Mitten Owl
@mittenowl.bsky.social
Boring is underrated.
Think global, Act Local! 😎 Michigan
Think global, Act Local! 😎 Michigan
Reposted by Mitten Owl
That's why it was such a bad idea for the left to stand around staring as the right waged a multi-decade war on sources of public reason: science, journalism, & academia. Without trusted institutions to defend reason & decency, it's just a war of all against all, & assholes will always win that war.
July 27, 2025 at 8:24 PM
That's why it was such a bad idea for the left to stand around staring as the right waged a multi-decade war on sources of public reason: science, journalism, & academia. Without trusted institutions to defend reason & decency, it's just a war of all against all, & assholes will always win that war.
Reposted by Mitten Owl
This past weekend, the head appeared at Mount Rainier National Park in Washington State with a sign stating “Make America Wait Again” and “Now With Longer Lines Thanks To DOGE Cuts!”
www.rawstory.com/elon-musk-26...
www.rawstory.com/elon-musk-26...
'Make America Wait Again': Giant heads mocking Elon Musk appear in national parks
A temporary art installation mocking Elon Musk is appearing at national parks nationwide. For the last three weekends, a giant Musk head has appeared in crowded parking lots and long lines of people w...
www.rawstory.com
July 27, 2025 at 8:39 PM
This past weekend, the head appeared at Mount Rainier National Park in Washington State with a sign stating “Make America Wait Again” and “Now With Longer Lines Thanks To DOGE Cuts!”
www.rawstory.com/elon-musk-26...
www.rawstory.com/elon-musk-26...
Reposted by Mitten Owl
Dave set the standard. 🙃 Taking the fruit basket to the GE building was *chef's kiss*. 🤣
The Letterman Remote to G.E. Headquarters Collection, 1985-93
YouTube video by Don Giller
youtu.be
July 18, 2025 at 1:07 AM
Dave set the standard. 🙃 Taking the fruit basket to the GE building was *chef's kiss*. 🤣
Reposted by Mitten Owl
There is no such thing anymore as an honest American Conservative. And if they are, they should be banging their heads against the wall, and pray for forgiveness. In a tactical move, they allied with Evangelicals first, then with Tea Party, then with Trump & MAGA and ended with fascists. GOP is dead
July 5, 2025 at 12:12 PM
There is no such thing anymore as an honest American Conservative. And if they are, they should be banging their heads against the wall, and pray for forgiveness. In a tactical move, they allied with Evangelicals first, then with Tea Party, then with Trump & MAGA and ended with fascists. GOP is dead
Reposted by Mitten Owl
Just recorded a pod on solar+storage and holy shit y'all, if you are not tracking this market on a daily basis, you have no idea how wild it is. The global average price of a battery pack fell 40% *from 2023 to 2024*. That dropped the LCOE of a solar+storage plant by 22%. In a year!
July 2, 2025 at 6:30 PM
Just recorded a pod on solar+storage and holy shit y'all, if you are not tracking this market on a daily basis, you have no idea how wild it is. The global average price of a battery pack fell 40% *from 2023 to 2024*. That dropped the LCOE of a solar+storage plant by 22%. In a year!
Reposted by Mitten Owl
You can not come close to understanding the role of trans issues in US politics if you do acknowledge the very basic, fundamental fact that it was the right, not the left, that drove those issues to the top of the public agenda.
June 26, 2025 at 7:10 PM
You can not come close to understanding the role of trans issues in US politics if you do acknowledge the very basic, fundamental fact that it was the right, not the left, that drove those issues to the top of the public agenda.
Reposted by Mitten Owl
I think Democrats have actually been pretty good about hitting this point, but it shows if you live in a Fox News bubble, you'll never hear them do it.
When Republican voters learn that the "Big Beautiful Bill" takes from the poor to give to the rich, they oppose it.
June 26, 2025 at 2:13 PM
I think Democrats have actually been pretty good about hitting this point, but it shows if you live in a Fox News bubble, you'll never hear them do it.
Reposted by Mitten Owl
“For the few Tax Cuts but not for you”
Pamphlets mailed by the @uawregion6.bsky.social political action committee, 1956. From the @uaw.org Publications collection at the @reutherlibrary.bsky.social.
Pamphlets mailed by the @uawregion6.bsky.social political action committee, 1956. From the @uaw.org Publications collection at the @reutherlibrary.bsky.social.
June 26, 2025 at 2:11 PM
“For the few Tax Cuts but not for you”
Pamphlets mailed by the @uawregion6.bsky.social political action committee, 1956. From the @uaw.org Publications collection at the @reutherlibrary.bsky.social.
Pamphlets mailed by the @uawregion6.bsky.social political action committee, 1956. From the @uaw.org Publications collection at the @reutherlibrary.bsky.social.
Reposted by Mitten Owl
Israel started a war with Iran it knew it couldn't complete without the US, so Netanyahu suckered Trump into joining knowing he could easily manipulate Trump.
June 22, 2025 at 1:53 AM
Israel started a war with Iran it knew it couldn't complete without the US, so Netanyahu suckered Trump into joining knowing he could easily manipulate Trump.
Reposted by Mitten Owl
Hot take: the way Tucker grills Ted Cruz in those clips should be the rule not the exception.
If more of the media did this we would be in a much better place*
(* = It should go without saying that we are not and never will be Tucker fans)
If more of the media did this we would be in a much better place*
(* = It should go without saying that we are not and never will be Tucker fans)
June 18, 2025 at 1:21 PM
Hot take: the way Tucker grills Ted Cruz in those clips should be the rule not the exception.
If more of the media did this we would be in a much better place*
(* = It should go without saying that we are not and never will be Tucker fans)
If more of the media did this we would be in a much better place*
(* = It should go without saying that we are not and never will be Tucker fans)
Reposted by Mitten Owl
The Asshole-in-Chief.
June 17, 2025 at 11:01 AM
The Asshole-in-Chief.
Reposted by Mitten Owl
You’ve probably seen the Energy Star efficiency label on items like refrigerators, dishwashers and laptops.
Cutting the program will save the EPA about $32 MILLION a year – while the program saves consumers about $15 BILLION a year in energy costs.
How Energy Star works:
Cutting the program will save the EPA about $32 MILLION a year – while the program saves consumers about $15 BILLION a year in energy costs.
How Energy Star works:
June 14, 2025 at 2:24 PM
You’ve probably seen the Energy Star efficiency label on items like refrigerators, dishwashers and laptops.
Cutting the program will save the EPA about $32 MILLION a year – while the program saves consumers about $15 BILLION a year in energy costs.
How Energy Star works:
Cutting the program will save the EPA about $32 MILLION a year – while the program saves consumers about $15 BILLION a year in energy costs.
How Energy Star works:
Reposted by Mitten Owl
Highly recommend this Construction Physics blog post on the viability of solar power as the backbone of an electricity system.
Seriously, read it -- most people, even energy-literate people, have not kept up on this subject. Things have changed *so* fast, all your old cliches are outdated.
Seriously, read it -- most people, even energy-literate people, have not kept up on this subject. Things have changed *so* fast, all your old cliches are outdated.
Can We Afford Large-scale Solar PV?
In the US solar energy has steadily risen in how much of our electricity it supplies.
www.construction-physics.com
June 11, 2025 at 6:14 PM
Highly recommend this Construction Physics blog post on the viability of solar power as the backbone of an electricity system.
Seriously, read it -- most people, even energy-literate people, have not kept up on this subject. Things have changed *so* fast, all your old cliches are outdated.
Seriously, read it -- most people, even energy-literate people, have not kept up on this subject. Things have changed *so* fast, all your old cliches are outdated.
Reposted by Mitten Owl
Uh - that’s unsustainable.
Hard no.
It’s because wages would plummet, housing would become a luxury, and “we watch our own” clannish behavior from immigrant groups would be (and in some areas is becoming) a PROBLEM.
Higher ed is already bankrupting citizen Americans (of all backgrounds!) & more…
Hard no.
It’s because wages would plummet, housing would become a luxury, and “we watch our own” clannish behavior from immigrant groups would be (and in some areas is becoming) a PROBLEM.
Higher ed is already bankrupting citizen Americans (of all backgrounds!) & more…
June 12, 2025 at 3:47 PM
Uh - that’s unsustainable.
Hard no.
It’s because wages would plummet, housing would become a luxury, and “we watch our own” clannish behavior from immigrant groups would be (and in some areas is becoming) a PROBLEM.
Higher ed is already bankrupting citizen Americans (of all backgrounds!) & more…
Hard no.
It’s because wages would plummet, housing would become a luxury, and “we watch our own” clannish behavior from immigrant groups would be (and in some areas is becoming) a PROBLEM.
Higher ed is already bankrupting citizen Americans (of all backgrounds!) & more…
Reposted by Mitten Owl
Example of foundational science USFS researchers do to stop trees & forests from dying out.
Ash wood is commonly used to make baseball bats and tool handles.
Besides that, Ash trees contribute to healthy forests.
This is just one forest pest of 500+ USFS researchers actively study.
Ash wood is commonly used to make baseball bats and tool handles.
Besides that, Ash trees contribute to healthy forests.
This is just one forest pest of 500+ USFS researchers actively study.
Good news! Some ash trees are genetically resistant to Emerald Ash Borer and Forest Service researchers are growing and breeding them to make the seedlings even more resistant!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=r47B...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=r47B...
Are the ash trees doomed? | Great Lakes Now
YouTube video by Great Lakes Now
www.youtube.com
June 8, 2025 at 12:09 AM
Example of foundational science USFS researchers do to stop trees & forests from dying out.
Ash wood is commonly used to make baseball bats and tool handles.
Besides that, Ash trees contribute to healthy forests.
This is just one forest pest of 500+ USFS researchers actively study.
Ash wood is commonly used to make baseball bats and tool handles.
Besides that, Ash trees contribute to healthy forests.
This is just one forest pest of 500+ USFS researchers actively study.
Reposted by Mitten Owl
Reposted by Mitten Owl
Selling off national parks to private corporations is theft — of land, ecosystems, and public trust.
Once they’re sold, they’re stripped, drilled, mined, and wrecked. And most of that damage can’t be undone.
Once they’re sold, they’re stripped, drilled, mined, and wrecked. And most of that damage can’t be undone.
June 3, 2025 at 7:47 AM
Selling off national parks to private corporations is theft — of land, ecosystems, and public trust.
Once they’re sold, they’re stripped, drilled, mined, and wrecked. And most of that damage can’t be undone.
Once they’re sold, they’re stripped, drilled, mined, and wrecked. And most of that damage can’t be undone.
Reposted by Mitten Owl
Chicago's entire jobs and population growth for the past two decades has been in the parts of the city where there is good public transport, which is why it is *utterly bonkers* that transit cuts are even on the cards
To give an idea 37% of all job growth in Chicagoland in the last 2 decades happened within the core six miles of the region. (477k to 625k)
June 3, 2025 at 2:24 AM
Chicago's entire jobs and population growth for the past two decades has been in the parts of the city where there is good public transport, which is why it is *utterly bonkers* that transit cuts are even on the cards
Reposted by Mitten Owl
People still think that evil people know they're evil.
They don't.
Evil people think they are doing good things. They just define "good" differently. No one ever thinks they have malign intent.
They don't.
Evil people think they are doing good things. They just define "good" differently. No one ever thinks they have malign intent.
June 1, 2025 at 11:48 PM
People still think that evil people know they're evil.
They don't.
Evil people think they are doing good things. They just define "good" differently. No one ever thinks they have malign intent.
They don't.
Evil people think they are doing good things. They just define "good" differently. No one ever thinks they have malign intent.
Reposted by Mitten Owl
Knowledge loss covers obvious stuff, like cuts to science and research, but also more esoteric things. One Forest Service worker told me, "Someone who’s worked in a particular forest for 20 years, you can’t replace that kind of knowledge." They just know it in a way that can't be replicated.
May 29, 2025 at 5:15 PM
Knowledge loss covers obvious stuff, like cuts to science and research, but also more esoteric things. One Forest Service worker told me, "Someone who’s worked in a particular forest for 20 years, you can’t replace that kind of knowledge." They just know it in a way that can't be replicated.
Reposted by Mitten Owl
I’ve seen this first hand.
The knowledge some hold of our forests, and the communities around them, is profound.
Instead of the inter-generational mentoring needed to carry deep knowledge forward, our early career as well as late career workers were targeted and run off.
The knowledge some hold of our forests, and the communities around them, is profound.
Instead of the inter-generational mentoring needed to carry deep knowledge forward, our early career as well as late career workers were targeted and run off.
Knowledge loss covers obvious stuff, like cuts to science and research, but also more esoteric things. One Forest Service worker told me, "Someone who’s worked in a particular forest for 20 years, you can’t replace that kind of knowledge." They just know it in a way that can't be replicated.
May 29, 2025 at 11:43 PM
I’ve seen this first hand.
The knowledge some hold of our forests, and the communities around them, is profound.
Instead of the inter-generational mentoring needed to carry deep knowledge forward, our early career as well as late career workers were targeted and run off.
The knowledge some hold of our forests, and the communities around them, is profound.
Instead of the inter-generational mentoring needed to carry deep knowledge forward, our early career as well as late career workers were targeted and run off.
Reposted by Mitten Owl
Turns out, judges agree.
Tariffs are taxation without representation. We wrote a whole Declaration of Independence about it. Threw tea in the harbor and everything.
May 29, 2025 at 6:40 PM
Turns out, judges agree.
Reposted by Mitten Owl
Republicans: “You must work to be worthy of healthcare.”
Also Republicans: “We’re replacing all workers with AI owned by a handful of us.”
Also Republicans: “We’re replacing all workers with AI owned by a handful of us.”
Pretty wild to be living in a time when humans are being forced to work in order to even be considered deserving of life or even to be considered human at all, while simultaneously human labor is being systematically eliminated from the concept of work.
May 28, 2025 at 2:42 PM
Republicans: “You must work to be worthy of healthcare.”
Also Republicans: “We’re replacing all workers with AI owned by a handful of us.”
Also Republicans: “We’re replacing all workers with AI owned by a handful of us.”
Reposted by Mitten Owl
Nobody's ever really captured, to my satisfaction, the way that the internet -- though it promises infinitude, all of human experience & history & art & thought in one place -- has instead produced a kind of narrowing & flattening of experience, made the world seem *less* magic & full of wonder.
May 25, 2025 at 7:02 PM
Nobody's ever really captured, to my satisfaction, the way that the internet -- though it promises infinitude, all of human experience & history & art & thought in one place -- has instead produced a kind of narrowing & flattening of experience, made the world seem *less* magic & full of wonder.