The delusion of easy victory from the air may have seduced the US into another war Air superiority is supposed to deliver a quick triumph. But history has shown that promise to be written on the wind

www.theguardian.com/world/2026/m... an excellent piece on "delusions of total control from the skies" in warfare

random photos of Saint Peters NSW before redevelopment around Appleby and Hutchison..this must be at Tortuga Studios ?...part 1/n #stpeters2044

we live in the ruins of a greater civilization

Federal Communications Commission 45 L Street NE Washington, DC 20554 News Media Information 202-418-0500 Internet: www.fcc.gov DA 26-113 Released: February 4, 2026 SPACE BUREAU ACCEPTS FOR FILING SPACEX'S APPLICATION FOR ORBITAL DATA CENTERS ICFS File No. SAT-LOA-20260108-00016 Comments/Petitions Due: March 6, 2026 Response to Comments/Oppositions to Petition Due: March 16, 2026 Replies to Responses/Oppositions Due: March 23, 2026 By this Public Notice, the Space Bureau (Bureau) accepts for filing and seeks comment on an application by Space Exploration Holdings, LLC (SpaceX) for a new non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) system of up to one million satellites. This satellite system will represent the "first step towards becoming a Kardashev Il-level civilization - one that can harness the Sun's full power," according to SpaceX. On January 30, 2026, SpaceX filed an application seeking authority to launch and operate a new NGSO satellite system of up to one million satellites to operate as the "Space Orbital Data Center system" (System). The System will operate at altitudes ranging from 500 km to 2,000 km and in 30 degree and sun-synchronous orbit inclinations within orbital shells spanning up to 50 km each. The proposed satellites will use high-bandwidth optical inter-satellite links and conduct telemetry, tracking, and command (TT&C) operations.* The Bureau seeks comment on the application and the associated requests for waiver.

Really can't make this stuff up

I did not have a fast-tracked FCC application for an actual megaconstellation (1 million satellites) justified as "taking the first step towards becoming a Kardashev Il-level civilization" on my 2026 bingo card

What are we doing friends

A green park with trees in front of skyscrapers

Despite more than half the world living in urban areas, little is known about the soil microbes that support cities’ precious and precarious green spaces. Could they create healthier cities?

Read the article in the latest issue of The Biologist: thebiologist.rsb.org.uk/biologist-fe...

This is such a shock. Such a smart and generous guy gone too soon.

I've long respected Peer Bork's work as top-
tier in the field and always hoped to get to chat with him at a conference someday. Very sad to see this.

sorry to hear this sad news...I met Peer when he joined the SCELSE SAB, and enjoyed some very good discussions with him. His advice, at both organisational and individual level, was invaluable

Researchers Are Hunting America for Hidden Datacenters The nonprofit research group Epoch AI is tracking the physical imprint of the technology that’s changing the world.

You can use fossil gas permitting documents to help track data centre development in the US. This is maybe a lil clue that they're not all running on beautiful clean energy

www.404media.co/researchers-... @404media.co

The Search for Solutions, Trial & Error - Human-Powered Record & More (1979) | 16mm Film Scan YouTube video by 16mm Time Machine

www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3US... despatches from a bygone world...I had a brilliant and inspired science teacher (Glen McCaffrey) who showed us this short film series in Year 8...small things that can be hugely influential on life's trajectory

there is a very nice dim sum place in that complex as I recall....

The SCALE of destruction is really hard to fathom. This, obviously, is just one example. It will take a *generation* or more to recover and much will be lost irrevocably. We are watching the burning of the Library of Alexandria.

For most families, New Year’s Eve is a time to come together. For mine, it’s time for a water-bomb war | Patrick Marlborough For close to 50 years we’ve waged an ever-escalating battle against one other – and our home town

www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle... Australia, a society where obnoxious behaviours are infinitely justifiable in the name of 'having a good time'...

Saphileaum - Live At Symbiotica, Nunisi Resort 2021 LINE UP Saphileaum (Live) Tedi Ani Kvirkvelia V.C.V.S. HVL (Live) Ani Zakareishvili (Live)

soundcloud.com/saphileaum/s... current listening favourite

East Ocean Teochew Restaurant at Orchard to close on December 28 after more than three decades The management cites the lack of successors as the reason for this closure.

www.timeout.com/singapore/ne... very sorry to see this excellent restaurant close its doors...particularly for weekend dim sum. With Kinokuniya on the floor below, it made for a near-perfect Saturday or Sunday...

Tanjong Pagar docks, looking south from the SAM cafe. On the right you can see the eastern end of Sentosa, and in the between the gantry cranes, either the western end of Batam or Lumba Besar or possibly Bulan. An unusually clear day for the parts...

The Indian Ocean disaster is a climate tragedy — and needs more attention A region unused to tropical cyclones has had three in a week. The world needs to ask why this happened, not look away.

www.nature.com/articles/d41... an excellent piece by @rochmyaningsih.bsky.social in @nature.com this week about the massive impact of the (under- and mis-reported) recent SEA tropical cyclones...'the world has mostly overlooked this emergency'

thanks @annizlab.bsky.social for hosting and thanks Klas for a great talk and a very stimulating visit to @scelse.bsky.social !

both on YouTube and well worth a look

but to answer your question..TTSS 2011 has to my mind, a somewhat manufactured feel. Although there are some brilliant performances...particularly Jim P and Ricky

certainly a good flick...but for what its worth, I prefer the TV version with Alec Guinness, as well as his counterpart series of Smiley's People

Carl Gibson-Hill, as seen at the National Library of Singapore

David Bowie in Japan. He's waling up some steps while wearing a long black coat and smoking a cigarette.

David Bowie in Japan. He's standing in front of a train while wearing a long light-colored coat.

David Bowie in Japan. He's riding a subway car while wearing a long dark-colored coat.

David Bowie in Japan. He's walking away from a train while wearing a long black coat, gray checked scarf, charcoal trousers, and black shoes.

most people don't want politics that hurt other people. we just want a long overcoat like david bowie and affordable housing

Wikipedia Says AI Is Causing a Dangerous Decline in Human Visitors “With fewer visits to Wikipedia, fewer volunteers may grow and enrich the content, and fewer individual donors may support this work.”

wikipedia's data shows that AI is siphoning traffic away from the site, which is a danger to its sustainability. ironically Wikipedia is more important than ever to users who want reliable information instead of slop, and to AI companies that need it for training data www.404media.co/wikipedia-sa...

NEW! eDNA Collaborative 2025 Microgrant  | WILDLABS Funding for low-cost DIY Fluorometers by DIYNAFLUOR

And here is a link to the wildlabs.net post about the microgrant.
wildlabs.net/funding-oppo...

will we take climate change seriously now?

I read and write, I explore and I question, I design and script and analyse, I interpret and communicate. I do this to train my mind in the hopes of one day generating new knowledge. New knowledge that might even be useful, and that no algorithm can yet be trained on.

African Network of Women in Astronomy (AfNWA) - African Astronomical Society What is AfNWA? The African Network of Women in Astronomy (AfNWA) is an initiative that aims to connect women working…

www.africanastronomicalsociety.org/afnwa/

Inspiring stories from women in astronomy in Africa In preparation for the International Astronomical Union (IAU) General Assembly (GA) 2024, the first GA held in Africa, the African Network of Women in Astronomy (AfNWA) embarked on a visionary project...

arxiv.org/abs/2510.05195 a wonderful outreach book just posted on on #arXiv by the African Network of Women in Astronomy (AfNWA). These personal narratives are hugely important for young people to see their way forward, esp. w/o the presence of immediate role models.

"There was a glow in the sky as if great furnace doors were opened." Arthur Machen, The Hill of Dreams (1907)