Steamed Rutabaga
@streamlass.bsky.social
Geologist (MSc), percussionist, general hammer-wielding troublemaker; hydrologic modeler.
ELCA. She/her. Ace.
Walking SW Wisconsin stereotype, flatlanded in Iowa.
Avatar: Functionally unidentifiable in snow gear
Banner: Hailstones and engineering ruler
ELCA. She/her. Ace.
Walking SW Wisconsin stereotype, flatlanded in Iowa.
Avatar: Functionally unidentifiable in snow gear
Banner: Hailstones and engineering ruler
Reposted by Steamed Rutabaga
Reposted by Steamed Rutabaga
PFAS exposure has been shown to decrease fertility; increase high blood pressure during pregnancy, increase the rate of prostate, kidney, and testicular cancers; increase cholesterol levels; disrupt hormones; reduce immune response; and cause developmental effects or delays in children. Fun times!
"The agency also announced plans to relax a rule requiring companies to report all products containing PFAS and has proposed weakening drinking water standards for the chemicals."
The EPA is starting to allow the use of pesticides containing PFAS on food. The move is part of an effort to roll back the regulation of PFAS — also known as "forever chemicals" because they don't break down easily in the environment.
November 25, 2025 at 6:26 PM
PFAS exposure has been shown to decrease fertility; increase high blood pressure during pregnancy, increase the rate of prostate, kidney, and testicular cancers; increase cholesterol levels; disrupt hormones; reduce immune response; and cause developmental effects or delays in children. Fun times!
Reposted by Steamed Rutabaga
I really don’t think we can overstate the harm that the tech ethos of move fast and break things (followed by the unsaid “and then just move on”) has done beyond tech. Government, ngos, universities, public schools that have invited the folks who think like this in keep ending up gutted
All DOGE accomplished was purging critical government staff, handing private data to outsiders, and sentencing thousands in developing countries to death by gutting USAID.
I don’t say this lightly: if there were any justice in this world, the people responsible for this devastation would be in jail
I don’t say this lightly: if there were any justice in this world, the people responsible for this devastation would be in jail
DOGE 'doesn't exist' with eight months left on its charter
U.S. President Donald Trump's Department of Government Efficiency has disbanded with eight months left to its mandate.
www.cnbc.com
November 25, 2025 at 12:48 PM
I really don’t think we can overstate the harm that the tech ethos of move fast and break things (followed by the unsaid “and then just move on”) has done beyond tech. Government, ngos, universities, public schools that have invited the folks who think like this in keep ending up gutted
Reposted by Steamed Rutabaga
When I was prepping upper-division students for capstone research, I used to make them read Martin Schwartz's "The Importance of Stupidity in Scientific Research."
We don't do research in my lecture class, but maybe I should break that classic out again.
med.virginia.edu/urology/wp-c...
We don't do research in my lecture class, but maybe I should break that classic out again.
med.virginia.edu/urology/wp-c...
med.virginia.edu
November 25, 2025 at 6:17 PM
When I was prepping upper-division students for capstone research, I used to make them read Martin Schwartz's "The Importance of Stupidity in Scientific Research."
We don't do research in my lecture class, but maybe I should break that classic out again.
med.virginia.edu/urology/wp-c...
We don't do research in my lecture class, but maybe I should break that classic out again.
med.virginia.edu/urology/wp-c...
Reposted by Steamed Rutabaga
A friend who is an elementary teacher just asked me to tell her class what's the coolest thing I know about rocks. Here's what I said:
November 24, 2025 at 8:53 PM
A friend who is an elementary teacher just asked me to tell her class what's the coolest thing I know about rocks. Here's what I said:
Reposted by Steamed Rutabaga
Weddell seal pups can be curious if you’re sitting next to them quietly. Here, we were collecting a scat sample and the little one leaned a bit closer to see what I was doing.
Permit # ACA 2025-010, AMLR LARUE2025
🧪🌎🦑🦊
Permit # ACA 2025-010, AMLR LARUE2025
🧪🌎🦑🦊
November 25, 2025 at 3:59 AM
Weddell seal pups can be curious if you’re sitting next to them quietly. Here, we were collecting a scat sample and the little one leaned a bit closer to see what I was doing.
Permit # ACA 2025-010, AMLR LARUE2025
🧪🌎🦑🦊
Permit # ACA 2025-010, AMLR LARUE2025
🧪🌎🦑🦊
I think the closest I have is the year Dad hit a turkey on the way to Thanksgiving. Of course that was a little late to use it as the centerpiece, so...
yes, hello, I would like to place an order for everyone’s funniest stories of holiday food-related family grudges / drama / chaotic incidents / lore
I feel like we need this
I feel like we need this
November 25, 2025 at 3:51 AM
I think the closest I have is the year Dad hit a turkey on the way to Thanksgiving. Of course that was a little late to use it as the centerpiece, so...
Reposted by Steamed Rutabaga
Broke: DOGE is dead
Woke: DOGE was specifically constructed in a way to avoid accountability partially by zombifying the USDS which still exists as an entity
Bespoke: Dead or not, there needs to be a blue ribbon committee and a massive internal cybersecurity review to root out all the damage.
Woke: DOGE was specifically constructed in a way to avoid accountability partially by zombifying the USDS which still exists as an entity
Bespoke: Dead or not, there needs to be a blue ribbon committee and a massive internal cybersecurity review to root out all the damage.
November 24, 2025 at 6:23 PM
Broke: DOGE is dead
Woke: DOGE was specifically constructed in a way to avoid accountability partially by zombifying the USDS which still exists as an entity
Bespoke: Dead or not, there needs to be a blue ribbon committee and a massive internal cybersecurity review to root out all the damage.
Woke: DOGE was specifically constructed in a way to avoid accountability partially by zombifying the USDS which still exists as an entity
Bespoke: Dead or not, there needs to be a blue ribbon committee and a massive internal cybersecurity review to root out all the damage.
Reposted by Steamed Rutabaga
I’m gonna be keeping an eye for how the evangelicals of Venezuela will be talked about by the evangelicals of the US
Want to recommend this really good report from a couple weeks ago, on Evangelicalism in Venezuela
The Gospel According to Hugo and Nicolás | Caracas Chronicles
Maduro tries to capitalize on José Gregorio’s canonization, but chavismo turned to Evangelical churches after years clashing with Catholic priests
www.caracaschronicles.com
November 7, 2025 at 10:12 PM
I’m gonna be keeping an eye for how the evangelicals of Venezuela will be talked about by the evangelicals of the US
Reposted by Steamed Rutabaga
ALERT: this website remains in Elevated Screaming Lungfish Mode.
Please flop around angrily in the mud until this warning terminates.
Please flop around angrily in the mud until this warning terminates.
March 2, 2024 at 3:29 PM
ALERT: this website remains in Elevated Screaming Lungfish Mode.
Please flop around angrily in the mud until this warning terminates.
Please flop around angrily in the mud until this warning terminates.
Leggy
FluffFluffFluffFluffFluff
TEEF
NoseNoseNoooossse
FluffFluffFluffFluffFluff
TEEF
NoseNoseNoooossse
For those of you wondering, "what does it look like when a raccoon climbs down the fence?" well, wonder no more....
#mammals
#mammals
November 24, 2025 at 4:36 PM
Leggy
FluffFluffFluffFluffFluff
TEEF
NoseNoseNoooossse
FluffFluffFluffFluffFluff
TEEF
NoseNoseNoooossse
Reposted by Steamed Rutabaga
DOGE was created for data theft and infrastructure dismantling and it wildly succeeded on both counts within the first few weeks of its existence. It will take a generation to rebuild what it destroyed and the breach of data is unprecedented.
Bye bye, “DOGE”.
It no longer exists as a “centralized entity”, according to the Office of Personnel Management.
@reuters.com
www.reuters.com/world/us/dog...
It no longer exists as a “centralized entity”, according to the Office of Personnel Management.
@reuters.com
www.reuters.com/world/us/dog...
November 23, 2025 at 3:01 PM
DOGE was created for data theft and infrastructure dismantling and it wildly succeeded on both counts within the first few weeks of its existence. It will take a generation to rebuild what it destroyed and the breach of data is unprecedented.
Reposted by Steamed Rutabaga
The same play as with LLMs is being done here.
A general interest news outlet is reporting on a highly technical thing.
The story is breathless about the possible impacts of the technology, but downplays real questions about the feasibility of the technology.
A general interest news outlet is reporting on a highly technical thing.
The story is breathless about the possible impacts of the technology, but downplays real questions about the feasibility of the technology.
November 24, 2025 at 12:09 AM
The same play as with LLMs is being done here.
A general interest news outlet is reporting on a highly technical thing.
The story is breathless about the possible impacts of the technology, but downplays real questions about the feasibility of the technology.
A general interest news outlet is reporting on a highly technical thing.
The story is breathless about the possible impacts of the technology, but downplays real questions about the feasibility of the technology.
Reposted by Steamed Rutabaga
"The parasol Stardust wants to build in the sky would, at times, be visually beautiful. In the evening, the aerosols could extend the colors of the sunset, creating dramatic whole-sky light shows."
Meaning it fucks with the dawn-dusk behaviors of both diurnal and nocturnal species--so everything.
Meaning it fucks with the dawn-dusk behaviors of both diurnal and nocturnal species--so everything.
November 23, 2025 at 11:46 PM
"The parasol Stardust wants to build in the sky would, at times, be visually beautiful. In the evening, the aerosols could extend the colors of the sunset, creating dramatic whole-sky light shows."
Meaning it fucks with the dawn-dusk behaviors of both diurnal and nocturnal species--so everything.
Meaning it fucks with the dawn-dusk behaviors of both diurnal and nocturnal species--so everything.
Reposted by Steamed Rutabaga
"extreme heatwaves, uncontrollable wildfires and record-breaking floods and drought; the spread of tropical pestilence; the collapse of the world’s coral reef ecosystems"
Items 3, 4 and 6 on this list would still be issues if you start smacking the climate system by blocking the sun + producing CO2
Items 3, 4 and 6 on this list would still be issues if you start smacking the climate system by blocking the sun + producing CO2
November 23, 2025 at 11:04 PM
"extreme heatwaves, uncontrollable wildfires and record-breaking floods and drought; the spread of tropical pestilence; the collapse of the world’s coral reef ecosystems"
Items 3, 4 and 6 on this list would still be issues if you start smacking the climate system by blocking the sun + producing CO2
Items 3, 4 and 6 on this list would still be issues if you start smacking the climate system by blocking the sun + producing CO2
Reposted by Steamed Rutabaga
Time to get your public comments in on the proposed Waters of the U.S. rule that would strip protections for countless wetlands and streams.
Trout unlimited has a tool on their page that will automatically send your message to the EPA as well as your representatives:
www.tu.org/conservation...
Trout unlimited has a tool on their page that will automatically send your message to the EPA as well as your representatives:
www.tu.org/conservation...
November 23, 2025 at 11:03 PM
Time to get your public comments in on the proposed Waters of the U.S. rule that would strip protections for countless wetlands and streams.
Trout unlimited has a tool on their page that will automatically send your message to the EPA as well as your representatives:
www.tu.org/conservation...
Trout unlimited has a tool on their page that will automatically send your message to the EPA as well as your representatives:
www.tu.org/conservation...
Reposted by Steamed Rutabaga
Today’s fun linguistic discovery: a baby sling is a marsupio in Italian, a marsúpio in Portuguese and a kenguru in Hungarian.
November 23, 2025 at 10:12 PM
Today’s fun linguistic discovery: a baby sling is a marsupio in Italian, a marsúpio in Portuguese and a kenguru in Hungarian.
Reposted by Steamed Rutabaga
Congress wrote into the law that someone who overstays a visa while applying for asylum is not considered to be accruing “unlawful presence,” but it didn’t explicitly say those people couldn’t be arrested and detained — because it was presumed that they wouldn’t be. Well, Trump is doing it.
We came to LA as refugees from the USSR in 1991. Life wasn’t easy, but we persevered and, I dare say, came to contribute something of worth to this nation.
Had I experienced the following when I was a boy, I don’t know what would have become of me.
www.latimes.com/california/s...
Had I experienced the following when I was a boy, I don’t know what would have become of me.
www.latimes.com/california/s...
November 23, 2025 at 3:54 AM
Congress wrote into the law that someone who overstays a visa while applying for asylum is not considered to be accruing “unlawful presence,” but it didn’t explicitly say those people couldn’t be arrested and detained — because it was presumed that they wouldn’t be. Well, Trump is doing it.
Reposted by Steamed Rutabaga
Can you spread the word about weaintbuyingit.com? This is one of the easiest and safest ways possible to fight back against the current administration. If you've been saying there's nothing you can do - you're wrong! All you have to do is not buy from Amazon, Home Depot, or Target for five days.
We Ain’t Buying It! - Economic Pressure on Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday - We Ain’t Buying It!
We Ain’t Buying It is an economic action and solidarity campaign designed to defend democracy and reclaim community power.
weaintbuyingit.com
November 23, 2025 at 4:48 AM
Can you spread the word about weaintbuyingit.com? This is one of the easiest and safest ways possible to fight back against the current administration. If you've been saying there's nothing you can do - you're wrong! All you have to do is not buy from Amazon, Home Depot, or Target for five days.
Reposted by Steamed Rutabaga
Reposted by Steamed Rutabaga
Sandhill cranes over Rio Grande canyon in White Rock, NM. too distant for good images, but sound up for their magical call.
November 23, 2025 at 4:29 AM
Sandhill cranes over Rio Grande canyon in White Rock, NM. too distant for good images, but sound up for their magical call.
Reposted by Steamed Rutabaga
I just watched a local production of the play She Kills Monsters by Qui Nguyen. It's a beautiful story about a woman learning to pay D&D because her sister wrote an adventure for it before she died.
If you get a chance to watch it, I highly recommend it. Excellent story.
If you get a chance to watch it, I highly recommend it. Excellent story.
November 23, 2025 at 3:42 AM
I just watched a local production of the play She Kills Monsters by Qui Nguyen. It's a beautiful story about a woman learning to pay D&D because her sister wrote an adventure for it before she died.
If you get a chance to watch it, I highly recommend it. Excellent story.
If you get a chance to watch it, I highly recommend it. Excellent story.
Reposted by Steamed Rutabaga
Speaking of mismatched phenology, the predators are turning white, too. These little sh*ts are impossible to track with a cellphone camera, they are like mammal electrons. Bring on some snow! 🦊 #wx
November 23, 2025 at 1:42 AM
Speaking of mismatched phenology, the predators are turning white, too. These little sh*ts are impossible to track with a cellphone camera, they are like mammal electrons. Bring on some snow! 🦊 #wx
Reposted by Steamed Rutabaga
This week I visited Colonel Allensworth State Historic Park, looking for camping. I thought it was military related, but it's not. Founded in 1908, it was the only "town in California founded, financed, and governed by Black Americans".
There's a good audio tour w/photos;
allensworth.stqry.app/en/
There's a good audio tour w/photos;
allensworth.stqry.app/en/
November 23, 2025 at 3:04 AM
This week I visited Colonel Allensworth State Historic Park, looking for camping. I thought it was military related, but it's not. Founded in 1908, it was the only "town in California founded, financed, and governed by Black Americans".
There's a good audio tour w/photos;
allensworth.stqry.app/en/
There's a good audio tour w/photos;
allensworth.stqry.app/en/
Reposted by Steamed Rutabaga
Your daily fortune:
There is strength in weirdness, so you must be very strong indeed.
There is strength in weirdness, so you must be very strong indeed.
November 22, 2025 at 5:08 PM
Your daily fortune:
There is strength in weirdness, so you must be very strong indeed.
There is strength in weirdness, so you must be very strong indeed.