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RJ Stessman

@turn2thecosmos.bsky.social
481 followers 252 following 1.2K posts

Posts of astrophotography, ISU Cyclone sports, catitude, cycling or beautiful landscapes may occasionally pop up here. Birder, bluebirder, cat Dad, and unapologetic tree hugger. DIY audio nut and would-be craftsman. Retired.

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RJ Stessman @turn2thecosmos.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
A jpeg grab off the Vespera II of The Pleiades. About 11-12 hours of capture. There's no processing done yet, so obviously the potential is there for a gorgeous outcome. It's nice to have clear skies, plentiful targets and 12 hours of darkness again. #astrophotography #nightsky #Stars #M45 #astro
The Pleiades, aka the Seven Sisters, M45
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RJ Stessman @turn2thecosmos.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
I'm a strong believer in the rule of threes. Stay tuned.
Jim Bakker obit headline. Evil MFer #1.Dennis Hastert obit headline. Evil MFer #2.The Grim Reaper attempts the hat trick with Moscow Mitch.
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RJ Stessman @turn2thecosmos.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
The only guy I can think of who may have come close is George Amundson, but I'm not sure about individual game performances. He was good enough to win Big 8 Offensive Player of the Year over Johnny Rodgers when JR won the Heisman. #BlueCy
George Amundson, ISU, career stats.
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RJ Stessman @turn2thecosmos.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Ashley was there yesterday. She still doesn't know better and she's well into this list, I'd imagine.
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RJ Stessman @turn2thecosmos.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Won't ever happen.
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RJ Stessman @turn2thecosmos.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Current work in progress: ~.5 cu. ft. cabinets with rounded backs and 1-1/8" thick walls partially filled w/cat letter. MAC-06 woofer and SB Acoustics aluminum domed tweeter. Voicing is progressing splendidly. #DIYaudio #nowplaying #woodcraft #art #diyaudioprojects #audiophile #speakerbuild #audio
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RJ Stessman @turn2thecosmos.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
‘Nuff said? Prepare to vote. Follow through.
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RJ Stessman @turn2thecosmos.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
So many ways to go here. Chris Squire was a master. Jack Bruce, Bootsy Collins. I'm gonna go with the great John Entwistle.
The Ox, playing his bass.
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RJ Stessman @turn2thecosmos.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Also, Hinson thinks Trump was right about EVERYTHING, and wears it on her head.
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RJ Stessman @turn2thecosmos.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Red in the morning, MAGAts take warning. Sailors are damn scarce in Iowa, foundering magats are plentiful. Oh, and the weather continues to bode dreadful. #IAWX #photography #sky
A fiery red sunrise is on the way.
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RJ Stessman @turn2thecosmos.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Vote! Vote blue down the entire ballot. Vote as soon as you are able, then get your circle of friends to vote.
TRUMPKIN: Orange on the outside, hollow on the inside. Should (MUST) be thrown out in November.
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RJ Stessman @turn2thecosmos.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
AH is trying to run from her vile reality. We remember, she thinks Trump was right about everything. Nunn as well.
Ashley Hinson believes Trump was right about everything.
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RJ Stessman @turn2thecosmos.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Remco Evenepoel has won the World Championship Men's TT in Montreal, in a fourth consecutive triumph. Brandon McNulty of the USA was fourth. #ProCycling #Specialized
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RJ Stessman @turn2thecosmos.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Yeah. Sure.
The Mayor in the movie "Jaws".
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RJ Stessman @turn2thecosmos.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
I can only tell what I see, but it seems the US sports world is wholly committed to...
Heil Musk.
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RJ Stessman @turn2thecosmos.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
A late season American Goldfinch from 10/2025. 🪶 #SmallBirdSaturday #iowa #iowastatebird #wildlife #BirdPhotography #OMSystem #Birds #Nature
An American Goldfinch surveys a nearby feeder cluster from a perch in a crabapple tree.
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RJ Stessman @turn2thecosmos.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
From 7/2025. 🪶 #SmallBirdSaturday #wildlife #backyardbirds #BirdPhotography #Birds #Nature
A newly fledged eastern bluebird gets delivery as he and his father consider next steps.
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RJ Stessman @turn2thecosmos.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Easy enough...
Thought he looks quite fierce, Casey just wants to say "HI!"
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RJ Stessman @turn2thecosmos.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
They're all proxies for the Orange Menace, and he's become bottom 4% out of touch.
Americans hate Big Data more and more each day.
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RJ Stessman @turn2thecosmos.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
Well, this is not ideal. Not for Tadej’s season and not for #ProCycling. Hope he can heal fully.
Pogacar abandons the Vuelta, with apparent shoulder and facial injuries.
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RJ Stessman @turn2thecosmos.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
This is not how you would expect a stage of the Vuelta to end, whether in France, Spain or Andorra. It's August. #procycling
Wout Van Aert slogs thru ankle deep hailstones after an impromptu end of Stage 3 of La Vuelta.
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RJ Stessman @turn2thecosmos.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
Traveling up Endicott Arm en route to Dawes Glacier, near Juneau, AK. #photography #Alaska #nature #landscape #OMSystem #outdoors
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RJ Stessman @turn2thecosmos.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
My poor #cardinal has been flying bald for at least a week. Here's a reminder that someday your glorious crest will fly floofy again and all the feeders will be full. 🪶 #birds #backyardbirds #wildlife #nature #birdphotography #photography
A bright red male cardinal sits perched on a partially eaten ear of corn displaying his magnificent crest in the winter breeze.
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RJ Stessman @turn2thecosmos.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
From their humble beginnings romping the dirt floor of a farm shed to revered pets. These two gingers just recently tuned 7 years old. #cats #kittens #catsky #pets #fluffyfursday
Two curious orange kittens rush to check out the camera.
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RJ Stessman @turn2thecosmos.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
It has been 9-1/2 years. I have this feeling that Jared just isn’t getting it done. Dunno.
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RJ Stessman @turn2thecosmos.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
Django doesn't always feel appreciated, but we know he's a coal-colored treasure. #cats #BlackCatAppreciationDay #greenyes #catsky #panfur
A black cat rests his chin over the arm of a chair.A portrait of an exceedingly handsome black cat, highlighting his glistening coat, piercing eyes, stoic face and whiskers.
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RJ Stessman @turn2thecosmos.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
Remember. Brenna Bird had "no concerns" regarding how the DCI handled the sports betting investigation. When athletes later filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against state entities over the use of warrantless geo-tracking, Bird's office actively defended the state, filing a motion to dismiss.
Iowa and ISU Athletes targeted by DCI for betting on sports.
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RJ Stessman @turn2thecosmos.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
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RJ Stessman @turn2thecosmos.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
Iowans didn’t confine all the hypocrisy to the fairgrounds this week. FoD saw some spillover, and “WTF?!?” indeed.
Shoeless Joe Jackson contemplates a BetMGM ad infesting Iowa’s Field of Dreams.
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RJ Stessman @turn2thecosmos.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
Candidate for Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Chris Jones will paddle the Des Moines River, pointing out the sources of gank plaguing Iowa’s water.
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RJ Stessman @turn2thecosmos.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
It doesn't take the FBI to uncover Iowa's dirty secrets. #Water #WaterSafety #WaterQuality #CleanWater #PublicHealth #Iowa
In a scene from The X-Files, FBI agent Fox Mulder shakes down his nemesis, the cigarette smoking man, aka cancer man, for vital information.
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RJ Stessman @turn2thecosmos.bsky.social · 08/08/2026
I think I've have enough trying to wait out a travel hangover and cold and just dive into the digi-visual aftermath while memories are still fresh. Juneau area whale watching... #Nature #wildlife #Oceanlife #Naturephotography #photography #humpback #humpbackwhale #whalewatching #alaska #juneau
A humpback whale dives between boatbound onlookers and seagulls in beautiful blue waters near Juneau, AK
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RJ Stessman @turn2thecosmos.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
Post a perfect album from the 90’s that isn’t Nirvana, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam or Alice In Chains.
The album cover of Trace, by Son Volt.
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RJ Stessman @turn2thecosmos.bsky.social · 25/07/2026
Rob Sand rode RAGBRAI through eastern Iowa yesterday. Zach Lahn couldn't find a bike or Iowa. #player or #poser
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RJ Stessman @turn2thecosmos.bsky.social · 18/07/2026
Be a standout. #bloomscrolling #garden #Flowerphotography #nativeplants #nature
A lone purple coneflower stands amid a sea of black-eyed susan.
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RJ Stessman @turn2thecosmos.bsky.social · 18/07/2026
A red-tailed hawk perches on a deck railing in an Iowa backyard. #ScreenFiller #BirdOfTheDay #Birds #Wildlife #Nature #Photography #NaturePhotography #BirdPhotography #PhotographyIsArt #redtailedhawk #IowaWildlife #backyardbirds #birdofprey
A particularly fierce looking red-tailed hawk perches an a residential deck railing, in the mood for food.
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RJ Stessman @turn2thecosmos.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
Two takeaways. It's no surprise that Des Moines has a water issue. -and- Any other locations in Iowa whose water source is dependent on stream flows from the northern 2/3 of the state had better be aware of this mess.
Map of Iowa's concentration of CAFOs overlaid with major watersheds.
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RJ Stessman @turn2thecosmos.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
An Eastern Black Swallowtail butterfly enjoys a stop on an ironweed bloom. #Prairie #bloomscrolling #butterfly #summerscene #nature #wildlife #lepidoptera #iowa #photography #macrophotography
Eastern Black Swallowtail butterfly on an ironweed bloom.
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RJ Stessman @turn2thecosmos.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
Tangled up in blue? A very tiny fly seems caught up in the business of a spiderwort bloom. #Bloomscrolling #FlowerPhotography #garden #nature #Dylan #Blueskyart #macrophotography
A tiny fly seems tangled up in the blue of a spiderwort blossom.
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RJ Stessman @turn2thecosmos.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
This is the native Iowa landscape. Not corn, not soybeans, not strings of CAFOs. #prairie #bluestem #bloomscrolling #nocoastkin #landscapephotography #photography #OMSystem
A vista of assorted prairie grasses and blooms provide a foreground for the Midwestern summer sky.
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RJ Stessman @turn2thecosmos.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
It is a world leader trend, don't you know. It's only a matter of time before we see King Charles gluing World Cup trading cards to the drably golden walls of the House of Commons library, no? #heisfreakingnuts
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RJ Stessman @turn2thecosmos.bsky.social · 12/07/2026
How much did a 1980 U.S. Supreme Court case, Diamond v. Chakrabarty impact the Corn Belt states? In the landmark '80 case SCOTUS ruled in a 5-4 decision that living, man-made microorganisms are patentable. Boom, the seed industry went from a web of mainly local players to corporate monoliths.
Kids pulling corn tassels.
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RJ Stessman @turn2thecosmos.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
At this point, he hadn't learned it was Friday yet. #catsofbluesky #Caturday #blackcat #FelineFury #animals
A large black cat rest his chin on the arm of the chair where he is perched.
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RJ Stessman @turn2thecosmos.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
Tell that to the dorks who came up with this.
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RJ Stessman @turn2thecosmos.bsky.social · 21/06/2026
Um, but, uh... There was, uh, ...this.
Flag violation in the WH?
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RJ Stessman @turn2thecosmos.bsky.social · 19/06/2026
2 planets and a crescent moon with earthshine. #IAWX #astronomy #astrophotography #nightsky #summernights
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RJ Stessman @turn2thecosmos.bsky.social · 13/06/2026
If the world's only trillionaire and only felon leader hadn't gutted FEMA, would Des Moines be eligible for emergency assistance? Even after treatment, is the water safe to drink every day? Why do we keep feeding it to the data centers, but voters pay the penalty?
A sign of the failure of Mike Naig, Kim Reynolds and the Iowa Republican legislature.
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RJ Stessman @turn2thecosmos.bsky.social · 13/06/2026
A slightly bawdy squirrel stopped by to give some early #Caturday entertainment. #catsky #cats #animals
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RJ Stessman @turn2thecosmos.bsky.social · 13/06/2026
Not noctilucent clouds. These clouds are under-lit by city lights. #IAWX #nightsky #clouds
Bright clouds in the night sky reflecting back city lights. Des Moines is failing the light pollution test.
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RJ Stessman @turn2thecosmos.bsky.social · 13/06/2026
Jupiter is exiting down from its meeting with Venus and Pollux. #VenusJupiter #astrophotography #nightsky
Venus, Jupiter and Pollux in the western sky.
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