John Ridley (he/him)

An absolute giant.

RIP Margaret Hamilton. I'm glad she got some recognition in the last 10 years or so. She was instrumental in getting humanity to the moon.

I took the 18" dob out last night, for a short trial to see if the DSC I put on it (Celestron Advanced Astro Master) works OK, and it does. But it's very awkward to use. I'm now planning to get an updated one. The question is, Nexus DSC Pro, or Argo Navis. They're both in the $450 range.

Ugh, I have a floater in my dominant eye, for 3 days now. I think it's dissolving a bit but it's almost directly in the center of vision. irritating.

You've seen fireworks that look like jellyfish, but what about a jellyfish that looks like fireworks? The E/V Nautilus filmed this rare Halitrephes maasi jellyfish glowing like a firework at a depth of 4,019 feet (1,225 meters) off the coast of Baja California, Mexico. (📷: Ocean Exploration Trust)

Platelet and plasma donation at Ann Arbor Red Cross today. I think this puts me at 14 for the year.

HUBBLE VS. JWST!!! 🌌 these are images of the SAME galaxy cluster taken more than a decade apart. look at how many more galaxies webb reveals… THIS IS INSANE 😭

I can't find the drawing pencils I last used around 2011, had to order some more. #2 is way too hard for astro sketching for me anyway.

A new release and two preorders this week. @seananmcguire.bsky.social writes like mad, and I'm here for it all.

Product description on Amazon listing for a package of eight AA rechargeable batteries: 8 AA batteries required (included)

Well, shoot. No @capriconsfcon.bsky.social for me in 2027. Direct conflict with my choir's concert. First Cap I've missed in a long time.

I took the C8 out for a short trial last night, 30 minutes or so until the moon washed everything out. I think the optics are not as good as the Meade. Also I need to put it up higher and swap the finder for a tight angle one, if I'm going to keep viewing at zenith.

Says something about humans. We have to barricade the out lane to keep people from coming in that way and trying to park where the band is setting up.

Whew, I just finished an 8 hour volunteer shift selling ridiculously priced food at a U of M game, as a fund raiser for Out Loud Chorus. Time really flew and it being a game against Iowa, the promised "time to get to know your fellow choir members" never happened because we never stopped selling.

Ordered some 6-32 thumb screws for the telescope (collimation adjustment). The threaded part must be 8mm long. Everyone is selling 6.7mm for computer case screws. NOBODY selling 8mm long ones except Chinese sellers with 3 week ship times. I bought some 7/8 long ones and will cut them down.

Holy crap the color scheme on the @windyconstable.bsky.social website is the absolute least ADA compliant thing I've seen this year. I have good eyesight and I can barely read the programming grid. Who decided that black and dark brown on dark blue is a great color scheme?

Windycon panel: "Did Discovery jump the shark?" LOL my dude Discovery jumped the entire aquarium.

I'm OK with this. We need a broadsheet generator complete with all these weird old fonts.

9-2-5 Happy Dolly Parton day!

The vaccine reaction is keeping me from wanting to go out into the first clear night skies in many days, but some ibu and ice cream and I'm feelin' OK. And I discovered Chris Lintott's lecture series at the Gresham College channel...

OK that's a new one on me. "The Orange Lie-Atollah" Good one.

I just helped carry all 4 full trays of AV ballots into the post office for the township J and I work at. She and her office mates have been stuffing envelopes for days.

Vaccine reaction time. Slight fever, tired. Lying down napping and reading. Not so bad.

OK this made me laugh: notalwaysright.com/noah-lot-abo...

OK never mind. The clouds are NOT going to clear in the morning. Get the telescope back off the deck.

They picked one with only moderate eccentricity?

Oh heck yeah. Yoink.

Last night I learned to use DVDStyler to make a DVD of Out Loud Chorus' last concert. I had some people at the afterparty in June assure me that they totally wanted DVDs. We'll see how that goes when I announce it.

2 weeks to @windyconisfic.bsky.social, that means it's annual vaccine time. COVID, flu and "one and done" pneumonia this year.

Platelet donation today. Number 13 for this year. @redcrossmichigan.bsky.social

More and more places are becoming uninsureable. It's a result of climate change that can finally not be ignored. www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2026...

I deleted Facebook from my phone, and I'm u following anyone here that primarily posts politics. Still and always, I post on dreamwidth

Well I'm going to try a platelet donation today. I've been off for a month due to a persistent cough that lasted weeks. I also have an injured left arm, luckily I do single needle on the right so it shouldn't be too bad. Hopefully my hemocrit and platelets are up given the bruising there.

It warmed up enough today that I was able to spray foam the gaps in the front of my trailer and staple back the covers up front. That's completed the lighting and wiring upgrade, which I'm quite pleased with. The rear floods are great for backing up in the dark and loading in the dark.

Schiff on the SAVE Act: "Jonathan, what you've just asked is essentially, Republicans have created distrust in the elections by making claims of nonexistent fraud, and shouldn't we use the distrust they've created in order to enact a voter suppression law?"

Remember, it's only Lesbianism if it's from the Lesbos region of Western Massachusetts. Otherwise it's just sparkling Subaru ownership.

It's been over 2 weeks since my last motorcycle ride. Really getting twitchy. I did get out and do most of the wiring I wanted to do on the trailer lights though. New interior lights, rear floods that run on the reverse light or by a switch, and a 7 pin connector to run all that.

Facebook has become all but unusable. Even when I go to friends feed, it's ads and more ads. I think I'm gonna hang out here for a while.

One of my favorite things is getting to tell friends who are new to NYC that the subway "stand clear of the closing doors please" voice is a trans woman named Bernie Wagenblast and she's amazing.

Your right to document is a crucial safeguard for your community, and no federal agency can take that away. Keep filming, keep documenting, and keep protecting one another. The Constitution is firmly on your side.

If ICE is uncomfortable with public oversight during large-scale sweeps, the issue is not the cameras, it’s the conduct they don’t want seen.

@ericmigi.com Quick Pebble suggestion: built in "find my phone" function in a sub menu. One that overrides mute/silent mode. My Amazfit does this. My Pebbles do not. There used to be an app for it but it doesn't work anymore and it seems relatively straightforward to add as base functionality.

US Veterans peacefully protesting Trump’s military birthday parade arrested at Capitol Hill. This is the moment a 80+ year old US veteran is taken away in handcuffs for practicing his 1st Amendment right. #3E #NoKings #NoKingsProtests (🎥 @gregjstoker.bsky.social )

Donald Trump has committed the most profound, harmful and unnecessary economic error in the modern era. Almost everything he said—on history, economics and the technicalities of trade—was utterly deluded econ.st/3YbbFjq