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Tim Feinstein

@timnfeinstein.bsky.social
2.2K followers 1.5K following 3.7K posts

Ph.D. ex-academic, self-published author of “A Heuristic Guide To Quantitative Imaging”. Lead, operations and technical sales at Coastal Microscopes.

PostsRepliesMedia
Tim Feinstein @timnfeinstein.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
What a great set! As much as I grump about phones vs traditional cameras, you have to admit that all that processing sometimes makes the shot, like the sun through that arch. I got this in Rome, there must be > six stops of light between the shadows and the basilica.
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Tim Feinstein @timnfeinstein.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Ok first of all
Movie poster for All Dogs Go To Heaven
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Tim Feinstein @timnfeinstein.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
If you remember these, you probably used corded phones and had a favorite dial-up internet provider. Sure, car bras were faddish and kind of dorky. But they had a purpose! That bug goo would eat the paint if you didn’t clean the car every week. The little hood spoilers kept yr windshield clean.
A Pontiac Sunfire from ~1994 has a black wrap-around ‘car bra’ to protect its front end from bug splatters.
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Tim Feinstein @timnfeinstein.bsky.social · 16/08/2026
[taps the sign]
A Far Side cartoon showing a gifted school student pushing on a pull door
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Tim Feinstein @timnfeinstein.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
What dark sorcery is this. I got amazingly close to this red-tail hawk (by hawk standards) and it’s slightly distinguishable from a shmoodge on the lens, if you squint.
An ambiguous shmoodge jn a dead tree branch that the author swears is a large hawk of some sort
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Tim Feinstein @timnfeinstein.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
You also need a crappy phone to take photos that are meaningful to you even though the bird is like three semi-focused pixels
Terrible cell phone picture of a woodpecker, good luck ID’ing the species, giving skeptical side-eye to the photographer and his dog
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Tim Feinstein @timnfeinstein.bsky.social · 19/07/2026
Pittsburgh people - do you see fewer bees this year? My plants have almost no visitors this year, even the fan favorite mountain mint, and I’ve seen the same all over on my dog walks. The only exception is this bush, Deutzia I think?, that was hopping with bumbles. No other bees there either.
A green bush with dentate, opposite-type leaves and small whitish purple flowers, likely a Deutzia variety.
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Tim Feinstein @timnfeinstein.bsky.social · 18/07/2026
I’ve got all kinds of feelings about the guy who buys a Jaguar E-type, maybe the most elegant car ever made, and says I’m going to take this thing to vintage races and drive it like I stole it.
A Jaguar E-Type couple, black, #44, taking a sweeping right turn unconscionably fast at the corner of Hobart and Greenfield
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Tim Feinstein @timnfeinstein.bsky.social · 11/07/2026
Pirates of the Caribbean meme about the pirate code
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Tim Feinstein @timnfeinstein.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
Our pumpkin from Halloween last year. 12yo daughter loves Jerboas!
A Halloween pumpkin with a Jerboa artistically carved in it, lit from the inside by a tea light.
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Tim Feinstein @timnfeinstein.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
Tactical culture in Italy.
A bottle of chocolate syrup and a chocolate bad, for sale at a bodega in Rome, labeled CHOCOLATO MILITARE
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Tim Feinstein @timnfeinstein.bsky.social · 25/05/2026
And now Bowie’s teaching himself door handles, like he’s a velociraptor from Jurassic Park. He got the push side a year ago. Now he’s practicing the pull side: turn the handle, pull the door in with his nose, let it swing open, push it shut, repeat.
A doberman pushes a door handles with his nose, working out for himself how it opens and closes.
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Tim Feinstein @timnfeinstein.bsky.social · 24/05/2026
Ahem.
A panel from the graphic novel Saga, that illustrates how you don’t want a large, fierce-looking cat that detects lying with you all the time
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Tim Feinstein @timnfeinstein.bsky.social · 24/05/2026
Palate cleanser
Four panels from the graphic novel Saga, where a large cat (-like alien) reassures a young girl by telling her the self-hating thoughts left over after abuse are lies.
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Tim Feinstein @timnfeinstein.bsky.social · 10/05/2026
Good morning!
A doberman standing over a ball on a green lawn
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Tim Feinstein @timnfeinstein.bsky.social · 26/04/2026
You see an individual at war with himself, pinioned between precisely balanced needs, on the one hand, to chase the ball, and on the other, a just as terrible need to not put the ball down. Bo has a whole dance he does negotiate an agreement with himself, then the ball drops, and we go again.
A Doberman stands with a ball in his mouth, hoping circumstances might intervene to save him from having to decide whether to drop it or not drop it
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Tim Feinstein @timnfeinstein.bsky.social · 20/04/2026
Pictured: Hobbes and Nietszsche attend some poor 2nd year’s departmental presentation on moral philosophy, and take turns asking increasingly pointed questions-that-are-also-comments without directly acknowledging each other
A collectible figurine featuring Marvel characters Wolverine and Juggernaut in an epic battle
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Tim Feinstein @timnfeinstein.bsky.social · 19/04/2026
You will never believe what the dog who drops balls in places he can’t reach, so that he can stand around crying over it, just did.
A Doberman stands anxiously gazing into a yellow bucket where he can almost but not quite get to a ball that he just dropped into it
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Tim Feinstein @timnfeinstein.bsky.social · 16/04/2026
Bowie’s paw on the large branch telegraphs his concern I might not know the rule that dragging a large branch around the yard for fifteen minutes means you officially own it.
A large doberman stands with his tongue out, in a yard, one paw resting possessively on a large branch with a lot of sub-branches
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Tim Feinstein @timnfeinstein.bsky.social · 31/03/2026
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Tim Feinstein @timnfeinstein.bsky.social · 27/03/2026
A large Doberman presses his head against the photographer’s leg, breathing loudly in protest that he can’t go up on the couch.
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Tim Feinstein @timnfeinstein.bsky.social · 24/03/2026
Solid Viggo the Carpathian energy (Ghostbusters 2 reference for the youngs)
Portrait of a medieval warlord, glowering over a destroyed landscape, used as the vehicle for a bad spirit named Viggo in Ghostbusters 2
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Tim Feinstein @timnfeinstein.bsky.social · 16/03/2026
It’s been 10+ years and I feel like The Magicians is one of the rare two-fers: an incredible book series that became a different, equally incredible multi-season show. I can’t even pick ten favorite moments, though the Mar-golem ranks up with the musical episodes.
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Tim Feinstein @timnfeinstein.bsky.social · 13/03/2026
Holy balls, Morgan Freeman just very seriously pointed out the ‘thagomizer’ on the Netflix/Spielberg dinosaurs show. Like 100% educational tone of voice, that is what professionals call it, because I looked it up and they do now? How cool is that.
Far Side cartoon, caveman lecturer pointed to a stegasaurus tail saying ‘and this end is called the thagomizer…after the late Thag Simmons’.
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Tim Feinstein @timnfeinstein.bsky.social · 12/03/2026
Sock turnover rate has become unacceptably high lately. Without unduly prejudicing the investigation, a leading suspect has emerged.
A doberman in side profile, holding underwear in his mouth, without apparent shame or remorse
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Tim Feinstein @timnfeinstein.bsky.social · 01/03/2026
Typical Doberman aggression, right here: as soon as I’m in the shower, Bowie stretches himself out like this over all my clothes, sort of a whole body version of putting your paw on a stick to claim it.
Doberman lying on a pile of clothes in the bathroom, clothes that belong to the photographer and not him.
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Tim Feinstein @timnfeinstein.bsky.social · 16/02/2026
City park, morning.
A dead tree’s thin, crooked trunk stands above bare trees in pale pre-dawn light, all above a thin strip of road and snow bank
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Tim Feinstein @timnfeinstein.bsky.social · 23/01/2026
Bowie has decided that our fish situation is not ok. Unclear at this time what further steps are needed, so monitoring will continue as the situation develops.
A Doberman stares intently into a 30-gallon fish tank, as if certain the fish within are up to no good
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Tim Feinstein @timnfeinstein.bsky.social · 21/01/2026
After three years in this house our dog discovered that we have a fish tank, and now he barks at the fish. They seem pretty stoic about it, all things considered. I don’t have a pic of the action yet, so here’s a quiet moment instead.
A doberman with natural ears lying on a dog bed, his head resting on his comfort blanket
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Tim Feinstein @timnfeinstein.bsky.social · 06/01/2026
Scene from Good Omens in which Crawley convinces his houseplants to grow better.
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Tim Feinstein @timnfeinstein.bsky.social · 01/01/2026
Finishing the year with a cool cloud! I don’t think I have seen this kind before. It must be a neat effect of the mountains.
A solitary cloud in a wide angle shot, framed by trees.
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Tim Feinstein @timnfeinstein.bsky.social · 29/11/2025
Dog, woods.
A black and tan doberman with natural ears, lying in the woods half buried in dry leaves, looking off to the right
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Tim Feinstein @timnfeinstein.bsky.social · 26/11/2025
“…malware that can use large language models to write custom code for each hacking attempt” That’s basically a digital version of Stephen King’s flu from The Stand.
First edition book cover of The Stand. Jedi with a non-glowing toothpick sword fights a plague doctor with a scythe. Not shown: plague that kills most of the world in the first chapter.
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Tim Feinstein @timnfeinstein.bsky.social · 13/11/2025
Photo of Hillary Clinton looking politely exasperated and bemused
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Tim Feinstein @timnfeinstein.bsky.social · 08/11/2025
Our 12yo determined that her current favorite animal, the jerboa, go on our pumpkin this year. But talk about a cool Golgi pumpkin! Following convention, it looks like cis- is down.
Lit jack-o-lantern pumpkin, carved with the image of a jerboa kangaroo mouse
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Tim Feinstein @timnfeinstein.bsky.social · 21/10/2025
I saw this weird atmospheric phenomenon in Pittsburgh the other day. Rainbows usually happen opposite the sun, making a ring about 40 degrees around where your shadow. But here the sun’s just out of frame to the left, and you see this persistent rainbow bit just next to it. Any ideas?
A skyline picture of Pittsburgh, looking west near sunset, with wispy clouds and an odd bit of rainbow in the center left of the image.
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Tim Feinstein @timnfeinstein.bsky.social · 07/10/2025
For how much birria stew my family has eaten in the last few days, I still have a shocking amount of birria stew. 12yo takes it in tacos. I try to argue that cuts down on the total birria she can remove in a sitting, but resistance is strong.
An intimidating amount of birria stew in a large red pot
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Tim Feinstein @timnfeinstein.bsky.social · 10/09/2025
For example, let’s say the door on a pass-through breaks. No prob, call up the DLAR office and coordinate with a facilities manager (you have one, right?) to replace it. If you don’t have either of those, I suppose you could [spoiler], and then, for the love of christ, [spoiler].
An underage, untrained lab technician looks uncomprehendingly at a broken microwave-size door in his hand and asks himself what Mr. Bean would do in this situation.
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Tim Feinstein @timnfeinstein.bsky.social · 06/09/2025
Post a PERFECT album from the 90s that isn't Nirvana or Pearl Jam.
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Tim Feinstein @timnfeinstein.bsky.social · 03/08/2025
My tween daughter’s review: good movie, everyone wants their own demon cat. The thing is ridiculously cute.
Blue demon cat from Kpop Demon Hunters, disappearing through a portal in the floor, staring at a potted plant that he knocked over and trying (without success) to resist putting back upright
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Tim Feinstein @timnfeinstein.bsky.social · 27/07/2025
Herps! Can someone identify a friend I made near the top of mount Rhune in SW France? I’m leaning towards an asp (Vipera aspis) based on coloring (plus altitude) but it doesn’t feel right. Fortunately it was a cool day for mid-summer, so no one felt too frisky.
A european viper, spp not certain, coiled in the grass in a relaxed and not-ready-to-strike manner.
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Tim Feinstein @timnfeinstein.bsky.social · 27/07/2025
No cheating, post your lock screen! #ArbreMana
Lock screen with a picture of a now deceased and sorely missed red doberman, seated, looking dignified and not (as one would expect) like a giant loving dork. This being the same picture as my profile pic does not mean I am carrying a torch, despite what my daughter might say. She’s on my unlocked phone screen. Behind the apps.
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Tim Feinstein @timnfeinstein.bsky.social · 13/07/2025
Translator app: the pictured dog is either reflecting on the unique uses of metaphor by Proust, or else begging you to fetch the toy out of the laundry bin so he can circle back when no one’s watching and drop it in again. If only they weren’t so inscrutable.
A large black dog looking at the camera in an appeal for help getting a red dog toy out of the laundry bin that he clearly dropped it in
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Tim Feinstein @timnfeinstein.bsky.social · 12/07/2025
Honestly, I’m pretty sure I can tell what he is trying to say most of the time.
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Tim Feinstein @timnfeinstein.bsky.social · 10/07/2025
If you see this, quote post with. Robot that isn't from Star Wars, Star Trek, Dr Who or Transformers.
The robot Maria from Fritz Lang’s film Metropolis, stepping on lighted panels away from a dark, austere throne, with an inverted pentagram lit on the wall behind it
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Tim Feinstein @timnfeinstein.bsky.social · 08/07/2025
Stannis Baratheon from Game of Thrones, defending grammar rules for continuous versus discrete units
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Tim Feinstein @timnfeinstein.bsky.social · 30/05/2025
Also Epicurus and Metrodorus, who started the atomist school of philosophy over dinner & drinks. No double meaning this time, I’m just a fan of their work.
Marble bust of MetrodorusMarble bust of Epicurus
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Tim Feinstein @timnfeinstein.bsky.social · 30/05/2025
Omero e Cicero, in the Capitoline Museum in Rome. A sensible pairing! #bioimageanalysis #dadjokes
Marble busts of Homer and Cicero, in a museum in Rome
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Tim Feinstein @timnfeinstein.bsky.social · 26/04/2025
James Joyce in a black and white photo wearing round glasses and a tufted felt coat with a bow tie, looking skeptical at the idea that reader confusion is always the fault of the reader
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Tim Feinstein @timnfeinstein.bsky.social · 08/01/2025
A story told in two pictures.
A Doberman named Bowie, looking into a laundry hamper and wondering how his Kong toy got in there. A Doberman named Bowie, looking up at the photographer for help getting his Kong toy out of the laundry hamper.
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