Also, the #MinCup23 #zircon victory has been published if you’d like an appetizer while you ready your strategies for #MinCup24! Mineral Cup is coming September 1st!!

https://www.mineralcup.org/about/2023

#Today, 4 days until my first Mastoversary

A hundred bits o’ #BadPoetry
The alt-history of #JohnMastodon
and his Neo-Lithic backstory at the dawn of the #AnthropoScene

Was it the lure of the #PacificTreeOctopus
Or the fun of #MinCup23
That drew me to post
a #ThickTrunkTuesday tree?

I never dipped but a toe
Into the Xitter of X
Enough to see the reality
Of media that is a vex

BlueSky holds interest
Though its mostly niche
It has that academic feel
But also a bit pastiche

#Mastodon is fun
#Mastodon is freeing
#Mastodon lets me…be me-ing

#ShitePoetry #CephalopodDefenseLeague
#TreesIsHabitat
#Hashtag
#Coffee
#MakeGoodChoices
#MakeEarthGreatAgain
#LifesTooShortForMarginalCoffee

They just announced Mineral and Fossil of the Year 2024 in Hungary! Mineral is corundum, and fossil is the woolly mammoth.
Also, Mineral Resource of the Year will be copper.

Yay!

#minerals #MinCup23 #fossils #gems

When not writing stories about #zircon for #MinCup23 (hooray!), I can be found on occasion doing other #scicomm. This is from an event over the weekend at the #Australian Parliament House Open Day (to mark 35 years since the opening). Geoscience Australia were invited to tell the stories of the beautiful architectural #stone from around the world used in the design of the building (see examples in the picture). We also threw in some local rocks and #fossils and some of our awesome interactive tubs. It was a busy day but always interesting to talk to the public. Big thanks to the GA and APH organisers for a great day!

It’s had to wait 4.4 billion years but the Time Lord’s time has finally come! Zircon is the champion of #mincup23!
🏆 🤩 🎉
Congratulations #Zircon, #TeamZircon!
#MineralCup2023

Image credit: John Valley, UW-Madison

Before I forget. Many thanks to the @MineralCup team for moderating the competition!
Many thanks to all my friends and furriends who took part in #MinCup23. We are very curious about which #minerals take part next year....
Simba🐾
#MinCup23 #CatsOfTwitter #Mincup2023 #DoesItCat #catsofmastodon

Well heck. The winner I was expecting. (Can we have an unexpected winner next year? 🤣) congrats, #zircon! #MinCup23

With so many tight matches, it’s going to take us a day to put together the traditional Victory Parade. Please feel free to celebrate (or mourn) and we’ll see you tomorrow.

Have ideas on what went well or what we can do better? Please fill out our post-game survey! https://www.mineralcup.org/2023/campaigns/players-survey

Curious about the people behind #MinCup23? Here’s this year’s volunteers: https://www.mineralcup.org/2023-volunteers

Congratulations, #Zircon! Condolences, #Perovskite, and better luck next year!

That was an impressive match with clear Get Out The Vote efforts from both teams, particularly in the final hours where we saw it flip several times.

We are in awe, and want to recognize your efforts at entertainment, education, and enthusiasm. Thank you for making #MinCup23 so much fun!

After an intense match with 3757 votes, perpetual runner-up #Zircon takes the #MinCup23 Championship by just 61 votes over #Perovskite!

#Zircon and #Perovskite are worthy adversaries. Congratulations!

Next year is the year of #sapphirine. Momentum is building -it received 100's of more votes than last year.

Go Blue! Go Sapphirine!
#MInCup23 #Granulite

#TeamZircon This is all you! Congratulations! #MinCup23 Champions! Good job #TeamPerovskite!

An amazing month of mineral facts, photos, and fun. The organizers of #MinCup23, @MineralCup have done an astounding job of keeping everything straight and maintaining the enthusiasm. Thank you!

Thanks also to www.MinDat.org for their support and resources.

Last call for #MinCup23 votes! Get in for your team NOW just in case our site crumbles a bit under the traffic. 😬

#TeamZircon our lead is gone!

If there's anyone you can convince to vote, now's the time

https://www.mineralcup.org/2023/campaigns/round-5-match-1
#MinCup23

Q: Are you sure #MinCup23 isn’t being swamped by bots or ballot-stuffing?!

A: We’re monitoring incoming votes and know exactly why the tides are turning. It’s very enthusiastic electioneering efforts.

Want to flip the vote? Find more players! Both these minerals have what it takes to win

With under 2 hours to go in #MinCup23, #Perovskite has picked up momentum and is on the verge of taking the lead from #Zircon.

PSA:
While #Zircon continues to have a strong lead, the ratios are shifting and we’re seeing an uptick in the proportion of #Perovskite votes. #MinCup23 is far from decided!

Just hours left in #MinCup23 FINAL MATCH!

Will our Champion be #Zircon, the eternal timekeeper, or #Perovskite, the cubical rain on brown dwarf stars?

Vote: https://www.mineralcup.org/2023/campaigns/round-5-match-1

Results: https://www.mineralcup.org/results/round-5-match-1

Less than 4 hours remaining to recruit new players and ensure #Zircon is crowned #MinCup23 champion!