switch from C++ to python in my intro computing class this week, and it's amazing how much modern C++ is really just python + braces and semicolons. And there's even bython (github.com/mathialo/byt...) if you miss the braces ;)

highest Untitled*.ipynb I have on my system right now is Untitled16.ipynb. I need to work harder. I want to see int overflow...

The AAS prizes include three (Cannon, Warner, and Pierce) that are designed to honor astronomers in the early phases of their careers. The have different selection criteria and rules. Nominations are encouraged! 🔭https://aas.org/posts/news/2026/04/early-career-prizes-not-all-same

a teenage boy just made it clear to me that he thought the shirt im wearing was advertising the two separate concepts of guns and of roses

"Coyote vs. Acme" is finally (finally!) getting released—with a killer trailer. What was Warner Bros. even thinking, shelving this film for so many years? arstechnica.com/culture/2026...

The best brownie recipe, according to science www.popsci.com/science/best...

ADA II compliance deadline seems to have been extended by a year: www.federalregister.gov/documents/20...

Starting a petition to rename it the Schrodinger Straight--it's simultaneously open and being blockaded.

moving all meetings to the surface of the Sun, since it is cooler than my office... (I might have to *gasp* turn off some computers...)

should I have coffee #5 [ ] yes [ ] also yes

The folks on the GRFP subreddit have also made an interesting plot, comparing awardees to honorable mentions by field: www.reddit.com/r/GRFPApps/c...

The NSF GRFP is now out! There are 2,599 awardees, which is the most ever—and a big shift from last year which initially halved awardees (1,000 awardees + an additional 500). I've thrown together a plot to break down the changes by field. www.research.gov/grfp/Awardee...

of the 4 classical elements, we have phones that are earth proof (dust, cushioned cases), water proof, air proof (noise suppressing mics), but not yet fire proof. why have we stalled? I want to be able to drop my phone into a campfire and have it survive.

I can't stop laughing at this post. It's perfect.

Some lucky elementary school will get those slightly-used parachutes for gym class

The FY 2027 NASA budget request hides its science cuts by omitting mission names instead of explicitly zeroing them out. We did the work and found 54 missions cancelled in this proposal. This is another extinction-level event for NASA science. Full list: planetary.org/save-nasa-science

it's one of those "let me add items to my todo list just so I can cross them off" kinda days...

current mood:

my students shared this petition with me: www.change.org/p/the-entire...

This is so, so well-articulated.

meetings++;

right now the astronauts are calling houston because the computer on the spaceship is running two instances of microsoft outlook and they can't figure out why. nasa is about to remote into the computer

Everyone should have an emotional-support Lego millennium falcon

ChatGPT just told me that if something is licensed under the CC BY-NC-SA license, that AI is not allowed to train on it. Because training requires making a copy (so the license applies) and it is commercial (so the NC applies).

Between 2/28 and 3/13, 97 awards were issued: Directorate of Math and Phys Science: 36 Engineering: 19 Computer and Info Science: 14 STEM Education: 10 Geosciences: 8 Tech, Innov, Partnerships: 5 Social, Behav, Econ Sci: 4 Biol Sciences: 1 2/2

NSF Update through March 13, 2026 1/2

still no news on NASA FINESST? (but... nuclear rockets!?) #astro

#arXiv, the granddaddy of #preprints servers, has announced it’s splitting from Cornell U., its long-time host institution. Leaders there explain why. #OpenAccess #ScholComm @science.org www.science.org/content/arti...

My talk on modeling reactive flows at the High Performance Software Foundation 2026 meeting: zenodo.org/records/1911... #hpsfcon #astrocode

Pro tip: when writing a proposal, write an introduction that, you know,*introduces* the topic to a reviewer who might not be thinking of your specialty every waking hour of their day. A good introduction, that also shows that you know what others are doing on the problem, really helps a proposal.

young me: yay conference in a neat remote location I've never been too old me: yay, conference in the airport hotel!

The @aas.org is conducting a search for the AAS Editor in Chief, who is responsible for developing and implementing a long-term editorial strategy for the Society’s journals portfolio. See this link for more details of this full-time position and the application process. journals.aas.org/eicsearch

🚨 Job vacancy! We are recruiting a Computing Officer for the School of Physics and Astronomy at St Andrews ⚛️🔭 High-Performance Computing is critical to our work on understanding the Universe, including the search for life on other planets. 🪐🧑‍💻🖥️ www.vacancies.st-andrews.ac.uk/Vacancies/W/...

I wrote stuff. Honest @saavikford.bsky.social !

pynucastro now supports the StarLib reaction rate library, which includes uncertainties on rates. With pynucastro, you can now create different realizations of the rates, sampling the uncertainties, to look to see how nucleosynthesis is affected: pynucastro.github.io/pynucastro/s... #astro

Pretty crazy how important the blockade of a trade route is right now

variations on email greetings: standard: I hope this email finds you well. happy: I hope this email finds you swell. desperate: I hope this email finds you. nemesis: I hope this email finds you in hell. yoda: find you well, this email.

The @axisprobe.bsky.social team learned that the phase A concept study report of AXIS (the Advanced X-ray Imaging Satellite) will not be reviewed because the lost personnel at NASA Goddard and government shutdown impacted our schedule and budget. 🔭 Here is the PI's e-mail with the explanation.

next week I'll be in Chicago for the High Performance Software Foundation meeting. I really haven't visited Chicago much since I graduated from UC in 2000.

The new ADS captchas are annoying. Change a search and it asks if you are human. More worrisome, it seems I'm only 50% human based on the tests...

remember to turn your clocks back 23 hours today.

Applications are open for our visiting grad student pre-doctoral program at the CCA @flatironinstitute.org ! More info here: www.simonsfoundation.org/2023-flatiro...

NEW: The bad news about international-student enrollments at American colleges just got worse. An exclusive @chronicle.com analysis of just-released State Department data shows new visa issuances in the summer of 2025 dropped by more than a third. www.chronicle.com/article/the-...

is it me? or has the internet been getting flakier lately? sites seem down more often. Somehow I blame AI...

NSF Update (Awards through 2/27/26) Directorates to follow 1/10

Build Your Peer Review Skills at #AAS248 If you’d like to feel more confident the next time you’re asked by an editor to peer review a paper, consider applying to attend the upcoming AAS Peer Review Training Workshop in Pasadena on 14 June 2026. aas.org/posts/news/2... 🔭 @publishing.aas.org

computational science postdoc fellowship here at Stony Brook, through the SUNY Promoting Recruitment, Opportunity, Diversity, Inclusion and Growth Plus (PRODiG Plus) apply.interfolio.com/179315