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Michael Merrifield @astromikemerri.bsky.social · 16h

All sorts of free speech issues if they tried to make it.

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Michael Merrifield @astromikemerri.bsky.social · 20h

A very different experience on Herm at this time of year.

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Michael Merrifield @astromikemerri.bsky.social · 1d

I am not aware of my alma mater ever depriving tenure on the grounds that a professor is promoting idiotic conspiracy theories.

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Michael Merrifield @astromikemerri.bsky.social · 1d

Pretty much the same.

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Michael Merrifield @astromikemerri.bsky.social · 1d

Avi Loeb — the strongest argument I have yet heard against tenure in academia.

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Michael Merrifield @astromikemerri.bsky.social · 1d

The folk at my old school have spies everywhere. Though happy to make the same page as Florence and the Machine, and Slow Horses!

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Michael Merrifield @astromikemerri.bsky.social · 1d

Better late than never!

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Michael Merrifield @astromikemerri.bsky.social · 1d

Although he bought two seats, he makes no reference to what his companion made of it.

Maybe he never showed up…

Lux "Nightmare" Alptraum @luxalptraum.com · 2d

TFW you paid $1400 to see Beckett’s most famous work without knowing anything about it

One Star Review of Waiting for Godot on Broadway
I recently attended Waiting for Godot on Broadway and spent over $1,400 for two Row C seats (103 and 104). I'm a longtime admirer of Broadway productions and even hold a season pass for Shea's Performing Arts Theatre, so I came in with genuine enthusiasm and high expectations. Unfortunately, this show was unlike anything ! have ever experienced —and not in a good way.
What I encountered was not the artistry, music, or emotional storytelling I usually associate with Broadway, but instead what felt like an endless cycle of nonsensical conversation between characters who seemed trapped in their own madness. I tried-truly tried-to find meaning, symbolism, or even a thread of emotional resonance. I stayed through the first half hoping the second would offer clarity. But by intermission, it was clear: this was a waste of both time and money.
Keanu Reeves is an actor I respect greatly, but I cannot fathom why he would agree to participate in such a disjointed, inaccessible production. His talent was lost in a performance that defied reason rather than provoked insight.
To anyone considering attending: unless you are drawn to highly abstract, nearly incomprehensible theater, I strongly caution you against this show. For the average, educated, thoughtful theatergoer, it is far more frustrating than fulfilling. In my opinion, this was the single most disappointing Broadway experience I've ever had - an unfortunate waste of money and, more importantly, of time.

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Michael Merrifield @astromikemerri.bsky.social · 1d

TL;DR: it’s a comet, not aliens. 🔭

avi-loeb.medium.com/first-images...

First Images of 3I/ATLAS from ExoMars TGO

On October 3, 2025, the interstellar object 3I/ATLAS arrived within a distance of 30 million kilometers from Mars.

avi-loeb.medium.com

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Michael Merrifield @astromikemerri.bsky.social · 2d

I am sad that my attempts to nominate Rubin and Bosma never got anywhere, though at least Vera has a brilliant telescope named after her.

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Michael Merrifield @astromikemerri.bsky.social · 2d

Christmas present from my son!

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Michael Merrifield @astromikemerri.bsky.social · 3d

First-world problem: I just made my latte macchiato on the cappuccino froth setting.

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Michael Merrifield @astromikemerri.bsky.social · 3d

My wife needed to know what a “vexillation” is. I think my definition of a final tile that won’t quite fit was much better than the real one.

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Michael Merrifield @astromikemerri.bsky.social · 3d

Why is there more gold on a greenfinch than there is on a goldfinch? 🪶

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Michael Merrifield @astromikemerri.bsky.social · 3d

If the EU never achieved anything else, it would have justified its existence by ensuring that I only have to carry one charging cable around with me.

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Michael Merrifield @astromikemerri.bsky.social · 3d

Time for avian elevenses. 🪶

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Reposted by Michael Merrifield

Michael Merrifield @astromikemerri.bsky.social · 11d

My first introduction to Northern Ireland was in the late 1990s when a taxi driver drove me down the Garvaghy Road, because he wanted to try to explain the place to me a bit.

Since then, I have understood that flags on lampposts have nothing to do with caring about society.

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Reposted by Michael Merrifield

Benjamin Pope @benjaminpope.bsky.social · 3d

it's actually not two Nobels for Josephson junctions, just one that tunnelled over a gap of 52 years

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Michael Merrifield @astromikemerri.bsky.social · 4d

600 AU.

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Michael Merrifield @astromikemerri.bsky.social · 4d

Tara then Goose Fair!

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Michael Merrifield @astromikemerri.bsky.social · 4d

Who are you betting on for this year’s physics Nobel Prize? 🧪

I am plumping for Katori and Ye for ⚛️ 🕰️.

(I would’ve put my money on Shor and Deutsch for ⚛️💻, but likely too close to last year.)

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Michael Merrifield @astromikemerri.bsky.social · 4d

When I was an admissions tutor, I struggled to understand why it was even a question that a student with a B grade obtained at a sink comprehensive had demonstrated at least as much aptitude for university study as one who’d been tutored to an A grade at a small-class well-resourced private school.

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Michael Merrifield @astromikemerri.bsky.social · 4d

Did you duck? 🔭

www.esa.int/ESA_Multimed...

ESA spots asteroid that made very close approach to Earth

www.esa.int

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Michael Merrifield @astromikemerri.bsky.social · 4d

I always thought they were further apart.

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Michael Merrifield @astromikemerri.bsky.social · 5d

🪶Feeder a little less of a rollercoaster than yesterday as winds start to ease.

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