Julianne Dalcanton
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dalcantonjd.bsky.social
Julianne Dalcanton
@dalcantonjd.bsky.social
1.8K followers 350 following 400 posts
Astrophysicist at the Center for Computational Astrophysics & U. Washington.
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dalcantonjd.bsky.social
This framing.
Start with what a reverse centaur is. In automation theory, a "centaur" is a person who is assisted by a machine. You're a human head being carried around on a tireless robot body. Driving a car makes you a centaur, and so does using autocomplete. And obviously, a reverse centaur is machine head on a human body, a person who is serving as a squishy meat appendage for an uncaring machine. Like an Amazon delivery driver, who sits in a cabin surrounded by Al cameras, that monitor the driver's eyes and take points off if the driver looks in a proscribed direction, and monitors the driver's mouth because singing isn't allowed on the job, and rats the driver out to the boss if they don't make quota. The driver is in that van because the van can't drive itself and can't get a parcel from the curb to your porch. The driver is a peripheral for a van, and the van drives the driver, at superhuman speed, demanding superhuman endurance. But the driver is human, so the van doesn't just use the driver. The van uses the driver up. Obviously, it's nice to be a centaur, and it's horrible to be a reverse centaur. There are lots of Al tools that are potentially very centaur-like, but my thesis is that these tools are created and funded for the express purpose of creating reverse-centaurs, which is something none of us want to be.
December 8, 2025 at 7:33 PM
dalcantonjd.bsky.social
I see you in extravagant feathered turbans and a wafty layered muumuu.
Mrs Hurst and Miss Bingley from the BBC Pride and Prejudice, wearing extravagant feather turbans
December 8, 2025 at 3:31 AM
dalcantonjd.bsky.social
This is the acme and the omega. The purest form of American stuffing.
lurkey Stuffing: By HELOISE *I can of 10-count refrigerator biscuits (baked) 2 to 8 caps crumbled cooked cornbread 1(1-pound) toaf of bread, toasted 1% cups chopped onion chopped celery 1 eup chopped celery tops 1 tablespoon sage 1 tablespoon poultry seasoning -2 cups water I cup chicken bouillon or turkey drippings Saltiaad pepper to taste 2 eggs Crumble the biscuits, cornbread and bread slices into a big pot and set aside. Put all remaining ingredients, EXCEPT EGGS, into a saucepan. Let boil 10 minutes, or until the celery and onions are tender, then pour over the bread crumbs and toss. If it's not as moist as you like, add more liquid. Let cool Add the eggs, mixing thoroughly. Now, place the dressing in a greased baking dish and bake at 300 Fahrenheit for 30 minutes. For a more moist dressing, use a smaller pan and pile the dressing thicker. For a drier, crustier dressing, use a larger pan and spread it out to about 2 inches thick (a cookie sheet works
November 25, 2025 at 12:32 PM
dalcantonjd.bsky.social
Trillionaires for Trump.

“Whose yachts? Our yachts!”

“Slow and expensive buses”

“We paid for three terms”
Protesters dressed as stereotypical hyper rich (men in top hats with cigars, women in gowns) with signs from “Trillionaires for Trump”, including: “Whose yachts? Our yachts!” “Slow and expensive buses” “We paid for three terms” “Raise the rent” “Billionaires should exist. Change my mind.”
October 18, 2025 at 8:07 PM
dalcantonjd.bsky.social
ARP! ARP! ARP! ☄️🔭 arxiv.org/abs/2509.09011
Interacting galaxies from the Arp-Madore catalog, viewed with the Hubble Space Telescope.
September 12, 2025 at 2:55 AM
dalcantonjd.bsky.social
Seattle’s response to an anti-LGBTQ+ Christian nationalist church event scheduled for later today. “240 kazoos provided.”
Poster on a flagpole with a picture of Chappell Roan, announcing a mass kazoo performance: “DO YOU LOVE Chappell Roan? JOIN US Aug. 30 5PM at Gas Works Park For the WORLD'S LARGEST Kazoo Performance of PINK PONY CLUB 240 KAZOOS PROVIDED”
August 30, 2025 at 8:39 PM
dalcantonjd.bsky.social
Have some Zipper.
Very tiny big-eared chihuahua, alert and enjoying lap time on an outdoor bar patio.
August 23, 2025 at 1:12 AM
dalcantonjd.bsky.social
Agencies are permitted to use peer review, as a treat, as long as agency personnel routinely ignore its recommendations?
Executive order text: Nothing in this order shall be construed to discourage or prevent the use of peer review methods to evaluate proposals for discretionary awards or otherwise inform agency decision making, provided that peer review recommendations remain advisory and are not ministerially ratified, routinely deferred to, or otherwise treated as de facto binding by senior appointees or their designees.
August 8, 2025 at 8:41 AM
dalcantonjd.bsky.social
I submitted an atlas paper that has been weighing on me for years, and I thought I was perhaps being a big ole baby, but it literally had over 1,100 unique figures in it.
July 25, 2025 at 1:28 PM
dalcantonjd.bsky.social
I don’t know what you mean.
Selfie of woman screaming while wearing white cats-eye glasses, while struggling with paperwork.
July 13, 2025 at 1:16 AM
dalcantonjd.bsky.social
Zipper is all in.
July 2, 2025 at 12:38 AM
dalcantonjd.bsky.social
I don’t think it’s made it over here from the Other Place yet, but @1goodtern.bsky.social, who has consistently monitored the on-the-ground impacts of COVID in the UK, made some jaw-dropping charts of correlations among infection rates for different bugs, pre- and post-2020.
Pre-COVID correlations between infection rates of ~20 varieties, showing a wide mix of positive, negative, and no correlation. Post-2020 correlations between infection rates of ~20 varieties, showing almost universal positive correlations (ie, rates of most everything now go up and down together), with 3 exception.
May 5, 2025 at 11:44 AM
dalcantonjd.bsky.social
The combo of deciding to believe things that make people not like them while also being able to vote soon is a nasty puzzle.
Chart showing the time series of percentage of 8th and 10th grade boys who believe “A woman should have the same job opportunities as men” (only 45% agree completely) and “men and women should be paid the same for doing the same work” (only 57% agree completely).
May 3, 2025 at 10:32 PM
dalcantonjd.bsky.social
Bumper sticker of the day.
Bumper sticker with background accent stars, reading “GET IN LOSER, WE'RE EMBRACING A CHILDLIKE SENSE OF WONDER”
May 3, 2025 at 10:24 PM
dalcantonjd.bsky.social
If it helps, NYC has street capybara sellers at the moment.
Tableful of stuffed capybaras, in great abundance and variety.
April 30, 2025 at 2:26 AM
dalcantonjd.bsky.social
In addition to @adamcsharp.bsky.social ‘s bao genre, do not sleep on the cannabis stores. Behold “Fweedom”.
Sign awning with script lettering of the store name, which is “Fweedom Cannabis”
April 26, 2025 at 11:35 AM
dalcantonjd.bsky.social
Zipper, appalled.
April 15, 2025 at 11:27 PM
dalcantonjd.bsky.social
Focusing on things that spark joy, which includes Fruit Bat. @darthbluesky.bsky.social
Poster for adoptable dog Fruit Bat, currently being fostered by Best Friends NY. Fruit Bat is black and white and looks exactly like a fruit bat, except for being tubby and not at all aerodynamic.
April 12, 2025 at 3:38 PM
dalcantonjd.bsky.social
I really hit the wall today, and maybe you did too, so perhaps you need to meet Zipper.
Tiniest blonde dog on an orange rug. Perfect bat ears. Tiny dog on an enormous beanbag. Tiny dog, big green parka with a hood. Tiny dog. Even tinier purple sweater.
April 12, 2025 at 12:24 AM
dalcantonjd.bsky.social
Current US economic planning.
Protest sign of the underpants gnome strategy from South Park, where “steal underpants” in Stage 1 has been changed to “Fuck Everybody Over”. Phase 2 and Phase 3 remain “?” and “Profit”.
April 9, 2025 at 6:47 PM
dalcantonjd.bsky.social
The bright spot of the week is discovering that the iPhone photo app filed all of my screenshots of the Atriedes pug under “wedding”.
Duke Leto holding the family pug, from the David Lynch version. Paul holding the family pug, from the David Lynch version. Duke Leto holding the family pug, from the David Lynch version. Now with fur coats.
February 21, 2025 at 4:13 PM
dalcantonjd.bsky.social
“Paint me like one of your French girls”
Chicken, prior to roasting on a bed of carrots and onions, propped on its side to let the thigh juices soak down into the breast. The bottom leg is extended and the upper one is bent demurely, with its little wing tucked up to show its breast, perfectly mimicking Rose in Titanic. I swear I did not pose this and the chicken just wanted to be in this pose #SluttyChicken. Billy Zane is going to be furious.
December 26, 2024 at 1:15 AM
dalcantonjd.bsky.social
I have asked google scholar and not yet found a napping Tyrannosaurus article. However, I did find a relevant academic publication that looks riveting.

Any scholarly work that includes the phrase “The modern analogy for this hunting strategy is
"cow tipping"” is all right by me.
Google scholar summary from the book “Tyrannosaurid paleobiology”, of a 2013 article titled “The biomechanics of a plausible hunting strategy for Tyrannosaurus rex” by authors D Krauss, J Robinson. The article snippet shown says: “We present here a biomechanical analysis of a hunting strategy that Tyrannosaurus rex could have employed effectively. The modern analogy for this hunting strategy is "cow tipping,"
December 8, 2024 at 2:19 PM
dalcantonjd.bsky.social
All I can find plausible is “very large chicken”.
Painting or CG of a tyrannosaurus walking on its hind legs. Sleeping brown feathered chicken with a red comb.
December 7, 2024 at 8:24 PM
dalcantonjd.bsky.social
I don’t think it has the physiology to curl up like a sleeping dog, and it’s far too ridiculous to imagine it flopped on its side.
Light brown Labrador curled up on a grey dog bed. Brown Labrador mix lying on its side on grey flagstones.
December 7, 2024 at 8:22 PM