Mike Kaspari
@mikekaspari.bsky.social
I’m a college professor immersed in #teaching and #ecology. I visit lots of ecosystems, combine observations and simple experiments, and look for generalities. I #garden, #cook, play #music and #read to round things out.
Pinned
Mike Kaspari
@mikekaspari.bsky.social
· Nov 18
Nutrient Dilution and the Future of Herbivores: a short thread
The fossil fuel folks claimed that all the extra CO2 is great for plants. Indeed, plant mass has increased globally by about 30% in the past century.
But when you load a plant up the carbs, what happens to all its other nutrients?
The fossil fuel folks claimed that all the extra CO2 is great for plants. Indeed, plant mass has increased globally by about 30% in the past century.
But when you load a plant up the carbs, what happens to all its other nutrients?
Reposted by Mike Kaspari
Picking up some supplies for Thanksgiving.
November 9, 2025 at 10:04 PM
Picking up some supplies for Thanksgiving.
Reposted by Mike Kaspari
I watched it because I read this from the writer…I think it’s going to be a great series
November 9, 2025 at 8:06 PM
I watched it because I read this from the writer…I think it’s going to be a great series
Reposted by Mike Kaspari
"It’s not that those things don’t matter: they absolutely goddamn do, and will keep on mattering... It’s just that they never mattered much to the Times and they are, to appearances, mattering less and less by the day. I should remember that, and so should you."
Maybe Don’t Talk to the New York Times About Zohran Mamdani
It’s remarkable, the people you’ll hear from. Teach for even a little while at an expensive institution—the term they tend to prefer is “elite”—and odds are that eventually someone who was a studen…
lithub.com
November 9, 2025 at 2:50 PM
"It’s not that those things don’t matter: they absolutely goddamn do, and will keep on mattering... It’s just that they never mattered much to the Times and they are, to appearances, mattering less and less by the day. I should remember that, and so should you."
Never been a fan of IKEA, but given the choice…
November 9, 2025 at 4:02 PM
Never been a fan of IKEA, but given the choice…
Reposted by Mike Kaspari
Nancy By Ernie Bushmiller
November 09,1946
November 09,1946
November 9, 2025 at 11:59 AM
Nancy By Ernie Bushmiller
November 09,1946
November 09,1946
Reposted by Mike Kaspari
Reposted by Mike Kaspari
On the event of James Watson's death, I highly recommend this 2023 commentary from @matthewcobb.bsky.social and Nathaniel Comfort with crucial new insights into the discovery of the double helix. (And also check out Cobb's brand new biography of Francis Crick) www.nature.com/articles/d41...
What Rosalind Franklin truly contributed to the discovery of DNA’s structure
Franklin was no victim in how the DNA double helix was solved. An overlooked letter and an unpublished news article, both written in 1953, reveal that she was an equal player.
www.nature.com
November 7, 2025 at 9:25 PM
On the event of James Watson's death, I highly recommend this 2023 commentary from @matthewcobb.bsky.social and Nathaniel Comfort with crucial new insights into the discovery of the double helix. (And also check out Cobb's brand new biography of Francis Crick) www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Reposted by Mike Kaspari
FRED HICKEY: “.. GenAI is probably the most over-hyped technology I’ve ever witnessed in my 45 years of following tech stocks.”
@reuters.com
www.reuters.com/commentary/b...
@reuters.com
www.reuters.com/commentary/b...
November 7, 2025 at 4:35 PM
FRED HICKEY: “.. GenAI is probably the most over-hyped technology I’ve ever witnessed in my 45 years of following tech stocks.”
@reuters.com
www.reuters.com/commentary/b...
@reuters.com
www.reuters.com/commentary/b...
Reposted by Mike Kaspari
Get your jabs, y'all!
Well now, would you look at that?
A massive study of NEARLY 300,000 people in the United States found that receiving an updated 2024-2025 mRNA COVID-19 vaccine REDUCED people’s risk of severe disease AND death in ALL age groups, REGARDLESS of immunity from prior infection or vaccination.
A massive study of NEARLY 300,000 people in the United States found that receiving an updated 2024-2025 mRNA COVID-19 vaccine REDUCED people’s risk of severe disease AND death in ALL age groups, REGARDLESS of immunity from prior infection or vaccination.
November 7, 2025 at 5:24 PM
Get your jabs, y'all!
Reposted by Mike Kaspari
Rep. Yassamin Ansari has set up a table and this sign outside Speaker Johnson’s office.
November 6, 2025 at 6:22 PM
Rep. Yassamin Ansari has set up a table and this sign outside Speaker Johnson’s office.
Reposted by Mike Kaspari
"Pluribus" reminded me a bit of a lot of other things. And also, it is like absolutely nothing else you've ever seen. [giftie] www.nytimes.com/2025/11/07/a...
‘Pluribus’ Review: From Many, What?
www.nytimes.com
November 7, 2025 at 1:46 PM
"Pluribus" reminded me a bit of a lot of other things. And also, it is like absolutely nothing else you've ever seen. [giftie] www.nytimes.com/2025/11/07/a...
Funny, given the institutions I’ve built my life around
nature
science
academia
the arts
humanism
that I’ll likely be spending the rest of my life in one big rear-guard action defending all of them.
nature
science
academia
the arts
humanism
that I’ll likely be spending the rest of my life in one big rear-guard action defending all of them.
November 6, 2025 at 2:21 PM
Funny, given the institutions I’ve built my life around
nature
science
academia
the arts
humanism
that I’ll likely be spending the rest of my life in one big rear-guard action defending all of them.
nature
science
academia
the arts
humanism
that I’ll likely be spending the rest of my life in one big rear-guard action defending all of them.
Reposted by Mike Kaspari
Australia has so much electricity from solar power that it is going to start offering free electricity to everyone for at least three hours during the day as the wholesale price of power goes negative
electrek.co/2025/11/04/a...
electrek.co/2025/11/04/a...
Australia has so much solar that it's offering everyone free electricity
Australia's extensive solar power penetration makes so much energy that the government wants to offer free electricity at peak hours.
electrek.co
November 6, 2025 at 4:58 AM
Australia has so much electricity from solar power that it is going to start offering free electricity to everyone for at least three hours during the day as the wholesale price of power goes negative
electrek.co/2025/11/04/a...
electrek.co/2025/11/04/a...
Reposted by Mike Kaspari
Critical insight here. Social media-led homogenization of thought has led pundits to think you need a one-size-fits-all approach to campaigns. WRONG, we were collectively reminded Tuesday.
November 6, 2025 at 9:08 AM
Critical insight here. Social media-led homogenization of thought has led pundits to think you need a one-size-fits-all approach to campaigns. WRONG, we were collectively reminded Tuesday.
Reposted by Mike Kaspari
THOUGHT FOR THURSDAY
November 6, 2025 at 1:10 PM
THOUGHT FOR THURSDAY
Reposted by Mike Kaspari
The great S African lawyer Sir Sydney Kentridge is 103 today. In a Pretoria court in 1977 I watched in awe as he crucified the secret police who had murdered the Black Consciousness leader Steve Biko - arguably the start of apartheid’s downfall. A very happy birthday, dear Sydney!
November 5, 2025 at 11:12 AM
The great S African lawyer Sir Sydney Kentridge is 103 today. In a Pretoria court in 1977 I watched in awe as he crucified the secret police who had murdered the Black Consciousness leader Steve Biko - arguably the start of apartheid’s downfall. A very happy birthday, dear Sydney!
Our first votes as Virginians.
We’d been investing, canvassing, and voting for 30+ years in a gerrymandered red state.
Today feels pretty good, to tell you the truth.
We’d been investing, canvassing, and voting for 30+ years in a gerrymandered red state.
Today feels pretty good, to tell you the truth.
Virginia just flipped the governor's seat from red to blue. Congratulations
@abigailspanberger.com!
@abigailspanberger.com!
November 5, 2025 at 1:38 AM
Our first votes as Virginians.
We’d been investing, canvassing, and voting for 30+ years in a gerrymandered red state.
Today feels pretty good, to tell you the truth.
We’d been investing, canvassing, and voting for 30+ years in a gerrymandered red state.
Today feels pretty good, to tell you the truth.
Reposted by Mike Kaspari
Reposted by Mike Kaspari
This is the president of the United States taking a break from gold-and-marble interior renovations to say he’ll defy a court order to feed hungry Americans.
Nero would be proud.
Nero would be proud.
November 4, 2025 at 7:47 PM
This is the president of the United States taking a break from gold-and-marble interior renovations to say he’ll defy a court order to feed hungry Americans.
Nero would be proud.
Nero would be proud.
“There is a light that never goes out” by the Smiths (AKA “If a ten ton bus kills the both of us, to die by your side is such a wonderful way to die”) is the generational doppleganger to Brian Wilson’s “Pet Sounds”.
I will die on that hill.
They are both pretty great.
youtu.be/siO6dkqidc4?...
I will die on that hill.
They are both pretty great.
youtu.be/siO6dkqidc4?...
The Smiths - There Is A Light That Never Goes Out (Official Audio)
YouTube video by The Smiths
youtu.be
November 4, 2025 at 11:38 PM
“There is a light that never goes out” by the Smiths (AKA “If a ten ton bus kills the both of us, to die by your side is such a wonderful way to die”) is the generational doppleganger to Brian Wilson’s “Pet Sounds”.
I will die on that hill.
They are both pretty great.
youtu.be/siO6dkqidc4?...
I will die on that hill.
They are both pretty great.
youtu.be/siO6dkqidc4?...
Dick Cheney was the worst of the worst until the worst got worst-er.
In Memoriam:
Cheney Haunted By People He Didn't Manage To Kill In Iraq War
Cheney Haunted By People He Didn't Manage To Kill In Iraq War
November 4, 2025 at 11:32 PM
Dick Cheney was the worst of the worst until the worst got worst-er.
“When you’re born you get a ticket to the freak show. When you’re born in America, you get a front row seat. And some of us have notebooks.”
-George Carlin
-George Carlin
November 4, 2025 at 3:05 PM
“When you’re born you get a ticket to the freak show. When you’re born in America, you get a front row seat. And some of us have notebooks.”
-George Carlin
-George Carlin
