Notices by Hippy Steve (exador23@m.ai6yr.org)

Why am I just now learning about the pickaroon?

Definitely need one of these. Getting too old to bend over all the time picking up split wood. or crawl on a large pile to get grab rounds for the splitter.

@marcotietz @ai6yr

these new striped ankle biter mosquitos are such a problem because they can lay eggs in a small amount of water (like the downspout tray of a gutter system) and the eggs stay viable when the water dries up - just waiting for a little new rain to hatch.

Hey, @ai6yr, turns out typewriters aren't just for typing. : )

https://www.printmag.com/designer-profiles/james-cook-typewriter-art/

Pro Tip: If you kill someone, don't write a memoir about it.

NYTimes: A jury convicted Duane Keith Davis, 63, in the 1996 drive-by shooting that killed Mr. Shakur, a rapper at the height of his popularity. Prosecutors cited portions of Mr. Davis’s disavowed memoir.

Oh FFS.

Newsweek: Garbage trucks could soon do more than collect trash—they may also help identify code violations using artificial intelligence (AI).

Officials in Cape Coral, Florida, recently considered equipping sanitation trucks with AI-powered cameras that would photograph properties as crews complete their normal collection routes.

The system would have been designed to identify potential issues such as overgrown lawns, peeling paint, and illegal dumping, and to flag violations so the city staff can review them later before taking enforcement action.

Looks like Oregon is on fire.

@ai6yr @douglasvb

There are 3 separate things to consider along with their lags, interactions with each other, and various feedback loops:

1. Greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere
2. Heat in the planet's systems (air, land, water)
3. Climate impacts.

As far as the atmosphere goes, the bulk of the human CO2 buildup is going to last for 300-1000yrs after we stop emitting without hacking the carbon cycle for active drawdown. That's one lag.

As long as the excess greenhouse gasses remain, heat is being actively trapped/added to the planetary system. Much of that heat goes into the oceans. (as does much of the CO2) but with deleterious impact of it's own: acidification, ecosystem impacts, weather & climate impacts, etc. So stopping emissions doesn't stop global warming. That's another lag.

And since the heat continues to build up - especially in the oceans (which will take a long time to be undone), climate impacts will continue to worsen. Another lag.

Then there's the interactions between all of those. for example, far too many people are unaware of the hard temperature limits of photosynthesis - the principle means by which plants draw down CO2 from the atmosphere. The laws of physics and chemistry mean that photosynthesis stops working once the ambient cell temperature reaches 100-110F in many plants (including most food crops).

And then there are the feedback loops. e.g. excessive heat evaporates water resulting in water vapor in the atmosphere. Water vapor is itself a very potent greenhouse gas resulting in more heat buildup in the terrestial system. Or rising global temperatures mean less snow and ice, so the albedo changes resulting in more heat absorbed by the planet, which is why arctic regions are warming 2.5x faster than equatorial regions.

All of these then impact the climate and weather in ever increasing and unpredictable ways like the ocean currents and jet stream slowing causing ever more drastic impacts.

While all this sounds dire, I do have hope and will now talk about things we can be doing that will have significant impacts on atmospheric CO2 levels which need to be reduced before anything can get better...

@ai6yr @douglasvb

The easiest way to reduce atmospheric CO2 (assuming we're no longer adding more) is to hack the short carbon cycle that nature is already doing.

in a nutshell that cycle is: plants drawdown CO2 via photosynthesis converting to living biomass carbon. As parts of the plant die, that biomass begins a 1-20 year process of decomposition wherein the carbon returns to the atmosphere. ruminant animals turn it into methane rather quickly. other decomposers turn it back into CO2 and methane more slowly. And humans/lightning quickly release all that carbon via fire.

What we need to do on a large scale is hack that carbon cycle so the carbon drawn down by photosynthesis doesn't return to the atmosphere.

Biochar is the most obvious hack. pyrolytic (high heat/low oxygen fire) turns the biomass into 1000+ year stable carbon that can be added to the soil instead of returning to the atmosphere. 90+% of the carbon can be sequestered this way, with massive benefits to farmers and soil health.

Regenerative farming is another. The Marin Carbon Project has been doing studies for over 3 decades now and have proven that just 1/4" of compost spread on just 25% of California rangeland would sequester enough carbon to offset all of the state's emissions. (This is why I get upset about the inclusion of cow farts in carbon calculators. That's part of the natural carbon cycle. And by demonizing meat/livestock the green movement alienates the farmers who need to be on our side.)

There are other ways too. A good starting point is the Rodale Institute White Paper https://rodaleinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/rodale-white-paper.pdf

We've reached the stage in the #ClimateEmergency where even CAMELS are dying from extreme heat. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cqlxvvw06pqo

"In the last two years, we have seen a more than 15% increase in camel deaths in our county due to extreme heat."

The study included nearly 6,000 pastoral households and showed that the mortality was concentrated in northern regions, with Sool reporting a "staggering mortality rate of nearly 73%".

Hugging Face is the creepiest name for a tech company since Palantir.

@squinky @evan same.

It feels weird for a straight person to answer the question as to whether it’s ok for a straight person to do anything regarding non-straight activities

Really happy for Paul Thomas Anderson. He should have won that Best Picture and Best Director Oscar many times over before finally getting it tonight.

Full disclosure: I worked on the Punch Drunk Love soundtrack, and while we were recording Fiona Apple's 2nd record, he was filming Magnolia and dating Fiona. He's a good guy.

@evan what part? lol.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) bought data from the online advertising ecosystem to track peoples’ precise movements over time, in a process that often involves siphoning data from ordinary apps like video games, dating services, and fitness trackers, according to an internal Department of Homeland Security (DHS) document obtained by 404 Media.

The document shows in stark terms the power, and potential risk, of online advertising data and how it can be leveraged by government agencies for surveillance purposes. https://www.404media.co/cbp-tapped-into-the-online-advertising-ecosystem-to-track-peoples-movements/

Parks officials in California have cancelled popular guided elephant seal tours for the remainder of the season and temporarily closed public viewing areas following a recent outbreak of bird flu at a state park. https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/5756505-avian-flu-detected-elephant-seals/

The outbreak marks the first cases of avian flu found in marine mammals in California and the first detection in northern elephant seals, researchers noted.

Año Nuevo State Park, located just north of Santa Cruz, is home to one of the largest elephant seal colonies in North America, with roughly 5,000 seals making their way there during the winter breeding season, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Researchers have been closely monitoring the colony for decades, surveillance that has increased since a 2023 outbreak in Argentina decimated the population, killing more than 17,000 elephant seals, including nearly all pups.

#BirdFlu #H5N1

Of FFS...

Burger King is launching an AI chatbot that will live in the headsets used by employees. The voice-enabled chatbot, called "Patty," is part of an overarching BK Assistant platform that will not only assist employees with meal preparation but also evaluate their interactions with customers for "friendliness."

Thibault Roux, Burger King's chief digital officer, tells The Verge that the company compiled information from franchisees and guests on how to measure friendliness, resulting in the fast food chain training its AI system to recognize certain words and phrases, such as "welcome to Burger King," "please," and "thank you." Managers can then ask the AI assistant how their location is performing on friendliness. "This is all meant to be a coaching tool," Roux says, adding that the company is "iterating" on capturing the tone of conversations as well.

Yikes. A country of 1.5 Billion people running out of water.

Ancient stepwells brought back to life as India begins to run out of water as parts of the country head towards “day zero” when no water will be available https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2026/feb/26/ancient-stepwells-brought-back-india-run-out-water-day-zero

“It was such a joyous moment to see water collecting into the stepwell after clearing 40 years of garbage,” says Hajira Adeeb, a 45-year-old resident of Bansilalpet, who grew up seeing the well become transformed from the community’s water source to a dumping ground. “I visit almost every day. The area is clean and lit up in the evenings. I enjoy sitting there.”

India is famed for its stepwells – multi-storey structures built to provide access to groundwater, with steps and platforms descending to the water level. Thousands were built across the country near natural aquifers – underground porous rock saturated with water – mostly between the 11th and 18th centuries.

#ClimateEmergency

The DOW dropped below 50,000. Does that mean Epstein prosecutions are back on the table?

Today in #LeopardsAteMyFace

REDFORD, Texas—Plans for a border wall through the Big Bend region of West Texas are raising alarms among residents and elected officials. https://insideclimatenews.org/news/17022026/big-bend-texas-border-wall/

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) intends to build border barriers throughout this remote region of Texas that encompasses ranchland, small towns and a cherished state and national park.

Last week, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) waived 28 laws for environmental protection and historical and archeological preservation to expedite construction in a more than 150-mile stretch from Fort Quitman in Hudspeth County to Colorado Canyon in Big Bend Ranch State Park. An online map posted by CBP indicates that “smart wall” construction is planned both within the state park and in neighboring Big Bend National Park.

The highest elected official for Brewster County, Judge Greg Henington, spoke against the wall during a public appearance in the county seat of Alpine on Feb. 12. Big Bend National Park is in Brewster County. “This county judge sees no reason to go with a border wall in Brewster County,” Henington, a Republican, said. “I get border security, but there are other ways to do it.”

David Keller, a noted archaeologist of the region, characterized the plans for border barriers in the Big Bend as “the military industrialization of one of the last, great, unspoiled places remaining in the United States of America. One of our most beloved national parks and our state’s largest park will be scarred beyond repair,” he said.

@jeridansky and it doesn't fit with the decor. a surfer pad would be more comfy chill than that somewhat sterile vibe.