iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Sarah Hird, PhD

Dave Levitan @davelevitan.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

You're gonna need a bigger chart

Chart showing the daily sea surface temperature for the Nino region of the Pacific, with a red line for 2026 shooting off above every other year in record-setting territory, with the latest spot right at the top of the chart

20682290

Sarah Hird, PhD @sarahhird.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Me: I feel like as I’m getting older, I’m more like the Principal Skinner meme. “Are my opinions on sexual assault out of touch? No, it’s the justice system that’s wrong.” Husband: ok but he’s famously wrong in that meme. Me: true, but he thinks he’s right and I AM right so…

static.klipy.com

Skinner: Am I Out of Touch?

Alt: Skinner: Am I Out of Touch? No, it’s the children who are wrong.

020

Reposted by Sarah Hird, PhD

Karolina Heyduk @kheyduk.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

UConn EEB is hiring a tropical horticulturalist for our greenhouses! It's an awesome collection of both research+teaching/public display, and you get to work with pretty amazing folks (I may be biased). Job listing: jobs.hr.uconn.edu/en-us/job/49... Closes 10/14! 🌴🌿🌵🌺

jobs.hr.uconn.edu

UConn Careers | UConn Careers | University of Connecticut

32445

Sarah Hird, PhD @sarahhird.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Does anyone know how to interpret this sentence from my university’s WiFi policy? I don’t get it. “All activities involving the use of IT Resources are not personal or private; therefore, users should have no expectation of privacy in the use of these resources.” policy.uconn.edu/2012/06/21/a...

All activities involving the use of IT Resources are not personal or private; therefore, users should have no expectation of privacy in the use of these resources. Information stored, created, sent or received via UConn systems, including cloud-based systems, may be accessible when required by law, including requests made under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), subpoena, or other legal process, statute, or regulation.

220

Sarah Hird, PhD @sarahhird.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

The way universities handle (& by that I mean permit) sexual assault is a stain on all of Academia. Why can’t we be better. Why can’t we expect more. Why can’t women be people. Everyone read this:

176

Reposted by Sarah Hird, PhD

Erin Grievances @erinbartram.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

If you are from Connecticut and aren't following the #NutmegSky feed well you're missing out on relevant content from me and the five other people who use that hashtag so FIX YOURSELF.

1142

Sarah Hird, PhD @sarahhird.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Ask yourself this: how much would I pay to own the most northeast US thing to ever exist. If your answer is $24.95 - too bad, it’s sold out.

A dunkin X LLBean coffee tote: a mini orange and pink tote bag to carry your coffee. From Dunkin, presumably.

0120

Sarah Hird, PhD @sarahhird.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

We discussed Lee et al 2026 in my lab today; they used LLMs to assign aerotolerance to 1100 bacteria. They spot checked 80, found 73-96% accuracy, then proceeded with analysis using assignments from the 96% one. MICRO PEEPS - thoughts on this? I’d ❤️ to hear! onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Highlighted paragraph: The aerotolerance status of each bacterial genus (1111 genera) was assigned using both Google Gemini 2.0 and ChatGPT 3.5 on 21 January 2025. Although aerotolerance may vary among species in some genera, aerotolerance is typically reported at the genus level in taxonomic references such as Bergey's Manual and in similar papers (Raulo et al. 2024; Mazel et al. 2024; Hanski et al. 2025). Accordingly, we assigned aerotolerance at the genus level. The text used was ‘Assign aerotolerance status for the following genera’, followed by the list of genera. Google Gemini returned a table of genera and aerotolerance statuses, while ChatGPT responded with text. ‘Facultative anaerobic’ and ‘Aerobic’ were categorised as ‘Aerotolerant’, ‘Anaerobic’ was categorised as ‘Anaerobic’ and everything else was categorised as ‘Unknowns’. After excluding unknown or unassigned genera (n = 891/1111 genera were successfully assigned), the accuracy of these assignments was checked by comparing the assignments obtained with the manually assigned genera in Raulo et al. (2024) using Bergey's Manual of Systematics of Archaea and Bacteria (Trujillo et al. 2015). The correspondence to the previous manual assignment in Raulo et al. (2024) using Google Gemini was 94.5% and ChatGPT was 74.2% (n = 145 or n = 98 genera, respectively). However, the assignments in (Raulo et al. 2024) could also have been incorrect or out of date. So, in addition, 80 random genera were manually checked using Bergey's Manual of Systematics of Archaea and Bacteria (Trujillo et al. 2015) by CL, and the correspondence was 96.3% for Google Gemini and 73.4% for ChatGPT. The assignments from Google Gemini were therefore used for subsequent analysis, please see the supplementary for the full list of assignments (Table S9).

372

Sarah Hird, PhD @sarahhird.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

I don’t want a delivery to my home at midnight. Am I weird? Nevermind. No. It’s them. 💯 No one wants this. They’re being weird.

“Out for delivery! Arriving between 10:28pm and 1:28am.”

020

Sarah Hird, PhD @sarahhird.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Just gonna throw this out there: whoever owns me after I die, please don’t reanimate my corpse and make it dance for nickels.

031

Sarah Hird, PhD @sarahhird.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

This. Is. So. Freaking. Gross. (The Wonka show on Netflix is using an AI generated Gene Wilder voice. It is gross.)

Screenshot of Wonka tv show with disclosure on bottom of screen: The voice of Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka has been recreated with the consent of Mr. Wilder’s estate.

130

Sarah Hird, PhD @sarahhird.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Microsoft silently putting the email you just “sent” into an inconspicuous “outbox” until…sometime (?).

static.klipy.com

You Are A Bad Person And I Hate You Greg Russo

Alt: You Are A Bad Person And I Hate You - Greg Russo

030

Sarah Hird, PhD @sarahhird.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Is this only-grocery-store-in-this-Connecticut-town nonsense or is it everywhere nonsense?

Photo showing iced coffee on sale from 7.79 to 7.19

220

Sarah Hird, PhD @sarahhird.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Now to just get every single university administrator and government official to read and heed this…

141

Sarah Hird, PhD @sarahhird.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Someone, somewhere, chose Dr Leo Spaceman as the recommender on the sample recommendation for a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship. It’s on their website. It’s a program of the US Dept of State. Love it. 10/10.

First page of a sample recommendation for an applicant with Dr Leo Spaceman entered as the recommender. Fulbright is in bright blue.

292

Sarah Hird, PhD @sarahhird.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Quit doing the fun part of science (figure making) and do the less fun part (words on paper)…in this economy?!?!? No. Not today.

020

Sarah Hird, PhD @sarahhird.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

So freaking cool. Now imagine the global dynamics of the bazillions of microbes they host/transport! #birdmicrobiome

170

Reposted by Sarah Hird, PhD

Vaughn Cooper @vscooper.micropopbio.org · 16/09/2026

Authors!🚨 While you scramble for scarce $ 🤔 “Springer Nature reports revenue growth of 6.2%..and adjusted operating profit growth of 7.7%. They reported even more stunning submission growth of 30% and published article growth of 13%.” Publishing in society journals helps YOU not them👇🏻. Pass it on.

static.klipy.com

Man Lying on a Pile of Money

ALT: Man Lying on a Pile of Money

410371

Sarah Hird, PhD @sarahhird.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

NPR mentioned AI 100 times in 10 minutes this morning and this is how I feel about it: m.youtube.com/watch?v=gR3b...

m.youtube.com

So Tired Of This

YouTube video by AreaEightyNine

150

Sarah Hird, PhD @sarahhird.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

The beautiful sky on this beautiful day is just so freaking BLUE. Did you know blue could be this blue?!? My god, the wonders never cease.

030

Sarah Hird, PhD @sarahhird.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

*taps mic* Here’s a hot tip: if you’re in a meeting, for any reason, of any size, in any room or of any modality & someone asks you to use a microphone while you speak: use the mic. Just use the mic. Don’t ask “you all can hear me, right?”. Don’t tell us you’ll speak loudly. Use. The. Mic. 🎤

170

Sarah Hird, PhD @sarahhird.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Another 💯 from The Daily Campus (comic by Seth Wallen) Sightings can be reported here: survey123.arcgis.com/share/cd88ae...

First panel: spotted lanternfly saying hey! Got any grape(vines)?

Second panel: person saying invasive bugs must DIE. And lanternfly saying wait bruh chill I just want some eats

Third panel: person standing on lanternfly saying Doing my part. With a textbox that says if you see spotted lanternflies this far east, take a picture before you kill them and report the sighting.

111

Sarah Hird, PhD @sarahhird.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

📣 SING IT, GEN Z! 📣 From the Editorial Board of The Daily Campus: UConn’s AI for ImpaCT initiative does more harm than good. dailycampus.com/2026/09/14/u... Every word of this is 🔥🔥🔥

Quote from article: Our university claims that AI for ImpaCT is designed to “support interconnectivity among teaching, learning, research, innovation and societal impact and to encourage safe, ethical and responsible use of AI.” There is, however, no safe and ethical use of AI when every prompt is harmful to humanity. There is no responsible use of AI when you’re relinquishing your own brainpower to a machine. There is no sensible use of artificial intelligence in education, least of all pouring university funding into a dedicated initiative.

263

Reposted by Sarah Hird, PhD

Casey Dunn @caseywdunn.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

My new book, Phylogenetic Biology, is now published. Available online for free at dunnlab.org/phylogenetic... . Physical copies can be purchased at shop.lightningsource.com/b/085?params... or your favorite bookstore.

12318161

Sarah Hird, PhD @sarahhird.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Spotted a spotted lanternfly at UConn today. 👎😳👎 Be on the lookout, I guess. And good luck with the squishing. #UConn #Storrs #nutmegsky

Picture of a spotted lanternfly on the ground.

580

Reposted by Sarah Hird, PhD

Graham Coop @gcbias.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

I’m looking to hire an NIH funded postdoc to join our lab here at Davis (please RT). Ongoing areas of interest include: 1) polygenic signals of selection from time series, ARGs, GWAS, etc 2) The interpretation of GWAS, polygenic scores, & sources of confounding

2120184

Sarah Hird, PhD @sarahhird.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

The natural world has bestowed us with another mystery object - a very large clump of fur with no flesh or bones associated with it. Very Hank Hill “what in the world” vibes. My dog thinks it’s his best friend though & is constantly whining to go check on it. Anyone got a guess?

010

Sarah Hird, PhD @sarahhird.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

I wrote this note to myself last Thursday and today, on a Tuesday morning after a 3-day weekend, I told it - out loud - to go to hell. Past Me, Present Me and Future Me are 3 totally different people.

Handwritten note that says “no coffee past 10:30! & drink water!”

160

Sarah Hird, PhD @sarahhird.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Nature nerds, I implore you: wtf is this.

152

Reposted by Sarah Hird, PhD

Colin Kremer @quant-ecology.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

“Cool” new NSF postdoc position available in my lab at UConn, studying our unique Arctic phytoplankton collection and the interactive effects of temperature, light, and photoperiod. 3 years of funding, detailed job ad here: s.uconn.edu/q1o0itl62l.

35252

Sarah Hird, PhD @sarahhird.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Groundhogs are The Best Critters on Campus AND THAT INCLUDES YOU, JONATHAN. Huskies got nothin on groundhogs.

A groundhog on green grass leading a wonderful groundhoggy life. Lookin cute.

051

Sarah Hird, PhD @sarahhird.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Current Fall 2026 Heavyweight Champion.

A car with four bright yellow parking tickets on the windshield.

060

Sarah Hird, PhD @sarahhird.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

Listening to The Daily (NYT podcast) about Flock cameras this morning. Learned about the site deflock.com that shows where Flock cameras are near you. HO-LY SMOKES, y’all. #nutmegsky

150

Reposted by Sarah Hird, PhD

Joshua Eaton @joshuaeaton.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

NEW: ICE did a major operation in Danbury and other Connecticut cities this week, reportedly arresting nearly 100 people — and sending one to the hospital after he was tased. Here’s what we know and what we don’t. My latest at @ctinsider.bsky.social — www.ctinsider.com/news/article... #nutmegsky

ctinsider.com

ICE reportedly arrested nearly 100 people across Connecticut this week: What we know and don't know

The agency has only released details on a few of the arrests in response to requests from CT Insider.

3247177

Sarah Hird, PhD @sarahhird.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

Nature doesn’t understand ‘working from home’. This hummingbird just said to me “What are you doing in there? It looks stupid.”

Monitors in front of a window with a hummingbird outside.

Close up of the hummingbird looking vaguely judgmental.

160

Sarah Hird, PhD @sarahhird.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

Insomnia/Alden appreciation post: You don’t frequently see severely disabled people in popular media & I think the writers have done an amazing job with Alden in Furious. He has agency, opinions & 💯 humor. He is pivotal to the plot & the life of the main character. You don’t pity him but it’s clear

111

Sarah Hird, PhD @sarahhird.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

Keeping this with me at all times for “oh shit you’re going to forget this if you don’t write it down immediately” moments is in Trial Phase 1.

Small red notebook with “I am union yes” sticker and pen

141

Sarah Hird, PhD @sarahhird.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

Time for the semi-annual DOES ANYONE HAVE A PERSONAL PROJECT MANAGEMENT APP THAT THEY LIKE? PLEASE RECOMMEND. post.

static.klipy.com

Woman Holding 'Help Me' Mug

Alt: Woman Holding 'Help Me' Mug

262

Reposted by Sarah Hird, PhD

Trip Kirkpatrick @triplingual.myatproto.social · 26/08/2026

Of possible use directly or as a model, the anti-ICE zine noted in the link in this post. blacksky.community/profile/did:... #NutmegSky

011

Sarah Hird, PhD @sarahhird.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

My 8th grader, waking up by his own alarm clock for the first time this morning, says: “I don’t like that.”

290

Reposted by Sarah Hird, PhD

Rebecca Solnit @rebeccasolnit.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

We have had this conversation so many times. You do not have to platform/debate obscene views that are also false. I wrote during a wave of pressure on progressives to compromise with far-right haters:

I can comprehend, and do, that lots of people don’t believe climate change is real, but is there some great benefit in me listening, again, to those who refuse to listen to the global community of scientists and see the evidence before our eyes? A lot of why the right doesn’t “understand” climate change is that climate change tells us everything is connected, everything we do has far-reaching repercussions, and we’re responsible for the whole, a message at odds with their idealization of a version of freedom that smells a lot like disconnection and irresponsibility. But also climate denial is the result of fossil fuel companies and the politicians they bought spreading propaganda and lies for profit, and I understand that better than the people who believe it. If half of us believe the earth is flat, we do not make peace by settling on it being halfway between round and flat.

422252481

Reposted by Sarah Hird, PhD

Stand Up for Science! @standupforscience.net · 24/08/2026

🚨WARNING🚨 Today is the LAST DAY to leave your public comment on the NSF Proposal. The Proposal implements some of Vought's Science-Destroying OMB Proposal plans in advance: zurl.co/9nywR Leave your public comment TODAY using our guide & tool: fight2win.standupforscience.net/campaign/Pro...

fight2win.standupforscience.net

Stand up for Science

4106133

Sarah Hird, PhD @sarahhird.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

I guess this is my hobby now & I should learn to use my husband’s real camera instead of an iPhone SE.

A tall classically shaped brown mushroom

A tiny field of tiny bright orange mushrooms.

020

Sarah Hird, PhD @sarahhird.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

Looking at my fall semester like:

110

Sarah Hird, PhD @sarahhird.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

Not for nothing - Rob is a great scientist but also an overall awesome person. So…that’s good.

120