Blog

[!DISCLAIMER] Posts here cover a mix of research updates, conference highlights, and personal interests. Opinions expressed are my own.

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How Bright is That Star? The Astronomical Magnitude System
Science 15 May 2026 How Bright is That Star? The Astronomical Magnitude System

A walk through one of astronomy's oldest measuring sticks: the magnitude scale, from Hipparchus to Hubble.

Best Albums of 2022
Music 1 January 2023 Best Albums of 2022

2023 is upon us and it’s time to look back at the albums released in 2022 and see which of them are still resonating with me. There were plenty of ...

A Very Brief History of Ireland at the FIFA World Cup
Sport 21 December 2022 A Very Brief History of Ireland at the FIFA World Cup

Following the dramatic conclusion to the 2022 Men’s FIFA World Cup in Qatar, I thought this might be a good time to answer the question that no one...

EuroPython 2022
News 6 November 2022 EuroPython 2022

EuroPython 2022 This year I was fortunate enough to be selected to give a talk about ShapePipe at the EuroPython 2022 conference in Dublin. It was...

Ten Days in Egypt
Travel 19 August 2022 Ten Days in Egypt

Unsurprisingly, given the global health crisis, it has been a few years since my wife and I managed to get out of Europe and have a slightly more a...

Best Albums of 2021
Music 20 February 2022 Best Albums of 2021

2021 was a trying year for everyone, being stuck at home, anxious and with no clear end to the pandemic in sight. One silver lining from this dire ...

The Third Policeman
Books 30 January 2022 The Third Policeman

Rating: ★★★★★ Having grown up moving around the world can be seen a both a blessing and a curse. A blessing in that wherever I lay my head is home...

EuroPython 2021
News 8 August 2021 EuroPython 2021

EuroPython 2021 This July I had the very nice opportunity to present a tutorial called The Anatomy of a Python Class at the EuroPython 2021 confer...

Gris
Video Games 2 March 2021 Gris

Rating: ★★★★★ A couple of years ago some good friends, Austin Peel and Justin Burks, introduced me to an indie game called Gris (Spanish and Catal...

Star Wars: The Clone Wars
Film and TV 14 February 2021 Star Wars: The Clone Wars

Rating: ★★★★☆ I just finished watching all seven seasons of Star Wars: The Clone Wars on Disney+. So, while it is still fresh in my mind, I figure...

ADASS XXX
News 13 February 2021 ADASS XXX

Last year I was graciously invited to give a talk about PySAP at the 30th annual Astronomical Data Analysis Software and Systems (ADASSXXX) confer...

Three Weeks in Japan
Travel 24 October 2020 Three Weeks in Japan

Back in 2018 my wife and I had a fantastic three week holiday in Japan. I thought I would share some tips and impressions of the places we visited ...

50 Years of Metal
Music 6 March 2020 50 Years of Metal

It recently occurred to me that 2020 marked 50 years since Black Sabbath released their debut album. I am sure there are plenty of debates out ther...

New Website
News 6 March 2020 New Website

Welcome to my new website! This is a little project that my wife and I worked on together and we had a lot of fun doing it. My wife deserves all th...

EuroScipy 2019 Keynote
News 4 September 2019 EuroScipy 2019 Keynote

In September 2019 I had the pleasure of giving a keynote talk at EuroScipy 2019 in Bilbao, Spain. The talk, titled “From Galaxies to Brains! — Imag...