Mindy Weisberger

They’re so tall!

These are all so pretty!

Lithops captured my ❤️ bc I love anything 🧠-shaped, but the more I learn about these southern African succulents the cooler they get! Thick leaves store enough water to survive months of drought & translucent "window" cells allow light to penetrate deeper in the leaves & trigger photosynthesis 🧪

Living Stones: <em>Lithops</em> Plants that look like rocks? Those would be living stones, in the genus Lithops. These are small succulent plants that survive in their harsh environment by having much of the plant body below ground,...

Like many other plants, Lithops makes sugars from sunlight, through photosynthesis. The "stones" are thick leaves that connect directly to a long taproot

If you are a teacher K-12 and have a wish list for supplies for the school year for your classroom, please tag me so I can amplify your list. We used to do this on the old site and people usually responded very well.

Come join our community science program!! Including online monthly nerd jams meetings open to the public.

Please share far and wide, and welcome our new community coordinator @colinjanthony.bsky.social! 🧪🌊

I KNOW, right???

Three small brownish, brainlike succulents in a yellow pot, on a window ledge.

I don’t usually buy living things in museum gift shops, but I made an exception at Phipps Conservatory for this trio of Lithops, also known as living stones, a type of succulent that resembles a wee brain. They’re settling in nicely! They’re also very tiny—each is smaller than a dime

You're most welcome, and congratulations!!!

A tabletop book display in a Barnes & Noble, with a pile of books on it and a sign reading “Our Monthly Nonfiction Pick: A City on Mars, by Kelly & Zach Weinersmith”

Spotted in the wild: a Barnes & Noble display in Hackensack, NJ for @weinersmith.bsky.social & @zachweinersmith.bsky.social’s book A City on Mars! 📚

What states passed anti-book ban bills this year? What states are poised to pass them soon? What's the full roster of such bills nationwide?

I've got you covered–with the usual caveat of what these bills do and do not do, as well as caution related to how they may apply in the future.

Perhaps @inthesetimes.com? I have no affiliations/connections there, but they might be a good fit

But there's a workaround for that—the willful refusal to recognize genocide. It absolves perpetrators from seeing themselves as morally bankrupt, and excuses bystanders from acting. They can still see themselves as "good people" who know genocide is wrong, because *that* example isn't genocide

The genocide part. The part where people treat other people as less than human, without the basic right to food, water, safety, medical care and education. And compassion. That part.

Putting aside for a moment the issue that academia is NOT isolated from politics (especially now), some people clearly do experience moral ambiguity about genocide, depending on who the victims are. That's absolutely an area where a philosophy expert would be qualified to address/question/illuminate

Entomologist (Identifier) In this position you will serve as an Entomologist with responsibility for performing specialized and difficult taxonomic work, and providing taxonomic, biological and regulatory expertise in support ...

The USDA just posted openings to replace some of the entomologists lost over the past few months across the U.S. Mixed feelings, but I figured I would share it anyway.
If you want to apply and want my opinion DM me
Job link here: www.usajobs.gov/job/842192200

#entomology #Insects 🧪🪲🪳 #sciencejobs

If someone asks you to weigh in on de-extinction or the discovery of a new dwarf planet, maybe give those a pass. But how are philosophy academics not qualified to weigh in on the moral and existential consequences of genocide—for the people who are being harmed, the perpetrators & the bystanders?

Agents… hit me up with your best manuscripts from Native and First Nations writers.

NOW: Thousands of Jews and Palestinians are protesting the starvation, killing, and destruction in Gaza and for the return of the hostages. End the annihilation!

The happy dancer: a purple-pink orchid with a yellow center.

Warty fern: closeup of a fern, its leaves covered with tiny spore-producing bumps.

Red coral cactus: a plant in a greenhouse with elongated reddish leaves and small green spheres.

Close-up view of a table in a public restroom with a basket full of feminine products next to a stack of paper bags.

The @phippsconservatory.bsky.social has gorgeous botanical exhibits! But it was also very nice to see that they have free tampons and pads in their restrooms

Same! I’ve also requested about as many books from my local libraries, based 100% on recommendations or author posts on Bluesky

I was a late-night writer. Colbert’s cancellation hurts American comedy – and sanity | Jill Twiss If our overlords can’t handle being joked about on late-night TV, we don’t need new shows. We need new leaders

“Losing late night shows is one more step toward losing a shared reality, and that to me is terrifying”

Fix Your Hearts or Die Edit on June 18: I've said it before and I'll say it again: TRANS RIGHTS ARE HUMAN RIGHTS. Here's the link to download the new artwork.  Edit on March 8: Well as long as the Transphobes keep weaponizi...

Reminder that the Pittsburgh art gallery/store/local kaiju appreciation hq @alternatehistories.bsky.social has some very excellent artwork supporting trans rights that is free to download as individual files or zipped 🏳️‍⚧️

You’re welcome, thank YOU for making & sharing it in the first place!

Fix Your Hearts or Die Edit on June 18: I've said it before and I'll say it again: TRANS RIGHTS ARE HUMAN RIGHTS. Here's the link to download the new artwork.  Edit on March 8: Well as long as the Transphobes keep weaponizi...

Reminder that the Pittsburgh art gallery/store/local kaiju appreciation hq @alternatehistories.bsky.social has some very excellent artwork supporting trans rights that is free to download as individual files or zipped 🏳️‍⚧️

How Edward ‘Big Balls’ Coristine and DOGE Got Access to a Federal Payroll System That Serves the FBI Hundreds of pages of records reviewed by WIRED show just how quickly DOGE gained access to systems at the Small Business Administration—and through it, a USDA system that handles payroll for federal l...

NEW: Hundreds of pages of records show just how quickly Edward ‘Big Balls’ Coristine and DOGE got access to a federal payroll system.

And, because @wired.com has dropped paywalls for Freedom of Information Act-based reporting, this one is free for all to read!

from @telliotter.bsky.social:

A bunch of painted stones on a wooden shelf in front of a green wall. A sign behind them reads “Community Art Project: Art Rocks!”

Closeup of a bunch of painted stones on a wooden shelf. One stone says “Be Weird” in white letters.

There’s a community art project at Commonplace Coffee in Pittsburgh where people can decorate stones and add them to a collection, so I made one

Sound up for Gus the Greeter, a very gregarious great argus pheasant (Argusianus argus) at the National Aviary. In case you were wondering, his mate (not seen here) is named Mrs. Gus

A bird with a light brown body and a long, curved beak perches on a railing in an aviary and looks at the camera.

A blue pigeon with a bright red eye and a ridiculously elaborate floofy crown of feathers.

Maybe when you think of Pittsburgh you don’t think of fancy birds, but the hadada ibis (Bostrychia hagedash) and Victoria crowned pigeon (Goura victoria) at the National Aviary would like A WORD 🪶

A headstone in a cemetery on a grassy hill, carved with the name “BEST”

We visited a cemetery today and found the best headstone