Yes keep moving forward!

Book review: Hopeful Pessimism Why pessimists are best at finding hope in the darkness

newhumanist.org.uk/articles/644...

I’m a hopeful pessimist now.

I used to be an optimist too!

We need to reenvision federal science in a democracy. For when the rebuilding can start. Post apocalypse.

National Science Foundation’s future in limbo as Trump eyes cuts The National Science Foundation’s (NSF) future is in limbo as President Trump pushes for more budget cuts and his nominee to helm the research agency awaits Senate confirmation.  Since Trump’s retu…

Nice coverage of what’s happening at NSF from @thehill.com!

Two points from me:

1. NSF staff are hanging in like a hair in a biscuit and the admin isn’t making it easy. It’s a psyop every day.

2. Jim O’Neill is not the one to run NSF. Full stop.

thehill.com/homenews/adm...

Like John Barleycorn. Named after a unit of measure.

"Planet Earth: You. Are. A. Crew."

Artemis II mission specialist Christina Koch reflects on what it means to be a "crew."

the Chinese EVs will come. They will be all over Canada soon.

I had the same cognitive dissonance visiting an ancient castle in Scotland and the description of the places where corn was stored. I assumed the word had another meeting and did not confront the docents there....

And the American revolution

A picture of a cat. It says, “4 years ago lived in a bush and hunted my own meals. Now I have 2 passive incomes, my own house, & a personal chef. Follow me for more financial advice.”

#Caturday

And science underpins democracy

Great!!

Japan has more than fifty of these Underground Automated Bicycle Parking Systems installed. They are mostly in the cities of Osaka and Tokyo.

Provides some insights into what is happening (or rather what is not happening) with regard to federal science grant making.

She was so far ahead of her time. Great thinker.

NOAA announces planned rollback of North Atlantic right whale protections There are fewer than 380 right whales left in the world, with roughly 70 females capable of bearing young.

NOAA announces planned rollback of North Atlantic right whale protections www.mainepublic.org/environment-...

Next step impoundment?

Agree. It won’t be easy to rebuild.

There will be no undo button for this

Once again fears come true

This is François Furstenberg's laughing/crying essay on the absurdities of the present-day research university-- from atriums to AI... and sometimes AI with atriums.

Scroll to the bottom for discussion of AI fostering administrators' fantasies while obliterating the core purposes of higher ed.

fine reading! not only because of the last paragraph. free to read for 1 week - don't miss it!
#evolution #MicroSky

And they had to vacate their building without one to go to.

A landscape-oriented event poster for a town hall titled "Ocean Science in a Time of Political Uncertainty" at the Ocean Sciences Meeting 2026 features a background of a dramatic, cloudy sunset over the ocean. At the top, text identifies the event details, and the center displays headshots of five featured panelists: Dr. Brandon Jones (President, American Geophysical Union), Prof. Margaret Leinen (Director Emeritus, Scripps Institution of Oceanography), Prof. Mike Sieracki (Director, Horn Point Laboratory), Prof. Sabrina Speich (Professor, École Normale Supérieure), and Dr. Steve Rocliffe (Senior Technical Advisor, Ocean Resilience and Climate Alliance). Below them, a smaller photo identifies the moderator as Prof. Helen Czerski, a UCL Professor, author, and presenter of "Rare Earth" on BBC Radio 4. The bottom left urges viewers to "Join us for a crucial panel discussion!" while the bottom right provides the logistics: Monday, 23rd February, from 12:45pm to 1:45pm in the Lomond Auditorium. 🌊

Please join this town hall at the Ocean Sciences Meeting in Glasgow that @gmacgilchrist.bsky.social and I are convening, moderated by @helenczerski.bsky.social. We'll discuss what's happening to ocean sciences and what institutions and individuals can do.

agu.confex.com/agu/osm26/me...

#OSM26

We're back for round two. We're taking back our science. I am fighting for science and democracy. March 7th, 2025. Washington, DC. standupforscience.net/march7

We're back for round two. We're taking back our science. I am fighting for science and democracy. March 7th, 2025. Washington, DC. standupforscience.net/march7

We're back for round two. We're taking back our science. I am fighting for science and democracy. March 7th, 2025. Washington, DC. standupforscience.net/march7

RALLY TO TAKE BACK SCIENCE! 🧪✊🔬
March 7th, 2026 in Washington, DC.

We're mobilizing the fight for science and democracy. In the face of assaults on our families, freedoms, and futures, we're taking back science!

Learn more at www.standupforscience.net/ma... (linked in bio)

“It’s our blood and bones
And these whistles and phones
Against Miller and Noem’s dirty lies”

This is a little ancillary but I recently talked with Sam Scheiner (recently retired PO) and he gives good advice for junior scientists etc about maintaining science in the face of uncertainty www.evolutionsociety.org/the-evolutio...

It was a great place to work.