Cutworm Moth (Acontia nivipicta), Bunya Mts National Park

No Worries! Trump Will Make a Call and Fix It - Alexandra Petri

https://www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/2026/07/fifa-travesty-trump-soccer/687832/?gift=jQN1t1D1nkO2TQodBiz5KB6YgfeNdL481J5xb3o9EKE&utm_source=copy-link&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=share

Pre-NATO Summit Brief: China Tests the Pacific, Russia Tests the Alliance

https://www.onestnetwork.com/pre-nato-summit-brief-china-tests-the-pacific-russia-tests-the-alliance/

"Dr Simon Scofield, a senior lecturer at Cardiff University, said: “We found that a 6% catnip oil was just as effective [at repelling mosquitos] as Deet, and the 2% catnip oil was only marginally less effective than that."

#Catnip #Cats #CatsOfMastodon #Malaria #NiceTimes

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2026/jul/07/catnip-lotion-as-effective-as-deet-at-repelling-mosquitoes-study-finds

#UKPol

Farage just called a referendum on the concept of objective reality

https://iandunt.substack.com/p/farage-just-called-a-referendum-on

Good afternoon to everyone but especially Andrew Glubbey and his Pear moped.

https://www.roadandtrack.com/news/a71446039/florida-man-pear-car/

My new phone has an awesome zoom function and I am quickly becoming obsessed with taking pictures of tiny things💚

#MastoArt #Art #Bloomscrolling #Nature #Plants #Flowers #MobilePhotography #Florespondence

RE: https://wandering.shop/@xgranade/116880757545478253

Our survey says... accurate.

Some might have seen mention of the retraction (by Springer) of two papers by Max Planck (you know, the Nobel prize winning physicist). There is an interesting summary of arguments and reasons provided by ‘Retraction Watch’ here.

https://gizmodo.com/a-physics-giant-had-his-papers-retracted-decades-after-his-death-heres-why-2000778356

Apparently Springer are ‘working hard’ to reverse them 🙄

#Springer #Planck #Retraction #BallsUp

I passed this mystery car today here in Edinburgh. I’ve been seeing disguised pre-release cars in the media for decades but never seen one in the flesh before! No idea what it is though, do you know?

#WeirdCarMastodon

Did Ed Zitron write this?😀 https://masto.ai/@ariaflame/116879769246099868

Beetles from the other day:

- Red milkweed beetle (_Tetraopes tetrophthalmus_)—the scientific name translates as "four-eyes four-eyes", note how the antenna divides the eye in two; on its host plant, common milkweed (_Asclepias syriaca_)
- _Valgus hemipterus_ on Queen Anne's Lace (_Daucus carota_)
- Grapevine beetle (_Pelidnota punctata_) on Virginia creeper (_Parthenocissus quinquefolia_)
- Hairy flower scarab (_Trichiotinus_ sp.) on some kind of spiraea

All scarabs (family Scarabaeidae) except for the milkweed beetle who is a longhorn beetle (family Cerambycidae).

#bugstodon #insects #beetles #LonghornBeetles #ScarabBeetles #Coleoptera #Cerambycidae #Scarabaeidae #Cetoniinae #Rutelinae

Boycott it

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2026/jul/07/ioc-lifts-suspension-russia-compete-la-2028-olympics

This BinChicken has flown the coop!

Today, I left the rants.au instance and made a reasonably respectable three-point landing on The Blower.

Thankyou to the Admins of The Blower for making me welcome.

And, thankyou to everyone on my Follows/Followers lists. My apologies for any glitches in the transfer process. I'll try to re-run the import widget tomorrow, otherwise drop me a line.

Oh, hello. Too cold outside?

Poss has been returned to the backyard but not without some acrobatics.
Also please do not try to handle possums without protection, they bitey. I had protection. And determination.
This is a ring tail.
Don't try to handle brush tails even with protection they will have your eyes.

We are here. #USpol #worldcup2026 #tfg

Why I can’t bring myself to read Neal Asher these days.

Fast asleep.

Pi has a hard life. Thoughts and prayers.

#FediCats #PiTheBengal #MissyMouse

Today's weird vehicle is the electric Astraux AL. The Dubai based company first put out pre-orders in 2025 and now has multiple models.

"Among the optional equipment, Astraux mentions a built-in projector that allows passengers to watch movies, sing karaoke, or play video games inside the cabin."

https://smallcarsclub.com/catalog/astraux/astraux-al/

https://astraux.com/en-eu/products/al6-al7
#weirdcarMastodon

RE: https://eigenmagic.net/@vampiress/116859241032699772

"LLMs are averaging machines. Every answer they produce, everything they do, fundamentally comes down to the most likely result. Meaning for every tiny creative decision you cede, however small, the decision will be “made” by the LLM and given the most average possible answer."