Thanasis Kinias
@tkinias.historians.social.ap.brid.gy
Academic historian & #histodon. Research race and whiteness in the British Empire (especially Queensland & British Columbia). Teach British Empire and world […]
🌉 bridged from ⁂ https://historians.social/@tkinias, follow @ap.brid.gy to interact
🌉 bridged from ⁂ https://historians.social/@tkinias, follow @ap.brid.gy to interact
Reposted by Thanasis Kinias
It's becoming increasingly clear to me that Reflect Orbital's fucking stupid giant mirror satellite, with absolutely NOTHING useful to offer, which will cause countless safety issues, ecological disasters, and destroy the night sky, is going to launch.
A bunch of astronomers and I have sent out […]
A bunch of astronomers and I have sent out […]
Original post on mastodon.social
mastodon.social
October 9, 2025 at 5:19 PM
It's becoming increasingly clear to me that Reflect Orbital's fucking stupid giant mirror satellite, with absolutely NOTHING useful to offer, which will cause countless safety issues, ecological disasters, and destroy the night sky, is going to launch.
A bunch of astronomers and I have sent out […]
A bunch of astronomers and I have sent out […]
I want a laptop setting that’s “I’m sitting in the damn sun, so crank that screen up to burn-my-eyes-out bright and battery life be damned”
October 9, 2025 at 5:38 PM
I want a laptop setting that’s “I’m sitting in the damn sun, so crank that screen up to burn-my-eyes-out bright and battery life be damned”
Gotta say I’m disappointed with @frameworkcomputer and I hope that they reconsider their recent decisions.
I’d been using ThinkPads for 20+ years until switching to Framework for my latest laptop two years ago, and I’ve been an evangelist for them ever since.
I’d been using ThinkPads for 20+ years until switching to Framework for my latest laptop two years ago, and I’ve been an evangelist for them ever since.
October 9, 2025 at 11:27 AM
Gotta say I’m disappointed with @frameworkcomputer and I hope that they reconsider their recent decisions.
I’d been using ThinkPads for 20+ years until switching to Framework for my latest laptop two years ago, and I’ve been an evangelist for them ever since.
I’d been using ThinkPads for 20+ years until switching to Framework for my latest laptop two years ago, and I’ve been an evangelist for them ever since.
Reposted by Thanasis Kinias
Jack Posobiec is criticizing Weimar Republic Germany the right way.
--Ezra Klein
--Ezra Klein
October 8, 2025 at 9:59 PM
Jack Posobiec is criticizing Weimar Republic Germany the right way.
--Ezra Klein
--Ezra Klein
The world is terrible, but this morning I’m bringing a class to look at cool stuff—late Edo & Meiji-era prints, nineteenth-century Japanese books (plus an early 19th c. Chinese Gospel of Matthew), and in pride of place, a 13th c. printed Buddhist scroll from Japan
October 8, 2025 at 2:32 PM
The world is terrible, but this morning I’m bringing a class to look at cool stuff—late Edo & Meiji-era prints, nineteenth-century Japanese books (plus an early 19th c. Chinese Gospel of Matthew), and in pride of place, a 13th c. printed Buddhist scroll from Japan
Reposted by Thanasis Kinias
We need more Hugh Thompsons and Ron Ridenhours in the world.
October 6, 2025 at 10:17 PM
We need more Hugh Thompsons and Ron Ridenhours in the world.
You know what I love?
When I get done grading an assignment and then I discover that Canvas has inexplicably just not saved the grades or comments for a third of the class.
When I get done grading an assignment and then I discover that Canvas has inexplicably just not saved the grades or comments for a third of the class.
October 5, 2025 at 9:25 PM
You know what I love?
When I get done grading an assignment and then I discover that Canvas has inexplicably just not saved the grades or comments for a third of the class.
When I get done grading an assignment and then I discover that Canvas has inexplicably just not saved the grades or comments for a third of the class.
Reposted by Thanasis Kinias
Over the weekend, I wrote to the nearly 200 members of c18.masto.host who joined us in 2022-2024 and then stopped logging in over a year ago. I've gotten several emails back saying that after committing to Bluesky, social media as a whole came to feel like a bad idea. It is my hope that keeping […]
Original post on c18.masto.host
c18.masto.host
October 5, 2025 at 2:52 PM
Over the weekend, I wrote to the nearly 200 members of c18.masto.host who joined us in 2022-2024 and then stopped logging in over a year ago. I've gotten several emails back saying that after committing to Bluesky, social media as a whole came to feel like a bad idea. It is my hope that keeping […]
Hey friends! I’m looking for a good article-length reading on sawm (fasting) in Islam to use with undergrads. What I’m looking for is a scholarly work on the practice from a religious studies/cultural studies perspective—but all the scholarship I can find is stuff like “health effects of fasting […]
Original post on historians.social
historians.social
October 5, 2025 at 12:41 PM
Hey friends! I’m looking for a good article-length reading on sawm (fasting) in Islam to use with undergrads. What I’m looking for is a scholarly work on the practice from a religious studies/cultural studies perspective—but all the scholarship I can find is stuff like “health effects of fasting […]
I just noticed how Roger L’Estrange’s name is printed here (“L’ſtrange”) and for some reason it really amuses me.
(This is from Hannah Wooley’s _The Accomplish’d Lady’s Delight_, 2d ed., London, 1677)
#bookhistory #histodons
(This is from Hannah Wooley’s _The Accomplish’d Lady’s Delight_, 2d ed., London, 1677)
#bookhistory #histodons
October 5, 2025 at 12:35 AM
I just noticed how Roger L’Estrange’s name is printed here (“L’ſtrange”) and for some reason it really amuses me.
(This is from Hannah Wooley’s _The Accomplish’d Lady’s Delight_, 2d ed., London, 1677)
#bookhistory #histodons
(This is from Hannah Wooley’s _The Accomplish’d Lady’s Delight_, 2d ed., London, 1677)
#bookhistory #histodons
Trying to figure out what “Бурдье Пьер” could possibly mean in Russian before realizing that it’s just Pierre Bourdieu’s name.
October 4, 2025 at 10:12 PM
Trying to figure out what “Бурдье Пьер” could possibly mean in Russian before realizing that it’s just Pierre Bourdieu’s name.
October 4, 2025 at 9:52 PM
TFW you realize that you never locally saved the chapters you scanned to assign as readings for one of your classes at a previous job after putting them on Canvas, so now they only exist in Canvas courses you no longer have access to.
October 4, 2025 at 9:18 PM
TFW you realize that you never locally saved the chapters you scanned to assign as readings for one of your classes at a previous job after putting them on Canvas, so now they only exist in Canvas courses you no longer have access to.
I feel so loved
October 3, 2025 at 9:02 PM
I feel so loved
Brushing the chalk dust off my trousers after class and remembering the elderly professor I had as an undergrad who used to use the blackboard very extensively—and, because of where he would rest his right hand when he was standing and thinking, would often wind up with a chalk-dust hand print […]
Original post on historians.social
historians.social
October 3, 2025 at 8:46 PM
Brushing the chalk dust off my trousers after class and remembering the elderly professor I had as an undergrad who used to use the blackboard very extensively—and, because of where he would rest his right hand when he was standing and thinking, would often wind up with a chalk-dust hand print […]
for years now I’ve kept teaching-related files in paths like ~/docs/$INSTITUTION/$SEMESTER/$COURSE, which can be a lot to type, so I created a symlink in my home directory pointing to the semester to save on typing
but of course the old path is so ingrained in my habits that I find myself […]
but of course the old path is so ingrained in my habits that I find myself […]
Original post on historians.social
historians.social
October 3, 2025 at 11:45 AM
for years now I’ve kept teaching-related files in paths like ~/docs/$INSTITUTION/$SEMESTER/$COURSE, which can be a lot to type, so I created a symlink in my home directory pointing to the semester to save on typing
but of course the old path is so ingrained in my habits that I find myself […]
but of course the old path is so ingrained in my habits that I find myself […]
Reposted by Thanasis Kinias
And it's a little sad. Because it's not like there aren't a few dozen exciting use cases for LLMs and image generation engines.
For example speech to text. Using an LLM to clean up dictation, which tends to be horrible, is pretty effective. What LLMs do well is find the most obvious answer […]
For example speech to text. Using an LLM to clean up dictation, which tends to be horrible, is pretty effective. What LLMs do well is find the most obvious answer […]
Original post on sauropods.win
sauropods.win
October 2, 2025 at 1:03 PM
And it's a little sad. Because it's not like there aren't a few dozen exciting use cases for LLMs and image generation engines.
For example speech to text. Using an LLM to clean up dictation, which tends to be horrible, is pretty effective. What LLMs do well is find the most obvious answer […]
For example speech to text. Using an LLM to clean up dictation, which tends to be horrible, is pretty effective. What LLMs do well is find the most obvious answer […]
OMG our campus IT has so colossally borked something that all of our on-line services (Canvas, student information, classroom database, etc.) all now redirect to their service status page—which helpfull reports that all systems are up!
What an embarassment.
What an embarassment.
October 2, 2025 at 5:42 PM
OMG our campus IT has so colossally borked something that all of our on-line services (Canvas, student information, classroom database, etc.) all now redirect to their service status page—which helpfull reports that all systems are up!
What an embarassment.
What an embarassment.
Reposted by Thanasis Kinias
Reposted by Thanasis Kinias
One thing I really love about the woods at this time of year is the colours give away which trees are actually the same tree: aspen poplars like these send up shoots, so many trunks are actually the same tree, even if they're separated by a large distance […]
[Original post on mastodon.social]
[Original post on mastodon.social]
October 1, 2025 at 7:32 PM
One thing I really love about the woods at this time of year is the colours give away which trees are actually the same tree: aspen poplars like these send up shoots, so many trunks are actually the same tree, even if they're separated by a large distance […]
[Original post on mastodon.social]
[Original post on mastodon.social]
October 1, 2025 at 7:33 PM
Something like half the SMS messages I receive are scammers. And of the rest, probably 80+% of them are from delivery apps or appointment reminders. Well under 10% of my incoming SMS messages are communication with real people I know.
*sigh*
*sigh*
October 1, 2025 at 7:27 PM
Something like half the SMS messages I receive are scammers. And of the rest, probably 80+% of them are from delivery apps or appointment reminders. Well under 10% of my incoming SMS messages are communication with real people I know.
*sigh*
*sigh*
Reposted by Thanasis Kinias
Suvarth Mahadevan talking about Habitable-zone Planet Finder instrument on Hobby-Eberly Telescope (which incidentally has a bullet hole in the mirror, because... Texas)
This is optimized for cool M stars - smaller planets around small stars produce larger radial velocity signatures. M stars are […]
This is optimized for cool M stars - smaller planets around small stars produce larger radial velocity signatures. M stars are […]
Original post on mastodon.social
mastodon.social
September 30, 2025 at 10:56 PM
Suvarth Mahadevan talking about Habitable-zone Planet Finder instrument on Hobby-Eberly Telescope (which incidentally has a bullet hole in the mirror, because... Texas)
This is optimized for cool M stars - smaller planets around small stars produce larger radial velocity signatures. M stars are […]
This is optimized for cool M stars - smaller planets around small stars produce larger radial velocity signatures. M stars are […]
OK, seeking a tech recommendation: I need new Bluetooth headphones. The criteria are:
– in-ear rather than over-the ear (for use in hot/sweaty conditions)
– sweat-resistant (see above)
– earpieces physically connected to each other (not separate earbuds)
– direct USB-C charging (nothing […]
– in-ear rather than over-the ear (for use in hot/sweaty conditions)
– sweat-resistant (see above)
– earpieces physically connected to each other (not separate earbuds)
– direct USB-C charging (nothing […]
Original post on historians.social
historians.social
September 30, 2025 at 6:45 PM
OK, seeking a tech recommendation: I need new Bluetooth headphones. The criteria are:
– in-ear rather than over-the ear (for use in hot/sweaty conditions)
– sweat-resistant (see above)
– earpieces physically connected to each other (not separate earbuds)
– direct USB-C charging (nothing […]
– in-ear rather than over-the ear (for use in hot/sweaty conditions)
– sweat-resistant (see above)
– earpieces physically connected to each other (not separate earbuds)
– direct USB-C charging (nothing […]