Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Stephen Cass

@stephencass.bsky.social

2.4K followers 2.1K following 870 posts

Special Projects Director at @spectrum.ieee.org. Co-author of Hollyweird Science Vol. 1 and 2. Occasional science fiction editor. Maker and Retrocomputician. Feral cat servitor. 5e DM. ADHD. KB1WNR. 65xx. Originally from Dublin.

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Stephen Cass @stephencass.bsky.social · 10h

Rescuing 1 image a day from the depths of my Photo Library

#247 "Patience"

A black and white photograph taken at night of the head of a stone lion with a voluminous mane. Tree branches and the columns of a neo-classical building can be seen in the background.

Stephen Cass @stephencass.bsky.social · 2d

Rescuing 1 image a day from the depths of my Photo Library

#246 "Collanade"

A black and white photograph of the trunks of five tall trees standing at the base of a rock-strewn slope rising into the background with shrubs and other trees.

Stephen Cass @stephencass.bsky.social · 3d

Rescuing 1 image a day from the depths of my Photo Library

#245 "Dissolve"

A black and white photograph of a derelict factory with a single smoke stack sitting by the edge of a canal under bright sunlight on a deserted piece of ground.

Stephen Cass @stephencass.bsky.social · 3d

Only 15 years to go!

Stephen Cass @stephencass.bsky.social · 4d

Rescuing 1 image a day from the depths of my Photo Library

#244 "Whispers"

A black and white photograph of a long barrel-vaulted room with large windows with panes criss-crossed with metal bars. Shelves of books line the opposite wall, and the room is filled with neatly arranged long tables and chairs, with pairs of reading lights placed on each table.

Stephen Cass @stephencass.bsky.social · 5d

Rescuing 1 image a day from the depths of my Photo Library

#243 "Overhead"

A black and white phtotograph of an empty street lined by walls underneath an elevated train line. Pools and gridded rectangles of bright sunlight stand out from the shadows.

Stephen Cass @stephencass.bsky.social · 5d

Merriam-Webster @merriam-webster.com · 6d

What’s the word where you’re from that, when pronounced exactly as it looks, identifies a tourist immediately?

Stephen Cass @stephencass.bsky.social · 5d

alt.cold.dead.hands

Stephen Cass @stephencass.bsky.social · 5d

Greg "that ain't hard science fiction, THIS is hard science fiction" Egan :)

Stephen Cass @stephencass.bsky.social · 6d

Thank you! Yes, there was nothing like filling up a blank sheet of graph paper!

Stephen Cass @stephencass.bsky.social · 6d

OMG: thank you, that means so much to me! This essay was a real departure for me, as my writing is so rarely personal given my day job as a journalist. It's amazing and wonderful to hear that this resonated!

Stephen Cass @stephencass.bsky.social · 6d

Aww! Thank you!

1 1

Stephen Cass @stephencass.bsky.social · 10d

Rescuing 1 image a day from the depths of my Photo Library

#242 "Fully Computerized"

A black and white photograph of a shuttered store on a city street corner. Signs above the shutters read "Captain Video" and "Fully Computerized."

Stephen Cass @stephencass.bsky.social · 10d

Thank you, I’m lucky to be working at Spectrum, where I get to do so many nerdy things!

Stephen Cass @stephencass.bsky.social · 11d

Thank you, that's very kind of you to say! It's been fun excavating these moments and seeing them in a new light!

Stephen Cass @stephencass.bsky.social · 11d

What's your sign

A triangle with a black border and red background. Inside the border are black symbols with white outlines. A trefoil on the top, representing and warning of radiation. Five lines emanate in an arc towards the bottom of the triangle. On the bottom left, there is a skull and crossbones, signifying death. On the bottom right, there is a running figure, with an arrow pointing right, away from the skull and crossbones.

Stephen Cass @stephencass.bsky.social · 11d

Rescuing 1 image a day from the depths of my Photo Library

#241 "Carved"

A black and white photograph of a leafless tree with a broad trunk and thick spreading branches. Many initials have been carved into the trunk, running up the height of the frame.

1 2

Stephen Cass @stephencass.bsky.social · 12d

Rescuing 1 image a day from the depths of my Photo Library

#240 "Breezy"

A black and white photograph looking down a building arcade formed from rectangular concrete panels in a brutalist style.

1 4

Stephen Cass @stephencass.bsky.social · 13d

LOL! Extra fun fact: @ericoguizzo.bsky.social is still at @spectrum.ieee.org :)

1 2

Stephen Cass @stephencass.bsky.social · 13d

Rescuing 1 image a day from the depths of my Photo Library

#239 "Bermuda Vertex"

A photograph near sunset, with the light tinting everything yellow. A small tower with a windsock stands on a promontory jutting out into a wide body of water. In the distance a line of trees runs along the horizon, and a stone wall can be seen with a small archway on the water.

Stephen Cass @stephencass.bsky.social · 13d

A fun one for @spectrum.ieee.org's special issue on scale: while this tech isn't what we used to think #interstellar exploration would be like at all, it has the advantage of being much closer to doable, with mission durations comparable to what we're already used to with planetary flybys. #space

The Plan to Send Tiny Probes to the Stars

A new approach to interstellar travel could bring us close-up images of exoplanets in just 25 years.

spectrum.ieee.org

Stephen Cass @stephencass.bsky.social · 13d

Remember that photo I posted of the guts of a homebrew #C64 cartridge? Well, this is what it was for, a demo in a traveling museum exhibit version of @spectrum.ieee.org's Chip Hall Of Fame! #6502, #Commodore, #Assembly #retrocomputing #6510

A Commodore 64 Cartridge Brings History to Life

Discover the "Chips That Shook The World" exhibit, featuring a C64 cartridge that brings the history of microchips to life in a captivating way.

spectrum.ieee.org

1 4

Stephen Cass @stephencass.bsky.social · 13d

Who's your favorite Jedi?
(wrong answers only)

Stephen Cass @stephencass.bsky.social · 15d

Rescuing 1 image a day from the depths of my Photo Library

#238 "Attack"

A photograph of a tall building made with corrugated iron walls against a blue sky. Shrubs and small trees are encroaching on the building, obscuring its walls and even appearing in a wide rectangular window.

Stephen Cass @stephencass.bsky.social · 16d

Rescuing 1 image a day from the depths of my Photo Library

#237 "Aggregate"

A black and white photograph of the top of round tower with irregular stones mortared together occupying the lower left two-thirds of the frame. Half of the tower is in bright sunshine, while the other half is deep shadow against a cloudless sky shading from grey near the bottom of the frame to black at the top.

1 1