WellsiteGeo
@WellsiteGeo@masto.ai
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Professional geologist ; Fellow of the Geological Society ; Aberdeen University, class of '87.
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WellsiteGeo
@WellsiteGeo@masto.ai
Professional geologist ; Fellow of the Geological Society ; Aberdeen University, class of '87.
masto.ai
WellsiteGeo
@WellsiteGeo@masto.ai
Professional geologist ; Fellow of the Geological Society ; Aberdeen University, class of '87.
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@WellsiteGeo@masto.ai
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Mar 06, 2026
@georgetakei@universeodon.com I wonder, slightly, who would be more upset to discover that Islam is a sect of Judaism? The Muslims, the Jews, or the Christians?
Personally, I'd just find it hilarious.
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WellsiteGeo
@WellsiteGeo@masto.ai
Professional geologist ; Fellow of the Geological Society ; Aberdeen University, class of '87.
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WellsiteGeo
@WellsiteGeo@masto.ai
Professional geologist ; Fellow of the Geological Society ; Aberdeen University, class of '87.
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@WellsiteGeo@masto.ai
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Mar 02, 2026
Does anyone have an estimated date for the Iranian truck-nuke to detonate in downtown (Americaville ; details don't matter).
That's what you get by decapitation - all the independent snakes virtue-signalling amongst themselves.
I'll put my pint-voucher on May Day. Because America's "communist!" reflex will misdirect the retaliation onto one of their (America's) nominal allies.
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@cstross@wandering.shop
Please note that if you actually DID write me a haiku about daleks I now strongly suspect you're a bot.
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WellsiteGeo
@WellsiteGeo@masto.ai
Professional geologist ; Fellow of the Geological Society ; Aberdeen University, class of '87.
masto.ai
WellsiteGeo
@WellsiteGeo@masto.ai
Professional geologist ; Fellow of the Geological Society ; Aberdeen University, class of '87.
masto.ai
@WellsiteGeo@masto.ai
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Feb 27, 2026
@cstross@wandering.shop I was in B+Q yesterday, for reasons, and noticed a cubic metre bin full of sink plungers.
Then spent 30 seconds looking for a spare marker pen and bit of board to declare "Dalek Re-armament Depot", or something similar.
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"I am shocked, SHOCKED I SAY, to discover gambling taking place in this casino!" "Please take your winnings, sir." https://www.cnbc.com/2026/01/22/openai-chair-bret-taylor-ai-bubble-correction.html
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WellsiteGeo
@WellsiteGeo@masto.ai
Professional geologist ; Fellow of the Geological Society ; Aberdeen University, class of '87.
masto.ai
WellsiteGeo
@WellsiteGeo@masto.ai
Professional geologist ; Fellow of the Geological Society ; Aberdeen University, class of '87.
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@WellsiteGeo@masto.ai
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Jan 22, 2026
@cstross@wandering.shop A line from Casablanca, isn't it?
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#WritersCoffeeClub – 15 Jan. How human are your protagonists? What about your antagonists? Current WIP(s) are set 700,000 years in our future (it's wide-scale space opera). Our species of hominin is l
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WellsiteGeo
@WellsiteGeo@masto.ai
Professional geologist ; Fellow of the Geological Society ; Aberdeen University, class of '87.
masto.ai
WellsiteGeo
@WellsiteGeo@masto.ai
Professional geologist ; Fellow of the Geological Society ; Aberdeen University, class of '87.
masto.ai
@WellsiteGeo@masto.ai
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Jan 15, 2026
@cstross@wandering.shop
I'd debate (if you want to play ; real world 2-beer discussion in Auld Reekie would be fun) the assertion that 700kyr in the future humans would have speciated.
The discoveries of planets and their properties puts the Earth-like : Earth-unlike planet ratio in the 0.1% range, not a Star-Trek 50%. So the large majority of future humans would build human-comfortable habitats, rather than grow 6 legs, or 5 lungs.
Whether humans would choose *incompatible* gene-engineering to grow,
1/2
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This is just insane: https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2026/jan/14/iran-protests-live-updates-trump-us-action-death-toll-protester-executions-erfan-soltani Trump wants to start a war with Iran *A
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WellsiteGeo
@WellsiteGeo@masto.ai
Professional geologist ; Fellow of the Geological Society ; Aberdeen University, class of '87.
masto.ai
WellsiteGeo
@WellsiteGeo@masto.ai
Professional geologist ; Fellow of the Geological Society ; Aberdeen University, class of '87.
masto.ai
@WellsiteGeo@masto.ai
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Jan 14, 2026
@cstross@wandering.shop
Trump "advisors" say "Operation Barbarossa - try again ; it might work this time".
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Weirdly, if I just flat out said "my muse is a hungry ghost trapped in a jar: I shake it and she shouts story ideas at me" people might actually think I was serious.
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WellsiteGeo
@WellsiteGeo@masto.ai
Professional geologist ; Fellow of the Geological Society ; Aberdeen University, class of '87.
masto.ai
WellsiteGeo
@WellsiteGeo@masto.ai
Professional geologist ; Fellow of the Geological Society ; Aberdeen University, class of '87.
masto.ai
@WellsiteGeo@masto.ai
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Jan 13, 2026
@cstross@wandering.shop
@Grok@twitter.com : Create video of Charlie trying to put Menhit into a glass jar. Genre : slasher.
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#WritersCoffeeClub Jan 13. Are you actively building your working vocabulary? How? Not specifically these days, but I instinctively look up unfamiliar words I run across when reading. When I was about
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WellsiteGeo
@WellsiteGeo@masto.ai
Professional geologist ; Fellow of the Geological Society ; Aberdeen University, class of '87.
masto.ai
WellsiteGeo
@WellsiteGeo@masto.ai
Professional geologist ; Fellow of the Geological Society ; Aberdeen University, class of '87.
masto.ai
@WellsiteGeo@masto.ai
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Jan 13, 2026
@cstross@wandering.shop
"When I was about 10-12 years old I went through a phase of reading dictionaries." Who didn't?
You moved on to thesauruses at 13? With an occasional foray into Cruden's Concordance, for entertainment?
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Found elsenet: seems reasonable to me.
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WellsiteGeo
@WellsiteGeo@masto.ai
Professional geologist ; Fellow of the Geological Society ; Aberdeen University, class of '87.
masto.ai
WellsiteGeo
@WellsiteGeo@masto.ai
Professional geologist ; Fellow of the Geological Society ; Aberdeen University, class of '87.
masto.ai
@WellsiteGeo@masto.ai
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Jan 13, 2026
@cstross@wandering.shop
Doesn't Laundry Files Bob routinely trap hungry ghosts in expensive, Shiny!, warranty-voided Apple jars?
Damn, I've forgotten Bob's surname. Since he's an inverted Jimmy Bond, his initials must be BJ, but I forget the second name.
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POLL: Never start a ...
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WellsiteGeo
@WellsiteGeo@masto.ai
Professional geologist ; Fellow of the Geological Society ; Aberdeen University, class of '87.
masto.ai
WellsiteGeo
@WellsiteGeo@masto.ai
Professional geologist ; Fellow of the Geological Society ; Aberdeen University, class of '87.
masto.ai
@WellsiteGeo@masto.ai
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Jan 03, 2026
@cstross@wandering.shop Surely starting a holy war is obligatory, not optional.
You've done your sysop trench time ; you know this.
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@georgetakei@universeodon.com So they're putting the Christian Dominionist propaganda front and center of the slogan, now. Niiice. ("Deporting the evil foreigners will bring about the Rapture and what
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@cstross@wandering.shop @georgetakei@universeodon.com Have I misunderstood Rapture theology? I thought that after the 100,000 get Raptured, what would be left behind would be HELL on Earth (per opinio
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@WellsiteGeo@masto.ai @georgetakei@universeodon.com It varies! Rapture theology was invented out of whole cloth only a bit more than a century ago and various sects have already bent, spindled, and mu
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WellsiteGeo
@WellsiteGeo@masto.ai
Professional geologist ; Fellow of the Geological Society ; Aberdeen University, class of '87.
masto.ai
WellsiteGeo
@WellsiteGeo@masto.ai
Professional geologist ; Fellow of the Geological Society ; Aberdeen University, class of '87.
masto.ai
@WellsiteGeo@masto.ai
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Jan 02, 2026
@cstross@wandering.shop @georgetakei@universeodon.com
Situation normal, then.
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#WordWeavers January 2: How does your MC talk? Describe their voice and speech. Can't: WIP is set 700K years hence, they're not even H. Sapiens type humans, the conceit is the novel has been "translat
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WellsiteGeo
@WellsiteGeo@masto.ai
Professional geologist ; Fellow of the Geological Society ; Aberdeen University, class of '87.
masto.ai
WellsiteGeo
@WellsiteGeo@masto.ai
Professional geologist ; Fellow of the Geological Society ; Aberdeen University, class of '87.
masto.ai
@WellsiteGeo@masto.ai
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Jan 02, 2026
@cstross@wandering.shop well there's an idea Orwell would recognise.
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AAAHGH GET THEE BEHIND ME SATAN I suddenly feel a compulsive need to write a thinly-disguised knock-off of Heinlein's "I Will Fear No Evil" about a dying billionaire who has his brain transplanted int
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Additions: make the billionaire a thinly-disguised Peter Thiel/Elon Musk hybrid, complete with transphobia. Make the "secretary" angry and resentful but needed the job (to cover a relative's medical i
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WellsiteGeo
@WellsiteGeo@masto.ai
Professional geologist ; Fellow of the Geological Society ; Aberdeen University, class of '87.
masto.ai
WellsiteGeo
@WellsiteGeo@masto.ai
Professional geologist ; Fellow of the Geological Society ; Aberdeen University, class of '87.
masto.ai
@WellsiteGeo@masto.ai
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Jan 02, 2026
@cstross@wandering.shop That pricking you feel in the neck ...
@antipope_cats@birdsite.tcjc.uk wants you to add a layer of cat fur + cat phobia to the torture.
Is the "secretary" a furry? Still?
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@georgetakei@universeodon.com So they're putting the Christian Dominionist propaganda front and center of the slogan, now. Niiice. ("Deporting the evil foreigners will bring about the Rapture and what
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WellsiteGeo
@WellsiteGeo@masto.ai
Professional geologist ; Fellow of the Geological Society ; Aberdeen University, class of '87.
masto.ai
WellsiteGeo
@WellsiteGeo@masto.ai
Professional geologist ; Fellow of the Geological Society ; Aberdeen University, class of '87.
masto.ai
@WellsiteGeo@masto.ai
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Jan 02, 2026
@cstross@wandering.shop @georgetakei@universeodon.com
Have I misunderstood Rapture theology?
I thought that after the 100,000 get Raptured, what would be left behind would be HELL on Earth (per opinion of Raptees).
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This thread just blew my mind. (And who says you need to eat lots of cheese to have weird dreams?!?) https://mathstodon.xyz/@TomL/115819785295676860
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WellsiteGeo
@WellsiteGeo@masto.ai
Professional geologist ; Fellow of the Geological Society ; Aberdeen University, class of '87.
masto.ai
WellsiteGeo
@WellsiteGeo@masto.ai
Professional geologist ; Fellow of the Geological Society ; Aberdeen University, class of '87.
masto.ai
@WellsiteGeo@masto.ai
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Jan 02, 2026
@cstross@wandering.shop
Memo for future self : Stilton doesn't make great cheese sauce. Acceptable, but not great.
Upside : 1/2 kilo of Stilton, evaporating steadily.
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#WritersCoffeeClub Dec 26 Who or what serves as your "rubber duck"? Friends. I get all my best flashes of insight when telling friends about my current work in progress over a coffee or a beer. (I sus
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WellsiteGeo
@WellsiteGeo@masto.ai
Professional geologist ; Fellow of the Geological Society ; Aberdeen University, class of '87.
masto.ai
WellsiteGeo
@WellsiteGeo@masto.ai
Professional geologist ; Fellow of the Geological Society ; Aberdeen University, class of '87.
masto.ai
@WellsiteGeo@masto.ai
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Dec 26, 2025
@cstross@wandering.shop
That's *exactly* the strategy I use for revising for exams. Helping someone else to revise does all those things for me, and helps me prepare 47 different "essay plans" too, for likely questions.
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#WritersCoffeeClub 18 Nov. Do you include real-world quotations in your work? Yes, but generally only from a character's mouth, and only when the source is something the character is likely to be fami
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WellsiteGeo
@WellsiteGeo@masto.ai
Professional geologist ; Fellow of the Geological Society ; Aberdeen University, class of '87.
masto.ai
WellsiteGeo
@WellsiteGeo@masto.ai
Professional geologist ; Fellow of the Geological Society ; Aberdeen University, class of '87.
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@WellsiteGeo@masto.ai
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Nov 18, 2025
@cstross@wandering.shop You would walk 500 kilometres to avoid that ?
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Coming in five hot minutes: first shrieks about the Home Office confiscating wedding rings and reliquaries containing locks of the hair of murdered relatives. (Which in any sane time line would lead t
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WellsiteGeo
@WellsiteGeo@masto.ai
Professional geologist ; Fellow of the Geological Society ; Aberdeen University, class of '87.
masto.ai
WellsiteGeo
@WellsiteGeo@masto.ai
Professional geologist ; Fellow of the Geological Society ; Aberdeen University, class of '87.
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@WellsiteGeo@masto.ai
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Nov 17, 2025
@cstross@wandering.shop Gold teeth by Friday?
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This is why the first modern bicycles, circa 1885-1890, were sold as "safety bicycles"—and drove the penny-farthing into extinction within five years! https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://bsky.app/profile/di
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@cstross@wandering.shop I imagine that falling off a penny farthing could result in broken bones.
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@Remittancegirl@mstdn.social It regularly did! Also they didn't have gears or brakes (the pedal was fixed to the driving wheel). Early safety bicycles didn't have gears or brakes either, but at least
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WellsiteGeo
@WellsiteGeo@masto.ai
Professional geologist ; Fellow of the Geological Society ; Aberdeen University, class of '87.
masto.ai
WellsiteGeo
@WellsiteGeo@masto.ai
Professional geologist ; Fellow of the Geological Society ; Aberdeen University, class of '87.
masto.ai
@WellsiteGeo@masto.ai
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Nov 17, 2025
@cstross@wandering.shop @Remittancegirl@mstdn.social
Assuming your feet reached the ground without tilting..
Which is still part of cycle training and sizing today.
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@Remittancegirl@mstdn.social It regularly did! Also they didn't have gears or brakes (the pedal was fixed to the driving wheel). Early safety bicycles didn't have gears or brakes either, but at least
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@cstross@wandering.shop Ah, I did not know any of this. No brakes. Holy shit!
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@Remittancegirl@mstdn.social The reason for the giant driving wheel was to compensate for the lack of a chain and gears! You couldn't vary the distance traveled per pedal turn without a drive mechanis
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WellsiteGeo
@WellsiteGeo@masto.ai
Professional geologist ; Fellow of the Geological Society ; Aberdeen University, class of '87.
masto.ai
WellsiteGeo
@WellsiteGeo@masto.ai
Professional geologist ; Fellow of the Geological Society ; Aberdeen University, class of '87.
masto.ai
@WellsiteGeo@masto.ai
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Nov 17, 2025
@cstross@wandering.shop @Remittancegirl@mstdn.social
There was also a side benefit that longer spokes made for *some* suspension from the ruts, potholes and (if paved) cobblestones of the road.
Modern short spokes have more elasticity, as well as pneumatic tyres, not solid rubber ones.
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#WritersCoffeeClub Nov 16, How much work goes into naming your characters? I'm generally shit at naming characters, although they can serve as useful world-building reference points. Current WIP is se
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WellsiteGeo
@WellsiteGeo@masto.ai
Professional geologist ; Fellow of the Geological Society ; Aberdeen University, class of '87.
masto.ai
WellsiteGeo
@WellsiteGeo@masto.ai
Professional geologist ; Fellow of the Geological Society ; Aberdeen University, class of '87.
masto.ai
@WellsiteGeo@masto.ai
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Nov 16, 2025
@cstross@wandering.shop
Stretching my memory, aren't the "bdelloids" (Yes, weird speelung. Memorable.) another whole family of ... "Vermes" (L., 1757)
So, in large part, you're using Latin, at one step removed (with a soupçon of Greek).
Ohhh, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bdelloidea has a fossil family picture!
"(Greek βδέλλα or bdella, meaning leech)"
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