My 8ft long cabled monster project is off the needles. Next: weaving in ends and blocking it, but not today. 🧶 Time to complete: 1.5 yr

Dr. Jillian Scudder@jillianscudder.com · 4w ago

I have finished the ninth skein. I have about 8 inches left to knit, (about 60 rows). It is seven feet long. 🧶

This time in Jillian's Journal Of Irreproducible Computer Problems: Had only 3Gb of free space, mysteriously. Asked the computer where the big files were. Suddenly I have 760 Gb of free space. 🙃 (I guess that's fixed then)

HAPPY BOOK DAY TO ME 💞📚✨🥰

Princeton University Press@princetonupress.bsky.social · yesterday

@toomanyspectra.bsky.social's Cloudy with a Chance of Starships is an entertaining tour of the seemingly simple formula guiding the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. Out now! Learn more: press.princeton.edu/books/hardco... 29 September UK pub | #Astrobiology #Astronomy #Science

Hi hello for the record I do not touch LLM software. I write my books (which have been stolen for input) and my research papers (ditto) without them. Errors in my books and in my papers (which I try earnestly to minimize) are my own fault. But I’ve written every single word.

BOOK COVER TIME Introducing The Universe: A Graphic Guide, out in the UK and as an ebook on September 10th! I begin at the beginning and proceed forward in time, with absolutely lovely illustrations by Lily Fossett (www.lilyfossett.com) on every page.📚🔭🧪 www.jillianscudder.com/books/univer...

BOOK COVER TIME Introducing The Universe: A Graphic Guide, out in the UK and as an ebook on September 10th! I begin at the beginning and proceed forward in time, with absolutely lovely illustrations by Lily Fossett (www.lilyfossett.com) on every page.📚🔭🧪 www.jillianscudder.com/books/univer...

Flew back from the UK yesterday, and between leaving my hotel and arriving home I managed to read through: 📚 Pride & Prejudice (Austen; reread) All Systems Red (Wells) Persuasion (Austen)

The conclusion of a century-long quest 😲 Our VLT obtained firm evidence that Betelgeuse, a red supergiant star in the Orion constellation and one of the most famous stars in the night sky, is not alone! 🔭 🧪 1/4

I'm absolutely devastated for colleagues at Jodrell Bank who found out this morning that funding for the UK's e-MERLIN radio telescope array will be terminated. This is a short-sighted move, to save a tiny fraction of the overall UK science budget. #SaveJodrellBank 🔭🧪 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Jodrell Bank's Lovell telescope faces axe in science cuts, BBC understands

Astronomers warn it would tear the heart out of UK science, and leave a generation untrained.

bbc.co.uk

Astronomer Royal for Scotland | Catherine Heymans@astroroyalscot.bsky.social · 3w ago

“What will the Lovell Telescope discover/enable 20 yrs from now? I can’t tell you, and that’s the point. It will either be something extraordinary that none of us can yet predict, or we will defund it and leave Cheshire with a rusting monument to unfulfilled potential and discoveries never made.” 🔭🧪

Nanjing Paleontological Museum has an in-house traditional Chinese artist, Li Chen, creating paintings of famous Chinese dinosaurs. These are from 2022 exhibition "From Dragon to Bird" and can be purchased in the museum as postcards or book《从龙到鸟系列 科学艺术化石复原图》

Finished with #NAM2026, and off for brief holidays. A lovely conference with lots of good people, conversations, & science; I will probably do a science roundup when I am less tired. 🔭

Finished reading Ed Yong’s An Immense World. Enjoyed it very, very much.

Small detour from the main #NAM2026 activities to go see the campus dinosaurs 🦖

We begin with the traditional Zoom Trouble.

I am at #NAM2026 this year, and looking forward to hearing as much galaxy science as I can!

Delta x = across the Atlantic Delta t = 7 hours Delta sleep = -5 hours Delta tea = + not enough

Love to find an airport dinosaur

New: Late last night, Taylor Farms quietly posted an official recall notice We now know that the parasite-linked iceberg lettuce was shipped to Walmart & food distributors in 27 (!) states It was for some reason still being sent out up until Thursday July 16 www.consumerreports.org/health/food-...

Parasite-Linked Lettuce Was Sent to Walmart Stores and Food Distributors in 27 States - Consumer Reports

Taylor Farms' recalled the parasite-linked lettuce it said was sent to Walmart stores, Sysco, and other food distributors in 27 states.

consumerreports.org

Drove to a doctor’s appointment and it is wild *seeing* the air quality decline over the course of 15 miles. Masked up in the car.

“A code MAROON air quality alert means that air pollution concentrations within the local region are extremely hazardous for the general population. Efforts to minimize effects, even indoors, may be difficult to impossible.” It’s visibly smoky outside and smells bad 😬

Apparently the center of the Milky Way not only has a compound responsible for the flavor of raspberries (ethyl formate), it also has some of their sugars. Our home galaxy is surprisingly raspberry coded. 🔭 www.livescience.com/space/astron...

Sweet! Sugar found in raspberries was discovered near the Milky Way's center, hinting that life's ingredients are common in space

Erythrulose, a sugar found in raspberries, was spotted in a gas and dust cloud near the center of the Milky Way.

livescience.com

I think I’d be perfectly happy never needing to learn the name of any more pathogens

(Having read the article) IF you are in Michigan/Ohio AND you’re immunocompromised: probably cook your fruits and veggies, and particularly avoid salad. At least until they figure out the source. Otherwise, yeah, just wash your produce and keep your hands clean

paris martineau@paris.nyc · 3w ago

hello i am here to tell you actually probably don't need to be panicking about the explosive diarrhea parasite a thread: www.consumerreports.org/health/food-...

Apparently the center of the Milky Way not only has a compound responsible for the flavor of raspberries (ethyl formate), it also has some of their sugars. Our home galaxy is surprisingly raspberry coded. 🔭 www.livescience.com/space/astron...

Sweet! Sugar found in raspberries was discovered near the Milky Way's center, hinting that life's ingredients are common in space

Erythrulose, a sugar found in raspberries, was spotted in a gas and dust cloud near the center of the Milky Way.

livescience.com

Leaf lettuce and Taco Bell in the Midwest is now potentially parasite-ridden. Love being back on “if you can’t peel it or cook it don’t eat it” rules for a completely preventable food borne illness

Phil Lewis@phillewis.bsky.social · 3w ago

Federal and state health officials are reportedly investigating whether Taco Bell restaurants played a role in one of the largest U.S. outbreaks of an illness that causes explosive diarrhea

I have finished the ninth skein. I have about 8 inches left to knit, (about 60 rows). It is seven feet long. 🧶

Dr. Jillian Scudder@jillianscudder.com · 4mo ago

Look I don’t want to talk about the pace at which I’m doing this, but I’m now done with 7/10 skeins and it is getting close to as long as me. 🧶

Slowly but surely, I am removing documents out of Google Drive. I have a free (for now) Proton drive account for the documents that I do actually need access to. The degoogling is slow, but it’s still progress.

We just had a sudden rain dump into preexisting heat & humidity, and so now there are visible little tiny clouds tumbling along the ground. Somehow my phone does not consider this 110% humidity.

Updating the maps again Chandra Examines Milky Way at Arms’ Length science.nasa.gov/missions/cha...

Right ok this is running well enough I’m declaring victory. I had cursed my SQL database and not the code, but in hunting for code errors I refactored and sped my code up so it’s now wins all around. My SQL database is also just getting Large (not surprising considering what I’m doing).

Dr. Jillian Scudder@jillianscudder.com · 4w ago

Day three of Operation Un-Curse The Code and I miiiiiiiiight have figured it out 🤞😬🤞