Today on Bluesky and Mastodon, the posts worth reading.
Our own model reads the day’s public posts and picks the best in 21 topics, with new posts added every 10 minutes. Likes and reposts never decide the order. No account needed, no ads, no tracking.
The Washington State Court of Appeals has rejected Tacoma's attempt to nullify the Workers' Bill of Rights initiative, saying the city cannot use a missed election deadline to deny voters their say. Full response: www.ufcw367.org/post/victory...#TacomaWA
The Washington Court of Appeals has ruled that the City Council must take the steps required to place the Workers’ Bill of Rights initiative before voters.
This decision vindicates nearly 10,000 Tacoma residents who signed petitions for the initiative, which would establish stronger standards for wages, scheduling, access to hours, and workplace safety.
"The court’s decision reinforces our constitutional rights as citizens and shows that when the people are united in our fight, we win." - Patrick Lowery, UFCW 367 member
They fired the Oriole Bird!! ☹️ First the Guinness brewery in Baltimore, next the Oriole Bird… someone better start wrapping John Waters up in bubble wrap before something happens to him next. nytimes.com/athletic/7667147/2…
Reading through this paper
AI adoption is shifting programmer labor from writing code to code reviews, which sounds like a good way to burn out a lot of programmers (and limit the pool of future reviewers), for "statistically insignificant" gains in final software output
We find evidence of a bottleneck from the code review process: The average time to review a pull request increases by 49%, the share of pull requests with changes requested nearly…
Read more of image description from the author
doubles, and
the number of comments per pull request increases by 35%. Firms also reallocate labor toward review activities: the share of workers performing code reviews increases by 14%. This bottleneck persists
following the adoption of AI code review tools. Although firms increasingly use AI to assist with code review, human reviewers continue to play a central role in the review process.
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13 posts · 10 people in this collection · since · mostly Animals
11 people posted over 3 hours
An Olive-sided Flycatcher singing it's "quick 3 beers" song from a month ago. Odds are it has migrated quite a bit further south by now. #Birds #BirdOfTheDay #Crooners #ECK
8 posts · 7 people in this collection · since · mostly Tech
3 people posted over 3 hours
MIT
Margaret Hamilton obit at the NY Times.
Mentions the incident during the Apollo 11 landing when Buzz Aldrin flipped a switch, that caused a CPU overload. The software survived because Hamilton had anticipated and simulated such a scenario and had added logic to prioritize essential tasks over others.
Paul Curto, who nominated Hamilton for a NASA Space Act Award, called Hamilton's work "the foundation for ultra-reliable software design."
nytimes.com/2026/10/07/obituar…
archive.ph/kD3F4
4/n
14 posts · 14 people in this collection · since · mostly Animals
12 people posted over 3 hours
beaks
Rob’s #BirdOfTheDay theme is #crooners, birds singing.
The Alt theme is #Eating, birds with food in their beaks.
I’ve gone for the Alt theme today. Earlier this year I was captivated by this Great Tit eating Ermine moth caterpillars in the Olympic Park, London.
24 posts · 17 people in this collection · since · mostly World news
4 people posted over 3 hours
GazaIsraelPalestine
[2/3] perpetrators to whitewash their crime by suggesting that the victims are mere dirt. But I have not found a good replacement term. All Israel's colonies in Palestinian territory violate international law. Israel divides them into two categories: the ones Israel has officially authorized, and the ones it has not (though in practice it winks at them anyway). I am not sure whether "illegal" here covers all of these colonies or only the ones Israel has not officially authorized. The
18 posts · 13 people in this collection · since · mostly Politics
3 people posted over 3 hours
GreensLabour#UKPol
"Burnham is seen as having revitalised #Labour, and used his speech at the party’s annual conference last month to set out a more ambitious and left-leaning collection of policies."
"Polanski’s fortunes appear to have declined, especially since last weekend’s #GreenParty conference. A vote by members to adopt a policy equating Zionism with racism and calling for Israel to be replaced by a single Palestinian state prompted condemnation and splits in the party."
#UKPol
theguardian.com/politics/2026/…
27 posts · 15 people in this collection · since · mostly World news
13 people posted over 3 hours
Ukraine WarRussiaapartment
Day 1,688 of the full scale invasion has begun
Estimated russian losses from February 24, 2022 to October 08, 2026 of the russian all-out war against Ukraine, according to the General Staff of #Ukraine
🔷 Yesterday 1,830 enemy, killed or wounded
12 posts · 11 people in this collection · since · mostly Politics
10 people posted over 3 hours
HolbornVOTE GREEN 8THPolanski
Polling day! Tomorrow we ll know the Holborn byelection result & whether Green Party leader @zackpolanski.bsky.social will become an MP or lose to strong Labour local candidate Sagal Abdi-Wali. Seems to be 25% to 27% against Polanski.
The Burnham bounce & GP conference backlash may tip balance.
29 posts · 27 people in this collection · since · mostly World news
15 people posted over 3 hours
66 Palestiniansceasefire
20,748 Palestinian students & 1,058 educational & administrative staff have been killed in the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank over 3 years of Israeli genocide, the Palestinian Ministry of Education & Higher Education said in a statistical report covering October 7, 2023 to October 7, 2026.
8 posts · 8 people in this collection · since · mostly Politics
8 people posted over 3 hours
A reminder that inheritance tax is progressive and helps to alleviate intergenerational inequality. It was supported by the liberal J.S. Mill for this reason www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Related topics on both networks
Collections with overlapping keywords. They may cover different events or examples of the same subject.
'Oxford has the highest density of transgender and non-binary people outside of London, according to the census.
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The proposals were put forward by Oxford Green Party councillor Dr Max Morris, who said they would help the trans community feel safe at a time when "moral panic" had led to "harassment and discrimination".
Photo of Max with caption: Dr Max Morris put forward a motion recommitting the council to following trans-inclusive policies
Morris said there had been "a lot of uncertainty and a lot of confusion" about what the updated EHRC guidance meant'
'Morris said they hoped by the city council showing leadership in supporting the trans community, other businesses, local authorities and community groups would follow suit.
Read more of image description from the author
"The real issue here is the uncertainty for an already marginalised minority group, but also for local businesses, charities, public service providers including Oxford City Council," they said.
"How on earth are we supposed to navigate this when the guidance is so unclear?"
Photo of public toilets with caption: Some public toilets in Oxford are already gender neutral'
Oxford City Council is "committed to maintaining "trans-inclusive support" while meeting "legal obligations and responsibilities".
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
"As an openly gay councillor, I've had one homophobic attack on social media in 16 years in this chamber, but I am under no illusions as to who will be next if the demonisation of trans people is allowed to stand."
www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/2661155...
The Washington State Court of Appeals has rejected Tacoma's attempt to nullify the Workers' Bill of Rights initiative, saying the city cannot use a missed election deadline to deny voters their say. Full response: www.ufcw367.org/post/victory...#TacomaWA
The Washington Court of Appeals has ruled that the City Council must take the steps required to place the Workers’ Bill of Rights initiative before voters.
This decision vindicates nearly 10,000 Tacoma residents who signed petitions for the initiative, which would establish stronger standards for wages, scheduling, access to hours, and workplace safety.
"The court’s decision reinforces our constitutional rights as citizens and shows that when the people are united in our fight, we win." - Patrick Lowery, UFCW 367 member
The senate elderly woman whose eviction sparked nationwide protests over Spain's housing crisis
and a political row that triggered early elections
has died,
according to Madrid's tenants union.
Maricarmen Abascal, 87, was forcibly removed on a stretcher from her apartment of more than 70 years on 23 September
after she was unable to afford rent increases.
The company that owned the flat later offered to allow her to return at a lower rate
- but she was unable to sign an agreement as she had been admitted to hospital.
Show more of this post
"We regret to announce that Maricarmen passed away today,"
the Madrid Tenants' Union said in a statement,
adding her situation marked
"a turning point in the history of this country".
Union spokesperson Alicia del Río said:
"Speculation costs lives,
and today rentierism has finished killing our colleague Maricarmen"
but "her memory lives on with us".
Abascal became a symbol for Spain's housing crisis following her eviction.
bbc.com/news/articles/c6e3x21e…
NEW: The feds have filed their update in one of the multiple ongoing lawsuits seeking to restrict mifepristone, this one out of Louisiana.
It says the FDA plans to complete its “review” of mifepristone’s safety by December, and release a report by March. Notably—after the midterm elections.
Spoke to some of the Homewood High School Athletics Hall of Fame's inaugural class for the Homewood Star, including local legends like Alvin Bresler, Homewood High's first football coach, and Katy Freels, who took soccer to the next level.
They fired the Oriole Bird!! ☹️ First the Guinness brewery in Baltimore, next the Oriole Bird… someone better start wrapping John Waters up in bubble wrap before something happens to him next. nytimes.com/athletic/7667147/2…
I read the plaque after I posted this and immediately noticed the mention of an MVP in 1931. In 1931, Klein finished second in the BWAA MVP voting to winner Frankie Frisch. But it turns out that he DID win the MVP awarded by The Sporting News in 1931 (and 1932).
Something precious about the ps1/ps2 era, which I think we've lost, is the possibility to buy games without knowing they had been poorly reviewed and thoroughly enjoy them. Here are a few that paved my gaming journey.
J2ME is such a fascinating gaming platform looking back upon it. You target a pathetically limited version of the JVM, and your JAR size was limited to 64kb if you wanted maximum compatibility, some of that being taken up by ad middleware. You then had a rich ecosystem of app portals rather than an app store monoculture where users found games to download (data charges may apply).
Then you somehow had advertisers willing to pay money to put up a little bit of text in front of players, to the point where you could get paid a non-insignificant amount of money for putting that in your app.
Some inside basball for people who like statistics
Date to Die For was 94% positive on steam by ~2 to 3 weeks after launch. And it stayed there for two. years.
That 94% has haunted me like the Tell Tale Heart.
I know its just a label for a 1% increase, but feels good, man. Feels good.
As an unabashed lover of Spectre and No Time To Die, both of which seem to hold On Her Majesty's Secret Service in the same high regard I do, this is the best piece I've ever read that distills why.
Are they perfect movies? Your mileage may vary, like Bond's. But they are *fitting,* like his suits
Another day, another film about a middle-aged Brit going mad while doing their job in the 1970s. This time, it's Berberian Sound Studio (2012, d. Peter Strickland), where Toby Jones plays a meek English sound engineer who is strangely hired to work on an Italian giallo film. The BTS stuff is fascinating, and you never see more than the credits of the giallo film, but man, do you hear a lot of it (nice twist). Reaches for Lynchian vibes, partially succeeds.
#Film#Movies#Cinemastodon#Horror
The poster for the film Berberian Sound Studio. Shows a picture of the face of the main actor Toby Jones split in half down the middle, and a character from the giallo film he's working on appears between the two halves.
I just watched “House of Usher” (1960), Roger Corman’s first movie in his Edgar Allan Poe cycle. Vincent Price gives an excellent (non campy) performance as the last male scion of a dying family. This is a solid adaptation (script by Richard Matheson) of the classic story of decay and madness.
Albums that seem like only you know about them:
After The Flood is not only a beautiful package, but the music is wonderfully otherworldly (ranging from spacey electronica to blissed out alternative and lots in between). Dale Lloyd joined forces with Cindy Sharp, Windy & Carl, and many others.
15. Bahia #JohnColtrane100
Coltrane's music has sometimes be released much later than the recording date. Today's piece, “Bahia”, was recorded in 1958 but gave its title to an album that appeared in 1965, at a time where Coltrane had published much more personal music with his classic quartet. To the point that jazz critics of that time from *Record Mirror* wrote that “Talk of Coltrane being ‘anti-jazz’ must be dispelled by this little lot.”
This is a composition by Ary Barroso, and the rhythmic flow is sustained by a short motive on the piano and bass and an omnipresent cascara on the ride cymbal that is announced right away.
Red Garland is on piano, Paul Chambers on bass, and Art Taylor on drums. The album cover shows Coltrane on soprano saxophone but he plays tenor saxophone on that album.
youtube.com/watch?v=0yZq_VVB89E
#StillDoinCDs The 2CD set “May You Never” is 1 of 5 compilations from 2015 of outright musical gems that were somewhat overlooked. There’s a lot of Canadian content on this Dutch issue, starting with the electrifying “September Fields” by Frazey Ford. Soul-& folk-rock highlights.
1-1 Frazey Ford– September Fields
1-2 James Brown– Talk To Me, Talk To Me
1-3 Teddy Thompson– Home
1-4 John Martyn– May You Never
1-5 My Baby (2)– Singing In Chains
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1-6 Bobby Womack– California Dreamin'
1-7 The Nits– The Bauhaus Chair
1-8 The Grays– Both Belong
1-9 David Clayton-Thomas– She
1-10 The Living Sisters– Blue
1-11 John Grant– Marz
1-12 Ron Sexsmith– Nowhere To Go
1-13 Case Mayfield– I Don't Know I Don't
1-14 The Blind Boys Of Alabama Ft. Justin Vernon Of Bon Iver*– Every Grain Of Sand
1-15 Boz Scaggs– I'll Be Long Gone
1-16 Oh Susanna– Forever At Your Feet
1-17 Jesse Winchester– All Of Your Stories
1-18 Allen Toussaint & The Stokes– Go Back Home
1-19 Jakob Dylan– Lend A Hand
1-20 Blackie & The Rodeo Kings* Ft. Amy Helm– I'm Still Loving You
2-1 I Am Kloot– From Your Favourite Sky
2-2 Natalie Merchant– San Andreas Fault
2-3 John Mellencamp*– Jackie Brown
2-4 Isaac Hayes– Soulsville
2-5 Richie Havens– Morning Morning
2-6 Percy Sledge– I'll Be Your Everything
2-7 Bruce Cockburn– Closer To The Light
2-8 Cat Stevens– Sad Lisa
2-9 Elvis Presley– Loving You (Slow Version)
2-10 The Chapin Sisters– Let Me Go
2-11 Free– My Brother Jake
2-12 Bob Carpenter– First Light
2-13 Sandra Rhodes– No Such Thing As Love
2-14 Hugh Coltman– The Mathematician
2-15 Don Covay– It's In The Wind
2-16 Paul Brady– The Island
2-17 Phantom Limb (4)– Gravy Train
2-18 Paul Weller– You Do Something To Me
2-19 Tedeschi Trucks Band– Shelter
2-20 Youngblood Brass Band– Is An Elegy
I'm not seeing anything about Lochiel/land defenders who stopped border wall construction for over two months and are still there after arrests, brutalization, and the devastating murder of Grandmother Cottonwood. I'll try to post resources here. This gorgeous piece is by Maria Renee Johnson.
Original art by Maria Renee Johnson, black and white featuring a detailed cottonwood tree leaf, beetle, bird and jaguar from the reparian refuge where land defenders camped to…
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protect the last remaining cottonwood for over two months. Overlayed are the words: Every wall will someday fall. Tree Spirits stand tall.
My month of ‘Tober Art Prompt List No Pressure Roulette continues with an entry from Trektober, because the prompt was Meet The Family and I had to do it. Also, obviously I know Garak is like five ten. It’s his cultivated air of vaguely threatening and offputting energy that makes him seem so imposing.
#art#ds9#garashir#trektober
Watercolour illustration of Julian Bashir introducing his new husband Garak to his parents, Richard and Amsha.
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Garak is towering over everyone else on the page, eyes wise with a concerningly threatening smile. Richard and Amsha look on uncomfortably while Julian holds Garak’s arm with a serene smile.
“Mum, Dad, this is my husband, Garak.”
They looked just as Garak had expected from the one holo he had seen of them: a few years older now than when they had stood proudly either…
Read more of image description from the author
side of Julian in his silly graduation robes, but nonetheless a perfectly average older human couple, who each bore an obvious resemblance to Julian in their own way. They seemed nice, but Garak knew well that the worst people so often did.
“It’s so nice to finally meet you, Garak,” said Amsha, greeting him with a warm hug.
“Yes, I’m sure it is,” Garak replied. Julian was gripping his bicep so firmly he was sure it would leave a bruise. “I’ve heard so much about you.”
“All good things, I hope!” Richard chuckled, patting him on the arm.
Garak grinned, saying nothing. The last of the laugh died in the back of Richard’s throat. Garak’s smile persisted.
“Yes, well, why don’t you both come in?” Amsha suggested, brute forcing through the tension in the air like taking a cricket bat to a veil of prickly hedgerow. “Take off your shoes, get comfortable. Julian knows we don’t stand on ceremony here, and I’m sure you must need a cup of tea.”
Goretober Day 7- Metal
I wasn't really inspired by this prompt at first. After some brain storming I remembered a drawing I did in 2019 of a tongue full of nails and staples like a telephone pole. It was really fun to repurpose that idea for this illustration
#goretober#inktober#art#digitalart
A Dark Matter is the first in Doug Johnstone’s Skelfs series. The Skelfs are three women: grandmother, mother, & daughter who, upon the death of the paterfamilias, find themselves running an Edinburgh-based funeral home & private investigation service. Dark, funny, thrilling. ⚡️📚💙
A photograph of the British paperback edition of Doug Johnstone’s novel A Dark Matter, sitting on a cozy wool blanket: perfect cold weather reading material.
Now that spooky season has descended upon us again I decided it was time to pick up this Stephen King omnibus I picked up in a charity shop ages ago and finally read the next story; "Carrie".
I read "The Shining" last Halloween and while I enjoyed it I certainly felt like it outstayed it's welcome.
"Carrie" on the other hand is a much shorter and pacier read with a great sense of momentum and building pressure. I've never seen any of the film adaptations but might have to check one out.
Show more of this post
Some of the language is certainly dated and problematic, casual racism and a few instances where Mr. King is guilty of writing female characters "titting down the stairs", but given how generally awesome he's been during America's descent into fascism I'm happy to file those instances of questionable writing down to novel being over 50 years old. "Different times" rather than problematic opinions.
Will probably also read Misery this season, but might switch to another author in between.
7) Narrative Voice
I'll share a snip from my short story collection (that one that comes with my newsletter). It's one of the few times I write in first person.
And if you're thinking "Silver, this sounds like Ace Attorney with Dragons," I say "Yes, and?"
From "Turncoat":
#LitHodgePodge
“What do you want?”
A young cave dragon stood before me. Very young, barely more than a child, with pure white scales. And she needed my help.
“I’m here to defend you.”
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The child looked up at me. Her eyes were pink. A true albino, then. She was unusual, in more ways than one. “That can’t be true. They told me no one would defend me. That defending me would be career suicide.”
“Well, regardless, here I am. My name is Alistair.”
She looked back down and mumbled. “Crystal,” I caught. Of course I already knew her name.
What I didn’t tell her was that I was a rookie defense attorney and this was my first case. I didn’t have any career to ruin by taking her on. Was I crazy? Probably. But I could not stand by and let her face her accusers alone. That’s what defense attorneys were for!
I opened my case notebook. “We don’t have much time. The trial is tomorrow. Can you tell me what happened?”
The young dragon looked down at her claws. “Well, I couldn’t sleep last night…”
The next morning, I entered the lobby right on time. It wouldn’t do to be late to my first trial! I looked around for my client and found her in the corner.
Read more of image description from the author
Her wings were tucked tightly against her back and she had wrapped her forearms and tail around herself. She looked so small and scared.
I slowly slid up next to her and cleared my throat to announce my presence. She flinched and didn’t look up. “You ready?” I asked her.
Just then, the bailiff came into the room to fetch us for the trial.
I walked beside my client into the courtroom. My eyes swept around as we took our places at the defense bench. My heart sank. Presiding over the trial was Rockayus: the High Dragon himself. This case was indeed as bad as I’d heard. The High Dragon did not involve himself in everyday, ordinary cases. This one had become an overnight sensation, and the High Dragon was treating it with due gravity. What had I gotten myself into?
Rockayus banged his gavel on the podium. “Court is now in session for the trial of Apprentice Mage Crystal. Is the prosecution ready?”
From the other side of the well, the prosecuting dragon nodded. “The prosecution is ready, High Dragon.”
Before I could contemplate my opposition, the High Dragon continued. “Is the defense ready?”
“The defense is ready, Your Honor, I mean High Dragon.” I felt my face flush as I cursed myself for my blunder.
Rockayus peered down at me. “Defense, approach the bench, if you would.”
Wincing, I bent down to whisper to my client. “Don’t worry, I’ll be right back,” and did as I was bid. I stood in front of the High Dragon, trying not to betray how badly I was shaking. Be strong for your client. Never let them see your fear, I repeated my lessons to myself.
Reading through this paper
AI adoption is shifting programmer labor from writing code to code reviews, which sounds like a good way to burn out a lot of programmers (and limit the pool of future reviewers), for "statistically insignificant" gains in final software output
We find evidence of a bottleneck from the code review process: The average time to review a pull request increases by 49%, the share of pull requests with changes requested nearly…
Read more of image description from the author
doubles, and
the number of comments per pull request increases by 35%. Firms also reallocate labor toward review activities: the share of workers performing code reviews increases by 14%. This bottleneck persists
following the adoption of AI code review tools. Although firms increasingly use AI to assist with code review, human reviewers continue to play a central role in the review process.
As threatened, OpenAI dropped a shitload of math papers. 722 to be precise:
github.com/openai/math/blob/ma…
None solve Millennium Prize Problems or other ultra-famous conjectures. Paper number 312 proves a version of the Homotopy Hypothesis, one of my favorite math problems.
I guess I was the first to call it the homotopy hypothesis. It says homotopy types are "the same" as "infinity-groupoids". Depending on how you make the quoted phrases precise, this hypothesis comes in many versions: some easy, some hard.
None of the OpenAI papers will affect my work.
Wow, the JFE is fast.
Forthcoming in its Nov 2026 issue, Chronologically consistent LLMs, coauthored with the amazing Songrun He, Linying Lv, and Jimmy Wu
Chronologically consistent large language models
Paper abstract: Large language models are increasingly used in social sciences, but their training data can introduce lookahead…
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bias and training leakage. A good chronologically consistent language model requires efficient use of training data to maintain accuracy despite time-restricted data. Here, we overcome this challenge by training a suite of chronologically consistent large language models, ChronoBERT and ChronoGPT, which incorporate only the text data that would have been available at each point in time. Despite this strict temporal constraint, our models achieve strong performance on natural language processing benchmarks, outperforming or matching widely used models (e.g., BERT), and remain competitive with larger open-weight models. Lookahead bias is model and application-specific because even if a chronologically consistent language model has poorer language comprehension, a regression or prediction model applied on top of the language model can compensate. In an asset pricing application predicting next-day stock returns from financial news embeddings, we find that ChronoBERT and ChronoGPT’s real-time outputs achieve Sharpe ratios comparable to a much larger and potentially biased Llama model. Our results demonstrate a scalable, practical framework to mitigate training leakage, ensuring more credible backtests and predictions across finance and other social science domains.
It's been a while since I've given an update on what I've been doing. The Vaults service covers all minimum features I will need to use the API internally while also being useful enough as an auditable and partially automated password manager.
#buildinpublic
Secret creation in the Vaults service, showing password tilte and brief information, along with and expiration date of 2028-10-1, and the system actions "Terminate on…
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modification" and "Terminate on expiration". This is being display above a darkened view of a vault with a list of 3 secrets, with the Vaults web app navigation bar open.
Margaret Hamilton obit at the NY Times.
Mentions the incident during the Apollo 11 landing when Buzz Aldrin flipped a switch, that caused a CPU overload. The software survived because Hamilton had anticipated and simulated such a scenario and had added logic to prioritize essential tasks over others.
Paul Curto, who nominated Hamilton for a NASA Space Act Award, called Hamilton's work "the foundation for ultra-reliable software design."
nytimes.com/2026/10/07/obituar…archive.ph/kD3F4
4/n
I rarely buy from Amazon - it's a place of last resort. This list appears to have been populated because I bought a naked portafilter and a can of La Tourangelle Pistachio Oil (I couldn't find either locally). Amazon doesn't know much more about me, and I plan to keep it that way. Duck Duck Go FTW.
Latest Letter: ‘Coercive control: Recognising relational patterns that affect patient wellbeing’; overlaps with patient healthcare experiences
In December, my friend & fellow patient, Jo sent me a paper. Despite being on opposite sides of Earth, it was like we read it in sync 🧵
Coercive control: Recognising relational patterns that affect patient wellbeing’; overlaps with patient healthcare experiences
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We read with interest Lynch et al’s paper1 on recognising patterns of coercive control in patients; an important topic worthy of attention. However, the descriptions were eerily familiar to us – not from a domestic relationship perspective, but from experience accessing healthcare.
"People with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, often show a high sensitivity to immediate rewards. This sensitivity is associated with impulsive behavior. When an individual with ADHD receives a reward, their brain may over-register the immediate gratification, making it difficult to wait for delayed outcomes."
The nexus with the old Stanford Marshmallow study, amirite?
The report doesn't exactly say anything ground-breaking. We know both ASD and ADHD are related to serotonin and dopamine and in slightly different regions in/around the frontal cortex, and the regions are aligned with the expressed conditions associated with ADHD and ASD.
What it basically means, is that it's difficult to treat someone with AuDHD b/c you have to target dopamine and serotonin at different regions for ADHD and ASD.
Now gimme my marshmallow.
psypost.org/brain-scans-reveal…
I have been diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.
Nothing much is going to change for me… It just means I gain a better understanding of why I feel flattened after a day of work (at a job that really isn’t that demanding most of the time) and have to go to bed by 9pm as a 40-something adult. 🥴
I have been diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.
It explains a lot. I tire easily, have to sleep 9+ hours to feel rested, and never find exercise invigorating.
But…
Having a diagnosis only helps settle my mind a bit. It doesn’t magically grant me more energy to do things.
There isn’t much to be done about Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.
So if I seem a little less excited, a little less enthusiastic, it’s probably only because I’m tired and can’t muster anything more.
Children of Wrath comes out in 15 days! I’ll be trying to save my spoons for launch day. 🚀
I got a quilted blanket from my mom's friend as a wedding gift and my tuxedo cat LOVES it like the highlight of her day is when I lay on the couch under this quilt and she will literally come running from across the room and then just lay on me and purr for hours. These were all taken weeks apart.
A tuxedo cat laying on a pink and white quilted blanket. She has her head laying down on the blanket with one paw stuck out in front of her, very relaxed.
The same tuxedo cat laying on the same quilted blanket, a few more colors in a floral pattern are visible with black, orange, and blue. The cat is laying sideways with the top of her head visible and her two front paws sticking out in an X shape.
The same tuxedo cat laying on a pink and white quilted blanket. This view is from more of a distance, she is half loafed sideways and you can see her rounded back half, her face is turned to camera and her whiskers are very visible against her black body.
Torpor-assisted migration: Regular use of shallow torpor reduces rest-phase energy expenditure for songbirds during migration
besjournals.onlinelibrary.wile…
Shallow torpor has wide-ranging implications for the energetics of migration with broader impacts on survival and reproduction and provides an opportunity to compare heterothermic strategies between birds and mammals.
I love box crabs, probably because of the way their claws fit so neatly in with the carapace (and also, just look at it!). This is Calappa calappa, disturbed on a night dive in Lembeh and rapidly scuttling away from the bright lights.
#MarineLife#Invertebrates#Wildlife 🌿🦀
A rounded crab with large claws that fit neatly into the space in front of its body.
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It is brown, with reddish spots on it; the claws have some lighter ridges on the lower parts and raised teeth on the upper parts. The crab is scuttling over black sand, although you can't see this in the photo because its legs are hidden. But trust me, it was *moving*
Russia is continuing its attacks on Ukrainian book publishing, captured so well in the story from just a few days ago.
"The best revenge is to be unlike him who performed the injury." (Marcus Aurelius)
Today marks the 3rd anniversary of the Gaza War. Casualties of the war amount to at least 881 Israeli civilians and 1,154 Israeli security forces have been killed with over 82,000 Palestinian civilians, including over 20,000 children and over 270 journalists. #FactsMatter#Gaza
Palestinians walk past the rubble of residential buildings destroyed during the war, at Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip. 5/8/26. Credit: Reuters/Mahmoud Issa
After the Ethiopian army's push into Tigray and capture of Mekele, Eritrean soldiers have now unsurprisingly intervened on behalf of the Ethiopian rebel alliance.
Ethiopia responded by attacking them with drones near the border town of Zalambessa.
Reporting by my good friend Yemane Nagish.
Throughout the trip last weekend my knowledge of specialty foods in Kanazawa helped my friend shout out "incredibly delicious" for many times. That's okay. At the same time, however, I couldn't help feeling unfairness due to my taste disorder. Tell me what it is like being delicious...
Raw gasuebi (ガスエビ), a kind of black shrimps that are easily perishable and can only be eaten around Ishikawa prefecture, with soy sauce on a plate on a table in Kanazawa Port Iki-iki Fish Market (金沢港いきいき魚市)
I made sunflower seed milk for the first time. It came out nice and creamy. I can add more water if I want it thinner or simply use it as creamer. I added one of the vanilla bean pods my mom brought back from her trip to Kenya.
It’s a shame how many additives they put in our non-dairy milks.
Now to decide how to use the leftover pulp. Deciding between compost or experimental savory recipe. Suggestions welcome.
Adding homegrown peppers to the maitake pickles I'm making, for added zing
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From 12 o'clock, with increasing SHUs as you move clockwise:
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Jalapeños: 2.5-8K
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Serranos: 10-25K
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Red and yellow Ho Chi Minh cayennes: 30-50K
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Thais: 50-100K
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Scotch Bonnets: 100-350K
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Ghosts: 855K-1M+
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#mushrooms
Sandwiched between a 'fine trout' and the North Wraxall bus, perhaps the first press reference to the name of Stonehenge's timber neighbour #OTD 100 years ago: "where—as an aerial photograph has revealed—once stood a many-circled 'temple' of wood…to which the name 'Woodhenge' seems likely to cling"
Cutting from The Wiltshire News, 8 October 1926 (via British Newspaper Archive):
"Admiral Sir Richard Poore, of Winsley, is the owner of the land at Tollerdown, near Amesbury,…
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where—as an aerial photograph has revealed—once stood a many-circled 'temple' of wood, the only one of its kind known to archaeologists. A number of curious 'dots' on the aerial photograph attracted attention, and investigation showed that each dot represented a circular pit dug into the solid chalk. The pits are arranged in seven concentrie rings, and there is reason to believe that they originally held wooden posts or tree trunks. Over 75 pits were discovered in the half of the circle that has been excavated (which is 200 feet in diameter). It is suggested that this circle, to which the name 'Woodhenge' seems likely to cling, may be the site of a construction made on somewhat similar lines to Stonehenge, which is about a mile and a half distant, but with tree trunks used instead of stone."
Every now and then, I come across a reminder of the ordinary people who get caught up in historic events. This is a monument to Ella Osbourne in the city's Craigton Cemetery. She had travelled to the USA on the SS Cameronia in March 1915 and was due to return on the same ship on the 1st of May. At the last miniute she was transferred to the SS Lusitania.
Cont./
#glasgow#wwi#memorial#sslusitania
The Soo Elevator was built in 1916 to handle grain coming in from the Northern Plains on the Soo Line Railroad, back when Minneapolis was the milling capital of the world. After several ownership changes it's now a General Mills oat-receiving facility served by CPKC Rail.
The Soo Line Elevator depicted in 1926, a huge 10 story structure of brick on top of concrete grain bins, large SOO LINE logo on the front, trains alongside. Minnesota Historical Society.
Camden-Single Creek railyards in the winter of 1933, showing the massive size. Shingle Creek can be seen on the left winding through then open fields. Hennepin County Library.
'Oxford has the highest density of transgender and non-binary people outside of London, according to the census.
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The proposals were put forward by Oxford Green Party councillor Dr Max Morris, who said they would help the trans community feel safe at a time when "moral panic" had led to "harassment and discrimination".
Photo of Max with caption: Dr Max Morris put forward a motion recommitting the council to following trans-inclusive policies
Morris said there had been "a lot of uncertainty and a lot of confusion" about what the updated EHRC guidance meant'
'Morris said they hoped by the city council showing leadership in supporting the trans community, other businesses, local authorities and community groups would follow suit.
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"The real issue here is the uncertainty for an already marginalised minority group, but also for local businesses, charities, public service providers including Oxford City Council," they said.
"How on earth are we supposed to navigate this when the guidance is so unclear?"
Photo of public toilets with caption: Some public toilets in Oxford are already gender neutral'
I didn’t fully understand I was gay until the middle of highschool because of how deep in the closet I was. I was clearly attracted to men but whenever I felt it I was like “no no, I’m projecting onto them and that’s why I feel that way” It was until I genuinely dated a man I realized that I was gay
A new poll shows that more than three quarters of people in Scotland think offshore wind farms should only be built where they won’t harm nature.
And eight out of every 10 people would be more likely to support offshore wind farms away from important wildlife sites.
An off-shore windfarm. Text on the image reads: Offshore wind. A new poll has revealed that people in Scotland support renewable energy. But not if it puts wildife at risk.
[Commentary] Millions in Indonesia are already enduring toxic smoke and fighting severe blazes during an unprecedented El Niño.
In a new op-ed, ecologist Akane Nishimura argues these frontline communities offer essential lessons in fortitude and adaptation as record-breaking fire seasons approach.
mongabay.cc/2uMSWF#ElNiño#Mongabay#Indonesia
Worth noting that SHIPS guidance indicates the possibility that #Isaias could experience an episode of rapid intensification within the next 72-h window. Not outrageously high probs, but nothing to rule out. Perhaps this high OHC water may play a role in this before getting into unfavorable shear?
SHIPS Prob RI for 20kt/ 12hr RI threshold= 9% is 1.8 times climatological mean ( 4.9%)
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SHIPS Prob RI for 25kt/ 24hr RI threshold= 42% is 3.8 times climatological mean (10.9%)
SHIPS Prob RI for 30kt/ 24hr RI threshold= 29% is 3.9 times climatological mean ( 6.8%)
SHIPS Prob RI for 35kt/ 24hr RI threshold= 24% is 6.8 times climatological mean ( 3.9%)
SHIPS Prob RI for 40kt/ 24hr RI threshold= 7% is 3.1 times climatological mean ( 2.4%)
SHIPS Prob RI for 45kt/ 36hr RI threshold= 15% is 3.2 times climatological mean ( 4.6%)
SHIPS Prob RI for 55kt/ 48hr RI threshold= 15% is 3.3 times climatological mean ( 4.7%)
SHIPS Prob RI for 65kt/ 72hr RI threshold= 0% is 0.0 times climatological mean ( 5.3%)
New York Fed Report: Trump's tariffs added 2.9 percentage points to consumer goods inflation by February 2026. Without the tariffs, prices of goods would have fallen. New Canadian tariffs are expected to put additional upward pressure on prices.
Up until very recently indeed, airlines were the only businesses that I dealt with regularly that practiced "price discrimination," charging different customers different prices for the same seats.
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If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this thread to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:
pluralistic.net/2026/10/07/gou…
1/
A 1970s Air Canada ad depicting a man in a brown velour pullover with a large collar sitting in a book-lined study, assembling model Air Canada jets on his desk. His head has been replaced with the blue, metallic head of a 1950s pulp robot and his skintones have been shifted blue to match.
The “Honey Badger don’t care” stock market: why and how twenty “AI” stocks and only twenty “AI” stocks shrug off the big shock of rising interest rates in our weird two-speed stock market:
**Katie Martin & Rob Armstrong: There Is Only One Trade: PODCAST OF THE DAY**
The “only one trade” is... 1/
I was in a 12th-century village in August and thought I'd do some street pics. When I got back to the rental, the best picture in the batch was me putting an ND filter on.
So, if you love medieval architecture, I give you...
My hand!
#selfportrait#photography#ECK
Black and white 12mm self-portrait of a single hand, held close over the lens with the palm facing the camera and fingers splayed wide.
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The extreme distortion stretches the fingers and thumb so they radiate from the palm like the spokes of a wheel, with the forearm running off to the bottom left. Strong sunlight picks out the creases and skin texture of the palm. Behind the hand, a stone village house and trees stand against a dark sky, and a heavy vignette darkens the edges of the frame.
A few last photos from the Pacific Northeast:
*The steep, thin Merrymere Falls
*A large rock formation mounted out of the ocean at Second Beach
*A deadly serious warning sign at Hurricane Ridge 🤭
*Huge saltwater ravaged fallen trees at Second Beach
Portrait photo showing the length of a thin waterfall coming down a nearly flat mountainside cliff. It is roughly 100 feet high and deposits is water into a small basin at the bottom. Though it seems the size of a toothpick, there is a large fallen tree jutting out at the very top.
A huge rock formation at the lip of the Pacific Ocean. The tide is low and waves are slowly ripping in to the shore.
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The rock has about a dozen large conifer trees growing out of its top. To the left is a rock pointing up out of the water like a salt shaker. To the right is a long, shorter formation with an opening carved by the water in its center.
A posted sign that reads “Warning - Marmots may enter your vehicle. Check under your hood before exiting parking lot.” There is a cartoon picture of a furry animal under the hood of a car.
Strewn about are a large collection of old, salt water desecrated trees that have washed up and been deposited on the beach nearest the wall of conifers that serves as a border. The trees are nearly white in appearance and mostly limbless.
Noella (Reynolds) Robinson and her sister were sent to Residential Schools when they were 8 and 5. It was traumatic for them, and for those in the village who wondered where they were being taken and who would be next. It was a real pleasure to have time with Noella and her family (ilford Delta-100)
Black and white film photograph of Algonquin elders in Kipawa, Quebec. #blackandwhitefilmphotography
#blackandwhitefilmportraits
#environmentalportraits
I'm very proud of my Honours student, Tegan Edwards for publishing her first first-author paper this week in Ecology and Evolution!
She researched on Fiji's canopy-dwelling Hylaeus and worked incredibly hard to find these bees and to then untangle the story that followed...
doi.org/10.1002/ece3...
I really appreciate that the Nobel folks do the science communication thing of releasing different explanations of the winners' work for people with different pre-existing levels of understanding
nobelprize.org/all-nobel-prize…
both "They solved chemistry’s asymmetric mystery" and "Non-linear effects and auto catalysis in asymmetric organic catalysis"
Fun SK fact while I'm thinking about mastodon excavation-- I got to help excavate a mastodon when I was a wee baby (20 years old)!
My youngest sister was part of a professional archaeology and paleontology club at the time (she's now a bioanthropology student) and I went along just to see it
Essentially, my plan is to do the computer equivalent of moving to a cabin in the woods with a solar panel and a well I dug myself.
Additionally, and for entirely unrelated reasons, I have also been considering literally moving to a literal cabin in the literal woods with a literal solar panel and well. However, I would not dig the literal well myself. That seems like the kind of thing you want an experienced person who is aware of relevant Ontario regulations to do.
A section of my list of Amazon.com assumptions about me, with "reads diverse book genres," "appears to value specialized gaming peripherals," and "appears to select professional-grade sports equipment" highlighted.
Haven’t had a day off in four weeks but I let myself leave work at noon today so I finally got my hair all cleaned up, got a massage at a very fancy place, had a simple but perfect dinner and glass of wine, and got a ridiculous but fun little dessert on my way home.
Picture of me with noticeably less hair than the last time I posted a current picture of myself. It’s a short little mullet thing designed to grow into a nice shag. I’m wearing a black denim jacket with a Paddington pin on it and a black t-shirt for the band Tomahawk.
Picture of a table in the lobby of a fancy massage place. On the table in front of me is a small tray with a hot towel, a small (2 ounce?) cup of warm green tea and a slightly larger (3 ounce?) cup with water. There are Andes mints, but I did not take one.
Picture of a beautifully presented portion of steak and a nice glass of red wine. I ordered my meat medium rare. The wine wasn’t customizable, it just came from the bottle like this, but was quite good regardless.
I'm 41 today.
It sounds like a big year. It sort of is, but after 40, who cares? I'm just so incredibly happy to be here, so thankful to be alive, to be able to see the world, meet all the people in it, eat all the food, do all the things.
I can't wait for more. The women in my family are long-lived, and I'm looking forward to it because I feel like I am going to be curiously and voraciously in love with the world forever.
Since I was a child I have always looked forward to being '40 something'. In my mind, I had no doubt that I was going to be where I want to be, doing what I want.
I am.
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I'm in Kathmandu, Nepal: two years ago, one of my oldest friends told me that he was going to gift me a birthday gift to his home city the moment I was able to travel again.
Once I got word that I could, we made plans.
I've known him for more than 20 years. My wife noted yesterday that I've known many of my friends for 10 - 29 years. I feel immensely lucky to have old friends everywhere who I've kept in touch with.
I may not be the sort of person who goes out very frequently with friends, given that many of my friends live in different cities or countries, but I feel like I've been able to just pick up on old friendships by talking from time to time, and visiting sometimes.
I feel like I'm in a new season of life. One in which exploration, adventure, and abundance are back in my life. I am surrounded by friends and family I love and trust, and I have so much joy to share.
It wasn't always this way, including when I was very ill and depressed for a very long time, so this is especially special.
Had the carbon monoxide alarm go off, much to my startlement, so I stepped outside and then looked up what the beep pattern meant to see if I needed to warn the neighbors, but it was just its "end of life" warning, so I put in a maintenance request to replace it and took out the battery.
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