Notices by Dr. Victoria Grinberg (vicgrinberg@mastodon.social)

Dutch pancake time!

#leiden

RE: https://wisskomm.social/@MPI_Meteo/117331110452588744

German PhD hats are always such a source of happiness 😍

A reminder that card only is shit: tried (not very successfully) to help an African (not sure which country) stundent who had just arrived by train in Leiden & needed to get to the 2.5 km away dorm.

She needed to take a taxi (extra expensive in NL) because the buses need a (credit) card and she didn't have one working in Europe. And to add insult yo injury, I had to tell her she needed to walk around the station because the taxis are on the other side & she need a card to get through. 😔

Acutely aware today that I can't repair the world.

But at least I can mend t-shirts.

#VisibleMending #repair #mending

That's a new one:

"Hi Dr. Grinberg,

I came across your work while reviewing public academic records and researcher profiles.

Your research appears to have an established presence, but I couldn’t find a Wikipedia page providing a broader overview of your career.

I work with researchers on Wikipedia assessments and article development within editorial standards.

I can provide a short assessment if useful."

-- paid wikipedia pages for scientists are a thing now?

#astrodon #AcademicChatter

(Not applied, since I have no experience with applied fields) Science works because there is an unwritten social contract: If someone presents an unfinished idea at a meeting or in a discussion, you don't take it and turn it into yours.

People break this - and, often, face consequences for such action. Not always and sometimes not as much as they should. But without this basic trust there is no discussion and progress slows.

And yet, here we seem to be...

Zeehonden! Vier zeehonden!

#leiden #katwijk

I absolutely love people sharing about how folks gave them extra glasses - not least because I got the chance to give our extra one to a family with two kids (who came all prepared with self-made pinhole projectors but the glasses are still an extra level of cool). Share the happiness 💚

Also spontaneous applause all over the beach at max eclipse.

In case you are somewhere where you can't see the eclipse, my #ESA colleagues will be streaming from Spain here frpm 19:30 on:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRDx2xDR8NA

#Eclipse #astrodon

Good food and good company (almost) compensates for being stuck for 10 hours daily in the conference venue and outside temperatures of 38°C.

If you are ever in Florence and want fancy food for a reasonable price: Cuculia is an absolute recommendation. The service had a few small shakes, but was amazingly friendly and lovely. The food was consistently amazing and inventive. And they have a distinct vegetarian & vegan set menu which one of us had and loved!

#StarryFood #florence #food

Two excellent slides from Piero Benvenuti from IAU CPS (https://cps.iau.org/ International astronomical union center for the protection of dark and quiet sky) at #COSPAR2026 in the "Dark and Quiet Sky" session discussing megaconstellations.

(Also emphasising that this is a transition to that happens broader and that the threat to the sky is just one example of.)

#astrodon

A pretty crass image invoked by ESA's Director of Science, Prof. Carole Mundell, "we don't want to me enthombed on a planet surrounded by space debries, blinded by brifht satellites and deafened by radio interference".

#COSPAR2026 #astrodon

Important term in the Eutelsat talk:

Aggregate impact computation: asset constellation as a whole system, it's not just about an individual satellite (jup!).

#COSPAR2026 #astrodon

To start the day: today I really enjoyed this review of Ursula K. LeGuin's "Disposessed" that addresses quiet a number of points why it's "an ambiguous utopia" and the importance of this ambiguity:

▶️ https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/to-touch-the-dust-of-anarres/

Hey professional #astrodon folks!

A pretty unique chance to become my colleague at #ESA - working as a project scientist on our newly adopted galactic archaeology mission Arrakihs:

Job details: https://jobs.esa.int/job/Noordwijk-Project-Scientist/1414232033/

More about Arrakihs: https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/ESA_adopts_galactic_archaeology_mission_Arrakihs

Remember me asking about visibke mending for a L-tear in my linen pants?

I combined the recs I got here with some crafts I already knew how to do (cross stitch) for a 🌻-result that makes me very happy today.

Let's see how well it will hold!

Previous post asking for advice here: https://mastodon.social/@vicgrinberg/116613825744493665

#VisibleMending #repair #CrossStitch #Kreuzstich

Btw., if you poop on the simple things (food, hobbies, fun experiences, photos of pets or flowers, that kind of stuff...) I or people I like enjoy and share here, it's an instant block.

There is little enough happiness in this world (and in the #fediverse), so the only way to deal with folks who stomp it down even more is throwing them out of the conversation.

Haven't read this yet, leaving it as reference:

"A&A community survey on the future of scientific publishing
Credibility over speed, fairness over profit, human judgment over automation"

▶️ https://www.aanda.org/articles/aa/full_html/2026/06/aa61365-26/aa61365-26.html

And here a shorter summary: https://www.aanda.org/2026-press-releases/3205-a-a-community-survey-reveals-strong-support-for-quality-fairness-and-human-oversight-in-scientific-publishing

#astrodon #academia #AcademicChatter

Should we improve access to readers if this builds barriers for the authors? ==> Shifting the barrier & concerns about equity and integrity, predatory publishing ...

Session on AI & open access in modern astronomy publishing is about to start. Wanna take bets on how depressing it will be? Very/extremely/wtf ...

(Rhetoric question.)