I suppose is you're going to fight an elephant, picking a rather tiny one is a good move. Still doesn't look like this fellow is winning. Equestrian Statue of King José I, Lisbon. (The King is up top, regally riding a horse much bigger than the elephant)

I'm in favour of humour in scientific writing, buy nonetheless subscribe to the critique of pure raisin. While simultaneously loving the philosophy pun.

In fisheries models, natural mortality (M) is often set to 0.2 per year. A detailed derivation of this result was provided by John Pope in 1975, see below:

Alchemist in his laboratory (right) carved into the sarcophagus of King D. Fernando I. 14th century. Carmo Archaeological Museum, Lisbon. If kings get scientists on their coffins, do scientists get kings on theirs?

Uh oh. Large boulder the size of a small boulder blocking the path. Jardim da Cerca da Graca, Lisbon.

I'm not at all sure what I was pondering. It must have seemed profound and inspiring at the time...although pretty likely it was actually either childish or trivial! On the iconic Tram 28, in Lisbon.

Science is, inextricably, a human activity - and that means some of the ways we do it reveal culture, not just "scientific" best practices. And that's really interesting! scientistseessquirre... 🧪🌍🪲🪳

Fuchsia boliviana, on the grounds of the Quinta da Regaleira. Sintra, Portugal. Amazing park of worldwide plantings, grottos, tunnels, wells, waterfalls, ponds. This is my new favourite Fuchsia species!

Moorish Castle, Sintra, Portugal.

Not the usual angle for photographing a displaying peacock, but this fine gentleman seemed busy displaying to the equally fine gentleman in the glass door in front of him. Castelo de Sao Jorge, Lisbon.

Almost-current status: Castelo de Sao Jorge, Lisbon.

Science is, inextricably, a human activity - and that means some of the ways we do it reveal culture, not just "scientific" best practices. And that's really interesting! scientistseessquirre... 🧪🌍🪲🪳

Ahem, if you love learning about weird animals... I spent the last decade making this for YOU! www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/804002...

I've never seen a pipe organ like this (with the trumpet-like horizontal pipes). Igrejo do Carmo Church, Faro, Portugal. This church also has an ossuary chapel, constructed from bones of past friars. Oddly beautiful while also macabre. You can google if you want those photos!

I'm missing #CSEE2026 - first @csee-scee.bsky.social meeting I've missed in nearly 20 years. I would have a smile like these fine folks if I were there! Next year...

Where the Wild Things Are. From ca. 1330 Norman codex, the Val-Dieu Apocalypse (reproduction). On display at Real Alcazar, Seville. Surely this is what Maurice Sendak was working from?

I love inaccurate depictions from medieval and early modern books. Elephant, from a c. 1440 herbal (reproduction), on display at Real Alcazar, Seville. Imagine hearing about an elephant and having to draw it, trying to make it fit with what else you know about the world!

Best bird photographer ever. Eurasian Spoonbill, Donana National Park, Spain. No, really! Check the upper left. No, further left. Keep going...

I've submitted the manuscript for my next book, but don't forget that you can still buy my previous one! Ghosts Behind Glass. Encountering Extinction in Museums is available to order through any bookstore online or in-person. It's a beautiful book. And probably the best thing I'll ever write.

My kitchen is a mess, and everyone else's is tidy - and what does that have to do with writing? (Yes, I know, I can make EVERYTHING about writing) scientistseessquirre... 🧪

I got to meet @swarmofthoughts.bsky.social today! Hooray for meet-ups with Twitter/Bluesky friends. Thanks Viktor for meeting, guiding me across Seville, and arranging a nice discussion with @ebdonana.bsky.social folk.

A+ doorknocker. Seville, Spain. Want.

Hey, who among us hasn't thought of doing this?🤣

Love the variety of books on this sidewalk vendor's cart. Aristotle, Goethe, Allende, H.G. Wells... and Final Fantasy. Spotted in Madrid.

Spent 6 hours in the Prado, it wasn't enough. A whole room of Hieronymus Bosch but this Bruegel really tried hard to out-wow them... Pieter Bruegel the Elder's Triumph of Death.

My kitchen is a mess, and everyone else's is tidy - and what does that have to do with writing? (Yes, I know, I can make EVERYTHING about writing) scientistseessquirre... 🧪

I get these emails too (every author does) but I am frankly jealous if this one.

Train! About to board the high speed train from Barcelona to Madrid. All travel should be like this... let's get building, Canada.

Mink parakeets. Abundant in Barcelona; invasive, noisy - but also beautiful and fun. What do we do when people really love a damaging invasive? (And: feral cats, and wild horses in N. America)

Sidewalk tiles in Barcelona. Took me a while to recognize the ammonites, even longer to spot the starfish. Clever tiling.

Not like any other concert hall ive ever visited. Do i like it? Hmmm. But then, that might not be the point. Palau de la Musica Catalana, Barcelona

"When it falls, it falls" -Salvador Dali (Dali Museum, Figueres). I love these market stall paintings but the folks who painted them or bought them in the 1500s might find a few oddities in this one!

Scientist sees squirrel! From 10 Recipes for Immortality, Salvador Dali. Dali Theatre Museum, Figueres, Spain

I was today years old when I learned that loquats are not even a little bit closely related to kumquats. Rosaceae vs Rutaceae... I am such a bad botanist!

Any molecular biologist who is NOT working on bat-armadillo hybrids should immediately change scientific direction. Arc de Triomf, Barcelona

Who was in charge of ruling & layout for this manuscript?! (Koblenz, Landeshauptarchiv, Bestland 701 Nr. 138; early 15th century) #MedievalSky

Cicadas! Moults (L) and adult (R). Detail of Nativity Facade doors, LA Sagrada Familia, Barcelona. (What an entomologist sees...)

I found where Barcelonan entomologist do their laundry!

Current status: looking up. Hospital Sant Pau, Barcelona

I am begging people looking to make major donations to universities to either 1) care as much about academics as they do sports, or 2) make unrestricted gifts instead. Signed, A faculty member at a university with brand new athletic facilities and crumbling teaching and research infrastructure

Packing light for a couple of weeks traveling. From left: garam masala, cumin seed, basil, cayenne, mustard seed. I'm sure I will decide later that the "5 indispensable spices" list is something different...

How fungus gnats, and their names, can make science more inclusive. Believe it or not! scientistseessquirre... 🧪🌍🪲🪳

The China Forest Museum in Harbin is a hidden gem for plant nerds but the taxidermy is a little unfortunate. #BadTaxidermy

Digging into the Magdeburg Unicorn today for something I'm writing. Really fascinating, both as a piece of old-timey paleontology, and as a story of low-quality information. The story of these fossils is so very garbled, across various bits of the web... 1/2

I've never written an artist statement and I never will (although I've read a bunch) - but this seems bang-on to me, and there's obvious connections with writing scientific grant proposals.

How fungus gnats, and their names, can make science more inclusive. Believe it or not! scientistseessquirre... 🧪🌍🪲🪳

A generative AI tool cannot "go rogue" any more than a wrench can "go rogue." I do wish headline writers would stop implying that these things act with intent.

This is super interesting from @jeffollerton.bsky.social. No, ChatGPT cannot make reasoned, substantive comments on a manuscript - but it can string together words that can be usefully interpreted as if they WERE reasoned and substantive! (sometimes)

Absolutely not @amcell.bsky.social's fault, it's just the way link cards (fail to) work, but I can't help giggling at these peregrine falcons in their Halloween seal costumes.

I was asked for "a 2 page CV showing employment history, education, and previous publications". I know it sounds like bragging a bit - but I'm an old fart, been doing science for a looooong time, and in no universe do my previous publications fit in two pages! Bring on heavy use of "selected"...