c0nc0rdance
@c0nc0rdance.bsky.social
Molecular biologist from Texas, here to share my meanderings on nature, science, history, politics, and zombies. Long threads a specialty.
Love this little travel plaza.
Apparently there's a little travel plaza outside Moneygall, Co. Offaly on the M7 named the Barack Obama (sorry: "O'Bama") Plaza, and it has a Barack Obama bust, museum, and visitor center.
February 12, 2026 at 11:17 PM
Love this little travel plaza.
I keep coming back to that over-used & pithy quote from Frank Wilhoit:
"Conservatism consists of exactly one proposition, to wit: There must be in-groups whom the law protects but does not bind, alongside out-groups whom the law binds but does not protect."
"Conservatism consists of exactly one proposition, to wit: There must be in-groups whom the law protects but does not bind, alongside out-groups whom the law binds but does not protect."
February 12, 2026 at 10:38 PM
I keep coming back to that over-used & pithy quote from Frank Wilhoit:
"Conservatism consists of exactly one proposition, to wit: There must be in-groups whom the law protects but does not bind, alongside out-groups whom the law binds but does not protect."
"Conservatism consists of exactly one proposition, to wit: There must be in-groups whom the law protects but does not bind, alongside out-groups whom the law binds but does not protect."
We know where his road leads to.
*CW for historic racism*.
This is a real sign that hung in some stores & restaurants across Texas well into the 1960's.
This is the world that politicians over a certain age grew up in, likely recalled with that golden haze of childhood memory, the way I think about Pizza Hut & malls.
This is a real sign that hung in some stores & restaurants across Texas well into the 1960's.
This is the world that politicians over a certain age grew up in, likely recalled with that golden haze of childhood memory, the way I think about Pizza Hut & malls.
February 12, 2026 at 10:35 PM
We know where his road leads to.
Didn't we just violate international law by blowing up fisherman hired to deliver cocaine?
February 12, 2026 at 10:29 PM
Didn't we just violate international law by blowing up fisherman hired to deliver cocaine?
Wikimedia:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languag...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languag...
Languages of Spain - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
February 12, 2026 at 6:36 PM
Wikimedia:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languag...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languag...
What about all the church services that WEREN'T disrupted?
February 12, 2026 at 5:30 PM
What about all the church services that WEREN'T disrupted?
How these surveys are conducted, and how the data is reported probably has a high impact on the conclusions.
February 12, 2026 at 5:27 PM
How these surveys are conducted, and how the data is reported probably has a high impact on the conclusions.
Matthew McConaughey, who gave me exactly one driving lesson.
February 12, 2026 at 5:24 PM
Matthew McConaughey, who gave me exactly one driving lesson.
Neat map gif "Distribution (assumed) of languages in the Iberian peninsula between 1000~2000 C.E." 😀
Castilian = 'Spanish' is a relatively recent phenomenon.
Castilian = 'Spanish' is a relatively recent phenomenon.
February 12, 2026 at 4:40 PM
Neat map gif "Distribution (assumed) of languages in the Iberian peninsula between 1000~2000 C.E." 😀
Castilian = 'Spanish' is a relatively recent phenomenon.
Castilian = 'Spanish' is a relatively recent phenomenon.
To end on an upbeat note:
boobies and vampire "finches". 😁
boobies and vampire "finches". 😁
SHOCKING DISCOVERY OVERTURNS DARWIN:
"Darwin's Finches" are a lie !!!
(because they're all actually 'tanagers' in subfamily Geospizinae, not true finches)
But let's talk about the weirdest one, the vampire ground 'finch'.
Yes, it's a bird that drinks blood... from boobies!
"Darwin's Finches" are a lie !!!
(because they're all actually 'tanagers' in subfamily Geospizinae, not true finches)
But let's talk about the weirdest one, the vampire ground 'finch'.
Yes, it's a bird that drinks blood... from boobies!
February 12, 2026 at 4:36 PM
To end on an upbeat note:
boobies and vampire "finches". 😁
boobies and vampire "finches". 😁
I still think he was an amazing man, but so much a product of his time, wealth, and leisure.
While acknowledging his racist mindset & claims, I also choose to celebrate his passionate defense of abolitionism, born out of close relationships with enslaved & formerly enslaved people.
While acknowledging his racist mindset & claims, I also choose to celebrate his passionate defense of abolitionism, born out of close relationships with enslaved & formerly enslaved people.
Darwin the abolitionist
The theory of evolution is regarded as a triumph of disinterested scientific reason. Yet, on the 150th anniversary of "On the Origin of Species," new ...
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk
February 12, 2026 at 4:36 PM
I still think he was an amazing man, but so much a product of his time, wealth, and leisure.
While acknowledging his racist mindset & claims, I also choose to celebrate his passionate defense of abolitionism, born out of close relationships with enslaved & formerly enslaved people.
While acknowledging his racist mindset & claims, I also choose to celebrate his passionate defense of abolitionism, born out of close relationships with enslaved & formerly enslaved people.
He also benefitted from the privilege of knowing people from all walks of life, including a former slave who taught him taxidermy.
In 1825, a skilled Black artisan taught a young medical student, Charles Darwin, how to preserve animal specimens via taxidermy, a skill he used in his exploration of the Galapagos.
John Edmonstone was born a slave in Guyana, but freed when the family who owned him moved back to Scotland.
John Edmonstone was born a slave in Guyana, but freed when the family who owned him moved back to Scotland.
February 12, 2026 at 4:36 PM
He also benefitted from the privilege of knowing people from all walks of life, including a former slave who taught him taxidermy.
In fact, it was his daily walks with his fox terrier, Polly, that led to a major revelation about how soil is made.
🧪In my first science thread exclusively on Bluesky, I want to talk about Charles Darwin's fox terrier "Polly" & how she led him to a major discovery about worms.
It starts with Sandwalk Wood, the gravel path that Darwin had built near Down House grounds for his daily walks (with Polly, eventually).
It starts with Sandwalk Wood, the gravel path that Darwin had built near Down House grounds for his daily walks (with Polly, eventually).
February 12, 2026 at 4:36 PM
In fact, it was his daily walks with his fox terrier, Polly, that led to a major revelation about how soil is made.
He had a schedule that included three walks, a nap, "tea with an egg" and, I want to really emphasize this:
An hour of scheduled idleness.
An hour of scheduled idleness.
I invite anyone out there in academia to observe how Chuck's daily schedule was arranged, and take a look at the corresponding staff at Down House below.
Then join me in demanding R01 grant support for butlers, cooks and coachmen! Happy Darwin Day 2024! 🧪
Then join me in demanding R01 grant support for butlers, cooks and coachmen! Happy Darwin Day 2024! 🧪
February 12, 2026 at 4:36 PM
He had a schedule that included three walks, a nap, "tea with an egg" and, I want to really emphasize this:
An hour of scheduled idleness.
An hour of scheduled idleness.
A reminder that one thing that allowed Darwin to focus on science was a large team of servants that catered to his every need.
I've been thinking about how Victorian Era scientists accomplished so much work, until I came across this:
The Darwin family lived at Down House with a butler, cook, gardener, coachman, housemaid, two nursery maids, and a governess for the girls.
Never less than 8 servants lived at Down House.
The Darwin family lived at Down House with a butler, cook, gardener, coachman, housemaid, two nursery maids, and a governess for the girls.
Never less than 8 servants lived at Down House.
February 12, 2026 at 4:36 PM
A reminder that one thing that allowed Darwin to focus on science was a large team of servants that catered to his every need.
It's actually surprising, but only about 80-85% of Spanish residents speak Spanish *at home*, which is how we're defining things in this case.
There's lots of English, Catalan, Galician, Basque, Arabic.
There's lots of English, Catalan, Galician, Basque, Arabic.
February 12, 2026 at 4:35 PM
It's actually surprising, but only about 80-85% of Spanish residents speak Spanish *at home*, which is how we're defining things in this case.
There's lots of English, Catalan, Galician, Basque, Arabic.
There's lots of English, Catalan, Galician, Basque, Arabic.
Oof. That hurts me in ways I can't describe.
February 12, 2026 at 2:50 PM
Oof. That hurts me in ways I can't describe.
Even if you slide it past regulators, you'll end up with a lot of additional QC: a battery of replication-competence tests, at a minimum.
February 12, 2026 at 2:47 PM
Even if you slide it past regulators, you'll end up with a lot of additional QC: a battery of replication-competence tests, at a minimum.
I thought the same about Australia! I gather Japan hosts a fairly substantial Mexican population, mostly in manufacturing centers?
February 12, 2026 at 2:45 PM
I thought the same about Australia! I gather Japan hosts a fairly substantial Mexican population, mostly in manufacturing centers?