Mark McCaughrean

Senior Advisor for Science & Exploration at the European Space Agency / JWST Science Working Group Interdisciplinary Scientist / Co-founder Space Rocks / Refugee from the other place / Opinions very much own   Located in The Netherlands, so expect lots of cycling with wide horizons & big skies 🚴‍♂️

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npub17spn2rk8w45njus2eegkte35ykjj9alrmmtt3pahrn5qa25tdntsasgf0k

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Last Notes

2024-09-15 15:36:08

So, was asked to do a TV interview today about the latest billionaire space jolly.
I declined.
Not because I don't have a take on the topic, but because I didn't get the feeling that that was the angle the broadcaster was really looking for.
I mean, it's never been obvious to me that billionaires spending hundreds of millions on superyachts has got me any closer to having one or that it has done anything much to "democratise access to the high seas" 🤷‍♂️

2024-09-12 19:39:56

HEADS UP 👆
A significant aurora red alert in Europe right now. If you have a clear northern horizon, go out NOW!
There’s a slight hint of pink in the north from Heidelberg right now, seen through a lot of cloud.
Maybe you’ll be luckier 🤞
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/126/257/658/454/070/original/c0c3a3a9b4a41062.jpeg
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/126/257/831/242/489/original/5da3ce80dfe8e1ef.jpeg

2024-09-12 12:58:46

A reminder to slow down sometimes, block out the screaming world, & focus on the small things immediately around you 🙇‍♂️
And to carry your own accommodation 🐌
#BackGardenGastropodology
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/124/694/845/394/094/original/8c2b6a7ac9f923e6.mp4

2024-09-07 18:11:27

The view this evening from the north bank of the Neckar over the river to the Altstadt & castle in Heidelberg.
Dinner on a roof terrace of a friend & then the annual fireworks setting the castle “alight” 🙂👍
#HeidelbergerSchlossBeleuchtung 🏰
#Photography 📷
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/097/611/925/418/060/original/47fd6d57d8468e82.jpeg

2024-09-06 10:22:01

A message to the many astronomy & space science content farmers on social media:
* Space missions & large telescopes have names
* They’re mostly built & operated by publicly-funded agencies & institutions with names
* Images & other results from them are created by people with names
By all means spread the good news about the amazing achievements & successes from those facilities 🙂👍
But. Give. Proper. Bloody. Credit. And. In. The. Original. Post. Not. Buried. Down. Thread. 😡

2024-08-19 23:54:39

A picture from a bit earlier of Ignacio Tanquo, JUICE Spacecraft Operations Manager here at ESOC, & Marco Costa from ESAC, celebrating a successful flyby at the Moon.
By 8am tomorrow morning, it should be known how accurate the flyby was & whether a correction burn is needed prior to the Earth flyby tomorrow night.
First indications are that all’s well, saving fuel for Jupiter & Ganymede operations after 2031.
#JUICELEGA
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/991/376/036/876/980/original/33c91b94aea8df48.jpeg

2024-08-19 23:02:58

Ha – amazing. Someone intercepted the telemetry stream coming back from JUICE during the lunar flyby, found the packets that corresponded to some NAVCAM images of the Moon, decoded them, & posted them on The Other Place already.
Top work – we’re still waiting to get access to the images here at ESOC 🤷‍♂️
👏

2024-08-19 21:29:13

All going well with the JUICE lunar flyby at the moment – the spacecraft is back in contact with Earth & data are being downloaded.
One interesting side note: it’s full Moon today & that means when JUICE looks towards Earth, the Sun is in the same direction on the sky.
That has apparently led to some solar radio noise on the signals being sent from Earth to JUICE 🌞🌍🛰️🌕

2024-08-18 20:48:28

Twenty four hours from now, ESA’s JUICE spacecraft will be hidden from Earth behind the Moon, heading towards its closest approach to the lunar surface at 700km at 23:16 CEST / 21:16 UTC.
A day later, JUICE will fly past Earth too, in a unique double Lunar-Earth Gravity Assist (LEGA) manoeuvre as part of its 8-year journey to Jupiter.
I’ll be at ESA’s Mission Control, ESOC, in Darmstadt for both, helping process the images – should be fun 🌗🛰️🌍🙂👍
More below 👇
https://mastodon.social/@markmccaughrean/112972105928354212

2024-08-09 13:01:16

After getting my German residency permit a couple of weeks ago (finally!) & then being allowed to open a bank account, the debit & credit cards arrived today.
Can’t fault Commerzbank for their take on stealth-mode minimalism 🙇‍♂️👍
#Photography 📷
#ReturnToGermany 🇩🇪
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/932/172/610/823/145/original/a94b87a353c91e7f.jpeg

2024-08-03 21:09:14

Earthshine 🌏🌑
A lovely picture taken from the International Space Station on 6 July 2024 showing the Moon above the limb of our planet 🛰️
Just a tiny sliver is illuminated directly by the Sun over the horizon; the rest is lit by sunlight reflected off Earth 🪩
Credit: ISS Expedition 71
Original image: ISS071-E-310105
#SpaceExploration #SpaceScience #Photography
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/900/104/008/531/329/original/b34c4a47673449e4.jpeg

2024-07-30 15:16:12

Doing some image research for a book I'm writing & I stumbled over this rather glorious thing.
Completely real & natural, no art, AI, or other chicanery involved apart from my adding a blue-ish tone to the originally black & white photo.
Any guesses what it might be & where it was taken? I'll post the answer later.
#Photography
#BlackAndWhitePhotography
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/876/065/164/782/830/original/75345cd5cf06bcbe.jpg

2024-07-29 10:41:17

- reply

@npub1hxf…g8qu The chassis number is stamped on the frame under the front rear seat, but the full plate turns out to be on the right rear door frame.
Where I should have seen it, but … 🙄🤷‍♂️

2024-07-29 10:26:38

Super niche question:
Where is the manufacturer plate on a 2009 Citroën C1, showing the VIN & weight?
The VIN is separately stamped on the metal chassis under the right-hand passenger seat, but where is the plate?
I’m trying to get a Certificate of Conformity from Citroën in FR to export our car from NL to DE, but cannot find the plate in the car.
The Citroën CoC people themselves won’t tell me where it is (wtf!?) & say I need to go to a dealer to find out.
Totally bananas 🙄

2024-07-28 11:47:26

The joy of a million livestreams – watching Olympic wind surfers sitting in small boats off the coast of Marseille, doing absolutely nothing & with no accompanying commentary, just ambient seaside noises, as everyone waits for some wind 😌
#Olympics2024
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/863/936/912/686/180/original/57e0e31ccb2f5627.jpeg

2024-07-27 22:39:54

Tigger reckons he could surf Teahupo’o: he says it’s nothing like as big a wave as people have been claiming😼🤷‍♂️🌊🏄‍♂️🤙
#Tigger 😽
#Photography 📷
#Olympics2024
#CatsOfMastodon
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/860/839/703/036/386/original/3f0d9fd7aa3b69ab.jpeg

2024-07-27 12:21:52

Momentarily still life 😼
#Tigger 😽
#Bengals 🐅
#Caturday 🐈
#Photography 📷
#CatsOfMastodon 🐈‍⬛
#BlackAndWhitePhotography 🔲
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/858/418/265/787/344/original/b94b0643f91d99a1.jpeg

2024-07-24 18:18:15

Felem ad vesperam lucem 🌞
#Tigger 😽
#Bengals 🐅
#Photography 📷
#CatsOfMastodon 🐈
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/842/817/359/902/957/original/9ce79ae3bcb8e587.jpeg

2024-07-22 10:28:14

No-one escapes the long arm of the claw 😼
#Tigger 😽
#Bengals 🐅
#Photography 📷
#CatsOfMastodon 🐈
#JustAnotherManicMonday 💃
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/829/660/322/353/184/original/bba7da83514443cc.jpeg

2024-07-18 09:41:51

Can we agree that popping briefly above the Von Kármán line as a passenger on a commercial sub-orbital rocket is only technically “going to space” & that it doesn’t make you “an astronaut”?
I’m sure it’s good for golf club bragging, social media clicks, & breathless autobiographies on how you achieved your life’s dream against all the odds, but honestly, it doesn’t make you some kind of world historical figure.
Roll on 2034 when perhaps we can be over this rather daft phase of space tourism.

2024-07-14 23:53:43

Beyond the clamour & despair, the stars wait impassively.
They made us & we will return to them.
Our turbulent fleeting lives as specks of atoms & molecules, so often tangled in greed, anger, & selfishness, have no higher purpose, goal, or meaning.
Unless we decide otherwise.
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/787/515/325/636/290/original/2e97edc0c210c4ef.jpeg

2024-07-14 17:33:51

Ninety minutes before the big game & like many England fans, Tigger is already legless 😽
#Bengals 🐅
#Euros2024 ⚽️
#Photography 📷
#CatsOfMastodon 🐈
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/786/034/207/086/826/original/44f70faf21b50885.jpeg

2024-07-11 10:24:53

I mean, it’s good to see the science backing up what I always felt to be self-evident … 🦉🤷‍♂️🤪
https://www.theguardian.com/science/article/2024/jul/11/night-owls-cognitive-function-superior-to-early-risers-study-suggests

2024-07-07 18:19:58

At face value, this is excellent news for France & the rest of Europe 🙂🇫🇷
Let’s hope that French exit polls have become as reliable as those in the UK proved earlier this week 🤞
https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2024/jul/07/french-election-2024-results-latest-france-news-marine-le-pen-national-rally-emmanuel-macron

2024-07-05 08:38:41

BBC’s Vicki Young suggesting that the massive Tory humiliation may be in part due to the “Revenge of the Remainers”.
Really? More like “Revenge of the Leavers”, punishing the party for not delivering the promised magic Brexit ponies frolicking in sunny orchards across the country.
And where did those disgruntled nationalists go? To Reform, the de facto rebranded UKIP, the self-promotional vehicle of the worst human in British politics, the man behind those undeliverable promises.
Idiotic.

2024-07-04 22:51:48

The good news:
According to the exit polls & first couple of results, the Tories are toast & Labour look likely to achieve a historic majority.
The bad news:
The big vote swing isn’t from Tory to Labour, but to the ugly far-right Reform party.
So don’t be fooled – the Tories aren’t losing because they were very right-wing. They’re losing because they weren’t right-wing enough.
A scary virus is growing in the UK, even if the immediate picture is positive.
#UKGeneralElection

2024-07-04 15:40:31

“Come to mama!” 🕷️
You may have seen my recent macro picture of a female goldenrod crab spider (Musimena vatia) in our garden, eating a honey bee she’d ambushed.
Well it looks like she’s hungry again 😬✌️
#Arachnid
#Photography 📷
#MacroPhotography 🔬
#BackGardenEntomology 🪲
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/728/968/749/757/991/original/4de4ff0359d7c186.jpeg

2024-07-04 12:46:01

To the tens of thousands of people around the world experiencing their first kidney stone episode today, I’m sorry – it’s horrible 😱
And to those of us having a second or subsequent bout of serious renal colic – it’s still horrible, but at least we know we should be drinking more fluids 😭
In related news, voting sensibly can also prevent ugly little buggers growing in the body politic & continuing to cause you great pain.
#DrinkMoreWater
#UKGeneralElection

2024-07-01 11:09:46

In the November 1932 German federal elections, the NSDAP won 33% of the vote.
These were the last free & fair elections before the Nazis seized power in 1933.
Remember: fascists don’t need to win a majority of the votes to end democracy.
They just need to split the opposition.
Fingers crossed that French left & centre right voters truly understand this before the second round.
#BackToTheFuture
#LearnFromHistory
#HowTheHellIsThisHappeningAgain

2024-07-01 08:29:13

Vote #Tigger 😼👍
He may be an obligate carnivore, but he’s definitely not a fascist 🙇‍♂️
#Bengals 🐅
#Photography 📷
#CatsOfMastodon 🐈
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/710/281/310/095/365/original/284a6d2e9031710a.jpeg

2024-06-30 14:58:13

After yesterday's heat & humidity, late night thunderstorms, & rain much of today.
Judging from the view from our house up the Peterstal, I don't think there will be any cycling today either 😢
#CyclingLife 🚴‍♂️
#Photography 📷
#Monochrome ⚽️
#ReturnToGermany 🇩🇪
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/706/149/688/050/076/original/d53653b5e996545a.jpg

2024-06-30 13:46:27

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@npub1lgy…aefg My pleasure – thank you for your kind comment 🙂

2024-06-29 09:49:00

Felis catus abstractus 😼
#Tigger suggested a David LaChapelle style kitsch surrealist photo for this week’s #Caturday & I did my best 🤷‍♂️😽
#Bengals 🐅
#Photography 📷
#CatsOfMastodon 🐈
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/699/271/169/382/993/original/52ff6ffd6b959818.jpeg

2024-06-28 11:11:26

I don’t know about you, but I’m sick & tired of the bellicose psychodramas playing out in many of the twentieth century’s superpowers, each at different stages of their imperial decay.
At worst, their ugly posturings threaten a short, sharp, & horrific end to our civilisation.
At best, they’re a narcissistic distraction from the critically important issues facing humankind, most notably working together in peace to prevent catastrophic climate change.
Which, of course, may be no coincidence.

2024-06-25 09:51:50

“Listen, primate boy. I don’t mean to judge, but I’m 72 in your years and *I* still look magnificent.” 😼🙈
#Tigger 😽
#Bengals 🐅
#Photography 📷
#CatsOfMastodon 🐈
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/676/636/798/429/917/original/d2409ecc61745fdd.jpeg

2024-06-22 12:53:20

Off to do a bit of shopping – how have we survived for a month in the new house without a washing machine & a crispy chile oil resupply? 😮‍💨🥵
In the meantime, #Tigger will keep you company on this warm, humid, & occasionally rainy #Caturday 😸
#Photography 📷
#CatsOfMastodon 🐈
#ReturnToGermany 🇩🇪
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/660/364/963/945/614/original/45c6e2bfd3238b8f.jpeg

2024-06-21 17:45:04

Tiny garden insect of the day: a cinnamon bug (Corizus hyoscyami) venturing out for a while in a gap between the on-off rain we’ve had this evening.
#iPhone15 📱
#Photography 📷
#MacroPhotography 🔬
#BackGardenEntomology 🪲
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/655/849/867/151/372/original/00088b3df304127c.jpeg

2024-06-21 10:11:11

Behind you! 😼
#Tigger 😺
#Bengals 🐅
#Photography 📷
#CatsOfMastodon 🐈
#BlackAndWhitePhotography
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/654/049/949/038/980/original/5312af582493a78a.jpeg

2024-06-19 13:16:00

#Tigger Transformation Triptych 😼😼😼
A patient cat waiting for his breakfast this morning.
Patient enough that I could get photos with the telephoto, wide, & ultrawide cameras on my phone without too much fidgeting 🙂👍
#Bengals 🐯
#iPhone15 📱
#Photography 📷
#CatsOfMastodon 🐈
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/643/444/157/340/222/original/ebbc4071fa069ffb.jpg

2024-06-18 09:44:47

Reflections on geometry 🪟🪩
#Rolladen
#AbtractArt 🎨
#Photography 📷
#ReturnToGermany 🇩🇪
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/636/963/327/030/869/original/0cb4c48c9440f624.jpeg

2024-06-17 19:51:46

“I’m bored, Dad. Can’t you stop working & take me for a walk in the garden instead?” 😾
The boy has a point 🤷‍♂️
#Tigger
#Bengals 🐯
#HomeOffice 🏠
#Photography 📷
#CatsOfMastodon 🐈
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/633/693/807/769/066/original/1dfd6142329e1ac7.jpeg

2024-06-14 19:51:28

Well, even though the horizons are nothing like as wide as in The Netherlands, the skies here in Germany can still put on a pretty show at times 🙇‍♂️
That said, things aren’t looking nearly as rosy for Scotland in Munich at the moment 😬✌️
#Photography 📷

2024-06-14 13:31:27

“This one is small. But the one out there is far away. Small … far away.”
As seen on the Karlsplatz in Heidelberg on a rainy June Friday afternoon.
#FatherTed 🇮🇪
#Photography 📷
#ReturnToGermany 🇩🇪
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/615/188/212/583/063/original/61b9163a98ab1f3d.jpeg

2024-06-12 11:32:09

Homage to #Hitchcock, selfie-style 🙂🤳
#Photography 📷
#BlackAndWhite
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/603/414/288/468/603/original/071dbdc56148bb0e.jpeg

2024-06-08 23:49:14

Even though night mode on the iPhone is capable of seeing pretty faint stars, some times it’s nice to have a bit of cloud to block them out & make the constellations more visible 🤷‍♂️
Here’s the Ursa Major (the plough or big dipper) over the Peterstal, with its famous “arc to Arcturus” along the handle to the left 🧸
Night night 😴
#Astrodon #Photography #Space
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/583/663/822/238/874/original/8bc591da24f39aab.jpeg

2024-06-08 09:33:51

Into the light 🌞
#Tigger
#Bengals
#Caturday 😽
#Photography 📷
#CatsOfMastodon 🐈
#ReturnToGermany Day 12 🇩🇪
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/580/306/664/627/550/original/39f2c260b0bc07bd.jpeg

2024-06-06 20:49:03

Strange.
German national news leading this evening with the 80th anniversary of D-Day.
The piece included parts of the speeches by Macron & Biden, & an interview with Scholz. Some focus also on Zelensky being there, but not Russia.
And they mentioned that hundreds of veterans who had come “across the Atlantic” to mark the day.
But nothing at all about the country just across the Channel or Canada, who together landed just as many soldiers on the Normandy beaches on 6 June 1944 as the US 🤨

2024-06-05 20:30:09

Offered with no comment apart from a wry smile 🤷‍♂️🙃
Screenshot courtesy of @DrChrisCombs over on the X-rated place.
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/565/893/784/024/755/original/3b55557d78ae4a64.jpeg

2024-06-05 10:14:15

#ReturnToGermany Day 9
“A little fall of rain
Can hardly hurt me now” ☔️
Actually, that was overnight – it’s dry & partly sunny now 🤷‍♂️🙂
#Photography #BackGardenBotany
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/563/475/721/073/682/original/ce5e91cd5b8144b8.jpeg

2024-06-04 23:28:11

#ReturnToGermany Day 8
Finally managed to sit down & my laptop & catch up on email & some work commitments today.
Quite enjoyed it, to be honest, after two weeks of packing & unpacking 😬✌️
#Photography #Astrodon #TimeLapse
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/560/931/932/302/953/original/1fd160f4d15e2196.jpeg

2024-06-02 20:17:50

#ReturnToGermany Day 6 🇩🇪
Another day of opening boxes & moving stuff around the house, plus finally getting around to signing up to waipu.tv so my missus can watch the tennis – am impressed by the quality streaming on our telly 👍
The rain has finally stopped, but the garden has made the most of it 🌧️🪴
#Photography 📷
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/548/862/136/584/053/original/03bd27d32e02c3a4.jpeg

2024-05-31 18:45:28

#ReturnToGermany Day 4
Slugs “R” us 😬✌️
(It has been quite rainy & damp today, perfect weather for our slimy garden friends 🤷‍♂️)
#Photography
#BackGardenLimacology
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/537/172/344/655/985/original/c707a1a9b73f9d26.jpeg

2024-05-18 21:13:29

Well, that was quite lovely 🙂
A sunset ride out along the Lisserdijk & Hillegommerdijk on the west side of the Haarlemmermeer polder, & back via Bennebroek & the Leidsevaart.
61km in total & beautifully cool by the time I got home in the dark 🙇‍♂️
I’m going to miss this 😬
#CyclingLife 🚴‍♂️
#Netherlands 🇳🇱
#Photography 📷
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/464/140/460/429/732/original/389044a037b9c8b7.jpeg

2024-05-18 11:41:19

You are with friends in a forest at night. It is winter & snow covers the ground.
Wolves growl just beyond the faint light of your candles.
You are cold, hungry, & afraid.
You discover a wooden summer house in a glade. It is open & well-stocked.
Safety.
Then one of your friends runs inside, locks the door, & eats all the food.
Another sets fire to the house & dances joyfully in the warmth.
Sparks fly & ignite the trees.
You are hot, hungry, & afraid.
#Oil
#Capitalism
#ClimateCrisis

2024-05-12 11:49:01

And in other sunny Sunday afternoon garden news …
#Tigger 😽
#Bengals
#Netherlands 🇳🇱
#Photography 📷
#CatsOfMastodon 🐈
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/427/954/301/391/037/original/d00f298c892d320e.jpeg

2024-05-12 11:43:37

Y’know, macro mode on the iPhone 15 is pretty decent 🤷‍♂️
Well, at least if your subject is very chilled & lets you get within a centimetre, like this brimstone butterfly (Gonepteryx rhamni) just did 🙂👍
#Butterflies 🦋
#Netherlands 🇳🇱
#Photography 📷
#BackGardenEntomology 🪰
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/427/933/531/867/406/original/3f892d73448a6a62.jpeg

2024-05-11 12:40:24

Luminosity 🙇‍♂️
Freshly-emerged soft green leaves on the beech tree in the garden, backlit by the Sun.
(Yes, the same Sun that made a violent mess of the sky last night 🤷‍♂️)
#Wassenaar
#Netherlands 🇳🇱
#Photography 📷
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/422/496/163/689/580/original/a3f033e1f598482d.jpeg

2024-05-10 23:31:21

- reply

And could this curtain be any more crisp & colourful? 😻
Again, just with the iPhone, so subject to all the usual crap, but still …
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/419/394/482/191/739/original/8dc2b1a2f453125f.jpeg

2024-05-10 23:27:58

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I mean, look at this stuff overhead, & just with the phone 🤷‍♂️🤪
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/419/382/451/915/154/original/1c642563c3b595a5.jpeg

2024-05-10 23:20:18

Not bad; not bad at all 🙂
Especially for 52°N 🤷‍♂️
#AuroraSelfie
#Wassenaar
#Netherlands 🇳🇱
#Photography 📷
#SpaceWeather 🚀☁️
#AuroraBorealis
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/419/348/781/243/437/original/41a583819ffe3909.jpeg

2024-05-09 20:45:13

Very nice 🙂
Lovely weather for this evening’s 60km ride: some warmth left over from the sunny day, but cool enough for to be comfortable, & only a slight breeze 🌞🌬️🙇‍♂️
#CyclingLife 🚴‍♂️
#Netherlands 🇳🇱
#Photography 📷
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/413/070/985/100/146/original/8d74647ccc7db392.jpeg

2024-05-07 20:11:11

Sunny & warm during the day for dragonflies, so of course it clouded over & was cold & windy by the time I went out for my 47km evening ride around the Vlietland 🥶💨
Not very photogenic, so here’s a picture taken #OTD six years ago – sunset over the North Sea as seen from the Buitensluis in Katwijk.
#CyclingLife 🚴‍♂️
#Netherlands 🇳🇱
#Photography 📷
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/401/591/054/891/440/original/f8b15983b468af49.jpeg

2024-03-09 18:59:59

#ICYMI (as I did), this is an excellent op-ed by @npub1psd…9sr7 on the politically & ideologically-loaded background of the cult of unfettered tech optimism & its billionaire bros.
As Charlie says, science fiction is fundamentally just entertainment & often highly derivative, not the philosophical blueprint for the future of humankind.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/tech-billionaires-need-to-stop-trying-to-make-the-science-fiction-they-grew-up-on-real/

2023-10-07 11:08:53

“The threat is here; the time Orwell warned about is now.”
It never ceases to amaze & terrify me that in under 80 years, less than a human lifetime, we have allowed the putrid, lethal stench of fascism to return.
In the countries that destroyed it, in those that were destroyed by it, & in many others seemingly inspired by it.
And the populists will exploit the looming disaster of climate change to stoke hatred for their own narrow, short-term power & profit.
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/oct/07/orwellian-nightmares-george-orwell-rage-culture-rewriting-1984

2023-05-06 11:58:50

If you don’t see the connections between the rapidly-increasing impacts of climate change & the rise in reactionary nationalism yet, trust me, you will.
Because both are going to get much worse. Worse than most people dare contemplate.