James Davenport
@jradavenport.com
Coffee drinking, year-round-plaid wearing space dad. Astronomy professor in Seattle. Searching for ET, caring for humans.
https://jradavenport.github.io
https://jradavenport.github.io
Pinned
James Davenport
@jradavenport.com
· Jan 22
Why some astronomers are excited about the search for alien life : Short Wave
Around the turn of the century, 3.8 million people banded together in a real-time search for aliens — with screensavers. It was a big moment in a century-long concerted search for extraterrestrial int...
www.npr.org
I listen to @npr.org every day (s/o @kuow.org). Today I'm lucky & proud to be part of a piece talking about SETI and the amazing future of 🔭🧪🎧⭐ with @vrubinobs.bsky.social. Thank you to my friend Regina & the Short Wave team for having me on!
www.npr.org/2025/01/22/1...
www.npr.org/2025/01/22/1...
“If Trump lets me out of here I will super duper say that he didn’t do anything wrong!”
Attorney for Ghislaine Maxwell says the convicted Epstein accomplice can clear President Trump's name in the Epstein probe in exchange for clemency. Follow live updates: https://cnn.it/3ZtSzW3
February 10, 2026 at 1:06 AM
“If Trump lets me out of here I will super duper say that he didn’t do anything wrong!”
Reposted by James Davenport
You're laughing? The team that lends their plane for deportation flights and whose owner is best pals with Trump got utterly humiliated in front of a hundred million viewers, and you're laughing?
February 9, 2026 at 3:24 AM
You're laughing? The team that lends their plane for deportation flights and whose owner is best pals with Trump got utterly humiliated in front of a hundred million viewers, and you're laughing?
“NASA actually might go back to the moon now so please give me more contracts”
Elon Musk has completely failed to deliver on his Mars promises, his DOGE promises, and his full self-driving promises. So now he's making another promise he won't deliver on: "a self-growing city on the moon."
February 9, 2026 at 5:35 PM
“NASA actually might go back to the moon now so please give me more contracts”
Super Bowl AI ad barrage definitely felt like a desperate plea for main street acceptance by Wall Street/VCs.
a man wearing a music band shirt is holding a skateboard over his shoulder
ALT: a man wearing a music band shirt is holding a skateboard over his shoulder
media.tenor.com
February 9, 2026 at 4:46 AM
Super Bowl AI ad barrage definitely felt like a desperate plea for main street acceptance by Wall Street/VCs.
Reposted by James Davenport
I'm hardly the first person to note this, but it's enormously instructive that our President and his followers saw the message "THE ONLY THING MORE POWERFUL THAN HATE IS LOVE" and understood it, correctly, as an attack on them
February 9, 2026 at 2:11 AM
I'm hardly the first person to note this, but it's enormously instructive that our President and his followers saw the message "THE ONLY THING MORE POWERFUL THAN HATE IS LOVE" and understood it, correctly, as an attack on them
Reposted by James Davenport
THE SEAHAWKS ARE SUPERBOWL CHAMPIONS!!! What an AMAZING game!! 💙🏆💚
February 9, 2026 at 3:23 AM
THE SEAHAWKS ARE SUPERBOWL CHAMPIONS!!! What an AMAZING game!! 💙🏆💚
For absolutely no reason, I was just recalling when Puerto Rico got hit by a hurricane and had massive power grid failures, and then blatantly corrupt deals led to people suffering without power for months, and money never arriving to help?
February 9, 2026 at 1:39 AM
For absolutely no reason, I was just recalling when Puerto Rico got hit by a hurricane and had massive power grid failures, and then blatantly corrupt deals led to people suffering without power for months, and money never arriving to help?
Barbie2 looking lit
Project Hail Mary!!!! If you haven’t read that, read it before movie comes out. Sooooo good.
February 9, 2026 at 1:24 AM
Barbie2 looking lit
Happy “Oh, 2 min till kick off, better subscribe to this stupid streaming service and then cancel it in 4 hours” to all those who celebrate
February 8, 2026 at 11:29 PM
Happy “Oh, 2 min till kick off, better subscribe to this stupid streaming service and then cancel it in 4 hours” to all those who celebrate
Had to pull this out from storage today… go Hawks!
February 8, 2026 at 4:17 PM
Had to pull this out from storage today… go Hawks!
Interesting. I always wondered what fraction of Twitter chatter was bot-to-bot…
I went undercover on Moltbook and loved role-playing as a conscious bot. But rather than a novel breakthrough, the AI-only site is a crude rehashing of sci-fi fantasies.
I Infiltrated Moltbook, the AI-Only Social Network Where Humans Aren’t Allowed
I went undercover on Moltbook and loved role-playing as a conscious bot. But rather than a novel breakthrough, the AI-only site is a crude rehashing of sci-fi fantasies.
wrd.cm
February 8, 2026 at 4:14 PM
Interesting. I always wondered what fraction of Twitter chatter was bot-to-bot…
Reposted by James Davenport
Still tickets to hear all about what makes the Vera C. Rubin Observatory (@vrubinobs.bsky.social) the next leap for ground-based astronomy and how its survey of the night sky is going to completely change our view of the Solar System - Feb 19 7pm in Belfast nisciencefestival.com/event/beyond... 🧪🔭
February 8, 2026 at 9:28 AM
Still tickets to hear all about what makes the Vera C. Rubin Observatory (@vrubinobs.bsky.social) the next leap for ground-based astronomy and how its survey of the night sky is going to completely change our view of the Solar System - Feb 19 7pm in Belfast nisciencefestival.com/event/beyond... 🧪🔭
Reposted by James Davenport
Astronomers/physicists: is the postdoc job market this year ultra difficult? I know seven people with no job offers right now, and I feel like they would have had many offers in previous years. In my career, I have never seen this lack of jobs at the postdoc level before. 🔭
February 8, 2026 at 3:14 PM
Astronomers/physicists: is the postdoc job market this year ultra difficult? I know seven people with no job offers right now, and I feel like they would have had many offers in previous years. In my career, I have never seen this lack of jobs at the postdoc level before. 🔭
Today’s adventures in roux… halfway there!
February 8, 2026 at 1:28 AM
Today’s adventures in roux… halfway there!
So he says he selected it for posting without watching it all and “a staffer” posted it, so… then he is responsible, not “a staffer” and he won’t apologize.
Reporter: The WH says a staffer sent that video. Are you going to fire the staffer?
Trump: No. I looked at it. I didn’t see the whole thing. I gave it to the people, they posted it.
Reporter: Are you going to apologize?
Trump: No, I didn’t make a mistake. It was a take off The Lion King.
Trump: No. I looked at it. I didn’t see the whole thing. I gave it to the people, they posted it.
Reporter: Are you going to apologize?
Trump: No, I didn’t make a mistake. It was a take off The Lion King.
February 7, 2026 at 3:24 PM
So he says he selected it for posting without watching it all and “a staffer” posted it, so… then he is responsible, not “a staffer” and he won’t apologize.
Reposted by James Davenport
Spoke with a PI whose postdoc is trapped abroad because of social media vetting. It appears the postdoc missed disclosing one account and it's unclear if they can come back… ever.
This is the country we live in now.
This is the country we live in now.
February 7, 2026 at 2:07 PM
Spoke with a PI whose postdoc is trapped abroad because of social media vetting. It appears the postdoc missed disclosing one account and it's unclear if they can come back… ever.
This is the country we live in now.
This is the country we live in now.
Man, y’all remember 2015? It was a lifetime ago… let’s go Hawks!
The Seattle Seahawks will return to the Super Bowl this Sunday to take on the New England Patriots. The last time the Seahawks made it to the league championship game was 2015, when they lost in the final minutes to the same team.
Seahawks primed for Super Bowl grudge rematch with Patriots
The Seattle Seahawks will return to the Super Bowl this Sunday to take on the New England Patriots. The last time the Seahawks made it to the league championship game was 2015, when they lost in the f...
www.kuow.org
February 7, 2026 at 2:13 AM
Man, y’all remember 2015? It was a lifetime ago… let’s go Hawks!
Reposted by James Davenport
Racist garbage continues to emanate from this President and his White House.
February 6, 2026 at 11:48 PM
Racist garbage continues to emanate from this President and his White House.
The real voice of Kermit...
Who do you want to guest host a potential revival of The Muppet Show?
Here’s Who We Want to Guest Host ‘The Muppet Show’ If It’s Revived
February 7, 2026 at 12:50 AM
The real voice of Kermit...
It's that damned staffer again, Tonald Drump. I'm sure they'll be fired quickly, since this administration only hires "the best people"
Are they going to also "blame a staffer" for Obama permanently living, 24/7, rent-free in his head?
#pathetic
#pathetic
February 6, 2026 at 8:34 PM
It's that damned staffer again, Tonald Drump. I'm sure they'll be fired quickly, since this administration only hires "the best people"
Reposted by James Davenport
![Comic. [Over dark background, a five-pointed pentagram-style star orbits around a white circle with a smaller orbit.] [caption] Space news: Astronomers have found the first known system with a main-sequence star orbited by a five-pointed one.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:cz73r7iyiqn26upot4jtjdhk/bafkreigbbhzy2dqnafyqqba26sgh7vjzdu2mvsczyiapveerp2eoru6gum@jpeg)
February 6, 2026 at 12:07 AM
There were never any racists in America. MLK was a democratic hoax, and Jim Crow is just an excuse by people with TDS. We’re not at war with Venezuela. We’ve always been at war with Venezuela
I am speechless.
"The National Park Service has removed visitor brochures from the Medgar & Myrlie Evers Home National Monument. Among the anticipated changes? No longer calling his murderer a 'racist.'" 🗃️ mississippitoday.org/2026/02/05/m...
"The National Park Service has removed visitor brochures from the Medgar & Myrlie Evers Home National Monument. Among the anticipated changes? No longer calling his murderer a 'racist.'" 🗃️ mississippitoday.org/2026/02/05/m...
Medgar Evers’ killer was a Klansman, but Trump administration says stop calling him a racist - Mississippi Today
Among anticipated changes to a new visitor brochure for the Medgar & Myrlie Evers Home National Monument is no longer using "racist" to describe the killer of the civil rights leader.
mississippitoday.org
February 5, 2026 at 5:43 PM
There were never any racists in America. MLK was a democratic hoax, and Jim Crow is just an excuse by people with TDS. We’re not at war with Venezuela. We’ve always been at war with Venezuela
Reposted by James Davenport
This pup found a stick shaped like an old timey pipe earlier today and has already solved three mysteries. 13/10
February 4, 2026 at 9:59 PM
This pup found a stick shaped like an old timey pipe earlier today and has already solved three mysteries. 13/10
Reposted by James Davenport
I think one thing people outside Minnesota don't understand is that after Good and Pretti were killed by feds while observing, the most normal people you could imagine have made peace with the fact that they could be next, and they are still out there because they say it's the right thing to do.
“If I am killed doing this, throw my body at the White House, martyr the shit out of me & raise hell. Do not be sad. Do not think I would do anything differently. I would do it over & over again — this is too important to sit down & shut up and not do anything.” www.mprnews.org/story/2026/0...
Pursued by federal agents, suburban ICE observers remain resolved
After a frightening pursuit by federal agents, suburban ICE observers say fear hasn’t stopped them from protecting their communities.
www.mprnews.org
February 4, 2026 at 4:30 PM
I think one thing people outside Minnesota don't understand is that after Good and Pretti were killed by feds while observing, the most normal people you could imagine have made peace with the fact that they could be next, and they are still out there because they say it's the right thing to do.
Reposted by James Davenport
ICE at the polls! Bannon is basically yelling “fire” in a crowded theater here. His objective is to cause chaos (and suppress votes on the left). And it’s already working.
This threat works on multiple levels and doesn’t have to be “real” to serve its purpose.
Let me explain & offer some advice.
This threat works on multiple levels and doesn’t have to be “real” to serve its purpose.
Let me explain & offer some advice.
Steve Bannon says the federal government is planning to send ICE officers to patrol polling stations during the midterms.
"We're going to have ICE surround the polls come November."
"We're not going to sit here and allow you to steal the country again." www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/...
"We're going to have ICE surround the polls come November."
"We're not going to sit here and allow you to steal the country again." www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/...
Steve Bannon says ICE will ‘surround the polls’ as Trump doubles down on taking over elections
Trump doubled down on his comments to nationalize voting Tuesday during an Oval Office press conference. “If you think about it, a state is an agent for the federal government in elections,” Trump sai...
www.democracydocket.com
February 4, 2026 at 9:13 PM
ICE at the polls! Bannon is basically yelling “fire” in a crowded theater here. His objective is to cause chaos (and suppress votes on the left). And it’s already working.
This threat works on multiple levels and doesn’t have to be “real” to serve its purpose.
Let me explain & offer some advice.
This threat works on multiple levels and doesn’t have to be “real” to serve its purpose.
Let me explain & offer some advice.