Achintya “Thea” Rao
raoofphysics.scholar.social.ap.brid.gy
Achintya “Thea” Rao
@raoofphysics.scholar.social.ap.brid.gy
Dr Rao / Bass Lass

#OpenScience aficionada • #SciComm wizardess • #RStats enjoyer • #cricket tragic

Formerly #CERN and #CMSExperiment, currently UWE Bristol […]

🌉 bridged from ⁂ https://scholar.social/@RaoOfPhysics, follow @ap.brid.gy to interact
Reposted by Achintya “Thea” Rao
«It’s a testament to how defensive, if not cultish, that AI advocates have become that merely suggesting that large language models don’t think, let alone in the way humans do, is cause for indignation»

Not to mention that every one of those cultists has a lot of money riding on being able to […]
Original post on scholar.social
scholar.social
September 30, 2026 at 2:04 AM
Giving #ellipsus a go. Bought the licence with a one-time payment to support what I think is a worthy project.
September 28, 2026 at 7:39 AM
Assembling an #ikea bed with fiancëe whilst listening to #abba. 🇸🇪
September 25, 2026 at 12:57 PM
[UKpol]

According to Labour MP Emily Thornberry, the UK is the world’s oldest democracy.

Pull your finger out, mate. British people really need to acknowledge the existence of countries other than themselves and the USA.
September 4, 2026 at 10:46 PM
M-i-l’s #spiderplant is flowering. Pretty.

#bloomscrolling
September 4, 2026 at 1:07 PM
It’s #loughborough #pride today. Fiancëe and parents attending. M-i-l is wearing an ankle-length rainbow cardigan she knitted, and will presumably be wearing an assortment of badges on her bags, including this one. <3

I am hoping the love will drown out the […]

[Original post on scholar.social]
August 22, 2026 at 9:26 AM
What I have been up to since May:

https://now.achintyarao.in/

#NowPage
Now · Achintya Rao
Achintya Rao’s Now Page
now.achintyarao.in
August 19, 2026 at 8:14 PM
RE: https://leicester.chat/@achintya/117104443683786352

Life in small-town England. Apparently one cannot be both British and Queer, according to these smooth-brained individuals.
leicester.chat
August 16, 2026 at 9:21 AM
Re. tomorrow’s #solareclipse!

The lovely people at the UK’s Science and Technology Facilities Council (#STFC) are doing a live stream for those who cannot watch it themselves: https://www.public-engagement.stfc.ac.uk/events/summer-stargazing-online-solar-eclipse/

I will be using my #eclipse […]
Original post on scholar.social
scholar.social
August 11, 2026 at 9:25 AM
[Train grumbles]

UK trains are literally the worse I have ever taken in Europe. They have sent five carriages for a journey from Glasgow to Plymouth. Five. For a journey down most of the country’s length. Fuck’s sake.

#uktrains #trains #traintravel #europeantraintravel #trainsuk
August 7, 2026 at 12:39 PM
Nearly got into an accident this morning on #lboro campus. I had entered the site on my bike, having taken bike lanes where possible to get there, and was continuing straight in from the entrance when a massive SUV, having passed security to my right, decided to swerve across my front wheels to […]
Original post on scholar.social
scholar.social
August 3, 2026 at 10:05 AM
I relished this piece by David Bentley Hart, called “How to write #english prose”: https://thelampmagazine.com/blog/how-to-write-english-prose

There is an abundance of joy one can experience when playing with #language that is lost when one simply Follows The Rules laid down by renowned […]
Original post on scholar.social
scholar.social
August 2, 2026 at 7:58 PM
Every time I play #cricket, I end up asking myself, while standing alone in a field (with 14 other people standing alone around me), why I love this damn sport – at which I suck – so very much.

Such a stupid sport. I love it more than I should.
August 1, 2026 at 10:00 PM
After I read out ~125 words based on a writing prompt, the professional #scifi writer running the session said I am a natural and should write fiction.

Now, who wants to be a Patron of the Arts and fund my fiction-writing career, so I can quit my job?
July 29, 2026 at 10:21 PM
Reposted by Achintya “Thea” Rao
RE: https://social.wikiworkersunited.org/@wwu/116999804756018498

«When the Foundation rejected our request for voluntary recognition this week, they immediately sent out to employees and the public statements couched in classic union-busting rhetoric, rhetoric undoubtedly provided by […]
Original post on scholar.social
scholar.social
July 29, 2026 at 1:18 AM
Sometimes, upgrading to First Class is such a no-brainer. Was £6.50 more per person per leg – Loughborough⇹London – and they bring you food and drink, and the seats are more comfy. Just the food and drink alone would cost more.

#uktrains #trains #railtravel
July 24, 2026 at 7:37 PM
Reposted by Achintya “Thea” Rao
Become a Patreon supporter of "Sunken Castles, Evil Poodles", and you will get newly translated German folk tales every week!

If you subscribe at the "Scholar" level, you will also get PDF and EBUB compilations of all 800+ translations of the folk tales I have translated so far.

And if you […]
Original post on mementomori.social
mementomori.social
July 23, 2026 at 12:02 PM
Reposted by Achintya “Thea” Rao
It was a great pleasure to write up this post about the #codeberg's recent votes with respect to LLMs and the impact that LLM have on #floss more broadly, together with @Gusted and @fnetX:

Protecting our FLOSS commons from LLMs

https://blog.codeberg.org/protecting-our-floss-commons-from-llms.html
Protecting our FLOSS commons from LLMs — Codeberg News
.codeberg-design ul { padding-left: revert !important; } In Brief: Two...
blog.codeberg.org
July 23, 2026 at 9:10 AM
Reposted by Achintya “Thea” Rao
My partner’s sibling has left a Commodore 128 in the garage for me to play with. What cool things can I do with it that won’t turn into an enormous time sink?

(assuming it still turns on, that is - replacing capacitors isn’t something I have time for right now)

#commodore128 #commodore64 […]
Original post on mementomori.social
mementomori.social
July 22, 2026 at 11:42 AM
I have just received a spam e-mail from a purported journal editor, addressed to “Dear Dr. Higgs”.

That’s a new one!

#spam #higgs #higgsboson #physics #journal #academicchatter #research
July 20, 2026 at 4:21 PM
#loughborough! Need anything fixed? The Transition Loughborough Repair Café is happening now!

https://transitionloughborough.wordpress.com/news/

🕧 Last items accepted until 12:30.

#leistershire #eastmidlands @leicestergazette
Repair Cafe on Saturday 18th July
Had something break in the last couple of months? Want to see if it can be repaired before you replace it? Then we’ve got the event for you on **Saturday 18th July at Fearon Hall between 9.30am and midday**. Yes, it’s our next Repair Cafe! We’ll have people who can mend holes in clothes, tinker with sewing machines, twiddle with electricals, check over your bike, sort out your laptop and sharpen your secateurs! As usual the process is simple: you bring a broken item, check it in at our reception/triage desk and then you’ll be assigned to a volunteer repairer who will assess the item, determine if it can be fixed and then hopefully either repair it or give advice (if parts are needed, etc). Repairs are free and made on a voluntary best effort basis. We gratefully accept donations to help cover the cost of running the event however. There is also a cafe in Fearon Hall where you can get a cuppa and sit down to chat if you have to wait for a repairer to become available.
transitionloughborough.wordpress.com
July 18, 2026 at 8:47 AM
Reposted by Achintya “Thea” Rao
July 17, 2026 at 3:15 PM