · 48m

I remember creating physarium sims for my architecture students back in 2013 and then only managed to run a few thousand agents in realtime (in Java/Processing). Even that was super exciting. Now people are casually able to throw around four million of them (and in < 8KB, incl. music)... Lovely […]

mastodon.thi.ng

Original post on mastodon.thi.ng

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Karsten Schmidt @toxi.mastodon.thi.ng.ap.brid.gy · 7h

A great new entry for the "How to lie with data visualization" collection... #DataViz #Energy

social.wildeboer.net

Karsten Schmidt @toxi.mastodon.thi.ng.ap.brid.gy · 7h

Considering Sturgeon's law (i.e. "90% percent of everything is crap"), having 1000x more ideas would directly translate to having 900x more crap to deal with, by everyone, in potentially any domain. Considering the people who're proposing this crap are also out to commercially exploit some/most […]

mastodon.thi.ng

Original post on mastodon.thi.ng

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Karsten Schmidt @toxi.mastodon.thi.ng.ap.brid.gy · 14h

Labyrinth (2026) The literal name of this section of a wall of almost a thousand meters[1] of near vertical ice, a slowly shapeshifting maze of seracs, flowing, fracturing, the light refracting and revealing the beautiful blue ice glow of the (dying) glacier […] [Original post on mastodon.thi.ng]

$Frontal view of a section of a wall of almost a thousand meters of near vertical ice, a slowly shapeshifting maze of seracs, slowly flowing, fracturing, the light refracting and revealing the beautiful blue ice glow of the (dying) glacier... In the foreground the near silhouettes of a steep cliff section with some small Swiss pines.$

Karsten Schmidt @toxi.mastodon.thi.ng.ap.brid.gy · 06/10/2026

The below is correct and any claims of "rogue behavior" and other popular attempts at anthropomorphization are merely means to actively distance the original purveyors of software agents by 1) shifting blame onto users of agentic tooling and 2) claiming agents themselves are something more […]

mastodon.thi.ng

Original post on mastodon.thi.ng

Karsten Schmidt @toxi.mastodon.thi.ng.ap.brid.gy · 06/10/2026

Since it's #TextureTuesday, and since I missed them earlier, here are some recent images by the great @pyrenaicus with some beautiful abstract impressions of the Pyrenees in early autumn... 🤩 mastodon.social/@pyrenaicus/1173929… […]

mastodon.thi.ng

Original post on mastodon.thi.ng

Karsten Schmidt @toxi.mastodon.thi.ng.ap.brid.gy · 06/10/2026

Found some of my old (and first) teenage years cameras and other photo equipment on the DDR Museum website. Artifacts from a truly different life... Some of these were already 15-25+ years old when I first used them in the '80s... More items/objects here […] [Original post on mastodon.thi.ng]

A Beirette SL 100 camera

Image credit:
https://www.ddr-museum.de/de/objects/1014111

A Penti II camera with leather case

Image credit:
https://www.ddr-museum.de/de/objects/1022863

An EXA 1b SLR

Image credit:
https://www.ddr-museum.de/de/objects/1013946

Slide viewer Malirex

Image credit:
https://www.ddr-museum.de/de/objects/1022851

Karsten Schmidt @toxi.mastodon.thi.ng.ap.brid.gy · 06/10/2026

In the past two weeks I already couldn't help but prepare roasted pumpkin & garlic cream soup twice, so I guess that puts me in the "Love it" camp... 😋

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Karsten Schmidt @toxi.mastodon.thi.ng.ap.brid.gy · 06/10/2026

Hologram's Solstice (2018) is just what my ADHD brain needs today to remain calm... Melodic, rhythmic & aural evolving complexity of the finest synthetic vintage... (Headphones recommended) runningbackrecords.bandcamp.com/tra… #Music4Coding #Hologram #Synth #NoBeats

runningbackrecords.bandcamp.com

Solstice, by Hologram

from the album Solstice

Karsten Schmidt @toxi.mastodon.thi.ng.ap.brid.gy · 06/10/2026

Gurglerferner (2026) Beautifully rich textures and structures, emphasized by the hard light and created by glacial abrasion of this once great (and still utterly majestic) glacier flowing directly from the central Alpine divide. If you squint you can see a […] [Original post on mastodon.thi.ng]

B&W photo of a rocky high alpine landscape with a large glacier flowing diagonally across the image. A huge section/slope of exposed bed rock in the foreground, rocks glistening in the sun, leading down into a canyon (not shown). Further back, behind the ice flow, a ridge section of the Alpine divide with majestic peaks and several small side glaciers flowing into the main Ferner. Clear sky.

Karsten Schmidt @toxi.mastodon.thi.ng.ap.brid.gy · 05/10/2026

Pass dal Güglia Sep 29, 2024 Sep 28, 2026 #MountainMonday #LandscapePhotography #NaturePhotography #Alps #Mountains

A group of swiss pines near an alpine mountain pass with slopes of colorful vegetation leading up to a majestic mountain peak. The higher elevations have already been dusted with the first snow. Clouds drifting over the pass from the other side in the distance. Otherwise clear blue sky.

Another photo taken from almost the same place, only two years later. A group of swiss pines near an alpine mountain pass with slopes of colorful autumn vegetation leading up to a majestic mountain peak. Clear blue sky.

Karsten Schmidt @toxi.mastodon.thi.ng.ap.brid.gy · 04/10/2026

Sign of the times. Gaudi & zusaufen bis zum erbrochenen Ende! Ist es denn auch wirklich eine Wiese, wenn's nur Bier aber gar kein Gras zum konsumieren gibt? 🤔

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Reposted by Karsten Schmidt

Karsten Schmidt @toxi.mastodon.thi.ng.ap.brid.gy · 29/06/2026

Mieminger Range (2026) (Some of the best morning light shafts I was lucky to witness in recent years...) #MountainMonday #LandscapePhotography #BlackAndWhite #Monochrome #NoirCountry #Alps #Light

B&W photo of an alpine landscape with dense forests in the valley and layers of tall, steep and rocky peaks higher up in the background. Intense light shafts are piercing the cloudy sky and hazy atmosphere, creating a beautiful light spectacle with some patches of the forest in direct sunlight.

Reposted by Karsten Schmidt

Karsten Schmidt @toxi.mastodon.thi.ng.ap.brid.gy · 21/09/2026

Catcher Of Clouds & Light (Zugspitze, 2026) #MountainMonday #MonochromeMonday #LandscapePhotography #BlackAndWhite #NoirCountry #Alps #Mountains

B&W photo of a large mountain massif with clouds getting stuck at its highest peaks. The view is framed by steep curved slopes of other mountains in mid distance. Strong diagonal light shafts piercing through the early morning haze, some of them also illuminating the tree tops of the dense forest in the center/foreground.

Reposted by Karsten Schmidt

Karsten Schmidt @toxi.mastodon.thi.ng.ap.brid.gy · 03/10/2026

I've started collecting dates for various photography related markets/events in southern Germany & Austria (mostly Tirol) for the coming ~9 months. If you know about other such events (esp. for fine art photography prints), I'd highly appreciate any pointers and I'll add them to this list. Thank […]

mastodon.thi.ng

Original post on mastodon.thi.ng

Reposted by Karsten Schmidt

Karsten Schmidt @toxi.mastodon.thi.ng.ap.brid.gy · 03/10/2026

Gran Inversion (2026) (Gran Zebru (3851 m) and the glaciated Monte Cevedale (3769 m) and Adamello-Presanella Alps [with main peaks at 3539 & 3558 meters] towering high above the clouds floating above the valley) #SilentSunday #LandscapePhotography […] [Original post on mastodon.thi.ng]

B&W photo of a large alpine valley covered by a thick layer of white clouds and thin strips of wispy mist above it. Majestic mountain peaks in the distance, some of them heavily glaciated. The view is from a mountain pass above the clouds. Steep slopes with dense forest in the foreground.

Karsten Schmidt @toxi.mastodon.thi.ng.ap.brid.gy · 03/10/2026

Gran Inversion (2026) (Gran Zebru (3851 m) and the glaciated Monte Cevedale (3769 m) and Adamello-Presanella Alps [with main peaks at 3539 & 3558 meters] towering high above the clouds floating above the valley) #SilentSunday #LandscapePhotography […] [Original post on mastodon.thi.ng]

B&W photo of a large alpine valley covered by a thick layer of white clouds and thin strips of wispy mist above it. Majestic mountain peaks in the distance, some of them heavily glaciated. The view is from a mountain pass above the clouds. Steep slopes with dense forest in the foreground.

Karsten Schmidt @toxi.mastodon.thi.ng.ap.brid.gy · 03/10/2026

I've started collecting dates for various photography related markets/events in southern Germany & Austria (mostly Tirol) for the coming ~9 months. If you know about other such events (esp. for fine art photography prints), I'd highly appreciate any pointers and I'll add them to this list. Thank […]

mastodon.thi.ng

Original post on mastodon.thi.ng

Karsten Schmidt @toxi.mastodon.thi.ng.ap.brid.gy · 02/10/2026

The beauty of pure synth. A single filtered sequence, repeated in ever changing variations, deeply touching, on perma repeat... 😍 nthing — I Hear You nthng.bandcamp.com/track/i-hear-you The opening track from nthng's new album Last Light Of The Sun (released today) […]

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Original post on mastodon.thi.ng

Karsten Schmidt @toxi.mastodon.thi.ng.ap.brid.gy · 02/10/2026

Rocky Road (2026) (Even if hundreds of years old, some paths [in life] always will & should remain rocky as they can be good teachers...) #FootpathFriday #Photography #BlackAndWhite #NoirCountry #Hiking

B&W photo of an old hiking path made of arranged rocks, in a similar fashion of ancient roman roads. The path is surrounded by forest and large boulders and is leading towards a steep drop-off in near distance. The path is partially in the shade of the trees, but the bright light creates a hard contrast. Clear bright sky.

Reposted by Karsten Schmidt

Koen Hufkens, PhD @koen-hufkens.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 01/10/2026

RAM prices going through the roof. Hold on to your aging hardware people. Optimize code for performance like you are sending someone to the moon using pocket calculator. www.theregister.com/systems/2026/10…

theregister.com

RAM supply set to worsen, says Micron, as CEO celebrates ‘much higher’ prices

Posts huge leaps in revenue, profit, and margin, with more to come

Karsten Schmidt @toxi.mastodon.thi.ng.ap.brid.gy · 01/10/2026

Very good and necessarily scary article about this year's extreme glacial volume losses in the Swiss Alps, including great visualizations. The effects will be felt all over central Europe, this is not just a local problem […]

mastodon.thi.ng

Original post on mastodon.thi.ng

Reposted by Karsten Schmidt

Karsten Schmidt @toxi.mastodon.thi.ng.ap.brid.gy · 30/09/2026

Non-virtual Reality (2026) (The office this week... Meticulously planned weeks/months ago, then been waiting for the right time/weather/season, now capturing a year's worth of impressions in just a few days...) #LandscapePhotography #NaturePhotography #Alps #Mountains #Autumn #Color #Glacier

A path leading into the distance through a stunningly colorful alpine landscape with glaciated peaks in the background. In foreground, a dense carpet of small bushes and grasses in intensely saturated autumn colors (reads/oranges/yellows). Rocks and small groups of larches and Swiss pines dotted here and there. A mountain creek meandering through the meadows in the large cirque in the back. Hazy pale blue sky with some wispy clouds forming.

Karsten Schmidt @toxi.mastodon.thi.ng.ap.brid.gy · 30/09/2026

Non-virtual Reality (2026) (The office this week... Meticulously planned weeks/months ago, then been waiting for the right time/weather/season, now capturing a year's worth of impressions in just a few days...) #LandscapePhotography #NaturePhotography #Alps #Mountains #Autumn #Color #Glacier

A path leading into the distance through a stunningly colorful alpine landscape with glaciated peaks in the background. In foreground, a dense carpet of small bushes and grasses in intensely saturated autumn colors (reads/oranges/yellows). Rocks and small groups of larches and Swiss pines dotted here and there. A mountain creek meandering through the meadows in the large cirque in the back. Hazy pale blue sky with some wispy clouds forming.

Karsten Schmidt @toxi.mastodon.thi.ng.ap.brid.gy · 28/09/2026

Early Morning In The Ammergau Alps. #MorningWalk #MountainMonday #LandscapePhotography #NaturePhotography #Alps #Forest #Dew

Karsten Schmidt @toxi.mastodon.thi.ng.ap.brid.gy · 27/09/2026

The Quiet Place (2024) (Actually only half true. More up close, glaciers are full of the most amazing sounds... yet from this distance, higher up, all you can hear is the wind and your own breath/heartbeat...) #SilentSunday #LandscapePhotography #Alps #Glacier #Mountains

View of a large glacier flowing below its surrounding glaciated landscape of ~4000 meter peaks with huge ice falls and 1000+ meter tall rock faces dusted in fresh powder snow. Clear blue sky.

Reposted by Karsten Schmidt

M.S. Bellows, Jr. @msbellows.c.im.ap.brid.gy · 24/09/2026

I'm so old, I remember when software that spread into the wild and infiltrated other people's computers and did harmful things to them that the users didn't ask it to was called "malware" instead of "AI" and the people that spread it were prosecuted instead of given billions in venture capital […]

Original post on c.im

Karsten Schmidt @toxi.mastodon.thi.ng.ap.brid.gy · 26/09/2026

RE: mastodon.social/@fesshole/117325765… Self-taught vs formally taught, in a nutshell... 😅

mastodon.social

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Karsten Schmidt @toxi.mastodon.thi.ng.ap.brid.gy · 25/09/2026

Alpine Autumn (2026) (No extra saturation, only polarization. For those never been in the mountains around this time of the year, these colors sure might look artificial to you...) #FootpathFriday #LandscapePhotography #NaturePhotography #Alps #Mountains #Hiking #Autumn

Portrait photo of a treeless alpine landscape with low-growth tundra vegetation in rich, earthy autumnal colors (oranges, yellows, browns, reds...) A narrow rocky footpath is zigzagging up the steep mountain slope towards a small piece of horizon in the top-left corner with soft azure clear sky.

Karsten Schmidt @toxi.mastodon.thi.ng.ap.brid.gy · 25/09/2026

RE: meow.social/@arakin/117328053601652… Been searching for this clip for months... Perfect summary for working in tech (not only) in 2026...

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Karsten Schmidt @toxi.mastodon.thi.ng.ap.brid.gy · 24/09/2026

"An emperor who has an obsession with fancy new clothes, and spends lavishly on them at the expense of state matters. One day, two conmen[1] visit the emperor's capital. Posing as weavers, they offer to supply him with magnificent clothes that are invisible to those who are either incompetent or […]

mastodon.thi.ng

Original post on mastodon.thi.ng

Karsten Schmidt @toxi.mastodon.thi.ng.ap.brid.gy · 24/09/2026

RE: neuromatch.social/@jonny/1173251374… Aside from the original point of the quoted message, just imagine all the information requested in these (hardcoded) "ideas" put forward by the model to be helpful (3rd image) and handing these answers to Meta, one of the most […]

mastodon.thi.ng

Original post on mastodon.thi.ng

Karsten Schmidt @toxi.mastodon.thi.ng.ap.brid.gy · 24/09/2026

RE: neuromatch.social/@jonny/1173256804… For context: This is part of the fabulous mega thread by @jonny taking apart Meta's new Muse model, after prompting it to send him its entire filesystem (and it happily complying)... The amount of gaslighting done by AI companies and the […]

mastodon.thi.ng

Original post on mastodon.thi.ng

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Karsten Schmidt @toxi.mastodon.thi.ng.ap.brid.gy · 24/09/2026

Tomorrow is photo chem recycling day (every six months here): This means impending darkroom session today, checking vintage grades, measuring pH levels, filtering and replenishing various concoctions/solutions... #AltProcess #Darkroom #Kallitype #Photography #FineArt #PrintMaking

A dozen or so handmade kallitype prints of different sizes and tones, scattered on my sorting table for review. The prints mostly depict mountain landscapes in the Alps.

Reposted by Karsten Schmidt

Karsten Schmidt @toxi.mastodon.thi.ng.ap.brid.gy · 23/09/2026

Tonight's evening walk & photo session at the local bird sanctuary... 🤩 #EveningWalk #LandscapePhotography #NaturePhotography #Sunset #Lake

A lake with small islands and autumnal mixed forest beneath a peachy glowing vanilla sky, the clouds reflecting on the completely still water surface. A solitary swan. Patches of algae.

A lake and silhouettes of surrounding trees against the sunset sky with beautiful stretched out orange/pink clouds, also reflected on the completely still lake surface.

Karsten Schmidt @toxi.mastodon.thi.ng.ap.brid.gy · 23/09/2026

Tonight's evening walk & photo session at the local bird sanctuary... 🤩 #EveningWalk #LandscapePhotography #NaturePhotography #Sunset #Lake

A lake with small islands and autumnal mixed forest beneath a peachy glowing vanilla sky, the clouds reflecting on the completely still water surface. A solitary swan. Patches of algae.

A lake and silhouettes of surrounding trees against the sunset sky with beautiful stretched out orange/pink clouds, also reflected on the completely still lake surface.

Karsten Schmidt @toxi.mastodon.thi.ng.ap.brid.gy · 23/09/2026

If you're using #TypeScript or #JavaScript or #NPM, where do people hang out and talk about projects/issues these days (other than on Reddit, Discord), i.e. where are the communities/exchanges, since the topics obviously aren't popular on Mastdon. For a while now, any of my posts and […]

mastodon.thi.ng

Original post on mastodon.thi.ng

Karsten Schmidt @toxi.mastodon.thi.ng.ap.brid.gy · 23/09/2026

More NPM troubles: Anyone else been getting 404s when trying to publish to NPM in recent days? I hope they're not messing with the 2FA publish token workflow already. I was banking on having another 3 months before their proposed sh*t[1] hits the fan... (Trying to share, helping others and […]

mastodon.thi.ng

Original post on mastodon.thi.ng

Karsten Schmidt @toxi.mastodon.thi.ng.ap.brid.gy · 23/09/2026

Just published a new comment on the NPM discussion page about upcoming phase out of 2FA tokens for direct publishing and the dire consequences this will have on many projects (including ~220 of my own packages). I'd appreciate if more people impacted by these changes are making their voices […]

mastodon.thi.ng

Original post on mastodon.thi.ng

Karsten Schmidt @toxi.mastodon.thi.ng.ap.brid.gy · 22/09/2026

And there it is: DJT officially rebranding AI to SI (Super Intelligence) in all official US communications, hoping to remove negative connotations and counter the growing backlash against AI-affine tech & politics... #AI #UNAssembly

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Karsten Schmidt @toxi.mastodon.thi.ng.ap.brid.gy · 22/09/2026

Watching UN general assembly live stream: www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6_Kl2oVOTs So far very good speech by António Guterres... #UNAssembly

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Karsten Schmidt @toxi.mastodon.thi.ng.ap.brid.gy · 22/09/2026

Glacial Abstract (2026) #TextureTuesday #LandscapePhotography #Abstract #Art #Glacier

Cropped view deep into a glacial valley, with parts of the actual glacier visible in the back and steep sunlit talus slopes, partially covered in dried yellow grasses towards the foreground. The mountain peaks on the right side (out of view) are casting jagged hard shadows onto the slopes, further aiding the abstract character of this composition.

Reposted by Karsten Schmidt

skry @skry.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 21/09/2026

URGENT: Forest Service Fast-Tracks Logging Across 10,000 Acres of #Oregon National Forest. Deadline Today. The Forest Service is rushing a massive post-fire logging project through a seven-day public comment window. The deadline is tonight. #uspol substack.com/home/post/p-216680959

Karsten Schmidt @toxi.mastodon.thi.ng.ap.brid.gy · 21/09/2026

RE: hachyderm.io/@inthehands/1173108936… All their plans are working (AI companies) and most politicians are sleepwalking into these talks... Also see here (from last week): mastodon.thi.ng/@toxi/1172802902184… #AI #RegulatoryCapture

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Karsten Schmidt @toxi.mastodon.thi.ng.ap.brid.gy · 21/09/2026

Catcher Of Clouds & Light (Zugspitze, 2026) #MountainMonday #MonochromeMonday #LandscapePhotography #BlackAndWhite #NoirCountry #Alps #Mountains

B&W photo of a large mountain massif with clouds getting stuck at its highest peaks. The view is framed by steep curved slopes of other mountains in mid distance. Strong diagonal light shafts piercing through the early morning haze, some of them also illuminating the tree tops of the dense forest in the center/foreground.

Reposted by Karsten Schmidt

Geoffrey Giebelhaus @geoff-eg.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 20/09/2026

Tall, closely spaced bamboo stalks form a natural corridor leading toward soft light, with a slender dark tree branch cutting through the pale green grove.

Karsten Schmidt @toxi.mastodon.thi.ng.ap.brid.gy · 20/09/2026

After The Drought (2026) (Temporary bounce back of lush greens, at least for a few weeks, after an extremely hot & dry summer in the Alps...) #SilentSunday #LandscapePhotography #NaturePhotography #Forest #Alps #Mountains #Hiking

An extremely lush sub-alpine mixed forest (willows, larches, spruces, firs etc.) with steep slopes and cliffs of the valley sides further back on the left and tall jagged mountain peaks in the background. Sunny day with clear blue sky.

Karsten Schmidt @toxi.mastodon.thi.ng.ap.brid.gy · 20/09/2026

Golden Hour, Green Lung (2026) #SilentSunday #EveningWalk #LandscapePhotography #NaturePhotography #River

A small river bend during golden hour with trees on either side, some of them have fallen across/into the river. Patches of leaves and algae on the surface.

A small river bend during golden hour with trees and fields on either side, some of them have fallen across/into the river. Patches of leaves and algae on the surface.

Karsten Schmidt @toxi.mastodon.thi.ng.ap.brid.gy · 19/09/2026

Everything in life, at some level, is about storytelling, so they say. Yet, telling my own story, about my own work, the reasons/impetus, the processes, the details, mistakes, insights, lessons, connections etc. It is the hardest thing ever. As much as I do love writing, I've always strongly […]

mastodon.thi.ng

Original post on mastodon.thi.ng

Karsten Schmidt @toxi.mastodon.thi.ng.ap.brid.gy · 18/09/2026

RE: sunny.garden/@manomine/117214233927… Another one of the latest handmade creations by my better half... #Manomine #Handmade #Craft

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