Esther Schindler

Mood

Some avocados are female in the morning and male in the afternoon, while others are on the opposite schedule. This helps them avoid self-pollination. How do they do it? A UCDavis study explains.
[Comment from elsewhere: This is going to make it very difficult to know which sports we should ban them from.]

https://www.ucdavis.edu/food/news/study-reveals-how-avocados-reverse-sexes-throughout-day

Obsolete Sounds is the world’s biggest collection of disappearing sounds and sounds that have become extinct – remixed and reimagined to create a brand new form of listening. https://citiesandmemory.com/obsolete-sounds/

A Nationwide Book Ban Bill Has Been Introduced in the House of Representatives

Hours after the State of the Union address, House republicans introduced legislation banning LGBTQ+ books from public schools nationwide.
https://bookriot.com/hr7661-book-ban-legislation/

Overheard from someone really pissed at his job: This is a Resume Generating Policy Event.

I see no problem with this @futurebird@sauropods.win

"The problem is that LLMs inherently lack the virtue of laziness. Work costs nothing to an LLM. LLMs do not feel a need to optimize for their own (or anyone’s) future time, and will happily dump more and more onto a layercake of garbage."
https://bcantrill.dtrace.org/2026/04/12/the-peril-of-laziness-lost/

I laughed

@DocAtCDI@mastodon.social

I feel judged.

Designing Large-Scale Software for Reuse With an Automotive Company

An #Agile Dev Success Story: A European automotive OEM had to upgrade its infotainment system to support multiple Android versions — and make the software extensible across product lines.
https://www.aptiv.com/en/insights/article/designing-large-scale-software-for-reuse-with-an-automotive-company

Overheard: I should start doing lunges, that would be a big step forward.

Want something to cheer about?
TIL about the Wedge Cat Tour in Minneapolis: the residents put the cats in the window and the crowd stops to admire them. https://wedgelive.com/cat-tour/

You've got to be able to hold a lot of contradictory ideas in your mind without going nuts. I feel like to do my job right, when I walk out onstage I've got to feel like it's the most important thing in the world. Also I've got to feel like, well, it's only rock and roll. Somehow you've got to believe both of those things. --Bruce Springsteen

Ya THINK? Like, it didn't occur to you before that someone should review code before it goes into production? https://arstechnica.com/ai/2026/03/after-outages-amazon-to-make-senior-engineers-sign-off-on-ai-assisted-changes/

Need an ELI5 explanation of electric vertical take‑off and landing (#eVTOL) vehicles? This should do it for ya. https://www.aptiv.com/en/insights/article/what-is-an-evtol

Sovereign Cloud Stats Every CIO Needs Before Their Next Board Meeting

Increasingly, countries are laying claim to companies’ customer data. In response, companies are turning to sovereign clouds.
https://www.windriver.com/blog/Sovereign-Cloud-Stats-Every-CIO-Needs

From Early Nirvana To Phish, A Chicago Fan’s Secret Recordings Of 10,000 Shows Are Now Online https://blockclubchicago.org/2026/04/10/from-early-nirvana-to-phish-a-chicago-fans-secret-recordings-of-10000-shows-are-now-online/?

In the oven: Jamie Oliver's beef stew with Guinness. We don't bother with the puff pastry for the two of us.

We like the recipe that we bought the cookbook in which it appears.

Gift link:
https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1012397-guinness-pie?unlocked_article_code=1.W1A.BTm_.eY2pEZx7Gjo9&smid=share-url

Palo Alto pays commuters $5 to bike to work. The program has already cut nearly 3 million vehicle miles.
https://www.sfgate.com/local/article/palo-alto-bike-work-21953663.php

The Trump administration blitz that flooded Minnesota with immigration agents hobbled federal efforts to pursue serious crimes.

By April, prosecutors had charged just eight people with drug or gun crimes, the fewest in more than two decades. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/how-trumps-minneapolis-immigration-blitz-hobbled-federal-crime-fighting-2026-05-07/

Sleeping with the U.S. Constitution featuring SO MANY STARS
We called in an avalanche of celebrities to read it to you. Peter Sagal, Paget Brewster, John Hodgman, Open Mike Eagle, Josh Gondelman, John Ross Bowie, Anna Sale, David Plotz, Ophira Eisenberg, and just a ridiculous number of Maximum Fun hosts.
https://maximumfun.org/episodes/sleeping-with-celebrities/sleeping-with-the-u-s-constitution-featuring-so-many-stars/

"Self may not have been a revenue driver for Condé, but its work was transformative for readers, quietly shifting away from the typical fare of women’s magazines." https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/04/self-magazine-conde-nast-shutdown-women-chronic-illness/

The jokes write themselves.

“On April 21, President Trump is scheduled to read Scripture via video message from the Oval Office during the 6 p.m. EST hour,” a press release from organizers reads. The event is called “America Reads The Bible.”

"Two Corinthians walk into a bar..."

https://www.cnn.com/2026/04/19/politics/trump-bible-reading-oval-office?Date=20260419&Profile=CNN,CNN+Politics

The best way to protect your phone from a warrantless search in 2026
* US authorities are getting more aggressive about detentions and seizures.
* No single law governs phone inspections.
* Devices configured for biometric unlocking remain highly vulnerable.
https://www.zdnet.com/article/how-to-protect-your-phone-from-warrantless-search

Happy Little Trees for a new generation
https://www.eztree.dev/

600 tubs of mystery French onion dip https://www.inquirer.com/food/french-dip-mystery-pallet-philly-restaurants-20260311.html

RE: @netkitty@meow.social

Same

Friday entertainment: Rossini's Cat Duet
https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=QNyR6rsGDyg

After scientists exposed wild fish to cocaine and a cocaine metabolite, they observed that, as in the lab, fish on cocaine do not act like normal fish.
https://www.wired.com/story/cocaine-fueled-wild-salmon-swam-twice-as-far-as-sober-ones

Pentimento: When Painters Change Their Minds and the Past Peeks Through

It’s like time travel through brushstrokes.
https://www.artlovingitaly.com/pentimento-painting-regrets-hidden-art-revealed/

What's in the latest eLxr Pro? A short and sweet overview for enterprise Linux folks. https://www.windriver.com/blog/Advancing-the-Enterprise-Latest-eLxr-Pro

MySpace and the Coding Legacy it Left Behind
For an entire generation, MySpace was a gateway to writing code. We looked back on the site's code editor and explained how it led to the site’s downfall.
https://news.codecademy.com/myspace-coding-legacy/

Environmental Protection Minister Idit Silman declared the Nile crocodile a “cultivated wild animal” in a move intended to allow the Israel Prison Service to station crocodiles around prisons https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/politics-and-diplomacy/article-902827

Audubon’s Bird Migration Explorer visualizes migration patterns across the Americas using data contributed by researchers and conservation organizations. https://explorer.audubon.org/home?legend=collapse&layersPanel=collapse

This is nice. @yiningkarlli@mastodon.gamedev.place

Hive mind: What B2B companies are active on mastodon? Who do you think is doing it well?

There's a book bundle for Linux All The Things that might interest you. https://www.humblebundle.com/books/linux-all-things-oreilly-books

Last Chance to Watch: Where to Stream Every 2026 Oscar Nominee Before Sunday's Big Night
https://www.pcmag.com/news/last-chance-how-to-watch-stream-all-2026-oscar-nominees-before-sunday

"Can Google Earth's new AI accurately redesign homes, recreate history, and imagine the future? I tested Nano Banana across several locations, and the results ranged from useful to gloriously absurd." https://www.zdnet.com/article/google-earth-added-nano-banana-and-i-immediately-reimagined-philly-with-zombies-and-evil-clowns/