I was today-years-old when I first voluntarily watched a hockey game on TV. To be fair, it was a previously recorded game from several days ago so I didn't have to suffer commercials. I still had to suffer commentators.

@freyablekman I did look through the paper you shared and the reference to the 5 TeV result. That paper did not make clear the intended purpose of the run, nor the conditions under which it ran.

I was mainly interested in a conversation, but I can just go back and keep reading.

@jodi They are delicious!

@freyablekman Hi Freya! I really like that you share these papers when they appear. Keep it up!

Question for you. I think I was unaware that there had been a short 5 TeV run in 2017. Can you remind me of the purpose of that run (e.g. LHC commissioning, precision physics, etc.)? The NNLO prediction agrees very well with the other points, but not this one. Granted, a ~2sigma fluctuation in 5 independent measurements has a HIGH probability. It's just interesting.

@matthewfeickert Ditto. These days, I always wait until at least the .1 or .2 Ubuntu LTS before I leap. And even then …

@jodi I am looking forward to joining you next time, so I can continue to embarrass myself trying to learn winter sports.

@matthewfeickert No. I don't have any regrets. But I was definitely not expecting my desktop upgrade to get messed up because NetworkManager somehow got uninstalled, disabling all internet devices and breaking all remaining downloads. I had to put all the NM Debian packages on a thumb drive to get them installed and restore network connectivity.

Upgrades were dicey this time, but they are done. No more OS upgrades for a couple of years ... yay!

My web services are going to go offline today for OS upgrades on the underlying systems. These are the last upgrades I need to do for about 2 years. Wish me luck! Hopefully, I will see you all again on the other side of this.

As we anticipated, astronomer and nightscape photographer Yuri Beletsky's stunning image of comet C/2024 G3 (ATLAS) is featured on today's Astronomy Picture of the Day.

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html
Image Credit & Copyright: Yuri Beletsky (Carnegie Las Campanas Observatory, TWAN)
Yuri's artwork is available for purchase at https://fineartamerica.com/profiles/yuri-beletsky/shop
14/n

“Hey there.”

After letting them grow and fruit for two years, I finally pulled up my cherry tomato plants over the winter holidays and put in two new tomato pods. A Thai basil pod has now joined the party. I look forward to cultivating new life and welcoming these plants to the family.

I decided today was a day to listen to #Rush's "Test for Echo" #album It turns out to be an album written for this week.

@misomunje unfortunately, this is consistent with the playbook. To assume authority, it is a critical step to subvert expertise. This step was inevitable, if their goal was to establish authority and not support ingenuity and creativity.

I agree it is devastating. It is also likely that this is a drastic pause to compensate, in part, for the unprepared transition team. It will likely lift when they get their act together. But it causes damage.

"...an immediate, blanket ban on travel is unusual, says one longtime researcher in #NIH's intramural program. 'I don't think we've ever had this and it's pretty devastating for a #postdoc or #graduatestudent' who needs to present their work and network to move ahead in their career, the researcher says."

https://www.science.org/content/article/trump-hits-nih-devastating-freezes-meetings-travel-communications-and-hiring

#science #ban #uspol #politics #aaas

@lps One day we can all hope that regional boundaries on streaming knowledge programming like this can come down. But, here we are....

I am really digging this TVO science series, “Lift the Ice”. https://www.tvo.org/programs/lift-the-ice

I like the combination of scientific inquiry, local knowledge and history, and the intersection of deep time with the modern climate.

A key lesson from just prior to the outbreak of World War II is that countries that open their doors to scientists threatened in their home countries solve two problems at once: they protect human lives while securing their own nation’s scientific future.

Historically, the most successful strategies were combinations of local and national efforts (e.g., universities inviting visiting positions combined with immigration paths).

It is a perfect #winter day in #Sudbury.

A question for you #MastodonApp afficionados. How does one approve/decline follow requests in the official app? It is easy on the website, but I will be darned if I can figure out how to do it in the app.

@resx Hear! Hear!