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• Post #4325303

  The scaly sausage has come out for a bask. #LizardPosting #SkinksOfMastodon #Skink #BlueTongueSkink #LizardsOfMastodon #Lizard #BlueTongueLizard

• Post #4102470

  My god, it's full of stars. M24, the Small Sagittarius Star Cloud, and neighbouring bits and pieces. Just over 4 hours 10 minutes of total exposure time over the last two nights with the little Seestar S30 Pro and its UV/IR cut filter. Not bad considered how irritatingly bright the Moon was being at the time. Processed in Siril with SyQon and VeraLux scripts. I should have been using the light pollution filter under conditions like that, but I've already done all the big HII regions th...

• Post #4010751

  My employer, Australian Astronomical Optics at Macquarie University in Sydney, are currently looking for a electronics engineer to join our electronics engineering group. If you're an EE and would like to apply your skills to design, build, test and deploy electronics for astronomical instrumentation for the world's observatories then check out the listing here: https://mq.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/CareersatMQ/job/Wallumattagal-Campus-Macquarie-University/Electronics-Engineer_R000023641 Ple...

• Post #3866039

  Do you enjoy trueing bicycle wheels? Replacing spokes? Rebuilding wheels with new rims? Good news! Soon you'll be able to attach an old fashioned wheel bender rack to the back of your car so your bicycle wheels will constantly be in need of repair! https://www.singletracks.com/mtb-gear/the-rut-rack-is-a-hitch-rack-for-hauling-bikes-with-zero-straps-or-moving-parts/ #Cycling #BikeTooter

• Post #3627940

  As an astrophotography newbie I have to give the Siril astronomical image processing software an enormous amount of credit. Not only as a great example of free open source software that offers a genuine alternative to expensive commercial apps, but also for the quality of its documentation. There's no "just ask questions on our Discord server instead" here! There is comprehensive written documentation online and it goes well beyond listing each function, it goes into detail of whe...

• Post #3603947

  The kid decided they wanted to 3D print a Ditto (the Pokémon) so I got them to pick a model from the usual places, then today we went to Jaycar so they could select a filament with the best colour match. There was some matte lavender PLA that looked right for a regular Ditto, but the kid wanted it to be a Shiny (but not shiny) Ditto and picked this matte ice blue PLA accordingly. The model the kid picked is actually a Ditto money box, and it's huge. I could scale it down of course, but wher...

• Post #3545577

  The weather forecast is promising two completely clear nights in a row so I made sure to get home just as it got dark and quickly set up my telescope. I already had a plan ready for it to execute so it should now run for the rest of the night fully automatically. #Astrophotography #Seestar #SeestarS30Pro #ThirtyMillimetreTelescope #TMMT

• Post #3089077

  I miss feeling excitement about software updates, instead of dread.

• Post #2521348

  If you have a 3D printer that you're not using (or, better yet, several of them) and you're looking for a project, here's an Extremely Large one for you: a printable 3D model of @esoastronomy's Extremely Large Telescope, https://www.eso.org/public/products/models3d/ELT-3D-Print-model/ There are a *lot* of parts, many of which are small and intricately detailed. It would be a time consuming challenge to print and assemble, but it must be possible because there ar...

• Post #1850597

  RE: https://ieji.de/@BlippyTheWonderSlug/116486430204781380 The Descending Darkness is simultaneously useful and ominous.

• Post #1850596

  My t-shirt today is, sadly, inaccurate. #ShinkansenPosting #Selfie

• Post #1850594

  One day I will check the departing T9 train times before arriving at Epping station so that I know whether there's any point in me rushing up the escalators from the deep Metro platform before I do it. Today was not that day.

• Post #1850593

  RE: https://vis.social/@infobeautiful/116488569241651946 Denmark, are you OK?

• Post #1850592

  I get an email that looks like this on a semi-regular basis and every. single. time. my brain goes "Oh no, there's a fire onsite! And it's dynamic!" for a moment before I remember that Dynamic Fire are some sort of fire safety related contractor.

• Post #1613636

  RE: https://mas.to/@skeletor/116443522465639340 This was exactly what I needed. Thanks, @skeletor

• Post #1613635

  RE: https://masto.ai/@phoronix/116455889080990188 First they came for the PCMCIA cards...

• Post #1613633

  I made an animated GIF, but I'm going to be hard pressed to use this one as a reaction GIF.

• Post #1458974

  The ability of suburban possums to balance perfectly on overhead wires will never not be impressive. This furry fellow just stared at me, completely motionless, while I walked up and took their picture.

• Post #1121531

  We get them big at home too, but I reckon the golden orb weavers/tiger spiders/Trichonephila plumipes get a bit bigger up here in Brisbane. Both of these are females, but in the first photo there is also a male above the female in her web. The males are much, much smaller. #SpidersOfMastodon #SpiderPosting #Spider #Spood #Spooders

• Post #1121530

  Took the kid to do some driving today...

• Post #1121529

  Techbros reinvent vehicles part 85439: the Reevo ebike https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPe3cY3oeu4 #BikeTooter #Cycling

• Post #1006977

  For some reason I've started re-reading "The Doomsday Machine: Confessions of a Nuclear War Planner" by Daniel Ellsberg. It's compelling stuff, but not exactly cheerful reading.

• Post #1006976

  The crushing lack of ambition, imagination and foresight repeatedly demonstrated by Australian decision makers is just so fucking demoralising sometimes.

• Post #1006974

  OK, that's a good photo. From NASA image gallery for the Artemis II Lunar flyby, https://www.nasa.gov/gallery/lunar-flyby/

• Post #999421

  With characteristic disregard for science and technology the Australian government has decided that Australia will not become a full member of the European Southern Observatory (@esoastronomy) when the current interim Strategic Partnership arrangement expires at the end of 2027. This leaves the Australian astronomical community, once again, with no clear pathway to access large optical/infrared telescopes, which are vital to ongoing research. The astronomical community in Australia has long r...

• Post #987094

  Today we went to Roma Street Parklands, the best place in central Brisbane for communing with dragons. The Eastern Water Dragons there are very used to having lots of humans around, and will happily pose for photos while you close to within almost arm's reach of them. #LizardPosting #LizardsOfMastodon #Lizard #DragonsOfMastodon #Dragon

• Post #927150

  RE: https://neuromatch.social/@jonny/116331911643580333 Big chunks of prose pleading with the computer to actually do as it was told and not just make shit up again. This is what's behind the curtain of the AI systems that we should all be taking very seriously for some reason.

• Post #927149

  Road trip underway! We're taking our BYD Seal from Sydney to Brisbane via the New England Highway, with an overnight stop in a motel in Tamworth. One recharge at Cameron Park on the way which we probably could have skipped, but since we wanted to stop to grab a quick bite to eat for dinner anyway I did take the opportunity to top up. That's just under 400 km driven, tomorrow we'll do the remaining 700 km. #EV #ElectricCar #BYD #BYDSeal #EVRoadTrip

• Post #927139

  RE: https://mastodon.social/@verge/116342784400205948 Not exactly Apollo 13 but OK, well done.

• Post #914905

  The Sydney Olympic Park Master Plan 2050 has been approved by the NSW State Government. Buried in that plan, but never explicitly stated, is the obliteration of the 2000 Olympic Games archery venue. The plan mentions in passing "repurpose of the Archery Centre building as a community centre" and the "provision of four sports fields" without noting that means closure of the Archery Centre, eviction of Sydney Olympic Park Archers club, and replacement of the ar...