@helenczerski@fediscience.org
@helenczerski@fediscience.org avatar

helenczerski

@helenczerski@fediscience.org

Physics, bubbles, oceans, hot chocolate and curiosity. Associate Professor at UCL, writer, broadcaster. Author of Storm in a Teacup: http://helenczerski.net/books-writing/ and Blue Machine (out June 1st, 2023) https://www.waterstones.com/book/blue-machine/helen-czerski/9781911709107 #fedi22 #physics #ocean #climate #bikes

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helenczerski, to random
@helenczerski@fediscience.org avatar

Could someone please make a Galileo thermometer that can survive more than a mouse sneezing several metres away? 🧪. They’re so beautiful and SO fragile 😢😢

helenczerski, to Podcasts
@helenczerski@fediscience.org avatar

It was lovely to do a Fully Charged podcast with Robert about Blue Machine, and it's out this week.

You can find this one and all the other Fully Charged podcasts here:

https://fullycharged.show/podcasts/

helenczerski, to books
@helenczerski@fediscience.org avatar

AMERICA and CANADA! The Blue Machine is coming to you, on October 3rd with a different cover but all the same oceanic wonder inside.

"Helen Czerski weaves together physics and biology, history and science, in a beautifully poetic way. Fascinating, funny, and deeply moving." - Alice Roberts

https://wwnorton.com/books/the-blue-machine

I'll be giving talks in NYC, Rhode Island and Jacksonville in the last week of October/first week of Nov. Details to follow.

helenczerski, to books
@helenczerski@fediscience.org avatar

Just finished The Internet Con, by @pluralistic , and it's great. If you've ever wondered why we feel so helpless against bad behaviour by the tech giants, and whether there's anything we can do about it, this is the book for you. It'll make you (justifiably) very cross, but it also offers a path forward that benefits the rest of us, not just the power-hungry billionaires. Read it, send it to your elected representatives, spread the word. And the word is "interoperability".

helenczerski, to ocean
@helenczerski@fediscience.org avatar

Well, that’s a nice thing to get home to. The US edition (almost exactly the same - just some km turned into miles plus slight title modification) will be out on October 3rd, and here it is in real life. I think the UK cover is prettier, but this is still lovely.

https://wwnorton.com/books/9781324006718

helenczerski,
@helenczerski@fediscience.org avatar

@samnabi I'm pretty sure it's the US version - the territory is technically North America. Apologies to any Canadians for forgetting that.

helenczerski,
@helenczerski@fediscience.org avatar

@samnabi Yes: https://www.indigo.ca/en-ca/search?q=The+Blue+Machine&search-button=&lang=en_CA

helenczerski,
@helenczerski@fediscience.org avatar

@EverydayMoggie Yeah, I said that. Although every book about the ocean ever published has a blue cover and both the UK and US publishers were keen to avoid that here.

helenczerski, to Futurology
@helenczerski@fediscience.org avatar

I got a question today about desalination plants in Cornwall and the damage they might do to the ocean. My answer was that no-one should be considering desalination in the UK. The problem is that we manage our existing freshwater resources incredibly badly, wasting huge amounts for absolutely no reason. Everyone should read Tim Smedley’s book The Last Drop to find out how, and we all should be angry about it - it’s not just about sewage, but the entire water system.

helenczerski,
@helenczerski@fediscience.org avatar

@womump I was told that two new plants are planned, but I don’t know where.

helenczerski, to cars
@helenczerski@fediscience.org avatar

Today in transport:

Me: "I'll get the bus to the train station"
Helpful person 1: "Oh, but we can give you a lift".
Me: "There's a direct bus, no need for an extra car on the road"
Helpful person 1: "But it's an electric car"
Me: "..."
"Thank you, but no thank you".
Helpful person 2, 10 min later: "We'll give you a lift..."

IanMBrooks, to random
@IanMBrooks@mastodon.world avatar

There is a unique sense of dread that accompanies surfacing from sleep in the wee small hours and realising that what woke you is was the sound of the cat being sick somewhere...

...it's not even our cat 😶

helenczerski,
@helenczerski@fediscience.org avatar

@IanMBrooks Is "good luck" the right thing to say?

helenczerski, to climate
@helenczerski@fediscience.org avatar

The "net" in "Net Zero" is a distraction. We need to aim for "zero carbon".

Here's yet another reminder that carbon offsets mostly aren't worth the paper they're written on: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/sep/19/do-carbon-credit-reduce-emissions-greenhouse-gases

We cannot use offsets to excuse further fossil fuel burning. The aim has to be zero carbon emissions. Even if we try hard, we'll miss by a bit, and by then there might be techniques to take in carbon to reach net zero. But decarbonisation must be as complete as possible

helenczerski, to science
@helenczerski@fediscience.org avatar

The next episode of our Cosmic Shambles podcast series “They’ve Made Us”, is out now. This week, Robin Ince and I talk to Kwame Asante and Prof Chris Jackson to find out about the people who influenced them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=i45MI4zawD8

helenczerski, to science
@helenczerski@fediscience.org avatar

I'm in Appledore in Devon, to give a talk later about Blue Machine and I've just discovered that they have a KNITTED OCEAN outside their church. And this is the Best Thing Ever.

image/jpeg

helenczerski, to science
@helenczerski@fediscience.org avatar

As an ocean scientist arriving to give a talk on my book about the ocean, I’m very impressed that the hotel has both book chocolate and crab chocolate.

helenczerski, to science
@helenczerski@fediscience.org avatar

Off to Devon tonight to give book talks on Blue Machine in Appledore and Budleigh, and then on Sunday I'm very excited to be speaking to Tracy Edwards about the book in Barnes (London). Tracy skippered the first all-female round-the-world crew in 1989, so she knows something about the ocean.

Share the ocean love and come along if you're nearby!

helenczerski, to science
@helenczerski@fediscience.org avatar

Very much looking forward to talking to Steve Backshall about his new book next week in Wimbledon. I think it's sold out, but keep an eye out for returns if you live nearby.

helenczerski, to uk
@helenczerski@fediscience.org avatar

Does ANY other country have to spend so long looking for themselves on drop-down menus? It could be Britain, England (or Scotland, Wales, NI), GB, Great Britain, United Kingdom, UK - spread right the way though the alphabet - and I’m sure there are a few other variations.

I’m tempted to start adding up the amount of time I waste on this, and making a colourful little gauge that tells me how many books not having that time has deprived me of.

helenczerski,
@helenczerski@fediscience.org avatar

@MartinLDNUK1977 It’s often listed as England or Britain, and then the keyboard doesn’t help.

helenczerski, to science
@helenczerski@fediscience.org avatar

Recruiting a postdoc to work on ocean bubbles and gas exchange stuff for the next three years in London. If you know of anyone who might be interested, please pass on the job advert here:

https://www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/search-ucl-jobs/details?nPostingId=6720&nPostingTargetId=15106&id=Q1KFK026203F3VBQBLO8M8M07&LG=UK&languageSelect=UK&mask=ext

And if you know of someone who might like to work as a paid research assistant just for the duration of the cruise (no previous experience of gas exchange studies necessary, just PhD level experience of physical science data collection), do reply here.

helenczerski,
@helenczerski@fediscience.org avatar

@failedLyndonLaRouchite Yes, it does. It’s in the job description document attached at the bottom.

helenczerski, to science
@helenczerski@fediscience.org avatar

My sister has just lent me Chris Van Tulleken’s Ultra-Processed People, itself “processed” by her dog enthusiastically carrying it around the house for a couple of weeks. Apparently it was his favourite carry toy, and I’ve just temporarily deprived him of it.

image/png

helenczerski,
@helenczerski@fediscience.org avatar

@IanMBrooks It gets worse. My sister is the sort of person who writes in the margins. For me, the dog pales into insignificance compared to that.

helenczerski, to ocean
@helenczerski@fediscience.org avatar

Interesting idea here: When there's a coral bleaching event, seaweeds can come in to take over the space, stopping coral recovery. So perhaps "sea-weeding" by local volunteers could be a stop-gap measure to clear the intruder, giving the coral a much better chance of recovery:

https://theconversation.com/seaweed-is-taking-over-coral-reefs-but-theres-a-gardening-solution-sea-weeding-212460?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon

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