This is the secret to the output of so many prolific artists. There's someone to do all the other stuff. Fine and dandy if you can afford it, or swing it some other way, but it's so often completely invisible.

I passed the ham radio test last spring (technician and general), and now I get to learn how to actually DO something!

The windows are open and my seeds arrived today. I believe in very little, but I have faith in spring.

The first stinkbug of spring is buzzing around the room. The cats are fascinated, at least until/unless they catch it. I will try to dispose of it before that happens.

Heading out to @confusionmi.bsky.social ! So excited to be science GOH! Not actually bringing cat.

My small science agency is down 23%.

Working on my Voynich manuscript talk for @confusionmi.bsky.social (mainly, I have TOO MUCH TO SAY and need to trim way back BUT IT’S ALL TOO INTERESTING) and was delighted to find a relevant story by @hntdove.bsky.social that Is missed. reactormag.com/manuscript-t...

Cleaning up my Renaissance cryptography research database. I don’t have as much time to dig in as I want: there’s so much fascinating material!

Aurora Forecast Update for 2026-01-01T14:50:03Z WARNING: Geomagnetic K-index of 4 expected Valid From: 2026 Jan 01 1444 UTC Valid To: 2026 Jan 01 2359 UTC Warning Condition: Onset Additional Details Here.

Are you a writer resolving to build craft and community in 2026? Applications to the Viable Paradise workshop are now open! We’re looking for 24 writers to join us in October. Learn more and apply: viableparadise.com

Your local librarian here to say that it’s great if you read lots of books this year, alright if you read barely anything, that audiobooks, romance and graphic novels are all valid formats and genres, and that some authors suck but we’re still not stopping you from reading them.

The temperature has dropped ten degrees (F), it’s about to start snowing, and I am one or two people in my entire office building. This prompts me to ponder existential questions like, “Why am I here?” and “Am I really expected to get anything done today?”

You don't need AI as an indie author, you need community. You need people who can help you when you're burning out (and vice versa, importantly). Trade labor with each other, beta read for one another, connect with editors and cover artists. Teach & learn. Help promote one another.

@tobiasbuckell.bsky.social Any chance of you being at ConFusion this year? It’s been ages since I’ve seen you and gotten to hang out with a Famous Writer!

Edward Gorey

Am I seeing, like, gallon-size bottles of perfume? There is A LOT of perfume.

Looking for something amazing to do at the end of January? I am the Science Guest of Honor at @confusionmi.bsky.social and I am SO EXCITED! I’m going to be talking about the Voynich Manuscript and why it has lured so many people into the swamp. 2026.confusionsf.org/guests-of-ho...

Do you need a last-minute present for the reader in your life? Here you go! Half off all of @celialake.bsky.social's catalogue! Romances with magic, outstanding worldbuilding, and zero transphobia, IYKWIM, AITYD. These books are fluffy cozy blankets. (disclaimer: we've been friends for ~20yrs)

I’m so tired, y’all. I’m fine in all material ways, unlike many of my colleagues, but I’m existentially exhausted. I want to do my work. I want my country to be functional and kind. I want to not be angry all the time.

Caution: contains contains bats, black cats, cosplaying wizards, haunted houses, and Ultimate Evil kicking back with a pumpkin spice latte to watch the action go down. At #Ebooks Direct: "Not On My Patch." ebooks.direct/products/not...

Today in stress management: baking pumpkin bread; shopping for used ham radios; snuggling cats.

Libraries. Public radio and television. All the things that make sure everyone regardless of income and location can access news, books, all the tools that make us engaged, informed, entertained, and show us people not like us. Gee, I wonder why they’re in trouble.

Boosters successfully obtained (flu and covid)! Hydrated and going to bed early (to Cawti’s great approval) to give my immune system a chance to catch up.

But also:

How I know there’s not currently a dog living in my house: the leftover donut from Friday that I forgot about was still in my lunch bag. Today is so very Monday that a stale donut is a huge improvement!

Your horoscope for today: Be like a log in the forest - rest quietly, take on moss, and slowly decay.

Somehow despite everything, I’ve had nine scientific publications out so far this year, and a book chapter coming in October. That’s a LOT for the level of resources I have (no grad students, one postdoc). I have at least two more submissions planned for 2025, but those will be 2026 papers.

Are you really "not making enough progress" or is it just that your expectations of yourself outpace both what you'd expect of anyone else *and* the laws of physics

Don't forget to register!

By actual request (!!!), I’m going to take a run at resurrecting the morning cat photos. (“The only thing I miss from twitter,” I was told. There is SO MUCH RIDICULOUSNESS to share with the world!

Ebook bundle: pay-what-you-want ($18 or more) for 9 Murderbot books and stories + 5 other Martha Wells works. www.humblebundle.com/books/martha...

It's ok to look after yourself. It's ok to get some rest. It's ok to sew pants for ghosts. It's ok to let moss into your life. It's ok to wear a tiara of goblin bones to your nephew's birthday party.

It’s great to see progress on a yard project that takes years of work.

duolingo recently declared they are now an AI-first company. well, here at The Museum of English Rural Life, we pride ourselves in being EI-first. EI EI O

Amateur Radio General Class License call sign KD3BHE. Now I guess I have to figure out how to actually DO something, not just pass a couple of tests.

I certainly don’t.

OK, this is wild. In September 2023, geophysicists across the world started monitoring a very odd signal coming from the ground under them. It was picked up in the Arctic. And Antarctica. It was detected everywhere, every 90 seconds, as regular as a metronome, for *nine days*. What the HELL? 1/

TWO consecutive nights of sleep. Feels like a 2025 record. But I haven’t actually gotten anything done yet today except meetings. It’s raining, and I just want to stare out the window and drink tea.

Getting enough sleep makes everything better. And I took a three-day weekend, also a plus. Maybe I’ll get some things done today.

I know you all know this, but apparently it needs to be said that basic science is a NECESSARY PRECURSOR to translational science

I don’t mean to alarm anyone, but the orcas now have two F/A-18 Hornets

eight years ago today we all watched the glory of zendaya falling madly in love with tom holland and the internet was never the same

Having yet another in a long series of “love my career, hate my job” kind of days. Why _can’t_ I sit in the comfy chair and write?

🚨 Cool new project alert 🚨 WE- you, me, everyone- need to work together to get important science messages out to people. 4 artists & 3 scientists collab'd on these posters. We hope YOU will put them out in your community. Each poster comes w/info about each topic. Get 'em Squidfacts.bigcartel.com

I want to spend the day in the woods, looking for mushrooms and photographing flowers. At least my office is plant-strewn.

Took me a while to get it written up, but my Instructable for making an inkle loom from a tenner’s worth of IKEA items is live. www.instructables.com/DIY-Inkle-Lo...

Don't fight the urge to wander off into the misty forest. Don't fight the urge to wear a tiara of ancient goblin bones. Don't fight the urge to spread mossy gloom and become a dark legend of the wildlands.

Work is the hottest of hot messes. I’ve been trying hard to do things in my off-time that are NOT scrolling Reddit for the next dire proclamation. So between pulling out ivy and garden planning, I’m preparing for a weaving class I’m teaching next month and joined a local makerspace.