Paul

Benjamin Franklin’s final resting place, covered in pennies

This one is…quite something

Every now again it’s useful to repeat advice about accessing papers that are behind a paywall that excludes you. Email the author. My estimate is that 90% of academics are so thrilled that a living, breathing, possibly even reading, person shows interest that they will swiftly send you a copy.

Philly thought differently.

@inquirer.com

Day 1 as a postdoctoral fellow at the Science History Institute! @sciencehistory.org what a warm welcome!

This photograph captures Sir David Attenborough seated outdoors on the rugged terrain of Skomer Island. Behind him, the ocean and coastal cliffs form a scenic backdrop under a clear sky. Sir David, dressed in a khaki jacket and light trousers, looks towards the camera with a gentle expression, exuding a sense of warmth, calm, and wisdom. Around him, puffins can be seen flying and perched on the rocky ground, illuminated in rays of golden sunlight as the sun sets behind the cliffs.

Happy 99th birthday to the man who gave voice to the wild. 🎉

Sir David Attenborough, thank you for a lifetime dedicated to the natural world, and for sharing its story with wisdom, wonder, and grace.

You've inspired generations to fall in love with nature.

An anniversary worth marking.

I'm sure we're going to see the very people who have trashed its legacy seek to appropriate WW2 today - so let's remember what was really fought for: peace, a more united Europe, a land fit for heroes (mark 2) and the defeat of fascism.

Douche is a compliment for a gen***** c*** like Ackman

Opinion | Why DOGE Slashed the National Endowment for the Humanities Eliminating federal funding for the humanities saves next to no money, but it will cost the American people something precious.

www.nytimes.com/2025/04/07/o...
"The savings achieved by cutting them 'amounts to a rounding error' in the context of the federal budget, as a statement from the National Humanities Alliance notes, but many state humanities councils would not survive without them. The N.E.H. itself may not survive."

I am gutted by the news that DOGE infiltrated the IMLS today. My heart goes out to those staff members who were intimidated and harassed simply for serving the public by supporting the vital work of libraries and museums. My heart breaks for my library colleagues and their communities. An awful day.

Sharing my favorite pedagogical tool from last sem: to build a break into a long lecture, use one of the many free online QR code generators to create a QR code that links to a PDF. You can then throw a giant QR code on your slides and watch the students acquire and read the text on their phones!

x
X has ~18m daily USA users. @bsky.app, ~1.5m.

Is it worth 20 MINS a day to proactively recruit and bring your friends, neighbors,relatives, businesses, anyone who is or could be a user, to @bsky.app?

If Bluesky ends up with more users than the others, you destabilize musk, zuck, trump.

Parameterball xkcd.com/2852

Daylight Saving Choice xkcd.com/2846