Mika McKinnon
@mikamckinnon.bsky.social
Field geophysicist, disaster researcher, scifi science consultant, science writer, public speaker, irrepressibly curious. Occasional rock-licker, frequent devourer of board books. 🇨🇦🇺🇸
Meanwhile in Canada: Digitizing our analogue seismic records! link.springer.com/article/10.1...
The past, present, future and applications of Canada’s analog seismic data - Journal of Seismology
Abstract Canada has been seismologically instrumented for more than one hundred twenty-five years. Analog instruments were first deployed in Canada in 1897 and dominated seismic monitoring for almost ...
link.springer.com
New footage of Hexed released. I still haven’t learned my lesson to not peek around at reactions. I love the centeyepede so much it’s my inspiration for my wrap party gown. It’s just so FUZZY. Excellent monster, way cuddlier than real centipedes. I just need to source more eyeballs.
Mika McKinnon@mikamckinnon.bsky.social · 2mo agoAnyway. I adore Beef Roger Crummchuk, I’m looking forward to Disney’s latest take on a lonely kid discovering a magical world, and anyone saying it’s a knock off of Owl House really needs to learn about Alice in Wonderland. 🙄
That’s a wrap for #MinCup26! This year was brought to you by a glorious team of volunteers contributing their favourite mineral facts, drafting blurbs on the side of playgrounds, and debating exactly which photo is both representative and beautiful.
Mineral Cup & Ore Cup@mineralcup.bsky.social · 4d agoCongratulations to our Mineral Cup 2026 Champion Quartz! For #MinCup26, we collectively chose a nostalgic beauty of resilience as persistence as our champion. Please celebrate #Quartz, a friend to humans since time immemorial! www.mineralcup.org/about/2026-q...
If you notice any streamers or viral moments for the #MinCup26 finals, please let me know. We have stuffing going on and it’ll help ensure I don’t waste time investigating legit surges.
Things that make me laugh: Every time #Quartz has been in the #MinCup finals, it’s been against a mineral with the composition X₂O. This is particularly funny as ice and #Cuprite are the only two minerals with this composition, & ice took #MinCup19. Win some, lose some? Or history repeats?
Mineral Cup & Ore Cup@mineralcup.bsky.social · 7d 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...
I went to Sombr’s first arena show last night. It was exactly the blend of awkward-earnest you’d expect from a 21yo rockstar with legions of teenage fans. But now I’m fixated on how I can convince Roger’s Arena into hosting a seismometer for match day & concert seismology. pnsn.org/blog/experim...
Experiments in Sports Seismology for the World Cup
Building on our previous experiments in sports seismology, PNSN is planning to stream real-time seismogram data from our seismometers around the stadium during upcoming World Cup matches in Seattle.
pnsn.org
I have so much more to write about #graphite! But it’s all so weird & new to me that confirming I’ve gotten it right is A Task. But if #quartz wins today and again tomorrow, I never need to write about it again… (It’s legit a cool mineral, but it’s been 10 years.) #MinCup26 choices!
Mineral Cup & Ore Cup@mineralcup.bsky.social · last wk.#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...
Filters will holding strong for #MinCup26. I’m needing to dig far more into traffic logs than I ever wanted, but hey, silver lining is I get the happy glow of recognizing voting in Mineral Cup is a part of so many daily office rituals? 😂
Cleaned & validated the first 6 hours. #MinCup26 SF1 is really this close to a tie. As always, the best way to shift the vote is to recruit new players
Mineral Cup & Ore Cup@mineralcup.bsky.social · last wk.#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...
As if I could ever vote for anything but Fun & Interesting to Lick. #Halite I luv u
Mineral Cup & Ore Cup@mineralcup.bsky.social · last wk.#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...
I know the #MinCup26 quarterfinal is so, so close. But it’s also in the dinner-rush for tired children, so auditing and validating final results will be a bit delayed. Thank you. 💚
Selfishly, I’m cheering for #graphite because I want to write about it more. I picked Ur-minerals over spirals this round, but that just leaves my fingers itchy! 😂
Mineral Cup & Ore Cup@mineralcup.bsky.social · last wk.#MinCup26 Quarterfinal 4 Linked by archaic translations and mineralogical misunderstandings, the quarterfinals are ending in hexagons with vivid pyromorphite vs writeable graphite. VOTE: www.mineralcup.org/2026/vote-re... RESULTS: www.mineralcup.org/2026/vote-re...
Upside: We have a close #MinCup26 match that’s actually close for-real (at least for now)!! Downside: I’m going to need to monitor so, so close. Let me know if you spot events that you think could drive legit bursts of support (steamer, viral post, blah blah)
Silver lining: I’ve had some really neat conversations with my oldest child about how I’m navigating the #MinCup26 griefer, what my options are, and why it’s worthwhile to me to find ways to keep playing with my friends even if it’s more work.
Why yes, I voted for the lovely & lickable #Halite the exact second #MinCup26 opened. How could I not??
Mineral Cup & Ore Cup@mineralcup.bsky.social · 2w ago#MinCup26 Quarterfinals 3 It's a pair of dissolvable beauties as rare and complicated #Julienite is against ubiquitous and straightforward #Halite. VOTE: www.mineralcup.org/2026/vote-re... RESULTS: www.mineralcup.org/2026/vote-re...
The absolute vindictive glee I felt when spotting the botnet activating is indescribable. I need to wait it out before correcting the #MinCup26 votes, but I got ‘em and will do as much live-cleaning as I can.
What’s really miffing me about the #MinCup26 bot nets is that what seems like a close match suddenly flips to a blowout over its cleaned up. Same for the inverse: What seems like a runaway winner suddenly shrinking to a close match but we never got the excitement and hype of frantic campaigning.
Hi folks, We have a persistent troll using a bot net on @mineralcup.bsky.social this year. I’ve yanked their votes for now, but they might be back. I’ll be with my kids at the end of the match, so results won’t be finalized for a few hours. This is such nonsense.
Things that make me happy: Picking the #Halite photos to colour-match challengers. It’s a little bit evil converting how often #MinCup voting comes down to a battle of the rainbow, but where’s the fun in celebrating a decade of play if we’re not are all evil?
Mineral Cup & Ore Cup@mineralcup.bsky.social · 2w ago#MinCup26 Round 2 Match 7 It's blue skies ahead as multicoloured cubes of #Halite are up against the bubbly cool-toned #Chrysocolla. VOTE: www.mineralcup.org/2026/vote-re... RESULTS: www.mineralcup.org/2026/vote-re...
Writeups for #MinCup26 Round 2 Match 7 may be delayed as I’ve spent my “volunteer precious time to a fun geoscience outreach project” allocation to identifying and yanking out votes from a BOT NET. For real?? It’s a game about pretty rocks! Knock it off.
The relief I just felt realizing British Columbia’s first (of forever more!) time sitting out daylight savings time shifts will be November 1 and NOT during #MinCup26 was significant.
Both are so awesome, but I want to do a deep dive on curling stones next round. #Riebeckite
Mineral Cup & Ore Cup@mineralcup.bsky.social · 3w ago#MinCup26 Round 1 Match 14 Average hardness and dark colours are camouflage for crystalline oddness lurking within blue asbestos #Riebeckite vs rare earth element #Gadolinite-(Y). VOTE: www.mineralcup.org/2026/vote-re... RESULTS: www.mineralcup.org/2026/vote-re...
It’s a Do Not Lick vs Please Lick showdown song my heart is full.
Mineral Cup & Ore Cup@mineralcup.bsky.social · 4w ago#MinCup26 Round 1 Match 13 It's a match between a mineral you want to be cautious breathing near and one you eat every day as arsenic-rich #arsenopyrite is against table salt #halite. VOTE: www.mineralcup.org/2026/vote-re... RESULTS: www.mineralcup.org/2026/vote-re...
I have a decades-long grudge that Purlator is the absolute worst among even the incredibly low standards of courier services. But it’s super-classy they have a “We’ll record you, but you can’t record us!” policy when attempting to extract packages from their clutches.
It’s #VideoGameDay and I currently work at Electronic Arts, so please enjoy our NHL release day soundtrack: open.spotify.com/list/jam-lis... (I’m documenting how their Frostbite game engine works & having way too much fun for tech writing?? It’s nice, I like it.)
open.spotify.com
#MinCup26 Lickability Index #Pyromorphite 👅? Do Not Lick. Sweet but lead. 🍆? NO. Lead, soluble in acid & sharp edges. #Gysum 👅? Safe But Boring To Lick. At its most interesting, it’s like licking drywall. 🍆? Maybe a rounded selenite wand? It’s soft & dissolves, so be quick & careful. 📷 KrystalLove
Mineral Cup & Ore Cup@mineralcup.bsky.social · 4w ago#MinCup26 Round 1 Match 10: It’s a pair of soft minerals that form near the surface as heavyweight #pyromorphite is up against evaporate #gypsum. VOTE: www.mineralcup.org/2026/vote-re... RESULTS: www.mineralcup.org/2026/vote-re...
As a Canadian, I feel morally obliged to support #gypsum for its role in the 1820 Plaster War where smugglers very decidedly won. #MinCup26
Mineral Cup & Ore Cup@mineralcup.bsky.social · 4w ago#MinCup26 Round 1 Match 10: It’s a pair of soft minerals that form near the surface as heavyweight #pyromorphite is up against evaporate #gypsum. VOTE: www.mineralcup.org/2026/vote-re... RESULTS: www.mineralcup.org/2026/vote-re...
As a brief serious moment: I specialize in disasters & worked all kinds of roles, But the most impactful in terms of enacting actual change have all had playful framing. Policy doesn’t change without public support, political will, & money. Joy unlocks more than fear.
Relly Annett-Baker@rellyab.bsky.social · 4w agoI once consulted for some High-Minded Intellectuals at a climate non-profit who were incensed that people donated more to a donkey sanctuary, so I opened each website. Sanctuary had a donkey in a hat named Puddle, and non-profit had a press release titled ‘Crop Eradication Likely Within A Century’