This poem is spillover from the February 3, 2026 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by prompts from kengr, librarygeek, and (Anonymous) IP Address: (46.110.23.207). It also fills the "Take a Class" square in my 2-1-26 card for the Valentines Bingo fest. This poem has been sponsored by janetmiles. It belongs to the series Daughters of the Apocalypse.

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Today is partly cloudy and cold.  Patches of snow remain, separated by stretches of bare muddy ground.

I fed the birds.  I've seen a large flock of sparrows.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 2/9/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 2/9/26 -- I did more work around the patio. 

I am done for the night.

These are some posts from the later part of last week in case you missed them:
Buffalo Seed Company Order
Science
Birdfeeding
Website Updates
Early Humans
Birdfeeding
Philosophical Questions: Pregnancy
Artificial Intelligence
Birdfeeding
Website Updates
"An Inkling of Things to Come" is now complete!
Follow Friday 2-6-26: London
Economics
Food
Birdfeeding
Community Thursdays
Wildlife
Birdfeeding
Cuddle Party

Safety has 43 comments. Food has 44 comments. Wildlife has 36 comments. Food has 64 comments. Robotics has 135 comments.


Last week's Poetry Fishbowl went well. I am still writing.


The 2026 Rose and Bay Awards are now open for excellence in crowdfunding. It's time to vote for your favorite projects!

The award period for eligible activities spans January 1-December 31, 2025.
The nomination period spans January 1-January 31, 2026.
The voting period spans February 1-February 28, 2026.

These are the handlers for the 2026 award season:

Art: gs_silva Nominate art! Vote for art! (4)
Fiction: fuzzyred Nominate fiction! Vote for fiction! (3)
Poetry: gs_silva Nominate poetry! Vote for poetry! (4)
Webcomic: curiosity Nominate webcomics! Vote for webcomics! (5)
Other Project: curiosity Nominate other projects! Vote for other projects! (4)
Patron: fuzzyred Nominate patrons! Vote for patrons! (5)

"An Inkling of Things to Come" is now complete. Shiv and his classmates finish their first worldbuilding session.


The weather has been frigid here, but is slightly less cold than it was. Seen at the birdfeeders this week: a large flock of sparrows, one female and three male cardinals, and a starling.

These 773,000-year-old fossils may reveal our shared human ancestor

Exceptionally well-dated fossils from Morocco capture a moment nearly 800,000 years ago, right at a major turning point in Earth’s magnetic history.

Fossils from a Moroccan cave have been dated with remarkable accuracy to about 773,000 years ago, thanks to a magnetic signature locked into the surrounding sediments. The hominin remains show a blend of ancient and more modern features, placing them near a pivotal branching point in human evolution. These individuals likely represent an African population close to the last common ancestor of Homo sapiens, Neandertals, and Denisovans.

"Is AI more important than climate?"

When the BBC recently asked Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai whether the build-out of AI is more important than climate, the question briefly cut through the hype that usually surrounds the AI boom. Pichai acknowledged that AI is dramatically increasing energy in ways current systems “can’t fully cope.”


Another way in which humanity is too stupid to stop sawing off the branch we're all standing on.

AI is not more important than the climate, it is just the latest threat to the climate. AI is a massive energy hog that we cannot afford at a time when we need to be cutting emissions as fast as possible. The most effective way to do that is to use less energy. AI is the opposite of helpful in this regard.

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Thanks to fuzzyred, the Iron Horses page is now up!  Go check out this thread to see if you've missed any poems.