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I'm a novelist and have an interest in space science and physics. I've been a programmer for more than 30 years and I like reviewing new and up-and-coming authors.
If you want me to review your novel, please look at my Rules on Reviewingplugin-autotooltip__default plugin-autotooltip_bigRules on Reviewing
First off, you should know I only have a limited amount of time, so I can't review a hundred novels at once. Sorry, but that's basic physics for you. If I agree to review your novel, you may have to wait a while for me to get around to it, and then I'll need time to read it. I only review hard copies. page.
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Perseverance Rover
Last Updated: 15:45:02 Tue Mar 28, 2023
The Perseverance Rover, M20, is navigating its way around Jezero Crater, which is located on the flanks of Syrtis Major and to the North-West of the Isidis Basin. Jezero is easily identified the large mountain on it's Eastern crater wall.
To put things in perspective, Syrtis Major is a volcanic mountain, made from black volcanic basalt, covering over a million square kilometres and easily seen from Earth. In fact it's large, black mass was the first topological feature identified on Mars. Jezero Crater once contained a lake, with water inflowing from the North-West, and outflowing through a breach in the East-South-East. Where that water went may be the subject of future missions.
Perseverance has been examining the crater floor, testing its equipment, and is currently en-route to the silt fan, left by the water flowing into crater.
→ Read more...plugin-autotooltip__default plugin-autotooltip_bigPerseverance Rover
Last Updated: 15:45:02 Tue Mar 28, 2023
The Perseverance Rover, M20, is navigating its way around Jezero Crater, which is located on the flanks of Syrtis Major and to the North-West of the Isidis Basin. Jezero is easily identified the large mountain on it's Eastern crater wall.
Insight Lander
This page is updated as new data is detected. InSight is no longer transmitting weather data. See InSight's Final Selfieplugin-autotooltip__default plugin-autotooltip_bigInSight's Final Selfie
[InSight's Final Selfie] The InSight lander is in the final stages of of its extended mission. This image, taken on April 24th 2022, is it's last selfie.
There was a possibility to keep going until the last operating science experiment had to be turned off, and then InSight would keep operating on safe mode until it eventually ran out of power.
Last update: 14:02 Sun. Jul 17th, 2022 BST
If the image doesn't display, please wait. The NASA websites sometimes get busy.
Explanation of the Wind Speed Chart
Wind speed is shown in meters per second, as measured by the pair of TWINS booms. The barbs extending from each wind speed data point indicate the compass direction of the wind (e.g., a wind blowing from the north will have a barb straight up above the point; a wind blowing from the west will have a barb off to the left). Full and half flags extending from the barbs indicate the wind speed, with each half flag representing approximately 2.5 meters per second. A circle in place of a barb indicates a wind speed less than 2.5 meters per second.
Full details can be seen at https://mars.nasa.gov/insight/weather/
Images Courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell/CAB
Note: There is a discrepancy between the summary data and the charts provided by NASA (good on you if you spotted this - if not, go hunt the thimble!). I've notified them and hopefully they'll do something about it.
→ Read more...plugin-autotooltip__default plugin-autotooltip_bigInsight Lander
This page is updated as new data is detected. InSight is no longer transmitting weather data. See InSight's Final Selfie
Last update: 14:02 Sun. Jul 17th, 2022 BST
If the image doesn't display, please wait. The NASA websites sometimes get busy.
Explanation of the Wind Speed Chart
Coffee Blog: 2022-08-14 Upgrade
There is a coffee roasting machine called the Aillio Bullet. You have to read its specs hear the hype to see what it is capable of, and at £3,250 it appears to be worth it. However, it doesn't have a flu or chimney, just a vent, so all the steam and oil it releases just fill up the kitchen. Hopefully they'll see the short-sightedness of this. Not all of us have garages, basements or cellars.
It does though, have one intriguing piece of technology tucked into it's sleek features, that got me rather excited.
→ Read more...plugin-autotooltip__default plugin-autotooltip_bigCoffee Blog: 2022-08-14 Upgrade
There is a coffee roasting machine called the Aillio Bullet. You have to read its specs hear the hype to see what it is capable of, and at £3,250 it appears to be worth it. However, it doesn't have a flu or chimney, just a vent, so all the steam and oil it releases just fill up the kitchen. Hopefully they'll see the short-sightedness of this. Not all of us have garages, basements or cellars.
Coffee Blog: 2022-07-31
Yesterday, I roasted Profile I, which I'd come up with after sampling Profile H. I did two loads, each of 200g.
| Profile I | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Load | 200g | End (mins) | ||
| Pre-heat | 200°C | |||
| Stage 1 (to yellow) | Drying | 200°C | 6:00 | |
| Stage 2 (to 1st crack) | Caramelising | 250°C | 10:30 | |
| Stage 3 | Development | 240°C | 16:30 | |
| Ambient Temp | 25.8°C | |||
| RH | 49% | |||
| Coffee | Columbian - El Carmen | |||
→ Read more...plugin-autotooltip__default plugin-autotooltip_bigCoffee Blog: 2022-07-31
Yesterday, I roasted Profile I, which I'd come up with after sampling Profile H. I did two loads, each of 200g. Profile I Load 200g End (mins)Pre-heat 200(^c) Stage 1 (to yellow) Drying 200(^c) 6:00Stage 2 (to 1st crack)
2022-07-30 Fix Website
Update to site software breaks something.
→ Read more...plugin-autotooltip__default plugin-autotooltip_big2022-07-30 Fix Website
Update to site software breaks something.
There was an update to the software used to run this website - Dokuwiki - and unbeknownst to me, fixed a fix I had made and broke something. To put that more clearly, I had made a fix to the template I use for layout etc., so it was friendly to Facebook. With the