Robert McNees
@mcnees.bsky.social
Physicist and Professor at a university in Chicago. Black holes, quantum gravity, cosmology. Rocky Top. Tar Heel. Reposts are spooky action at a distance. My views, not my employer's. https://jacobi.luc.edu
Or he was shown the door after the Tahoe debacle.
December 4, 2025 at 5:27 AM
Or he was shown the door after the Tahoe debacle.
If you choose a good password on the LL Bean website they rate it as Wicked Strong.
December 4, 2025 at 2:48 AM
If you choose a good password on the LL Bean website they rate it as Wicked Strong.
There needs to be a fourth option that 59 people can click.
December 1, 2025 at 9:23 PM
There needs to be a fourth option that 59 people can click.
[Wonder Years narrator voice]
… and that snow golem watched over our house for the rest of the winter. Or maybe she was just watching us, it’s hard to say. But she was always there, watching. The neighbors never did find their cat.
… and that snow golem watched over our house for the rest of the winter. Or maybe she was just watching us, it’s hard to say. But she was always there, watching. The neighbors never did find their cat.
December 1, 2025 at 8:57 PM
[Wonder Years narrator voice]
… and that snow golem watched over our house for the rest of the winter. Or maybe she was just watching us, it’s hard to say. But she was always there, watching. The neighbors never did find their cat.
… and that snow golem watched over our house for the rest of the winter. Or maybe she was just watching us, it’s hard to say. But she was always there, watching. The neighbors never did find their cat.
If you are on a graduate admissions committee (or any admissions committee) and your web interface for applicants and/or recommenders has text boxes with a character limit, please, for the love of God, make sure the software offers a visible character counter.
December 1, 2025 at 6:58 PM
If you are on a graduate admissions committee (or any admissions committee) and your web interface for applicants and/or recommenders has text boxes with a character limit, please, for the love of God, make sure the software offers a visible character counter.
I named my fists D'Eath and Payne because you're about to experience an axisymmetric collision at the speed of light.
December 1, 2025 at 3:30 PM
I named my fists D'Eath and Payne because you're about to experience an axisymmetric collision at the speed of light.
This absolute weirdo.
December 1, 2025 at 3:52 AM
This absolute weirdo.
Chladni patterns had a moment recently as the visual inspiration for the title sequence of the "Rings of Power" series on Amazon Prime. It's a natural pairing with Tolkien's musical cosmology. (3/3)
November 30, 2025 at 4:10 PM
Chladni patterns had a moment recently as the visual inspiration for the title sequence of the "Rings of Power" series on Amazon Prime. It's a natural pairing with Tolkien's musical cosmology. (3/3)
Chladni famously drew a violin bow along the edge of a thin metal plate, lightly dusted with flour, to excite the plate's vibrational modes. Here he is performing the demonstration for Napoleon. (2/3)
Image: Deutsches Museum Munich, no. 527”7
Image: Deutsches Museum Munich, no. 527”7
November 30, 2025 at 3:52 PM
Chladni famously drew a violin bow along the edge of a thin metal plate, lightly dusted with flour, to excite the plate's vibrational modes. Here he is performing the demonstration for Napoleon. (2/3)
Image: Deutsches Museum Munich, no. 527”7
Image: Deutsches Museum Munich, no. 527”7
Ernst Florens Friedrich Chladni, considered a pioneer of the field of acoustics, was born #OTD in 1756.
He studied the mathematical theory of sound waves, the speed of sound in various materials, and eponymous complex patterns formed by vibrational modes of solid objects. 🧪 ⚛️
He studied the mathematical theory of sound waves, the speed of sound in various materials, and eponymous complex patterns formed by vibrational modes of solid objects. 🧪 ⚛️
November 30, 2025 at 3:49 PM
Ernst Florens Friedrich Chladni, considered a pioneer of the field of acoustics, was born #OTD in 1756.
He studied the mathematical theory of sound waves, the speed of sound in various materials, and eponymous complex patterns formed by vibrational modes of solid objects. 🧪 ⚛️
He studied the mathematical theory of sound waves, the speed of sound in various materials, and eponymous complex patterns formed by vibrational modes of solid objects. 🧪 ⚛️
What you've got here is a foot of snow on a little table.
November 30, 2025 at 3:37 PM
What you've got here is a foot of snow on a little table.
The meteorologists got it right this time. Other parts of Chicago may have gotten around 4”, but up here on the north side we have over 10” on the ground. There’s more than that piled up on furniture, and it was a few feet deep drifted up against the garage.
November 30, 2025 at 2:57 PM
The meteorologists got it right this time. Other parts of Chicago may have gotten around 4”, but up here on the north side we have over 10” on the ground. There’s more than that piled up on furniture, and it was a few feet deep drifted up against the garage.
When you are a very fancy gentleman.
November 30, 2025 at 4:02 AM
When you are a very fancy gentleman.
Each cluster of Hawthorne berries is covered in its own little pile of snow.
November 29, 2025 at 9:45 PM
Each cluster of Hawthorne berries is covered in its own little pile of snow.
Update from the dog boarding place.
November 29, 2025 at 4:57 AM
Update from the dog boarding place.
If you see this, I IMPLORE you to post a picture from whatever device you’re using without explanation.
November 28, 2025 at 5:32 PM
If you see this, I IMPLORE you to post a picture from whatever device you’re using without explanation.
THEN I SAID “MAYBE THIS YEAR THE TURKEY SHOULD’VE PARDONED ME” AND MY LAWYERS JUST SHOOK THEIR HEADS AND LEFT THE ROOM.
November 25, 2025 at 3:12 PM
THEN I SAID “MAYBE THIS YEAR THE TURKEY SHOULD’VE PARDONED ME” AND MY LAWYERS JUST SHOOK THEIR HEADS AND LEFT THE ROOM.
God bless the UT fans keeping an eye on their iPhone notifications, who think their team is getting blown out by Rutgers because iOS has inexplicably switched the teams in all its updates.
November 24, 2025 at 7:40 PM
God bless the UT fans keeping an eye on their iPhone notifications, who think their team is getting blown out by Rutgers because iOS has inexplicably switched the teams in all its updates.
Geneticist and microbiologist Rita Rossi Colwell was born #OTD in 1934. She was the first researcher in the US to use computers to analyze bacteriological data, and the first woman to serve as director of the NSF. 🧪 👩🔬
November 23, 2025 at 6:32 PM
Geneticist and microbiologist Rita Rossi Colwell was born #OTD in 1934. She was the first researcher in the US to use computers to analyze bacteriological data, and the first woman to serve as director of the NSF. 🧪 👩🔬
Chemist Rachel Fuller Brown was born #OTD in 1898. She co-discovered the antifungal nystatin while doing research for the New York State Department of Health, hence the name. (1/2) 🧪 👩🔬
Image: Smithsonian Institution
Image: Smithsonian Institution
November 23, 2025 at 6:22 PM
Chemist Rachel Fuller Brown was born #OTD in 1898. She co-discovered the antifungal nystatin while doing research for the New York State Department of Health, hence the name. (1/2) 🧪 👩🔬
Image: Smithsonian Institution
Image: Smithsonian Institution
65 million years ago when doodles ruled the Earth.
November 23, 2025 at 6:04 PM
65 million years ago when doodles ruled the Earth.
[Sun goes down and the D&D feed comes up]
I got an ice mold that makes a d20.
I got an ice mold that makes a d20.
November 22, 2025 at 11:56 PM
[Sun goes down and the D&D feed comes up]
I got an ice mold that makes a d20.
I got an ice mold that makes a d20.