Barry McKernan
@bmckastro.bsky.social
Astronomer, Dad, Husband, Gamer, Occasional runner, hiker, traveller, History, Crosswords, Irish in America
Woah!
Holy shit, just learned about the typewriter art of Montserrat Alberich Escardívol, a Catalan typist. Using an extra wide typewriter and 180 color ribbons, she built up elaborate images from simple characters like 'm' and '.' and ';'. Here is her typewritten painting of the Cathedral of Barcelona.
November 12, 2025 at 10:15 PM
Woah!
This is brilliant! The braids in the Liffey by Ringsend are very cool. Shows you what dredging/reclamation in the c.17/18th did!
A coloured plan of the bay and harbour of #Dublin, c. 1680 A nice reminder of how complicated the route through to Dublin city was and why so many disembarked at Howth or Ringsend. (British Library Maps K. Top. 53. 4.)
November 11, 2025 at 6:49 PM
This is brilliant! The braids in the Liffey by Ringsend are very cool. Shows you what dredging/reclamation in the c.17/18th did!
You know your science publicity efforts have worked when you make Colbert's "Sound of Science"🤣
Check out 3:13 for 10s.
youtu.be/DFgJWAEpdak
Check out 3:13 for 10s.
youtu.be/DFgJWAEpdak
The Sound of Science: Space BBQ | Woodpecker Hammering | Beaver Moon | Why Humans Grow Horns
YouTube video by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
youtu.be
November 11, 2025 at 4:53 PM
You know your science publicity efforts have worked when you make Colbert's "Sound of Science"🤣
Check out 3:13 for 10s.
youtu.be/DFgJWAEpdak
Check out 3:13 for 10s.
youtu.be/DFgJWAEpdak
OMG this!
November 10, 2025 at 12:17 AM
OMG this!
Brilliant!
November 10, 2025 at 12:14 AM
Brilliant!
A thread running through our history. And yet 'civilization' literally comes from the city (civitas)
1. In the wake on Mamdani’s win, we’ll see a lot more far right anti-urban sentiment. Here’s a thread on its roots and evolution.
The idea that the city is evil and corrupt, and the countryside innocent and pure, goes back a long way: to Theocritus in Alexandria, and to the Old Testament. 🧵
The idea that the city is evil and corrupt, and the countryside innocent and pure, goes back a long way: to Theocritus in Alexandria, and to the Old Testament. 🧵
November 9, 2025 at 2:35 PM
A thread running through our history. And yet 'civilization' literally comes from the city (civitas)
Yeah, scary pumpkins are cute. Carved turnips, back in the day; terrifying.
Happy #Halloween from Ireland where a carved turnip started a craze. We celebrate ‘Samhain’ from sunset as an ancient Celtic tradition to mark the end of harvest and beginning of winter. Plaster replica of carved turnip in National Museum of Ireland - Country Life #samhain @nmireland.bsky.social
November 9, 2025 at 2:28 PM
Yeah, scary pumpkins are cute. Carved turnips, back in the day; terrifying.
I already see this with students. Humans are lazy, we look for short-cuts. Thinking is like going to the gym; it's work. Most people don't want to. AI will cosset us and make us mentally un-fit. Dangerous. We'll need explicit thinking courses just like we need gyms.
AI pushers talk about it "augmenting" capacity, but that ignores human nature. Why walk or bike, when you can drive? It's easier, so most of us do, but you get fat & lazy. AI will do the same to a lot of people's brains, I fear. Via @financialtimes.com piece on AI habits
ig.ft.com/ai-personal-...
ig.ft.com/ai-personal-...
November 9, 2025 at 2:05 PM
I already see this with students. Humans are lazy, we look for short-cuts. Thinking is like going to the gym; it's work. Most people don't want to. AI will cosset us and make us mentally un-fit. Dangerous. We'll need explicit thinking courses just like we need gyms.
That's Irish-level stuff!
pre-writing a devastating obituary for your enemy is god-tier hating of a kind you don’t often see anymore. renaissance haterism. beautiful stuff.
A Sharon Begley byline, almost 5 years after her death.
Upon hearing the news James Watson had died, a STAT reporter said in our Slack, "I wish I could read what Sharon would have written."
Incredible news: Sharon in fact did pre-write a Watson obit. And it is masterful and excoriating.
🧪🧬🧫
Upon hearing the news James Watson had died, a STAT reporter said in our Slack, "I wish I could read what Sharon would have written."
Incredible news: Sharon in fact did pre-write a Watson obit. And it is masterful and excoriating.
🧪🧬🧫
November 9, 2025 at 2:02 PM
That's Irish-level stuff!
A story happened here:
November 8, 2025 at 10:38 PM
A story happened here:
Trying to explain Zohran to fellow-Europeans is weird:
"So he's a communist?"
"No".
"A Trot?"
"No".
"Fringe leftie?"
"No"
"A socialist?"
"I mean, center-left, but no further"
"So he's a centerist?"
"Yep."
"Jesus, the US is weird"
"You've noticed!?"
"So he's a communist?"
"No".
"A Trot?"
"No".
"Fringe leftie?"
"No"
"A socialist?"
"I mean, center-left, but no further"
"So he's a centerist?"
"Yep."
"Jesus, the US is weird"
"You've noticed!?"
Our “radical” is their Tuesday.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Europeans recognize Zohran Mamdani’s supposedly radical policies as ‘normal’
Critics of New York City’s mayor-elect have said his pledges of free bus service and universal childcare are unrealistic, but in Europe it’s a given
www.theguardian.com
November 8, 2025 at 10:36 PM
Trying to explain Zohran to fellow-Europeans is weird:
"So he's a communist?"
"No".
"A Trot?"
"No".
"Fringe leftie?"
"No"
"A socialist?"
"I mean, center-left, but no further"
"So he's a centerist?"
"Yep."
"Jesus, the US is weird"
"You've noticed!?"
"So he's a communist?"
"No".
"A Trot?"
"No".
"Fringe leftie?"
"No"
"A socialist?"
"I mean, center-left, but no further"
"So he's a centerist?"
"Yep."
"Jesus, the US is weird"
"You've noticed!?"
Yeah, he's talented at the level of Obama. Generational. Godspeed.
Christ, he is supernaturally good at this.
Locked in with @arimelber.bsky.social.
November 5, 2025 at 1:44 AM
Yeah, he's talented at the level of Obama. Generational. Godspeed.
Greatest radio show of all time. A beacon of the enlightenment & an ongoing education:
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/04/m...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/04/m...
The Soothing British Radio Show That Blew My Mind — and Put Me Right to Sleep
www.nytimes.com
November 5, 2025 at 1:32 AM
Greatest radio show of all time. A beacon of the enlightenment & an ongoing education:
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/04/m...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/04/m...
Do not fucka with the Puca. That is all. (Also Puca = Puck; mischievous fairy spirit)
Last night I went to the Puca Festival in Trim, Ireland.
It's all fun and games until someone unleashes a giant demonic hare.
It's all fun and games until someone unleashes a giant demonic hare.
November 5, 2025 at 12:21 AM
Do not fucka with the Puca. That is all. (Also Puca = Puck; mischievous fairy spirit)
Nice write up of the Big One!
www.gc.cuny.edu/news/graduat...
www.gc.cuny.edu/news/graduat...
Graduate Center Astrophysicists Find Black Hole Flare Is Biggest and Most Distant Seen
The flare, co-discovered by scientists at CUNY and Caltech, may be the result of a mega black-hole meal.
www.gc.cuny.edu
November 4, 2025 at 4:52 PM
Nice write up of the Big One!
www.gc.cuny.edu/news/graduat...
www.gc.cuny.edu/news/graduat...
This is very thoughtful. AI using language as a vector for thinking; but far harder with e.g. video. Human thought may be more understandable than we thought.
www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
The Case That A.I. Is Thinking
ChatGPT does not have an inner life. Yet it seems to know what it’s talking about.
www.newyorker.com
November 4, 2025 at 4:32 PM
This is very thoughtful. AI using language as a vector for thinking; but far harder with e.g. video. Human thought may be more understandable than we thought.
www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
Future historians: This was the online experience in 2025
November 4, 2025 at 1:35 PM
Future historians: This was the online experience in 2025
This was a fun project. Lots of detective work involved. Definitely not beamed (at least strongly) and lensing seems unlikely. Massive star being shredded is least unlikely possibility! We know stars in AGN disks should be weirdly massive. So...
Do you (🧪🔭⚛️) wanna see what
E=Msun c^2
looks like?
Well I’ve got great news (an SMBH shredded a fairly massive star in an AGN disk… and that’ll do it!):
E=Msun c^2
looks like?
Well I’ve got great news (an SMBH shredded a fairly massive star in an AGN disk… and that’ll do it!):
Scientists detect biggest black hole flare ever seen — with the power of 10 trillion suns
The star causing this flare is not yet fully devoured: "Like a fish only halfway down the whale's gullet."
www.space.com
November 4, 2025 at 1:33 PM
This was a fun project. Lots of detective work involved. Definitely not beamed (at least strongly) and lensing seems unlikely. Massive star being shredded is least unlikely possibility! We know stars in AGN disks should be weirdly massive. So...
Brilliant! More places should do this. A nice cup of tea, and a slice of rhubarb tart. Lovely! Democracy FTW!
The home of the O'Donovan family is being used as a polling station in Coolmoyne, Co Tipperary. Around 250 people are eligible to vote at the house and after they cast their ballot, they will be treated to a cup of tea, a slice of apple or rhubarb tart, or a scone | More: rte.ie/b/1540324
October 25, 2025 at 6:51 PM
Brilliant! More places should do this. A nice cup of tea, and a slice of rhubarb tart. Lovely! Democracy FTW!
Fair.
On the centenary of Thatcher's birth, there have been predictable calls for a memorial to her memory. But Britain's 2300 food banks serve that purpose already.
October 18, 2025 at 1:16 PM
Fair.
Honesty!
"I know I am not the strongest candidate. I do not have the highest GPA or SAT score. That is part of the reason why I am dedicating all 650 words of this essay to convincing your school that you should take a chance on me. Accept me, Dartmouth, and I will be your ride-or-die."
My Common App Essay: “Every School Reading This Except Dartmouth Sucks Ass”
PROMPT: Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome? The summer after f...
buff.ly
October 16, 2025 at 1:39 PM
Honesty!
Very interesting take on cultivating a Viennese group (coffee, open, chats, amiability- even with Godel!)
alistapart.com/article/desi...
alistapart.com/article/desi...
Designing Amiable Web Spaces: Lessons from Vienna's Café Culture
Explore the impact of amiability in web interactions and learn from the history of Vienna Circle's collaborative spirit in dealing with disagreements.
alistapart.com
October 16, 2025 at 1:32 PM
Very interesting take on cultivating a Viennese group (coffee, open, chats, amiability- even with Godel!)
alistapart.com/article/desi...
alistapart.com/article/desi...
Brilliant!
Today in "everything is connected if you pull hard enough".
Gustav Holst was the school music teacher of Cecilia Payne, who discovered the chemical composition of the stars. He tried to get her to become a musician but she ignored him. She went on to write the most important astrophysics PhD of the 20th century and become the first woman professor at Harvard
September 30, 2025 at 12:03 PM
Brilliant!
Silence/stillness as a timeless means of dealing with life:
www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2...
www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2...
What ancient Irish monks can teach us about slowing down
The Irish monastic tradition reminds us that silence is not a gap to be filled and human flourishing does not solely depend on productivity
www.rte.ie
September 11, 2025 at 3:51 PM
Silence/stillness as a timeless means of dealing with life:
www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2...
www.rte.ie/brainstorm/2...