Attenuated Presence 🔭
attenuated.bsky.social
Attenuated Presence 🔭
@attenuated.bsky.social
Nebula guy. Astronomy and physics, teaching, books, games, no politics right now if I can help it.
This is obviously silly, the best Star Trek movie is Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World.
This is obviously bait, but also, the best Star Trek movie is Galaxy Quest
every day I have to log on and see Takes
November 18, 2025 at 12:30 AM
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steam is apparently allowing "this game had AI in it that it didn't disclose" as a valid return statement, so if you or anyone you know actually paid $70 for slop, get that money back
November 15, 2025 at 9:10 AM
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British and Australian chemists have discovered a powerful new antibiotic called pre-methylenomycin C lactone, hiding in a well-known soil bacterium. This molecule kills drug-resistant bacteria without triggering resistance. buff.ly/YlXaONo
#ShareGoodNewsToo
Scientists find hidden antibiotic 100x stronger against deadly superbugs
A team of scientists discovered a hidden antibiotic 100 times stronger than existing drugs against deadly superbugs like MRSA. The molecule had been overlooked for decades in a familiar bacterium. It…
buff.ly
November 16, 2025 at 2:50 PM
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I do not want to “Do my own research.” I want to pay trained accredited experts to do the research, trained accredited experts to report on findings, and trained accredited experts to make policy based on them.

I am busy af with my own job, I don’t need to do eight zillion more.
November 15, 2025 at 1:11 PM
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I've always been annoyed by the assumptions people made about the victims at Pompeii based on where they were found, their position or connection to others.
Making up relationships, assuming genders, etc.
Nice to see that dealt with by science;
www.livescience.com/archaeology/...
Pompeii victims aren't who we thought they were, DNA analysis reveals
An ancient-DNA analysis of victims in Pompeii who died in Mount Vesuvius' eruption reveals some unusual relations between the people who died together.
www.livescience.com
November 15, 2025 at 2:27 PM
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This is an insanely cool (actual) photo taken by photographer Andrew McCarthy of a skydiver buddy seen in silhouette against the distant sun. Full story, videos, and more here: www.instagram.com/p/DRBAaqLkvy...
November 14, 2025 at 4:30 PM
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Fortunately, I already figured out the plots of the next several Toy Story films
November 12, 2025 at 1:27 AM
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As of this morning, Starbucks workers across the country are officially ON STRIKE. And we're prepared for this to become the biggest and longest ULP strike in Starbucks history.

Say #NoContractNoCoffee with us: DON'T BUY STARBUCKS for the duration of our open-ended ULP strike! $SBUX
November 13, 2025 at 11:33 AM
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spoke with the executive director of my local food bank today and got this really incredible line: "if you donate 1 can of green beans, we can give away 1 can of green beans. but if you donate a dollar, we can give away 6 cans of green beans"
November 10, 2025 at 7:32 PM
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VISUALIZING THE BIOMASS OF LIFE
🐛🦉🐟🐸🐐🐌🍄🦚🐙🐍🦑🐢🦂🦧🌴
#biomass #science #infographic #art #sciart #dataviz #datavisualization #biology
November 11, 2025 at 3:16 PM
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Just say that the guy we thought was “James Bond” in the last half dozen movies was actually an imposter named Barry Spaford who had the real 007 locked in a bathroom the whole time.
November 11, 2025 at 3:02 PM
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Oh I am SO excited.
November 10, 2025 at 6:46 PM
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Happy There Is A Circulatory System Walking Through The Kitchen Day to all who celebrate.
November 10, 2025 at 10:54 AM
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Notice that @aptshadow.bsky.social ’s Children of Time is 99p on kindle in the UK. If you have any interest in SF and haven’t read it, this is a no-brainer.
November 9, 2025 at 9:32 PM
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I spotted this on Mastodon and I find it horrible, not least for the speed with which this has happened.
November 4, 2025 at 9:56 AM
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November 8, 2025 at 5:44 PM
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if you believe fully autonomous robot butlers are just over the horizon you are actually one of the dumbest motherfuckers alive and we should take your money from you so we can put it towards something worthwhile
November 7, 2025 at 2:23 PM
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Uninstall Grammarly NOW. They've partnered with an AI company and actively scrape your writing to train its models.
November 5, 2025 at 6:19 PM
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New favourite example of structural ambiguity
November 5, 2025 at 4:54 AM
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Every time you need cough medicine, you have to show your ID because naturally the government is concerned that you’re going to manufacture narcotics (much more common and likely than seeking relief for sniffling sneezing coughing aching stuffy head fever)
November 4, 2025 at 5:24 PM
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Academics in Assyria in the 7th c BC complain that admin is preventing them from doing research and teaching
November 3, 2025 at 10:04 AM
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These incredible ibex defy gravity climbing a near-vertical dam in search of nutritious salt.

Credit: BBC
November 3, 2025 at 11:07 PM
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I was laid off from Teen Vogue today along with multiple other staffers, and today is my last day.

certainly more to come from me when the dust has settled more, but to my knowledge, after today, there will be no politics staffers at Teen Vogue.
November 3, 2025 at 7:52 PM
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"If Grokipedia is getting things about me wrong, what else is it getting wrong in other articles, where I do not have the same level of domain knowledge?" - @scalzi.com
A Review of Grokipedia, Using Myself as Test Subject
What? You didn’t know that Grokipedia exists? Well, it does, and it’s Elon Musk’s attempt to run Wikipedia out of town on a rail: An “AI”-generated compendium of infor…
whatever.scalzi.com
November 3, 2025 at 10:03 PM