Apparently, Brazil is full of very loud birds, and UMass biologist Jeff Podos has been studying them. The white bellbird is one of a trio of very loud birds, and it’s currently considered the “World’s Loudest” by no less an authority than Guinness World Records. Here’s how the bird is described.

…sounds like a smoke detector that needs a new battery and attracts mates by screaming in their faces…

Gosh, that’s sexy.

The history of Tetris is a very interesting read, replete with poorly-decided court cases and duplicitous communists-turned-capitalists.

In the Massachusetts town of Billerica, they pronounce their name bill-rick-uh, not bill-erica. They also let Krampus the Christmas demon address their Select Board about Flock cameras.

“Santa handles incentives; I handle corrective action,” explained Krampus, a ghoulish figure said to punish poorly behaved children during the holidays.

“This stuff is right up my alley: people associating with the wrong crowds, being subversive, thinking naughty thoughts,” she continued. “With Flock, we can find that, and we can punish it before people have had the chance to actually do anything illegal.”

Krampus added: “I’ve been keeping a list of who’s naughty and who’s nice for centuries. Frankly, it’s about time you people started automating it.”

Krampus’s pro-Flock statements should, of course, be read as sardonic.

Earlier this month, I wrote about the forthcoming Elizabeth Holmes documentary, entitled “You Can See Everything”. I guess that’s really true, because the film has been rated R for graphic nudity.

I continue to think I don’t want to see this.

Remember rich dingus Bryan Johnson, who’s obsessed with beating aging? He’s the one who publicly compared his erections against his son’s. Right, “ick”. “Ick” indeed.

Anyhow, Johnson now has a girlfriend, Kate Tolo. Despite some initial discomfort, she’s decided to share Johnson’s hobby.

Describing herself as an introvert, she says she was initially uneasy about becoming “the world’s most measured woman,” as Johnson put it in a video from last August.

But Tolo’s done it anyway, with her blood, urine, and stool being tested for hundreds of different statistics. As a result, Johnson was able to pay her the most bizarre compliment I’ve ever heard:

He’s also declared her vagina’s microbiome to be in the “top 1 percent” of all vaginal ecosystems.

Stop being so weird, Bryan.

I’m quite down on the addictive design social media companies use, including both algorithmic newsfeeds and endless scroll. As such, I was pleased to see the recent multi-billion dollar settlement between Facebook and nearly all of America.

The settlement will effectively force Meta to make major product changes for all U.S. teen users. The company agreed to interrupt endless scrolling and to impose two-hour daily time limits on Instagram and Facebook.

This is some good progress in regulating these products and loosening their hold over users. Unfortunately, it’s limited to underage users, and adults need protection against this harmful design as well.

When I first expressed my distaste for the way social media companies use algorithmic feeds to capture attention, I wrote:

Algorithmic newsfeeds can’t be uninvented, and it seems unlikely they’ll be regulated out of existence.

That’s likely still true, but there’s additional welcome news out of Australia. They’re planning to require at least the option to opt out of algorithmic content be made available, and they’re doing it for adults.

Users over 16 years of age will be given new tools to turn off algorithm-driven content, with platforms facing fines of more than A$100m for non-compliance.

Under the plan – dubbed “my feed, my way” – users opting out of the algorithm will see content only from individuals and groups they have actively chosen to follow.

Imagine that.

It would be pretty terrifying to fall into the earth while walking in your own back yard. Fortunately for Danielle Tammon, her neighbors eventually heard her calls for help, and called 9-1-1.

Emergency responders used a ladder to get through mud, water and roots to rescue Tammone.

“Firemen, cops, ambulance, special unit, EMTs – they were wonderful,” she said.

…

“And they all sang happy birthday to me. It was great,” Tammone said.

🎶 Happy birthday to you
You fell in a hole
We’re so-r-r-ry that happened
But we got you out 🎶

Today in perverse incentives, coastal property owners are incentivized by their insurance to let their homes fall into the sea, rather than proactively tearing them down.

McDaniel says he can’t afford to move the house, which would be his first choice, or to demolish it. The house has a flood insurance policy that will pay out $250,000 if it collapses, plus up to $100,000 for lost belongings.

“If it’s teetering, you’ve got to sit and wait for it to fall in the ocean,” he says.

That’s bad for pretty much everyone and everything.

Of late, as A.I. has begun appearing in so many parts of every day life, I’ve found more and more appeal in things that are analog. Over at Eater, there’s a great piece on restaurants leaning into human touches, and steering away from A.I. I was delighted to see one of my all-time favorite restaurants, Superiority Burger, shouted out. As well, the closing spoke to me.

To me, a restaurant that employs AI art is capitulating to the culture of slop, akin to reheating premade food from Sysco. It’s impossible to square with a value system that cares about craft and integrity.

You can use A.I. to make a passable version of many things, including the design of a restaurant menu. That doesn’t mean you should.

Rather than dedicated garages, some city homes in Japan feature cut-outs where cars can slot in.

[Photo via @brutbuilds]

Many of the homes pictured in this article seem to be architect showpieces, leading me to wonder how common this practice really is. Regardless, the idea of shaping a house around a dedicated void for a car remains a strange one to me.