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The meeting has been scheduled for Tuesday, September 12, and some observers are guessing the updated vaccine could be released by the weekend of September 15:
COVID-19 Coronavirus Updates: August 30, 2023Post + Comments (57)
This post is in: COVID-19 Coronavirus, Foreign Affairs
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The meeting has been scheduled for Tuesday, September 12, and some observers are guessing the updated vaccine could be released by the weekend of September 15:
COVID-19 Coronavirus Updates: August 30, 2023Post + Comments (57)
by WaterGirl| 28 Comments
This post is in: On The Road, Photo Blogging
The sensors on digital camera can record a broader spectrum of light than what we can see, including infrared and ultraviolet light. So that our photos look normal to humans, camera manufactures put a filter called a hot mirror in front of the sensor to filter out light that humans can’t see. Unfortunately for photographers that take pictures of the night sky, this can present issues. Hydrogen is the most plentiful element in the universe and when it changes energy state in response to radiation like from say at star, it will release a photon with a wavelength of about 656nm. But the stock hot mirror in cameras will filter out most of this light. So what many astrophotographers will do is have their camera modified to remove the stock hot mirror and replace it with a filter that just blocks the IR/UV wavelengths.
I recently purchased a used Sony A7r, that I had modified. The modification that I had on the camera was a full spectrum modification, where they remove the hot mirror and replace it with a piece of glass to maintain the ability to autofocus and protect the sensor. I have a IR/UV cut filter that I clip into the camera body in the lens mount, so it is then effectively an astro mod. Having a full spectrum modification also allows me to shoot infrared with the appropriate filter. Many cameras have put in IR shutter timing lights(the newer Sonys and my Samsung NX300 have this) that make long exposures impossible with a full spectrum modification which is why I purchased an older Sony model.
I’ve been shooting with the A7r for about a month now, it was slow starting out since there are some things that you have to do differently with an astromod than what you would do with a stock camera. I’ve worked out most of the kinks and have the camera pretty much set up to get quality shots. All the shots below are from mid to late August at Kearsarge in the Owens Valley, Red Rock north of Mojave and Fossil Falls just south of the Owens Valley.
On The Road – BillinGlendaleCA – Astromod!Post + Comments (28)
Kearsarge is about 10 miles east of Independance CA, it is a particularly dark area and one of my favorite places to shoot. It was once a railroad depot for the line that ran from Nevada down the Owens Valley. This time of year the Milky Way core sinks pretty quickly in the southwest after dark, so it is hard to get a shot when there are mountains(the coast is better this time of year).
by Adam L Silverman| 98 Comments
This post is in: How about that weather?, Open Threads, Silverman on Security
Just a quick hurricane open thread. They’re now forecasting that Idalia to intensify to category 4 and make landfall at that strength. The track has not changed. It is going to come in just north of Cedar Key on the southeastern side closer to the apex of Florida’s Big Bend. Storm surge for that area is predicted to be 12 to 15 feet above ground level (AGL) maximum.
Where I’m at things are still fairly calm. It finally started to rain about two hours ago. The predicted maximum storm surge for Tampa Bay been reduced to 3 to 6 feet from 4 to 7 feet AGL. However, if you actually go and check the storm surge inundation/flooding map at the National Hurricane Center, the potential predicted flooding is only 1 foot AGL. This is all because the storm has stayed 100 miles off shore of the west coast as it heads north. This means my area is unlikely to even see tropical storm force winds except in the occasional gust. So while they’re still somewhat concerned about storm surge during the king tides this coming morning and then midday tomorrow for Tampa Bay, the forecasts are all now focusing on the Cedar Key area and the Big Bend because that’s where Idalia is going to make landfall. They’re also worried about some of the rivers that empty into the gulf north of the Tampa Bay area, but south of where Idalia should make landfall.
For those interested, here is one of the sites I’ve been checking over the past couple of days. This link is to the forecast model animation.
Open thread!
This post is in: Education, President Biden, Proud to Be A Democrat, Something Good Open Thread
President Biden surprises a class at a Washington, D.C. public school. pic.twitter.com/ddOlOHILvZ
— The Recount (@therecount) August 28, 2023
“Oh, my God, it’s really you!” shouted a student at Eliot-Hine Middle School in Washington, where President Biden stopped by to mark the new school year. There was so much squealing and excitement that one staffer marveled, “This is like the Beatles.” https://t.co/CFWDVXq7P5
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) August 29, 2023
Somewhere, Peter Baker is shaking his head sadly. These kids aren’t savvy enough to understand that Biden is ‘too old’ and ‘too Democrat’ to be worth covering!… [unpaywalled gift link]
… Biden, accompanied by first lady Jill Biden, first visited the lunchroom — where a big banner touted the school’s valued traits of “excellence, responsibility, integrity and communications.” Then they dropped by an eighth-grade math class at the 300-student campus.
In the classroom, decorated with colorful posters that displayed math symbols and the order of operations, one student proclaimed loudly, “Joe Biden!” The president hugged one excited child and talked about whether she could someday become president.
“The hardest thing is to come back after three months of not doing any work, not doing any homework,” Biden told the students. Their teacher, Heather Thomas, explained that the class would spend the day reviewing concepts from last school year to see what everyone remembered…
Eliot-Hine was chosen for the visit, in part, because it broke trends last year when its students scored higher on a standardized test known as the PARCC exam than they did before the pandemic. Elsewhere in the city, most students saw incremental gains from 2022 — when scores plunged after virtual learning — but have not yet fully recovered to match the scores from 2019.
Children there also outperformed their peers across the city on the reading exam, officials said. City leaders pointed to the school’s participation in high-impact tutoring programs — consistent and small-group instruction — and training for math teachers…
Despite recent successes, the president’s query about the most challenging subject in school was met with a unanimous “math.” English — the subject that Jill Biden teaches at Northern Virginia Community College — received much more enthusiasm.
The first lady will resume teaching Sept. 5, she told the classroom of eighth-graders. “I’ve been working on my lesson plans and what I’m going to do the first day, so I’m excited,” said Jill Biden, who is the first woman in her role to maintain a full-time job outside the White House. “What you probably don’t know about teachers is that no matter how long you’ve been teaching, the night before you can barely sleep because you’re so excited.”…
Something Positive Open Thread: Schoolhouse Joe Rocks!Post + Comments (171)
by Adam L Silverman| 63 Comments
This post is in: Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, Military, Open Threads, Silverman on Security, War, War in Ukraine
(Image by NEIVANMADE)
Housekeeping notes: 1) We’re set here. They have not called to evacuate anything but evacuation Zone A plus mobile homes. We’re not in Zone A. I’ve got everything prepped and now we just wait. So far we had one heavy squall line come through around 2:30 or so, beyond that its been light rain to drizzle with light to moderate wind. In fact if it stops raining for a bit I’ll probably walk the dogs after I finish the update. 2) I have an Anker PowerHouse, Compact 400Wh / 120000mAh Portable Outlet, but the AC adapter that you plug into the input to recharge it has gone missing since last year. It is 12V I emailed Anker customer service asking if I could order a new AC adapter directly from them, but all I got back was a large language model AI response that was not helpful at all. According to the product description it will fully recharge in 10.5 hours with a 16.8V=3A power supply. So if any of you all have a suggestion for a replacement AC adapter please let me know in the comments.
On August 29th 2014 the Russians violated the agreement that established a humanitarian corridor to evacuate Ukrainian military personnel from Ilovaisk. Rather than honor the agreement the Russians opened up on the retreating Ukrainians:
August 29, 2014. A tragedy in Ilovaisk. A day when russian forces, despite an agreement, fired upon Ukrainian columns in a humanitarian corridor.
A russian crime that marks the beginning of the Day of Remembrance of the Fallen Defenders of Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/zZacqM2OaF— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) August 29, 2023
The Russians have a history of violating these agreements and attacking humanitarian corridors. For instance, by attacking civilians evacuating through a humanitarian corridor in Chechnya in 1999. As well as several times in Ukraine over the past eighteen months, such as the attack on those evacuating Sumy.
There is not any agreement that the Ukrainians can make with the Russian government that can be relied upon.
As I was saying:
As for calls for negotiations with Putin, ask Mr. Prigozhin, not us. He had conflict with Putin, he successfully negotiated with Putin, ended that conflict. They agreed on security guarantees, and then Putin killed him – Kuleba. https://t.co/GfHHaqzsey
— Maria Avdeeva (@maria_avdv) August 29, 2023
Here is President Zelenskyy’s address from earlier today. Video below, English transcript after the jump.
War for Ukraine Day 552: the Anniversary of Russia’s War Crime in IlovaiskPost + Comments (63)
This post is in: Climate Change, How about that weather?, Open Threads
LIVE update from Cedar Key, Florida with thunderstorms well in advance of Hurricane #Idalia that is intensifying rapidly over the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico. A record 15 feet storm surge is expected throughout the nature coast. Stay safe everyone. Hurricane Idalia will be… pic.twitter.com/RZ0X9CiWLW
— Reed Timmer, PhD (@ReedTimmerAccu) August 29, 2023
August, come she must…
Earlier this afternoon, we used our new FloodFX Simulation technology to show what nine feet of #Idalia storm surge would look like in Cedar Key, Florida, where is stationed: pic.twitter.com/db70HozyIx
— The Weather Channel (@weatherchannel) August 29, 2023
This is what storm surge in Cedar Key will look like tonight. You cannot survive it.
Check on friends and family in the area, make sure they leave https://t.co/fOD8Qw5CvZ
— Brendon Leslie (@BrendonLeslie) August 29, 2023
Tuesday Evening Open Thread: Spare A Positive Thought for Florida…Post + Comments (90)
This post is in: FIFA Women's World Cup 2023, Guest Posts, Sports, The War On Women, Women's Rights
As promised yesterday, we have a guest post from Valdivia!
by Valdivia
It was not long after Olga Carmona’s banger of a goal that won the Spanish women’s team its first World Cup, that we got a glimpse of what the men who rule Spanish football had put these brilliant players through on the way to their victory.
Some of the tension was already visible as the players and Jorge Vilda’s coaching staff celebrated on opposite sides of the pitch, something even the Fox commentators noted as they narrated the moment.
The more eye-opening revelations were yet to come during the medal ceremony courtesy of Luis Rubiales—head of The Spanish Royal Football Federation (RFEF). As the players made their way through the congratulatory line, shaking hands with FIFA head Gianni Infantino and hugging Queen Letizia and her daughter, the Princess Sofia, each one of them was groped and man-handled by Rubiales. The most flagrant was the now infamous forced kiss that he gave Jenni Hermoso, one of the veterans of the team.
What followed has been the most sordid week we have ever witnessed in Spanish football, and I say this after having written about some of the other terrible aspects of the sport in Spain—the blatant racism of the players, journalists and fans, and the entrenched corruption that characterizes everything football.
Anne Laurie’s excellent post on Saturday night summarized most of the surreal goings since the award ceremony—the crotch grabbing that happened before he groped the players, the pressure on Hermoso and her family to cut a video with Rubiales to lessen the backlash he was experiencing, the fabrication of statements in which she was said to back him after she refused to help, the leak on Thursday night he would resign, and finally the eff you cherry on top of this misogynistic story, the Never Surrender speech on Friday.
It was not just that Rubiales refused to resign but that like every sexual harasser before him he used his speech to transform himself from abuser into abused.
In language that could have been lifted from the worst Harlequin romance from the 1970s he described Hermoso as the seducer who pulled him into her body, lifted him up in the air, then asked for a peck while calling him a ‘rockstar’.
I am sure I don’t need to tell you this is utter bullshit not just because we saw him groping her and forcing the kiss but because in no universe would any of these brilliant players call him—a mediocre, corrupt, and self aggrandizing ass—a rockstar.
Dark Habits – Men on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown?Post + Comments (134)