We’re in hell

⚛️🔭 Hey physics/astronomy science communicators: apply to come to @perimeterinstitute.ca for a workshop in October on how to engage the public in science! Anyone can apply, working in any kind of scicomm (video, audio, text, live performance, whatever it is you do). Check the link for more details!

It's frequently pointed out that NASA activities (and basic/exploratory science in general) have a fantastic return on investment, contributing far more to the economy than they take. But even if they didn't, no one's actually taking from the "cure sick people" pot to put money in the "rockets" pot.

Very embarrassing work from the NSF

Looking at the AAS jobregister lately, it seemed to me that there are less positions available in all categories than in previous years. Wanting to quantify, I used the wayback machine to check on the number of postings in the January-March window and it is quite depressing.

my basic “should I use generative AI” rules: * the 3 D’s of automation are Dirty, Dull, & Dangerous, and Dull is the only one applicable—so stick to that * dont use it for any task where doing it yourself would improve your skill at that task * “hard to guess, easy to check” format + ALWAYS CHECK

This piece is about CS conferences, but it speaks to a larger trend. What are we, as individual researchers and scholarly communities, doing to prevent epistemic poison? What can we do to preserve and maintain the quality of our knowledge in this era of bullshit and slop? ⚗️ 🧪 #SciComm #Ethics

It’s infuriating and dispiriting how cozy scientists and science communicators were with Epstein. Not just creeps like Krauss and Horner, but former SciAm editor-in-chief Mariette DiChristina corresponding with Epstein in 2014-2015. “He’s done so much for science, I think that deserves some fun!”

The academy continues to impress

Here we go again

God I missed Detroit

Heading to god honoring Michigan … maybe the worst day of the year to fly (had cancellations..) but god I miss it

Traded code crashes for snowboard crashes

command line app called chat (subtitle “is this real”) that takes a number at the command line and prints yes if real false if complex

Hi #aas247 people! Just saw some slides from an education session about astronomy majors across the country that looks super relevant to the new astro program we’re trying to start in Oregon. Anyone know where the full report lives, or can share the full slides? 🔭

Rewrite substantial parts of technically functional (albeit ugly, outgrown its scope) code or implement features necessary to make a production capable product? Easy

Christmas Day is finally here, and that means two things: Lord of the Rings (extended) and a day full of hobbit meals

Christmas time

This year in GitHub: 72 merged PRs for a total of 912 commits — and more to come (and more uncounted on gitlab). Not too bad but pushing for more next year!

How it feels when optimizing code

Monday night

Went to Michigan over thanksgiving and got to take a god honoring nap

im not much of a football fan but i feel strongly that we need the weaker teams regularly playing in the snow

DTW brewery crawl

No it’s actually an elite level code development strategy that i left that unused variable there. The warnings tell me “finish implementing this” every time i compile

PBS always serving the public good

PBS did us a solid and dropped the whole Epstein emails. www.pbs.org/newshour/pol...

(Rushing to make another contribution to PBS !!!)

What's another song about Boats, Ships or Sailing? 🚢 🎶 ⛵️ On November 10, 1975, the SS Edmund Fitzgerald suddenly sank in Lake Superior during a storm, killing all 29 men aboard and inspiring Canadian folk singer Gordon Lightfoot to write a song about the tragedy, "Wreck 0f The Edmund Fitzgerald." 👇

Today marks 50 years since the Edmund Fitzgerald and her crew of 29 sank during a violent storm on Lake Superior. In Minnesota, we continue to honor their legacy. www.startribune.com/ss-edmund-fi...

i’m excited to announce that i am hiring (again)! i am looking for a postdoc in computational astrophysics that’s excited about models of stellar transients and multi-messenger astronomy to join my group (star stuff @ steward) at @uarizona.bsky.social! apply here ✨💥: aas.org/jobregister/...

The postdoctoral job ad for the Los Alamos National Laboratory’s Center for Theoretical Astrophysics is live! Come join us in beautiful northern New Mexico. aas.org/jobregister/...

What color is this cat, be as specific as possible

This week, NSF added *another* bizarre requirement: Now, applicants must submit official transcripts. The original solicitation -- as in past years -- permitted students to submit *un*official transcripts, which was free for applicants and far simpler. We'll update our Bite accordingly.

The #FindThatLizard Scholarship is accepting applications until 12/10. We fund girls, women, and gender non conforming persons pursuing herpetology🦎🐍🐸🐢 I can’t wait to read your application! earynmcgee.com/findthatliza...

if i have a conference soon in new york with the new hot kind and smart mayor tomorrow before the Shania law comes into effect, any recommendations?

Moving to New York City immediately please hire me and my wife

these early sunsets are not good for the soul

uv makes installing and using Python *so* easy! It works on pretty much any computer and it's lightning fast. 🔭☄️ #astrocode If you're still using conda, pyenv, or... basically any other tool, then I can *highly* recommend switching:

Happy to share that our book on computing in physics education has just dropped, @ioppublishing.bsky.social You can get all the chapters written by some of incredible colleagues who are improving physics education through computing right now. iopscience.iop.org/book/edit/97... #iteachphysics

"If Israel, with the whole world watching, can treat a well-known, white person with a Swedish passport this way, just imagine what they do to Palestinians behind closed doors."

(Not that I trust the technology for this) but the one part of my job i would genuinely be happy with AI (competently) replacing build systems. The moment a build systems stops Just Working ™ i lose all drive

Time and time again, universities prove that their primary responsibility is not to their students but to themselves and the endowment

Earlier this month, New Mexico became the first state to offer universal free child care to all residents, regardless of income.

New Mexico’s governor, Michelle Lujan Grisham, has allocated $20 million to build reproductive-health clinics. “I want more primary-care access for women and their families,” she said.

pre ordered

ADS has given astronomy THE BEST literature tools available anywhere. I almost never have to use the garbage that other academics have to suffer through (GoogleScholar, JSTOR, LexisNexis, WoS, PubMed...) Literally anytime I have to interface with those tools I weep

getting better at software development is miserable business because you want to rewrite everything you’ve ever written

few know this but python4 already exists. it’s called julia