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Brenor

@brenorbrophy.com
579 followers 379 following 594 posts

Retired renewable energy engineer, amateur geologist, hiker, & backpacker. Reared in Ireland, reside in California.

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Brenor @brenorbrophy.com · 13/10/2026
This is an important point that gets lost in the data center debate. In areas with abundant water, evaporative cooling (i.e. using water) is the most energy & cost efficient method for any industry. In areas with scarce water, tradeoffs are more complex, so not great for oversimplified sound bites.
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Brenor @brenorbrophy.com · 11/10/2026
The California Department of Water Resources has released three beautifully animated videos on their telling water related indigenous stories. This is a part of the Sustainable Ground Water Management Act, supporting Underrepresented Communities, California Native American Tribes and Small Farmers.
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Brenor @brenorbrophy.com · 12/09/2026
With all the noise about Navier Stokes this similar story seems to have gotten lost. The min gap in the work on the twin primes conjecture had stood at 246 since 2014. In late August a human lowered it to 240. Just 3 days later an AI company used her ideas to supersede her result.
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Ryan J Hollister @phaneritic.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Phenomenal office ours today from @weatherwest.bsky.social. The marine temperature data is truly eye-popping.
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Stan Oklobdzija @stano.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
If you live in California, the most important vote you'll cast in November is for Insurance Commissioner. Don't vote for Jane Kim.
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c0nc0rdance @c0nc0rdance.bsky.social · 01/01/2025
The weird but true story of how California got its name: Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo wrote the definitive Spanish language fantasy novel, a swashbuckling adventure called 'Las Sergas de Esplandián' ("The Adventures of Esplandián") around 1510. This was a sequel to his popular...
Frontispiece to “Las Sergas de Esplandián” by Garci Rodriguez de Montalvo, published 1510, but with the number 1526 at the bottom.
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Brenor @brenorbrophy.com · 25/06/2026
"... NOAA’s Colorado River Basin Forecast Center had predicted 13% of average runoff flows, just 800,000 acre-feet, compared to the more average 6 million. “It’s below even 2002, which was the lowest year on record, just about a million,” said Udall. ..."
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Brenor @brenorbrophy.com · 14/06/2026
This was back when planes didn't have wheels and you could only use them once.
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Brenor @brenorbrophy.com · 12/06/2026
This is the smoke plume from the huge medical supply warehouse fire in Tracy, #California. It's drifting over the southern Santa Clara Valley in the Bay Area this Thursday afternoon.
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Ben Winslow @benwinslow.bsky.social · 05/06/2026
The study reads like an environmental horror story, to be perfectly honest. It was authored by numerous research institutions, including @usuaggies.bsky.social. I've posted it for you to read here: www.fox13now.com/news/colorad... #utpol #Utah
fox13now.com
Colorado River Basin sliding toward system-wide crash, new study warns
If the Colorado River Basin experiences another dry winter, there will be an "outcome with devastating consequences," a new study is warning.
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Brenor @brenorbrophy.com · 25/05/2026
A reminder to my fellow Californians. The DROP act takes effect on August 1st at which point data brokers have to start deleting data belonging to people that have made the request on the DROP site. So take a few minutes to get it done, not too difficult. #california
privacy.ca.gov
About DROP and the Delete Act
Learn more about DROP. This includes the California Consumer Privacy Act and the Delete Act.
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Kameron Hurley @kameronhurley.com · 24/05/2026
"Once you know that (it) exists, it’s hard not to think about it every time you see a sudden flood of enthusiastic posts about a famous person’s new project or haircut or outfit or relationship or face." web.archive.org/web/20260515...
web.archive.org
The Feed Is Fake
What if every viral song, movie, meme, influencer, and celebrity drama in recent memory was the result of a stealth marketing campaign?
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Brenor @brenorbrophy.com · 20/05/2026
Lots of indications that 26-27 will be a strong El Nino event, and there is no shortage of chatter online about it. Mark Finan, a retired metrologist from Sacramento, puts it in perspective - what is actually forecast and what that means for California. Short and informative.
youtu.be
What El Niño Really Means For California
YouTube video by Mark Finan Weather
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Brenor @brenorbrophy.com · 18/05/2026
Cement is one of the hard to decarbonize sectors as much of the CO2 produced comes directly from the limestone feedstock. It accounts for nearly 5% of global emissions. This paper outlines using basalt as an alternative carbon free feedstock, an option that could be cost and energy advantaged.
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Brenor @brenorbrophy.com · 11/05/2026
In a stroke of rare brilliance from Ireland's national broadcaster, RTE will air the famous Father Ted Eurovision episode in a boycott of the song contest to protest Israel's war in Gaza. #Ireland
irishtimes.com
RTÉ to air Father Ted Eurovision episode in boycott of song contest
Ireland, Spain and Slovenia decline to send competitors to 70th iteration of competition in protest at Israel’s war in Gaza
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Brenor @brenorbrophy.com · 08/05/2026
For #FossilFriday a block of very shelly limestone from the walls of the Temple of Zeus in Olympia, Greece. All I could find online was that it was a local stone.
A rectangular block of grey stone viewed from the short end sitting on other blocks of similar stone in part of an ancient wall, part of the Temple of Zeus. The stone is made almost entirely of bivalve shells cemented by a sandy matrix.
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Nash @radiodeadair.com · 30/04/2026
It's amazing that nobody will understand this: They don't think. They don't remember. They have no cognition. They're pattern matching systems that produce answer-shaped responses. This is no different that giving a script admin privileges, except this script is rewritten on the fly.
pcgamer.com
Here we go again: AI deletes entire company database and all backups in 9 seconds, then cheerfully admits 'I violated every principle I was given'
"If you pay for car airbags and they don’t deploy because they don’t exist is that your fault because you got in the accident?"
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Brenor @brenorbrophy.com · 30/03/2026
A unique geology field trip by train. Exploring the rocks of the Sierra foothills along the Amador Central Railroad. I learned a lot about the Ione kaolinite, deep weathering in the Eocene, oxisols, plus some neat volcanic rocks and lots Mehrten Formation bowling balls. #geology #California
A crowd of geologists inspect a rock outcrop in a railroad siding. Some small railcars are stopped on the tracks. Green grass in the foreground, trees along the skyline with a clear blue sky above.
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Garry Hayes @geotripper.bsky.social · 19/03/2026
geotripper.blogspot.com/2026/03/expl... Want to get away from it all? How about some of the most spectacular geology on the planet? Join us this summer in the Pacific Northwest, along with Yellowstone and Grand Tetons National Parks! Our first informational meeting is on Monday March 23rd.
geotripper.blogspot.com
Explore the Pacific Northwest and Northern Rocky Mountains with Geotripper! June 18-July 2, 2026
Grand Tetons National Park, Wyoming Be forewarned. This post is a TRAP! It is designed to draw you in, weaken your defenses, and cause y...
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Ian James @ianjames.bsky.social · 24/02/2026
The impasse among the states is pushing Glen Canyon Dam closer to the brink. "Aridification is rendering the dam obsolete, at least as a water storage savings account," @landdesk.bsky.social writes: www.landdesk.org/p/the-colora...
landdesk.org
The Colorado River Crisis is Here
States fail to reach a deal; Lake Powell Deadpool appears imminent
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Brenor @brenorbrophy.com · 01/02/2026
Some remarkable granitic rip-rap on the south breakwater of the entrance to Moss Landing harbor in Monterey Bay. This was a thick layer of black tourmaline. #geology #california
Close up view of the surface of a granitic rock with many black rectangular crystals in a white matrix. A hand points to a crystal to provide scale.
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Zak 🦦 Podmore @zakpodmore.bsky.social · 18/12/2025
I blogged about it: open.substack.com/pub/zakpodmo...
open.substack.com
New Colorado River proposal seeks inspiration from the New Deal
Thoughts on a welcome development in Southwestern water policy: a plan to expand public ownership.
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Brenor @brenorbrophy.com · 16/12/2025
Back in my hometown in #Ireland for Christmas. A beautiful place when the Sun is shining, but the traffic is woeful. Too many cars trying to navigate a medieval city streets burdened with suburban sprawl. Ireland has learned all the wrong urban planning lessons. But there are voices of reason.
waterford-news.ie
Letter to the Editor: Solving Waterford's traffic problems - Opinion - Waterford News & Star
A key aspect of improving our city centre is to look at how successful cities thrive across the world
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John Fleck @jfleck.bsky.social · 12/12/2025
Ten years on, taking a look back at my book Water is For Fighting Over. What did I get right? Wrong? With my excellent colleague Rin Tara: www.buzzsprout.com/2465964/epis...
buzzsprout.com
7: Is Water for Fighting Over? - Water Matters!
Guest: John FleckA decade ago, the Utton Center's Writer in Residence John Fleck published his book Water is For Fighting Over and Other Myths About Water in the West, an exploration of water governan...
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Brenor @brenorbrophy.com · 10/12/2025
With the war of fonts heating up and the assendancy of Times New Roman in the State Department, I can't help but post this fantastic and classic comment from Metafilter. #fonts #typeface #timesnewroman

In the fourth year of the reign of Emperor Trajan, my legions were attacked by the Calibri in the hills of Helvetica. The canny tribesmen made their assault before we could reach and lay siege to the city of Gentium, thereby rendering useless our trebuchets and high towers.

My couriers soon reported that the Calibri, as was their normal habit, had assembled a force of light cavalry, clad in copperplate gothic and armed with arials, while also bearing short onyx used for close-in fighting. They relied on speed and maneuverability in the rough terrain, using their arials to fire flaming caslons into our midst and then retreating.

A generation ago, this tactic would have wrought grievous damage. But by the grace of the gods, this was a more modern era, and I was able to deploy a force of heavy infantry, armored in stout verdana and armed with the new garamonds. No cavalry, however fleet, can stand long against a trained force armed with garamonds.

So this I say to the fools who have said that our armies have fewer meliors and sylfaens than they have at any time since the war with the Lucida Sans. We have no need of such toys now. Those are the weapons of the old Rome – a century old style.

And these are the Times New Roman.

posted by kyrademon at 11:33 AM on October 23, 2012.
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Daniel Rothberg @danielrothberg.bsky.social · 10/12/2025
New report from the Colorado River Research Group: Dancing with Deadpool. It begins: "Conditions on the Colorado River are, to put it bluntly, dire." www.colorado.edu/center/gwc/C...
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Brenor @brenorbrophy.com · 07/12/2025
The race for the Jules Verne Trophy, awarded to the fastest sailboat to sail around the world, is in progress. The first all-female crew, aboard 'The Famous CIC' are challenging the current record of 40 days, 23 hours, 30 minutes and 30 seconds set by Francis Joyon in 2017.
sailmagazine.com
The Famous Project CIC Kicked Off its Jules Verne Record Attempt - SAIL Magazine
In a bid to become the fastest team to circumnavigate the globe, The Famous Project CIC kicked off their Jules Verne record attempt this weekend.
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Brenor @brenorbrophy.com · 07/12/2025
Look who I met on a sunny Saturday afternoon hike in Alum Rock Park, San Jose. Bobcats always seem surprised you had the audacity to walk in their patch. He stood there contemplating a response before deciding I wasn't worth it and sauntered off. #photography #nature #cats
A Bobcat standing in the middle of a first road checks out the photographer. Dappled sunlight and shadows from a low winter afternoon sun.
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Brenor @brenorbrophy.com · 04/12/2025
False alarm, event deleted. That's strange, it's unfortunate they sent an alert to presumably the whole of Northern California for this. But it will be interesting to hear how it happened.
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Brenor @brenorbrophy.com · 04/12/2025
Earthquake preliminary 5.9 near Reno, Nevada. Just received an alert in the Bay Area.
Screen capture of earthquake map
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Richard Kadrey @richardkadrey.bsky.social · 03/12/2025
It's that giving time of year again, so this is a reminder that no matter how they try to dress it up, the Salvation Army is not a charity.
The Salvation Army is not a charity. They are an evangelical church that uses donated money to actively oppress gay rights. They've been especially cruel to trans people.
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Brenor @brenorbrophy.com · 24/11/2025
One of the most illuminating pieces on economics that I have read. The Poverty Line isn't what we think it is. A good argument backed by data, really worth your time.
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Brenor @brenorbrophy.com · 22/11/2025
A proposed rule change by the #USPTO would make challenging bad patents all but impossible and hand a huge win to patent trolls. There's still time to lend your voice in public comments opposing the change. It only takes a minute to lodge a comment. Please spread the word.
eff.org
The Patent Office Is About To Make Bad Patents Untouchable
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has proposed new rules that would effectively end the public’s ability to challenge improperly granted patents at the Patent Office itself. We need EFF sup...
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Brenor @brenorbrophy.com · 19/11/2025
This is nice, the permit was only $2 and was actually a really nice trail map. Ohlone Wilderness Trail is one of the premier backpacking trails in the Bay Area. Absolutely spectacular in the spring.
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Brenor @brenorbrophy.com · 16/11/2025
The environmental aftermath of the most destructive gold mining technology ever deployed OR entrance to the fairy kingdom? It's the first one, but it doesn't usually turn out this well. This is some of the karsk landscape excavated by hydraulic mining during the gold rush in Volcano, #California. ⚒️
Moss coated, twisted spires of grey marble point skyward. A damp trail leads between them. A forest of pine and madrone surrounds.
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Ian James @ianjames.bsky.social · 13/11/2025
“Litigation could take years, if not decades, to resolve. The effects of aridification are unfolding at a faster rate.” @danielrothberg.bsky.social invisiblewaters.substack.com/p/what-happe...
invisiblewaters.substack.com
What happened on the Colorado River?
Negotiating around legal uncertainties as climate change takes its toll.
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Brenor @brenorbrophy.com · 12/11/2025
The 7 states of Colorado River basin blew through the Nov 11 Dept of the Interior deadline to agree management of the river after 2026. They're still talking, but pressure will mount for the Feds to intervene and impose a solution that nobody wants. #colorado #water
latimes.com
The clock is ticking on the shrinking Colorado River as Western states miss a key deadline
Negotiators for seven states say they're making progress in negotiations aimed at addressing the Colorado River's chronic water shortages. But they missed an initial deadline.
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Brenor @brenorbrophy.com · 22/10/2025
Out trying to get a shot of Comet Lemmon in the bright Bay Area skies, during its closest approach to Earth. Unfortunately I couldn't get more than a smudge, but did capture a nice sunset as I was waiting for it to get dark. #photography #sanfrancisco #sunset
A darkening sky with wispy clouds after sunset
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Brenor @brenorbrophy.com · 14/10/2025
The contact between the Chinle and the base of the Windgate sandstone on the Cohab Canyon trail in Capitol Reef NP. We speculated that the contact is a paleosol and the green reduction marks might be caused by residual carbon from tree roots. What do you think? #geology ⚒️
The base of a cliff. Sloping purple, crumbly rock forms the base with vertical tan colored sandstone on top. Along the contact between the two rocks are pale green intrusions into the purple rock.
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Brenor @brenorbrophy.com · 14/10/2025
Very striking Miocene lahar deposits of the Mount Dutton Formation along route 62 in Kingston Canyon, #Utah. #geology ⚒️
View looking up from the base of a cliff of pinkish rock. The rock face is vertical with large voids. On top similar, but rougher rock appears to form a cap on the skyline.
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Mike W @gekido.bsky.social · 11/10/2025
so Google just added a bunch (more) AI bullshit to Chrome Go through these steps to disable it: opus.ing/posts/how-to... #chrome #aibullshit
opus.ing
How to Remove AI From Your Google Chrome Experience - Opus
Follow these steps to resist the AI-pocalypse in your everyday web browsing.
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Brenor @brenorbrophy.com · 03/10/2025
This statue of Junipero Serra, Spanish missionary, Catholic saint and a major participant in the subjugation and genocide of the native California peoples, has been removed and destroyed by Caltrans. Erected with private money on public land in the 1970s, I for one shall not miss it. #sanfrancisco
Large concrete statue of a priest with his right arm outreaching and pointing.
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Brenor @brenorbrophy.com · 19/09/2025
Reposting this Permian trackway in #Canyonlands NP for #FossilFriday in the hope that somebody knows something about it. ⚒️🧪
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Brenor @brenorbrophy.com · 16/09/2025
A spectacular trackway in the Permian Organ Rock formation of Canyonlands NP. On the Green River, just downstream from The Turk's Head, river-left. I'd guess it's 20-30cm wide, but hard to judge at the distance. Amazing how the slabs are just sitting on display. Anybody know anything about it? 🧪⚒️
View upwards from the river of two large slabs of what appears to be sandstone. Each have a striking fossil trackway from a terrestrial creature, perhaps 20-30cm wide.A closer view of the slabs.
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Brenor @brenorbrophy.com · 23/08/2025
The beautiful Point Bonita on the Marin Headlands at the entrance to the Golden Gate and San Francisco Bay. Check out the dark basalt cliffs and the pillows in the arch. They almost look like they erupted yesterday. ⚒️🧪 #seascape #photography
A view looking down from clifftop to a calm sea. Dark vertical cliffs on the right reach out to a sea arch. Atop the cliff is a small white lighthouse with a metal suspension bridge extending back towards the viewer. A grey overcast sky above
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Brenor @brenorbrophy.com · 18/08/2025
For fans of wooden sailing boats the famous Tally Ho arrived in San Francisco today on her way back to the UK from Washington. #sailing #tallyho #sf
A small flotilla of sail boats passes under the Golden Gate bridge on a clear blue day.
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Brenor @brenorbrophy.com · 13/08/2025
Carrauntoohill, highest mountain in #Ireland at just over 1000m. An awesome though strenuous hike, the views from the top on a clear day are more than worth it. #photography #landscapes
A conical shaped peak with a wisp of cloud makes the horizon. A grass and gourse covered rocky slope in the foreground with a winding path. A blue sky above.
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Faine Greenwood @faineg.com · 12/08/2025
Modern AI tools emulate the classic con-man tricks of mentalism, tricking people into believing that they’re far more clever - and sapient - than they actually are. Fantastic piece by @baldurbjarnason.com : softwarecrisis.dev/letters/llme...
softwarecrisis.dev
The LLMentalist Effect: how chat-based Large Language Models rep…
The new era of tech seems to be built on superstitious behaviour
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Brenor @brenorbrophy.com · 12/08/2025
The coast of #Ireland had a vast number of beautiful, unspoiled and almost empty beaches. Here is the spectacular Kilmore Quay in County #Wexford on one of the nicest days of the summer so far. #seascapes #photography
The gentle curve of a long sandy beach hooks around. Sand dunes on the right, calm sea on the left, an almost clear blue sky above. Some scattered people in the mid ground.
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Brenor @brenorbrophy.com · 10/08/2025
The rocks below the Broch of Gurness in #Orkney are wet and seaweedy today, but 390ma they were a dry lakebed with dessication cracks. Mapped as the Rousay Flagstones, these sediments record many cycles of fluctuating levels in Lake Orcadie during the Devonian. #geology #seascapes
A view looking down from a small cliff onto a rocky outcrop at the water's edge. In the center, a flat rock surface has a poliginal pattern that are fossilized dessication cracks. Brown seaweed covers many of the rocks and floats in the water.
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