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Don Osborn

@donosborn.bsky.social
426 followers 873 following 630 posts

Africa agriculture Baha'i China development environment food ict4d justice L10n language policy research rural security systems. JHU, MSU. RPCV. PhD.

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Don Osborn @donosborn.bsky.social · 22h
One of the historically important aspects of immigration to the US over the years is how so many humble people, some refugees, arrived and added so much to society and the economy. They, and their descendants. It never was just talented or rich people.
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Don Osborn @donosborn.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
Yes. “Wagon Queen Family Truckster” according to details on the Vacation movie
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Don Osborn @donosborn.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
I understand that Check Hamidou Kane translated (or was in any event involved in the translating of) L’Aventure amiguë into Pulaar (his mother tongue) under the title Inta Aanniinde. Don’t know if the NYT obituary mentions this, but it seems quite significant.
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Don Osborn @donosborn.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
Then there’s this …
1989 Ford LTD Country Squire transformed into a highly faithful replica of the car in National Lampoon’s Vacation. Source: https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a66888883/wagonqueen-family-truckster-bring-a-trailer-auction/
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Charles Gaba ✡️ @charlesgaba.com · 06/10/2026
#FunFact: Yes, it's now possible to drive a standard, mainstream EV from New York to Los Angeles in a reasonable amount of time without getting stranded with a dead battery and WITHOUT having to use a Tesla station!
Map of mainland U.S. with EV route from NYC to LA
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Don Osborn @donosborn.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Birds or Ukrainian missiles? And then back to your question.
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Don Osborn @donosborn.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
The article says “a bill which would end daylight savings time,” but my understanding is that it would do the exact opposite - make DST permanent, and end use of Standard Time. At the very least, this wording is confusing. @savestandard.bsky.social
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Thorin Klosowski @thorinklosowski.com · 01/10/2026
last year we did a little made up holiday called Opt Out October that was all about taking control of your data across platforms. This year we decided to talk about how many excellent alternatives to the products made by big tech are out there www.eff.org/pages/welcom...
eff.org
Welcome to Opt Out October. Let’s Take Control of Our Data and Our Devices
Big tech companies are hell-bent on taking away our agency and forcing us to use their surveillance-based services, apps, and devices. It’s hard to fight against, and it often feels much easier to giv...
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Zeke Hausfather @zekehausfather.com · 03/10/2026
I often see people claim that because clean energy sources like solar, wind, or nuclear are manufactured using fossil fuels their emissions are high. But thats absolutely not the case: even accounting for full lifecycle emissions they are vastly better than burning coal or gas:
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Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics @bermaninstitute.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Africa’s effort to make most of its own vaccines by 2040 faces significant headwinds | Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti...
science.org
Africa’s effort to make most of its own vaccines by 2040 faces significant headwinds
Companies striving to reduce continent’s reliance on foreign shots must overcome major financial and logistical challenges
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Don Osborn @donosborn.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Knowing* that it works and how to do it already covers a lot of ground. * “Knowing.” We probably need a new vocabulary for AI.
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Don Osborn @donosborn.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
This has to do with the University of Minnesota, but it illustrates the stark scenarios faced by much of higher education in the US currently.
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Don Osborn @donosborn.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Depends what you mean by truly. Seems AI can understand it well enough … news.harvard.edu/gazette/stor...
news.harvard.edu
Chatbots' emotionally manipulative tactics
Researchers detail six ways chatbots seek to prolong “emotionally sensitive events.”
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Go Green @ecowarriorss.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Farmers try to bring back Syrian bees Syria was once home to one of the largest populations of bees in the Middle East but they were eliminated Now only a fraction remain theworld.org/stories/2026...
theworld.org
Farmers try to bring back Syrian bees - The World from PRX
For DW’s Living Planet podcast, Kathleen Schuster reports on the fight to bring bees back to Syria.
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CERN @cern.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Happy birthday CERN! 🎉 #OnThisDay 72 years ago, CERN officially came into being, bringing together 12 founding Member States with a shared vision for science and international collaboration. Discover the story behind 72 years of science: home.cern/about/who-we...
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Go Green @ecowarriorss.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Please sign Petition to help South Africa save the Pangolins A Million Pangolins Were Trafficked in a Decade. South Africa Is Fighting It Nearly Alone. Eight pangolin species are now threatened with extinction and four are critically endangered. www.thepetitionsite.com/707/705/767/...
thepetitionsite.com
Sign Petition: South Africa Is Protecting Endangered Wildlife Alone. The World Needs to Help Fund It.
Eight species are now threatened with extinction, and four are critically endangered. (53029 signatures on petition)
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Don Osborn @donosborn.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
FWIW, I run with my headlights on too, and can check to see if they’re both working by the reflection on the fender of the car in front - when stopped at a red light. Never had such a selfie opportunity, however.
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Social Media Lab @socialmedialab.ca · 27/09/2026
"America had wiped out measles. Now babies are infected at birth. Congenital measles has rarely been seen in the U.S. That’s changing as vaccination declines and more pregnant women become infected." www.nbcnews.com/health/healt...
nbcnews.com
America had wiped out measles. Now babies are infected at birth.
Congenital measles has rarely been seen in the U.S. That’s changing as vaccination declines and more pregnant women become infected.
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Don Osborn @donosborn.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Quelle surprise!
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Don Osborn @donosborn.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
But for just that one moment, it felt special
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Don Osborn @donosborn.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Just say “no” to humanoid robots.
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Don Osborn @donosborn.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Money loses its meaning.
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Don Osborn @donosborn.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Your raised bed design looks nice. FWIW, there is a simpler design that might work for some folks. Back in 2011, we used for each raised bed, 2 2” x 8” boards, that were 14’ long. Sawed off 3’ of each & made a rectangle w/ the other 11’ pieces. Simple technique - choose your preferred dimensions.
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Don Osborn @donosborn.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
On first glance, thought it said “Think safely”
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Isaac Samuel @rhaplord.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
The Sahara is one of the most dynamic zones of interaction in human history. In 1600 BC, the Hyksos introduced the horse-drawn chariot to Egypt, from where it spread southward to the kingdom of Kerma (Kush in Sudan) and westward across the Sahara www.africanhistoryextra.com/p/the-wheel-...
africanhistoryextra.com
The Wheel in the Ancient Sahara: Africa’s Forgotten Chariots
The Sahara is one of the most dynamic zones of interaction in human history.
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Karly Kingsley @karlykingsley.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
I don’t buy wine, cocktails, or stadium beer. I have 1 car that needs repairs. I financed my phone through my carrier plan. I’ve never owned $800 shoes, I gave up TV years ago,and while I think a well-made latte is one of the finer things in life, I’d never pay $14. Do I still have to pay the $4.50?
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Don Osborn @donosborn.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
So it’s had a long journey… Fwiw, the etymology from @enwiktionary.bsky.social : “Inherited from Middle English temperament, borrowed from Middle French tempérament, from Latin temperāmentum.” en.wiktionary.org/wiki/tempera...
en.wiktionary.org
temperament - Wiktionary, the free dictionary
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Don Osborn @donosborn.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
“Don’t think of a bigfoot!”
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Dr. Todd Arrington @btarrington.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
"A republic, if you can keep it." ~Attributed to Benjamin Franklin 239 years ago today-9/17/1787-upon being asked if new US government would be a monarchy or a republic. The founders signed the Constitution OTD in 1787, so happy Constitution Day to all! Let's keep it. Image: National Archives.
Image: This color image shows the beginning of the U.S. Constitution, with the words "We the People" prominently featured.
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Don Osborn @donosborn.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Good discussion on surveillance tech, privacy, & current public reaction by @karaswisher.bsky.social, with Jason Koebler, @safiyanoble.bsky.social, & Victoria Song. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/o...
podcasts.apple.com
Flock Cameras, Meta Glasses and the Surveillance Backlash
Podcast Episode · On with Kara Swisher · September 14 · 1h 6m
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Andrew Dessler @andrewdessler.com · 14/09/2026
On The Climate Brink: The Atmosphere Just Set a Water Vapor Record. Aug. 2026 probably had more water vapor in the atmosphere than any month in the last few thousand years, if not a 100,000 years. www.theclimatebrink.com/p/the-atmosp...
theclimatebrink.com
The Atmosphere Just Set a Water Vapor Record
More water vapor means more rocket fuel for extreme rain — so this record is not good news
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Don Osborn @donosborn.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
We’re in that period of September between the anniversaries of the Nazi invasion of Poland and the Soviet completion of the 4th partition of that country.
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jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 12/09/2026
mackenzie scott really seems like the only billionaire to figure out that you can be a literal hero to millions with a relative pittance
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Don Osborn @donosborn.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
A personal retrospective on 9/11 as experienced while living in Niger. (Written on the 15th anniversary in 2016) donosborn.org/blog/2016/se...
donosborn.org
September 11, 2001 in Niamey | Multidisciplinary Perspectives
For Americans (and many others), "where were you on 9/11?" is in the same category as an earlier generation's "where were you when President Kennedy was assassinated?" There are some events that are e...
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Ricky Davila @therickydavila.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
9/11 is a day I’ll never forget. Rather than sharing the horrific photos, I’d rather share an image in memory of what once was. 🙏
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Don Osborn @donosborn.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Can’t imagine what it must have been like to witness this. I was in Niamey, Niger at the time, and the first news that filtered through (from the Embassy) had us thinking of a small plane too - something like one that hit the Empire State Building decades earlier.
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Simon Lee @simonleewx.com · 10/09/2026
8 years ago, I tweeted side-by-side maps from NASA GISS showing global temperatures in 1976 and 2018 – both hot summers in the UK. It subsequently went viral and was printed in the Daily Mail! The 2026 version is stark. Two locally extreme summers separated by 50 years of global climate change.
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Don Osborn @donosborn.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Seen that too. Could have responded in kind with “father” and had them wondering In the end, just used my shortest option, “PhD”
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David Roberts @volts.wtf · 09/09/2026
Interesting: Massachusetts has ordered all new data centers above 25MW to procure clean power.
mass.gov
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Dr. Princess Vimentin PhD | Cancer Biologist @princess-vimentin.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
“As our circle of knowledge expands, so does the circumference of darkness surrounding it.” Albert Einstein 🧪
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Don Osborn @donosborn.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
The possibilities could be endless.
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Kasey Jones @nikitairoh.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
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Ars Technica @arstechnica.com · 08/09/2026
arstechnica.com
EV batteries last longer than drivers feared
Study suggests used vehicles can retain about 90% of original usable battery capacity after 150,000 km.
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Alt CDC (they/them) @altcdc.altgov.info · 08/09/2026
More than 11,000 people have been sickened in a Cyclospora outbreak linked to lettuce. Meanwhile, FDA inspections of foreign food facilities have fallen nearly 35% since 2019. Public health work is often invisible...until it isn’t. Cuts have consequences.
apnews.com
Cyclospora outbreak followed years of declining FDA foreign inspections
The ongoing outbreak of cyclospora tied to iceberg lettuce has raised new concerns about the safety of imported produce — and underscores a worrisome trend: The U.S. is conducting fewer inspections to catch contaminated food.
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Katie Mack @astrokatie.com · 07/09/2026
The story linked above involves LLM-assisted work in which the LLM presented an argument developed by someone else as its own. If a human researcher did that, it would be straightforward misconduct and there could be career consequences. We need a process for addressing this now; we don’t have one.
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WHO @who.int · 07/09/2026
Here's some public health good news 🎊 Congratulations to Thailand for eliminating rubella as a public health problem! Learn more: bit.ly/4ynibTR #StandWithScience
A public health win for Thailand. The 7th country in the WHO South-East Asia Region to eliminate rubella as a public health problem.

Bold text against a background image showing children playing with their family.
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Don Osborn @donosborn.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
This piece is almost a decade old, but in it I explored some ideas about how AI in the hands of job applicants might interface with the automated processes used by those doing the hiring. Could we have planned for what we’re starting to see now? www.linkedin.com/pulse/some-t...
linkedin.com
Some thoughts on AI, intelligent agents, and transformation of the job market
So, if there were AI (artificial intelligence) bots or intelligent agents (IAs) to assist people looking for employment or a new job, how might they interact with increasingly intelligent processes us...
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Don Osborn @donosborn.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
This was pretty much inevitable. For years, recruitment and hiring have been using ever more sophisticated tech, while applicants are stuck with basically late 20th century tools. And then AI is used for the interviews…
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Don Osborn @donosborn.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
... and: Dongbei Shen, Min Zhang, Arun S. Mujumdar, and Jingyuan Li , "Advances and prospects for edible robots based on additive manufacturing technology," Innovative Food Science & Emerging Technologies, Vol. 100, March 2025, 103896 www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... #ediblerobots
sciencedirect.com
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Don Osborn @donosborn.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
The multidisciplinary research on the more limited applications of #ediblerobots is quite serious. For example, Floreano, D., Kwak, B., Pankhurst, M. et al. "Towards edible robots and robotic food." Nature Reviews Materials 9, 589–599 (2024). doi.org/10.1038/s415... #ediblerobots
doi.org
Towards edible robots and robotic food - Nature Reviews Materials
Edible robots and robotic food that perceive, process and react to stimuli offer opportunities to develop new medical applications, emergency food-delivery systems, waste-reduction strategies in farmi...
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