A lesser artist (such as myself) would use the part at 5:55 to make a whole song, and here's it's just put in as a 15 second moment of texture. Peter says there'll be a new song each full moon (as he did for I/O), so presumably O/I will be out late this year or early next.

I've heard it said about 10% of people find looking at images like the Ultra Deep Field unsettling, leaving them feeling small and adrift. For me, I find the very opposite is true. I look at images like this and see lights on in distant buildings, a city across the crescent of a dark ocean bay.

I played this venue in a couple different bands probably a half dozen times in the late 90s -- some of which when it was still called Public Storage (before the club owner got a Cease and Desist). It was a great venue, and it's a bummer to see it go. laist.com/news/oc-venu...

One of my dirty secrets as a dude with an Astrophysics degree: I find globular clusters painfully boring.

shape studx 48

A book from the 19th century that depicts the Rhine Valley by creating an impression of three-dimensionality and spatial distance. @MasayukiTsuda2 #globalmuseum #books #travel #19thcentury

OK, fine. Fine fine fine fine FINE. Stairway to Heaven is a classic that deserves its stellar reputation.

Well don't I feel stupid

You all need to check out this song. With thanks to @ericspieslice.bsky.social for the link. www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yqda...

Has any song ever been improved by adding diegetic sound in the music video?

RIP Tom Lehrer, arguably the most brilliant American musical satirist, who packed so much of that talent into just a few years before returning full time to being a Mathematics professor. Just a couple years ago he released all of his songs into the public domain. Here's my favorite song of his:

Another perfect production from NIN, for a quite solid song. No one in electronic music gets better sounds that seem so effortlessly right for each song.

SciAm finally on Bluesky. Give them a follow, they've been doing important work not just with science communication, but fearless promotion of empiricism over blind ideology in the political sphere.

It's worth noting that the thin-disk of the Milky Way is about 1000 light years thick. The galaxy itself is around 100,000 light years in diameter. If a US quarter had the aspect ratio of the thin disk of the galaxy to its diameter, it would have the same thickness and be almost 7 inches across.

Thunder careens horizon to horizon Under foot the sand turns to glass

It's nearly mid-year, and of the 28 books I've read so far in 2025: My favorite: Babel by @rfkuang.bsky.social Runner-up: Between Earth and Sky trilogy by @rebeccaroanhorse.bsky.social Most Poetic: The River Has Roots by @amalelmohtar.com Most Fun: When the Moon Hits Your Eye by @scalzi.com

I got the habit of re-reading books as a kid (for obvious $ reasons), and eventually, any given year I'd often only read <10 new books of the 50-70 that year. This year I've made a pledge to myself to not re-read any books. It doesn't have to be a new-this-year book, just one I've never read before.

I worked on JWST for about 2 years on the MIRI Instrument -- in terms of its 20+ year journey, a relatively small contribution. The wildly expensive telescope, however, has been wildly successful.