iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Nathan Smith @nsmithplanets.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

Do you think if we give them another 106 years, the IAU will get around to fixing this?

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article "Name conflicts in astronomy", starting from the section "Bodies with identical names and referents". Among the objects with conflicting names are Europa, Io, Dione, Rhea, Titania, Metis, Leda, Pandora, and more. The dates of naming indicate the name conflict problem began as early as 1858 and has continued to grow worse up to the present.

Nathan Smith @nsmithplanets.bsky.social · 26/03/2026

Ah, you're right, I did some more digging and we do include it in our internal acronym glossary. Though I probably didn't need to bother, it's spelled out in full in the logo (in Arabic) right below where it says "Explorer"! That seems pretty official to me.

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Nathan Smith @nsmithplanets.bsky.social · 20/03/2026

Don't forget to sample those coordinates uniformly in area next time! mathworld.wolfram.com/SpherePointP...

Simpsons bus driver meme where he says "don't make me tap the sign" and then he's tapping a screenshot of a mathematical explanation of how to uniformly select points on a sphere

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Nathan Smith @nsmithplanets.bsky.social · 02/12/2025

Science diagrams that look like shitposts

A cat and a dog, grouped four ways indicating how different language architectures might express the same semantic information
A) natural language: "a cat with a dog"
B) unnatural semantic: "a gol with a nar"
C) non-local systematic: "waitacdahogt"
D) holistic: "vek"

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Nathan Smith @nsmithplanets.bsky.social · 22/11/2025

Prepping D&D, I'm thinking I'm gonna give the deer avatar of one of my gods forward-facing predator eyes like the restored Ghent Altarpiece lamb, to better express its uncanny divinity.

Before and after comparison of a detail from the 1432 Ghent Altarpiece by Van Eyck, showing the face of a lamb with a radiant halo. The pre-restoration version looks pretty naturalistic, with wide-set, side-facing eyes, appropriate for a grazing animal low on the food chain, and soft, uplifted ears.

This appearance was apparently modified at some point in the past five centuries from the (now-restored) original version, shown on the right, which has the uncannily human, front-facing eyes of a predator, along with tube-shaped ears (like Shrek), set low on its head for some reason, giving an altogether alien appearance. These eyes are calm, but locked in an intense gaze, fully making eye-contact with the viewer. Presumably the artist had seen a sheep before, and chose to depict this lamb with the front-facing eyes to better express the lamb's divinity as the Lamb of God, symbolic of the crucified Jesus.

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Nathan Smith @nsmithplanets.bsky.social · 03/09/2025

By the way, I had to use a computer to make sure none of the holes overlapped, and even then had to make up constellations from what I had. Making sure the rotational summery didn't make the letters overlap was tough. Lots of respect for the original designers, who also used real constellations!

The code wheel, disassembled. The face plate has holes which reveal the scrambled letters underneath, on the base plate.

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Nathan Smith @nsmithplanets.bsky.social · 03/09/2025

I made the code wheel puzzle from pentiment this weekend for my D&D campaign. I'm really pleased with how it turned out!

A multicolored wheel made of paper, inscribed with alchemical symbols and a star chart, plus other scraps of paper including an encoded clue with zodiac symbols and Greek letters, and a chart relating zodiac symbols to classical elements.

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Nathan Smith @nsmithplanets.bsky.social · 30/03/2025

Lines for italian beef are too long at the Tempe Portillos when the Cubs are playing spring training games in Mesa! Arizona calls out for the bounty of the steppe!

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Nathan Smith @nsmithplanets.bsky.social · 14/01/2025

Here's the color comparison so you can judge for yourself. I can't say it's doing it for me, but at least it'll match an earth-tone pallet pretty well. Pretty surprising to debut this solo after four retirements last year.

Color comparison of Fiesta light neutrals: Linen (2025- ), Ivory (2008-2024), Vintage Gray (1951-1959), White (1986- ), Old Ivory (1936-1951), Pearl Gray (1999-2001).

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Nathan Smith @nsmithplanets.bsky.social · 14/01/2025

Another comment suggested the glaze being basically clear will reduce the number of pieces that don't make it through quality control. There's essentially no color in the glaze that could appear uneven, just the color of the raw ceramic.

massive pile of broken and discarded Fiesta pieces in a multitude of colors.

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Nathan Smith @nsmithplanets.bsky.social · 08/01/2025

But there's also the slightly more saturated neutrals. Shades of brown have been vanishingly rare in the Fiesta palette, but there was Chocolate (2008-2011). Without creamy Ivory and orangey Butterscotch, might this be the chance for... "Caramel"? "Mocha"? "Latte"? "Cappuccino"?

A chocolate and caramel buttercream cake on a Rose Fiestaware cake stand mad from a dinner plate and a teacup. Drips of caramel run down the side of the cake.

An espresso shot being pulled into a Shamrock Fiesta demitasse cup. There's a nice gradient of colors where the foamy bit is running down the side of the cup into the darker brown espresso. By the way it's surprisingly difficult to find pictures of fiestaware mugs with coffee actually in them. Use your nice tableware, people! Take pictures of your pretty dishes with pretty food on them, don't just squirrel them away and horde them in china cabinets!

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Nathan Smith @nsmithplanets.bsky.social · 08/01/2025

Which brings us to our true dark-horse options: The Neutrals. With how things have been trending over the last few years, it's hard to keep in mind, but it wasn't so long ago we had options in that hole in the center of the hue/value plot: Black (1986-2014), followed by Slate (2015-2022).

A color comparison lineup of Fiesta mini disk pitchers, labelled with their color names. From left to right: White, Pearl Gray, Ivory, Chocolate, Slate, and Black.

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Nathan Smith @nsmithplanets.bsky.social · 08/01/2025

Will we fill in Lemongrass's niche with a new yellow-green? I'm not sure what that might look like. Something darker, like Sage (2015-2018)? Paler like Sea Mist (1991-2005) or Chartreuse (1997-1999)? What fits the new shift toward pastels, while still being current, trendy? "Avocado"? "Matcha"?

a blue corn chip dipping into a Turquoise Fiestaware bowl of guacamole.

a top down advertising photo of a Peony rectangular Fiestaware platter with twelve matcha macarons. Several other red and green fiestaware pieces complete the scene, which suggests a holiday season coffee and cookie dessert gathering. I took this from a recipe posted by the official Fiesta blog, which mentions, and I quote: "We love how Peony pairs with Matcha green!" I'm not going full on Pepe Sylvia on this, YOU'RE going Pepe Sylvia on this!

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Nathan Smith @nsmithplanets.bsky.social · 08/01/2025

We haven't seen a dark red since Paprika (2010-2016) and Claret (2016-2017). With Mulberry out of the way, is now the time to bring in another burgundy? In the last 10 years, we've generally seen light and dark colors introduced in alternating years. After Sky, is it time for "Brick"?

A Turquoise Fiesta dinner plate, which has been turned into a clock, hanging on a red brick wall.

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Nathan Smith @nsmithplanets.bsky.social · 08/01/2025

Let's take a look at the current lineup. These are all the colors continuing production into 2025. As noted earlier, the purple quadrant is now wide open. But there are other interesting gaps as well.

The same Hue vs Saturation polar plot as before, but only with the colors currently in production.

The same hue vs value polar plot as before, but with only the colors currently in production.

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Nathan Smith @nsmithplanets.bsky.social · 08/01/2025

Here's that production timeline plot with value on the y-axis, by the way.

a plot showing the time range of when each post-1986 Fiesta color was produced, with the x-axis showing the year, and the y axis arranging each color by value (basically brightness). dark colors are at the bottom, bright ones at the top. most Fiesta colors are bright, near the top, though there are a decent number in the mid-range, and only one or two near the bottom.

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Nathan Smith @nsmithplanets.bsky.social · 08/01/2025

Take a look at this polar plot, showing darker colors toward the center, brighter toward the outside. Unlike the hue/saturation plot from before, points are pretty tightly grouped in hue/value space, tracing out this blob. Is this an intentional aesthetic choice? Maybe a production constraint?

a polar plot of all post-1986 Fiesta colors, with different hues around the angular axis, and value (basically brightness) increasing radially from the center outward. The center is dark, with a black point at the very center. Red is to the right, then orange and yellow to the upper right, green to the upper left, cyan directly left, blue to the lower left, magenta to the lower right. The color points on this plot are more organized than the Hue vs Saturation plot, with points tending to fall along a path tracing out a abstract blobby shape. A dotted line sketched over the plot highlights this shape, and a label asks "An aesthetic choice? Or are glazes difficult to produce outside this zone?"

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Nathan Smith @nsmithplanets.bsky.social · 08/01/2025

Just how excluded is purple exactly? If you don't count the burgundy options (Heather, Claret, Cinnabar) there have been just three proper purples. Besides Mulberry, we've seen Lilac (1993-1995) and Plum (2001-2015). No love for lavender, or amythyst, and certainly not magenta. Why is that?

a polar plot of all post-1986 Fiesta colors, with different hues around the angular axis, and saturation increasing radially from the center outward. Red is to the right, then orange and yellow to the upper right, green to the upper left, cyan directly left, blue to the lower left, magenta to the lower right. A dotted line sketched over the plot circles the region of purples, which has relatively fewer points. a label asks "Why so few purples??"

six pieces of Fiestaware, mostly dessert plates, all various shades of purple and burgundy. They are labelled with their color names: "Claret", "Cinnabar", "Plum", "Mulberry", "Heather", and "Lilac".

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Nathan Smith @nsmithplanets.bsky.social · 08/01/2025

The loss of Mulberry in particular is the latest in a sorry string of defeats for purple fans. It's a familiar story, even when a violet victory can put purple points on the board, it won't be long before fuchsia turns to frustration.

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Nathan Smith @nsmithplanets.bsky.social · 08/01/2025

While Ivory, committed to its neutrality, stands apart from the saturation wars, the three other departures are a heavy blow to the ranks of the most vibrant colors.

an advertising photo of a stack of Fiesta plates, viewed from above. the photo is divided into three sections showing the three colors retired in 2024: Lemongrass, Mulberry, and Butterscotch.

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Nathan Smith @nsmithplanets.bsky.social · 08/01/2025

That brings us to 2024's retirements: Butterscotch (2020-2024) Mulberry (2018-2024) Lemongrass (2009-2024) Ivory (2008-2024)

a product photo of a mini disk pitcher in Butterscotch.

a product photo of a mini disk pitcher in Mulberry.

a product photo of a disk pitcher in Lemongrass.

a product photo of a mini disk pitcher in Ivory.

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Nathan Smith @nsmithplanets.bsky.social · 08/01/2025

With the replacement of Shamrock (2002-2021) by the lower saturation Meadow (2019- ), and the introduction of Peony in 2022, returning light pink to the palette for the first time since the retirement of Rose (1986-2005)), pastel-lovers are riding higher than they have in two decades.

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Nathan Smith @nsmithplanets.bsky.social · 08/01/2025

2024 was an exciting, though divisive year for Fiesta-heads, starting with the introduction of Sky, the first pastel blue in the lineup since 2006.

an advertising photo of various Fiestaware pieces, plates, mugs, and bowls, all in Sky.

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Nathan Smith @nsmithplanets.bsky.social · 08/01/2025

No matter if your collection is chaotic or orderly, carefully curated for that pinterest aesthetic, or whatever lucky finds you snagged at a thrift store, (or if you're that nerd that owns a geiger counter and dishes from the 30s), you already know that January is a special time of year.

stock photo of Fiestaware in various patterns and colors, including the iconic disk pitcher in Turquoise and Sunflower, a teacup in (I think?) Poppy, and a small bowl in Chartreuse.

A large and diverse Fiestaware collection (not mine), sorted top to bottom by color, and arranged on white shelves. Okay, if you have two different colors of the deviled egg tray, you might want to consider what choices in your life led you to this point.

a digital geiger counter sitting on a bright red vintage Fiestaware dinner plate. The display reads "3793 CPM", or counts per minute. If it has an audio readout, the clicky sound would be buzzing like crazy. You probably shouldn't eat off of these daily or sleep with one under your pillow, but you'll be just fine pulling one of these out to freak people out at parties. I mean do physics demos for science communication purposes.

a nice top down advertising photo of a Fiestaware place setting with several sized plates, a mug, and salt and pepper shakers, in, I want to say sage, tangerine, ivory and slate?

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Nathan Smith @nsmithplanets.bsky.social · 08/01/2025

Fiestaware 2025 new color thread, go! Whether you're showing off a delicious baked good, a meal of some kind, or an array of your favorite agave plants, you can't go wrong pairing your social-media friendly item with the vibrant colors and classic art-deco design of Fiesta Tableware.

Eight Fiesta teacups and saucers, each with a small agave plant potted inside. The cups and saucers are color-mismatched, representing Shamrock, Sunflower, Tangerine, Pearl Gray, Cobalt, and Rose. They sit on a short upright piano among other potted plants. The piano is painted in an outer-space theme, with nebulas and small asteroids and a comet visible against a field of stars.

A collection of Fiestaware pieces sitting on a kitchen counter, sorted by color from Cinnabar through Cobalt, Lapis, Peacock to Turqoise, Shamrock, Sea Mist, and Lemongrass, to Sunflower and Yellow, Tangerine, and two shades of Rose. Please ignore the mess in the background, I took this photo years ago.

A selection of cannoli on four Fiesta plates. Clockwise from the top: chocolate chip on Lemongrass, cinnamon on vintage Light Green, pistachio on Peacock, and maple walnut on vintage Turquoise.

an array of Fiesta dinner plates on a kitchen counter, including Sage, Chocolate, Shamrock, Paprika, Evergreen, and Lapis, along with dessert plates in Rose and Pearl Gray, a lunch plate in Peacock, and a Peacock mug with an agave plant in it.

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Nathan Smith @nsmithplanets.bsky.social · 13/12/2024

I mean, who else has depicted orbital trajectories in Norwegian rosemaling?

A large plate hanging on a wall. It is painted in a contemporary style of traditional Norwegian folk art, called rosemaling. There's a large six pointed red geometric star in the center of the piece, representing Mars, backgrounded by a black star-field evoking the night sky, with the trajectory of a spacecraft undergoing Mars Orbital Insertion traced out. The border is accented with a repeating floral motif.

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Nathan Smith @nsmithplanets.bsky.social · 13/12/2024

Hej alla! It's Santa Lucia Day so that's right it's time to serve my roommates saffron buns in bed (open-flame headgear not included). Gledelig Jul from Flagstaff!

A plate of saffron buns. They're coiled into different shapes and decorated with craisins. There are a few S shaped ones, others look like ram heads, a wreath, a harp, a clover, and there are a couple that are more abstract knots.

Saffron buns sitting on a wire cooling rack. They're coiled into different shapes and decorated with craisins, the closest one looks vaguely like a ram's head.

A bedroom mirror selfie of me in my gender-swapped Santa Lucia outfit, holding a large plate of saffron buns. I'm wearing a white tuxedo shirt, white pants, a red sash around my waist, and a headlamp (which traditionally would be a wreath worn like a crown with lit candles stuck in it). Hi alt-text readers! Lucia is patron saint of the blind!

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Nathan Smith @nsmithplanets.bsky.social · 25/10/2024

As of this year, the castle at disneyland was built closer in time to the construction of this castle in bavaria that it's inspired by than to the present day.

Sleeping Beauty's castle at Disneyland, Anaheim California.

Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria, Germany.

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Nathan Smith @nsmithplanets.bsky.social · 15/10/2023

And I'm pretty happy with the results! The focus was a bit off, I think the camera was mounted at a slight angle to the focal plane, but it's not too bad all things considered. In the lower right you can see some mountains along the moon's limb!

A thin pale yellow ring in a black void; the moon silhouetted against the sun during annularity. Subtle irregularities in the edge of the moon's black disk reveal mountains and valleys along its limb, while the edge of the sun is smooth and featureless.

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Nathan Smith @nsmithplanets.bsky.social · 15/10/2023

shoving my DSLR down the prime focus of my dobsonian is a little more rustic by comparison, but I did win the prize for Largest Aperture. Plus I got to swap in the eyepiece and show the guys with the fancy gear some actual photons!

An 8-inch aperture dobsonian telescope fitted with a solar filter, plus a conventional DSLR camera dangling off the side, mounted where the eyepiece would normally be. The background is the same view of the large Utah canyon.

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Nathan Smith @nsmithplanets.bsky.social · 15/10/2023

I had fun this weekend shooting the eclipse from just north of the San Juan in Utah near Bears Ears!

Landscape view of 2023 Annular solar eclipse over a large mesa cut off from the surrounding terrain by a dry oxbow side canyon of the San Juan river in southern Utah. The sun is a thin orange crescent viewed through a pair of eclipse glasses held in the foreground.

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