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Reposted by Bill Minarik

Brian Vastag @brianvastag.mas.to.ap.brid.gy · 15h

Saying "no" works.

https://www.tmj4.com/news/racine-county/microsoft-pulls-plug-on-plans-for-244-acre-data-center-in-caledonia-after-community-pushback

Microsoft pulls plug on plans for 244-acre data center in Caledonia after community pushback

Microsoft has decided not to move forward with its proposed site for a data center in the Village of Caledonia after facing significant community pushback from residents.

www.tmj4.com

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Reposted by Bill Minarik

William Pietri @williampietri.sfba.social.ap.brid.gy · 13h

I can't fix the big things, but I can do something about the small ones.

A few days ago I went to the post office to ship something. I put it in one of the flat rate boxes and went to address it. Of the 6 pen-on-chain doodads they had, only one was left, and […]

[Original post on sfba.social]

A post office table with two round black discs where the pens used to be.

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Ed Wiebe @edwiebe.mstdn.ca.ap.brid.gy · 16h

Golden-crowned sparrow #borb
#birds #saanich

A golden-crowned sparrow on a cedar branch. Its feathers are puffed into a sphere.

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Newsmast Foundation @newsmast.newsmast.social.ap.brid.gy · 19h

October is Black History Month in the UK 🤎 🖤

Black history is woven into the identity of the UK. The theme this year is 'Standing Firm in Power and Pride', focusing on the power of individuals in history who exercised courage, vision, and agency.

You can […]

[Original post on newsmast.social]

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Darren du Nord @darren.c.im.ap.brid.gy · 7d

Strike Breakers (Company Violence). 1937. Morris Topchevsky

Choose 20 paintings that have stayed with you or influenced you — one painting per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just paintings.

20/20

#blueskyartchallenge #fediartchallenge #art #paintings

Expressionist depiction of a scene of brutal confrontation with an unsettling, dystopian quality.
The foreground is dominated by a group of figures in military-style uniforms and bulky gas masks, their faces completely obscured. Three of them are actively firing handguns up toward the windows of a dark, industrial-looking building. Blue-tinged smoke or gas billows from the muzzles of their weapons and the broken windows.
Through the shattered windowpanes, distressed figures—possibly factory workers or civilians—are visible. A single sign, crudely painted, hangs on the exterior and appears to read "DON'T SCAB" (or similar), suggesting the scene is a depiction of a labor dispute, riot, or political repression.
The overall mood is dark and violent, emphasizing themes of dehumanization, conflict, and the brutal suppression of dissent.

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Bruce Mirken @brucemirken.mas.to.ap.brid.gy · 1d

I just learned that #texturetuesday is a thing.
#hawaii

Black volcanic rock formation of recently cooled lava, shiny but uneven, with multiple cracks.

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Flipboard Art & Photo Desk @artphotosdesk.flipboard.social.ap.brid.gy · 1d

Thirty Bob Ross paintings will be auctioned over the next few months, with proceeds going to small and rural public stations across the United States that have had their funding cut off. Congress has eliminated $1.1 billion allocated to public broadcasting, leading to many stations making […]

Original post on flipboard.social

flipboard.social

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Astronomer Royal for Scotland | Catherine Heymans @astroroyalscot.bsky.social · 2d

I love it that everyone loves a #supermoon. Tonight is the night so #DoLookUp!

Fine print: this astronomical event comes with a expectation-management disclaimer:
*The Supermoon is only 15% brighter than a normal full moon and I personally can not tell the difference 🤔
*Every moon is SUPER🔭🥳

Astronomer Royal for Scotland | Catherine Heymans @astroroyalscot.bsky.social · Nov 16

If you've got clear skies, go outside and wave at our neighbour who is looking particularly stunning tonight. And if you have them, root out the binoculars to get a closer look at the grey maria: ~3.5 billion years ago these were seas of molten lava 🤓 #supermoon 🔭🧪

A moonlit beach with ripples in the sand. The water is reflecting the moon light with tiny fluffy clouds in the sky. In the foreground is the wooden breaker and a red metal marker with the number 2 on the top of it.

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Reposted by Bill Minarik

Ruth Mottram @ruth-mottram.fediscience.org.ap.brid.gy · 2d

🚨 New preprint out🚨 now, why has Antarctica stopped (net) losing mass?
We explore how declining sea ice but mostly increasingly heavy and frequent atmospheric rivers have actually led to a small increase in the mass of #antarctica, in spite of increased […]

[Original post on fediscience.org]

Screenshot of figures from the paper: Above a graph showing wiggly lines depicting the cumulative mass budget of Antarctica: a dark line swoops and wiggles downwards before stabilising at the end, colourful dashed lines (depicting snow fall) wiggle along constantly before sloping upwards at the same tme stabilisation occurs.
Below 6 maps of Antarctica in blues and red depicting the mass change in different basins.

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Piotr Walicki 📸 🦅 @zvrt.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 2d

Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis, 🇩🇪 Eisvogel, 🇵🇱 zimorodek).

#birds #birdphotography #birdsofmastodon #birdwatching #nature #naturephotography #vogelflausch #ptaki

A kingfisher is perched on a dead, forked branch, holding a small fish in its beak, against a dull background. The bird displays vivid turquoise and orange colours, and has white patches on its chin and shoulders.

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Katharine Hayhoe @katharinehayhoe.com · 2d

Yale researchers didn't stop there. They also identified what people most need to know to catalyze action and support climate policy; and it's not about global temps, ice sheets, or ocean currents.

What people most need to know about climate change is that (1) others care, and (2) there is hope.

Understanding six “key truths” about climate change predicts policy support, discussion, and political advocacy

Social norms and collective efficacy are strong predictors

climatecommunication.yale.edu

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Piotr Walicki 📸 🦅 @zvrt.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 3d

Landing gear out. Touchdown! Bearded tit ♂️ (Panurus biarmicus, 🇩🇪 Bartmeise, 🇵🇱 wąsatka).

#birds #birdphotography #birdsofmastodon #birdwatching #nature #naturephotography #vogelflausch #ptaki

The photo shows a male bearded tit in a close-up view from the front, with its legs stretched forward as it prepares to land on two parallel reed stalks. The bird is surrounded by reeds.

This photo shows a close-up view of a male bearded tit perched between two parallel reed stalks, surrounded by reeds.

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Reposted by Bill Minarik

PeanutDust @n8dly.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 4d

McCloud Falls hike today. It’s a three fall #hike, but you can get an extra #fall if you’re clumsy enough. #dogsofmastodon #hikingwithdogs #norcal

Waterfall and pond below. Rocks and trees.

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David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 3d

Iceland is becoming no-ice land.

How Icelanders are grieving the loss of 'dead' and melting glaciers

Iceland’s glaciers are disappearing. For locals, it’s a profoundly sad loss.

www.thejournal.ie

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Anne Ominous @rustoleumlove.mastodon.online.ap.brid.gy · 4d

Flaming Gorge National Monument, USA 2025

#USA #travel #photography #nature

a landscape photo from a vantage point - the red, white, brown, beige layers of the earth are revealed in a cliffside that rises high above a water filled gorge, under a sky full of variegated grey clouds. the view stretches for many miles into a hazy blue distance

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Mineralogical Society of America @mineralsocamerica.bsky.social · 4d

Announcement: the Keynote Speakers for the MSA Inaugural Annual Meeting on February 16-18, 2026 in Tucson, Arizona, USA are: Peter Megaw, Jolyon Ralph, Pupa Gilbert, Nancy Ross, & Elizabeth Rampe.
Abstract submissions due October 31, 2025,
More information: msaweb.org/annualmeeting/.

AnnualMeeting – MSA

msaweb.org

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Reposted by Bill Minarik

Misha @mishavelthuis.social.edu.nl.ap.brid.gy · 5d

Geological timescales FTW

Cartoon showing two hills.

First scene: "hey Frank" (hill 1 to hill 2, while hill 2 has a castle on top of it)
Second scene: "what?" (hill 2 to hill 1, while hill 2 has a full-blown modern city on top of it).
Third scene: "nevermind, you had something on your head, but it's gone now" (hill 1 to hill 2, while hill 2 only has a bunch of rubble on top of it).

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Ed Hawkins @edhawkins.org · 4d

Well done to the Warming Stripes La Rochelle team!

Starting climate conversations in France! 👏

Warming Stripes painted in the harbour area of La Rochelle, France

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Ruth Mottram @ruth-mottram.fediscience.org.ap.brid.gy · 5d

New paper out today in @nature Geosciences:
The Greenlandification of Antarctica - it's a comment piece showing hpw Antarctica's ice is increasingly similar to Greenland's - drawing on a mass of work from various @esaclimate climate projects and with substantial @OceanIceEU implications […]

Original post on fediscience.org

fediscience.org

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Justin Pletzfeld @jpletzfeld.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 5d

#fensterfreitag #windowfriday

#pletzfeldmomentsintime #photography #darktable #mywork #myphoto

The image shows a window on a red wooden wall. The window has a white frame and is divided into three panes: one smaller pane at the top and two larger panes below. Inside, there are completely closed light blue curtains with vertical white stripes. On the windowsill behind the panes, there is a sawn out small wooden black cat figure sitting and looking out, with a white patches on its tail, paws, ears and face. The wall has a textured wooden surface with visible grain and knots, and there are red rectangular support beams under the roof edge above the window.

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Mineralogical Society of America @mineralsocamerica.bsky.social · 5d

American Mineralogist:
Enrichment mechanism of heavy rare earth elements in magmatic-hydrothermal titanite: Insights from SXAS/XPS experiments and first-principles calculations and implications for regolith-hosted HREE deposits
Yuzhou Feng, et al.
doi.org/10.2138/am-2...

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charis @charism8.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 5d

Empty engine house at Wheal Coates in #cornwall for #fensterfreitag

A stone building, ruined at the top. On this side is a narrow rectangular window. Through to the other side of the empty tower are two arched windows. Through the bottom of these is a chimney stack.
Sky is blue with white clouds and there's a bonus bird in flight on the left.

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Reposted by Bill Minarik

Pottery by Osa @potterybyosa.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy · 6d

I usually make things for people to use at home, but it seems to me that the only purpose of this bowl is to bob and spin in the Gulf.

#ceramics #pottery #nature #water #beach #florida #birds #PeacefulMoments

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Bill Minarik @silicatefondue.fosstodon.org.ap.brid.gy · 6d

And here are color versions of the 32 minerals in #mincup25 placed on the bracket.

Winner #Kyanite, runner up #tugtupite

Drawings by Fernando Salvaterra on BlueSky(@salvaterra.bsky.social)

The Mineral Cup 2025 bracket with color drawings of all the minerals. By Fernando Salvaterra on BlueSky(@salvaterra.bsky.social)

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Bill Minarik @silicatefondue.fosstodon.org.ap.brid.gy · 6d

Fernando Salvaterra on BlueSky(@salvaterra.bsky.social) posted sketches of all 32 minerals competing in this year's Mineral Cup.

#mincup25 #minerals

32 black and white notebook sketches of the Mineral Cup contestants by Fernando Salvaterra.

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