Come for the politics, stay for the snark.
1/n Some good news, according to CDC we’re almost at the lowest number of new Covid hospitalizations in the U.S.since the beginning of the pandemic… pic.twitter.com/Yw17S9b3tt
— Prof Peter Hotez MD PhD (@PeterHotez) April 13, 2024
Last night's update: 63,096 new cases, 768 new deaths https://t.co/lDtk1Yib1G
— BNO News (@BNOFeed) April 15, 2024
COVID-19 Coronavirus Updates: April 17, 2024Post + Comments (22)
I’ve been shooting nightscapes featuring the Milky Way for almost 7 years, shooting with 4 differenty cameras. First was with the Samsung NX500, then the NX1 which were smaller sensor cameras. Last year I moved to a full frame camera with the Sony A7iv which has better light gathering abilities as well as a wider field of view.
In July, I added the astro converted A7r to my toolkit. This was turning point in my astrophotography journey: first, when I took my first shots of the Milky Way, everything was red, so I had to set a custom white balance to get everything to look “normal”; second, I started to take more narrow field shots of nebula and galaxies(you’ve seen some of those here at On The Road). The later change in focus, lead to considering different processing software than I’d been using in the past(Sequator, Lightroom, and Photoshop) as well as differing techniques to process these photos. Most of the experienced deep space use a program called PixInsight at $250 is a bit out of my price range, so I went with Sirli a free open source app which had just been updated with many improvements and leaned how to use it thanks to the wonderful videos by Rich at Deep Space Astro on YouTube.
I’ve been mostly confined to home the past 5 months, first due to a tire on the Prius that I’ve not been able to get replaced, by work, by inclement weather that seems to coincide with my days off from work and the disaster with my star tracker that I mentioned on my last appearance on these pages.
This has given me time to think about some of the shots I’ve taken in the past and ways to make them better. I’ve had two problems with my more recent work(say the last 5 years), light pollution leading to discoloration of the Milky Way and lack of contrast, and color consistency between my shots. The Milky Way core in even my most recent shots has varied with too much yellow and too much red, the portion of the Milky Way above the core was usually hard to see, since increasing the brightness and contrast there affected the rest of the picture, even using a gradient.
I could go with what a fellow photographer on a FB page devoted to the Mojave desert produces, white stars and a dark blue background but I want to capture the violent and chaotic nature of the core of galaxy with stars of many colors drawn to the center of the galaxy by the super massive black hole and the swirling clouds of dust. Sirli helps in two aspects, I have more control over the light pollution by being able to do what is called Background Extraction that removes gradients in the shot and Color Calibration that neutralizes the background color and I can calibrate the same set of stars for each shot. I’m pretty happy with the results.
If you like these shots, consider subscribing to my Patreon at BillinGlendaleCA | creating Photos | Patreon.
On The Road – BillinGlendaleCA – The Milky Way Reimagined.Post + Comments (29)
I grew up in TO, I never remember seeing the Milky Way. When I was hiking down to Point Mugu State Park, I noticed these peaks and thought it would be a great foreground for a Milky Way shot, if only the light pollution wasn’t so bad. I decided to try anyway. When I arrived the Milky Way was barely visible, and only if you knew where to look. I snapped 40 shots with my NX1 and a foreground shot with the landscape being lit by the street lights behind me. I shared those shots with you last year. With these shots, after background extraction and color calibration, as I stretched the image to brighten it, it was like watching the image start to appear on the photo paper back in my darkroom as a teenager in TO.
MBS is such a visionary leader that he will achieve the once impossible feat of bankrupting Saudi Arabia https://t.co/1LWKAaR75D
— Alexander Clarkson (@APHClarkson) April 4, 2024
Man, who would have guessed that 105-mile-long glass-walled megacity in Saudi Arabia might not come to fruition after all. https://t.co/8T06I5MTet
— Eric Fish (@ericfish85) April 13, 2024
Continuing the theme of ‘rich narcissists embarrassing themselves’… Per the Guardian, “End of the Line? Saudi Arabia ‘forced to scale back’ plans for desert megacity”:
It was billed as a glass-walled city of the future, an ambitious centrepiece of the economic plan backed by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to transition Saudi Arabia away from oil dependency.
Now, however, plans for the mirror-clad desert metropolis called the Line have been scaled down and the project, which was envisaged to stretch 105 miles (170km) is expected to reach just a mile and a half by 2030.
Dreamed up as a linear city that would eventually be home to about 9 million people on a footprint of just 13 sq miles, the Line is part of a wider Neom project. Now at least one contractor has begun dismissing workers.
The scaling down of Prince Mohammed’s most grandiose project was reported by Bloomberg, which said it had seen documents relating to the project.
The project, which had been slated to cost $1.5tn (£1.2tn), was pitched as a reinvention of urban design. However, it has long attracted scepticism and criticism, not least after the reported execution of several members of the Howeitat tribe who had protested over plans to construct on their ancestral lands.
Then there were reports of Prince Mohammed’s changing vision for the project, budget overspends and an ever-changing roster of key staff, with some who have worked on the project describing it as “untethered from reality”.
Cold Grey Pre-Dawn Open Thread: Fading Neom DreamsPost + Comments (86)
Just too funny not to share.
Here’s Trump re-enacting the share price pic.twitter.com/KFMcR7JJrd
— Daniel (@kacang_tua) April 16, 2024
DougJ After Dark
Speaker Mike Johnson is facing rebellion within the Republican conference. Can Lauren Boebert lend a hand to firm up support?
— New York Times Pitchbot (@DougJBalloon) April 16, 2024
Open thread!
We know what “they doin ova der,” they’re making things worse.
I’m going to try to keep this brief tonight, but we have a lot to cover and a significant chunk is the GOP majority in the House of Representatives is eating itself.
https://twitter.com/NewsHour/status/1780007475401351241
https://twitter.com/AndrewSolender/status/1780036799248634107
From Axios:
House Democrats were incensed at the Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan aid plan House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) rolled out on Monday — but they are not ruling out saving it if necessary.
Why it matters: Several Republican hardliners who are opposed to Ukraine aid and irked by a lack of border security language have not ruled out sabotaging a key procedural vote that typically passes along party lines.
- “I have a hard time believing we’re going to give something to Ukraine without doing our border,” said Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.).
- Some are also perturbed about the process: Rep. Dan Bishop (R-N.C.) said it is “a process to a predetermined outcome … designed to appear open.”
- “I think it’s going to take Democrats to pass the rule,” one House Democrat told Axios.
Driving the news: The House is expected to hold four separate votes, including on aid packages for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.
What they’re saying: The predominant reaction of Democrats on Monday was irritation that Johnson is not simply holding a vote on the Senate bill.
- “We have delayed this now for months, because this party is so dysfunctional … they’re constantly trying to pander to every faction,” former House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) told Axios.
- Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) said “like everything these guys do, it’s an exercise in improvisation … it just speaks to the recklessness and cluelessness of this Republican majority.”
- “They just can’t bring themselves to do the right thing, the obvious thing, put the damn Senate bill on the floor,” Huffman added.
Yes, but: Several moderate and swing-district Democrats signaled that they would be open to voting for the rule through gritted teeth if necessary.
- “This is one of the most critical votes that we’ll take, so I’m very open to whatever it takes to get this done,” said Rep. Greg Landsman (D-Ohio).
- Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.) told Axios: “Republicans have played politics with this … for six months. I would hope that my colleagues don’t play politics with it either.”
- “Look, I mean, the people back home, they want bipartisanship and I want to give it to them,” said Rep. Eric Sorensen (D-Ill.).
Between the lines: “It is a desperate situation in Ukraine, and Democrats are very driven to get aid to Ukraine at this point,” said Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.).
What to watch: Some Democrats said their votes would likely depend on the inclusion of humanitarian aid in the bill.
- Hoyer said excising that funding would be “irresponsible” and “inimical to the interests of the United States.”
- “It’s very hard for me to vote for a rule under any circumstances, but to vote for a rule … without the humanitarian issues, that’s going to be very hard,” said Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.).
More at the link!
https://twitter.com/mkraju/status/1780235552643551649
This means — after Gallagher resigns — Johnson would almost certainly need Democrats to save his job if the motion to oust him comes up for a vote.
Democratic Rep. Jared Moskowitz says he would save Mike Johnson’s job if MTG brings motion to oust him.
Others like Democratic Rep. Tom Suozzi also said they would vote to save Johnson
“Democrats don’t even let her rename post offices, I’m not gonna let her make a motion to vacate,” Moskowitz told me
That’s funny because it’s true!
https://twitter.com/IAPonomarenko/status/1780308627674267890
Oy vey!
Members of the GOP House majority are using this mess of their own making to advance their own ambitions for power:
https://twitter.com/MZanona/status/1780365054698811633
NEW: House Republicans are privately questioning Johnson’s long-term political future — and some are quietly positioning themselves for possible leadership shakeup further down the line.
Emmer’s moves being watched closely. He’s repaired relationship w/ Trump & attended roundtable with Trump ahead of PA rally. Some allies also trying to gauge his standing in GOP, tho Emmer not involved and is fully behind Johnson.
new details w/ @AnnieGrayerCNN & @mkraju
https://cnn.com/2024/04/16/politics/mike-johnson-revolt-house-gop-leadership
Because of course they are!
Here is President Zelenskyy’s address from earlier today. Video below, English transcript after the jump.
I thought I would enjoy the Trump trial, but I’m not. I know it hasn’t even started, but I think what it is is that I AM JUST SO FUCKING SICK AND TIRED OF HIM. This has gone on forever. Longer than Bush. Longer than Reagan. At this point, they were both winding down their 8-10 years in the spotlight after their campaigns and two respective terms.
But Trump just is never going to fucking go away. Ever. It’s maddening.
New: Biden and the first lady paid $146,629 in federal income taxes on a combined $619,976 in adjusted gross income in 2023 — meaning the first family paid an effective federal income tax of 23.7% — according to tax filings released by the White House, @justinsink reports.
— Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) April 15, 2024
From the Associated Press, “Tax Day reveals a major split in how Joe Biden and Donald Trump would govern”:
Tax Day reveals a major split in how Joe Biden and Donald Trump would govern: The presidential candidates have conflicting ideas about how much to reveal about their own finances and the best ways to boost the economy through tax policy.
Biden, the sitting Democratic president, released his income tax returns on the IRS deadline of Monday. Filing jointly with his wife, Jill, he reported gross income of $619,976 and paid a federal income tax rate of 23.7%…
Biden is proud to say that he was largely without money for much of his decades-long career in public service, unlike Trump, who inherited hundreds of millions of dollars from his father and used his billionaire status to launch a TV show and later a presidential campaign.
“For 36 years, I was listed as the poorest man in Congress,” Biden told donors in California in February. “Not a joke.”
In 2015, Trump declared as part of his candidacy, “I’m really rich.”
Tuesday Evening Open Thread: The President’s TaxesPost + Comments (55)