This video - without a neighbor’s generator going in the background- is 💯x better.

Now that the sun is out, so much ice is thawing & falling out of the trees, it looks & sounds like medium-heavy rain. Yay, I guess?

I love caves, inflatables and science communication. This month is #colorectal cancer awareness month - the disease that has been ruining me the last 20 months. Get a colonoscopy folks. It’s not as fun as what I’m doing here but it ain’t that bad either.

Every minute of every day.

I saw some guys in Levy vests placing rentable Levy scooters near a crosswalk on campus. Is that how this works???? The company just leaves their scooters anywhere they want? I wondered where they were coming from… now I know, I guess.

Background - I’ve been fighting with acct people about the fact UConn says all fractions of an annual software contract past a grant’s end date can’t be paid off the grant. So 1 month ($6) of an annual subscription has to be accounted for - even though an annual subscription is in the grant.

Are administrative-burden audits a thing? I think the amount of STUFF UConn requires of our time is excessive - trainings, inspections (ok these might be fine), paperwork, surveys, approvals, etc. It’d be interesting to quantify (in work hours & $$$) although I already know it’s TOO MUCH

In case you missed it: our review titled "Spatial structure: shaping the ecology and evolution of microbial communities" is out! 🚨 Let me hit you with some highlights on why spatial structure matters. (and why you should care!) Sharing is appreciated 🙏 🧵👇 doi.org/10.1093/fems...

Just a head’s up: That is not snow out there. It’s wet cement.

That classic New England pastime of waiting for the power to go out. 👍👀👍

#NutmegSky Good to see us among the states w/o official ICE co-op.

I did not know there were so many of these and I love them all. Happy Darwin Day, y’all!

we need to talk about that Ring Super Bowl ad

with a PhD from @uconnhistory.bsky.social. our alums do great things!

Things are going swimmingly.

I’m about to waste A LOT of time making a Women in STEM Keynote using Elden Ring character building as the analogy for being a successful woman in STEM. Lots of different attribute combinations work! Don’t try to stop me. I’m confident that with just 100 hours of work, it’ll be a great 20 minutes.

Moment of joy: Yesterday I overheard a very cute toddler in a very cute toddler voice call seltzer water “spicy water”. That’s all.

On campus objectives today, UConn edition: Do not freeze. Do not fall down.

I think this is Rudy’s “I really don’t like pooping in this much snow why are you doing this to me” face.

MAJOR NEWS! We just launched an awesome new tool! The illustrated Birds of the World Phylogeny Explorer lets users trace any bird’s lineage, compare species relationships, and explore major evolutionary milestones with a click of a button. SHARE and EXPLORE! birdsoftheworld.org/bow/news/phy...

I think Storrs, CT (UConn) got 1” of snow for every time in the last five years they predicted significant snow and we got nothing.

It’s -9 degrees. Downtown Minneapolis is packed for the anti-ICE rally and the crowd keeps growing

#nutmegsky #academicsky

“UConn has averaged 9% growth in revenue. WHERE IS THE MONEY GOING?” “Ned Lamont supports extra state $money$ for UConn stadiums BUT NOT FOR UCONN STUDENTS” @uconnaaup.bsky.social bringing the heat.

If you are wondering how to help MN from outside MN, this article has a lot of awesome organizations you can donate to: www.minnesotamonthly.com/general/ways...

Do you study disinformation or want to start working in that area? Come to the DSI June 15-18th with @cailinmeister.bsky.social, @katestarbird.bsky.social, @jevinwest.bsky.social, @rcalo.bsky.social, @naomioreskes.bsky.social, @emmaspiro.bsky.social, and many more. disinfoinstitute.org

Alright, you have my attention, AVIAN SIBLING CANNIBALISM. “Finally, females allocated fewer resources to the smallest nestlings when they were going to starve, but not necessarily when they were going to be used as food for their siblings.” Soler et al. 2022. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...

We just finished Stranger Things and I have written a short review. Interpersonal relationships: 👍👍 Acting: 👍👍 Creepy visuals: 👍👍 Supernatural plot:

Free download of “The ABC Book of Media Literacy”, which Finland sent to every 9th grader in the country, is available here: abcsofmedia.com

I called my reps. The theme was “YOU HAVE TO DO MORE. DO MORE, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, YOU HAVE TO STOP THIS.” The 5 calls app makes it super easy: 5calls.org

Added to the reading list via interlibrary request. Anyone out there read this?? The Fall of the Faculty: The Rise of the All-Administrative University and Why It Matters academic.oup.com/book/40915

Definitely has to be less than the $100,000,000 renovations to Gampel Pavilion…right? www.wfsb.com/2025/12/03/u...

Will it be more or less than the $5,000,000 the B.O.T. just approved for the boat house for Women’s Rowing (3 Dec 2025)? boardoftrustees.media.uconn.edu/wp-content/u...

Hmmm. I wonder how much $$$ UConn will spend building a whole new facility for its 9 member golf team + 3 COACHES: updc.uconn.edu/gpf/?brid=NC... Meanwhile my department is having to cut our incoming graduate class by half… #nutmegsky @uconnaaup.bsky.social

OMG - there’s a word for this???? Szilard Point = when the costs of getting a grant equal the value of an awarded grant EVERY UNIVERSITY ADMINISTRATOR SHOULD READ THIS (to remind them of what academic scientists are facing right now): www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Tis the season to earnestly reflect on Marley & Marley. Doomed, Scrooge! You’re doomed for all time! Your future is a horror story Written by your crimes. Your chains are forged By what you say & do. So have your fun When life is done A nightmare waits for you. m.youtube.com/watch?v=-er1...

“Human mucosal surfaces represent more than 400 m2 (compared with 1.8 m2 for skin)” Whaaaaaaaaaat. What. We’ve got way more guts than I realized. So much guts. From www.annualreviews.org/content/jour...

Boooo @blumenthal.senate.gov booo booo boooo.

Holy shit. “A major reason for the smaller staff is the elimination of hundreds of so-called rotators, scientists on loan from academia who served as program managers as well as higher level administrators.” www.science.org/content/arti...

What if there was a second female Muppet and she was not super obnoxious. #imagine

How are things at CT’s R1 flagship? Welp, turns out Admin’s skimmed $1,150,000 from our contractually negotiated salary equity fund. FFS!!

New winter break goal just dropped: Research culture: The SAFE Labs Handbook as a tool for improving lab culture. Donà et al. 2025. elifesciences.org/articles/108... H/T @napaaqtuk.bsky.social

Yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes you get the idea.

microsoft promised to "empower every user" and google to "revolutionise knowledge and technological innovation" but in reality what they have given us is an invasive surveillance dystopian nightmare hard to escape www.forbes.com/sites/zakdof...

You’re telling me the only way to enter my birthday on this form is to push that up arrow…….(quick calculation, carry the one)……513 times? Excellent design, Microsoft. Bravo. 👍

Absolutely devastating account of the CSU's $17 million capitulation to ChatGPT, from a fellow faculty member watching it happen www.currentaffairs.org/news/ai-is-d...

Science question: does your lab have a MinION sequencer and does it work well? Worth the money? (thanks for any opinions!)

I am 1000% sure somebody’s going to have a case of the Mondays tomorrow.

Here’s what I don’t get about Stranger Things. Why do people keep voluntarily going into squelchy mystery holes. What is that. Multiple people. Just crawling their whole ass bodies through random HOLES.