iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

MASmith @masmith.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

A Southern Magnolia flower blooming today at Brookside Garden. The magnolias have a fascinating pollination strategy that involves beetles. The distinctive top and bottom portion of the central “receptacle” of the flower are the female (carpels) and the male parts (stamens), respectively. (1/2)

Large white southern magnolia flower with dark green leaves in back ground. In center of flower are the carpels (female reproductive parts) at the top of the central receptacle and at the bottom are the stamen (male reproductive parts)

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MASmith @masmith.bsky.social · 07/06/2026

I don’t understand why there isn't more outrage at the SpaceX IPO and the way it is structured to transfer wealth from the 99% of the public toward those who already have the most, with Elon Musk as the primary beneficiary. 🧵 1/8

A cartoon shoing a bridge labelled NASDAQ with a banner for "Your Retirement Savings" with a SpaceX IPO Day 15 toll being collected by an Elon Musk figure with people going through the toll with sacks of money on their back labelled 401(k), IRA, Pension Fund. A sign says "Help Elon Reach $1 Trillion" and another sigh says "S&P 500 Said No".

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MASmith @masmith.bsky.social · 23/04/2026

Scene from San Diego Convention Center. #Photogrsphy

Scene from San Diego convention center showing a tunnel-like scene with open walls

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MASmith @masmith.bsky.social · 14/04/2026

White trillium negotiating for space in the wildflower garden with sessile trillium and May apple #flowers #photography

White trillium in foreground with sessile trillium and May apple in background

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MASmith @masmith.bsky.social · 13/04/2026

Fossil Fools (from Steve Sack)

Cartoon showing a path diverging with a "tin man" figure with a US flag on its chest carrying an oil barrel and a bucket of coal on a path to "the past" and with a robot with a China flag on its chest carrying a solar panel and a wind mill on a path to "the future"

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MASmith @masmith.bsky.social · 30/03/2026

Went to Brookside Gardens (Maryland) today expecting to see beautiful flowers and trees and was not disappointed, but was surprised to see an Osprey overlooking one of the ponds! #Birds #Photography

Osprey perched on a branch, tilting its head to the left.

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MASmith @masmith.bsky.social · 25/03/2026

Yes, now is a perfect time to buy an EV (if you need a new car). Also, a good summation paragraph by @mikegrunwald.bsky.social. NYT Gift Article. www.nytimes.com/2026/03/23/o...

In reality, all emissions matter. They accumulate in the atmosphere, so every tank of gasoline, cross-country flight and fossil-fueled load of laundry makes the earth a little warmer. And anything you can do to reduce your emissions makes the problem a little easier to solve, once we collectively decide we want to solve it. Maybe if $5 gas can inspire more individual Americans to change, our leaders will eventually follow.

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MASmith @masmith.bsky.social · 28/02/2026

A quote from Barry Ritholtz being interviewed by Paul Krugman on what a future with AI will look like. Today the quote applies equally to Iran. What will the second, third, and fourth order effects be that play out over the coming days, weeks, and months?

“…. you throw a pebble in a pond. It’s not the first ripples that matter. Those are easy to predict. It’s what happens when it bounces off this rock and then hits another, another pebble comes in, and you have all these reverberations, and it becomes so challenging to figure out where they end up.” Quote from Barry Ritholtz being interviewed by Paul Krugman (February 2028)

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MASmith @masmith.bsky.social · 07/02/2026

From Wired: So many Chinese battery factories being built throughout the world. Probably a good thing for the Chinese companies as well as the countries where the factories are being built. And certainly good for the renewable energy transition. www.wired.com/story/chines...

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MASmith @masmith.bsky.social · 30/01/2026

The head of the federal vaccine advisory panel, Kirk Milhoan, wants “individual autonomy” rather than “public health” as the top priority of the country’s public health apparatus. He's curious about how many unvaccinated people will die of measles. NYT gift article. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/28/o...

“What we’re going to have is a real-world experience of when unvaccinated people get measles,” Dr. Milhoan, the head of the vaccine advisory panel, said, sounding somewhat excited about the possibility. “What is the new incidence of hospitalization?” he asked. “What’s the incidence of death?”

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MASmith @masmith.bsky.social · 25/01/2026

I can only imagine the heartbreak and anger of Alex Pretti's parents as they live the consequences of the reckless thuggery of ICE agents who murdered their son and the sickening lies told by government officials about their son. www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/li...

Michael and Susan Pretti, the parents of Alex Pretti, released the following statement:

"We are heartbroken but also very angry.

Alex was a kindhearted soul who cared deeply for his family and friends and also the American veterans whom he cared for as an ICU nurse at the Minneapolis VA hospital. Alex wanted to make a difference in this world. Unfortunately he will not be with us to see his impact. I do not throw around the hero term lightly. However his last thought and act was to protect a woman.

The sickening lies told about our son by the administration are reprehensible and disgusting. Alex is clearly not holding a gun when attacked by Trump's murdering and cowardly ICE thugs. He has his phone in his right hand and his empty left hand is raised above his head while trying to protect the woman ICE just pushed down all while being pepper sprayed.

Please get the truth out about our son. He was a good man. Thank you."

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MASmith @masmith.bsky.social · 23/12/2025

Just a sliver of moon this evening.

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MASmith @masmith.bsky.social · 05/12/2025

Looking to the horizon to see the December Cold Moon, which they say is around 10–14% larger and noticeably brighter than an average full moon.

Full moon with slight orangish-brownish tinge.

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MASmith @masmith.bsky.social · 23/11/2025

Brown oak leaves covering the forest floor have a quiet beauty of their own, distinct from the brilliance of brightly colored maple leaves #FallScenes #Photography

A Fall tableau of brown oak leaves covering the forest floor

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MASmith @masmith.bsky.social · 21/11/2025

When OilPrice.com recognizes an AI bubble that appears ripe for bursting, caveat emptor.

• Prominent investors and utilities are signaling caution that the AI boom may be overheating.
• Rapid technological changes—like more efficient Chinese AI models and emerging quantum computing—could undermine the economics of today’s massive AI infrastructure investments.
• Classic bubble warning signs are emerging: cheap capital, overexpansion, underutilization, and risk shifting to utilities and consumers.

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MASmith @masmith.bsky.social · 17/11/2025

A bale of turtles lined up on a log enjoying a sunny November day, with colder winter days on the way.

7 Eastern turtles lined up on a log in an algae covered pond on a sunny November day

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MASmith @masmith.bsky.social · 14/11/2025

A commentary in Science nicely summarizes the contributions of the Mitchell, et al. article. I particularly liked this quote from a co-author: www.science.org/content/arti...

The field reminded them of early genetics research, when scientists
hailed every tenuous link found between individual genes and health conditions. In that early work, “everybody was jumping up and down and saying ‘there’s something there!’ when, in fact, everybody was finding something slightly different,” Bishop says.

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MASmith @masmith.bsky.social · 07/10/2025

Saw a common buckeye butterfly on a walk at Brookside Gardens, Montgomery County on Sunday morning. Torn wings indicate life hasn't been easy, but it's still here. #NaturePhotography

Common buckeye butterfly on a chain with foliage in the background. The butterfly has little pieces of both wings missing.

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MASmith @masmith.bsky.social · 04/10/2025

Solar steps up to the plate .... natural gas, not so much www.canarymedia.com/articles/sol...

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MASmith @masmith.bsky.social · 28/09/2025

Beautiful evening in Boston along the Charles River

Sunset at Charles River with light from the seeing sun lighting up the river.

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MASmith @masmith.bsky.social · 23/09/2025

Great article on an important vaccine for young children, but it didn't identify the NIH researchers who made the critical discovery. From Perplexity AI, the answer is below:

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MASmith @masmith.bsky.social · 19/09/2025

Sunrise over the Mississippi River, New Orleans.

Sun rising over the Mississippi River with an urban landscape in the foreground.

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MASmith @masmith.bsky.social · 10/09/2025

Found this on the ground. Held it up to the sky by its stem and took a picture of it. The stem was distracting, so took it out of the picture. Would love to know what it is. Oak gall? Tree fruit? Something else? #Nature #NaturePhotography

A round tree fruit (perhaps) made of hexagonal sides with spikes in the center of each hexagon.

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MASmith @masmith.bsky.social · 09/09/2025

Seagulls following the Cape May-Lewes ferry #birds #birdphotography

Multiple sea gulls in flight over a choppy, frothy sea

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MASmith @masmith.bsky.social · 04/09/2025

Queen Anne's lace seed head at Garrett Family Preserve in Cape May NJ

Monochromatic picture of Queen Anne's lace seed head.

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MASmith @masmith.bsky.social · 02/09/2025

On Lewes-Cape May ferry yesterday and saw Indianapolis LNG tanker exiting Delaware Bay. It can carry 30,000 metric tons of LNG that has a life cycle CO2 equivalent of > 100,000 metric tons.

Picture of the LNG tanker Indianapolis in Delaware Bay with clouds in background

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MASmith @masmith.bsky.social · 01/09/2025

Half moon, early evening August 31

Half moon against black backdrop, monochromatic

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MASmith @masmith.bsky.social · 11/08/2025

Swallowtail butterfly at Brookside Garden

Swallowtail butterfly on small lavender flowers with dark background

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MASmith @masmith.bsky.social · 08/08/2025

Lantern fly trying to get into my 5th floor office through the window. Don't know how long I can hold it off.

Lantern fly on outside of window as viewed from inside, with blue sky background.

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MASmith @masmith.bsky.social · 04/08/2025

Ground is covered by the three-parted fruit capsules from the Golden Rain Tree (Koelreuteria paniculata)

The Golden Rain Tree (Koelreuteria paniculata) is known for its showy, papery, three-parted fruit capsules that resemble Chinese lanterns. Picture shows many fruit capsules together.

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MASmith @masmith.bsky.social · 18/07/2025

For those who like data, a Danish cohort study showing no increased risk for autoimmune, atopic or allergic, or neurodevelopmental disorders associated with early childhood exposure to aluminum-adsorbed vaccines.

Table showing hazard ratios for the association between cumulative aluminum exposure through early childhood vaccination and chronic disease in children. Virtually all hazard ratios are less than 1, and the data provide no evidence to support an increased risk for autoimmune, atopic or allergic, or neurodevelopmental disorders associated with early childhood exposure to aluminum-adsorbed vaccines.

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MASmith @masmith.bsky.social · 06/07/2025

The moon tonight (Nikon P950 with Topaz AI)

Picture of gibbous moon taken with Nikon P950

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MASmith @masmith.bsky.social · 05/07/2025

I also remember worrying about Hib meningitis, which can leave a child neurologically devastated. It is horrific that cases are occurring again, as the Hib vaccine is so effective at preventing this tragedy. Explore this gift article from The New York Times. www.nytimes.com/2025/07/04/o...

During my medical training in the 1980s, I worried constantly about Haemophilus influenzae Type B, or Hib, which causes devastating bacterial infections of the bloodstream (bacteremia), spinal cord (meningitis) and throat (epiglottitis). The throat infection could quickly cut off a child’s airway, requiring an emergency tracheotomy, a surgical incision into a child’s windpipe. We did blood tests and spinal taps — so many spinal taps — and we watched helplessly in the pediatric intensive care unit as children who were perfectly healthy a week earlier struggled to survive and often ended up neurologically devastated. The Hib vaccine was introduced, and in the 1990s these infections largely went away.

But unless you wipe them out, these diseases come back if you stop vaccinating. For the first 25 years of his career, Dr. Adam Ratner, a pediatric infectious disease physician in New York City, never saw a child with Hib meningitis. But this spring he was an author of a report on two cases of severe disease in unvaccinated New York infants.

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MASmith @masmith.bsky.social · 01/07/2025

Tax cuts for billionaires versus children (and others who depend on Medicaid)

An old wealthy man in formal attire has his arm around a young woman wearing a short dress. A little girl in tattered clothes is pulling at the wealthy old man's leg trying to get his attention, and the dialogue box says "My tummy hurts". The text at the bottom of the picture states "Forget the children. Billionaires need a tax cut so they can rent Rome for their next wedding."

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MASmith @masmith.bsky.social · 01/07/2025

Tax cuts for billionaires versus children (and others who depend on Medicaid)

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MASmith @masmith.bsky.social · 01/07/2025

Tax cuts for billionaires versus children.

An old wealthy man in formal attire has his arms around an attractive young woman. A little girl in tattered clothes is pulling the old wealthy man's pants trying to get his attention, and the dialogue box over the little girl says, "My tummy hurts." The text at the bottom of the image says, "Forget the children. Billionaires need a tax cut so they can rent Rome for their next wedding."

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MASmith @masmith.bsky.social · 25/05/2025

Met up with a black crowned night heron this morning at Brookside Garden, MD.

Black crowned night heron starting intently at photographer

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MASmith @masmith.bsky.social · 10/05/2025

Lovely clear sky this evening for the nearly full moon.

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MASmith @masmith.bsky.social · 11/04/2025

Disappointing results from pilot study begun in 2020 of electric buses in Des Moines. Cold weather was particularly problematic. But, encouraging preliminary results from testing a newer generation of buses in cold weather in January 2024. ridedart.com/blog/lessons...

Electric bus technology is still relatively new and requires time to fully scale and manufacture. As manufacturers continue building electric buses, they make improvements with each new model. DART’s Fleet Manager, Keith Welch, had the opportunity to test newer electric buses in January 2024, during a week with two major snowstorms and subzero low temperatures. He said, “they didn’t have any issues. We ran them for seven days straight in the cold and they didn’t have to come back in and charge throughout the day. The test bus returned with a minimum of 40% charge still left each day and was charged overnight.”

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MASmith @masmith.bsky.social · 05/04/2025

Visiting from the East Coast, and enjoying a blue jay, California style #birdphotography

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MASmith @masmith.bsky.social · 31/03/2025

Beautiful spring day at Brookside Garden in Montgomery County Maryland.

Spring scene with reflecting pond and Japanese style garden and cherry trees blooming

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MASmith @masmith.bsky.social · 23/03/2025

Always nice to see a bluebird on a walk

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MASmith @masmith.bsky.social · 09/03/2025

Activity beginning at blue heron rookery in sycamore trees high above the Potomac River.

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MASmith @masmith.bsky.social · 08/03/2025

Saw electric delivery van today. One of 20,000 already delivered by Rivian to Amazon. 100,000 to be delivered by 2030. The future is electric!

Amazon electric delivery van that says "I'm electirc. Boogie woogie woogie."

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MASmith @masmith.bsky.social · 09/02/2025

Most pediatricians in training from 1995 onward have probably never seen a case of Hib meningitis, The incidence of Hib invasive disease has decreased by more than 99% in the US since the introduction of conjugate Hib vaccines in the late 1980s.

The figure shows the estimated incidence per 100,000 population of invasive Haemophilus influenzae Type b (Hib) disease in children aged <5 years in the United States during 1980-2012. Incidence declined precipitously following licensure of vaccines for use in children aged ≥18 months and infants aged ≥2 months. Incidence dropped from > 20 per 100,000 in the mid-1980s to < 0.2 per 100,000 after 2000.

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MASmith @masmith.bsky.social · 23/02/2024

An optimistic perspective for the end of the week from Michael Liebreich. about.bnef.com/blog/liebrei...

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