I try not to be too political online, but considering a very large portion of the folks I know around here are likely members of a marginalized or underrepresented community in some way (check out [this] or [this] community survey if you're unconvinced), I suspect many of us are feeling like we've had the rug pulled out from under us given recent political happenings in the United States. Electing a president isn't instantly going to make or break our lives, but another four plus years of increasingly far-right leadership does not bode well for folks like us who don't fit whatever "normal" means to those who will be directing our country. We're already seeing targeted harassment toward minorities, with the apparent intent to intimidate or threaten. Far-right ideology appears to be gaining ground elsewhere across the globe too, so this isn't an isolated turn of events. Some of us can blend in, sure, but many can't or simply don't want to. The older I get, the more I'm beginning to fall into the latter camp, although I'm one of the very privileged folks who is able to blend in if I so choose.

In a nutshell, I think things are going to get tougher for those of us in the US, and beyond, in the near future, with the potential for lasting consequences depending on how much the incoming administration can lay groundwork for long-term plans. We need to be as stubborn about not letting them implement things laid out in Project 2025 and whatever else they have planned as possible. I've been reading through some interesting guides about how to stay sane, protect yourselves and loved ones, and organize to push back against whatever might come our way. Links if you're interested:
[Waging Nonviolence 10 Ways to Be Prepared]
[The Never Again Action 2024 Post-Election Guide]

I'm sure there are plenty of others that are great resources too. It's worth noting these aren't alterhuman-specific, but if you know of any alterhuman-specific resources or other similar guides in general, let me know.

Also, if you're fortunate enough to have a little spending money, please consider donating to your local news outlets if you don't already! Many do the incredibly important work reporting on local issues that affect numerous people but don't get national attention, and are often fairly free of the sensationalism that larger news outlets often rely on to drive reader/watcher/listenership. They also typically do a good job of correctly reporting science, which can be quite difficult. Go give 'em a few bucks and let them know you appreciate their hard work. I try to donate annually if I can, even if it's only like $10.

Finally, turn off the news and quit doomscrolling if you're feeling overwhelmed. Seriously. There are so many folks out there fighting against this that you're free to take a little time for yourself to recharge.

Stay weird and stay safe y'all.

My move across the country is rapidly approaching! Been spending most of my time helping my mate pack everything up and getting my cats ready for the move. Man, who knew flying with pets took so much planning. Things are going well though, now that I've submitted all of my dissertation edits.

Also was lucky enough to take a short summer vacation to southeastern Alaska, so have some glacier.

Now that I have a tad more free time at my disposal, I've been trying to update things over at Beyond Humanity. Lots has changed over the past couple of years online regarding alterhuman and nonhuman identities, and after reading through my FAQ, I realized that some of my answers likely come off as pretty darn snotty. I never intended any of it to sound gatekeepy, but it's a fine line to walk between explaining various aspects of alterhumanity to someone with an outside perspective and providing nuanced answers to community members, and I'm not convinced I did a particularly good job of it. It also seems like the community as a whole (or at least the parts of the community I interact with on a regular basis) has gotten better at understanding and accepting nuanced identities, which is awesome and I'd argue makes for fewer curmudgeons.

No big changes planned for the website currently, but if you have thoughts or suggestions, definitely send 'em my way!

Been busy with school, trying to finish up as much as I can so I can graduate next spring. I feel like I'm so close but also so insanely far from finishing everything. I'm making good progress though and I'm happy with everything, but I have almost no downtime.

I was able to get away for a week and go on another dinosaur dig like the one I did a couple of years ago! It was a blast and the staff there trusted my partner and me to kind of handle digging out bones on our own since we'd been there before and seemed at least passably competent. It was hot and we were basically paying to do manual labor in the sun, but I think we got a fuller picture of how field paleontology works in the real world this time around as we chatted with the staff as we dug in the dirt. Essentially all we worked on were sections of articulated vertebrae because the staff wanted them out of the ground before the season ended, but we also got to look at some incredible Diplodocus femurs and stuff like that.

Fieldwork has been excruciatingly hot, leaving me pretty much too drained to do much else besides do fieldwork laundry and try not to bake in my apartment. Bleh. To make matters worse, the bird species I study essentially abandoned the only breeding site in the state, so things aren't looking terribly good for my birdies. On the bright side, I have enough data to finish my PhD, but boy does the situation not look great for the state bird population.

Anyway, my garden is coming along nicely and I harvested my first zucchini! Lots more to follow, so I may be in zucchini hell very soon. Not that I'm complaining, because heck, fresh vegetables!

Yeesh, this has been a busy semester, as is evidenced by my lack of posts. I have about a year before my grad stipend runs out, so I'm going full speed ahead in trying to finish my dissertation. I'm making solid progress, but haven't had much time to enjoy anything else. I did squeeze in a little bit of international travel in February with my dad and a family friend, so that was a nice break from work. However, it wasn't at all a restful vacation, so it probably did more harm than good in the long run for my grad work. Still, would I do it again in a heartbeat? Heck yeah!

All in all, I still probably won't be posting much in the near future now that I'm gearing up for the field season. Lots of birds to study and lots of people to train! Hopefully some pictures of Sri Lanka will suffice instead. :P

Wheeee, I suck at keeping up with journals here.

Anyway, I got to take a tour of a cave today! A little wet in parts, but the majority was cozy and dry, and would have made a very nice lair. Bonus photo of a cool whale skull fossil replica they had in the gift shop.

Not much else going on here besides too many classes and too many responsibilities. Oof.

I've started the slow slog through updating my dictionary with a reference manager, so I can actually manage citations in a relatively easy way! I've gotten to the point where there are enough entries and citations that doing them by hand just isn't cutting it, and with everyone on the new term coining kick, it's literally impossible to keep up. Honestly, it's really annoying to switch everything over to a reference manager, but in the long run, it'll save me so much time and hassle. It'll also make it so I can more easily cite primary references, instead of just linking to wikis and stuff, since my reference manager (I use Zotero) allows me to save website snapshots really easily that I can pull up later to read or pass around if anyone asks.

Also, I forgot to post it here, but I passed my grad school exams! I had five solid days of written exams from my committee, and then an afternoon of oral exams, where I was asked questions over video chat. A little more anticlimactic than I expected, but I got some good feedback from my committee, and I've been able to prove to myself (and them) that I'm cut out for research. Now I just have to finish my research and write my dissertation...