Amanda K. Pinion

Yes yes yes!

Darren pointing at screen during a technical check at Lightroom, saying "So that is an AI monster - do not use", while working with two other people.

When it comes to creative and artistic works I have NO interest in anything included in the AI catchall (caveats required because machine-learning has its place WRT handling data). I will never use it. Do I want an AI copilot? No no no, no I do not; I despise the fact that I am even asked.

I'm a little wrong here, y'all! We have a couple more weeks to fight for the IMLS. It'll be through the House Appropriations Committee on July 21. Get on the phone. Get in inboxes.

Your messaging? The Murder Bill is going to make libraries *even more crucial* now.

appropriations.house.gov/schedule

Why Would Trump Dismantle This Tiny Little Agency That Does So Much Good? Judges are on the IMLS’ side. But the budget battle is still to come.

did some reporting on the impact of DOGE's cuts to the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the court cases that are preserving the agency (for now), Trump's threats to slash federal arts spending, and the importance of IMLS to libraries and schools everywhere: slate.com/life/2025/05...

New paper out by Kole Kubicek, Ralf Britz & Kevin Conway in Biology Letters

🧬 Heterochrony & Innovation: What the Pectoral Fin Spine of Catfish Reveals About Evolution

royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/abs/10.1...

I do not ever, ever, EVER want to use Microsoft Copilot. In too much of a hurry to figure out how to turn it off!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Middle finger to microsoft

An action of desperation- searching ".cr2" in my Dropbox folder.... looking for a single photo. Needle in a haystack

Destroying endangered species' habitat wouldn't count as 'harm' under proposed Trump rule The Trump administration is reinterpreting a key word in the Endangered Species Act that could have big consequences for the habitats of species at risk.

www.npr.org/2025/04/17/n...

But worry not - dems will soon be on board, as signalled by their reception of the bullshit ideas peddled by the authors of "Abundance". Nature will be the first to suffer while the left tries to scrape their wav back

Trump team cites wolf ‘de-extinction’ as it seeks to cut endangered species list The interior secretary hailed a biotech company’s claim to have brought back the dire wolf, while the administration and GOP push to roll back species protections.

Bad media science takes can kill off whole species.

Gene edited puppies are NOT actually dire wolves, any more than an especially hair mouse is a mammoth.

Endangered Species Act is NOT rendered moot by this publicity stunt

www.washingtonpost.com/climate-envi...

Quite certain there has been a recent influx of bots to Bluesky, based on my recent follows and the content of their pages.

Fantastic. lol

Cover of TIME magazine showing a genetically-modified wolf, said to be a dire wolf but is not, with the headline “extinct” with a strikethrough, above the text “this is Remus. He’s a dire wolf. The first to exist in over 10,000 years. Endangered species could be changed forever” by Jeffrey Kluger

Of course mainstream media keeps rolling over for Colossal, providing uncritical hype and coverage in exchange for exclusivity and “wow.” What Colossal is doing is wrong and they can’t even deliver what they promise. How many times do we have to go over this?

Yes, it is certainly an extreme exaggeration (really, just false) to say they have brought back a direwolf. How dare you care about the details, Milton!!! Jeeze.... can't they just have fun with their little white wolves???

Ancient rat brains ever crossed your mind? If so, you're in luck! Here, brain morphology of Pliocene spiny rats Eumysops chapalmalensis was studied using endocasts, uncovering unique morphology that may indicate a niche not explored by extant species! 🌍🧪🐀
academic.oup.com/zoo...

blue male moor frogs (Rana arvalis)

When I came to Berlin 25 years ago, moor frogs (Rana arvalis) were quite common. After years of predation by invasive racoons (so sweet...) and serious droughts, the populations have collapsed. What to do? No idea.... #stadtnatur, #berlinbiodiversity, #berlin, #urbanbiodiversity

:( Moved these fellas off the bike path a few days ago... (near Dresden)

Any particulalr reason to use this AI "art" to advertise this?

Why are you using this AI generated image?

Tiny banan

And here's @joshtpm.bsky.social wrestling with the question. To me, the key sentence is: "The current executive orders explicitly say that the end game is a government the size of the shutdown size."

talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/looki...

A Lifelong Love of Field Guides A celebration of field guides, the little books that changed the way we interact with nature.

I'm a lifelong collector, reader and user of field guides.

At a young age, as much as anything, field guides ignited a love of wildlife and travel.

‘Voices of the Rio Grande Valley’ uplifts stories from the people of an often-overlooked region The collection of creative nonfiction stories is written both for the community and those interested in the region.

The new anthology “Voices of the Rio Grande Valley: Vol.1” lifts up the regional stories written by the folks who’ve lived them.

One of my former students. I’m so proud, and so angry.

Three AI-powered steps to faster, smarter peer review Tired of spending countless hours on peer reviews? An AI-assisted workflow could help.

Let's talk about this Nature piece in more detail.

I've rarely read something so anti-scientific anywhere short of the National Review.

www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Hahaha I noticed this the other day. So weird

Immediate Expansion of American Timber Production By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered: Section 1.  Purpose.

So that's the beginning of the end for US Old Growth Forests then, prepare for massive biodiversity and carbon loss, here billed as the opposite www.whitehouse.gov/presidential... 🌎

Hey everyone! @co2ley.bsky.social — who was fired by NOAA yesterday as the Director of the Ocean Acidification Program — is now here on Bluesky! Follow her! Also, someone please offer Sarah a job! 🌊

A mounted musk ox in the Mammal Collection. In the historic photograph, two women sit on the animal, each holding a preserved spectacled bear.

Women in natural history have long been overlooked. FIND researches their stories and brings them into focus. 👩‍🔬✨

@svmering.bsky.social explores this in her talk:

🎤 "Invisible – Forgotten – Rediscovered" (in German)
📅 5 March 2025, 18:30
📍 @nhmwien.bsky.social

Watch on the NHM YouTube channel! ▶️

Four years ago to the day, me in Friday Harbor and him in Texas. We are still doing Zoom dates but now I’m in Germany… Bonus FHL fish from that time