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Tau Cetaceans

@tau-cetaceans.bsky.social

Foreign service brat, escaped NASA lab monkey, recovering planetary geologist, aspiring sci-fi novelist, armchair geopolitician, history buff, alternate history buff, future history buff, non-fan of the current cyberpunk dystopia. 🇺🇳 🇺🇸 🇺🇦 ♾️🖖🥥🫏🐿

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Tau Cetaceans@tau-cetaceans.bsky.social · 2w ago

it's been years since I've taught Natural History, but still have this phantom limb impulse of "oh snap, I need to add this one to my slide decks" every time some bit of paleo news filters past me

This Giant Crocodile Relative Weighed as Much as a Car And Preyed on Rhino-Sized Mammals

Crocodiles are among today's most feared predators, but their ancient relatives make today's crocs seem as threatening as a cuddle-prone kitty with a cold.  It took a while, though: Since crocodylifor...

sciencealert.com

Tau Cetaceans@tau-cetaceans.bsky.social · 2w ago

saw fly overhead yesterday (live near Joint Base Andrews), concerned because knew no B2s stationed at Andrews TFW you immediately wondered if this was related to Trump nuking Iran or invading Canada, but nope, it was related to the Dwayne Elizondo Mountain Dew Camacho side of him (Grand Prix thing)

screenshot from Pakistan TV showing flyover of a B-2 stealth bomber and fighter jets flying in formation over Washington DC on August 23rd 2026 for the "Freedom 250" Grand Prix
Tau Cetaceans@tau-cetaceans.bsky.social · 2w ago

me, an autist working on sci-fi timeline: "okay the electoral college is stupid, but at least it meets on a predictable date, let me just enter those in..." Trump on 1/6/21: COUP ATTEMPT Congress after: "let's close some loopholes and also arbitrarily change the date in December that the EC meets"

Starfire’s Deranged Neocon Foreign Policy Podcast@irhottakes.bsky.social · 2w ago

Honestly, you do have to grudgingly respect Donald's dedication to making life worse for *everyone.* It'd have never even occurred to me to torment autistic people whose hyperfixation is maritime tracking data.

The Hormuz Letter refutes Ravid's claim 40 oil tankers crossed the Strait of Hormuz. For those who do not know, Ravid is the administration's pet leak recipient for this sort of thing.
Tau Cetaceans@tau-cetaceans.bsky.social · 4w ago

attempting to read the Bible and The Silmarillion at the same time (4th grade) was clutch... just had to apply English class style compare and contrast exercise and go, oh, these are the same genre! Asimov was right, properly read, the Bible is the most potent argument for atheism ever conceived...

InfiDale@infidale.bsky.social · 4w ago

The main difference between the Bible and The Lord of the Rings is that when someone calls The Lord of the Rings their favorite book, they’ve probably read it.

Tau Cetaceans@tau-cetaceans.bsky.social · last mo.

AI slop ad about the bloodlines of the Nephilim... including giant LEGO men stomping Ancient Mesopotamia like Godzilla... that dear readers is when my mental model tipped from "this is the dark cyberpunk future we were warned about" to "this is a very bad acid trip and I didn't know I did acid"

Tau Cetaceans@tau-cetaceans.bsky.social · last mo.

TFW you're thinking about the problem of naming near-future characters in sci-fi - how to make them sound weird / not quite modern but not *too* weird, and then you remember IRL the world's first trillionaire is a techno-fascist named "Elon Musk" after a character in von Braun's Das Marsprojekt?

Tau Cetaceans@tau-cetaceans.bsky.social · 2mo ago

I mean, he had a few other smaller films between Red October and Jurassic Park, but literally the next time most people saw him after "i would have liked to have seen Montana", he was a paleontologist doing field work in Montana, getting visited by a techbro and roped into crazy consulting side gig

Tau Cetaceans@tau-cetaceans.bsky.social · 2mo ago

have one of those ethnic heritages where paranoia about Russia isn't merely conspiracy theory, it's basic historical literacy, so wasn't the only one in my family to immediately jump to the "did Russia kill Lindsey Graham?" thought, and shared it with a friend of similar ethnic heritage, but... /1

The Ukrainian Review@theukrainianreview.bsky.social · 2mo ago

🇺🇸👀 Laura Loomer: Did Russia just poison Lindsey Graham? There seriously needs to be an investigation. Russia just sent a delegation to Khamenei’s funeral in Tehran where the IRGC and funeral organizers was calling for myself, President Trump and Senator Graham to be assassinated. 1/2

Tau Cetaceans@tau-cetaceans.bsky.social · 2mo ago

on June 4, 1942, in the span of 10 minutes, Japan lost 4 carriers and the war in the pacific was effectively won even if it took a long time after that to see it through on an unrelated note, here is pic of some of the most recent Russian oil tankers set ablaze by kamikaze drones in the Sea of Azov

Russian oil tankers on fire in the Sea of Azoz after Ukrainian drone strikes
Tau Cetaceans@tau-cetaceans.bsky.social · 2mo ago

“The idea is really to find a big space advocate who hasn’t found the Lord yet. Ideally, we would want to convert someone like Elon Musk." last I knew Musk switched from godless nerd to "cultural christian" because he hates his trans daughter, so... shit... this is disturbingly plausible strategy

A Pro-Trump Christian Group Wants to Put a Cross on the Moon

The Christian right has been gaining traction in Washington, D.C. under President...

talkingpointsmemo.com

Tau Cetaceans@tau-cetaceans.bsky.social · 2mo ago

yeah, Ukraine is the litmus test / deal breaker for me even if I largely agree with them on domestic DSA's political ancestors were okay w/ every Soviet and German invasion of a sovereign European nation between 8/23/1939 and 6/22/1941, and now de facto support Russia invading it's neighbors today

@kirblar024.bsky.social · 2mo ago

There's a reason they had a membership crash after Russia invaded Ukraine. And not for a positive addition by subtraction reason.

Tau Cetaceans@tau-cetaceans.bsky.social · 2mo ago

impression: that montage in Dune (1984) where the Fremen pwn Harkonnen spice production next targets: more things like that semiconductor factory, eff up the ork's supply chain for missiles they could be lobbing at Ukraine Kerch bridge: not right away, want to prod the ork occupiers to self-deport

screenshot of part of a transcript of the 1984 version of Dune: "I am Usul. Paul Muad'Db. Our shared enemy, the Harkonnens, are once again in control of Arrakis Stilgar, your leader, has asked me and my mother to teach you the weirding way to crush the Harkonnens. We must do more than this. We must destroy all spice production on Arrakis. The Guild and the entire universe depends on spice. He who can destroy a thing controls a thing. I will take 100 of your warriors and train them. This 100 will train the thousands that remain. When the spice flow stops, all eyes will turn to Arrakis. The baron and the emperor himself will be forced to deal with us. Arakkis will become the center of the universe."
MAKS 26 👀🇺🇦@maks23.bsky.social · 2mo ago

😏 Describe your impressions of Ukraine's daily attacks on Russian refineries and power plants! ❓What do you think will be the next targets? And when will the Crimean bridge be struck?