Mika McKinnon

@mikamckinnon

Field geophysicist, disaster researcher, scifi science consultant, science writer, public speaker, irrepressibly curious. Occasional rock-licker, frequent devourer of board books. 🇨🇦🇺🇸

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Mika McKinnon@mikamckinnon· 15d

Meanwhile in BC: Our decommissioned fire towers are burning down. We lost Jesmund fire lookout (www.sitesandtrailsbc.ca/resource/REC...) to the Big Bar fires on Friday night. So many others are closed under threat of nearby fires. Our fallen sentinels from ages past deserve remembrance.

Aerial view of a ridge, one slope safe and the other burned with the road to the fire lookout serving as a fire break. The lookout is on the wrong side of the ridge, now reduced to a charred relic. Smoke hints at smouldering out of view downhill.

Mika McKinnon@mikamckinnon· Jul 13

It’s Rock Day: Rock Check! Do you have your rock? Do you need a rock? Can you find a rock? I found this lovely porphyritic basalt in my washing machine. I love how the different crystal sizes tell a story of an eruption rudely interrupting cozy subterranean cooling. Photos & stories welcome.

A very round dull rock, flecks of white and pale grey rectangular crystals in a darker grey matrix

The same flecked rock in a bowl full of similar-sized volcanic rocks ranging from white quartz and granite to black and rusty red pumice

Mika McKinnon@mikamckinnon· Jul 12

My map book lives behind the driver’s seat so the kids can issue Battleship-style navigation. “What number is 5231?” “Five thousand two hundred thirty one.” “Go to D-5,231, mum!” They complain I’m awful at following directions, but I counter compliance isn’t a strong element of our family culture

The corner of a ragged yellow spiral bound map book pokes out of a seatback pocket, the title mostly obscured to Greater V & Frase.

Mika McKinnon@mikamckinnon· Jun 27

Not oldest but fav: My mother commissioned custom boots in the 70s. She sadly retired them after her ligaments loosened during pregnancy and they no longer fit. I started wearing them as a teen I recently delivered them to a custom bootmaker to repair the decades of wear.

Feet and calves encased in lace-up brown leather boots, rolled-up jeans on the legs above them. The background has scraps and tools hinting at a leathermakers workshop

Mika McKinnon@mikamckinnon· Apr 11

Any tree pollen folks wanna infodump? Nothing urgent or specific, just horrified awe at a local tree sparked my curiosity. PNW, wet warm winter, warm sunny week followed by sharp temperate dip.

Smooth black surface cut by a thick stripe of pale yellow powdery pollen granules

Mika McKinnon@mikamckinnon· Jan 19

Rock check! I found this lovely stripy rock on the beach. My toddler promptly confiscated it. Do you have a rock? As always, photos & stories highly welcome.

An oblong pebble on a weathered log. The pebble has layers of green and white, all with a cloudy rusty-red overlay

Mika McKinnon@mikamckinnon· Jan 2

Still can’t believe my friend helped me find a dropped stick in a pile of sticks from the far side of the continent. Over 4,500km away, nbd, can still spot abnormalities far faster than I do. I’d literally given up and gone home mourning.

Small pink plush flamingo causally reclining on a smooth mint green sofa, a tiny wooden crochet hook resting on their plump tummy

Mika McKinnon@mikamckinnon· Jan 1

I dropped my wooden mini crochet hook at the playground. I whimpered pathetically to @beebrookshire.bsky.social and SHE FOUND IT. I returned to the playground, oriented myself off the leaf & pebble, and recovered my special stick! May your New Year be rich in sharp-eyed support from your friends.

A top-down photo of near-homogenous wood chips occasionally broken up by a small granite pebble or a torn wet leaf. Somewhere is a tool made from the same materials and the same basic shape, but smoothly polished instead of roughly splintered.

Mika McKinnon@mikamckinnon· Dec 20

#PawbertSweater: Malabrigo Rios is dyed 6 skeins to a pot with no real dye lots, so I’ll need to be diligent in blending to avoid tint-transitions. Main colour is Fresco Y Seco with accent stripes in Water Green (probably; I have some Cucumber in inventory I may agonize over later).

Small plush moose in a grey sofa delicately touching several hanks of green yarn. Manufacturing labels are visible, naming the earthy medium green Fresco y Seco and the pale blue-green Water Green.

Mika McKinnon@mikamckinnon· Dec 13

Knitters: I want to cobble together a pattern for Pawbert’s sweater in Zootopia. Before I go wading into Ravelry, anyone have a fav pattern that would work as a base for modifications? It’s hybrid raglan / circular yoke, lots of cabling, basic colourwork.

Still frame from Zootopia 2 of the lynx Pawbert standing in a dark green cabled sweater

Isolated character pose of Pawbert with sweater details visible including a chevron-striped yolk and body cables

Design sketches for Pawbert in an A-pose and his sweater with key design elements

Mika McKinnon@mikamckinnon· Nov 7

#Copper is very, very neat, but I am forlorn that #Ilmenite is getting trounced so soundly in the #OreCup semifinals. I mean. It's a titanium oxide ore, which is body-safe and not water soluble so it's not on the Do No Lick list, just on the Do Not Rub Into Your Eyes list. 📸 Gerhard Brandstetter

A pair of black hexagonal crystals, one squat and one long so they resemble an erect penis from the side.

Mika McKinnon@mikamckinnon· Nov 4

I am called out. But in my defence, the adjectives for describing the texture of a mineral so slippery that it’s one of the best lubricants on the planet veer into nsfw or at least giggle-inducing territory very quickly.

A series of text messages reading “GREASY? You called it GREASY? RUDE”

Mika McKinnon@mikamckinnon· Oct 8

Hey Moose, How’s it feel to go out again?

A small plush moose on a cocktail table under red light. Moose is sitting on a pile of judging forms. Behind him is a cocktail. In the far back is a slideshow advertising Science Slam

Mika McKinnon@mikamckinnon· Oct 5

Related: An arborist #scicomm strip by @barklaart.bsky.social

Illustrations and descriptions of assorted trees that could be metaphors for penises

Mika McKinnon@mikamckinnon· Sep 29

If it’s not AI, we’re playing “Is it cake?” But for a similar real-life rich, you might like wavelite. 📷 Robert M. Lavinsky

A white chalky rock with fluffy green minerals on it

The fluffy green minerals break open to reveal concentric rings with radial striations. It looks reminiscent of a kiwi or lime

Mika McKinnon@mikamckinnon· Sep 19

One of today's #MinCup15 contestants, #hematite, along with former contestants #topaz & #beryl and "We really should run this one day..." future-contestant #ilmenite. Safe but boring to lick. 📷 Paul Ramsey

A rather phallic-looking dark round crystal jutting out of a near-perfect reddish-magenta hexagonal crystal. Both have an unsettling matte white bumpy crystal crust

Mika McKinnon@mikamckinnon· Aug 17

Meanwhile in Canada: www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

"I don't think anyone's in the mood to go back to work," Lillian Speedie, vice-president of CUPE Local 4092, told CBC's News Network at a picket line outside Toronto Pearson International Airport on Sunday.

"To legislate us back to work 12 hours after we started? I'm sorry, snowstorms have shut down Air Canada for longer than we were allowed to strike."

Mika McKinnon@mikamckinnon· Jul 2

California has a much denser seismic network. I’m seeing it pop on a few Raspberry Shake stations near Sacramento, so I expect the USGS could put together a special notice on it (if they still have staff & authorization)

Seismic feed with a sudden burst s characteristic of an explosion

Seismic feed with a sudden burst s characteristic of an explosion. The feed has significant background noise pick up a few minutes later

Mika McKinnon@mikamckinnon· Jun 16

Same vibe:

Book cover titled “Diary of a Wombat” with an illustration of a sleepy wombat flopped into a nap next to a pile of carrots

Mika McKinnon@mikamckinnon· May 10

Our initial collection of Dragon books extracted from the primary hoard

A large plush blue and red dragon cuddles with a small green dragon. They’re nestled in a display of dragon-themed books including Night Owl, Tokyo Night Parade, an abridged version of the Paperbag Princess, Dat Dreamers, and one of the Dragon Masters book series

Mika McKinnon@mikamckinnon· Apr 29

It is a beautiful day. Crunch those apples, folks. We earned this.

A small plush moose on a sofa surrounded by Canadian apples.

Mika McKinnon@mikamckinnon· Apr 18

I’m currently not allowed to buy more books (😭) but browsing today was extremely tempting:

A picture book with a white cover and pale blue title text reading “Don’t trust fish” with a suspicious-looking green fish swimming through it

A picture book with a mostly-black cover with white title text reading “Stalactite and Stalagmite”. The cover illustration is a cave with anamorphic stalactite and stalagmite with small faces gazing at each other. Water drops indicate they’re growing together and will eventually join as a column

Mika McKinnon@mikamckinnon· Apr 14

Product reccs during the trade wars: Lil Helper is a Canadian company making absolutely adorable waterproof mats of various sizes. As a bonus, they write a damn cute “Thank you for buying” note.

The bottom of a letter providing contact info for customer service, continuing “A plaque with your banner is already in my office & we’ve made plans to celebrate your birthday each year until Lil Helper is sold to Google.” It continues in thanks before closing “May the sun always shine on your beautiful face!” then signed by Uncle Mo with the titles “Lord Commander of Lil Helper. Warden of Reusables. Protector of Sanity. Honorary Lesbian.”

Mika McKinnon@mikamckinnon· Mar 20

Small plush moose sitting on a sofa wearing a sticker of Mickey Mouse head and ears filled with the pride rainbow on his chest

Mika McKinnon@mikamckinnon· Mar 11

Shopping in the trade war: Do you dream of becoming a clam, filtering the good bits out of the daily deluge and transforming irritants into pearls? Good news! Simons has you covered with this glam clam blouse: m.simons.ca/en/women-clo...

A woman modeling a pearlescent translucent cropped blouse. The pleated texture and billowing sleeves form a half-circle reminiscent of a clam shell. The model is facing forward with arms asymmetrically up and down

Mika McKinnon@mikamckinnon· Mar 9

More details: www.thestar.com/news/canada/... (subscription required) Four Tesla dealerships executed a bank run to drain remaining electric vehicle rebates. A dealership with 200 lot spaces claimed 1700 sales. 🙄 2,295 legit claims across 226 independent dealerships that weekend get nothing.

Toronto Star chart of sales at 4 Tesla dealerships abruptly surging to implausible numbers.

Mika McKinnon@mikamckinnon· Feb 24

My children have reached the stage where they want carefully-posed teddies joining their activities. I have trained for this moment my entire life. Are you enjoying your morning tea, Piper?

A small plush sandpiper bashed Piper sitting on a table, a lime green one ounce silicon cup between his outstretched feet. Piper is staring directly at the camera

Mika McKinnon@mikamckinnon· Feb 15

My dinosaur ID skills are not up for the challenge. Help?

Small rubber dinosaur. It has a tear-shaped body with near-symmetric head and tail with some indistint back ridges and tail bumps

Mika McKinnon@mikamckinnon· Feb 15

Meanwhile in Canada: The absolute speed in which consumer buying patterns shifted to make “buying American” a derogatory term is breathtaking. Grocery signage, service contract changes, canceled vacations… our airlines are investigating dropping US routes to match plummeting demand.

Grocery store sign advocating how to use on-shelf labeling to make purchasing decisions based on percentage of goods manufactured in Canada.

Same sign explaining Product of a Canada and Made in Canada labeling, with inverted red/white colour scheme.

Mika McKinnon@mikamckinnon· Feb 13

Looking for a picture book to discuss some of the core issues of these troubling times? Try The Capybaras by Alfredo Soderguit. Beautiful art, just enough words with lots of space to guide kids on how to read between the lines as the chickens and capybaras overcome distrust & quietly join forces.