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.

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

Hey, 10% isn't bad these days!

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

It doesn't help that more and more forest and park access roads are being washed out and never repaired. Concentrates more people into fewer areas.

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

I do K-12 outreach somewhat regularly. It still amazes me how elementary classrooms in the same grade and the same school can be so different. I've had classes with a better attention span than college students and then complete chaos back to back.

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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

I've been putting that sort of thing on a lot of exams recently. The problem is that responses trend toward "bulleted list of unrelated facts" rather than "cohesive explanation of a distinct concept" so I think I need to wordsmith the prompt a bit more.

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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 · 25/09/2026

My courses are already 90% of the way there! I wish I could say the same for all of my colleagues...

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Zach Schierl @zschierl.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Lots of interpretive signs in Utah describe cross-bedded aeolian sandstones as "petrified sand dunes" which drives me nuts. I'm not a paleontologist, but I've always understood petrification to involve replacement of organic matter by non-organic minerals.

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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 · 22/08/2026

In the mid 2010s I cobbled together seasonal and term gigs in order to apply for permanent positions through LMWFA. Then HR rejected most of my applications without explanation. 🤷‍♂️

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

Good to see them starting to recover! I saw more on the WA coast this summer than I have in over a decade.

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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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Reposted by Zach Schierl

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

Is it a TRUE granite though, or is this like the petrology field trip to the countertop store? We need a close-up!

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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 · 04/07/2026

Easily visible through camera from Yakima, WA right now. Still twilight, so might be a good show once things get darker!

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

Easily visible through camera from Yakima right now. Still twilight, so might be a good show once things get darker!

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Zach Schierl @zschierl.bsky.social · 28/06/2026

We have a four hour layover in Keflavik that coincides with the eclipse. Hoping to see it from the airport assuming no flight delays, clear skies, etc!

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

They aren't native, but fairly common ornamentally and seem to do quite well. Not sure about the birds!

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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 · 09/06/2026

Saw some of this in the Cascades yesterday and was curious what it was! Thanks!

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

Wow, that blue margin in the second one is phenomenal!

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

Bonus #4 not pictured: the rattlesnake I almost stepped on while looking for the cacti. It slithered under a rock before I could get a photo.

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

#3: found a large, intact, and worm-free spring king bolete, Boletus rex-veris, that we subsequently sauteed for dinner: 🍄

A chunky mushroom held in a hand, with a thick white stipe and brown cap

A mushroom cut into pieces sitting in a frying pan

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

#2: flushed a common nighthawk, Chordeiles minor, out of its ground nest while looking for said cacti:

A bird with brown and white feathers sits on a rock surrounded by green and tan grasses.

Two mostly white eggs sit on the ground beneath a sagebrush bush.

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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 · 30/05/2026

We have a trip to Scotland planned at the end of July and this is going to be our first stop. Looks amazing!

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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 · 09/05/2026

Yeah, the "I'm tired, come get me" calls have always been a thing. But these new iPhone false alarms almost always seem to involve the person not even being aware that their phone triggered an SOS!

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

I don't have one myself, but as a volunteer for our county search & rescue team, I can say that we are getting FAR more false alarms from iPhones than we ever did from InReach...and we are legally obligated to respond unless we can confirm that it is indeed a false alarm.

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Zach Schierl @zschierl.bsky.social · 30/04/2026

My community college had its first annual "Giving Day" this week. Athletics got $34,000 in donations. STEM research got $4,000. This was proudly advertised in the press release.

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