Winding Down for Easter

When I was a lad, back in England, the name for the Thursday before Good Friday was Maundy Thursday. That term isn't used here in Ireland, where it seems to be known as Holy Thursday. Anyway, Maynooth University is closed tomorrow (Good Friday) but not today (Holy Thursday). Although today is not an official holiday, some campus facilities are in fact closed - including Pugin Hall, where I often have lunch.

http://telescoper.blog/2026/04/02/winding-down-for-easter/

The first Day’s Night had come – Emily Dickinson

The first Day's Night had come—And grateful that a thingSo terrible—had been endured—I told my Soul to sing—She said her Strings were snapt—Her Bow—to Atoms blown—And so to mend her—gave me workUntil another Morn—And then—a Day as hugeAs Yesterdays in pairs,Unrolled its horror in my face—Until it blocked my eyes—

http://telescoper.blog/2026/04/01/the-first-days-night-had-come-emily-dickinson/

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Swampland Published

Regular readers of this blog might remember that last year I did a post about a very comprehensive review article which had appeared on arXiv with the title Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Swampland: The Cosmologist’s Handbook to the string-theoretical Swampland Programme. The article is by Kay Lehnert (who happens to be my PhD student). Well, that paper was published…

http://telescoper.blog/2026/03/31/the-hitchhikers-guide-to-the-swampland-published/

Three papers published this morning at @OJ_Astro bring the first quarter of 2026 to a close on a total of 70 articles.

Using my sophisticated prediction software I estimate that the total by year end will be around 280...