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Michael Cruickshank

@cruickshank.bsky.social

5.9K followers 820 following 730 posts

Geospatial analyst, OSINT investigator, and journalist. Investigating the intersection of climate resilience and human systems, and sometimes writing fiction. From 🇦🇺, now in 🇪🇺. 📍Berlin, Germany https://www.michaelcruickshank.me/

www.michaelcruickshank.me

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Michael Cruickshank @cruickshank.bsky.social · 17h

Paid a visit to the westernmost point of Europe* today. So far west it's actually geologically in North America.

*Yes, I am aware of French Guyana/St Pierre and Miquelon.

Michael Cruickshank @cruickshank.bsky.social · 2d

Also (I think) that image of Saturn also includes Titan. Might just be a lens artefact though.

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Michael Cruickshank @cruickshank.bsky.social · 2d

Sadly it’s below the horizon - might try tomorrow

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Michael Cruickshank @cruickshank.bsky.social · 2d

I just found this guy in the place i am staying and decided to give it a whirl

Michael Cruickshank @cruickshank.bsky.social · 2d

Managed to find Saturn 🪐 on my first attempt at amateur astronomy. Had no idea you’d be able to see the rings - thought it would just be a point of light.

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Michael Cruickshank @cruickshank.bsky.social · 2d

My admittedly brief research turned up the Vikings and Catheginians as possibilities, but I don't know how much evidence their is for either.

Michael Cruickshank @cruickshank.bsky.social · 2d

On a scale of Graham Hancock to 10, how plausible are claims of pre-Portuguese settlement of the Azores?

(I'm on Ilha das Flores, and someone invited me to see some 'ruins' they claim predate the Portuguese, and don't want to immediately dismiss them as a quack if that isn't the case.)

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Michael Cruickshank @cruickshank.bsky.social · 4d

Was kinda already done in the Black Mirror episode San Junipero.

Michael Cruickshank @cruickshank.bsky.social · 5d

Managed to make my dependency network structures for my critical infrastructure model look pretty a e s t h e t i c.

Michael Cruickshank @cruickshank.bsky.social · 7d

The Russian Orthodox Church had to issue a ban on priests blessing WMDs.
www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/02...

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Michael Cruickshank @cruickshank.bsky.social · 7d

Just don't use Steamboat Mickey!

Michael Cruickshank @cruickshank.bsky.social · 7d

This also breaks the automated alert system I helped create to track RSF arson attacks - a common war crime against civilians in the ongoing civil war in Sudan.
bigdatarepublic.nl/articles/det...

Detecting War Crimes from Space | Blog post by Tom Uijtdehaag - BigData Republic

In this blog post you'll read how to build an Open-Source Pipeline with SQLMesh and DuckDB. In this use case, it helps the Center for Information Resilience to detect war crimes from space!

bigdatarepublic.nl

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Michael Cruickshank @cruickshank.bsky.social · 7d

Looks like the FIRMS satellite fire detection system is offline due to the US government shutdown.

Just one more reminder that anyone involved in OSINT or disaster response cannot rely on US space-based assets in any critical role, given the current state of the governing regime in the country.

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Michael Cruickshank @cruickshank.bsky.social · 7d

Hmmm - it's quite outside of my area of expertise, so I'm not sure I'd have good recommendations. But this video has a more nuanced explanation of the situation with sand:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=SB0q...

Is the World Really Running Out of Sand?

YouTube video by Practical Engineering

www.youtube.com

Michael Cruickshank @cruickshank.bsky.social · 7d

I mean it’s still an interesting examination of the sand industry and it’s role in society etc, and the Sand Mafia is a real thing , it’s just the “running out of sand” narrative that is built on a foundation of (you guessed it) sand.

Michael Cruickshank @cruickshank.bsky.social · 7d

Use Disney©️ characters if you really want to summon the Kraken.

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Michael Cruickshank @cruickshank.bsky.social · 7d

The problem is this book is largely based on an incorrect premise. The world isn’t actually running out of sand, it just might get somewhat more expensive (and that’s probably a good thing).

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Michael Cruickshank @cruickshank.bsky.social · 9d

The original song is so goated that any variant of it shares a sliver of its greatness. Sadly the content was radically off the mark, rather than radically based off Marx.

a white cat is laying on a pink blanket and looking at the camera

ALT: a white cat is laying on a pink blanket and looking at the camera

media.tenor.com

Michael Cruickshank @cruickshank.bsky.social · 13d

[Mash △ to disprove]

Michael Cruickshank @cruickshank.bsky.social · 13d

Had a great time at Geomob Berlin last night, and it's reassuring to hear that a fair few people think what I'm working on is important.
anthropoceneanalytics.eu

Michael Cruickshank @cruickshank.bsky.social · 14d

My personal favourite from the genre.

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Michael Cruickshank @cruickshank.bsky.social · 14d

Who decided to call it “Fiat Currency” and not “Manifested Money”?

Michael Cruickshank @cruickshank.bsky.social · 14d

Tomorrow evening, I'm going to be giving a talk at Geomob Berlin about my 'Anthropocene Analytics' project, where I am building interdependent network models of critical infrastructure to assess risk from climate disasters.

If you're in Berlin, feel free to stop by!

thegeomob.com/post/sept-25...

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Michael Cruickshank @cruickshank.bsky.social · 16d

If you want some real cringe look up the AnCap nu-metal band ‘BackWordz’

youtu.be/BFBjY_Kj2ko?...

BackWordz- Self Ownership (Ft. Fronz of Attila)

YouTube video by BackWordz Music

youtu.be

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Michael Cruickshank @cruickshank.bsky.social · 16d

This map that appeared in the Guardian today implies that either France or Portugal have annexed the Falkland Islands.

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