Jess McLaughlin, PhD (they/them)

Most of the ones I've done are Rolife or Mini City. Both are good, but I like the Mini City better because the three kits I've done from them are more consistent on quality and complexity.

When I finally swapped my grad school backpack for a Fancy Professor backpack, I found a receipt from a hardware store in Panama in 2018...from before I even had *that* backpack? Guess I was hanging on to it to get that reimbursement eventually?

Minicity Beyond Library Max 3D Wooden Puzzle - XD01 MAX Immerse yourself in building Minicity Beyond Library Max 3D Wooden Puzzle - XD01 MAX, a detailed, handcrafted miniature kit that combines reading, art, and imagination into a magical experience.

It's this one! And as a general note I've really liked all of the kits by this brand I've done so far

www.minicitydesign.com/Minicity-DIY...

People sneer so much at this basic-ass shit sometimes and like, I get it, maybe to you it’s very basic, rudimentary, not illuminating. But I promise you there are people out there who need to hear it.

Do I know any journalists or news outlets who might be willing to write an article about the months I’ve spent begging GoFundMe to release the funds I’ve raised? I wish this were more common knowledge so no one else finds themselves in this position. (Please boost!)

it's simply not healthy to look directly at the rays. that's not a "blue sky" that's Cherenkov glow. some tweets should have "DROP AND RUN" engraved on them.

Does your university use ChatGPT Edu? Please send me a DM if you do. I have identified a potential data breach affecting students' data that has not yet been fixed and I'm trying to compile further examples from other universities.

Reposts appreciated!

(Is anyone friends with a perfumer by any chance? I just chickened out of emailing Imaginary Authors but I have a project coming next ~year or so that would do really well with a paired perfume)

Advice for a friend: When one gets a tenure track offer, at what stage would be best to bring up a possible spousal hire in negotiations? At first conversation? After first offer? In this case it'll be first a conversation with the chair who is a go-between w/ the dean. Advice would be welcome.

I hadn't realized the pronoun labeler was gone, so here's info on the new one to follow!

Mostly from bookstores and craft stores around town, with a couple online to use up an Amazon gift card from a relative. Trying to find somewhere less evil to buy more from, the ones from there were my faves so far but obvs don't want to actually give them my money 🙃

it's not easy breeding deer for gigantism, but that's why I make the big bucks

A bookshelf with many many sci fi and fantasy books, along with a model of a library with a dinosaur skeleton in it, a small greenhouse, and a scene of a ship about to sink into the lair of a mermaid.

More books, along with a model of a bookstore, a Japanese street scene, and an old-timey laboratory inspired by Marie Curie

A non-copyright-infringing model of a magic shop that is definitely not based on Kiki's Delivery Service, and a little Venetian street scene

The tiniest lil bakery acting as a bookend to the anthology shelf

It turns out those little book nook kits scratch a veryprecise neurodivergent itch in my brain, which i guess in another era would be filled by model trains or such?

Lil before-bed request to check out my fashion + space opera anthology!! Would be really grateful for folks to back it. We are 8 days away from wrrapping up and have $4k to go.

... Fania Dewi Nasihah pushes us past 4000 #frog recordings, with a set including 3 new species for XC from Gunung Pangrano in west Java. Very cool. 792 species now, this is the list of the latest new ones: xeno-canto.org/collection/s... . #bioacoustics

Well holy fucking shit. Ring cancelled their partnership with Flock. Keep pressure on them to stop volunteering their feeds to state, local, and federal agencies, though, because that part's still going.

More like office hour and forty-five minutes today lmao

Ah, we have hit the point of the semester where I no longer get to sit quietly and grade during my office hours, because it's a constant flood of students

I very much encourage you to look at the symptoms of colorectal cancer and tell your primary care physician that you have at least three of them.

My mom had colon cancer at 45, but she really did have those symptoms and asked her doctor about it. She lived another 30 something years.

75% of my students are future health professionals. Do you really want a physician or nurse or pharm. who has no critical reading/thinking skills, who cannot communicate worth a damn or knows enough to ask questions/problem-solve when something feels off? Would you put your life in the hands of AI?

If you want your poster to have a graphic novel look, use 💯 REAL comic fonts. Not the one that came with your preloaded with your operating system.

You can see the Unmasked BB font throughout the Better Posters book! Ready For Anything is also a good general purpose font!

Gandalf really is heroic when you consider that there were originally five wizards and one of them turned evil, two of them fucked off and went out east to have orgies, and one is just super into talking to gophers. The one last hope of free peoples was the stoner and that crazy mfer did it.

painting of red blood cells

painting of brain with tree motif

ink painting of brain with text from marcus aurelius

ink painting of neurons

Anybody want to buy a painting? They miss me at the post office 😢 #sciart artologica.etsy.com

It's so telling when they push the "we just want to protect detrans folks" line because if they *actually* cared about those folks, the solution is to simply not gatekeep this care for anyone- cis, trans, detrans. But that would mean embracing bodily autonomy as a core value, which ofc they won't

Few concepts continue to be misapplied so frequently and viciously as fairness.

United Snakes of America Print Meet the United Snakes of America! This is a scientifically accurate poster of every snake species in the US and Canada, drawn in a friendly style. Art by Rosemary Mosco and Bird and Moon at TopatoCo!

It's by @rosemarymosco.com!

topatoco.com/collections/...

A collection of six ominous bird valentines set against a background of pink hearts. In the first one, a Canada Goose looks angry and hisses and the text says "Baby, I'll make you fall head over heels if you approach within 10m of my nest." In the second, an American white pelican opens its mouth to eat the reader and the text says "There are plenty of fish in the sea, but I want this one." In the third valentine, a Black Vulture looks suspiciously at the reader and the text says "I will love you until you die. And after that, I'll love you even more." A Southern Cassowary stands proudly against the heart-covered background. The text says "My wattles are red. My head is blue. My deadly reputation has been somewhat overblown, but I'd kill for you." In the fifth valentine, a Northern Giant-Petrel stands open-billed next to a large brown furry object, and the text says "Let's seal the deal by sharing a 3000 kg elephant seal carcass." In panel 6, a happy-looking Bearded Vulture holds a bone in its beak, and the text says "I love every part of you, especially your bones."

Ominous bird valentines.

Two dogs on a four-poster bed, looking expressively at the camera in very stark shadows and light. It's some Renaissance painting ass lighting, idk how but now the dogs are demanding an audience with the Grand Duke and might I make sure they are appropriately attired for the occasion?

I came back from the bathroom and the dogs managed to find all the Caravaggio-ass lighting angles in the bedroom?

It's definitely making everything worse, but I also think some of what I'm feeling is completely typical for anything when the initial rush wears off but you're not really skilled at things yet. And the imposter syndrome is starting to sneak back in.