Kevin Winker
@kevinwinker.bsky.social
Alaskan. Educator & researcher. Museums, birds, biodiversity, evolution, genetics, ecology, wildlife, environment, zoonotic disease, and...
https://www.universityofalaskamuseumbirds.org/
https://www.universityofalaskamuseumbirds.org/
Reposted by Kevin Winker
Re-sharing an old favorite:
I dare you to read this story aloud to another person and keep a straight face.
I dare you
www.vancouverisawesome.com/events-and-e...
I dare you to read this story aloud to another person and keep a straight face.
I dare you
www.vancouverisawesome.com/events-and-e...
Here's the full original pepperoni seagull hotel ban apology letter, and it's the funniest thing you'll read today
In case you hadn't read that whole "pepperoni seagull hotel ban apology" letter in full, we've got it here. Get ready to laugh. A lot.
www.vancouverisawesome.com
October 14, 2026 at 2:38 AM
Re-sharing an old favorite:
I dare you to read this story aloud to another person and keep a straight face.
I dare you
www.vancouverisawesome.com/events-and-e...
I dare you to read this story aloud to another person and keep a straight face.
I dare you
www.vancouverisawesome.com/events-and-e...
Reposted by Kevin Winker
Your regular reminder to not publish or review for MDPI, what is this hot garbage of a figure. Drosophila and Nasonia are mixed up, and the photo of B. kinseyi is MY PHOTO of Eupelmus parasitoid that I reared out of B. kinseyi gall, instead of the inducer. Thanks for lifting and not crediting me?
October 12, 2026 at 6:42 PM
Your regular reminder to not publish or review for MDPI, what is this hot garbage of a figure. Drosophila and Nasonia are mixed up, and the photo of B. kinseyi is MY PHOTO of Eupelmus parasitoid that I reared out of B. kinseyi gall, instead of the inducer. Thanks for lifting and not crediting me?
Reposted by Kevin Winker
That review time is easy to underestimate. Someone still has to check not just the code, but if the result does what was asked and leaves the rest alone.
October 11, 2026 at 8:08 PM
That review time is easy to underestimate. Someone still has to check not just the code, but if the result does what was asked and leaves the rest alone.
Reposted by Kevin Winker
It sounds like a wild conspiracy theory, but here is a notable example of how fighting for democracy anywhere is fighting for democracy everywhere:
Ukraine hits Russian data centers...and election related misinformation, Trump trolls, and bots drop off social media in the US.
Ukraine hits Russian data centers...and election related misinformation, Trump trolls, and bots drop off social media in the US.
And now the best part: Bot traffic from the #Yandex network has plunged to near zero following the strike on its Vladimir data center. Bot traffic includes automated requests from search crawlers, scrapers and other online services.
Twitter must be a ghost town by now.
Twitter must be a ghost town by now.
October 11, 2026 at 1:39 PM
It sounds like a wild conspiracy theory, but here is a notable example of how fighting for democracy anywhere is fighting for democracy everywhere:
Ukraine hits Russian data centers...and election related misinformation, Trump trolls, and bots drop off social media in the US.
Ukraine hits Russian data centers...and election related misinformation, Trump trolls, and bots drop off social media in the US.
Very interesting trove of wooden implements from Neanderthals.
arstechnica.com/science/2026...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
arstechnica.com/science/2026...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Neanderthal wooden tools from Spain found preserved in stone
Dissolved rock precipitated around the tools, which then decayed.
arstechnica.com
October 11, 2026 at 7:27 PM
Very interesting trove of wooden implements from Neanderthals.
arstechnica.com/science/2026...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
arstechnica.com/science/2026...
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
AI coding report.
arstechnica.com/ai/2026/10/a...
“...letting AI write your code looks like a double-edged sword, with increases in coding speed counteracted by similar increases in human code review time and effort."
arstechnica.com/ai/2026/10/a...
“...letting AI write your code looks like a double-edged sword, with increases in coding speed counteracted by similar increases in human code review time and effort."
AI coding agents generate more code, but not more software
Study finds coding efficiency gains get "absorbed" by human review "bottleneck."
arstechnica.com
October 11, 2026 at 7:26 PM
AI coding report.
arstechnica.com/ai/2026/10/a...
“...letting AI write your code looks like a double-edged sword, with increases in coding speed counteracted by similar increases in human code review time and effort."
arstechnica.com/ai/2026/10/a...
“...letting AI write your code looks like a double-edged sword, with increases in coding speed counteracted by similar increases in human code review time and effort."
Reposted by Kevin Winker
The goal of this rule change is to make grant review impact and percentile scores opaque, so that political interference with grant funding decisions by Trump apparatchiks is harder to detect or document.
I submitted my comment in opposition last night. You should submit yours today.
I submitted my comment in opposition last night. You should submit yours today.
6 days to register a comment on NIH Request for Information (RFI) on Changing Reporting Outcomes for Peer Review. They are proposing to hide the impact scores and percentiles. 🤔 funding decisions will not be transparent👎🏼. Register a comment while you still can
rfi.grants.nih.gov?s=6a2b1c22c3...
rfi.grants.nih.gov?s=6a2b1c22c3...
Request For Information
rfi.grants.nih.gov
October 8, 2026 at 3:31 PM
The goal of this rule change is to make grant review impact and percentile scores opaque, so that political interference with grant funding decisions by Trump apparatchiks is harder to detect or document.
I submitted my comment in opposition last night. You should submit yours today.
I submitted my comment in opposition last night. You should submit yours today.
Reposted by Kevin Winker
The deadline is approaching! NIH is proposing changes to how peer review is used in funding decisions and how outcomes are reported and they want to hear from you. Comments are due by October 13! Comment here: grants.nih.gov/grants/guide...
October 9, 2026 at 7:03 PM
The deadline is approaching! NIH is proposing changes to how peer review is used in funding decisions and how outcomes are reported and they want to hear from you. Comments are due by October 13! Comment here: grants.nih.gov/grants/guide...
More good news that I missed:
www.reuters.com/legal/govern...
www.reuters.com/legal/govern...
Second judge blocks Trump's $100,000 fee for new H-1B worker visas
A second federal judge on Wednesday blocked an unprecedented $100,000 fee that US President Donald Trump has imposed on new H-1B visas for highly skilled foreign workers.
www.reuters.com
October 5, 2026 at 12:37 AM
More good news that I missed:
www.reuters.com/legal/govern...
www.reuters.com/legal/govern...
Reposted by Kevin Winker
BREAKING NEWS: “Do geese see God” is a palindrome
September 30, 2026 at 3:52 AM
BREAKING NEWS: “Do geese see God” is a palindrome
It's the "politicians who cried 'PIPELINE!'" syndrome. We all want $$ to rain down, but the economics seem pretty clear. Show me an agreement, and pipe on the way, and I'll bring the party hats.
thealaskacurrent.com/2026/10/01/a...
thealaskacurrent.com/2026/10/01/a...
South Korea says Trump’s AKLNG announcement isn’t confirmed
President Donald Trump praised Alaska US Sen. Dan Sullivan for his work on the deal. The only problem is that there is no deal.
thealaskacurrent.com
October 2, 2026 at 6:51 PM
It's the "politicians who cried 'PIPELINE!'" syndrome. We all want $$ to rain down, but the economics seem pretty clear. Show me an agreement, and pipe on the way, and I'll bring the party hats.
thealaskacurrent.com/2026/10/01/a...
thealaskacurrent.com/2026/10/01/a...
Yep. What a shit show. South Korea more trustworthy than our own gov. & reps.
"Mexico is not paying for the wall. Korea is not paying for the Alaska LNG pipeline."
www.dermotcole.com/reportingfro...
"The Alaska politicians embarrassed themselves and our state."
"Mexico is not paying for the wall. Korea is not paying for the Alaska LNG pipeline."
www.dermotcole.com/reportingfro...
"The Alaska politicians embarrassed themselves and our state."
Reporting From Alaska- Korea confirms it won't pay for Alaska LNG project, contradicting Trump, Sullivan, Begich, Dunleavy
Mexico is not paying for the wall. South Korea is not paying for the pipeline.
www.dermotcole.com
October 2, 2026 at 6:43 PM
Yep. What a shit show. South Korea more trustworthy than our own gov. & reps.
"Mexico is not paying for the wall. Korea is not paying for the Alaska LNG pipeline."
www.dermotcole.com/reportingfro...
"The Alaska politicians embarrassed themselves and our state."
"Mexico is not paying for the wall. Korea is not paying for the Alaska LNG pipeline."
www.dermotcole.com/reportingfro...
"The Alaska politicians embarrassed themselves and our state."
Reposted by Kevin Winker
How much of the tree of life did you eat? Phylodiet scores a meal by phylogenetic diversity: type what you ate and it builds the dated tree of the organisms in it, from ~3,300 edible eukaryotes, back 2 billion years. Last night's dinner, below. 🧵
mjhickerson.github.io/phylodiet/app/phylodiet.html
mjhickerson.github.io/phylodiet/app/phylodiet.html
October 1, 2026 at 2:06 PM
How much of the tree of life did you eat? Phylodiet scores a meal by phylogenetic diversity: type what you ate and it builds the dated tree of the organisms in it, from ~3,300 edible eukaryotes, back 2 billion years. Last night's dinner, below. 🧵
mjhickerson.github.io/phylodiet/app/phylodiet.html
mjhickerson.github.io/phylodiet/app/phylodiet.html
Reposted by Kevin Winker
The University of Minnesota is a crown jewel of public good in a state that is pretty smart about public goods, as states go. It’s really distressing to see UMN of all universities facing drastic, short-sighted cuts
“Cutting this much from the university budget will mean that some of the core functions of the university will be lost. It’s not possible to just do more with less — to work smarter, to trim around the edges. We’re going to have to do less with less.”
Gift link: www.startribune.com/umn-cuts-sta...
Gift link: www.startribune.com/umn-cuts-sta...
Perry: What we lose if the U cuts $225 million
"Austerity doesn’t work. Instead, it creates a death spiral, where reduction in services leads to reductions in revenue, which lead to reductions in services, which leads to reduction in revenue, whic...
www.startribune.com
October 1, 2026 at 5:42 PM
The University of Minnesota is a crown jewel of public good in a state that is pretty smart about public goods, as states go. It’s really distressing to see UMN of all universities facing drastic, short-sighted cuts
As an election-season ploy, it's a powerful one, even though (without the US gov deciding in the end to fund it) it is unlikely to come to pass. See The Hill for the story and Dermot for an insightful analysis.
thehill.com/policy/energ...
www.dermotcole.com/reportingfro...
thehill.com/policy/energ...
www.dermotcole.com/reportingfro...
South Korea to invest up to $200B in Alaska LNG pipeline, US power plants, Trump announces
South Korea’s government will invest up to $200 billion in U.S. energy infrastructure, including a natural gas pipeline in Alaska, President Trump announced Wednesday. The investment also includes …
thehill.com
October 1, 2026 at 12:10 AM
As an election-season ploy, it's a powerful one, even though (without the US gov deciding in the end to fund it) it is unlikely to come to pass. See The Hill for the story and Dermot for an insightful analysis.
thehill.com/policy/energ...
www.dermotcole.com/reportingfro...
thehill.com/policy/energ...
www.dermotcole.com/reportingfro...
Reposted by Kevin Winker
TIL this mundane post - which expresses a basic & uncontroversial truth about technology that many of us have been observing for 40 or more years - is apparently a radical anti-AI screed.
Technology enthusiasts severely overestimate the average person’s desire or willingness or capacity to build and use AI agents. I understand some work roles that could mandate or encourage it but that is no way a tech revolution. Agents are best for structured, clearly delineated tasks.
September 30, 2026 at 5:37 PM
TIL this mundane post - which expresses a basic & uncontroversial truth about technology that many of us have been observing for 40 or more years - is apparently a radical anti-AI screed.
Reposted by Kevin Winker
Oh my.
The aurora borealis, seen in ultraviolet light from space.
Our planet, putting on a show ✨
The aurora borealis, seen in ultraviolet light from space.
Our planet, putting on a show ✨
September 30, 2026 at 5:14 PM
Oh my.
The aurora borealis, seen in ultraviolet light from space.
Our planet, putting on a show ✨
The aurora borealis, seen in ultraviolet light from space.
Our planet, putting on a show ✨
Reposted by Kevin Winker
there are going to be so so so many stories of disasters when agents with full access to users' everything make huge mistakes
there is no harness or minder on earth that can catch every single edge case
there is no harness or minder on earth that can catch every single edge case
September 29, 2026 at 6:04 PM
there are going to be so so so many stories of disasters when agents with full access to users' everything make huge mistakes
there is no harness or minder on earth that can catch every single edge case
there is no harness or minder on earth that can catch every single edge case
Reposted by Kevin Winker
this is the thing about automation, as every automation Knower will tell you:
you automate the repetitive tasks; the more variability and idiosyncracy there is (aka the real world) the fewer zeroes you get after the decimal on reliability, pretty soon the results are unacceptable
you automate the repetitive tasks; the more variability and idiosyncracy there is (aka the real world) the fewer zeroes you get after the decimal on reliability, pretty soon the results are unacceptable
September 29, 2026 at 6:06 PM
this is the thing about automation, as every automation Knower will tell you:
you automate the repetitive tasks; the more variability and idiosyncracy there is (aka the real world) the fewer zeroes you get after the decimal on reliability, pretty soon the results are unacceptable
you automate the repetitive tasks; the more variability and idiosyncracy there is (aka the real world) the fewer zeroes you get after the decimal on reliability, pretty soon the results are unacceptable
Reposted by Kevin Winker
All American grant proposals from the last two years are in at least one of those things.... 🙃
(Probably Grok.)
(Probably Grok.)
The obvious conclusion (to me): if you have proprietary research & you upload it into the Plagiarism Nexus, it's not YOUR proprietary research anymore.
Behave accordingly.
Behave accordingly.
September 28, 2026 at 1:45 PM
All American grant proposals from the last two years are in at least one of those things.... 🙃
(Probably Grok.)
(Probably Grok.)
Reposted by Kevin Winker
“Cats’ true nature is to live outside and be hunters!”
My true nature is slapping people when they say stupid shit, but we all make sacrifices to live in society, don’t we.
My true nature is slapping people when they say stupid shit, but we all make sacrifices to live in society, don’t we.
September 27, 2026 at 11:29 PM
“Cats’ true nature is to live outside and be hunters!”
My true nature is slapping people when they say stupid shit, but we all make sacrifices to live in society, don’t we.
My true nature is slapping people when they say stupid shit, but we all make sacrifices to live in society, don’t we.
Reposted by Kevin Winker
“A computer can never be held accountable, therefore a computer must never make a management decision.”
– IBM Training Manual, 1979
We used to know this.
– IBM Training Manual, 1979
We used to know this.
Happy Stanislav Petrov Day
He passed in 2017. As Encyclopedia Britannica puts it, “He is survived by his two children, two grandchildren, and the entire human race.”
If you don't know his story, please take 3 minutes now to learn it.
@gchalliance.bsky.social
@docsforclimate.bsky.social
He passed in 2017. As Encyclopedia Britannica puts it, “He is survived by his two children, two grandchildren, and the entire human race.”
If you don't know his story, please take 3 minutes now to learn it.
@gchalliance.bsky.social
@docsforclimate.bsky.social
Happy Stanislav Petrov Day
Take five minutes to not destroy civilization
sammatey.substack.com
September 26, 2026 at 1:16 PM
“A computer can never be held accountable, therefore a computer must never make a management decision.”
– IBM Training Manual, 1979
We used to know this.
– IBM Training Manual, 1979
We used to know this.
Reposted by Kevin Winker
The accounting is in: In Oregon there are 111 data centers. The TOTAL number of people employed at data centers is just 2,630, or 0.1% of the labor force.
Those 100 data centers consumer 23% of all electricity used in Oregon.
Meanwhile, electricity rates skyrocket as more centers are built.
Those 100 data centers consumer 23% of all electricity used in Oregon.
Meanwhile, electricity rates skyrocket as more centers are built.
Oregon data centers by the numbers: 111 facilities consume nearly one-quarter of state’s power, according to new report
A first-of-its-kind report details the footprint of the controversial facilities.
www.opb.org
September 19, 2026 at 9:19 PM
The accounting is in: In Oregon there are 111 data centers. The TOTAL number of people employed at data centers is just 2,630, or 0.1% of the labor force.
Those 100 data centers consumer 23% of all electricity used in Oregon.
Meanwhile, electricity rates skyrocket as more centers are built.
Those 100 data centers consumer 23% of all electricity used in Oregon.
Meanwhile, electricity rates skyrocket as more centers are built.
Reposted by Kevin Winker
when ai leaves u behind
September 20, 2026 at 11:37 AM
when ai leaves u behind