Brian McCullogh
@webmccullogh.bsky.social
74 year-old retired guy, didn’t expect to have followers. Joined to continue reading interesting posts from favourite f&sf authors, science writers, and learning new things from other interesting people. Occasional likes, replies, and reposts.
Reposted by Brian McCullogh
It can takes months of analysis to fully understand an astronomical image. But it's pretty amazing what you can tell about it in literally seconds.
badastronomy.beehiiv.com/p/what-can-y...
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badastronomy.beehiiv.com/p/what-can-y...
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What can you tell about an astronomical image at a glance?
There’s a lot of cool info just sitting there in a gorgeous shot of a galaxy.
badastronomy.beehiiv.com
October 5, 2026 at 2:50 PM
It can takes months of analysis to fully understand an astronomical image. But it's pretty amazing what you can tell about it in literally seconds.
badastronomy.beehiiv.com/p/what-can-y...
🔭 🧪
badastronomy.beehiiv.com/p/what-can-y...
🔭 🧪
Reposted by Brian McCullogh
I remember the global condemnation when the Taliban blew up the Buddhas of Bamiyan.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhas...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhas...
Buddhas of Bamiyan - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
October 4, 2026 at 9:16 PM
I remember the global condemnation when the Taliban blew up the Buddhas of Bamiyan.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhas...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhas...
Reposted by Brian McCullogh
Goddammit.
The contempt these people have for everything wondrous and good and *human* is so grotesque.
The contempt these people have for everything wondrous and good and *human* is so grotesque.
"Before Stonehenge was raised, before Egypts first pyramid broke ground,before the Nazca people drew their famous lines across the Peruvian desert,someone in what is now southern Arizona shaped a 272-foot fish into the earth On April 23,2026,"a border-wall contractor drove heavy equipment across it"
Trump's Border Wall Construction Destroys 6,500-Year-Old Arizona Geoglyph – Older Than Stonehenge
Arizona's 6,500-year-old Las Playas Intaglio, the oldest dated geoglyph in the Americas, was irreparably damaged by border wall construction in April 2026.
www.gadgetreview.com
October 4, 2026 at 6:28 PM
Goddammit.
The contempt these people have for everything wondrous and good and *human* is so grotesque.
The contempt these people have for everything wondrous and good and *human* is so grotesque.
Reposted by Brian McCullogh
I read a paper recently and was shocked to learn we can potentially detect RAINBOWS ON EXOPLANETS.
What.
It's so cool! So I wrote about it for Scientiifc American.
www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-...
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What.
It's so cool! So I wrote about it for Scientiifc American.
www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-...
🔭 🧪
Can we see rainbows on faraway exoplanets?
A future NASA telescope could spot atmospheric phenomena on planets orbiting other stars
www.scientificamerican.com
October 2, 2026 at 2:38 PM
I read a paper recently and was shocked to learn we can potentially detect RAINBOWS ON EXOPLANETS.
What.
It's so cool! So I wrote about it for Scientiifc American.
www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-...
🔭 🧪
What.
It's so cool! So I wrote about it for Scientiifc American.
www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-...
🔭 🧪
Reposted by Brian McCullogh
[job interview]
interviewer: so god killed all your kids?
job: that's right
interviewer: so god killed all your kids?
job: that's right
September 22, 2026 at 3:35 AM
[job interview]
interviewer: so god killed all your kids?
job: that's right
interviewer: so god killed all your kids?
job: that's right
Reposted by Brian McCullogh
OMG I love this. Prints available, too!
October 2, 2026 at 4:12 AM
OMG I love this. Prints available, too!
Reposted by Brian McCullogh
My opinion of Isaacman is not improving
How careful should NASA be about possibly importing Earth life to Mars? A new directive from NASA chief Jared Isaacman calls for cutting back on decades of “planetary protection” regulations to facilitate and modernize future missions to the Red Planet.
NASA directive might increase the odds of contaminating Mars
The new push loosens U.S. regulations for sterilizing spacecraft bound for the Red Planet and calls for modernizing the science of “planetary protection”
www.scientificamerican.com
October 1, 2026 at 3:57 PM
My opinion of Isaacman is not improving
Reposted by Brian McCullogh
I'm watching Buckaroo Bonzai for the first time since I saw it in the theater when it came out (!!) and am now convinced the reason they never made a sequel is because they ran out of money for drugs.
September 30, 2026 at 6:10 PM
I'm watching Buckaroo Bonzai for the first time since I saw it in the theater when it came out (!!) and am now convinced the reason they never made a sequel is because they ran out of money for drugs.
Reposted by Brian McCullogh
Oh wow, what an odd galaxy! Super flat edge-on spiral with an actively feeding black hole in its center. It's only 120 million light-years away; from the image I would've guessed it was farther. Click thru for more info.
AM 1229-512 - From Judy Schmidt (geckzilla.bsky.social) - https://flic.kr/p/2f7WRGY
September 30, 2026 at 1:07 AM
Oh wow, what an odd galaxy! Super flat edge-on spiral with an actively feeding black hole in its center. It's only 120 million light-years away; from the image I would've guessed it was farther. Click thru for more info.
Reposted by Brian McCullogh
This is great news! I've been writing about the HPV for a long time, and it's been a massive success.
slate.com/technology/2...
slate.com/technology/2...
I know there is a hell of a lot going on right now.
But not all of it is bad. Some is astonishingly good - like the results of this study from June.
Cervical cancer is a terribly cruel thing.
This might, at long last, be the beginning of the end of it.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
But not all of it is bad. Some is astonishingly good - like the results of this study from June.
Cervical cancer is a terribly cruel thing.
This might, at long last, be the beginning of the end of it.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
September 28, 2026 at 9:27 PM
This is great news! I've been writing about the HPV for a long time, and it's been a massive success.
slate.com/technology/2...
slate.com/technology/2...
Reposted by Brian McCullogh
When gas hits ten bucks a gallon you'll be glad you're getting ten miles per.
The Trump administration has announced plans to roll back fuel regulations.
Trump rolls back fuel economy standards for cars, breaking with 50 years of policy
Environmental advocates have decried the move
www.scientificamerican.com
September 28, 2026 at 8:33 PM
When gas hits ten bucks a gallon you'll be glad you're getting ten miles per.
Reposted by Brian McCullogh
It feels to me that war crimes and crimes against humanity are just happening all the time and nothing is being done about it. I'm not sure how to enforce international law, especially against nuclear powers like Russia and the US, but it could use a little help.
Another body of a victim has been recovered from under the rubble of the National Academy of Sciences in Kyiv, Mayor Klitschko reported. Death tall rises to 2 people.
Russis killed 2 people for no reason other then being Ukrainians on ordinary Monday...
Russis killed 2 people for no reason other then being Ukrainians on ordinary Monday...
September 28, 2026 at 8:02 PM
It feels to me that war crimes and crimes against humanity are just happening all the time and nothing is being done about it. I'm not sure how to enforce international law, especially against nuclear powers like Russia and the US, but it could use a little help.
Reposted by Brian McCullogh
how are Rage Against the Machine still managing to shock people with their politics that band is 35 years old. are people shocked that woody guthrie was a leftist too? going on god’s own internet all ‘you’ll never believe what i just learned about karl marx’?
October 5, 2026 at 4:41 PM
how are Rage Against the Machine still managing to shock people with their politics that band is 35 years old. are people shocked that woody guthrie was a leftist too? going on god’s own internet all ‘you’ll never believe what i just learned about karl marx’?
Reposted by Brian McCullogh
i especially love all the dopes saying “when the internet first went mainstream everyone hated it too” like it happened in the pioneer days so no one can dispute it, like mf’ers we were THERE
October 4, 2026 at 7:22 PM
i especially love all the dopes saying “when the internet first went mainstream everyone hated it too” like it happened in the pioneer days so no one can dispute it, like mf’ers we were THERE
Reposted by Brian McCullogh
This is your occasional reminder that generative "AI" in particular could have been developed on public domain materials and/or licensed and compensated works but the major players intentionally, methodically and systemically chose to steal labor from working creative folks instead
October 5, 2026 at 4:33 PM
This is your occasional reminder that generative "AI" in particular could have been developed on public domain materials and/or licensed and compensated works but the major players intentionally, methodically and systemically chose to steal labor from working creative folks instead
Reposted by Brian McCullogh
Reposted by Brian McCullogh
There are GOP politicians who are not pedophiles or personally massively corrupt, but all of them are in submissive thrall to a president who *is* a corrupt pedophile, and who has, by virtue of his position, made the party into his own image. It now protects and valorizes immorality and corruption.
Just a question from across the pond but does holding office as a Republican mean that you must be a paedophile, massively corrupt or both?
October 5, 2026 at 2:41 PM
There are GOP politicians who are not pedophiles or personally massively corrupt, but all of them are in submissive thrall to a president who *is* a corrupt pedophile, and who has, by virtue of his position, made the party into his own image. It now protects and valorizes immorality and corruption.
Reposted by Brian McCullogh
Exclusive: A new analysis refutes James Watson’s claim that he was the first to recognize the significance of the famed photograph 51. https://scim.ag/4rTKck8
How did Rosalind Franklin miss the helix in her iconic DNA image? She didn’t
New analysis refutes James Watson’s claim he was first to recognize significance of famed photograph 51
scim.ag
October 5, 2026 at 5:15 PM
Exclusive: A new analysis refutes James Watson’s claim that he was the first to recognize the significance of the famed photograph 51. https://scim.ag/4rTKck8
Reposted by Brian McCullogh
A hallmark of democratic backsliding is government leaders stealing from taxpayers and using public funds to try to get themselves electoral advantages.
Backsliding countries keep the form of elections, but corrupt leaders render them no longer free and fair by putting a state thumb on the scale.
Backsliding countries keep the form of elections, but corrupt leaders render them no longer free and fair by putting a state thumb on the scale.
The amount of money the administration is promising in order to buy votes is significantly less than the amount of money it is taking away in programs and services. And it's OUR money!
The US Energy Department will announce $150 million in new funding for power lines in Alaska on Monday as Vice President JD Vance visits the state, where Republicans are fighting to hold a critical Senate seat in the November midterm elections.
October 5, 2026 at 5:32 PM
A hallmark of democratic backsliding is government leaders stealing from taxpayers and using public funds to try to get themselves electoral advantages.
Backsliding countries keep the form of elections, but corrupt leaders render them no longer free and fair by putting a state thumb on the scale.
Backsliding countries keep the form of elections, but corrupt leaders render them no longer free and fair by putting a state thumb on the scale.
Reposted by Brian McCullogh
Controlling the brain with light earns a physiology Nobel. arstechnica.com/science/2026...
Controlling the brain with light earns a physiology Nobel
The entire field of optogenetics traces back to light-seeking algae.
arstechnica.com
October 5, 2026 at 7:03 PM
Controlling the brain with light earns a physiology Nobel. arstechnica.com/science/2026...
Reposted by Brian McCullogh
Private jets. Luxury vacations. Ethical scandals.
Thomas, Alito and Roberts demand respect while the Supreme Court’s credibility crumbles.
Steve on the Court’s crisis of accountability.
Read it here:
steveschmidt.substack.com/p/start-with...
Thomas, Alito and Roberts demand respect while the Supreme Court’s credibility crumbles.
Steve on the Court’s crisis of accountability.
Read it here:
steveschmidt.substack.com/p/start-with...
Start with the mirror, Sam
The last desperate card for MAGA senators facing defeat and repudiation is the Supreme Court.
steveschmidt.substack.com
October 3, 2026 at 2:52 PM
Private jets. Luxury vacations. Ethical scandals.
Thomas, Alito and Roberts demand respect while the Supreme Court’s credibility crumbles.
Steve on the Court’s crisis of accountability.
Read it here:
steveschmidt.substack.com/p/start-with...
Thomas, Alito and Roberts demand respect while the Supreme Court’s credibility crumbles.
Steve on the Court’s crisis of accountability.
Read it here:
steveschmidt.substack.com/p/start-with...
Reposted by Brian McCullogh
Can we reverse the power shift that began four decades ago?
This is the biggest question lurking behind the midterm campaigns.
Some thoughts. ⬇️
https://robertreich.substack.com/p/the-central-question-of-power-in
This is the biggest question lurking behind the midterm campaigns.
Some thoughts. ⬇️
https://robertreich.substack.com/p/the-central-question-of-power-in
October 5, 2026 at 3:13 PM
Can we reverse the power shift that began four decades ago?
This is the biggest question lurking behind the midterm campaigns.
Some thoughts. ⬇️
https://robertreich.substack.com/p/the-central-question-of-power-in
This is the biggest question lurking behind the midterm campaigns.
Some thoughts. ⬇️
https://robertreich.substack.com/p/the-central-question-of-power-in
Reposted by Brian McCullogh
WELL NOW, would you look at that?
A massive, 4-YEAR-LONG study of NEARLY 30 MILLION people in France found that individuals who received a COVID-19 mRNA vaccine had a 74% LOWER risk of death from severe COVID-19 compared to unvaccinated individuals and ZERO increased risk of all-cause mortality.
A massive, 4-YEAR-LONG study of NEARLY 30 MILLION people in France found that individuals who received a COVID-19 mRNA vaccine had a 74% LOWER risk of death from severe COVID-19 compared to unvaccinated individuals and ZERO increased risk of all-cause mortality.
October 5, 2026 at 4:00 PM
WELL NOW, would you look at that?
A massive, 4-YEAR-LONG study of NEARLY 30 MILLION people in France found that individuals who received a COVID-19 mRNA vaccine had a 74% LOWER risk of death from severe COVID-19 compared to unvaccinated individuals and ZERO increased risk of all-cause mortality.
A massive, 4-YEAR-LONG study of NEARLY 30 MILLION people in France found that individuals who received a COVID-19 mRNA vaccine had a 74% LOWER risk of death from severe COVID-19 compared to unvaccinated individuals and ZERO increased risk of all-cause mortality.
Reposted by Brian McCullogh
This is now a standard part of Trump's campaign stump, a direct threat to voters: if you elect Democrats, I won't send you FEMA money, and I may take away your Medicare and Medicaid, too. These transcripts will be useful for litigation to follow.
October 5, 2026 at 12:48 AM
This is now a standard part of Trump's campaign stump, a direct threat to voters: if you elect Democrats, I won't send you FEMA money, and I may take away your Medicare and Medicaid, too. These transcripts will be useful for litigation to follow.
Reposted by Brian McCullogh
He doesn’t care if he loses the election because he plans to steal it if he can.
He can’t! We won’t let him.
He can’t! We won’t let him.
October 5, 2026 at 2:37 PM
He doesn’t care if he loses the election because he plans to steal it if he can.
He can’t! We won’t let him.
He can’t! We won’t let him.