iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Zach Schierl @zschierl.bsky.social · 14/10/2026

I do miss living in Colorado this time of year. Nothing quite like this level of fall color in Washington.

Zach Schierl @zschierl.bsky.social · 14/10/2026

This should be disqualifying. If you don't have the time to answer three questions from a local paper in your own words, you shouldn't be running for public office.

yakimaherald.com

Some Yakima County candidates using AI during a busy campaign season

Some candidates are using Artificial Intelligence to respond to a barrage of election requests.

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Zach Schierl @zschierl.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Absolutely sickening. How anyone can think this "technology" is a net benefit to society at this point is beyond me...

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Zach Schierl @zschierl.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

I'm discovering that exam questions requiring students to identify inaccuracies in discipline-specific AI slop are pretty revealing these days. I don't even live in Seattle and this is brutal...

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Beth Day @thebethocracy.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

My position on possible SEA strike: Our system unfairly pits the teachers against the district. It's the Washington Legislature that effed them both over. Meanwhile you see just about every Seattle legislator happy to take pictures with the union without being held accountable for the whole mess.

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Zach Schierl @zschierl.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

Just starting to sort through photos from two weeks in Scotland. 📷 Clouds thwarted my attempt to see the total eclipse on our homeward-bound layover in Iceland, but I did catch a great display of noctilucent clouds in Dunbar. Just my second time seeing them!

A photo of a twilight horizon with dark tropospheric clouds in silhouette, and a series of wispy, intertwining silvery noctilucent clouds in the background.

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Zach Schierl @zschierl.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

Rather ominous as we head into what is traditionally the *beginning* of fire season here in Washington with 800,000 acres already burned and another round of T-storms coming this weekend.

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Kate Littler @palaeoclimate.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

To hell with LLMs. It is fundamentally breaking the uni staff - student relationship, based on mutual trust & respect. Students, I want to be your instructor, your mentor, & a friendly presence. I don’t want to be locked in a perpetual arms-race where you try to cheat and I try to catch you 😞

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Zach Schierl @zschierl.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

T-minus 25 minutes to totality and here's the view from Keflavik Airport: If things miraculously clear, I should be able to see totality through this window which is oriented in just the right direction! #solareclipse

A view of an airport tarmac with several planes parked. The sky is overcast and it is raining.

A view of a large window in an airport waiting area.

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Andrea Luck @andrealuck.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

Last night’s Noctilucent clouds over Glasgow

Night view of Glasgow with shimmering blueish and white noctilucent clouds above the illuminated city

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Zach Schierl @zschierl.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

One of my venus flytraps decided to level up yesterday! #carnivorousplants

A small potted Venus flytrap with the head and thorax of a wasp clasped in a trap. The abdomen of the wasp is outside the trap and sticking up into the air.

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NSF–DOE Rubin Observatory @rubinobservatory.org · 24/07/2026

📢 Calling educators who teach intro astronomy: help us better understand what you need and want when it comes to astronomy education resources! 🌌🍎 Your feedback will help us design effective tools. 🔭 🔗: research.rockman.com/s/educator-sur… 📷: A. Allen/Rockman et. al

Two people collaborate on a laptop displaying an Rubin online education investigation during a group workshop in a conference room.

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Zach Schierl @zschierl.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

First Sarracenia leucophylla pitcher of the summer is really doing its job! #carnivorousplants

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Zach Schierl @zschierl.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

Permanent DST ≠ more sunshine! I guess ASTR 101 should be required coursework for senators!

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Zach Schierl @zschierl.bsky.social · 05/07/2026

An absolutely obscene quantity of fireworks being set off in the one municipality (Moxee, WA) in our area that legally allows fireworks. Glad to be viewing from several miles away!

Distant view of many fireworks being set off at different distances and in different colors.

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Robert Mahon @bedform.org · 05/07/2026

Happy horrible air quality index day to all who celebrate

air quality index map of the US with most of the sites where it is 10pm or later above 100

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Zach Schierl @zschierl.bsky.social · 04/07/2026

Nice aurora display happening now. Too bad clouds are blocking the best part from here in Yakima! #wawx #aurora

A view of the night sky with several areas of purple, pink, and green glow partially hidden by clouds.

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Zach Schierl @zschierl.bsky.social · 26/06/2026

Bird nest in cholla cactus, Yakima WA, June 2026 #birds #photography

Several small feathery baby birds sit in a nest nestled in a spiny Cholla cactus

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Lil Boo-kens 👻 @paleosol.bsky.social · 24/06/2026

Raising a toddler, in two acts: Act 1 (a beautiful, clear evening) - You show your son the moon for the first time ever. We all point to the sky in amazement! 🤩🌗 Act 2 (a beautiful, clear morning) - Toddler melts down, pointing at sky, because why no moon?? 😫 #dad #parenting #toddler

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Robert Cruickshank @robertcruickshank.com · 20/06/2026

One of the underreported issues in WA is the steady neutering of elected school boards. This board member was just doing her job but her other colleagues wanted to help maintain what community members describe as a climate of fear in the district (should sound familiar to SPS ears).

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Zach Schierl @zschierl.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

The latest fire perimeter has the blaze covering nearly the entire wilderness area. A damn shame. One of the most unique landscapes in the PNW and home the northernmost stand of Juniperus occidentalis. #wawx

A map of the Juniper Dunes Wilderness area showing the extent of an ongoing wildfire.

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Zach Schierl @zschierl.bsky.social · 14/06/2026

This is the second jet in as many years to go down on this training route, both in close proximity to busy recreation areas. Glad the pilot made it out safely this time, but alarming to see this happen again in an area where I regularly camp and hike.

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Zach Schierl @zschierl.bsky.social · 14/06/2026

Nice diversity of prey in the Venus flytrap this week: #carnivorousplants

A close up photo of a Venus flytrap. One trap contains the remains of an earwig, another a ladybug, and a third a fly.

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Zach Schierl @zschierl.bsky.social · 08/06/2026

Perfect spring day in the Cascades with a trio of exciting finds: #1: First time seeing our native prickly pear cactus, Opuntia columbiana, in bloom! #wildflowers #washington #photography #cacti

A small pale green cactus with long white spines and a single bright yellow flower.

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Zach Schierl @zschierl.bsky.social · 30/05/2026

Is this a thing now? Or is this coffeeshop just insane?

Tabletop ad for a "blended raspberry mocha beer" drink

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Zach Schierl @zschierl.bsky.social · 16/05/2026

Snowpack is at 13% of median and yet this is what the first stop on my geology field trip looks like this morning: 😑

Webcam view of a highway covered in snow

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Zach Schierl @zschierl.bsky.social · 09/05/2026

I've been chuckling to myself about this all day. We are about to begin stars in my Astro 100 course and I sincerely hope that in a few weeks my students will be able to rip this to shreds!

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Zach Schierl @zschierl.bsky.social · 23/04/2026

A good reminder that, as cool as the Artemis II images were, we have a plethora of satellites that take full disk images of the Earth every few minutes...for a fraction of the cost!

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Zach Schierl @zschierl.bsky.social · 23/04/2026

Over an inch of rain recorded at my home weather station just east of Yakima today. Highest single day total since 7-28-2022 and ~15% of our average annual precipitation! #wawx

Screenshot of a weather station showing 1.23 inches of rain recorded today.

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Zach Schierl @zschierl.bsky.social · 30/03/2026

Mt. Rainier had a reservation system the last few summers that prevented overcrowding yet still allowed for relatively spontaneous visits. It seemed to be working well. This year, it's gone with no explanation...

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Zach Schierl @zschierl.bsky.social · 30/03/2026

Spotted this garter snake on a hike this afternoon. The temperature at a nearby WA DOT weather station was 47°F. Can't remember ever seeing an active snake at a temp that low... #photography #wildlife #washington

A mostly black snake with light stripes running the length of its body is looking into the camera and sticking out its tongue

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Emily Lakdawalla 🏳️‍⚧️ Uranus Expert @elakdawalla.bsky.social · 19/03/2026

Do you know how much of the solar system we could explore with $200 billion

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Zach Schierl @zschierl.bsky.social · 17/03/2026

Some nice lenticular clouds on the east slopes of the Cascades this morning: #wawx

A cluster of lens-shapes clouds against a blue sky is visible over a college campus. Passengers disembark a bus in the foreground.

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Zach Schierl @zschierl.bsky.social · 17/03/2026

Whenever anyone asks how I became interested in geology AND astronomy, this is the photo I show them:

A panoramic image of a large circular crater in the ground. Three people stand on a viewing platform at left.

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Zach Schierl @zschierl.bsky.social · 12/03/2026

For comparison, this would fund the community college that I teach at for approximately 245 years.

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Robert "The Bobby Yaga" McNees @mcnees.bsky.social · 12/03/2026

That’s 125% of the National Science Foundation’s annual budget, for anyone keeping track.

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Zach Schierl @zschierl.bsky.social · 12/03/2026

More early spring wildflowers from the Yakima Valley in Washington state: #wildflowers #photography

A pinkish purple wildflower emerging from a thin grass-like leaf is silhouetted against a twilight sky.

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Daniel Beekman @dbeekman.bsky.social · 11/03/2026

ICE arrests spiked in PNW in late 2025, per new data from @uwchr.bsky.social. Yakima County had most arrests per capita: 185 arrests per 100,000 people. Local advocate says surge there has been overlooked. www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news... (w/ @vizscience.bsky.social @ayoonhendricks.bsky.social)

Charts showing sharp increases in ICE arrests in multiple Pacific Northwest counties in 2025 following the start of President Trump's second term.

Map showing that among Washington and Oregon counties, Yakima County in 2025 saw the highest number of ICE arrests relative to its population.

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Glonzo the Bureaucrat 🇬🇱 🌹 @snarkranger.bsky.social · 12/03/2026

For comparison's sake, the entire National Park Service costs $3 billion - a year.

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Zach Schierl @zschierl.bsky.social · 11/03/2026

Geology folks: any cool spots you would recommend visiting in Scotland? (Besides the obvious Siccar Point...) ⚒️

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Zach Schierl @zschierl.bsky.social · 09/03/2026

Wildflower season is in full swing! Great sunset light this weekend, but 20+ mph winds made it tough to get anything in focus! #washington #landscapephotography #wildflowers

Several clusters of bright pink wildflowers are back lit by the sun setting behind a ridge.

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Zach Schierl @zschierl.bsky.social · 03/03/2026

Little does it know that in a few short hours...

A photo of the nearly full moon rising over Yakima Ridge. The moon is a pleasant yellowish pink color and the background sky a warm pinkish orange. A few houses are visible on the barren hills in the foreground.

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Laura Lopez @ohdearz.bsky.social · 03/03/2026

Bringing this skeet back up because the THREE $90M each ($270M total) F-15s shot down today by friendly fire in Kuwait could pay for FOUR Chandra X-ray Observatories at full operations. Let's remember that when the 2027 president's budget request comes out soon. 🔭

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Zach Schierl @zschierl.bsky.social · 17/02/2026

Our front yard resident hawk enjoying golden hour light earlier this evening:

A bird of prey stands on a branch in a tree bathed in warm orange-pink light.

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Zach Schierl @zschierl.bsky.social · 15/02/2026

First wildflowers of the season here on the east slopes of the Cascades! A couple of weeks earlier than usual. Not surprising given how mild of a winter we've had.

A shiny yellow flower with five petals sits close to the ground.

A cluster of small white, gray, and purple flowers with intricate silvery-green leaves is wedged between two rocks

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Zach Schierl @zschierl.bsky.social · 14/02/2026

The best thing about February (aside from the rapidly lengthening daylight hours) is that my drive to work coincides with sunrise on Mt. Adams:

A dome shaped mountain covered in snow is illuminated by an orange pink light at sunrise. Hills and buildings are visible in the foreground.

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Zach Schierl @zschierl.bsky.social · 02/02/2026

First attempt at teaching my 20-month-old to look through a telescope tonight. The instinctive lunge for the eyepiece truly has no age minimum or maximum! 🔭

The full moon as seen through a 6" reflecting telescope. Several large dark gray smooth maria are visible, and a prominent crater with ejecta rays in the upper left.

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Zach Schierl @zschierl.bsky.social · 22/01/2026

Going on a week straight of fog and stratus here in the Yakima Valley, but got to "escape" to the clear skies of Seattle briefly last weekend:

A view of a city skyline bathed in pink and orange sunset light, with a snow capped conical peak on the horizon.

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