Today, August 4, 2026, is the setting of Ray Bradbury’s short story “There Will Come Soft Rains” about a fully automated house continuing on after the family who lived there and the world around it died in a nuclear blast.
Jesse Kroll
@jessekroll.bsky.social
atmospheric chemist at MIT; also does other stuff sometimes
I got a flu booster today and it made me reflect on the sense of national accomplishment I felt when I drove to a public facility, waited in my car until my number was called on an app, and got my first covid jab. It's fucked the right gets to erase what a moment of technological liberation that was
Americans have more confidence in higher education than in big tech companies, and the gap is growing rather than shrinking. The higher ed-doomsday pundits need to get on board with the real vibe shift in public trust that is happening right now.
Mark Copelovitch@mcopelov.bsky.social · last wk.I look forward to all the reports & coverage about all of the internal problems & mistakes of all of these other institutions, in the same way that universities are constantly blamed (& blaming themselves) for “declining trust.” “Compared to what?” news.gallup.com/poll/712436/...
This combination, two days apart, will serve for future historians as an effective shorthand for the lunacy of the moment.
The only team not to lose to Spain at the World Cup? Cape Verde.
senior male academics giving a conference paper, after being shown the "one more minute" sign
Erin Dwyer aka Ginger Is A Construct@erindwyer.bsky.social · 2w agoTime keeping is my passion.
Congrats we just made it impossible to come here for a PhD www.bostonglobe.com/2026/07/16/m...
Trump administration limits student visas to four years, changing longstanding policy - The Boston Globe
The new rule, which also restricts the international students’ ability to transfer schools or change majors without approval in their first year, will go into effect in mid-September.
bostonglobe.com
I’m finally going to listen to my doctor and eat more vegetables and get more fresh air
Elon Musk's xAI has installed more than double the number of gas turbines than it has publicly acknowledged to power its Colossus 2 data center project, without federal permits, and the pollution is hitting predominantly Black neighborhoods the hardest reut.rs/4bIghEm
Today is the final day you can leave a public comment on the OMB proposal that will destroy American science as we know it. Leave your comment at the link in our bio, or go here: zurl.co/1M9hH and register for our OMB Deadline Day meeting today at the link in our bio! Article: zurl.co/3LQxi
Stand up for Science
Stand up for Science
zurl.co
Thrilled to announce that we have adopted a new cat, and also that the new cat’s head features the AAAR logo
Bump! Priority deadline July 15 🧪
Hannah S Kenagy@hannahskenagy.bsky.social · 2mo agoThe Kenagy and Millet Labs at UMN are hiring a postdoc to deploy mass spectral instruments on a new mobile lab focused on air composition, air quality, and environmental justice. Details at z.umn.edu/bdjg. Contact Hannah (hskenagy@umn.edu) & Dylan @dbm.bsky.social (dbm@umn.edu) with questions!
Many elements (e.g., technetium, lutetium, thulium) aren’t real and were just put in the periodic table to avoid blank spaces
C&EN (Chemical & Engineering News)@cenmag.bsky.social · 4w agoWhat's your chemistry hot take? Season 3 of Inflection Point is here! cen.acs.org/explore/podc... #chemsky 🧪
I can’t help thinking all these players would be better at soccer if they played more often than once every four years
That’s what happens when you get rid of the department of defense
The true reward of Norway advancing is that we get at least one more match to hear the Telemundo announcer say "Oscar Bobb" every few seconds.
I'll summarize this: Mamdani asked NYers to keep air conditioning at 78 degrees. A wave criticism hit online. A MSNBC broadcast pointed out the US Department of Energy recommends that 78 degree figure. Immediately after, the US Department of Energy deleted 6,000 web pages related to energy saving.
Gutted to hear of the passing of V. “Ram” Ramaswamy, who had led NOAA's influential climate lab, GFDL, since 2008. He had a truly American success story and lasting legacy. May his memory be a blessing to his friends and family.
Venkatachalam "Ram" Ramaswamy Obituary (1955 - 2026) - Lawrenceville, New Jersey
Ram was born on April 28th, 1955 and passed away on June 21st, 2026 at the age of 71
lestermemorialhome.com
...but whatever you do, don't use superscript-o (or superscript-0), because that could lead to something like this
Andre the Chemist@andrechemist.bsky.social · last mo.Okay, I'm pretty sure the degree symbol on a Mac is option + shift + 8 which gives °, not option + 0 (zero) which gives º. 25 °C vs 25 ºC Character viewer gives ° as "degree sign" and º as "masculine ordinal indicator". Just a "The more you know..." PSA
Meanwhile the paper on the benefits of the COVID vaccine that Bhattacharya censored as Interim Director of the CDC is now out in JAMA Network Open. This is a paper he really didn't want people to view and download. You know what to do.
Interim Estimated Effectiveness of 2025-2026 COVID-19 Vaccines in Adults
This case-control study estimates vaccine effectiveness of 2025-2026 COVID-19 vaccines among adults with COVID-19–associated emergency department or urgent care encounters and COVID-19–associated hosp...
jamanetwork.com
Exclusive: The National Science Foundation is trimming this year’s budgets for hundreds of its traditional basic science programs by roughly 20% to 30%, even though its overall budget is down just 3%. https://scim.ag/4xY2KCm
Exclusive: NSF slashes research programs to support new tech initiative, insiders say
Unexpected shift in funds has meant sharp drop in grants this fiscal year
science.org
Since I did do my PhD in cyanobacteria growth and treatment optimization modeling AND work in the water treatment industry, I’m gonna share my theory as to what’s happening here and how to fix it. People are focusing on the painted bottom of the pool increasing residual heat, and while that 1/19
derek guy@dieworkwear.bsky.social · 2mo agoRIP Mark Rothko. You would have loved how the hydrogen peroxide bleach is only turning the Reflecting Pool blue around the perimeter