I can't tell you how excited I am to hear this news. I know it's irrational, but nevertheless… They haven't published a new edition published in 22 years, and I 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 physical dictionaries. Merriam-Webster's has been my favorite for over four decades. www.merriam-webster.com/collegiate-d...

laughingstock noun laugh·​ing·​stock ˈla-fiŋ-ˌstäk ˈlä- Synonyms of laughingstock : an object of ridicule trumpcard.gov

This is now what democracy looks like.

Hey @developers.google.com, you're making me cope with this annoyance with alarming frequency. You know and I know that uBlock Origin is the single most useful Chrome extension ever written. When I can no longer use it, I'll no longer use Chrome.

Here's the Triangulum galaxy (240 1-minute exposures stacked) from my light-polluted San Jose backyard. This one would really benefit from a darker site, and I hope to try it soon. The spiral arms are much larger than they appear in this image, and the galaxy has beautiful red star-forming regions.

This is definitely not what democracy (or humanity) looks like. We are talking about ICE taking a 5-year-old child hostage here.

Perhaps leave science to actual scientists? It turns out that we're pretty good at it. www.npr.org/sections/sho...

This is not what democracy looks like. Are we Americans comfortable with the fact that we've descended into autocracy? www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...

Here's four hours of the Pleiades, captured, as usual, from my backyard. I'm hoping to go to a darker sky site (Fremont Peak) soon.

This is not what democracy looks like.

This is not what democracy looks like. For the record, Charlie Kirk was contemptible. His murder does not change that.

Here is a refreshing judicial order that everyone should read. Much of what DJT and his administration do is utter bullshit, but few have the courage to say so. Judge Merryday does. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

This is not what democracy looks like.

This is not what democracy looks like.

Here's Andromeda. I took this last night from my San Jose backyard. It's a stack of 120 2-minute exposures.

Today, the UN officially designated Israel’s assault on Gaza as a genocide. As a party to the Genocide Convention, the U.S. has a legal obligation to obey our own laws, stop weapons sales to Israel, and demand a permanent ceasefire. End the genocide. Ceasefire now.

It's hip to be square.

This is not what democracy looks like: www.nytimes.com/2025/09/15/u...

This is not what democracy looks like.

So I guess the Rolling Stones were on to something when they hired the Hell's Angels to do security at Altamont. They were just a bit ahead of their time.

Never became as popular as "ET Phone Home" did it

Eastern Veil nebula. (72 minutes total integration time, in moonlight, partially cloudy skies.)

The turkeys voted for Thanksgiving and now the chickens have come home to roost, Part 43,325.

Columbia University (née King's College) in the news. Cower Lion cower, I guess.

This is not what democracy looks like.

But we were bored.

Disgusting. I would never work for a company whose leaders engaged in this sort of sycophancy. www.wsj.com/politics/tru...

I took this image of the Fireworks galaxy (NGC 6946) two nights ago from my San Jose backyard. The bright moon coupled with iffy skies limit the detail and signal-to-noise ratio, but still, it made me smile.

Maybe not such a good idea to elect ignorant, mendacious sociopaths? Anyway, the kakistocracy rolls on.

The kakistocracy rolls on. In this administration, actual qualifications or relevant knowledge are disqualifying.

I took these (phone) pictures on our trip to visit Matt and Jerry in Seattle last week.

My age is a perfect square, cube, and sixth power. Cindy assures me that she'll still need and feed me.

The kakistocracy marches on. We (Americans) are going to have to rely on other nations for unbiased, science-based public health information going forward. Many will pay with their lives. www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/...

These are not what democracies look like.

This is not what democracy looks like.

This is not what democracy looks like. The US constitution entitles us to due process, and the administration took an oath to uphold the constitution.

This is an unbelievably stupid move. It will affect millions of ordinary people (including yours truly) and bring little revenue into the US. www.cbc.ca/news/world/t...

This is not what democracy looks like. I sincerely hope that we get our democracy back once this criminal is out of office, but it's not a sure thing.

This is not what democracy looks like. It's pretty clear to me that I'm now living in an authoritarian nation that is systematically destroying what made it great.

This is not what democracy looks like. abcnews.go.com/US/abrego-ga...

This is not what democracy looks like. In fact it looks like full-on autocracy. newrepublic.com/article/1994...

This is my country. It used to be pretty great. Now it kinda sucks. www.latimes.com/california/s...

This is not what democracy looks like. Not one bit.

I think the word they were looking for is "shakedown." www.usatoday.com/story/news/p...

This is not what democracy looks like.

The price of vegetables rose 38.9% in July. I have no idea how this could have happened. I mean, it's not like some moron methodically reduced the supply of farm labor in the US, or placed idiotic tariffs on Mexico and Canada. www.bls.gov/news.release...

Anyone who fails to see that we are careening toward fascism is not paying attention.

Not sure why NYT says Larry Ellison "wants to do good," when all evidence points to the contrary. This seems like a (for-profit) vanity project, not philanthropy. www.nytimes.com/2025/08/12/b...

This is not what democracy looks like.