a rock or something
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rockorsmth.bsky.social
a rock or something
@rockorsmth.bsky.social
1.3K followers 230 following 130 posts
Views are not my employers'. She/her.
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rockorsmth.bsky.social
Introduce yourself with four spaceships.
The cockpit of the Space Shuttle Atlantis. Two bare-bones chairs, a lot of 70s/80s monitors with system indications, and even more analog switches and readouts. The bridge of the Star Cruiser Halcyon, late of Star Wars / Walt Disney World. Several huge viewports overlooking a blue planet, a blue central table, and a dozen or two consoles with assorted toggles/switches. The ship's atrium is visible through a large pill-shaped window opposite the forward viewports. The Command Information Center of the Normandy SR-2 from Mass Effect, with a large holographic galaxy map at the center. Several consoles from the bridge of the Starship Enterprise as seen in Strange New Worlds, with monitors showing displays of ship systems in orange and white edge lighting on almost every surface.
November 25, 2025 at 2:02 AM
rockorsmth.bsky.social
The new batch of Cocktail & Sons fassionola is coming out soon, meaning I can finally stop hoarding last year's, so celebrating the application being finished tonight with a Hurricane.
Cw: alcohol A dark orange drink (hurricane: 2 oz rum, 1 oz fassionola, 1 oz lemon juice) served over crushed ice in an old Apollo 11 souvenir cup and garnished with a blown-out paper umbrella.
October 21, 2025 at 12:15 AM
rockorsmth.bsky.social
I met the world's cutest integrating sphere at NIST this week.
A blue on the outside, white on the inside integrating sphere (object that scatters light that enters through one of its apertures around its inside surface to homogenize it before it enters a detector). The position of one of the bottom holes makes one of the top holes look like a big, cute cartoon eye.
October 2, 2025 at 3:05 PM
rockorsmth.bsky.social
It's been 5 years so most of my memories of this book are fuzzy, but the #1 thing I remember was really wanting Handler to get a hug (to the extent that I made fanart of Lori doing so), so I'm glad to hear I wasn't the only person with that reaction.
The large eye of an interdimensional anglerfish, who is being hugged by the ethereal figure of a human girl on a tether.
September 9, 2025 at 6:23 PM
rockorsmth.bsky.social
:\
cherry blossoms in front of the jefferson memorial a Christmas tree and a menorah in Union Station Washington Monument on a cloudy day the Metro Center wmata station
August 12, 2025 at 4:21 AM
rockorsmth.bsky.social
horrible place to live, definitely don't miss it terribly every single day or anything
a city block in NoMa with colorful townhouses, high-rise apartments and the Capitol in the background, and tall golden clouds my dog yawning in front of a statue of Grant, the Capitol reflecting pool, and the US Capitol greenhouse of the United States Botanic Garden water feature seen from the cafe of the National Museum of the American Indian
August 12, 2025 at 4:16 AM
rockorsmth.bsky.social
Post your last photo of DC to show what a hell-hole it is. [I think the subjects of my last photo in DC might be somewhat upset at that characterization]
the last photo I took in Washington DC: Joseph and Jesus, among others, at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, where I went to church when I lived nearby
August 12, 2025 at 4:16 AM
rockorsmth.bsky.social
(with a more typically handsome photo taken the same week attached for context)
My dog, sitting on a rug, wearing a Thanksgiving word collage bandana my sister made him and looking like ET My dog nobly seeking treats near the Eckington dog park
July 21, 2025 at 2:28 PM
rockorsmth.bsky.social
only 1582 here, which is kind of surprising, and at least one of them is actually a bowl of chocolate Honey Bunches of Oats with Lucky Charms marshmallows in it 🤷‍♀️
a blue glass bowl full of chocolate-coated cereal flakes and little rainbow-shaped freeze-dried marshmallows. the counter it's sitting on its granite, which i guess is where the AI "rock" classification is coming from? idk
July 13, 2025 at 9:46 PM
rockorsmth.bsky.social
Back in the US after IAVCEI 2025 and a few days off afterwards! It was great to see colleagues (some for the first time in person!) and to absorb so many thought-provoking talks and posters.
The Jet D'Eau, a landmark 150m high water fountain in Geneva, Switzerland. It was lit up in "magmatic red" in honor of the IAVCEI Scientific Assembly 2025 being held in the city.
July 10, 2025 at 5:44 PM
rockorsmth.bsky.social
Our wedding was also at a planetarium, and the cake had Viking, Voyager, Hubble, MESSENGER and a few others on it. My husband cut me the MESSENGER piece. 💙
Blue four tiered wedding cake with the Chicago skyline at the bottom and various planets and spacecraft on higher tiers. There are white orchids and a tiny moon globe on top. A different side of the same cake, showing MESSENGER.
May 10, 2025 at 7:56 PM
rockorsmth.bsky.social
Assembly complete, now a sprint to get the electronics working together right…
A blue and white animatronic BD unit droid from Star Wars. He is very cute.
May 5, 2025 at 6:50 PM
rockorsmth.bsky.social
Almost done with assembly! Just two more servos left to install, a dozen or so bolts left to turn, and then it’s on to the Arduinos.
April 30, 2025 at 11:19 PM
rockorsmth.bsky.social
Body assembled and body tilt servo working nicely! Now time to put the project aside again til after a work weekend and two big work weeks. Hopefully after that it'll just take a few evenings to put his head together and troubleshoot the electronics, and then I can start customizing his software.
April 2, 2025 at 2:20 PM
rockorsmth.bsky.social
Done with legs as of last night and should get to the body today. (Sorry for the shaky cam. I am not skilled at Content.) Hoping this project improves my electronics/Arduino skills in a way that might help my job search, but more immediately hoping to wear him on my shoulder for a con or Halloween.
March 30, 2025 at 2:37 PM
rockorsmth.bsky.social
Had some time this weekend for my little happiness project: printing, finishing, and building an animatronic Star Wars BD unit (from the MrBaddeley plans available online). Going for a G3 iMac aesthetic but might do some weathering when I’m done to make him look more Star Wars.
The feet and lower legs of a bipedal buddy droid from Star Wars. He is 3D printed in white and blue translucent plastic, through which metal bearings and black, red, and white wires can be seen in the hollow parts. The solid parts are printed with a honeycomb fill pattern.
March 30, 2025 at 2:37 PM
rockorsmth.bsky.social
"mom can we stop at X and get Y meme" but for worms from Mars
March 13, 2025 at 6:42 AM
rockorsmth.bsky.social
Just looked at my profile and it's been a while since I've posted anything positive, so here is a photo of my dog from a year or two ago that made me smile this morning.
a yellow brindle dog sitting on a fluffy dog bed and smiling at the camera with his tongue out.
March 10, 2025 at 10:00 PM
rockorsmth.bsky.social
sometimes post terrestrial geology photos or science art, rarely post about helicopters, and occasionally post about video games, various sci-fi/fantasy/etc. books/shows/movies, ice hockey, etc. (2/2)
digital painting of a snow-covered mountain digital sketch of Herðubreið in Iceland digital halftone painting of a lunar rille digital painting of Venus
December 20, 2024 at 7:48 PM
rockorsmth.bsky.social
Sorry for the silence lately (partly due to work on the air-LUSI campaign at NASA AFRC, which I'll post more about later), but: hello to everyone who joined me from the Planetary Scientists Starter Pack! I'm a geologist, climate scientist, + helicopter pilot. I mostly post about Mars volcanoes (1/2)
CTX image of cool, concha-like texture on a lava flow near Arsia Mons, Mars HiRISE image of dark slope streaks running down the side of a ridge near Olympus Mons, Mars HiRISE image of solidified lava "waterfall" cascading down the basal cliff of Olympus Mons, Mars CTX image of probably-aeolian ridges in between larger, more mysterious ridges near Olympus Mons, Mars
December 20, 2024 at 7:43 PM
rockorsmth.bsky.social
(Alternatively: Cú Chulainn is a That Little Green Dinosaur from Cut The Rope.)
The same dog looking much less tough
August 10, 2024 at 3:42 PM
rockorsmth.bsky.social
What breed is your pet?
(Wrong answers only)

Cú Chulainn is a Pumpkin Spice Mabari.
Brindle dog with a black snout and black ears standing in a pile of leaves.
August 10, 2024 at 3:33 PM
rockorsmth.bsky.social
Really enjoyed making these figures--I took a quick personal trip to Iceland to get the photos and the weather was cloudier than ideal for clarity but very dramatic.
Sketch of the Martian ridge we studied as it looks now, with layered lobes and covered in unconsolidated material with slope streaks Sveifluháls, Iceland; layered black volcanic ridge with clouds settling into the top Black and white photo of Helgafell, Iceland; layered tephra mound with a cloud settling into the top
July 29, 2024 at 5:41 PM
rockorsmth.bsky.social
The 2nd paper from my NPP postdoc is now available (open access) in GRL! HiRISE imaged a layered, steep-sided ridge in the glacial deposits near the Pavonis Mons volcano on Mars; we argue that it formed from volcano-ice (and volcano-water) interaction. agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/...
Figure 1 from the paper. Inset a: a map showing the distribution of glacial deposits, including the ridge we studied, next to Pavonis Mons. Inset b: a map showing where Pavonis Mons is on Mars. Main image: the population of ridges including the one we studied. Figure 2 from the paper, showing the ridge and a neighboring ridge in detail. Figure 3 from the paper, showing a 3-d rendering of the ridge and comparing it to three similar ridges in Iceland. Figure 4 from the paper: a sketch showing the sequence of events by which we argue the ridge formed.
July 29, 2024 at 5:24 PM
rockorsmth.bsky.social
a friendly Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter from one of my pomodoro breaks from writing today at work
an index card with a watercolor and pen sketch of the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The background is a magenta-to-blue gradient with a few flakes of metallic sparkle and the spacecraft is orange with blue solar arrays and a blue circular antenna.
May 16, 2024 at 10:22 PM