Kathryn Brightbill ✒️
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kebrightbill.bsky.social
Kathryn Brightbill ✒️
@kebrightbill.bsky.social
4.1K followers 1.8K following 17K posts
Sometimes writer, focusing on the religious right & homeschool movement history | UF Law & Covenant College alum | Manatee Dems

#GatorNation #GoBolts #GoBucs #RaysUp

#FLwx

they/them

Opinions mine

https://ko-fi.com/KEBrightbill
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kebrightbill.bsky.social
Well this is terrible. A suicide bomber killed nine people in Delhi.

www.ndtv.com/beeps/india-...
9 Killed In Blast Near Delhi's Red Fort, Probe Into Terror Links
November 11, 2025 at 2:12 AM
kebrightbill.bsky.social
With Thanksgiving coming up, here's my pumpkin soup recipe, such as it is. One of these days I'm going to actually measure the spices I use so that it's more standardized, but I just go by vibes and tasting it until I like the flavor.
Pumpkin Soup 32 ounces chicken broth 1 large can pumpkin 1 small onion, minced 4 cloves garlic, minced 2 stalks celery, diced 1 carrot/4 baby carrots, diced 3-4 tbsp butter Turmeric Pepper Ginger Cayenne pepper Hot paprika Sweet paprika Dash of cardamom Dash of cumin Salt to taste Pinch of saffron The key to this recipe is to keep tasting the soup as you go and adjusting the amount of spices to your taste. Sweat the onion, garlic, carrot and celery in butter until onion and garlic are translucent. Add spices, except for the saffron (I just eyeball it, the key is to let the hot fat develop the flavors of the spices). Add pumpkin and broth, then add saffron and possibly more spices to taste. It's heaviest on the turmeric and ginger. Let simmer until the carrots are soft, tasting periodically and adding spices as needed. Finish by pureeing everything until smooth, and serve with a dollop of Greek yogurt or sour cream.
November 9, 2025 at 10:08 PM
kebrightbill.bsky.social
One of the experienced storm chasers who's still in Jamaica posted an update to Facebook a little while ago.

I find updates like these to be more useful than most national news coverage because people who've been through a lot of storms know what to look for.

www.facebook.com/share/1CcrQ1...
Facebook post by Josh Morgerman: I was in devastated Black River, Jamaica, last night (in search of a new wheel for my car). The city is a shocking sight. But I'm happy to report the situation was under control: police and military all over; aid trucks everywhere giving out food, water, and care packages; mobile clinic folks tending to medical needs; and bulldozers already clearing the downtown area. Most importantly, the prevailing mood was calm. Residents seemed to have their hands full with supplies. Jamaica is going to need international help to fix this situation. But they've taken aggressive first steps on their own. 👊 The photos show damage that looks like the aftermath of a very strong tornado, along with people distributing aid
November 3, 2025 at 5:18 AM
kebrightbill.bsky.social
As I was saying about Sergachev pingponging back and forth between trying to be the NHL's resident fashion guy and being really into raising chickens...

Everybody else on the team just put on the Jazz jersey over whatever.

www.instagram.com/p/DQkJbHwEeD...
@utahmammoth Rocking the @utahjazz city edition jerseys Photo is of Mikhail Sergachev wearing a Utah Jazz jersey that's in shades of blue and gray, over an oversized light gray long sleeve shirt and loose gray slacks. He's got on blue framed glasses and a small saddlebag shaped cross body purse in coordinating shades of blue and gray
November 2, 2025 at 10:56 PM
kebrightbill.bsky.social
It's always funny when the NHL social media people try to make player fashion sound like anything other than most of them wearing the most generic clothing imaginable, none of which fits

www.facebook.com/share/1Dd841...
NHL Facebook post that reads "Sty off the charts" and then has photos of hockey players wearing mostly just the most generic clothing imaginable
November 2, 2025 at 8:17 PM
kebrightbill.bsky.social
BRB, ordering some calipers so I can measure the canthal tilt of the skeletons on my blood bank Halloween t-shirt.
Selfie wearing a black t-shirt with skeletons dancing under a disco ball
November 1, 2025 at 9:42 PM
kebrightbill.bsky.social
There's also the part where we've got two people who aren't Mexican critiquing Dia de los Muertos imagery as enforcing the gender binary, in an article that's actively reinforcing said binary, calipers in hand.
When I asked Hughes, my comrade in the skeleton girl-power cause, what she’d like to see in the way of female skeleton representation, she pointed to how skeletons are sometimes represented in Hispanic culture. “It’s fully gendered in both directions,” she said. The men often have mustaches and sombreros, and the women have makeup. “They’re making everyone gendered, which obviously falls into the trap of the gender binary—I’m not saying that every skeleton has to be gendered. But if you are going to make gendering a skeleton part of whatever cultural practice you have, I’d like for there to be a recognition that a default, plain skeleton isn’t always just going to be the man.”
November 1, 2025 at 7:47 PM
kebrightbill.bsky.social
Love to do phrenology on 12' Home Depot skeletons
I also consulted Michelle Tabencki, an anthropologist at Bone Clones, a California company that creates “teaching skeletal casts,” aka highly accurate resin replicas of skeletons. I asked Tabencki to pull up a picture of Skelly, which is the 12-foot skeleton’s nickname, and guess its sex. “It looks like he’s got kind of a really thick or big mandible that’s usually associated with being male, but not all the time,” she started, getting around to the other area, besides general size, where male and female skeletal differences are thought to be most pronounced. “And that pelvis, I couldn’t tell you, that’s a big blob. So it’s just a skeleton. We’re not going to give it a sex at all. I think they’re just trying to make it look scary.”
November 1, 2025 at 7:09 PM
kebrightbill.bsky.social
The Tampa Bay Rowdies have gone to the Tampa Bay Lightning school of social media apologies to fans for sucking. This reads like instant copypasta.

www.rowdiessoccer.com/news/2025/10...
To Our Loyal Rowdies Fans, Thank you for your unwavering support throughout a challenging season. Every year, you pour your heart and soul into supporting this club, and for that we are continuously grateful. You are truly what makes the Rowdies special. This season fell short of the expectations we set. Our on-pitch performance did not reflect the high standards to which we hold ourselves. For the first time in six years, we missed the playoffs. That failure is felt deeply across our organization, and we take full responsibility. This is not the Rowdies way, and you deserve better. Ryan Helfrick President, Tampa Bay Rowdies
November 1, 2025 at 4:48 AM
kebrightbill.bsky.social
It's kind of hilarious how Mikhail Sergachev pingpongs back and forth between trying to be the NHL's resident fashion guy, and being really into raising backyard chickens.

(The t-shirt is a reference to when he said one of his Utah teammates disrespected his chickens by asking if they had bird flu)
Screenshot of Utah Mammoth player Mikhail Sergachev's Halloween insta post. He's wearing jeans, cowboy boots and hat, and a T-shirt that reads "don't disrespect my chickens" under an open plaid shirt. He's holding a chicken and has a cigar in his mouth. His wife is wearing a chicken costume and holding their toddler who's wearing a baby chick costume.
November 1, 2025 at 3:51 AM
kebrightbill.bsky.social
Principle Skinner meme Are US building codes too lax about severe weather? No, the hurricane must be fake
October 31, 2025 at 1:46 AM
kebrightbill.bsky.social
Forgot about the Deadpool Batman crossover when it came out, but the comic shop had the second printing so I had to grab it, though what I'm really looking forward to is the Grant Morrison written Batman Deadpool comic that comes out next month.
A copy of the Deadpool Batman crossover comic with the cover illustration showing the Wolverine and Lobo mashup character sitting on a motorcycle with a chrome skull instead of a front wheel. A pair of gold frame aviator glasses is sitting next to it
October 30, 2025 at 8:20 AM
kebrightbill.bsky.social
Click through to Facebook to read the full post from a stormchaser who rode out the strongest part of #Melissa in a hotel kitchen with a local family who decided to take shelter there. The whole thing is worth a read about what it was like during the worst of it.

www.facebook.com/share/p/1abD...
Facebook post by Josh Morgerman - iCyclone Text reads: Hurricane MELISSA. Incredible power. Perhaps the mightiest hurricane of the 83 I've witnessed... There are two photos, the top one is looking out over a concrete and wrought iron balcony showing palm trees blowing sideways. The bottom photo is of the hotel kitchen with a family of five people riding out the storm. Three people are standing, and one of woman is covering her ears from the noise of the storm, while a fourth person is sitting and holding a child.
October 30, 2025 at 6:47 AM
kebrightbill.bsky.social
Jamaica's PM has posted a bunch of #Melissa damage footage on Facebook. The video at this link includes talking to hospital staff about how terrifying it was working through the storm

www.facebook.com/share/v/1AKX...
Screenshot of aerial post-Melissa damage footage posted by Andrew Holness, Jamaica's PM. It shows houses with missing roofs and widespread devastation
October 29, 2025 at 9:38 PM
kebrightbill.bsky.social
There is no fucking way anybody should have been riding out a 185 mph category 5 hurricane in any of these buildings. Especially not on the second floor.

Oh, and Sandals has a weather rescheduling guarantee, but those assholes chose to ignore a tropical storm watch in effect when they left home.
Picture of several four story hotel buildings right on the beach
October 29, 2025 at 3:04 AM
kebrightbill.bsky.social
This is good, #Melissa is down to 125mph with the 8pm advisory. Cuba's still getting a shit ton of rain with the related flooding and landslide dangers, but the wind is a lot less worrying for a country that's as good at handling hurricanes as Cuba is.

www.nhc.noaa.gov/text/refresh...
BULLETIN Hurricane Melissa Intermediate Advisory Number 30A NWS National Hurricane Center Miami FL AL132025 800 PM EDT Tue Oct 28 2025 ...POWERFUL MELISSA MOVING TOWARD EASTERN CUBA... ...CONDITIONS EXPECTED TO DETERIORATE RAPIDLY OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL HOURS... SUMMARY OF 800 PM EDT...0000 UTC...INFORMATION ---------------------------------------------- LOCATION...18.8N 77.2W ABOUT 50 MI...80 KM ENE OF MONTEGO BAY JAMAICA ABOUT 160 MI...260 KM SW OF GUANTANAMO CUBA MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS...125 MPH...205 KM/H PRESENT MOVEMENT...NNE OR 30 DEGREES AT 8 MPH...13 KM/H MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE...950 MB...28.06 INCHES
October 29, 2025 at 12:07 AM
kebrightbill.bsky.social
The 5pm #Melissa advisory is out, and if there's a silver lining, it's that they're not expecting it to intensify before hitting Cuba tonight, not that a Cat 4 is a whole lot better. At least Cuba is good at hurricanes though.

www.nhc.noaa.gov/text/refresh...
While the center of Melissa is now emerging over water, it will probably not re-intensify significantly before landfall in Cuba due to the limited amount of time before landfall and an upper-level wind environment that is becoming less favorable. Based on this, the intensity forecast calls for little change in strength before Melissa reaches Cuba. After leaving Cuba, Melissa should encounter increasing southwesterly vertical shear that should cause gradual weakening, although the cyclone should still be at hurricane strength when it passes near Bermuda. Based on global model guidance, Melissa is forecast to become a strong extratropical cyclone over the North Atlantic by 96 h.
October 28, 2025 at 9:07 PM
kebrightbill.bsky.social
Here's the 4pm #Melissa advisory

www.nhc.noaa.gov/text/refresh...
Hurricane Melissa Tropical Cyclone Update NWS National Hurricane Center Miami FL AL132025 400 PM EDT Tue Oct 28 2025 ...CATASTROPHIC WINDS, FLASH FLOODING, AND STORM SURGE ONGOING IN JAMAICA... ...MELISSA REMAINS A POWERFUL CATEGORY 4 HURRICANE OVER NORTHWESTERN JAMAICA... THIS IS AN EXTREMELY DANGEROUS AND LIFE-THREATENING SITUATION! Residents should not leave their shelter and should remain in place through the passage of these life-threatening conditions. To protect yourself from wind, the best thing you can do is put as many walls as possible between you and the outside. An interior room without windows, ideally one where you can also avoid falling trees, is the safest place you can be in a building. You can cover yourself with a mattress and wear a helmet for added protection. The next update will be with the full advisory package at 500 PM EDT (2100 UTC). This is the last scheduled position update. SUMMARY OF 400 PM EDT...2000 UTC...INFORMATION ---------------------------------------------- LOCATION...18.4N 77.9W ABOUT 10 MI...15 KM S OF MONTEGO BAY JAMAICA ABOUT 215 MI...345 KM SW OF GUANTANAMO CUBA MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS...150 MPH...240 KM/H PRESENT MOVEMENT...NNE OR 25 DEGREES AT 8 MPH...13 KM/H MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE...914 MB...26.99 INCHES
October 28, 2025 at 8:03 PM
kebrightbill.bsky.social
Damn, #Melissa has been over land for two hours and it's still a cat 5.

www.nhc.noaa.gov/text/refresh...
000 WTNT63 KNHC 281900 TCUAT3 Hurricane Melissa Tropical Cyclone Update NWS National Hurricane Center Miami FL AL132025 300 PM EDT Tue Oct 28 2025 ...CATASTROPHIC WINDS, FLASH FLOODING, AND STORM SURGE ONGOING IN JAMAICA... ...REMAIN SHELTERED IN YOUR SAFE PLACE... THIS IS AN EXTREMELY DANGEROUS AND LIFE-THREATENING SITUATION! Do not leave your shelter as the eye passes over, as winds will rapidly increase on the other side of the eye. Residents should not leave their shelter and should remain in place through the passage of these life-threatening conditions. To protect yourself from wind, the best thing you can do is put as many walls as possible between you and the outside. An interior room without windows, ideally one where you can also avoid falling trees, is the safest place you can be in a building. You can cover yourself with a mattress and wear a helmet for added protection. The next position update will be provided at 400 PM EDT (2000 UTC). SUMMARY OF 300 PM EDT...1900 UTC...INFORMATION ---------------------------------------------- LOCATION...18.3N 77.9W ABOUT 15 MI...20 KM S OF MONTEGO BAY JAMAICA ABOUT 220 MI...350 KM SW OF GUANTANAMO CUBA MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS...160 MPH...260 KM/H PRESENT MOVEMENT...NNE OR 25 DEGREES AT 8 MPH...13 KM/H MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE...906 MB...26.75 INCHES $$ Forecaster Kelly
October 28, 2025 at 7:17 PM
kebrightbill.bsky.social
#Melissa may be finally starting an eyewall replacement cycle

www.nhc.noaa.gov/archive/2025...
Hurricane Melissa Discussion Number 28 NWS National Hurricane Center Miami FL AL132025 500 AM EDT Tue Oct 28 2025 Melissa has a circular, 10-n-mi-wide eye surrounded by a symmetric ring of very intense convection with cloud tops colder than -80 deg C. Radar data from Jamaica suggests that a secondary outer eyewall may have formed, which could signal that an eyewall replacement cycle is underway. The last couple of overnight center fixes by the Air Force Hurricane Hunters revealed 700-mb height falls within the eye, and dropsonde data indicated the central pressure had fallen to around 901 mb. A standard reduction of the peak 700-mb flight-level winds from that mission (165 kt) supports an initial intensity of 150 kt. Conditions are deteriorating across Jamaica, where heavy rainfall and tropical storm conditions have spread across the island. NOAA and Air Force Hurricane Hunter aircraft are scheduled to investigate the hurricane again this morning.
October 28, 2025 at 9:03 AM
kebrightbill.bsky.social
Missed the 2am intermediate advisory because baseball, but #Melissa is still strengthening. It's down to 901mb, 9mb above what the 1935 Labor Day Hurricane was at landfall.

www.nhc.noaa.gov/text/refresh...
BULLETIN Hurricane Melissa Intermediate Advisory Number 27A NWS National Hurricane Center Miami FL AL132025 200 AM EDT Tue Oct 28 2025 ...MELISSA EXPECTED TO BRING CATASTROPHIC WINDS, FLOODING, AND STORM SURGE TO JAMAICA TODAY... SUMMARY OF 200 AM EDT...0600 UTC...INFORMATION ---------------------------------------------- LOCATION...16.8N 78.4W ABOUT 135 MI...215 KM SW OF KINGSTON JAMAICA ABOUT 310 MI...500 KM SW OF GUANTANAMO CUBA MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS...175 MPH...280 KM/H PRESENT MOVEMENT...NNE OR 20 DEGREES AT 2 MPH...4 KM/H MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE...901 MB...26.61 INCHES
October 28, 2025 at 7:00 AM
kebrightbill.bsky.social
Here's the #Melissa 11pm forecast discussion

www.nhc.noaa.gov/archive/2025...
Hurricane Melissa Discussion Number 27 NWS National Hurricane Center Miami FL AL132025 1100 PM EDT Mon Oct 27 2025 Both Air Force and NOAA Hurricane Hunter aircraft have been investigating Melissa this evening. They found that the system is maintaining category 5 intensity with the central pressure near 903 mb and peak 700 mb flight-level and tail Doppler radar winds supporting 150 kt for the current intensity. The hurricane continues to exhibit a well-defined eye about 10 n mi in diameter embedded within extremely cold cloud tops to near -90 deg C. Upper-level outflow remains well defined over the system. Although such intense tropical cyclones typically undergo an eyewall replacement, radar observations from Jamaica do not show this occurring thus far. After remaining nearly stationary over the past few hours, Melissa now appears to be moving slowly north-northeastward with an initial motion estimate of around 020/02 kt. During the next few days, a mid-tropospheric trough is forecast to deepen near the southeastern U.S. coast. This should result in Melissa moving north-northeastward to northeastward with increasing forward speed through the forecast period. The official forecast is similar to the previous one and also close the tightly-clustered consensus and Google DeepMind guidance. The only significant difference in the track forecast compared to earlier today is a slower motion during the first couple of days, which delays the expected arrival of the core of Melissa over Jamaica, eastern Cuba, and the southeastern or Central Bahamas. Some fluctuations in intensity could still occur during the short period before Melissa reaches Jamaica. The primary influence on the hurricane's intensity during the next 36 hours will be the interaction with land. Some weakening is anticipated after the system moves over Jamaica and eastern Cuba. More substantial weakening is likely after the system moves past Cuba and over the southwestern Atl…
October 28, 2025 at 3:03 AM
kebrightbill.bsky.social
Also, there's no way I would ride out a cat 5 hurricane on the second floor of a beach resort when the NHC is projecting up to 13' storm surge, because they're betting their lives on the hurricane passing to the east of that red pin in the map.
Map of Jamaica with a red pin marking Sandals South Coast on the western half of the island
October 28, 2025 at 2:00 AM
kebrightbill.bsky.social
Stories like this irk me, because evacuation was actually an option, but instead they decided to save a few thousand dollars on plane tickets out, and make it so that Sandals resort employees couldn't evacuate even if they wanted to.

www.wavy.com/weather/hurr...
"They were on Delta flights," Pope said. "They couldn't get any flights out. We were on American, and by the time we started looking for flights, prices were like $3,000 a ticket. We found one that had a ticket for like a few hundred dollars, and it was one flight. And so I would had to leave my husband, or we would leave our friends. There was nothing we could get six of us on and go." Once it was too late, the vacationers from the 757 say all guests were moved to a single building, while non-essential personnel were sent home.
October 28, 2025 at 1:39 AM
kebrightbill.bsky.social
Also see this from the #Melissa public advisory. Even if Melissa drops to a cat 4 at landfall, that figure that winds can be up to 30% stronger at elevation means people in the mountains could be facing some of the strongest winds of any hurricane.

www.nhc.noaa.gov/text/refresh...
HAZARDS AFFECTING LAND ---------------------- Key messages for Melissa can be found in the Tropical Cyclone Discussion under AWIPS header MIATCDAT3 and WMO header WTNT43 KNHC. WIND: Tropical storm conditions are occurring in Jamaica, and catastrophic and life-threatening hurricane-force wind conditions are expected to begin tonight and continue into Tuesday. Within the eyewall, total structural failure is likely, especially in higher elevation areas where wind speeds atop and on the windward sides of hills and mountains could be up to 30 percent stronger.
October 27, 2025 at 9:03 PM