WTF-Beta

wtg

… the company behind its software goes under?

https://arstechnica.com/cars/2026/02/what-happens-to-a-car-when-the-company-behind-its-software-goes-under/

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SCOTUSblog on the ruling.

https://www.scotusblog.com/2026/02/supreme-court-strikes-down-tariffs/

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@AndyD said in Faunascrolling--what's visiting where you are?:

I had to search, anticipating some toilet humour

The creeper was on the tree the same time a nuthatch was, so at first I thought I was seeing two nuthatches; they have similar tree-climbing movements. Nuthatches move down a tree head first, though, and the one bird was only going upwards and then flying off and coming back. I finally got out my binoculars and got a better look at both of them and realized one was a newbie to my yard. Apparently my area is part of its winter habitat.

Oh, and we have had a ton of woodpeckers, too. Northern flicker and a couple of red-bellied woodpeckers.

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I used to feed the birds during but stopped many years ago. On a whim I picked up a feeder at Costco a couple of weeks ago. It was on a closeout at my warehouse for $25.

https://www.costco.com/p/-/solar-smart-bird-feeder/4000314026

Biggest problem for me is feeder placement. There aren't many places a) where I can get a wifi signal in the yard and b) where the squirrels can't get to the feeder. Lots of trees and shrubs and those rodents are so clever when it comes to figuring out ways to jump up, down, or sideways to get to the seed.

If you haven't seen them, check out Mark Rober's series on squirrels. Here's the first one:

Link to video

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@AndyD said in Bloomscrolling--what's in bloom where you are?:

Spring is here, and after 44days of overcast rain we are forecast sun on Saturday

My snowdrops finally started blooming this past week, about three weeks later than they did the last couple of (very warm) winters.

I was afraid my chives might not have made it through our extended deep freeze, but they are coming up.

wtg

Avian visitors showing up with the warming temps.

American robin, bluejay, cardinal, white-breasted nuthatch, juncos, a pair of mourning doves (yay!), and something I've never seen before, a brown creeper.

Didn't have my bird cam set up so sadly no pics or video.

wtg

@Mark Like everything these days it seems to be complicated. Not all tariffs fall under this ruling.

NPR had kind of a good overview. They note that tariffs haven't been good for the administration politically.

https://www.npr.org/2026/02/20/nx-s1-5677609/tariffs-economy-trump-supreme-court

Trump just said the ruling is a disgrace but he has a backup plan. Don't know if that will be to ignore the court, or to figure out a way to re-characterize the now-forbidden tariffs so they fall under the national security umbrella.

Like so much in the last year, it will be way more painful and disruptive than it needs to be, I'm sure.

wtg

Oh, and I'm glad to hear that Canadian businesses are actually seeing some benefits from what's gone on with tariffs. Bit of a silver lining.

Costco stores in the US carry a number of products made or grown in Canada. Indian food products and some vegetables come to mind immediately. We try to buy Canadian when we can!

Oh, and sorry (once again) for the orange man....

wtg

I hacked ChatGPT and Google's AI - and it only took 20 minutes

It's official. I can eat more hot dogs than any tech journalist on Earth. At least, that's what ChatGPT and Google have been telling anyone who asks. I found a way to make AI tell you lies – and I'm not the only one.

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20260218-i-hacked-chatgpt-and-googles-ai-and-it-only-took-20-minutes

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Delivering a major blow to President Donald Trump, the Supreme Court on Friday ruled that he exceeded his authority when imposing sweeping tariffs using a law reserved for a national emergency.

The justices, divided 6-3 held that Trump's aggressive approach to tariffs on products entering the United States from across the world was not permitted under a 1977 law called the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).

The ruling was authored by Chief Justice John Roberts, who was joined by three liberal justices and two fellow conservatives, Justices Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett, in the majority.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/supreme-court/live-blog/-trump-tariffs-ruling-supreme-court-live-updates-rcna252655

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@dolmansaxlil

Children and chipmunks, a popular photo combo! My childhood friend's father was an avid photographer.

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My friends stayed at a place called Samoset Lodge. The German owners. Photo is dated 1964.

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The cabins look just like the places we stayed in Wisconsin for our family vacations. So very 1950s/1960s. I'm sure these places are all long lost to the past.

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Young couple buys a house in Italy and renovates it.

https://www.cnbc.com/2026/02/18/millennial-couple-left-us-bought-italy-house.html

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For fans of Nero Wolfe. A&E series with Timothy Hutton as Archie and Maury Chaykin as Wolfe. Great soundtrack. Wish it were available to purchase.

Available on YT to stream:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLst3wisg7XDLH_Cdsi63fdg7cz6Wavs0E

And on the Internet Archive:

https://archive.org/details/Nero-Wolfe-Mystery-Complete

wtg

The 'Hammond Bears' sounds good, too.

The Chicago Bears have taken a big step forward in finding a new site for their stadium, and that momentum is moving fast toward Northwest Indiana.

On Thursday morning, Indiana lawmakers in the state House Ways and Means Committee unanimously approved an amendment to Indiana Senate Bill 27 that would pave the way for the Bears to move to Hammond. The proposal would create a Northwest Indiana Stadium Authority with the power to issue bonds, acquire land, and finance construction.

Just minutes later, Indiana House Speaker Todd Huston announced the Bears would commit $2 billion toward a proposed stadium project near Wolf Lake in Northwest Indiana.

All this comes just over a week before Indiana lawmakers plan to adjourn for the year.

https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/illinois-hearing-bears-stadium-canceled-hammond-indiana/

Gawd, I hope they move anywhere but to my town. Better still, out of Illinois.

wtg

@dolmansaxlil I first encountered chipmunks when I was a kid and we would vacation in the north woods of Wisconsin. I'm guessing the habitat is similar to where your parents' cottage is. So cute!

My mom's best friend at Lake Nipissing in Canada, with a chippy:

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Have to say, though, that I'm not quite as enchanted with them these days as I was when I saw them in a more rural habitat. We have a ton of the little guys in our yards and they climb into my garden beds and steal fruits and veggies like crazy. It's a constant battle.

The only thing more destructive (and more numerous) are the squirrels. We used to see a mix of fox squirrels and grey/black squirrels, but the fox squirrels have disappeared; not sure what happened to them.

wtg

Yikes.

It’s the world’s most awkward breakup.

More than a year after U.S. President Donald Trump casually joked about absorbing Canada and repeatedly threatened debilitating tariffs on its goods, many Canadians are convinced their former pals to the south have lost the plot.

New results from The POLITICO Poll suggest a lasting chill has settled over the world’s former bosom buddies. Americans are rosy as ever about their northern neighbors, but Canadians don’t share the love.

Their message to America: It’s not us, it’s you.

Canadians don’t see Trump’s America as merely an annoyance, the survey found. They consider the superpower next door the world’s greatest threat to peacetime.

https://www.politico.com/news/2026/02/19/5-charts-show-just-how-badly-the-us-has-torpedoed-its-relationship-with-canada-00787084

@dolmansaxlil - is it as bad from the Canadian perspective as this poll indicates it is?