Brian

What the U.S. Government Is Dismissing That Could Seed a Bird Flu Pandemic Egg producers suspect bird flu is traveling through the air. After a disastrous Midwestern outbreak early this year, we tested that theory and found that where the wind blew, the virus followed. Vacci...

After a bird flu outbreak tore through Midwestern barns, killing millions of chickens and spiking egg prices, the federal government didn’t investigate if the virus was airborne.

So ProPublica did.

Absolutely terrifying reporting from @natlash.bsky.social:

www.propublica.org/article/bird...

But not in Fairfax… 😭

A triangular white-and-green emblem for the Appalachian Trail. The center features a stylized white “A” over a green background, with the words “APPALACHIAN TRAIL” curved along the top edge and “NATIONAL SCENIC TRAIL” along the bottom edge.

Next year the boy’s school will be seven houses away…

I want to believe

First pic was actually from my deck. Did a double take after remembering the sun had set a long time ago and the neighbor’s house doesn’t make that kind of light.

Silhouetted trees stand against the night sky, with faint red and green light near the horizon. Stars are visible across the upper half of the image

A star-filled night sky above a distant tree-lined ridge. A soft red vertical glow appears near the horizon. A house with lit windows is visible at the far right.

A dark ridgeline stretches across the bottom of the frame with the night sky above it. Two faint red vertical light pillars rise from the horizon, with stars scattered across the sky.

A dense field of stars across the night sky, with faint haze of the Milky Way crossing the center of the image.

Drove down to the front yard to observe some (space) weather

#aurora #VAwx #SpaceWX

(Northern Shenandoah Valley, VA)

Some red lights in a night sky

Northern Shenandoah Valley right now

Several houses now have full on Christmas lights and decorations going out here in the valley.

Summer soldiers and Sunshine patriots

Photo of a sunlit autumn forest on a hillside, with a mix of evergreens and deciduous trees under a bright blue sky. A small child in an orange hat and purple jacket walks along a leaf-covered trail toward a simple wooden shelter built from fallen branches, leaning together in a triangular shape. The sunlight filters through the trees, casting long shadows and illuminating the orange and gold tones of the leaves.

4yo: Daddy, how old do I have to be to drive?
Me: 16, why?
4yo: because I’m going to go camping all the time
❤️

Best sub-skeet ever.

Tall Stories 476: Dulles International Airport’s Mobile Lounges, Washington

“I get a secret thrill out of the chance to experience a living, functional piece of modernist design history — even one that’s seen better days.”

An ode to the mobile lounge. #airportarchitecture

Mobile lounge haters… please pick up the nearest white courtesy telephone

I could probably be incentivized to stay on for like half that amount.

It’s literally a plot point in a 26yo S1 West Wing episode where they’re so sure that the mere threat of jamming up congressional travel plans will make them cave and concede (until one of them is like, my wife just died I don’t have any plans so I’m cool)

Nice goal, eh?

Video: What to know about nuclear weapons In this video, Jeffrey Lewis explains why it is so incredibly difficult to convey the size and destructive force of nuclear weapons.

The film #AHouseOfDynamite ends before the bomb hits Chicago, where @bulletinatomic.bsky.social is based. They asked me to describe what it would happen to the Windy City, so I dropped 20 KT and 4 MT bombs using @wellerstein.bsky.social's Nuke Map. (Hint: it's bad.)
thebulletin.org/2025/11/vide...

Daughter (2yo) went to throw something away and saw a Halloween candy wrapper at the top (it was hers and I ate it) and she brought it to me to ask “did you eat this?”

That view is ok.

As has been discussed in previous forecast discussions, the magnitude of lake instability available tonight into Monday is incredible and more typical of environments over Lake Erie. Forecast BUFKIT profiles over the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan tonight depict 850/700mb temperature differentials of 25/35C, lake-induced CAPE in excess of 1,500 J/kg, and effective equilibrium levels nearing 25,000 feet. As a result, the expectation is for the lake effect snow bands to be unusually intense with peak snow rates of 3 to locally 5 inches per hour, frequent lightning and thunder, and pockets of hail. Even with the expectation for the snow bands to be relatively transitory, the unusually intense snow rates will render snow clearing measures ineffective leading to dangerous travel conditions. If any band were to park over the same area for several hours (which may very well happen in Cook county at around daybreak Monday), travel may become impossible with the potential for stranded cars during the rush hour commute. Needless to say, this may become a very dangerous and life threatening situation beneath the most intense and stationary lake effect snow bands. Travel is not advised beneath the lake effect snow bands. By the time the lake effect ends on Monday, total snow amounts will vary considerably across short distances. Where the snow bands are most intense, total snow accumulations of 12 to 18 inches are expected with a ceiling of 2 to 4 feet if snow bands end up stationary. This threat appears to be most pronounced over Cook county, but may extend to Lake County Illinois and Lake County Indiana, as well. Outside of Cook County, the highest snow totals are expected east of I-355 in the Chicago area, east of I-57 south of the Chicago area, and north of the Kankakee River Valley in northwestern Indiana.

This is a wild forecast discussion from NWS Chicago this morning.

mesonet.agron.iastate.edu/wx/afos/p.ph...

That ought to slow down shows of force

Taken from a grassy hilltop, the photo looks down a faint dirt track that cuts through tall, dry grass before disappearing into a harvested cornfield. Beyond it, a line of trees with fading fall color marks the edge of the field, standing out against the soft blue morning sky.

Roads? Where we’re going we don’t need roads. A close perspective from the front of a vehicle positioned between tall rows of dried corn. The narrow path through the field creates strong leading lines toward the horizon, while the truck’s hood reflects the sky

Two children are seen among the corn, sitting and playing in a small clearing with folding chairs and a backpack. The sun shines brightly above the field, casting sharp rays and long shadows across the green ground cover beneath the corn.

Yesterday’s solo parenting involved taking my kids to work (3 hours in a corn (maize) field taking photos of runners.

I survived four roundabouts (twice- coming and going) in Maryland yesterday with Maryland drivers.

Best experience yesterday was getting passed on a double yellow line for going the speed limit through a town with speed cameras.

That guy then got stuck behind a different MD driver going 15 under

She’s trying to run a marathon in every state. Today’s attempt might bring some Type II fun.

screenshot shows current weather conditions in Madison, Wisconsin at 7:33 AM. • Temperature: 28°F, feeling like 18°F due to wind chill • Sky: Cloudy • Precipitation chance: 24% • Winds: From the northwest at 12 mph, with gusts up to 20 mph • Forecast note: “Today’s temperature is forecast to be much cooler than yesterday.” • Map: A radar snapshot (Wundermap) highlights scattered precipitation around Madison, with small blue patches indicating light snow or rain showers moving through parts of southern Wisconsin.

I’m solo parenting this weekend while my wife runs the Madison Marathon (starting in 15 mins). Current weather conditions #WIwx 🥶🏃🏻‍♀️

It’s raining! #VAwx

Eudora?

The rising sun casts golden light over a patchwork of trees in full fall color — deep reds, oranges, and greens — with bare sycamores lining a quiet river below. Beyond the valley, blue-hazed mountains rise under a soft, pale sky.

The rising sun casts golden light over a patchwork of trees in full fall color — deep reds, oranges, and greens — with bare sycamores lining a quiet river below. Beyond the valley, blue-hazed mountains rise under a soft, pale sky.

A small play area set on a wooded hillside, with a bright webbed climbing net strung between trees near a cabin. The sun bursts through the trees, sending rainbow flares across the frame.

Two children lie together in a red-and-black hammock, surrounded by fallen leaves and the colors of autumn. They’re dressed warmly, relaxed and smiling, the forest sloping away behind them.

Sent the kids outside to play while I got ready for work this morning. Hoping this will become a regular thing…

Wife is (supposedly) flying from DCA Saturday to Wisconsin to run a marathon Sunday morning and then fly home Sunday night back to DCA.

I wish all of you flyers good luck!