Joseph W. Brown
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josephwb.bsky.social
Joseph W. Brown
@josephwb.bsky.social
2.6K followers 460 following 3.4K posts
Comp. evol. biol., fake ornithologist, LFHCfs, Luddite, CSH

I get down methodically
Without regard to my soul

tinyurl.com/G00gleSch0lar

HHGG bot: @whalepetunias.bsky.social

pfp: Chickens exposed to natural beard hair on a mannequin
hdr: socks & sandals
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josephwb.bsky.social
Joseph W. Brown @josephwb.bsky.social · Dec 28
I made this over the break. Why would I do such a thing? Am I some sort of #phylogenetics dork? Well... yes, but that's not why. To fully explain I'll have to do one of those sewing-strings-wrapped-around-a-spool dealies. 1/ 🧪
A cross-stitched logo for the phylogenetic inference program PAUP. In yellow are the letters P-A-U-P, attached at the base in the pattern of a phylogenetic tree. The "tree" is outlines in dark blue, with light blue in the background. The counters in the Ps and A are orange.
Reposted by Joseph W. Brown
jrossibarra.bsky.social
Fun news! @gcbias.bsky.social and I are teaching a 2-week online population genetics workshop this summer to raise money for the Center for Population Biology at UC Davis. We're trying to gauge interest -- please fill this out if you might be interested! And please share broadly!
Davis Summer Population Genomics Program
Want to learn population genetics? Please fill out this form to indicate your potential interest in a 2-week intensive online summer population genetics course taught by Jeffrey Ross-Ibarra and Graham...
docs.google.com
February 9, 2026 at 6:24 PM
Reposted by Joseph W. Brown
jghodge.bsky.social
Question for the comparative biology #evodevo crowd, I know there’s a term for this but I’m blanking on what you would call an organ/trait that serves to radically different functions at distinct points in an organism’s life history.
February 9, 2026 at 6:15 PM
Reposted by Joseph W. Brown
ymilesz.bsky.social
I worked on euphorine braconids for my PhD but I haven't really touched it since, so it was nice to be included and help contribute in this updated version of the dichotomous key. Hope it will be useful to people as the old version was to me.

cjai.biologicalsurvey.ca/articles/ssv...
Key to the New World genera of Euphorinae (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonoidea: Braconidae) and synopses of the genera – Canadian Journal of Arthropod Identification
cjai.biologicalsurvey.ca
February 9, 2026 at 4:28 PM
Reposted by Joseph W. Brown
fervillanea.bsky.social
We're excited to be recruiting an NSF funded postdoc to work in the Villanea lab at CU Boulder. We're specifically interested in candidates who want to work at the intersection of population genetics, ancient DNA, and computer modeling. Please RT

jobs.colorado.edu/jobs/JobDeta...
PostDoctoral Associate
jobs.colorado.edu
February 9, 2026 at 3:12 PM
josephwb.bsky.social
Reminded of this absolutely amazing talk from Douglas Adams on the mating ritual of the Kakapo youtu.be/sCsHuoVABgI?...
February 9, 2026 at 3:21 PM
josephwb.bsky.social
Moar bird phacts from @hgmodernism.bsky.social youtu.be/XNopPMnmp1s?...
I found even rarer bird facts
YouTube video by HGModernism
youtu.be
February 9, 2026 at 3:13 PM
Reposted by Joseph W. Brown
tomgauld.bsky.social
My latest cartoon for @theguardian.com books
A writer sits on a large couch in the foyer of a publisher's office. An assistant approaches. Assistant. "Suzy is caught up in an editorial meeting but she shouldn't be long. Can I get you a triple vodka and tonic while you wait?" Writer "You know it's 11 am, right?" Assistant "Yes, but I also know what she thinks of your latest draft." The assistant goes to get the drink adding " ... Actually, I'll get you a couple."
February 9, 2026 at 2:54 PM
Reposted by Joseph W. Brown
albertonykus.bsky.social
Phylogenetic position of ʻōʻō (Hawaiian "honeyeaters"): onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.... 🪶🧪 (📷Zhao et al.)
Diagram showing the evolutionary relationships among several groups of songbirds, including the recently extinct, nectar-feeding ʻōʻō.
February 9, 2026 at 2:28 PM
josephwb.bsky.social
Force for good right here.
gailsimone.bsky.social Gail Simone @gailsimone.bsky.social · 1d
Here is a true thing and it has nothing to do with sales or marketing or my of that noise.

If your blood family sucks, come be with us. I get the privilege of inviting you to be an honorary X-Man and you get to ride in the Blackbird and steal Gambit’s beer and be part of a family that loves you.
February 9, 2026 at 12:46 PM
Reposted by Joseph W. Brown
acollierastro.bsky.social
so is it a common experience that the same dudes who were super into crypto like 7 years ago are the same dudes that are super into ai hype now?

is it just the same group of guys getting scammed over and over while they lecture us normies about how we are missing out because we are stupid?
February 9, 2026 at 2:43 AM
Reposted by Joseph W. Brown
simifresh.bsky.social
the bushes were people 😂
February 9, 2026 at 2:26 AM
Reposted by Joseph W. Brown
gailsimone.bsky.social
Every transphobe sucks, without exception.
February 9, 2026 at 12:45 AM
Reposted by Joseph W. Brown
harfenist.bsky.social
ChatGPT is so easy to use! And they let you keep the piece of the brain they take out!
February 8, 2026 at 11:51 PM
Reposted by Joseph W. Brown
thatecologist.bsky.social
Does anyone on here have expertise relating to dark septate endophytes? If so, I have some questions about how to distinguish the hyaline hyphae from other types of endophytic fungi
February 8, 2026 at 10:09 PM
Reposted by Joseph W. Brown
metafrantic.bsky.social
Second time in 3 days I’m posting this Vonnegut quote wrt AI.
“When I was 15, I spent a month working on an archeological dig. I was talking to one of the archeologists one day during our lunch break and he asked those kinds of ‘getting to know you’ questions you ask young people: Do you play sports? What’s your favorite subject? And I told him, no I don’t play any sports. I do theater, I’m in choir, I play the violin and piano, I used to take art classes. “And he went wow. That’s amazing! And I said, ‘Oh no, but I’m not any good at any of them.’ “And he said something then that I will never forget and which absolutely blew my mind because no one had ever said anything like it to me before: ‘I don’t think being good at things is the point of doing them. I think you’ve got all these wonderful experiences with different skills, and that all teaches you things and makes you an interesting person, no matter how well you do them.’ “And that honestly changed my life. Because I went from a failure, someone who hadn’t been talented enough at anything to excel, to someone who did things because I enjoyed them. I had been raised in such an achievement-oriented environment, so inundated with the myth of Talent, that I thought it was only worth doing things if you could ‘win’ at them.” -Kurt Vonnegut
February 8, 2026 at 4:57 PM
josephwb.bsky.social
Great, NOW who's gonna Zipper all of these Squirrel Nuts?
napaaqtuk.bsky.social Dr. Kat Napaaqtuk❄️ @napaaqtuk.bsky.social · 1d
Great, NOW who's going to Kill all of these Bikinis?
motherofbeanz.bsky.social Lydia - Heathen @motherofbeanz.bsky.social · 1d
Great, NOW who’s going to take back all of these Sundays?
February 8, 2026 at 8:05 PM
Reposted by Joseph W. Brown
jackstack.bsky.social
Part of my task at Bowie is building classes in vertebrate anatomy and paleontology, and to do that I will be expanding the teaching collection. Anyone have advice on doing so?
February 8, 2026 at 7:12 PM
Reposted by Joseph W. Brown
chanda.blacksky.app
You will never get the sense of accomplishment from writing with AI that you will get from actually writing with just yourself
February 8, 2026 at 3:58 PM
Reposted by Joseph W. Brown
billamend.bsky.social
Tonight’s dumb napkin cartoon…
December 22, 2025 at 12:43 AM
Reposted by Joseph W. Brown
dieworkwear.bsky.social
kind of funny that an olympian said they are here to represent "compassion, respect, and love for others" and some people automatically knew that was a statement against them
February 7, 2026 at 10:25 PM
josephwb.bsky.social
Loot that drops after defeating me:

- lifetime supply of Earl Grey tea (w extra bergamot)
- 3 solved github issues
- origami paper
- snow shovel
- birding binoculars
- bad puns
gregpak.net Greg Pak @gregpak.net · 2d
Loot that drops after defeating me:

- whistles
- zines
- a Nikon FM2n and a Canon 5D Mark III
- anger
conroyforreal.bsky.social Chris Conroy @conroyforreal.bsky.social · 2d
Loot that drops after defeating me:

-Fellow travel mug filled with cold brew
-Black hoodie
-Wad of napkins stuffed in the pocket of said black hoodie 18 months ago
-Carne asada burrito
-Pet Shop Boys 12” single (VG/VG+)
February 7, 2026 at 10:04 PM
Reposted by Joseph W. Brown
erikahall.bsky.social
My favorite artifact in the "you don't need AI to do art" discourse is, of course, screenwriter Dan O'Bannon's sketch of the facehugger to explain it to Giger.
A 2 panel sketch disgram of a 1 meter tall pod. in the second panel, an oval section pops off and a demonic little face with short tentacles flies out, crudely drawn.
February 7, 2026 at 6:39 PM
Reposted by Joseph W. Brown
danielbolnick.bsky.social
What’s the best choice for a good bird guide for India (southern)?
February 7, 2026 at 2:50 PM
Reposted by Joseph W. Brown
rnrkd.bsky.social
I'm sorry the guy changing the rules on the fly is named what
govwesmoore.bsky.social Governor Wes Moore @govwesmoore.bsky.social · 3d
I stand with County Executive Calvin Ball as he signs emergency legislation today prohibiting privately owned buildings from being used as ICE detention centers.

Howard County chose dignity, accountability, and its people. Tune into our event now:
bit.ly/4a2VtHw
Redirecting...
bit.ly
February 7, 2026 at 2:34 PM
Reposted by Joseph W. Brown
histoftech.bsky.social
No joke: I got angry hate mail today for writing an obituary of a Black woman scientist—because the person felt she did didn’t deserve the recognition.

Which just makes me want to share it again: www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Gladys Mae West obituary: mathematician who pioneered GPS technology
She made key contributions to US cold-war science despite facing huge barriers as a Black woman.
www.nature.com
February 6, 2026 at 9:09 AM