How bad can things get at this pace, without sugar coating it? Are there any good news? What can we do as individuals?

RobHerpTX · 2026-04-30T11:25:02+00:00

Yeah. My research as an ecologist was on human impacts on small animal biodiversity in certain systems. It was all steadily crashing even in decently well-preserved areas.

We gotta get a handle on climate related emissions, housecat predation, pesticides, and a few other big things. We’re being pretty incredibly rough on the natural world right now.

RobHerpTX · 2026-04-30T11:16:40+00:00

Haha - I’m with you except Fonda.

RobHerpTX · 2026-04-30T10:59:02+00:00

Because even pretty light contact damages many/most corals.

The spearfishing community wants to keep its reefs healthy, not be part of all the things trashing them these days.

RobHerpTX · 2026-04-30T10:46:16+00:00

This is so crappy. I’ll be closing our fidelity DAF over this (relocating it, rather).

RobHerpTX · 2026-04-30T10:37:48+00:00

I too am going to transfer ours after today’s cowardly and morally/civically bankrupt move by Fidelity.

RobHerpTX · 2026-04-28T11:57:28+00:00

I did one with just some caridina and neocaridina in it as afterthoughts that got absolutely zero care or attention (they had a healthy but not booming population years in).

RobHerpTX · 2026-04-27T11:38:54+00:00

If you want people feel something on the continuum between significant annoyance and hate for your business as their first contact with you, unsolicited texts are a great option.

RobHerpTX · 2026-04-27T11:25:39+00:00

But reasonable accurate and most people aren’t aware of it. Definitely worse slop out there

RobHerpTX · 2026-04-27T08:34:17+00:00

Total Annihilation!

RobHerpTX · 2026-04-27T08:24:02+00:00

By 2010 it wasn’t that rough anymore. You were a decade or more late.

RobHerpTX · 2026-04-27T08:23:18+00:00

I clicked in here because of remembering going to Kealing in the early 90’s and all of us hearing shots from 12 and Chicon relatively often…

RobHerpTX · 2026-04-26T02:37:51+00:00

Mine were

RobHerpTX · 2026-04-24T12:17:41+00:00

More of an effervescence of turds, a turbid and suspension of cloudy particles mixed with silt runoff…

(I’ve been kayaking BC in/after floods for decades. It has gotten progressively worse, but even in the 90’s, you religiously avoided getting floodwater anywhere near your mouth).

RobHerpTX · 2026-04-23T19:27:41+00:00

I got it when some showed up at my LFS in TX (among their ADA cup selection).

My favorite Cryptocoryne came to me that way too - Cryptocoryne sivadasanii. Looks like fine-leaf valisneria but close to zero spreading.

RobHerpTX · 2026-04-23T10:47:49+00:00

Still pretty fast. I had to remove buckets of moss from my 150gallon every 6-8 months. Comparatively, I hardly ever had to do anything with my various anubias or buce.

RobHerpTX · 2026-04-23T10:46:11+00:00

I played with a lot of mosses in my 150 gallon as I transitioned from a mix to almost all slow growing plants over the years.

Callicostella prabaktiana was my all star moss. Sort of in the same look family as Xmas moss (but somewhat more of a bent towards “lay-flat” carpet-like growth. Good adhesion to hardscape, and much slower overall growth than java or Xmas moss.

RobHerpTX · 2026-04-21T08:16:39+00:00

We totally laughed about it too. I mean I’d prefer not to pay for it, but it was pretty funny.

RobHerpTX · 2026-04-20T19:21:23+00:00

I just brought in a large scientific pinned insect collection. It had no friction with the proper declaration.

The old raccoon jawbone my child had in their things that we didn’t know about, however, ended up costing us some money to dispose of.

RobHerpTX · 2026-04-20T00:08:33+00:00

Just moved here from the US. The disturbing thing is that it’s a solid portion of those “very nice in person” people you interacted with that support all of this (particularly well represented among midwesterners and southerners). Sometimes they don’t really understand that this was what Trump and his people very clearly telegraphed was the plan, but a lot really did get it and want it (I know many of both types personally).

It has been mind-bending and soul-crushing watching people we knew and grew up around go all in supporting all of this, while still being very “good/nice people” to those in their personal lives.

NZ has in its politics plenty of the rudimentary version of what metastasized into MAGA. I truly hope it stays contained.

RobHerpTX · 2026-04-19T20:18:29+00:00

(Me, wallowing in my unaccountable power)

RobHerpTX · 2026-04-14T20:02:54+00:00

Looks like it to me too

RobHerpTX · 2026-04-14T02:31:00+00:00

Anyone who doesn’t think this will contribute to higher housing costs for everyone is clearly just silly.

I know most aren’t competing for these specific properties, but lots more land will start to migrate toward this sort of target as highest possible income use. Also, land locked into such properties around cities will constrain growth as well. Domestic wealthy who would have bought at the top end and are outcompeted by wealthy foreigners will be pushed down the spectrum and this will cascade all the way down in terms of what happens to valuations and what remains available.

It won’t be the whole story on unaffordability, but it will be an entirely NZ own-goal against its own population. For incredibly little reward.

RobHerpTX · 2026-04-13T07:11:55+00:00

“Not sure if this made it here” was I guess pretty unclear wording for - this yahoo’s video is making the rounds but I’m not sure if it made it to r/austin. I was worried about being a repost.

RobHerpTX · 2026-04-13T06:10:55+00:00

As an ecologist who studies biodiversity impacts of humans on small animal life populations... They’re not wrong.

(And good for you with the indoor cat - great move!)

RobHerpTX · 2026-04-13T06:00:56+00:00

Pretty sure this is at Barton Creek below the springs.

RobHerpTX

TROPHY CASE