xkcd: Astronomer Hotline
https://xkcd.com/2633/

OK, that is funny. And I imagine that the weird bug hotline would need
multiple operators due to the call volume.

Explained at:
https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/2633:_Astronomer_Hotline

Lynn

In article <t8deq8$2q9$1@dont-email.me>,
Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:

> xkcd: Astronomer Hotline
> https://xkcd.com/2633/
>
> OK, that is funny. And I imagine that the weird bug hotline would need
> multiple operators due to the call volume.

About 11 years ago, on a clear fall morning (rare in the Seattle area),
some of my co-workers were wondering what that bright light was in the
pre-dawn sky (about 10-30 minutes before sunrise, IIRC). I told them
that it was Venus (they checked, it was).

--
"We have advanced to new and surprising levels of bafflement."
Imperial Auditor Miles Vorkosigan describes progress in _Komarr_.
—-----------------------------------------------------
Robert Woodward robertaw@drizzle.com

Lynn McGuire wrote:

>xkcd: Astronomer Hotline
> https://xkcd.com/2633/
>
>OK, that is funny. And I imagine that the weird bug hotline would
>need multiple operators due to the call volume.
>
>Explained at:
> https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/2633:_Astronomer_Hotline

A gardening forum I belong to has two popular sub-forums: Insect and
Spider Identification and Plant Identification. You upload some photos
of things you want identified, and often you will get an answer.

Brian

On 16 Jun 2022, Default User wrote
(in article <t8eio3$ehv$1@dont-email.me>):

> Lynn McGuire wrote:
>
> > xkcd: Astronomer Hotline
> > https://xkcd.com/2633/
> >
> > OK, that is funny. And I imagine that the weird bug hotline would
> > need multiple operators due to the call volume.
> >
> > Explained at:
> > https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/2633:_Astronomer_Hotline
>
> A gardening forum I belong to has two popular sub-forums: Insect and
> Spider Identification and Plant Identification. You upload some photos
> of things you want identified, and often you will get an answer.
>
> Brian

Around here ‘Insect and Spider’ would have to explicitly
‘Invertebrate’, as there are lots of creepy-crawlies which aren’t
insects or spiders. And there’d have to be a Vertebrate section as well;
this morning, while walking the dog, I saw three different species of jay,
including one which officially doesn’t have this _state_ in its range, plus
two species of ibis, one of which shouldn’t be in _North America_, and
three species of non-jay corvids, one a transplant from Europe. And four
species of ducks. Her Imperial Dogness tried to chase the ducks. She always
does. The ducks ignore her. They always do, until she gets within about a
metre, whereupon they fly off for maybe five metres and go back to ignoring
her. There were also multiple lizards, including iguanas, which shouldn’t
be here, and several snakes. And, of course, squirrels. (The snakes, and the
red-tailed hawks, mostly keep busy chasing squirrels.) I _know_ that there
are raccoons, possums, coyotes (which shouldn’t be here), foxes, hedgehogs
(also shouldn’t be here) and more, they just weren’t visible. At night
the place is overrun with frogs and toads. There are assorted turtles in the
canal, including at least one snapping turtle; the ducks are staying far away
from the canal, so there’s at least one gator there as well. (If the ducks
aren’t on the water, stay well clear, there’s a gator. You won’t see
him, but he’ll see you...)

On Thursday, June 16, 2022 at 9:13:21 AM UTC-4, Wolffan wrote:
> On 16 Jun 2022, Default User wrote
> (in article <t8eio3$ehv$1...@dont-email.me>):
> > Lynn McGuire wrote:
> >
> > > xkcd: Astronomer Hotline
> > > https://xkcd.com/2633/
> > >
> > > OK, that is funny. And I imagine that the weird bug hotline would
> > > need multiple operators due to the call volume.
> > >
> > > Explained at:
> > > https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/2633:_Astronomer_Hotline
> >
> > A gardening forum I belong to has two popular sub-forums: Insect and
> > Spider Identification and Plant Identification. You upload some photos
> > of things you want identified, and often you will get an answer.
> >
> Around here ‘Insect and Spider’ would have to explicitly
> ‘Invertebrate’, as there are lots of creepy-crawlies which aren’t
> insects or spiders. And there’d have to be a Vertebrate section as well;
> this morning, while walking the dog, I saw three different species of jay,
> including one which officially doesn’t have this _state_ in its range, plus
> two species of ibis, one of which shouldn’t be in _North America_, and
> three species of non-jay corvids, one a transplant from Europe. And four
> species of ducks. Her Imperial Dogness tried to chase the ducks. She always
> does. The ducks ignore her. They always do, until she gets within about a
> metre, whereupon they fly off for maybe five metres and go back to ignoring
> her. There were also multiple lizards, including iguanas, which shouldn’t
> be here, and several snakes. And, of course, squirrels. (The snakes, and the
> red-tailed hawks, mostly keep busy chasing squirrels.) I _know_ that there
> are raccoons, possums, coyotes (which shouldn’t be here), foxes, hedgehogs
> (also shouldn’t be here) and more, they just weren’t visible. At night
> the place is overrun with frogs and toads. There are assorted turtles in the
> canal, including at least one snapping turtle; the ducks are staying far away
> from the canal, so there’s at least one gator there as well. (If the ducks
> aren’t on the water, stay well clear, there’s a gator. You won’t see
> him, but he’ll see you...)

Invertebrates and Reptiles would seem to have the lack of knowledge and alarm needed for a "Hotline."
(Love the introductory question: "Is it currently biting you?")
Birds is more a casual curiosity.
Mammals -- is it familiarity, or contempt? Deer, dogs, cats, big cats, bear; difference in subspecies doesn't seem to make much difference in threat assessment.

Things are pretty tame around here, now, but you bring up memories of my childhood when there was a woods behind our neighborhood.
Around the ponds were holes with mounds of mud around them. looking it up, I find a more descriptive word than "mound": "chimney." They were built of small round globules of mud, and rose cylindrically for several inches. We kids were afraid it was the work of snakes, but a more woodsly-wise neighbor told us it was crawdads, less scary and more interesting invertibrates.. He did warn us about water snakes, and probably threw in the massasauga for good measure, which my young mind then conflated into the water mocassin!

--
-Jack

On Thursday, 16 June 2022 at 14:13:21 UTC+1, Wolffan wrote:
> On 16 Jun 2022, Default User wrote
> (in article <t8eio3$ehv$1...@dont-email.me>):
> > Lynn McGuire wrote:
> >
> > > xkcd: Astronomer Hotline
> > > https://xkcd.com/2633/
> > >
> > > OK, that is funny. And I imagine that the weird bug hotline would
> > > need multiple operators due to the call volume.
> > >
> > > Explained at:
> > > https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/2633:_Astronomer_Hotline
> >
> > A gardening forum I belong to has two popular sub-forums: Insect and
> > Spider Identification and Plant Identification. You upload some photos
> > of things you want identified, and often you will get an answer.
> >
> > Brian
> Around here ‘Insect and Spider’ would have to explicitly
> ‘Invertebrate’, as there are lots of creepy-crawlies which aren’t
> insects or spiders. And there’d have to be a Vertebrate section as well;
> this morning, while walking the dog, I saw three different species of jay,
> including one which officially doesn’t have this _state_ in its range, plus
> two species of ibis, one of which shouldn’t be in _North America_, and
> three species of non-jay corvids, one a transplant from Europe. And four
> species of ducks. Her Imperial Dogness tried to chase the ducks. She always
> does. The ducks ignore her. They always do, until she gets within about a
> metre, whereupon they fly off for maybe five metres and go back to ignoring
> her. There were also multiple lizards, including iguanas, which shouldn’t
> be here, and several snakes. And, of course, squirrels. (The snakes, and the
> red-tailed hawks, mostly keep busy chasing squirrels.) I _know_ that there
> are raccoons, possums, coyotes (which shouldn’t be here), foxes, hedgehogs
> (also shouldn’t be here) and more, they just weren’t visible. At night
> the place is overrun with frogs and toads. There are assorted turtles in the
> canal, including at least one snapping turtle; the ducks are staying far away
> from the canal, so there’s at least one gator there as well. (If the ducks
> aren’t on the water, stay well clear, there’s a gator. You won’t see
> him, but he’ll see you...)

It's not a game that I play much but perhaps it'd
be best to have one category of "Critters", maybe
divided by size range and perhaps how many you see
at one time. After all, if seeing no ducks means that
you infer one gator, ...

On 6/16/22 06:13, Wolffan wrote:
> On 16 Jun 2022, Default User wrote
> (in article <t8eio3$ehv$1@dont-email.me>):
>
>> Lynn McGuire wrote:
>>
>>> xkcd: Astronomer Hotline
>>> https://xkcd.com/2633/
>>>
>>> OK, that is funny. And I imagine that the weird bug hotline would
>>> need multiple operators due to the call volume.
>>>
>>> Explained at:
>>> https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/2633:_Astronomer_Hotline
>>
>> A gardening forum I belong to has two popular sub-forums: Insect and
>> Spider Identification and Plant Identification. You upload some photos
>> of things you want identified, and often you will get an answer.
>>
>> Brian
>
> Around here... [STUFF DELETED]

Where is "here"? I would assume somewhere in the South since you mention
gators. Oh, and coyotes have drastically expanded their range. They even
live in cities now.

--
Dave Scruggs
Captain, Boulder Creek Fire (Retired)
Sr. Software Engineer - Stellar Solutions (Definitely Retired)

On 16 Jun 2022, BCFD36 wrote
(in article <t8gcba$b9h$2@gioia.aioe.org>):

> On 6/16/22 06:13, Wolffan wrote:
> > On 16 Jun 2022, Default User wrote
> > (in article <t8eio3$ehv$1@dont-email.me>):
> >
> > > Lynn McGuire wrote:
> > >
> > > > xkcd: Astronomer Hotline
> > > > https://xkcd.com/2633/
> > > >
> > > > OK, that is funny. And I imagine that the weird bug hotline would
> > > > need multiple operators due to the call volume.
> > > >
> > > > Explained at:
> > > > https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/2633:_Astronomer_Hotline
> > >
> > > A gardening forum I belong to has two popular sub-forums: Insect and
> > > Spider Identification and Plant Identification. You upload some photos
> > > of things you want identified, and often you will get an answer.
> > >
> > > Brian
> >
> > Around here... [STUFF DELETED]
>
> Where is "here"? I would assume somewhere in the South since you mention
> gators. Oh, and coyotes have drastically expanded their range. They even
> live in cities now.

Florida. Coyotes aren’t supposed to be south of Georgia; at one point they
weren’t found east of the Mississippi. They’re into Mexico now, as far as
Yucatan. In the past, wolves and pumas kept them out. Very few wolves and
fewer pumas around here now. Coyotes now cover effectively the entire North
American continent, except for the very cold and snowy parts, and they’re
working on those, give them time, they’re persistent and a lot smarter than
ol’ Wile E. It used to be that gators were the #1 cause of death for
domestic cats and small dogs, but coyotes have taken over. (Do NOT walk
Fluffy near the canal if you don’t see ducks on the water, a gator WILL
take the chance to have a little snack. Ducks around here are smart enough to
get out of the water if there’s a gator.)

Gators can be found as far north as North Carolina, Virginia, and maybe
Delaware and as far west as Texas and most of the wetter parts of northern
Mexico.

On Thu, 16 Jun 2022 23:54:52 -0400, Wolffan <akwolffan@zoho.com>
wrote:

>Gators can be found as far north as North Carolina, Virginia, and maybe
>Delaware and as far west as Texas and most of the wetter parts of northern
>Mexico.

The most surprising thing about gators is that the largest gator
preserve in the United States is owned by NASA.

Turns out their lands at Cape Canaveral are only about 5-10 % used for
the space center and the rest natural swampland which of course is
prime territory for gators.

(Source: tour bus guide at Cape Canaveral, June 1998)

On 17 Jun 2022, The Horny Goat wrote
(in article<0d9oah10vms986m09mloosu2o31ijj8ie2@4ax.com>):

> On Thu, 16 Jun 2022 23:54:52 -0400, Wolffan<akwolffan@zoho.com>
> wrote:
>
> > Gators can be found as far north as North Carolina, Virginia, and maybe
> > Delaware and as far west as Texas and most of the wetter parts of northern
> > Mexico.
>
> The most surprising thing about gators is that the largest gator
> preserve in the United States is owned by NASA.
>
> Turns out their lands at Cape Canaveral are only about 5-10 % used for
> the space center and the rest natural swampland which of course is
> prime territory for gators.
>
> (Source: tour bus guide at Cape Canaveral, June 1998)

NASA has Space Gators. FPL has Nuke Crocs. Crocs hate cold, and won’t go
north of Broward County, Florida (unless you’re Betty White, and can get
them to live in a lake in upstate New York, mostly by feeding them, up to and
including feeding them whole, live though not for long, cattle, see further
the truly silly movie ‘Lake Placid’) and FPL has a _lot_ of crocs on the
grounds of its nuclear power plant at Turkey Point, in Dade County.
Apparently the crocs like the warm water from the heat exchangers from the
nuke reactors. So far there’s no evidence to support the notion that FPL is
breeding croczillas to deal with the no-nuke kooks the next time they show
up.

On 6/17/2022 1:58 AM, The Horny Goat wrote:
> On Thu, 16 Jun 2022 23:54:52 -0400, Wolffan <akwolffan@zoho.com>
> wrote:
>
>> Gators can be found as far north as North Carolina, Virginia, and maybe
>> Delaware and as far west as Texas and most of the wetter parts of northern
>> Mexico.
>
> The most surprising thing about gators is that the largest gator
> preserve in the United States is owned by NASA.
>
> Turns out their lands at Cape Canaveral are only about 5-10 % used for
> the space center and the rest natural swampland which of course is
> prime territory for gators.
>
> (Source: tour bus guide at Cape Canaveral, June 1998)

Yep. Sitting next to the window in my second story office in an old
hanger on Cape Canaveral Air Station I looked out and see a gator
strolling through the parking lot. We had a 15 footer that lived under a
bridge that we'd take newbies out to view. Have a bunch of photos (in
some box, somewhere).

BTW, Cape Canaveral != NASA. The NASA portion is Kennedy Space Center
(6000 acres), the Air Force portion is (now) CC Space Force Station
(1400 acres), and the rest is Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge
(140,000 acres) and Canaveral National Seashore.

BTW2, all the launch complexes and most tracking facilities at CC are
located on the CCSFS side of things.

On 6/16/22 11:54 PM, Wolffan wrote:
> On 16 Jun 2022, BCFD36 wrote
> (in article <t8gcba$b9h$2@gioia.aioe.org>):
>
>> On 6/16/22 06:13, Wolffan wrote:
>>> On 16 Jun 2022, Default User wrote
>>> (in article <t8eio3$ehv$1@dont-email.me>):
>>>
>>>> Lynn McGuire wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> xkcd: Astronomer Hotline
>>>>> https://xkcd.com/2633/
>>>>>
>>>>> OK, that is funny. And I imagine that the weird bug hotline would
>>>>> need multiple operators due to the call volume.
>>>>>
>>>>> Explained at:
>>>>> https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/2633:_Astronomer_Hotline
>>>>
>>>> A gardening forum I belong to has two popular sub-forums: Insect and
>>>> Spider Identification and Plant Identification. You upload some photos
>>>> of things you want identified, and often you will get an answer.
>>>>
>>>> Brian
>>>
>>> Around here... [STUFF DELETED]
>>
>> Where is "here"? I would assume somewhere in the South since you mention
>> gators. Oh, and coyotes have drastically expanded their range. They even
>> live in cities now.
>
> Florida. Coyotes aren’t supposed to be south of Georgia; at one point they
> weren’t found east of the Mississippi. They’re into Mexico now, as far as
> Yucatan. In the past, wolves and pumas kept them out. Very few wolves and
> fewer pumas around here now. Coyotes now cover effectively the entire North
> American continent, except for the very cold and snowy parts, and they’re
> working on those, give them time, they’re persistent and a lot smarter than
> ol’ Wile E. It used to be that gators were the #1 cause of death for
> domestic cats and small dogs, but coyotes have taken over. (Do NOT walk
> Fluffy near the canal if you don’t see ducks on the water, a gator WILL
> take the chance to have a little snack. Ducks around here are smart enough to
> get out of the water if there’s a gator.)
>
> Gators can be found as far north as North Carolina, Virginia, and maybe
> Delaware and as far west as Texas and most of the wetter parts of northern
> Mexico.
>
Throw a marshmallow into the water and see if a gator rises to snarf it
up. (Or so I was taught in Sarasota in the 70s.) And carry a shotgun
loaded with solid-slug ammo.

--
John W. Kennedy
Algernon Burbage, Lord Roderick, Father Martin, Bishop Baldwin,
King Pellinore, Captain Bailey, Merlin -- A Kingdom for a Stage!

On Fri, 17 Jun 2022 13:59:16 -0500, "Jay E. Morris"
<morrisj@epsilon3.comcon> wrote:

>> Turns out their lands at Cape Canaveral are only about 5-10 % used for
>> the space center and the rest natural swampland which of course is
>> prime territory for gators.
>>
>> (Source: tour bus guide at Cape Canaveral, June 1998)
>
>Yep. Sitting next to the window in my second story office in an old
>hanger on Cape Canaveral Air Station I looked out and see a gator
>strolling through the parking lot. We had a 15 footer that lived under a
>bridge that we'd take newbies out to view. Have a bunch of photos (in
>some box, somewhere).
>
>BTW, Cape Canaveral != NASA. The NASA portion is Kennedy Space Center
>(6000 acres), the Air Force portion is (now) CC Space Force Station
>(1400 acres), and the rest is Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge
>(140,000 acres) and Canaveral National Seashore.
>
>BTW2, all the launch complexes and most tracking facilities at CC are
>located on the CCSFS side of things.

One of my funniest moments at Canaveral was outside the gift shop at
the Air Force historical museum which at least in 1998 featured a
space flown Mercury capsule. They had replaced the original hatch with
a thick piece of plexaglass to make it easier to see inside.

My son (who had seen the sign next to the capsule but at 5 wasn't a
good enough reader to read the text) said "Dad I think I could fit
inside there!" Which convinced his two older sisters (who HAD read the
sign) what they "knew" about their brother all along since it was one
of the two capsules "flown" by chimpanzees before Carpenter and Glenn.

For the next 1/2 hour they were singing "Johnny is a monkey!"

On 6/17/2022 9:15 PM, The Horny Goat wrote:
> On Fri, 17 Jun 2022 13:59:16 -0500, "Jay E. Morris"
> <morrisj@epsilon3.comcon> wrote:
>
>>> Turns out their lands at Cape Canaveral are only about 5-10 % used for
>>> the space center and the rest natural swampland which of course is
>>> prime territory for gators.
>>>
>>> (Source: tour bus guide at Cape Canaveral, June 1998)
>>
>> Yep. Sitting next to the window in my second story office in an old
>> hanger on Cape Canaveral Air Station I looked out and see a gator
>> strolling through the parking lot. We had a 15 footer that lived under a
>> bridge that we'd take newbies out to view. Have a bunch of photos (in
>> some box, somewhere).
>>
>> BTW, Cape Canaveral != NASA. The NASA portion is Kennedy Space Center
>> (6000 acres), the Air Force portion is (now) CC Space Force Station
>> (1400 acres), and the rest is Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge
>> (140,000 acres) and Canaveral National Seashore.
>>
>> BTW2, all the launch complexes and most tracking facilities at CC are
>> located on the CCSFS side of things.
>
> One of my funniest moments at Canaveral was outside the gift shop at
> the Air Force historical museum which at least in 1998 featured a
> space flown Mercury capsule. They had replaced the original hatch with
> a thick piece of plexaglass to make it easier to see inside.
>
> My son (who had seen the sign next to the capsule but at 5 wasn't a
> good enough reader to read the text) said "Dad I think I could fit
> inside there!" Which convinced his two older sisters (who HAD read the
> sign) what they "knew" about their brother all along since it was one
> of the two capsules "flown" by chimpanzees before Carpenter and Glenn.
>
> For the next 1/2 hour they were singing "Johnny is a monkey!"

That's great. Did you get a piece of the Redstone launch tower? I used
to go out there occasionally during lunch. Perk of working at CCAS.

Wolffan wrote:

>On 16 Jun 2022, Default User wrote

>> A gardening forum I belong to has two popular sub-forums: Insect
>>and Spider Identification and Plant Identification. You upload
>>some photos of things you want identified, and often you will get
>>an answer.

>Around here ‘Insect and Spider’ would have to explicitly
>‘Invertebrate’, as there are lots of creepy-crawlies which aren’t
>insects or spiders.

I suspect that if you uploaded images of centipedes, roly-polys, or
scorpions the participants probably wouldn't chastise you.

> And there’d have to be a Vertebrate section as
>well; this morning, while walking the dog,

That I don't know.

Brian

On Fri, 17 Jun 2022 22:11:41 -0500, "Jay E. Morris"
<morrisj@epsilon3.comcon> wrote:

>> My son (who had seen the sign next to the capsule but at 5 wasn't a
>> good enough reader to read the text) said "Dad I think I could fit
>> inside there!" Which convinced his two older sisters (who HAD read the
>> sign) what they "knew" about their brother all along since it was one
>> of the two capsules "flown" by chimpanzees before Carpenter and Glenn.
>>
>> For the next 1/2 hour they were singing "Johnny is a monkey!"
>
>That's great. Did you get a piece of the Redstone launch tower? I used
>to go out there occasionally during lunch. Perk of working at CCAS.

Regretably no - we DID manage to see a shuttle moved overnight from
that big cube building to the launch pad overnight and it blasted off
on my daughter's birthday but that was 25 years ago.

Still getting to sit in the capcom seat of John Glenn's control room
and push the button was kind of fun and as a former Burroughs employee
getting to see their old logo all over the computers in that room
interesting (since I hadn't seen that particular logo except on some
very old documentation when working for them) You do understand this
was 25 years ago and I was far more enthusiastic about the old Mercury
/ Gemini / Apollo stuff at the AF bse than all the glitz of the
shuttle.

Way back in 69 when Apollo 11 landed my parents got my brother and I
down to a favorite restaurant which we knew had a large TV to see the
actual stepping onto the moon (which was 4-5 hours after the actual
landing) as they knew it would be a big moment. The restaurant's still
there and they have a TV set in the old location though obviously
they've gone through a dozen or more sets since 1969 (I had breakfast
there about 3 weeks ago)

On 6/19/2022 12:50 AM, The Horny Goat wrote:
> Still getting to sit in the capcom seat of John Glenn's control room
> and push the button was kind of fun and as a former Burroughs employee
> getting to see their old logo all over the computers in that room
> interesting (since I hadn't seen that particular logo except on some
> very old documentation when working for them) You do understand this
> was 25 years ago and I was far more enthusiastic about the old Mercury
> / Gemini / Apollo stuff at the AF bse than all the glitz of the
> shuttle.

I was at CCAS from 86-96 and was much the same way. Explored some of the
old launch sites[1]. The site of the Apollo 1 fire had a memorial there
that no one ever saw. I think one of the AF side bus tours drove up
there but don't think they stopped.

I was always amused that the building and structures (no gantries) left
in place had "ABANDON IN PLACE" painted on them.

[1]Learned to avoid security. Even with a access badge not supposed to
be roaming around.