cea +/-
@cea-plus-minus.bsky.social
"We must always make connections, ever more connections, since they are not already given; for to connect is to affirm, and to affirm, to connect." - John Rajchman, The Deleuze Connections
China Daily publishes what they for some reason called 'a cartoon'. It goes under the title "AI brings science fiction to life" (lnkd.in/esDnU_kT)
I am afraid, the 'Future' part of the story got truncated (or may be it's visible only to the paid subscribers, idk). Anyway, here is the full version:
I am afraid, the 'Future' part of the story got truncated (or may be it's visible only to the paid subscribers, idk). Anyway, here is the full version:
September 14, 2026 at 9:07 PM
China Daily publishes what they for some reason called 'a cartoon'. It goes under the title "AI brings science fiction to life" (lnkd.in/esDnU_kT)
I am afraid, the 'Future' part of the story got truncated (or may be it's visible only to the paid subscribers, idk). Anyway, here is the full version:
I am afraid, the 'Future' part of the story got truncated (or may be it's visible only to the paid subscribers, idk). Anyway, here is the full version:
Ah, these Memento mori moments...
September 12, 2026 at 7:29 AM
Ah, these Memento mori moments...
Spectrum rocket developed by German Isar Aerospace, lifted off on its maiden space flight from Andøya, Norway on 5 September. It successfully delivered five small satellites to their target orbits. German Space Agency DLR supported this private-sector development www.dlr.de/en/latest/ne...
September 9, 2026 at 7:54 PM
Spectrum rocket developed by German Isar Aerospace, lifted off on its maiden space flight from Andøya, Norway on 5 September. It successfully delivered five small satellites to their target orbits. German Space Agency DLR supported this private-sector development www.dlr.de/en/latest/ne...
Can a woollen blanket save a melting glacier? Swiss researchers test alternative biodegradeable covers that can slow melting - in this case, of the Tsanfleuron Glacier in Les Diablerets, Switzerland. Photo by Denis Balibouse for Reuters
September 7, 2026 at 7:34 PM
Can a woollen blanket save a melting glacier? Swiss researchers test alternative biodegradeable covers that can slow melting - in this case, of the Tsanfleuron Glacier in Les Diablerets, Switzerland. Photo by Denis Balibouse for Reuters
One of the birds (I think these are cormorants, or Phalacrocorax carbo) was strangely agitated, flapped its wings and shouted in a creaky voice. In Dutch they are called scholver, originally meaning harsh, scraping sound; the Latin 'carbo' literally means charcoal
September 3, 2026 at 7:24 AM
One of the birds (I think these are cormorants, or Phalacrocorax carbo) was strangely agitated, flapped its wings and shouted in a creaky voice. In Dutch they are called scholver, originally meaning harsh, scraping sound; the Latin 'carbo' literally means charcoal
An important and indicative article, but also a sad one: for me to state that playing is more than 'competition & scores' is a banality, similar to the Earth is not Flat - yes, we know, so what? But unfortunately we live in the times when stating such banalities is needed. So, a good piece
In today’s essay, author and New School professor Justin Neuman argues that we are most human when we play freely, imaginatively and pointlessly – and that the increasing gamification of our leisure risks turning even play into another form of work. buff.ly/4Y9QvsB
Play is doing its work even if we’re not keeping score | Aeon Essays
We are most human when we play freely, imaginatively, pointlessly. Gamification risks atrophying that most precious capacity
aeon.co
September 2, 2026 at 7:35 AM
An important and indicative article, but also a sad one: for me to state that playing is more than 'competition & scores' is a banality, similar to the Earth is not Flat - yes, we know, so what? But unfortunately we live in the times when stating such banalities is needed. So, a good piece
#SCMP asks whether the 4,000+ km-long Irtysh river - flowing from Xinjiang through #Kazakhstan and Russia into the Ob - could become China’s 'choke-free' Arctic route. tinyurl.com/59xf2jrf The pic is a new geopolitics: panda & bear, and a magnifying glass - with Kazakhstan reduced to the #map
August 31, 2026 at 1:25 PM
#SCMP asks whether the 4,000+ km-long Irtysh river - flowing from Xinjiang through #Kazakhstan and Russia into the Ob - could become China’s 'choke-free' Arctic route. tinyurl.com/59xf2jrf The pic is a new geopolitics: panda & bear, and a magnifying glass - with Kazakhstan reduced to the #map
This is one of many pictures showing the destruction caused by the recent 'sel' in Nepal. Perhaps it's less dramatic than many others, but surprisingly accurate in conveying the look & feel of the aftermath - it is characteristically monochrome, everything turns this kind of mud-grey after a sel
August 29, 2026 at 11:37 AM
This is one of many pictures showing the destruction caused by the recent 'sel' in Nepal. Perhaps it's less dramatic than many others, but surprisingly accurate in conveying the look & feel of the aftermath - it is characteristically monochrome, everything turns this kind of mud-grey after a sel
My AI wasn't happy with the diagram of the Alma-Ata sel of 1973 that we created (bsky.app/profile/cea-...) and suggested to convert it into animation - it went very dramatic! (not super accurate, but very, very dramatic!)
August 29, 2026 at 10:43 AM
My AI wasn't happy with the diagram of the Alma-Ata sel of 1973 that we created (bsky.app/profile/cea-...) and suggested to convert it into animation - it went very dramatic! (not super accurate, but very, very dramatic!)
And this is yet another 'big-picture' #map, or diagram showing how the events unfolded. In the video, this orange line appears piece by piece, I am showing only the final view
August 29, 2026 at 10:39 AM
And this is yet another 'big-picture' #map, or diagram showing how the events unfolded. In the video, this orange line appears piece by piece, I am showing only the final view
More news and analysis is emerging about this giant sel in Nepal; NYT shares unique footage that apparently shows the very moment that triggered: part of a glacier broke off and fell into the lake below, setting the chain of events in motion:
www.nytimes.com/live/2026/08...
www.nytimes.com/live/2026/08...
August 29, 2026 at 10:35 AM
More news and analysis is emerging about this giant sel in Nepal; NYT shares unique footage that apparently shows the very moment that triggered: part of a glacier broke off and fell into the lake below, setting the chain of events in motion:
www.nytimes.com/live/2026/08...
www.nytimes.com/live/2026/08...
I decided to ask one of the AI systems to build a reconstruction of the Almaty Sel of 1973 - here is the first iteration
August 28, 2026 at 1:04 AM
I decided to ask one of the AI systems to build a reconstruction of the Almaty Sel of 1973 - here is the first iteration
Within a day or so of the sel in Nepal’s Lhende Khola Valley, we already have a fairly detailed reconstruction of the event - geographically, that is. I still cannot find a good map (or 3D diagram) showing what happened in Almaty in 1973.
August 28, 2026 at 12:13 AM
Within a day or so of the sel in Nepal’s Lhende Khola Valley, we already have a fairly detailed reconstruction of the event - geographically, that is. I still cannot find a good map (or 3D diagram) showing what happened in Almaty in 1973.
After the 1973 crisis the Medeu dam became 43 metres taller - from 107 m in 1972 to nearly 150m (completed by 1980. Its storage capacity doubled, from 6.2 million to 12.6 million m³
August 27, 2026 at 11:14 PM
After the 1973 crisis the Medeu dam became 43 metres taller - from 107 m in 1972 to nearly 150m (completed by 1980. Its storage capacity doubled, from 6.2 million to 12.6 million m³
There is a dramatic documentary about the emergency operation run to resolve the crisis. They needed to release the water trapped in the reservoir behind the dam while reinforcing the dam itself. They even used divers to clear the pumps clogged with debris www.youtube.com/watch?v=1phO...)
August 27, 2026 at 11:03 PM
There is a dramatic documentary about the emergency operation run to resolve the crisis. They needed to release the water trapped in the reservoir behind the dam while reinforcing the dam itself. They even used divers to clear the pumps clogged with debris www.youtube.com/watch?v=1phO...)
But yet another sel - caused, like the recent one in Nepal, by the collapse of a mass of glacial ice higher up the valley - rushed down the valley in 1973 and hit the dam. It nearly filled the entire reservoir with water and debris, the dam was about to collapse (two pics are before & after the sel)
August 27, 2026 at 10:41 PM
But yet another sel - caused, like the recent one in Nepal, by the collapse of a mass of glacial ice higher up the valley - rushed down the valley in 1973 and hit the dam. It nearly filled the entire reservoir with water and debris, the dam was about to collapse (two pics are before & after the sel)
Yet the massive sel that struck a neighbouring valley in 1963 showed that these smaller dams would not protect the city. It was decided to build a giant dam by blasting apart two nearby hills in 1966. The resulting Medeo Dam was more than 60 metres tall and seemed impregnable
August 27, 2026 at 10:12 PM
Yet the massive sel that struck a neighbouring valley in 1963 showed that these smaller dams would not protect the city. It was decided to build a giant dam by blasting apart two nearby hills in 1966. The resulting Medeo Dam was more than 60 metres tall and seemed impregnable
The orange arrow points to the small valley beneath Shymbulak Peak (3,450 m), where the 1921 sel originated. The b&w inset in the orange frame shows a small metal dam that was built at the mouth of the valley, and the colour photo itself shows a larger protective dam built closer to the city
August 27, 2026 at 9:56 PM
The orange arrow points to the small valley beneath Shymbulak Peak (3,450 m), where the 1921 sel originated. The b&w inset in the orange frame shows a small metal dam that was built at the mouth of the valley, and the colour photo itself shows a larger protective dam built closer to the city
Russian сель and Kazakh сел (as well as Turkish sel) ultimately comes from Arabic سَيْل (sayl) - 'torrent', forceful flow). The picture shows the traces of the powerful 'sel' that in 1921 destroyed a large part of Alma-Ata, as it was called back then, when it rushed from the Alatau mountains
August 27, 2026 at 9:13 PM
Russian сель and Kazakh сел (as well as Turkish sel) ultimately comes from Arabic سَيْل (sayl) - 'torrent', forceful flow). The picture shows the traces of the powerful 'sel' that in 1921 destroyed a large part of Alma-Ata, as it was called back then, when it rushed from the Alatau mountains
The internet is full of images of devastating destructions caused by what the media call 'flash flood' or 'mud flood' (or 'mudflow') - or simply a 'flood'. Such things are painfully familiar to anyone who lived in Almaty (or broader in Central Asia) where they are known as сель (sel’)
August 27, 2026 at 9:01 PM
The internet is full of images of devastating destructions caused by what the media call 'flash flood' or 'mud flood' (or 'mudflow') - or simply a 'flood'. Such things are painfully familiar to anyone who lived in Almaty (or broader in Central Asia) where they are known as сель (sel’)
Just learned about Joyce Kozloff and her 'map-art'; lots of cool stuff
August 26, 2026 at 8:58 PM
Just learned about Joyce Kozloff and her 'map-art'; lots of cool stuff
Very strong and moving (also sad) article by Claudia Eggart about Dordoi Bazaar in the center of Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan - the City of Containers isrf.org/blog/kyrgyzs.... I actually 'went' there via Google Maps (this pic is 'mine', though the article has plenty of real images and video, too)
August 25, 2026 at 10:21 PM
Very strong and moving (also sad) article by Claudia Eggart about Dordoi Bazaar in the center of Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan - the City of Containers isrf.org/blog/kyrgyzs.... I actually 'went' there via Google Maps (this pic is 'mine', though the article has plenty of real images and video, too)
This looks like the same route of Xuanzang to be 'retraced' that I've shown (bsky.app/profile/cea-...) only it's slightly different set of towns - we now see Kashi, and Osh (but not Taraz); it seems they use the same reusable animated #map but different route and stops depending on the context
August 24, 2026 at 8:15 PM
This looks like the same route of Xuanzang to be 'retraced' that I've shown (bsky.app/profile/cea-...) only it's slightly different set of towns - we now see Kashi, and Osh (but not Taraz); it seems they use the same reusable animated #map but different route and stops depending on the context
That Xuanzang's trip itself, and especially his detailed reporting on it, significantly enhanced geographical (also #mapping) knowledge in China is certain - his understanding of Central Eurasia was better than in any other geographical works produced not only in his time but much, much later
August 24, 2026 at 7:30 PM
That Xuanzang's trip itself, and especially his detailed reporting on it, significantly enhanced geographical (also #mapping) knowledge in China is certain - his understanding of Central Eurasia was better than in any other geographical works produced not only in his time but much, much later
... and specifically, not just the maps of Chinese territories but the maps of the so called Western Regions {西域, Xiyu} - this map is of course a modern reconstruction of the old kingdoms and regions (from here tinyurl.com/2s4bcwwf) but what his metal model/ #map of this lands before the journey?
August 24, 2026 at 7:11 PM
... and specifically, not just the maps of Chinese territories but the maps of the so called Western Regions {西域, Xiyu} - this map is of course a modern reconstruction of the old kingdoms and regions (from here tinyurl.com/2s4bcwwf) but what his metal model/ #map of this lands before the journey?