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Erika

@elevatedmn.bsky.social
1.1K followers 114 following 4.5K posts

Groundwater, hydrogeology, public utilities for the public. Probably too much manganese. Just Give People All The Things! Also love books, Judaica, and cats. she/her. #QueerInSTEM

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Erika @elevatedmn.bsky.social · 1h
An effect of genAI I’m noticing is that since everything has gotten more visual but has no meaning and it’s made me fatigued to the point where my brain is becoming averse to even real image-based information and I find myself skipping or putting down things that might have otherwise interested me.
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Dr. Sam Anderson @sam-science.bsky.social · 2h
Happy new water-year! Welcome to hydrological 2027!
Mountains reflect on Widgeon CreekBraided streams on Devon Island, NU.Copper Island on Shuswap LakeReflections on Duffy Lake
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Dr. Brendan Anderson @fossilsndcoffee.bsky.social · 6h
So in what is unfortunately now an ~annual~ reminder - the Paleontological Research Institution is not presently affiliated with Cornell and was never a part of Cornell. Some PRI folks have taught students at Cornell, but donating to PRI supports Research and Education, and doesn't support Cornell
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Erika @elevatedmn.bsky.social · 14h
The grief is hardest late at night. Tonight I made cookies and I thought “I have to pack some up to take to Kathy”. But no. There will never be more cookies.
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Jared Pechaček @vandroidhelsing.bsky.social · 25/06/2025
late entry for terrible comic day
A comic drawn in pencil on a post it note. A person in the distance points at two large letters, an I and a T. The person says, “Far be it from me”
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Erika @elevatedmn.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
I found this in my drafts from four months ago so I have to share LOLLL. I’m sorry but truly every time I see someone refer to using Figma all my brain thinks is “new version of ligma”.
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Kevin Burke @burke.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
California Prop 38: - authorizes $4B spending in a way that only one research center in the whole state qualifies - privately funded research center - founder of the research center has donated $22 million to support the ballot prop This is, like, pure corruption calmatters.org/politics/ele...
calmatters.org
Is this proposition a $4 billion giveaway to a billionaire’s LA research center?
Proposition 38 will award $4 billion to one unnamed research center. Under the very specific criteria, only one center seemingly qualifies.
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Erika @elevatedmn.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Having grief dinner at 10 pm. Noodles with soy sauce and parmesan, with a softboiled egg.
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Erika @elevatedmn.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Catching some planes in #skycards and feeling badly for anyone flying in and out of Boston right now because IT BOMPY.
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Marlo Garnsworthy @icebird.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Manta ray painting, after the sketching I shared a few days ago. I’ve always loved rays. It’s delightful watching their elegance, speed, & curiosity. I also love the way light plays across the sand when I’m underwater. I’ve aimed to capture both in this piece. #OceanDevotion #sciart
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Erika @elevatedmn.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Sometime early this morning my “aunt” Kathy the mom of one of my best friends, who I’ve been doing eldercare for for the past five years, passed away. I feel fortunate to have spent so much time with her. Please make a cup of tea in her honor (recipe in next post) and listen to some classical music.
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Alex Brown 🇵🇸 (they/them) @bookjockeyalex.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
As I'm sure many others have pointed out, this website is an AI scraper. This news is 6 years old. The company scrapes real news articles and rewrites them with an LLM, then republishes them for clicks.
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Bart⚓️ @bartgonnissen.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
The Facial Expressions of Tethys by artist Julius von Bismarck. A suspended high-sea buoy that moves in real time. Sensors on a twin buoy out in the Atlantic Ocean send live satellite data to motors inside the museum. This makes the indoor buoy copy the exact, real-time movements of the ocean waves.
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Janet Hill @saskajanet.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Never before has a turtle turtled this hard. Zoom in and appreciate The Foot
A fantastic painted turtle stands on a snag in a stream. Turtle has a smooth black carapace with bright red edges. Its neck and legs are a glorious riot of yellow racing stripes. It has its neck fully extended staring at the sky and the back right leg and foot are completely extended. This is an epic pose by a creature at the peak of its powers.
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Erika @elevatedmn.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
I just had my occupational physical so I feel like I can *finally* announce my good news which is that I got a new job! 🪬 I escaped the evil empire! I’m moving to related work that I hope will be a lot healthier for me. Thanks for everyone’s love over the last couple years of complaining. 💕
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Matthew Costa @mangrovematt.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
One species, but a range of nutrient acquisition traits: read the new paper lead by Kristen Rabbitt, "Nitrogen uptake varies regionally in the salt marsh plant Spartina alterniflora" in @estuariescoasts.bsky.social, @randallhughes.bsky.social @bowenlab.bsky.social: link.springer.com/article/10.1....
link.springer.com
Nitrogen Uptake Varies Regionally in the Salt Marsh Plant Spartina alterniflora - Estuaries and Coasts
Excess anthropogenic nitrogen is a key stressor in coastal and marine ecosystems, where it can alter primary production, create eutrophic and anoxic conditions, and affect biodiversity, structure, and...
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Joad The Wet Sprocket @joadsprocket.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Massholes? More like
Dirty lobster crackers
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Erika @elevatedmn.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
My friend's partner stayed with us for a day to prepare for a medical procedure, and the cat absolutely fell in love with him. I really need to re-make the guest bed with fresh sheets and stuff but the cat keeps napping where our guest was sleeping and it's just so cute! He misses his new buddy. 🥺
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Ben Goldfarb @bengoldfarb.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Huge thanks to everyone who contributed to this fun piece, especially New Hampshire fish guy @nathanbfurey.bsky.social!
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Ben Goldfarb @bengoldfarb.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
The dam removals that get the most press tend to be superlative western ones, like the Klamath and Elwha—big rivers, big fish. For @biographic.bsky.social, I wrote about some equally vital, under-the-radar projects now restoring eastern streams, one old mill dam at a time. #AlewivesAreTheNewSalmon
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Erika @elevatedmn.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
The ultimate OM NOM. www.eurekalert.org/news-release...
eurekalert.org
Venus ate its moon
Scientists have long speculated why Venus, with a similar size, mass, and structure to Earth, doesn’t have a moon. New UC Riverside research shows it’s because our hungry twin likely swall...
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Erika @elevatedmn.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Saw my PT for the first time in three months and we spent the first fifteen minutes catching up on the various deaths and imminent deaths of our loved ones. For me it really does make the grief easier to bear when I talk about it, but what a hell of a life stage this is.
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Anjali Dayal @anjalikdayal.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
tiny goth bird, needs hug
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Puff the Magic Hater @mskellymhayes.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Tom Paris was a fun-loving criminal, and that's why I support Robert Duncan McNeill for Wasatch County Council at-large Seat A.
parkrecord.com
Wasatch County Council candidate Robert McNeill values transparency, accountability - Park Record
Heber City resident and hopeful political newcomer Robert Duncan McNeill is stepping in as the Democratic candidate for Wasatch County Council at-large Seat A.
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Tressie McMillan Cottom @tressiemcphd.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Anyway, panic is a psy-op. Stay furious. Stay serious. Organize.
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Erika @elevatedmn.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
I just bought my nephew one! It's always a great day to support Skype-a-Scientist!!
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Ryan J Hollister @phaneritic.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Look what Trump and Russel Vought have done to our Yosemite. The Tioga Pass entrance gate and sign are literally being held together with ratcheting trailer straps. Meanwhile at NW entrance on 120, the visitor station bathrooms are closed and row of horrendously full porta potties await guests.
The wooden entrance gate at Yosemite has its stone pillar made of granite Boulder been stacked like masonry wrapped in neon, orange and yellow ratcheting tiedown straps to prevent the rocks from presumably falling off the center post. There is a orange caution cone in front of the gate as well.Yosemite’s Northwest entrance public bathrooms with two bathroom clothes, signs in front of the door, preventing people from going in and also have directions pointing folks to the left which leads to stinky nasty porta pottiesA row of 12 Porta potties lining the sidewalk of the parking lot in Yosemite that is apparently good enough to take care of the needs of the thousands of visitors that come through this entrance gate every single day.
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CZEdwards @czedwards.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Re This case: Most media are focusing on their own states, but this was a multi-state trip. The person took the whole route of the Southwest Chief, so Illinois through the midwest, then across S. Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona before LA. Then up the coast, and back across on California Zephyr.
yahoo.com
Person with measles rode Amtrak trains and buses across CA, health officials say
The California Department of Public Health said the unvaccinated passenger stopped at six California stations, including downtown Sacramento.
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Julia Serano @juliaserano.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
this is something I've been wondering too. while I have no evidence of coordination, it's definitely suspicious that so many Dem candidates not only waited until after the primaries to come out with anti-trans positions, but all did so within a week of each other
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I wish ill on ___ @monicarooney.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
I will be contributing to the #TOPhoto feed as much as possible. My first entry is my attempt to capture morning #TorontoHenge that didn’t work because the sky had other ideas.
The CN Tower and downtown buildings as seen from the Bathurst bridge over the rail yard at dawn. An UP train is leaving Union Station. The sky is full of orange clouds in a ruffle pattern that looks purple in the areas not lit up by the sun.
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Hypervisible @hypervisible.blacksky.app · 18/09/2026
Changing the brand of your mass surveillance tool doesn’t make it any less of a mass surveillance tool.
govtech.com
Boston Swaps Flock Safety for New License Plate Readers
A report outlines how Boston police launched pilots with Motorola and Axon as replacement platforms, which raised new questions about compliance with a city council ordinance.
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Erika @elevatedmn.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
So many things are coming to an end in my life right now; really big things. Despite the bittersweet taste in my teeth and the hand of grief on my shoulder, it really does feel like a chapter end is being written. I think what lies ahead is going to be lighter. Might be hard, but it feels lighter.
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lukelukeluke @lukelukeluke.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Here is a nice mushroom
A big beautiful bear’s head tooth mushroom growing on a perimortuous maple tree. The green undergrowth climbs around it on all sides, and yellow summer sun infuses the woodscape. All photos by me
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Alejandra Caraballo @esqueer.net · 17/09/2026
Called it. The father was charged with punching the child while the mother did witness intimidation to cover it up. www.wbur.org/news/2026/09...
The case was reported to the state in early 2025. Both parents were charged in connection with an incident at the family’s Southborough home in late January of that year, according to court documents. WBUR is not identifying the teenager, who is a minor.

Joseph Kutzko was accused of punching and threatening his then-15-year-old child at the family home on Jan. 28, 2025, records from Westborough District Court show. A Southborough police detective wrote that Kutzko punched the victim in the shoulder and pulled them by their hair. Kutzko later allegedly threatened to kill the victim “for not singing in tune during a birthday celebration,” according to court records.

Kutzko was arrested the next day and pleaded not guilty. In setting bail, the judge referred to three prior restraining orders against Kutzko, one of which is permanent. She did not say whether any are tied to this case.

The child’s mother, Arlene Kutzko, was charged with witness intimidation after allegedly pressuring the child to “tell the school that she was exaggerating and being stupid.”
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MariEsposeets @mariesposeets.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Cool deer mom introduces kid to the cemetery neighbors.
two goth deer, one young, meeting strange spirit things in a fall cemetery. Ink and watercolor
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bjørnebær @lilbjornebaer.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
poor guy had a tooth extracted. at least the drugs are good. ✨🐈‍⬛ 🌈
A black cat/void, high as shit on drugs, stares into the void. His little teefies are poking out.
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Cian 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ (he/him) @cbdawson.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Read & support Julia's work.
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Rock Plodder @mtmagog.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Pro-tip: watch those lens caps #parkchat What was found among 20k pieces of trash removed from Yellowstone hydrothermal areas share.google/7iUF0JtzdfvW...
share.google
What was found among 20k pieces of trash removed from Yellowstone hydrothermal areas
What staff find while cleaning out hydrothermal areas at Yellowstone National Park can be surprising, and they shared all of it, from common to funny to just plain weird.
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the Mountain Goats @themountaingoats.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Well, every time somebody posts this, me & my drummer get tagged, so, preemptively: mountain goats are wild, majestic animals. The Mountain Goats are a band. Out of respect to our namesake, we do lick pee from rocks when we’re in a national park, but nobody ever airlifts us anywhere. We walk home
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Erika @elevatedmn.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
A NEW HELENE WECKER and during the days of awe?! Truly we're too blessed.
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Marie Le Conte @youngvulgarian.marieleconte.com · 14/09/2026
thinking about this tweet again, and the fact that it's got such a hold on me that I genuinely think about it whenever I write a feature because I don't want to do "the hot dog thing"
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Jonathan Gerhardson @jongerhardson.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
UPCOMING: The Westfield, Mass. Planning Board will vote this Tuesday on whether to approve a permit extension for a hyperscale data center. Heres a thread about my coverage of all things related to AI in Massachusetts over the past ~year. 🩴
Zoning Ord. Sec. 3-110.3(2), 3-17 883 hampton Rd. zon

Request by Ser a center of Ampad Rd. & Servistar Industrial Way (originally granted 10/19/21) Review of ADU & principal dwelling common ownership regulations (4-30.3 Reconsideration of regular meeting start time rocedure)

ANNOUNCEMENTS/FUTURE AGE
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Don’t Post About Crimes @katerosebee.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Are you a librarian with access to WorldCat? Our rural housing access organizing group needs help with access to a particular document! Let me know if you can help. Happy to pay for your time.
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Erika @elevatedmn.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Alice Medrich is a goddamn genius and Flavor Flours continues to be the only gluten-free cookbook I'll recommend to serious bakers. Look at this beautiful apple upside-down cake!
A caramel-brown cake, in the shape of a ring, with thinly sliced apples shingled along the top.
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Jeremy C. Shipp @jeremycshipp.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Bernadette, Bloop, and Blaborthork the Bitter are available over at my shop. They're sent out as a trio. jeremycreature.bigcartel.com
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Joan Meiners, PhD @joanmeiners.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
This is NOT an “Exclusive!” Honestly, @washingtonpost.com, this is really gross. AZ local 12News had this scoop last week. When you steal work like this, you undermine public comprehension of why local journalism matters…AND your own *actual* source of info about what’s going on across the country.
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Blue sky nice ghost @rajandelman.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Could the new world struggle to be born a little faster. These monsters are killing me. Get born, dipshit
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Sonja Drimmer @sonjadrimmer.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
It’s excellent getting to say to a group of students, We’re gonna read X & we’re gonna spend 75 minutes talking about it, & ideally the way you think about the world & yourself is gonna be a bit more nuanced, complex, & satisfying, & that’s today’s “product.” Or, as @cnygren.bsky.social & I said:
Suggestions
While in recent years universities have promoted student “productivity” (projects, online portfolios of their work, social media posts about their research papers, the list goes on), little of this push to deliver outputs and create content serves the actual purpose of education, which is to foster the capacity to think well, read well, listen well, and look well. Higher education strengthens the process; if we are going toteach sophisticated materials and challenging content, students need to learn how to think,read, listen, and look their way through it. The emphasis on “content creation” is detrimental to the educational mission.
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Ross A. Lincoln @rossalincoln.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
Wait I also made the Pet Shop Boys.
Hey look, it's a Lego version of the Lego-inspired cover of PSB's masterpiece, "Very," and Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe minifigs are hanging out in the liner notes.
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