iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Michele Tobias, PhD @micheletobias.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

I got my covid and flu shots this afternoon and the pharmacy. Easy peasy. I imagine I'm gonna feel pretty run down tomorrow but whatever. It's better than getting sick.

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Sarah McAnulty, Ph.D. @sarahmackattack.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

If you are part of an academic society or a professor of any kind, public statements that you do not condone Drexel cutting off the academy of natural sciences from the public of Philadelphia is very important right now. We need your voices. Urgently.

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Michele Tobias, PhD @micheletobias.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

I've built my vision for the map collection space around Bill Garrity's ideas of the UC Davis Library as a "third place". I want to find ways for the map room to be a space for people who work with maps and spatial data to build and find community. www.libraryjournal.com/story/arl-un...

libraryjournal.com

ARL Unbound | Student Belonging and the Library as Third Place

This September, colleges and universities welcomed millions of students back to campus. Some are “first-gen,” meaning neither parent/guardian has earned a four-year college degree. Making a university...

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Michele Tobias, PhD @micheletobias.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Today's Map Room Tour was so fun. Map people are the best. I was worried that no one would engage with the "challenges" I put out - a campus map with no known date & air photos with no location description. They were a hit! So were the campus maps, especially an oblique cartoon map.

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Michele Tobias, PhD @micheletobias.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

I don't know who needs to hear this, but whatever you're doing right now, go hit the save button. This message is brought to you by a large Inkscape file.

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Michele Tobias, PhD @micheletobias.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Does anyone else change the colors on their GitHub Issues labels so their issues board is pretty?

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Michele Tobias, PhD @micheletobias.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

We're in need of another spool for the air photo light table so I improvised with something we have a lot of: mailing tubes. It's not fantastic but it's gonna work for now. UCD Library Map Room tour is Friday from 10 to noon. ...the alt text for this one was hard to write...

A cardboard tube with plastic ends is clamped at the end of a crank so it can spin on an air photo light table.

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Michele Tobias, PhD @micheletobias.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

I'm making the graphics that will go on the directional signs at FOSS4GNA @foss4gna.bsky.social and I'm not sure how time has flown by and it's time for this already!

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FOSS4G North America @foss4gna.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

🌍 The FOSS4GNA plenary lineup is powerful! - Chris Howard (Head of Open Source, Uber) - Brianna Corremonte (Development Seed, ex-NASA, GeoZarr co-lead) on cloud-native geospatial. - Plus the "Beyond Open Data" panel. Full lineup: www.foss4gna.org/ple... #GISChat #EO

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Michele Tobias, PhD @micheletobias.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

I'm doing cartography this morning! I've got QGIS and Inkscape open. What doesn't kill my computer makes it stronger?

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Michele Tobias, PhD @micheletobias.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

I did so much cooking today: apple sauce, cauliflower & white bean gratin, challah, and tri-tip (a California cut of beef roast, to explain for the unfamiliar). And I did some cleaning and gardening. I'm tired.

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Michele Tobias, PhD @micheletobias.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

It's been a long time piecing this thing together from bits stashed around the map room & figuring out what it actually does. This is a stereo viewer for film air photos. Yes, I'm missing an empty spool at one end. #gischat

A light table with a contraption to roll film across the deck. Above it is a device that looks like a microscope.

A closeup of the light table deck with a blue and red false color IR air photo of a coastal area.

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Michele Tobias, PhD @micheletobias.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

I should not have updated VS Code because it seems to have forgotten what python is.

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Pip Wren @lollibeepop.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

A joyous fat bear week to all 🐻

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Michele Tobias, PhD @micheletobias.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

I've had it with excel changing my date format every single time I open the file, despite changing the settings to not auto change anything. What alternative spreadsheet tools are people using these days?

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Michele Tobias, PhD @micheletobias.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Today is the reward for a bunch of stuff wrapping up yesterday: working on my STAC Map (forked from @developmentseed.org) for scanned georeferenced maps! It's looking good, but I need to add the recently processed maps and figure out how to add image previews.

A web map interface build on Development Seed's STAC Map code. The left side navigation shows overview information and a list of available maps and the main map panel shows a basemap centered over the UC Davis Arboretum with orange squares over it indicating the extent of georeferenced maps.

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Michele Tobias, PhD @micheletobias.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

I started my work day with the toilet in the men's restroom (the map room has bathrooms) malfunctioning. Why do I hear water running in the men's room? The toilet is running. Maybe if I flush it, it will reset? Oh no. Now it's just flushing continuously. Ticket submitted. Plumbers are here.

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Michele Tobias, PhD @micheletobias.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Ok, I'm starting to see that you all like when I post pictures of maps and air photos, especially when they have stories.

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Reposted by Michele Tobias, PhD

Dewey Dunnington @paleolimbot.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Excited to be teaching again! Sign up for the Monday SedonaDB workshop to mostly learn about how query engines/databases can make large(r) data in Python less awkward!

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Michele Tobias, PhD @micheletobias.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

At next week's map room tour, I'm gonna let people try to figure out where these air photos were taken. Why? Because it's fun and also I don't know. Clues in the thread. #gischat

Four short flight lines of black and white aerial photos are lined up on a dark green background. The photos show mountains, ag land, and bodies of water.

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Michele Tobias, PhD @micheletobias.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Does anyone know of some map examples that represent overlapping polygons well... in gray scale? I have 4 distribution polygons that all overlap in various ways and it's really hard to not make an ugly mess. #gischat

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Michele Tobias, PhD @micheletobias.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

What am I up to today in the cave of maps? I had to put in a ticket to fix the 1880 landforms print that is busting out of it's frame, alter my sign in sheets for legal compliance, and advertise the workshop series this morning. This afternoon the plan is to work on a cartography project.

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Michele Tobias, PhD @micheletobias.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

I'm not really sure why or how I came to be seen as a responsible adult.

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Michele Tobias, PhD @micheletobias.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Go Firebells! Women's Pro Baseball League championship is on now. SF Firebells vs. LA Queens.

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Michele Tobias, PhD @micheletobias.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

There are limits to what you can do with Inkscape from the couch with a cat on your lap who insists on holding your hand.

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Michele Tobias, PhD @micheletobias.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

This is going to be an excellent discussion! We'll announce the other two plenaries soon and those are going to be good as well. I'm really pleased with how the schedule is coming together!

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Michele Tobias, PhD @micheletobias.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

I can really do without spam video calls.

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Michele Tobias, PhD @micheletobias.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Going through seemingly endless copies of AAA maps (that we already have and no I don't need your 1980 copy of Lodi that you spilled coffee on) and suddenly I'm holding this 1915 map of the Panama-Pacific Exposition in San Franciso. www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servlet...

davidrumsey.com

Verify Access

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Michele Tobias, PhD @micheletobias.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

I just checked my voter registration status with my state's secretary of state's office. Yup. Still registered. Are you registered? Do you have a plan for voting in November?

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Michele Tobias, PhD @micheletobias.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Schools starts at UC Davis next week and I'm starting to think it's not possible to get all the things done before that happens...

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Michele Tobias, PhD @micheletobias.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

I know I had slides for orientation about what I do but I can't find them for the life of me. Oh well. New job, probably should just make a new slide deck. Maybe even use the Library's approved template?

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Michele Tobias, PhD @micheletobias.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

I've been working with our communications and website team to redesign the web presence of the Map Room. We've been pulling together text about what we do and what materials we have and it's really driving home for me how cool this place is. I'm looking forward to that being more clear to everyone.

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Michele Tobias, PhD @micheletobias.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Well... my family's (borrowed) llamas went to my elementary school one day of their own accord, but llamas don't really care about signs.

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Michele Tobias, PhD @micheletobias.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

A discussion in my brain: This repo name is all wrong for the direction this project has taken. I should re name it. Will that cause problems? What would I even call it? Since you're the only one using the repo, how about you leave the name alone and fix the problem with the code.

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Reposted by Michele Tobias, PhD

Jeffrey Perkel (he/him) @jperkel.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

The policy change was “necessitated because of financial realities”, says @briannosek.bsky.social: it costs US$4-5 million annually to manage the OSF. New @nature.com, @cos.io to stop hosting data & code, plus private data, from 16 Nov. By @dalmeet.bsky.social 🧪 www.nature.com/articles/d41...

nature.com

Changes to the Open Science Framework’s policies will come into effect in November, forcing researchers to reconsider their workflows.

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Michele Tobias, PhD @micheletobias.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Make communicating well with spatial data easier! Whether you're new to QGIS or experienced, this workshop is designed to help you make better design choices to build attractive maps that communicate your point clearly and efficiently. www.foss4gna.org #gischat #geosky #qgis #gis

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Michele Tobias, PhD @micheletobias.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

I love the UC Davis Coffee House, but damn I wish they'd pay more attention to the "assorted bread" they use in their croutons. Sweet cinnamon bread just doesn't go with caesar salad.

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Michele Tobias, PhD @micheletobias.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Sometimes the images around the map add so much character. These were on the back of a US Forest Service map of Lake Tahoe from the mid 1970s.

A line drawing of Smokey the Bear with text that says "Please follow Smokey's ABCs. Always hold matches till cold. Be sure to drown all fires. Careful to crush all smokes."

A line drawing of Woodsy with text that says, "Woodsy says... Give a hoot! Don't pollute."

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Michele Tobias, PhD @micheletobias.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

We're doing this tomorrow! Click the link to sign up. Everyone is welcome, whether you're already registered or trying to figure out if this conference is going to fit your needs. #gischat #geosky

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Michele Tobias, PhD @micheletobias.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Snorkeling urban streams in LA County (mainly Topanga Creek and Arroyo Sequit) searching for trout. Field gear was a mask, snorkel, wetsuit, and sneakers.

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Sarah McAnulty, Ph.D. @sarahmackattack.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

So we want to livestream the rally tomorrow from the Save The Academy instagram account, but the accounts needs 1000 followers to allow livestreaming. Please please please can everyone go follow this instagram account? www.instagram.com/savetheacade...

instagram.com

Instagram

Create an account or log in to Instagram - Share what you're into with the people who get you.

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Michele Tobias, PhD @micheletobias.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

101 -> 23 -> 118 -> 405 -> 5 -> 80 -> 113

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Michele Tobias, PhD @micheletobias.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Ants. At a dinner party. They found the cupcakes. If you're from California, you know.

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Michele Tobias, PhD @micheletobias.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

I can't decide between chisel bobs and flumps, but I think I'll be calling my roly-polies one of these for a little while.

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Reposted by Michele Tobias, PhD

Sarah McAnulty, Ph.D. @sarahmackattack.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

Please repost! Drexel announced that it will close the Academy of Natural Sciences public museum- the oldest nat history museum in the US. There are 2 petitions to support the academy. Please sign both & come to our rally Tues. actionnetwork.org/petitions/pe... www.change.org/p/the-academ...

A poster featuring the T-Rex at the cognitive natural sciences, which says save the Academy natural sciences, museum rally in front of the academy 1900 Ben Franklin Parkway, Tuesday, September 8 10 AM. The T-Rex is saying tell Drexel keep the museum open. There’s an RSVP QR code and then the logos of Philly Science Action Skype scientist In Philly on the bottom.

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