Snack And Field

Nov. 24th, 2025 02:30 pm
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Posted by Not Always Right

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A guy comes jogging past the bench and stops in front of the woman, jogging on the spot.
Jogger: *Breathless.* "You're doing great! So healthy!"
Woman: *Thrusting an oversized pile of chips in her mouth.* "Thanks, I’ve been training for this bag all week!"

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Long overdue update

Nov. 24th, 2025 09:11 am
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[personal profile] johnridley
Since my early October post:

I've been getting up to speed working as (very) part time IT and website support for Lyndon Township. It's interesting and pretty straightforward. I did need to call their paid support a couple of times to get the admin rights on their domain that I'm supposed to have. I had a couple of things I didn't do correctly, but I think I'm on track now.

I'm working on a pretty large project for the choir I'm in; scanning the entire music library. J.S. is working on this as well. I've dragged out an old Epson Workforce printer that only really works as a scanner, and have been using that - it's a lot faster than my old flatbed.

I've got probably something like 40 to 60 hours of scanning in by now and am just over half done. I am probably underestimating that time, I'm putting in 4+ hours a day and have been for weeks.

I've been going a bit overboard on the astronomy front. First I bought a mount for the Maksutov that I've had for years. It shipped on a little table-top mount, I wanted something a bit nicer. I found this mount for $300, which is a heck of a deal. It connects via wifi to a tablet and not only tracks but does full go-to.
fK6dHAX.jpg

The Makustov optical tube is very sharp. I had it out last night, again the seeing was terrible, but it was getting stars to pin sharp focus, and Jupiter was sharp as well. Little maks are known for good stellar/planetary views.

Windycon 2025 marked the 50th anniversary of the accepted "formation" of General Technics. I spent the weeks leading up to it prepping a couple of decor items for the GT room. First, the beach ball monster/pet from Dark Star, which hung out on the bed in the suite:
fK6HDv9.jpg

And secondly, a cake topper. It has all the circuitry for 24 LEDs on a circuit board that spins around at about 10 to 15 times per second and displays the GT logo, the phrase "50 YEARS!" and a graphic of a ray gun, rendered in glorious 96x24 resolution. It's also nearly impossible to take a good photo of. But a whole lot of people tried, so I call that a success.
fK6dzNe.jpg

On the 12th I found a first-generation Meade 8 inch LX200 telescope over in Grand Rapids for a reasonable price. Generally the guidance on this is to not pay more for the whole telescope than you would for just the optical tube, since the mounts are at this point 30+ years old electronics and are not known for super reliability. I got it for just about the right price I think. About 20% of what they sold for new and that's not accounting for inflation.
fKsYPjt.jpg
I've gotten it out once and though the seeing was terrible that night (turbulent atmosphere) I was pretty pleased with the view of the Orion nebula that I got. The optics, at least, are good and the electronics seem to work well. All I really did to it was to replace the capacitors in the hand controller (a known failure point) and buy some stuff - a new diagonal and a dew shield - and made a way to power it off a USB power bank.

Finally, just a few days ago, I caved on a telescope that's been on marketplace for weeks. I've been watching it for 6 weeks. It's the telescope that I was thinking of building. But this scope went for less than I'd have to pay for just the mirror. An 18" f/4.2 mirror is in the $6000 range. I paid less than that for this whole scope.
The mirror does show signs of being 15 years old - lots of little pinholes in the coatings. I can get it recoated, but honestly I don't think the coatings are bad enough to merit that for now. Probably in a year or so.
It looks a bit manky in this photo, but that's because I just pulled it out of the truck when I got home and tossed it together enough to roll it into the garage.
fK6dWiv.jpg

It needs some cleaning up. It's got some accessories that I'm not sure I really want. There's a wifi box that allows it to connect to a phone for navigation. It's got every dew heater known to science. I'm starting by pretty much removing all that stuff; when I had my 15" I had a navigation box, and I honestly never used it.

One thing that's clear to me having gotten most of these scopes out, is that I need to refamiliarize myself with the sky. I have a heck of a time finding alignment stars for these. Particularly the LX200, it has a VERY small number of alignment stars.

Also I need to get a better optical finder on the LX200, the stock one is pretty bad. And I need to get a red dot on there as well.

Clarke Award Finalists 2023

Nov. 24th, 2025 09:19 am
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[personal profile] james_davis_nicoll
2023: King Charles III is the most unpopular British King in the last 60-odd years, Health Secretary Matt Hancock and Cabinet Secretary Simon Case’s comic routine is poorly received, and Sunak’s government ushers in a golden age of soaring STD rates.

Poll #33874 Clarke Award Finalists 2023
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 6


Which 2023 Clarke Award Finalists Have You Read?

View Answers

Venomous Lumpsucker by Ned Beauman
2 (33.3%)

Metronome by Tom Watson
0 (0.0%)

Plutoshine by Lucy Kissick
1 (16.7%)

The Anomaly (translation of L'anomalie) by Hervé Le Tellier
0 (0.0%)

The Coral Bones by E. J. Swift
0 (0.0%)

The Red Scholar's Wake by Aliette de Bodard
5 (83.3%)



Bold for have read, italic for intend to read, underline for never heard of it.

Which 2023 Clarke Award Finalists Have You Read?
Venomous Lumpsucker by Ned Beauman
Metronome by Tom Watson
Plutoshine by Lucy Kissick
The Anomaly (translation of L'anomalie) by Hervé Le Tellier
The Coral Bones by E. J. Swift
The Red Scholar's Wake by Aliette de Bodard

The Coming Golden Age of Used Books

Nov. 24th, 2025 08:51 am
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[personal profile] james_davis_nicoll


Just as the Great Fire of Rome was a boon for the building trade, so too will a modern catastrophe be a boon for used book stores.

The Coming Golden Age of Used Books
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Louise Farrenc - Grand Variations on a Theme by Count Gallenberg


Jean Muller, piano


Luxembourg European Soloists


Christoph Konig, conductor


More info about today’s track: Naxos 8.574094


Courtesy of Naxos of America Inc.



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Monday's Comic

Nov. 24th, 2025 12:16 am
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[personal profile] marycatelli posting in [community profile] girlgenius_lair
PROMISING

You worked for him, o Dreen. You should have taken advantage of the observation opportunities.

The Vertigo Project: new work!

Nov. 23rd, 2025 09:08 pm
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[personal profile] mrissa
 

I've mentioned here before that one of my big projects this year is my involvement with The Vertigo Project, which now has a webpage so the rest of you can see what we've been doing. Earlier today I facilitated the first creative therapy-style writing workshop through that group, and it was really lovely--and is just the tip of the iceberg on what this group is doing.

Specifically, you can now read all the new work they've commissioned from me! Friends, it's a lot. It's journaling prompts for people who would like to use writing to process some of their own vertigo experiences. But also it's the following stories and poems:

Advice for Wormhole Travelers (story), safe conduct through strange new worlds

Club Planet Vertigo (poem), this is not the dance I wanted to do

Greetings from Innerspace (poem), my orbits are eccentric

The Nature of Nemesis (poem), me and Clark Kent know what's what

On the Way Down (poem), falling hard

Preparation (poem), sometimes we're just literal, okay

She Wavers But She Does Not Weaken (story), when the waves hit you even on dry land, it's good to have someone who's willing to swim against the current for you

The Torn Map (story), rewriting the pieces of the former world into something new

The main page also has links to some of the other aspects of the project, which includes a nonfiction book, dance, puppetry, a podcast with a physical therapist, and more. Please feel welcome to explore it all.

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[personal profile] mindstalk

I'm back into Airbnb life, and just moved to Philly Chinatown. A modest number of surgical masks in older Chinese people at the grocery stores, plus one young woman in a K-mask I saw around. A couple old white people, homeless or semi-so, in surgicals. Very little masking in Trader Joe's, mostly one cashier, despite TJ having the highest CO2 levels I've seen in a grocery store -- 1300 when I checked. TJ packs in customers and does not have great ventilation.

It also turns out that Pax Unplugged, a large table/board game convention, was happening this weekend, two blocks away. Perhaps this explains why getting an Airbnb was annoying and expensive, compared to what I saw in DC. A friend of mine was flying out Sunday morning, so swapped me his 3-day pass so I could check it out. Free in money and almost free in time, why not?

Read more... )

Newly Minted

Nov. 23rd, 2025 04:43 pm
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[personal profile] billroper
I went upstairs to do some light cleaning and putting things away. Part of this was making a box of dead electronics to go to recycling. As I was tossing things into that box, I found my old laptop that I had given to K and that she had given back to me well before she left for college. The power brick was with it, so I figured I'd plug it in and see what shape it was in.

Happily, it powered up and took a charge, so that was a good start. But it turns out this laptop is just a wee bit too old to be upgraded to Windows 11 and with only 8 GB of RAM and no further expansion capabilities, probably not worth fighting to upgrade. It is, however, a perfectly fine machine for certain purposes.

So I have installed Linux Mint on it, which is my first time doing this. (I have Zorin OS on a much older laptop that I mostly haven't touched in years. I looked at Zorin first and decided that Mint would be a better choice.)

The install was easy, although I had to use a different tool than the one they had suggested to make the bootable USB stick for the install. Happily, Rufus works for this.

And now, everything is up and running and I'm able to access the Internet and even post updates.

Like this one. :)

Owning The Owner

Nov. 23rd, 2025 06:55 pm
[syndicated profile] notalwaysworking_feed

Posted by Not Always Right

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Me: "Hey, you know what? I've never met the owner."
Coworker: "Yeah, me neither."
Me: "But you've been here over a year, right?"
Coworker: "Yeah. Weird."

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Grounded Pepper

Nov. 23rd, 2025 03:30 pm
[syndicated profile] notalwaysrelated_feed

Posted by Not Always Right

Read Grounded Pepper

Mom: "[Brother]! That's it! You're grounded!"
Me: "Mom, grounding doesn't really work on [Brother] anymore. His room is where all his toys are."
Mom: "Hmm, you're right. [Brother], you're coming grocery shopping with me! You're gonna help your momma run errands all day!"

Read Grounded Pepper

2025.11.23

Nov. 23rd, 2025 08:48 am
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[personal profile] lsanderson
‘Eating Indigenously’: award-winning chef celebrates Native American cuisine in new cookbook
James Beard-winning chef Sean Sherman’s cookbook Turtle Island pushes readers to view food systems through an Indigenous lens
Melissa Hellmann
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/nov/23/sean-sherman-turtle-island-cookbook-indigenous-food

French winemakers ‘battle for survival’ as minister prepares for crisis talks
Vineyard owners say sales slump, Trump tariffs and worst harvest in 70 years have put producers in danger of closure
Kim Willsher
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/nov/23/french-winemakers-sales-slump-crisis-talks

Bird flu: first ever death from rare H5N5 strain is recorded in US
Washington state resident’s backyard flock of domestic poultry had been exposed to wild birds, health officials said
Associated Press
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/nov/22/bird-flu-first-death-h5n5-strain-us

Rocky Horror creator Richard O’Brien: ‘The Spice Girls couldn’t sing. But lovely girls’
The actor, writer and musician on growing up on a sheep farm in New Zealand, being in Spice World and a lovely afternoon with Aretha Franklin
Rich Pelley
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/nov/22/rocky-horror-show-creator-richard-obrien-interview-spice-girls-aretha-franklin-new-zealand

Analysis
China has brought millions out of poverty. The US has not – by choice
Eduardo Porter
Despite the US’s economic success, income inequality remains breathtaking. But this is no glitch – it’s the system
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/nov/23/china-us-poverty-income-inequality

Maga is in meltdown over a preppy pink sweater for men. So, what exactly is the problem?
Ellie Violet Bramley
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/nov/23/maga-meltdown-pink-sweater-men-masculinity-fragile

'We've never seen this before': The spectacular stereo images of giant galaxies
Stephen Dowling
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20251121-sir-brian-mays-stereo-vision-of-galaxies

This Is Why Artists Suffer

Nov. 23rd, 2025 02:30 pm
[syndicated profile] notalwaysfriendly_feed

Posted by Not Always Right

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I overhear two young guys looking at a large piece of abstract modern art.
Friend #1: "I could’ve painted that."
Friend #2: "Sure, but he actually did."

Read This Is Why Artists Suffer

Benefits by Zoë Fairbairns

Nov. 23rd, 2025 09:19 am
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[personal profile] james_davis_nicoll


Mother's Benefits become the means by which British governments provide British women with the same benevolent management Britain once provided to India, Ireland, and Africa.

Benefits by Zoë Fairbairns

Look In The Pencil Pit(tsburgh)

Nov. 23rd, 2025 01:30 pm
[syndicated profile] notalwayslearning_feed

Posted by Not Always Right

Read Look In The Pencil Pit(tsburgh)

I teach a first-grade class. I have a bucket of sharpened pencils for them to use.
Student: "Miss [My Name], I need a pencil."
Me: "Where do the pencils live?"

Read Look In The Pencil Pit(tsburgh)

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George Frideric Handel - As Pants the Hart: In the Voice of Praise and Thanksgiving


Chapel Royal Choir


Musicians Extra-ordinary


Andrew Gant, conductor


More info about today’s track: Naxos 9.00208


Courtesy of Naxos of America Inc.



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Purchase this recording


Amazon

Lack of Support

Nov. 22nd, 2025 10:18 pm
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[personal profile] billroper
I am scheduled to go see the podiatrist on Wednesday for a follow-up visit for the new orthotics that I got last month. That is good, because these things are killing me and today is especially bad.

The problem is that I'm simply not getting enough support. Now I think he thought there was a good chance that these were going to be insufficiently supportive, but he didn't want to err in the opposite direction.

He has not. They are "sort of" ok, but today everything is hurting from the hips on down, because I've been out walking around and that actually requires, well, support.

After the follow-up, I may hand these orthotics back to him and switch to the standard supports that come with these shoes that I can install. They normally work pretty well for two or three months and then I've just caved in the shoes and it's time to start with a new pair.

But I suspect that things will hurt less.

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