Iain Emsley
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iainemsley.bsky.social
Iain Emsley
@iainemsley.bsky.social
33 followers 49 following 51 posts
Currently a Research Software Engineer at CIM where I teach Digital Media. Working on a book on sonification and an Encyclopaedia article on Computing and Sound. Occasionally I garden. Owned by cats.
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Reposted by Iain Emsley
jamescummings.bsky.social
I really don't understand people who don't put alt text. Just go to that gear up there, accessibility, and ask bsky to remind you!

And the great thing is the Alt text can be a whopping 2000 characters!! You can have whole conversations via the Alt text with what seems like a decorative image.
This is a photo of Whitley Bay Beach from a couple of days ago. The other day I went to my local beach in Whitley Bay (this is near where I live, which I usually don't admit online but you are special). The recent Storm Chandra took the sand from our lovely soft fluffy golden sand beach in Whitley Bay. Usually it is a mile or so of the best beach around. I hear it is good for swimming, but it is also the North Sea so I just paddle in it occasionally. Now, the sand will return. I know that seems hard to believe but this happens every couple of years (it seems to be increasing in frequency) and over the next few weeks the sand will slowly drift back at high tide and incrementally it will restore the beach. When the annual Sandcastle competition occurs it will be knee deep in sand and one could never believe there are so many rocks beneath the sand. Walking over the rocks can be difficult, so if you visit, be careful. Once you get over them there are some sand banks further out on the beach at low tide, so it is still possible to walk, run, or exercise a dog up and down the beach. It just doesn't look pretty for the first 30 yards or so. What's interesting is the variety of rocks geologically which makes me wish I knew more about geology to identify the different types. There are also some nice sea-tumbled bricks with the rounded corners that make them look like an early 2000s website. When the sand is in, there is nice sea-glass from old beer bottles and similar which are in tiny polished fragments. I took one of them once and drilled a hole through it and then engraved the first initial of my wife's name on it. I'm not sure if she likes it aesthetically, but she was touched by the effort, I think. Once you've enjoyed the beach or walked along to St Mary's Lighthouse, which is on a tidal island which is always fun you could have fish and chips at Spanish City, or go to Di Meo's for some of the best ice cream in the area. Really, it is delicious, even in this weather.
February 6, 2026 at 4:06 PM
iainemsley.bsky.social
@cdi-warwick.bsky.social has a couple of interesting streams and events over the next few days: warwick.ac.uk/fac/cross_fa... & san-archipelago.super.site
Centre for Digital Inquiry
Centre for Digital Inquiry
warwick.ac.uk
January 27, 2026 at 1:25 PM
Reposted by Iain Emsley
jwyg.bsky.social
looking forward to winter book events for public data cultures in coming months ❄️📗💜✨
jonathangray.org/2026/01/05/b...
including with @digitalmethods.net @digitalgoodnet.bsky.social @internetarchive.eu @unioftheartslondon.bsky.social @cimethods.bsky.social @mctd.bsky.social #dmi26
winter book events for public data cultures ❄️📗
Looking forward to some winter book events for public data cultures in coming weeks and months. ❄️📗
jonathangray.org
January 5, 2026 at 3:02 PM
Reposted by Iain Emsley
rachelcoldicutt.bsky.social
Come and join us for a fun early evening exploration of the AI in the Street project, feat. Yasmine Boudiaf, Mukul Patel, Noortje Marres, Alex Taylor, @halcyene.bsky.social @tmsqrll.bsky.social, Dominique Barron, Annie Radcliffe and me at Newspeak House luma.com/p4fmir78
Event flyer AI in the street: lessons from everyday encounters with AI innovation Join us for an early evening exploration 4pm - Creative diagramming workshop 5pm - project presentation 5:20pm Panel discussion feat Careful Industries, Ada Lovelace Inst, the LGA, and Foxglove Legal 6pm: Drinks and networking 4pm - 7pm, 27 January at Newspeak House
January 8, 2026 at 2:40 PM
iainemsley.bsky.social
Clearly I needed feline help with editing this manuscript
grey cat sitting on printed paper pawing a fountain pen
January 9, 2026 at 12:21 PM
iainemsley.bsky.social
Went for longest run on #shortestday on #WinterSolstice. Having Marmite on toast while watching cats chase each other.
December 21, 2025 at 9:47 AM
iainemsley.bsky.social
At King's College London for DMRN. Presenting work in progress on Eric Sunderland.
December 16, 2025 at 9:47 AM
iainemsley.bsky.social
The Christmas tree has gone up. Fortunately, neither cat really looks up.
December 6, 2025 at 5:19 PM
Reposted by Iain Emsley
simonwillison.net
Let's build hyper-personalized AI-powered software that avoids the attention hijacking anti-patterns that defined so much of the last decade of software design - here's our manifesto with principles on how we can do that - more thoughts on my blog: simonwillison.net/2025/Dec/5/r...
December 5, 2025 at 4:13 PM
iainemsley.bsky.social
Oh oh, we're in trouble,
something's come along a burst our bubble,
yeah yeah.

Fortunately nothing damaged or explored too closely.
two cats inspecting a small box of electronics
December 2, 2025 at 5:54 PM
iainemsley.bsky.social
The windowsill behind my desk has a new furry ornament. She has been trying to work out how to get there for some time.
Cat sitting on a windowsill full of ornaments. An untidy desk is in front of it.
November 27, 2025 at 11:21 AM
Reposted by Iain Emsley
nolauren.bsky.social
“The Software Paper fills a gap for the computational and digital humanities communities...” Thank you to research software engineer extraordinaire @suttonkoeser.bsky.social for leading this initiative for Computational Humanities Research journal. Please share!
Introducing the 'Software Paper': New ways to publish on research software in Computational Humanities Research
When Lauren Tilton first approached me about joining the Computational Humanities Research (CHR) journal’s Editorial Board as an Associate Editor, the thing that made the invitation so compelling and ...
www.cambridge.org
November 26, 2025 at 2:04 PM
iainemsley.bsky.social
I will be going to #dmrn (www.qmul.ac.uk/dmrn/dmrn20/) with a poster on some ongoing archival work that is proving challenging in many ways to explore signals in sound and words.
DMRN+20 - Digital Music Research Network
www.qmul.ac.uk
November 26, 2025 at 8:40 PM
Reposted by Iain Emsley
dahrse-midlands.bsky.social
🎉 On 5 Nov 2025, we held our first DAHRSE Midlands meeting: “Co-Creating DAHRSE Midlands: Vision, Voices, and Next Steps.” A huge thank you to everyone who made this possible! Here's a quick recap 🧵👇
November 13, 2025 at 2:33 AM
Reposted by Iain Emsley
gamehistoryorg.bsky.social
Still need more baseball?

We found a CD in our archives containing dozens of unused voice lines from MLB Slugfest 20-03 rejected by the MLB. Here's some of our favorites.
November 3, 2025 at 7:31 PM
iainemsley.bsky.social
Just heard the John Rylands lunch time seminar is out and about. More details at:

www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/john-rylan...
John Rylands Research Institute and Library
John Rylands Research Institute and Library promotes world-leading research in the humanities and sciences using the unique special collections of The University of Manchester Library – National Resea...
www.eventbrite.co.uk
October 30, 2025 at 5:26 PM
Reposted by Iain Emsley
javiercha.bsky.social
Starting soon. #KADH2025 www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pbg...
[학술대회] KADH2025 / Reimagining the Humanities: Big Data, Culture and the Public - Day1
YouTube video by 디지털인문학 in Korea
www.youtube.com
October 30, 2025 at 1:29 AM
iainemsley.bsky.social
A morning spent doing some overdue family errands was brightened by overtaking a #ghostbusters car on the A43. Presumably a replica
October 30, 2025 at 3:23 PM
Reposted by Iain Emsley
softwaresaved.bsky.social
🌊 Do you have an idea for a mini-workshop, demo, or a lightning talk? This is your chance to take the stage and present your work at #CollabW26.
The deadline for applications is Friday 16 January 2026. We can't wait to see all your amazing proposals!
www.software.ac.uk/news/take-st...
October 30, 2025 at 1:44 PM
Reposted by Iain Emsley
eve.gd
Our team developed an open-source WordPress plugin that lets you pull in items from your ORCID profile and display them on your site. Very cool!

Schopieray, S., & Eben, G. (2025). Linked Open Profiles - ORCID Global Participation Fund Final Report 2025 (p. 3). MSU Commons. doi.org/10.17613/ypc...
Linked Open Profiles - ORCID Global Participation Fund Final Report 2025
Our project, Linked Open Profiles, is a WordPress plugin designed to display ORCID profile data directly on websites. With ORCID Global Participation Fund (GPF) support, we moved the tool from a proto...
doi.org
October 27, 2025 at 9:38 AM
Reposted by Iain Emsley
kmcdono.bsky.social
Registration now open for the Lancaster-Manchester Environmental Digital Humanities seminar on 12 Nov at 12pm (UK time) with @ehameeteman.bsky.social!

www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/reimaginin...

#envhist #envhum #skystorians #histstm
October 27, 2025 at 11:11 AM
iainemsley.bsky.social
Have just come across the Hooked on Sonics essay on the Public Domain Review.

publicdomainreview.org/essay/scienc...
Hooked on Sonics: Experimenting with Sound in 19th-Century Popular Science
Of all the senses cultivated throughout the 19th century, it was the sense of hearing that experienced the most dramatic transformation, as the science of sound underwent rapid advancement. Lucas Thom...
publicdomainreview.org
October 23, 2025 at 4:02 PM
iainemsley.bsky.social
An hour and a alf of fireworks are too much for one cat who has slunk off. Other one not remotely bothered.
October 20, 2025 at 8:04 PM
Reposted by Iain Emsley
eve.gd
"The protocol taught us that technology can be based on human values like ethics and morality. It showed that voluntary compliance works when all parties benefit."

On robots.txt.

www.heise.de/en/backgroun...
Obituary: Farewell to robots.txt (1994-2025)
The voluntary compliance protocol that civilized the internet has departed, bids Henning Fries farewell.
www.heise.de
October 16, 2025 at 8:16 PM
Reposted by Iain Emsley
sararribas.bsky.social
I went to the amazing @scholarslab.bsky.social and they have a lot of cool stuff like zines! I took my favorites with me and I have now a #DHMakes space in my office
October 16, 2025 at 2:20 PM