Natasha Taylor

PhD in quantum physics, specifically looking at charge transfer and photosynthesis (#QuantumBiology). Numerous interests, no idea if hashtags here are useful but here goes!

#SocialJustice #MacroPhotography #STEM #History #Language #DnD #Evolution #Queer #Politics (including #AusPol) #Phylogeny #PaleoArt #Palæontology (#Pterosaurs!) #Biology #Space #Physics #Chemistry #Animals (sorry plants)

Pronouns: she/her, but if you prefer using gender-neutral pronouns in general that's fine too.

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NIP-05 Address

TashTaylor@sauropods-win.mostr.pub

Profile Code

nprofile1qqsvmzacu4ndh5neydfmh3hlyymdrzkls9s52nv7ejn4gtl74hyjxtcpz4mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujumt0wd68ytnsw43qnsulw8

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relay.mostr.pub

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npub1ek9m3etxm0f8jg6nh0r07gfk6x9dlqtpg4xean982shlatwfyvhsegd3fl

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Last Notes

2025-05-11 01:13:28

When I ride to the uni, I notice a sign at a car park that says 'Parking Permitted', and I'm always left wondering: do they mean 'permitted' as in 'allowed' (/pəˈmɪtɪd/), or 'permitted' as in requiring a permit (/ˈpɜːmɪtɪd/ (sp?))?
It just strikes me that the sign can mean completely opposite things.
#Language #Linguistics

2025-05-03 10:37:01

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Source: https://tallyroom.aec.gov.au/HouseDivisionPage-31496-252.htm

2025-05-03 10:36:36

This is how #AustraliaVotes is looking right now for Dickson
#AusPol
https://cdn.masto.host/sauropodswin/media_attachments/files/114/443/456/277/513/218/original/b22446b8c1994bbf.png

2025-05-03 00:54:04

That hadn't occurred to me, but it has been that long:
"Incumbent Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is seeking to defeat main challenger Peter Dutton of the Conservative Coalition to become the country’s first leader in two decades to win consecutive elections."
https://aje.io/64qtew
#AusPol #AustraliaVotes #AusVotes25 #Australia
https://cdn.masto.host/sauropodswin/media_attachments/files/114/441/162/288/347/794/original/670ed96991db064e.jpg

2025-05-01 06:21:34

Photomicroscopy is amazing! Steve Mould video on the Hirox microscope with rotary head attachment.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-dZKBwbsis
#Photomicroscopy #Photography #Microscope

2025-04-30 22:14:34

Diets can be consistent with planetary limits and health targets at the individual level | Nature Food
Paywalled, so I can't comment on methodology, but from the Abstract:
'Vegan, vegetarian and flexitarian diets that limit meat consumption to 255 g per week (pork and poultry) best met environmental and nutritional constraints.'
(Obviously there will be individuals with different health needs)
https://www.nature.com/articles/s43016-025-01133-y
#Food #Diet #Environment #ClimateChange #Vegan #Vegetarian #Flexitaria

2025-04-25 03:12:21

Finally watched the first three episodes of #Andor! The meeting of Imperial officials in the first episode felt very ... Wannseekonferenz, at least as portrayed in the film Conspiracy (2001).

2025-04-23 20:22:06

Okay, TikTok, fine! I'll watch #Frieren, since you seem intent on feeding it to me in minute-long chunks anyway.
#Anime

2025-04-06 09:06:41

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@nprofile…args Wow, was it really so long ago?

2025-04-05 09:59:02

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If anyone is wondering, I reported the nest as soon as I got confirmation on the ID (unfortunately I was correct, but a second opinion never hurts before wasting other people's time).

2025-04-05 09:57:52

This beautiful lady is Solenopsis invicta. Measuring barely over 2 mm long, she is a member of an incredibly successful species.
Unfortunately, she is far outside her native range, and doing incredible damage to her local ecosystem.
It isn't her fault that she's a fire ant.
#WildOz #OzInverts #MacroPhotography #Meanjin #Brisbane #Australia #Nature #Arthropod #FireAnt #Ant #Ants #SolenopsisInvicta
https://cdn.masto.host/sauropodswin/media_attachments/files/114/284/747/004/443/251/original/e1748e03855b3e4c.jpeg

2025-03-18 01:55:53

They're finally implementing smart ticketing on buses in #Meanjin / #Brisbane
#PublicTransport
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-03-18/smart-ticketing-brisbane-city-council-buses-translink-go-card/105064524

2025-03-15 04:55:16

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@nprofile…0g46 I played a lot of SimAnt, loved the game (although I was absolutely terrible at it)

2025-03-14 01:01:50

Opinion: #banks compounding annual interest with the arithmetic mean every month means they are fundamentally lying about the annual interest.
Compounding interest is a multiplicative process, and so using an additive average is a sleight-of-hand at best.
They should either use the geometric mean of the annual rate per month or simply give interest in monthly figures and the true annual rate.
Don't know if this counts as an #UnpopularOpinion for #finance peeps, but it shits me to no end.

2025-03-13 03:22:56

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@nprofile…302z 😅 Sorry for any false hope that generated; I'm in Australia

2025-03-13 02:50:11

The worst part of Friday is realising it's Thursday.

2025-03-08 03:42:52

Muscleman tree ant (Podomyrma gratiosa), so called because the large femur makes her looks like she lifts!
#WildOz #OzInverts #MacroPhotography #Meanjin #Brisbane #Australia #Nature #Arthropod #Insect #MusclemanTreeAnt #Podomyrma #Ant
https://cdn.masto.host/sauropodswin/media_attachments/files/114/124/725/375/226/761/original/6d28e4147e6c047b.jpeg

2025-03-07 02:54:35

Flex'd off work early because I can't concentrate with this cyclone hanging over me; I'm basically stuck in standby mode.
#Meanjin #Brisbane #Cyclone #CycloneAlfred

2025-03-03 21:09:23

My partner, having trouble with words:
'We really need to do the ... crockery laundry.'
I love her so much.
#English

2025-03-03 09:09:06

Just finished 'Of Tuor and his Coming to Gondolin' from the Unfinished Tales and absolutely loved it. So disappointed when it ended!
#Tolkien

2025-02-26 06:04:24

Marco Rubio May Have Just Banned Trans Foreigners Seeking Visas From US Entry
#Trans #TransRights
https://www.erininthemorning.com/p/marco-rubio-may-have-just-banned?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

2025-02-20 20:45:10

Classic: friend called clinic about getting an #ADHD diagnosis. Everything went well!
Had to call back because she forgot to ask their name 😆
#Neurodivergent

2025-02-19 23:33:37

But ready for humans yet, but:
https://www.nature.com/articles/s44294-025-00062-2
#Trans #Medicine #TransHealthcare #ReproductiveHealthcare

2025-02-15 22:50:57

Someone needs to spend a very long time in a very small room for this. But as it affects only the poor and helpless, I imagine there will be no consequences.
#AusPol #Welfare #Centrelink
Exclusive: Ten dead after welfare glitch ignored by government | The Saturday Paper
https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/news/politics/2025/02/15/exclusive-ten-dead-after-welfare-glitch-ignored-government#mtr

2025-02-15 03:03:20

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@nprofile…rnlc I shall support your petition!

2025-02-15 02:52:24

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@nprofile…rnlc Will you be bringing back Anurognathids?

2025-02-11 08:45:34

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@nprofile…pc5r My immediate concern is data privacy, especially vulnerable peoples (e.g. stalking victims).

2025-02-11 08:21:33

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@nprofile…pc5r I honestly don't know! I'd never thought to investigate it

2025-02-11 08:21:33

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@nprofile…pc5r I honestly don't know! I'd never thought to investigate it

2025-02-11 07:45:56

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@nprofile…vlvm I honestly do not understand why the registry isn't government-run.

2025-02-11 06:49:43

Don't know how many people here this will effect, but since pets are family:
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-02-11/microchip-data-doubt-for-tens-of-thousands-of-pets/104921828?utm_source=abc_news_app&utm_medium=content_shared&utm_campaign=abc_news_app&utm_content=other
#Pets #Australia

2025-02-11 05:37:22

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@nprofile…rnlc Yeah, I'm not going to complain about LNP stealing decent policy; maybe they'll see that helping people is good, actually.

2025-02-09 00:53:50

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@nprofile…args Oh wow, that's sad new. RIP, may his legacy live on

2025-02-08 23:18:42

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@nprofile…znff 'Look don't touch' is a good motto with wild animals!

2025-02-08 22:44:32

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@nprofile…znff My mind is in two: tide pools are amazing with such variety of animals! But my lizard-brain immediately responds 'blue rings, cone shells, irukandji, stonefish'.

2025-02-08 02:16:46

Balancing negative posts with positive, here's a pair of Cape Barren geese (Cereopsis novaehollandiae) I saw when I was last in Naarm/Melbourne!
#WildOz #Werribee #Naarm #Narrm #Melbourne #Australia #Nature #Bird #NaturePhotography #BirdPhotography #Goose
https://cdn.masto.host/sauropodswin/media_attachments/files/113/965/853/408/232/231/original/4971b755e0df41a1.jpeg

2025-02-08 01:17:48

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@nprofile…jck5 Yeah, because it's necessary in much of the country, the standards have to be sufficiently low that the vast majority of people can pass.
And many people drive like they don't recognise that they're in charge of over a tonne of metal hurtling at tens of metres per second—they are, in effect, operating heavy machinery. And most of the time they break rules or 'cut-corners' there are no consequences, so they become habituated.
Until their luck runs out and someone else pays for it

2025-02-08 01:02:17

'Oh the person in front of me was doing under the speed limit so I got frustrated and then <insert a self-absolving description for driving recklessly>!'
If you lack the emotional regulation to drive safely under the mildest adversity, you're not a 'good driver who occasionally gets frustrated', you're a bad driver who frequently gets lucky.
I would go so far as to say 'shouldn't be driving at all', but I recognise a lot of places are impossible to live without a car.
#CarCentrism