Explanation: What is so micro about tonight’s blue micromoon? Just after sunset, a full moon will appear slightly smaller and dimmer than usual. The reason is that the Moon’s fully illuminated phase occurs within a short time of apogee – when the Moon is farthest from the Earth in its elliptical orbit. In fact, tonight’s micromoon will be the farthest, smallest, and dimmest Moon this year. But tonight’s micromoon is notable for yet another reason: it is also a blue moon, meaning that it is the second full moon in the same month (moon-th). Pictured here, a supermoon — when the full moon appears near its largest — is compared to a micromoon as photographed from Kolkata, India in May and December of 2021. Although the next micromoon occurs next month, and the next blue moon at the end of 2028, the next blue micromoon will not occur until 2053.
(And in case you got an unwanted earworm from the title, maybe try this lively one, instead! – Ali)
The Nashville Warbler is a lively songbird with elegant, understated plumage and a special fondness for sunny forests, brushy undergrowth, and juicy caterpillars. It is also one of several birds in the Western Hemisphere with a rather misleading name. This bird is only in the southeastern United States for a few weeks during migration on its way between the northern forests where it breeds and its wintering grounds in Mexico, Central America, and the California coast. The species was first documented in Tennessee, and the “Nashville” name stuck, although it only stops over in the area during migration.
The Latin name is also rather misleading to anyone watching this bird in the field — the species epithet ruficapilla refers to a small patch of reddish feathers on the bird’s crown, usually invisible among the gray feathers of the rest of the head. Like the Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Orange-crowned Warbler, and Yellow-rumped Warbler (scientific species name coronata, for the rarely seen yellow crown), this name may be mystifying to beginning birders, but it might also provide an avenue into the secret social life of the bird.
The ability to hide and reveal this bright, contrasting color patch allows these birds to produce a striking visual signal, which they use to communicate agitation and excitement, particularly in aggressive interactions between males at close range. The closely related Lucy’s and Virginia’s Warblers also have hidden reddish crowns, apparently used in similar contexts. In fact, colorful hidden crown patches have also evolved in distantly related species, like the Western Kingbird, suggesting they may play important roles in these birds’ lives. However, birds are rarely seen actually raising their crowns, and our understanding of their social use is only rudimentary.
Nashville Warblers are quite social. Once the young of the year are independent from their parents, these warblers begin to form large foraging flocks, numbering up to 100 birds. On their nonbreeding grounds, these birds are often at the center of equally large flocks with dozens of species, their persistent contact calls allowing other birds — and birders — to locate them in the forest canopy. In fact, Nashville Warblers may be a “nuclear species,” facilitating the formation of these large and diverse flocks with help from another energetic northern migrant, the Blue-gray Gnatcatcher. Typically, nuclear species are resident birds, not migrants. But when this warbler-gnatcatcher pair comes to town, they bring the party. (snip-MORE)
Imagine being a scientist scanning the ocean floor when suddenly a powder blue, golf ball-sized, eight-legged critter that looked like it’s been put through a kawaii filter shows up. Obviously, all professionalism goes out the proverbial window.
That is exactly what happened for the Charles Darwin Foundation when they unexpectedly discovered a brand new species of (very cute) octopus deep below the water’s surface near the Galapagos Islands.
A tiny scene-stealer enters the underwater chat
“He’s tiny!” “It’s blue!” These are the remarks that can be heard over the audio of footage captured by a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) camera as the cerulean cephalopod made its grand entrance.
Unsure which species this mysterious and adorable creature belonged to, the team sent octopus expert Janet Voight, who immediately knew “it was something really special.”
“I’d never seen anything like it,” noted Voight, who used X-Ray images from CT scans to make a 3D model of the octopus, revealing its insides, rather than cutting open the one specimen she had.
A built-in survival superpower that feels like a fashion statement
While its top side features blue, nature’s rarest hue, the new species, dubbed Microeledone galapagensis, has a “very deep purple” underside, which researchers believe is to camouflage itself while eating.
“We think this color pattern helps keep it safe. If the octopus grabs a prey item that emits light, that light may attract predators that might then eat the octopus. So the octopus puts its dark-colored web over the prey item, keeping itself safe,” explained Voight.
This little guy showed up where nobody expected it
But unusual coloring aside, what’s also remarkable about this newly discovered octopus is that no other similar species lives anywhere near it. Members of the Megaleledonidae family, distinguished by their single row of suckers, are normally much larger and inhabit cold Antarctic waters…a little ways away from the Galapagos.
The Microeledone galapagensis joins the four new species of octopus that were discovered in Costa Rica in 2024, all of which are part of a 300-ish species of octopus family living throughout all of the world’s oceans.
The ocean still has plenty of surprises left
The wild thing about ocean exploration is how much remains hidden from us. Scientists estimate that huge portions of the deep sea are still largely unexplored. Entire landscapes, unusual animals, and species no one has documented yet may still be waiting below. (snip-a bit MORE)
Environmental activist Erin Brockovich is appealing to the public for help after launching a website to report data center concerns as the rapid expansion of AI-driven facilities across the United States increasingly clashes with local communities.
The appeal threatens to thrust an iconic anti-corporate activist into the heart of the battle to expand AI infrastructure at a time of growing public skepticism about the technology’s impact on jobs, safety and the environment.
The website, brockovichdatacenter.com, lists several “key concerns” surrounding such data centers, including high energy consumption that drives environmental impacts and costs, substantial water use for cooling that can strain local supplies, increased e‑waste from frequent hardware upgrades, exposure to location risks such as natural disasters or geopolitical instability, growing scalability pressures that can outpace local infrastructure, and constant noise from cooling systems and generators that can disrupt nearby communities.
“These challenges highlight the need for sustainable, secure, and efficient AI data center practices,” the website says. “Self-reporting is the best way we can get this information out to the public!”
A map on brockovichdatacenter.com shows major AI data centers in the U.S. that are either operational or under construction, overlaid with locations w…Read More | brockovichdatacenter.com
There are now more than 4,200 data centers—built to train, deploy and deliver AI—across the U.S., according to Data Center Map.
According to the website’s statistics, more than 2,716 reports have been submitted, with the most in Texas (612), as of Monday. The state is home to more than 460 data centers, according to Data Center Map.
The greatest concern among communities was water, followed by electricity, health and wildlife.
“The race to build AI infrastructures is unfolding town by town across America. In some places, data centers are welcomed. In others, they are delayed, contested or abandoned altogether. This map captures the real-world footprint of that race—revealing patterns of growth, conflict and uncertainty,” Brockovich said.
Virginia Long a hub for government contractors and cloud infrastructure, Virginia—particularly Northern Virginia’s “Data Center Alley”—offers proximity to federal agencies and one of the world’s densest fiber networks. Established infrastructure reduces build times and attracts hyperscalers looking to scale quickly.
Texas Texas combines vast, inexpensive land with a deregulated energy market that gives companies flexibility in securing large power loads. Cities like Dallas and Austin also bring a growing tech workforce and business-friendly policies that appeal to major AI investors.
Ohio Ohio has positioned itself as a Midwestern data hub, with strong incentives and central geographic access to U.S. population centers. Its legacy industrial sites are often repurposed for data centers, offering space and existing infrastructure at competitive costs.
Arizona Arizona’s dry climate is favorable for certain cooling technologies, while its abundant land and aggressive economic development incentives have drawn major tech firms. Phoenix, in particular, has become a key destination for new AI and cloud infrastructure builds.
Georgia Georgia, anchored by Atlanta, offers strong connectivity as a Southeast internet exchange hub. State and local tax breaks, combined with access to both talent and transport infrastructure, have made it increasingly attractive for large-scale data operations.
Utah Utah benefits from lower real estate costs, a stable regulatory environment, and access to renewable energy sources. Its growing tech sector, known as “Silicon Slopes,” provides an emerging talent pool to support AI-focused expansion.
Why companies are choosing these states:
Cheap land: Large-scale AI data centers require vast footprints; these states offer space at significantly lower costs than coastal markets.
Power access: Reliable, high-capacity energy grids, often with options for renewable sourcing, are critical for AI workloads.
Tax breaks: State and local governments are competing aggressively with incentives to attract long-term infrastructure investment.
Fewer regulations: Streamlined permitting and business-friendly policies enable shorter development timelines and reduced compliance burdens.
If it’s got reliable WiFi, I’ll take it! After I win the lottery, of course. 🙂
Imagine not hearing the neighbors barking dogs, others music or TV shows, no one coming to the door to preach their religion to you. The only thing is I would need a heliport for Amazon deliveries.
House Democrats announce bill to block construction of Trump’s archwww.washingtonpost.com/politics/202…
According to new reports, Trump's White House personally ordered the Pentagon to give a $620M loan to a company linked to Don Jr.Stocks for other Don Jr.-advised defense contractors are surging, amid rumors of more DoD deals.This is corruption. Watch.
National Park Entrance Fees Are Funding Trump’s D.C. ProjectsThe administration is spending at least $67 million worth of fees paid by visitors to national parks on fixing D.C. fountains and the Reflecting Pool.Gift article
Donald Trump Jr is on the advisory board of both Kalshi and Polymarket.The Trump administration IS the most transparent in history. Transparently corrupt, that is.www.fox9.com/news/trump-a…
“It’s no coincidence, of course, that Donald Trump Jr., the president’s eldest son, happens to be a paid advisor to both Kalshi and Polymarket. The Trump family has profited handsomely from the president’s second term, with some estimates north of $4 billion since early last year.”
Republicans are always taking credit for projects they voted against and Trump made happen without them.
You cannot believe anything a Republican says
MAGA hypocrites never let a demonstrable truth stop them from telling a lie!
Maine Senate poll: Pine Tree/UNHGraham Platner 51% (+2 since February)Susan Collins 42% (+4)another candidate 2% (-2)don't know/undecided 6% (-3)**Platner leads +11 with moderates, +20 with women.Collins leads +3 with independents, +3 with men.scholars.unh.edu/cgi/viewcont…
The Trump admin collected $166 billion in tariff payments before the Supreme Court struck them down. Refunds have already started hitting business' bank accounts – but they're not the ones who paid the fees.That would be American consumers who aren't seeing a dime.@alexsjacquez.bsky.social 👇
A court declaration filed by the Trump administration has revealed that Customs and Border Protection overstated its tariff refunds by at least $10 billion.
Look them in the eye and tell them how Joe Biden wanted to codify reproductive rights, ensuring them forever, but he was old. So, you voted for the Party that has repeatedly said they would ban abortion, and some of whom want to repeal the right of women to vote! Or, (just as bad) you decided not to vote at all.
Ken Paxton is the most corrupt politician in America. He embodies the broken system we’re running against.It’s time to come together: The People vs. Ken Paxton
The Republican Party quietly deleted their own ad attacking Ken Paxton's record on crime… because Paxton is now the Republican Party's nominee to represent Texas in the U.S. Senate.Figured if the ad is important enough to delete, it's important enough to see…
Alabama seeks Supreme Court approval to use a pro-Republican map, impacting Black voter representation as Trump's party works to maintain congressional power.
NEW: I've filed a claim with Todd Blanche for compensation from the $1.776B slush fund for the unlawful investigation by the government into my podcast in August 2019. I'm seeking $8.647 million in compensation for weaponized lawfare – the equivalent of punitive damages, lost pay and retirement.
NEW: DOJ closes Biden autopen investigation. Jeanine Pirro failed to make a case, and never even brought it to a grand jury http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/tru…
The Justice Department wants to interview some poll workers and ballot counters who participated in the 2020 election in Fulton County, Georgia, in a new effort to dig up details about the ballot-processing, prosecutors revealed at a court hearing last week. https://cnn.it/4nMl38E
NEW: The Department of Labor told employees to report anyone using DEI, in an email reminding workers that they can even report behavior that predates Donald Trump’s second term. One employee tells @wired.com it felt like a “reminder to narc on your coworkers.”read @telliotter.bsky.social:
Markwayne Mullin looked at 300 starving people in U.S. custody & said they just want “their ethnic food” & can go back to their country to get it. Worms in the food. Cancer patients denied meds. A senator pepper-sprayed at the gate. Mullin’s diagnosis: wrong ethnicity.He’s a racist pig.
DHS Secretary Mullin dismisses the detainee hunger strike in an ICE facility:They're refusing to eat because they want their ethnic food. Well, they can go back to their country and get whatever food they want. This isn't Holiday Inn.
Putin must be so pleased with his US employee and asset. This thin skined ego managi in dementia with a cult following and a terrified Republican Party has ruined all efforts to rein in dictatorships and authoritarian countries. The only authoritarian country they attack is because it has the wrong religion for the religious part of the cult. This tRump guy wrote love letters to the dictator of North Korea and bows deeply metaphorically to Putin, talking lovingly about autocrats around the world who push white supremacy and the Christian family values talking points. But since his first term he has had it out for NATO seemingly at Putin’s behest. He has refused to provide Ukraine with weapons and support again something Putin has been demanding. tRump repeated Russian talking points of Ukraine starting the war with Russia. He has constantly attacked NATO partners about funding not understanding that funding is not money put into a pot for NATO to use, the funding was what each country could / would put into the group in weapons, people, and equipment. He is angry that NATO did not support the US illegal unprovoked war against a country who had not attacked the US. But the NATO charter specifically mandates that they wouldn’t be required to do so in that case. But the only time that article five was activated was for the US after 9-11 attack on the US. tRump is not allowed to remove the US legally from NATO so this is a way he can legally do it with out really removing us from NATO. I wanted to post the linked article but it required allowing adverts and I simply won’t do that. Hugs
Humans have questioned “Who Am I” as far back in our history as we first discovered we had a navel and could gaze upon it. Since then, the philosophers and prognosticators and teen-agers everywhere have come to one and only one conclusion:
Do define myself by my relationships? By my likes and dislikes? By the number of followers I have on TikTok (don’t even have an account)? By my past? Future? Hopes? Fears? By my employment? By my religion?
The past couple of months I have found myself adrift in a very strange place: one without my computer. It was crashing like a lead-footed blind man at Daytona! I thought it was a virus, then maybe a windows update snafu, then maybe a windows defender snafu (windows has a lot of snafu’s). I thought maybe I had a adblock issue, then a competing issue with my security software. I couldn’t go on line at all or the computer would crash. I struggled with it for a couple of months until I finally gave up and did a full factory image wipe. And, let’s be clear, I’m not Scottie. When I do a wipe I may as well have taken a sledgehammer to it because whatever that computer was is gone.
There went my favorite websites. My ways of spending time not working – even when I should have been working – were gone. I mean, who remembers all their passwords!?! I’ve got sites I’ve been going to for years that I put on a ridiculous password and saved it on the computer to never bother remembering it again. And they were all gone. I mean, what the hell am I supposed to do with my time now! I can’t tell you how stressful this was, and how dumb I felt feeling stressed about it.
So, I started reading more, and I mean a lot more. I went on a diet. I had a lot of work going on at my parent’s place and I started taking care of my own better. I cleaned my kitchen every day, my bathroom 3-times a week, kept caught up on laundry and even sorted through some of the junk I’ve allowed to pile up. I mowed the lawn and got rid of a pile of downed branches I had reserved for “later” (I have a lot of those “later” things – stuff I’ll take care of, ya know, … later). I didn’t even come into my office anymore. I was actually eating at the diningroom table! I know – sacrilege!
So, on Tuesday I began the work of putting this computer back together again, of re-establishing my very identity. Now, today, as I write this it’s Friday, the sink is full, laundry on the floor, dirty towels in the bathroom, I have a dirty plate and cup of cold coffee stagnating on my desk that I keep bumping with my elbow and somehow my life is now “right”. Truly, I found how the other folks live and I didn’t like it!
One thing I did also learn in all of this: I restarted Google and when I signed in I was presented with a number of bookmarked sites that I haven’t seen in years. A good third of them didn’t even exist anymore. Folks, let me tell you – Google Never Forgets! But, it’s nice to visit who I used to be 🙂
Scottie's Playtime 
