Patrick McGovern
@planetpatman.bsky.social
Planetary Scientist, Husband, and Father. Was hockey player, now sedentary blimp. Board/strategy gamer with minimal playtime. Tsundoku Master. Opinions are mine alone.
Introduce yourself with four spaceships.
November 26, 2025 at 12:36 AM
Introduce yourself with four spaceships.
Lizard gets why The Last Jedi was a TERRIBLE movie!
I mean, there's no reason half the New Order fleet couldn't just jump *ahead* of the fleeing rebels and crush them from both ends.
I remember seeing "Fury Road" and thinking "If you want your movie to be mostly a long chase scene, THIS is how you do it!"
I remember seeing "Fury Road" and thinking "If you want your movie to be mostly a long chase scene, THIS is how you do it!"
November 25, 2025 at 1:54 AM
Lizard gets why The Last Jedi was a TERRIBLE movie!
Give me a ping, Charlie Brown. One ping only, please.
All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain, Charlie Brown.
You're too short for that gesture, Charlie Brown
November 24, 2025 at 2:48 AM
Give me a ping, Charlie Brown. One ping only, please.
Perhaps you think you're being treated unfairly, Charlie Brown?
All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain, Charlie Brown.
You're too short for that gesture, Charlie Brown
November 24, 2025 at 1:59 AM
Perhaps you think you're being treated unfairly, Charlie Brown?
“I asked ChatGPT” “I asked Claude” I asked this horseshoe crab and he said your ass wouldn’t have lasted two seconds in the Triassic
November 23, 2025 at 11:54 PM
Reposted by Patrick McGovern
Yes! This is so important! Machine Learning is doing wonderful things like mapping Martian craters and analyzing microbe genomes. LLMs are a very specific form & it’s them doing these huge amounts of harm. I also sometimes say “Gen AI”
when I mean both LLMs and art generators; I try to never say AI
when I mean both LLMs and art generators; I try to never say AI
Journalist challenge: Use “Machine Learning” when you mean machine learning and “LLM” when you mean LLM. Ditch “AI” as a catch-all term, it’s not useful for readers and it helps companies trying to confuse the public by obscuring the roles played by different technologies. 🧪
November 22, 2025 at 5:03 PM
Yes! This is so important! Machine Learning is doing wonderful things like mapping Martian craters and analyzing microbe genomes. LLMs are a very specific form & it’s them doing these huge amounts of harm. I also sometimes say “Gen AI”
when I mean both LLMs and art generators; I try to never say AI
when I mean both LLMs and art generators; I try to never say AI
Reposted by Patrick McGovern
If you're wondering what it looks like to take a run down the new track in Cortina d'Ampezzo, here's a POV run courtesy of IBSF!
Curves:
1. Stries
2. Verzi
3. Sento
4-6. Labirinti
7. Belvedere
8. Lago Bandion
9. K2
10. Antelao
11. Cristallo
12-13. Chicane
14. Tofana
15. Anpezo
16. Arrivo
Curves:
1. Stries
2. Verzi
3. Sento
4-6. Labirinti
7. Belvedere
8. Lago Bandion
9. K2
10. Antelao
11. Cristallo
12-13. Chicane
14. Tofana
15. Anpezo
16. Arrivo
November 21, 2025 at 3:26 PM
If you're wondering what it looks like to take a run down the new track in Cortina d'Ampezzo, here's a POV run courtesy of IBSF!
Curves:
1. Stries
2. Verzi
3. Sento
4-6. Labirinti
7. Belvedere
8. Lago Bandion
9. K2
10. Antelao
11. Cristallo
12-13. Chicane
14. Tofana
15. Anpezo
16. Arrivo
Curves:
1. Stries
2. Verzi
3. Sento
4-6. Labirinti
7. Belvedere
8. Lago Bandion
9. K2
10. Antelao
11. Cristallo
12-13. Chicane
14. Tofana
15. Anpezo
16. Arrivo
Reposted by Patrick McGovern
“Challenging scientific orthodoxy” is valorizing language. It suggests bold, innovative, out of the box thinking, not a self-obsessed crackpot operating with no scientific legitimacy whatsoever.
Breaking News: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said he personally instructed the CDC to abandon its position that vaccines do not cause autism. The move underscores his determination to challenge scientific orthodoxy — in this case, that vaccines save lives — and bend the health department to his will.
RFK Jr. Says He Instructed CDC to Change Vaccines and Autism Language on Website
In an interview, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. cited gaps in vaccine safety research. His critics say he is ignoring a larger point: Vaccines save lives.
nyti.ms
November 21, 2025 at 7:13 PM
“Challenging scientific orthodoxy” is valorizing language. It suggests bold, innovative, out of the box thinking, not a self-obsessed crackpot operating with no scientific legitimacy whatsoever.
Yes, Outlook Auto-fill, I must inform my colleagues that I'll be having hemorrhoid replacement surgery next month. I need some new high-potency hemorrhoids to replace my worn-down ones.
😑
😑
November 21, 2025 at 5:49 PM
Yes, Outlook Auto-fill, I must inform my colleagues that I'll be having hemorrhoid replacement surgery next month. I need some new high-potency hemorrhoids to replace my worn-down ones.
😑
😑
Reposted by Patrick McGovern
#NameThatFoodTruck - Naan Alignment Pact
November 20, 2025 at 7:28 PM
#NameThatFoodTruck - Naan Alignment Pact
Reposted by Patrick McGovern
Honored to be a part of this year’s group! Here’s hoping I can stick around and do some more science worth watching 😊
Selected from a pool of more than 60 nominees recommended by Nobel Laureates and recently elected members of the National Academy of Sciences, these early-to-mid-career researchers are the future of discovery. www.societyforscience.org/blog/2025-sc...
The Future of Discovery: Science News Spotlights Five Scientists to Watch
Science News, published by Society for Science, highlights early-to-mid-career researchers working on some of today’s biggest challenges in a profile
www.societyforscience.org
November 20, 2025 at 4:40 PM
Honored to be a part of this year’s group! Here’s hoping I can stick around and do some more science worth watching 😊
Reposted by Patrick McGovern
Moxon’s Shaving Cream: “Never exonerate malice simply because it is also stupid.”
November 20, 2025 at 1:20 PM
Moxon’s Shaving Cream: “Never exonerate malice simply because it is also stupid.”
Reposted by Patrick McGovern
Irresponsible on the DM's part, but tracks.
As for the “watchers,” some enthusiasts have critical-thinking skills. Others don’t, and shoddy SciComms needs sources/useful idiots.
Don't be a "shoot first, ask questions later" poster. Leave analysis to experts like @geophysichick.bsky.social, please.
As for the “watchers,” some enthusiasts have critical-thinking skills. Others don’t, and shoddy SciComms needs sources/useful idiots.
Don't be a "shoot first, ask questions later" poster. Leave analysis to experts like @geophysichick.bsky.social, please.
Did the Daily Mail ask a single seismologist about these data? Did they interview a volcanologist? Did they talk with anyone who studies this volcano for a living?
No. Here's their data source: "volcano watchers on social media". 15/n
No. Here's their data source: "volcano watchers on social media". 15/n
November 19, 2025 at 11:32 PM
Irresponsible on the DM's part, but tracks.
As for the “watchers,” some enthusiasts have critical-thinking skills. Others don’t, and shoddy SciComms needs sources/useful idiots.
Don't be a "shoot first, ask questions later" poster. Leave analysis to experts like @geophysichick.bsky.social, please.
As for the “watchers,” some enthusiasts have critical-thinking skills. Others don’t, and shoddy SciComms needs sources/useful idiots.
Don't be a "shoot first, ask questions later" poster. Leave analysis to experts like @geophysichick.bsky.social, please.
Reposted by Patrick McGovern
Speaking of bad science in media (and I am using the term "media" pretty loosely here), allow me to use The Daily Mail as evidence of why you should get your science information from reputable agencies rather than crap websites. I'm not going to link the article, but it looks like this:
1/n
1/n
November 19, 2025 at 9:49 PM
Speaking of bad science in media (and I am using the term "media" pretty loosely here), allow me to use The Daily Mail as evidence of why you should get your science information from reputable agencies rather than crap websites. I'm not going to link the article, but it looks like this:
1/n
1/n
Hmmm, looks like something momentous is about to happen...
November 18, 2025 at 3:40 AM
Hmmm, looks like something momentous is about to happen...
🎯
Maybe toeing the line but I feel it's possible to acknowledge that the Union wasn't particularly kumbaya antiracist, that there were a lot of innocent poor folks in the South dragged in to fight for rich slaveowners, and that the Confederacy was explicitly fighting for slavery and can go to hell
November 17, 2025 at 10:34 PM
🎯
I agree with Phil that this something to be proud of!
Brush your teeth after eating these or else you'll get calculus.
November 16, 2025 at 8:52 PM
I agree with Phil that this something to be proud of!
Here with my homegirl Toph at the Prerelease Sealed Deck (MY JAM!) Event for the new Magic the Gathering set featuring Avatar: the Last Airbender! Live now at Champion Cards & Gaming in scenic Red Oaks Mill, Town of Poughkeepsie!
November 15, 2025 at 12:56 AM
Here with my homegirl Toph at the Prerelease Sealed Deck (MY JAM!) Event for the new Magic the Gathering set featuring Avatar: the Last Airbender! Live now at Champion Cards & Gaming in scenic Red Oaks Mill, Town of Poughkeepsie!
Reposted by Patrick McGovern
MY GOD, STOP FETISHIZING PAPERS PUBLISHED IN NATURE ARRRRGGGHHH
November 14, 2025 at 4:40 PM
MY GOD, STOP FETISHIZING PAPERS PUBLISHED IN NATURE ARRRRGGGHHH
Reposted by Patrick McGovern
I did see an ICE goon lower his mask, hyperextend his jaw, and eat a guinea pig whole
November 12, 2025 at 4:56 PM
I did see an ICE goon lower his mask, hyperextend his jaw, and eat a guinea pig whole
Reposted by Patrick McGovern
Avi Loeb really is the Dr. Oz of astronomy now. Impressive CV but full of pseudoscience so no one in the field likes him any more. 🔭
I've summarized the truth about Loeb's 10 "anomalies" about 3I/ATLAS in one post.
Thanks to @deschscoveries.bsky.social @michael-w-busch.bsky.social @cometary.org and @marshall-eubanks.bsky.social for contributing their expertise!
Thanks to @deschscoveries.bsky.social @michael-w-busch.bsky.social @cometary.org and @marshall-eubanks.bsky.social for contributing their expertise!
Loeb’s 3I/ATLAS “Anomalies” Explained
Avi Loeb continues to claim that 3I/ATLAS has many anomalous behaviors that lead to the conclusion that it “might” be an alien spacecraft. He carefully hedges the probability that it is a spacecraft ...
sites.psu.edu
November 11, 2025 at 12:23 AM
Avi Loeb really is the Dr. Oz of astronomy now. Impressive CV but full of pseudoscience so no one in the field likes him any more. 🔭
BAR-DOWN BICYCLE KICK GOAL IN A SNOWSTORM!!!
This game is BONKERS and is still going on (on FS2).
This game is BONKERS and is still going on (on FS2).
David Rodríguez with an incredible bicycle kick goal to level the game for Ottawa
November 10, 2025 at 12:09 AM
BAR-DOWN BICYCLE KICK GOAL IN A SNOWSTORM!!!
This game is BONKERS and is still going on (on FS2).
This game is BONKERS and is still going on (on FS2).
Reposted by Patrick McGovern
Kudos to the @seattletimes.com for spelling with diacritical marks used in the Hawaiian language, the ʻokina and the kahakō.
A few years ago, when I asked the NY Times to spell my affiliation as University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, they refused because it went against their style guide.
A few years ago, when I asked the NY Times to spell my affiliation as University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, they refused because it went against their style guide.
Why we're using this spelling of Hawaiʻi
You may notice a change in how we spell Hawaiʻi and other Native Hawaiian words at The Seattle Times. Here's why.
www.seattletimes.com
November 8, 2025 at 6:16 PM
Kudos to the @seattletimes.com for spelling with diacritical marks used in the Hawaiian language, the ʻokina and the kahakō.
A few years ago, when I asked the NY Times to spell my affiliation as University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, they refused because it went against their style guide.
A few years ago, when I asked the NY Times to spell my affiliation as University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, they refused because it went against their style guide.