Roy Plotnick
@fossilexpress.bsky.social
Paleontologist, geologist, ecologist, educator. Professor Emeritus at the University of Illinois Chicago. Author of EXPLORERS OF DEEP TIME. Also American Flyer trains and the Little Engine that Could.
Really bad news
budgetprocess.unl.edu/final-budget...
budgetprocess.unl.edu/final-budget...
Final Budget Reduction Plan | Budget Process | Nebraska
budgetprocess.unl.edu
November 11, 2025 at 8:38 PM
Really bad news
budgetprocess.unl.edu/final-budget...
budgetprocess.unl.edu/final-budget...
Reposted by Roy Plotnick
There's something that feels a bit dead about the world right now, but tens of thousands of people just came together to help us solve a 100 year old mystery about a little blue jelly, and I find that heartbreakingly hopeful:
November 10, 2025 at 11:52 PM
There's something that feels a bit dead about the world right now, but tens of thousands of people just came together to help us solve a 100 year old mystery about a little blue jelly, and I find that heartbreakingly hopeful:
When I explain why I retired from teaching after 38 years, some of these same thoughts come up.
www.theatlantic.com/technology/2...
www.theatlantic.com/technology/2...
Why Students Are Obsessed With ‘Points Taken Off’
Students and professors are in a drawn-out battle over grade inflation. It may never end.
www.theatlantic.com
November 5, 2025 at 12:10 AM
When I explain why I retired from teaching after 38 years, some of these same thoughts come up.
www.theatlantic.com/technology/2...
www.theatlantic.com/technology/2...
Reposted by Roy Plotnick
At an airport in South Carolina on Thursday, representative Nancy Mace called police officers “fucking incompetent” and berated them repeatedly, according to an incident report. www.wired.com/story/nancy-...
Nancy Mace Curses, Berates Confused Cops in Airport Meltdown: Police Report
At an airport in South Carolina on Thursday, representative Nancy Mace called police officers “fucking incompetent” and berated them repeatedly, according to an incident report.
www.wired.com
October 31, 2025 at 8:49 PM
At an airport in South Carolina on Thursday, representative Nancy Mace called police officers “fucking incompetent” and berated them repeatedly, according to an incident report. www.wired.com/story/nancy-...
Reposted by Roy Plotnick
Pretty good article about the specifics of PRI's situation and what led to the immediate need they have from upstate NY based media.
www.newyorkupstate.com/news/2025/10...
www.newyorkupstate.com/news/2025/10...
This hidden gem Upstate NY museum with dino bones you can touch is on the brink of extinction
Officials say the museum that houses a mastadon skeleton needs to raise $1 million by the end of 2025 to avoid foreclosure.
www.newyorkupstate.com
October 29, 2025 at 10:37 PM
Pretty good article about the specifics of PRI's situation and what led to the immediate need they have from upstate NY based media.
www.newyorkupstate.com/news/2025/10...
www.newyorkupstate.com/news/2025/10...
We are so lucky to have him. www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...
J. B. Pritzker’s Dark Visions
Twenty-seven minutes with the latest governor Donald Trump wants arrested
www.theatlantic.com
October 29, 2025 at 1:15 AM
We are so lucky to have him. www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...
At the empty USGS booth at GSA. More out of view on both sides
October 22, 2025 at 2:04 AM
At the empty USGS booth at GSA. More out of view on both sides
The very first moments of the Cenozoic
October 19, 2025 at 3:21 AM
The very first moments of the Cenozoic
On National Fossil Day, we celebrate the scientific and educational importance of paleontology and our responsibility to conserve fossils for future generations. Today, October 15th, 2025, is the 16th Anniversary of National Fossil Day!
#NationalFossilDay
www.nps.gov/subjects/fos...
#NationalFossilDay
www.nps.gov/subjects/fos...
National Fossil Day (U.S. National Park Service)
www.nps.gov
October 15, 2025 at 4:33 PM
Reposted by Roy Plotnick
Reporting live from Chicago, there’s no “hellscape” I’d rather be in.
October 10, 2025 at 4:19 AM
Reporting live from Chicago, there’s no “hellscape” I’d rather be in.
This is a great example of geoheritage: www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc...
Why Concord?
The geological origins of the American Revolution
www.theatlantic.com
October 8, 2025 at 7:23 PM
This is a great example of geoheritage: www.theatlantic.com/magazine/arc...
Reposted by Roy Plotnick
Federal Troops Arrive in Portland and Immediately Form Bands
September 27, 2025 at 4:10 PM
Federal Troops Arrive in Portland and Immediately Form Bands
Reposted by Roy Plotnick
Science news article about 2nd year grad students being unceremoniously dropped from the GRFP eligibility with no explanation or warning:
www.science.org/content/arti...
www.science.org/content/arti...
‘Completely shattered.’ Changes to NSF’s graduate student fellowship spur outcry
The announcement comes months later than usual, leaving many would-be applicants stranded
www.science.org
September 27, 2025 at 12:25 AM
Science news article about 2nd year grad students being unceremoniously dropped from the GRFP eligibility with no explanation or warning:
www.science.org/content/arti...
www.science.org/content/arti...
Reposted by Roy Plotnick
#BrianKilmeade should've been fired a LONG time before this. But especially this time @foxnews.com.web.brid.gy do something right, for once in your miserable existence as a so-called NewsOrg. Fire Kilmeade! #FoxNews
In a shocking on-air moment, a “Fox and Friends” co-host said homeless people suffering from mental health issues who refuse help should be killed
'Just Kill 'Em': Fox Host Makes Shocking Comment On Homeless People
"Fox and Friends" co-host Brian Kilmeade made a jaw-dropping remark while discussing homelessness and mental health.
www.huffpost.com
September 13, 2025 at 11:28 PM
#BrianKilmeade should've been fired a LONG time before this. But especially this time @foxnews.com.web.brid.gy do something right, for once in your miserable existence as a so-called NewsOrg. Fire Kilmeade! #FoxNews
Explore this gift article from The New York Times. You can read it for free without a subscription. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/08/o...
Opinion | We Are Watching a Scientific Superpower Destroy Itself
www.nytimes.com
September 8, 2025 at 3:56 PM
Explore this gift article from The New York Times. You can read it for free without a subscription. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/08/o...
I'm in there. I bet many of you are. www.theatlantic.com/technology/a...
The Unbelievable Scale of AI’s Pirated-Books Problem
Meta pirated millions of books to train its AI. Search through them here.
www.theatlantic.com
September 7, 2025 at 7:44 PM
I'm in there. I bet many of you are. www.theatlantic.com/technology/a...
Reposted by Roy Plotnick
Global Change Biology | Environmental Change Journal | Wiley Online Library onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
The Greatest Extinction Event in 66 Million Years? Contextualising Anthropogenic Extinctions
Species and ecosystems are changing rapidly in response to human actions, but how does this compare with the deeper past? We review and compare the current extinction event to those over the last 66 ...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
September 4, 2025 at 6:23 PM
Global Change Biology | Environmental Change Journal | Wiley Online Library onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Reposted by Roy Plotnick
Hoo boy
Abbe Lowell and I represent CDC Director #SusanMonarez. Contrary to govt statements, Dr. Monarez has neither resigned nor yet been fired. She will not resign. We have issued the following statement:
August 27, 2025 at 11:19 PM
Hoo boy
Explore this gift article from The New York Times. You can read it for free without a subscription. www.nytimes.com/2025/08/27/u...
Trump Shrank Staffing of National Parks. See How Many Are Struggling.
www.nytimes.com
August 27, 2025 at 4:56 PM
Explore this gift article from The New York Times. You can read it for free without a subscription. www.nytimes.com/2025/08/27/u...
Been talking with a recent graduate in biology who wants to get a Masters in vertebrate paleontology. He's taking a gap year and will take some geology classes. He's looking for suggestions for grad schools. I had some ideas but would love to hear some more - anyone willing to communicate with him?
August 17, 2025 at 5:16 PM
Been talking with a recent graduate in biology who wants to get a Masters in vertebrate paleontology. He's taking a gap year and will take some geology classes. He's looking for suggestions for grad schools. I had some ideas but would love to hear some more - anyone willing to communicate with him?
Reposted by Roy Plotnick
No, JD, belonging in America does not depend on how many generations of your family have lived here. The values of this country matter - deeply - to who we are and what it means to be American.
August 12, 2025 at 1:31 AM
No, JD, belonging in America does not depend on how many generations of your family have lived here. The values of this country matter - deeply - to who we are and what it means to be American.
Yet another Mazon Creek animal reconsidered
Meet Palaeocampa anthrax, a newly discovered Carboniferous lobopodian, and 150 year old mystery fossil!
Palaeocampa is an exceptional lobopodian - it lived in rivers and lakes, bristled with thousands of poisonous spines, and more. 🧵
Open access: nature.com/articles/s42...
Palaeocampa is an exceptional lobopodian - it lived in rivers and lakes, bristled with thousands of poisonous spines, and more. 🧵
Open access: nature.com/articles/s42...
July 23, 2025 at 2:27 PM
Yet another Mazon Creek animal reconsidered
Reposted by Roy Plotnick
The story about Colbert being cancelled because…. Trump doesn’t like him, should be a warning shot to everyone. The oligarchy has the power… they will use their money to silence you.
Time to rise up.
Time to rise up.
July 18, 2025 at 3:25 AM
The story about Colbert being cancelled because…. Trump doesn’t like him, should be a warning shot to everyone. The oligarchy has the power… they will use their money to silence you.
Time to rise up.
Time to rise up.