Saturday, July 16, 2022

Although probably a better choice than Portrait mode.

Since the release of its first full-colour image on July 14th, NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has created a new standard for astronomical imaging.  

Located in a halo orbit around the L2 Lagrange point*,  the Webb Telescope is the most powerful space telescope ever built, and has already produced epic, breathtaking images of outer space unlike anything previously seen. I just wish that they didn't look like they were shot with the $20 starburst filter that I bought in my first year of photography classes at Ryerson.

- Sid

* Lagrange points are locations in space where the gravitational attraction of the Earth and the Sun balance out, allowing satellites to remain in a stable orbit.

Sunday, July 3, 2022

Can I get an amen from the Amen Corner?

My sincere compliments to CBC's headline creation staff, "Ready Prayer One" is somewhat brilliant.

- Sid

Thursday, June 16, 2022

Nostalgia.

Admiral Blackwell:  "Captain Picard Day?"
Captain Picard: "Oh uh … Yes it's a … it's … it's for the children. I'm a … I'm a role model!"
Admiral Blackwell:  "I'm sure you are. Starfleet out."
The Pegasus, Star Trek: The Next Generation.

June 16th, and we celebrate another Captain Picard Day - June 16th being the best approximation of Stardate 47457.1 that the fan base was able to calculate.  We're first introduced to this celebratory event and the Captain's reluctant involvement in the seventh and final season of The Next Generation, where Picard expresses his displeasure with the circumstances to an amused Riker in no uncertain terms.

And then, 30 years later in the first season of Picard, we see that he has preserved the banner in his personal archives at Starfleet, along with all of the other treasured memorabilia from his career and life. It's a subtle and poignant comment on how we sentimentalize the past as we age.

- Sid