On a happier note, I found my photo of the original Orion rocket test launch (Or1on / ETF-1)! Kennedy Space Center is a great museum (see alt text). Alas my photo with Astronaut Jerry Linenger did not survive the car crash that killed my phone & laptop a few years later. But he's a true treasure 🫶

When you want to justify your resource war as a "crusade" then you ask a medieval history major... not the failed Army major with a silly tattoo and a shitty ideology. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

It's cats all the way down.

Good morning, space fans! Canada's moon astronaut Col Hansen & the rest of the Artemis mission can be seen on NASA's livestream here now: m.youtube.com/watch?v=6Rwf... (Livestreams max out ~12 hours so you may need to click the NASA logo beneath, then click the red-circled logo for the new stream)

Here's the official and free livestream to watch Canada's first lunar astronaut and the Artemis II mission (thanks Obama) www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3kR...

How Iran yoinked a unique Iraqi-French plane that "accidentally" bombed the US Navy, by Matt Bevin. Episode webpage: www.abc.net.au/listen/progr... Media file: mediacore-live-production.akamaized.net/audio/02/j3/...

I like big words and I cannot dissimulate - It's true and I cannot prevaricate! (@darthputinkgb.bksy.social)

Go to 26 mins for Israel & Lebanon, which is why things are the way they still are there now. Plus it's a fundraiser for a Chicago preservation effort, saving early home video recordings of TV broadcasts & the equipment to play them for local students. www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhLP...

Exposing "The Firm" aka the Russian external affairs office under business cover in the Ivory Coast tasked with "intox" (disinfo) turning local opinion against Ukraine. Every country has one. Worth translating this artiicle if you don't speak French! #NAFO #OSINT www.france24.com/fr/afrique/2...

"Free" to a good home, my arse! His Magnificence Douglas, rescued from a backyard breeder, annexed my home in 2022. Recently his bladder needed hospitalization (symptoms seen early = no permanent damage yay) He's worth it, yet his $4000 bill means I won't see my family in Germany for a 7th year.

"Why march when you can sail in 1066" hypothesis now has an interview! sphinx.acast.com/p/acast/s/go... #medieval #maritime #history #mediaeval #ukpol

Why march when you can sail? Those pesky Victorians may have misunderstood 1066 being a pedestrian affair: www.theguardian.com/culture/2026... (They got a lot of the Third Crusade wrong too, so I count this as plausible!) #medieval #maritime #history #Norman #navy #sailing #military #chronicle

In case you love medieval buildings but, like me, you live too far away to visit any... then I highly recommend following this excellent architecture history account. (Heidi is the human form of the medieval mouse who scurries about these splendid 🇬🇧 churches)

Anyway, here's a nice bit of #medieval #art for your dinner table.

Everyone who complained about Iraqi Freedom being a "war for oil" should feel very silly right now. www.bbc.co.uk/news/videos/...

This. Although I'm not sure what anyone expected when the US *twice* elected a malingering rapist conman to be Commander-in-Chief.

Faster than the stupid canal idea lol

Can any #ship or #transport fans please #identify the manufacturer of this #UK donated ferry circa 1965 or 1970? It operated on the Euphrates north of the city of al-Hit (Anbar, #Iraq). It was called "Blondie" & the operator recalled the British named it but not why (photo (c) Dr H. al-Oubeidi)

Since the start of the #Iran war there's a new Number Station in Persian called V32. France24's #espionage #history enthusiasts describe this new station & its techniques, then discuss the tactics & goals of this 20th.c. technology's appearance in 21st.c. warfare. www.france24.com/fr/%C3%A9co-...

"Ozzyman does OSINT" wasn't on my bingo card but I'm very glad for his new video, teaching essential ways to debunk propaganda using publicly-available info. To be clear: He & I both believe it happened, and that context was missing. Here's more of the missing info - m.youtube.com/watch?v=ruPl...

A nice refutation of the ahistorical larping of the Religious Fundamentalist / manosphere twerp.

Post your favourite Lord of the Rings character. Wrong answer only...

Let me say this about that: Iran had no cause to allow a girls' school to exist near a military building. It's an authoritarian regime; the government knew & approved of using children as Human Shields. In Iraq I worked with a girls' school; I saw how both Saddam & Da'esh did this. Shame on Iran.

Did a spot of local shipspotting yesterday - the early melt has left the Bridge 21 repair crew scrambling to finish for an early open! Here are VAC (1942, icebreaking tugboat) and JOHN D (1954, tug workboat) at Port Colborne on the Weooand Canal (Lock 8, Lake Erie approach) & some final ice shards

Bashing bigots with sarcasm, iftar edition. (yoinked from Reddit by my brother, who converted and dreams of snacks lol)

Your friendly Friday reminder to practise Safe Secs! Your cloud storage (incl your phone backup) is NOT legally private and doesn't uaually require a search warrant. The cloud provider can give your data to police voluntarily for any reason. Use this March Break time to de-cloud & de-google 😎

"The Girl Who Writes" exhibition is postponed for the Duration, but seems like a visit-worthy boutique exhibit when it finally opens! #library #archive #Renaissance #EarlyModern #art #history #Italy #Israel #museum #Judaism #women #herstory www.timesofisrael.com/her-storical...

I really encourage everyone interested in the #Iran crisis to watch @mercoglianos.bsky.social 's timely updates with expert explanations! Sal was a merchant mariner & has good #history to share in his videos too. #logistics www.youtube.com/watch?v=1g7l...

20 very educational minutes with Sal @mercoglianos.bsky.social with logistics news that matters! ⚓️🫶 www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcdN...

This weekend has been hectic for a lot of you, but please - keep it up! This and many more helpful gender (and anti-ICE) resources here: crimethinc.com/tools

The medieval plague pit in Jerash (Jordan) contains the city's migrants and temporary workers - a multicultural mix of individuals who met the same fate with the same disregard from locals in the 7th century. cc @medievalists.bsky.social www.npr.org/2026/02/28/n...

Seriously. Just let everyone have a nice rest without these chronological shennanigans!

It's that first magival dsy of the year when it's above freezing temperatures and sunny at the same time! (Southern Ontario enjoys a whopping 60% cloud cover during the Winter.) Had a walk in the local park (alas no ducks yet) and absorbed some sunshine through my forehead (too windy to unwrap) 😎

Women: *exist* Workers at Defence, Veterans, & Contractors: "Dear sir..." My siblings in Reason, just use the person's rank until you find out for sure. It's 2026, it's not a surprise that women have joined.

Two very fine fellas tell_fella and DrDeaRoberts are matching donations right now. Get bonus tickets 🎟️ in our amazing raffle and help our snipers with some critical ammunition and equipment. 🎟️$5 📆March 1 chornomorets.notepin.co

Une fouille de l'Inrap dans le centre-ville de Strasbourg a permis de révéler des vestiges d’habitat liés aux légions romaines, puis à la corporation des Drapiers au Moyen Âge, ainsi que de multiples remaniements de la période moderne et contemporaine 👉 inrap.fr/un-quartier-...

Fun history fact, Toronto held these same calls for 'willing workers' after snowstorms (and windstorms) until the early 1950s. My grands all said it stopped because using machinery was a sign of progress - even when it took longer. I think we can agree that progress is getting the job done quickly!

Perserverence can think it's <35m off its true coordinates due to wheel slippage, so it stops to take a "street view" of its location for NASA. NASA's algorithm compares that street view with their "map view" created from all our explorations. Then NASA gives Perserverence its true coordinates! 😎

Gentle reminder to stop using Paypal and Google Wallet, and to start using card-obscuring apps like Proton. And to keep your digital banking locked up snugly behind 2FA... and to freeze your credit file, if you live in a country than uses them.

This is your academic conference season planning reminder to avoid 🇺🇲 www.reuters.com/legal/govern...

Anyways, here's some really interesting Canadian history that needs a Heritage Minute!

Well that explains the weird error message when my colleague tried to contact a Russian shipwright specializing in recreating historical vessels for me. (I have family in NATO military contracting so we've used @threema.ch to comply with their infosec - also because who trusts Zuckerberg Anaytica?)

Spent a splendid day avoiding doing forms by researching the Desna River in Ukraine. If anyone does 11-12th.c. history & knows why the 5 medieval forts guarding the confluences of the Desna's tributaries as it flowed toward Kyiv suddenly all burnt down- especially Shestovitsa -please get in touch!

Our patron demon got his own game 🫶 chromokun.itch.io/typning

Something happy to interrupt your day... sketch a horse and then watch it run with horses from #archaeology! 🐎 gradient.horse

The Wild Hornets are a tremendously clever bunch who bring lots of 🔥☠️ for the twoony! Well worth your support - please click below. #ToonieTuesday #NAFO #Ukraine @toonietuesday.bsky.social @wildhornets.bsky.social

Today's news is a lot. And the struggle to keep housed and fed is overwhelming. Your feelings are valid - there's no shame in reaching out to a helpline in your country for some extra support 🫶 www.reddit.com/r/addiction/... (these resources are for eveeyone, the addict group has the best list)

Post a banger that isn't in English Nancy Ajram - Ah we Nus m.youtube.com/watch?v=t_L2... (Lebanese superstar with huge Iraqi fan club)