Ben Monreal
@benmonreal.bsky.social
Nuclear, particle, and astrophysics experimentalist at Case Western. Posting about physics, climate, urbanism, Cleveland. See also:
https://bmonreal.github.io/personal.html
https://www.project8.org/
https://bmonreal.github.io/personal.html
https://www.project8.org/
I want to add: "one labor-intensive 5.4 kW array" is not how we save the planet; tacking my project's budget onto a utility-scale solar plant would have yielded 4x or 5x as much power? With the GOP curb-stomping those projects, this is (a) second-best (b) good enough, and (c) under my control.
I want to post a bit about my BACKYARD SOLAR PERGOLA in case someone else is in a situation like mine.
a) Weird roofline/clay tile makes rooftop hard
b) Couldn't make ground mount or pole mount work since they're too ugly for local zoning
Solution: #solar pergola! 🔌💡☀️ Details: 1/
a) Weird roofline/clay tile makes rooftop hard
b) Couldn't make ground mount or pole mount work since they're too ugly for local zoning
Solution: #solar pergola! 🔌💡☀️ Details: 1/
November 15, 2025 at 5:07 PM
I want to add: "one labor-intensive 5.4 kW array" is not how we save the planet; tacking my project's budget onto a utility-scale solar plant would have yielded 4x or 5x as much power? With the GOP curb-stomping those projects, this is (a) second-best (b) good enough, and (c) under my control.
I want to post a bit about my BACKYARD SOLAR PERGOLA in case someone else is in a situation like mine.
a) Weird roofline/clay tile makes rooftop hard
b) Couldn't make ground mount or pole mount work since they're too ugly for local zoning
Solution: #solar pergola! 🔌💡☀️ Details: 1/
a) Weird roofline/clay tile makes rooftop hard
b) Couldn't make ground mount or pole mount work since they're too ugly for local zoning
Solution: #solar pergola! 🔌💡☀️ Details: 1/
November 15, 2025 at 4:25 PM
I want to post a bit about my BACKYARD SOLAR PERGOLA in case someone else is in a situation like mine.
a) Weird roofline/clay tile makes rooftop hard
b) Couldn't make ground mount or pole mount work since they're too ugly for local zoning
Solution: #solar pergola! 🔌💡☀️ Details: 1/
a) Weird roofline/clay tile makes rooftop hard
b) Couldn't make ground mount or pole mount work since they're too ugly for local zoning
Solution: #solar pergola! 🔌💡☀️ Details: 1/
<overheard>
STUDENT: I need some help
COLLEAGUE: ok
STUDENT: I have a problem with a person named Chad
<me, thinking: omg please close the door before these sensitive ombudsman conversations>
STUDENT: Chad has a board and a rope
<me: 😱 wtaf>
STUDENT: I'll draw the free body diagram
<me: oh> 🎢
STUDENT: I need some help
COLLEAGUE: ok
STUDENT: I have a problem with a person named Chad
<me, thinking: omg please close the door before these sensitive ombudsman conversations>
STUDENT: Chad has a board and a rope
<me: 😱 wtaf>
STUDENT: I'll draw the free body diagram
<me: oh> 🎢
November 12, 2025 at 7:25 PM
<overheard>
STUDENT: I need some help
COLLEAGUE: ok
STUDENT: I have a problem with a person named Chad
<me, thinking: omg please close the door before these sensitive ombudsman conversations>
STUDENT: Chad has a board and a rope
<me: 😱 wtaf>
STUDENT: I'll draw the free body diagram
<me: oh> 🎢
STUDENT: I need some help
COLLEAGUE: ok
STUDENT: I have a problem with a person named Chad
<me, thinking: omg please close the door before these sensitive ombudsman conversations>
STUDENT: Chad has a board and a rope
<me: 😱 wtaf>
STUDENT: I'll draw the free body diagram
<me: oh> 🎢
dear sports bettors: you are the problem. you. "my favorite part of baseball is the first pitch of the second inning", my god, it's not even the winning/losing outcomes that humans care about. you ruined sports to get a random-number generator to bet on. go bet on dice in the Biltmore garage, jerk
Breaking news per Jeff Passan: “Cleveland Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz have been indicted by prosecutors in Brooklyn on a host of charges related to a scheme to rig bets on pitches thrown in MLB games. Ortiz was arrested in Boston earlier today. Clase is not currently in custody”
November 9, 2025 at 10:18 PM
dear sports bettors: you are the problem. you. "my favorite part of baseball is the first pitch of the second inning", my god, it's not even the winning/losing outcomes that humans care about. you ruined sports to get a random-number generator to bet on. go bet on dice in the Biltmore garage, jerk
Reposted by Ben Monreal
Case Western Reserve Department of Biology is hiring! We're recruiting for a tenure-track position focusing on eukaryotic microbiology, especially microbial/environment interactions. Please share widely: apply.interfolio.com/174456
Apply - Interfolio
{{$ctrl.$state.data.pageTitle}} - Apply - Interfolio
apply.interfolio.com
September 29, 2025 at 4:35 PM
Case Western Reserve Department of Biology is hiring! We're recruiting for a tenure-track position focusing on eukaryotic microbiology, especially microbial/environment interactions. Please share widely: apply.interfolio.com/174456
Reposted by Ben Monreal
Australia has so much electricity from solar power that it is going to start offering free electricity to everyone for at least three hours during the day as the wholesale price of power goes negative
electrek.co/2025/11/04/a...
electrek.co/2025/11/04/a...
Australia has so much solar that it's offering everyone free electricity
Australia's extensive solar power penetration makes so much energy that the government wants to offer free electricity at peak hours.
electrek.co
November 6, 2025 at 4:58 AM
Australia has so much electricity from solar power that it is going to start offering free electricity to everyone for at least three hours during the day as the wholesale price of power goes negative
electrek.co/2025/11/04/a...
electrek.co/2025/11/04/a...
Every fall when baseball season ends and football, inexplicably, begins, I think again about features I like and dislike about spectator sports, and every year I futilely dream we will someday REPLACE AMERICAN FOOTBALL WITH KABADDI
November 2, 2025 at 10:31 PM
Every fall when baseball season ends and football, inexplicably, begins, I think again about features I like and dislike about spectator sports, and every year I futilely dream we will someday REPLACE AMERICAN FOOTBALL WITH KABADDI
In honor of Halloween, I just read a horror novel and wanted to write up a quick micro-review thread here. Presenting: @mcmanlypants.bsky.social's Children of Solitude. Thread: 1/ www.skylightbooks.com/book/9798992...
www.skylightbooks.com
October 31, 2025 at 7:06 PM
In honor of Halloween, I just read a horror novel and wanted to write up a quick micro-review thread here. Presenting: @mcmanlypants.bsky.social's Children of Solitude. Thread: 1/ www.skylightbooks.com/book/9798992...
My 2¢: your in-person talk isn't about maximizing data-delivery, it's about being a person. What are the things a paper CAN'T do that a speaker CAN? Voice, affect, personal reactions. Share "Y was a fucking slog". Control my attention: "Z is tricky, stay with me lol". Say "Look! Cool, right?"
I find there's a huge mismatch between the standard advice that people give about scientific conference talks, and how people actually give talks.
So I picked out the most important pieces of advice that are most often ignored. 🧪
So I picked out the most important pieces of advice that are most often ignored. 🧪
The best scientific talk advice that gets ignored
Here are some prescriptions for a case of UCPS (Unengaging Conference Presentation Syndrome).
scienceforeveryone.science
October 29, 2025 at 2:09 AM
My 2¢: your in-person talk isn't about maximizing data-delivery, it's about being a person. What are the things a paper CAN'T do that a speaker CAN? Voice, affect, personal reactions. Share "Y was a fucking slog". Control my attention: "Z is tricky, stay with me lol". Say "Look! Cool, right?"
YOUR GUIDE TO MELLONS
Rags-to-riches (Thomas, d. 1908)
Hardworking (Andrew, d. 1937; Richard B, d. 1933)
Spent inheritance decently-ish (Paul, d. 1999; Richard K, d 1970)
Never met hardworking grandpas; should have been estate-taxed into dust; evil (Richard Mellon Scaife, d 2014; Timothy, b. 1942)
Rags-to-riches (Thomas, d. 1908)
Hardworking (Andrew, d. 1937; Richard B, d. 1933)
Spent inheritance decently-ish (Paul, d. 1999; Richard K, d 1970)
Never met hardworking grandpas; should have been estate-taxed into dust; evil (Richard Mellon Scaife, d 2014; Timothy, b. 1942)
The billionaire who gave the military money was Timothy Mellon and if you're an obsessive tracker of the eugenicist Tanton network that's invaded our government like I am you will have immediately recognized that name, that's Mellon as in Mellon Scaife www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Sc...
Scaife Foundations - SourceWatch
www.sourcewatch.org
October 25, 2025 at 9:12 PM
YOUR GUIDE TO MELLONS
Rags-to-riches (Thomas, d. 1908)
Hardworking (Andrew, d. 1937; Richard B, d. 1933)
Spent inheritance decently-ish (Paul, d. 1999; Richard K, d 1970)
Never met hardworking grandpas; should have been estate-taxed into dust; evil (Richard Mellon Scaife, d 2014; Timothy, b. 1942)
Rags-to-riches (Thomas, d. 1908)
Hardworking (Andrew, d. 1937; Richard B, d. 1933)
Spent inheritance decently-ish (Paul, d. 1999; Richard K, d 1970)
Never met hardworking grandpas; should have been estate-taxed into dust; evil (Richard Mellon Scaife, d 2014; Timothy, b. 1942)
My student self said "I will never, ever use this knowledge" about so many physics topics which later came home to roost. Today I'm solving the Lane-Emden equation, which I vividly remember failing to do successfully (in Fortran) when Ed Bertschinger assigned it as 8.901 homework.
October 23, 2025 at 7:50 PM
My student self said "I will never, ever use this knowledge" about so many physics topics which later came home to roost. Today I'm solving the Lane-Emden equation, which I vividly remember failing to do successfully (in Fortran) when Ed Bertschinger assigned it as 8.901 homework.
INTERVIEWER: do you have any skull tattoos?
ME: for context, let's talk about Tamsyn Muir's Locked Tomb novels, in which <four hour plot recap> in the end recontextualizing the Ninth House skeleton cult as something purposeful.
INTERVIEWER <dazed>: sir just answer the question
ME: I have no tattoos
ME: for context, let's talk about Tamsyn Muir's Locked Tomb novels, in which <four hour plot recap> in the end recontextualizing the Ninth House skeleton cult as something purposeful.
INTERVIEWER <dazed>: sir just answer the question
ME: I have no tattoos
October 22, 2025 at 2:12 PM
INTERVIEWER: do you have any skull tattoos?
ME: for context, let's talk about Tamsyn Muir's Locked Tomb novels, in which <four hour plot recap> in the end recontextualizing the Ninth House skeleton cult as something purposeful.
INTERVIEWER <dazed>: sir just answer the question
ME: I have no tattoos
ME: for context, let's talk about Tamsyn Muir's Locked Tomb novels, in which <four hour plot recap> in the end recontextualizing the Ninth House skeleton cult as something purposeful.
INTERVIEWER <dazed>: sir just answer the question
ME: I have no tattoos
Personally, I enjoyed writing my course syllabi as raw HTML which I could SCP down the hall to a Linux box named after a Tolkien sword and running an infrequently-patched Apache server. In that context, my neckbeard contrarian educator opinion is: "Canvas is pretty good by comparison" 🎢
October 20, 2025 at 3:02 PM
Personally, I enjoyed writing my course syllabi as raw HTML which I could SCP down the hall to a Linux box named after a Tolkien sword and running an infrequently-patched Apache server. In that context, my neckbeard contrarian educator opinion is: "Canvas is pretty good by comparison" 🎢
My friendly department-next-door, Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, is hiring a f/t staff engineer! Work in undergrad teaching labs AND help w/ cool research instruments. "Bachelor’s degree in engineering and 0--2y professional experience" says the ad. Job code 13852 at employment.case.edu
employment.case.edu
October 16, 2025 at 1:13 AM
My friendly department-next-door, Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, is hiring a f/t staff engineer! Work in undergrad teaching labs AND help w/ cool research instruments. "Bachelor’s degree in engineering and 0--2y professional experience" says the ad. Job code 13852 at employment.case.edu
I emailed our colloquium organizers with the title of my talk, "Supernova Neutrinos: From 1987 To [Insert Date Here]". Just realized the talk was announced as "Supernova Neutrinos: From 1987 To Today".
Next time I give a colloquium I'm going to try submitting a title containing an XSS attack.
Next time I give a colloquium I'm going to try submitting a title containing an XSS attack.
October 15, 2025 at 4:56 PM
I emailed our colloquium organizers with the title of my talk, "Supernova Neutrinos: From 1987 To [Insert Date Here]". Just realized the talk was announced as "Supernova Neutrinos: From 1987 To Today".
Next time I give a colloquium I'm going to try submitting a title containing an XSS attack.
Next time I give a colloquium I'm going to try submitting a title containing an XSS attack.
CWRU's lifelong learning program sent out their calendar of upcoming lectures, with topics ranging from earth science to religious studies, and including the following unsettling entry:
HOW TO UNDERSTAND THE HEAVENS (IN-PERSON)
HOW TO UNDERSTAND THE HEAVENS (IN-PERSON)
October 15, 2025 at 1:46 PM
CWRU's lifelong learning program sent out their calendar of upcoming lectures, with topics ranging from earth science to religious studies, and including the following unsettling entry:
HOW TO UNDERSTAND THE HEAVENS (IN-PERSON)
HOW TO UNDERSTAND THE HEAVENS (IN-PERSON)
In the 1950s, National Geographic wanted Kodachrome nature photography that really popped in print. One trick was to put foreground subjects (hikers, etc.) in bright colors; it was called the "red shirt school". Dick Lasher's Pinto makes this the greatest red shirt school photo of all time.
Tomorrow, we will talk about this photo.
October 10, 2025 at 1:05 AM
In the 1950s, National Geographic wanted Kodachrome nature photography that really popped in print. One trick was to put foreground subjects (hikers, etc.) in bright colors; it was called the "red shirt school". Dick Lasher's Pinto makes this the greatest red shirt school photo of all time.
Reposted by Ben Monreal
If you are an alum of:
Vanderbilt
UVA
UT Austin
U of Southern California
Dartmouth
Brown
MIT
U Penn
U Arizona
Your alma mater is RIGHT NOW weighing the costs and benefits of giving up its independence and abandoning academic freedom. SPEAK UP NOW:
2/2
Vanderbilt
UVA
UT Austin
U of Southern California
Dartmouth
Brown
MIT
U Penn
U Arizona
Your alma mater is RIGHT NOW weighing the costs and benefits of giving up its independence and abandoning academic freedom. SPEAK UP NOW:
2/2
STAND WITH YOUR SCHOOL: Trump attacks 9 universities. Sign the alumni petition now.
Are you an alum from one of the 9 schools the federal government just attacked? Sign this alumni petition now to support your school, defend democracy, and build a grassroots movement for campus freed...
alumni.controlshift.app
October 9, 2025 at 1:01 PM
If you are an alum of:
Vanderbilt
UVA
UT Austin
U of Southern California
Dartmouth
Brown
MIT
U Penn
U Arizona
Your alma mater is RIGHT NOW weighing the costs and benefits of giving up its independence and abandoning academic freedom. SPEAK UP NOW:
2/2
Vanderbilt
UVA
UT Austin
U of Southern California
Dartmouth
Brown
MIT
U Penn
U Arizona
Your alma mater is RIGHT NOW weighing the costs and benefits of giving up its independence and abandoning academic freedom. SPEAK UP NOW:
2/2
well I was wrong this time but honestly I forgot that John Clarke didn't already have a Nobel ⚛️🧪
Going out on a limb with my Physics Nobel prediction/wishlist:
to Paul Ginsparg (ArXiV), Gunther Eichhorn (Astrophysics Data System) and Louise Addis (SPIRES) for revolutionizing the dissemination of physics research literature online
to Paul Ginsparg (ArXiV), Gunther Eichhorn (Astrophysics Data System) and Louise Addis (SPIRES) for revolutionizing the dissemination of physics research literature online
October 7, 2025 at 3:02 PM
well I was wrong this time but honestly I forgot that John Clarke didn't already have a Nobel ⚛️🧪
Tagging 🧪⚛️
Going out on a limb with my Physics Nobel prediction/wishlist:
to Paul Ginsparg (ArXiV), Gunther Eichhorn (Astrophysics Data System) and Louise Addis (SPIRES) for revolutionizing the dissemination of physics research literature online
to Paul Ginsparg (ArXiV), Gunther Eichhorn (Astrophysics Data System) and Louise Addis (SPIRES) for revolutionizing the dissemination of physics research literature online
October 7, 2025 at 5:25 AM
Tagging 🧪⚛️
Going out on a limb with my Physics Nobel prediction/wishlist:
to Paul Ginsparg (ArXiV), Gunther Eichhorn (Astrophysics Data System) and Louise Addis (SPIRES) for revolutionizing the dissemination of physics research literature online
to Paul Ginsparg (ArXiV), Gunther Eichhorn (Astrophysics Data System) and Louise Addis (SPIRES) for revolutionizing the dissemination of physics research literature online
October 7, 2025 at 5:13 AM
Going out on a limb with my Physics Nobel prediction/wishlist:
to Paul Ginsparg (ArXiV), Gunther Eichhorn (Astrophysics Data System) and Louise Addis (SPIRES) for revolutionizing the dissemination of physics research literature online
to Paul Ginsparg (ArXiV), Gunther Eichhorn (Astrophysics Data System) and Louise Addis (SPIRES) for revolutionizing the dissemination of physics research literature online
Reposted by Ben Monreal
This is my local boulangerie, and they're so goddamn good. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Cleveland bakery to represent US in ‘Bread Olympics’ in France
For the first time since 2017 the US will be represented in the event, by Brian Evans of On the Rise Artisanal Breads
www.theguardian.com
October 3, 2025 at 1:20 PM
This is my local boulangerie, and they're so goddamn good. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
I tried to keep a running Tigers-Guardians score in one corner of the blackboard during my physics lecture today. I thought, eh, I can glance at my phone once an inning while they're busy solving a problem (eigenvalues and expectation values). The 8th inning got way ahead of me! #guardsball 🎢
October 1, 2025 at 10:49 PM
I tried to keep a running Tigers-Guardians score in one corner of the blackboard during my physics lecture today. I thought, eh, I can glance at my phone once an inning while they're busy solving a problem (eigenvalues and expectation values). The 8th inning got way ahead of me! #guardsball 🎢
Here's a qualitative, draft infographic expressing the following hypothesis: Your urban public transit dollars pay working-class wages within your city; car-ownership dollars pay richer people farther away.
Is that right? If so, is there research that says this quantitatively? 🚫🚗
Is that right? If so, is there research that says this quantitatively? 🚫🚗
October 1, 2025 at 6:09 PM
Here's a qualitative, draft infographic expressing the following hypothesis: Your urban public transit dollars pay working-class wages within your city; car-ownership dollars pay richer people farther away.
Is that right? If so, is there research that says this quantitatively? 🚫🚗
Is that right? If so, is there research that says this quantitatively? 🚫🚗
Reposted by Ben Monreal
The optics industry can’t run without skilled technicians, and there aren’t enough of them.
MCC’s revived training program + the new SPIE Technicians Series aims to bridge the gap & keep innovation moving forward. 💡📕
Read more about the technician shortage in the Sept/Oct issue of #PhotonicsFocus!
MCC’s revived training program + the new SPIE Technicians Series aims to bridge the gap & keep innovation moving forward. 💡📕
Read more about the technician shortage in the Sept/Oct issue of #PhotonicsFocus!
Solving the optics technician shortage starts with education
A new Technician Training series published by SPIE Press addresses optics technician training in light of technician shortages.
spie.org
September 30, 2025 at 4:05 PM
The optics industry can’t run without skilled technicians, and there aren’t enough of them.
MCC’s revived training program + the new SPIE Technicians Series aims to bridge the gap & keep innovation moving forward. 💡📕
Read more about the technician shortage in the Sept/Oct issue of #PhotonicsFocus!
MCC’s revived training program + the new SPIE Technicians Series aims to bridge the gap & keep innovation moving forward. 💡📕
Read more about the technician shortage in the Sept/Oct issue of #PhotonicsFocus!