Mikey Tabak

Protesters on both sides of a bike bridge over a road. There are signs and USA flags

We were on the bike bridge, away from the actual protest. Quite a crowd up there too!

#NoKings #PatriotsAgainstFascism

I just got my COVID and Flu shots. I didn’t get any questions to verify that I’m eligible (in Michigan) and insurance covered it.

I also got Tdap to protect my newborn nephew

#Vaxxed

New bird flu vaccine could tackle multiple variants with one shot Hear the biggest stories from the world of science | 15 October 2025

Latest from the Nature Podcast 🔊 New bird flu vaccine could tackle multiple variants with one shot

go.nature.com/3WapkWC

Solar panels on a roof with trees behind. Picture was taken this morning in the autumn

We got rooftop solar! And home batteries so that we don’t have to use the grid (except when there’s lots of snow).

These new panels are so efficient that we’re generating more than we use on a cloudy afternoon in October!

#SolarPower #PowerToThePeople

📖Published📖

In their new research article, Hoefer et al. compare passive acoustic monitoring to traditional observer-based monitoring and camera trapping for assessing terrestrial mammal biodiversity 🦊 📸 🔊

buff.ly/TFAPv0W

🌍 🧪

Digital flocks, predators allow ecologists to simulate real-world animal behaviour ‘Digital twins’ of real-world objects are moving from manufacturing to wildlife management.

‘Digital twins’ of real-world objects are moving from manufacturing to wildlife management.

go.nature.com/4nZa6Qk

What is a reasonable number of bagels to eat after running 50 miles?

Or, better yet, when does it become unreasonable?

Great job! That’s really fast! Especially for your first 100

I ran my first Backyard Ultra and stayed in for 50 miles (12 hours)!

Completing a ~7 km lap every hour is tough. Don’t think I like backyard ultras, but it was fun to support a new local race

#RunningPunks

A pretty hillside with fall colors. A lake in the middle makes a gap in the treeline

I’m running my first backyard ultramarathon tomorrow! 1 loop per hour up to 100 miles in 24 hours.

I don’t like the concept but I want to support a new local ultra. I’m still recovering from my 100, so not sure how far I’ll go, but I’m hoping I’ll get 42km.

#RunningPunks

Renewable energy outpaces coal for electricity generation in historic first, report says For the first time on record, renewable energy generated more electricity for the planet than coal, a new report says.

For the first time on record, renewable energy generated more electricity for the planet than coal, a new report says. n.pr/47hcegr

Small home grown watermelon cut up on a cutting board

I’ve tried to grow watermelon in some really harsh climates. This is the first successful attempt!

They are delicious: so sweet, so juicy! But I’m not sure it’s worth the prime spots in our little garden.

#GardeningUPNorth

🚢☀️ One shipload of solar panels = the electricity of 100 shiploads of coal. LNG? ~30. Fossil fuels are bulky, burned once & gone. Solar is front-loaded, then delivers clean power for decades. The math is brutal: renewables crush fossils on energy density & durability. #Solar #EV #BESS #Lithium

A beautiful waterfall in the woods

Went for a 27 km trail run today. My longest since my 100 miler. Legs are still fatigued, but the views were spectacular.

#RunningPunks #Waterfalls

✌🏼🍁

📊🚨New Research Highlight - Quantifying drivers of biodiversity change through increasing data availability and improved analytical frameworks ➡️ buff.ly/IVfoQkh

Happy Equinox from the UP!

Landscape picture of a lake with forested hills. The trees are green, yellow, and red

Honey mushrooms (I think) on the trunk of a tree

Trametes spp. (I think) growing on a log in the forest

Went for a 20km trail run with the early autumn colors.

The fungi in the woods today were very happy.

#RunningPunks #Mycology

Overview of the considerations for creating biological specimen images suited for computer vision tasks. Topics are grouped into two functional categories by colour: Blue for optimizing image capture and orange for data quality and usability. Ornithoptera aesacus (Ney, 1903) butterfly image adapted from Denver Museum of Nature & Science—Entomology, ZE.131439, under CC BY-NC from DMNS (2024).

📖Published📖

Our new review article by East et al. provides the first comprehensive practical framework for optimizing biological specimen imaging for computer vision applications 🦋 🌍 🧪 Find out more here 👇

buff.ly/TjRPrvD

In high-elevation Utah, near 9,000 feet, snow should accumulate and stick all winter. Researcher McKenzie Skiles and her team dig a pit to track shifts in snow depth and the volume of water stored there. Image credit: Otto Lang and McKenzie Skiles/The University of Utah, Salt Lake City.

Future #winters promise less #snow in the #mountains and more #rain. That shift could have major implications for #WaterSupplies in regions around the world. In PNAS Front Matter: www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

#snowpack #flood #ClimateChange #SNOTEL #floodplains

The forest canopy. There are a bunch of green leaves with some red leaves at the top in the sun

I made it to 900 consecutive days of daily running today!

Just a short one today as I recover from my 100 miler. The trees are starting to turn red UP here

#RunSky #RunningPunks #RunStreak

343 gone, but never forgotten. Brothers and sisters who ran toward the flames when others ran away. Today we remember your courage, your sacrifice, and your legacy. From one firefighter to another, Rest easy, we’ll take it from here. 🕊️🚒 #NeverForget #343

I don't, sorry. I don't typically read many war books, but I'd probably read anything by Hannah.

But I recommend `The Cape Doctor`. She pretends to be a man so that she can go to medical school and continues pretending to work as a Dr. The character is real, but the story is a fiction.
#BookSky

Do you know about the women who served in the Vietnam War?

`The Women` by Kristin Hannah is an excellent book that shares their stories in a historical fiction novel, both during the war and after returning home.

It is one of my favorite books this year!
#BookSky

kristinhannah.com/books/the-wo...

I ran 100 miles at Run Woodstock!

Nothing I've done compares to the challenges of running 100 miles. You have to push yourself hard when you are so tired and every step hurts, knowing you still have a long way to go.

Failure was never an option for me in this race.

#RunningPunks #RunSky #SISU

Selfie of me running in the woods with a running vest with poles on the back

I’m going for 100 miles!

Tomorrow I’m taking off to run my first 100 mile race at Woodstock. It will be tough, but I’ll give it everything I have.

I went for a short trail run with my new vest. Felt silly wearing a full vest on a short run, but it needed testing.

#RunSky #RunningPunks

A parade of unions marching down the Main Street of a small town

Union members filled the streets of our small town in Michigan for a Labor Day parade

#UnionYes

I call them VDs: Vehicles of Destruction

We're really rolling the dice on human survival folks.

I don't like any of those odds, but surely 25% probability is far better than 70%. If AMOC shuts down we're talking ice sheets surrounding Denmark and much of the UK. Droughts in the Amazon. American cities underwater. No bueno.

Japan has opened its first osmotic power plant – so what is it and how does it work? The site in Fukuoka is only the second power plant of its type in the world, harnessing the power of osmosis to run a desalination plant in the city

Japan has just opened its first osmotic power plant 🌊⚡

This works by mixing fresh & salt water across a membrane, creating pressure that drives a turbine to make electricity.

This site will generate 880,000 kWh a year...while helping run a desalination plant providing fresh water to the city 👏