New dwarf planet!

I would really like to go for a short walk between the class I just finished teaching and the fancy pants lecture/reception later tonight. But now it's snow-raining, which is the single most miserable form of precipitation. Maybe I'll just practice my talk again instead... SIGH.

In other news, Reflect Orbital is still completely dangerous and useless, and everyone knows it (except the FCC, apparently): https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-news/astronomy-and-society/a-satellite-company-tested-sunlight-as-a-service-without-astronomers-knowledge/

I LOVE starting a very stressful day by spilling cheese curds everywhere and then getting an email saying that I have an overdue bill for publication fees for a paper that was published 18 months ago, that was supposed to have a fee waiver, so I never received a first bill. Did they take a page from US medical insurance companies or something? What the fuck. I fucking hate everything about academic publishing.

Good moonrise, good dogs.

Our planet is really a neat one. Worth fighting for.

This week is bad, but next week everyone in Canada (really, everyone) will show up at the wrong time to all their meetings whether or not they are in a place that does daylight savings time... I guess I should give myself some slack on this, since even Weather Canada can't get it right, apparently???

I just finished rewriting the biggest part of my grant proposal (after staying up way too late last night trying to finish it). But I still have like 7 other smaller parts to rewrite... I am so far behind where I should be on this...

If I had some funding for every time I wrote "While satellites provide humanity with many benefits..." then I wouldn't have to write that phrase again in my stupid grant application...

In any case, I guess I will just have to go rage-scream in the hayfield under the full moon as I write that phrase yet again.

One last post that's not depressing before I force myself to go into writing mode until I finish this thing:

My 10yo just finished her halloween costume: she's an owl pellet. She came up with the idea herself! Proud parenting moment. (We got a thrift store long fuzzy brown jacket that she glued plastic bones all over)

Started the morning with ridiculously high winds and a little bit of snow. Went into the city (found that there was no snow in the city) and bought perhaps a bit too much yarn from a bunch of local fibre producer fair. Came back home and took the squash out of the greenhouse and found places to stash it all in the house, tried to harvest the last of the beets and carrots (failed, too much), and got the last sad harvest out of the greenhouse. Everything in the greenhouse will freeze tonight.

I know I post about Saskatchewan weather a lot. But as someone who has lived in many different climates, I'm still regularly stunned by the weather we get.

Today's weather adventure will be going from 20C with a chance of thunderstorms to flurries with 90km/h wind gusts in less than 12 hours. Wow.

I made a big batch of cajeta during my morning meetings and a media interview this morning: it's just goat milk, sugar, vanilla, and a tiny bit of baking soda, simmered until it's brown and heavenly. It is transcendent in coffee, on french toast, on ice cream...

Anyway, if you need me, I will be over here vibrating from too much sugar and caffeine.