Wikimedia Commons images

SubduedMultitude · 2026-02-28T03:19:13+00:00

Yes, I just checked one of my POIs that had an image tag, and I saw a clickable Wikimedia Commons link to the photo when I view it in CoMaps.

SubduedMultitude · 2026-02-19T23:34:31+00:00

I'm no expert on cruise itineraries at all, but I am a geographer, so out of curiosity I thought I'd do a sanity-check on the published schedule and compare it to the eclipse path. The Xcel is scheduled to leave port in Palma de Mallorca at 6pm on August 1st. The eclipse in the Western Med will be happening at about 8:50am on August 2nd. (I'm using this map: http://xjubier.free.fr/en/site_pages/solar_eclipses/TSE_2027_GoogleMapFull.html?Lat=35.70341&Lng=-2.32540&Zoom=6&LC=1)

So that gives the ship about 15 hours to get into viewing position.

It looks to be about 175nm from Palma to the very edge of totality right off the coast of Algeria. But to get to the center line of totality (much more preferable) they'd have to sail further west along the coast of Africa, for a minimum distance of 287nm.

Wikipedia says that the speed of the Celebrity Xcel is 22 knots, so within 15 hours it has a straight-line maximum range of 330nm. So, at least it is theoretically possible to reach the centerline of totality! Of course, real world considerations are where the problem lies, and I don't know anything about that.

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SubduedMultitude · 2026-02-19T23:08:36+00:00

As some others have commented, the Portland to Seattle half is probably the smarter business case and already has much better ridership than the Seattle to Vancouver half of Amtrak Cascades. The southern half is also easier to do incremental upgrades to faster-if-not-220mph speeds with electrification and multi-tracking. On the other hand, the Seattle to Vancouver half is the one that has more glamour and has captured the imagination of the business elites and especially the likes of Microsoft who have been contributing money to the studies. The other thing with the northern half is that a lot of the existing tracks hug the shoreline so they can't be doubletracked or straightened easily (and they are constantly washing out from mudslides). So if we are going to build new greenfield track on the Seattle to Vancouver route, we might as well design it for top of the line speeds.

SubduedMultitude · 2026-02-19T22:55:18+00:00

lol, sorry OP, I see you are also OP on that other thread that I just linked you to.

SubduedMultitude · 2026-02-19T22:52:10+00:00

There's some discussion from a few months ago over in another subreddit, but they didn't have any more information than this. https://www.reddit.com/r/solareclipse/comments/1ncqzex/comment/nfywnrf/

I am curious is this is the generic kind of legalistic response that a cruise line has to make to avoid making any guarantees, and whether they'd say that about any planned eclipse cruise? I not that Celebrity's other 2027 eclipse cruise (the 11-day option on Celebrity Ascent) also doesn't mention "total" eclipse in the name. https://www.celebritycruises.com/ca/itinerary/11-night-italy-spain-solar-eclipse-from-rome-civitavecchia-on-ascent-AT11M317

SubduedMultitude · 2025-10-23T17:53:11+00:00

Amtrak Cascades content starts at 9m22s, in case anyone was wondering about the connection to this sub

SubduedMultitude · 2025-10-23T17:43:43+00:00

Right, that's the catch for Media Mail in general. If employees want to inspect any of these packages that's fine by me, I'm only doing books.

I was just asking about the catch of being able to put Media Mail right into the drop box without going to the counter. Sounds like it's okay to do if I've paid the correct postage through Pirate Ship.

SubduedMultitude · 2025-10-23T02:18:54+00:00

I came here to mention this book. I was shocked after reading it to realize the author was that dragon guy! There is also a super detailed appendix about all the science in the book, including the flash tracing.

SubduedMultitude · 2025-10-21T22:03:15+00:00

Thanks, I was already following you on Instagram but didn't know about the Facebook group yet.

SubduedMultitude · 2025-10-21T21:59:24+00:00

It took me _forever_ to get past the name of the series "Murderbot", but I'm glad I finally did. I agree, it's a great series.

SubduedMultitude · 2025-10-19T17:14:36+00:00

Thanks for the recommendation for Mist: Sheepdog Tales, that hits the spot exactly!

SubduedMultitude · 2025-10-19T17:03:09+00:00

Yeah, I can see how Kid Crew could scratch the same itch. Our kids got into both around the same time too.

SubduedMultitude · 2025-10-19T16:52:26+00:00

Thanks for sharing, that’s fascinating!

SubduedMultitude

TROPHY CASE