Orion🌈&sm9eb
@sm9eb.bsky.social
Archaeologist specializing in Late Neolithic/Halaf Şanlıurfa, Turkey; D.C.-born; foodie; astronomy & gardening buff; former guardian of Urfalı cat Commander Orion 🌈🖤; current guardian of not-a-Guest-anymore Cat Italy!
Reposted by Orion🌈&sm9eb
In fact, if departments were smart they’d have a staff member specially tasked with helping their PhD candidates apply and get welfare.
I was a PhD candidate on food stamps.
Do y'all know how many PhD students are on food stamps?? And this is a 2024 article
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
January 3, 2026 at 1:29 AM
In fact, if departments were smart they’d have a staff member specially tasked with helping their PhD candidates apply and get welfare.
Reposted by Orion🌈&sm9eb
they're LARPing. This is America not CAUSING Cargo Cults in less developed parts of the world, this is America WORSHIPPING ITSELF AS A CARGO CULT.
January 3, 2026 at 1:14 AM
they're LARPing. This is America not CAUSING Cargo Cults in less developed parts of the world, this is America WORSHIPPING ITSELF AS A CARGO CULT.
Reposted by Orion🌈&sm9eb
Amusingly, Americans hate AI for largely the same reasons as they hate the New York Times--bias, corruption, disinformation, and a desire to protect the most dangerous members of the billionaire class over educating the populace or protecting the freedom of the press.
Elites have become fully incapable of processing or understanding what ordinary people experience or think, even when told so explicitly
January 2, 2026 at 6:48 PM
Amusingly, Americans hate AI for largely the same reasons as they hate the New York Times--bias, corruption, disinformation, and a desire to protect the most dangerous members of the billionaire class over educating the populace or protecting the freedom of the press.
Reposted by Orion🌈&sm9eb
New Publication at the Open Journal of Astrophysics: "On the statistical convergence of N-body simulations of the Solar System" by Hanno Rein, Garett Brown and Mei Kanda (U. Toronto, Canada)
https://doi.org/10.33232/001c.154745
https://doi.org/10.33232/001c.154745
On the statistical convergence of N-body simulations of the Solar System | Published in The Open Journal of Astrophysics
By Hanno Rein, Garett Brown & 1 more. This study presents numerical experiments to determine the minimum timestep for long-term simulations of the Solar System, finding that timesteps up to 32 days yield physical results.
astro.theoj.org
December 23, 2025 at 9:56 AM
New Publication at the Open Journal of Astrophysics: "On the statistical convergence of N-body simulations of the Solar System" by Hanno Rein, Garett Brown and Mei Kanda (U. Toronto, Canada)
https://doi.org/10.33232/001c.154745
https://doi.org/10.33232/001c.154745
Reposted by Orion🌈&sm9eb
How to Build an Ancient Finnish Rakovalkea Fire Lay That Lasts All Night Without Tending laughingsquid.com/finnish-rako...
How to Build an Ancient Finnish Rakovalkea Fire Lay That Lasts All Night Without Tending
The View From the Clouds shared how to build a Rakovalkea, a long-lasting fire lay that balances a flaming log on top of another log.
laughingsquid.com
January 2, 2026 at 5:29 PM
How to Build an Ancient Finnish Rakovalkea Fire Lay That Lasts All Night Without Tending laughingsquid.com/finnish-rako...
Reposted by Orion🌈&sm9eb
ACTUAL GOOD NEWS EVERYONE: The Paleontological Research Institution and the Museum of the Earth have made it through the crisis!
Thanks to everyone who shared or donated-every donation mattered! Please share the good news just as widely!⚒️🧪🦑 Together we did #savePRI
www.ithaca.com/news/ithaca/...
Thanks to everyone who shared or donated-every donation mattered! Please share the good news just as widely!⚒️🧪🦑 Together we did #savePRI
www.ithaca.com/news/ithaca/...
‘Every Single Dollar Mattered’: Donations Save Museum of the Earth From Foreclosure
Just days before a year-end foreclosure deadline, the Museum of the Earth has paid off its mortgage following a wide fundraising campaign that rescued the Ithaca area landmark.
www.ithaca.com
January 2, 2026 at 1:29 AM
ACTUAL GOOD NEWS EVERYONE: The Paleontological Research Institution and the Museum of the Earth have made it through the crisis!
Thanks to everyone who shared or donated-every donation mattered! Please share the good news just as widely!⚒️🧪🦑 Together we did #savePRI
www.ithaca.com/news/ithaca/...
Thanks to everyone who shared or donated-every donation mattered! Please share the good news just as widely!⚒️🧪🦑 Together we did #savePRI
www.ithaca.com/news/ithaca/...
Reposted by Orion🌈&sm9eb
Further coverage of research by @sfortune.bsky.social. Her lab used drones & camera tags to show cooperative hunting of #salmon by Pacific white-sided #dolphins and fish eating #Orca.
In a first, orcas and dolphins seen possibly hunting together share.google/J6VhFG9pTlyY...
In a first, orcas and dolphins seen possibly hunting together share.google/J6VhFG9pTlyY...
January 2, 2026 at 4:09 AM
Further coverage of research by @sfortune.bsky.social. Her lab used drones & camera tags to show cooperative hunting of #salmon by Pacific white-sided #dolphins and fish eating #Orca.
In a first, orcas and dolphins seen possibly hunting together share.google/J6VhFG9pTlyY...
In a first, orcas and dolphins seen possibly hunting together share.google/J6VhFG9pTlyY...
This drives me completely insane.
Do other countries have this weird notion that you’re not a “real” representative of the nation if you live in an urban center? Like do the French say Parisians aren’t really French? Are you considered not a real German if you live in Berlin? Or is this mainly a weird American thing?
January 2, 2026 at 4:24 AM
This drives me completely insane.
Reposted by Orion🌈&sm9eb
Still in need of help
Thanks everyone for contributing. I’m still short for rent and trying to raise $1100.
Starting Fiverr editing gigs back up and I’m still working on one writing contract in the meantime if anyone can help or share
cash.app/$tessak13
venmo.com/u/tessak13
www.paypal.me/TessaK13
#mutualaid
Starting Fiverr editing gigs back up and I’m still working on one writing contract in the meantime if anyone can help or share
cash.app/$tessak13
venmo.com/u/tessak13
www.paypal.me/TessaK13
#mutualaid
January 2, 2026 at 3:52 AM
Still in need of help
Reposted by Orion🌈&sm9eb
I should note that I give my 2 cents on this podcast as well, discussing Yoo et al. (2025) www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Complete sequencing of ape genomes - Nature
Complete sequences of chromosomes telomere-to-telomere from chimpanzee, bonobo, gorilla, Bornean orangutan, Sumatran orangutan and siamang provide a comprehensive and valuable resource for future evol...
www.nature.com
January 2, 2026 at 1:17 AM
I should note that I give my 2 cents on this podcast as well, discussing Yoo et al. (2025) www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by Orion🌈&sm9eb
Great end of year summary of some of the fascinating discoveries related to human origins on the Origin Stories podcast by the @leakeyfoundation.org! leakeyfoundation.org/learn/origin...
Origin Stories Podcast
Origin Stories is an award-winning science podcast that explores human evolution one story at a time.
leakeyfoundation.org
January 2, 2026 at 1:14 AM
Great end of year summary of some of the fascinating discoveries related to human origins on the Origin Stories podcast by the @leakeyfoundation.org! leakeyfoundation.org/learn/origin...
(But also looking at you with strong 👀, academia.)
🔥🔥🔥🔥👇
🔥🔥🔥🔥👇
In 2026 I want all of the decent people to remember one thing.
You aren’t meant to be this disciplined, this self-sacrificing to survive. The environment is supposed to support good living. We can have that. You are not a failure. That is politics.
That is all.
You aren’t meant to be this disciplined, this self-sacrificing to survive. The environment is supposed to support good living. We can have that. You are not a failure. That is politics.
That is all.
January 2, 2026 at 12:41 AM
(But also looking at you with strong 👀, academia.)
🔥🔥🔥🔥👇
🔥🔥🔥🔥👇
When Erdoğan was first elected this was very clear to me. People in the southeast were ecstatic, not just because they wanted a less secular government but bc they felt city elites looked down on them beyond ethnic issues. This is part of why I think US pols would be well served by studying Turkey.
Of all the cleavages in Turkey, I’ve always thought the class divisions are some of the most consequential, and get the least attention.
January 1, 2026 at 11:14 PM
When Erdoğan was first elected this was very clear to me. People in the southeast were ecstatic, not just because they wanted a less secular government but bc they felt city elites looked down on them beyond ethnic issues. This is part of why I think US pols would be well served by studying Turkey.
Hi, I'm a polar bear.
January 1, 2026 at 10:59 PM
Hi, I'm a polar bear.
Just pointing out that he has parents whose careers in different ways study what it means to be human, one an anthropologist and one a film director. And Obama's mother was also an anthropologist.
Whew. That Mamdani has an exceptional speechwriter and is one of the most compelling politicians I’ve seen.
January 1, 2026 at 8:57 PM
Just pointing out that he has parents whose careers in different ways study what it means to be human, one an anthropologist and one a film director. And Obama's mother was also an anthropologist.
YEEESSS
Mamdani: For too long, those fluent in the good grammar of civility have deployed decorum to mask agendas of cruelty
January 1, 2026 at 8:41 PM
YEEESSS
Reposted by Orion🌈&sm9eb
William is joined by art historian Emily Burns, curator of a new show, The Pattle Sisters: Women of Influence, to discuss the life of his great great aunt, the pioneering photographer, Julia Margaret Cameron.
linktr.ee/empirepoduk
linktr.ee/empirepoduk
January 1, 2026 at 6:47 AM
William is joined by art historian Emily Burns, curator of a new show, The Pattle Sisters: Women of Influence, to discuss the life of his great great aunt, the pioneering photographer, Julia Margaret Cameron.
linktr.ee/empirepoduk
linktr.ee/empirepoduk
Reposted by Orion🌈&sm9eb
I heard that the winds had damaged the roof but wow, I had no idea that it was this bad
After Lick Observatory Gets Roof Piece Ripped Off by Extreme Winds, Scientists Race to Save 137-Year-Old Telescope
The historically significant, 57-foot-long Great Refractor telescope near San Jose is in serious danger, after 110 mile-per-hour winds ripped a steel crescent off the Lick Observatory’s roof, and more...
sfist.com
January 1, 2026 at 5:51 AM
I heard that the winds had damaged the roof but wow, I had no idea that it was this bad
Reposted by Orion🌈&sm9eb
i had to cut SO MUCH from this to fit 2025 into a 3-minute song
January 1, 2026 at 6:22 AM
i had to cut SO MUCH from this to fit 2025 into a 3-minute song
Reposted by Orion🌈&sm9eb
i guess there’s always a first time for dancing to middle eastern techno with a cia whistleblower and the guy who first unionized Amazon
January 1, 2026 at 4:11 AM
i guess there’s always a first time for dancing to middle eastern techno with a cia whistleblower and the guy who first unionized Amazon
Happy New Year!
Yeni Yıllınız Kutlu Olsun!!
Blwyddyn Newydd Dda!!
Frohes Neues Jahr!
Yeni Yıllınız Kutlu Olsun!!
Blwyddyn Newydd Dda!!
Frohes Neues Jahr!
January 1, 2026 at 5:12 AM
Happy New Year!
Yeni Yıllınız Kutlu Olsun!!
Blwyddyn Newydd Dda!!
Frohes Neues Jahr!
Yeni Yıllınız Kutlu Olsun!!
Blwyddyn Newydd Dda!!
Frohes Neues Jahr!
Reposted by Orion🌈&sm9eb
Me, a professor: *orders a course pack*
Campus bookstore: give us two months to make sure these 18 copies you requested you don’t violate any publisher’s copyright
Me, an AI company: *violates every publisher’s copyright*
Campus bookstore: we will pay you to offer your services to all students
Campus bookstore: give us two months to make sure these 18 copies you requested you don’t violate any publisher’s copyright
Me, an AI company: *violates every publisher’s copyright*
Campus bookstore: we will pay you to offer your services to all students
December 31, 2025 at 8:47 PM
Me, a professor: *orders a course pack*
Campus bookstore: give us two months to make sure these 18 copies you requested you don’t violate any publisher’s copyright
Me, an AI company: *violates every publisher’s copyright*
Campus bookstore: we will pay you to offer your services to all students
Campus bookstore: give us two months to make sure these 18 copies you requested you don’t violate any publisher’s copyright
Me, an AI company: *violates every publisher’s copyright*
Campus bookstore: we will pay you to offer your services to all students
Reposted by Orion🌈&sm9eb
“The Trump administration is closing NASA’s largest research library on Friday, a facility that houses tens of thousands of books, documents and journals — many of them not digitized or available anywhere else.”
NASA’s Largest Library Is Closing Amid Staff and Lab Cuts
www.nytimes.com
December 31, 2025 at 8:35 PM
“The Trump administration is closing NASA’s largest research library on Friday, a facility that houses tens of thousands of books, documents and journals — many of them not digitized or available anywhere else.”
Reposted by Orion🌈&sm9eb
The SCALE of destruction is really hard to fathom. This, obviously, is just one example. It will take a *generation* or more to recover and much will be lost irrevocably. We are watching the burning of the Library of Alexandria.
“The Trump administration is closing NASA’s largest research library on Friday, a facility that houses tens of thousands of books, documents and journals — many of them not digitized or available anywhere else.”
NASA’s Largest Library Is Closing Amid Staff and Lab Cuts
www.nytimes.com
December 31, 2025 at 11:29 PM
The SCALE of destruction is really hard to fathom. This, obviously, is just one example. It will take a *generation* or more to recover and much will be lost irrevocably. We are watching the burning of the Library of Alexandria.
Reposted by Orion🌈&sm9eb
There are only 45 million foreign-born people living in the United States right now, about half of whom are naturalized citizens. So this ridiculous edge-lord post by taxpayer-funded trolls is suggesting deporting 55 million native-born citizens.
This should not be shrugged aside. They have stopped with the fake 22 million illegal immigrants things and are flat out saying we want to deport 10's of millions of citizens and legal residents from "third world countries" Basically they are advocating removing 1/3 of the population on a gov site.
December 31, 2025 at 10:56 PM
There are only 45 million foreign-born people living in the United States right now, about half of whom are naturalized citizens. So this ridiculous edge-lord post by taxpayer-funded trolls is suggesting deporting 55 million native-born citizens.