@curbo.org
๐จโ๐ป Cyber researcher at JHU Applied Physics Lab ๐ Doctoral candidate at JHU Whiting School of Engineering (space cyber) ๐ญ Amateur astronomer ๐น๏ธ Video game connoisseur ๐ Math/science/history nerd, married to a geologist โ๏ธ USAF vet https://curbo.space/
Happy to announce that DREAMM 4.0 is now available for Windows, macOS, and Linux!
dreamm.aarongiles.com
Now with support for all Lucas-family games released prior to 2000 on DOS, Windows, and FM-Towns, including all 8 Lucas Learning games. Network play is also now supported (experimentally).
Composite image of NGC 1068 based on Hubble Space Telescope images from our project, created by Judy Schmidt. The heart of a spiral galaxy is centered in the frame with brown winding dust lanes sprinkled with blue regions of recent star formation. Some small red galaxies are visible in the background.
Composite image of NGC 4303 based on Hubble Space Telescope images from our project, created by Judy Schmidt. A spiral galaxy is centered in the frame with bright blue spiral arms highlighting regions of recent star formation while brown winding dust lanes meander throughout.
New paper day! In an effort led by PhD student Madison Markham, we determined the first accurate and precise distances to two famous AGN host galaxies: NGC 1068 and NGC 4303. Using the Hubble Space Telescope, we identified Cepheid pulsating stars and measured their pulsation periods and mags ๐ญ๐งช(1/2)
Wallpaper worthy
as an amateur model-watcher, thanks for all your hard work!
Short musings on "cognitive debt" - I'm seeing this in my own work, where excessive unreviewed AI-generated code leads me to lose a firm mental model of what I've built, which then makes it harder to confidently make future decisions simonwillison.net/2026/Feb/15/...
The Japanese game music performance group "Fantom Iris" is a four-member band, but drummer Yamaoh frequently appears on social media
Today they're performing "Free Flyer" from NEMESIS (known in Japan as GRADIUS)
Everyone, enjoy watching!
Yamaoh from Fantom Iris will be playing the drums. The song is the classic "VAMPIRE KILLER" from Castlevania. Enjoy, everyone!
Fantom Iris drummer Yamaoh will perform the classic song "Power of Anger" used in Stage 1 of LIFE FORCE.
In Japan, it's famous under the title "Salamander(ๆฒ็พ
ๆผ่)"
Have a great day, everyone!
Looks like some interesting papers at SpaceSec this year. (A workshop at NDSS) Sorry I couldnโt make it!
Unironically yes, LOWER DECKS is about how the response to the disappointments of the post-Cold War era and the complexity of the modern world should not be despair or cynicism but instead a recommitment to the original ideals of liberalism, thank you for coming to my TED talk.
I didn't end up going to grad school for physics back then, but that comment stuck with me. Everything has trended so much towards data science and software that I, a mere (?) computer scientist, can learn domain specifics and slide into disciplines previously limited to those who focused on them.
As a compsci undergrad, I was told by a physics prof I should go to grad school for physics. I wondered if I could do it as a CS major. He said, most physics grad students spend their time learning to code so they can do modeling and analysis; you just have to catch up on the physics.
I found this part interesting: "Indeed, in many ways, the data scientist is better prepared to work in astronomy than the astronomer, since the data scientist knows how to do fast computation on large data sets, build complex probabilistic models, and perform large-scale optimizations or searches."
The 2026 Flight Software Workshop presentation schedule is posted here. We look forward to all the technical presentations. flightsoftware.org/workshop/FSW...
curbo.space I finally got around to setting up a proper website. Since I've been writing papers and giving talks for the past few years now (like a proper academic? I guess?) I figured it was time to collect everything in one place. I even got a cool .space domain! (curbo.org points here too)
200 meter asteroid 2024YR4 has a 4.5% chance of hitting the Moon in 2032. If it does, shrapnel reaching earth could be equal to years of micrometeor/debris risk to satellites happening in just a few weeks. And some buckshot all over the Moon too (including any bases)
arxiv.org/pdf/2601.10666
Played a lot of 2 (and original) and it was great. My group got a lot of mileage out of Ascend as well. Never tried the latest incarnation. But I think Tribes is one of those early FPS games that burned bright and inspired a lot and then was mostly supplanted, sadly.
Cyber threats targeting industrial control systems are increasing. Johns Hopkins APL developed BAS/CSโข, a framework that standardizes cybersecurity alerts, improving threat detection across diverse systems while reducing false alarms. https://jhuapl.link/BASCS
Iโm attending the NASA core Flight System Symposium this week, presenting on cyber resilience. Great event so far, even with the weather challenges! etd.gsfc.nasa.gov/capabilities...
Once I got that working I started adding features and other fun stuff. It seems to work well for me on Linux, but I haven't had a chance to test the Windows version at all yet.
I have looked around and haven't seen a Linux recreation of the starfield screensaver, so last year I started my own. I didn't get very far, but decided this would be an ideal test case for Claude Code and set about making a faithful recreation.
Another Claude Code powered hobby project - something I've been wanting for a while. This is a recreation of the classic Windows starfield and flying Windows screensavers, remade in Rust and now cross-platform. github.com/jcurbo/starf...
Cat wandered in front of the camera during the #aurora long exposure
Did a little check for the aurora in the backyard sky (suburban MD) with my iPhone 17 and 10 second exposures - didn't see much yet. I'll check again in a bit.
Update: intensity of geomagnetic storm that would trigger northern lights here has ticked down a bit (closer to 8), which is less favorable. Also, orientation of magnetic field not ideal.
Things could change quickly... Keep looking up and we'll keep you posted.
I've been tinkering with Claude Code lately. I wanted a good way to track limits other than using claude-hud in a terminal instance. So I asked CC to write me an XFCE4 panel applet. The result is now on Github. github.com/jcurbo/xfce4...
Happy #Jupiter opposition for 2026, very bright with a clear sky to the east this evening. Castor and Pollux (the twins of Gemini) to the left; red Betelgeuse and the rest of Orion to the right; Procyon (Canis Minor) and Sirius (the 'Dog Star' of Canis Major) closer to SE horizon. Happy #stargazing
Announcing keynote speakers for Flight Software Workshop 2026. Dr. Elizabeth (Zibi) Turtle is a planetary scientist at @jhuapl.bsky.social. She is the Principal Investigator for the Dragonfly mission to Titan and for the EIS cameras on the Europa Clipper. dragonfly.jhuapl.edu
Announcing keynote speakers for Flight Software Workshop 2026. Scott Manley. Scientist, astrophysicist, programmer, and YouTube star, Scott is known for his space-themed YouTube channel where he teaches the science & math behind rocket science. @scottmanley.bsky.social www.youtube.com/@scottmanley
