Ross
@rossengineer.bsky.social
Former future astronaut | Xitter refugee, same handle | bio pinned | opinions my own | science, politics, stray thoughts, some swearing | no porn, crypto, scams, plz | he/him | pathologically unable to do things that make no fucking sense | YMMV, LLAP 🖖✌️
Pinned
Ross
@rossengineer.bsky.social
· Jul 17
Bio in comments, sporadically appended -
Reposted by Ross
keep it up, losers. real americans don't think like this.
they didn't poll it, but i'm certain that "has a strong opinion about when to go for it on 4th down" would come in at around 3 times as important as "Having many generations of American ancestors."
they didn't poll it, but i'm certain that "has a strong opinion about when to go for it on 4th down" would come in at around 3 times as important as "Having many generations of American ancestors."
December 26, 2025 at 10:05 PM
keep it up, losers. real americans don't think like this.
they didn't poll it, but i'm certain that "has a strong opinion about when to go for it on 4th down" would come in at around 3 times as important as "Having many generations of American ancestors."
they didn't poll it, but i'm certain that "has a strong opinion about when to go for it on 4th down" would come in at around 3 times as important as "Having many generations of American ancestors."
Heroically blowing up sand in Nigeria on Christianity's big holiday is capital 'S' Stupid.
So Christian to bomb Nigeria on Christmas.
December 26, 2025 at 9:17 PM
Heroically blowing up sand in Nigeria on Christianity's big holiday is capital 'S' Stupid.
Eastern North America is watching December becoming more mild than in decades past.
I'm currently in Colorado visiting relatives. It is unseasonably warm here. Short sleeves & shorts weather.
Plants & wild critters that have been extant in these places for millenia now face migration for survival.
I'm currently in Colorado visiting relatives. It is unseasonably warm here. Short sleeves & shorts weather.
Plants & wild critters that have been extant in these places for millenia now face migration for survival.
Trends in December temperatures over land areas for the last 50 years...
Data from NOAAGlobalTemp v6.0.0 (www.ncei.noaa.gov/products/lan...)
Data from NOAAGlobalTemp v6.0.0 (www.ncei.noaa.gov/products/lan...)
December 26, 2025 at 8:59 PM
Eastern North America is watching December becoming more mild than in decades past.
I'm currently in Colorado visiting relatives. It is unseasonably warm here. Short sleeves & shorts weather.
Plants & wild critters that have been extant in these places for millenia now face migration for survival.
I'm currently in Colorado visiting relatives. It is unseasonably warm here. Short sleeves & shorts weather.
Plants & wild critters that have been extant in these places for millenia now face migration for survival.
Birthday grandmother asks her 5-year old grandson how old he thinks she is.
Kid - "is it 2 digits or 3?"
Kid - "is it 2 digits or 3?"
What's an insult you'll never forget?
December 26, 2025 at 5:40 AM
Birthday grandmother asks her 5-year old grandson how old he thinks she is.
Kid - "is it 2 digits or 3?"
Kid - "is it 2 digits or 3?"
Proper insults are a martial art of eloquence.
"You've been educated beyond your capabilities"
December 26, 2025 at 5:22 AM
Proper insults are a martial art of eloquence.
This could launch a whole new storytelling world if it catches on.
David Brin's novel STARTIDE RISING as a prestige miniseries:
A spaceship crewed by geneticially-modified talking Earth dolphins on the run from multiple space empires because they may have accidentally stumbled upon a discovery that contravenes one of the major religious beliefs in the galaxy.
A spaceship crewed by geneticially-modified talking Earth dolphins on the run from multiple space empires because they may have accidentally stumbled upon a discovery that contravenes one of the major religious beliefs in the galaxy.
OK, less contentious post:
You've been placed in charge of a movie studio, and have an unlimited budget to adapt any work of your choosing that has never been made into a live-action TV series or film. What are you picking?
For me: PC Hodgell's Kencyrath Cycle and there's no close second
You've been placed in charge of a movie studio, and have an unlimited budget to adapt any work of your choosing that has never been made into a live-action TV series or film. What are you picking?
For me: PC Hodgell's Kencyrath Cycle and there's no close second
December 26, 2025 at 4:40 AM
This could launch a whole new storytelling world if it catches on.
Reposted by Ross
Space Force after a gap of some days has identified the dead Starlink 35956 again, showing its decaying orbit
December 26, 2025 at 2:22 AM
Space Force after a gap of some days has identified the dead Starlink 35956 again, showing its decaying orbit
Reposted by Ross
Once again, in honor of Christmas: the ornament on my mother-in-law’s tree that I thought for years was surfing baby Jesus.
December 24, 2025 at 10:33 PM
Once again, in honor of Christmas: the ornament on my mother-in-law’s tree that I thought for years was surfing baby Jesus.
Breathtaking beauty in music.
May all the people of Earth know peace & comfort this holiday season.
May all the people of Earth know peace & comfort this holiday season.
Carol of the Bells in #
Kyiv subway.
Voices of the Embassies of Germany, France, and the United Kingdom came together to perform Shchedryk in the Kyiv metro as a sign of solidarity with Ukraine.
Thankful to everyone who stands with us!
Kyiv subway.
Voices of the Embassies of Germany, France, and the United Kingdom came together to perform Shchedryk in the Kyiv metro as a sign of solidarity with Ukraine.
Thankful to everyone who stands with us!
December 25, 2025 at 8:06 PM
Breathtaking beauty in music.
May all the people of Earth know peace & comfort this holiday season.
May all the people of Earth know peace & comfort this holiday season.
The soundtrack of my childhood Christmas season.
December 25, 2025 at 7:59 PM
The soundtrack of my childhood Christmas season.
This is emblematic of the pathological nature of the Republican party.
The worst of us are emboldened to be jerks.
The worst of us are emboldened to be jerks.
December 25, 2025 at 7:48 PM
This is emblematic of the pathological nature of the Republican party.
The worst of us are emboldened to be jerks.
The worst of us are emboldened to be jerks.
May all your best wishes come true.
December 25, 2025 at 7:41 PM
May all your best wishes come true.
Reposted by Ross
Me reading your Christmas Day posts.
December 25, 2025 at 6:52 PM
Me reading your Christmas Day posts.
This is a far more utility-minded 4-door pickup than very few modern equivalents.
December 25, 2025 at 6:40 PM
This is a far more utility-minded 4-door pickup than very few modern equivalents.
The very best toy of the late 1970s for a kid who loved space exploration & building things -
December 25, 2025 at 6:20 PM
The very best toy of the late 1970s for a kid who loved space exploration & building things -
Reposted by Ross
huh. by the way - those window-mounted heat pumps I've been going on about? They're $399 now on BrandsMart and I'm a huge...fan. also condenser. and inverter. Only real knock is that the tilting fan-direction-vent thing can rattle a little but you can fix that.
www.brandsmartusa.com/ge/269840/11...
www.brandsmartusa.com/ge/269840/11...
December 25, 2025 at 5:46 PM
huh. by the way - those window-mounted heat pumps I've been going on about? They're $399 now on BrandsMart and I'm a huge...fan. also condenser. and inverter. Only real knock is that the tilting fan-direction-vent thing can rattle a little but you can fix that.
www.brandsmartusa.com/ge/269840/11...
www.brandsmartusa.com/ge/269840/11...
Reposted by Ross
Wishing all of our friends a very happy holiday season full of peace, love & happiness! Gracias Ignacio Gomez for this wonderful piece of art. #WeFeedYou
Deseándole a todos nuestros amigos unas felices fiestas llenas de amor, paz y felicidad! Gracias Ignacio Gómez por está increíble pieza de arte.
Deseándole a todos nuestros amigos unas felices fiestas llenas de amor, paz y felicidad! Gracias Ignacio Gómez por está increíble pieza de arte.
December 25, 2025 at 1:01 PM
Wishing all of our friends a very happy holiday season full of peace, love & happiness! Gracias Ignacio Gomez for this wonderful piece of art. #WeFeedYou
Deseándole a todos nuestros amigos unas felices fiestas llenas de amor, paz y felicidad! Gracias Ignacio Gómez por está increíble pieza de arte.
Deseándole a todos nuestros amigos unas felices fiestas llenas de amor, paz y felicidad! Gracias Ignacio Gómez por está increíble pieza de arte.
Reposted by Ross
i post this story every christmas, and will keep doing so until it stops making me cry
merry christmas xx
merry christmas xx
A real Good Samaritan
One act of kindness that befell Leeds writer Bernard Hare in 1982 changed him profoundly. Here he tells his story.
www.bbc.co.uk
December 25, 2025 at 10:25 AM
i post this story every christmas, and will keep doing so until it stops making me cry
merry christmas xx
merry christmas xx
Reposted by Ross
“Be humble for you are made of earth. Be noble for you are made of stars.” 📷 NASA/ESA/Hubble
December 25, 2025 at 5:15 PM
“Be humble for you are made of earth. Be noble for you are made of stars.” 📷 NASA/ESA/Hubble
Reposted by Ross
For those who were politically aware in the 1980s & 1990s this was a particularly dramatic event.
At the time, this felt like the USA had "won" the Cold War after decades of conflict.
The new Russian Federation could at long last be our friends, or so we thought.
Let there be peace on Earth.
At the time, this felt like the USA had "won" the Cold War after decades of conflict.
The new Russian Federation could at long last be our friends, or so we thought.
Let there be peace on Earth.
Tonight in 1991, Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev, President of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, resigned and peacefully ceded power to Boris Yeltsin as president of the new Russian Federation. The next day, the Supreme Soviet formally voted to dissolve itself and the 69-year-old Soviet Union.
December 25, 2025 at 4:50 PM
For those who were politically aware in the 1980s & 1990s this was a particularly dramatic event.
At the time, this felt like the USA had "won" the Cold War after decades of conflict.
The new Russian Federation could at long last be our friends, or so we thought.
Let there be peace on Earth.
At the time, this felt like the USA had "won" the Cold War after decades of conflict.
The new Russian Federation could at long last be our friends, or so we thought.
Let there be peace on Earth.
Reposted by Ross
And thus, what should have been a seismic shift in how we view our world and ourselves. Some of us received the message...others...*sigh* #Apollo8
« Joyeux Noël et que Dieu vous bénisse tous, vous tous sur la Terre ! »
La veille de Noël 1968, les astronautes d'Apollo 8, Frank Borman, Jim Lovell et Bill Anders, ont tourné autour de la Lune pour la première fois de l'histoire.
Ils ont pris en photo le « Lever de Terre ».
La veille de Noël 1968, les astronautes d'Apollo 8, Frank Borman, Jim Lovell et Bill Anders, ont tourné autour de la Lune pour la première fois de l'histoire.
Ils ont pris en photo le « Lever de Terre ».
December 25, 2025 at 4:26 PM
And thus, what should have been a seismic shift in how we view our world and ourselves. Some of us received the message...others...*sigh* #Apollo8
Reposted by Ross
the universe wishes you a merry christmas!
see? it even set up its own christmas tree 🎄
see? it even set up its own christmas tree 🎄
December 25, 2025 at 3:16 PM
the universe wishes you a merry christmas!
see? it even set up its own christmas tree 🎄
see? it even set up its own christmas tree 🎄
Reposted by Ross
Farm workers are silently in the background of all of our lives. They work tirelessly to deliver the food we eat, this holiday season especially! Thank farm workers and celebrate them this holiday season.
December 25, 2025 at 3:28 AM
Farm workers are silently in the background of all of our lives. They work tirelessly to deliver the food we eat, this holiday season especially! Thank farm workers and celebrate them this holiday season.
Reposted by Ross
The detail of Earth 🌍 captured in Bill Anders’ first color photo taken from lunar orbit on #christmaseve in 1968 #OTD really is amazing. This is a crop of AS08-14-2383, in its original orientation, from a scanned 70mm @nasa film original 16-bit TIFF file by a project team at Arizona State University
December 25, 2025 at 1:25 AM
The detail of Earth 🌍 captured in Bill Anders’ first color photo taken from lunar orbit on #christmaseve in 1968 #OTD really is amazing. This is a crop of AS08-14-2383, in its original orientation, from a scanned 70mm @nasa film original 16-bit TIFF file by a project team at Arizona State University