iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Chris MacQuarrie

Arvid Ågren @arvidagren.bsky.social · 11h

Elisabeth Anscombe on how to summon the courage to ask a question at a seminar.

Screenshot reading “And so I just went up to Miss Anscombe.
Everyone else was terrified off. And I
said, Miss Anscombe, how do you
manage to summon up the courage to
ask a question in one of these seminars?

And apparently, what Anscombe told her
was, I just repeat one of their sentences
back to them, look puzzled, and say, but
why? And then they look terrified at me.
And that does work.”

Chris MacQuarrie @cmacquar.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

I mean yah. Pretty much. Tasks scale with how much work you take on. The successful ones eventually get better at prioritizing and time management. Once you acknowledge it's a marathon and not a sprint the road gets clearer.

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Reposted by Chris MacQuarrie

Ressources naturelles @ressources-naturelles.canada.ca · 06/10/2026

Des scientifiques de RNCan étudient les impacts des feux sur les forêts, sur les collectivités et sur l’économie canadienne. Ressources multimédias de l'Alberta fournies par Alberta Wildfire 📸

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Reposted by Chris MacQuarrie

Natural Resources @natural-resources.canada.ca · 06/10/2026

NRCan scientists are studying the impacts of wildfires on forests, communities and the Canadian economy. 📸 Assets provided by Alberta Wildfire

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Canadian History Ehx @cdnhistoryehx.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

On this day in 1992, The Tragically Hip released their third studio album Fully Completely. One of the greatest Canadian albums ever made, it sold 200,000 copies within three months. It reached #1 in Canada, eventually selling over one million copies for Diamond Status.

The image is the album cover for "Fully Completely" by The Tragically Hip. It features a vibrant, surreal artwork with multiple figures in dynamic poses, surrounded by musical instruments and abstract elements. The background includes a mix of red, purple, and green hues, with the band name "The Tragically Hip" at the top and the album title "Fully Completely" below it.

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Reposted by Chris MacQuarrie

Ainsley S @americanbeetles.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

I was not aware they invented Tactical Spiderwebs :O

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Reposted by Chris MacQuarrie

Emerald Ash Borer Network @emeraldashborer.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Join us next week on October 13th for a webinar by Sam Ward (Ohio State University). This talk will cover the different ways non-native forest insects move between continents and what is being done to prevent future invasions. Register here: www.emeraldashborer.info/eab-u #Entomology #Ecology 🌎🧪🍁

EABU Webinar with Sam Ward.
Assistant Professor, Department of Entomology, The Ohio State University.

Arrival of non-native forest insects: patterns, processes, and problems.

October 13th, 1 P.M. EST

Register here: emeraldashborer.info/eab-u

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Reposted by Chris MacQuarrie

Gwen Pearson @bug-gwen.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

If you're willing, would you share (anonymously!!) your stories about a time you struggled with conflict or emotions during outreach, or when you you nailed it with a perfect response to a difficult question or situation? (1/2) naturegeek.wufoo.com/forms/esa-20...

naturegeek.wufoo.com

ESA 2026 Outreach/Interpretation Stories

I'm doing a workshop on how to deal with emotions and conflict during outreach for the Formal and Informal Teaching section. Please share examples of times you struggled during outreach or teaching e...

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Jacquelyn Gill @jacquelyngill.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Early career folks and current (or future!) grad students: I'm teaching our Professionalism course in spring and mixing things up a bit based on feedback from students in our grad programs. Would this description make you want to take this class, especially as a first-year student?

"This course explores how to build a thoughtful, effective, and sustainable career in the biological sciences. Topics range from how science works—asking good questions, evaluating evidence, and cultivating curiosity and open-mindedness—to the practical skills of conducting, managing, communicating, and publishing research. Students will develop strategies for navigating scientific careers, including collaboration, writing and presenting, job searches, resilience, work-life balance, and handling rejection and uncertainty. The course also addresses research ethics, reproducibility, data stewardship, and other principles of responsible scientific practice, and fulfills the Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) requirement."

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Chris MacQuarrie @cmacquar.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

at the start of my grad career I would have taken this course. I probably would have at the end, too. But then I'd have wanted to know more about how to translate skills to the non-academic job market.

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Reposted by Chris MacQuarrie

sean minogue @seanminogue.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Very interested to learn the story behind this bridge painting. I lived in the Soo before the Highway 17 bypass, so I used to see this bridge every time I drove east out of the city. youtu.be/TfrNDiZN8AI @therundowntvo.bsky.social

youtu.be

Who Painted the Words That Became an Indigenous Rallying Cry? | The Rundown

YouTube video by TVO Today

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Reposted by Chris MacQuarrie

Biological Recording Company @biologicalrecording.co.uk · 05/10/2026

🌲 Meet Ips typographus, the Eight-toothed Spruce Bark Beetle. First found breeding in the UK in 2018, this tiny beetle could pose a significant threat to spruce forests. Join Katrina Dainton TOMORROW to learn more about them 🌎 🧪 🔗 www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1915440176... @forestresearchuk.bsky.social

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Reposted by Chris MacQuarrie

Daniel Munro @dkmunro.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

“Winners will be paid $80,000 a year for four years, twice the current minimum base funding for PhD candidates at U of T. Half of the $100-million endowment comes from an anonymous donation, the rest from the university.” www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/artic...

theglobeandmail.com

University of Toronto launching $100-million scholarship fund to attract PhD students

New program aims to help school compete for bright minds at a time when elite U.S. universities are under attack by the Trump administration

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Reposted by Chris MacQuarrie

Julia M. Rohrer @dingdingpeng.the100.ci · 04/10/2026

This is very good. “Over 2.2 million cancer deaths can be attributed to Costco; that’s more than 20% of all cancer deaths between 2000 and 2018.”

Ridiculous things you can “prove” caused cancer mortality

Everything causes cancer. Sounds cliché; maybe those California warning tags were right all along. But thanks to the methodology created by Alwadi et al., we can now prove that anything and everything causes cancer. Oh, sorry, that is too strong of an assertion. To use the authors’ words, since they have claimed their papers don’t prove causality, we can create an association between any physical landmark and cancer and, from that association, figure out how much cancer is attributable to that thing. Which is totally not the same as saying “that thing causes cancer.”

For instance, living near a private four-year university is associated with a 15-fold increase in cancer mortality when compared

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Chris MacQuarrie @cmacquar.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

A rather diabolical head to head...

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Chris MacQuarrie @cmacquar.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

The best episode of Mike & Mike's Excellent Cross Canada Adventure is when they go to the paint store to see how much red & blue paint they could get with what it cost the gallery to buy this.

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Chris MacQuarrie @cmacquar.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Safe travels to all the Canadian entomologists en route to the JAM this weekend. May your flights be on time and your road trip snacks plentiful!

static.klipy.com

Kermit & Fozzie: On The Road Again

ALT: Kermit & Fozzie: On The Road Again

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Reposted by Chris MacQuarrie

Dezene Huber 🍁 🌻 @dezene.me · 02/10/2026

The great thing about teaching an entomology course is that there is basically no end of great material. 🪲 The hard part about teaching an entomology course is that there is basically no end of great material. 🪳

static.klipy.com

Illustrated Butterflies on a Poster

Alt: Illustrated Butterflies on a Poster, some waving their wings.

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Chris MacQuarrie @cmacquar.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Worth noting a quick dip back to the old place reveals the OP was clowning on the AI Bros. Still funny though.

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Chris MacQuarrie @cmacquar.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

So listen, I have decent evidence that some of you lazy sobs are out there feeding papers you've been asked to review into AI and submitting those reviews as your own. Knock it off.

static.klipy.com

Letterkenny: Wayne's Side Eye to Degens

ALT: Letterkenny: Wayne's Side Eye to Degens

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Reposted by Chris MacQuarrie

Dr. Emily S Choy (she/her), FRCGS @emilyschoy.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Come join my department at McMaster! We are searching for a Plant Biology professor! Please share widely! www.academicwork.ca/jobs/tenure-...

academicwork.ca

Tenure-Track Assistant Professor in Plant Biology

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Reposted by Chris MacQuarrie

Dan Thomas @itsdanthomas.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

The most disappointing video you’ll see today.

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Reposted by Chris MacQuarrie

Gwen Pearson @bug-gwen.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Massive new review paper out on the causes of insect population declines. It's not great news, BUT if we pay attention, we can still turn things around. 🧪🦋 academic.oup.com/aesa/advance...

academic.oup.com

Drivers of insect decline: direct, indirect, and combined pressures

Abstract. Reductions in insect biodiversity are widely documented and result from numerous pressures that operate from local to global scales. Identifying

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Chris MacQuarrie @cmacquar.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

This is an amazing tribute to Simon. He was such a presence in the entomology twitter days and an amazing entomologist and scientist in his own right. I'm sad I never got to meet him in person.

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Erica McAlister @flygirlnhm.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

If it hasn’t been published it has effectively not been done - a Classic Prof Simon leather quote highlighting the value of communicating the science once it has been done A celebration at @harperadamsuni.bsky.social for the new building opened in hour of the great man @royentsoc.bsky.social

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Tristan A.F. Long @thelonglab.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

As I prepare for another early morning #BI393 Biostatistics lecture, came across this deep dive into the history (and errors ?!?) in the well-known "mtcars" dataset! #rstats jengianoulis.substack.com/p/secrets-of...

jengianoulis.substack.com

Secrets of the classic dataset "mtcars"

Back in time to Sunset Boulevard in the 70s

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Reposted by Chris MacQuarrie

Dr. Jessica L Ware @jessicalwarelab.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Drivers of insect decline: direct, indirect, and combined pressures academic.oup.com/aesa/article...

academic.oup.com

Validate User

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Chris MacQuarrie @cmacquar.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

I mean, it would mean he's a time traveler too. But that's even more niche...

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Chris MacQuarrie @cmacquar.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

and, FWIW, if you're seeing this and are thinking of applying. Please reach out. I have some experience and expertise in this area and would be happy to chat.

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Chris MacQuarrie @cmacquar.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Personally annoyed at the eligibility criteria for this program as there are bunch of under-employed Canadian-trained and Canadian-resident ECR entomologists that would crush this position. Here's hoping McGill will use this to repatriate one of our expats.

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Chris MacQuarrie @cmacquar.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Posting @mcgill.ca for an Assistant Professor in Regulated Plant Pests - Canada Impact+ Emerging Leaders. Focus on pests of agricultural systems Note under this program position only open to people resident OUTSIDE of Canada as of June 2026. mcgill.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com/McGill_Caree...

mcgill.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com

Assistant Professor in Regulated Plant Pests - Canada Impact+ Emerging Leaders

Please refer to the How to Apply for a Job (for External Candidates) job aid for instructions on how to apply. If you are an active McGill employee (ie: currently in an active contract or position at ...

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Chris MacQuarrie @cmacquar.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Their ecology journals are almost/fully in the predatory box. The quality of publications varies widely and I know many folks who won't review for them. But I also have colleagues that will publish decent stuff there. I treat it like a very, very expensive pre-print server.

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Chris MacQuarrie @cmacquar.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

I don't use AI in my work, but as someone who (probably) had a recent MS fed into an AI system by a reviewer, this is somewhat concerning.

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Chris MacQuarrie @cmacquar.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Someone in this department just thought to themselves: "nope, can't be me. I only ordered 8 sheep brains"

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Reposted by Chris MacQuarrie

Daniel Munro @dkmunro.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

“The camera showed what I was carrying in my hands. It couldn’t show what he was carrying that night” 8 years ago (and to this day) I was carrying the same weight as this man. My wife and family pulled me back from the brink. Wonderful, difficult piece. themomoftheyear.substack.com/p/im-the-mom...

themomoftheyear.substack.com

I’m the Mom in That Viral Giants Clip. Let Me Tell You About My Husband.

You saw me carrying our baby and food. There was more happening in our family that night.

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Reposted by Chris MacQuarrie

Ainsley S @americanbeetles.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Stay tuned for my hit police procedural, in which a forensic entomologist solves various mysteries through the ruthless identification of twigs

Small paperback titled “Twig Key to the Deciduous Woody Plants of Eastern North America” by William Harlow. Presumably nobody needs a twig key to evergreen plants because you can just ID them using the leaves, like god intended

The following page, showing several cross-sectional diagrams of different types of pith

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Chris MacQuarrie @cmacquar.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Do you have any idea what page charges are on illuminated manuscripts? And don't get me started on the chargebacks from those monks for ink and hard wooden benches...

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Chris MacQuarrie @cmacquar.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Choice of imagery is interesting if you know earthworms aren't a native species in western Canada...

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Western University @westernu.ca · 25/09/2026

Literary icon Margaret Atwood has gifted $1M to #WesternU, honouring her longtime partner Graeme Gibson, BA'58, to establish the Graeme Gibson Chair in Avian Biology - advancing research on how birds move, behave and adapt in a changing world. #AllinWesternU news.westernu.ca/2026/09/grae...

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Chris MacQuarrie @cmacquar.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Ha! It did not, I wanted to be vet from the age of 4. It wasn't until I got to 3rd year of undergrad that I switched.

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Chris MacQuarrie @cmacquar.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

When I was a kid Vetavision was my first exposure to @usask.ca . Also the only time I got to stick my hand inside a cow. So many memories...

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Christian Courier @christiancourier.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

"Have you noticed the beams? The ones that make a church worship space look like an upside-down ark?" In his recent article, "Stronger than steel," Peter Bulthuis explains the theological and architectural reasoning behind church sanctuary structures. You can read it here:

christiancourier.ca

Stronger than steel | Christian Courier

Have you noticed the beams? The ones that make a church worship space look like an upside-down ark? Maybe you enjoyed counting them as a kid during a long sermon (once you were done tallying the organ...

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