TFW you log into a meeting only to discover that you royally screwed up the time zone it was scheduled for and missed it by n hours

I missed a few...make it at least **eleven** different class action lawsuits in the last 12 months.

In addition, almost every class-action notification goes straight to Spam because they are always sent with shady-looking links and weird addresses which get auto-flagged as suspicious.

I got curious and did a search through email...over the past 12 months I've been a member of at least **eight** different class action lawsuits. I feel like this says something about society, but I'm not sure what. I suspect it says a lot less about me, beyond being an active member of said society.

Two long-haired cats, one gray and one black sitting on a chair together, with the black one half on top of the gray one, but with heads in opposite directions

We may not technically be kittens anymore, but we can still snuggle when we want to #cats

Fiddler Crab Tournament Archive Fiddler Crab Tournament Bluesky Posts Introduction March 29, 2024 Inspired by March Madness (and not at all influenced by March Mammal Madness), I've decided to run a #FiddlerCrab tournament brack...

For those interested in a non basketball bracket this March, I direct you to the #FiddlerCrabBracket I posted 2 years ago, memorialized in order in this Google doc

docs.google.com/document/d/1...

I'll be out of touch for a week, but will happily answer questions when I return

#FiddlerCrab 🦀🦑🧪

I challenged my collaborator to try a different genAI: they got the exact same formula and a completely different wrong answer. Turns out the genAI cannot handle the large integer math, but rather than admit it cannot, it just reports some answer that is orders of magnitude incorrect.

When we discussed it, we confirmed the formula was right, but whose numbers were correct, mine or theirs? (Mine obviously). I had calculated the values in Python, but then showed that I got the same values out if I plugged them into a website combinatorics calculator.

I mangled my explanation slightly. My collaborator dumped the problem into genAI and got a formula and numbers out that did not match mine. They tested the formula by hand for small values (literally writing out every possible combination and counting them), so they knew the formula was correct.

I was exchanging notes with one about a project and I outlined that one element was essentially a simple combinatorics problem (n choose r) and listed the very large number of possible outcomes in a table.

Another example of AI failure.

I will not use generative AI. Full stop.

However, I have collaborators who will for minor purposes.

A long-haired gray tabby squinting into the sun toward the camera with its tongue partially sticking out.

A head with protruding tongue has appeared. Appears to be mostly still asleep and confused by the bright light shining in its face. #cats

A pale gray ball of fur in a gray chair

Mysterious furry object found. Investigation will commence.

Good article, but the framing is wrong. There is not a dearth of interest in taxonomy. There is a scarcity of funding and positions, which is a deliberate choice by funding agencies and institutions. The youth love taxonomy! It's the olds that are failing to meet their passion!

DOG AT THE OLYMPICS
FULL COMPETITION HIGHLIGHTS

Slightly out of focus photo of a long-haired gray tabby staring at the camera

A slightly out of focus photo of Normal as he is actively beginning his headbutt of my phone. #cats

Dear enemy phenomenon in fiddler crabs: escalation of fights with unfamiliar individuals rather than familiar neighbours In territorial animals, fights against strangers are often more aggressive than those against neighbours. This is called the ‘dear enemy’ phenomenon a…

Our paper is out from Animal Behaviour! Fiddler crabs can discriminate between neighbor unfamiliar individuals and familiar ones in the territorial fighting.

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

A smoky black cat with green eyes sitting up and looking at the camera

Abby wants to know what the stupid human is doing #cat

A new fiddler crab species (Brachyura: Ocypodidae) from the Pacific coast of Panama | Revista Ciencias Marinas y Costeras

New species of fiddler crab has been described from the Pacific coast of Panama, bringing the current total number of recognized extant species to 108.

doi.org/10.15359/rev...

Allometric constraints and the modulation of weapon evolution by mating system in fiddler crabs Abstract. Sexual selection potentially drives the evolution of exaggerated traits used in intrasexual contests. However, the extent to which mating systems

Allometric constraints and the modulation of weapon evolution by mating system in fiddler crabs
doi.org/10.1093/evol...
🦀🧪🦑

GEOGRAPSUS GRAYI DANARMA LEPTOMERUS MACROPHTHALMUS SP. TUBUCA COARCTATA

crab studies from @crabspromenade.bsky.social photos

A long-haired gray cat, standing on the floor while looking up at the camera, with his massive feather-duster of a tail proudly displayed.

Admire the marvelous spectacle that is Normal's absurdity of a tail. #cats

A long-haired, smoky black cat with green eyes and long tufts of hair coming out of her ears.

Here is Abby, asking wassup?
#cats

I believe an early study suggested they were about the same

A long-haired calico with a massive ruff of hair beneath her chin like a huge beard or the lower half of a lion's mane.

Here is Winter showing off her winter ruff/beard

#Cats

A long-haired ~11-month old gray tabby--named Normal--looking at the camera from a close distance.

Looking back at 2025, I realized I posted a deficit of cat photos, so while not a New Year's resolution per se, I aim to be a bit better about keeping the "Internet Cat Photo Gods"™ appeased this year.

Here is Normal, ~11 months old, asking why I'm shoving my phone in his face.

An Eastern Gray Squirrel sitting in some patchy grass

An Eastern Gray Squirrel being all squirrel-like

8/8

A not particularly good photo of a Bald Eagle perched in a tree but leaning forward as it was just about to take off and fly away

A Bald Eagle about to take off from a tree (poor photo, unfortunately) 🦉


7/8

Northern Mockingbird in the top of a bush

A Northern Mockingbird 🦉


6/8

A female Purple Finch in a tree

A female Purple Finch 🦉


5/8