Ali
astromaker.bsky.social
Ali
@astromaker.bsky.social
Humanist software engineer. Woodwork, Astronomy and all things sciency.

More replies to others than original posts.
I have a couple of 'controversial' opinions but always try to be polite.
Apologies for all the clouds in the south-west of the UK over the last few days, I've just bought a new telescope.
October 14, 2025 at 10:09 AM
Here's Chambers dictionary. The adjective usage also describes someone of the female sex.

All of them match what I said. They all define the term "woman" as meaning adult human female and they all define the term "man" as meaning adult human male. Both noun and adjective.
October 14, 2025 at 9:30 AM
Well I just did politicalcompass.org/yourpolitica... and got this score so I think 'left leaning' is apt. It may be only this topic on which we disagree.
October 6, 2025 at 7:00 PM
In case the furry one goes down the predictable route of blocking me. Here are the last couple of messages I was responding to.
October 3, 2025 at 9:55 PM
This is the conversation I was commenting on (in case the furry one goes down the predictible route of blocking me)
October 3, 2025 at 9:52 PM
Just saw this on Facebook. Strikes me as classic heart-warming tale of an event that never actually happened, told to drive home some moral position ("... and everyone in the carriage stood up and clapped").
October 1, 2025 at 1:14 PM
Here's a couple of their responses before they blocked me.
September 28, 2025 at 2:22 PM
@moderation.bsky.app Here he is claiming to have written part of an algorithm that automatically labels accounts. Does the algorithm reflect his attitudes towards women?
August 7, 2025 at 10:24 AM
You're in a fairly exclusive list:
August 7, 2025 at 9:06 AM
Actually, I take it back. He hasn't blocked me. Just let me know I'm on a list.
August 7, 2025 at 8:03 AM
I replied to that one, pointing out the contradiction, and he blocked me. Another admission that he has lost the argument. Here's what I said:
August 7, 2025 at 7:55 AM
I know he butted into your discussion later but I wonder whether you think @drisobel.bsky.social is according 51% of the human population with basic respect here?
August 7, 2025 at 7:51 AM
Interesting. So you see blocking as a sign of 'losing the argument'?

And yet you are also looking forward to the ability to automatically block certain accounts based on a label?

This strikes me as contradictory. Or an admission that you have lost that argument and are a 'fragile snowflake'.
August 7, 2025 at 7:37 AM
August 7, 2025 at 7:21 AM
August 7, 2025 at 7:17 AM
That's not what @gohanprolife.bsky.social said and doesn't logically follow from it. They didn't say anything about what sex you are if you are XX and *do* have a Y chromosome only about what sex you are if you are XX and *don't* have a Y chromosome.
July 21, 2025 at 7:56 AM
Nitpicking a bit here, but that image does not show the shadow of the Earth. It show's the shadow of the moon (or part of the moon that is in shadow).

Here's the shadow of the Earth:
July 15, 2025 at 9:19 AM
She's quoting you now. Not sure who she's talking to in this post though since you can't hear her.
July 8, 2025 at 8:39 AM
Well, you've blocked her, so it would be tricky for her to learn now. You've made her bubble smaller and more in line with her current opinion. It is now less likely she'll see opposing points of view.
July 8, 2025 at 8:33 AM
Now this strikes me as a clear example of intolerance, and maybe even abuse.
June 24, 2025 at 1:22 PM
This saddens me. I'm all for the block button in response to threats or abuse but this was neither. It was reasoned expression of a belief protected by law and of a legal definition clarified by the supreme court.

This use of the block (& report) just reinforces both our personal bubbles.
June 24, 2025 at 12:44 PM
You've been kidnapped. A character of the last TV show you saw are going to rescue you. Who is coming to save you?
June 12, 2025 at 7:31 AM
That's very perceptive of you. They really didn't!
May 21, 2025 at 8:50 PM
True.
May 16, 2025 at 12:55 PM
As the article itself acknowledges:
May 12, 2025 at 3:45 PM