Tessera

telescyote 🔭

@cosmicyote.bsky.social

Former astronomer and science educator - Still missing Arizona - Mostly a hobby/politics/personal stuff account - Not really a NSFW account but I do interact with some so 🔞 just in case - Sometimes I post furry stuff, or I rant - 24 he/him

2992 Posts498 Follower 676 Folgt

telescyote 🔭@cosmicyote.bsky.social · 1h ago

Less than 2 hrs to vote! #MinCup26 I was conflicted because #cuprite is so neat but imo #quartz deserves it more. Useful, everywhere, and beautiful in so many different forms. Plus I love crystals with inclusions :) And since quartz & cuprite can form together a vote for quartz kinda lets both win!

Quartz with stunning elbaite inclusions at the Smithsonian source: me :)

Quartz with cuprite inclusions! Source: https://www.mineralauctions.com/items/cuprite-included-in-quartz-new-find-99966

Mineral Cup & Ore Cup@mineralcup.bsky.social · 23h ago

#MinCup26 FINALS!!! We have a pair of geometric beauties as deep red #Cuprite is against versatile #Quartz. VOTE: www.mineralcup.org/2026/vote-re... RESULTS: www.mineralcup.org/2026/vote-re...

Split image of fine red needles of cuprite on one side and chunky clear quartz crystals on the other.

Brandon Bishop @brandontbishop.bsky.social · 7h ago

Why is it difficult to understand that a political movement and ideology built around that would consider cancer research 'woke'?

Brandon Bishop @brandontbishop.bsky.social · 7h ago

"People have been understandably confused by this and tried to understand what about, say, cancer research, is 'woke.'" Are people actually confused by this given the MAHA ideology? The RFK, Jr., ultimately the head guy for cancer research, believes it's all "chemicals" and hates medicine.

Katie Mack @astrokatie.com · 21h ago

I went to Geneva a few weeks ago and spoke on a panel about the nature of time for a Geneva Watch Days event. While I was there, on a lark, I entered a competition to most precisely calibrate a Swiss watch. And today I found out that I won! 😃 www.instagram.com/reel/Dd6hUTB...

Me peering through a little magnifier at a tiny watch mechanism connected to some monitoring equipment, while making adjustments with a small screwdriver

Mineral Cup & Ore Cup @mineralcup.bsky.social · 23h ago

#MinCup26 FINALS!!! We have a pair of geometric beauties as deep red #Cuprite is against versatile #Quartz. VOTE: www.mineralcup.org/2026/vote-re... RESULTS: www.mineralcup.org/2026/vote-re...

Michael Busch @michael-w-busch.bsky.social · 23h ago

For the space lawyers: Is this something that the NASA Administrator actually has the authority to do? And, yet again: Jared Isaacman should not be NASA Administrator. (Also, no, there is not now any "push for human exploration of Mars". There is only vaporware.)

Eos@eos.org · yesterday

Amid a push for human exploration of Mars, NASA has moved to loosen planetary protection procedures. Administrator Jared Isaacman announced the changes in a memo, available here: astrobiology.com/2026/09/29/p...

Robert Evans (the Only Robert Evans)@iwriteok.bsky.social · yesterday

if Tina Kotek cared about this state she'd see these polls as a five alarm fire

Polling USA@usapolling.bsky.social · yesterday

Oregon - Governor Polling: 🔴Drazan: 47% 🔵Kotek: 46% ⚪Smith: 3% DHM Research / Sept 27, 2026 (Current OR-GOV model result is DEM 51% - GOP 45%) unitedstatespolling.com/p/republican...

telescyote 🔭@cosmicyote.bsky.social · yesterday

I believe the technical term for this is a "little oopsie-woopsie"

Funranium (AKA Phil Broughton)@funranium.bsky.social · yesterday

Well, I'm 20 years late to the party on this one but this is why it pays to hangout with the Earth Sciences people when you're near their building. TL;DR - Geology is complicated. It's good to ask geologists before you dig deep holes or you will learn SURPRISE GEOLOGY.

Elizabeth V @geolizzy.bsky.social · yesterday

Vote #Quartz! These are both good minerals, but quartz comes in pretty colors and crystal shapes. #MinCup

Mineral Cup & Ore Cup@mineralcup.bsky.social · 2d ago

#MinCup26 Semifinal 2 It’s a match sure to break hearts between industrial powerhouses piezoelectric #quartz and lubricating #graphite! (With the correct links this time!) VOTE: www.mineralcup.org/2026/vote-re... RESULTS: www.mineralcup.org/2026/vote-re...

Split photo between a pair of glassy-clear terminated quartz crystals and flaky blades of dark grey graphite at odd angles to each other, with green crystals around them.

Brandon Bishop @brandontbishop.bsky.social · yesterday

This is actually an *extremely* strong statement to see in a science paper, FYI. And earned after spending a huge amount of effort to tear apart alternate hypotheses. Screenshot from here: www.science.org/doi/full/10....

Screenshot from the conclusions of linked paper reading "Using new P. taiti specimens, we demonstrate that P. taiti is structurally distinct from all known Fungi, that the molecular fingerprint of P. taiti is distinct from contemporaneous fossil Fungi in the Rhynie chert, and that P. taiti lacks the fungal biomarker perylene. With no support for a Fungal affinity, we suggest that Prototaxites is best considered a member of a previously undescribed, independent and extinct lineage of complex multicellular eukaryotes (Fig. 4)."

Ed Zitron @edzitron.com · 2d ago

This is now a sycophancy test. Joking about it I’ll accept, barely, but anyone who even remotely indulges this is a coward

Justin Hendrix@justinhendrix.bsky.social · 2d ago

United States President Donald Trump issues executive order instructing federal government agencies to "use the terms 'Super Intelligence' and 'SI' in place of 'Artificial Intelligence' and 'AI' and will not acknowledge the usage of 'Artificial Intelligence' and 'AI' in any applicable setting."

telescyote 🔭@cosmicyote.bsky.social · 2d ago

Gotta go for #cuprite. The complex crystal shapes look so mesmerizing. Plus it forms cubes/octahedra so it can look like dice, granted #halite can too! But it can become malachite so turquoise color dice :)

Red cuprite crystal cluster source: https://www.mindat.org/a/best_cuprite

Cuprite cubes/octahedra altered to turquoise colored malachite. Source: https://www.mindat.org/a/best_cuprite

Mineral Cup & Ore Cup@mineralcup.bsky.social · 3d ago

#MinCup26 SEMI-FINALS!!! It's showdown of the soft and cubical as coppery #Cuprite and salty #Halite compete for a spot in the finals! Both are worthy, but only one can have your vote. VOTE: www.mineralcup.org/2026/vote-re... RESULTS: www.mineralcup.org/2026/vote-re...

Split photo of a translucent deep red cube of cuprite within swooping matte blue-green crystal blades and a scattering of translucent white halite cubes in a nest of golden yellow spiky crystals.

Brandon Bishop @brandontbishop.bsky.social · 2d ago

CUBE VS CUBE WE DON'T KNOW HOW TO VOTE THIS ROUND VOTE CUBE? VOTE #MINCUP26

Mineral Cup & Ore Cup@mineralcup.bsky.social · 3d ago

Astreia @redoubters.bsky.social · 4d ago

Michael Busch @michael-w-busch.bsky.social · 3d ago

If you want another reason to never use the automated plagiarism machines, scientists.

c0nc0rdance@c0nc0rdance.bsky.social · 4d ago

The obvious conclusion (to me): if you have proprietary research & you upload it into the Plagiarism Nexus, it's not YOUR proprietary research anymore. Behave accordingly.

That Erin @toadpuppy.bsky.social · 4d ago

I did this. On purpose. Ok so I’ve never worked with stained glass before and had to watch a ton of tutorials on how to solder, but I think it’s pretty good for a first try, and I may suddenly have a new crafting obsession. Plus it matches my tattoo 😂

Stained glass suncatcher in the shape of a Luna moth

telescyote 🔭@cosmicyote.bsky.social · 4d ago

Finally got one of the commemorative Eldar Spiritseer models magnetized and primed with a playable 25mm base on the side. Had some challenges with sculpting greenstuff but it was fun practice :) #40k #eldar

40k Eldar Spiritseer model over broken Wraithlord terrain feature. Primed dark grey.

Same 40k Eldar Spiritseer model over broken Wraithlord terrain feature on smaller base. Primed dark grey.

40k Eldar Spiritseer model over broken Wraithlord terrain feature. Two base options shown: large diorama and small playable. Primed dark grey.

Brandon Bishop @brandontbishop.bsky.social · 5d ago

"Bajoran workers, your attention please. Your attempt to seize control of this facility is going to fail. You are valuable workers and we wish you no harm."

M. Newton@ridelee.bsky.social · last wk.

Oh my god. OH MY GOD. XD

🦇 Murphy @mjosmurphy.bsky.social · 5d ago

Bring to a job interview, Y/N?

Colin Spacetwinks@spacetwinks.bsky.social · 5d ago

anyway best c4 flavors remain grape popscicle, green apple jolly rancher, watermelon jolly rancher, and their basic bomb pop. also i went to their website to see what flavors i might've forgotten and this looks like the worst thing possible

c4 energy's "all hopped up" beer flavor energy drink

Brandon Bishop @brandontbishop.bsky.social · 5d ago

Ok, so, why vote #Quartz? #MinCup26 Because it's an absolute weirdo that if you squeeze generates electricity, and if you expose it to electricity acts like you've squeezed it. This led to quartz being used for the first sonar systems. Learn more about this effect and quartz's role in its use here

This Month In Physics History

APS Archives

aps.org

Mineral Cup & Ore Cup@mineralcup.bsky.social · 6d ago

#MinCup26 Quarterfinal 2 Both of today's minerals can be found in hydrothermal vein deposits as cobalt arsenide #Skutterudite is against classic silicate #Quartz for a spot in the semi-finals. Vote: www.mineralcup.org/2026/vote-re... Results: www.mineralcup.org/2026/vote-re...

bug spray cody @aevris.bsky.social · 5d ago

i have no faith that any of these are good books but god the covers kick ass

Robert Evans (the Only Robert Evans)@iwriteok.bsky.social · 6d ago

no they weren't very close to 0% of the SS were hanged the vast, vast seriously vast majority of people who carried out the Holocaust weren't ever punished.

Get Out The Mid Term Vote @gotmtv.bsky.social · 6d ago

Brandon Bishop @brandontbishop.bsky.social · 6d ago

Vote Quartz, it's the clear choice. #MinCup26

Mineral Cup & Ore Cup@mineralcup.bsky.social · 6d ago

Gwen C. Katz @gwenckatz.bsky.social · 6d ago

Fuck ChatGPT flyers. The future is broadsheets.

A crowded broadsheet with way too many fonts. It says:
Forget ChatGPT Flyers
Say it with
Broadsheets
Unlimited fonts
Stretch them
Or cram a really long sentence into one line for no good reason
No whitespace
Mix capital and lowercase
Pointing hands
(They're called manicules!)
Don't be left behind
Broadsheets are the future

Oregon 🕎🎲@oregonthedm.bsky.social · 6d ago

Most riveting thing I've seen all week

Kepler 🍁ΘΔ @andromedaphoenix.bsky.social · 7d ago

Team art history again with Cuprite's use as a pigment! Also wow what a close vote rn #MinCup26

Mineral Cup & Ore Cup@mineralcup.bsky.social · 7d ago

#MinCup26 Quarterfinal 1 It’s a rich red start to the quarterfinals as two components of brass face off with zinc ore #Sphalerite is up against copper-rich #Cuprite. VOTE: www.mineralcup.org/2026/vote-re... RESULTS: www.mineralcup.org/2026/vote-re...

Split photo of a glossy ruby-red chunk of sphalerite, slightly rounded, amongst smaller clear crystals and a gleaming ruby-red cube of cuprite jutting from a yellow matrix.

Zray! 🪴✨➡️ FALL SHOP DROP!! 🎃@zray.bsky.social · 6d ago

Good mornin’ friends!! 🚌 💨 I am off for a quick trip with friends this weekend and will be out of office until Monday! Thank you to everyone who helped fund this little trip — I will never get over how sweet all of you are :’)) HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND EVERYONE!!

Brandon Bishop @brandontbishop.bsky.social · last wk.

So what, precisely, does Jensen Huang bring to Nvidia?

Matt Ford@mford.bsky.social · last wk.

Ezra Klein asked Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang about AI making kids worse at math and reading. Huang’s reply: “Does it matter?” Then he said he doesn’t know his own address or phone number. “We’re going to lose some fine intellectual dexterity.” www.nytimes.com/2026/09/23/o...

So the message of this research out of China, where you were seeing a lot of kids using A.I. to help them, was that when they were using the A.I., they were getting things done faster. But it turned out that the skills they were learning were not holding, that their actual personal performance, at least in the way we traditionally measure it, was degrading.

What do you think when you hear that?

The last part — I completely agree. Try to get a kid to do long division right now. The multiplication table is starting to be forgotten. Doing square roots, my goodness. Basic math is being forgotten. Does it matter?

That’s my question for you.

Yeah. I don’t think it does. I don’t think it does.

But there must be some set of skills that matter.

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. But maybe not those. We’re going to discover new ones. Just maybe not those.

There are a lot of skills that don’t matter. My first confession, I actually don’t know my address.

telescyote 🔭@cosmicyote.bsky.social · last wk.

I like how in random dreams about playing soccer in high school I'm still bad at it 😭

David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · last wk.

Wtaf is this question my university just asked me about my project?

Does the project involve any work that could be interpreted as promoting DEIA, climate change research, or non-compliant to any Presidential Executive Orders?