Post a pic of yourself ... or a pic you took ...

[Mad Hatter]

That's a funny name for a ladder.

Ha ha...no, my ladder's called, Oh shit! I got up on my roof to clean my gutters out. I have to do that about 3-4 times a year. I moved my truck out of the way just in case anything fell off the roof, hopefully not me! I was a Roofer by trade for many years so I'm used to climbing up and walking around on them.

You should get those baffles that stop leaves from getting into the gutter but let the water in. I have a roofing job coming up, but at the age of 67 it ain't gonna be me doing it. I moved 2 yards of gravel on Tuesday (had some help from a young guy about 30 YO at about 80% done). He saw me leaning against the tree in the parkway holding my sore back, and took pity on me. And wouldn't take any money! I've given those guys some drywall remnants and other things to help them fix that house up, as they just recently bought it and it needs some work. What goes around comes around!

Yeah, I thought about getting gutter guards for that but the expense for those is a little more than I can afford. I'm just a tad younger than you are, 66 in just two months. I'm one of the fortunate people at my age to still have good health and enough strength and stamina to get around and work on my house. I even put the roof on my house, by myself, about 11 years ago. I was in my mid 50s then. When I go to the gym I'm still out lifting my 17 year old grandson who's taller and bigger than I am! But still, if you were chunking around 2 yards of gravel you're not doing too bad yourself. That's pretty rough work.

[Deesse23]

Harvest after 3 days Munich

[Mark]

Harvest after 3 days Munich

End-days distopia?  You sir are ready.

[Vera]

Just started a new book - crappy romance (haven't had that in a while) *and* it begins with a crappy sex scene so I am wasting time like you wouldn't believe...

So, I give you, portrait of the artist (aka, me) as a young man.

Show ContentSpoiler:

Literally.



I'm thinking about signing up on grindr  

[Finite Monkeys]

This might be a metaphor for something or other, or far more likely it's just a dead tree we often see when walking the dogs.

[pocaracas]

Comet Neowise, seen from the UK, on a brief cloudless night.
I kinda expected it to be easier to see...

[Gawdzilla Sama]

I think most of the NEOWISE pictures posted online were cheated a bit.

[pocaracas]

I think most of the NEOWISE pictures posted online were cheated a bit.

I'm of a very similar opinion.
But I only have my own data point, and most other photos were taken just before dawn, instead of after sunset. That might make a difference, though I can't imagine how, given that the thing is roughly at the same distance from the observer, and the same distance and direction from the sun, so it should have the same apparent brightness.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

APOD has some very good ones.

[TheGentlemanBastard]

I think most of the NEOWISE pictures posted online were cheated a bit.

I'm of a very similar opinion.
But I only have my own data point, and most other photos were taken just before dawn, instead of after sunset. That might make a difference, though I can't imagine how, given that the thing is roughly at the same distance from the observer, and the same distance and direction from the sun, so it should have the same apparent brightness.

Longer exposure along with longer focal length would account for brighter images. Lenses with wider apertures will also help.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Or if you work at Parnal...

[SYZ]

I think some of the NEOWISE pictures posted online were cheated a bit.

Astrophotographer Daniel Lopez recently set up his equipment in Teide National Park on
the Canary Islands to snap a time-lapse image of NEOWISE. The final image, which features
17 separate frames captured over 30 seconds is marred by streaks of light from SpaceX’s
Starlink internet satellites.



SpaceX is launching 60 of these 260kg (570 lb) satellites at a time, aiming to deploy 1,584 of
them to provide near-global service by late 2021 or 2022.     

But... do we really need this inevitable space junk in years to come?    

[Thumpalumpacus]

SpaceX is launching 60 of these 260kg (570 lb) satellites at a time, aiming to deploy 1,584 of
them to provide near-global service by late 2021 or 2022.     

But... do we really need this inevitable space junk in years to come?    

I really hate Musk for junking up a limited resource -- orbital space.

[Fireball]

SpaceX is supposedly reducing the reflectivity of these spacecraft to reduce this astronomical (heh-heh) problem. I don't know how that's actually going to work out, since the reflectivity of a spacecraft is a critical thermal control issue, especially in direct sunlight.

[TheGentlemanBastard]

What we really need is some legislation, preferably with international cooperation, requiring anyone who wants to add to the orbital junk to send up some de-orbiters to get rid of some of the dead junk. It doesn't take much to make all that crap simply fall out of orbit. Some maneuvering thrusters to reach the junk, a clamp to lock on to the junk, a rocket nozzle, some reaction mass, and an 8086 processor to handle the math and timing to ensure they burn up or hit deep ocean.

[Thumpalumpacus]

SpaceX is supposedly reducing the reflectivity of these spacecraft to reduce this astronomical (heh-heh) problem. I don't know how that's actually going to work out, since the reflectivity of a spacecraft is a critical thermal control issue, especially in direct sunlight.

The reflectivity is a minor issue. The bigger issue is the physical clutter. And understand that not all of these are going to stay in orbit. Some will be in suboptimal orbits which fail (a product of mass-launches), others will have component failures which mean that while it orbits regularly, it will be absolutely useless for its mission success, and still others will be hit by other debris, knocked a little askance, and now present a threat to other, more valuable missions.

I think it was pretty presumptuous of Musk to simply decide to do this unilaterally, because orbital space is a public resource. It's like someone going into Central Park and deciding he's going to farm it.

[Fireball]

SpaceX is supposedly reducing the reflectivity of these spacecraft to reduce this astronomical (heh-heh) problem. I don't know how that's actually going to work out, since the reflectivity of a spacecraft is a critical thermal control issue, especially in direct sunlight.

The reflectivity is a minor issue. The bigger issue is the physical clutter. And understand that not all of these are going to stay in orbit. Some will be in suboptimal orbits which fail (a product of mass-launches), others will have component failures which mean that while it orbits regularly, it will be absolutely useless for its mission success, and still others will be hit by other debris, knocked a little askance, and now present a threat to other, more valuable missions.

I think it was pretty presumptuous of Musk to simply decide to do this unilaterally, because orbital space is a public resource. It's like someone going into Central Park and deciding he's going to farm it.

Speaking as a guy who knows a bit about the comsat biz, he has to have had US FCC and internationally negotiated approval for the frequency band and bandwidth that his spacecraft will use, and launch authority from the federal government. Indeed, the number of spacecraft is massively cumbersome, and the de-orbiting of failed spacecraft is a real issue, especially in Low Earth Orbit. When Bill Gates talked about it many years ago, none of us figured that it would happen. Of course, now, the reliability is much better, and the spacecraft can be made much more cheaply. More's the pity, though I do applaud the increased connectivity that will result.

[Thumpalumpacus]

SpaceX is supposedly reducing the reflectivity of these spacecraft to reduce this astronomical (heh-heh) problem. I don't know how that's actually going to work out, since the reflectivity of a spacecraft is a critical thermal control issue, especially in direct sunlight.

The reflectivity is a minor issue. The bigger issue is the physical clutter. And understand that not all of these are going to stay in orbit. Some will be in suboptimal orbits which fail (a product of mass-launches), others will have component failures which mean that while it orbits regularly, it will be absolutely useless for its mission success, and still others will be hit by other debris, knocked a little askance, and now present a threat to other, more valuable missions.

I think it was pretty presumptuous of Musk to simply decide to do this unilaterally, because orbital space is a public resource. It's like someone going into Central Park and deciding he's going to farm it.

Speaking as a guy who knows a bit about the comsat biz, he has to have had US FCC and internationally negotiated approval for the frequency band and bandwidth that his spacecraft will use, and launch authority from the federal government. Indeed, the number of spacecraft is massively cumbersome, and the de-orbiting of failed spacecraft is a real issue, especially in Low Earth Orbit. When Bill Gates talked about it many years ago, none of us figured that it would happen. Of course, now, the reliability is much better, and the spacecraft can be made much more cheaply. More's the pity, though I do applaud the increased connectivity that will result.

I stand corrected, then, about the lack of regulation. It's still a stupid decision, imo. It greatly complicates the tracking of orbital objects and collision issues, as well as shit falling from the sky.

[Mad Hatter]

Wearing another of my creations. This hat was based on the one that Harrison Ford wore in "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade".

[Finite Monkeys]

Moon behind clouds over the village (phone photo) -

[Mark]

Been a while since I've posted garden pics but there is one blooming now for the first (and only) time I should share.  It is one of the biggest bromeliads, Alcantarea imperialis from Brazil.  I've been told it will take over a year to finish blooming and will look good for a while longer still.  But it will then die.  The flower stalk may become several feet long and is currently at about 3 or 4 feet.  My best hope is that pups emerge around the base.  We shall see.  Regardless this could be the only bloom in my lifetime even if there are pups.  The actual flowers will emerge off the bloom stalk and be yellow.  You can see the buds forming here, but they'll be a while in coming.




More:

Show ContentSpoiler:

And this is what it looked like the first time I suspected it might have procreation on its mind.



More:

Show ContentSpoiler:

[Fireball]

^ Feed me, Seymour!

[Deesse23]

Pics from todays tour (bike)

Who ordered a baby?



Cutoff parts of Rhine




"Father Rhine"


Destination: Rotterdam

[Thumpalumpacus]

That is such beautiful countryside!

[Finite Monkeys]

Sunset with doggos.