I have not updated my Starlink numbers in a while, and great flying fuckballs, is it ever bad. We are now up to 9,422 Starlink satellites in orbit, out of 14,046 total active satellites. 1,446 Starlinks have reentered and added their 500-1500kg of computers, batteries, solar panels, and aluminum frame to the upper atmosphere (and at least one has hit the ground).

Wooo! After a gorgeous hike up and down PKOLS (Mt. Douglas), my first (last-minute) talk of my ridiculous lecture tour has fallen into place... for tomorrow night! Good thing I"ve got a talk that I've given a bunch of times that only needs minor updates. I'll share info once I get confirmation from the organizers that it's fine to invite the general public. #ProfSamLectureTour

Sending peace. We need it.

A very Victoria moment today: we finally managed to find a semi-public charging station with a plug that would work for our plug-in hybrid car (a Chevy Volt, I had no idea that would be so hard...), and we were all delighted to see that the Tesla charging next to us had a huge bumper sticker on the back that said "Protect Trans Kids (from men like Elon Musk)"

I have never seen the word "perihelion" in a weather warning before! Wow. I'm totally saving this to show my students why basic astro 101 is very practical sometimes (...ok maybe the prairies do not have a tidal flooding problem...but... perihelion!!)

Spent the first day of 2026 with some very big trees. Upside to coastal BC: gigantic trees! Downside: 100% cloudy! Luckily my astrophotography wide-angle lens that I haven't been able to use yet on this trip because of clouds works very well for big trees, too! #ProfSamLectureTour

Funny observation from driving across nearly half of Canada in the last few days: in Regina it was -25C, in Calgary/Banff it was -10C, and around Vancouver and Victoria it's been 0 to 5C. And everyone wears the same clothes (big coat, hat, scarf, gloves) in each of these places, because it's the typical cold winter temperatures. Acclimatization is impressive! #ProfSamLectureTour

Ohhhh Vancouver Island I have missed you so much!! #ProfSamLectureTour

Say what you will about the suburban hellscape of Surrey, BC, they have done a fantastic job of protecting their waterways! Also, frost flowers are super cool (I forgot about those! Too cold and dry in Saskatchewan) #ProfSamLectureTour

We made it to Surrey yesterday, and had a lovely Christmas meal with family of our friends (who are basically adopted family at this point) The drive was a bit sketchy along the Coquihalla with multiple smashed semi-trucks along the shoulders as warnings to drive slow. But after 2 back-to-back blizzards in Saskatchewan right before we left, it was pretty manageable. First impression of the lower mainland after not being here for 6 years: holy cow it's green here!! #ProfSamLectureTour