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Dave Pentecost

@davepentecost.bsky.social
697 followers 1.7K following 1K posts

Nature, tech, music. Maya (civilization), Unity, OpenSpace, visionOS, planetariums. Previously: composer, TV editor, jungle explorer.

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Reposted by Dave Pentecost
The Spaceshipper 🚀 @thespaceshipper.com · 01/10/2026
In space, no one can hear you scream—and I can't hear you reading the first part of a long series on Alien spacecraft either. Starring Ron Cobb, Chris Foss, and H.R. Giger. Together, they would revolutionize space sci-fi and influence everything that followed.
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Deb Haaland @debhaalandnm.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
My grandparents survived the terrible abuse of the Federal Indian Boarding School Era. That trauma wasn't isolated to the past—it was carried down through my family all the way to me. And there are so many families like my own across Indian Country.
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Albert Kirk Jr @albertkirkjr.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
#Scotstober Day 1 BAFFIES - Comfy shuin aften wrocht oot o oo. Ye weir them in the hoose, oot tae the van, or drappin the weans aff at the schuil. The baffie wis a sair wappen in the haunds o a bealin maw or paw, sae ye haed tae tak tent! Repeat efter me: BAFFIES
A pair of tartan slippers.
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Dave Pentecost @davepentecost.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Brightly fall colored far shore, near yellowed ferns and trees in silhouette on the near shore foreground.
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Dave Pentecost @davepentecost.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Testing Spirula Studio for splat training of 4K video. github.com/harry7557558...
Cabin in fall woods, screenshot from plat testing with floating camera icons.
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Dave Pentecost @davepentecost.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Echo Lake #perfectday
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Dave Pentecost @davepentecost.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
#Adirondacks
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Dave Pentecost @davepentecost.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Yet again.
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Dave Pentecost @davepentecost.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
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Dave Pentecost @davepentecost.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Fallen, still green
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Dave Pentecost @davepentecost.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Super duper Supermen! See Spike Jones (the original).
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Dave Pentecost @davepentecost.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Interview with Dany Bittel - Macro 3DGS xraispotlight.substack.com/p/make-3dgs-...
xraispotlight.substack.com
Make 3DGS of Tiny Objects
From Insect to Gaussian Splat
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Dave Pentecost @davepentecost.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Developments in the Gaussian splat (3DGS) field are happening fast. This article is a very good overview. 3dvf.com/en/redaction... And here's Spirula Studio, an open source, cross-platform 360 video to splat app that I'll be trying: github.com/harry7557558...
3dvf.com
3D Gaussian Splatting and Insta360 Cameras: The Perfect Match?
Testing the Insta360 X5 for 3D Gaussian Splatting: results, workflow, practical tips, and value for money from an affordable 360° camera.
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Dave Pentecost @davepentecost.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Great helpful thread for when I start reading again (sigh). I have read some of these, I swear.
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Present & Correct @presentcorrect.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Typology of Pedestrian Walking Symbols walking-men.com/product/hood... Via @kottke.org
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Dave Pentecost @davepentecost.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
September #Adirondacks
Mushroom flush at the base of a dead treeRed Maple leaves on green foliageOrange mushroom clusterBrown and yellow ferns closeup
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Dave Pentecost @davepentecost.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Wonderful account (as all of Christopher Brown’s tales are) of a packraft visit to the former Freshkills landfill in Staten Island, NYC, now rewilded. fieldnotes.christopherbrown.com/p/in-the-bur...
fieldnotes.christopherbrown.com
In the Burial Mounds of Eghquhous
No. 201
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Dave Pentecost @davepentecost.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
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Dave Pentecost @davepentecost.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
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riffle @riffle.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Impressively long thread of meaningful Trump failures.
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Dave Pentecost @davepentecost.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
#Adirondacks
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Dave Pentecost @davepentecost.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Are we leaving silicon behind and bypassing bioprotonics? www.nature.com/articles/s41...
nature.com
Optical generative models - Nature
Optical generative models are demonstrated for the rapid and power-efficient creation of never-seen-before images of handwritten digits, fashion products, butterflies, human faces and Van Gogh-style a...
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The Cottage Garden @simonecannon.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Pale yellow-eyed grass or Yellow Mexican satin #flower, La Fortuna, Costa Rica. Not a true grass, but a self-sowing member of the Iris family, each individual #blossom opens for just a single day, yawning open with the morning sun and closing forever at dusk #BloomScrolling #Gardening #FlowerGarden
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Michael R Photography 🌿 @msriffle.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Its #FlyDay. This great blue heron did a low and slow pass right in front of me as I photographed black skimmers. Locked on and mashed the shutter down. Thank you you beautiful thing. #photography #wildlife #ECK #birds #BirdsInFlight #birdsky #birders #biodiversity #nature #herons
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Dave Pentecost @davepentecost.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Just in time for the planetarium opening. arstechnica.com/ai/2026/09/a...
arstechnica.com
Apple reportedly building server packed with M-series Ultra chips for AI
Planned 2029 debut could make this Apple’s first enterprise server in decades.
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Dave Pentecost @davepentecost.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Preparing for my first trip to Dublin...
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Dave Pentecost @davepentecost.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
When you get up at 5am, there's lots of time in the day for naps.
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Derek Newsome @derek.space · 16/09/2026
Here's all 13 released engineering film shots from the Artemis II launch played back at full speed and synced!
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Dr. Amber Straughn (she/her) @astraughnomer.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
This is one of my all-time favorite astronomy graphics. The coffee you drank this morning came from the Big Bang ☕💥 Yesterday's #apod Read more: apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap26091...
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Riding With Robots @ridingrobots.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Telescopic triptych The 107-inch telescope dome at @mcdonaldobs.bsky.social
Triptych with three photos of a large observatory telescope dome on a hill under a starry night sky. In the center image, a long exposure has rendered the motion of the stars as circles in the sky around the dome like a halo. Photos: Bill Dunford
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Dr. Jennifer Wade @volcanojw.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Do you like maps?? I’m in a briefing where the USGS shared these amazing 3D Elevation images that are just so cool. Find your state/district, and behold this example of DC! www.usgs.gov/3d-elevation...
A 3D Elevation Program image from the USGS of the District of Columbia, depicting (in their words) “the ‘bare earth’ surface, stripping away vegetation and structures, revealing ground surface.
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Dean Frey @dean.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
John Coltrane's Centennial comes on September 23. I'll be listening to at least one Coltrane track each day of the month. #Trane100 Let's begin with "A Love Supreme, Pt. 1", released in 1965. McCoy Tyner on piano, Jimmy Garrison on bass, and Elvin Jones on drums. www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMCH...
youtube.com
A Love Supreme, Pt. I – Acknowledgement
YouTube video by John Coltrane - Topic
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Dave Pentecost @davepentecost.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Via Sadao Tokuyama on X brain-3d-pb.vercel.app
Screenshot of the website for brain anatomy
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Dave Pentecost @davepentecost.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
#JustGoVoteEarly That is all.
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Dave Pentecost @davepentecost.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Blender and USD github.com/usd-wg/usd-w...
github.com
GitHub - usd-wg/usd-wg-webview
Contribute to usd-wg/usd-wg-webview development by creating an account on GitHub.
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Hemry, Local Bartender @bartenderhemry.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
the whole "superintelligent ai is going to take over" debate is so tiresome to me, a time traveler from the future where superintelligent ai already took over and placed us in the current simulation where we're about to reinvent superintelligent ai. the server just resets to 1999, people! it's FINE!
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William Gibson @greatdismal.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
I’ve now lived so much longer than I would ever have expected to that I feel I’m living in the future. This is when I imagined Neuromancer happening. And now the creators of today’s AI warn us that it threatens humanity.
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MacRumors.com @macrumors.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Apple's Siri AI Can Be Swapped Out for Claude, ChatGPT, Code Shows
macrumors.com
Apple's Siri AI Can Be Swapped Out for Claude, ChatGPT, Code Shows
Code sleuth "pdfu" has uncovered iOS 27 and macOS Golden Gate private frameworks that show Apple has designed its new Siri architecture to work with third-party AI models at what appears to be a surprisingly deep level. One mechanism called Model Delegation allows Claude to appear as a Siri extension in the same way as the existing built-in ChatGPT extension. In pdf's video, shared on X, the macOS user brings up the "Search or Ask" bar and chooses Claude as the AI model via an "Ask..." contextual menu. After enabling the Claude extension, the user asks Siri to "Ask Claude" to set a reminder in Apple's Reminders app. Claude then interprets the natural language reminder request and Siri subsequently creates the reminder. The implication is that if the request requires access to an Apple system feature, Claude hands the task back to Siri. In another example, Claude can be seen in a Siri app conversation window receiving a request to create a CSV file – something Siri itself cannot handle – and successfully returning the result. What's more intriguing is the second protocol demonstrated in the video that appears to go considerably further, and could really open up the AI landscape for Apple software requests. An inference provider in "Model Manager Services" apparently allows Apple's own server-side Siri model to be completely replaced by another model, such as GPT-5.6. In this scenario, ChatGPT receives Apple's Siri planner prompt and tool definitions, which enables it to request system actions, receive the resulting personal data, and formulate an answer that Siri presents using its own interface and voice. And here's an app extension replacing Siri AI's server model with GPT-5.6 Terra. It uses the Inference Providing protocol in Model Manager Services. GPT-5.6 receives Apple's native Siri planner prompt and tool definitions. It can make tool calls that perform system actions, and... pic.twitter.com/cz88kyq3io— pdfu (@itspdfu) September 13, 2026 In the demonstration video, the user asks the ChatGPT model (within the Siri app) to find emails about a specific topic, summarize their contents and action points, then send an message to a person in the user's contacts via the Messages app. The response is then shown as logged in OpenAI's platform web interface. The European Union's Digital Markets Act may have helped shape Apple's approach here, as it requires Apple to give third parties effective access to iOS hardware and software features available to Apple's own services, and the European Commission has specifically said this principle extends to Siri. The "Ask..." implementation is currently limited to the ChatGPT extension in the macOS 27 Golden Gate Release Candidate (which is effectively the final version of the software set to be released later today), so Claude is not yet available. Meanwhile, Apple has not yet opened up the model delegation entitlement to third parties and it isn't front-facing to users, but it at least shows how extensively Apple has engineered Siri for future model interoperability.Related Roundups: iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS Golden GateTags: ChatGPT, Claude, Siri, Siri AIRelated Forums: iOS 27, macOS Golden Gate This article, "Apple's Siri AI Can Be Swapped Out for Claude, ChatGPT, Code Shows" first appeared on MacRumors.com Discuss this article in our forums
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OSINTRadar @osintradar.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
🇬🇧 According to The Telegraph, the leaders of Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland will discuss the possibility of leaving the United Kingdom tomorrow.
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dawn of the debb @debbshock.blue · 12/09/2026
I don't fuckin know; sometimes you just need to look at a jellyfish.
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Dave Pentecost @davepentecost.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Blue Mountain Lake 2
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Josh Marshall @joshtpm.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Today's song is "Let Me Die In My Footsteps", one of Bob Dylan's first songs and, to my mind, one of his best. A song about bomb shelters. First slotted to appear on his 2nd album in 1962 but replaced by "A Hard Rain's a Gonna Fall". It wouldn't appear officially until 1991. youtu.be/eiPP1Nu_QgE?...
youtu.be
Bob Dylan - Let Me Die In My Footsteps (Studio Outtake - 1962 - Official Audio)
YouTube video by BobDylanVEVO
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Dave Pentecost @davepentecost.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Blue Mountain Lake
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Corey S. Powell @coreyspowell.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Gas + gravity + time leads to surprising and gorgeous results. Look at this peculiar galaxy pair, NGC 7253. Gravity caused a couple hundred billion balls of hydrogen to light up as stars, held together in two great swarms that then collided, scattered & reassembled. 🧪🔭 noirlab.edu/public/image...
Nā ʻUhane Māhoe Huki Pū i ke Ola is the Hawaiian name given to this image of NGC 7253 — a pair of spiral galaxies caught in each other’s gravity. This image was captured by the Gemini North telescope on Maunakea, one half of the International Gemini Observatory, partly funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and operated by NSF NOIRLab. The name of the image, which translates to “The Twin Spirits Pulling Together Creating Life,” was chosen by the 2026 Project Hōkūlani interns.
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funferall @funferall.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
OpenAI announces gyre breakthrough. Axial stretching lets the centre reach unbounded speed on finite energy. Things fall apart, as required by the laws of physics. The rough beast's hour is now known to come round in finite time. They do not intend to claim the prize.
OpenAI navier-Stokes illustration
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Ian Paul Sieren @ianpaulsieren.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Abyssinian Sword-lily (Gladiolus murielae) #Summer #flowers #bloomscrolling
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Dave Pentecost @davepentecost.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
September #Adirondacks
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Dave Pentecost @davepentecost.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
I got my oldest son to read Rudy's Ware novels when he was about 10 years old. He is now a microbiologist/immunologist with exosome patents. I've written a rough future memoir SF novel of the post-Melt biobot era. Thank you @rudytheelder.bsky.social !
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Courtney Milan @courtneymilan.com · 07/09/2026
Absolutely amazing.
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Dave Pentecost @davepentecost.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Echo Lake
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