Dominic Collins

Thanks Clive ✌️

It occured to me that it would be nice if it did, yes 👍🏻

Ooh - that's a nice one, Clive. Well-presented too 👌

The night's moth trapping is redeemed (no offense to the two Clouded Drabs who made the effort - appreciate it as always fellas): one Shoulder Stripe moth, noticed in the hub cap of a wheelie bin whilst preparing to cut the beech heddge at the front of the house (with shears). #TeamMoth

Same here, whilst wondering how much longer I'll have the luxury of being able to ignore them. I really resent the imposition of tech-bro-oligarchs' vacuous visions of the future (and our politicians' clueless infatuation with the high priests of tech) on the rest of us.

Yes! I've never been the most dedicated of watchers, but I do enjoy it, and dimly remembered that episode. From what I've seen of the most recent episodes, they've certainly done an excellent job of lampooning the Trump administration.

Just two Clouded Drabs in a cold Endon Bottom. No other forms of insect either. Humph, meh, etc.

QuitGPT — ChatGPT takes Trump's killer robot deal Join the movement. Delete ChatGPT. Cancel your subscription. It's time to quit.

QuitGPT: quitgpt.org

Let's get as many people as possible to quit ChatGPT and cancel their subscriptions, delete the app, and pressure companies to switch to a more ethical chatbot competitor like Gemini, Claude, and open-source chatbots.

YouTube video by South Park Studios Make Profit By Stealing Underpants - SOUTH PARK

On a recent @thebulwark.com podcast, Michael Weiss of The Insider likened Trump's approach to war with Iran to the underwear gnomes episode of South Park. This rang distant bells and I felt I had to dig it out.

Phase 1: Collect underpants

Phase 2: ?

Phase 3: Profits

youtu.be/a5ih_TQWqCA?...

@staffsbirdnews.bsky.social

Out along the valley this a.m.: pleased to find 3 more local-patch Russian Whitefronts at the Ashes Pool (with 1 Pink-foot & 2 Oystercatchers). Elsewhere: singing Willow Tit, 59 Snipe, 2 Curlew, 29 Lapwing, 36 Wigeon, 4 Goosander, 43 Teal, 2 Mandarin, Green Woodpecker, & four Chiffchaffs in song. 🪶

HOPE WINS @greenpartyhan.bsky.social

People-power has sailed the Greens to victory. This is proof that when we get organised, we win.

A vision of a world where everyone can thrive is more powerful than the far right’s hatred and division.

And far more popular.

🧵

The political effects of X's feed algorithm https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-10098-2 Received: 16 December 2024 Accepted: 4 January 2026 Published online: 18 February 2026 Open access • Check for updates Germain Gauthier,5, Roland Hodler?5, Philine Widmer35 & Ekaterina Zhuravskaya3,4,5 m Feed algorithms are widely suspected to influence political attitudes. However, previous evidence from switching off the algorithm on Meta platforms found no political effects'. Here we present results from a 2023 field experiment on Elon Musk's platform X shedding light on this puzzle. We assigned active US-based users randomly to either an algorithmic or a chronological feed for 7 weeks, measuring political attitudes and online behaviour. Switching from a chronological to an algorithmic feed increased engagement and shifted political opinion towards more conservative positions, particularly regarding policy priorities, perceptions of criminal investigations into Donald Trump and views on the war in Ukraine. In contrast, switching from the algorithmic to the chronological feed had no comparable effects. Neither switching the algorithm on nor switching it off significantly affected affective polarization or self-reported partisanship. To investigate the mechanism, we analysed users' feed content and behaviour. We found that the algorithm promotes conservative content and demotes posts by traditional media. Exposure to algorithmic content leads users to follow conservative political activist accounts, which they continue to follow even after switching off the algorithm, helping explain the asymmetry in effects. These results suggest that initial exposure to X's algorithm has persistent effects on users' current political attitudes and account-following behaviour, even in the absence of a detectable effect on partisanship.

A new paper shows that less than 2 months of exposure to Twitter’s algorithmic feed significantly shifts people’s political views to the right.

Moving from chronological feed to the algorithmic feed also increases engagement.

This is one of the most concerning papers I’ve read in awhile.

Michael Pollan Punctures the AI Bubble His new book, about the mystery of consciousness, strengthens the case that technology will never truly replicate humans.

Michael Pollan’s new book, “A World Appears,” explores the mysteries of consciousness. It also strengthens the case that AI will never truly replicate humans, Charles Finch writes:

Today marks four years since Russia invaded Ukraine. These are some thoughts (recorded yesterday) on what Ukrainians have done for all of us and what we can learn from them.

😁 I know - and when I explained about the GNDs I found myself in fresh bother because she was envious - this despite her having said she wasn't wearing the right footwear to follow me out onto the wet sand 🤷🏻‍♂️

😄 "If I was married to you" [shudders].

😁 My thoughts exactly, Ruth. This particular form of disharmony occurs once a holiday, so better to get it over with early on 👍🏻

Also from Wells: Grey Plover, Greenshank, Bar-tailed Godwit. Plus one of my favourite winter sounds - the burbling thrum of Brent Geese. 🪶

Birding near Wells this afternoon: these Great Northern Divers led me a long way from my wife for what I was told was an hour and a quarter, which I think was an exaggeration but certainly I lost track of time, missed three angry phone calls and got a right bollocking when I returned. 🪶

😁

Contextualise this: 🖕

Thank you Ruth. The sky is now blueing over nicely. We'll be heading to Holkham shortly. Just waiting for J to get out of bed.

Thank you Clare! I told @sj84turner.bsky.social but he said that he'd have been impressed if I trapped it back in Stoke-on-Trent but not in Norfolk and that context was everything. He's a mouldy git.

You know, I actually googled "Cyclops Moth" thinking I'd never heard of that one and was shown lots of photos of north American polyphemus moths, which then reminded me of Odysseus and his mates lobbing rocks into the Cyclops' eye (his one big ops, man). Anyway - I then realised my error.

Stanhoe, Norfolk. Really refreshing to awaken to a dawn chorus, especially one in which Greenfinches & a strident Chaffinch are the principal singers (Skylarks more distantly too). Inside my moth trap: a new species for me - one Small Brindled Beauty. 7/5 overall. #TeamMoth
@norfolkmoths.bsky.social

Bridge 34 of the Caldon canal (I live in the hedge on the left).

😆 That's true! More than once, it should be said.

It's not a sacrifice if you drank it, Dave.

Just trolling round before bed. I might come out from under my bridge again tomorrow.