Relieved to find that my new telescope mount fits in my observatory, thanks to careful measuring and some 3D modelling done ahead of its purchase. It replaces the old Meade fork mount which had become unusable.

I spent some time renovating my boiler room. It was my first attempt at floor levelling and tiling.

Comet C/2025 A6 (Lemmon), Souter Lighthouse, Whitburn, UK. 25 October 2025. #Astrophotography

Cleanly removing my 12" Meade LX200 from its old fork mount was tricky. I'm now waiting for a dovetail plate to arrive so I can attach it to its new Sky-Watcher mount.

We are skipping our #CitizenCon in-person annual event this year but will be showcasing our ongoing developments in a livestream on YouTube (Saturday, 8:00pm UK time).

I just attended a great talk about interstellar asteroids at Jodrell Bank given by Prof Chris Lintott.

Current DIY project: renovating my boiler room which includes levelling the concrete floor.

Dr. Jane Goodall filmed an interview with Netflix in March 2025 that she understood would only be released after her death.

My 20+ year old telescope mount has finally become unusable. It's been temperamental for a long time, but is now worse than ever. I am looking into alternatives

Saturn at opposition (21 September) and Rhea transiting Saturn (22 September). 12" Meade LX200 / Player One Uranus-C. #Astrophotography

I gave a tech talk to my work colleagues today. This wasn't the real topic, but maybe I fooled them for a moment. 😅

Saturn on 9 September 2025. 12" Meade LX200 / Player One Uranus-C. #Astrophotography

Getting some sharp views of Saturn tonight. #Astrophotography

Morning walk around Dunham Massey Deer Park.

I have acquired a copy of this Andy Saunders book a few days before its official release. A masterpiece - as was its predecessor Apollo Remastered.

Congratulations to my former TT Games colleagues on the release of the LEGO Batman reveal trailer.

New desktop microphone for my home office setup. All I need now are some colourful LEDs behind me and I can start podcasting. 😅

2015 vs 2025.

I'm off to see some death metal next year. Unfortunately they didn't offer a discount for seniors.

I just learned I have a new wisdom tooth coming through. Late bloomer.

I got my boxing equipment out today for the first time in years. I'm really rusty. There was a time when I could kick near head level.

Taken around 33 years ago, this was my official staff photo when I was lecturing at the University of Manchester. It was displayed on the Computer Science Department photo board so the students could put names to faces.

I can certainly focus more when working remotely, having worked in office-based game development for 20 years and then spending 5 years doing the same from home.

With Ozzy Osbourne, 1982.

I used to experiment with something similar to this over 35 years ago, after reading a 1988 article in Scientific American (concerning Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction cellular automata). The field has come a long way since then.

Saturn imaged at 02:50 UT this morning. 12" Meade LX200 / Player One Uranus-C. #Astrophotography

This month I celebrate 25 years working in the games industry. Elixir Studios, TT Games, Cloud Imperium Games.

I was backstage at an Ozzy Osbourne concert once, at the invitation of his wife Sharon. Newcastle City Hall 1983 I think. Nice man.

A remarkable story.

I'm a big fan of the Desmos Graphing Calculator and use it all the time to experiment with nice curves for use in shaders.

A few shots taken today with my 400 mm lens.

It's lovely to see people enjoying the work we do. #StarCitizen

My regular evening visitors.

Not even a pretense of quality control on the Where Taken website.

I made some chocolates.

My cartoon for this week’s @newscientist.com

Delighted about my niece's physics PhD graduation today... finally a third Dr Murta in the family (the first was back in the 19th century - Washington Irving's personal physician).

My attempt at Korean food photography went quite well. I learned a lot.

A friend asked me to do some food photography. Not something I've really done before, but I made an attempt.

Although my bio has me down as an 'inept bassist' I can occasionally scrape a tune together. I've not really played for 35 years so rely heavily on muscle memory.

Busy cleaning up some old photo scans, such as this one of me in Germany aged 20.

As a programmer it's probably the punctuation symbol I use the most.

The Hercules Globular Cluster (M13) photographed last night. 17m 30s exposure at ISO-5000. 12" Meade LX-200 / Nikon Z6 ii.

Very much enjoying that they've put a HUGE Moon in The Jason Statham action movie A Working Man for no reason whatsoever.

My student accommodation - a council flat in Hulme, Manchester. I lived there from 1983 to 1990. The walls were made of asbestos and the block was infested with cockroaches. Living standards were different back then.

Our #StarCitizen cinematics team do some lovely work.

After seeing this article I attempted pull-ups today for the first time since my mid-teens. I managed ten, and will continue with this in the hope of improving a little.

One year since this loveliness.

Two men? But I heard sources saying there were tree fellers.

One of my lockdown projects from five years ago.