Trump appoints Alaska governor to a seat on U.S. Arctic Research Commission This is the first time a sitting governor has served on the commission, which promotes Arctic research and advises on funding priorities.

Would be great if this was a standing seat for Alaska rather than a single person. www.ktoo.org/2026/04/15/t...

Ice covering a car windshield, view from inside the car.

Hail yesterday, this with sun today. And I’m just waiting for the snow to melt so I can prep my garden.

Massive budget cuts for US science proposed again by Trump administration The 2027 budget proposal would curb federal payments for scientific publishing and reduce funding for many US institutions.

The excitement for Artemis II was something else, truly uplifting. And it came from a government funded program, not a billionaire.

And yet ... "The plan proposes cuts to federal agencies that fund or conduct research on health, space and the environment" www.nature.com/articles/d41...

I’ve tangoed in the Tongass. No need for a ballroom.

Humanity did that. Science did that. Publicly-funded research did that. Excellent universities did that. Diversity did that. International cooperation did that.

Artemis II is a perfect example of what we can do at our best.

Welcome home, Integrity crew!

Birds are mating. Seeds are sprouting. My raised bed is still buried under four feet of snow.

My dishwasher broke last week. Dishes have always been sisyphean to me, and this situation terrified me. But after I got through the backlog that was the dishwasher racks, hand washing is actually so much less stressful (& cleaner).
Maybe it’s time to reconsider more technology pros and cons.

A couple articles lately show AI faults are so bad they are encouraging groups like the CIA to go back to non-tech systems. I love this for the tech elite who have pushed so hard with so much money toward breaking things (even when that’s people). Because now they’ve broken their own bread & butter.

It feels like that week never ended. Spring you say?

Which I guess might be “eastern” Douglas if we need to use directions.

It’s one thing when someone new to Juneau calls Downtown Douglas “south” Douglas. But it’s entirely confusing when the weather service uses the term. Do they mean southern Douglas island? Or have they adopted this new name for the city of Douglas?

Is this one of the books held up on order with the supplier changes? You might want to check with them.

Not just using AI slop to mislead, but to bury the real and thought-provoking art and writing that makes people think. Just like with science and journalism, introducing a bunch of garbage decreases trust and perceived value overall.

Chief of staff to Alaska legislator arrested on sex trafficking, other charges Craig Scott Valdez, 36, was fired immediately after arrest on Friday; US Attorney’s Office states numerous minors in Anchorage and Juneau may be victims.

I ♥ this AK mom today who punched a pedo in the face. 💪 www.juneauindependent.com/post/chief-o...

The political effects of X's feed algorithm https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-10098-2 Received: 16 December 2024 Accepted: 4 January 2026 Published online: 18 February 2026 Open access • Check for updates Germain Gauthier,5, Roland Hodler?5, Philine Widmer35 & Ekaterina Zhuravskaya3,4,5 m Feed algorithms are widely suspected to influence political attitudes. However, previous evidence from switching off the algorithm on Meta platforms found no political effects'. Here we present results from a 2023 field experiment on Elon Musk's platform X shedding light on this puzzle. We assigned active US-based users randomly to either an algorithmic or a chronological feed for 7 weeks, measuring political attitudes and online behaviour. Switching from a chronological to an algorithmic feed increased engagement and shifted political opinion towards more conservative positions, particularly regarding policy priorities, perceptions of criminal investigations into Donald Trump and views on the war in Ukraine. In contrast, switching from the algorithmic to the chronological feed had no comparable effects. Neither switching the algorithm on nor switching it off significantly affected affective polarization or self-reported partisanship. To investigate the mechanism, we analysed users' feed content and behaviour. We found that the algorithm promotes conservative content and demotes posts by traditional media. Exposure to algorithmic content leads users to follow conservative political activist accounts, which they continue to follow even after switching off the algorithm, helping explain the asymmetry in effects. These results suggest that initial exposure to X's algorithm has persistent effects on users' current political attitudes and account-following behaviour, even in the absence of a detectable effect on partisanship.

A new paper shows that less than 2 months of exposure to Twitter’s algorithmic feed significantly shifts people’s political views to the right.

Moving from chronological feed to the algorithmic feed also increases engagement.

This is one of the most concerning papers I’ve read in awhile.

Alaska’s KUAC restores programming through partnership with KTOO The partnership has restored select programming from World and Create, and KUAC has also reintroduced overnight broadcasts.

Years ago I bought a digital antenna just so I could watch Create. I'm glad to have it back!

current.org/2026/01/alas...

If public radio can be retroactively defunded, so can anything else.

Aurora over mountains in Juneau

Northern lights are out early today!
#alaskasky #aurora #juneau

I haven’t seen pulsing quite like that before.

Northern lights, behind utility pole

Northern lights, behind spruce and wires

You spoil me, Juneau. Went for an obligatory dog walk and … this.
#aksky #aurora #northernlights #alaska

That's funny, I was considering adding putty on top to do the same but didn't know what weight to start with. Thanks!

This was in my discover and I got one this winter too! Jumping in to ask if either of you can play new vinyl that’s not black? Old, worn records do fine for me. But we bought two new ones that are blue and red and they skip like crazy. Everyone’s telling me with this setup I can’t fix it. ☹️

What’s on the menu:
• Snow that immediately regrets its life choices and turns into rain
• 1–4 inches of rain (locally: more, because of course)
• Deep snowpack = clogged drains = “Why is there a lake here?”
• Creeks rising fast and hills thinking about moving

Best weather alert ever: 🚨🌧️🌀 SOUTHEAST ALASKA WEATHER ALERT: THE SKY HAS CHOSEN VIOLENCE 🌀🌧️🚨
An atmospheric river is sliding into the Panhandle late Thursday through Saturday, bringing snow, rain, wind, and a personal vendetta against storm drains. - Ketchikan Fire Dept.
#alaskasky #snomageddon

Snow shovel moving snow.

It has been an exhausting week. When I pause to look up, it’s been good. Beautiful even. #alaskasky

Reading an unrelated book, I learned that Dostoyevsky was imprisoned for being against the country. So scratch that. His books, and life, came of survival and would not have been what was dropped for us.

Love the video 😊 I walked in after an hour shoveling, laughing at the snow crusted on my hair and my kid was laughing at the 3” snow pile on top of my hat.

Deep snow blanketing a tree

I feel a little like this tree. P.S. That’s a house in the bottom right.
#alaskasky #snow

I have so many recs - but what are you looking for?
When I’ve been overloaded, YA and mystery have been best to decompress. Nevada Barr was fun for place-based stories, esp if you like travel and national parks. Poetry can also be easy-with so much punch. This year I loved You Better Be Lightning.

Oh, thank you for this reminder! I drove past the valley PO today and ... kept going. The line was far too long.