What are folks hosting personal websites on these days? Squarespace just jacked up the price of mine by more than 60% and I'm not jazzed about it.

I've got a new essay in @highcountrynews.org, all about giant green anemones and how much I adore them. #scicomm 🦑🧪

High Country News@highcountrynews.org · 2mo ago

In the tide pools of Oregon, a writer becomes fascinated with the soft-bodied sea anemone, which makes a life an ever-changing habitat. The creature appears humble, but a deeper look reveals a complex animal. And a big surprise for a curious scribe.

Birdsky! Can someone explain to me how bird air sacs work? Are they connected to the whole hollow bones thing? Or are air sacs and pneumatized bones totally separate? 🪶🧪

a black bird with a yellow beak is standing in the grass with the words we just don t know below it

Alt: a black bird with a yellow beak is standing in the grass with the words we just dont know below it and a large white question mark above it

media.tenor.com

Had one of those moments where I thought SURELY everyone must know about the frog genus Mini, home to tiny frogs Mini mum, Mini scule, and Mini ature, only to text several friends and realize this isn't common knowledge. So now you, dear BlueSky friends, get to learn too. 🐸 🧪

I haven't seen enough Juneau Icefield Research Program on hype on BlueSky! Are you a student interested in polar science? Are you a researcher imagining future field work? Are you an educator looking to teach the best and brightest? JIRP is for you! Deadlines are soon! www.juneauicefield.org 🧪⚒️

Today's #scicomm / science question: what are your favorite science/ecology/climate words? For their beauty, their utility, their awe-inspiration, or simply because they're fun to say? 🧪🦑 Some of mine: solastagia (neologism), pyrocumulonimbus (awe+beauty+horror), albedo (important+fun to say)

elmo is wearing a chef 's hat and holding a glass of orange juice

Alt: elmo is wearing a chef's hat and saying that's a big word for elmo

media.tenor.com

Science and marine life folks! Does anyone on here study sea anemones (or know someone who does)? I'm particularly interested in talking to someone about the biomechanics of their tentacles and stinging cells. 🧪🦑

a close up of a sea anemone with a lot of tentacles

Alt: a close up of several sea anemones in different colors (white, yellow, brownish orange) waving their tentacles

media.tenor.com

WHAT (this paper isn't new, it's a decade+ old, but also still WHAT WHAT WHAT) 🧪

Hey, I know books are expensive and money is tight right now. But if there's a brand new book you really wanna read — including my own Lessons in Magic and Disaster — you can help get the book into way more hands by requesting it from your local library! It's easy! Check your library's website.

reading a study about coyote diets, and my condolences to the person who had to do this part: "Prior to extraction, we homogenized the scat (hand-mixing it from outside of the collection bag for 10–15 s)" The scat was dried out at this point and they presumably were wearing gloves, but still 🧪

walking up to my computer sideways in a slight crouch, eyes averted, trying to trick myself into writing

Currently reading a study about mesopredator (raccoon, coyote, skunk) cognition and please enjoy this photo of a raccoon in a box scientists built for it to press buttons in (study is Stanton et al, Variation in Reversal Learning by Three Generalist Mesocarnivores) 🧪

Heyyyyyy if you're in Takoma Park next Thursday and want to support a small bookstore, head to People's Book, where I will be talking with @haruspex.bsky.social about my BOOK at 6pm on 9/25!!! peoplesbooktakoma.com/event/animal...

Bethany Brookshire for Pests: How Humans Create Animal Villains

An engrossing and revealing study of why we deem certain animals “pests” and others not—from cats to rats, elephants to pigeons—and what this tells us about our own perceptions, beliefs, and action…

peoplesbooktakoma.com

Political violence is abhorrent. I have not celebrated Kirk's death. But Newsom calling for his followers to "continue Charlie Kirk's work," someone who praised stoning gay people as "god's perfect law," who called for men to "take care of" trans people like they did in the 50s and 60s, is not it.

This is your regular reminder that Jacobin pigeons exist, and they ARE coming to steal your husband 🪶 (photo via WikiCommons: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:A_...)

at their core, trans rights, abortion rights, and vaccine rights are actually all the same issue: they’re all about bodily autonomy, and the willingness to concede any of them puts the others at risk.

Claire Willett@clairewillett.bsky.social · 11mo ago

I’ve seen a lot of cishet allies who are also confused by all the prominent Dem voices suddenly acting like having trans rights means we can’t also have vaccines and schools and national parks, and that’s because some of the “why” is happening at a pitch only queer and trans people can hear

A thing I've noticed while reading about urban animals is that squirrels, unlike other animals, are often framed as study participants rather than subjects. I love it so much. 🧪🐿️

a squirrel is standing in a pile of leaves on the ground

Alt: a squirrel pawing at leaves on the ground as if it's panicked it forgot where it put that acorn

media.tenor.com

I understand that bears are large, but I saw bear poop today that was approximately two+ inches in diameter and I am perturbed

Rattlesnakes apparently only need 500-600 calories a year??????? @ologies.bsky.social blowing my mind today

Important update: I have done a Very Scientific survey of friends and family and 11/11 people are familiar with lemurs. So I don’t know what was up with this book. Then again, my friends and family are all, like me, nerds…

Liz Weinberg@eaweinberg.bsky.social · 12mo ago

The book I’m reading just explained how to pronounce the word lemur. Are most people unfamiliar with lemurs? Is my childhood animal nerdery skewing my perception here?

The First Lego League is a competition that schools from all over the place compete in. As part of the competition they need to consult with an expert. A lot of clubs use our program to make that connection. This year's theme is archaeology. It's all-hands-on-deck for archaeologists.

Skype a Scientist@skypeascientist.bsky.social · 12mo ago

This is an official Skype a Scientist HQ Mayday Alert to all Archaeologists. We've already gotten more requests for archaeologists than we have archaeologists. We have 38. We need a lot more than 38! Dig yourself into this database, we NEED ya www.skypeascientist.com/sign-up.html

Scientists! @skypeascientist.bsky.social matches scientists with classrooms, libraries, & more for virtual Q&As! It's easy and fun! We are looking for 750 more volunteers by 8/15 If you're down to chat with 1-5 classrooms this semester, sign up here www.skypeascientist.com/sign-up.html

The book I’m reading just explained how to pronounce the word lemur. Are most people unfamiliar with lemurs? Is my childhood animal nerdery skewing my perception here?

a group of lemurs are standing on a wooden fence with the word orbo on the bottom

Alt: A group of ring tailed lemurs hopping over a seated lemur on a wooden fence

media.tenor.com

never over the fact that the Latin for thrush is turdus, which means we have birds with deeply stupid and silly names like Turdus migratorius 🪶 #birds

a bird with a red beak is standing on a grassy hillside

Alt: an American robin hopping along a grassy lake-edge

media.tenor.com

If you’re chronically ill, wildfire smoke will likely harm you more than disabled peers. Having air purifiers is a great way to reduce flares. An air monitor can help ensure they’re working well! The AQI where I am is 151, but my purifiers are keeping PMs below 10!

Related: does anyone want to hire me to write a story about these sled dogs and their rangers. If I had to go to Alaska to meet them OH NO THAT WOULD BE TERRIBLE

Liz Weinberg@eaweinberg.bsky.social · last yr.

Where did I go wrong that this isn't my life

Where did I go wrong that this isn't my life

I was just informed that Denali National Park has a sled dog puppy cam and you might also need this information www.nps.gov/dena/learn/p...

Webcam: Sled Dog Puppies - Denali National Park & Preserve (U.S. National Park Service)

nps.gov

why oh why is this chapter taking me eight million years to write

Long shot, but is there anyone on here who studies (or knows someone who does) historical animal populations in cities? Particularly non-domesticated animals (rats, raccoons, squirrels, etc.) in the 19th and 20th centuries. Would love to interview you for a book chapter I'm working on! 🧪 #histsci