Bill Lukens

Not at all a coincidence that this type of clean-energy comms - which presents a positive case in forceful terms rather than trying to dance around the issue - is coming almost exclusively from non-US firms. The comparison tells us a lot about why the IRA failed. More below:

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The "is this a pigeon meme". A butterfly floating in the air is labeled "A file I created seconds ago" and the man gesturing to the butterfly is labeled "Windows: ThIs FiLe MiGhT bE hArMfUl To YeR cOmPuTeR"

Whenever I try to move my own files on a PC...

#AcademicSky

I'll be discussing this w/ the #BBC at 4:30pm ET:

Research at PUIs is never dull!

If you have stellar UGs, it sucks that you only get to work with them for ~1-2 yrs, if you're even that lucky. Time flies.

But the best part: if a student's a total stinker, they're gone in like 1 yr and the dust settles fast. Time still flies.

I mean, thin like Al2Si2O5(OH)4?

I need this! Philly's streets are an endless canvas.

Yeah, the weird great stuff is harder to find now. The internet used to be mostly blogs, chat rooms, and this kind of stuff:
neal.fun

As a public service, people will find the original pdf files of all the U.S. National Climate Assessments, 2001-2023, publicly available at: www.patrickgonzalez.net#us_national_...

The combination of China's solar+wind growth and EV adoption really complicates the "who's to blame for climate change" chats I have frequently. Most folks' starting point is China needs to act first. Well, they are. Useful to recall the US still tops cumulative CO2 emissions.
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tinyurl.com/52f3rz23

A quote from the FAQ page of the scam website globalweatheroscillations.com: "Question... Your company indicated that no grants or outside funding were received for this research. Why is this? Answer... During the past few years, federal grants to study natural cycles were not available. Other entities such as oil and energy companies likewise were not issuing grants, mainly because it was politically correct to stick to the mainstream thinking that global warming is almost entirely caused by the burning of fossil fuels."

Ah yes, those stinkin oil and energy companies that only fund research linking fossil fuels to climate change...

A tiny, tan-colored snake skeleton consisting of many attached vertebrae and a very small snake skull, on top of a human hand. Zoomed in so far you can see the human hand print ridges.

A tiny, tan-colored snake skeleton consisting of many attached vertebrae and a very small snake skull, on top of a human hand. The snake skeleton is in the center of the palm of the hand and is approximately 1.5 inches long.

Found some cool baby snake skeletons while re-insulating the joist bays in my crawlspace this weekend. They are teeny-tiny.

(the crawlspace is fully encapsulated and actually quite nice, but little pill bugs and I guess tiny snakes get in somehow)

Congress’s annual process of setting 2026 spending levels for federal agencies has only just begun, but today the Senate appropriations committee voiced its intent to ignore the request by President Donald Trump to slash the budgets of the National Science Foundation (NSF) and NASA science programs. Instead, the panel supported maintaining spending at essentially current levels. The committee’s preliminary vote today on the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS) Appropriation bill is the latest indication that Congress doesn’t plan to simply rubber stamp Trump’s proposal to cut federal research budgets for next year. (The bill’s final passage has been temporarily stalled by a partisan fight over a new location for FBI headquarters.) Under the bill, NSF’s budget would take a tiny $60 million hit, to $9 billion, rather than plunge by 57%, to $3.9 billion, as Trump proposed. With $9 billion, NSF would likely be able to protect a new directorate that promotes applied research partnerships with nonfederal entities, and avoid cuts to its several other research directorates.

If they more or less maintain NSF's funding level, they can put the new FBI headquarters in my back yard, rent-free for 99 years. Caveat: they have about 1/6 of an acre to work with.

I feel so seen right now.

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Rock outcrop of weathered, brown basalt with white calcite veins surrounding ellipsoidal corestones. The corestones have variegated weathering zones that look like faces. Rubble on the ground in front of the outcrop and white-blue sky above. A blue paleo-pick (65 cm long) leans against the outcrop.

Close-up of a corestone, with variegated weathering that looks like a face with a raised eyebrow.

Deeply weathered Early Miocene basalt from West Turkana, Kenya. I can't help but see faces in the corestones.

😵‍💫🤔

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Ancient proteins found in fossils up to 24 million years old Scientists in recent years have made progress in finding ancient DNA in fossils, gaining insight into organisms that lived long ago. But the oldest DNA obtained so far dates back about two million years. Proteins, a cell's molecular machinery, also offer valuable information and have the virtue of surviving much longer, as new research shows.

Proteomes recovered from Miocene fossil teeth! Super cool!

Most perplexing part: why the popular press insists on repeatedly talking about dinosaurs when the paper is definitively *not* about dinosaurs? Oldest samples in the study are 29 Ma (dino extinction was at 66 Ma).

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tinyurl.com/3en2c38t

It was a short season for me this year - just 5 days on the ground. But the rest of our group was out a bit longer. We're usually out for 2 or up to 3 weeks.

I hear Lothagam is really cool!

A field photo showing black rocks (labeled "Basalt intrusions") running down the middle of the photo. To the left is a lowland labeled "Miocene Lothidok Fm." and to the right are orange beds with slightly more topography, labeled "?Pliocene? beds". A blue sky with a few white clouds is visible above, and scattered acacia trees dot the landscape.

Another fun mapping observation from West Turkana this season: basalt intrusions along an E-W fault separating Miocene and (?)Pliocene beds. No idea how young the basalt is, but likely Quaternary. Note the ground color in the distance.⚒️🧪

with @danpeppe.bsky.social

#geology #mapping #fieldwork

Almost as creative as the American bison! ;)

Outcrops of red and gray sedimentary rocks on the left, and orange-beige sedimentary rocks on the right, separated by black lines drawn by me. Hills and a distant mountain (Losidok) are visible on the left, flat plains visible on the right. Desert scrub and acacia are present on the landscape. The left strata are labeled "Lothidok Basin, Early Miocene (18-20 Ma)". Strata on the right are labeled "Turkana Basin, ?Pliocene? beds".

Just got back from mapping Miocene-Pliocene sed rocks and fault blocks in West Turkana, Kenya with my great colleague @danpeppe.bsky.social.

Here's the border fault separating Early Miocene strata (our focus) from the Turkana Basin. Image faces north. Losidok peak barely visible in the distance.🧪⚒️

White cumulonimbus cloud of a thunderstorm, showing a perimeter of mammatus clouds. Green tree tops are visible at the base of the photo in the foreground. Blue sky is visible above the white clouds.

Beautiful cumulonimbus cloud along the front line of thunderstorms in Harrisonburg, VA, yesterday. Mammatus clouds ringing a big storm cell.
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Happy Friday. In 2012, I watched The Dark Knight Rises in the movie theater, next to Anthony Bourdain.

Weirdly, I'd brought potato salad as a snack. He ate popcorn. We briefly chatted after the movie. He's the only celebrity I ever cared about, so that was really cool.

Early Apes Evolved in Tropical Forests Disturbed by Fires and Volcanoes - Eos Fossils discovered at an early Miocene site in Kenya include a new type of early ape and offer clues about the environment inhabited by human ancestors.

Early apes lived in a land of forest fires, floods, and volcanoes, according to new early Miocene fossils.

Research by @mcnultylab.bsky.social, @danpeppe.bsky.social, @munyaka.bsky.social, @paleosol.bsky.social, @susycote.bsky.social, @abigail-hall.bsky.social & colleagues.

eos.org/research-spo...

NSF Division of Earth Sciences Informational Webinar

US Earth Scientists: We know you have questions, come get them answered directly from NSF/EAR POs! Tuesday, June 17, 2p Eastern. Register here: www.nsf.gov/events/nsf-d...

This is a great example of how plate tectonics has shaped biogeography. As someone who grew up in Laurasian-dominated forests, I am amazed at the seussian appearance of Gondwanan flora. And that's why anecdotal experience and modeling data sets may look quite different!

Coming up: Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer hold a press conference to share the most relatable and hilarious takes on this situation.

It will be so hilarious and relatable.

Dead & Company Golden Gate Park Concerts presents a groundbreaking new outdoor, live music experience in Golden Gate Park, brought to you by Another Planet Entertainment.

I was at the 2003 Summer Sanitarium show. It was amazing. But today, I have no interest in contributing to these dudes' retirement fund.

Another point of comparison: Dead & Co. (et al.) starting at $245 per day. Sheesh.
goldengateparkconcerts.com/event/dead-c...

So many music festivals have been canceled this year. What's going on? Music festivals are canceling their events like maybe never before. Call it the music festival recession.

It's 2003. Metallica plays the Vet in Philly. Limp Bizkit, Deftones, Linkin Park, and Mudvayne all have full sets.
Min price: $55 ($96 in 2025).

It's 2025. Metallica, now 22 yrs older, plays the Linc in Philly. Limp Bizkit and Ice Nine Kills open.
Min price: $107

www.npr.org/sections/pla...

This is a very insightful perspective. Thanks for helping me think through it.

I guess the projected funding rate of 6% in FY2026 may make this consternation moot anyway.

If NSF no longer supports my colleagues' essential work, is it complicity to submit my own proposals?

When my funds dry up, my students also miss opportunities.

But I very much do not want to participate in such a corrupted system.

😕🧪⚒️
#AcademicSky