Astronomy Pictures of the Day: Week of September 23, 2012

When I was at Northwestern University, I was excited to get my hands on Mac OS 10.4 Tiger and install it the first day of release. One of its new features was Automator, which let users create scripts using basic templates without too much knowledge of computer languages. I made my own script, using directions from a magazine, to take the NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day, download it to my computer, and set the image to be my desktop.

The APOD site, in addition to displaying excellent images, offers descriptions of the phenomena shown. You could look through the archive, or you could just look through this list of APOD material for the week of September 23, 2012.

PAX 2012 Trip Report

PAX 2012 aka PAX Prime

This Labor Day Weekend, I was on vacation with my family in Seattle for a family event. When I realized what was going on, I suggested that we stop in the downtown area to check out the convention center. Someone sold me a Three Day Pass, and for the duration of the weekend I spent my mornings and afternoons at the 2012 Penny Arcade Expo in downtown Seattle. This is but a sample of my experience there.