I miss this person so so much. How can the universe possibly be configured, such that she is no longer alive?

Dolly Parton.

Firings happening right now at the NSF.

Happy birthday astronaut Melvin! Like many others,
I stand in Awww of the greatest official portrait ever

I’m rereading Terry Pratchett’s “Night Watch”, and was poking around at some of Sir Terry’s historical inspiration

I was today old when I learned about the Battle of Cable Street, 1936, in which the people of London build barricades to hold back a march of British fascists

Be strong
Be kind
Make a little time for joy
Repeat

Def done that for a meteor shower

Would you believe that I met Alexei Leonov in the 1990s, at a Planetary Society event? I was a high school space nerd. His wife had a big bag of Payless Shoes

Mel knew that you would be fine

Please tell me it was the provost’s cat walking on the keyboard

A black and white cat curls up tightly and sleeps on a bed

As the kids say, mood

@tomjoad56.bsky.social hello friend

2/2
“and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.”

This is the oath that I, like every other US federal civil servant, swore. I could make more $ outside the gov. I chose public service. I believe in our mission.

1/2
“I do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; …

That was our conclusion, too!

Okay peeps, what made these tracks?

This was my first AAS meeting in 3 years as a regular attendee again, rather than as an elected AAS Trustee. I thought it would be less exhausting. It was not.

A computer screen with a display showing output from an xray diffraction spectrometer.

Close up view showing fraction of metals. Fun stuff.

Just had a sample of the Eaton Fire ash that is in my driveway run on the department XRF. Is there titanium (new house paint)? Yup. Lead (old house paint)? You betcha. Heavy metals? Check. Treat that ash like it's toxic folks (because it is)

A whole bunch, on the second and first floors. Labeled as “Core”, with C prefixes on room numbers. It’s a whole different world from the offices

A worker in yellow safety vest fills a tank of liquid nitrogen from an 18 wheeler truck. The tank is approximately 4 m high and has an acid meatball on it. There is a pretty orange sunset in the background, and a large building.

Close up of a worker filling a large tank with liquid nitrogen. There is vapor all around.

Work sunset, with liquid nitrogen delivery

But I needed to spend 3 hours sending rec letters. It really is the dumbest possible process

How many of our brilliant colleagues spent hours clicking radio buttons to certify that each of their dozens of students is in the top 10%?

Ah, the “new big bosses” anxiety dreams have started, right on time

Resurrecting a dead windsurf board as a “drag board”: a land simulator to practice windsurfing tricks, to build muscle memory. Sawed off the nose so it will fit easier in my car, and refresh my epoxy skills. Here’s the world’s best coach explaining why: encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn...

An ancient windsurf board, with a hand saw halfway through it, sawing from the starboard rail to the port rail, about 1/3 back from the nose of the board

The windsurf board in 2 pieces, with the saw resting on top

This was the most oddly satisfying project. The kee-kew kee-kew sound of the hand saw as it slid through the board, the huge ratio of effort to destroy : effort to create, getting to see the cross-section of the (shitty) construction. Ahh

What do you mean, you don’t have a non/palm random orbital sander in stock? What kind of hardware store are you?

Also, prove to me it’s random

Sarah, my deepest condolences to you and your family on the loss of your father. Sending care and strength

Nope. I don’t have neoprene shoe covers yet. Is that the first step?

Numb toes are what cut short my winter bike rides. If you have ideas, hit me. I use mountain bike style clippy pedals and cleats

I would just like this feat of self-control recorded: I got to share a clean room with Roman, and I did *not* give it a hug