Eric Scott

@captainfossil

Vertebrate paleontologist, specializing in Plio-Pleistocene megafauna (horses & bison, mostly), extinctions, etc. He/him. Views my own.

2,240 Following3,834 Followers2,395 Posts

Bluesky

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Eric Scott@captainfossil· 7d

Head shot of Curly (Jack Palance) from the movie City Slickers, with a dark cowboy hat and a red scarf, cigarette in his mouth, with the words, "Day Ain't Over Yet"

Eric Scott@captainfossil· 8d

I'm not sure that's accurate and neither is Tigger.

Tabby kitty named Tigger relaxing on a tile floor under a papasan chair

Eric Scott@captainfossil· 9d

Screenshot of Dr. Gillian Taylor (actress Catherine Hicks) from the film "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home", looking offscreen to the left (her right), with the phrase, "Whoever said the human race was logical?" which is a line from the film.

Eric Scott@captainfossil· 17d

Gotta go with the classics ... !

Grace Kelly in a daring white gown & fake diamonds getting her fingers lightly kissed by a tuxedoed Cary Grant in "To Catch A Thief" (1955)

Eric Scott@captainfossil· 23d

It starts ...

Eric Scott@captainfossil· Jul 13

This loss hurts. Sam Neill was a tremendous actor and, by all measures, a terrific human being, warm & caring & charming & funny. So many of my colleagues were inspired by his performance in Jurassic Park; I first watched him ten years earlier in the British series Reilly: Ace of Spies. RIP. 😔

Sam Neill as spy Sidney Reilly in "Reilly: Ace of Spies" (1983), dressed in a tuxedo, sitting at a table with piles of cash in front of him and a cigarette in his hand

Sam Neill as paleontologist Alan Grant in the original "Jurassic Park" (1993), standing in the rain on Isla Nublar, standing in the rain with a broad-brimmed hat

Eric Scott@captainfossil· Jul 12

I've got an unopened bottle of fairly decent tequila ready to go. I'm not planning to open it until that day.

A bottle of tequila with its label - "Tequila Ocho, Single Estate" - displayed prominently ... and an orange and white kitty named Buzz sprawled on the floor in the background

Eric Scott@captainfossil· Jul 11

Buzz is not terribly motivated for the weekend. #Caturday #CatsOfBluesky

An orange and white cat named Buzz atop a bureau with a window behind him, yawning mightily

Eric Scott@captainfossil· Jul 10

For #FossilFriday: posing with fossil bison skull from Orange County, California at the Ralph B. Clark Interpretive Center in Buena Park, CA. Bison were among the most abundant large mammals in late Pleistocene SoCal (& the rest of North America), but their remains from "the OC" need more study. 🧪

A bespectacled man in a black shirt and jeans crouching on a carpeted floor next to a plaster jacket with a big skull of an ice age bison along with other bison bones.

Eric Scott@captainfossil· Jul 6

Gerenuk are some of the most gorgeous creatures on the planet. I love 'em.

A gerenuk in repose at the San Diego Zoo

Eric Scott@captainfossil· Jul 4

They did indeed!

Fire hydrant painted to look like a Revolutionary War figure

Eric Scott@captainfossil· Jun 27

A mighty yawn from Tigger. #Caturday #CatsOfBluesky

A yawning striped kitty named Tigger on the back of a wooden rocking chair. It's a mighty yawn.

Eric Scott@captainfossil· Jun 18

Winner winner!

Eric Scott@captainfossil· Jun 15

Strait of Hormuz remains closed, Iranian state media reports
- Elmira Aliieva

There is “zero passage through the Strait of Hormuz,” Iran’s state broadcaster IRIB said today.

In a video published on Telegram, an IRIB reporter said the vital waterway was “closed until further notice,” and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy had not permitted any vessels to transit the strait for more than 96 hours.

Eric Scott@captainfossil· Jun 14

Post on Twitter: "Iran's Fars News says that Iran and Oman will regulate maritime traffic in the waters of the Persian Gulf."

Eric Scott@captainfossil· Jun 14

A full-on fry-up is one of Britain's greatest gifts to humanity.

Eric Scott@captainfossil· Jun 11

Quoted? Heck, it was your exhibit work! How very cool & creative - this sounds fantastic. Smell is such an important sense for capturing the whole beast. This reminds me of Ray Bradbury's wonderful prose in "A Sound of Thunder" - thanks for bringing it to life!

The Tyrant Lizard raised itself. Its armored flesh glittered like a thousand green coins. The coins, crusted with slime, steamed. In the slime, tiny insects wriggled, so that the entire body seemed to twitch and undulate, even while the monster itself did not move. It exhaled. The stink of raw flesh blew down the wilderness.

Eric Scott@captainfossil· Jun 6

One of our yard kitties, Otto (named by my wife for "A Fish Called Wanda"), somehow got a nasty burst abscess on his throat, so I've spent this week catching him, getting him to the vet, & caring for him. He's getting healthy again & is *quite* the affectionate sweetie! 🐈 #Caturday #CatsOfBluesky

Black and white kitty named Otto sitting comfortably on a tile floor in a bathroom, next to the tub and the discreetly just off-screen toilet

Eric Scott@captainfossil· Jun 5

Screenshot meme from the movie City Slickers, with a cowboy w/ cigarette in his mouth, with the words "DAY AIN'T OVER YET" across the bottom of the image

Eric Scott@captainfossil· May 30

Yeah, I'm gonna get work done today. Sure I am. #Caturday #CatsOfBluesky

An older man laying in bed with a black cat in his lap and a grey cat alongside his thigh.

Eric Scott@captainfossil· May 25

Happy Birthday! Here are some dinos that are also older natural history exhibits. (Hope your day was great!)

Mantellisaurus atherfieldensis skeleton at the NHM, London

Megalosaurus restoration at Crystal Park

Eric Scott@captainfossil· May 24

Sasha says this is wise, so I'm there. (Plus she won't let me move anyway.)

Grey long-haired kitty named Sasha in her person's lap.

Eric Scott@captainfossil· May 9

One non-paleontology highlight of the opening was the food! Canter's Deli, Kaylin + Kaylin Pickles, and Pink's Chili Dogs were just a few of the venues on hand for the festivities w/ delicious free eats! (It took awhile to eat it all.) #Canters #Kaylin+Kaylin #Pinks #RideTheD

Pastrami sandwiches and pickles from Canter's Deli in Los Angeles, served at the grand opening of Section 1 of LA Metro's new D Line Extension

Stuffed pickles and a pickle sandwich from Kaylin + Kaylin Pickles in Los Angeles, served at the grand opening of Section 1 of LA Metro's new D Line Extension

A chili dog with mustard, sauerkraut, and extra chili, served by Pink's Chili Dogs at the grand opening of Section 1 of LA Metro's new D Line Extension

Eric Scott@captainfossil· May 9

There was even a sabre-toothed cat there to brighten the festivities! #FossilFriday #RideTheD

Older paleontologist w/ too much paunch on display standing next to an amazing animatronic puppet of a sabre-toothed cat

Eric Scott@captainfossil· May 9

Fossils from the Station excavations, as well as the nearby Rancho La Brea "tar pits" @tarpits.org are also featured in the station artwork, with images of fossils depicted on the walls. #FossilFriday #RideTheD

A rendering of a fossil bison jaw on the wall of the new La Cienega Station for the D Line Subway Extension in Los Angeles. This bison jaw was actually discovered during excavation for the station.

Artistically rendered (i.e., a bit blurry) images of a Pleistocene mammoth skull and rib depicted on the wall of the new La Brea Station for the D Line Subway Extension in Los Angeles. A largely complete mammoth skull and other mammoth bones were actually discovered during excavation for the station.

A fossilized limb of a giant ground sloth from the Rancho La Brea "tar pits" in Los Angeles, California, depicted on the wall of the new Fairfax Station for the D Line Subway Extension in Los Angeles.

Eric Scott@captainfossil· May 9

Also for #FossilFriday if a bit peripheral: today @metrolosangeles.bsky.social opened its new four-mile D Line w/ new stations along Wilshire Blvd. at La Brea, Fairfax, & La Cienega. Station excavations produced numerous Ice Age fossils - some of which are represented in on new tap cards! #RideTheD

A "tap card" for the Los Angeles D- Line Extension subway system that depicts Ice Age marine invertebrate fossils and a specimen tag along with the phrase, "History that moves us."

Eric Scott@captainfossil· May 8

Happy, happy birthday to Sir David Attenborough on his 100th birthday! (Such a pleasure to meet him way at Rancho La Brea in LA way back in 1988! That's me on the left.) #DavidAttenborough100 #TarPits #FossilFriday

Black and white photo of four people, including Sir David Attenborough, in a lab at the Rancho La Brea "tar pits", smiling at the camera. Sir David is second from the left. The others are a woman in a lab coat, a bearded man holding a sabre-toothed cat skull, and a young man with Elton John glasses and an Emerson, Lake, & Powell concert shirt.

Eric Scott@captainfossil· May 6

Looks like a bot to me.

Eric Scott@captainfossil· May 5

Six years with us today. We love you, Tigger. (Even though you pee on everything. You know better.) #CatsOfBluesky

Small tabby kitten looking sleepily at the photographer

Large tabby cat asnooze, completely oblivious to the photographer

Eric Scott@captainfossil· May 4

For the record, our chickens are pets - & they seem to know it. They come running over to see us whenever we're out in the yard & generally like our company. No eggs from them anymore, but who cares - we love 'em. (Despite their odd fence top roosting behavior. How do they sleep like that!?)