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Mark D. Garfinkel, Ph.D. @mdgarfinkel.bsky.social · 3h

BTW, as a result of our long-ago experience “paroxysmal coughing” is a trigger phrase. But you couldn’t know that.

Mark D. Garfinkel, Ph.D. @mdgarfinkel.bsky.social · 3h

We both had close calls about ten years ago, and Z-packs _were_ necessary. Experience shaped my response. Maybe over-wrought is a better term than shaped?

And yes, still friendly.

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Mark D. Garfinkel, Ph.D. @mdgarfinkel.bsky.social · 3h

I was all set to criticize #TCM for today’s programming FOURTEEN HOURS of movies spun off from _The Man from U.N.C.L.E._ tv-series for having jumped the shark…

Then I channel-surfed over to CSPAN.

I’ll take the cheesy 1960s spy-parody stories & Morton Stevens soundtracks, thank you very much.

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Mark D. Garfinkel, Ph.D. @mdgarfinkel.bsky.social · 3h

That’s why I said “in my experience” and suggested that you see your physician. But if you’d prefer to suffer, go right on ahead. Just be careful not to swallow your tongue.

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Mark D. Garfinkel, Ph.D. @mdgarfinkel.bsky.social · 3h

To all my friends, colleagues, and family members in #Canada… Happy Thanksgiving Day!

#CanadianThanksgiving

Mark D. Garfinkel, Ph.D. @mdgarfinkel.bsky.social · 3h

When was your last TDAP vaccination?

IME, “paroxysmal” as an adjective for coughing strongly suggests pertussis (aka “whooping cough”).

See your physician & get a prescription for a Z-pack.

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Mark D. Garfinkel, Ph.D. @mdgarfinkel.bsky.social · 9h

Donnie, do you think Afghanistan would be at war with _any_ of its neighbors if you hadn’t given it back to the Taliban? (You can’t blame Biden — you negotiated the deal.)

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 18h

Trump: "This will be my 8th war I've solved. And I hear there's a war now going between Pakistan & Afghanistan. I said, 'I'll have to wait until I get back. I'm doing another one.' In fairness to the Nobel committee, this was picked for 2024. But there are those who say you could make an exception"

Mark D. Garfinkel, Ph.D. @mdgarfinkel.bsky.social · 9h

Donnie, do you think Afghanistan would be at war with _any_ of its neighbors if you hadn’t given it back to the Taliban? (You can’t blame Biden — you negotiated the deal.)

Mark D. Garfinkel, Ph.D. @mdgarfinkel.bsky.social · 13h

Wait… I thought Don Jr. was the drug addict, and Eric was just dumber than a stack of rocks.

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Mark D. Garfinkel, Ph.D. @mdgarfinkel.bsky.social · 16h

“Advanced imaging” in the one-page medical report is the big tell, isn’t it?

Generally speaking, the only reason you put someone inside a CT or MRI scanner is if you’re _looking for_ something out of the ordinary that’s potentially life-threatening.

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Mark D. Garfinkel, Ph.D. @mdgarfinkel.bsky.social · 16h

“Advanced imaging” in the one-page medical report is the big tell, isn’t it?

Generally speaking, the only reason you put someone inside a CT or MRI scanner is if you’re _looking for_ something out of the ordinary that’s potentially life-threatening.

Rex Huppke @rexhuppke.bsky.social · 17h

I’m convinced he’s dealing with a serious health issue and they’re hiding all of it.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 18h

Trump: "I don't think there's anything that's gonna get me in heaven. I think I'm not maybe heaven bound. I may be in heaven right now as we fly on Air Force One. I'm not sure I'm gonna be able to make heaven."

Mark D. Garfinkel, Ph.D. @mdgarfinkel.bsky.social · 20h

The females aren’t virgin.

Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 23h

In honor of spooky month, share a 4 word horror story that only someone in your profession would understand:

Archives banned making copies.

Natasha Simonova @philistella.bsky.social · 1d

In honor of spooky month, share a 4 word horror story that only someone in your profession would understand:

New library catalogue website.

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Mark D. Garfinkel, Ph.D. @mdgarfinkel.bsky.social · 21h

The females aren’t virgin.

Mark D. Garfinkel, Ph.D. @mdgarfinkel.bsky.social · 21h

Alternate versions: substitute “Chair,” “Provost,” or “Chancellor” in place of “Dean.”

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Mark D. Garfinkel, Ph.D. @mdgarfinkel.bsky.social · 23h

This comes on top of the Trump Law Firm of Bondi, Blanche & Sauer dismantling the cyber-crimes division at DOJ.

Not to mention what they’re doing to CDC, NOAA, NIH, EPA, NSF, etc. ad nauseum.

These people are unilaterally disarming the US against all manner of threats, whether natural or man-made.

Karly Kingsley @karlykingsley.bsky.social · 1d

The RIFs that began Friday will reportedly cut 65% of CISA’s 2,540 employees, one of the dumbest and most dangerous moves imaginable. CISA defends the nation’s cyber and critical infrastructure. Destroying it now only makes sense if you’re afraid of election integrity.

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Mark D. Garfinkel, Ph.D. @mdgarfinkel.bsky.social · 1d

The question is… who is he golfing with? What special deals are being made on the links but off the record?

Reposted by Mark D. Garfinkel, Ph.D.

Mark Peifer (He, him) @peiferlabunc.bsky.social · 2d

The place where the first report of Kaposi's sarcoma and pneumocystis pneumonia in a cohort of gay men revealed the disease that came to be called AIDS

Diasporic Minnesotan Loves Sweater Weather @diasporaminnesotan.bsky.social · 2d

They killed MMWR.
They killed MMWR.
They killed MMWR.
They killed MMWR.
They killed MMWR.
They killed MMWR.

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Mark D. Garfinkel, Ph.D. @mdgarfinkel.bsky.social · 1d

Not collapse — self-destruction.

China had its Cultural Revolution sixty years ago, from which it took decades to recover.

We started ours in January.

Kevin Roberts declared that Project 2025 is “the second American Revolution, which will remain bloodless — if the left allows it to be.”

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Mark D. Garfinkel, Ph.D. @mdgarfinkel.bsky.social · 1d

Well, he _did_ promise lower prices! Those who have been smoking from his pipe will cheer this as “promises made, promises kept.”

But OJ processors and orange growers are just like soybean farmers. They too will be bankrupted by the loss of exports… and they too will need to be bailed out.

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Mark D. Garfinkel, Ph.D. @mdgarfinkel.bsky.social · 1d

It seems like time, once again, to post the link to this 84-year-old article that has grown increasingly relevant to the US political climate over the past nine months:

harpers.org/archive/1941...

Who Goes Nazi?, by Dorothy Thompson

harpers.org

Mark D. Garfinkel, Ph.D. @mdgarfinkel.bsky.social · 1d

So… Trump has ordered Hegseth to re-assign DOD funds originally allocated from some unnamed purpose to pay military salaries. This violates congressional intent and is thus illegal. It is no different from his re-allocation of DOD funds to building the southern border wall in his first term.

Mark D. Garfinkel, Ph.D. @mdgarfinkel.bsky.social · 1d

The one-two punch — electing Finebaum to the Senate and Tuberville to the governorship.

Then there are all the down-ballot races.

FFS.

Mark D. Garfinkel, Ph.D. @mdgarfinkel.bsky.social · 1d

“Hypocrisy… the city is rank with it.”
— Gothmog

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Mark D. Garfinkel, Ph.D. @mdgarfinkel.bsky.social · 1d

Barbara McClintock gave a seminar at my undergraduate institution in 1979. She had more energy than everyone else around — even us 20-year-olds!

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Mark D. Garfinkel, Ph.D. @mdgarfinkel.bsky.social · 2d

Positional gene cloning by chromosome walking & jumping (Bender, Spierer & Hogness)

Steroid regulation of gene expression (Ashburner et al.)

Circadian clock genes (Konopka, Rosbach, Hall, Young)

Transposable element vectors for germline transformation (Spradling, Rubin, Bellen)

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