Scott (Seamus) Kildall
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kildall.bsky.social
Scott (Seamus) Kildall
@kildall.bsky.social
Artist ⚡ Sensors and Soundscapes 🔊
Plants 🪴 Mycelium 🍄 Water Quality 💧 Microbes 🦠 Amateur Scientist

Also: Map Geek 🗺️ Cocktail-maker 🍸 DJ 🎧 Cyclist 🚲

https://kildall.com/
https://linktr.ee/kildall
https://github.com/scottkildall
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Electrical Data from Microbes!

After putting sensors in the microbial samples of Purple Bacteria that I collected, I got some compelling results. Actual electricity from them. Whoa!

#data #science #sensors #microbes #bacteria
November 11, 2025 at 1:59 AM
Can you get data from microbes?

I collected microbial samples from the Salton Sea near Bombay Beach, California. After incubating in the sun for about 4 weeks, Purple Bacteria emerged.

I got curious and placed sensors in them. Will they produce data?

#data #science #sensors #microbes #bacteria
November 9, 2025 at 5:08 PM
So many beautiful trees here. Would love to do a tree data sonification project here some day, or maybe just plants. This place is special. Western Hills Garden, want to collaborate?

#WesternHillsGarden #SnakeBarkMaple #Acerdavidii
November 8, 2025 at 3:51 AM
25 apples in one tree at Luther Burbank Experiment Farm in Sebastopol. Picking one would be like an apple roulette while.

#LutherBurbankExperimentFarm #Sebastopol #MultigraftedApple #Malusdomestica
November 7, 2025 at 3:34 AM
A special variety of apple at Luther Burbank Experiment Farm in Sebastopol. Not all apples are “successful” as far as humans go.

#LutherBurbankExperimentFarm #WintersteinApple #Malusdomestica
November 6, 2025 at 4:25 AM
Can I read bioelectric fields from earthworms? Here are my results.

#worms #sensors #data
November 5, 2025 at 2:30 AM
I set up soil bins in Nevada City with compost, native soil, and biochar (yep, even had to “activate” it). Then I dropped in sensors to see if they could pick up earthworm activity.

Can the sensors detect the bio-electric fields of earthworms?

#worms #sensors #biology
November 4, 2025 at 1:59 AM
A human-successful variety of avocado at Luther Burbank Experiment Farm. This one is adapted to a cooler environment.

#LutherBurbankExperimentFarm #AvocadoSeedling #Perseaamericana
November 1, 2025 at 2:51 AM
Could cells be communicating with photons?

The latest BioSymphonic article, I dive into the strange science of biophotons: weak-light emissions produced by all living cells. All cells emit light.

#microscopes #cells #photons

biosymphonic.substack.com/p/cells-make...
Cells Make Light?!?
Also, microscopes are fun
biosymphonic.substack.com
October 31, 2025 at 2:34 AM
bat-a-thon! They are curious creatures indeed, with all the pathogens they can carry without being harmed themselves
October 30, 2025 at 4:28 PM
Beautiful pond with active algae life. Love these active ecosystems, so underrated. Seen at Western Hills Garden.

And no invasive bullfrogs, right Maria Finn?

#WesternHillsGarden #MariaFinn
October 30, 2025 at 3:25 AM
Purple bacteria once ruled Earth. This was before oxygen filled the atmosphere.

Some scientists even imagine a “Purple Earth,” when the planet itself may have glowed magenta from horizon to horizon.

Full article here:
The First Light Eaters
And maybe a purple world
biosymphonic.substack.com
October 29, 2025 at 1:30 AM
Really enjoyed the walk through Western Hills Garden this weekend, with the post-rain and the changing of the seasons, yes, even in California.

#WesternHillsGarden
October 28, 2025 at 1:51 AM
This weekend’s trip to Luther Burbank Experiment Farm in Sebastopol. Luther Burbank did all sorts of wild experiments with grafting trees and making hybrids. This thornless blackberry tree intrigued me.
October 28, 2025 at 1:00 AM
Florian Schneider from Kraftwerk, well, his estate that is, is selling off his collection of old synths, furniture and other goodies.

It won't be cheap, but it is free to look.

www.juliensauctions.com/en/auctions/...

#kraftwerk #synths
The Florian Schneider Collection
The Florian Schneider Collection All property to be shipped or picked up from Gardena, CA, excluding lot 441, which will ship from Germany. Auc...
www.juliensauctions.com
October 27, 2025 at 6:25 PM
Just a few days ago I was at PLAYA Summer Lake and we had a microscope party with the artists-in-residents there. We are all such nerds!
October 24, 2025 at 4:50 AM
Bird Songs Are Not What You Think

I recently watched the "The Listers" documentary all about extreme bird-watching (!), I was struck by how the competitive bird watchers cared about numbers rather than biology.

We hear melody. Birds hear information.
Bird Songs Are Not What You Think
The Listers Movie and Bird Time
biosymphonic.substack.com
October 24, 2025 at 2:34 AM
Bats eat birds! Scientists found this out by putting sensor-backpacks on the backs of bats and tracking them.

www.thetimes.com/uk/science/a...

#science #sensors
The mini backpacks that prove bats hunt birds like fighter jets
Scientists analysed Europe’s biggest bats to find how they target their prey, capturing distress calls and even the sound of chewing
www.thetimes.com
October 11, 2025 at 4:03 PM
This week's BioSymphonic writing is about bird songs, and perception — and the most excellent documentary called "Listers" which I saw on YouTube a couple weeks ago.

Bird Songs are not what you think
biosymphonic.substack.com/p/bird-songs...
Bird Songs Are Not What You Think
The Listers Movie and Bird Time
biosymphonic.substack.com
October 9, 2025 at 2:56 PM
This week's writing on the BioSymphonic is all about dragonflies, which (at least the ancestors of) are believed to be the first flying creatures.

biosymphonic.substack.com/p/dragonflie...

#biology #dragonflies
Dragonflies: First In Flight
And still badass in every way
biosymphonic.substack.com
October 2, 2025 at 4:42 PM
I'd like to be a maggot for a day.

How maggots sense the world. It's entirely alien.

substack.com/home/post/p-...

#sensing #biology #writings
Marvelous Maggot Senila
Not as disgusting as you'd think
substack.com
September 26, 2025 at 4:39 PM
Short (7 minute) version of "Musical Maggots", data-sonifcation from live maggots, capturing their bio-electric fields.

From Dinacon 2025 in Bali @dinacon.bsky.social

soundcloud.com/scottkildall...

#dataSonification #maggots #electricity
Musical Maggots (7 min version)
A journey to Les Organic Farm in Bali where I put bioelectric sensors in a bin of composting maggots. I made an ambient soundscape from the data from their wriggling bodies. Uses a variety of ambient
soundcloud.com
September 18, 2025 at 2:23 PM
The hyper-sensing of crickets in their defense mechanisms from spiders.

biosymphonic.substack.com/p/spidey-sen...

More inspiration from @edyong209.bsky.social in my ongoing biology studies for my own electronics sensor + soundscape works.

#BioSymphonic #spiders #crickets #nature
Spidey-sensing Crickets
Hyper-evolved defense mechanisms
biosymphonic.substack.com
September 17, 2025 at 3:39 PM
I just launched a YouTube channel: BioSymphonic, which experiments with custom electronic sensors and data-generated soundscapes.

The first episode is "Musical Maggots" — where composting maggots generate an ambient soundscape
www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWNx...

#electronics #sensors
Musical Maggots
YouTube video by BioSymphonic
www.youtube.com
September 16, 2025 at 4:05 PM
Nature is a Gallery without walls, a nice little article by Char Rogg, about taking your work outside of the gallery environs.

My thoughts are that nature isn't about control, but about collaboration. And, galleries are the opposite.

substack.com/home/post/p-...
Nature Is A Gallery Without Walls
A love letter to art that dissolves the boundary between human and earth.
substack.com
September 10, 2025 at 3:49 PM