Jacob
@iacobuscaesar.bsky.social
I have an MA in archaeology and run a blog called Living in the Longue Durée about ancient history and whatever else. This profile is mostly funny observations about history and science.
Blog: https://livinginthelongueduree.com
Ask if you want Discord.
Blog: https://livinginthelongueduree.com
Ask if you want Discord.
Pinned
Jacob
@iacobuscaesar.bsky.social
· Jun 16
De-Extinction: A History
John Hammond: “None of these attractions are ready yet, of course, but the park will open with the basic tour that you’re about to take, and then other rides will come online six to twe…
livinginthelongueduree.com
So I’ve completed my latest project: a run-through of the history of de-extinction, exploring the many methods that have been tried and treating it as a social phenomenon around science rather than just a snazzily marketed science topic. From Nazi cattle to modern questionable corporate claims.
Other than Prehistoric Park barely showing the concept, a Carboniferous walk-in aviary-like structure is pretty unexplored in prehistoric-zoo media. I dunno who needs to hear this but if you’re making any media in this niche genre, think about this please.
I have Arthropleura zoo fantasies.
I have Arthropleura zoo fantasies.
February 10, 2026 at 2:28 PM
Other than Prehistoric Park barely showing the concept, a Carboniferous walk-in aviary-like structure is pretty unexplored in prehistoric-zoo media. I dunno who needs to hear this but if you’re making any media in this niche genre, think about this please.
I have Arthropleura zoo fantasies.
I have Arthropleura zoo fantasies.
Excellent little read.
When "Enough, already" is the entire text of a scientific paper. As you'd expect, there's a backstory...
On a two-word scientific paper, and a fascinating (heated) exchange
I’ve blogged before about the shortest scientific papers. Very short papers (a handful to a few dozen words) are usually amusing, but they’re often not very effective at communication. But I’ve jus…
scientistseessquirrel.wordpress.com
February 10, 2026 at 1:55 PM
Excellent little read.
Job application: “How many years of relevant work experience do you have?”
Me: “0 formally but I’ve done similar things for personal and educational projects.”
Job application: “This field can only have numerical characters, no letters or special characters.”
Me: “0 formally but I’ve done similar things for personal and educational projects.”
Job application: “This field can only have numerical characters, no letters or special characters.”
February 10, 2026 at 1:27 PM
Job application: “How many years of relevant work experience do you have?”
Me: “0 formally but I’ve done similar things for personal and educational projects.”
Job application: “This field can only have numerical characters, no letters or special characters.”
Me: “0 formally but I’ve done similar things for personal and educational projects.”
Job application: “This field can only have numerical characters, no letters or special characters.”
One things that’s occurred to me is that we have such a strong visual language for what a “robot” looks like in children’s media and animation, etc. with a blocky head, blinking lights, angular humanoid features, etc. 🤖
With how many robots are being developed, how long until that is overwritten?
With how many robots are being developed, how long until that is overwritten?
February 10, 2026 at 11:15 AM
One things that’s occurred to me is that we have such a strong visual language for what a “robot” looks like in children’s media and animation, etc. with a blocky head, blinking lights, angular humanoid features, etc. 🤖
With how many robots are being developed, how long until that is overwritten?
With how many robots are being developed, how long until that is overwritten?
A few photos from my little walk this morning.
Let these cygnes be positive for you today.
Also I appreciated the trees near the Hippodrome de Longchamp popping back to life for spring with little bunches of leaves.
Let these cygnes be positive for you today.
Also I appreciated the trees near the Hippodrome de Longchamp popping back to life for spring with little bunches of leaves.
February 10, 2026 at 9:23 AM
A few photos from my little walk this morning.
Let these cygnes be positive for you today.
Also I appreciated the trees near the Hippodrome de Longchamp popping back to life for spring with little bunches of leaves.
Let these cygnes be positive for you today.
Also I appreciated the trees near the Hippodrome de Longchamp popping back to life for spring with little bunches of leaves.
Naval officer: “Admiral Yi, sir, the Japanese naval tactics are based on boarding, turning sea combat into land combat and— OW, HOLY FUCK.”
Yi Sun-Sin: “Everything alright?”
Naval officer: “I stepped on a LEGO.”
Yi Sun-Sin: “I have an idea.”
Yi Sun-Sin: “Everything alright?”
Naval officer: “I stepped on a LEGO.”
Yi Sun-Sin: “I have an idea.”
February 10, 2026 at 5:32 AM
Naval officer: “Admiral Yi, sir, the Japanese naval tactics are based on boarding, turning sea combat into land combat and— OW, HOLY FUCK.”
Yi Sun-Sin: “Everything alright?”
Naval officer: “I stepped on a LEGO.”
Yi Sun-Sin: “I have an idea.”
Yi Sun-Sin: “Everything alright?”
Naval officer: “I stepped on a LEGO.”
Yi Sun-Sin: “I have an idea.”
I imagine Daedalus in Greek mythology being like the ancient version of the artist who makes too much off of commissions to say no but who is really uncomfortable with what he has to make.
“Pasiphae, it’s not another wooden cow, right? O, big maze… thank Poseidon. That’s more fun.”
“Pasiphae, it’s not another wooden cow, right? O, big maze… thank Poseidon. That’s more fun.”
February 10, 2026 at 4:59 AM
I imagine Daedalus in Greek mythology being like the ancient version of the artist who makes too much off of commissions to say no but who is really uncomfortable with what he has to make.
“Pasiphae, it’s not another wooden cow, right? O, big maze… thank Poseidon. That’s more fun.”
“Pasiphae, it’s not another wooden cow, right? O, big maze… thank Poseidon. That’s more fun.”
Extremely respectable. I hope to go to this event this year even more so.
February 9, 2026 at 8:49 PM
Extremely respectable. I hope to go to this event this year even more so.
Different Discord servers in our little history network having internal risk-assessment discussions about the incoming face-verification on the app in March.
Ranging from basically unaffected to half the mod team being potentially about to leave the platform.
Ranging from basically unaffected to half the mod team being potentially about to leave the platform.
February 9, 2026 at 6:15 PM
Different Discord servers in our little history network having internal risk-assessment discussions about the incoming face-verification on the app in March.
Ranging from basically unaffected to half the mod team being potentially about to leave the platform.
Ranging from basically unaffected to half the mod team being potentially about to leave the platform.
This morning I had to add a new rule against thirst posts over on r/PrehistoricMemes.
A small group of people have been constantly posting their weird spec-evo dino girls with big boobs.
Guys, boobs are a synapsid thing. You should know this as evolutionary biology enjoyers.
Also what the fuck.
A small group of people have been constantly posting their weird spec-evo dino girls with big boobs.
Guys, boobs are a synapsid thing. You should know this as evolutionary biology enjoyers.
Also what the fuck.
February 9, 2026 at 7:08 AM
This morning I had to add a new rule against thirst posts over on r/PrehistoricMemes.
A small group of people have been constantly posting their weird spec-evo dino girls with big boobs.
Guys, boobs are a synapsid thing. You should know this as evolutionary biology enjoyers.
Also what the fuck.
A small group of people have been constantly posting their weird spec-evo dino girls with big boobs.
Guys, boobs are a synapsid thing. You should know this as evolutionary biology enjoyers.
Also what the fuck.
Been writing about and describing the different paintings in Thomas Cole’s 1833-1836 series The Course of Empire.
After looking at them enough, you really get a feeling of the internal geography of their scenes and I can’t help but want to wander them further.
After looking at them enough, you really get a feeling of the internal geography of their scenes and I can’t help but want to wander them further.
February 8, 2026 at 7:28 PM
Been writing about and describing the different paintings in Thomas Cole’s 1833-1836 series The Course of Empire.
After looking at them enough, you really get a feeling of the internal geography of their scenes and I can’t help but want to wander them further.
After looking at them enough, you really get a feeling of the internal geography of their scenes and I can’t help but want to wander them further.
This Super Bowl Sunday, I’d like to introduce you all to the magical curse bowls used in Upper Mesopotamia and Syria in late antiquity. Written in Mandaic (as here) or Syriac Aramaic, they trap demons who trespass on a household by sucking them in with spiraling spells to the center of the bowl.
February 8, 2026 at 2:28 PM
This Super Bowl Sunday, I’d like to introduce you all to the magical curse bowls used in Upper Mesopotamia and Syria in late antiquity. Written in Mandaic (as here) or Syriac Aramaic, they trap demons who trespass on a household by sucking them in with spiraling spells to the center of the bowl.
I know I’ve been a grump about the tech industry with AI and the attention economy and all, but becoming interested in that topic has actually gotten me to do a decent amount of reading about the history of computer and internet development, something I appreciate a lot more now.
February 8, 2026 at 10:30 AM
I know I’ve been a grump about the tech industry with AI and the attention economy and all, but becoming interested in that topic has actually gotten me to do a decent amount of reading about the history of computer and internet development, something I appreciate a lot more now.
Heh.
All this talk about crazy soft tissue preservation in a Chinese iguanodontid, but almost nobody talking about its size.
Can somebody tell me Haolong it is?
Can somebody tell me Haolong it is?
February 8, 2026 at 10:14 AM
Heh.
Tonight the animated movie to watch is Rio 2. I think I only ever saw this once so I don’t remember the plot as well as the other one.
But genuinely the vibes on these movies are so good.
When I get more income, still thinking about a Brazil trip.
But genuinely the vibes on these movies are so good.
When I get more income, still thinking about a Brazil trip.
February 7, 2026 at 9:48 PM
Tonight the animated movie to watch is Rio 2. I think I only ever saw this once so I don’t remember the plot as well as the other one.
But genuinely the vibes on these movies are so good.
When I get more income, still thinking about a Brazil trip.
But genuinely the vibes on these movies are so good.
When I get more income, still thinking about a Brazil trip.
Among the Sierra Nevada, California, 1868, by German-American painter Albert Bierstadt is one of the most incredible paintings in existence every time I look at it.
Bierstadt was part of an 1859 survey expedition to the Sierra Nevada but he actually painted this in Rome years later.
Bierstadt was part of an 1859 survey expedition to the Sierra Nevada but he actually painted this in Rome years later.
February 7, 2026 at 8:26 PM
Among the Sierra Nevada, California, 1868, by German-American painter Albert Bierstadt is one of the most incredible paintings in existence every time I look at it.
Bierstadt was part of an 1859 survey expedition to the Sierra Nevada but he actually painted this in Rome years later.
Bierstadt was part of an 1859 survey expedition to the Sierra Nevada but he actually painted this in Rome years later.
This is so wonderful!
Egg-cellent news! The first California condor eggs of the season have been laid at our wildlife conservation center, and more could be on the way.
February 7, 2026 at 2:32 PM
This is so wonderful!
The pursuit ball is my favorite animal enrichment item in Zoo Tycoon 2 because the game lets me kick it in zoo guest mode and it’s fun. Also many large animals benefit from it.
ok gamers
what's an example of a "good item" (subjective to you)? Bonus points: from a game that's not commonly thought of as having "good items"
what's an example of a "good item" (subjective to you)? Bonus points: from a game that's not commonly thought of as having "good items"
February 7, 2026 at 11:14 AM
The pursuit ball is my favorite animal enrichment item in Zoo Tycoon 2 because the game lets me kick it in zoo guest mode and it’s fun. Also many large animals benefit from it.
Gonna watch Rio tonight because I feel like it, wanna go to Brazil, and the soundtrack has been stuck in my head for the last 15 years.
Damn, y’all, did you realize Rio came out 15 years ago?
Prolly not gonna review this movie much because we all know it rocks.
Damn, y’all, did you realize Rio came out 15 years ago?
Prolly not gonna review this movie much because we all know it rocks.
February 6, 2026 at 9:45 PM
Gonna watch Rio tonight because I feel like it, wanna go to Brazil, and the soundtrack has been stuck in my head for the last 15 years.
Damn, y’all, did you realize Rio came out 15 years ago?
Prolly not gonna review this movie much because we all know it rocks.
Damn, y’all, did you realize Rio came out 15 years ago?
Prolly not gonna review this movie much because we all know it rocks.
To post about Haolong again, it’s fun to see the proliferation of feathers and similar integuments in different dinosaurs (and of course the pterosaurs with their pycnofibers) lately.
All fun and games until the feathered pseudosuchian gets discovered and we have to rethink everything. (I jest.)
All fun and games until the feathered pseudosuchian gets discovered and we have to rethink everything. (I jest.)
a very warm welcome to haolong dongi, a fascinating hadrosauroid from the early cretaceous yixian formation described by huang et al. 🎉 the near-complete holotype preserves highly unique integumentary structures unknown in other dinosaurs
www.nature.com/articles/s41
(art by fabio manucci)
www.nature.com/articles/s41
(art by fabio manucci)
February 6, 2026 at 8:48 PM
To post about Haolong again, it’s fun to see the proliferation of feathers and similar integuments in different dinosaurs (and of course the pterosaurs with their pycnofibers) lately.
All fun and games until the feathered pseudosuchian gets discovered and we have to rethink everything. (I jest.)
All fun and games until the feathered pseudosuchian gets discovered and we have to rethink everything. (I jest.)
Whenever looking at US states by date of admission to the Union, New Mexico and Arizona are always like a jumpscare there in 1912. Wild that there were still states in the West being admitted 2 years before the start of World War I.
February 6, 2026 at 8:33 PM
Whenever looking at US states by date of admission to the Union, New Mexico and Arizona are always like a jumpscare there in 1912. Wild that there were still states in the West being admitted 2 years before the start of World War I.
youtu.be/wvEPJtNfbYc?...
The various ERB knockoff channels that slither into my YouTube recommendations are usually pretty rough but this one was actually pretty good, I’ll be real with y’all.
The lyrics and references are wonderful.
The various ERB knockoff channels that slither into my YouTube recommendations are usually pretty rough but this one was actually pretty good, I’ll be real with y’all.
The lyrics and references are wonderful.
Hannibal Barca vs Roman Emperors | Epic Rap Battles of My Ass
YouTube video by Tommy Salommy
youtu.be
February 6, 2026 at 6:17 PM
youtu.be/wvEPJtNfbYc?...
The various ERB knockoff channels that slither into my YouTube recommendations are usually pretty rough but this one was actually pretty good, I’ll be real with y’all.
The lyrics and references are wonderful.
The various ERB knockoff channels that slither into my YouTube recommendations are usually pretty rough but this one was actually pretty good, I’ll be real with y’all.
The lyrics and references are wonderful.
Homie is POINTY.
a very warm welcome to haolong dongi, a fascinating hadrosauroid from the early cretaceous yixian formation described by huang et al. 🎉 the near-complete holotype preserves highly unique integumentary structures unknown in other dinosaurs
www.nature.com/articles/s41
(art by fabio manucci)
www.nature.com/articles/s41
(art by fabio manucci)
February 6, 2026 at 10:14 AM
Homie is POINTY.
The folks on the Roman Discord server want to hear my thoughts if I watch HBO’s Rome, which I’ve surprisingly never done.
I currently have HBO Max so sometime soon I might do that and you guys can get my threads following it too.
I currently have HBO Max so sometime soon I might do that and you guys can get my threads following it too.
February 5, 2026 at 6:44 PM
The folks on the Roman Discord server want to hear my thoughts if I watch HBO’s Rome, which I’ve surprisingly never done.
I currently have HBO Max so sometime soon I might do that and you guys can get my threads following it too.
I currently have HBO Max so sometime soon I might do that and you guys can get my threads following it too.
I will say regarding the gossip that gets passed to me from people in the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology sounds pretty bad right now.
Not kicking out an Epstein associate is an example of the Nazi bar problem. If you allow them to be there, it’ll be the place people like that feel comfortable.
Not kicking out an Epstein associate is an example of the Nazi bar problem. If you allow them to be there, it’ll be the place people like that feel comfortable.
February 5, 2026 at 6:04 PM
I will say regarding the gossip that gets passed to me from people in the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology sounds pretty bad right now.
Not kicking out an Epstein associate is an example of the Nazi bar problem. If you allow them to be there, it’ll be the place people like that feel comfortable.
Not kicking out an Epstein associate is an example of the Nazi bar problem. If you allow them to be there, it’ll be the place people like that feel comfortable.