S. T. Ismail

@stismail

Former Nutmegger. Chemistry major and science nerd. Educator. Classical music lover. Patriots/Celtics/UConn fan. "Judge less. Read more." —Kate Good

374 Following1,172 Followers3,576 Posts

Bluesky

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S. T. Ismail@stismail· Jul 15

It's actually in the *middle* of Dallas, a mile or two north of downtown.

A map showing University Park, Texas, in red, surrounded by the city of Dallas (gray), and a map showing Dallas County, Texas.

S. T. Ismail@stismail· Jul 15

Star Trek Deep Space Nine meme
Bashir: "What salads are safe to eat?"
Garak: "Alas, my dear doctor . . . none, for now."
Bashir: "Even word salad?"
Garak: "*Especially* word salad."

S. T. Ismail@stismail· Jul 15

This made it even more fun. [Tastes may vary. 🙂]

An old photo of Burn Notice actor Jeffrey Donovan wearing New England Patriots hoodie and Patriots Super Bowl 39 cap. In his right hand he is holding two tickets to a Patriots-Chargers playoff game. The Patriots won.

S. T. Ismail@stismail· Jul 15

So are shredded hash browns in the air fryer (~3 tbsp of vegetable oil/butter for an entire package).

A round of (fresh) shredded hash browns made in an Instant Pot air fryer oven, around 360 degrees for about 9 minutes. It is crispy and golden brown on the outside, tender in the center.

S. T. Ismail@stismail· Jul 14

Thank you, Bluesky. I needed that.

Two consecutive Bluesky posts. The bottom one depicts two paintings of the top of a cat's head. One is a white canvas, with the ears and eyes of the cat visible at 6 o'clock; about 90% of the canvas is blank. The other depicts a 2x2 square of cat heads; pink upper left, blue upper right, green lower left, yellow lower right. The actual cat stands in front of the yellow square, in the same pose.

The top half of the top post shows a girl pointing out a black cat at a train station, saying "What a cute little kitty."

The bottom half says "me with myopia and astigmatism," showing that the girl is actually looking at a black trash bag that vaguely resembles a black cat.

S. T. Ismail@stismail· Jul 14

Show me a comic page you love; no explanation needed.

Gary Larson's Far Side cartoon titled "Primitive UFOs". It shows three cavemen looking in shock at a "UFO" suspended a few feet off the ground. It is made of crude stone, wooden branches, and what appears to be hay. The UFO looks like it will fall out of the sky at any moment.

S. T. Ismail@stismail· Jul 13

Now here's a correction for you.

Corrected on July 13, 2026: An earlier version of this article misstated the name of a journalism organization. It is the Committee to Protect Journalists, not the Committee to Project Journalists.
We acknowledge mistakes in our reporting with corrections. If you spot an error, please let us know at corrections@nytimes.com.

S. T. Ismail@stismail· Jul 11

An updated version of a stat making the rounds. And even that one win is arguably a loss, because that win was in January 2024, which is why the Patriots had the #3 draft pick that let them get Drake Maye.

S. T. Ismail@stismail· Jul 9

Best Star Trek captain. Wrong answers only.

The Captain and Tennille. He is wearing a white suit and captain's hat. Tennille is wearing a large choker and a purple strapless dress.

S. T. Ismail@stismail· Jul 8

The CDS once tried to give me a cat right as I was leaving for a work trip.

A black cat near a door, courtesy of the Cat Distribution System.

S. T. Ismail@stismail· Jul 7

Argentina 3, Egypt 2, with a red asterisk next to the 3 for Argentina.

S. T. Ismail@stismail· Jul 7

Me, watching Argentina v. Egypt rn.

Zebrafish larvae under a scanning electron microscope, with faces resembling the "wow" face emoji.

S. T. Ismail@stismail· Jul 7

I just read a quote like that yesterday. It was written almost 200 years ago.

Quoted in READING THE ROCKS by Brenda Maddox, written c. 1830:
‘There are other investigations which more nearly affect our social happiness than the philosophy of geology,’ it stated, ‘but perhaps there is none which in an indirect manner produce a more wholesome and beneficial effect upon the mind . . . After the perusal of Mr. Lyell’s volume, we confess to emotions of humility, to aspirations of the mind, to an elevation of thought, altogether foreign from the ordinary temper of worldly and busy men . . .’ There are ‘sermons in stones and tongues in brooks,’ concluded the Spectator, ‘but they want an interpreter: that interpreter is the enlightened geologist. Such a man is Mr. Lyell.’

S. T. Ismail@stismail· Jun 29

New England Patriots kicker Zoltan Mesko, in the middle of a punt, about two feet off the ground, with his kicking foot hitting the helmet of a Minnesota Vikings player squarely in the face.

S. T. Ismail@stismail· Jun 29

New England Patriots kicker Adam Vinatieri raising his fists in celebration after making a field goal against the Rams in Super Bowl 36.

S. T. Ismail@stismail· Jun 27

I've got a syncing feeling about this.

S. T. Ismail@stismail· Jun 26

britmonkey.com/2020s-politi...

Your closest political compass match is Zohran Mamdani, Mayor of New York City (2026-present)

S. T. Ismail@stismail· Jun 25

Apparently this was an earlier ad.

An ad for a "game about Buddhism". The caption reads "I'm addicted to this Buddhism game. Think Duolingo, but instead of learning a language, you're becoming a Buddhism expert."

An Instagram user comments "I had to laugh at this ad for a Buddhist game. Tell me you know nothing about Buddhism without telling me you know nothing about Buddhism."

S. T. Ismail@stismail· Jun 18

And another consequence.

In the aftermath of the outbreak, the Air Force issued an exception to the voluntary vaccine policy, requiring that all recruits at Lackland get flu shots — part of a broader effort to stem the virus’s spread.

S. T. Ismail@stismail· Jun 18

Either that or lean into the theme.

A blue single-story house with a "mother-in-law" door, about three feet off the ground. If you walked out of the house through it, you'd fall onto the ground, as it has no porch or stairs; it opens up to air.

S. T. Ismail@stismail· Jun 17

Michelle Obama, wearing a dress with her favorite portrait of her mother Marian Robinson. She says it "messed up" Barack Obama because this was literally the first time *he* ever saw it.

Michelle and Barack Obama holding microphones. Michelle Obama is describing her dress, which bears her favorite portrait of her mother Marian Robinson, who is smiling with her head cocked to the side. She claimed it "messed up" Barack Obama emotionally because he just saw it for the first time a few minutes before they stepped on stage.

S. T. Ismail@stismail· Jun 11

Two recipes, back to back, in Bluesky posts. The top one depicts a bowl of beans in sauce, with a piece of toast on top, saying "There's nothing quite like a simple lunch of beans and toast!"

On the bottom is a picture of a bowl of pasta, underneath a post saying "Turkey meatballs, zucchini, and orecchiette (which act like tiny meatball catching mitts) with pesto everywhere -- in the metballs, in the brothy sauce, and dolloped at the end."

S. T. Ismail@stismail· Jun 11

The young betrayed by the old.

A graph showing Brexit vote by age. 18–24 year old voted for Remain nearly 3 to 1; voting to Leave increased with age, with 60% of 65 and olders voting Leave.

S. T. Ismail@stismail· Jun 8

A perhaps heretical view.

A map of New York state marked "Is it upstate?" Long Island and most of New York City is marked "No", as are Westchester and Putnam counties. The counties just west of Putnam and Westchester--Orange, Rockland, and Dutchess--are marked "Maybe," as is Staten Island. The rest of the state is marked "Yes."

S. T. Ismail@stismail· Jun 8

1. Brendan Sorsby DOES deserve permanent ineligibility. 2. Moreover, you're making large swathes of Americans SIDE WITH THE NCAA.

Texas Tech athletic director on Brendan Sorsby: "we do not believe that the circumstances of Brendan's case warranted permanent ineligibility. As he returns to our football program, we remain committed to supporting Brendan's recovery and ensuring his compliance with the court's order."

S. T. Ismail@stismail· Jun 5

To make it even funnier, they should've done a second pick with the Viking shirts and Norwegian curling pants.

A Norwegian curler, wearing a mostly red shirt and black pants filled with red, white, and blue polka dots.

S. T. Ismail@stismail· May 29

Many moons ago I won a #SpellingBee (not a Scripps-affiliated one, though). My prize was this dictionary, which is pretty similar to the one used by the National Spelling Bee. Mass-market paperback for size comparison. The dictionary runs 2,600+ pages with tiny print.

Webster's Third New International Dictionary, three volumes. They are large brown books, each about 1,000 pages long, with tiny print. A mass-market paperback about half their height stands next to them.

S. T. Ismail@stismail· May 28

Word clouds for the 2016 presidential campaign. Donald Trump on the left in red, Hillary Clinton on the right in blue. The word "email" in blue dominates the image, more than three times the size of any other word.

S. T. Ismail@stismail· May 18

10/10, Bluesky. No notes.

A pair of consecutive Bluesky posts. The top one shows Tom Brady wearing a Gucci outfit walking down the runway. The outfit consists of a leather jacket and pants, all in black. The bottom one shows a male Star Trek: The Next Generation character wearing a red skant, a one-piece unisex uniform with a short-sleeve uniform shirt, resembling a pullover, and a miniskirt bottom.

S. T. Ismail@stismail· May 17

Dear Bari: Da fuq? If you're making something people can't live without . . . You'd have better ratings. Sincerely, America