literally letting robots compete while banning trans people 🙃

Always love a good cup of tea.

Astronauts Victor Glover and Christina Koch in their orange astronaut suits as they sit inside the side of a helicopter after it has landed

LOL, trying to stay offline and do my work, and friends are sending me

"LOOK AT THIS NEW PIC!" texts ....

This one is worth it.

First PoC and first woman to go around another world. Don't stop talking about this point. It's important.

#ArtemisII

Did not know about that one! Will have to hunt it down!

The book is good and one of the very few new books I've read recently that I had to stay up late reading. I've still got to see the movie but will be doing so soon!

<Jan rolls eyes and groans>.

"But Jan - why do you rank Project Hail Mary first?"

Because in this crazy Universe we live in space bacteria chomping on sunlight could actually work and it's a neat idea on so many levels and doesn't mean our understanding of physics/stars would need to change.

It's just very, very unlikely.

And additional note on "Songs of Distant Earth", the reason Clarke wrote it is because we detected a third of the number of neutrinos expected and wrote how once particle physicists worked out why this was that it mean the driver for the book was wrong.

Anyway, it's still my favourite story.

I need to do a blog post about sci-fi stories where the "Sun is dying" and rank them.

Sunshine comes dead last - you only find out why the Sun is dying on the DVD extras and it's a particle physics reason....

Best story on the list first is "Project Hail Mary", second "Songs of Distant Earth".

A diverse group of seven people - Troy Garity, Cillian Murphy, Michelle Yeoh, Rose Byrne, Cliff Curtis, Benedict Wong, and Chris Evans - sits closely together, gazes turned upward with a mix of awe and anticipation in a dimly lit environment.

Danny Boyle's Sunshine was released 19 years ago today.

KANEDA, WHAT DO YOU SEE?!

What a spaceship crew, what a cast.

Paraphrasing:

Astronaut: "we haven't seen any impact flashed for the last five minutes...".

Ground control: "oh well never mind...".

Astronaut: "we've just seen one when I just said that."

Murphy's law still applies in space. 😂🤣

🔭 Paper day, and it’s a big one! We have found the most metal-poor object known in the universe. It’s a star, and it comes to us from our nearby friend the Large Magellanic Cloud. Out in Nature Astronomy today: rdcu.be/fbylI

The Waterboys – The Whole of the Moon (Official Lyric Video) YouTube video by The Waterboys

So we're all starting to play this track right?

www.youtube.com/watch?v=0eL-...

So they're on New Zealand time?!?

In other news, I've just started painting up scenery for WH40K. A mixture of DIY and box-set scenery.

I've forgotten how much fun this is!

Discord message by me, with four emoji standing for T = trans (transgender flag) L = lunar (gibbous moon emoji) I = injection (syringe emoji) B = burn (fire emoji) So the TLIB was a ‘good burn’ according to ground control. Trans-lunar injection burn is done!

🏳️‍⚧️🌔💉🔥✅

Y'know... if sex and gender were binaries... they wouldn't need laws to define them. Also, it wouldn't be impossible to write a law that would exclude people outside the binary or moving within the binary - and not exclude a group of people who are in one of the binary options.

Who knew studying orbital dynamics could have practical implications.

Important update on the toilet situation:

"Houston, we have a [loo] problem"

They are working on fixing it and there are back up plans, and it still works for number twos, which are the more critical one when it comes to comfort for the next 10 days!

Already its the most distant plumbing job ever

That time you're listening to the livestream of Artemis and you're basically listening to them trying to fix the plumbing....

It turns out they spoke to someone else tonight who was speaking against the ban. Looks like I'll be listening to that tomorrow!

Best astro-ph April fools paper ever!

So today, visibility isn’t just about being seen — it’s about seeing each other. About recognising the very real harm happening, and standing with the trans people who need solidarity the most.

To every trans person out there: you deserve safety, joy, and a future. I see you. 🩷🏳️‍⚧️🩵

And if I feel this way, with all the privilege, safety, and support I’m fortunate to have… I can’t begin to fathom how heavy it is for those with fewer protections and fewer resources, or who face hostility every single day.

Being trans right now is incredibly hard. The wave of anti‑trans legislation across multiple countries is exhausting and dehumanising.

Today is Trans Day of Visibility.

I’m pleased to report that I’m still reflecting photons and thus, technically, visible! Even if some days it feels like the world would prefer I weren’t.

I'll also add that might be wrong about the nature of the interview and what the person said but there's no way I'm listening to something that could be negative today. It's stressful enough being trans at the moment.

And example study: bjsm.bmj.com/content/60/3...

That time it's trans gay of visibility and you hear a cis person talking about the trans athlete ban on the radio in support of it, when the latest studies show that trans women don't have an athletic advantage. Turns out second puberty does undo elements of first puberty.

So today, visibility isn’t just about being seen — it’s about seeing each other. About recognising the very real harm happening, and standing with the trans people who need solidarity the most.

To every trans person out there: you deserve safety, joy, and a future. I see you. 🩷🏳️‍⚧️🩵