@elaterite@fosstodon.org cover
@elaterite@fosstodon.org avatar

elaterite

@elaterite@fosstodon.org

Professional fine art photographer & art framer. All photos edited using Darktable on a Linux box & licensed Creative Commons BY-SA 4.0. I do not use machine learning apps. Any composites will be clearly noted. Mostly following science, history, & photography toots. Formerly, I was a civil rights & energy policy troublemaker. Also, former netcast producer & host for the Plug In America Show, This Week in Energy, & an occasional show for Hacker Public Radio.

This profile is from a federated server and may be incomplete. For a complete list of posts, browse on the original instance.

futurebird , to random
@futurebird@sauropods.win avatar

If you see a new youTube channel with a plain sounding name like "NatureView" or "BrightScience" etc. and there is what looks like a tempting video on a specific education topic "Most Active Volcanoes" or "Incredible Carnivorous Plants"

There is a 50/50 chance it will be a generated voice with stock footage and a script written by GPT.

I am now avoiding videos if I don't recognize the creator, or don't see signs it was made by a person.

So much spam!

elaterite ,
@elaterite@fosstodon.org avatar

@futurebird It's way past time that machine learning content be clearly labeled --by law and with severe penalties for not doing so.

Nonilex , to random
@Nonilex@masto.ai avatar

Many allies had been secretly rooting for an . The talking points wrote themselves: It would have been yet more evidence that the system was rigged in favor of & against Trumps. Tues’s was inconvenient to that narrative.

Even more valuable would have been the potential.


https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/11/us/politics/donald-trump-hunter-biden.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare&sgrp=c-cb

elaterite ,
@elaterite@fosstodon.org avatar

@Nonilex I'm waiting for them to start saying that he threw his son under the bus.

elaterite , to random
@elaterite@fosstodon.org avatar

The world lost a giant on 6/9 when Edward C. Stone passed away. Stone was the Voyager Project Scientist from 1972-2022 & JPL Director from 1991-2001. The Voyager 1 & 2 spacecraft, launched in 1977 & after exploring the outer planets, both still send data back to our little world from interstellar space. Voyager 1 is 15,147,896,591mi from Earth & Voyager 2 is 12,650,479,389mi from Earth. One-way light time for Voyager 1 is 22:35:16 & for Voyager 2 18:51:50. https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/ed-stone-former-director-of-jpl-and-voyager-project-scientist-dies

elaterite , to random
@elaterite@fosstodon.org avatar

Storm clouds along the eastern front range of the Sierra. That's Mono Lake in the foreground.

A black and white landscape photo of a rain squall over the foothills of a mountain range. In the foreground is sagebrush, a lake's shoreline, lake water to the right, a line of short spiky rock formations extending out into the lake. In the background are dark clouds pouring rain along a line of dark mountains. A bit of bright light is seen in the center left edge of the frame.
ALT
  • Reply
    • Nonilex , to random
    @Nonilex@masto.ai avatar

    #TrumpTrial Thurs 30 May 2024 🧵#Deliberations continue

    Justice #Merchan says he believes that the #jury wants him to repeat a significant portion of the #JuryInstructions.

    He will read pages 6-35.

    Each page yesterday took him just a little more than a minute, so this will take >30 mins.

    Between that & the testimony readbacks, also expected to take >30 mins, there will likely be >1 hour this morning w/the jury in the courtroom, not actively deliberating.

    #criminal #law #Trump

    elaterite ,
    @elaterite@fosstodon.org avatar

    @Nonilex OMG!!!

    elaterite ,
    @elaterite@fosstodon.org avatar

    @Nonilex OMG--this is surreal. But it makes me happy AF!

    elaterite ,
    @elaterite@fosstodon.org avatar

    @Nonilex Me too. Really wasn't expecting this at all. And they reached a verdict after such a short deliberation. Clearly, it was a no brainer. (And thanks so much for the live toots over the course of the trial.)

    Jgbird , to random
    @Jgbird@mas.to avatar

    One of my favorites. It took about a year before I could make sense of what the hummingbirds were doing. And I suppose it took them a year to be completely fearless when I was around. It finally happened. If there’s something you think you can do, you probably can.

    elaterite ,
    @elaterite@fosstodon.org avatar

    @Jgbird Beautiful photos! Jerome, your hummingbird shots are by far the best I've ever see! I'm always stunned when I see them in my feed. May I ask about your setup? Do you use a fill light or reflector at all?

    elaterite ,
    @elaterite@fosstodon.org avatar

    @Jgbird Ha, well my recommendation is don't change anything. You make spectacular photos!

    elaterite , to random
    @elaterite@fosstodon.org avatar

    So this is the place in Doyle, Calif, that I first stopped to photograph the aurora. I could easily see the vertical column structures while driving down the highway! I didn't stay long because some residents turned on a bunch of lights & came out with barking dogs &c. I moved to a spot further away. Wish I could have stayed because the railroad people were assembling the train & I may have captured some interesting lights of moving trains.

    A color photo of the aurora. There are train tracks on the right side of the frame with yellow train boxcars on the tracks. There are three trees in the foreground left side and some lights in the far distance. The sky is green on the horizon, then a little bit of yellow, and finally a wide band of red. Stars are also visible in the sky.
    ALT
  • Reply
    • Glastomichelle , to random
    @Glastomichelle@c.im avatar

    To say I am blown away is an understatement, What a night! Glastonbury Tor and the Aurora...incredible.

    elaterite ,
    @elaterite@fosstodon.org avatar

    @Glastomichelle Wow!!!

    Jgbird , to random
    @Jgbird@mas.to avatar

    Here’s a closer photo of a roadrunner from a golf course several years back. They are surprisingly large birds!

    elaterite ,
    @elaterite@fosstodon.org avatar

    @Jgbird Very nice! Roadrunners are cool!

    Nonilex , to random
    @Nonilex@masto.ai avatar

    Presidential #MedalOfFreedom awarded today to 19 recipients by #POTUS #Biden

    (In no particular order)

    1. #ClarenceBJones, 93, was honored for his activism during the Civil Rights Movement. He’s a lawyer who provided legal counsel to Martin Luther King Jr. & helped write the opening paragraphs of the “I Have a Dream” speech that King delivered at the Lincoln Memorial at the 1963 March on Washington.

    1/

    elaterite ,
    @elaterite@fosstodon.org avatar

    @Nonilex Thanks for listing those honorees. Mostly all deserving of the award.

    dillyd , to random
    @dillyd@allies.social avatar

    Today I visited Lake Crescent, the Hoh Rainforest, and the Sol Duc Falls, in Washington, US, on a rare sunny day. (The Twilight series was set in this region because it has the highest cloud cover of the entire US, so we were really lucky to have the sun.)
    Going over my camera roll now and I just keep gasping out loud at the beauty. I'm going to have so many photos to post!!!
    #pnw

    elaterite ,
    @elaterite@fosstodon.org avatar

    @dillyd Nice! Can't wait to see them. I really need to visit that area again sometime.

    Tamami , to random
    @Tamami@mastodon.art avatar

    How did this happen? It's May. Already May. I don't really know, but it's May.

    And I know that I didn't do the for the month of April. Forgive me, as we had one heck of a month... It's related to husband's health.

    Fear not, I am going to be selecting two pieces to giveaway soon. Stay tuned, and watch for the hashtag!

    elaterite ,
    @elaterite@fosstodon.org avatar

    @Tamami I think all of your work, that I've seen, is worthy to hang on someone's wall.

    elaterite , to random
    @elaterite@fosstodon.org avatar

    What's this boring looking thing? It's anything but boring, although its mission is like watching grass grow until it's hit by an ultrahigh energy cosmic ray! This is an element of the Telescope Array Cosmic Observatory west of Delta, Utah. It's one of 507 scintillator detectors that are spread across ~270^2 miles. Since 2008, 30 ultra-high-energy cosmic particles have been detected. Thus far, there's no explanation for their extreme energy or their origin.

    #Astronomy #AstroPhysics #Desert

    A color photo of a rectangular rust colored metal device sitting on a light tan color dry lake bed with sparse low vegetation. The device is a metal rack ~8 feet long and 4 feet wide. On top of the rack is a narrow rectangular box with a slight crown in the middle to shed rain water. An ~3x3 foot solar panel is attached at a nearly vertical position on the far end. Next to the panel is a pole supporting a small flat antenna to transmit data to a central hub.
    ALT
  • Reply
    • + Npars01
    dillyd , to random
    @dillyd@allies.social avatar

    [Thread, post or comment was deleted by the author]

    •
    elaterite ,
    @elaterite@fosstodon.org avatar

    @dillyd I live in the US and that's what they look like to me. It's absolutely absurd and disgusting.

    elaterite , to random
    @elaterite@fosstodon.org avatar

    Nice! Using parametric masks in Darktable I was able to enhance the extremely faded green pictographs in this panel! Green is a very rare color to see in Utah Four Corners area pictographs.

    #RockArt #Archeology #Canyon #Desert #Photography #Darktable

    A color photo of a white and green pictograph on a dark tan sandstone cliff face. The white part is in two parallel lines. The top line begins on the left with a zigzag shaped that then four triangles. Two green upside down triangles fill in the space between the white triangles one, two, and three. Below the top line are what appear to be green hand prints, then some white markings, and then several white hand prints.
    ALT
  • Reply
    • + rodbotic
    ElleGray , to random
    @ElleGray@mstdn.social avatar

    incredible book cover

    elaterite ,
    @elaterite@fosstodon.org avatar

    @ElleGray Good grief!

    elaterite , to random
    @elaterite@fosstodon.org avatar

    Cactus flowers are the best. This is a Echinocereus or hedgehog cactus. It's an early bloomer on the Colorado Plateau.

    elaterite , to random
    @elaterite@fosstodon.org avatar

    National Park Service needs help identifying public land vandals at Lake Mead National Recreation Area. If you can help ID these clowns please contact the Park at 702-293-8990. https://www.npr.org/2024/04/16/1245062311/lake-mead-rock-formations-destroyed

    Two men on a red sandstone cliff are toppling a large boulder over the edge. The man on the right looks to be very heavy set and is wearing a long sleeve red shirt, light blue pants, and tennis shoes. He has short brown hair and a beard. He is bent over trying to push a large boulder over the cliff's edge. The man on the left is dressed in black with a short-sleeved tee-shirt. He appears to be loosing a second boulder.
    ALT
  • Reply
    • + Npars01, pluralistic
    Glastomichelle , to random
    @Glastomichelle@c.im avatar

    The morning after the storm. Today on Glastonbury Tor about 20 minutes before sunrise.

    elaterite ,
    @elaterite@fosstodon.org avatar

    @Glastomichelle On fire! Very nice!

    Glastomichelle , to random
    @Glastomichelle@c.im avatar

    A bit windy this morning, gusting at 55mph so I decided not to go up the top of Glastonbury Tor today and stuck to the lanes. A brief flash of colour in amongst the storm clouds just after sunrise.

    elaterite ,
    @elaterite@fosstodon.org avatar

    @Glastomichelle Very nice! I think this is the first time I am aware that you didn't walk up to the Tor. I'll bet those clouds are really whipping by at a fast rate!

    luckytran , to random
    @luckytran@med-mastodon.com avatar

    You gotta respect the New York hustle

    elaterite ,
    @elaterite@fosstodon.org avatar

    @luckytran Good grief.

    dillyd , to random
    @dillyd@allies.social avatar

    [Thread, post or comment was deleted by the author]

    •
    elaterite ,
    @elaterite@fosstodon.org avatar

    @dillyd @andrewbriscoe Wow, lucky you! Similar to Andrew I know of several people who went to southern Texas for viewing the eclipse. Right now the weather outlook for them is very poor. That's where I was thinking of going as well. Now I'm glad I didn't.

    elaterite ,
    @elaterite@fosstodon.org avatar

    @dillyd @andrewbriscoe Me no, it's too far to go. I'll watch the partial eclipse from Reno, Nevada. I'm sure glad I caught the 2017 total eclipse up in eastern Oregon. Really an amazing experience!

    elizabethtasker , (edited ) to random
    @elizabethtasker@mastodon.online avatar

    Yikes! Big quake: major shake even on the ground floor and it triggered the (previously unknown) warning alarm at the co-working space 😳

    (Edit: "Big" for the regular wobble, but still (I think) fairly regular. M5.3 with epicenter in Ibaraki, which is moderately close.)

    elaterite ,
    @elaterite@fosstodon.org avatar

    @elizabethtasker This one? https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/ci40691096/executive

    elaterite ,
    @elaterite@fosstodon.org avatar

    @elizabethtasker Oh, then it must be this one. Ya, that's a good shaker at M5.2. https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/us6000mk4v/executive

    scalzi , to random
    @scalzi@mastodon.social avatar

    Spent the last week on the JoCo Cruise, which was delightful, especially because on the last day of the cruise we had a surprise performer, fresh from his Oscar win

    (Edit of my photo by John Hudgens)

    elaterite ,
    @elaterite@fosstodon.org avatar

    @scalzi Oh, wow, Godzilla walks on water now, yikes!

    elaterite , to random
    @elaterite@fosstodon.org avatar

    Berlin, Nevada (9/7/2023).

    elaterite , to random
    @elaterite@fosstodon.org avatar

    A Strix nebulosa I saw in Grand Teton National Park a few years back. Great grey owls are one of the most amazing creatures. Their ability to hover, hear prey under lots of snow, and dive up to a foot into the snow to catch prey is amazing!

    Glastomichelle , to random
    @Glastomichelle@c.im avatar

    Sunset tonight in Glastonbury. The tower was like a beacon of light and hope.

    elaterite ,
    @elaterite@fosstodon.org avatar

    @Glastomichelle Very nice! Is that hill the Tor is on artificial or natural? And did you make this photo with a drone or from another hill? Very nice capture!

    elizabethtasker , to random
    @elizabethtasker@mastodon.online avatar

    I’m in a long line for the bag drop at the airport. A robotic cart joined the queue. It alternated between demanding people move in Japanese and English, and voicing the same demands at a variety of barriers.

    People have done their best to acquiesce to its demands, but it’s now stationary and shouting in multiple languages.

    elaterite ,
    @elaterite@fosstodon.org avatar

    @elizabethtasker I think I'd pull the the battery out of it and hide it somewhere. Or flip the switch to off. Or take a wad of gum, or piece of tape, and stick it over the sensor(s). Or just sit on it and demand that it take me to an exit.

    lauren , to random
    @lauren@mastodon.laurenweinstein.org avatar

    Years ago I wrote a series of April Fools Day columns for CACM (Communications of the ACM, a prestigious computer tech journal). They ultimately started labeling them explicitly as parody pieces, because some readers actually believed they were factual, despite being way over the top on issues such as teleportation, the conversion of the U.S. power grid from A.C. to D.C., and so on.

    I ran into the same problem with a parody video I made many years ago in the style of a 1960s classified military film about the Internet. Again, some viewers thought it was legit, including some who really should have known better. I went back and labeled it as a parody.

    Sometime later an expert on propaganda contacted me about the video and told me why some viewers thought it was real, even though it too was so outrageously over the top. He told me that I had (unwittingly and unknowingly) hit a series of cues that cause people to put aside their logic and accept material purely on an emotional level.

    I found (and still find) this phenomenon to be very disconcerting, especially in an age of AI-generated misinformation and purposeful disinformation.

    Human nature doesn't change.

    elaterite ,
    @elaterite@fosstodon.org avatar

    @lauren Welp, not surprising. Allegedly, some TV viewers in the '60s thought Gilligan's Island was real and they contacted the Coast Guard demanding they rescue the castaways! https://www.wearethemighty.com/mighty-movies/that-time-americans-demanded-the-coast-guard-rescue-the-cast-of-gilligans-island/

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