Brian O'Meara

@omearabrian.bsky.social

I study diversification, species delimitation, trait evolution & similar questions, often using new methods. Also random coding projects. College prof living in Oak Ridge, TN, USA. Opinions my own. He/Him

@omearabrian.bsky.social Oct 16, 2026, 9:48 PM

I’ve made a package to make setting up a targets workflow easier: github.com/bomeara/Targ... . Still a bit of a work in progress but it works. Example code plus makes it easier to make the _targets directory of outputs be somewhere else (like dropbox or onedrive) as it isn’t great for GitHub.

@omearabrian.bsky.social Oct 16, 2026, 9:20 PM

When I was an undergrad, our physics prof made sure to show the dancing baby gif during her lecture (I think she had to leave powerpoint to fire up a web browser), so we all could get to see it. Imagine ~200 Harvard undergrads raptly watching a gif.

Now you can, too! Thanks @archive.org

Internet Archive@archive.orgOct 16, 2026, 5:05 PM

The Internet Archive has a museum for the weirdest art of the early web. 🖼️ It’s called GifCities. Thousands of animated GIFs rescued from the first wave of the web. Glitter. Dancing. Cats. Strange little loops that survived. 💾 Go find your perfect retro GIF 👉 gifcities.org #ToolsYouCanUse

@phdbee.bsky.social Oct 16, 2026, 6:29 PMReposted by @omearabrian.bsky.social

Hello all NSF GRFP Letter Writers - just a reminder they are due TODAY!!! #academia #academicsky #professors

@fishfetisher.bsky.social Oct 16, 2026, 4:05 PMReposted by @omearabrian.bsky.social

I figured I would make a PSA since NSF GRFPs are due soon. Make sure to follow all the formatting requirements exactly as written, and have "Intellectual Merit" and "Broader Impacts" on their own separate lines. I'd hate for anyone to get auto-rejected! www.nsf.gov/funding/init...

Intellectual Merit
[State the Intellectual Merit of your Personal Statement here. Keep this heading exactly as shown. Do not combine add text or combine with other sections. See GRFP Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for definitions and guidance related to Intellectual Merit.]

Broader Impacts
[State the Broader Impacts of your Personal Statement here. Keep this heading exactly as shown. Do not add other text or combine with other sections. See GRFP Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for definitions and guidance related to Broader Impacts.]

@omearabrian.bsky.social Oct 16, 2026, 12:09 PM

targets is one of my favorite things in #rstats.

Nick Tierney@njtierney.bsky.socialOct 15, 2026, 11:24 PM

Hey folks! Stoked to be giving a 3 hour workshop "A Gentle Introduction to Targets" at WOMBAT in Melbourne, November 30. Sign up at wombat2026.numbat.space/program/tuto... Early bird registration prices ends Sunday, 18th October! See the full program wombat2026.numbat.space #rstats #targets

Photo of Nick Tierney on a poster for the WOMBAT conference. An ad for his workshop, "A Gentle Introduction to Targets"

@ostratodd.bsky.social Oct 15, 2026, 2:13 PMReposted by @omearabrian.bsky.social

We’re developing a database of opsins—light-sensitive protein. One reason is to simulate the evolution of color sensitivity. Seth Frazer and I joined student journalist Momin Ahmed Khaki to discuss our work in this SICB interview:
youtu.be/MIEy79nv5N8

@utkherbarium.bsky.social Oct 16, 2026, 12:00 PMReposted by @omearabrian.bsky.social

What a special visit to TENN! Family, former students, and friends of Vernon McNeilus explored his botanical collection. They knew he studied sedges, but were amazed by the variety of plants and states represented. We loved hearing their memories and sharing his botanical legacy! #HerbariumTour

@peterbeerli.bsky.social Oct 15, 2026, 2:09 AMReposted by @omearabrian.bsky.social

Application is open for for the Molecular Evolution Workshop at the MBL in Woods Hole (May 22- June 1) www.mbl.edu/education/ad...

@ologies.bsky.social Oct 14, 2026, 8:14 PMReposted by @omearabrian.bsky.social

I’ll be speaking on this free panel — Thursday 10/15 @ noon EST to help save the Academy of Sciences in Philly!

Please register to join and pass it on:

us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

@omearabrian.bsky.social Oct 15, 2026, 10:15 AM

One of the preprint servers has a year ban for this

@kspoon.bsky.social Oct 14, 2026, 10:25 PMReposted by @omearabrian.bsky.social

As a PhD student designing my first survey, I added what I thought was a throwaway question at the end. To my surprise, thousands of academics answered it! The paper is out today: doi.org/10.1093/pnas...

@kspoon.bsky.social Oct 14, 2026, 10:27 PMReposted by @omearabrian.bsky.social

We found that the most gendered experience wasn’t work-life balance, the focus of most retention efforts. It was feeling devalued, in formal evaluations, but particularly in everyday interactions. Unlike every other topic, the gender gap in devaluation was larger among more senior faculty.

@daveyfwright.bsky.social Oct 14, 2026, 3:02 PMReposted by @omearabrian.bsky.social

Come see @oupaleobiology.bsky.social graduate students Alysha Zazubec (Cole lab) and Kiera Crowley (Wright lab) present their poster describing new fossil crinoids from the Ordovician of Anticosti Island!

Two people standing in front of a poster with photos of crinoids

@analyssi.bsky.social Oct 14, 2026, 3:21 PMReposted by @omearabrian.bsky.social

And if you're a letter writer, note that the letters have specific formatting requirements (fonts, etc) which were not around last time I wrote these.

@omearabrian.bsky.social Oct 14, 2026, 10:25 PM

Great, all the LLMs are going to become advocates for (human, orangutan). 😉

@rdmpage.bsky.social Oct 14, 2026, 5:49 PMReposted by @omearabrian.bsky.social

An amazing archive of taxonomy - and yes, lots of taxonomists grumping. But also a treasure trove of research material.

@botsocamerica.bsky.social Oct 13, 2026, 3:06 PMReposted by @omearabrian.bsky.social

Dreaming of a faculty job at a PUI?

Join the #Botany360 "Interviewing and Preparing for a Career at a PUI" with Kalina Manoylov (Georgia College & State U.) and other PUI faculty. All career levels welcome.

Oct. 30, 2026
9:00-10:30 am ET
Free on Zoom

Flyer for a Botany360 event titled “Interviewing and Preparing for a Career at a PUI.” Date and time: October 30th, 2026, 9:00 to 10:30 am ET. Bullet points: “Get tips for interviewing for a faculty position at a primarily undergraduate institution” and “Network with a community of people with shared career goals.” A QR code is labeled “Register now!” Presenter: Kalina Manoylov, Georgia College & State University. Presented by the PUI section of the Botanical Society of America. The Botany360 and Botanical Society of America logos are shown.

@sse-evolution.bsky.social Oct 13, 2026, 9:16 PMReposted by @omearabrian.bsky.social

Apply by this Thursday to join a new SSE committee for reducing SSE’s environmental footprint and supporting sustainable research practices! Learn more: www.evolutionsociety.org/news/display...

Text: Society for the Study of Evolution Environmental Impacts and Sustainability Committee, Deadline extended: October 15, evolutionsociety.org.

@omearabrian.bsky.social Oct 13, 2026, 9:38 PM

And when I review, I'm not deliberately going through and checking refs for "hallucinations", not uploading someone else's work to a putative "AI checker", etc. But if I want to follow up on a thing you cite as a basis for the work, I should be able to find it.

@omearabrian.bsky.social Oct 13, 2026, 9:35 PM

I reviewed a paper whose authors lied* about citations (citing papers that don't exist, etc.). So I stopped reviewing and told the journal. Three other reviewers didn't comment on this. AE confirmed the wrong citations. Decision: major revision!!! * yes, likely AI, but authors claimed the work

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