stargazersmith

@stargazersmith@social.linux.pizza

Retired computer scientist (PhD) and aerospace engineer. Aspiring astronomer who let the winds of life move him a bit off the mark.

Our two sons keep me engaged on microprocessor projects and astronomy discussions.

Currently participating with spouse of 50+ years in spoiling preschool granddaughter. Making progress.

The header image is an #etx90 image of #Tycho crater. I love that little telescope.

Interests:
#astronomy
#telescopes
#amateurastronomy
#scifi
#software
#perl
#forth
#linux

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RustyBertrand, to random

Zionism ia #cult

Pretend that they are the Westboro Baptist Church when arguing with them.

They need an enemy. They need hate.

What messes with them is condecending love and pity.

They fight the "enemy" the more hate they get the better, then they get home, have a meeting to share their awful stories with each other, reinforce their victimhood, then they love bomb each other.

So start with the coddling and love bombing instead of feeding them their favourite food, hate.

stargazersmith,

@RustyBertrand
Seven Weinberg, Nobel Prize winning physicist said:

"Religion is an insult to human dignity. With or without it you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion."

DrJackBrown, to random
@DrJackBrown@mstdn.social avatar

Anticipated job growth for January was +185,000. The Actual job growth was +353,000. Go Biden!

Dems are sooo much better for the economy. Vote Blue.

stargazersmith,

@DrJackBrown
I read that finally the attitude about the economy is improving, but not the attitude about Biden. Is that just mainstream media Hokum, or what. I've never understood what it is that Biden has supposedly done that's lowered his favorability in the first place, if even true.

stargazersmith,

@joeinwynnewood @mildbeard @maggiejk @DrJackBrown
I agree completely with your assessment. Looking at his record, what he's gotten through Congress is record setting. Enlarging NATO after the Trump years was pretty amazing.

And there's a list of things he tried to do that the courts, with GOP initiation, blocked. On most he's not given up, but is seeking alternatives, like student loan forgiveness.

Helluva job, but if one has a pet issue he's not addressed, I'd say start writing his office.

erictopol, to random
@erictopol@mstdn.social avatar

The XBB.1.5 "updated" Covid vaccine booster provided ~54% increased protection against symptomatic infections (including vs. JN.1 variant) compared with not getting it.

https://cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/73/wr/mm7304a2.htm?s_cid=mm7304a2_e&ACSTrackingID=USCDC_921-DM121333&ACSTrackingLabel=This%20Week%20in%20MMWR%3A%20Vol.%2073%2C%20February%201%2C%202024&deliveryName=USCDC_921-DM121333

stargazersmith,

@peterbutler @c_merriweather @erictopol
I wonder is there any cumulative effect from multiple boosters.

65dBnoise, to space
@65dBnoise@mastodon.social avatar

"Let's be honest, the scientific community gets credit, but it's the engineers that really deserve the credit."

"In the past, we talked about space exploration. I think we're looking at a re-spelling. We're looking at space exploitation now."

https://www.theregister.com/2024/02/01/lessons_from_the_voyager_probes/

#Space #Solarocks

stargazersmith,

@65dBnoise
That's good to know. I'm one of those who was headed for science but ended up in missile guidance and navigation. I always thought of astronomy and aerospace as somewhat related.

randahl, to Ukraine
@randahl@mastodon.social avatar

Finally! The EU has agreed: EUR 50 billion to #Ukraine over the next four years!

This is an impressive sum of money, considering that Ukraine is also supported bilaterally by the EU member states.

This means Ukraine's state budget has a solid foundation the next four years, no matter what happens in the US.

Zelenskyy, call Rheinmetal and SAAB — it is shopping time!

🇺🇦

Jimmy Fallon Yes GIF by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon

stargazersmith,

@randahl
That's great to read. And I'm confident that President Biden will find a way to further support Ukraine as well, but we in the U. S. are struggling with something, for sure.

StillIRise1963, to random
@StillIRise1963@mastodon.world avatar

"As the gap in voter turnout between people of color and white people continues to widen, the study broke down the numbers showing how Latinos, Asian Americans and Black people are persistently underrepresented in the electorate – which, as evidenced by Guardian reporting, is not in small part due to voter-suppression efforts."

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/jan/31/voters-of-color-voting-rights-gerrymandering

stargazersmith,

@MisuseCase @StillIRise1963 @ariatorus
Methinks the NYT is trying to create an impression rather than report actual news.

DemDifference, to geopolitics
@DemDifference@mastodon.social avatar

From Joseph Politano:

"US and EU Q4 GDP data is now in, which means it's time for another update to the G7 growth chart

Here's each country's cumulative increase in real GDP, since just before the pandemic:

🇺🇸 +8.9%
🇨🇦 +4.5% (thru Q3)
🇮🇹 +2.9%
🇬🇧 +1.4% (thru Q3)
🇫🇷 +1.4%
🇩🇪 +0.4%
🇯🇵 +0.2% (thru Q3)"

Politano's newsletter is here: https://www.apricitas.io/

#Economy #GDP

stargazersmith,

@DemDifference
Next question, why don't Dem politicians show simple charts like this to get people's attention? Like just one chart when the audience seems incredulous.

JamesGleick, to random
@JamesGleick@zirk.us avatar

Has there ever been a con artist who fleeced so many people, for so long, for so much money?

And he does it in plain sight. https://mastodon.social/@burritojustice/111848264148861673

stargazersmith,

@JamesGleick
Here's a question.
What percentage of those foolish enough to follow Trump will realize the extent of their foolishness?

johncarlosbaez, (edited ) to random
@johncarlosbaez@mathstodon.xyz avatar

I cannot tell you about anything interesting today, because I'm rushing to finish a grant proposal that might help other people get paid to do something interesting. I was largely successful in doing research without grants for my entire career - yet now, retired, I am trying to help out some younger colleagues by applying for a big grant. I'm beginning to think it was a mistake.

Soon I will see if I can upload an .xslx file without buying Excel. Wish me luck.

stargazersmith,

@johncarlosbaez
If it's a fairly standard XLS file, you may be able to upload it to Google Sheets.

sarahf, to bookstodon
@sarahf@mastodon.social avatar

"The first step in liquidating a people is to erase its memory. Destroy its books, its culture, its history. Then have someone write new books, manufacture a new culture, invent a new history. Before long the nation will begin to forget what it is and what it was."

#MilanKundera @bookstodon

stargazersmith,

@sarahf @bookstodon
That's what was attempted with considerable success to the Mayans, yes?

wdlindsy, to random
@wdlindsy@toad.social avatar

"Once upon a time, evangelicals believed in the teachings of Jesus Christ, in the moral imperative of helping one’s neighbors, of being a 'compassionate conservative.' But we are living in an up-is-down, black-is-white world in which a man who admitted to grabbing women by their genitalia is embraced by one of the largest religious groups in the United States. What accounts for this dichotomy?"

~ Dan Rather

#WhiteEvangelicals #Trump
/1

https://steady.substack.com/p/evangelicals-for-trump-its-not-about

stargazersmith,

@wdlindsy
MAGAs certainly appear to be cultists. But generally, a cult has to lure people in, then confine them and control what news and ideas they can access.

The MAGA movement seems different in that the confinement of exposure to news and ideas is completely voluntary. People who have access to information that could enlighten them refuse to see or consider it.

It is the willingness to self apply all the pressures that cultists have historically used for control that is a mystery.

HamonWry, to random
@HamonWry@mastodon.world avatar

Presidential elections are about taking care of the country’s citizens and moving the country forward.

They’re not about keeping your candidate out of prison for the felonies they’ve committed against the country.

stargazersmith,

@HamonWry
That seems so obvious, why doesn't it work that way?

NicoleCRust, to random
@NicoleCRust@neuromatch.social avatar

Virtually all the protein molecules in our body are replaced during the course of a year.

A fun fact with philosophical implications (ala: Where is the "you")?

https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/biological-thermodynamics/8FC8CAB10BFF5A4391B14FB171D7D351

stargazersmith,

@NicoleCRust
It reminds me of the old joke.

This is George Washington's ax.

It's had 2 new heads and 3 new handles.

Free_Press, to Ukraine
@Free_Press@mstdn.social avatar

THANK YOU GERMANY

Germany will provide assistance to Ukraine in the amount of more than 7 billion euros.

The decision was made by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz after talks with US President Biden, the German government press service reported.
#AureFreePress #Ukraine️ #Russia #Putin #EU #NATO #Zelensky #war #news #Moscow #USA #UK #Germany #Poland

stargazersmith,

@Free_Press
Biden isn't so easy to out maneuver as the MAGAs think.

TonyStark, to random
@TonyStark@progressivecafe.social avatar

I like to remind people every now and again that when you’re voting for a President, you’re also voting for their Cabinet picks and every judicial nominee they’ll be choosing.

There are six new nominations for federal district court judges here, including two judges of color in districts that have only ever had white judges.

President Biden Names Forty-Fourth Round of Judicial Nominees | The White House:
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2024/01/10/president-biden-names-forty-fourth-round-of-judicial-nominees/

stargazersmith,

@TonyStark
Not to mention all of their other appointments. That's what I feared about Trump in 2016, that his appointments would erode the ethics and performance of government.

sundogplanets, to random
@sundogplanets@mastodon.social avatar

My old mercury thermometer says -36C and the official weather report said it was "only" -42C with windchill this morning, so the busses are still running (they never cancel school ever, no matter how cold it gets. This place is wild.)

stargazersmith,

@sundogplanets
1/2
I'll tell you what I know about astronomers and farms. Kansas farms in this story. I grew up about 40 years after Clyde Tombaugh did, about 40 miles from where he did. Small towns and farms. He grew up on a farm.

In the last years of his career he lived in the same town I did, he was a member of the same astronomy club. So I got to talk to him a few times.

I asked him once how he got into astronomy.

stargazersmith,

@sundogplanets
2/2
Clyde told me of a time as a kid when he was working in the barn and a severe hail storm came through. He was trapped in the barn, hearing the hail pound on the roof. He could only imagine what damage was happening outside.

When the storm cleared, he went out and accessed the damage. He saw that the maize crop was devastated. He said he decided right then that there had to be a better way of making a living than farming.

So he followed his dream and became an astronomer.

georgetakei, to random

Finally coming to their senses. https://secondnexus.com/capitol-rioter-hemphill-trump-maga?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=infeed&utm_campaign=linkprogram

stargazersmith,

@georgetakei
I read about a university study that found that Fox viewers who were paid to watch other news media for 30 days changed some of their views and were better informed.

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2022/apr/11/fox-news-viewers-watch-cnn-study

StillIRise1963, to random
@StillIRise1963@mastodon.world avatar

"Anti-DEI" is the new racist code for anti-Black. Just ask WaPo's racist mouthpiece reporters.

stargazersmith,

@StillIRise1963
It stretches bigotry beyond anti-Black doesn't it? It is extended to basically anyone not white heterosexual male.

stargazersmith,

@StillIRise1963
With fascists, there's always a "next", eventually even attacking those among their own ranks. Our job as citizens is to stop fascism from taking over our country.

Then -- continue with the hard work of trying to form a more perfect union. A never ending task, but a noble one.

astro_jcm, to chess
@astro_jcm@mastodon.online avatar

"The board is set. The pieces are moving." 🧙‍♂️

Much like pawns on a giant board, the Auxiliary Telescopes of ESO's VLT Interferometer can be moved around and arranged into different configurations.

They all point to the same target, and the light they gather is channeled into a lab where light beams interfere. This allows us to discern tiny details, as if we had a huge virtual telescope.

Here's how this works: https://www.eso.org/public/teles-instr/technology/interferometry/

stargazersmith,

@astro_jcm
Will the Uber big 39+ meter telescopes be able to see the early universe like the Webb telescope, or is their infrared sensitivity too low?

stargazersmith,

@astro_jcm
Thanks for the additional info.

I can see where a more detailed spectrum view could help identify nuanced exo-planet atmospheric gases that may indicate life, once we know what to look for.

I was wondering about identifying and studying the earliest stars and galaxies compared to the Webb.

Free_Press, to news
@Free_Press@mstdn.social avatar

GAZA FOOD AIRDROP!

Israel-Hamas war: UN relief chief calls Gaza 'uninhabitable'

UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths said nearly three months after the war began, Gaza has "become a place of death and despair." Meanwhile, France and Jordan jointly airdropped aid into Gaza.
#AureFreePress #News #Israel #gaza #Hamas

https://www.dw.com/en/israel-hamas-war-un-relief-chief-calls-gaza-uninhabitable/live-67894428?mobileApp=true

stargazersmith,

@Free_Press
Doesn't the Gaza thing remind you of the late 1800s U. S. treatment of native Americans? Attacks that devastated entire encampments, and sending large numbers of native Americans off to reservations far from their native lands.

But that was 150 years ago.

accretionist, to random

deleted_by_author

    •
    stargazersmith,

    @accretionist
    I'd say voting 3rd party or not voting at all to make a point is (more was) somewhat valid IF you are really indifferent to who in the major 2 parties wins.

    But in this dangerous environment, we can't be indifferent to who wins. So I agree with you during this troubled time.

    There was a simple example often spoken in risk management. The saying is:

    Don't take a risk you cannot afford to lose.

    On this election the risk is too high to not be serious about voting.

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