elizabethtasker

elizabethtasker, 5 days ago to random

National Azabu (a foreign food supermarket in Tokyo) has a sale in Jaffa cakes. Admittedly, strawberry Jaffa cakes which is mildly horrifying, but I moved in anyway! So. My afternoon is set.

elizabethtasker, 7 days ago to random

I lost my right to vote in the UK due to living out of the country for too many years. That rule was lifted this year, and I received the email today saying that my voting registration was accepted!

.... just under the wire for the July 4 election...!

I'd also registered to vote by proxy, but by random coincidence, I will be in the country. Apparently, that's fine so long as I beat my nominated proxy voter to the polling station 🤣

elizabethtasker, 8 days ago to random

The Astromaterials Science Research Group at JAXA ISAS has a press briefing at 2pm JST!

https://www.youtube.com/live/Mog2RqnLhFo

It's gentle excitement, as the REAL excitement will be later this summer. There'll be an English summary by your favourite JAXA science communicator afterwards 🙂

elizabethtasker, 10 days ago to random

Morning 😳 This phone alarm was accompanied by the creepiest music from the street speakers that sounded like the lead up to a jump scare in a movie.

…and I felt… nothing 🤔 I am now awake 😅

elizabethtasker, 10 days ago to animals

Furry nights! #CatsOfMastodon #NorahNeko

elizabethtasker, 12 days ago to random

Have a bright future. Make good choices.

Well, ain’t that the dream? 😂

elizabethtasker, 12 days ago to vr

Tried out Dungeons of Eternity tonight in #VR where you fight off legions of the undead 🧟 I will say a lot less fun on your own (i.e. creepy AF) but a good laugh with friends! You’re only allowed a group of three though, which means we have to wait for one of our usual four to be away/deathly ill/with better friends/fed up of our shenanigans.

An archer stands ready at a pathway across which a large axe is swinging.

elizabethtasker, 14 days ago to random

For my talks, I draw a lot of my slide deck, with several slides used to illustrate a concept. I love the result: it's engaging and pretty, and I feel people remember images faster than words.

However.... it takes me bloody ages!

I've been designing two talks with a large number of new slides and it's taken me about a 1.5 weeks to get them together as each talk is close to 100 slides (~2 slides / min).

It's hard to justify this quantity of time to work, but it's also why I'm asked to speak 🤔

A second example slide, comparing the atmospheric content of the Earth and Mars.

elizabethtasker, 15 days ago to astrophotography

A rather blistering 5am start for the second virtual #astrophotography gallery event with the IAU and @futuremeetings! But a good crowd, and really fun to listen to the photographers describe how they took these photos with a smartphone (!).

Avatars stand in front of a wall of photographs of the night school, listening to one of the photographers describe their photograph.
Avatars stand in front of a black and white photograph of a boat beached in front of the sky, in which the Milky Way can be seen stretching across the night. The TFOM logo is on an image on the left.

elizabethtasker, 16 days ago to random

Great evening hearing from the photographers whose photos are displayed in the virtual gallery designed by the IAU OAO x TFOM (International Astronomical Union Outreach & @futuremeetings)! Aside from cruising the art and learning about exposures, I also met a science communicator from Indonesia and we spent a happy 20 minutes roundly abusing TikTok 🤣

There's another opportunity to visit the gallery tomorrow (May 28) at 8pm UTC / 4pm EDT / 1pm PDT.

Grab a free ticket: https://www.tickettailor.com/events/iauofficeforastronomyoutreach/1230291

Five avatars are examining a beautiful photograph of the aurora (I believe captured at Yellowknife in Canada)
Avatars listen to talks in a central area. The IAU Office of Astronomy for Education logo is on one wall, and a tree with red leaves is in the centre. Four avatars are neatly sitting on a bench, while others stand around the space.
Four avatars examine another photograph of the aurora.

elizabethtasker, 17 days ago to astrophotography

Tea in an International Astronomical Union Outreach bamboo mug to start the week and celebrate not only sustainable drinkies, but also the super cool #astrophotography event that will be held TODAY and TOMORROW! Tickets are free, and the 3D virtual space (accessible from a browser) is really fun to explore.

Gallery times are:

May 27 (TODAY!)
11am UTC
(9pm AEST ad 7am EDT )

May 28 (TOMORROW)
8pm UTC
(4pm EDT and 1pm PDT)

Register here: https://bit.ly/smart_gallery

elizabethtasker, 18 days ago to vr

Tried out “Demeo” tonight: a multiplayer adventure board game that you can play in #VR or #AR. It was well done, and fun to see the pieces animate and move! Also easier to learn the rules than for a regular board game as you weren’t able to make an invalid move, and aspects such as the cards were dealt automatically!

elizabethtasker, 19 days ago to random

I scrubbed down the balcony this morning (a thankless task, partly due to the lack of an outdoor tap, and partly because Casper the outdoor cat never looks impressed!)

The cat cam camera testified to my hard work!

Another balcony webcam shot, where I am bending down to pick up a pair of plastic gloves (used for drain de-clogging!)

elizabethtasker, 19 days ago to random

Afternoon high tea with a Prince of Tennis (Japanese manga/anime) theme! Each cake is based on the tastes of one of the manga characters (from the Rikkai tennis team). There was also a mini-burger. Also, I can no longer move comfortably 😅

A top down view of the cake tray. The logo of the Rikkai school in the anime can be seen printed on the top tray.
The outside of the menu, showing the faces of each of the 9 anime characters.
A life sized poster shows all 9 anime characters standing together, wearing wait staff uniforms.

elizabethtasker, 19 days ago to random

My first meeting today was at 5am, and my last at 8pm, and there was a very important middle meeting with this cup of iced coffee ☕️

And if you’re not sufficiently impressed… I also took a rug to the coin laundry AND… remembered to bring it back.

elizabethtasker, 20 days ago to astrophotography

If you are interested in the use of virtual spaces for online events, do check out this event next week!

Organised by the International Astronomical Union (IAU), this #astrophotography gallery is hosted in spatial: a 3D virtual space you can explore via a regular web browser or #VR Meta headset.

I love virtual spaces for feeling I've "gone somewhere", and the audio falloff means you can chat to people you meet... or run off and ignore their babble while you cruise the #astronomy art.

elizabethtasker, 23 days ago to random

“Do you believe… in the Moon?”

Which was one of the more amusing slips I’ve heard during a Q&A session at JAXA, and left me wondering what crazy conspiracy theory I’d just walked into 😂

(What was actually meant was “do you believe there’s water on the Moon”, swiftly corrected but not before the whole room had collapsed with laughter.)

elizabethtasker, 25 days ago to animals

BOING! #CatsOfMastodon #CatsOfTheBalcony

elizabethtasker, 26 days ago (edited 8 days ago) to random

I’m listening to “Wideacre”; historical fiction by Philippa Gregory.

The protagonist is evil. An utter psychopath. Admittedly, life for a woman in the 18th century is rough, and the opportunities Beatrice’s skills warrant are passed to incompetent men. But the body count is unpleasant!

It’s a very long book and a stressful read. Frankly, I want to stop but I also want to know the outcome and I’m not sure a synopsis will be satisfactory.

In short, I’m in a hostage situation with an audiobook.

elizabethtasker, 25 days ago to random

We continue to pursue Japanese studies through… Doreamon! A children’s manga in which a cat-like robot from the future helps a spectacularly dim child.

How dim?

In this scene, he is discovering that if you do not water crops… they die 🤨

elizabethtasker, 28 days ago to astrophotography

The International Astronomical Union (#IAU) are hosting an #astrophotography gallery in #VR! The event is on May 27 from 11am - 12:30pm UTC and May 28 from 8pm - 9:30pm UTC, and showcases astronomical photographs captured with a smartphone 📱🌌

The event is being held in spatial.io, which is accessible from a VR headset (Quest), or just from your computer browser (i.e. no headset needed).

This is a super cool event and y’all gotta go!

Link to (free) tickets: https://www.tickettailor.com/events/iauofficeforastronomyoutreach/1230291

elizabethtasker, 29 days ago to random

I’m having to join the morning push into Yokohama and was not expecting the trains to be as crushed as central Tokyo.

I was not correct about that assumption! I am now Elizabeth in 2D.

elizabethtasker, 1 month ago to vr

#EPSC (Europlanet Science Congress) is being held hybrid this year, and has an exciting program that includes a session on using new tools such as #VR in planetary science outreach.

But... it's 50 Euro per abstract submission, with no guarantee of acceptance. That's a fairly big punch when the Japanese yen is super weak.

elizabethtasker, 1 month ago to random

Look, this is pretty much how "Day of the Triffids" started, people. Don't you forget that.

elizabethtasker, 1 month ago to random

I apparently put this seat hotspot on sideways (a function that lets your avatar "sit" in a chair).

But also. Mood.