iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Grant’s Hammer @shimer.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Between the decline of students’ basic academic and social skills (coming from me, an awkward weirdo), and the state legislature and our administrators’ obsession with using their “business” genius to “improve” higher ed, this has been a challenging semester.

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Grant’s Hammer @shimer.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

I have already told Chris Collingsworth to go fuck himself, if you need a sign that football has started.

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Grant’s Hammer @shimer.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Underthrown PI is the worst play in all sports

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Grant’s Hammer @shimer.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

Dog sniffed out this weird stick (it’s actually a lizard’s tail!) on this morning’s hike. First time I’ve seen one of these detached and just laying in the dirt.

A blue green lizard tail four to five inches in length lies detached on reddish brown dirt mixed with angular pebbles and some sticks. The base of the tail is pointed to the top of the photo, and is thicker. You can see the scar type tissue where it separated. Human finger on the right for scale.

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Grant’s Hammer @shimer.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

Student proudly wore his Utah Shakespeare Festival daggers to class today. I was fully on board until I realized they were actually steel and actually sharp. Now only kind of on board. Small potatoes on a campus with a concealed handgun pretty much guaranteed within 100 yard radius at all times.

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Grant’s Hammer @shimer.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

On possible sinus and sore throat watch just two days into the semester. Not ideal, but OK timing with long weekend coming up. Also, great to be back. First day was a little rusty, as far as teaching went, today seemed good. Hopefully feel good tomorrow and set a good tone.

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Grant’s Hammer @shimer.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

Cloudy here, but cool to watch the lunar #eclipse happen. Faster than I would have expected.

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Grant’s Hammer @shimer.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

Not sure how long it was stuck. It could rest its head and chest on the ground, so it wasn’t fully hanging by a leg (that happened last time). It did free itself not long after I hacked through the fence, and just as city police showed up to help. DWR won’t be open for a few hours.

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Grant’s Hammer @shimer.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

Second time in the last 8 years I’ve lived here that a deer has gotten a rear leg caught in the welded panel fence. Cut this one free by getting through the metal with a hacksaw. Deer definitely injured. Will see if it’s still in the neighbor’s yard and call the DWR if so when sun comes up.

Close up of the top of a quarter inch wire panel fence that has a section cut. The wires are coated in fur and blood. The photo is late morning in the dark, illuminated by flashlight.

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Grant’s Hammer @shimer.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

My favorite phrase is “degenerate into corporate jargon”.

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Grant’s Hammer @shimer.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

My university wants to come up with an AI “North Star”, and since I am a cynical person O used Gemini intentionally for the first time to get this feedback:

An AI summary of why corporate speak wastes people’s time and is busy work for overpaid bosses to feel important.

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Patrick De Haan @gasbuddyguy.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

MEGA🧵on prices: OIL is X but why is GASOLINE Y and DIESEL Z?!?! a thread on refining this summer and what's behind it, your questions answered in this thread (plz share!):

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Grant’s Hammer @shimer.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

Google Scholar remains unfucked for now. Good results for the same search, as far as I can tell. Scholar’s been a great tool for almost two decades and if it ends up suffering the same AI infection it will be quite the loss for easy research queries.

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Grant’s Hammer @shimer.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

Based on limited info(cabin near Panguitch Lake), if somewhat in situ, the prime suspect is Brian Head Fm. Claron seems unlikely but would also very interesting. But my hunch is got reworked into Quaternary seds. You’ll probably be first to know if I find out more, Jim!

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Grant’s Hammer @shimer.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

It’s at least three degrees of separation between me and the kid that found it, but I’ll keep at it to see if they have more info!

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Grant’s Hammer @shimer.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

Now that people helpfully made the brontothere ID I can see that mastodon molars are longer and usually have six or more cusps instead of just four. The cusps also seem to be more rounded and conical for mastodon (thus the name).

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Grant’s Hammer @shimer.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

And I’ll see if I can get more info!

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Grant’s Hammer @shimer.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

There are lots of types fossil teeth I don’t know about, though. I don’t have good location info yet. There are plenty of Quaternary deposits up there, but also some Eocene-Miocene sed rocks interbedded with massive tuffs. So, if anyone has any ideas I appreciate it!

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Grant’s Hammer @shimer.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

Got sent photos of a #fossil tooth a local kid found at around 8500 ft elevation in southern Utah. Could use ID help. My first thought was mastodon or something similar because of the cusps, but juvenile due to the small size? #geology #paleontology

A fossil tooth with a teal plastic flossing tool for scale. The enamel of the tooth, which has a lot least four raised knobs, is dark gray in color. A long tooth root extends behind and is lighter in color.

The long root structure of a fossil tooth, with some light colored sedimentary matrix.

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Grant’s Hammer @shimer.bsky.social · 25/07/2026

Conservative politicians being funded (bribed) by the two biggest water consumers in the Southwest (big ag and energy/mining) has got to implode at some point in a fight over water resources.

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By Cory Doctorow (GPG 0xBF3D9110957E5F4C) @doctorow.pluralistic.net · 24/07/2026

As *tech*, AI isn't exceptional. It's not exceptionally wicked. It's not exceptionally good. Take away the accompanying, galactic-scale stock-swindle, and we'd call AI's apps "plug-ins" and we'd use them and abuse them in the same way that we've used every other technology: www.normaltech.ai 1/

A carny barker waving his top-hat and selling tickets from a roll; his head has been replaced with the hostile red eye of HAL9000 from Kubrick's '2001: A Space Odyssey.' The background is a magnified, halftoned detail from a US$100 bill.

Image:
Cryteria (modified)
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:HAL9000.svg

CC BY 3.0
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en

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Grant’s Hammer @shimer.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

Last but not least. Crater Lake.

Deep blue lake water surrounds a cone shaped hill in the center of a large volcano. Green conifers frame the shot.

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Grant’s Hammer @shimer.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

Now, Lava Beds! They just let you go in these lava tubes if you do to the white nose bat fungus precautions or have never been in a cave before.

Photo of a steep metal staircase that descends into the narrow opening of a cave.

Photo of a cooled lava tube. You can see the flow pattern of the river of lava on the floor of the cave.

Another photo showing cracking of the lava flow on the floor of the lava tube as it cooled.

A photograph of light shining into a cave, illuminating the staircase that leads up through the entrance.

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Grant’s Hammer @shimer.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

Maybe the park service needs slightly better review of their signage before the final product. Some oopsies here, probably the result of a contractor of a contractor without a science background, but still.

A finger points to text on a slide that emphasizes the presence of quartz in basalt or basaltic andesite. It’s not likely and the geologist pictured didn’t see any.

A human finger points to a mistake on a park service sign. This one is funny. The scale bar for this scanning electron microscope image of a single archaea says 375 mm. The publisher clearly didn’t take the time to put in the right symbol for micrometer, or didn’t know what it was.

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Grant’s Hammer @shimer.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

Some of the result of the 1915 eruption.

A short male geologist in a blue hooded shirt and brown shorts stands in front of a 300 ton boulder moved 5 miles by a lahar

A jumble of angular rocks moved several miles by a lahar from the peak that appears in the background.

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Grant’s Hammer @shimer.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

Cinder cone on the NE side of Lassen.

A dark gray cone shaped hill with sparse conifer trees in the foreground. A trail snaked up the side of the hill, which is a cinder cone made of cinders and lava flows.

A view from inside a cinder cone caldera. A moonscape of gray rock.

A bug-eye view of the cinder cone caldera. A circular depression lies in the center of the frame, with a deep blue sky and wispy clouds above.

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Grant’s Hammer @shimer.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

The hydrothermal features at Lassen are very neat!

A boiling mud pot. Yellow-gray mud is bubbling and steaming amidst yellow tan rocks with sulfur staining.

A view of a hot springs area with mud pots and geysers. Green conifers line a barren patch of yellow-tan rock and mud.

A closer view of the barren terrain of sulfurous mud and stream.

Another close view of sulfurous mud and steam in a mountain valley

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Grant’s Hammer @shimer.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

Lassen Peak. A 2.5 mile hike to the top. It blew up in 1915! You can see Shasta easily on a clear day.

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Grant’s Hammer @shimer.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

Some #geology and general nature pics from a trip through northern CA and southern OR. First up, coastal rocks.

Greenish gray rocks and brown dirt. A serpentinite outcrop along the highway.

Strips of light and dark gray sandstone. Graywacke turbidites that have been offset on small faults. Human finger for scale.

Stripes of light and dark gray sandstone. Graywacke turbidites cut by small normal offset faults. Human hand for scale.

Dark grey sandstone underneath a conglomerate full of boulders of similar sandstones. An angular unconformity along the coast.

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Grant’s Hammer @shimer.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

I’ll probably post some fun #geology photos once I’m back on real internet, but strong recommend for Lassen and Lava Beds! I’m not even a volcanologist.

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Grant’s Hammer @shimer.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

One thing I noticed leaving Utah/Nevada for a while is the complete absence of side by sides and spent shell casings on public lands at the places I’ve been. And I’m not just in national parks! That said, the parks sure make it seem like ecosystems are a lot healthier without all the damn cows.

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Grant’s Hammer @shimer.bsky.social · 11/07/2026

I’ll be back well before the start of the semester!

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Grant’s Hammer @shimer.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

The Forester has minimal weight capacity and my water magic is woefully under spec’d.

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Grant’s Hammer @shimer.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

I might not be in Utah. There’s flowing water!

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Grant’s Hammer @shimer.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

Not sure why people haven’t recognized that McConnell was simply entering estivation due to the summer heat. It’s very dangerous to interrupt that, especially if you disturb the mucous cocoon.

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Pew Research Center @pewresearch.org · 06/07/2026

Lawmakers in the U.S. represent more people than in almost any other country. Each of the 435 voting members of the U.S. House of Representatives represents about 802,000 people. The median representation ratio among 106 democracies was about 31,000 people per lawmaker. #USDemocracy

dot plot of average number of people pew lawmaker in the lower or sole chamber of national legislature across 106 democracies.

Text reads:
U.S. lawmakers represent more people than almost anywhere else
Average number of people per lawmaker in the lower or sole chamber of national legislature.

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Reposted by Grant’s Hammer

Sarah McAnulty, Ph.D. @sarahmackattack.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

The 2026 United States of Science Challenge starts NOW! Each bubble represents classrooms we’ve matched with scientists this year. This a competition to fill bubbles with $10 donations to support @skypeascientist.bsky.social The first region to fill all bubbles wins. 👇🏻 givebutter.com/USS2026

givebutter.com

United States of Science 2026

By Skype a Scientist

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Grant’s Hammer @shimer.bsky.social · 05/07/2026

I begrudgingly admit that the app is very good.

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Grant’s Hammer @shimer.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

Oh for fuck’s sake the site is run by Booz Allen. That makes sad corrupt sense. So glad our camping fees get to fund surveillance software and military tech. USA 250!

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Grant’s Hammer @shimer.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

I’m used to dispersed camping, but I’m going somewhere new and wasn’t sure what would be available, so I figured it was best to reserve a spot so I don’t have to search after a long drive.

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Grant’s Hammer @shimer.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

It appears as though Recreation.gov has non-refundable reservation fees that I don’t remember. I assume those fees are a relatively new grift for the contractor on top of the already ridiculous nightly campsite fees that price people out of National Forest campgrounds.

recreation.gov

Recreation.gov - Camping, Cabins, RVs, Permits, Passes & More

We're here to help you dream up your next trip, figure out the details, and reserve experiences at over 3,600 facilities and 103,000 individual sites across the country.

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Grant’s Hammer @shimer.bsky.social · 24/06/2026

Photos from yesterday afternoon’s smoke in Cedar City around 6:30 pm. It lifted by late evening and it’s relatively clear this morning. It smelled surprisingly pleasant compared to other wildfire smoke I’ve experienced. Maybe the mix of burning juniper, piñon, and sage is a nice potpourri?

Photo of the sun through wildfire smoke. The sun appears as a bright yellow ball rimmed with orange. Two beams of orange lens flare strike out at a 45 degree angle from both sides of the sun, cutting across the frame from upper left to lower right.

A photo of mountains obscured by wildfire smoke. The mountains are about 1-2 miles away from the photo location. The photo looks like old grainy film due to the haze.

Another photo of a neighborhood with mountains obscured by wildfire smoke. The hill on the left is less than a mile away. A distant hills two miles away is barely visible, and the 10,000 ft plateau in the background is not visible at all.

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Grant’s Hammer @shimer.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

Alas I cannot, the link to the actual results has plenty of options of people who though of this before

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Grant’s Hammer @shimer.bsky.social · 13/06/2026

Absolutely. I know lots of citizens and state level folks are working hard for a better vision and parts of it are in the works, but it’s 20 years too late in many cases. I’ll be curious to see how a new fancy Smiths affects things,and if it’ll pull people away from the Walmart congestion.

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Grant’s Hammer @shimer.bsky.social · 12/06/2026

Would have biked to do errands (securing bourbon, tequila, and snacks) but last week they’d blocked off the only pedestrian-safe option over the interstate.

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Grant’s Hammer @shimer.bsky.social · 12/06/2026

I usually avoid driving around in this formerly small town on a Friday afternoon but I ventured out at 1:30 pm today and good gravy, nonsense and traffic jams all around. All states have bad drivers but the three piece of UT, CA, and NV is a powerfully bad combo.

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