This is Too Funny

1/22/25 Astronomy:

"On Jan. 2, the Minor Planet Center at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Massachusetts, announced the discovery of an unusual asteroid, designated 2018 CN41. First identified and submitted by a citizen scientist, the object’s orbit was notable: It came less than 150,000 miles (240,000 km) from Earth, closer than the orbit of the Moon. That qualified it as a near-Earth object (NEO) — one worth monitoring for its potential to someday slam into Earth.

"But less than 17 hours later, the Minor Planet Center (MPC) issued an editorial notice: It was deleting 2018 CN41 from its records because, it turned out, the object was not an asteroid.

"It was a car.

"To be precise, it was Elon Musk’s Tesla Roadster mounted to a Falcon Heavy upper stage, which boosted into orbit around the Sun on Feb. 6, 2018. The car — which had been owned and driven by Musk — was a test payload for the Falcon Heavy’s first flight. At the time, it received a great deal of notoriety as the first production car to be flung into space, complete with a suited-up mannequin in the driver’s seat named Starman."

Have You Seen Me? (Or One of My Twins?)

This is a low speed DC motor or perhaps DC motor with integral gearbox.  It is at the heart of the CrossBow equatorial platform under my big Dobsonian.  It is no longer a DC motor, no matter what pronouns I use at it.

It has no useful markings except Hsieh.  I am not sure what its voltage range was, but it was working at 5.11 VDC before it suffered a device identity crisis.  It is a 5mm shaft.

Does this look like something a hobby shop for whatever weird hobby you have might recognize?

No.  "Software engineer with a DMM" is not quite as dangerous as a soldering gun but still easily misdirected.   The new batteries were bad and at least conductor to the motor has a very high resistance.  The motor is probably good. I have ordered new cable and Molex connectors 

California Ordered to Accept Non-Resident CCW Applications

 Here is the preliminary injunction. (I submitted declarations on this case.)

The Court, having reviewed the Proposed Order, accordingly ORDERS, as to Defendant Bonta: 

1. Residents of states and US territories besides California, who are: 

a. members of the California Rifle & Pistol Association, Incorporated, Gun Owners of America, Inc., Gun Owners of California, Inc., or The Second Amendment Foundation, and; 

b. who are not otherwise prohibited from possessing firearms under federal or California law, 

upon proof of such membership, are entitled under this Order to apply for a California concealed handgun license as provided for under Penal Code sections 26150 through 26235, except that such applicants shall not be eligible for the licenses described in sections 26150(b)(2), 26155(b)(2), and 26170. 

The CCW procedure is still complex, with expensive psychological tresting, but it is a step in the right direction. 

Low-Hanging Fruit? Or a Trap for Democrats?

 1/22/25 Fox News:

FIRST ON FOX: Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), in the first days of the Trump administration, has made more than 460 arrests of illegal immigrants, including those with criminal histories that include sexual assault, domestic violence and drugs and weapons crimes.

Information obtained by Fox News Digital, shows that between midnight Jan. 21 and 9 a.m. Jan 22, a 33-hour period, ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) arrested more than 460 illegal immigrants that include criminal histories of sexual assault, robbery, burglary, aggravated assault, drugs and weapons offenses, resisting arrest and domestic violence.

Agents arrested nationals from a slew of countries, including Afghanistan, Angola, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Senegal and Venezuela....

Arrests include:

– A Mexican national, Jesus Perez, arrested in Salt Lake City, charged with aggravated sexual abuse of a child.

– A Honduran national, Franklin Osorto-Cruz, convicted of driving while intoxicated. He was arrested in New York.

– A Jamaican national, Kamaro Denver Haye, arrested for "promote a sexual performance by a child less than 17 years of age and possessing sexual performance by child less than 16 years of age: possess/access to view."

– A Mexican national, Jesus Baltazar Mendoza, convicted of 2nd degree assault of a child. He was arrested in St. Paul.

– Colombian national Andres Orjuela Parra, who was arrested in San Francisco. He has a conviction of sexual penetration with a foreign object on an unaware victim.

– Six illegal immigrants in Miami from Guatemala, with criminal histories including battery, child abuse, fraud, resisting arrest, DWI, trespassing and vandalism.

Meanwhile, Fox News' Bill Melugin was on the ground in Boston, where agents arrested multiple MS-13 gang members, Interpol Red Notices, and murder & rape suspects.[emphasis added]

Democrats are goingto say these are "unfair. "  The undocumented just want a better life, and throwing these out is racist.  Even if most illegals are decwent people fleeing popverty and oppression, the refusal to check if those coming in are predators shows why immigration needs to be carefully done.

At First I Thought This Was a Government Agency

I guess not.  Wolf Management.   A bad performance review?

More Amazing Technology

I was driving home in what is by Boise standards "rush hour" traffic.  If you live in much of America,  you will laugh uncontrollably at what is a source of frustration to us.

I had a chance to see a couple systems play well together.   I had the cruise control on as I approached an intersection.  The car ahead of me slowed down in preparation for a left turn.  My car slowed down as I got within about three  lengths and applied light braking.  As soon as he was out of my way,  the car gently accelerated back to cruising speed again.   It was all done with the slowing, braking, and acceleration that I would do if in good spirits and not upset.

A Few Hundredths of an Inch on One End..

Can be a million miles at Venus. 

I have been wrestling with getting the finder properly aligned on Big Bertha.   It seemed as though there was no way to get the finder to line up with the main optical axis.

I measured the distance from the front of the mounting base to the block on which it sits.  One side was .02" higher than the other.  I had tried to reuse one of the existing 6-32 holes.  I used a center finder tool in the mill and clearly did not know how, putting the new hole .02" off.  I started completely from scratch and boom.  The finder immediately became well-behaved.   I was able to get the object in the center of my eyepiece exactly centered in thr crosshairs.