In the Dark

The last time I attempted to travel to Belfast to give a seminar, in 2019, it didn’t go very well.

I bookmarked a story in the Times Higher a couple of weeks ago, with the intention of doing a post about it, and then promptly forgot.

Today being the last Monday of October, it’s a Bank Holiday here in Ireland – Lá Saoire i Mí Dheireadh Fómhair (literally, the Holiday at the End of the Month of October) so I had the morning off; I have a telecon this afternoon.

I was just reminded that exactly 100 years ago today, Enrico Fermi wrote this famous letter to Paul Dirac: That’s why we call them Fermi-Dirac Statistics!

My former colleague at Nottingham University, Philip Moriarty, alerted me to a piece in the latest Private Eye (No. 1686) about the parlous state of affairs there.

Last night I travelled into Dublin for another concert by National Symphony Orchestra Ireland, this time under the direction of guest conductor Julio García Vico in a programme of music heavy with French and Spanish influences.

It’s time for another Saturday update of activity at the Open Journal of Astrophysics.

Maynooth University Library Cat seems to have survived Storm Austen intact.

There’s a very important paper on arXiv by P.K.G.

The European Space Agency’s Euclid Mission is mapping the distribution of galaxies on large scales with the intention of finding out about the nature of dark matter and dark energy.

A post on Bluesky got me thinking about the origin of the word “oyster”, which I shall bore you with shortly, but the post asks an interesting question about the well-known phrase “The World’s Mine Oyster”.

The number of papers being submitted to the Open Journal of Astrophysics continues to rise, as demonstrated by the following graphic which shows the stats for new submissions for the last five years: It’s very clear that the thicket is getting thicker and…

I ordered this book from our local bookshop a while ago but have only just found time to finish reading it.

Following Wednesday’s successful one-day stoppage, there were meetings of union members yesterday (Friday) to set up roster’s and make other preparations for similar industrial action on Wednesday 21st October.

It’s Saturday again, so it’s time for another update of activity at the Open Journal of Astrophysics.

Sir William Rowan Hamilton (1805-1865) Today, October 16th, is Hamilton day!

A while ago I was listening to a radio broadcast of a recording from last year’s Wexford Festival Opera.

To me, fair friend, you never can be old, For as you were when first your eye I ey'd, Such seems your beauty still.

Today is 11th September 2026 which means it is exactly 25 years since the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon which led to the loss of almost three thousand civilian lives (and many more in the longer term).

The above picture shows fascist thug and career criminal Daniel Thomas (a.k.a.

When I moved to Ireland, almost nine years ago, one of the words I discovered had a usage with which I was unfamiliar was grind.

I see that the fascist mob that is nowadays given free rein by the UK police to roam the streets, block traffic, close ports, and generally do whatever they like, has now, at the behest of wannabe Führer Nigel Farage, turned its attention to the brave men…

I was feeling a bit grotty this morning and had lost my voice but I managed to summon up the energy to attend today’s Conferring Ceremonies – usually known as Graduation ceremonies in the UK – at Maynooth University.

With thoughts turning to the new academic year I noticed an Open Letter to Universities in the Netherlands, which I have signed.

I’ve been listening to a radio programme about the centenary of RTÉ, it being a hundred years since the first radio broadcast by Raidió Éireann in 1926 (before television existed).

After a very busy week, it’s time once more for another Saturday update of activity at the Open Journal of Astrophysics.

The Lovell Telescope at Jodrell Bank Three days ago the latest Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Andy Burnham, gave a commitment to rescue Jodrell Bank Observatory from the threat of closure resulting from funding cuts at the Science and Technology Fa…

Landschaft mit Regen by Wassily Kandinsky (1913; oil on canvas, 70.5cm x 78.4 cm, Guggenheim, New York)