Anthony Horton

Does astronomical instrumentation (e.,g. https://mavis-ao.org) at AAO in Sydney. Interested in all things space-related, lizards, archery, cycling, & making. A lot of my posts will be photos of lizards, you can find (or block) them using the #LizardPosting hastag.

he/him

#fedi22 #astronomy #science #software #space #reptile #lizard #making #archery #cycling #astrodon

GitHub profile: https://github.com/AnthonyHorton

Public Key

npub1c0a9x2hg5fzmj3vn5zwuqa4232jc3h93qtn378gh9q25ccvymjcqs0m9e5

NIP-05 Address

[email protected]

Profile Code

nprofile1qqsv87jn9t52y3degkf6p8wqw64g4fvgmjcs9eclr5tjs92vvxzdevqpz3mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerpd46hxtnfduqs6amnwvaz7tmwdaejumr0dshvss5h

Publishing to

relay.damus.io

nos.lol

Author Public Key

npub1c0a9x2hg5fzmj3vn5zwuqa4232jc3h93qtn378gh9q25ccvymjcqs0m9e5

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Last Notes

2026-05-05 01:14:54 CEST

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Of course, because the best way to deal with a wide range of numbers is to take the base 10 logarithm then multiply by minus 2.5.
"magnitudes per square arcsecond" are an even worse units crime though. Mixing reversed logarithmic units with normal units is just all wrong.

2026-05-05 00:56:32 CEST

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cgs units are weirdly and annoyingly persistent in astrophysics. erg/s/cm²/Å? Really? You're already using metric units, proper SI ones are right there.

2026-04-27 12:55:27 CEST

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This may have been the first time I've managed to get some decent photos of a bird as small and flighty as this fairy wren.
I think this is a male in his "eclipse plumage", i.e. the less colourful feathers they wear outside of the breeding season.
#Bird #BirdsOfMastodon #Birdstodon #FairyWren
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2026-04-27 12:31:32 CEST

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HMAS Karangi belongs to the Silver Gulls now.
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2026-04-27 08:03:54 CEST

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That'll buff out.
Edit: For the curious, that's HMAS Karangi.
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2026-04-27 07:58:26 CEST

Green 011 surveys their domain.
#BinChicken #BigCityBirds
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2026-04-20 09:23:20 CEST

Many years ago I went to a public speaking training day and one of the trainer's tips was that if you struggle to know what to do with your hands while standing up to speak then try holding something. They suggested a nice, weighty pen would be a good choice.
Based on photos of a presentation practice just posted to our work Slack at least some of my colleagues have decided to use a lightsaber instead. That is clearly a thousand times better.

2026-04-20 02:57:36 CEST

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While I was waiting for that a more interesting train did pass by, though. Three old diesel locos and five vintage passenger carriages.
I imagine there are some people on here who know exactly what these are, where they came from, where they're going, and why.
#gunzel #trains #ILikeTrains
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2026-04-20 02:50:24 CEST

Another electric vehicle. I don't get to drive this one, though. The acceleration isn't as good as my own, either.
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2026-04-20 01:06:43 CEST

Truly we are a Stupid Country.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-04-20/strait-of-hormuz-china-renewable-energy/106581226

2026-04-14 09:21:56 CEST

As an immigrant living in Australia I wouid just like to put it on record, on social media, that Angus Taylor is a deadshit.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-04-13/coalition-immigration-policy-angus-taylor-announcement/106559472

2026-04-08 04:14:51 CEST

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Boo indeed. If Australia can be in the Eurovision Song Contest why not European Southern Observatrory?

2026-04-08 04:11:19 CEST

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Australian scientists and engineers, along with colleagues in Italy, Germany and France, are currently developing and building a cutting edge instrument for one of ESO's telescopes, MAVIS: https://astronomyaustralia.org.au/blog/news/mavis-a-bold-leap-in-australian-led-astronomy-and-adaptive-optics/
When this instrument is installed on the telescope in the early 2030s it will allow the ESO user community to obtain visible light imaging and spectroscopy with unprecedented resolution and sensitivity. With the decision to not join ESO that user community will not include Australian astronomers.
Because of the way that ESO procures scientific instruments Australia will still receive a certain amount of telescope time to use MAVIS in exchange for the Australian share of the labour costs associated with its design and construction. That will amount to about 200 nights, which is certainly not nothing, but once those are gone Australia will lose all access to this Australian led instrument.
#Astronomy #Astrodon

2026-04-08 03:31:44 CEST

With characteristic disregard for science and technology the Australian government has decided that Australia will not become a full member of the European Southern Observatory (@npub1lsf…wrxj) when the current interim Strategic Partnership arrangement expires at the end of 2027.
This leaves the Australian astronomical community, once again, with no clear pathway to access large optical/infrared telescopes, which are vital to ongoing research.
The astronomical community in Australia has long recognised joining ESO as the best way to secure this access long term, along with access to a host of other facilities and other important benefits such as technology development and industrial manufacturing contracts. The 10 year Strategic Partnership agreement was supposed to be our pathway to this membership.
https://astronomyaustralia.org.au/blog/news/statement-eso-partnership/
#astronomy #astrodon

2026-04-06 13:40:08 CEST

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The same three dragons, but less zoomed in.
#LizardPosting #LizardsOfMastodon #Lizard #DragonsOfMastodon #Dragon
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2026-04-06 13:36:30 CEST

Today we went to Roma Street Parklands, the best place in central Brisbane for communing with dragons.
The Eastern Water Dragons there are very used to having lots of humans around, and will happily pose for photos while you close to within almost arm's reach of them.
#LizardPosting #LizardsOfMastodon #Lizard #DragonsOfMastodon #Dragon
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2026-04-02 14:15:05 CEST

Road trip underway! We're taking our BYD Seal from Sydney to Brisbane via the New England Highway, with an overnight stop in a motel in Tamworth.
One recharge at Cameron Park on the way which we probably could have skipped, but since we wanted to stop to grab a quick bite to eat for dinner anyway I did take the opportunity to top up.
That's just under 400 km driven, tomorrow we'll do the remaining 700 km.
#EV #ElectricCar #BYD #BYDSeal #EVRoadTrip
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2026-03-30 08:19:58 CEST

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Yep, the one mercy in all of this is most people don't need to use DC fast chargers very often.
Good luck with your trip to Bundaberg. On Thursday we'll be setting off from Sydney to Brisbane in our BYD Seal. We have done that drive before with no issues, but this time we're going to try the New England Highway route instead of the Pacific Highway.

2026-03-30 07:35:43 CEST

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Can you imagine a petrol station pulling this bullshit? Oh, you want to fill up with E10? Absolutely, please scan this QR code, install the app, enter your name, address, email address, phone number, car make and model, favourite colour and mother's maiden name, then check your email and click the link we've just sent you to activate your account, then enter your credit card details, then scan the QR code on the fuel pump, tap start in the app, and then you're good to start pumping. What's that, you can't get mobile signal? Yeah, sorry, bit of a coverage black spot here. Nah mate, you can't just pay by credit card.
The charger network operators will keep doing it unless they are forced to stop though, because like every modern company they want to hoard as much customer data as possible.
At least with some charger networks you can get an RFID card which means you can tap to start a charge without needing the app (or mobile signal). I've got one from Evie that also works for Chargefox. Some networks go further and set it up so the charger recognises your car so all you need to do is plug in. These still require you to have previously set up an account with all the charger networks you want to use, though.
#EV #ElectricCar #EVAustralia

2026-03-30 07:12:03 CEST

A small bit of good news for Australian electric car owners ahead of the Easter holidays: bp pulse fast chargers can now be used via a Chargefox account.
One of the annoyances of road tripping in an EV in Australia is that you can't, generally, just pull up at a DC fast charger and tap your credit card to start charging. In most cases you need to have installed a phone app from the charger network operator, created an account, and registered a payment method. Consequently preparing for a long trip might mean installing and configuring half a dozen or so different charging apps.
bp pulse chargers being available through Chargefox means one fewer app and account is required, a small step in the right direction.
Edit: Maybe hang on to the bp pulse app, see differential pricing comments down thread.
Ideally none of this nonsense would be needed, and all DC fast chargers would at least give you the option of just tapping a payment card, with no app or account required. I know from experience hiring an EV while on holiday in the UK that these apps can be a major problem for overseas visitors as they are often region locked and not available unless your phone is registered locally, and they also need mobile data to function. At least in the UK most of the chargers would just accept a credit card instead, not so here.
#EV #ElectricCar #EVAustralia
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2026-03-27 06:11:05 CET

RE: https://aus.social/@shlee/116299236736989901
A sortable, filterable database of all the EVs available in Australia, in case someone is thinking about getting a new car.
#note1cvh…79t2

2026-03-24 06:04:45 CET

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And yet they appear to be busily making more!

2026-03-23 12:00:59 CET

Ladies, I generally don't mind having a few ants around the house, but I really don't think a shelf in our laundry press is a good place to keep your brood.
#Antstodon #Ants
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2026-03-23 05:44:45 CET

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I should probably eat a Vegemite sandwich in celebration, or something.

2026-03-23 05:43:30 CET

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Huh. Looks like I'm going to be officially Australian soon.
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2026-03-23 04:17:19 CET

Inspired by a CD burning indirect age verification poll I saw this morning let's push things a little further back with a poll about cassette tape.

2026-03-18 23:12:52 CET

I can't help but be darkly amused reading "Australian Citizenship: Our Common Bond", the government pamphlet that citizenship applicants are told to read to prepare for their citizenship test.
The section on "Australian Values" in particular could most charitably be described as... aspirational. It includes bold statements such as "Australians are allowed to peacefully protest against the actions of the government, because tolerance of peaceful
public protest is an essential part of democracy" and "The police and the community have a good
relationship in Australia".
I feel that several of Australia's governments and police forces missed the memo on these.
https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/citizenship/test-and-interview/our-common-bond

2026-03-18 00:27:51 CET

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Back at the BYD service centre in Mascot to get the clock spring replaced (under warranty).
When I arrived my car joined a herd of blue Seals, all checking in. Quite a coincidence since the Seal is not BYD's best selling car, and blue is the least common colour. In fact they even dropped blue from the list of paint options available in Australia with the 2025 refresh of the Seal. You can only buy a monochrome one now.
#BYD #BYDSeal #ElectricCar #EV
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2026-03-07 23:17:41 CET

Resting his chin on the rock where his food bowl gets put, looking for all the world like he's thinking "Why is there no food here? This is where my food normally appears. I definitely should be getting food right now. Can't you see I'm wasting away."
#LizardPosting #SkinksOfMastodon #LizardsOfMastodon #BlueTongueLizard #BlueTongueLizard #Skink #Lizard
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2026-03-03 02:09:59 CET

There will be a total lunar eclipse today, with Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand best placed to see it. Totality is 10:04 to 11:02 pm AEDT.
https://theconversation.com/last-total-lunar-eclipse-until-2029-is-coming-tomorrow-dont-miss-it-276392
#Astrodon #Astronomy

2026-02-26 09:33:41 CET

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2026-02-25 06:53:46 CET

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While I'm whinging, who was it that decided that all communication between customers and car mechanics should be mediated by customer service reps who don't understand either cars or, apparently, customers?
My customer experience today would have been less confusing if I'd actually talked with the person that worked on my car, just for a moment.
It would also have helped if car people called a cable wrap a cable wrap, instead of calling it a spring.

2026-02-25 06:45:28 CET

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Well, the routine service is done, but they haven't fixed the electrical faults.
The clock spring is buggered, which means no electrical connection to the stuff in the steering wheel. Driver's airbag won't work, cruise control can't be used, steering wheel buttons for camera display, media playback, calls, etc. won't work.
BYD service centres don't stock spare parts for warranty repairs. They have to diagnose the fault first, ask BYD for permission to order the required bits, wait for approval, then order the parts, wait for them to come in, then schedule the work to install them.
Such is the customer "service" model of modern automakers, obsessed with supply chain efficiency. We'll see how long this takes, but it's probably going to be several weeks.
#BYD #BYDSeal #BYDAustralia

2026-02-25 00:44:54 CET

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It's a little bit of a hike (about 20 minutes) but there is a public library in walking distance, with power points and WiFi.
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2026-02-24 23:50:33 CET

Dropped the car off for its 24 month/40k service today. For this one I've decided to try the BYD service centre at Mascot.
I've previously used the ones in Prospect and in Prestons, but one advantage of the Mascot service centre is that after dropping off the car you are not left in the middle of an industrial estate, on foot, wondering what to do for the next however many hours. Instead in Mascot you're left in an inner city suburb with dozens of cafes in the immediate vicinity. First order of business: breakfast.
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2026-02-24 01:43:14 CET

10/10, no notes.
#BYD #BYDSeal #BYDAustralia
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2026-02-16 23:23:55 CET

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Spooky.
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2026-02-14 12:22:32 CET

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No, it really is just this badly administered.

2026-02-14 12:16:24 CET

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8 days ago I got one of these automated renewal notifications, and immediately followed the link to renew my licence. This would now be a multi-step process. I filled in the same basic details in a web form, but now that just results in an email acknowledging receipt, and promising two more emails. One to verify my "signature" by sending me a link to click on, and the other containing a link to a payment portal to pay the application fee.
I have, of course, still not received either of those emails. What I have received instead is an automated threatening letter, telling me that my licence has now expired, incorrectly claiming that I haven't submitted a renewal application, and threatening me with fines and forfeiture of my animal if I don't submit an application in the next two weeks. That would be punitive action a total of 3 weeks after the first reminder email, 1 week less than the 4 weeks that Wildlife Licencing now give themselves to process applications.
#LizardPosting

2026-02-14 12:03:57 CET

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Jerry's upcoming Gotcha Day is also revealing the absolute shitshow that is the current state of pet licencing in New South Wales.
5 years ago, in order to be able to buy Jerry, I obtained a Companion Native Animal Keeper licence. These are the lowest level of native animal pet licence, allowing you to keep one individual animal from a list of common and easy to keep species. Back then all you had to do was fill in a web form with basic details (your name, address and the species you want to keep), make a credit card payment, and within a day you'd get your licence by email.
However a little while back, with the laudable aim of preventing illegal animal trafficking, the NSW government decided that all applications to obtain or renew any category of native animal keeper licence were going to be rigorously assessed. This enormously increased the workload on the Wildlife Licencing team, who were of course not given the resources they would need to deal with this because that's not how government works.
The Wildlife Licencing email address now autoreplies to all emails noting that "We aim to process licence applications or renewals within 28 days. General enquiry response time is currently around 10 working days.", i.e. what used to take 1 day now takes, if you're lucky, 1 month, and I've heard of people waiting 2, 3 or more times that long for simple renewals.
Meanwhile other automated systems at Wildlife Licencing are continuing as if nothing has changed, for example reminders to renew licences are sent out a mere 7 days before the licence expires.
#LizardPosting

2026-02-13 05:47:21 CET

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Might need to make a visit to the little Wildflower Nursery at the Ku-ring-gai Wildflower Garden.
They're a good source for not just Australian native plants but specifically locally occurring plants, and that's exactly what I want for Jerry's enclosure. He's a NSW born and bred Eastern Blue Tongue so using plants that naturally occur in the Sydney area in his enclosure gives the closest approximation to a little slice of his natural habitat that I can practically manage.
https://www.krg.nsw.gov.au/Things-to-do/Ku-ring-gai-Wildflower-Garden/Wildflower-Nursery

2026-02-13 05:26:36 CET

Jerry the blue tongue is coming up on his 5th Gotcha Day.
This has triggered the annual Ordering of the Replacement UV-B Tube, and I've ordered some of his favourite foods and a spare basking lamp while I was at it. Meanwhile I've topped up the leaf litter layer in his enclosure, but I think I need to replace at least a couple of his plants too. The ferns down the cool end aren't quite dead yet, but they are not doing well.
Jerry himself has been antisocially hiding away for most of the past week, which I think was preparation for shedding his skin. He seems to be all done with that now, but is still just lurking in his beloved hollow log today.
#LizardPosting #SkinksOfMastodon #LizardsOfMastodon #Skink #Lizard #BlueTongueSkink #BlueTongueLizard
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2026-02-02 06:33:54 CET

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In fact I'm having a hard time resisting the urge to buy one of these and set it up running in circles around my monitor stand.
https://www.frontlinehobbies.com.au/tomix-n-starter-set-sd-n700-series-n700s-nozomi

2026-02-02 06:26:18 CET

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Probably not helped by the fact that I now have a model one within my field of vision for the majority of each work day. Two on my desk at work, two on my desk at home.

2026-02-02 06:18:36 CET

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Shinkansen

2026-01-24 02:12:56 CET

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We're now back home in Sydney. There's a disappointing lack of Shinkansen, and high speed rail of any sort.

2026-01-23 14:31:13 CET

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The first leg was pleasant enough. Not pod-style seating, but the seats were comfortable and the food and drink were good. It helped that between us we had a Steam Deck, a Switch, an iPad, and phones pre-loaded with music and books because the in flight entertainment system had the same lacklustre selection of content as our flights to Japan.
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2026-01-23 02:22:44 CET

Planes are OK too, I guess... Kind of like short, fat, noisy Shinkansen with wings.
We've checked in for our flight home and are currently relaxing in the Haneda airport TIAT lounge.
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2026-01-20 08:38:30 CET

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You'd have to have a cold, hard, train-hating heart not to be at least slightly moved by trains as cool as these...
That's an N700A Shinkansen departing Kyoto station eastwards towards Tokyo and (3 minutes later) an N700S leaving in the same direction. The Tokaido Shinkansen line runs 378 trains per day.
#Shinkansen #Train #TrainsOfMastodon
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2026-01-20 05:28:11 CET

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As it was just a 134 km/34 minute trip we didn't splash out on Green Car (1st class) this time. The Standard Car seating in the N700S is still very nice though. Comfortable, with a decent amount of elbow room and lots of leg room, reclining seats, and overhead racks big enough for suitcases (mine is in the photo only because we were about to get off the train).
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2026-01-20 03:57:28 CET

Shinkansen time again! About to board an N700S from Kyoto to Nagoya. It's a bit extravagant to take the Shinkansen for such a short journey, but the regular train services require changing trains (not ideal with all our bags) and take a lot longer.
Standing on the platform I am struck by just how frequent these huge 16 car high speed trains are. They are constantly coming and going.
#Shinkansen #Train #TrainsOfMastodon
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2026-01-18 14:13:54 CET

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It is indeed! There were no steam trains running today though, the rides were being done with a diesel locomotive.

2026-01-18 12:47:37 CET

I understand Pikachu, I'd be angry too if someone associated my name with something that looks like that.
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2026-01-18 09:56:15 CET

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I saw an N700S too.
#Shinkansen #Train #TrainsOfMastodon
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2026-01-18 08:19:04 CET

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A couple of N700A Shinkansen passing each other in Kyoto, as seen from the roof terrace of the Kyoto Railway Museum. You don't have to stand there very long to see one, there are up to 17 trains per hour on the Tokaido Shinkansen Line.
#Shinkasen #Train #TrainsOfMastodon
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2026-01-18 05:18:07 CET

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Lunch at the Kyoto Railway Museum, eating inside a converted train car. The kid and I opted for N700 and Doctor Yellow bento boxes respectively. My wife had a grown up meal that did look tastier, but her bento box wasn't even slightly train-shaped so was of no interest.
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2026-01-17 13:00:29 CET

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Oops, how did that happen? Now there are three of them.
I now have both types of Shinkansen that currently operate on the Tokaido line, plus the very first.
Tomorrow we are going to the Kyoto Railway Museum and the kid and I have tickets to drive the Shinkansen simulators.
https://www.kyotorailwaymuseum.jp/en/tickets/#ticket2
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2026-01-16 15:02:54 CET

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Latent train nerd senses tingling. Kyoto has a railway museum, and it sells Shinkansen lunch boxes!
Question is though, 700 Series Doctor Yellow or 0 Series? 🤔
https://www.kyotorailwaymuseum.jp/en/
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2026-01-15 13:47:21 CET

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It's been 4 day since I last bought a model Shinkansen and I'm getting itchy...
Meanwhile my tour of Japan continues to be powered by sake and melonpan.

2026-01-11 10:29:09 CET

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I do not have a model Shinkansen problem. I can stop buying them any time I like. I just needed one more so that I can have one at home and one on my desk at work. Plus I now have the complete set of Shinkansen types currently operating on the Tokaido line. There's no need for any more.
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2026-01-10 06:54:02 CET

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Mt Fuji from the train.
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2026-01-10 05:37:59 CET

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And now I'm on board the real thing. So good.
#Shinkansen #Train #TrainsOfMastodon
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2026-01-09 13:38:06 CET

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Pointy.
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2026-01-09 05:13:36 CET

*zooming noises*
Today we are checking out the electronics, hobby & anime merch stores in Akihabara and I decided to get a model of the shinkansen that we'll be taking to Osaka tomorrow.
This is a static display model of the lead car, *not* the beginning of an N gauge layout.
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2026-01-08 07:44:17 CET

Dual-cab ute, but Kei Car. Spotted on the streets of Kawagoe.
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kei_car)
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2026-01-06 04:23:42 CET

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Yes, though I gather this stems from the decision to use a special variant of NFC for the IC card, one that is encumbered by Sony patents and rarely used anywhere else. Consequently the IC card readers are hardware incompatible with credit cards and most of the world's phones. iPhones and Japanese Android phones work because the manufacturers coughed up the licencing fee.

2026-01-06 03:15:31 CET

Ah, the famous Japanese Public Transport Ceremony. Going to an ATM to use my bank card to get cash so that I can go to a cash-only ticket machine to add credit to my Welcome Suica card so that I can tap the IC card ticket barriers at the train station so that I can catch a train.

2026-01-03 01:21:43 CET

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There's a "Global Flagship" branch of Kura in Asakasa, but we opted for the Sushiro because it was closer and supposedly had shorter wait times. In the end we got counter seats basically immediately, once someone helped us with the ticket machine. We'll have to try the Kura before we move on, though.

2026-01-02 12:06:49 CET

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While the timelapse was still recording we went out and had a good meal at a nearby sushi restaurant for the equivalent of under AUD $20 per head, including drinks. Try doing that in Sydney!
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2026-01-02 11:42:08 CET

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Well the timelapse of the view out of our hotel window worked out pretty well. The timing was good, as it started shortly before sunset and continued just log enough into the night to capture the arrival of the snow that obscured the view. It's now snowing steadily.
Avoiding reflections is always an challenge when photographing through a window at night, but by far the biggest offender was the camera itself and it's stupid blinking red recording light on the front of the camera near the lens that doesn't synchronise itself to avoid lighting up while a timelapse frame is being taken.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAnimYMMPn0
#Timelapse #Cityscape #Nightscape #Tokyo #Skytree #Asakusa

2026-01-02 08:36:39 CET

Staying on the 19th floor of the Asakusa View Hotel does indeed grant you a good view of Asakusa. We've got the Tokyo Skytree tower and the Sensō-ji temple and pagoda. I am attempting a timelapse with the Go Ultra.
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2025-12-30 10:05:30 CET

Xmas holiday in Brisbane over, now it's back to Sydney for one day before heading off again on New Year's Day for our holiday in Japan.
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2025-12-22 07:34:54 CET

I'm a sucker for technical drawings of telescopes. I came across these today, of a @npub1lsf…wrxj Very Large Telescope (VLT) Unit Telescope, while looking up some info for my MAVIS project work. The drawings probably date from the early 1990's.
#Astrodon #Astronomy #Telescope #TechnicalDrawing #VLT #ESO #VeryLargeTelescope
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2025-12-21 00:35:35 CET

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Blimey, I really did a number on my foot. It's becoming increasingly colourful day by day as the bruising comes out.
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2025-12-20 15:01:58 CET

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Bare metal on the nose, pylons and a few other places still looked shiny and new. Flightradar24 reckons the plane is just 12 months old.
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2025-12-20 10:18:13 CET

At Sydney Airport again for another round of "guess how delayed your Jetstar flight is going to be". The departure board is currently saying 40 minutes, and given that the plane that will be flying us to Brisbane has just left Brisbane to come to Sydney that seems plausible.
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2025-12-19 00:47:45 CET

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Huh, maybe this is going to be OK after all.
After staying off my left foot all of yesterday evening and overnight (I was fortunate that we had a pair of old crutches lying around the house to help with that) it is feeling much better today. There's a very vivid bruise coming through on the underside and side of my foot, but it seems that nothing is broken at least.
I am a bit confused how I managed to give my foot such a wallop through my stiff cycling shoes, but clearly I did.
Oh well. Rest, icing, maybe some more ibuprofen, and hopefully I'll be fit to travel tomorrow.

2025-12-18 12:08:36 CET

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Well this sucks. I seem to have underestimated the damage I did to myself when I crashed my bicycle earlier today. The only visible injury is the graze to my knee and that's no big deal, but I appear to have done something nasty to the big toe on my left foot and I can now barely walk. I'm going to have to get this looked at tomorrow.

2025-12-18 02:34:31 CET

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1. Don't do that again, it hurts. I was in a hurry, thinking of other things, and distracted by some nearby pedestrians, but this tight turn requires my undivided attention.
2. The crash detection function on my Garmin Forerunner 255 watch works as intended. My watch and phone both beeped for a while before sending an incident notification email with live GPS location link to my wife, then when I finally cancelled it sent an "I'm OK actually, I don't need help" follow up notification.
3. If I'm going to crash, crash closer to home. Now I'm at the office with my bike feeling like I'm not going to be able to ride it home or walk to and from train stations with it. Might need to leave it parked in the staff bike storage room here until after the holidays.
#BikeTooter #Cycling #CycleCommuting #UrbanCycling

2025-12-18 02:17:53 CET

Arse. Misjudged my setup for the temporary hairpin at the north end of the Shrimpton's Creek Cycleway, clipped the fence on the right, and went down on my left.
Grazed knee, very sore toe, and overstretched calf muscles, but nothing serious. Just some minor scrapes on the left side of the bike, so after straightening the handlebars I was able to get back on it and slowly ride the remaining kilometre to work.
This has taught me a few things...
#BikeTooter #Cycling #CycleCommuting #UrbanCycling
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2025-12-18 01:06:59 CET

RE: https://aus.social/@spacelizard/111593468170505537
Oh, seems that we've had our car for two years now. I still think it's great, and certainly have no regrets about going electric.
#BYD #BYDSeal #EV #ElectricCar
#note1s2d…xget

2025-12-16 23:15:49 CET

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A whopping 4%.

2025-12-16 07:05:33 CET

Hmmm. That would certainly be a big change for the neighbourhood. About 1400 homes + retail across 8 new buildings up to 38 storeys tall.
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2025-11-02 09:55:00 CET

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Thanks, but as I should have specified in the first place Windows is, sadly, going to be necessary. I may still consider Linux laptop builders though if the hardware looks good and they offer Windows as an option.

2025-11-02 06:30:03 CET

OK lazyweb, recommendations for a ~12-13" laptop that doesn't directly support bigots, fashbros, etc?
The kid is going to high school next year and I was all set to buy a Framework 12 for them but then they did the whole Big Tent/Nazi Bar thing.
I'm looking for mid-range specs, and physically robust but not too heavy. Repairability/modularity would definitely be a bonus, but I appreciate I've probably ruled out my best option on that front.

2025-10-30 11:20:39 CET

Beer yoga at the bowlo.
#straya
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2025-10-23 11:22:54 CEST

Well la-di-da. We'd all *like* dumplings without spiders Junior, but some of us live in Australia and have to be realistic about our expectations.
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2025-10-17 16:29:37 CEST

I cannot visit @npub1lsf…wrxj HQ without photographing and posting about this video game box.
It is not just a bit of astronomy themed retro box art, there is an actual retro game to go with it too. It was written for the Atari 2600 but can also be played online: https://pietrow.net/atari/astronomer/
#Astrodon #Astronomy #RetroGaming #MAVISFDR
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2025-10-11 08:36:46 CEST

Tomorrow I'm flying to Germany for the MAVIS instrument Final Design Review, which is good.
That does mean I'm going to have to get up in time to take a taxi to the airport at 3:30 am, which is bad. Very bad.
#MAVISFDR #MAVISao #Astrodon

2025-10-06 06:09:24 CEST

Australian bird of the year 2025: vote early, vote often!
#TeamBinChicken #boty2025 #BOTY
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/ng-interactive/2025/oct/06/australian-bird-of-the-year-2025-vote-now

2025-10-01 09:44:27 CEST

Not entirely Ergonomically Terrific, but it'll do for a few days.
We're doing our usual school holidays thing of going to Brisbane for just over a week so the kid can spend time with his relatives while my wife and I work remotely. This is my temporary office setup in our hotel room. Bringing a portable monitor, laptop stand and a proper mouse and keyboard really helps, in my experience.
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2025-09-15 05:34:38 CEST

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This is the "Ann Plate", a photograph that was taken during the commissioning of the Anglo-Australian Telescope (AAT) in 1974 as a demonstration of the capabilities of new telescope.
The AAT was the first large telescope to be completely computer controlled, which resulted in an unprecedented level of control over the pointing of the telescope. The Ann plate demonstrated this by moving the telescope in complex patterns during a long photographic exposure of the night sky, tracing out circles, raster scan patterns, Lissajous figures and the name Ann in starlight. The ability to do this may sound trivial now, but it represented a big leap forward at the time and the Ann plate caused quite a stir when it was published.
So, who was Ann? The Ann in question was Ann Savage, an astronomer who was at the time a DPhil student studying quasars with the Parkes, UK Schmidt and AAT telescopes. She was at the AAT while this was going on, and allegedly suggested her own name on the basis it would be easy to programme into the telescope control system.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ann_Savage_(astronomer)
2/n
#Astronomy #Astrodon #AngloAustralianTelescope #AAO
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2025-09-15 05:01:16 CEST

With the building move imminent a number of items are being given away to staff, and today that included a pile a good quality A3 photo prints.
As you'd expect there were a bunch of photos of nebulae, galaxies, comets, etc., but I nabbed for myself some Anglo-Australian Telescope (AAT) memorabilia.
The old AAT with star trails photo and AAT cutaway diagram are straightforward enough, but the 3rd one requires a bit of explanation.
1/n
#Astrodon #Astronomy #AngloAustralianTelescope #AAO
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2025-09-14 16:45:07 CEST

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Just over half a litre of the good stuff. That will keep me going while I'm at the office tomorrow.
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2025-09-14 13:53:31 CEST

The weather has warmed up so I'm back to making cold drip coffee again.
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2025-09-10 10:17:01 CEST

Oh, we're doing tornadoes now?
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-09-10/tornado-warning-for-central-nsw-during-afternoon-stormy-weather/105758972

2025-09-10 05:48:34 CEST

A bit of enrichment for the lizard. If he wants those blueberries then he needs to work out how to get them out of the ball.
He has done it before, https://youtu.be/MytegkCEQBo
#LizardPosting #SkinksOfMastodon #LizardsOfMastodon #BlueTongueSkink #BlueTongurLizard #Lizard #Skink
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2025-09-09 00:27:05 CEST

Huh, I'm pretty sure this is the first time I've seen a real estate listing for an astronomical observatory. It's the Molonglo Observatory Synthesis Telescope, a radio telescope that operated between 1965 and 2023. Along with the remains of the telescope you get a three bedroom fibro cottage, an administration building, a student residence, a workshop, a shed, an electrical hut, and 84 hectares of land.
One for [@weirdestate](https://eigenmagic.net/@weirdestate ) , perhaps.
https://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-nsw-hoskinstown-148894584
#Astrodon #Astronomy
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2025-09-05 02:50:14 CEST

A BYD Seal, a BYD Taller Seal (Sealion 7) and a BYD Filthy Hybrid (Sealion 6) meet in the library car park.
The Sealion 7 is the second best selling electric car in Australia, https://thedriven.io/2025/09/03/australian-electric-vehicle-sales-by-month-and-by-model-in-2025-2/
#EV #ElectricCar #BYD
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2025-09-02 06:21:03 CEST

Someone told the wildlife that it is now officially Spring so the skinks near our offices are out basking in the sun. Nice to see them again.
#LizardPosting #SkinksOfMastodon #LizardsOfMastodon #Skink #Lizard
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