Dr. Jessica Ball πŸͺ's Avatar

Dr. Jessica Ball πŸͺ

@tuffcookie

Volcanologist, scicomm-er, Magma PI, Field Fiddler. She/her. Tweets, likes, retweets do not speak for or represent past/present employers.

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05.07.2023
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Latest posts by Dr. Jessica Ball πŸͺ @tuffcookie

Ah yes, Lisa Frank does geothermal, that's totally legit.

22.02.2026 19:39 πŸ‘ 4 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

My cats are fascinated by curling, courtesy of the Olympics.

14.02.2026 03:33 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
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Happy birthday to one of my favourite haters, Charles Darwin

12.02.2026 16:31 πŸ‘ 10352 πŸ” 3081 πŸ’¬ 162 πŸ“Œ 419

Welp, time to cancel that Ring subscription and set up a private camera system so I can watch the delivery folks chuck my packages over my fence. Oy.

09.02.2026 05:42 πŸ‘ 5 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Tinder Hasn’t Worked, So I’m Putting Myself on Zillow After a decade on dating apps, I’ve decided to enter a different market. This is why I’m listing myself on Zillow until I find a good matchβ€”which, ...

"After a decade on dating apps, I’ve decided to enter a different market. This is why I’m listing myself on Zillow until I find a good matchβ€”which, to my understanding, will be about forty-eight hours."

31.01.2026 02:40 πŸ‘ 101 πŸ” 13 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 1

I don’t want to hear anything from an elected official unless it’s a plan to defund the DHS and impeach Noem, Bovino, etc. No texts. No emails. No talk about the economy. Step up or step off.

24.01.2026 19:23 πŸ‘ 24112 πŸ” 6244 πŸ’¬ 291 πŸ“Œ 291
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a woman is sitting in a crowd of people with her mouth open and the words `` i hate it ! '' ALT: a woman is sitting in a crowd of people with her mouth open and the words `` i hate it ! ''

This is why, as a single lady who lives in Silicon Valley but isn't in tech, I spend so much time screaming into my screaming pillow. These are the same types who shilled "raw water" and were convinced we all wanted to exist as virtual reality avatars.

07.01.2026 05:59 πŸ‘ 9 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 0
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a cartoon character is sitting on a bed holding a pillow and saying muffled screaming . Alt: Catroon little girl Lilo falls back on her bed clutching a pillow to her face to muffle her screaming and, Same, Lilo, same

I received a noise blocking screaming pillow for Christmas and I have used it several times today already

06.01.2026 00:54 πŸ‘ 5 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
One crudely drawn cartoon character kicking another screaming cartoon character off a cliff. The falling character is labeled 2025 because this year definitely deserves to die at the bottom of a pit

One crudely drawn cartoon character kicking another screaming cartoon character off a cliff. The falling character is labeled 2025 because this year definitely deserves to die at the bottom of a pit

Good riddance. Let's spend 2026 not actively destroying the world, mkay?

01.01.2026 05:46 πŸ‘ 37 πŸ” 10 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Not on Bluesky because we weren’t allowed to join, but people get mad because we posted updates reminding them that California's volcanoes are NOT erupting.

31.12.2025 04:30 πŸ‘ 19 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Trump moves to shut down Boulder climate research lab NCAR, drawing rebukes from Colorado officials Federal lawmakers called the planned NCAR closure β€œdeeply dangerous” and β€œblatantly retaliatory.” Gov. Jared Polis said: β€œIf true, public safety is at risk and science…

The dismantling of NCAR should be the trending story on Bluesky, not the fucking Oscars leaving ABC for YouTube.

17.12.2025 19:59 πŸ‘ 979 πŸ” 431 πŸ’¬ 12 πŸ“Œ 24
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a man in a striped shirt and tie is sleeping on a couch Alt: a man in a striped shirt and tie is fanning himself with a sheaf of paper

It is entirely too warm in Virginia today and I object.

26.11.2025 23:17 πŸ‘ 5 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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a cartoon girl in shorts and a pink shirt is standing in a room Alt: Animated GIF of Noni from the cartoon Lilo and Stitch movie as she grabs a throw pillow, clutches it to her face, and screams

Seriously considering asking for one of those noise-blocking screaming pillows for Christmas. Anyone have a favorite brand? (Small business artisinal screaming pillows preferred...)

14.11.2025 03:31 πŸ‘ 8 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Well, Congress passed a law about it after the last marathon shutdown, but laws seem to be pretty optional these days so πŸ€·β€β™€οΈ

13.11.2025 02:14 πŸ‘ 1 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Wait until the feds get paychecks, we all gotta do our holiday shopping real fast...πŸ˜‚

13.11.2025 01:53 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
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Sam Altman’s AI empire will devour as much power as New York City and San Diego combined. Experts say it’s β€˜scary’ | Fortune Andrew Chien told Fortune he’s been a computer scientist for 40 years but we’re close to β€œsome seminal moments for how we think about AI and its impact on society.”

delete chatgpt and stop using generative AI πŸ–€πŸ€

07.10.2025 01:26 πŸ‘ 993 πŸ” 446 πŸ’¬ 17 πŸ“Œ 27
I Am An AI Hater I am an AI hater. This is considered rude, but I do not care, because I am a hater.

"Incoherent empty men want to sell me the chance to stop reading and writing and thinking, to stop caring for my kids or talking to my parents, to stop choosing what I do or knowing why I do it. Blissful ignorance and total isolation."

anthonymoser.github.io/writing/ai/h...

04.09.2025 14:13 πŸ‘ 135 πŸ” 59 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 4

Red Sonja?

14.07.2025 01:45 πŸ‘ 4 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
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In Memoriam: Wes Hildreth, 1938-2025 The USGS California Volcano Observatory is saddened to announce the death of Edward Wesley (Wes) Hildreth III, in a vehicle accident on June 19, 2025, in rural western Nevada near Long Valley Caldera.

Sad news about a colleague of mine at the USGS and a legend in the volcanology field: www.usgs.gov/observatorie...

07.07.2025 19:28 πŸ‘ 45 πŸ” 6 πŸ’¬ 3 πŸ“Œ 0

Trewly.

07.07.2025 03:46 πŸ‘ 6 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Live: The New Golden Age of HUD | Secretary Turner Unveils HUD’s New Building
Live: The New Golden Age of HUD | Secretary Turner Unveils HUD’s New Building YouTube video by HUDchannel

Absolutely speechless as this press conference basically ignores that NSF is already working, living, loving this building. www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zdct...

25.06.2025 14:56 πŸ‘ 122 πŸ” 56 πŸ’¬ 19 πŸ“Œ 5

Not seeing nearly enough coverage of this.

25.06.2025 17:29 πŸ‘ 7 πŸ” 3 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

it’s even more demoralizing when the history you’re repeating is history you were around for the first time

22.06.2025 01:44 πŸ‘ 36678 πŸ” 7762 πŸ’¬ 392 πŸ“Œ 303
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This is how it’s done!
πŸ‘ŠπŸΏπŸ‘ŠπŸΎπŸ‘ŠπŸ½πŸ‘ŠπŸΌπŸ‘ŠπŸ»

15.06.2025 14:06 πŸ‘ 18520 πŸ” 3533 πŸ’¬ 339 πŸ“Œ 178
A pale yellow lab on a red leash looks happily at the woman petting him. He is adorned with red white and blue pompoms and wearing a sign on each side. The visible sign reads "Pro Democracy, Pro Choice, Pro Science, Pro Women, Pro Dogs". Around him, protesterscmill about with similar signs.

A pale yellow lab on a red leash looks happily at the woman petting him. He is adorned with red white and blue pompoms and wearing a sign on each side. The visible sign reads "Pro Democracy, Pro Choice, Pro Science, Pro Women, Pro Dogs". Around him, protesterscmill about with similar signs.

A very important doggo from one of today's #NoKings protests. (The other side of his signs says "No tariffs on treats")

@weratedogs.com

15.06.2025 04:08 πŸ‘ 12 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Blue Dot: The golden state's volcanic legacy: The USGS California Volcano Observatory Host Dave Schlom discusses one of his favorite topics, California's volcanoes, with two United States Geological Survey staff members from the USGS California Volcano Observatory based at Moffett Fiel...

If anyone wants to hear me and my observatory's monitoring chief talk California volcanoes, this week's NSPR Blue Dot podcast is out! πŸ§ͺβš’οΈπŸŒ‹

Blue Dot: The Golden State's volcanic legacy: The USGS California Volcano Observatory | NSPR share.google/mko4KMElJXsU...

14.06.2025 00:08 πŸ‘ 70 πŸ” 16 πŸ’¬ 4 πŸ“Œ 0
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a close up of a sad cat with the words pleeeaasse written below it ALT: a close up of a sad cat with the words pleeeaasse written below it

Pls elaborate on Shia LaBeouf, I implore you

04.06.2025 02:52 πŸ‘ 3 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

Imagine this thread, with added volcanoes, and you've got a decent idea of what my job feels like nowadays. I'm either depressed or angry, unable to plan, constantly on edge. Utterly maddening when all I want to do is help people.

04.06.2025 02:47 πŸ‘ 22 πŸ” 7 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
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Well, that's the presidential proposed USGS budget for FY26. It’s not just NSF and NASA that would be taking earth science research hits if it's enacted.

31.05.2025 01:58 πŸ‘ 120 πŸ” 55 πŸ’¬ 4 πŸ“Œ 1

Okay, probably closer to 300. But yowie!

26.05.2025 03:31 πŸ‘ 5 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0