Watching a YouTube video about the “Unseen Pacific Northwest.” However, while talking about Pugent Sound and Olympia, the drone footage is very obviously #Anacortes. While we are in the #PNW, we’re waaaaay north of Olympia, and we’re on the Salish Sea.

Eel be seein’ ya. After we lost our Ruby octopus, I consoled myself with the fact that we still had the Wolfeels. It’s been decided that they’d gotten too large for the enclosure, and so they’ve been rehomed at the Seattle Aquarium. Ah, well. Sad for me, but best for them. #PNW #MarineLife

Assisting w other #science education events, the holidays, and life in general, had interrupted my availability for the aquarium. The distraction of resuming my docent duties couldn’t come at a better time. Gonna be sensitive to that with visitors also seeking a respite from all that’s going on.

My approach to Public Engagement of #Science. #scicomm

#Vaccines, #ClimateChange, GMO foods, evolution, Flat Earth, alternative “medicine”: Been dealin with #science deniers a while; long before Trump, long before Covid. #Antiscience is not constrained by political affinity. Many are educated, but still jump on the bandwagon for ego and for fashion.

Out of the 6 of her books that I read back-to-back, last summer, this was the passage that really struck me. All too relevant, even a few months ago. #Booksky #BlueskyBooks

I want my epitaph to read: “If I wasn’t a shining example, at least let me have served as a cautionary tale.”

Smiling even when a good part of your life is sucking. Spiny Lumpsucker showing off his common nomenclature by attaching to the glass. Like the base of sea anemones, lumpsuckers have a spot on their tummies that they can “mold” around a surface to achieve the adhesive. #MarineLife #science #PNW

When Force Awakens, and when Star Trek, premiered in the IMAX at Pacific Science Center,we were assigned to “edutain” guests in line (for hours) with hand-held #science activities. #StarTrek fans were eager to engage about astronomy, astrobiology and exoplanets. #StarWars fans were just annoyed.

Off to hang out with marine invertebrates that show more spine, and morals, than any Republican. When I tell visitors how the “eyes” of a seastar can only tell the difference between light and dark, gonna add how they still see what’s going on around them better than the Republican Speaker.

Sunset from Guemes Channel trail. #Anacortes #PNW

Millie is hoping we can make the most of these coming weeks, as daylight hours decrease while muddy trails with slick rocks become more frequent. #DogsOfBluesky #GoldenRetriever

Months of looking while walking our dog on the trails, weeks of hearing a fledgling Horned Owl calling out, and tonight, this Barred #owl is right above our mailboxes.

Lessons from Captain America:

A book that should actually be required in public schools.

Rock hounding with Millie. Took the back trail from the marina to Upper Cap Sante. #DogsOfBluesky #GoldenRetriever #Anacortes

Because other celestial objects are moving too, it’s easy to forget that as our planets and moons revolve around the sun, it’s moving around the core of a galaxy that’s moving “outward.” This is the problem with stories in which they travel in *time only* : Earth wasn’t “here” 10 minutes ago.

Because other celestial objects are moving too, it’s easy to forget that as our planets and moons revolve around the sun, it’s moving around the core of a galaxy that’s moving “outward.” This is the problem with stories in which they travel in *time only* : Earth wasn’t “here” 10 minutes ago.

Another magnificent exhibit at the Museum of Northwest Art in La Conner, WA. The oils rendered by Drie Chapek have a subtext of flowing streams and little waterfalls, while the other pieces definitely appeal to my geonerd side.

Recommended to me by the aquarium manager. It’s interesting, informative and just acerbic enough to be entertaining without being annoyingly flippant. Everything that public engagement of science should be, and what I strive for in my own #scicomm style. #science #MarineLife

Damn I needed that! Kinda slow at the aquarium, the 1st hour. Then it picked up for a good 2 1/2 hours. Adults were as enthusiastic and engaging as the kids about #PNW #MarineLife. As well, they were receptive to my comments about the political impact on #science. Wore this as my “uniform”:

Had to wait for a relatively cloudless day across the Pacific before using the “draw” feature to write this on our #Science on a *Sphere*. #FlatEarth is the best example of how #antiscience is just intellectually insecure adults being childishly contrarian to experts.

One of the best things about doing informal #science education on the West Coast, advocating #vaccines and defending the evidence for #ClimateChange, is how it’s a big ‘ol “fuck you” to West Coasters who would, otherwise, just see a +50 White male with a Southern drawl, and assume I’m a MAGAt.

Whole lotta people exploring the rocks of Rosario Beach, looking for cool critters while the tide is out. #PNW #Anacortes #DeceptionPass

Cross Big Charlie and you’ll be sleepin’ wid da finches. #science #evolution #Darwin

Closest I’ve come to leaving an imprint of my face in the trail: startled a duck and her young as we came around the bend. We were on a root-laden downward slope when Millie lunged at the movement. My wife screamed; she thought for sure I was going down. #DogsOfBluesky

“An organism at war with itself” is an accurate description of an autoimmune disorder. With an autoimmune disorder, what is supposed to protect us is turned against us and causing harm. Which makes it a perfect metaphor for living in the U.S., right now.

As of this weekend, I have volunteered 100 hours with Salish Sea Stewards, since May of last year. It’s been so fulfilling to engage with kids and adults about issues affecting our local marine ecosystem at the aquarium and at local festivals. #science #scicomm #environment

Woman with an immune compromised son once thanked me for having the bottom sticker on my car. Giving a damn about others is a trait #antivaxxers cannot comprehend. As someone living w partial hearing loss from #measles, I know that the #vaccines are safer than the diseases.

#Orca #Aurora #watercolor

Summer sunset from under the Deception Pass bridge. #PNW #Anacortes

While not the species of sea cucumber we have in our aquarium, this can still be a new, and relatable, talking point w visitors.

Millie was intrigued by the perch(?) darting around in the lake. Coupla years ago, we were standing on this platform, mid morning, when we noticed something fluttering towards us just about the surface of the water. Thought it was a butterfly. It was a little brown bat. #DogsOfBlueSky #DogDays

Strongly suspect we have a dinosaur in the park, camouflaged as a tree.

This shirt is a genetics joke. The 3 letters represent a sequence of mRNA molecules that tells the cell to stop assembling amino acids into a protein: a “stop” codon. Willing to bet that 96% of #antivaxxers screaming about mRNA #vaccines wouldn’t even recognize this.

With the weather getting warmer -and I’m referring to NW Washington state “warmer”; meaning in the mid-70’s- a major advantage of the nearby wooded trails is that there’s shade. And I’m now bringing Millie’s collapsible water bowl and bottle even on shorter walks, including in town. #DogsOfBluesky

A Star Is Born, Death Takes a Holiday, the only actor to win an award for portraying a movie monster (Mr Hyde). But especially Best Years of Our Lives and Inherit the Wind. It’s a shame most people don’t remember Fredric March. Do yourself a favor and watch some of his movies.

#owls #watercolor

Hadda fight the urge not to break into a B-52s song whenever I started talking w guests about the Squat Lobsters. #PNW #marinelife

Been neglecting these for too long. Time to get back at it.

While the primary message of the “Germs” cart was to teach about the beneficial role of microbes in our ecosystems and our personal biomes, I used it as my vehicle to talk to guests of all ages about how dangerous are the diseases that have been prevented by #vaccines. #science #scicomm #antivaxx

We’ll be spending a lot of time walking Millie in the parks this week, as a respite from the news. #DogsOfBluesky

Marine invertebrates with more of a spine than Republicans. #MarineLife #PNW

One of the Sunflower #seastars (about 30in around) decided to make the Gumboot chiton (8in around) its Saturday brunch. (“Help me! Help me!”) #MarineLife

Gerry Durrell was a pioneer in animal conservation. Read these after having watched the entire series of “The Durrells in Cofu” -twice. Every bit as entertaining as the show. #Booksky

Guests, particularly the kiddies, often comment on how the Wolf Eels look angry and mean. I explain that it’s the extra “padding” in their mouths to allow them to crunch down on crab shells and the like that gives their disgruntled expression. They aren’t angry. They just have resting fish face.

I gotta start carrying my neoprene booties. Another great tidepooling opportunity missed. Of course, Millie’s agenda was focused more on furry vertebrates. Which was satisfied a few minutes down the trail by *3* squirrels on the stump. #PNW #DogsOfBluesky

Sure we’d still walk these trails if we didn’t have Millie, but #DogsMakeEverythingBetter #DogsOfBluesky #goldenretriever