Three House Finches (Haemorhous mexicanus) perched on a curved metal rod. The one on the left is an adult male; the one in the middle and the one on the right are juveniles.

The alt #BirdOfTheDay theme is #CaptionThis, a funny caption with any bird capture.

“And that, kids, is how I met your mother.”

#birds #backyardwildlife

It's been so interesting to watch this unfold. Barnes & Noble and other big book chains shut indies down in the the 1990s (and on) and then Amazon came along and ate up all the book market share. Now people tired of big corporations are creating demand for more indies

EU: The European Union will require sale of mobile phones with “user-replaceable and longer-lasting batteries” starting in 2027.

The regulation demands “availability of spare parts and manuals for 10 years to curb planned obsolescence”.

Well…yes…

Silver hex wrench.

Sin, young man, starts with thinking of people as things.

The best verse.

The Strait of Hormuz is open, but they close at 5:30 and you can never get off work early enough to get there, and one time you took a day off and you went there in the early afternoon but there was a sign on the door that said “out to lunch be back in 15m” and you waited 25m but no one came, soooo…

Hopeful news...

Here’s the director of the NIH explicitly espousing populism over expertise as the means of determining priorities for federally science funding by leaning into the stupidest possible examples: ivermectin as cancer therapy .

Cave bear <3

post from Jake Tapper Going to a formal event that celebrates Freedom of the Press where some of the other guests don't understand the importance of the 1st Amendment? The Reporters Committee for the Free Press has some great accessories - including the below pocket square! donate.rcfp.org/first-amendment rctp.org [photo of the pocket square, which reads: CONGRESS SHALL MAKE NO LAW ABRIDGING THE FREEDOM OF SPEECH, OR OF THE PRESS!]

canceling all my plans and taking to my bed due to a severe bout of secondhand embarrassment

The Inside Story of Five Days That Remade the Supreme Court

All right, this piece has triggered me so I have to yell a bit (though this is bluesky, so I realize I'm just preaching at the choir):

You absolutely implied that. Silly person. Go and have a nice cup of tea. Relax. The world does not actually turn on this social media thread.

And to imply that I wish death on infants is repugnant hyperbole on your part. Tired of seeing that on social media. Not everyone who is criticizing a thing is wishing death or harm to the other side. It's not a game of extremes.

As I said, a niche product that some, but not everyone, very much needs. I was very succinct in that, the point could not possibly have been missed. *Do not* put words, or your own meaning, into my mouth. Some babies need it, but not everyone does. Look up the history of the product.

The FBI Director Is MIA Kash Patel has alarmed colleagues with episodes of excessive drinking and unexplained absences.

And here’s a gift link to the remarkable story about the FBI Director from @theatlantic.com.

www.theatlantic.com/politics/202...

Um, no. The analogy is spot on when the actual point is that AI and baby formula are niche products that were over-marketed to push them on people who didn't need or want them. Industry vs single product is *not* the point, but the push to force an unwanted/unneeded idea to make $$$.

The desperate campaign to push AI down our throats is just what Nestlé did with baby formula, or Monsanto with patended seeds.

Manufactured Intermediation—inserting a corporate tollbooth into a process that used to be self-sustaining, using a low initial barrier to entry to destroy the alternative.

Firing and jailing RFK is the moderate position

Photo I took of these wonderful people (the faces of whom I’ve blacked out) singing happy Birthday to their lovely old dog at a bar I was at tonight in Portland

I was at a dog-friendly bar in NW Portland tonight and a table behind me started singing Happy Birthday and then I realized it wasn’t for a person but a really old dog who was wearing a crown and he was old and fucking adorable and I love this city

Totally agree about seeing it on the big screen. Due to COVID risk, my partner and I hadn't been to a theater in 6 years, but broke the pattern to see this at a weekday matinee. No regrets (or illness), it was wonderful.

Promotional image for a handmade watercolour paint in a green-leaning blue with pinkish-purple granulation. There's a postcard swatch showing how the paint looks at different dilutions with water, and some unwrapped pans in 3 sizes. The label on the swatch reads: January blue aurora.

Promotional image for a handmade watercolour paint in a deep red with pinkish-purple granulation. There's a postcard swatch showing how the paint looks at different dilutions with water, and some unwrapped pans in 3 sizes. The label on the swatch reads: February red alder flowers.

Promotional image for a handmade watercolour paint in a leafy green with lightly granulating brown and blue undertones. There's a postcard swatch showing how the paint looks at different dilutions with water, and some unwrapped pans in 3 sizes. The label on the swatch reads: March green unfurled.

Promotional image for a handmade watercolour paint in a rich orange leaning yellow. There's a postcard swatch showing how the paint looks at different dilutions with water, and some unwrapped pans in 3 sizes. The label on the swatch reads: April yellow Beltane marigold.

The 1st 4 paints in the monthly colour calendar I'm making this year. Aiming to make a set of 12 that contains colours that stands alone and are good for mixing by the end of the year!

You can get them at lycomorpha.etsy.com

If this actually happens, it may rank as the single most corrupt act in the history of American politics. I cannot believe this is even under discussion.

One of the things I love most about Zohran’s rise to power is that it shows so clearly how we could have a better democracy—one that actually serves us instead of just the rich—if the left decides collectively to take electoralism and government seriously. It’s ours for the taking if we want it.

Playing with some red and blue drafting leads for a #Muttaburrasaurus sketch.

#dinosaur #paleoart #sciart #science

Beautiful stippling work.

A stipple illustration of a trilobite fossil. It's curved concavely, with its rounded head to the bottom right.

Phacops trilobite #FossilFriday 🐡🎨

Mamdani Allies Want Veto for Protest ‘Buffer Zone’ Bill A bill keeping demonstrators away from houses of worship is veto-proof, but critics want the mayor to reject a similar measure targeting educational facilities.

Labor and other allies of Mayor Zohran Mamdani are urging him to veto one of two City Council bills aimed at restricting protests around educational facilities, saying the “radical overreach” of the bill limits free speech and endangers New Yorkers.

www.thecity.nyc/2026/04/17/m...

Three mini prints of rock drawings. The bottom one is new in my store

Rocks are memories of the land. 🩶

#art #sciart #rocks #earth #drawing