Merced

By Robert Ellison. Updated on Saturday, January 18, 2025.

Lake Merced in San Francisco (Previously: Lake Merced).

The photograph titled "Merced" captures a serene and tranquil scene along the edge of a lake or river. A group of seagulls is perched on a weathered railing, their feathers a muted blend of grays and browns, perfectly complementing the overcast sky and gentle colors of the water and foliage. The scene unfurls into the distance, with tall grasses lining the banks, merging elegantly with a dense woodland of dark green trees. The seagulls are a focal point, poised with an air of quiet contemplation, while others are caught mid-flight, adding a sense of motion to the still composition. The setting is imbued with an understated beauty, portraying a moment of calm in the lap of nature.

The photograph employs a naturalistic style with an emphasis on harmony and balance. The composition adheres to the rule of thirds, with the railing and seagulls occupying a prominent horizontal line within the frame. This alignment immediately draws the viewer's eye towards the avian subjects, and the soft diagonal of the riverbank adds depth and direction. I appreciate the gentle color palette and the way the details are captured with clarity yet without overwhelming contrast. However, the lighting could have been slightly more dynamic to bring out variations in the texture of the feathers and landscape. Overall, the image succeeds in its quiet elegance, capturing a moment of peace with simplicity and grace.

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Grabtown Gulch and Borden Hatch Mill in Purisima Creek

By Robert Ellison. Updated on Saturday, May 8, 2021.

A five mile loop in Purisima Creek Redwoods Open Space Preserve. Super limited parking so a good one for an early start. Descend Grabtown Gulch Trail for a little over two miles (and it doesn't really stop going down). Then after about five seconds along Purisima Creek ascend Borden Hatch Mill Trial all the way back to the top.

Hike starts at: 37.422216, -122.338163. View in Google Earth.

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Great Conjunction

By Robert Ellison. Updated on Saturday, January 18, 2025.

2020 Great Conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn, including the Galilean moons.

Great Conjunction

The photograph titled "Great Conjunction" captures a serene evening sky, with a mesmerizing blend of colors that transition smoothly from a deep indigo at the top to soft oranges near the horizon. In the center of this celestial pasture, two bright celestial bodies—a fascinating conjunction—hang delicately. The horizon is lined with the silhouette of trees and gentle hills, offering a dark contrast to the vibrant sky. Wispy clouds streak subtly across the frame, adding texture and depth to the expansive sky, mirroring the quiet presence of the earth below.

The composition of the photograph adheres to the principles of simplicity and symmetry, with the focal point being the conjunction of the two planets, which draws the eye upwards. The horizon is positioned in the lower third, following the rule of thirds, which adds balance and allows the viewer to absorb the vastness of the sky. The soft gradients of color create a soothing atmosphere, inviting contemplation of the wonders above. What is particularly commendable is the subtlety of the light's transition, which enhances the tranquil mood. However, there could be more interplay with the foreground to anchor the scene a bit more, offering a counterbalance to the celestial focus. This photograph succeeds in evoking a sense of awe, capturing not just a moment, but an experience of cosmic beauty.

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Winter Solstice 2020

By Robert Ellison.

Winter starts now in the Northern Hemisphere, Summer to the south. 10:03 UTC Dec 21 2020 rendered in Catfood Earth.

(Previously: Winter Solstice 2019)

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Accessing Printer Press ESC to cancel

By Robert Ellison. Updated on Monday, October 28, 2024.

ESC

Minutes spent so far this year waiting for Excel to talk to a printer: about 290.

Lifetime Excel print jobs: maybe 2?

How to fix Accessing Printer Press ESC to cancel:

Press Start, search for Printer and run the Printers & scanners setting item.
Find and click Microsoft Print to PDF and click Manage.
Click Set as default.

The only real disadvantage is you'll need to select a different printer when you actually need to print anything (which you probably don't).

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Book reviews for November 2020

By Robert Ellison.

The Saints of Salvation by Peter F. Hamilton

4/5

Dead Lies Dreaming (The Laundry Files, #10) by Charles Stross

4/5

Poseidon's Wake (Poseidon's Children) by Alastair Reynolds

3/5

The Sentinel (Jack Reacher, #25) by Lee Child

4/5

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Mariposa Loop

By Robert Ellison. Updated on Saturday, February 19, 2022.

Mariposa Loop in Briones Regional Park near Lafayette. Park near Happy Valley Elementary School and then head up Panorama Drive to the top to get the trailhead. It's just over three miles. The first mile goes up 600 feet without stopping and the views are fantastic in every direction. This is the first time we've visited Briones, will be back soon as it looks like it has a lot of decent loops.

Hike starts at: 37.905312, -122.142265. View in Google Earth.

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2020 Results

By Robert Ellison.

There is going to be a grown-up in charge. Maybe a little too grown up, and maybe not in charge of the legislature but what a relief.

This is a historic election for me. It's the first time the party I voted for (either in the UK or the US) has ended up in power. After a lot of shopping I rather fear I finally bought something.

It's more than a little shocking to me that more than 70 million Americans looked at this choice and voted for Trump. It's also shocking that out of a couple of hundred million possibilities that this is the choice we ended up needing to make. Biden was pretty far down my list in January but I held my nose and voted for him. I have to be charitable and assume that the same is true for many Trump voters. But still. FFS. He's literally killing you.

A decade ago I compared US politics to daisyworld and it's still true. We have guaranteed two party rule and neither party is particularly attractive. This forces people to pick a team and it's why we got the tribalistic result that we did. You're going to keep rooting for your side even if you don't particularly like the team this year. We need more like twenty parties and some genuine choice and some power sharing that results in compromise rather than deadlock.

On the subject of deadlock in practically every other democracy when the government can no longer govern then it falls. I do not understand why we go years with an imponent leader. I know that there are many people who think that this is a feature rather than a bug. That having Biden in the White House but Mitch McConnell saying no in the Senate is the kind of checks and balances that gave the hallowed Founders wet dreams. But I'm sick and tired of minority rule or near rule. Obama at least got two years to legislate, Biden might be facing zero and that's a crazy outcome for a majority of four million and counting. We need a National Popular Vote and we need to do something to fix the Senate.

$14 billion was spent on the 2020 election which is eye-watering. We're on track to spend $6.6 trillion this year though so we can afford to word on getting the money out of politics. It's crazy that Congresspeople face election every two years and are basically just fundraising the whole time. Let's have longer terms and Federally funded campaigns and term limits. Let's have independent redistricting that allows voters to choose their candidates and not candidates to choose their voters.

I'm not holding my breath.

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Digital Services Act

By Robert Ellison. Updated on Tuesday, May 25, 2021.

DSA

Looks like the Digital Services Act is going to be interesting. Vice reports:

"Furthermore, if the European Commission listens to the Parliament's recommendations, large tech companies may find it harder to actually keep users on their platforms in the first place. That’s because at least in the discussions so far, there’s been an emphasis on looking into interoperability between different platforms, meaning that users could move and communicate between them using open protocols."

I have repeatedly called for this, it's the best way to break apart Facebook and get people back to talking to friends and not being manipulated by algorithms. But also:

"They also wrote that “User-targeted amplification of content based on the views in such content is one of the most detrimental practices in the digital society, especially when such content is amplified on the basis of previous user interaction with other amplified content and with the purpose of optimising user profiles for targeted advertisements.”"

Being the EU, I worry that we still get the ads and maybe some additional cruft to dismiss or not at the bottom of the screen. Instead they'll focus on the content and there will be more banned speech, or platforms will be responsible for truth which I don't think is the way forward.

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