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alisonborealis.bsky.social
alison says reinstate Link!
@alisonborealis.bsky.social
13K followers 5.5K following 67K posts
posts too much
ecol/biologist in climate change
settler. knitter 🧶. antiracist. chronically ill.
#yeg Edmonton Alberta Treaty 6 Canada
born @ 340ppm CO2
#BiInSci
Wildfire resources: https://bsky.app/profile/alisonborealis.bsky.social/post/3lqep5ttvnt25
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alisonborealis.bsky.social
The incredible, indomitable, inspirational Alice Wong has left us.

I'm so grateful to have known her on social media, and so grateful for all the words she shared with us and all the actions she encouraged us into making.

May we live up to her example.

(so you don't have to go to Instagram)
Yellow background with black text "This is Alice's friend Sandy Ho, posting. Per Alice's wishes, this message is being shared at the time of her passing. Hi everyone, it looks like I ran out of time. I have so many dreams that I wanted to fulfill and plans to create new stories for you. There are a few in progress that might come to fruition in a few years if things work out. I did not ever imagine I would live to this age and end up a writer, editor, activist, and more. As a kid riddled with insecurity and internalized ableism, I could not see a path forward. It was thanks to friendships and some great teachers who believed in me that I was able to fight my way out of miserable situations into a place where I finally felt comfortable in my skin. We need more stories about us and our culture. You all, we all, deserve the everything and more in such a hostile, ableist environment. Our wisdom is incisive and unflinching. I'm honored to be your ancestor and believe disabled oracles like us will light the way to the future. Don't let the bastards grind you down. I love you all."
November 15, 2025 at 6:13 AM
alisonborealis.bsky.social
When Life Gives You Tangerines is a total tearjerker.

I've picked it up again; probably going to watch it in 3 episode chunks. ... because it is A LOT of emotions.

I just glanced at someone's review that starts with "it's about how much a man can sacrifice for his family" and, uh, kinda?
Promotional image for When Life Gives You Tangerines. Two young Korean adults, posing as a couple. Park Bo-gum as a very tall, poor fisherman in brown t-shirt, tackle vest, and trousers, holding a green fishing net with some catch at the bottom. IU as a very pregnant young mother, smiling in a very large yellow dress. They're standing in the grass near the shoreline, with a black rock beach fading into the ocean waves behind them, under a blue sky with diffuse grey clouds.
November 15, 2025 at 5:46 AM
alisonborealis.bsky.social
I might feel more normal this weekend, for once...
maybe
A line graph of surface air pressure in Edmonton, AB over the last 24 hours, from 10pm Nov 13 to 10pm Nov 14 2025. The air pressure has climbed all day, from a starting point at 10pm yesterday at 99.7 kPa, and climbing all day long to the current pressure at 101.2 kPa. That's 1.5 kPa over 24 hours. A weather forecast map for Saturday November 15, 2025 at 18:00 UTC (noon MST). The jet stream is moving farther south and bringing the cold weather with it. Winds across the jet stream path, which now flows from southern BC and Alberta into Montana, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Minnesota, and then jogging farther down south. Freezing temperatures and snow are hitting all of Western Canada except the southern margins of BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. No snow for most of central AB/SK,though. Western Ontario north of 50 deg N is also freezing, with snow, as is most of Quebec. Atlantic Canada and the Toronto-Ottawa corridor remains above freezing, expecting rain. The US northwest is expecting warm temperatures and rain, dry through the central prairie, with the jet stream winds, and thunderstorms along the eastern Great Lakes. Moderate pressure is moving in to Western Canada, while yesterday's low pressure is approaching the Hudson Bay.
November 15, 2025 at 5:38 AM
alisonborealis.bsky.social
oh goody... it's the normal weather for this time of year that makes alison feel like absolute garbage!
(it's wimdy)
100.7 kPa right now but constantly changing.
This is a 24 hour line graph of surface air pressure in Edmonton, AB for 4am Nov 13 to 4am Nov 14 2025. It starts at 100.4 kPa and is in a continuous drop to 4pm when it lands at 99.4 kPa for a few hours and then climbs all evening to hit 100.4 kPa at 3am. Pressure has continued to rise since and it is now 100.7 kPa at 1pm November 14. A weather forecast map of northern north america for Saturday Nov 15 at 18:00 UTC (noon MST). The jet stream is following its typical autumn progression and is drifting southward across North America. It is expected to cut through central BC, southern central Alberta, Southern Saskatchewan, the Manitoba-North Dakota border, and through the Great Lakes, with strong winds accompanying it. Cold weather is following the jet stream's move south, and most of western Canada is expected to be below zero with snow and/or freezing rain. Temperatures in Alaska, Yukon, NWT and Nunavut are expected to reach the -10s. Northern Quebec and western Ontario join Western Canada in the freezing temperatures while Atlantic Canada mostly remains unscathed. Rain or snow across almost all of Canada (dry parts in central Alberta and Saskatchewan). Warm and dry through the northern USA states, rain in California and parts of the Great Lakes.
November 14, 2025 at 8:17 PM
alisonborealis.bsky.social
Another excellent option is @jordanshiveley.bsky.social's voidmerch.threadless.com store, which has, among many awesome options (including the Dracula Fuck Mansion), a t-shirt especially for the Frankenstein fangirls among us.
A black t-shirt with white text reading "Shelley" in a dripping gothic heavy metal all-caps font.
November 14, 2025 at 7:34 AM
alisonborealis.bsky.social
Running short on gift ideas?

Check out tylerfromtheinternet.com @tylerfromtheinternet.com's excellent t-shirt store.

There's a fun range of recent cultural references and a good collection of styles, sizes and colours, including tall, 5XL, and the curvy women's tees.
A tall sizes only t-shirt in sky blue with golden fur-"coloured" block letter text, reading "Let The Wookiee Win" with Chewbacca's shoulder strap bag hanging off the end of the "Win"
November 14, 2025 at 7:26 AM
alisonborealis.bsky.social
99.4 kPa
This is an extremely weird weather phenomenon. (imho but I'm not a meteorologist)

The jet stream is behaving normal-ish wiggling across all of the continent, but I don't understand anything else.
a surface air pressure map of northern north america for 18:00 UTC November 13, 2025 (noon MST). A small but strong low pressure system off the coast of northern California/Oregon has formed some kind of weird corridor across Washington/BC to pool on the other side of the Rocky Mountains in Alberta. It has to be due to the jet stream, but I don't understand how this all works. The Arctic is a battle of high and low pressure systems. A high pressure system from Russia is moving into the high western Arctic off the north coast of Alaska, while a low pressure system north of Hudson Bay covers most of the Canadian Arctic islands. Greenland abuts the low pressure system with its continued island-wide high pressure system that spreads out into the Atlantic on its eastern shore. Canada is a mess of transition between the arctic pressure systems across the territories - just a diffuse low - and the high pressure pushing up from the continental USA (minus that weird bubble in Alberta). Atlantic Canada is under a low pressure system centered off the coast of Newfoundland.
November 13, 2025 at 9:16 PM
alisonborealis.bsky.social
Well. It's 99.6 kPa.
I'm just going to stay asleep today.
Aranet air pressure output. Current pressure 916 hPa. 7 day summary: Lowest 13/11 11:00 am 916 hPa. Highest 08/11 8:20 pm 946 hPa. A line graph of the last 7 days shows two large mountains and three valleys of air pressure change. it starts around 930 hPa and drops rapidly to 925 on Friday the 7th, then begins climbing, to reach a peak on the evening of the 8th around 945 hPa. The peak then curves down overnight through the morning of the 9th and drops off as a cliff in the afternoon and overnight, hitting a valley at 920 hPa on the morning of the 10th. The 10th turns around rapidly to an increase of pressure again over the 11th and hitting a plateau around 935 hPa on the 12th before dropping off precipitously overnight and the morning of the 13th, hitting the current 916 hPa. Air pressure values here are in hectopascals (divide by 10 to get kilopascals) and are not adjusted for local elevation above sea level.
November 13, 2025 at 6:16 PM
alisonborealis.bsky.social
I have NO IDEA where this is coming from (the air pressure isobar maps don't show a low pressure system moving in) but the local air pressure IS dropping and I am really feeling it.
100.6 kPa right now (2am)
weather forecast map of northern north america for Thursday November 13, 2025 at 18:00 UTC. A low pressure system is hanging out over central BC/Alberta (near Grande Cache), with likely connections to a low pressure system off the coast of Oregon/northern California that's making the jet stream do funny things in the pacific (it traces the Alaska/BC coast, and bends way out to the west off of Oregon before curving back into California. More low pressure in NWT with a high pressure system in the Yukon mountains. The jet stream has made an appearance in its normal route across western Canada. The jet stream is bringing winds through central BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, and then through the southern margins of all of Ontario except the Toronto triangle., and blowing through Pennsylvania on its way to turn north in the Atlantic and follow offshore of Atlantic Canada. Above the Jet Stream, temperatures are expected to be below freezing with snow through every part of Canada except Manitoba, and in Ontario, it'll mostly be above freezing but snowy. Below the jet stream, temperatures range from just above freezing to in the teens, particularly in Alberta. Rain on the US west coast and Atlantic Canada. Snow through Alaska, Yukon, NWT, Nunavut, northern BC, northern Alberta, norther Saskatchewan, Ontario and Quebec. Warm temperatures throughout the USA with most temperatures in the teens outside of mountainous regions and areas bordering Canada. (Besides Alaska, which is getting temperatures below -10C. A line graph of air pressure in Edmonton, AB over the last 24 hours (from 1am Nov 12 to 1am Nov 13 2025). Pressure begins stable overnight at 101.8 kPa consistently until 10 am. Pressure then drops in a sort-of stepwise manner, slow changes over the afternoon, sitting at 101.5 kPa from 2pm to 5pm, and then dropping constantly from 7pm to 1am (100.8 kPa) and is dropping faster now (100.6 kPa now at 2am but not on the graph).
November 13, 2025 at 9:07 AM
alisonborealis.bsky.social
Faint (but everywhere) aurora activity on the aurora cam!
autumn.athabascau.ca/auroracamhd....

Current probability of seeing an aurora is 89%.
#NorthernLights #AuroraBorealis #aurora
A circular photo of the whole night sky, showing a faint wash of green across most of the sky, bolder streaks arc from right to left across the bottom curve and the top curve. There's also a hint of red along the outer edge., it's more visible on the right hand side. A bar graph charting the hourly probability of witnessing an aurora in the northern hemisphere, with a line graph tracking activity in the northern magnetic field. The hourly bar graphs are green and low (20-30%) from 6am to noon-ish, there's an odd spike to orange 80% at noon, and then the activity falls back to green and yellow (between 30 and 50%) until 5pm when probabilities increase again to orange and red (60% and up beyond 80%) from about 4pm onwards. The line for magnetic activity is much more erratic than the coloured bar chart, with a fairly flat performance over the daylight hours from 8am to 6 pm, around 14200 nT and then spiking up to 14800 nT around 6pm, and then becoming erratic, dropping down to 14000 nT and spiking back up to 14600 nT between 7 and 8 pm.
November 13, 2025 at 4:14 AM
alisonborealis.bsky.social
Sewists!
I have a question.
What is the purpose of lattice elastic?
This is 3/4" wide knit lattice elastic.
What do you do with it?
A "z" shaped stretch of elastic, (so it's folded over itself twice) to show off what the elastic looks like. It is black and has a narrow, solid strip of elastic along the top and bottom of the whole of its length, while the middle, between the solid strips is a diagonal lattice of black threads that also stretch.
November 12, 2025 at 11:10 AM
alisonborealis.bsky.social
OMG
Anyone feel the need to relive the 90s?

This is from 1990.
A Butterick Classics "Fast & Easy" pattern collection of early 90s power suit pieces: a knee-length pencil skirt and coordinating button-front top and/or jacket with a dolman or batwing dropped sleeve. The sketched design is shown in colour and sleeve length variations, all with the same general shape: a very curvy silhouette, enhanced by loose-fitting tops with nopped-in waists, princess seams and curved hems on the top/jacket. The top/jacket has a single row of buttons down the center, shoulder pads, and a narrow V-neck. Colour variations include all pink long sleeves, all green short sleeves, white short sleeves with a black skirt, yellow skirt with yellow sleeves and white center portion of the jacket, and a white skirt and white long sleeves with a black center portion of the jacket. ("center portion" of the jacket are the two internal parts of the princess seams, where the buttons are). Pockets optional.
November 12, 2025 at 10:51 AM
alisonborealis.bsky.social
The aurora is still going bonkers.
A circular photo of the entire sky, showing the aurora borealis in full bloom. There's a slight rim of trees and building along the edge of the circle. In the bottom half, a flare of red like a trumpet-flower spreads out from a point near the center of the circle image. The edges of the flare turn pale greenish white along the bottom, while holding bold red on the upper part and especially the left portion of the flared trumpet. There's a paler stretch of pink along the right edge of the circle photo, near the moon (which is slowly rising from the right-center edge). And a bright stretch of green along the upper left edge of the circle photo.
November 12, 2025 at 10:34 AM
alisonborealis.bsky.social
Time to sew my cat pyjamas! Yay!
My hand, holding a pinned edge of dark grey and black fabric printed with a cutesey cat-themed riff on the traditional Japanese seigaiha wave pattern (repeating scalloped half-circles with concentric rings inside them) that's supposed to represent water. Some of the half circles are filled with cat faces (grey, black and grey, and black,) and/or paw prints. A french seam, on the inside. The fabric's wrong side is a paler version of the printed pattern, with indistinct white gridlines from the woven fabric visible - the fabric is dobby - a textured weave that has thicker and thinner yarns. The french seam is being held upright by my thumb so you can see the folded central seam edge where the raw edges are captured by another line of stitching, inside the seam. It's a really neat seam and helps prevent fraying of loosely-woven fabrics.
November 12, 2025 at 6:55 AM
alisonborealis.bsky.social
Please give Max some scritches for us!
I feel like doomscrolling is more manageable with all the aurora borealis pictures.
Here's a web cam (refreshes every 10 seconds) if you don't have local aurora content of your own. autumn.athabascau.ca/auroracamhd....
A circular image of the sky. There are black silhouettes of trees around the outer edge, along with a bit of building on the right edge of the circle. The whole circle is filled with aurora borealis. A green wash (brighter near the edges) and streaks of red along the bottom and top cover the whole image. There may be a couple small circular spots of cloud, but otherwise the sky is clear and totally aurora so dense and bright you can barely see stars.
November 12, 2025 at 5:41 AM
alisonborealis.bsky.social
I can't see it either, but here's a webcam of it from Alberta, Canada.
images refresh every 10 seconds.
autumn.athabascau.ca/auroracamhd....
A circular photo of the whole sky - you can see black silhouettes of trees along the bottom and top edges, and a bit of the building along the right. The whole sky is lit up green with aurora, with a ring of dim red along the bottom edge and as a streak across the top, near the edge, too. The green is most intense at the edges and fades to a black-grey-green in the middle, but it's still thick and bright enough that you can hardly see stars (there's maybe a couple puffs of cloud along the right edges but they might also be water spots on the camera).
November 12, 2025 at 5:34 AM
alisonborealis.bsky.social
Alas, it is too (street light) bright to see the aurora in urban #yeg.

But, as suspected, THE WHOLE SKY is lit up!
autumn.athabascau.ca/auroracamhd....
This image is from the Auroracam (at the University of Athabasca, in northeast central Alberta, Canada).
It refreshes every ten seconds.
A circular view of the whole sky (there are black silhouettes of trees around the edge). The whole circle is washed in an oozy neon green of varying intensities, bolder, thicker streaks across the middle and around the upper and right-side margins. Where the green is less intense, it looks more grey as the darkness of night shows through. A sort-of coral red ring lines the edge of the bottom half and makes a straight line across the upper half, near the top. If there was no aurora, you'd see a black sky with white specks of stars. This photo only has black where the tree shadows are.
November 12, 2025 at 5:15 AM
alisonborealis.bsky.social
Alt text for the image

Also, is it happening here? check Aurorawatch.ca and you can watch the webcam if you can't see it yourself.
Four coloured aurora swoops in a vertical stack with information about what they are and where in the atmosphere they are located. Red: Excited atomic oxygen at high altitudes Above 150 miles or 241.4 km. Only visible under intense solar activity due to low concentration of oxygen at high altitudes. Green: Excited atomic oxygen at lower altitudes. Up to 150 miles or 241.4 km. Green light is emitted instead of red due to higher concentration of oxygen. Purple: Ionized molecular nitrogen. Above 60 miles or 96.6 km. Blue: up to 60 miles or 96.6 km. The reaction involves molecular nitrogen because atomic oxygen is uncommon at low altitudes. Similar to red, blue and purple associated with intense activity.
November 12, 2025 at 5:02 AM
alisonborealis.bsky.social
This officer is still working.

Also, the caption for this photo...

Zero pictures of Renzo Geronimo in this article. Name and shame. We need to know who isn't safe for our communities.
#yeg
A screenshot from the Edmonton journal news article. It shows a photo of a police officer's tattooed lower arm and leg in uniform. The caption reads: "A video still showing an Edmonton Police Service officer who allegedly entered a woman's home and sexually assaulted her Aug. 27, 2023. The video does not include the officer's face. The officer was charged on Nov. 6, 2025, with sexual assault, unlawful confinement, being unlawfully in a dwelling house and breach of trust by a public officer. Photo by Supplied Photo"
November 11, 2025 at 7:13 AM
alisonborealis.bsky.social
OMFG

After my next paycheque, I'm getting bean merch! @billhookunion.beanyear.com

This, though I want, I probably shouldn't buy for myself (allergies) ... but I have vegan family who needs it.
A very long sticker, black with green holographic text reading SAY YES TO BEANS
November 11, 2025 at 6:56 AM
alisonborealis.bsky.social
Good news!
A poster promoting an Edmonton local coffee advent calendar! The design has an informational center and a red border that looks to be bound in a white ribbon with "YEG COFFEE ADVENT CALENDAR" repeating. YEG Coffee advent calendar 2025 Sip. Support. Save. 50 grams of locally roasted coffee beans, daily. 12 days $80 24 days $130 100% of proceeds go to Tiny HeartsCan Foundation Order online at www.tinyheartscan.org Featuring local roasters including Liberta, candid, Ace and two I can't read.
November 11, 2025 at 6:33 AM
alisonborealis.bsky.social
Here's a bit of a hint of the local chocolatier advent calendar.
It's an indulgence...
(But it's no longer available for purchase this year)
advent.jacekchocolate.com
Handcrafted in-house. You asked for magic - and our chocolatiers delivered. This year's calendar blends new flavours like Mayan Spice and Cocoa Nog with beloved classics like Cinnamon Bun and Poached Pear. You're in for something truly special. Three images of medium-scale chocolate-making: A hand holds a grid of truffle moulds (like a large ice cube tray) while a machine injects chocolate into them with a single long line of chocolate coming down into each space on the mould. A pair of gloved hands airbrush a grid of truffle moulds shades of blue. A tray of chocolates gets drizzled with streaks of chocolate.
November 11, 2025 at 6:19 AM
alisonborealis.bsky.social
I don't know if I've shared this before or not, but please enjoy this video of my large orange fur nephew, Carl, purring. He's a very loud purr-er. My brother thinks it's a self-soothing mechanism.
November 10, 2025 at 8:45 PM
alisonborealis.bsky.social
This is going to be a giant sock.
A sock tthat's pretty much full size, with needles in the leg. And a ball of yarn that's big enough to make two more just like it. The socks are striped in pinks, yellows, greens, and blues. In a somewhat random pattern.
November 10, 2025 at 4:31 AM
alisonborealis.bsky.social
Welp, the air pressure has taken a nosedive.
This may explain why I was laid flat all afternoon and early evening.
Not really sure I have the spoons to knit at the moment.
A line graph charting the surface air pressure in Edmonton AB over the last 24 hours (8pm November 8 to 8pm November 9, 2025). The line starts out fairly flat at 102.9 kPa from 8 until 10 pm. Pressure drops a little, but maintains a plateau at 102.5 kPa until 9am when it begins to drop and then drops rapidly over the late morning, afternoon, and evening. It is currently 101.1 kPa at 8pm, a drop (from 9am to 8pm) 1.4 kPa in 11 hours. Pressures dropped 0.2 kPa per hour from 5pm to 8pm.
November 10, 2025 at 3:53 AM