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.

The Data Centre Land Grab: How Britain Is Being Carved Up for Big Tech — Without Your Consent Across Wales, Scotland, and England, the largest peacetime infrastructure seizure of community land and energy in modern British history is accelerating. open.substack.com/pub/european...

The Data Centre Land Grab: How Britain Is Being Carved Up for Big Tech — Without Your Consent

Across Wales, Scotland, and England, the largest peacetime infrastructure seizure of community land and energy in modern British history is accelerating.

open.substack.com

I know it shouldn't surprise me, but I'm still amazed at how many Democrats are campaigning with promises of "working together" with fascists

if you think that the trump admin is trying to help science, you're either very stupid, an asshole, or both and yes, i'm talking about everyone taking "Science: A New Golden Age" at face value it's like odysseus was on the trojan horse telling you soldiers are inside and you're like "oooh present"

JULY 2026 - PART II

JULY 2026 – PART II

Somehow four weeks have evaporated into thin air. Let’s dive into the 2nd blog of the month! SONG INSPIRATION This blog is inspired by a remix to Nina Simone’s My Baby Just Cares for Me by HONNE. AMSTERDAM When traveling to a popular place, I’m wary of Paris Syndrome. Yet the hype surrounding Amsterdam, the Venice of the North, is valid.

theplanetarynovelist.com

It’s a Fair Question….. “Why is it that it takes 900 years and 5000 impact studies to build high speed rail but a 5 minute city council meeting is all it takes to approve a massive data center?”

I'm just boggled that Americans tend to guess that 25% of the country is Jewish and 20% is Muslim. NYC, the most Jewish city in the country, is about 10% Jewish. Minneapolis is about 10% Muslim.

Joel S.@joelhs.bsky.social · last wk.

This actually explains something about how people talk about the Jewish community.

Turns out that food companies were only checking their food because the government told them to, which is exactly why we need government regulations.

Next time someone accuses me of “making science partisan” I’m going to throw the physical NYT edition of this article at their head. These people are operating in bad faith…we have a mountain of evidence. (Gift link) www.nytimes.com/2026/07/24/b...

Trump Administration Admits Canceling Grants to States That Did Not Vote for Him (Gift Article)

Federal officials said in court documents that they halted billions of dollars in funding for energy projects to states “based solely” on whether they backed President Trump in the 2024 election.

nytimes.com

lots of reporters suddenly worried about slipping into communism but strangely f*cking quiet about slipping into fascism

I am astounded at how often people fondly remember their “rocks for jocks” intro to geology course. Last week, I met a multigenerational family on a food tour who all recounted how much they loved said course despite taking it years apart at different institutions.

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

Wait. There are seriously geo faculty that do not understand that the general "intro to geology" course is vitally important to their department's recruiting/funding, the field propagating itself, and *the educated public knowing anything about geology and earth sciences*?

The Madrid Deep Space Communication Complex at Robledo de Chavela municipality in the Community of Madrid, Spain on fire. Burgohondo wildfire. 📷 via Infues Avila

I co-sign this great summary from @dereklowe.bsky.social . The goal is to destroy academic science, and these are the reasons. And all the “gold standard” and “needs reform” and “not high risk” stuff is transparent bullshit to hide the ball on what they are doing.

Derek Lowe@dereklowe.bsky.social · 2w ago

Thoughts on the various Trump administration proposals to revamp US science funding - and what they all have in common:

1. The new Trump / Kratsios plan for US science appears explicitly designed to destroy US universities. Diverting money to tech donors is probably just a bonus. Gift link.

Trump’s Plan for Science: More Money for A.I., Less for Universities (Gift Article)

Michael Kratsios, President Trump’s science adviser, proposed overhauling how the government funds research. Democrats said Mr. Trump’s actions had weakened science.

nytimes.com

Federal agencies that terminated more than a thousand research grants at the University of California admitted that they used keywords related to diversity to screen for projects. It’s an admission that lawyers for the researchers say is proof the agencies illegally cancelled nearly $2b in grants.

DEI keyword search led to billions in cancelled California university grants

The Trump administration cancelled $2 billion of research grants to UC professors. Their legal team says it has proof that was unconstitutional.

calmatters.org

Upcoming event 2028! We have the pleasure to announce that the next IAVCEI conference “Cities on Volcanoes” will take place from 14-19 May 2028, in Iceland. 🇮🇸 The COV conference series is organised every two years under the umbrella of the IAVCEI commission ‘Cities and Volcanoes’. More: cov14.is

The national media is eating up this report as justification for perpetuating the lie that universities themselves - as opposed to decades of attacks from the far right authoritarian party - are responsible for eroding trust in higher education. You can almost hear them salivating at the chance.

Yale Report Finds Colleges Deserve Blame for Higher Education’s Problems

nytimes.com

Cancer doesn’t give a shit about DEI policies. The disease will continue impacting some populations more than others and refusing to research why is asinine and hurts us all.

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 3w ago

TINA SMITH: Researchers in MN made a breakthrough in childhood cancer in Black kids with a grant. But it seems that according to your proposed rule, this type of research wouldn't allowed bc it's 'DEI.' VOUGHT: We are against DEI policies. We have intended to rid of them whenever we possibly can.

If you are not yet familiar with the disappearance and death of Nolan Wells, it’s time, because this case is only getting started and it smells as bad as it gets.

Elizabeth Jacobs, PhD@elizabethjacobs.bsky.social · 4w ago

Nolan Wells, an 18-year-old Black man, went out with a group of people to Horn Island off the coast of Mississippi for a July 4th party. The people he went with returned. He did not. His body was found on the island yesterday.

In 2012, California started adopting major progressive criminal justice reforms. Since then, the state has seen historic drops in crime, with homicide now at historic lows. Remember this when right-wing propagandists screech about crime in Democratic states. 🎁 www.sfchronicle.com/crime/articl...

California sees historic drop in crime as homicides hit record low

Both violent and property crimes continued their descent last year, according to California Justice Department data.

sfchronicle.com

All quite true. The Democratic establishment seems to regard Republican voters as a block to coddle when they win.

Chanda Prescod-Weinstein 🌌@chanda.blacksky.app · last mo.

Also, the assumption that this is all going to be fixed if the Democrats retake control of the government is a fever dream. They have no recent track record of significantly cleaning up GOP messes. And when it comes to militarism, they tend to go along with whatever Overton dragging the GOP has done

“While pages that would support Mamdani’s request to lower thermostats were deleted, so too were pages about water conservation, types of insulation, and its solar decathlon challenge.”

White House deletes thousands of web pages about energy conservation as heatwave slams US

It follows Republican outrage over Mamdani offering the same heatwave advice as everyone else.

theverge.com

JULY 2026 Hot nerd summer is here with emphasis on the hot!

JULY 2026

Hot nerd summer is here with emphasis on the hot! SONG INSPIRATION This month’s blog is inspired by Son Lux’s Easy. A MONTH ON THE ROAD – PITTSBURGH After a challenging academic year, I needed a change of scenery.  I spent the last weekend in May and the entire month of June on the road (and in the air).  I started in Pittsburgh where I attended a friend and collaborator’s wedding. 

theplanetarynovelist.com

On Monday, there were 18,800 comments. Right now there are 22,150.

Star Wars: Kylo Ren Screams 'MORE!!!'

Alt: Star Wars: Kylo Ren Screams 'MORE!!!'

static.klipy.com

Sarah Hird, PhD@sarahhird.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Please leave comments on the proposed destruction of scientific research here: www.regulations.gov/document/OMB...

🚨 HEADS UP: If you haven't submitted a comment on the OMB proposal yet, there's still time - but it's running out! There are only 13 days left to push back against Russell Vought's attempt to give political appointees unprecedented control over federal research funding. Take Action: zurl.co/VGfwO

This birthright ruling is why I just refuse to tolerate all the Democrat garment rending over NY voters choosing progressive candidates. They are incapable of governing in this moment. The politics of appeasement and centrism gets us to a 5-4 decision on the constitutional question.

🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ As Pride Month comes to a close, we want to reiterate that at AGU, we stand with our LGBTQIA+ community—because inclusion drives innovation, and representation matters.

Quick 🧪 and law note. The SCOTUS decision in Slaughter today has *profound* implications for US science, cancer cures and the economy. Sotomayor dissent: “Put simply, today the majority reshapes our Government… shifting tremendous power over broad swaths of American life into the President’s hands”

Chris Geidner@chrisgeidner.bsky.social · last mo.

BREAKING: The Supreme Court, 6-3, overrules Humphrey's Executor, giving the president broad firing powers over the leadership of federal agencies and limiting Congress's power to limit presidential firings. In a 5-4 decision, however, the court said the Federal Reserve is likely different.

Maybe we need better people in academia. Instead of bullies.

The PhD Place - Academic Community@thephdplace.bsky.social · last mo.

Academia has a strange way of making experts feel like beginners every single day.

Big Tech is saying out loud "You can have a habitable planet or machine generated slop, but you can't have both."

Ketan Joshi@ketanjoshi.co · last mo.

Shout out to the European Data Centre Association for saying out loud what they're working towards