On the acceptance of GenAI Joep Schuurkes -5 April 2026 By using GenAl: I accept the models were trained on stolen data. I accept that the data was labeled by exploited workers. I accept the environmental costs of the data centers running these models. I accept that I am outsourcing some of my skills to a company. I accept these companies don't have a viable business model. I accept that I am granting more power to big tech and their vision for the world. I accept that I am granting more power to the United States. I accept that all this effort could have been spent elsewhere.

Here you go ❤️

It's so fun to have conversations with fellow university students right now where I reiterate over and over that I don't use it, and people try and explain to me why THEIR use case is somehow valid. "I need it's help to read academic papers." THAT'S A SKILL ISSUE

Rehabilitation of the Dandelion!
No other plant in the Netherlands attracts as many bee species: 107. In early spring, when nothing else is blooming, it is simply there. Meadow bird chicks that have just hatched depend on the insects that are drawn to dandelions. No dandelion, no insect, no chick.

yayyy Hungary!!!!! this is so exciting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

at the beginning of the month i went to a wedding where lots of people had seen the youtube documentary "listers", making me one of the most popular people to talk to you there, as everyone kept on yelling "OMG YOU'RE A BIRDER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" in pure delight

i think it's the coolest i've ever felt

why must the library not have the books i want SPECIFICALLY during the month my wife and i agreed to save?!?!??!?! i want 37 euros worth of books AND I WANT THEM RIGHT NOW (cries petulantly)

damn i take marriage equality for granted sometimes and i really really really shouldn't

it's crazy how much easier having legal recognition of their union makes parenting for queers!!!!

(and it's crazy that EVERYONE doesn't have it yet!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

1984 calendar meme with the lady saying "the empire is at war with Persia and the Pope" and the calendar says January 1054

Historical engraving from 1657 depicting various bird species, including a large dodo-like bird characterized by a stout body, curved beak, small wings, and thick legs. The dodo is positioned among other birds such as toucans with prominent curved beaks, emus standing upright, a penguin, and waterfowl. Each bird is finely detailed with feather texture and labeled in Latin script. The background includes a small plant and a large egg beside the dodo, emphasizing its natural history study context. The illustration reflects 17th-century ornithological interest and taxonomic efforts to document diverse bird species.

🦤 Historiae naturalis de quadrupedibus libri: .
Amstelodami: Apud Ioannem Iacobi Fil. Schipper, MDCLVII [1657].

[Source]

Women having to prove they are female is not a win for women.

Historical illustration titled "Birdcraft" (1895) showing 19 small songbirds, each perched on branches or natural elements like rocks and thorns. The birds vary in color, featuring shades of yellow, brown, black, and orange, with distinct markings such as stripes and spots. The composition is labeled "Plate II" with each bird numbered. The birds are drawn with detailed plumage and postures, capturing a range of species likely associated with the magnolia habitat or region. The illustration uses a muted, natural color palette typical of 19th-century ornithological art.

🌳 Birdcraft: .
New York: Macmillan, 1895..

[Source]

Statistik: „Anziehende" Preise Während der Preis im ÖPNV 2022 im Vergleich zum Vorjahr um bis zu 5,5% anzieht, bleiben die Parkgebühren seit 20 Jahren stabil und machen das Parken in Innenstädten anziehender. ** Preisentwicklung München von 2004 bis 2018 Parkgebühren pro Stunde: 0 % Einzelticket ÖPNV: + 45 % Monatskarte ÖPNV:+ 74% (Quellen: Agora Verkehrswende, 2022; dpa, 2021) Privilegien für Parkende Anwohnerparkausweis 8 ct pro Tag (bei 30 Euro pro Jahr) Stellplatz Carsharing-Unternehmer 49 ct bis 2,30 Euro pro Tag Stand auf dem Wochenmarkt 18 Euro pro Tag (Größe Parkplatz) Freischankfläche einer Gaststätte 1,50 Euro pro Tag (Größe Parkplatz) (Quelle: Agora Verkehrswende, 2022)

Der Preis fürs Deutschlandticket steigt künftig automatisch.

INCREDIBLE STUFF!! “And while the IOC says the SRY gene "represents highly accurate evidence that an athlete has experienced male sex development,"… the scientist who discovered the SRY gene in 1990, Andrew Sinclair, has publicly opposed using the test to determine biological sex.” MY GOD

The places Carrie and I want to vacation are very powerfully influenced by lesbians on tv shows. York, New Mexico, and Barra Creek are HIGH UP on the list!!!!

i know this is an Extreme Early Bird opinion and might get me cancelled BUT i must say my truth

i love spring time change

there!!!!!!! i said it!!!!!!!! we're a week before (european) spring time change and right now THE MORNINGS ARE TOO BRIGHT. that's some 8am sun i'm experiencing at 7am!!!

I want fully staffed public pools, and libraries that are cathedrals to public goods and a society where walling yourself off with money is viewed as sociopathic.

Illustration from 1867 titled "Floral belles from the green-house and garden" showing a botanical arrangement of flowering plants. The image features vibrant orange trumpet-shaped blooms alongside two full, layered pink roses and a single white rose. Dark green, serrated leaves and unopened buds surround the flowers. The arrangement is delicately shaded with fine detail in petals and foliage, set against a plain cream background. There is no visible badger, suggesting the keyword may relate to the illustration's source or context rather than depicted wildlife.

🦡 Floral belles from the green-house and garden /.
New York: C. Scribner & Co., 1867..

[Source]

Last night I tried to bake three things simultaneously, so honestly, I should count my blessings that TWO ended up great!

The third one…the third one is borderline inedible…….

see?
here's the thing. A lot of people are like, the earth is fucked, it's beyond salvation, it's hit the tipping point, but time and time again we see that if we just fucking fixed the problem, it rebounds so incredibly fast. Imagine what could be done if people actually cared

there's nothing like reading a memoir by a lesbian mother from 2001 where she talks at length about her climate anxieties

it's like oh no

those were actually still the Good Days lol

Black and white art. a bunch of small birds noisily chasing after a big eagle which is rushing away from them down towards the bottom of the page. This is bird mobbing: the behavior where small prey Birds en masse attack a predator like a hawk or an eagle. By rushing at the predator making lots of noise they can often scare the predator away and occasionally kill it. see the link in the next post. The link above is to the artist's shop if you want to buy a print of this art.

Neighborhood Watch — Drudenkreuz

ko-fi.com/s/39c7ae4d6d

But my favorite pictures from Venice is not cats but this combination that I think of as “missed connections.”

Zitat: Das Fahrrad ist übrigens ein sehr feministisches Verkehrsmittel.Angefangen hat es bei den Suffragetten, die Fahrrad fuhren als politischer Akt gegen das Patriarchat.

Fahrrad fahren am feministischen Kampftag!

the cast of Star Trek Voyager in street clothes awkwardly posing with late-90s computer hardware and consumer electronics

this is what it feels like to post on bluesky

A small girl wearing a rabbit costume and blue coat carries a book as she walks to school. Her mother (head out of shot) wheels her baby brother along in a pushchair. The baby says "Peter Rabbit may be the 'Hero' of the story, but surely the obedient, widowed Mrs Rabbit is a more effective symbol of the oppression inherent within Mister McGregor's regime" The girls looks furious and snaps "Mum!! He's critiquing my world book day costume from a marxist perspective again!"

A cartoon reminder that tomorrow is World Book Day (In the UK anyway). Originally for the @theguardian.com

A rather tatty sticker on the side of an e-bike battery. The sticker is half blue and half yellow, representing the Ukrainian flag, and the words on it say Fight Putin, Ride a bike, with a logo above depicting a petrol pump.

I got this sticker four years ago and it still feels very pertinent... Of course the rationale to save fuel and ride your bike gets ever stronger 😔

saying "thanks i had a nice time too" in response to me texting after a hang that i had a good time lol. he just doesn't text validation at all?? which, as i said, is not like A CRIME. but i literally made a female friend the same month i met him and the female friend and i do this EVERY TIME.

i'm trying to befriend a single man and i'm amazed to find out many thing i consider "normal" and "friendly" behavior are just

girl culture?? i guess???????

no WONDER men are so lonely lol

The People vs. AI Across red states and blue, a grassroots movement is pushing back on the unchecked growth of the artificial intelligence industry.

Don’t believe them when they say it’s inevitable.