Jessica McCarty

Yeah, that’s my experience as well.

Because higher learning / post-secondary education is hard for everyone. But some folks have it hard in every other space and place and time of the life. Which is like raising hard ^ struggle. Acknowledging that does take away one’s accomplishments.

This was in the Appalachian Mountains of eastern Kentucky. Those well-to-do kids were not locals, they were the offspring of (mainly goodhearted) educated outsiders who came there to save the hillbillies. But they didn’t get survival because they didn’t and wouldn’t live it.

When I was in AP English I (the only student from below the poverty line) argued against every other student (from well-to-do families) that a reason many poorer parents don’t read to their kids is that they don’t have time cuz they are trying to survive. The rest of my class dismissed my argument.

Even when I was a bratty teenager, I never understood making fun of people for liking the music they like.

I don’t like all music, & fans of certain genres are puzzling to me (lookin’ at you, Latino/Hispanic fans of self-described racist pop country musicians).

Let folks like what they like.

Homemade chocolate chip blondes made with pumpkin and oatmeal. No eggs or oil.

I made pumpkin blondies with chocolate chips today. No eggs or oil. Yum 😋 🎃🍫

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You know those AI nostalgia generated videos are 1,000% missing the mark when the “algorithms” didn’t just copy & paste an entire episode of ‘Community’ to represent the late 2000s / early 2010s.

Old folks in Appalachian Kentucky will tell you that during that administration, they would trap groundhogs, or “Hoover pigs”, for stew. 🍲

Climate-linked escalation of societally disastrous wildfires Climate change and land mismanagement are creating increasingly fire-prone built and natural environments. However, despite worsening fire seasons, evidence is lacking globally for trends in socially ...

Published today: our new paper showing a 44-year trend of increasing global wildfire disasters (fatalities and economic losses) due to climate change-induced extreme weather. www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

YouTube video by RISEN TV On The Radio - Wolf Like Me (Official Music Video)

I’m furloughed. A bit less science than usual.

This begins my spooky 👻 🎃 season thread. #SpookySeason

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youtu.be/70NrA13iYlw?...

California state capitol in Sacramento.

Sacramento was nice.

On 28 September 2025, Probability of USA federal government shutting down on 1 October 2025 according to online betting market Polymarket: 69%.

The stupidest timeline.

A few years ago I stumbled onto an interview with the actor who plays “Mayhem” (AKA The Vulture in Brooklyn Nine Nine). This man never has to pay for a drink. The number of women apparently into this persona is pretty damn high.

Can you enroll in college? Then guess what - your professors can’t talk to your parents unless you are a minor or give them permission too. Because of FERPA.

Cut the cord, people.

The parenting culture in California is so foreign to me.

Many treat their young adults (18-30) kids like actual minor children.

I will not do that, causing conflicts. If the federal + state governments treat you as an adult (you can vote, join the military, pay taxes, own property), so do I.

White House to agencies: Prepare mass firing plans for a shutdown In memo, the Trump administration says the Reduction-in-Force plans would go beyond standard shutdown furloughs.

OMB instructing federal agencies to prepare RIF plans for mass firings during a possible government shutdown, reports Politico. www.politico.com/news/2025/09...

Spending most of my time searching for fat bears this week.

Same, tbh.

The hero we need and deserve.

During the lunar eclipse on 07 September, the Moon briefly blocked @NOAASatellites #SUVI images of the Sun. More on the CIMSS Satellite Blog: cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/satellite-bl...

NW Compact members share firefighting resources, tech, + expertise when wildfires exceed a single jurisdiction’s capacity.

In 🇨🇦: Alberta, Yukon Territory, Saskatchewan, Northwest Territories, & British Columbia

In 🇺🇸: Alaska, Arizona, California, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, Montana, & Hawaii

Disneyland > Disney World

Please keep posting sunflowers 🌻, tomatoes 🍅, and pumpkins 🎃.

Great paper! The first author is doing some amazing work in fire these days.

Fire risk to structures in California’s Wildland-Urban Interface - Nature Communications Wildfire risk in California’s WUI is rising. Analysis of past events shows home hardening and defensible space can reduce structure loss by up to 52%, but coordinated, community-scale action is essent...

California communities can reduce wildfire damage by half. Here’s how:
Our new study "Fire risk to structures in California’s Wildland-Urban Interface" was published in Nature Communications today! www.nature.com/articles/s41...
news.berkeley.edu/2025/08/28/c...

I mask on my train rides to/from work. Never stopped. So many people go to work sick.

Doc says I should travel, but there’s COVID on the Plains.

Also reducing fire risk.

Pyrocb (fire generated thunderstorm) on the #GarnetFire on the GOES-West geocolor loop below. Expect rapid growth.

I don’t find people hard to understand. I find them hard to live with.

The fire will come. Maps or no maps.