Cyrus Mody
@ccmmody.bsky.social
historian of sci/tech/energy/enviro @fasosmaastricht.bsky.social; http://nanobubbles.hypotheses.org; http://managingscarcity.com; The Squares https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262543613/the-squares/. Call me Cyrus or Cy or "hey, mister" but not Cirrus or Moody.
an oil spillover in the history of beloved hometown institution Waxman Candles!
tho, sadly, Waxman's garbles its own history a bit here - no embargo in 1980, just a price shock.
tho, sadly, Waxman's garbles its own history a bit here - no embargo in 1980, just a price shock.
November 17, 2025 at 3:29 PM
an oil spillover in the history of beloved hometown institution Waxman Candles!
tho, sadly, Waxman's garbles its own history a bit here - no embargo in 1980, just a price shock.
tho, sadly, Waxman's garbles its own history a bit here - no embargo in 1980, just a price shock.
I'm a little surprised the current administration isn't pushing to exploit the Baltimore Canyon and Georges Trough. Seems like the kind of FU to blue states that they would be into.
November 14, 2025 at 2:58 PM
I'm a little surprised the current administration isn't pushing to exploit the Baltimore Canyon and Georges Trough. Seems like the kind of FU to blue states that they would be into.
cough it up, Atlantic - America needs your oil and gas!
this guy looks like he should be in the current Department of Labor's ad campaign
this guy looks like he should be in the current Department of Labor's ad campaign
November 14, 2025 at 2:55 PM
cough it up, Atlantic - America needs your oil and gas!
this guy looks like he should be in the current Department of Labor's ad campaign
this guy looks like he should be in the current Department of Labor's ad campaign
most quite sad, but one darkly funny at the site of the Mechelen Incident, where an incompetent pilot crashlanded carrying a load of laundry, a fellow officer & the plans for invasion of the Low Countries:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mechele...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mechele...
November 12, 2025 at 7:30 AM
most quite sad, but one darkly funny at the site of the Mechelen Incident, where an incompetent pilot crashlanded carrying a load of laundry, a fellow officer & the plans for invasion of the Low Countries:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mechele...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mechele...
also plenty of small, easy-to-miss memorials: a British plane crashed here, a US soldier crossed the river there, stolpersteine by the residences of Jews and other deportees, a sculpture in the woods where partisans were executed.
November 12, 2025 at 7:10 AM
also plenty of small, easy-to-miss memorials: a British plane crashed here, a US soldier crossed the river there, stolpersteine by the residences of Jews and other deportees, a sculpture in the woods where partisans were executed.
the "fading landscapes" of battle near us are mainly various Belgian fortresses taken quickly at the start of both WW1&2. otherwise, postwar reconstruction left only dim traces of violence, such as this lovely square in Antwerp where a V-1 fell:
November 12, 2025 at 6:46 AM
the "fading landscapes" of battle near us are mainly various Belgian fortresses taken quickly at the start of both WW1&2. otherwise, postwar reconstruction left only dim traces of violence, such as this lovely square in Antwerp where a V-1 fell:
and a third on the other side of Liege:
November 11, 2025 at 2:08 PM
and a third on the other side of Liege:
and 20 minutes away there's another, similarly-sized site (we'll take you there next time):
November 11, 2025 at 2:04 PM
and 20 minutes away there's another, similarly-sized site (we'll take you there next time):
indeed. as I think I mentioned on the former microblog site, there are four Isbells buried or memorialized in the Margraten cemetery, alongside comrades from just as diverse backgrounds as those who landed at Omaha:
November 11, 2025 at 1:58 PM
indeed. as I think I mentioned on the former microblog site, there are four Isbells buried or memorialized in the Margraten cemetery, alongside comrades from just as diverse backgrounds as those who landed at Omaha:
anyway, for historians of technology on a similar trek, I highly recommend the Landing Museum in Arromanches. a piece of the PLUTO (PipeLine Under The Ocean)! beautiful models from the 1950s w/ the tools used to make them! charming schoolchildren's drawing also from the '50s! well worth it. 6/6
November 11, 2025 at 12:25 PM
anyway, for historians of technology on a similar trek, I highly recommend the Landing Museum in Arromanches. a piece of the PLUTO (PipeLine Under The Ocean)! beautiful models from the 1950s w/ the tools used to make them! charming schoolchildren's drawing also from the '50s! well worth it. 6/6
AFAIK no African-American & possibly no Indigenous names on that particular monument, but they died on or near those beaches as well 4/x
November 11, 2025 at 12:12 PM
AFAIK no African-American & possibly no Indigenous names on that particular monument, but they died on or near those beaches as well 4/x
he died alongside 1st-/2nd-/nth-generation Americans w/ Syrian, Polish, Ukranian, Askenazi, Swedish, Spanish/Latinx, Scottish, English, etc. last names. 3/x
November 11, 2025 at 12:06 PM
he died alongside 1st-/2nd-/nth-generation Americans w/ Syrian, Polish, Ukranian, Askenazi, Swedish, Spanish/Latinx, Scottish, English, etc. last names. 3/x
I was struck (as also when visiting the 3 US WW2 cemeteries near Maastricht) by how multi-ethnic the force landing at Normandy was. take this monument to the 5th Engineer Special Brigade that includes the name of a (probable) distant relative, James Isbell of Texas: 2/x
November 11, 2025 at 12:01 PM
I was struck (as also when visiting the 3 US WW2 cemeteries near Maastricht) by how multi-ethnic the force landing at Normandy was. take this monument to the 5th Engineer Special Brigade that includes the name of a (probable) distant relative, James Isbell of Texas: 2/x
for Armistice/Veterans Day: recently, like many UKish & N. Americanish men of a certain age living in Western Europe, I visited the landing beaches & WW2 memorials/museums in Normandy. [We also went to Mont St. Michel & various castles & churches, but that's for another day.] 1/x
November 11, 2025 at 11:57 AM
for Armistice/Veterans Day: recently, like many UKish & N. Americanish men of a certain age living in Western Europe, I visited the landing beaches & WW2 memorials/museums in Normandy. [We also went to Mont St. Michel & various castles & churches, but that's for another day.] 1/x
November 8, 2025 at 8:56 AM
haha, thx this helps w/ my "Harry was really well-known outside @fasosmaastricht.bsky.social so now that he's retired we should hire a new historian of psychology to maintain our leadership in that field" pleas to my colleagues.
that said, I would've pointed to this equally important source:
that said, I would've pointed to this equally important source:
November 6, 2025 at 2:32 PM
haha, thx this helps w/ my "Harry was really well-known outside @fasosmaastricht.bsky.social so now that he's retired we should hire a new historian of psychology to maintain our leadership in that field" pleas to my colleagues.
that said, I would've pointed to this equally important source:
that said, I would've pointed to this equally important source:
Exxon committing itself to low-emission transportation technology - in 1978.
November 6, 2025 at 9:51 AM
Exxon committing itself to low-emission transportation technology - in 1978.
your jam ... or your gelatin? when in Bielefeld you can also take a tour of the Dr. Oetker factory.
November 5, 2025 at 11:21 AM
your jam ... or your gelatin? when in Bielefeld you can also take a tour of the Dr. Oetker factory.
one for @nanobubbles.bsky.social. do we at least get to keep Imaginary Friends?
November 5, 2025 at 11:17 AM
one for @nanobubbles.bsky.social. do we at least get to keep Imaginary Friends?
i'm fond of Bielefeld but can't really recommend it as a tourist destination - except to @icpetrie.bsky.social. sewing machine manufacturers! bicycle manufacturers! combination sewing machine manufacturers & bicycle manufacturers! great examples of clusters of Mittelstand firms in the same industry.
November 5, 2025 at 11:10 AM
i'm fond of Bielefeld but can't really recommend it as a tourist destination - except to @icpetrie.bsky.social. sewing machine manufacturers! bicycle manufacturers! combination sewing machine manufacturers & bicycle manufacturers! great examples of clusters of Mittelstand firms in the same industry.
also, Fred really misses a trick (so to speak) by drawing a comparison b/t M♈sk and HL Hunt w/o noting that their supposed "cultural Christianity" was somewhat belied by their, uh, mutual profligacy:
October 31, 2025 at 4:58 PM
also, Fred really misses a trick (so to speak) by drawing a comparison b/t M♈sk and HL Hunt w/o noting that their supposed "cultural Christianity" was somewhat belied by their, uh, mutual profligacy:
the same principle would apply to a right-wing Game of Thrones coalition, tho
October 31, 2025 at 2:22 PM
the same principle would apply to a right-wing Game of Thrones coalition, tho
apparently people on this website think that there are a lot of robots in Doctor Who? I mean, there are a few but not many. not sure how to classify Cybermen, but as name implies they're more like cyborgs. & Daleks 👇 have a living creature, genetically engineered for evil, inside them.
anyway, boo!
anyway, boo!
October 31, 2025 at 9:05 AM
apparently people on this website think that there are a lot of robots in Doctor Who? I mean, there are a few but not many. not sure how to classify Cybermen, but as name implies they're more like cyborgs. & Daleks 👇 have a living creature, genetically engineered for evil, inside them.
anyway, boo!
anyway, boo!
can we call this the Games of Thrones coalition?
October 30, 2025 at 8:20 AM
can we call this the Games of Thrones coalition?
genuine question: which of these would be the more stable coalition?
October 30, 2025 at 8:12 AM
genuine question: which of these would be the more stable coalition?