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megt.bsky.social
MTH
@megt.bsky.social
1.6K followers 1.6K following 1.9K posts
SFF author. PhD in mass comm, anthro/archaeo, folklore, environment. Freelance writer/editor. Grantmaking and public policy. Operator at defunct farm. Cheesehead 🧀 Badger alum. Reposts not necessarily an endorsement.
web: https://oaklandhillsfarm.com
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megt.bsky.social
MTH @megt.bsky.social · Aug 17
A #book is the perfect escape! Want a portal to other worlds? BLACK RIVER can transport you. Like nobledark #fantasy trilogies full of political intrigue, desperate battles and epic journeys? Check out The Enchanter's Web! oaklandhillsfarm.com/novel (Alt txt for deets) #writingcommunity #sff 📚🪐 📚💙
For more info: oaklandhillsfarm.com/novel 4 covers. BLACK RIVER, pub'd by Mystique Press: moonlit waters flanked by pine forest with scudding clouds on the horizon. Cover design: M. Turville Heitz & David Dodd. What if Uncle Rupert’s fanciful stories of world-hopping wizards scavenging exotic animals, magic stones, and weapons of mass destruction were real? Praise for BR: “Is it science fiction? Fantasy? Or... well, I don't care, I just know it was a wild ride and I was sorry when it was over.” LS EW 1: SPECTERS FROM A DREAM. Cover by Ingrid Kallick: a burning barn, a figure silhouetted in the flames and flaming arrows. Smoke coils up and away. They thought their dreams guided them. What if they were wrong? An epic fantasy of intrigue and sorcery, EW 1 finds our heroes trying to manage powers beyond their control in a desperate war against stronger forces with a mission to destroy the world. Praise for EW1: “A rousing high fantasy novel. This kept me up reading for several nights. This is an intricate, well-developed world and characters readers of fantasy will love. I can't wait to read the next in the series.” ESR EW2: DREAD WARRIOR. Ingrid's cover shows a giant wave crashing over a small overturned sailboat with a sword-bearing warrior clinging to the hull of the vessel as a storm rages overhead. What could go wrong when a peaceful land plans a war? In EW2 our heroes must face tribal rivalries and class divisions to somehow unite Shande and her allies to save themselves. EW3: THE RISING OF KEDTAIR. Ingrid's cover shows dragon-like conjurations sent to attack a white-clad, dagger-wielding figure. When all the pieces come together, what if it was always to another’s plan? EW3 finds our heroes desperately gathering armies in an occupied land controlled by a better-armed, better-trained enemy. They must meet an impossible timeline. They count on many pieces falling into place. They didn’t count on the Enchanter’s web.
megt.bsky.social
On sale through JAN 1! My trilogy THE ENCHANTER'S WEB up to 50% off with the End of Year eBook Sale! Into #fantasy? #Epic #Adventure? Battles? Even a bit of #Romance? What's not to like? #EOYSale25 Prefer hard copy? See website (in profile) or alt txt 📚🪐 💙📚 Link:
www.smashwords.com/profile/view...
Three book covers by M Turville Heitz art by Ingrid Kallick, SPECTERS FROM A DREAM: https://books2read.com/u/380rA6 ISBN: EPUB – 9798991885300 ISBN: Trade Paperback – 9798991885331 A burning barn, a figure silhouetted in the flames as seen through a gap, with flaming arrows around the opening. Smoke coils up and away DREAD WARRIOR: https://books2read.com/u/bM8V77 ISBN – EPUB 9798991885317 ISBN Trade Paperback 9798991885348 A giant wave crashing over a small overturned sailboat with a sword-bearing warrior clinging to the hull of the vessel as a storm rages overhead. THE RISING OF KEDTAIR: https://books2read.com/u/bxx7ZP ISBN – EPUB 9798991885324 ISBN – Trade Paperback 9798991885355 Dragon-like conjurations sent to attack a white-clad, dagger-wielding figure. The gods left unfinished business after their ancient war among themselves. They banished, but didn't kill their foe, who now seeks his vengeance by laying waste to the gods' beloved creations: the land and peoples of Shande. The gods empower unlikely heroes Khoti, Arshal, Nali, and Resala – altering their fates with abilities that could destroy them – to unite Shande to somehow save the world. The Enchanter's Web, a nobledark epic fantasy trilogy of intrigue and sorcery, finds our heroes trying to manage powers beyond their control in a desperate war against stronger forces that have a mission to destroy the world. They count on many pieces falling into place. They didn’t count on the Enchanter’s web.
December 8, 2025 at 4:49 PM
megt.bsky.social
"It is energy-dense, can be stored and transported in liquid form, and — crucially — many ship engines can be converted to run on it. Global giants like Maersk and CMA CGM are already operating methanol-powered container vessels." 🌎 reasonstobecheerful.world/city-turning...
The City That Turns Human Waste into Clean Fuel
Sewage is a massive untapped source of green methanol, perfect for powering ships. One German city is producing it with every flush.
reasonstobecheerful.world
December 7, 2025 at 5:52 PM
megt.bsky.social
They also don't need to have frequent battery replacement. 🌿

news.mongabay.com/2025/11/sola...
Solar-lit fishing nets cut sea turtle bycatch by 63%, Mexico trials show
In the waters off Isla el Pardito, where rocky reefs meet mangrove swamps in Mexico’s Gulf of California, marine biologists and veteran fishers are using the power of the sun to protect endangered sea...
news.mongabay.com
December 7, 2025 at 5:44 PM
megt.bsky.social
Promising research on a plastic alternative for food packaging. 🌎

www.anthropocenemagazine.org/2025/11/this...
This 3-ingredient film made from food waste may actually beat regular plastic packaging?
The next-gen bioplastic invention surpassed the abilities of some conventional plastic packaging in repelling water and oxygen.
www.anthropocenemagazine.org
December 7, 2025 at 5:35 PM
megt.bsky.social
I shouldn't need to say this (but based on some of the comments, which underscores why so many people re-post fake stories and AI slop) .... It's satire.
nytpitchbot.bsky.social NY Times Pitchbot @nytpitchbot.bsky.social · 2d
Trump's dementia has grown so extreme that a select group of advisors are now running the country without his input. To find who those advisors are and what their plans are, buy my new book, which will appear in March 2029.
December 6, 2025 at 8:20 PM
Reposted by MTH
megt.bsky.social
Heads up! I'm doing the #Smashwords End of Year eBook Sale! You can get a lot of #books at steeply discounted rates. But more important, you can pick up my trilogy, THE ENCHANTER'S WEB, on sale. Into #fantasy? #Epic #Adventure? Battles? Even a bit of #Romance? What's not to like? #EOYSale25 📚🪐 💙📚
megt.bsky.social MTH @megt.bsky.social · Aug 17
A #book is the perfect escape! Want a portal to other worlds? BLACK RIVER can transport you. Like nobledark #fantasy trilogies full of political intrigue, desperate battles and epic journeys? Check out The Enchanter's Web! oaklandhillsfarm.com/novel (Alt txt for deets) #writingcommunity #sff 📚🪐 📚💙
For more info: oaklandhillsfarm.com/novel 4 covers. BLACK RIVER, pub'd by Mystique Press: moonlit waters flanked by pine forest with scudding clouds on the horizon. Cover design: M. Turville Heitz & David Dodd. What if Uncle Rupert’s fanciful stories of world-hopping wizards scavenging exotic animals, magic stones, and weapons of mass destruction were real? Praise for BR: “Is it science fiction? Fantasy? Or... well, I don't care, I just know it was a wild ride and I was sorry when it was over.” LS EW 1: SPECTERS FROM A DREAM. Cover by Ingrid Kallick: a burning barn, a figure silhouetted in the flames and flaming arrows. Smoke coils up and away. They thought their dreams guided them. What if they were wrong? An epic fantasy of intrigue and sorcery, EW 1 finds our heroes trying to manage powers beyond their control in a desperate war against stronger forces with a mission to destroy the world. Praise for EW1: “A rousing high fantasy novel. This kept me up reading for several nights. This is an intricate, well-developed world and characters readers of fantasy will love. I can't wait to read the next in the series.” ESR EW2: DREAD WARRIOR. Ingrid's cover shows a giant wave crashing over a small overturned sailboat with a sword-bearing warrior clinging to the hull of the vessel as a storm rages overhead. What could go wrong when a peaceful land plans a war? In EW2 our heroes must face tribal rivalries and class divisions to somehow unite Shande and her allies to save themselves. EW3: THE RISING OF KEDTAIR. Ingrid's cover shows dragon-like conjurations sent to attack a white-clad, dagger-wielding figure. When all the pieces come together, what if it was always to another’s plan? EW3 finds our heroes desperately gathering armies in an occupied land controlled by a better-armed, better-trained enemy. They must meet an impossible timeline. They count on many pieces falling into place. They didn’t count on the Enchanter’s web.
December 3, 2025 at 6:01 PM
megt.bsky.social
Not addressed in this essay, is 'whose history.' With AI slop so prevalent, what version of videos, articles, and that "first draft of history" will survive the assault on #journalism? #SciComm article from @uwethics.bsky.social

ethics.sjmc.wisc.edu/2025/11/06/q...
Q: What’s the point of journalism now? A: History
By Samuel G. Freedman Eight months into Donald Trump’s second term in the White House, POLITICO broke an explosive story about the president’s nominee to lead the Office of Special Counsel. The scoop ...
ethics.sjmc.wisc.edu
December 5, 2025 at 4:42 PM
megt.bsky.social
I posted the video of this @uwethics.bsky.social con, Journalism Ethics in a Fracturing World in October, but here's a transcript, which is easier to wade through (since the video ran like 5 hours with the whole con) #SciComm #journalism @sejorg.bsky.social
ethics.sjmc.wisc.edu/2025/10/15/i...
In defense of journalism
By Keith Woods On Friday, September 26, 2025, the UW Center for Journalism Ethics hosted its 16th annual conference “Journalism Ethics in a Fracturing World.” Keith Woods, recently retired as the chie...
ethics.sjmc.wisc.edu
December 5, 2025 at 4:34 PM
megt.bsky.social
[H]omeowner[s] saw an average increase of $648 in their annual premium from 2021 to 2024. And ... rates are expected to increase ...@ 8% nationwide this year — with homeowners in some states facing much higher increases, such as a projected 27% hike in Louisiana. 🌎
capitalandmain.com/trumps-anti-...
Trump’s Anti-Climate Policies Are Driving Up Insurance Costs for Homeowners, Say Experts
Tariffs, extreme weather events and the president’s funding cuts are contributing to increasing rates, sometimes by double digits.
capitalandmain.com
December 5, 2025 at 4:25 PM
megt.bsky.social
Buyer beware ... "Zillow said it remains committed to help Americans make informed decisions about properties, with listings now containing outbound links to" the nonprofit climate-risk quantifier First Street that provided the tool to Zillow. 🌎🌿 grist.org/housing/zill...
Zillow deletes climate risk data from listings after complaints it harms sales
The site removed the feature after real estate agents and some homeowners alleged that the scores appear arbitrary and hurt sales.
grist.org
December 5, 2025 at 4:21 PM
megt.bsky.social
[G]lobal review of 71 English language studies... in Current Environmental Health Reports, documented measurable levels of chemicals produced by industry known to influence hormones involved in growth, brain development, metabolism, and immune function. (plus plastic) 🧪⚕️🌎
usrtk.org/healthwire/h...
Hormone-disrupting chemicals contaminate breast milk, global review shows; scientists say breastfeeding is still best
Breast milk from mothers worldwide contains a wide range of endocrine disrupting chemicals, but breastfeeding still remains best, global study shows.
usrtk.org
December 5, 2025 at 4:17 PM
megt.bsky.social
Wis Supreme Court agreed to hear a lawsuit challenging five Wisconsin sheriffs’ practices of holding detainees in their jail for handoffs to ICE.
The ACLU filed the lawsuit in September on behalf of the immigrant rights group Voces de la Frontera.
wisconsinwatch.org/2025/12/wisc...
Wisconsin Supreme Court to weigh sheriffs’ cooperation with ICE
The ACLU sued on behalf of the immigrant rights group Voces de la Frontera. The lawsuit challenges detention practices in Brown, Kenosha, Marathon, Sauk and Walworth counties.
wisconsinwatch.org
December 5, 2025 at 4:13 PM
Reposted by MTH
spudlovr.bsky.social
Trump did this >> Marinette Marine lays off almost 100 workers a week after the Navy canceled ship orders

www.wpr.org/news/mar... #wipolitics
Marinette Marine lays off almost 100 workers a week after the Navy canceled ship orders
Fincantieri Marinette Marine laid off nearly 100 workers on Wednesday, about a week after the U.S. Navy announced it was canceling much of a multi-billion dollar order for ships that would have been built in Wisconsin.
www.wpr.org
December 5, 2025 at 4:03 PM
megt.bsky.social
My local ethanol plant has a line of trucks waiting their turn, any given day. During a tour they mentioned another of efforts to reduce their climate impacts. It's a significant economic driver for my farm neighbors, especially when trade is prone to politics. Need $ to fund more farm BMPs 🌎
floodlightnews.org Floodlight @floodlightnews.org · 4d
Promoted as a climate fix, a federal mandate to mix ethanol into gasoline is instead driving high emissions:

🌽 Ethanol production drives huge demand for corn
🚜 Corn is grown with heavy fertilizer use
🔥 That fertilizer releases nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas 300x stronger than CO₂
Corn’s clean-energy promise is clashing with its climate footprint
Corn dominates U.S. farmland and fuels the ethanol industry. But the fertilizer it relies on drives emissions and fouls drinking water.
floodlightnews.org
December 4, 2025 at 8:50 PM
megt.bsky.social
The study Monsanto cited as proof Round-up is safe retracted
due to authorship questions, misrepresentation of contributions by authors & Monsanto, conflicts of interest & carcinogenicity of glyphosate conclusions that ignored other published research. 🌿🌎🌱
www.thenewlede.org/2025/12/citi...
Citing "serious ethical concerns," journal retracts key Monsanto Roundup safety study - The New Lede
The journal Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology has formally retracted a sweeping scientific paper published in the year 2000 that became a key defense for Monsanto’s claim that Roundup herbicide a...
www.thenewlede.org
December 4, 2025 at 6:35 PM
megt.bsky.social
In Wis. a 2023 UW study found "70% of labor on the state’s dairy farms was done by undocumented workers." The option for H-2A visa doesn't work, since it's seasonal and dairy is year-round, and those visas are losing some protections. 🌿
wisconsinwatch.org/2025/11/wisc...
Farmers are feeling the squeeze from Trump’s mass deportations. Congress isn’t close to a fix.
House Republicans say they are in the early stages of policy discussions as farmers raise concerns about labor shortages.
wisconsinwatch.org
December 3, 2025 at 7:26 PM
megt.bsky.social
Heads up! I'm doing the #Smashwords End of Year eBook Sale! You can get a lot of #books at steeply discounted rates. But more important, you can pick up my trilogy, THE ENCHANTER'S WEB, on sale. Into #fantasy? #Epic #Adventure? Battles? Even a bit of #Romance? What's not to like? #EOYSale25 📚🪐 💙📚
megt.bsky.social MTH @megt.bsky.social · Aug 17
A #book is the perfect escape! Want a portal to other worlds? BLACK RIVER can transport you. Like nobledark #fantasy trilogies full of political intrigue, desperate battles and epic journeys? Check out The Enchanter's Web! oaklandhillsfarm.com/novel (Alt txt for deets) #writingcommunity #sff 📚🪐 📚💙
For more info: oaklandhillsfarm.com/novel 4 covers. BLACK RIVER, pub'd by Mystique Press: moonlit waters flanked by pine forest with scudding clouds on the horizon. Cover design: M. Turville Heitz & David Dodd. What if Uncle Rupert’s fanciful stories of world-hopping wizards scavenging exotic animals, magic stones, and weapons of mass destruction were real? Praise for BR: “Is it science fiction? Fantasy? Or... well, I don't care, I just know it was a wild ride and I was sorry when it was over.” LS EW 1: SPECTERS FROM A DREAM. Cover by Ingrid Kallick: a burning barn, a figure silhouetted in the flames and flaming arrows. Smoke coils up and away. They thought their dreams guided them. What if they were wrong? An epic fantasy of intrigue and sorcery, EW 1 finds our heroes trying to manage powers beyond their control in a desperate war against stronger forces with a mission to destroy the world. Praise for EW1: “A rousing high fantasy novel. This kept me up reading for several nights. This is an intricate, well-developed world and characters readers of fantasy will love. I can't wait to read the next in the series.” ESR EW2: DREAD WARRIOR. Ingrid's cover shows a giant wave crashing over a small overturned sailboat with a sword-bearing warrior clinging to the hull of the vessel as a storm rages overhead. What could go wrong when a peaceful land plans a war? In EW2 our heroes must face tribal rivalries and class divisions to somehow unite Shande and her allies to save themselves. EW3: THE RISING OF KEDTAIR. Ingrid's cover shows dragon-like conjurations sent to attack a white-clad, dagger-wielding figure. When all the pieces come together, what if it was always to another’s plan? EW3 finds our heroes desperately gathering armies in an occupied land controlled by a better-armed, better-trained enemy. They must meet an impossible timeline. They count on many pieces falling into place. They didn’t count on the Enchanter’s web.
December 3, 2025 at 6:01 PM
Reposted by MTH
nature.com
Planned megaconstellations would contaminate the view of the cosmos of four orbiting telescopes

go.nature.com/3XxRL1u
Satellite swarms set to photobomb more than 95% of some telescopes’ images
Planned megaconstellations would contaminate the view of the cosmos of four orbiting telescopes
go.nature.com
December 3, 2025 at 5:45 PM
Reposted by MTH
ronfilipkowski.bsky.social
According to the US Coast Guard, the year prior to Trump changing our policy to summary execution, only 21% of the vessels interdicted by them off the coast of Venezuela suspected of trafficking drugs had drugs on board. The other 79% had nothing. But now we just kill them all.
December 2, 2025 at 5:18 PM
megt.bsky.social
Books! Free shipping and a future discount? What's not to love? You can find The Enchanter's Web trilogy on Bookshop! Looking for a nobledark fantasy adventure with battles, romance and political intrigue? Check it out!

bookshop.org/beta-search?...
December 1, 2025 at 8:20 PM
Reposted by MTH
megt.bsky.social
Discussing media literacy. It might not be something you need cuz you're all savvy users of social media, but you probably know someone who should read this. Includes links to sources for fact checking and some other tidbits. #scicomm #WritingCommunity #Readers

oaklandhillsfarm.com/certainty-ju...
Certainty – Just Enough to Be Dangerous
If we want to survive these times of rampant misinformation, it’s more important than ever to be media literate.
oaklandhillsfarm.com
November 30, 2025 at 11:59 PM
megt.bsky.social
Discussing media literacy. It might not be something you need cuz you're all savvy users of social media, but you probably know someone who should read this. Includes links to sources for fact checking and some other tidbits. #scicomm #WritingCommunity #Readers

oaklandhillsfarm.com/certainty-ju...
Certainty – Just Enough to Be Dangerous
If we want to survive these times of rampant misinformation, it’s more important than ever to be media literate.
oaklandhillsfarm.com
November 30, 2025 at 11:59 PM
Reposted by MTH
ketanjoshi.co
"Renewable energy is the cheapest form of new electricity"

Doesn't seem like despots, dictators and crony capitalists really care

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Trump order to keep Michigan power plant open costs taxpayers $113m Critics say JH Campbell coal-fired plant in western Michigan is expensive and emits high levels of toxic pollution Tom Perkinsin Detroit, Michigan Fri 28 Nov 2025 13.00 GMT Trump administration orders to keep an ageing, unneeded Michigan coal-fired power plant online has cost ratepayers from across the US midwest about $113m so far, according to estimates from the plant’s operator and regulators. Still, the US energy department last week ordered the plant to remain open for another 90 days. The Trump administration in May ordered utility giant Consumers Energy to keep the 63-year-old JH Campbell coal plant in western Michigan, about 100 miles north-east of Chicago, online just as it was being retired.
November 30, 2025 at 9:04 PM
Reposted by MTH
channel3000.com
Here's a look at the most recent snow totals coming in across central and southern Wisconsin, as of 5:50pm Saturday. #wiwx
Image 1 Image 2
November 29, 2025 at 11:53 PM
megt.bsky.social
The weather outside is frightful (expecting, they claim, 10-20 inches of snow by morning) ... so it's a great day to make soup from 🦃-day leftover lamb and roasted veggies. Added some barley and lentils, more veggies and broth from the bones. Yum. 🍽🍜
A bowl of soup shows chunks od lamb, carrot, potato, broccoli, onion, celery, pepper and mushroom
November 29, 2025 at 9:56 PM