Ryne VanKrevelen
LightNews LightNews
banner
rynevank.bsky.social
Ryne VanKrevelen
@rynevank.bsky.social
83 followers 260 following 94 posts
I teach statistics, watch birds, read books, listen to music, and enjoy baseball/basketball.
Posts Replies Media Videos
rynevank.bsky.social
Here are some of my other favorites I've read so far this year.
A 3 by 3 grid of book covers. The books are the following: One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This by Omar El Akkad Metal From Heaven by August Clarke The Hundred Years' War on Palestine by Rashid I. Khalidi Tales From the Cafe by Toshikazu Kawaguchi Rakesfall by Vajra Chandrasekera A Sorceress Comes to Call by T. Kingfisher Disability Visibility by Alice Wong (editor) We are the Crisis by Cadwell Turnbull Saturation Point by Adrian Tchaikovsky
July 1, 2025 at 2:13 PM
rynevank.bsky.social
Cmon! It would have been a pangram too. I guess we’ve still got work to do #ungrading
New York Times spelling bee game showing that “ungrading” is not considered an acceptable word.
February 2, 2025 at 4:23 PM
rynevank.bsky.social
The birds were out early this morning.
Brick steps covered in snow with lots of little bird footprints meandering across them.
January 22, 2025 at 5:34 PM
rynevank.bsky.social
A fun ice formation at Falls Lake yesterday.
A short stump next to a lake with dozens of icicles hanging from low branches down to the ground.
January 22, 2025 at 2:01 AM
rynevank.bsky.social
We got our first snow in almost three years
Tree lined path with a dusting of snow and the sun and clouds peeking through in the background.
January 11, 2025 at 5:01 PM
rynevank.bsky.social
I read a lot of books I really enjoyed this year, but three of my favorites (by @vajra.me, @tananarivedue.bsky.social, and @charliejane.bsky.social) are ones I discovered through Bluesky! The whole top row really captivated me in different ways. Full titles and authors are in the alt text.
A three by five grid of book covers including: The Saint of Bright Doors by Vajra Chandrasekera The Practice, The Horizon, and The Chain by Sofia Samatar The Reformatory by Tananarive Due All The Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders Annie Bot by Sierra Greer Grading for Growth by David Clark and Robert Talbert Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar The Message by Ta-Nehisis Coates Maroons by adrienne maree brown The Light Eaters by Zoë Schlanger Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Ajdei-Brenyah No Gods, No Monsters by Cadwell Turnbull Hood Feminism by Mikki Kendall The Deep Sky by Yume Kitasei Bunny by Mona Awad
December 31, 2024 at 11:15 PM
rynevank.bsky.social
I should probably be writing my end of year evaluation, but it's way more fun creating graphs out of my birding data. I've been working on being able to auto generate these for any species.
A graph showing my top locations for observing Brown Creepers. It shows red dots for sightings and gray dots for visits without sightings. The top locations are Sandy Creek Park, Falls Lake--Rolling View, and Beaver Marsh. Sightings are mostly in November - March. A circular graph showing my Brown Creeper observations over the course of a year. There are different colors for what state I was in (MN, NC, or SC). Observations were all in late October through mid March except for one June observation.
December 20, 2024 at 7:45 PM
rynevank.bsky.social
Are people spending almost 20% of their 40 hour work week on their calendar? Or did someone use an AI to just make up a statistic to promote this product? (it's probably the second one...)
An email for a "free AI calendar from Dropbox" with a subject saying you can "Get back 7.6 hours per week" with the new AI calendar.
December 11, 2024 at 8:08 PM
rynevank.bsky.social
We went for a Thanksgiving hike yesterday and saw this Eastern Bluebird chowing down on what I think is a cicada. #birds
An Eastern Bluebird peering over the top of a log with a bug in its beak. There is a stray wing next to it on the log. An Eastern Bluebird peering over the top of a log with a bug in its beak. An Eastern Bluebird peering over the top of a log with a bug in its beak.
November 30, 2024 at 1:20 AM
rynevank.bsky.social
This Brown Thrasher has been visiting our yard for quite some time, and I finally got pictures of it. It makes me happy every time it shows back up. Today it told some Red-winged Blackbirds that they had to wait their turn to use the feeder. #birds
A Brown Thrasher with a deformed bill sitting on a bird feeder shaped like a picnic table. The bird is brown with a bright yellow eye. The lower part of the bill is shorter than the top and crosses in front of it. A Brown Thrasher with a deformed bill sitting on a bird feeder shaped like a picnic table. The bird is brown with a bright yellow eye and a white chest with brown spots. The top of the bill crosses over the bottom.
November 27, 2024 at 2:44 AM
rynevank.bsky.social
StoryGraph is a great Goodreads alternative. It also gives you fun statistics on things like your top genres, typical book lengths, reading amounts over time, etc. (there are a few data viz crimes in here that I’m willing to overlook in this case)
Two pie charts. The top shows length of books split into three categories. 300-49 pages is the top category at just over 50%. The bottom shows fiction vs non-fiction. 85% of the graph is fiction. A multiple line chart with a red line tracking pages read each month and a blue line tracking books read each month.
November 14, 2024 at 12:59 PM
rynevank.bsky.social
I went looking for birds this morning and instead found a bunch of cool caterpillars. #nature #caterpillars
Saddleback Caterpillar. A pinkish caterpillar that looks like it’s wearing a light green saddle. It has two protrusions on each end with little hairs. Milkweed Tussock Moth caterpillar. It is orange, black, and white and looks fuzzy. Fall Webworm Moth caterpillar. The moth looks mostly like a bunch of long white hairs. It has beads of water on some of them.
September 11, 2024 at 4:20 PM
rynevank.bsky.social
A couple more fun caterpillars and a spider from yesterday’s walk. #nature #caterpillars #spiders
A plump caterpillar on asphalt. It is purplish on top and green on the side with evenly spaced black dots. A maroon colored caterpillar with long lighter colored lines running the length of its body. A large light green spider on a leaf
September 9, 2024 at 12:12 PM
rynevank.bsky.social
Today my wife found a Polyphemus moth on our hike. #nature #moths
Large brownish yellow moth in a hand. It has blue spots with yellow outlines and some black and red lines across it.
September 6, 2024 at 8:47 PM
rynevank.bsky.social
I had a beautiful sphinx moth caterpillar cross my path while walking the dog this evening. #nature #caterpillars
A pink and green caterpillar moving across asphalt. A pink and green caterpillar moving across asphalt.
September 5, 2024 at 10:43 PM
rynevank.bsky.social
Some pictures from yesterday morning’s walk. #nature
A Red Admiral butterfly perched on someone’s fingers. The butterfly is mostly brown with a streak of orange on its wings. It has its long tongue extended down to the fingers. A dragonfly drawn in chalk on pavement. A tiny snake (Dekay’s Brownsnake) with its tongue out. A leaf-footed bug upside down under a leaf. It has a dark body with long white legs. Its two antenna are black with orangish tips.
August 7, 2024 at 11:53 AM
rynevank.bsky.social
We were ultimately headed up to Maine for four nights, which included a trip to Eastern Egg Rock to see Puffins!
#birds #naturephotography
A small yellow bird (Yellow Warbler) perched on a branch. A Black Guillemot sitting on the water with what looks like an eel in its beak. The bird is matte black with a white patch on its wing. An Atlantic Puffin with its multicolored beak open. A Black-crowned Night-Heron perched in a tree. The bird is white with a black wing, beak, and top of its head. It has a red eye and some light yellow around its face.
July 24, 2024 at 12:26 AM
rynevank.bsky.social
We recently stopped for a couple of days in Delaware and stayed in a camper along the coast. The mosquitos and horse flies were intense but it was beautiful with lots of great wildlife.
#birds #naturephotography
A black and white dog standing on a beach at sunset. A Blue Grosbeak with something that looks like a slug in its beak. The bird is blue with orange-ish color on its wings. A Black-bellied Whistling Duck on the water. The bird has a pale orange bill, grayish head, and warm brown body. A yellow and black wasp digging a whole in light colored sand.
July 24, 2024 at 12:19 AM
rynevank.bsky.social
Sign: Don’t feed the gulls
Gull: No problem. I can serve myself.
A gull’s wings poking out of a garbage can in front of a red building where lobster is sold. A gull emerging from a garbage can in front of a red building where lobster is sold. The gull has multiple French fries in its beak. A gull with French fries in its beak getting ready to land A full with French fries in its beak landing.
July 20, 2024 at 1:02 AM
rynevank.bsky.social
I didn't get to see as many warblers this spring as I hoped, but I always forget how many great dragonflies show up in the summer.
Blue-faced Meadowhawk. A mostly darker yellow dragonfly with some black sports on its tail creating a striped appearance. Blue Dasher. A dragonfly with some black and yellow stripes. It has blue near its head and red eyes. Painted Skimmer. A dragonfly with two black spots on each of its wings. The tail has black near the base with a yellow-ish gold color elsewhere. Blue-fronted Dancer. A thin damselfly hanging onto the end of tall grass. It is goldish in color with a darker body and wings.
May 23, 2024 at 1:28 AM
rynevank.bsky.social
Our semester is just about done, which means I've had more time to get out birding lately!
One Tree Swallow perched on a telephone wire with another wings spread in the air behind it. The birds are white on the underside with blue on their wings and head. A Prothonotary Warbler perched on a branch with its tail sticking out behind. The bird is bright yellow with a black beak and gray wings and tail. An Orchard Oriole on a branch. The bird is looking to its right. It is yellow with black under its beak and darker wings. A Wood Thrush walking through dead leaves. The bird is reddish brown with a speckled white breast.
May 23, 2024 at 1:19 AM
rynevank.bsky.social
Find yourself a partner who leaves you helpful messages around the house
A blue post it note above a toilet paper roll that reads “Remember sometimes snakes come up out of toilets” and has a drawing of a snake
March 1, 2024 at 3:18 AM
rynevank.bsky.social
I think our dogs enjoyed going for a walk in the warm weather today.
Black and white pit bull mix holding a stick in her mouth and looking back at the camera Mostly black pit bull mix that just rolled in the grass. He’s got dead grass on his back and is looking back at the camera with his mouth open.
February 15, 2024 at 9:51 PM
rynevank.bsky.social
My spicy hot chocolate from Cocoa Cinnamon had rainbow bubbles
Mug of hot chocolate on a wood surface. The bubbles in the drink are rainbow colored.
October 31, 2023 at 6:09 PM
rynevank.bsky.social
Our Fall Break sadly ends today, but not before I made a couple trips to Falls Lake this weekend.
A swimming area at Falls Lake clouded by fog. Trees can be seen through the haze on the right. Sunrise over a lake. The sky has yellow, orange, and red colors that are reflected in the water. Two large pink birds with long bills (Roseate Spoonbills) standing back to back in the water. A flock of 30 or so large white birds (Great Egrets) in shallow water in front of green trees with one red tree in the group.
October 16, 2023 at 1:32 AM