Ken
@kenfergason.bsky.social
Engineering Geologist/Geology; working in municipal solid waste industry. Past President of the Association of Environmental & Engineering Geologists (AEG). Flagstaff, AZ. Environment, Outdoors, Southwest US, Arizona, Soccer, SFF, Books
Reposted by Ken
🌪️ Check this out! Like a scene from a movie, a 'volnado' dust devil formed in Halemaumau Crater during Kilauea's 37th eruption episode.
Learn what causes this natural wonder: https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2025/11/26/kilauea-eruption-produces-massive-lava-fountains-episode-37/
Learn what causes this natural wonder: https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2025/11/26/kilauea-eruption-produces-massive-lava-fountains-episode-37/
November 26, 2025 at 7:43 AM
🌪️ Check this out! Like a scene from a movie, a 'volnado' dust devil formed in Halemaumau Crater during Kilauea's 37th eruption episode.
Learn what causes this natural wonder: https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2025/11/26/kilauea-eruption-produces-massive-lava-fountains-episode-37/
Learn what causes this natural wonder: https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2025/11/26/kilauea-eruption-produces-massive-lava-fountains-episode-37/
Reposted by Ken
This is an insightful but deeply upsetting article about why everyone in the US feels poor, and why the current political situation emerges as a direct result.
www.yesigiveafig.com/p/part-1-my-...
www.yesigiveafig.com/p/part-1-my-...
Part 1: My Life Is a Lie
How a Broken Benchmark Quietly Broke America
www.yesigiveafig.com
November 26, 2025 at 1:42 AM
This is an insightful but deeply upsetting article about why everyone in the US feels poor, and why the current political situation emerges as a direct result.
www.yesigiveafig.com/p/part-1-my-...
www.yesigiveafig.com/p/part-1-my-...
I once pulled out a live frog from a sampler at 20' depth.
...
I turns out a colleague had 'inserted' the frog while my back was turned. He told me after I spend 15 minutes trying to figure out how the hell a live frog was 'sampled' at 20' depth.
...
I turns out a colleague had 'inserted' the frog while my back was turned. He told me after I spend 15 minutes trying to figure out how the hell a live frog was 'sampled' at 20' depth.
![Comic: Typical Geologic core sample. [Cylindrical core sample with labels for difference sections from top to bottom] Topsoil, till, granite bedrock, bottomsoil, roof of subway car, floor of subway car, more granite, municipal water main [gouge in core sample], slightly different granite, piece of screaming spelunker’s forearm, cool crystals with no resale value, mangled fragments of drillbit from previous attempt, some boring intrusive rock that’s basically granite but has a name like “diorite” or “Andalite” that you always have to look up, netherrack, Balrog wing. [break between next chunk of core sample] Granite, topsoil, cement, floorboards, carpet, possessions of a confused and angry homeowner in the other hemisphere.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:cz73r7iyiqn26upot4jtjdhk/bafkreicffnydtpbb2x24cfbblv2qtcwbr37zyw44vtqx47ocj2a26b2j2u@jpeg)
November 25, 2025 at 10:43 PM
I once pulled out a live frog from a sampler at 20' depth.
...
I turns out a colleague had 'inserted' the frog while my back was turned. He told me after I spend 15 minutes trying to figure out how the hell a live frog was 'sampled' at 20' depth.
...
I turns out a colleague had 'inserted' the frog while my back was turned. He told me after I spend 15 minutes trying to figure out how the hell a live frog was 'sampled' at 20' depth.
Reposted by Ken
As a kid in Austin I'd go on adventures in the canyon behind my house to find (and often capture) a lot of things. Alligator Lizards were always a big prize. I even kept a couple as pets for a few years before releasing back into the canyon.
For @texasmonthly.bsky.social I detailed my deep love of (and futile quest for) Central Texas' most secretive lizard
The Two-Foot-Long Texas Lizard That’s Nearly Impossible to Find
After encountering the large but elusive reptile a few years ago, I was determined to find one again.
www.texasmonthly.com
November 21, 2025 at 3:06 PM
As a kid in Austin I'd go on adventures in the canyon behind my house to find (and often capture) a lot of things. Alligator Lizards were always a big prize. I even kept a couple as pets for a few years before releasing back into the canyon.
I here that dynamite works well
A dead sperm whale has washed up on Nantucket for the first time in decades. It’s too big to move — at least until officials figure out a plan.
Dead Sperm Whale on Nantucket Is Too Big to Move, for Now
A local nonprofit said the 52-ton mammal is “far too big, awkward and heavy to remove.” A town official later said it could be dragged out to sea by Thanksgiving.
nyti.ms
November 20, 2025 at 2:50 PM
I here that dynamite works well
Fun fact: I had a college radio show for one summer. My roommate and a friend shared the chair. Our show was called 'Salad was Murder' and was generally a pretty eclectic mix of indie and alt rock in the mid- to late-90s. I'm fairly certain I have a few CDs to this day that were 'borrowed'.
So great to see college radio in all its glory featured in today's NYT. I interviewed for the piece (WFUV is at Fordham, WFMU is independent, formerly of Uppsala--such is the way with radio, which has more acronyms than the New Deal): www.nytimes.com/2025/11/20/s...
College Radio Keeps Its Cool
www.nytimes.com
November 20, 2025 at 2:47 PM
Fun fact: I had a college radio show for one summer. My roommate and a friend shared the chair. Our show was called 'Salad was Murder' and was generally a pretty eclectic mix of indie and alt rock in the mid- to late-90s. I'm fairly certain I have a few CDs to this day that were 'borrowed'.
Reposted by Ken
just learned we won an award for our blog post about Tom Holland and stormwater management.
remember, when you see an article about stormwater management, you repost it. i don’t make the rules.
remember, when you see an article about stormwater management, you repost it. i don’t make the rules.
What Tom Holland’s historic lip-sync showcase taught us about stormwater management
Grab your umbrella and your tights.
neorsd.medium.com
November 19, 2025 at 12:22 AM
just learned we won an award for our blog post about Tom Holland and stormwater management.
remember, when you see an article about stormwater management, you repost it. i don’t make the rules.
remember, when you see an article about stormwater management, you repost it. i don’t make the rules.
Reposted by Ken
40 years ago today the world was introduced to a small boy and his best friend. Happy birthday Calvin & Hobbes.
November 18, 2025 at 6:37 AM
40 years ago today the world was introduced to a small boy and his best friend. Happy birthday Calvin & Hobbes.
Reposted by Ken
Goods stuff here. We really need to be talking about this topic more. I obviously talk a lot about climate change issues. But this subsidence problem (for Houston & many other places) is also a very, very big deal -- *especially* when compounded by climate change issues.
Multiple Houston suburbs are sinking fast as a rapidly growing population is creating rising demands for groundwater. Here are the billion-dollar solutions Texas officials are working on to mitigate this mostly irreversible phenomenon.
www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston...
www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston...
November 14, 2025 at 4:57 AM
Goods stuff here. We really need to be talking about this topic more. I obviously talk a lot about climate change issues. But this subsidence problem (for Houston & many other places) is also a very, very big deal -- *especially* when compounded by climate change issues.
Today is a good day to watch a rocket launch - sending spacecraft to Mars! It's also pretty cool that friends play key roles in this mission.
www.youtube.com/live/iheyXgt...
www.youtube.com/live/iheyXgt...
Watch live: Blue Origin's New Glenn launches NASA's ESCAPADE mission to Mars
YouTube video by Spaceflight Now
www.youtube.com
November 13, 2025 at 8:18 PM
Today is a good day to watch a rocket launch - sending spacecraft to Mars! It's also pretty cool that friends play key roles in this mission.
www.youtube.com/live/iheyXgt...
www.youtube.com/live/iheyXgt...
Reposted by Ken
Reposted by Ken
Happy Exploding Whale Day to all those who celebrate! #ExplodingWhale www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6CL...
Exploding Whale 50th Anniversary, Remastered!
YouTube video by KATU News
www.youtube.com
November 12, 2024 at 3:43 PM
Happy Exploding Whale Day to all those who celebrate! #ExplodingWhale www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6CL...
Reposted by Ken
Wow! 😮🤩
There's a new interactive map of Every Known Road in the Roman Empire!! 🤓
itiner-e.org
We might have to have a lie-down.
There's a new interactive map of Every Known Road in the Roman Empire!! 🤓
itiner-e.org
We might have to have a lie-down.
November 6, 2025 at 5:07 PM
Wow! 😮🤩
There's a new interactive map of Every Known Road in the Roman Empire!! 🤓
itiner-e.org
We might have to have a lie-down.
There's a new interactive map of Every Known Road in the Roman Empire!! 🤓
itiner-e.org
We might have to have a lie-down.
Looking a bit apocalyptic at work today (the smoke is from a nearby prescribed burn, so it's actually a good thing)
November 4, 2025 at 6:27 PM
Looking a bit apocalyptic at work today (the smoke is from a nearby prescribed burn, so it's actually a good thing)
Reposted by Ken
What’s the single best Simpsons Treehouse of Horror segment?
October 31, 2025 at 12:31 PM
What’s the single best Simpsons Treehouse of Horror segment?
For those looking for a nostalgic distraction - you can play a version of Pacman by clicking on today's Google header.
October 30, 2025 at 5:21 PM
For those looking for a nostalgic distraction - you can play a version of Pacman by clicking on today's Google header.
Is there a feed on Bluesky for positive/uplifting stories, articles, posts, etc. ?
October 28, 2025 at 8:23 PM
Is there a feed on Bluesky for positive/uplifting stories, articles, posts, etc. ?
good to share positive in the world
I am so flabbergasted & tearful & grateful & JUST REALLY EMOTIONAL over everything that’s happened around this so-special pup since this saga started on…good god, how was it only Wednesday morning?
That it has meant as much to so many of you fills me up to the brim.
www.patreon.com/posts/142111...
That it has meant as much to so many of you fills me up to the brim.
www.patreon.com/posts/142111...
Tiny Adds Up: Unshittification and The Pawshank Redemption | Catherynne M. Valente
Get more from Catherynne M. Valente on Patreon
www.patreon.com
October 28, 2025 at 8:17 PM
good to share positive in the world
This is a use of AI that I can get behind. I remember in grad school at ASU that we had mapped out several routes across campus to maximize shade.
If you need to get from point A to point B, an app can show you the fastest route, or the shortest route. But, until now, you’ve not really been able to see the shadiest route.
Can AI help Arizonans find the shadiest route to keep cool? This ASU professor thinks so
If you need to get from point A to point B, an app can show you the fastest route, or the shortest route. But, until now, you’ve not really been able to see the shadiest route.
www.kjzz.org
October 27, 2025 at 8:03 PM
This is a use of AI that I can get behind. I remember in grad school at ASU that we had mapped out several routes across campus to maximize shade.
when this EQ occurred, I was literally in a paleoseismic trench along on the San Andreas Fault (Chalome Section). None of us felt it and we were so far out in the middle on nowhere, we didn't hear about it until the next day. We almost dropped everything to go to the site. But we had logging to do.
The M7.1 Hector Mine earthquake occurred 26 years ago today. That was the earthquake that led me to earthquake science!
October 16, 2025 at 8:16 PM
when this EQ occurred, I was literally in a paleoseismic trench along on the San Andreas Fault (Chalome Section). None of us felt it and we were so far out in the middle on nowhere, we didn't hear about it until the next day. We almost dropped everything to go to the site. But we had logging to do.
Reposted by Ken
How did a town of some 2,200 inhabitants become a cradle of not one but two revolutions? Robert A. Gross and Robert M. Thorson on the unique prominence of Concord, Massachusetts: www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc...
Why Concord?
The geological origins of the American Revolution
www.theatlantic.com
October 9, 2025 at 3:15 PM
How did a town of some 2,200 inhabitants become a cradle of not one but two revolutions? Robert A. Gross and Robert M. Thorson on the unique prominence of Concord, Massachusetts: www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc...
Reposted by Ken
This Grand Canyon “bat cave” now ranks as one of the world’s longest known caves. www.grandcanyontrust.org/blog/inside-...
Inside the Grand Canyon's Longest Known Cave | Grand Canyon Trust
The hidden world of a Grand Canyon cave and the researchers working to unravel the mysteries contained in strands of ancient DNA.
www.grandcanyontrust.org
October 7, 2025 at 6:38 PM
This Grand Canyon “bat cave” now ranks as one of the world’s longest known caves. www.grandcanyontrust.org/blog/inside-...
Yesterday evening I got up on the mountain to enjoy some nice fall color among the Aspens. We also got my son some great senior pictures.
October 6, 2025 at 3:48 PM
Yesterday evening I got up on the mountain to enjoy some nice fall color among the Aspens. We also got my son some great senior pictures.
When your kid has a soccer game at Grand Canyon HS, you stop and enjoy the view.
October 4, 2025 at 12:15 AM
When your kid has a soccer game at Grand Canyon HS, you stop and enjoy the view.