I started my poker blog 20 years ago, right before the 2006 WSOP. This is version two. 20 years later, different stakes, different tables. I call it Devo in the Dark, here's post #1: From Poker Tables to Telescopes open.substack.com/pub/astrom…

This is my home. These are my people.

In 2022 — an all-time peak year for migration and the numbers that the Trump administration is using to justify a “crisis” at the US-MX border — Big Bend National park accounted for 0.01% of all migrant traffic. ZERO POINT ZERO ONE PERCENT

I'm always so shocked when a lighter dies. Like the end of a toothpaste tube.

Balls o'clock and 69°. #giggity

Since I worked there in 2015, Big Bend has always been my last source of hope in the borderlands. A place too rugged, too remote—and with virtually zero crossings, too pointless to tame with border walls. Now the corrupt politicians and billionaire contractors are coming to try and destroy the last best place left in the borderlands. But they don't understand what this place means to us. We will never stop fighting for Big Bend.

Not just a waste of money, but also a waste of public land.

$1.7b for a wall through the desert is the least effective use of money to prevent illegal crossings. If border security is the goal, then spend that money efficiently. But they want to waste money and destroy a national park. Maybe border security isn't their goal?

There's been a slew of headlines this week saying the Big Bend border wall was "cancelled," but that's not the case at all. Wall construction in the region is rapidly accelerating. Bulldozers are on site clearing land, survey stakes are in the ground, and all environmental laws have been waived to rush construction. The only thing that changed, the "scoop" that led to all of these vastly overstated media stories, was one informal statement from the CBP commissioner in a Washington Examiner interview saying that they'd first be carving new paved roads through the national park and putting up steel "vehicle barriers." He didn't say CBP would *never* build walls in the park, just that they won't be doing it immediately. These new access roads will clear the path for future wall construction, and that could happen at any time. Remember, DHS has $46 billion to spend on the wall. No section of the border is safe, especially not Big Bend National Park. Stay vigilant, stay strong and stay hopeful. Our pressure is so clearly making a difference—in all my time fighting border walls I've never seen public pressure actually get through to CBP and force them to alter their plans like they have here... But we can't afford to stop paying attention just because a few wildly overstated headlines said we "won."

Wow, you're an astrologist?!? No I am an astronomer. I can tell you about the stars, but not what they mean to you. Oh. Ok, nevermind then.

Absolutely world class facility at @LowellObs, I spent 6 hours there yesterday and still missed some things.

I have embarked on a tour of observatories and astro tourism companies similar to Astro Mucho in the southwest. Visited @KittPeakNatObs yesterday, it was amazing! I learned that Pluto is the state planet of Arizona. Makes me feel like Charon needs to be a state planet too!

Never seen something like this ever. This is incredible. Holy moly.

BREAKING: DHS is actively changing its so-called “smart wall” map in real time. Big Bend National Park now shows a slew of new patrol roads & “vehicle barriers.” As we've warned--the map can and will change with no public notice, no Congressional approval, no nothing. (1/5)

As we know, New Glenn's upper stage failed to conduct its planned circularization burn; this left the payload in an unrecoverable low orbit. We have tracking data on the payload however, there is no data provided for the New Glenn upper-stage at this time. It's safe to assume it did not complete a disposal burn. New Glenn upper stage and payload will re-enter within the next 4-5 days. New Glenn upper stage dry mass is around 25 metric tons and measures in at ~ 77ft x 23ft which is comparable to the Long March 5B stage that the CASC left in orbit a few years ago. New Glenn's upper stage poses a significant risk to locations between 36.11 degrees N/S latitude and will generate a large debris field. If it re-enters over land, largely intact pieces may be found, possibly as large as 5 feet or more in diameter. Lighter-weight spherical objects such as COPVs are expected to partially/completely survive re-entry.

Wonderful article here by @GSaulsbery about the proposed border wall and impacts to Terlingua. Shout out Astro Mucho! mygrandcanyonpark.com/road-t…

With all eyes focused on Iran, Trump and DHS are pushing forward on border wall construction through Big Bend National Park. They will hand the Rio Grande to Mexico, destroy thousands of jobs, and ruin the last remaining wild West, all for less than 1% of all border crossings:

BREAKING: more than 130 orgs, outfitters & rural Texas businesses are urging Congress to block funds for border wall construction through Big Bend. Walls here would cut off public river access, decimate rural economies & block wildlife from their only reliable water source.

This is excellent commentary and visuals from my friend about the fight of our life. A wall through Big Bend will not do anything functional. Instead it will waste a ton of money with it's estimated cost of $25 million per mile and ruin the place I call home.

I’ve spent a significant amount of time in the Big Bend region. The most striking thing about the border wall debate is the bi-partisan uproar against it. Locals are befuddled by the lack of warning and law enforcement are adamant that it’s an unnecessary expense. As Terrell County Sheriff @SheriffThad put it, the terrain itself is a God-given barrier. Spend any time there at all and you’ll understand why. It’s an unforgiving, desolate, yet remarkably beautiful region. The numbers don’t pencil out for a need and the wall is a solution in search of a problem. Let’s not destroy one of the most beautiful parks unnecessarily. Let’s not destroy a local tourism economy. Let’s treat Big Bend like the sacred land it is. My colleague @Forrest4Trees covered the backlash to the plan here: texasmonthly.com/news-politi…