Not the headline DSIT & #UKRI will have been wanting after a week's attempted message management. They must be secretly glad the Mandelson-Epstein furore is taking up most bandwidth.

It's almost impressive how bad their comms have been, never mind the scale of apparently unintended consequences – which the community could have told them immediately, if they'd bothered to consult or make an impact assessment

#physics #cuts #lhc #uk

Not the headline DSIT & #UKRI will have been wanting after a week's attempted message management. They must be secretly glad the Mandelson-Epstein furore is taking up most bandwidth.

It's almost impressive how bad their comms have been, never mind the scale of apparently unintended consequences – which the community could have told them immediately, if they'd bothered to consult or make an impact assessment

#physics #cuts #lhc #uk

Particle #physics involves a great amount of specialized purpose-built software developed and maintained by the community. Often, it is initially written by individual researchers for their own research project, and later made available and adapted for further applications. This entails that the documentation and usability is not always at the level of commercial software. In order to improve the situation, there will be a Docathon (hackathon, but focused on documentation) held at Warwick in March. Ideal for physicists who want to learn modern, efficient software documentation and increase the usefulness of their software for the wider community! https://indico.global/event/16510/

Particle #physics involves a great amount of specialized purpose-built software developed and maintained by the community. Often, it is initially written by individual researchers for their own research project, and later made available and adapted for further applications. This entails that the documentation and usability is not always at the level of commercial software. In order to improve the situation, there will be a Docathon (hackathon, but focused on documentation) held at Warwick in March. Ideal for physicists who want to learn modern, efficient software documentation and increase the usefulness of their software for the wider community! https://indico.global/event/16510/

Zwei #Physiker der @tuberlin haben einen Artikel zum Einstieg bei #Mastodon verfasst.
Im neuen #Physik-Journal beschreiben #MarioBirkholz und #HendrikWeimer die Aktivitäten der @DPGPhysik und laden alle Mitglieder der #DPG ein, dort mitzutun.
👉 https://pro-physik.de/zeitschriften/download/23119

Tipp: #Physik, #physics oder #DPGPhysik in die Posts mitaufnehmen, so dass sich alle an Physik Interessierten im #Fediverse wiederfinden.

Zwei #Physiker der @tuberlin haben einen Artikel zum Einstieg bei #Mastodon verfasst.
Im neuen #Physik-Journal beschreiben #MarioBirkholz und #HendrikWeimer die Aktivitäten der @DPGPhysik und laden alle Mitglieder der #DPG ein, dort mitzutun.
👉 https://pro-physik.de/zeitschriften/download/23119

Tipp: #Physik, #physics oder #DPGPhysik in die Posts mitaufnehmen, so dass sich alle an Physik Interessierten im #Fediverse wiederfinden.

Sleepy time? No I’m just faking it and wide awake… Or am I?

I’m on a very early train to the GSI Helmholtz Centre for Heavy Ion Research in Darmstadt where I will give the colloquium today. If you are there I look forward to seeing you

(I will be more awake by then, guaranteed!)

#science #physics @helmholtz @association @FAIR_GSI_en

Pretty cold. Discoveries I made this morning:

EVA rubber boots are no longer flexible and difficult to wear until your feet warm them up.

LCD displays stop working.

The fancy microcontroller thermometer had an integer overflow and showed +64°C when it was... I guess -31 or 32? 😆

The -25°C winter wiper fluid is now solid, but it shouldn't damage the cars as it has contracted rather than expanded like water does.

The barn cat is still alive and got warm water and leftover porridge.

LRT reports -34°C in nearby Ukmergė and that diesel engines can't run on jelly. Apparently LPG vehicles had problems too, not enough Propane in the mix: https://www.lrt.lt/en/news-in-english/19/2825089/lithuania-records-lowest-temperatures-in-30-years-cold-disrupts-public-transport

#Lithuania #Cold #Winter #Diesel #Physics #Electronics

Pretty cold. Discoveries I made this morning:

EVA rubber boots are no longer flexible and difficult to wear until your feet warm them up.

LCD displays stop working.

The fancy microcontroller thermometer had an integer overflow and showed +64°C when it was... I guess -31 or 32? 😆

The -25°C winter wiper fluid is now solid, but it shouldn't damage the cars as it has contracted rather than expanded like water does.

The barn cat is still alive and got warm water and leftover porridge.

LRT reports -34°C in nearby Ukmergė and that diesel engines can't run on jelly. Apparently LPG vehicles had problems too, not enough Propane in the mix: https://www.lrt.lt/en/news-in-english/19/2825089/lithuania-records-lowest-temperatures-in-30-years-cold-disrupts-public-transport

#Lithuania #Cold #Winter #Diesel #Physics #Electronics

Dear @DPGPhysik, dear fellow advocates for better social media, are there plans to promote the DPG's new Mastodon account at the upcoming 2026 spring meetings #DPGMZ26 #DPGDD26 #DPGER26?

For example, the DPG info desk could distribute flyers such as
https://sharelatex.gwdg.de/8157634246rprydwznngnk#6907a1 (feel free to improve on this suggestion)

and local organizers could put up a monitor displaying a live fediwall such as https://s.academiccloud.de/EQ1ju5

in order to encourage colleagues to join and post about the conference. Would you approve of this?

I won't be able to attend any of the spring meetings myself this year, but I am hopeful that a good number of physics fedi regulars will be there and are perhaps willing to help with printing and bringing flyers and asking LOCs about setting up dedicated fediwall monitors.

Anyone?

@hweimer @neuSoM

#mastodon #fediverse #neuhier #physik #physics #science #Germany #FediWall

Dear @DPGPhysik, dear fellow advocates for better social media, are there plans to promote the DPG's new Mastodon account at the upcoming 2026 spring meetings #DPGMZ26 #DPGDD26 #DPGER26?

For example, the DPG info desk could distribute flyers such as
https://sharelatex.gwdg.de/8157634246rprydwznngnk#6907a1 (feel free to improve on this suggestion)

and local organizers could put up a monitor displaying a live fediwall such as https://s.academiccloud.de/EQ1ju5

in order to encourage colleagues to join and post about the conference. Would you approve of this?

I won't be able to attend any of the spring meetings myself this year, but I am hopeful that a good number of physics fedi regulars will be there and are perhaps willing to help with printing and bringing flyers and asking LOCs about setting up dedicated fediwall monitors.

Anyone?

@hweimer @neuSoM

#mastodon #fediverse #neuhier #physik #physics #science #Germany #FediWall

Bad news for UK astronomy and particle physics communities as research council looks to make 30% cuts on top of 15% cuts made already. Impact assessments have been asked to be made for a 60% cut to budgets

https://ras.ac.uk/news-and-press/news/proposed-budget-cuts-catastrophe-uk-astronomy

This makes me very concerned for those looking to start careers in the field and how the UK will lose key talent and expertise

#Astrodon #UKpol #Physics

Excel didn’t kill accountants; it gave them better tools. Yet, with AI, we’ve abandoned this logic in favor of a collective fantasy. We’re treating a sophisticated calculator as a human replacement rather than a human multiplier.

https://www.ocrampal.com/the-shared-delusion-both-doomers-and-dreamers-assume-current-technology-leads-to-agi-theyre-both-wrong/

#philosophy #science #psychology #AI #intelligence #physics #biology #philmind #philsci #philsky #philpsy #neurosky #neuroskyence

Excel didn’t kill accountants; it gave them better tools. Yet, with AI, we’ve abandoned this logic in favor of a collective fantasy. We’re treating a sophisticated calculator as a human replacement rather than a human multiplier.

https://www.ocrampal.com/the-shared-delusion-both-doomers-and-dreamers-assume-current-technology-leads-to-agi-theyre-both-wrong/

#philosophy #science #psychology #AI #intelligence #physics #biology #philmind #philsci #philsky #philpsy #neurosky #neuroskyence

Bad news for UK astronomy and particle physics communities as research council looks to make 30% cuts on top of 15% cuts made already. Impact assessments have been asked to be made for a 60% cut to budgets

https://ras.ac.uk/news-and-press/news/proposed-budget-cuts-catastrophe-uk-astronomy

This makes me very concerned for those looking to start careers in the field and how the UK will lose key talent and expertise

#Astrodon #UKpol #Physics