iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

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Mark Histed @markhisted.org · 03/10/2026

Killed. NSF’s SBE was killed, in violation of law. The President does not have the power to choose to kill programs at a whim by defunding them. The imperial presidency was a mistake and we are in a separation of powers constitutional crisis.

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Mark Copelovitch @mcopelov.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

~Approximately no one in the general public knows because the leaders of the R1 research universities - whose budgets, programs, & personnel are entirely or significantly dependent on federal funding - have been totally absent from the public square in explaining & collectively protesting this.

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Matthew Noe @noethematt.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

What're y'all reading this weekend?

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Mineral Cup & Ore Cup @mineralcup.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

One of the most frequent daydreams people share with us is a wish to win a specimen of the Champion. This year, you can.

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Fossillocator @fossillocator.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Instructions: 1) Make your donation here: www.agu.org/honors/fmstg... 2) Forward your receipt to fossillocator@gmail.com 3) I will write your name on a slip and put it into a bucket, include your handle, per $15 donated 4) drawing 10/5/26 3 pm EDT 5) Free US shipping, subsidized international s/h

agu.org

Give to the AGU Student Travel Grant | AGU

Support the AGU Student Travel Grant.

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Fossillocator @fossillocator.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Congrats Quartz! With the support of @mineralcup.bsky.social I'm running a raffle for some quartz specimens! There will be 3 winners with the 1st winner getting first choice and so on. Make a donation to AGU's student travel fund (instructions on next post) and gain one entry per $15. 1/2

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Mineral Cup & Ore Cup @mineralcup.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Congratulations, Quartz! After a decade of #MinCup, this key rock-forming mineral of optical tricks is the #MinCup26 Champion! Due to intense manipulation attempts in the final hours, the exact winning margin is still being audited. Please join us tomorrow for celebration!

A clear double-terminated quartz crystal with petroleum inclusions. Credit: John Sobolewski

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telescyote 🔭 @cosmicyote.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Less than 2 hrs to vote! #MinCup26 I was conflicted because #cuprite is so neat but imo #quartz deserves it more. Useful, everywhere, and beautiful in so many different forms. Plus I love crystals with inclusions :) And since quartz & cuprite can form together a vote for quartz kinda lets both win!

Quartz with stunning elbaite inclusions at the Smithsonian source: me :)

Quartz with cuprite inclusions! Source: https://www.mineralauctions.com/items/cuprite-included-in-quartz-new-find-99966

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J. Raasch @jraasch.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Probably not as exciting as a large crystal clear #quartz crystal. But here’s a photo of sand eroded from the Eau Claire formation behind the Culver’s restaurant in Reedsburg, Wisconsin. Vote #Quartz! And now I want fried cheese curds! #MinCup26

Photograph of largely colorless sand grains. Afocal, approximately 18x.

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Mineral Cup & Ore Cup @mineralcup.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

One vote per person, please.

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Aleta @aletamosquito.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Not my reasons, but all reasons to vote for #Quartz to win #MinCup26 are good reasons.

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Kelley Armstrong @kelleyarmstrong.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

It's been a while since I've done serialized fiction...and since I've done an October spooky-season freebie. This year, I'm doing both, with a free long gothic novella for October, e-serialized here: www.kelleyarmstrong.com/ravens-moor/

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Elizabeth V @geolizzy.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Tough choice for me today, but I’m going with #quartz because I’m ready for it to finally win #MinCup26

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Vicky Veritas @vickyveritas.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

“Quartz stands as one of nature’s most versatile and enduring creations. With its simple chemical formula yet endless structural variations, it embodies both the beauty and complexity of Earth’s geology.” You never forget your first. Quartz! #MinCup26

share.google

Quartz Mineral: Formation, Properties, Uses & Crystal Varieties

Discover how quartz forms, why it is found almost everywhere on Earth, and how this crystal became essential in geology, technology, gemstones, glass, and modern industry.

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Dots and Lines @dotsandlines.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Hematite for color and #quartz for structure in the sandstone of Arches National Park (which looks *exactly* like the license plate). #MinCup26

mineralcup.org

Vote in Finals — Mineral Cup & Ore Cup

Vote in Cuprite vs Quartz Credit: Tony Peterson and Harold Moritz

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Maria Gorick @mariagorick.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Bwa Gwyn (The White Arch) near #Rhoscolyn. Enduring fierce winds and storms, this spectacular sea arch, sculpted from #Quartzite, is a monument to the resilience and beauty of #Quartz #TeamQuartz #MinCup26 #YnysMon #Anglesey

A massive white quartzite arch rises from the sea beneath a blue sky.

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sgrd @selveste.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Stem på kvarts i mineralkøppfinalen! www.mineralcup.org/2026/vote-re...

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Mineral Cup & Ore Cup @mineralcup.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

We're in the final match of #MinCup26. Are you voting for brilliant beauty #Cuprite? Or supporting the durable and lovely #Quartz? VOTE: www.mineralcup.org/2026/vote-re... RESULTS: www.mineralcup.org/2026/vote-re...

rounder red cuprite sits with icy-white quartz.

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Ryan J Hollister @phaneritic.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Vote #quartz! I found this doubly terminated Herkimer “Diamond” in NY a few years ago by cracking tons of dolostone searching for vugs coated in small quartz crystals (druzy) that are black from hydrocarbons. This piece opened, but not enough to let the crystal fall. I kept it like this b/c it’s rad

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ChukG @chukg.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

I voted for #quartz of course! How could I not? #MinCup26

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Vicky Veritas @vickyveritas.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

#MinCup26 ⚒️ sci-fi 🧪 🖖🏼 scifi Geosciences #WomenInSTEM geology #geosky #GIS 🍎 🪐 🔭 🌋 📚 🌿

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Vicky Veritas @vickyveritas.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

#Quartz is very resistant to erosion. After all the other minerals erode away, white sand beaches remains. Quartz abides. #MinCup26 ⚒️ sci-fi 🧪 🖖🏼 scifi Geosciences #WomenInSTEM geology #geosky #GIS 🍎 🪐 🔭 🌋 📚 🌿

Pristine white quartz sand beach with turquoise blue ocean, lapping waves, sheltering palm trees, and footprints in the sand.

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MineralExpert.org @mexporg.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Crystalline pink #Quartz from Lavra da Ilha, Minas Gerais, Brazil. #MinCup26 #MinCup #mineral #crystal #mineralogy

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Brandon Bishop @brandontbishop.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Reason Number 10,891 To Vote Quartz: This comic would've been impossible without it. #MinCup26 #Quartz

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MineralExpert.org @mexporg.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Large #Quartz cluster with #Gwindel from Puiva, Ural Mts., Russia. #MinCup26 #MinCup #mineral #crystal #mineralogy

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authodizer @doktrock.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

A cluster of #Quartz crystals from the Tucson show ⚒️🧪 #MinCup26

A cluster of light green, elongated, quartz crystals, probably 10 or so cm across, pointing in all different directions. Label says

Quartz
1,500 (not sure if that's a price?)

Huanggang Mine, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China
#02705 K

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Piper Furiosa 🇵🇸🏴🌲🏴‍☠️ @piperfuriosa.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

With alt text for anyone who needs it:

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Vicky Veritas @vickyveritas.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Salt tectonics is the study of rock salt (Halite) in sedimentary basins, how and why salt structures evolve, the forms that result, and the physics of salt mobilization. Salt tectonics is a fascinating branch of geology & it is truly incredible how powerful salt is. Learn more below. Vote #Halite!

youtu.be

Loulé and Albufeira - Algarve salt tectonics

YouTube video by Rob Butler

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Mika McKinnon @mikamckinnon.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

As if I could ever vote for anything but Fun & Interesting to Lick. #Halite I luv u

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J. Raasch @jraasch.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

The red cuprite crystal is pretty, almost perfect red. But I’m still intrigued by halite and its watery inclusions trapping organic matter and entire microbes from hundreds of millions of years ago.

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Vicky Veritas @vickyveritas.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

#MinCup26 ⚒️ sci-fi 🧪 🖖🏼 scifi Geosciences #WomenInSTEM geology #geosky #GIS 🍎 🪐 🔭 🌋 📚 🌿

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Adam Rutherford @adamrutherford.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Do the stats for women! It’s 5.

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New England Primate Conservancy @neprimateconsrv.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Silky sifakas (Propithecus candidus) are native to a very restricted range in northeastern Madagascar. One of the rarest and most threatened sifaka species. Females mate only one day a year, in late Dec or early Jan. Threatened by slash-and-burn agriculture and hunting. Critically Endangered.

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Mineral Cup & Ore Cup @mineralcup.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Confirmed: We’re cozying down with minerals that will never mature you stress-cry when memorizing composition to prepare for mineralogy exams

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Owen Missen @scimissionowen.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Cuprite is red as the copper is in copper 1+ oxidation state, not copper 2+ which has the more common blues and greens - competing against halite, best known as an evaporite mineral. Salty fluids are also key to transporting metals in both hydrothermal and surface environments as chloride complexes!

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🦇 Murphy @mjosmurphy.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

What a bizarre mineral! I had to vote cuprite.

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Mineral Cup & Ore Cup @mineralcup.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

#MinCup26 SEMI-FINALS!!! It's showdown of the soft and cubical as coppery #Cuprite and salty #Halite compete for a spot in the finals! Both are worthy, but only one can have your vote. VOTE: www.mineralcup.org/2026/vote-re... RESULTS: www.mineralcup.org/2026/vote-re...

Split photo of a translucent deep red cube of cuprite within swooping matte blue-green crystal blades and a scattering of translucent white halite cubes in a nest of golden yellow spiky crystals.

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Mineral Cup & Ore Cup @mineralcup.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

#MinCup26 Quarterfinal 4 Linked by archaic translations and mineralogical misunderstandings, the quarterfinals are ending in hexagons with vivid pyromorphite vs writeable graphite. VOTE: www.mineralcup.org/2026/vote-re... RESULTS: www.mineralcup.org/2026/vote-re...

Split photo between translucent lemon-yellow hexagonal crystal jutting out of a mass of shiny black bubbling minerals and metallic silver graphite hexagon with crosshatched surface set even within a matte translucent white rough crystal mass.

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cmrn knzlmn @ckunzelman.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

If you are a graduate student in the humanities (construed as broadly as possible), what is the MOST EXCITING book published in the last five years to you? Please repost if you’re not a graduate student!

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spooky murwolf the wereduck 〓〓🏳️‍🌈𓅄✊🐺🪄🎡 @murduck.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Halite is small perfect cubes, That are used to flavour your food. You don't slip on the ice, And have chips that taste nice. So show it some kind gratitude! VOTE HALITE! #MinCup26

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Mineral Cup & Ore Cup @mineralcup.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

#MinCup26 Quarterfinals 3 It's a pair of dissolvable beauties as rare and complicated #Julienite is against ubiquitous and straightforward #Halite. VOTE: www.mineralcup.org/2026/vote-re... RESULTS: www.mineralcup.org/2026/vote-re...

Split photo of close-ups of minerals bright blue julienite in radiating fan shapes within a dark rock and clear perfect cubes of halite suspended in clear liquid, tiny bubbles hanging onto some of the crystals

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Kerstin Neuhaus @microtopico.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

These shiny green Aventurin gemstones are again mainly made of #quartz, one of the most common minerals on the Earth's surface. The green color comes from small Fuchsite impurities, a Cr-containing, green variety of #mica. #MinCup26 ⚒️

Green and glittering minerals on a wooden board

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Kerstin Neuhaus @microtopico.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

This is granite. You may know it from your kitchen counter. Without #Quartz, granite wouldn't exist. Vote #Quartz! #MinCup26

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