Ethan White
@ethanwhite.weecology.org
Environmental data scientist/professor using technology to understand nature. #rstats, Python, open data, open source. he/him
Pinned
Ethan White
@ethanwhite.weecology.org
· Nov 13
I am sorry to inform you that "That's not how we've done it in the past" is not a good reason not to try something new.
Reposted by Ethan White
What I should have been doing this afternoon: my work
What I did: make a crappy copy of this painting with Skittles Gummies
What I did: make a crappy copy of this painting with Skittles Gummies
February 17, 2026 at 8:46 PM
What I should have been doing this afternoon: my work
What I did: make a crappy copy of this painting with Skittles Gummies
What I did: make a crappy copy of this painting with Skittles Gummies
Reposted by Ethan White
NSF Update
Funding curve overall. A little bit of progress in the past week, but only a little bit.
Now by Directorate...
1/11
Funding curve overall. A little bit of progress in the past week, but only a little bit.
Now by Directorate...
1/11
February 13, 2026 at 9:22 PM
NSF Update
Funding curve overall. A little bit of progress in the past week, but only a little bit.
Now by Directorate...
1/11
Funding curve overall. A little bit of progress in the past week, but only a little bit.
Now by Directorate...
1/11
Reposted by Ethan White
*bangs the screen*
February 17, 2026 at 8:08 PM
*bangs the screen*
One of our former PhD students still refers to me as Dr. Ethan. So now I refer to them as Dr. Pat and it is surprisingly little joy every time we correspond.
February 16, 2026 at 2:42 PM
One of our former PhD students still refers to me as Dr. Ethan. So now I refer to them as Dr. Pat and it is surprisingly little joy every time we correspond.
Reposted by Ethan White
WOW. Incredible. This is the case in which DHS claimed that ICE officers had been attacked with a shovel and fired back in self-defense. Evidence since suggests an ICE officer fired through a closed door and struck someone on the other side.
Will DHS retract the prior claims?
Will DHS retract the prior claims?
February 13, 2026 at 7:24 PM
WOW. Incredible. This is the case in which DHS claimed that ICE officers had been attacked with a shovel and fired back in self-defense. Evidence since suggests an ICE officer fired through a closed door and struck someone on the other side.
Will DHS retract the prior claims?
Will DHS retract the prior claims?
Reposted by Ethan White
I don’t say it enough, but to everyone out there fighting the good fight-Caring about our world with empathy and compassion-and courage- I may not know you, but I love you and that is where I am putting all of my #ValentinesDay love this year. ❤️
February 15, 2026 at 2:54 AM
I don’t say it enough, but to everyone out there fighting the good fight-Caring about our world with empathy and compassion-and courage- I may not know you, but I love you and that is where I am putting all of my #ValentinesDay love this year. ❤️
Reposted by Ethan White
CCTV footage appears to show DHS agents posing as people having car trouble in order to lure a target out of his house before arresting them. The target comes out and starts helping them before 3 vehicles surround the scene. The car "experiencing" trouble then drives off with them.
February 14, 2026 at 4:25 PM
CCTV footage appears to show DHS agents posing as people having car trouble in order to lure a target out of his house before arresting them. The target comes out and starts helping them before 3 vehicles surround the scene. The car "experiencing" trouble then drives off with them.
The story of what's been happening with an LLM posting attack pieces against an open source maintainer and then a news outlet publishing a piece using LLMs that made up quotes from the maintainer is a disturbing look into what the internet is going to look like in the immediate future.
An AI Agent Published a Hit Piece on Me
Summary: An AI agent of unknown ownership autonomously wrote and published a personalized hit piece about me after I rejected its code, attempting to damage my reputation and shame me into acceptin…
theshamblog.com
February 15, 2026 at 1:45 AM
The story of what's been happening with an LLM posting attack pieces against an open source maintainer and then a news outlet publishing a piece using LLMs that made up quotes from the maintainer is a disturbing look into what the internet is going to look like in the immediate future.
Reposted by Ethan White
My employer, Univ. Colorado will pay OpenAI $2M/year under the banner of “equity”. That’s 54 full scholarships / year. Plus, our IT will be able to read our chatGPT logs, and our chats can be requested under public records law. No thanks. Surveillance is not equity
www.axios.com/local/boulde...
www.axios.com/local/boulde...
CU signs $2M OpenAI deal for ChatGPT access
Students and faculty will gain access to ChatGPT Edu starting in March under a three-year deal.
www.axios.com
February 13, 2026 at 11:36 PM
My employer, Univ. Colorado will pay OpenAI $2M/year under the banner of “equity”. That’s 54 full scholarships / year. Plus, our IT will be able to read our chatGPT logs, and our chats can be requested under public records law. No thanks. Surveillance is not equity
www.axios.com/local/boulde...
www.axios.com/local/boulde...
Reposted by Ethan White
Going through the stages of grief now: Anger
Everything about this grant was a huge middle finger to those of us at SLACs. Basically only teams from large/wealthy Unis are eligible
-short window: only one month from notice to due
-complex application: need staff
-All but required to have a CS dept
Everything about this grant was a huge middle finger to those of us at SLACs. Basically only teams from large/wealthy Unis are eligible
-short window: only one month from notice to due
-complex application: need staff
-All but required to have a CS dept
Mon: Let's see if we think we can do this grant!
Tue: Yes! except for this part that we need someone else to do
Wed: That person is pretty sure they can
Thu: Eh...maybe do the thing, we just have to resolve issues A-G before I can say for certain
Fri: Nope, we can't do this, not in this time frame
Tue: Yes! except for this part that we need someone else to do
Wed: That person is pretty sure they can
Thu: Eh...maybe do the thing, we just have to resolve issues A-G before I can say for certain
Fri: Nope, we can't do this, not in this time frame
a man wearing a shirt that says big kahuva on it
ALT: a man wearing a shirt that says big kahuva on it
media.tenor.com
February 13, 2026 at 6:22 PM
Going through the stages of grief now: Anger
Everything about this grant was a huge middle finger to those of us at SLACs. Basically only teams from large/wealthy Unis are eligible
-short window: only one month from notice to due
-complex application: need staff
-All but required to have a CS dept
Everything about this grant was a huge middle finger to those of us at SLACs. Basically only teams from large/wealthy Unis are eligible
-short window: only one month from notice to due
-complex application: need staff
-All but required to have a CS dept
Reposted by Ethan White
Mark your calendars!
💌 LOVE YOUR UNION SOCIAL ♥️ Friday the 13th (2/13)
🕓 4-7 PM
🍺 🎟️ 📍 Cypress & Grove - 1001 NW 4th St
No bad luck here - just union love.
Come celebrate getting through the recertification election with us and show some love for collective power ✊❤️
💌 LOVE YOUR UNION SOCIAL ♥️ Friday the 13th (2/13)
🕓 4-7 PM
🍺 🎟️ 📍 Cypress & Grove - 1001 NW 4th St
No bad luck here - just union love.
Come celebrate getting through the recertification election with us and show some love for collective power ✊❤️
February 6, 2026 at 8:04 PM
Mark your calendars!
💌 LOVE YOUR UNION SOCIAL ♥️ Friday the 13th (2/13)
🕓 4-7 PM
🍺 🎟️ 📍 Cypress & Grove - 1001 NW 4th St
No bad luck here - just union love.
Come celebrate getting through the recertification election with us and show some love for collective power ✊❤️
💌 LOVE YOUR UNION SOCIAL ♥️ Friday the 13th (2/13)
🕓 4-7 PM
🍺 🎟️ 📍 Cypress & Grove - 1001 NW 4th St
No bad luck here - just union love.
Come celebrate getting through the recertification election with us and show some love for collective power ✊❤️
Reposted by Ethan White
Anybody want to buy a painting? They miss me at the post office 😢 #sciart artologica.etsy.com
February 12, 2026 at 3:22 PM
Anybody want to buy a painting? They miss me at the post office 😢 #sciart artologica.etsy.com
Reposted by Ethan White
Well holy fucking shit. Ring cancelled their partnership with Flock. Keep pressure on them to stop volunteering their feeds to state, local, and federal agencies, though, because that part's still going.
Ring cancels its partnership with Flock Safety after surveillance backlash
Ring cancels its partnership with Flock Safety after surveillance backlash
Flock off
buff.ly
February 13, 2026 at 12:42 AM
Well holy fucking shit. Ring cancelled their partnership with Flock. Keep pressure on them to stop volunteering their feeds to state, local, and federal agencies, though, because that part's still going.
Reposted by Ethan White
And the canon that instructs us to draw understanding of a statute’s meaning from its title. The list goes on.
The government’s argument for why it is entitled to strip residents of their due process rights and lock them away indefinitely is easily the most frivolous argument I’ve ever seen.
14/
The government’s argument for why it is entitled to strip residents of their due process rights and lock them away indefinitely is easily the most frivolous argument I’ve ever seen.
14/
February 11, 2026 at 9:56 PM
And the canon that instructs us to draw understanding of a statute’s meaning from its title. The list goes on.
The government’s argument for why it is entitled to strip residents of their due process rights and lock them away indefinitely is easily the most frivolous argument I’ve ever seen.
14/
The government’s argument for why it is entitled to strip residents of their due process rights and lock them away indefinitely is easily the most frivolous argument I’ve ever seen.
14/
Reposted by Ethan White
Need to knit another Melt the Ice Hat? LYS sold out? I am donating free shipping of Resistance Red yarns to the USA this year. Just restocked, including new worsted colors! Use the discount code ICEOUT, and remember: you still have friends in Canada.🧶🍁
www.slanbaby.com/collections/resistance-reds
www.slanbaby.com/collections/resistance-reds
February 11, 2026 at 11:45 PM
Need to knit another Melt the Ice Hat? LYS sold out? I am donating free shipping of Resistance Red yarns to the USA this year. Just restocked, including new worsted colors! Use the discount code ICEOUT, and remember: you still have friends in Canada.🧶🍁
www.slanbaby.com/collections/resistance-reds
www.slanbaby.com/collections/resistance-reds
Reposted by Ethan White
A high-speed car chase involving a federal agent in St. Paul ended with a multi-vehicle crash and injuries to the fleeing driver, who was taken away in an ambulance. bit.ly/4kvJo0M
📸: Leila Navidi
📸: Leila Navidi
February 11, 2026 at 7:38 PM
A high-speed car chase involving a federal agent in St. Paul ended with a multi-vehicle crash and injuries to the fleeing driver, who was taken away in an ambulance. bit.ly/4kvJo0M
📸: Leila Navidi
📸: Leila Navidi
Reposted by Ethan White
Every photo from Minneapolis looks like this. Cops decked out with guns and full tac gear facing off against people in bathrobes, parkas, and sweatpants armed only with whistles and cell phones.
Yet every verified MAGA chode on X dutifully calls it a riot or violent insurrection.
Yet every verified MAGA chode on X dutifully calls it a riot or violent insurrection.
February 11, 2026 at 11:50 PM
Every photo from Minneapolis looks like this. Cops decked out with guns and full tac gear facing off against people in bathrobes, parkas, and sweatpants armed only with whistles and cell phones.
Yet every verified MAGA chode on X dutifully calls it a riot or violent insurrection.
Yet every verified MAGA chode on X dutifully calls it a riot or violent insurrection.
Reposted by Ethan White
today.
This is the aftermath of an ICE kidnapping a few blocks from my home in St. Paul—an hour ago. A quiet street full of broken glass and at least three wrecked cars. The target of the kidnapping was taken away by ambulance. He was on a stretcher and covered by a sheet, though a cop said he was alive.
February 11, 2026 at 5:39 PM
today.
Reposted by Ethan White
If you are so inclined
February 11, 2026 at 7:23 AM
If you are so inclined
Reposted by Ethan White
UNC Admin Can Now, Officially, Secretly Record Faculty
UNC Admin Can Now, Officially, Secretly Record Faculty
The new policy prohibits students from recording class without permission but explicitly allows administrators to surveil professors for any “lawful purpose.”
www.insidehighered.com
February 11, 2026 at 1:38 PM
UNC Admin Can Now, Officially, Secretly Record Faculty
Reposted by Ethan White
Look at what they’re doing to schools. Attendance cut in half or more in many. Armed, masked agents lurking in the parking lots at dropoff time, forcing families to physically protect children with their bodies. The other day ICE drew weapons outside an elementary school, forcing it into lockdown.
February 11, 2026 at 11:07 AM
Look at what they’re doing to schools. Attendance cut in half or more in many. Armed, masked agents lurking in the parking lots at dropoff time, forcing families to physically protect children with their bodies. The other day ICE drew weapons outside an elementary school, forcing it into lockdown.
Reposted by Ethan White
Our own government has done extraordinary damage to the economic and social fabric of this region, wreaking havoc for no discernible reason. It’s a terror campaign, not an immigration operation. It’s still happening.
February 11, 2026 at 11:05 AM
Our own government has done extraordinary damage to the economic and social fabric of this region, wreaking havoc for no discernible reason. It’s a terror campaign, not an immigration operation. It’s still happening.
Reposted by Ethan White
Sometimes very hard not to feel like the rest of the country has abandoned Minnesota. We STILL have ICE everywhere. Our schools, businesses, and economy are in profound crisis. But without Bovino here throwing tear gas, much of the country seems to not care at all what’s being done to us.
February 11, 2026 at 11:03 AM
Sometimes very hard not to feel like the rest of the country has abandoned Minnesota. We STILL have ICE everywhere. Our schools, businesses, and economy are in profound crisis. But without Bovino here throwing tear gas, much of the country seems to not care at all what’s being done to us.
Reposted by Ethan White
We are standing up against Oklahoma Governor Kevin Sitt's executive order that proposes to end tenure.
"We don't want our faculty to be controlled by whims of the government. We want them to follow truth and inquiry."
—Todd Wolfson, AAUP President
@uoklahomaaaup.bsky.social
"We don't want our faculty to be controlled by whims of the government. We want them to follow truth and inquiry."
—Todd Wolfson, AAUP President
@uoklahomaaaup.bsky.social
Oklahoma professors oppose Gov. Kevin Stitt’s order ending tenure
Oklahoma professors are strongly opposing Gov. Kevin Stitt's executive order that restricts tenure at regional universities and community colleges, fearing it will limit academic freedom and lead to…
www.4029tv.com
February 10, 2026 at 3:30 PM
We are standing up against Oklahoma Governor Kevin Sitt's executive order that proposes to end tenure.
"We don't want our faculty to be controlled by whims of the government. We want them to follow truth and inquiry."
—Todd Wolfson, AAUP President
@uoklahomaaaup.bsky.social
"We don't want our faculty to be controlled by whims of the government. We want them to follow truth and inquiry."
—Todd Wolfson, AAUP President
@uoklahomaaaup.bsky.social