iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Thomas Connor @thomasconnor.mstdn.social.ap.brid.gy · 28/08/2026

All I've got is a phone camera right now, so I'm using a window to get a second order image for clarity... The moon is weird presently! Enjoy it if you can! #LunarEclipse

The moon undergoing a partial eclipse. A secondary and tertiary image are seen, caused by internal reflection in the window. These are fainter, but better show the structure: a big chunk of red darkness eating the bottom left of the moon.

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Thomas Connor @thomasconnor.mstdn.social.ap.brid.gy · 12/08/2026

The limited #eclipse over #Boston. Nowhere near as fun as a totality, but it's still cute to play with the Day Star not looking quite like it should...

A rooftop view looking toward Boston from Cambridge; a mile or so in the distance are skyscrapers peaking over the intervening tree canopy and mid-height buildings. The sky is blue, with large clouds floating overhead. At the top right corner of the frame are eclipse glasses; in the eyepiece of one is the Sun, roughly 15% covered by the shadow of the Moon.

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Thomas Connor @thomasconnor.mstdn.social.ap.brid.gy · 06/07/2026

Sometimes the commute takes more than an hour Purple line stuck under Back Bay without any Power @universalhub The train is going 33 seconds from wheels starting to turn to power failure. Then a five minute restart. It sounds like the locomotive is still […] [Original post on mstdn.social]

The interior of the upper level of an MBTA bilevel passenger car, but all the lights are off except the emergency lighting system.

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Thomas Connor @thomasconnor.mstdn.social.ap.brid.gy · 04/07/2026

The last sunset before the 250th puts on a red white and blue show #Boston #Sunset @universalhub

Whisps of red and white clouds lit by the setting sun in a blue sky

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Thomas Connor @thomasconnor.mstdn.social.ap.brid.gy · 29/06/2026

In good news for me (and other #BikeBoston riders), #CambridgeMA has made the lead-in section of the Garden St. bike lane parking protected. I'd been hoping they would do this for ages; now, assuming they actually put some physical barriers in to keep people […] [Original post on mstdn.social]

A bike lane on a two-way street. The side the photographer is on has a line of parked cars but also a dedicated bike lane between the cars and the sidewalk. The opposite direction of travel has no parking, and the bike lane there is simply between the travel lane and the sidewalk.

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Thomas Connor @thomasconnor.mstdn.social.ap.brid.gy · 30/05/2026

#Boston and surrounding environs, presently. Comments are pretty much everyone within 128 reporting it.

Screenshot of Reddit showing multiple new posts on a loud boom.

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Thomas Connor @thomasconnor.mstdn.social.ap.brid.gy · 07/05/2026

#BikeToWorkDay here in #Boston. A little more puddles than I might have liked, but all told not a bad time. Despite trying her best to anger the bicycle cohort, you can even see Mayor Wu on this ride, in a purple rain coat.

A view down a rain-slicked city street, albeit one much more pedestrianized than typical for the United States. A loose group of a dozen or more bike riders fills the street ahead.

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Thomas Connor @thomasconnor.mstdn.social.ap.brid.gy · 16/04/2026

Hitting a double achievement on the #MBTA today -- traveling backwards (train reversing with passengers on board) while in the lowest numbered car in active service (not the oldest ... The Internet says that's 1616). Supposedly something is under the wheels of a […] [Original post on mstdn.social]

An MBTA red line car. The photo is centered on the train number, which reads 01500 in black letters over a faded yellow light background.

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Thomas Connor @thomasconnor.mstdn.social.ap.brid.gy · 14/04/2026

[crude humor] It's always heartening to see some Test T's in the morning.

A new Red Line train, with the station display reading "Test Train"

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Thomas Connor @thomasconnor.mstdn.social.ap.brid.gy · 29/03/2026

Too busy to toot yesterday, but the #NoKings rally in #Boston yesterday was packed.

A view from within Boston Common looking north up toward the Soldiers and Sailors Monument hill. The Common is packed with people, many of whom are holding signs. A prominent sign reads "RESIST" in white letters on a black background.

A view from within Boston Common looking north toward Beacon Street. A stage is visible, but a large mass of people between the photographer and the stage makes it nearly impossible to see anything. Towering speakers and a video screen to project the goings-on are visible. Many of the people are holding signs and flags.

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Thomas Connor @thomasconnor.mstdn.social.ap.brid.gy · 06/03/2026

I feel like we, as a society, have been too distracted by recent events to comment on this absolute Stan Kelly gem from last month, which is an absolute shame. (theonion.com/pepper-wrongi) #TheOnion #Sickos #HaHaHaYes

A black and white cartoon, in the style typical of its creator, Stan Kelly (Ward Sutton's pen name). A man in a glass windowed restaurant wearing a dirty apron is tossing pizza dough. He is unkempt, looking outward at the activity cropped from the image, with a cruel smile. The sign on the restaurant reads "Sickocilian Mom and Pop," a play on the typical "Sickos" image Stan Kelly has become famous for. A speech bubble rising up reads "Ciao ... HA HA HA CIAO!"

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Thomas Connor @thomasconnor.mstdn.social.ap.brid.gy · 06/02/2026

#CambridgeMA doing some snow exports from side streets today.

View from afar of a load of snow being dumped into a dump truck.

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Thomas Connor @thomasconnor.mstdn.social.ap.brid.gy · 05/02/2026

So I'm on a deep dive into the FITS standard mailing list, trying to track down some nuance for our Newsletter. Anyway, deep into some discussion about whether 64-bit integers will ever *actually* be needed, someone signs off with this. And that's when I […] [Original post on mstdn.social]

The sign-off at the end of an email, reading: "PS: Please transmit my salutations to all the NPOI/FAME folks, specially at the present difficult time. When you see them that is, as presumably nobody has been allowed in at USNO today."

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Thomas Connor @thomasconnor.mstdn.social.ap.brid.gy · 25/01/2026

Getting some practice in for breakfast -- I may not have grown up here, but I do try to learn the ways of #Boston now that I live here. And the snow coming down is a sign that it's #FrenchToast time!

French toast seen on a plate from above. Powdered sugar, some whipped cream, and butter combine to make this probably a bit too decadent. Oh well, it was delicious.

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Thomas Connor @thomasconnor.mstdn.social.ap.brid.gy · 24/01/2026

The fun you can have #running with a #moustache when it's sub-zero wind chill...

A handsome chap wearing cold weather running gear. His long moustache is curled up on the sides and coated white with ice.

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Thomas Connor @thomasconnor.mstdn.social.ap.brid.gy · 13/01/2026

#AAS247 was nice, but spending the weekend after in Arizona was much nicer.

A night scene, very dark. Centered in the frame is a car, its rear gate raised; a soft glow comes from the inside, casting a halo on the surrounding ground. In the background are two hills, seen only as silhouettes against the light pollution on the horizon. Several stars are seen, but only on close inspection. The smooth curves of the landscape are broken at places by the silhouettes of desert plants, including a few lone saguaros.

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Thomas Connor @thomasconnor.mstdn.social.ap.brid.gy · 09/12/2025

Really fascinating study of the surface of my coffee as I tap the desk. This is the benefit of those December low sun angle days, I guess... #Physics #AstronomerAtWork

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Thomas Connor @thomasconnor.mstdn.social.ap.brid.gy · 03/12/2025

The Red line is shutting itself down right now as a dead train at Park St. bottlenecks the entire system. Not really a surprise, right? Except this is one of the new trains! Transit matters tracker shows only two more trains total north of the River, so hurry if […] [Original post on mstdn.social]

A bunch of sad people next to an empty red line train

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Thomas Connor @thomasconnor.mstdn.social.ap.brid.gy · 12/11/2025

View from a residential street, under streetlights; short cell phone exposure, with common star field for reference. It was a good one, #Boston. #NorthernLights #SkyGazing

A bold whisp of red dominating a light polluted night sky.

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Thomas Connor @thomasconnor.mstdn.social.ap.brid.gy · 24/10/2025

The fare gates have arrived at South Station (they just aren't activated yet). @universalhub #Boston #MBTA #PublicTransit #SouthStation

A row of slender dividers in the middle of a large, open concourse, each a few feet high. Retractable gates are visible, but all are locked in the open position, enabling unimpeded motion.

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Thomas Connor @thomasconnor.mstdn.social.ap.brid.gy · 18/10/2025

Absolutely lovely weather on the Common today to hang out with tens of thousands of the good patriots of #Boston #NoKings

A view looking over the heads of a large throng of people looking toward a stage with a jumbotron over it. Ayanna Pressley is on the screen. The surroundings of the photo are a blue sky and the early autumn colors of Boston.

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Thomas Connor @thomasconnor.mstdn.social.ap.brid.gy · 09/10/2025

#RedLine gives up at Harvard during Rush Hour, Commuters find their prospects turn dour. @universalhub #MBTA #Boston #TrainOutOfService

Lots of folks standing looking sad next to an out of service subway car

View of a crowded subway platform seen from above.

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Thomas Connor @thomasconnor.mstdn.social.ap.brid.gy · 04/09/2025

Well look at that, #CambridgeMA -- four cyclists, a dismounted fifth, and a sixth just behind on Garden St, but only one car. Maybe we should pull up that car lane since it isn't getting used.

A bike lane with four cyclists approaching and a fifth standing with his bike on the sidewalk. The adjacent car lane only has one car

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Thomas Connor @thomasconnor.mstdn.social.ap.brid.gy · 15/08/2025

Absolute banger of a night in Boston, sitting outside watching the storm slip down to Rhode Island, lightning dancing in the distance as the heat breaks away. #Boston #BostonWX #Massachusetts #Clouds

A thin vertical photo showing clouds; at the top, puffy edges of pink and orange meet a clear blue sky. Moving downward, fluffy gray edges emerge, turning to darker sheets, smearing across each other in tendrils, as shades of orange and gray fight over the sky.

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Thomas Connor @thomasconnor.mstdn.social.ap.brid.gy · 26/07/2025

[Boston politics, photo of Trump] Ole Bobby Newport's mailer has big Schrodinger's fascist energy. Words? I'm opposed to him! Just the pictures? He's with me! #Boston

A generic looking white guy looking constipated toward the camera, with a mostly sepia photo of Donald Trump looming supportively overhead.

The same photo, but now with words that make it seem like the generic guy doesn't like Trump written next to the photos.

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Thomas Connor @thomasconnor.mstdn.social.ap.brid.gy · 25/07/2025

Massive flooding across Cambridge, if you believe the Blue Bikes map at least...

A map of Cambridgeport, with blue bike stations marked by pins. However, almost all non-road land is colored blue, as it would be if it were water.

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Thomas Connor @thomasconnor.mstdn.social.ap.brid.gy · 25/06/2025

The heat wave sure must make Keolis afraid As South Station departures are all delayed Cc: @universalhub #MBTA #Boston

The departures board at South Station, with most upcoming and should have departed trains listed as "delayed"

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Thomas Connor @thomasconnor.mstdn.social.ap.brid.gy · 24/06/2025

Not as hot as I've ever existed in, but might take the crown limiting myself to north of the Mason-Dixon Line... #Boston

Weather bug on a cell phone home screen showing a current temperature of 106 degrees.

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Thomas Connor @thomasconnor.mstdn.social.ap.brid.gy · 20/06/2025

Confirmed sighting of the new #Amtrak #Acela trainsets in #Boston. There's still plastic wrap on the seats, and the old Acela in the background is the one running service today, but by God we might have the #AveliaLiberty running service soon enough! #Railfan #PassengerRail #Trains #Rail

The front of a high speed train, with a sleek aerodynamic nose cone leading to a long set of rail cars. It is at station, and is styled in white and dark blue with red accents. Two tracks behind it is an older looking train of a comparable but more antiquated vintage.

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Thomas Connor @thomasconnor.mstdn.social.ap.brid.gy · 18/05/2025

Wikipedia, in its strict adherence to citable facts, is meticulous enough to not assume the 400 year-old Virginia Dare has since passed. #Wikipedia

Screenshot of the title and lede for the Wikipedia page on Virginia Dare. The lede reads: "Virginia Dare (born August 18, 1587; presumed dead) was the first English child born in an American English colony."

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Thomas Connor @thomasconnor.mstdn.social.ap.brid.gy · 16/05/2025

#BikeToWorkDay festival this morning in #Boston. Lots of folks out enjoying the nice weather and the company (even if they, like me, added a few miles to their commute by coming downtown).

Moustachioed man with a red bike helmet and sunglasses standing in front of Boston City Hall among a crowd of people and bikes.

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Thomas Connor @thomasconnor.mstdn.social.ap.brid.gy · 24/04/2025

It's a day early (Hubble's birthday is April 25, 1990), but it's still a good day to celebrate Ole Aluminumsides. This mug is already 10 years old! Hubble had three servicing missions at that age. #Hubble35 #Hubble25 #HubbleSpaceTelescope #ScienceMugs

Close-in photo of a white mug filled with coffee. The mug has a decal reading "Hubble 25," with an icon of the Hubble Space Telescope.

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Thomas Connor @thomasconnor.mstdn.social.ap.brid.gy · 02/04/2025

They're overlooked and could use a good cleaning / replacement to LEDs, but it's worth noting that the lights over the Red Line in South Station are #Swag. #MBTA #Boston #PublicTransitAppreciation

A fluorescent light panel, dropping several inches (several times about two and half centimeters) from the ceiling. The edges of the panel are curved in a convex manner. They are white, with a crisp red line running horizontally along the center.

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Thomas Connor @thomasconnor.mstdn.social.ap.brid.gy · 10/01/2025

Train travel is just so much nicer than flying. Just, gosh. (Two strangers photoshopped out with magic eraser) #Acela #Amtrak #RailTravel #morricone

Uptown Manhattan seen through the RFK bridge seen through the window of a train. The sky is blue, the water of the East River calm, and the sun is shining. Two vaguely human shapes have been blended into the background inside the train for privacy.

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