Nostr notes by Stephen Heard

Today on the blog, a super-useful writing technique that's ...

2026-09-29T14:38:51Z

Today on the blog, a super-useful writing technique that's managed to get short shrift in *both* of my writing books! The reverse outline: how to do one, and what to do with it. https://scientistseessquirrel.wordpress.com/2026/09/29/the-reverse-outline-a-useful-writing-technique-i-mention-but-dont-explain-in-both-my-new-books/

Just a few of the fall fungi growing now in Odell Park, ...

2026-09-15T10:42:01Z

Just a few of the fall fungi growing now in Odell Park, Fredericton, NB. (Also many, many lovely boletes, which if my photos are the evidence, have DNA sequences causing them to be extremely blurry).

Another example. Remnants of an old mining cart perhaps? Somehow, ...

2026-08-04T21:34:21Z

In reply to nevent1q…hqra
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Another example. Remnants of an old mining cart perhaps? Somehow, the tree growing up through it pushes it from "litter" into "history" for me, and that makes no sense at all, but there you have it.

There's an interesting line between "ooh, look, evidence ...

2026-08-04T15:08:56Z

In reply to nevent1q…2rmw
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There's an interesting line between "ooh, look, evidence of human history" and "crap, look, more garbage littering the land and water". This (foreground, obv, dude in the background was nice!) water turbine wheel is making me think about where the line is... (Long Beach Brook Falls, Fundy Trail, NB)

My brother gave me this suggestion for what the book cover SHOULD ...

2026-08-04T14:56:31Z

In reply to nevent1q…0qym
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My brother gave me this suggestion for what the book cover SHOULD look like. It's a very good thing that authors don't get control over cover design because I would have been SO tempted to use this...

It's publication day! The 3rd edition of "The ...

2026-08-04T12:13:44Z

It's publication day! The 3rd edition of "The Scientist's Guide to Writing" is available TODAY. It's expanded and it's as up-to-date as I can make it.

If you've been using this book - thank you. If you haven't: today is a great time to start!

https://scientistseessquirrel.wordpress.com/2026/08/04/its-publication-day-the-scientists-guide-to-writing-3rd-edition/

Another Amanita. In this species the "universal veil" ...

2026-08-04T10:15:19Z

In reply to nevent1q…99qh
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Another Amanita. In this species the "universal veil" tears into little pieces that end up stuck to the cap like little warts. Long Beach Brook Falls trail, Fundy Trail, NB

Sometimes mushrooms work hard to hide their key identification ...

2026-08-03T11:11:23Z

In reply to nevent1q…4kgu
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Sometimes mushrooms work hard to hide their key identification features from you. Sometimes, they say "Hello, I am an Amanita, for my stalk has burst through an egg-like sac which remains, torn, and in the keys you'll see it called the universal veil. You're welcome!"

Paper accepted! "No evidence that female body size or ...

2026-07-28T17:05:26Z

Paper accepted! "No evidence that female body size or fecundity mediate male choice or reproductive isolation in a sympatric native-invasive pair of longhorn beetles (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae)", coming soon in Canadian Entomologist. (Yep, negative results - but they're interesting!)

Lovely walk in the woods today, and the recent rain has brought ...

2026-07-16T18:19:02Z

Lovely walk in the woods today, and the recent rain has brought up a lovely crop of mushrooms. A nice big batch of the chanterelles (left) are now in my fridge; the fly agaric (right) is absolutely not!

Good teaching has a substantial amount of stand-up comedy, ...

2026-05-26T12:37:37Z

Good teaching has a substantial amount of stand-up comedy, costuming, or whatever else can grab student attention. At first this felt cheap - but I learned to work with it. https://scientistseessquirrel.wordpress.com/2026/05/26/good-teaching-is-15-straight-up-entertainment-and-thats-ok/

Looks like the floodgates have opened for #BackYardSugarBush2026. ...

2026-03-25T14:39:00Z

In reply to nevent1q…86ds
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Looks like the floodgates have opened for #BackYardSugarBush2026. After a *terrible* start to the season, the sap is really gushing now. Since yesterday morning, I've collected ~85 litres of sap (from 10 taps) - and today's run is just starting!

And this doesn't account for a bit of syrup lost in a ...

2026-03-24T17:13:40Z

In reply to nevent1q…87v9
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And this doesn't account for a bit of syrup lost in a boil-over (oops), and a bit remaining in the filter that I'll wash out and recover with the next collection of sap. So 23.6-to-1 is conservative, it was probably a bit lower. (Large sugarbushes figure on ~40:1, but open-grown city trees often run sweeter)

Into the pot - now to bring to a boil and check density. ...

2026-03-24T14:31:29Z

In reply to nevent1q…7chc
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Into the pot - now to bring to a boil and check density.

Time to finish some syrup! Here's what I have: the 128 L of ...

2026-03-24T14:30:54Z

In reply to nevent1q…szrt
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Time to finish some syrup! Here's what I have: the 128 L of sap, boiled down in a few different batches to about 7 L. The bottles vary a bit in colour because I boiled some down farther than others.

I'm curious about the amount, actually. While people usually ...

2026-03-22T13:57:59Z

In reply to nevent1q…vzvj
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I'm curious about the amount, actually. While people usually say sap:syrup is 40:1, open-grown trees like mine often run sweeter, and I get ~29:1. But that varies a bit year to year - and we've had drought. Is the sap sweeter this year (less water, better ratio)? Stay tuned as I find out...

Jeff Houlahan has posted an interesting manuscript about how to ...

2026-03-20T12:46:41Z

Jeff Houlahan has posted an interesting manuscript about how to do good science. I think parts of it are wrong - but in productive ways, so it's worth reading. My take: https://scientistseessquirrel.wordpress.com/2026/03/20/friday-link-how-to-do-good-science/

No sap for a couple of days now. First too warm, then too cold... ...

2026-03-14T14:34:19Z

In reply to nevent1q…h3x8
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No sap for a couple of days now. First too warm, then too cold... but at least there's some lovely snow right now to help me relax about that. Here's your moment of #BackYardSugarBush2026 zen.

Here goes. ...

2026-03-03T21:57:51Z

In reply to nevent1q…ud95
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Here goes.

Beautiful little cluster of (hatched) eggs on an Anthurium ...

2026-02-09T12:09:01Z

Beautiful little cluster of (hatched) eggs on an Anthurium houseplant leaf. Probably stinkbug or something similar? Photos (c) Jim Robertson.

"AI can get in the way of learning, and it can promote ...

2026-01-27T16:11:02Z

"AI can get in the way of learning, and it can promote learning, depending on how it's used." I really like Terry McGlynn's conceptual take on how we might think about student use of AI in courses. https://
scienceforeveryone.science/what-to-do-when-student-turn-in-assignments-generated-by-ai/

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Time to (drum roll) reveal the cover for the 3rd edition of ...

2026-01-26T13:41:20Z

Time to (drum roll) reveal the cover for the 3rd edition of 'The Scientist's Guide to Writing'! It's getting real, it's getting close - you can even preorder already! https://scientistseessquirrel.wordpress.com/2026/01/26/cover-reveal-the-3rd-edition-scientists-guide-to-writing-is-getting-closer/

Putting together slides for a talk on brevity next week and was ...

2026-01-04T17:14:06Z

Putting together slides for a talk on brevity next week and was reminded of this: one of the shortest scientific papers I know of.
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Ooh, look, a parcel from the University of Chicago Press! ...

2025-12-16T12:51:52Z

Ooh, look, a parcel from the University of Chicago Press! Whatever could it be??
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They're densely packed, flit maniacally from topic to topic, ...

2025-10-28T13:28:41Z

In reply to nevent1q…74fl
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They're densely packed, flit maniacally from topic to topic, and full of Leonardo showing his... let's say "self confidence". In discussing a common idea about fossils that differs from his own, he writes: “Such an opinion cannot exist in brains possessed of any extensive powers of reasoning”. Ouch.

NSF instructs peer reviewers not to use the first person in ...

2025-10-07T12:15:05Z

NSF instructs peer reviewers not to use the first person in writing a review. Why on earth? And isn't this terrible advice? https://scientistseessquirrel.wordpress.com/2025/10/07/theres-no-i-in-peer-review-or-is-there/

My undergrad students often think that Latin names are dull. One ...

2025-09-17T14:06:37Z

My undergrad students often think that Latin names are dull. One of my missions in life seems to be to counter this misunderstanding.... and as this week's installment I give you the No Parking Whitebeam: https://scientistseessquirrel.wordpress.com/2025/09/16/wonderful-latin-names-karpatiosorbus-admonitor/

The course combines lectures, discussions, and small-group ...

2025-05-05T12:35:50Z

In reply to nevent1q…akgf
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The course combines lectures, discussions, and small-group workshops. I had 22 students this time – all (I think) PhD students, although the course works for senior undergrads or MSc (or PDFs!) too. It was a great group, eager and engaged.
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Just back home after a great trip that began in Tartu, Estonia, ...

2025-05-05T12:35:44Z

Just back home after a great trip that began in Tartu, Estonia, where I taught my intensive (one-week) Scientific Writing course. Thanks to the Estonian University of Life Sciences and the University of Tartu for co-hosting!
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It's time for #BackYardSugarBush2025! The weather this week ...

2025-03-10T18:43:48Z

It's time for #BackYardSugarBush2025! The weather this week is (mostly) what we want: freezing at night, above zero during the day. The sap should be running - let's go tap some trees!

(If you followed #BackYardSugarBush2024 or previous years, you might want to mute this thread...)
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