@masked-ermine.bsky.social
I'm an chronic wildlife field technician. I enjoy wildlife photography and watching. I have interests in avian ecology, wildlife biology, evolution and wildlife conservation, as well as paleontology, and other general sciences.
Because primaries change legit change party alignments. General elections are full of noise but primaries are the parties closing their candidates.
February 4, 2026 at 7:02 AM
Because primaries change legit change party alignments. General elections are full of noise but primaries are the parties closing their candidates.
I know it sounds naive but congressional primaries are also a loud message to those in power. Please register for your primaries, vote in them, and vote as antagonisticly against the current leadership as possible...
February 4, 2026 at 7:00 AM
I know it sounds naive but congressional primaries are also a loud message to those in power. Please register for your primaries, vote in them, and vote as antagonisticly against the current leadership as possible...
Let's be honest Somerton would steal a replica of an island made from paper mache, claim he owns an island and when people want to prove it, he'd pretend he killed himself to get sympathy money before starting a really bad wedding planning business using said stolen paper mache island....
February 2, 2026 at 1:43 AM
Let's be honest Somerton would steal a replica of an island made from paper mache, claim he owns an island and when people want to prove it, he'd pretend he killed himself to get sympathy money before starting a really bad wedding planning business using said stolen paper mache island....
Is that a Tamaulipas Crow!!! Yes I do smell like the sewer end of a Taco Bell, no I'm not a Kaufmann-esque mega puller able to snag a hot girl in a cool car...but...Tamaulipas Crow, and Zoidberg...I'll always have Zoidberg we'll all always have Zoidberg....
January 29, 2026 at 2:18 AM
Is that a Tamaulipas Crow!!! Yes I do smell like the sewer end of a Taco Bell, no I'm not a Kaufmann-esque mega puller able to snag a hot girl in a cool car...but...Tamaulipas Crow, and Zoidberg...I'll always have Zoidberg we'll all always have Zoidberg....
Impeach all judges that affirmed Trump's presidential immunity bullshit, pack courts with new judges. Introduce, pass and either get signed or overrule veto of laws restricting executive power, affirm bureaucratic and bank independence, reestablish USAID, DOE, etc.
January 28, 2026 at 4:54 AM
Impeach all judges that affirmed Trump's presidential immunity bullshit, pack courts with new judges. Introduce, pass and either get signed or overrule veto of laws restricting executive power, affirm bureaucratic and bank independence, reestablish USAID, DOE, etc.
Any opposing power installed would have to be committed to uprooting tge old regimes remnants and then strongly restricting their own power once the clean out is accomplished...something rarely seen in these contexts.
January 28, 2026 at 3:44 AM
Any opposing power installed would have to be committed to uprooting tge old regimes remnants and then strongly restricting their own power once the clean out is accomplished...something rarely seen in these contexts.
You cant just PowerPoint pictures of *insert hot person* aggressively shimmying against *insert other hot person*. I demand hot Milankovich on Milankovich action!!! And something about volcanism and CO2 release and ocean acidification and *flips through mesozoic climate change arcs* raining glass.
January 28, 2026 at 3:31 AM
You cant just PowerPoint pictures of *insert hot person* aggressively shimmying against *insert other hot person*. I demand hot Milankovich on Milankovich action!!! And something about volcanism and CO2 release and ocean acidification and *flips through mesozoic climate change arcs* raining glass.
Iirc Selaphorus hummingbirds have a more montane distribution than say the ruby-throats or black-chins so they're just more adapted to the cold. Anna's too are way more cold adapted than people give credit for, as they overwinter along tge west coast into Oregon and maybe Washington.
January 26, 2026 at 5:16 PM
Iirc Selaphorus hummingbirds have a more montane distribution than say the ruby-throats or black-chins so they're just more adapted to the cold. Anna's too are way more cold adapted than people give credit for, as they overwinter along tge west coast into Oregon and maybe Washington.
Rufus Hummingbirds tend to be a bit more cold resilient, but I bet they're going through torpors when the temps dip at night.
January 26, 2026 at 2:16 PM
Rufus Hummingbirds tend to be a bit more cold resilient, but I bet they're going through torpors when the temps dip at night.
It's like having a 2 year old following you around parroting everything you just said back to you.....
January 20, 2026 at 7:22 PM
It's like having a 2 year old following you around parroting everything you just said back to you.....
Seriously wh6 are summarizing tge email I sent some one else...I WROTE THE EMAIL!!!!
January 20, 2026 at 7:05 PM
Seriously wh6 are summarizing tge email I sent some one else...I WROTE THE EMAIL!!!!
And seeing frankly toxic and exploitive practices done by institutions claiming and extolling the virtues of equality and merit and making themselves out to be better than that....
January 14, 2026 at 10:24 PM
And seeing frankly toxic and exploitive practices done by institutions claiming and extolling the virtues of equality and merit and making themselves out to be better than that....
All of this having been said, I do hope you dont think this is me pooping on you. But field tech workers fair treatment has been an increasing bugbear of mine as I've worked in such positions.
January 14, 2026 at 10:22 PM
All of this having been said, I do hope you dont think this is me pooping on you. But field tech workers fair treatment has been an increasing bugbear of mine as I've worked in such positions.
Also the irony of the full paper being behind a paywall...🤣. Not a dig on you but just a testament to how hard academia gonna academe....
January 14, 2026 at 10:15 PM
Also the irony of the full paper being behind a paywall...🤣. Not a dig on you but just a testament to how hard academia gonna academe....
Some or a lot of that wouldve been mitigated if the same or some cohort of overlapping technicians were working on those projects year to year....
January 14, 2026 at 10:12 PM
Some or a lot of that wouldve been mitigated if the same or some cohort of overlapping technicians were working on those projects year to year....
Which has some quantitative and qualitative affects on data analysis (as some PIs Ive worked for are learning now they are doing prelim data...too much year to year interpretations or flex in field decision making with variable in field calls made to in situ conditions).
January 14, 2026 at 10:11 PM
Which has some quantitative and qualitative affects on data analysis (as some PIs Ive worked for are learning now they are doing prelim data...too much year to year interpretations or flex in field decision making with variable in field calls made to in situ conditions).
Well I'd argue these contracted seasonal positions are methodologically clumsy for multi year projects because some (most?) states or institutions have limits on seasonal hours meaning larger long term projects are precludes from retiring experienced techs...
January 14, 2026 at 10:09 PM
Well I'd argue these contracted seasonal positions are methodologically clumsy for multi year projects because some (most?) states or institutions have limits on seasonal hours meaning larger long term projects are precludes from retiring experienced techs...
Apologies for glaring mushmouth I was walking and speech to texting and my pseudo lisp doesn't play nice with it.
January 14, 2026 at 6:33 PM
Apologies for glaring mushmouth I was walking and speech to texting and my pseudo lisp doesn't play nice with it.
But I will also say the part of the reason I got out is that I saw that which is not going to be allowed to do the research we need to do.We're not going to have access to the data we need.So what's a point?
January 14, 2026 at 6:09 PM
But I will also say the part of the reason I got out is that I saw that which is not going to be allowed to do the research we need to do.We're not going to have access to the data we need.So what's a point?
Ultimately what I am saying is that it's a bad look for the universities to cultivate a culture of exploitation on the lowest rungs of their workforce that provide the basis for all the academic work to be done.
January 14, 2026 at 6:08 PM
Ultimately what I am saying is that it's a bad look for the universities to cultivate a culture of exploitation on the lowest rungs of their workforce that provide the basis for all the academic work to be done.
And I appreciate the budgets are tight and are going to be tighter in our field. But then there comes the old axiom of if you can't afford to do the research , I guess you're not doing the research.
January 14, 2026 at 6:07 PM
And I appreciate the budgets are tight and are going to be tighter in our field. But then there comes the old axiom of if you can't afford to do the research , I guess you're not doing the research.
This is then compounded by the fact that we don't be compensation that we're expected to move halfway around the country without any housing.Well , only making thirteen or fifteen dollars an hour. And again , primary investigators and lab managers go , we can't find anyone to work for us.
January 14, 2026 at 6:06 PM
This is then compounded by the fact that we don't be compensation that we're expected to move halfway around the country without any housing.Well , only making thirteen or fifteen dollars an hour. And again , primary investigators and lab managers go , we can't find anyone to work for us.
This unfortunately is not an uncommon practice within the university system for other academic or nonprofit or government position. When it comes to seasonal field technicians.
January 14, 2026 at 6:05 PM
This unfortunately is not an uncommon practice within the university system for other academic or nonprofit or government position. When it comes to seasonal field technicians.