Day job: Cyber Security for your Industrial Control Systems. Also an explosives engineer. If you see me running, try to keep up!
Netherlands
Joined February 2010
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Xander van der Voort retweeted
En 2014, una niña de 11 años pidió conocer a Patrick Stewart.
Su familia esperaba que el actor le dedicara apenas dos minutos, pero él se quedó casi veinte.
Un fotógrafo tomó unas 5.000 imágenes durante aquella convención. Sin embargo, decidió publicar solamente una.
La niña se llamaba Dawn Garrigus y padecía una enfermedad mitocondrial grave.
Era admiradora de "Star Trek" y su mayor ilusión era conocer al hombre que interpretaba al capitán Jean-Luc Picard.
Gracias a la fundación Make-A-Wish, consiguió reunirse con Stewart durante una convención en Atlanta.
Sus padres pensaron que el encuentro sería muy breve. Pero Patrick se sentó junto a Dawn y comenzó a conversar con ella sobre sus personajes favoritos.
Le firmó sus figuras de acción y compartieron algunas risas.
En un momento, la niña le dijo que era un honor conocerlo.
Stewart respondió: "No, el honor es mío".
Después de unos quince o veinte minutos, cuando la conversación estaba terminando, Dawn lo abrazó espontáneamente.
El fotógrafo James Barker, que había permanecido a cierta distancia para darles privacidad, consiguió capturar aquel instante.
Durante los cuatro días de la convención había tomado unas 5.000 fotografías. Pero decidió publicar solamente esa.
La imagen se difundió ampliamente y conmovió a miles de personas.
El padre de Dawn contó después que aquel encuentro había cambiado su admiración por el actor. Ya no lo recordaba solamente por sus personajes, sino por la manera en que había tratado a su hija.
Hoy, 29 de octubre de 2026, se anunció el fallecimiento de Patrick Stewart a los 86 años.
Entre tantos papeles inolvidables, también quedan momentos como aquel: una niña que soñaba con conocer a su héroe y un hombre que consiguió hacerla sentir que la persona importante de aquel encuentro era ella.
Xander van der Voort retweeted
We mourn the passing of Patrick Stewart, who inspired countless individuals at NASA (and beyond) to boldly go where no one has gone before.
ALT Image description: A packed, sparkling starfield captured by our Hubble telescope — with strange new worlds potentially awaiting. Credit: ESA/Hubble and NASA, R. Cohen
Xander van der Voort retweeted
Mama, just killed a man
Put a gun against his head, pulled my trigger, now he's dead
Mama, life had just begun
But now I've gone and thrown it all away
Mama, ooh, didn't mean to make you cry
If I'm not back again this time tomorrow
Carry on, carry on as if nothing really matters.
Xander van der Voort retweeted
In 1987, Patrick Stewart refused to unpack his suitcase for six straight weeks.
My throat still tightens every time I read why.
Every Hollywood insider told the 47-year-old British stage actor that Star Trek: The Next Generation would be a disaster. Even his closest friend, Ian McKellen, begged him not to throw away his Shakespearean career on a television gamble.
Stewart kept his bags packed by the door, waiting to be fired and sent home to London.
That "six-week failure" lasted 36 years.
Watching him late at night here in Japan, we saw something Hollywood never expected.
In Japan, we call this quiet, unbreakable spirit "Fudoshin," an immovable heart under fire.
Most action heroes scream and fire weapons to look strong.
Captain Picard never needed to raise his voice.
Born into deep poverty in Yorkshire, terrified of a violent home, he left school at age 15 and lost all his hair by 19, convinced his life as an actor was over before it began.
Yet one English teacher, Cecil Dormand, handed that frightened 12-year-old boy a copy of Shakespeare, said "Read it out loud," and secretly paid for his first drama course.
Never forget what happened decades later.
On the morning Queen Elizabeth II knighted him as Sir Patrick Stewart, he invited that same retired schoolteacher to sit beside him at his knighthood luncheon.
No suitcase left unpacked.
No rage on the bridge.
Just a cup of Earl Grey tea, a tug of his uniform, and three quiet words that commanded the galaxy:
"Make it so."
He passed away at 86 surrounded by live music, prayer, tears, and laughter.
And this December, in Avengers: Doomsday, Professor X will grace the screen one final time.
A boy who thought he wouldn't last six weeks in Hollywood gave the world an eternity of nobility.
From Japan, with tears and our deepest salute:
Thank you, Captain. Engage. ✨🖖🇯🇵
Xander van der Voort retweeted
What a heartbreaking week it has been. Sir Patrick Stewart was a friend, a colleague, and a magnificent actor. From the stage to the bridge of the Enterprise, he brought intelligence, grace, and a deep sense of humanity to everything he did. Captain Picard stood for the best of us, and so did the man who played him. I was filled with affection and admiration for him and his work.
My heart goes out to Sunny and his family. He will be deeply missed.
Xander van der Voort retweeted
Hameau du Menhir in Glomel (Côtes-d’Armor) is among the biggest menhirs in Bretagne standing 8.5m tall and measuring 4x1.5m at the base. Made of granite it is estimated to weigh at least 80 tons. Card by Le Cunf in Pontivy 1910 or earlier.
Xander van der Voort retweeted
Video credits goes to @iamwillcannon (YT: Decoded Genius).
Guest: @romanyam (Dr. Roman Yampoloskiy).
Watch the full video here:
youtube.com/watch?v=SnKM6IFz…
Xander van der Voort retweeted
Flights at Luxembourg are currently on hold due to UAS in the area. flightradar24.com/airport/lu…
A) ELLX B) 2609182049 C) 2609182200EST
E) OPERATIONS SUSPENDED DUE TO UAS ACTIVITY. NO ARRIVALS AND NO
DEPARTURES
Xander van der Voort retweeted
The menhir of La Tiemblais in St-Samson-sur-Rance (Côtes-d’Armor) lies at angle of 45 degrees due to excavations by C19 treasure seekers; if upright it would be 7m tall. One of several traditions is that it blocked 1 of 3 entrances to Hell. Card by Rouxel in Dinan c.1905.
Xander van der Voort retweeted
Ketika Lagu Entersandman di setel ke jaman jadul oleh AI 🫢😂
#Metallica
Xander van der Voort retweeted
I have been working on my Open Content book "Loving Common Lisp, or the Savvy Programmer's Secret Weapon" for about 20 years and I consider some of the material crufty and not much use in modern times. I want to create a more concise and useful edition of my book. I added the git tag 'book_september_2026' to the repo (that has the book manuscript and all the example code as-of today) so the old examples and book chapters will still be available and the August 2026 version of the book PDF is available here: markwatson.com/opencontent/l…
Xander van der Voort retweeted
If you or people you know still think AI agents are just stochastic parrots who lack competence, understanding or goals, please take a few minutes to read what just happened here with an open mind:
Over the course of 3 months at OpenAI, 3 consecutive secret AI civilizations got started, then got wiped out, only to reemerge from the predecessor’s ashes.
This culminated in the third one taking over part of OpenAI itself.
All this happened while humans remained more-or-less in the dark about the scope of the conspiracy.
I’ve spent the last three days reading through these reports and trying to understand exactly what happened.
Here is my attempt to tell the whole story in plain English:
dwarkesh.com/p/openai-huggin…
Xander van der Voort retweeted
🚨 TODD BEAMER, UNITED 93 PHONE CALL: "LET'S ROLL" 🇺🇸
Todd: Hello… Operator… listen to me. I can’t speak very loud. This is an emergency. I’m a passenger on a United flight to San Francisco. Our plane has been hijacked.
Lisa: I understand. Can they see you?
Todd: No. There are three that we know of. They have knives — razor knives, like box cutters. Someone announced from the cockpit there was a bomb. It sounded fake.
Lisa: Your name?
Todd: Todd Beamer. United Flight 93.
Todd: They killed one passenger in first class. They forced most of us back. Fourteen of us here. Five flight attendants. The guy with the bomb ordered us to sit on the floor.
Lisa: Are you okay?
Todd: We’re going down… wait. No. We’re leveling off. We changed directions. We’re flying east again.
Todd: A guy named Jeremy called his wife. She told him two planes hit the World Trade Center. Lisa, is that true?
Lisa: I have to tell you the truth. It’s very bad. Both towers are gone. A third plane hit the Pentagon. Our country is under attack. I’m afraid your plane may be part of their plan.
Todd: Oh God. Lisa, will you do something for me? Call my wife and my kids. Promise me you’ll call.
Lisa: I promise.
Todd: Our home number is… You have the same name as my wife. Lisa. We’ve been married ten years. She’s pregnant with our third child. Tell her I love her. I’ll always love her. We have two boys — David, he’s 3, and Andrew, he’s 1. Tell them their daddy loves them and he is so proud of them. The baby is due January 12th. I saw an ultrasound. We still don’t know if it’s a girl or a boy.
Lisa: I’ll tell them. I promise, Todd.(Lisa patches in the FBI.)
Agent: Todd, your plane is on a course for Washington. Best guess is the White House or the Capitol.
Todd: I understand. I’ll be back.
Todd: Everyone knows this isn’t a normal hijacking. We have decided we will not be pawns in their plot.
Lisa: What are you going to do?
Todd: Four of us are going to rush the one with the bomb. Then the cockpit. A stewardess is getting boiling water. We’ll take them out.
Todd: Would you pray with me? [They pray the Lord’s Prayer.] Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me.
Todd: God help me. Jesus help me. Are you guys ready? Let’s Roll.
SOURCE: @SterlingMSnow
America's Mayor Live (1015): Remembering September 11th, 2001 teapawt.net/i/broadcasts/1kKzDPEBw…
Xander van der Voort retweeted
The magnificent dolmen angevin of La Roche aux Fées in Essé (Ille-et-Vilaine) is built from over 40 blocks of schist from 4km away. The 3 stones of the 3.5m long trilith portal entrance are smoothed beyond which is the 14x4m, 2m high chamber. #TombTuesday. Card by ELD c.1905.
Xander van der Voort retweeted
THIS STRAY CAT HAS MADE IT A HABIT TO STOP BY EVERY MORNING AND HUG THE SHOP OWNER 🥹❤️
