Joshua Bloch

grateful to hear him say this out loud — too few institutions have this decency and courage

No account? No Windows 11 for you, says Microsoft : Workaround sent to the big OOBE in the sky with latest Insider builds

This is not good. When you're running Windows on a mini-PC controlling your astrophotography rig, you want it to be light and nimble. In fact, some companies that sell these mini-PCs (e.g., MeLE) ship with a modified OOBE that doesn't ask for a Microsoft login.
www.theregister.com/2025/10/07/w...

And the Washington Post that we had during the first Trump administration would be methodically cataloging his lies.

Phrases like "violating the law" and "lying" are useful here.

This is not what democracy looks like.

YouTube video by ParticleMen They Might Be Giants - The Mesopotamians (official TMBG video)

Three years earlier, @tmbg.bsky.social came along and created this. www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAMR...

This is not what democracy looks like.

Why don't the real police arrest them, as they would any other things who engaged in this sort of behavior?

Serious question: can't you just report "icy conditions"using Maps or Wayze?

I'm not a fan of everything Newsom does, but this is a good move.

An update: my master dark frame was horrible broken, "infecting" my stacks and making them susceptible to this artifact. Also it introduced a nasty vertical line that I had to hide by aggressive darkening. I'll make a new dark library, and reprocess a few favorite images. Never a dull moment...

(I see no grid-like artifacts in the 1:1 version, which supports my contention that these are resampling artifacts.)

For your amusement, here's the stack that was processed to make the previous version, auto-stretched and rendered by AsiFitsView at 3 resolutions: about 1900x1900, about 2K x 2K, and 1:1 (partial image). Just look at the artifacts (which I take to be Moirés).

Yeah, that's essentially what I did in the one that I just sent. I tossed the original version, so I had to start from scratch. I'm not 100% satisfied with my stretch in the version I just posted, but good enough, I suppose, since it's past my bedtime ;)

Here's a reprocessing, followed by 2048x2048 resampling as part of export to JPEG. I believe this should eliminate all of the artifacts.

Heart Nebula image by Josh Bloch. Exported to 2048 x 2048 to prevent Moire effects.

Here's a reprocessing, followed by 2048x2048 resampling as part of export to JPEG. I believe this should eliminate all of the artifacts.

I now think the grid may be a Moiré. I don't see it at 1:1 (the image is a square, 3k pixels on each side). I should be uploading more carefully sized images to BlueSky.

Good catch. I don't know what's causing the problem, but I'm hot on the trail. One of the things I like about astrophotography is that provides so many brainteasers.

The Pelican nebula, from my backyard.

The Heart nebula (IC 1805) from Josh's backyard. ~4 hrs. total integration time.

The Heart nebula, from my backyard. (It doesn't really look like a heart.)

This is not what democracy looks like.

Western Veil nebula from Josh's backyard, 2 hours total integration time. Askar SQA55/ZWO ASI533MC Pro/Celestron AVX.

Western Veil from my backyard (two hours total integration time).

ICE is a secret, unaccountable police force for an authoritarian regime.

Pass it on.

Imagine my surprise. Here's where we get to find out whether the Supreme Court cares more about the law and the welfare of the nation or pleasing its 45th (and likely worst) president.

I can't tell you how excited I am to hear this news. I know it's irrational, but nevertheless… They haven't published a new edition published in 22 years, and I 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 physical dictionaries. Merriam-Webster's has been my favorite for over four decades.
www.merriam-webster.com/collegiate-d...

Trump Gold Card Available now.

laughingstock
noun
laugh·​ing·​stock ˈla-fiŋ-ˌstäk ˈlä-
Synonyms of laughingstock
: an object of ridicule
trumpcard.gov

Hopefully we'll be treated to legal proceedings with an amusing discovery phase, but I doubt it.

Oops. Of course I meant to type not, but I'll let it stand. It is vile.

This is now what democracy looks like.

Also a circuit breaker finder that induces electric noise on a circuit, and lets you find the corresponding circuit breaker at the panel. Also an oscilloscope (even if you never use it on your home electrical system).