Physicist and Professor at a university in Chicago. I study black holes, quantum gravity, and cosmology. Rocky Top, Tar Heel. Reposts are spooky action at a distance. My views, not my employer's. https://jacobi.luc.edu https://mcnees.github.iohttps://bsky.app/profile/mcnees.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/mcnees.bsky.social/post/3mqrytpd2ek2fThis is a funny bit of spam to send to someone in Chicago today. Have you looked outside ma’am? We are all smokers right now.16 Jul 2026 19:46 +0000at://did:plc:6435lftcmpvxasbkrtsw22i7/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqrytpd2ek2fhttps://bsky.app/profile/mcnees.bsky.social/post/3mqrrvnh2e22sThis has happened several times so I shouldn’t be surprised, but it’s wild how much smoke there is in Chicago right now. As thick as a heavy fog in my neighborhood with an intense smell like standing right next to a campfire.16 Jul 2026 17:42 +0000at://did:plc:6435lftcmpvxasbkrtsw22i7/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqrrvnh2e22shttps://bsky.app/profile/mcnees.bsky.social/post/3lu3mjg6vrc2xApollo 11 launched #OTD in 1969, carrying Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Buzz Aldrin to the Moon. It was one of the most remarkable scientific collaborations in history, taking humans from Earth to the surface of another world, then returning them safely home. 🧪 🔭 Images: NASA16 Jul 2025 14:22 +0000at://did:plc:6435lftcmpvxasbkrtsw22i7/app.bsky.feed.post/3lu3mjg6vrc2xhttps://bsky.app/profile/mcnees.bsky.social/post/3mqrcdwnhf22sThursday morning critter update.16 Jul 2026 13:04 +0000at://did:plc:6435lftcmpvxasbkrtsw22i7/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqrcdwnhf22shttps://bsky.app/profile/mcnees.bsky.social/post/3mqqdo5p4ck2sLook at this handsome son of a gun sitting on my fence.16 Jul 2026 03:55 +0000at://did:plc:6435lftcmpvxasbkrtsw22i7/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqqdo5p4ck2shttps://bsky.app/profile/mcnees.bsky.social/post/3mqpsyrfwjk2sRFK Jr. asked NIH to spend $5 billion looking for a connection (already studied exhaustively and refuted) between autism and vaccines. For comparison, in FY 2026 the National Science Foundation allocated a total of around $7 billion for research across all fields in their portfolio. https://apple.news/AQthi_nx2RoeYIw2cBlZgaA15 Jul 2026 22:56 +0000at://did:plc:6435lftcmpvxasbkrtsw22i7/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqpsyrfwjk2shttps://bsky.app/profile/mcnees.bsky.social/post/3mqox52m6us2yMy kid’s Bark Phone, which I was enthusiastic about at first, is one of the worst pieces of tech I’ve used. It’s not just the phone — can’t expect much from low end hardware — it’s the software and support. Nothing ever works, and mundane changes require baroque manipulations. So disappointing.15 Jul 2026 14:38 +0000at://did:plc:6435lftcmpvxasbkrtsw22i7/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqox52m6us2yhttps://bsky.app/profile/mcnees.bsky.social/post/3mqnaet3cqc24Physicist Gertrude Scharff Goldhaber was born #OTD in 1911. In 1942 she discovered that spontaneous fission is associated with the emission of neutrons and in 1948 she identified beta rays as atomic electrons. 🧪 ⚛️ 👩‍🔬 Image: Brookhaven National Lab14 Jul 2026 22:18 +0000at://did:plc:6435lftcmpvxasbkrtsw22i7/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqnaet3cqc24https://bsky.app/profile/mcnees.bsky.social/post/3ltww7kdksk22Let me tell you about the greatest color-by-numbers of all time. The first up-close photo of Mars was taken #OTD in 1965 by the Mariner 4 spacecraft. 🧪🔭 It doesn't look like much, right? Grainy and blotchy and hard to tell what exactly you're looking at.14 Jul 2025 17:32 +0000at://did:plc:6435lftcmpvxasbkrtsw22i7/app.bsky.feed.post/3ltww7kdksk22https://bsky.app/profile/mcnees.bsky.social/post/3mqinaid5vk2qGood evening.13 Jul 2026 02:25 +0000at://did:plc:6435lftcmpvxasbkrtsw22i7/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqinaid5vk2qhttps://bsky.app/profile/mcnees.bsky.social/post/3kx72gznjoi24Aerospace researcher Sheila Widnall was born #OTD in 1938. She ran the MIT Fluid Dynamics Research laboratory, was the first chairwoman of the MIT faculty (1979), and became the first woman to head a branch of the military as Secretary of the Air Force (1993-97). 👩‍🔬 🧪 Image: MIT13 Jul 2024 21:58 +0000at://did:plc:6435lftcmpvxasbkrtsw22i7/app.bsky.feed.post/3kx72gznjoi24https://bsky.app/profile/mcnees.bsky.social/post/3mqjuspt5oc2h“Holiday Touchdown: A Bears Love Story” perfect, no notes [contains quote post or other embedded content]13 Jul 2026 14:13 +0000at://did:plc:6435lftcmpvxasbkrtsw22i7/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqjuspt5oc2hhttps://bsky.app/profile/mcnees.bsky.social/post/3mqjt46g5rk2hThe kid is demanding I change my shirt before I drop her off for the first day of high school orientation this will not stand13 Jul 2026 13:42 +0000at://did:plc:6435lftcmpvxasbkrtsw22i7/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqjt46g5rk2hhttps://bsky.app/profile/mcnees.bsky.social/post/3mqjpaqzpx22tUh, i don’t know. I hadn’t really thought about it in those terms?13 Jul 2026 12:33 +0000at://did:plc:6435lftcmpvxasbkrtsw22i7/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqjpaqzpx22thttps://bsky.app/profile/mcnees.bsky.social/post/3mqipshza422q“Verify your age” *cuts off leg and points at all the rings*13 Jul 2026 03:11 +0000at://did:plc:6435lftcmpvxasbkrtsw22i7/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqipshza422qhttps://bsky.app/profile/mcnees.bsky.social/post/3mqinaid5vk2qGood evening.13 Jul 2026 02:25 +0000at://did:plc:6435lftcmpvxasbkrtsw22i7/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqinaid5vk2qhttps://bsky.app/profile/mcnees.bsky.social/post/3mqi4qbaj2s23Good afternoon.12 Jul 2026 21:29 +0000at://did:plc:6435lftcmpvxasbkrtsw22i7/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqi4qbaj2s23https://bsky.app/profile/mcnees.bsky.social/post/3mqhtgnh7qc2cToday I learned (the hard way) that expired graham crackers go extremely rancid.12 Jul 2026 18:43 +0000at://did:plc:6435lftcmpvxasbkrtsw22i7/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqhtgnh7qc2chttps://bsky.app/profile/mcnees.bsky.social/post/3mqhcxbsllc2bPeople who don’t want to be spoken ill of when dead, shouldn’t work so hard to make the living hate them so much.12 Jul 2026 13:48 +0000at://did:plc:6435lftcmpvxasbkrtsw22i7/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqhcxbsllc2bhttps://bsky.app/profile/mcnees.bsky.social/post/3mqfj4jzfes2sToday the @musicboxtheatre.bsky.social was showing old Loony Tunes for free in one of the theaters, I haven’t heard the 14yo laugh out loud like that in a long time.11 Jul 2026 20:33 +0000at://did:plc:6435lftcmpvxasbkrtsw22i7/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqfj4jzfes2shttps://bsky.app/profile/mcnees.bsky.social/post/3mqetv3edwk2uFor about three months now it has been wall-to-wall nonstop tiny bunnies in and around our yard.11 Jul 2026 14:13 +0000at://did:plc:6435lftcmpvxasbkrtsw22i7/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqetv3edwk2uhttps://bsky.app/profile/mcnees.bsky.social/post/3mqdhkhrkus24Air France may have the worst customer service I’ve ever encountered.11 Jul 2026 01:00 +0000at://did:plc:6435lftcmpvxasbkrtsw22i7/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqdhkhrkus24https://bsky.app/profile/mcnees.bsky.social/post/3mqcdp5syzs2jMedical physicist and radiologist Edith Quimby was born #OTD in 1891. One of the founders of nuclear medicine, Quimby developed diagnostic applications for X-rays and radioisotopes. Her research on the penetrating power of radiation helped establish safe levels for its use in treatments. 🧪 👩‍🔬 ⚛️10 Jul 2026 14:18 +0000at://did:plc:6435lftcmpvxasbkrtsw22i7/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqcdp5syzs2j