It took 7.5 years, but I made it: the PhD is complete. 😮‍💨

I'm experiencing the worst nerve pain of my life—did something stupid in the gym a week ago and after a day of feeling back to normal, this bullshit—but I swear on my life this full dissertation draft will be DONE by the wee hours. (To my one committee member who is On Here: SOON, and thank you)

Holy shit. Hoping no USGS folks were in the field during this eruption

The quote used in this headline is incredibly ominous if you're not used to the phrase "in the field." 😆 www.kqed.org/news/1206608...

Someday I will learn that the problem of not knowing how to organize my scientific results into a compelling and coherent narrative is solved through the process of writing things down, however disjointed. Because writing *is* thinking.

I WAS BORN TO WATCH WATER BOIL NOT WATCH QGIS CRASH The final sprint of dissertation is going well, why do you ask?

I know the news is newsing but tonight and last night I've sat the camp chair in the backyard and typed out a couple paragraphs on the dissertation while watching auroral glow. Personally I think I'm as close to winning dissertation writing as possible without submitting.

We've had two CMEs, why not third CME? Fingers crossed for round two of aurora chasing tonight, but too early to say what this third impact has in store.

Long exposure from the camera during peak—this is not what auroras look like to the unaided eye. But I could easily walk around the terraces without a headlamp. Not much motion for this display, but very intense red colors and generally bright glow.

[manically refreshing NOAA's Real-Time Solar Wind page]

Find the pine marten!

It seems like the number of things I misplace or forget to do has grown exponentially in the last couple years. I don't know if it's increased cognitive load from living in the collapse of a democracy or something more normal, but wow do I feel incompetent as a human.

A visualisation of forest canopy height in Shiretoko National Park, Hokkaido, two ways. Which do you prefer? I can never decide. What I can say is that Shiretoko is beautiful. And windy. And the sika are unafraid. Also, hot waterfalls. #rayshader adventures, an #rstats tale

What's it like inside your head?

you are proof that love is real

At the empty USGS booth at GSA. More out of view on both sides

New albums from Tame Impala, Of Monsters and Men, and The Barr Brothers this month and they're all fantastic. How am I supposed to hyperfixate on one song with all these options?

It is the end of the 2nd day. I drove a friend to the airport, tidied the house, and finished slides for the modules I'll teach this weekend at an orientation to cave rescue course.

Uncertainty ahead, but the sunrise and the day’s work were good. And I unexpectedly got to talk to 6th graders and undergrads on field trips today. Difficult to tell which group was more excited!

It's 2025 and I'm tired, but not *so* tired that I can't encourage you to vote for calcite by posting my cave photos. Here's a view from a cave system that straddles the Montana/Wyoming border. If you want to see photos from the deepest point in Carlsbad Caverns, calcite has to advance... #MinCup25

Yes, there was a M3.7 earthquake in Yellowstone today. No, there is no impending volcanic eruption. No, I didn't notice it romping around outside in the Old Faithful area while my coworkers inside got a good building rattle :'(

So far setting boundaries and adhering to my principles has led me to pretty lonely places. This has been your Saturday angst post.

The most helpful analysis I've read so far. Slowly realizing how privileged I was to grow up in a county that activated sirens for severe thunderstorm and tornado warnings, and in a family that had a weather radio and taught me how to find/interpret NWS forecasts.

I want to go outside and scream.

This is a risk in field work: people don't want to admit they're having difficulty with heat or elevation, because they worry it makes them look bad. Check in on each other: hydration, breaks, shade. And foster a culture where speaking up is expected, because it's important for EVERYONE'S safety.

Per MPR and local news KSTP, Boelter has been apprehended. I grew up in the Twin Cities area. I've been restless since I heard the news yesterday. There will be justice.

Yeah I do really like having a 2nd monitor, why do you ask

Excellent soundscape, 11/10, no notes.

Current status as both a geyser and a space weather nerd. 😂

Honestly this is weird without @cbdawson.bsky.social!

Right side upside down.

It’s my day off from working in the geyser basins, so, naturally I’m at Upper Geyser Basin today to stare at holes until they boil. Wait along with me for Daisy Geyser (feature on right).

First week on the new job complete. Four 10-hour days is a bit brutal but my coworkers are delightful and I’m having a blast. Now I have to actually figure out how to back into parking spaces, because apparently that’s baked into federal white car culture.

I don't wanna get bitter / I don't wanna turn cruel / I don't wanna get old before I have to 💔

Not pulling any punches, here.

So glad to see a new release from @fadedpaperfigures.bsky.social.

That FAQ is... something. Whew.

This is the 30th anniversary of the OKC Bombing. Please let me share a perspective on it. It starts with an Oklahoma geography lesson. 1/n

I said my main goal of this trip was to meet with Kilmar. Tonight I had that chance. I have called his wife, Jennifer, to pass along his message of love. I look forward to providing a full update upon my return.

🚨 Not a drill: NSF GRFP results are NOW OUT!!!!! But...good news and bad news. 👍 I'm *thrilled* for the grad students for whom getting this award will be life-changing, esp now. 👎 # of fellowships went down by 51% (1000 this year vs. 2036 last year) See here: www.research.gov/grfp/Awardee...

geology has the best words “the craton” “dripping lithosphere” “subducting slab” incredible work all around

From 1900-1904, as a result of heat brought to the surface by the tragic 1886 eruption of Tarawera volcano in New Zealand, the Waimangu Geyser ("black water") was the largest geyser in the world, at over 400 meters tall. ...I just can't possibly imagine watching one of these eruptions.

I've been really enamored with how geyser-like the vents at Halemaʻumaʻu have been behaving during these last several episodes of lava fountaining. The cyclic overflow and bubbling of lava between episodes is a very familiar preparatory eruptive process to me... ⚒️

May we all find a brief moment to be this relaxed today.

This is horrible to post, but I may as well post it. We are essentially shutting down research operations in my group, which is focused on treatments for pediatric brain cancer. I’m a well funded investigator, and there’s no choice. Science can’t function without the stability of NIH

When Spurr last erupted in 1992, volcanic ash & gas clouds (a potential aviation hazard) drifted south over the Pacific NW & Upper Midwest. A fully functional USGS & NOAA is needed to monitor such events & mitigate their impacts. NASA/NOAA satellite data also critical for tracking volcanic clouds.

Mischief is happening.

Sharing because of the laugh-out-loud rule. www.youtube.com/watch?app=de...

Any scientific or monitoring fieldwork that relies on USGS staff and their invaluable expertise is also in limbo. I will soon need to make a decision on whether to book travel for upcoming fieldwork which is unlikely to proceed if my colleagues cannot travel or make purchases.

Well... yes, but also no. Lone Star's major eruptions are pretty regular every 3–4 hr, sometimes with minors in between. I kinda see it, but a better pairing would be Aurum, which constantly boils and has a very hard time actually erupting. 😂 h/t @mabdepot.bsky.social for finding this FB gem