Joe Mason

I mean run after in general, as opposed to just while hunting

But from the same Latin word as cacciare or cazar, also English catch. The meaning of "run after" developed later, it seems.

= chasseurs

Only I'm never sure about the last part, just "cacciatori"

I have a book with relatively good reproductions of Bruegel paintings that I bought used long ago. It's in Italian, so I see this one and say "Cacciatori nella neve!"

Not to scale, horizontal or vertical

Marks former location of volcanic arc.

Being a relative of a disfavored former employee: Maureen Comey, a respected DOJ prosecutor, was fired shortly before Trump demanded her father be prosecuted. Refusing to illegally fire people: Kash Patel is being sued for firing senior FBI agents who asked him for adequate reason to fire their fellow agents. Investigating corruption and abuses of power: For example, ethics officers at Fannie Mae were fired after they raised questions about how Bill Pulte obtained documents as part of his effort to prosecute Trump’s political enemies. Investigating an insurrection or allegations of corruption by the President. Providing an intelligence analysis that contradicts the President’s claims. Being a trans person. An online monitor of the “deep state” accuses you of being disloyal to Trumpism. Such accusations are often erroneous: a prosecutor falsely accused of not willing to be part of the Comey investigation was fired. An FBI agent was fired after being falsely accused of participating in Mar-A-Lago investigations. Sharing accurate information to a judge: A DOJ lawyer was fired when he acknowledged that the administration had erred when it deported an immigrant. Not recommending that a prominent celebrity supporter of the President have his gun rights restored. Signing a public statement that existing policies are undermining the ability of agencies to complete their tasks. No reason at all. The President merely asserts that he has an Article II power to fire you and decides he wants someone assumed to be more loyal in your place.

We don't have to guess how an at-will public employment system will be used under Trump, because we have a de facto at-will system already in place.
Under that system, here are some of the reasons you can be fired from the federal government:
donmoynihan.substack.com/p/at-will-wh...

alt-text: screencap from a dropdown menu with "English" selected, beneath it is "English, middle (1100-1500)" and "English, old (ca.450-1100)

Trying out a new PCP's office, and their "preferred language" dropdown on the intake form is time-traveler inclusive.

A widemouth blindcat wearing a Santa hat; the text says December 9

While part of the Ictaluridae family (North American catfishes), the widemouth blindcat is somewhat of an oddity: it’s the only species in its genus Satan. It's one of 3 known blind catfish species found in the US, all of which are found in Texas #25DaysofFishmas

A map of the continental US showing the widemouth blindcat's distribution - a very small part of Texas around San Antonio

The widemouth blindcat is only found in the subterranean waters of the Edwards Aquifer at depths of 900-1800 ft (275-550 m) under the south + east parts of San Antonio, TX. It was discovered after being accidentally captured from wells that bring groundwater to the surface #25DaysofFishmas

I was out clearing off the dusting of snow by the time the three old guys came by. Haven't yet seen the "assessor" who walks along slowly looking carefully at all the houses and yards.

Watching the morning walkers in the neighborhood: First dog people, in the dark. Then a big group of school kids from the apartment complexes nearby, led by adults (school district staff I think), in orange vests. Finally the retirees, including three old guys walking down the middle of the street.

Amazing. Got my first unsolicited email review of a paper from an AI company, also telling me what follow up work to do. So inexpensive to get even more insights! This is wonderful, and I am planning to budget for this in all future work, right below the priority to fund a space circus on the moon.

So many questions--including what is "Americanism"? Are we going to be replacing classes on American history with classes about "Americanism"?!

My colleague points out here that possibly one in seven requests to our library now may be assisted by LLMs.

When those point to fictional documents, that's a huge staff time drain. There's often no quick way to check if an undigitized primary source doc exists beyond physically pulling some boxes.

Another University of Oklahoma instructor suspended in biblical psychology paper grading controversy The university is investigating whether the second instructor engaged in "viewpoint discrimination."

“The latest educator removed from the classroom allegedly told students they would be excused for attending a Friday protest in support of a transgender instructor who was suspended for accurately grading a paper.”
www.advocate.com/news/second-...

I bet I'm not the only one who really has trouble focusing on grading at this time of the semester.

(any students reading this, unbeknownst to me, don't worry, I will get it done well, maybe even well ahead of the deadline!)

Thanks. We have a bunch of beautiful old plaster relief models on the walls of our building. I hope they all survive the renovation beginning next year.

Went on to Yellowstone and went backpacking on the spur of the moment with two guys from Madison we met in a campground. Waded through waist-deep snow over a pass, were deeply impressed by bear claw scratch marks high on the trees.

Yeah, there are a number of ways to do this. I like Rayshader www.rayshader.com/index.html for the many options in shading among many other reasons.

I have been fascinated with the Bighorns since I drove west to Portland in the summer of 1976 with some people I'd just met through a ride board. Came over a rise in the Powder River Basin and there they were, still with a lot of snow on them.

A three dimensional view of the Bighorn Mountains, topography overlain by color shades of a geologic map.

Same three-dimensional view of the Bighorn Mountains overlain with geologic map units, now zoomed in on part of the mountain range.

Still working on the Bighorn Mountains, Wyoming, now draped with units and approximate colors from the Love and Christensen Geologic Map of Wyoming. View from high above the Bighorn Basin. Next steps a legend or labels, I guess, and trying out different viewpoints & z factors. #rayshader #rayrender

Wow, what an amazing new find of a 19th century shipwreck in Lake Ontario. I hate that invasive quagga mussels will be slowly tearing this apart in decades to come.

Port: Our Somali friends and neighbors are not 'garbage' "I wish I could offer our Somali friends here in North Dakota more comfort than to say that this has happened before. It is survivable. It can be endured, and the promise of America is worth it," Rob ...

"Doug #Burgum, the secretary of the Interior, who, when he was governor of #NorthDakota ... "You know, in North Dakota, in 1900 in the city of Fargo, 80% of the people in Fargo, English was their second language."

Rob Port in Forum Newspaper re Somali immigrants
www.inforum.com/opinion/colu...

was at an event on AI for science yesterday, a panel discussion here at NeurIPS. The panelists discussed how they plan to replace humans at all levels in the scientific process. So I stood up and protested that what they are doing is evil.

Full post:
togelius.blogspot.com/2025/12/plea...

When I was a teen, at the time of the My Lai massacre, everyone knew his name. If you were anti-war, he was a hero. If you supported the American war against Vietnam, he was a traitor. I fear that we don't teach about the massacre in schools. Few know his name anymore. He should be honored by all.

Yes! I've seen similar things in Xi'an.

Now I know I'm in a different neighborhood without looking up, when I overhear bus passengers talking about NSF broader impacts and faculty hiring.

Pizza Hut branch in the left foreground. Beyond it some trees with a red barn and some sheds beyond them. The ground is snow-covered.

This view of a Pizza Hut with an old barn left from a pre-1960s farm beyond the trees in the background pretty much sums up our neighborhood on the far east sude of Madison. What you can't see is the ephemeral stream now running underground just past the Pizza Hut or possibly on my side of it.