@bookswain.bsky.social
Starting over, again. Science, history, books, etc.
I share books and other items I collect, one of my hobbies. I was a Jedi once, like my father before me.
All posts protected by the 1st Amendment.
I share books and other items I collect, one of my hobbies. I was a Jedi once, like my father before me.
All posts protected by the 1st Amendment.
“Now conceive a finite being who knows the paths and velocities of all the molecules..”
Part of an 1867 letter from James Clerk Maxwell to Peter Guthrie Tait containing his thought experiment he thought disproved the Second Law of thermodynamics. The being was later called a demon.
Part of an 1867 letter from James Clerk Maxwell to Peter Guthrie Tait containing his thought experiment he thought disproved the Second Law of thermodynamics. The being was later called a demon.
February 16, 2026 at 5:21 AM
“Now conceive a finite being who knows the paths and velocities of all the molecules..”
Part of an 1867 letter from James Clerk Maxwell to Peter Guthrie Tait containing his thought experiment he thought disproved the Second Law of thermodynamics. The being was later called a demon.
Part of an 1867 letter from James Clerk Maxwell to Peter Guthrie Tait containing his thought experiment he thought disproved the Second Law of thermodynamics. The being was later called a demon.
Reposted
For my #AmericanUniversity students who wanted to learn about some cool squids? the one I spoke of today was called MAGNAPINNA! and there's a whole YT channel devoted to it! But here ya go! youtu.be/aOhxex9rcBs?...
Magnapinna Squid High Quality Close Up | New Footage April 2023 - Magnapinna Archive
YouTube video by Magnapinna Archive
youtu.be
February 14, 2026 at 1:16 AM
For my #AmericanUniversity students who wanted to learn about some cool squids? the one I spoke of today was called MAGNAPINNA! and there's a whole YT channel devoted to it! But here ya go! youtu.be/aOhxex9rcBs?...
Reposted
Join us to learn about soils, the bugs that live there, & practices to support these important animals! This course is for conservation & agriculture professionals in the Southeast, but everyone is welcome!
🗓️Feb 18 at 6am PT / 9am ET
🔗Register for this free event: us06web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
🗓️Feb 18 at 6am PT / 9am ET
🔗Register for this free event: us06web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
February 11, 2026 at 10:25 PM
Join us to learn about soils, the bugs that live there, & practices to support these important animals! This course is for conservation & agriculture professionals in the Southeast, but everyone is welcome!
🗓️Feb 18 at 6am PT / 9am ET
🔗Register for this free event: us06web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
🗓️Feb 18 at 6am PT / 9am ET
🔗Register for this free event: us06web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
Most of our ancestors were a single cell
i.e. ‘Older persons’ have been out of touch since the beginning of our big-brained species that evolved some 300,000 years ago.
Groovy. I dig this post, it’s outta sight.
February 14, 2026 at 3:59 AM
Most of our ancestors were a single cell
i.e. ‘Older persons’ have been out of touch since the beginning of our big-brained species that evolved some 300,000 years ago.
Groovy. I dig this post, it’s outta sight.
February 14, 2026 at 3:57 AM
i.e. ‘Older persons’ have been out of touch since the beginning of our big-brained species that evolved some 300,000 years ago.
Groovy. I dig this post, it’s outta sight.
February 14, 2026 at 3:54 AM
Groovy. I dig this post, it’s outta sight.
Reposted
if you're an older person who finds words like mogg and maxxing annoying, just starting using them. people over the age of 30 have the superpower to end trends by simply adopting them
February 14, 2026 at 1:50 AM
if you're an older person who finds words like mogg and maxxing annoying, just starting using them. people over the age of 30 have the superpower to end trends by simply adopting them
Reposted
Early Cross Slab • Clonmacnoise • Offaly • 7th—9th century
There are over 700 examples of cross slabs known to have associations with Clonmacnoise, making it the largest assemblage known from either Ireland or Britain.
#Ireland #SpéirGhorm
There are over 700 examples of cross slabs known to have associations with Clonmacnoise, making it the largest assemblage known from either Ireland or Britain.
#Ireland #SpéirGhorm
February 13, 2026 at 8:19 PM
Early Cross Slab • Clonmacnoise • Offaly • 7th—9th century
There are over 700 examples of cross slabs known to have associations with Clonmacnoise, making it the largest assemblage known from either Ireland or Britain.
#Ireland #SpéirGhorm
There are over 700 examples of cross slabs known to have associations with Clonmacnoise, making it the largest assemblage known from either Ireland or Britain.
#Ireland #SpéirGhorm
Reposted
It's almost Valentine's Day, so let's hear what bugs you love the best. Bonus points if they're red, pink or heart shaped. Extra credit if you tell us in a poem.
Here's one of my favs, the Cardinal Meadowhawk, a common species in the Pacific Northwest and always glorious to see.
Here's one of my favs, the Cardinal Meadowhawk, a common species in the Pacific Northwest and always glorious to see.
February 14, 2026 at 2:16 AM
It's almost Valentine's Day, so let's hear what bugs you love the best. Bonus points if they're red, pink or heart shaped. Extra credit if you tell us in a poem.
Here's one of my favs, the Cardinal Meadowhawk, a common species in the Pacific Northwest and always glorious to see.
Here's one of my favs, the Cardinal Meadowhawk, a common species in the Pacific Northwest and always glorious to see.
Reposted
Two books in my personal library somewhat related to your thread: my copy of Photographic Investigations of Faint Nebulae by Edwin Hubble, his PhD dissertation, published in 1920, and the first French edition of Mary Sommerville’s On the Connexion of the Physical Sciences published in 1837.
October 6, 2025 at 4:45 PM
Two books in my personal library somewhat related to your thread: my copy of Photographic Investigations of Faint Nebulae by Edwin Hubble, his PhD dissertation, published in 1920, and the first French edition of Mary Sommerville’s On the Connexion of the Physical Sciences published in 1837.
Reposted
turning a simple parlor trick into a rigorous study of combinatorial geometry and graph theory.
I’m here for this 🙌🫶
I’m here for this 🙌🫶
Work tasks today included thinking about a magic trick and Catalan numbers at the same time — living the dream!
February 12, 2026 at 11:47 PM
turning a simple parlor trick into a rigorous study of combinatorial geometry and graph theory.
I’m here for this 🙌🫶
I’m here for this 🙌🫶
Personally, I’m all for it 👍
February 13, 2026 at 2:53 AM
Personally, I’m all for it 👍
Reposted
I am against people showing affection in public, but well, this is such a lovely photo, I'll allow it just this once.
Le baiser blotto, 1950.
By Robert Doisneau, 1912–1994
Le baiser blotto, 1950.
By Robert Doisneau, 1912–1994
February 13, 2026 at 12:15 AM
I am against people showing affection in public, but well, this is such a lovely photo, I'll allow it just this once.
Le baiser blotto, 1950.
By Robert Doisneau, 1912–1994
Le baiser blotto, 1950.
By Robert Doisneau, 1912–1994
Reposted
Separately, if anyone's interested in a history of censorship that includes several centuries before the Inquisition really picked up steam, I recently finished reading this one and it's quite good: bookshop.org/p/books/defi... #MedievalSky #HistSTM
February 13, 2026 at 12:42 AM
Separately, if anyone's interested in a history of censorship that includes several centuries before the Inquisition really picked up steam, I recently finished reading this one and it's quite good: bookshop.org/p/books/defi... #MedievalSky #HistSTM
Reposted
Trends in February #Arctic sea ice concentration from 1979 to 2025... The largest declines are found in the marginal ice zone (e.g., Barents Sea (Atlantic sector)).
Sea ice concentration = fraction of ice-cover. For more information: doi.org/10.1175/BAMS...
Sea ice concentration = fraction of ice-cover. For more information: doi.org/10.1175/BAMS...
February 13, 2026 at 1:01 AM
Trends in February #Arctic sea ice concentration from 1979 to 2025... The largest declines are found in the marginal ice zone (e.g., Barents Sea (Atlantic sector)).
Sea ice concentration = fraction of ice-cover. For more information: doi.org/10.1175/BAMS...
Sea ice concentration = fraction of ice-cover. For more information: doi.org/10.1175/BAMS...
Reposted
The University of Hong Kong: A Possible First-Ever Einstein Probe Observation of a Black Hole Tearing Apart a White Dwarf www.hku.hk/press/press-...
HKU Astrophysicists Contribute to Interpreting a Possible First-Ever Einstein Probe Observation of a Black Hole Tearing Apart a White Dwarf - Press Releases - Media - HKU
Figure 1. Artist's impression of the Einstein Probe satellite catching an intermediate black hole, tearing apart a white dwarf, and producing a relativistic jet. Image credit: Einstein Probe Scien...
www.hku.hk
February 11, 2026 at 4:04 AM
The University of Hong Kong: A Possible First-Ever Einstein Probe Observation of a Black Hole Tearing Apart a White Dwarf www.hku.hk/press/press-...
Global warming continues to spawn effects.
I’m pretty sure ‘normal’ climate no longer exists.
#climatechange #climatecrisis 🌎
I’m pretty sure ‘normal’ climate no longer exists.
#climatechange #climatecrisis 🌎
Dwindling snow threatens Greenland's dogsled mushers' ancestral way of life.
Snow has become so scarce on Greenland’s east coast that even short dogsled journeys now break down, making the business of running dogsled tours increasingly economically unviable
Snow has become so scarce on Greenland’s east coast that even short dogsled journeys now break down, making the business of running dogsled tours increasingly economically unviable
February 11, 2026 at 3:56 AM
Global warming continues to spawn effects.
I’m pretty sure ‘normal’ climate no longer exists.
#climatechange #climatecrisis 🌎
I’m pretty sure ‘normal’ climate no longer exists.
#climatechange #climatecrisis 🌎
Reposted
Dwindling snow threatens Greenland's dogsled mushers' ancestral way of life.
Snow has become so scarce on Greenland’s east coast that even short dogsled journeys now break down, making the business of running dogsled tours increasingly economically unviable
Snow has become so scarce on Greenland’s east coast that even short dogsled journeys now break down, making the business of running dogsled tours increasingly economically unviable
February 11, 2026 at 3:46 AM
Dwindling snow threatens Greenland's dogsled mushers' ancestral way of life.
Snow has become so scarce on Greenland’s east coast that even short dogsled journeys now break down, making the business of running dogsled tours increasingly economically unviable
Snow has become so scarce on Greenland’s east coast that even short dogsled journeys now break down, making the business of running dogsled tours increasingly economically unviable
Reposted
The National Gallery of Art Acquires 17th-Century Masterpiece by Baroque Painter Artemisia Gentileschi
by Christian Thorsberg for @smithsonianmag.bsky.social
www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/t...
by Christian Thorsberg for @smithsonianmag.bsky.social
www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/t...
The National Gallery of Art Acquires 17th-Century Masterpiece by Baroque Painter Artemisia Gentileschi
"Mary Magdalene in Ecstasy" is the gallery's first work by the Italian artist, who was one of the most influential female painters of her time
www.smithsonianmag.com
February 11, 2026 at 2:05 AM
The National Gallery of Art Acquires 17th-Century Masterpiece by Baroque Painter Artemisia Gentileschi
by Christian Thorsberg for @smithsonianmag.bsky.social
www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/t...
by Christian Thorsberg for @smithsonianmag.bsky.social
www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/t...
Reposted
I'm tracking the latest monthly-averaged observations of global methane (CH₄; a potent greenhouse gas)...
October 2025 - 1946.47 ppb
October 2024 - 1940.79 ppb
+ Data: gml.noaa.gov/ccgg/trends_...
+ Why the change in trends? www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
October 2025 - 1946.47 ppb
October 2024 - 1940.79 ppb
+ Data: gml.noaa.gov/ccgg/trends_...
+ Why the change in trends? www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
February 11, 2026 at 2:01 AM
I'm tracking the latest monthly-averaged observations of global methane (CH₄; a potent greenhouse gas)...
October 2025 - 1946.47 ppb
October 2024 - 1940.79 ppb
+ Data: gml.noaa.gov/ccgg/trends_...
+ Why the change in trends? www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
October 2025 - 1946.47 ppb
October 2024 - 1940.79 ppb
+ Data: gml.noaa.gov/ccgg/trends_...
+ Why the change in trends? www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Reposts of old posts all
I got
I got
February 11, 2026 at 2:48 AM
Reposts of old posts all
I got
I got
Reposted
I went trout fishing late summer (catch and release of course), and along the banks of the creek were stands of goldenrod mixed with the most pungent native mint you can imagine. Goldenrod has a bad rap.
Of course I paused to take some photos.
Of course I paused to take some photos.
October 2, 2025 at 12:44 PM
I went trout fishing late summer (catch and release of course), and along the banks of the creek were stands of goldenrod mixed with the most pungent native mint you can imagine. Goldenrod has a bad rap.
Of course I paused to take some photos.
Of course I paused to take some photos.
Reposted
Another post for #SciArtSeptember day 30, another engraving after art by Elizabeth Blackwell from Herbarium Blackwellianum.
Asarum virginicum, aka heart-leaf ginger: these plates are completely colored by hand over the bumpy pattern of the laid paper. 🌱
Asarum virginicum, aka heart-leaf ginger: these plates are completely colored by hand over the bumpy pattern of the laid paper. 🌱
September 30, 2025 at 11:38 AM
Another post for #SciArtSeptember day 30, another engraving after art by Elizabeth Blackwell from Herbarium Blackwellianum.
Asarum virginicum, aka heart-leaf ginger: these plates are completely colored by hand over the bumpy pattern of the laid paper. 🌱
Asarum virginicum, aka heart-leaf ginger: these plates are completely colored by hand over the bumpy pattern of the laid paper. 🌱
“Fig. 12. Calymene senaria. This fossil occurs in the shell-beds, F. 3, a, of Wisconsin and Iowa, but the specimen here was obtained in Ohio..”
Plate from my copy of a Geological Survey Report by geologist
David Dale Owen published in 1852.
Ring for scale.
#FossilFriday
Plate from my copy of a Geological Survey Report by geologist
David Dale Owen published in 1852.
Ring for scale.
#FossilFriday
February 11, 2026 at 2:47 AM
Reposted
Ponderosa pines are one of my favorite trees because of their prevalence where I grew up and currently live, my mother’s studies in the same area (PhD plant physiology), and a childhood fascination with their puzzle bark.
My 📷
My 📷
September 24, 2025 at 3:27 AM
Ponderosa pines are one of my favorite trees because of their prevalence where I grew up and currently live, my mother’s studies in the same area (PhD plant physiology), and a childhood fascination with their puzzle bark.
My 📷
My 📷