Dr Bob McNabb
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iamdonovan.bsky.social
Dr Bob McNabb
@iamdonovan.bsky.social
420 followers 440 following 410 posts
Glaciers. Space cameras. Sometimes 🦭. MI -> AK -> Norge -> Northern Ireland. he/him.
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iamdonovan.bsky.social
saw a snail piggyback ride earlier this summer
a snail, crawling slowly up a sign by a beach. a second, smaller snail is hitching a ride.
November 10, 2025 at 7:08 AM
iamdonovan.bsky.social
Better image from today - Safedob village is the red area to the east of the valley:
a satellite view of a valley with a large debris/ice avalanche in it
November 1, 2025 at 1:52 PM
iamdonovan.bsky.social
I think the video is from much further down the valley - here's a q+d screenshot from Copernicus browser from 24 Oct, and again on 27 Oct. Distance between the fronts is ~800 m:
a satellite view of a valley, showing a large debris lobe a view of the same valley, with the debris lobe having moved much further down the valley
November 1, 2025 at 1:44 PM
iamdonovan.bsky.social
loving the "awards" section of his wikipedia page:
Awards: Lotito holds the record for the "strangest diet" in the Guinness Book of Records. He was awarded a plaque, made of brass, by the publishers to commemorate his abilities. He ate his award.
August 27, 2025 at 9:29 AM
iamdonovan.bsky.social
most recent USGS Landsat image (13 August) shows extent of algal blooms across the surface of Lough Neagh:
a false-color composite satellite image of a large lake with many swirling algal blooms on its surface
August 19, 2025 at 7:59 AM
iamdonovan.bsky.social
This is just as bad/scummy (not unexpected behavior), right down to the "not now" option implying that at some point in the future it won't be optional.
A notification urging me to turn on Gemini in the app, to "help me get things done"
July 25, 2025 at 4:06 PM
iamdonovan.bsky.social
Got to see some of the oldest rocks in Ireland today. Also some sheep.
A rock with dark and light bands. It is very gneiss.
July 18, 2025 at 8:33 PM
iamdonovan.bsky.social
fwiw, they are on google maps:
July 10, 2025 at 12:28 PM
iamdonovan.bsky.social
the "roll safe" meme, with the caption "can't have your phone taken while walking if you can't walk anywhere"
June 30, 2025 at 11:40 AM
iamdonovan.bsky.social
Shaggy from Scooby Doo. Caption says "like, it wasn't me"
June 13, 2025 at 11:00 PM
iamdonovan.bsky.social
summary of findings: doubtful.
a table showing the camera calibration certificate for an old aerial camera. The single test entry, dated 10 May 1946, states "doubtful" in the "summary of findings" column. No other information has been filled in about the test.
June 8, 2025 at 4:12 PM
iamdonovan.bsky.social
the most powerful force in the universe: a black lab running downhill after a toy.
a bike wheel with no spokes, lying on the ground. the rim is clearly not lying flat on the ground. don't worry, the dog was fine.
June 5, 2025 at 8:18 PM
iamdonovan.bsky.social
genuine s/o to a @standupmaths.bsky.social youtube video for inspiring me to implement something that has made a noticeable improvement in automated gcp coverage (left: before, right: after)
a black/white image of a digital elevation model over a mountainous area. red crosses indicate locations of automated control points; there are fewer points at the bottom end of the image. a black/white image of a digital elevation model over a mountainous area. red crosses indicate locations of automated control points; the coverage on the edges of the image domain is much better than in the previous image.
May 28, 2025 at 8:47 PM
iamdonovan.bsky.social
had some fun looking at rocks by the water this morning ⚒️
black, lichen-covered rocks in the bright sun. folds in the shape of an eye are visible. black rocks in the sun, showing signs of honeycomb weathering
May 13, 2025 at 1:35 PM
iamdonovan.bsky.social
If you can't manage to carry your bags to an empty bin, you're probably too irresponsible to be entrusted with the life of a dog.
a bin for dog poo. there are bags of dog poo piled on top of the bin, and on the ground in front of it.
April 29, 2025 at 12:27 PM
iamdonovan.bsky.social
saw a snail piggy back ride this morning at the beach
a snail, crawling slowly up a sign by a beach. a second, smaller snail is hitching a ride.
April 23, 2025 at 1:58 PM
iamdonovan.bsky.social
The "moe throws barney out of moe's" meme. In the top panel, Moe (me) throws Barney (copilot) out. In the second panel, the university pushes new software updates. In the third panel, copilot is back.
April 15, 2025 at 5:12 PM
iamdonovan.bsky.social
Almost ready to pretend to be a geologist.
A bearded man wearing sunglasses taking a selfie with a large rocky hill in the background.
April 6, 2025 at 4:33 PM
iamdonovan.bsky.social
some personal news (I have been assured that despite the timing, this was not meant as an April Fools' joke)
An email signature. The title has been changed from "Lecturer" to "Senior Lecturer".
April 1, 2025 at 1:31 PM
iamdonovan.bsky.social
@metoffice.bsky.social coming in hot with the April Fools' jokes this morning.
A weather forecast, showing sunny days for the rest of the week and temperatures in the upper teens (celsius). In cold, rainy, wet Northern Ireland.
April 1, 2025 at 6:34 AM
iamdonovan.bsky.social
Life, uh... finds a way.
A gate closed across a gravel path with a sign that says "Trail closed." The fence that makes up part of the gate ends about 2 meters to the left of the gate, and a rough dirt path is beginning to form where walkers have clearly gone around the gate, ignoring the sign.
March 13, 2025 at 2:05 PM
iamdonovan.bsky.social
I contain multitudes.
The "Jump back in" section on spotify. From left to right, the selections are "Bluey Storytime" (showing a brown/orange and a blue cartoon dog), "Punk Essentials" (showing a person with a mohawk from the back), the anti-flag album "for blood and empire", and "calming classical"
March 11, 2025 at 10:26 AM
iamdonovan.bsky.social
I see that someone in the BBC newsroom is a fan of John Candy movies.
Two BBC news push notifications. The first says "Breaking News - Donald Trump's tariffs on imports from Canada, Mexico and China come into effect as Toronto and Beijing retaliate - follow live." The second, issued nearly 20 minutes later, is a correction, with Ottawa replacing Toronto.
March 4, 2025 at 7:29 AM
iamdonovan.bsky.social
Honestly, as glaciologists, we don't spend nearly enough time talking about what happens when glaciers attack.
a black and white line drawing of the front part of a glacier. In the foreground, mostly dead trees lean at different angles. Behind them, a moraine (a mound of sediment) can be seen. In the far background there are snow-covered mountains. The caption from the original book states "Moraine Marking Attack by Columbia Glacier on Forest and Bog."
February 26, 2025 at 10:23 AM
iamdonovan.bsky.social
Love walking up on Groundhog Day.
A push notification from NRK, the Norwegian national broadcaster. The headline reads, "the USA is again in a trade war: here's how the tariffs can affect you"
February 16, 2025 at 8:25 AM