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Mike Kaspari

@mikekaspari.bsky.social

3.1K followers 270 following 1.2K posts

I’m a college professor immersed in #teaching and #ecology. I visit lots of ecosystems, combine observations and simple experiments, and look for generalities. I #garden, #cook, play #music and #read to round things out.

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Mike Kaspari @mikekaspari.bsky.social · Nov 18

Nutrient Dilution and the Future of Herbivores: a short thread
The fossil fuel folks claimed that all the extra CO2 is great for plants. Indeed, plant mass has increased globally by about 30% in the past century.
But when you load a plant up the carbs, what happens to all its other nutrients?

The density of N, P, K, Na in grasses declined over 30+ years in a Kansas prairie

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Reposted by Mike Kaspari

derek guy @dieworkwear.bsky.social · 10h

in 2011, the president of antifa hired me to give fashion consultancy to the organization. i recommended everyone wear navy suits with tan shoes, dress sneakers, and golf polos with slim chinos. if you arrested everyone today wearing these things, you'd destroy antifa

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JohnFosterFic @jfoster.bsky.social · 4h

Reposted by Mike Kaspari

Andrew Rypel @andrewrypel.bsky.social · 43m

"Like building a stellar physical record collection, the surest way to craft a life that matters is to fill your mind with ideas that refuse to die."
open.substack.com/pub/tnature/...

In defense of ideas with a long half life

Feed your brain what matters

open.substack.com

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Mike Kaspari @mikekaspari.bsky.social · 17h

Orthoptera humor is the best humor.
And…he’s a she.
Happy Friday everyone.

The Onion @theonion.com · 18h

Locust Humiliated Swarm He Organized Only Got 40 Million Attendees https://theonion.com/locust-humiliated-swarm-he-organized-only-got-40-million-attendees/

Mike Kaspari @mikekaspari.bsky.social · 17h

The best way to fix this is to give that paper a glowing review.

Trust me. I’m a doctor.

Reposted by Mike Kaspari

Reverend Jesus "H" Christ @reverendjesus.com · 1d

Blessed are the frogs, for they keep making authoritarians look incredibly stupid

Three persons in inflatable frog costumes. One of them is holding a nicely painted sign with two little cartoon frogs holding hands, below the text "FROGS TOGETHER STRONG"

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Heartland Signal @heartlandsignal.bsky.social · 18h

U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) says he has been denied 4 times to see what is going on inside the Broadview, IL ICE facility:

"Something's going on in there that they don't want us to see. I don't know what it is, but all Americans should be asking the same question."

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John Rogers @johnrogers.bsky.social · 23h

A billion dollars is the socio-political equivalent of a loose nuke, and we should work as ruthlessly and diligently to prevent the acquisition of the former as we do the latter.

Liberal Currents @liberalcurrents.com · 1d

“The problem with billionaires isn’t that they’re hoarding money that would otherwise pay for a Scandinavian social utopia. It’s that their money has become a source of wildly distorted political power that allows a few men with extremist views to wreak havoc on the rest of us.”

Billionaires Are Hoarding Power, Not Money

Billionaire money has become a source of wildly distorted political power that allows a few men with extremist views to wreak havoc on the rest of us.

www.liberalcurrents.com

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Mike Kaspari @mikekaspari.bsky.social · 1d

Wow. In the early 80s the same exchange happened in a university seminar room, but in this case the subject was “Clippy”.

Reposted by Mike Kaspari

George Conway 👊🇺🇸🔥 @gtconway.bsky.social · 2d

@drannieandrews.com

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David Simon @audacityofdespair.bsky.social · 2d

The Yankees are on the brink of going home. I am tumescent. I cannot be a tormented but loyal fan of the Baltimore Orioles and be anything less.

Also, Canada deserves something nice. We've been assholes to them for a while now.

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Mike Kaspari @mikekaspari.bsky.social · 2d

This one wins my personal internet award for the day.

Mike Kaspari @mikekaspari.bsky.social · 2d

Perfect.
And I bet XX sent his papers to journals promising “rapid publication” and all the sloppiness that entails.

Carlos M Herrera @cmhmaliani.bsky.social · 2d

Way too often I am reminded of this old comment by Nobel laureate physicist Wolfgang Pauli:

"The fact that XX thinks slowly is not serious, but that he publishes faster than he thinks is inexcusable"

Reposted by Mike Kaspari

Norm Eisen @normeisen.bsky.social · 3d

The overreach of the Jim Crow regime in response to peaceful lawful protest brought it down

Jack Jenkins @jackjenkins.me · 3d

Gonna be thinking about this lede for a minute.

(RNS) — Last month, the Rev. David Black stood in front of a Chicago-area U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility and spread his arms wide. Adorned in all black and wearing a clerical collar, the pastor looked up at a group of masked, heavily armed ICE agents on the roof and began to pray.

“I invited them to repentance,” Black, a minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA), said in an interview. “I basically offered an altar call. I invited them to come and receive that salvation, and be part of the kingdom that is coming.”

But when Black began to lower his arms a few seconds later, the agents responded to his spiritual plea by firing pepper balls, or chemical agents that cause eye irritation and respiratory distress, video footage shows. One struck Black in the head, exploding into a puff of white pepper smoke and forcing him to his knees. Fellow demonstrators rushed to his aid, and as the pastor rubbed his face in pain, the agents continued to fire.

“We could hear them laughing,” Black said.

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Mike Kaspari @mikekaspari.bsky.social · 3d

My favorite version of “Another Day” by Neil Innes and The Rutles

youtu.be/TWoLvZmJpyk?...

The Rutles: Another Day

YouTube video by SgtRuttersClubBand

youtu.be

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Charlotte Clymer @charlotteclymer.bsky.social · 3d

"So, Democrats have three words for this: no fucking way. It's literally life or death. We will not let Republicans blow up our health care system."

This is, hands down, the best comms work Chuck Schumer has done in YEARS. Surprisingly good.

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Mike Kaspari @mikekaspari.bsky.social · 3d

Alt frame:“what is the most effective 5 year investment of my time?”.

As grad students rarely read books, if you divided your outline into three review articles for AREES, TREE, QRB, would you collectively reach a more folks, more quickly?

A book for a wide audience has different calculus.

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A. Whitney Brown @awhitneybrown.bsky.social · 3d

@tracesoftexas.bsky.social
RIP Speedy Sparks, bass player for the Texas Tornados and many others. And a real gentleman.

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Mike Kaspari @mikekaspari.bsky.social · 3d

Smoky tea? Not so much.

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Mike Kaspari @mikekaspari.bsky.social · 3d

Two you recommend as a starter pack?

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George Conway 👊🇺🇸🔥 @gtconway.bsky.social · 4d

Love this. Superbly done. Please send this far and wide. @donwinslow.bsky.social

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Lee Dyer @gusanero.bsky.social · 4d

Poster for course on Lepidoptera in Colombian Amazon with a traditional house surrounded by butterflies.

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Mike Kaspari @mikekaspari.bsky.social · 4d

To leave all your family thinking your unhinged

And just when they figure what to watch on TV

You veto their choice citing Emily…

Mike Kaspari @mikekaspari.bsky.social · 4d

Keep an eye out for driver ants (Dorylus). They like to be fed by hand as well.

Reposted by Mike Kaspari

Senator Ron Wyden @wyden.senate.gov · 5d

They’re using American tax dollars to fund infrastructure in Argentina because that’s where they’re all going to flee when we kick them out of office

Ryan Grim @ryangrim.bsky.social · 9d

After announcing a $20 billion bailout of Argentina, the White House now says it's pausing $18 billion in funding for NYC infrastructure projects

Russ Vought would love nothing more than to tear this country down to its studs

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