Recent content by collinsmark

Mr. Mittens (my neighbor's kitty) continues to come by over the last couple weeks or so to occasionally pass the time with naps. "Mittens napping on one of his favorite astronomy books" (natural light, 50 mm, f/0.95) "The waiting game" (natural light, 50 mm, f/1.4) Mr. Mittens keeps an ear...

We'll have to wait for the launch of Voyager 6 first. (Voyager 1 doesn't make the cut.)

NGC 2903 captured from my back patio, Feb.-Mar., 2025. NGC 2903 is a barred spiral galaxy found in the constellation Leo. It lies about 30 million light-years away. It presently doesn't have a fancy, common name ("NGC 2903" will have to suffice for now). Equipment: Celestron C14 EdgeHD...

Today's xkcd. Wavefunction Collapse (Source: https://xkcd.com/3134/)

Yes, but apparently of an all-natural variety. "The rainbow sheens found as a thin film on top of pooled water in swamps and marshes are the result of natural oils released by decaying vegetation or the biological processes of anaerobic bacteria reducing iron in soil."...

I don't know for certain, but I suspect it's something viewed edge-on (cylinder-esque).

So far I agree. But hold on. Two things. In my earlier posts, I thought we were talking about social media platforms like Facebook or Twitter (X or whatever it's called now) or YouTube, etc. All privately owned. But rereading your recent post it sounds like you're discussing a taxpayer funded...

But you must agree that even outside of law enforcement/government, "rules of society" dictate that words and actions do have consequences. Free speech means that you won't be arrested by law enforcement (or prosecuted under the legal system) for voicing your opinions. It does not mean that you...

... Final 2025 Nebraska trip post. Nearly every day when driving around, we would end up passing this new construction with massive amounts of electrical infrastructure involved (electrical substations galore). My brother in-law questioned if it was some type of new power plant being erected...

Of course, it depends on the AI. I don't think I'd want Grok as a moderator. https://www.npr.org/2025/07/09/nx-s1-5462609/grok-elon-musk-antisemitic-racist-content Honestly, I'm not sure about any AI being a moderator at this stage, except maybe as an initial sweep. Other than that, I agree...

... Ninth and final round of Nebraska bird and woodland creature pics. Some of these are my favorites, so I saved them till the end. Figure 1. "Meep. Billy this big. Meep." House finch (Haemorhous mexicanus). Figure 2. "I dub this Billy's tree." House finch on a treetop. Figure 3. House...

'Went to the Henry Doorly Zoo for a few hours while in Omaha. The Henry Doorly Zoo is a fantastic zoo, if you like zoos. It's one of the best zoos in the entire world (again, if you like zoos). The zoo is big enough that it's not practical to get through the whole thing in just one day. And I...

... Round 8 of Nebraska bird pics (I promise to wrap up these Nebraska bird pics shortly). At some point during my Nebraska trip, a squirrel succeeded in breaching the squirrel baffle. It sabotaged the bird feeder, spilling all the bird seed onto the ground. Figure 1. House finch inspecting...

... Round 7 of Nebraska bird pics: Figure 1. Red-winged blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus). Figure 2. "Partially backlit northern cardinal naturally performing a blood-red Bela Lugosi impersonation." (Cardinalis cardinalis) Figure 3. "Serendipitous branch symmetry." House finch (Haemorhous...

Thanks! It was luck. Well, mostly luck. For flying birds, the settings I try to use are o Shutter speed of at least 1/1000 sec, more likely at 1/2000 sec or even a bit faster, (1/4000 sec). o Continuous autofocus o Image stabilization on, with the particularity mode set for panning, if...