iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

PAM Dirac @pam-dirac.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Went to a wedding at the Peabody Library in Baltimore. Very joyful ceremony. It was fun to dress up.

A woman and a man in formal wear waiting for a wedding ceremony.

PAM Dirac @pam-dirac.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

With a broken heart we had to say goodbye today to our gentle, sweet Ennis. We are enormously greatful to have had her for almost 7 years. I will miss you always my sweet girl.

A 13 year old black labrador retriever resting on and under some fluffy blankets looking up at the camera.

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PAM Dirac @pam-dirac.bsky.social · 05/06/2026

I was listenting to a randomized playlist and "Secret Message" by Rasputina came up with the lyrics: Two objects at equal distance Acting as if they cared Does weight follow mass in this instance Oh e equals mc squared It made me wonder if any other song has notable equations in it.

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PAM Dirac @pam-dirac.bsky.social · 25/05/2026

Baking day part 2. Found a recipe to use the starter discard from this morning's sourdough bread to make pizza dough. Pepperoni pizza with Ridge 2022 Evangelho. Great recipe, great wine, great together. #wine #sourdough

Sliced freshly baked pizza on a cutting board. A glass of red wine behind along with a bottle of Ridge 2022 Evengelho.

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PAM Dirac @pam-dirac.bsky.social · 25/05/2026

It's baking day. These are sourdough rye.

Two loaves of sourdough rye bread on a cooling rack after coming out of the oven.

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PAM Dirac @pam-dirac.bsky.social · 02/05/2026

A little over a year ago I posted on tasting the '22 Grenache Blanc we got from the Paradise Found Wine Club at Popelouchum Vineyard. We thought it was a bit too exuberantly acidic, but very promising. We had another bottle tonight and patience is rewarded! (cont.) #wine

A glass of wine wine with a deep gold color.

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PAM Dirac @pam-dirac.bsky.social · 02/05/2026

I would think it means that Spouse can ride the bike home and you can get a big loom AND a spinning wheel 😀

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PAM Dirac @pam-dirac.bsky.social · 28/03/2026

At No Kings in Frederick, MD

Sign pinned on a woman's back that says "When injustice becomes law, resistance becomes duty"

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PAM Dirac @pam-dirac.bsky.social · 23/02/2026

Mr Ives comparing himself to the new art work.

Black and white cat sitting on a mantel next to a painting of a black and white cat

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PAM Dirac @pam-dirac.bsky.social · 03/02/2026

Our baby is home resting after successful surgery to remove her spleen. Much pampering to come.

Black Lab with shaved belly laying on a rug, resting after surgery.

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PAM Dirac @pam-dirac.bsky.social · 24/01/2026

#photometry update V0582 Cas telescopes: various, including FSM-MPO61 from AAVSONet Project: SNEWS Monitoring A red super giant that shows changes fairly typical of a red super giant. Swings of ~1 mag with no regular pattern. #astronomy

photometry (brightness vs time) for the star V0582 Cas with the V filter. The plot goes from Jan 2024 to Jan 2026. The is about a 1 mag smooth brightening from April 2024 to Jan 2025. From About Aug 2025 to the present time there are some wiggles of about 0.1 mag.

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PAM Dirac @pam-dirac.bsky.social · 24/01/2026

#photometry update NSV 3717 aka HD 62745 telescopes: various, including BSM-NM and BSM-Berry from AAVSONet Project: SNEWS Monitoring A red super giant that seems to bit a bit quieter than most of the stars in that category. Maybe a modest dimming over the last 2 years. #astronomy

photometry (brightness vs time) plot for the star NSV 3717. The plot goes from Jan 2024 to Jan 2026. Brightness for 2 filters are plotted; B and V. In both filters there is approximately a 0.4 magnitude dimming over the 2 years plotted.

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PAM Dirac @pam-dirac.bsky.social · 24/01/2026

#wine 2024 Bedlam - Black Ankle Vineyard, MD USA grapes: 28% chardonnay, 25% sauv blanc, 19% albariño, 15% grüner veltliner, 13% viognier A real kitchen sink wine. They say this is mostly the last bit out of the press, so a bit more skin contact and a bit more extraction. Works very well and unique

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PAM Dirac @pam-dirac.bsky.social · 24/01/2026

#wine 2024 VGV - Black Ankle Vineyard, MD, USA grapes: 56% Grüner Veltliner, 44% Viognier interesting blend, but in this particular case the sum is a bit less than its parts. A perfectly pleasant wine, but I think I would have preferred to have the grapes bottled separately.

Bottle of 2024 VGV from Black Ankle Vineyard MD, USA

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PAM Dirac @pam-dirac.bsky.social · 24/01/2026

#wine 2024 Grenache Blanc Tablas Creek, CA grapes: 100% grenache blanc This is a beautiful wine. Hints of the crisp clean flavors of an albarino, but also some of the round, melon flavors of a viognier. A wine that can just be enjoyed.

Bottle of 2024 Grenache Blanc from Tablas Creek Vineyard, CA, USA

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PAM Dirac @pam-dirac.bsky.social · 24/01/2026

#wine 2021 Saggi Long Shadows Vintners, WA grapes: 62% Sangiovese, 26% Cab Sauv, 12% syrah Very interesting wine that I have very little reference for as I have almost no experience with Super Tuscans. This wine makes me want to put some effort into exploring that style. Big, rich, concentrated.

Bottle of 2001 Saggi from Long Shadows Vintners in Washing, USA.

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PAM Dirac @pam-dirac.bsky.social · 07/01/2026

#wine: 2021 Long Shadows Vintners (WA) Sequel grapes: 100% Syrah bramble berry on the nose, dark red/purple color, concentrated blackberry flavors with lots of layers. 15.1% alcohol, but surprisingly that doesn't throw things out of balance.

Bottle with label for 2021 Long Shadows Vintners (WA) Sequel, a wine made from 100% syrah

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PAM Dirac @pam-dirac.bsky.social · 07/01/2026

#wine: 2022 Tablas Creek (CA) Le Complice grapes: 67% Syrah 25% Grenanche 5% Terret Noir 3% Muscardin Surprising light for a wine with so much syrah. Floral and elegant rather than meaty. A nice contrast to the TC mourvedre heavy Rhone Blends.

Bottle and label for 2022 Tablas Creek Vineyard Le Complice; a syrah dominated Rhone blend.

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PAM Dirac @pam-dirac.bsky.social · 12/12/2025

Adoption Day 1: If everyone is really quiet, I'll hide within 20 feet of your chair Adoption Day 27: If your meal preparation is good enough I will let you sit on the empty half of MY chair. #cats

A tuxedo cat sitting on the extended part of a easy chair.

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PAM Dirac @pam-dirac.bsky.social · 19/11/2025

New addition to our household; Mr. Ives, aka "Chuck".

Black and White cat sitting quietly under a table.

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PAM Dirac @pam-dirac.bsky.social · 18/10/2025

Getting ready for the no Kings rally in Frederick, MD. Yard sign is up.

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Reposted by PAM Dirac

emptywheel @emptywheel.bsky.social · 07/10/2025

EVEN IF THEY WERE CHARGED, the fact that a guy wearing official CBP kit was filming them like this would be a privacy violation.

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PAM Dirac @pam-dirac.bsky.social · 13/09/2025

Great Frederick Fair #wine judging results for Waving Free 2023 wine: Syrah - 2nd in Dry Red. The first time since 2016 that one of my reds has gotten any ribbon. Backyard White - 1st in Dry White, Silver medal (4th in show) Viognier - 1st Grapes Grown in Frederick, Frederick Fair Cup (best in show)

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PAM Dirac @pam-dirac.bsky.social · 10/09/2025

Wine Dinner 08-24-2025 #wine: 2021 Teroldego, Catoctin Breeze, MD main course: spaghetti with tomato sauce Shows what a little extra care in preparation and a nice bottle of wine can do for a simple meal. The tomato sauce was made from tomatoes from the farmer's market and basil from the garden...

A bottle of wine from Catoctin Breeze Vineyard in Maryland showing the label. It is a 2021 Teroldago from grapes grown in Maryland. Next to it is a glass with the wine, a dark red. In front, a bowl with spaghetti topped with tomato sauce, fresh basil, and some parmesan.

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PAM Dirac @pam-dirac.bsky.social · 10/09/2025

Wine Dinner 08-24-2025 #wine: 2017 Esprit de Tablas, Tablas Creek main course: leg of lamb The best wine and meal in this series. The wine is the mourvedre dominated Rhone red blend that is well known from the sister winery, Chateau Beaucastel. It is outstanding on its own, but the lamb helped...

A bottle of wine from Tablas Creek showing the label. It is the 2017 Esprit de Tablas. made 40% Mourvedre, 35% Grenache, 20% Syrah, 5% Counoise grapes. Next to the bottle is a glass with the wine in it. A deep, dark purplish red. In front is a plate with slices from a leg of lamb, mashed sweet potatoes, and green beans with almonds.

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PAM Dirac @pam-dirac.bsky.social · 10/09/2025

Wine Dinner 08-17-2025 #wine: 2024 Lignée de Tablas Fenaughty Blanc, Tablas Creek main course: pork loin A fabulous wine that did more to make the pork better than vice versa. Lush with nice round fruit flavors. Another wine that showed very nicely on its own. A blend of 4 Rhone whites. (See alt)

A bottle of Tablas Creek wine next to a glass with the wine. A nice light gold color. The wine is made from 39% Marsanne, 35% Grenache Blanc, 13% Bourboulenc, 13% Roussanne grapes. In front is a plate of food. Pork loin with pineapple, snow peas, and rice.

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PAM Dirac @pam-dirac.bsky.social · 10/09/2025

Wine Dinner 08-10-2025 #wine: Limestone 2024, Old Westminster Winery, MD main course: grilled chicken Limestone is 55% Chardonnay and 45% Riesling and is quite an interesting wine. Different sips seem to have different proportions of each. Went well with the chicken, but also very nice on its own.

grilled chicken with potato and broccoli on a plate. A bottle of Old Westminster Limestone shows the label and the a glass of the wine is next to it, showing a nice mellow gold color.

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PAM Dirac @pam-dirac.bsky.social · 17/07/2025

Bonus wine review: 2021 Viognier Waving Free Vineyard (MD) grapes are 76% viognier, 21% rkatsiteli, 3% Niagara This wine has aged beautifully. The viognier melon fruit is very evident and the boldness of the Niagara has mellowed as has the acidity. Definitely will let more of the '23 age. #wine

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PAM Dirac @pam-dirac.bsky.social · 17/07/2025

Wine Dinner 07-13-2025 wine: Tapestry 7th Edition, Old Westminster Winery, MD main course: classic beef stew I chose the wine because it was 65% Bordeaux grapes and 35% syrah (see note). I expected the Bordeaux component to compliment the beef and the syrah to move things away from the usual.

A wine glass with red wine in it, the bottle of wine (Old Westminster Tapestry, seventh edition) and a bowl with classic beef stew.

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PAM Dirac @pam-dirac.bsky.social · 09/07/2025

Wine Dinner 07-06-2025 wine: 2021 Waving Free Backyard White main course: grilled swordfish with lime/basil marinade The wine was a nice mature white with expected notes of a 4 year old riesling mixed with vidal blanc The swordfish turned out very well and went extremely well with the wine. #wine

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PAM Dirac @pam-dirac.bsky.social · 14/06/2025

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PAM Dirac @pam-dirac.bsky.social · 14/06/2025

At the NO Kings rally in Frederick, MD

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PAM Dirac @pam-dirac.bsky.social · 23/05/2025

Front porch is now fully renovated with new concrete, new furniture and new lights.

Renovated front porch with new concrete, new furniture and new lights.

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PAM Dirac @pam-dirac.bsky.social · 16/04/2025

Concrete poured and smoothed for the front porch renovation.

Freshly poured concrete for the front porch.

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PAM Dirac @pam-dirac.bsky.social · 09/04/2025

Ennis visiting with her granddaughter, Velma.

Two Labrador retrievers at the Potomac Labrador show. The Chocolate is Velma, aka ,Cedarbay's Cell Block Tango. The Black is Velma's grandmother, Cricket, aka Cedarbay's Cricket on the Hearth.

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PAM Dirac @pam-dirac.bsky.social · 05/04/2025

At the Frederick, MD Hands Off rally. Well attended despite the dreary weather.

Crowd at the Frederick, MD Hands Off rally.

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PAM Dirac @pam-dirac.bsky.social · 22/03/2025

Got my first shipment from the Paradise Found Wine Club at Popelouchum Vineyard; 3 bottles each of the 2023 Blanc and the 2023 Blanc. One word review: Intriguing! More details in comments. #wine

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PAM Dirac @pam-dirac.bsky.social · 04/03/2025

Time for me to come out of hibernation before the vines do. Luckily I only have 180 vines so I can start well into March and still comfortably finish before bud break, which is usually about the last week in April in this location. These are Vidal blanc. #grapegrowing #wine

5 grape vines (4 Vidal Blanc and 1 gruner veltliner) after a rough pruning. Fine tuning of the pruning will be about the first week in April.

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PAM Dirac @pam-dirac.bsky.social · 27/02/2025

star photometry report 01/12/2025 telescope network: iTelescope telescope: T05 project: SNEWS Campaign stars: TYC 4051-1269-1, V0809 Cas, NSV 15324, V0595 Cas V0398 Cas, V0774 Cas Went past 10,000 observations credited to me in the AAVSO database! #astronomy #photometry

Screen shot of the AAVSO database submission page showing my total observations at 10,000

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PAM Dirac @pam-dirac.bsky.social · 24/02/2025

Final day of bottling for the Waving Free 2023 reds. Today was the S&M; 68% mourvedre, 31% syrah, and 1% viognier. I suspect this is going to turn out to be the best wine in the vintage. Right now it has nice fruit with some complexity and a little bit of the syrah punch. #wine #winemaking

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PAM Dirac @pam-dirac.bsky.social · 16/02/2025

Bottling Day #3 for the Waving Free 2023 reds. Today is Syrah (97% syrah, 3% viognier). Got 28 bottles. It is already a very nice syrah, dense and rich. I suspect it will get a bit better. Have to hold on to them to see. #winemaking #wine

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PAM Dirac @pam-dirac.bsky.social · 10/02/2025

Bottling Day #2 for the 2023 Waving Free reds. Today was the Rocky Springs Red; 53% lemberger and 47% Cab Franc. Got 20 bottles (there were some losses for QA 😀). Going into the bottle it has a rich, long finish with a bit of CF pepper. Very much looking forward to see how this develops. #winemaking

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PAM Dirac @pam-dirac.bsky.social · 07/02/2025

Bottling day at Waving Free. This is the 2023 Norton grape/Buckwheat honey pyment. Got 16 bottles out of 28 lbs of Norton and 6 lbs of honey. Pretty nice right now (especially if you are a Norton lover) but I think it will get better over the next year or two. #winemaking

Kitchen with wine bottles and bottling bucket as the bottling of Norton/buckwheat mead is finishing.

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Reposted by PAM Dirac

Popehat @kenwhite.bsky.social · 20/01/2025

Not everyone can fight Trumpism and Trumpists directly. But remember this: kindness, decency, and fidelity to American values are defiance in the face of Trumpism. So be kind, decent, and faithful, particularly to the many kinds of people despised and attacked by Trumpists. That’s revolutionary./1

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PAM Dirac @pam-dirac.bsky.social · 26/01/2025

star photometry report 01/12/2025 telescope network: AAVSONet (www.aavso.org/aavsonet) telescope: BSM-NM project: SNEWS Campaign (www.aavso.org/snews-campaign) stars: TYC 4051-1269-1 catching up on some photometry data reduction looks like TYC 4051-1269-1 is starting a slow dimming #photometry

Photometry of star TYC 4051-1269-1 over about the last 3 months. A slow brightening now looks to be starting a slow dimming.

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PAM Dirac @pam-dirac.bsky.social · 26/01/2025

Entertainment side of the basement renovations almost complete with big screen tv, surround sound and bonus cat tree.

Basement renovations ready with big screen tv, surround sound, and bonus cat tree.

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