I came for the swan, but found the great crested grebe.

Birding at Laduviken.

I thought I'd try HDR video and while at it, see if it makes sense to shoot in 1080p and then upscale to 4k. The latter would make it possible for me to use my Nikon D600 and my collection of lenses for it, besides drastically cutting down on the size of the recorded video files. If not, I'd have to shoot on my only 4k-capable camera, a Panasonic Lumix LX15.

Erik Eckersten, a student at the SLU wrote Next station: Igelbäcken nature reserve, subtitled Design of an abandoned subway station into an entrance to a nature reserve. I find it a bold transformation of the now unfinished and abandoned subway stop.

Getting Google Maps to work in dark mode is a bit of a hassle, but you can do it by swapping map styles. OpenStreetMap doesn't have that functionality, since it serves pre-rendered tiles, but by taking inspiration from the Hue-Preserving Invert CSS Filter for Dark Mode, we can create a CSS filter that works reasonably well. The filter is almost the same, but with less saturated colors to give the dark mode map the same feel as the light mode one.

We want to make it easier to build more for free, automatically unlock greater volume discounts, and more easily find the capabilities that are right for your business[*], said the Google, and continued, These changes may result in a change in the monthly bill for certain customers, depending on their usage patterns.[*]

Oh well, can't be too bad. I wonder if my bill will change. Let's look at the billing report in Google Cloud Console and see how my costs have changed...

Simon Stålenhag used to post some digital paintings he had done of an imagined retrofuturistic Sweden. They depicted everyday life in an alternate '80s and '90s, with huge, towering structures in the background, hovering freight ships in the night sky, and rusty robot hulks dotting the landscape of the islands in Lake Mälaren where he grew up. A few noticed.

The Labyrinth was for many a departure from Stålenhag's usual style. This time, the world is really ending, and the horror is not something that is under the surface - quite the opposite, the remnants of humanity hide in underground shelters and the world is covered in ashes and the remains of those who didn't make it to the shelters.

Looking back towards Stockholm.

A view from the other side of the bridge.

Marine Group's Carrier 07, at anchor between the remaining two Lidingö bridges, the third of which it helped demolish in 2022. The other platforms would seem to be Carrier 08, Carrier 012, and Carrier 013.

Every now and then I do an accessibility check. It's constantly evolving, and so far it has always resulted in an improved site - better HTML structure, improved usability, etc. - for everyone, not just those needing assistive technologies. This time I used the AEL Accessibility Checker

After two books being set in an alternate Sweden, Stålenhag jumps across the pond and tells a story of a girl and her robot trying to make it across the southwestern United States to San Francisco, as society, hit by the horrors of a civil war and unable to recover, crumbles around them.

Cleaning the ground in preparation for residential buildings.

When I saw the Kickstarter for Sunset at Zero Point, I almost reflexively pitched in. I think Simon is a gifted storyteller, and crowdfunded culture appeals to me. A bit later I realized that this would be queer SF about two gay boys growing up, which isn't my usual fare, but (a) the pledge was in and (b) I was curious about what Stålenhag would do with the premise.

A photo session made quick, because the models were literally melting away.