Justin Vasel

@justinvasel

Physics Ph.D. Supernova hunter. Air Force space operational energy analyst. Chair of the Bloomington Commission on Sustainability and Resilience. IU Alumn. HAM radio KE9DTH.

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Justin Vasel@justinvasel· 16h

Today I sent an open letter to IU Board Chair David Hormuth and IU President Whitten about a post by Trustee Sage Steele, in which she publicly mused about torturing a named public figure and asked who wanted to join her. I am calling on IU leadership to say publicly that this is not who we are.

Screenshot of letter, page 1. There is too much text to fit within the character limit of this alt text. You can find a link to the PDF version of this letter in the next post of this thread.

Screenshot of letter, page 2. There is too much text to fit within the character limit of this alt text. You can find a link to the PDF version of this letter in the next post of this thread.

Justin Vasel@justinvasel· 2d

I'm absolutely floored seeing a Trustee of Indiana University openly fantasize about torturing another human. This is abhorrent and shameful behavior, and IU should condemn it unequivocally.

Screenshot of a Twitter retweet. The original tweet is from the New York Post and depicts a photo of Anthony Fauci sitting during his recent Senate testimony. The text reads "Fauci privately warned of miscarriage risk linked to COVID vaccine while publicly claiming no issues, newly released texts show". That post was retweeted by Sage Steele (@sagesteele) who wrote "Where do I go to get permission to waterboard this man?? As he hangs upside by his toes, of course. Anyone wanna join me?"

Justin Vasel@justinvasel· 6d

Ah yes, the infamous Trojan Pachanga

A horse-sized-and-then-some sculpture of a blocky cartoon horse standing in a large open lobby with dark paneled walls. Its body is clad in overlapping planks with a weathered wood look, painted in fading bands of orange, teal, yellow and green. Short V-shaped notches are cut all over the boards, giving it the fringed look of a piñata rendered in lumber. A round disc on its head serves as an eye. It stands on a patch of artificial turf, roped off with blue stanchions. To the right is a standee for The Odyssey: a row of armored warriors lit in cold blue, with a cloaked figure holding a sword walking between them. Text below reads "A film by Christopher Nolan / THE ODYSSEY / 07.17.26 / Shot entirely with IMAX film cameras."

Justin Vasel@justinvasel· 11d

Had to get a closer look 🤩

Justin Vasel@justinvasel· 11d

Long layover at Detroit (KDTW) and nearly spit out my beer when I saw this one casually taxiing by #AvGeek

Justin Vasel@justinvasel· 11d

brb time traveling back to 2024 so I can vote in the Anchorage mayoral election

A green political campaign banner attached to a chain link fence with a portrait of a dog (a husky?) next to the words "The choice is clear! Write in Meiko for Mayor 24!"

Justin Vasel@justinvasel· 17d

Treating my Oshkosh fomo by visiting the world's busiest seaplane base

A white and blue general aviation seaplane floating up to a dock

A red and white general aviation seaplane taxiing on the water.

Justin Vasel@justinvasel· 19d

First time seeing glaciers with my own eyes! 🤩

A zoomed-in view from the air of two glaciers merging near a mountain

An aerial shot taken from an airplane of snow-capped mountain ranges and two glaciers merging at the base of a mountain

Justin Vasel@justinvasel· 19d

Hit the jackpot for airport trading cards at KMSP yesterday #AvGeek

A man at an airport restaurant fanning a deck of trading cards

Justin Vasel@justinvasel· Jul 9

Mine happens to be my wife's favorite painting, "Nocturne in Black and Gold - The Falling Rocket" by James McNeill Whistler. We finally got to see it up close a couple years ago in Detroit.

Oil painting, taller than it is wide. The canvas is almost entirely deep blue-green and black, with the paint thinned and brushed so the surface looks like haze. Showers of small gold and orange flecks fall from the upper center and upper right resembling the spent sparks of a firework. Pale gray smoke billows up through the middle. Below, a dark horizontal band suggests a bank of trees or a crowd, lit by a few streaks of yellow light near the left. The lower third is a paler ocher and gray-green foreground where several dim figures stand, barely more than smudges. Nothing is sharply defined; the whole scene is atmospheric rather than detailed.

A selfie of a man and a woman standing in front of the framed artwork described in the other photo at a museum gallery.

Justin Vasel@justinvasel· Jul 4

My wife just called me into the kitchen to "see this Ameri-kinda-abomination." We're calling it the Star-Spangled Platter 🇺🇸 #4thOfJuly

A charcuterie board with alternating stripes of deli meats, crackers, and cheese, with a small bowl of blueberries in the corner, vaguely resembling the design of the US flag.

Justin Vasel@justinvasel· Jul 3

Me circa 2013 doing a particle physics in one of those holes.

A man in a blue jumpsuit, hair net, and orange hard hat in front of a room-sized neutrino detector.

Justin Vasel@justinvasel· Jun 22

One of the most important computers ever made? *laughs in Dell Dimension 4400*

A photo of a dell dimension PC tower with accompanying CRT monitor, keyboard, and corded mouse sitting on a wooden desk in what appears to be a stuffy office environment.

Justin Vasel@justinvasel· Jun 12

I did not have "live opera performance" on my #IUTrustees meeting bingo card! Bravo to Robert Wente, who was the focus of this meeting's Student Spotlight.

A man enthusiastically singing opera at the IU Board of Trustees meeting next to a grand piano

Justin Vasel@justinvasel· Jun 12

Here are the policy items.

Slide containing a list of the following policy approval items:
BOT-20 Search and Screen Procedures for Administrators
BOT-11 Faculty and Librarian Tenure
BOT-14 Faculty and Librarian Promotions
BOT-13 Faculty and Librarian Annual Review
BOT-24 Post-Tenure Faculty Productivity and Annual Review
BOT-14 Academic Appointee Responsibilities and Conduct

Justin Vasel@justinvasel· May 23

Happy Caturday from Chandler

An orange cat asleep on a cat tree next to a sunny window hugging a red plushy toy

Justin Vasel@justinvasel· May 16

Fact: it's illegal to leave Canada without having at least some poutine

Bowl of poutine with beef and cilantro on top

Justin Vasel@justinvasel· May 15

My hollandaise powers are growing and soon I will be unstoppable

Top-down view of plated homemade eggs Benedict with asparagus on the side

Justin Vasel@justinvasel· May 14

Good morning

A side view of a gray cat sitting peacefully in a hallway backlit by the morning sun

Justin Vasel@justinvasel· May 11

peonies >> roses

Justin Vasel@justinvasel· Apr 22

I would drop cursor so gd fast

Article headline: spacex strikes deal with cursor for $60B. The potential acquisition comes as Elon musk's rocket and satellite maker, which has been emphasizing artificial intelligence, is preparing to go public.

Justin Vasel@justinvasel· Apr 7

Not me gathering around the hotel TV in San Diego to watch the post-lunar-transit interview

Artemis II crew gathering in the Orion capsule

Justin Vasel@justinvasel· Feb 11

Cheers to the first full decade of gravitational wave astronomy!

Justin Vasel@justinvasel· Feb 11

Every day that I visit the IU Board of Trustees website there seems to a new executive session that the public cannot attend. Most of these are committee meetings.

A list of notices for upcoming IU Board of Trustee meetings. There are 11 meetings listed. 9 of them are listed as "Executive session"

Justin Vasel@justinvasel· Jan 13

Going through my photos from this weekend and man, what a game! ❤️🤍

A football stadium filled with fans, most of whom are wearing Indiana crimson. The IU Marching Hundred is on the field and in the formation of a capital "I".

Justin Vasel@justinvasel· Dec 30

Exciting announcement: Construction has begun on the 3,000+ piece Lego Milky Way Galaxy set.

A pile of numbered transparent bags filled with lego pieces on a small table

A close-up shot of a partially-completed lego set depicting the milky way galaxy. In the foreground, a lego satellite dish is visible.

A zoomed-out shot of a partially-complete lego set depicting the Milky Way Galaxy.

Justin Vasel@justinvasel· Nov 12

Explaining how amazing the aurorae were last night to my indoor cat

A gray cat stares blankly towards the camera, clearly unamused

Justin Vasel@justinvasel· Sep 26

If you see this, post a bridge. (Walterdale Bridge, Edmonton, Canada)

The Walterdale Bridge with its white arches with the skyline of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada behind it.

Justin Vasel@justinvasel· Sep 19

Moon 💙 Venus

A crescent moon next to a bright pinprick of light (Venus) at dawn

Justin Vasel@justinvasel· Sep 18

Spotted the iconic United A320 "Friend Ship" livery (N475UA) at Reagan National (DCA) the other week 🤓 #AvGeek #Aviation