iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Eric Scott @captainfossil.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

My first thought is to go to any of the action sequences from Raiders of the Lost Ark, but that's my bias showing - Raiders is my favorite movie. So, ignoring Raiders, the first sequence that comes to mind is the end of Mask of Zorro - from the hills alight with a burning Z to the final explosion.

010

Eric Scott @captainfossil.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

This is wonderful and I had no idea. What a great tradition!

111

Eric Scott @captainfossil.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

That's less than one day of supply at current global consumption rates.

010

Eric Scott @captainfossil.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Powerful letter from paleontologist Kenshu Shimada re: the Sternberg Museum of Natural History at Fort Hays State U in Kansas, US closing by years end. Along w/ the closing of the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia, US, this is an alarming trend in the US right now. #FossilFriday 🧪

13324

Eric Scott @captainfossil.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

The photographer really captured the "befuddled old man" look.

030

Eric Scott @captainfossil.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

E - Emerson, Lake, & Palmer R - Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow I - Iron Maiden C - Creedence Clearwater Revival

000

Eric Scott @captainfossil.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

That board, and subsequent boards in that particular county, don't actually care about museums - they just want to be able to say that they do. As long as there's a county museum & it's open to the public, the actual mission of that museum isn't as important.

050

Eric Scott @captainfossil.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Yes. My former museum was a county department governed by the county board. When the board changed composition and became much more conservative & $$$-focused (= "tea party"), & started in with the whole "museums should be run like businesses" thing, it all fell apart. (Hence my leaving.)

1104

Eric Scott @captainfossil.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Oh, Maple is gorgeous! I'm so glad she's so happy & cheerful & frisky after her surgery. What a sweetie! (Though forgive me for noting that y'all have a donkey there in the background who's patiently waiting for some attention, too!)

0100

Eric Scott @captainfossil.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

They played them alternately several times - maybe three cycles? We watched Raiders each time it came on, then tuned out for Grease except at the end w/ Olivia Newton-John in that iconic black outfit. After that, back to Raiders.

000

Eric Scott @captainfossil.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Oh, my lord. That is ... that is a lot! Wow! But good on you and your mom for taking care of them. (Back in the 90s Kim brought home a tiny wee kitten & I had that same worry. She was *so* small, & I was scared I'd crush her at night. But happily that never happened & she was with us for 18 years.

010

Eric Scott @captainfossil.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

We have six indoor cats & two semi-feral outdoor kitties. It's ... a lot, but we love 'em all.

120

Eric Scott @captainfossil.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

We recently had to purchase a new cushion for our old papasan chair, and subsequently each of our kitties has laid claim to it as their own. (Missing: Buzz and Boris. But give them time.) Meanwhile, I'm hardly able to use the chair myself. 🙄 Ah, well, worth it. #Caturday #CatsOfBluesky

A bright-eyed and alert black kitty named Zorro sitting in a brightly colored papasan chair, watching events unfold. The cover on the chair is actually a bunch of vividly-colored kitties.

Our gorgeous Abyssinian girl Arya - whose coming home day is today! - lounging in our papasan chair, watching me with unwarranted caution. The cover on the chair is actually a bunch of vividly-colored kitties, and there are dark red and black (w/ flamingos) pillows behind her.

A bright-eyed and happy long-haired grey kitty named Sasha sitting in a brightly colored papasan chair, keeping an eye on things. The cover on the chair is actually a bunch of vividly-colored kitties. There's an autumn-themed pillow and a dark red pillow behind Sasha and a black pillow w/ pink flamingos next to her.

A handsome and terribly regal striped tabby cat named Tigger sprawled in a brightly colored papasan chair, deigning to hang out with us & hoping we don't notice that possibly he might lose a pound or two. The cover on the chair is actually a bunch of vividly-colored kitties. There's an autumn-themed pillow and a dark red pillow behind him.

2131

Eric Scott @captainfossil.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Double feature: Raiders of the Lost Ark and Grease.

240

Eric Scott @captainfossil.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Here's an action that anyone who cares about the closure of the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia can take to maybe have an impact. Please consider this. Museums are important and what's happening here in Philly is a tragedy with national repercussions.

Holotype horn core of the Pleistocene species Bison antiquus, on display - for now - at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia. Think on that - a *holotype* on display where everyone can see it! How cool is *that*?! Plus, the specimen is from the famed Big Bone Lick locality in Kentucky - "Birthplace of American Vertebrate Paleontology" - and was collected by William Clark of Lewis & Clark fame! What an amazing specimen - and how special that it's here *shared with the public" and not stored in off-limits collections!

02212

Eric Scott @captainfossil.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Whoever is calling the financial shots at the Academy has effectively lost their way. Museums are so much more than collections and research. It's a shame that Philadelphia (& the US, since the Academy is the nation's oldest natural history museum) will have to suffer for this lack of understanding.

1223

Eric Scott @captainfossil.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

I've been a professional paleontologist for over 40 years now. I did not choose this work because of some off screen unknown museum research, I chose it because I *saw* the results of that research *in person*, as a child, up close & sometimes even touchable. I *loved* museums and still do.

1276

Eric Scott @captainfossil.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Word is that the collections will remain available for research, though I don't know where they'll end up. But that's *not the point*. Thinking that museums are just about research misses the whole point of museums - to *share* that research in a direct, up close, tangible way.

1222

Eric Scott @captainfossil.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

For #FossilFriday: my first-ever visit to the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia, which is slated to close permanently this weekend unless some sort of miracle occurs. I'm thrilled to finally be here after a lifetime of wanting to visit, but heartbroken at the circumstances for my trip. 🦖🧪

Cast skeleton of Tyrannosaurus rex in the main gallery of the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia

25119

Eric Scott @captainfossil.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Easily my favorite crab! They're so gorgeous!

010

Eric Scott @captainfossil.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Yet somehow he had the bold courage to stand up and shake his fist while urging his supporters to "Fight! Fight! Fight!" after an assassination attempt. Yeah, right. 🙄 ("Courage" and "assassination attempt" should probably be in quotes in the above.)

010