Armchair Astronomer
@armchairastronomer.bsky.social
Amateur Scientist, Luthier, Musician, Maker, volunteer at the Suncoast Science Center, member of i3Detroit, VP Rochester Symphony Board of Directors.
Now I'm just out and outright bragging. 365 straight days of practice. #adultlearner #violin
October 22, 2025 at 5:03 PM
Now I'm just out and outright bragging. 365 straight days of practice. #adultlearner #violin
No Kings. Rochester Hills MI.
October 18, 2025 at 6:07 PM
No Kings. Rochester Hills MI.
Lexington Bach Festival day 4. Handel, Mendelssohn and 2 pieces by Bach. "Vor Deinen Thron Tritt'ich hiermit" his last composition and the "Magnificant." both this year with a 15 piece professional chorus. Music director John Dodson's pre-concert talk was incredibly informative, as usual.
September 14, 2025 at 1:45 AM
Lexington Bach Festival day 4. Handel, Mendelssohn and 2 pieces by Bach. "Vor Deinen Thron Tritt'ich hiermit" his last composition and the "Magnificant." both this year with a 15 piece professional chorus. Music director John Dodson's pre-concert talk was incredibly informative, as usual.
Lexington Bach Festival day 3 the Axiom Brass. A wonderful group out of Chicago. Music by Claudia Francesca Rusca, Magdalena Casulana, T. Patrick Carrabre, Lillian Lee, and Astor Piazzolla. All new to me and ranging from the Renaissance to the 21st century. I am going to search out their recordings.
September 13, 2025 at 2:41 AM
Lexington Bach Festival day 3 the Axiom Brass. A wonderful group out of Chicago. Music by Claudia Francesca Rusca, Magdalena Casulana, T. Patrick Carrabre, Lillian Lee, and Astor Piazzolla. All new to me and ranging from the Renaissance to the 21st century. I am going to search out their recordings.
Fall is here. The Lexington Bach festival kicked off last evening and the program was repeated today at the St. Clair County Community College. Today he "Festival String Quartet" playing Bach, Pert and Dvorak. One more performance at 7 tonight. Also at SC4. The rest of the concerts look wonderful.
September 11, 2025 at 9:03 PM
Fall is here. The Lexington Bach festival kicked off last evening and the program was repeated today at the St. Clair County Community College. Today he "Festival String Quartet" playing Bach, Pert and Dvorak. One more performance at 7 tonight. Also at SC4. The rest of the concerts look wonderful.
I was looking for a photo this morning when an envelope fell on the floor at my feet. On the back was written, "May precious memories help you thru this difficult time and bring comfort to these days of sorrow." On the front it said...
www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/ca...
www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/ca...
Campaign Address at Madison Square Garden in New York City | The American Presidency Project
www.presidency.ucsb.edu
September 8, 2025 at 10:05 PM
I was looking for a photo this morning when an envelope fell on the floor at my feet. On the back was written, "May precious memories help you thru this difficult time and bring comfort to these days of sorrow." On the front it said...
www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/ca...
www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/ca...
Reposted by Armchair Astronomer
I'm not a boastful person -- probably because I'm not very good at many things! -- but folks, I will put my dishwasher-loading skills up against anyone in the world. I genuinely wish there were some sort of formal league or contest.
August 24, 2025 at 7:51 PM
I'm not a boastful person -- probably because I'm not very good at many things! -- but folks, I will put my dishwasher-loading skills up against anyone in the world. I genuinely wish there were some sort of formal league or contest.
Reposted by Armchair Astronomer
If anyone needed a reminder that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has no background in science or medicine, look no further than his recent social media posts.
RFK Jr. defends $500M cut for mRNA vaccines with pseudoscience gobbledygook
He clearly has no idea what antigenic shift means.
arstechnica.com
August 7, 2025 at 3:46 PM
If anyone needed a reminder that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has no background in science or medicine, look no further than his recent social media posts.
Hard job #1 done. Bending and clamping the C Bout ribs in place. Can't imagine doing this without modern tools. The 16th and 17th century masters had some serious skills. #violin #violinbuild
July 25, 2025 at 6:20 PM
Hard job #1 done. Bending and clamping the C Bout ribs in place. Can't imagine doing this without modern tools. The 16th and 17th century masters had some serious skills. #violin #violinbuild
Today's progress. The blocks are shaped and square. Cleaning up the ribs. She might even have a name already. While I was working Respighi's "The Birds" was playing. She might be L'usignuolo, The nightingale. We'll see if it sticks. #violin #violinbuild #classicalmusic
July 24, 2025 at 6:18 PM
Today's progress. The blocks are shaped and square. Cleaning up the ribs. She might even have a name already. While I was working Respighi's "The Birds" was playing. She might be L'usignuolo, The nightingale. We'll see if it sticks. #violin #violinbuild #classicalmusic
This just popped up on my playlist. I had forgotten just how beautiful this song is and what a fabulous job Dawn Upshaw does in bringing it to life. youtu.be/HDI5E9ptvpY?... #SongsOfTheAuvergne #classial
Dawn Upshaw: Baïlèro from Canteloube - Chants d'Auvergne & Emmanuel
YouTube video by Ryu Bateson
youtu.be
July 24, 2025 at 1:33 AM
This just popped up on my playlist. I had forgotten just how beautiful this song is and what a fabulous job Dawn Upshaw does in bringing it to life. youtu.be/HDI5E9ptvpY?... #SongsOfTheAuvergne #classial
Carving the blocks into shape. #violin #violinbuild
July 24, 2025 at 1:17 AM
Carving the blocks into shape. #violin #violinbuild
Blocks on. Glue drying. #violin #violinbuild
July 22, 2025 at 8:16 PM
Blocks on. Glue drying. #violin #violinbuild
This is really bad! Businesses are not investing and it doesn't look like a short blip like 2009 and Carl is right "It's all about the capex".
July 22, 2025 at 7:14 PM
This is really bad! Businesses are not investing and it doesn't look like a short blip like 2009 and Carl is right "It's all about the capex".
Reposted by Armchair Astronomer
It’s all about the capex. 🇺🇸
July 22, 2025 at 2:40 PM
It’s all about the capex. 🇺🇸
Just got some real sticker shock when ordering new strings for my violin. Guess the EU tariffs are kicking in. One brand that has not yet raised its price is D'Addario on its Kaplan line. They are made in the US but they might still get caught by the steel tariffs at some point. #violin
July 22, 2025 at 6:53 PM
Just got some real sticker shock when ordering new strings for my violin. Guess the EU tariffs are kicking in. One brand that has not yet raised its price is D'Addario on its Kaplan line. They are made in the US but they might still get caught by the steel tariffs at some point. #violin
Today I finished up an ergonomic handle for a carving blade I purchased recently. It's based on one of my Dad's designs but scaled for my hand and the use case. Really happy with how it came out.
July 21, 2025 at 10:43 PM
Today I finished up an ergonomic handle for a carving blade I purchased recently. It's based on one of my Dad's designs but scaled for my hand and the use case. Really happy with how it came out.
Just got "polled" by a clearly Republican polling firm. They totally failed to ask anything about Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan's independent run. I think both parties are missing something critical here.
July 21, 2025 at 10:01 PM
Just got "polled" by a clearly Republican polling firm. They totally failed to ask anything about Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan's independent run. I think both parties are missing something critical here.
At Sunday's Detroit Symphony Orchestra concert at the Meadowbrook Amphitheatre, The Music of John Williams. The DSO's pops conductor Enrico Lopez-Yanez started the second half wearing his Potter cloak but that was just a disguise. He was really Anakin Skywalker. Great concert great venue.
July 9, 2025 at 4:30 PM
At Sunday's Detroit Symphony Orchestra concert at the Meadowbrook Amphitheatre, The Music of John Williams. The DSO's pops conductor Enrico Lopez-Yanez started the second half wearing his Potter cloak but that was just a disguise. He was really Anakin Skywalker. Great concert great venue.
No Kings. Waterford, MI. Protestors solidly on both sides of Highland Rd (M59) from Crescent Lake to Airport Roads. About 1 mile. The car horn to middle finger ratio was a fantastic 95% to 5%. Thanks to everyone who came out! #NoKings
June 14, 2025 at 10:17 PM
No Kings. Waterford, MI. Protestors solidly on both sides of Highland Rd (M59) from Crescent Lake to Airport Roads. About 1 mile. The car horn to middle finger ratio was a fantastic 95% to 5%. Thanks to everyone who came out! #NoKings
First big Windoze to Linux Mint conversion. Dell XPS 18. Sorry Satya not buying the Win 11 thing. My hardware is just fine. No need to turn it into e waste just yet. Planning on a mix of OSes going forward. MacBook, Linux desktop, Win server.
June 6, 2025 at 1:32 AM
First big Windoze to Linux Mint conversion. Dell XPS 18. Sorry Satya not buying the Win 11 thing. My hardware is just fine. No need to turn it into e waste just yet. Planning on a mix of OSes going forward. MacBook, Linux desktop, Win server.
71°, wind from the SE across Lake Huron. Emmy Lou and Mark Knopfler "All the Road Running" playing on the pad. One sip of wine left in the glass. Season 29 at our beautiful cottage begins.
June 3, 2025 at 11:27 PM
71°, wind from the SE across Lake Huron. Emmy Lou and Mark Knopfler "All the Road Running" playing on the pad. One sip of wine left in the glass. Season 29 at our beautiful cottage begins.
Last night was the Rochester Symphony Orchestra's (MI) final concert of the season and we presented our annual Young Artist competition winner, 13 year old Cameron Renshaw from the Grand Rapids area. He played fourth movement of the Elgar Cello Concerto. He was fantastic. Expressive, great
May 31, 2025 at 3:05 PM
Last night was the Rochester Symphony Orchestra's (MI) final concert of the season and we presented our annual Young Artist competition winner, 13 year old Cameron Renshaw from the Grand Rapids area. He played fourth movement of the Elgar Cello Concerto. He was fantastic. Expressive, great
Reposted by Armchair Astronomer
Alright, I think people knew of the tariff pause and traded it beforehand.
You can see before Trump posted "buy" on Truth Social, traders opened $QQQ $TQQQ and $SPY calls
RIGHT BEFORE THE NEWS, someone opened $SPY 509 calls, expiring TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Those calls are up 2100% in one hour.
You can see before Trump posted "buy" on Truth Social, traders opened $QQQ $TQQQ and $SPY calls
RIGHT BEFORE THE NEWS, someone opened $SPY 509 calls, expiring TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Those calls are up 2100% in one hour.
April 9, 2025 at 6:21 PM
Alright, I think people knew of the tariff pause and traded it beforehand.
You can see before Trump posted "buy" on Truth Social, traders opened $QQQ $TQQQ and $SPY calls
RIGHT BEFORE THE NEWS, someone opened $SPY 509 calls, expiring TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Those calls are up 2100% in one hour.
You can see before Trump posted "buy" on Truth Social, traders opened $QQQ $TQQQ and $SPY calls
RIGHT BEFORE THE NEWS, someone opened $SPY 509 calls, expiring TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Those calls are up 2100% in one hour.