A friend is out delivering in Central OR this morning. He recorded this video outside of Prineville.
Jen Willis ✨☄️🌒🎃
@jenwillis.bsky.social
Writer. Editor. @SkyandTelescope columnist. Author of paranormal cozies, UF, SF, and SF/R. Chronic illness/pain/optimism. ND. Astronerd. She/her. Starbright: https://patreon.com/JenWillis http://jennifer-willis.com
The clock is still running on Schrödinger's Senator. infogram.com/mitch-mcconn...
Mitch McConnell Last Seen
infogram.com
From a kitchen conversation just now: "Who needs to take up smoking when you can just step outside and breathe?" #PDX #AQI #wildfires
Living in the heartache of devastating Pacific Northwest fires, Rebecca Solnit’s words once again are both a salve and an evocative metaphor for the truth and work of our time. Climate work is peace work. 🙏🏼 @rebeccasolnit.bsky.social & @joindayenu.bsky.social
Portland's AQI is currently 156. Only one star, Vega, visible in tonight's sky.
Someone once told me that it's "classist" to advocate for people to have indoor cats because you need to buy them lots of expensive toys. Marcel has been playing with the discarded stem of a fresh green bean for 20 minutes. 🤷♀️
Current air quality reading in Portland is 143, depending which source you consult. Even with the filters going, the air inside is chewy and everything looks slightly orange.
I believe I received the same email this morning. I did send a firm reply, and now I'm wondering if I need a new service.
Lili Saintcrow@lilithsaintcrow.com · yesterdayContinuing the morning with saying, "I'm not upset, I'm deeply disappointed" in a professional email. It really does seem some companies providing services to authors somehow don't get how damaging the perception of "AI" contamination is.
Given the wildfire smoke here in Oregon, I'm thinking of trying to listen to the Perseid Meteor Shower this year. #astronomy www.skyatnightmagazine.com/advice/how-h...
How to hear meteors on your FM radio
Meteors burn up in the atmosphere leaving an ionised trail that reflects transmitted FM radio signals. Find our how to hear them on a radio.
skyatnightmagazine.com
Since I'm feeling cranky this morning, I will say that as someone who leaned to hand-code HTML back in the '90s (followed by javascript and CSS), I really hate blocks.
Yet another author service sent out an email suggesting that writers "ask ChatGPT" about themselves and their work, as some kind of marketing thing, I guess. I replied with a single line: "Please, *please* stop promoting AI — especially to authors, whose works have been stolen."
the intentional abdication by Congress of nearly all of its constitutional responsibilities is at the core of most of our problems as a nation
Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · yesterdayCornyn: "There's nothing we could do to rein in the president"
He serves in the branch that the Constitution specifically charges with the duty of removing the President for criming.
Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · yesterdayCornyn: "There's nothing we could do to rein in the president"
Booker: "I love the state of Texas, but I'm going to say it very clear: This is all hat and no cattle. It's hard for me to say this as a plant-based guy, but where's the beef? This is ridiculous! We got nothing! No guarantees whatsoever that this slush fund can't still go forward...Dear God, folks."
The Moon’s “wobble” this month put Mare Orientale impact basin in view. I imaged it around dawn with my Seestar S30 Pro. The basin appears as a “notch” on the left edge of the limb, just beyond the bright rays of a nearby ray crater. #astronomy #astrophotography
Reminding my American friends to check to make sure they're registered to vote way before November. Even if you think you are - doublecheck just to make sure you don't fall pray to shennanigans.
It’s not your fault you’re disabled. It’s not your fault you’re chronically ill. It’s not your fault you’re living in poverty, lacking health insurance, homeless or unemployed. The billionaire class wants us to believe these are moral failings so they don’t have to help people. We should help.
Brilliant letter from Stuart Thompson to Jeremy Clarkson about his comments that benefit claimants should write weekly thank you letters to tax payers detailing how they spend their benefits each week.
They think they're being clever eugenicists by saying that people with "underlying health issues" don't matter, but >75% of U.S. adults have a chronic condition (including 60% of age 18–34). So what they're really saying is "nobody matters, it's okay if everybody dies from inadequate regulation."
The New York Times@nytimes.com · 2d agoBreaking News: Two deaths in Michigan have been linked to cyclospora. Both people who had the parasite also had underlying health issues.
Frog: I have received a legally binding letter from the scorpion assuring me that stinging is not in his nature
OPPORTUNITY: The Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, MD, is seeking a leader for the Data Science Mission Office to serve as the senior strategic and scientific leader of the Institute’s data science and AI initiatives: https://bit.ly/4pTnd7z
89 million voting-eligible Americans did not cast ballots in the 2024 presidential election, allowing Trump to win the popular vote by 2,284,967. And now, America and the world are paying a terrible price for that voter apathy. VOTE! VOTE! VOTE!
Thinking about grad school? AAS is hosting a free Virtual Grad Admissions Fair! 📅 Wed, 16 Sept, 3–5 pm ET 💻 100% virtual & FREE 🎓 20+ depts including Columbia, Michigan, San Diego State Registration is limited to AAS undergrad & SPS affiliate members. Register by 9 Sept: aas.org/meetings/gra... 🔭
From ~ 2:30 this AM, after taking the dog out. I've been paying closer attention to Moon rise and set times this month, along with position and illumination. It was really cool to look up, bleary-eyed, in the wee hours and make a solid estimate of the time, all based on the Moon.
Jen Willis ✨☄️🌒🎃@jenwillis.bsky.social · 2d agoI just figured out the time (*accurately guessed a 30-minute window) by the position of the Moon. Feeling a bit pleased with myself.
Which 10 atmospheres are the Solar System’s thickest? Only a few worlds in the Solar System have substantial atmospheres of any type. This top 10 list goes from hero to almost-zero faster than you might've imagined. bigthink.com/starts-with-... #space #astro #planets #science
Which 10 atmospheres are the Solar System's thickest?
Obviously, the gas giants all top this list. But the fall-off is rapid after that, and the final two spots in the top 10 are truly shocking.
bigthink.com
I just figured out the time (*accurately guessed a 30-minute window) by the position of the Moon. Feeling a bit pleased with myself.