Tag: animal rescue

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Let us start October off on the right foot with an exciting new edition of the Pook-Emu Bee Links.

Oh no, whatever will I do?

1 | Reddit is killing RSS feeds and ending public API access because of AI bots (Sarah Perez for TechCrunch. Sep. 30, 2026.)
One may think that your favorite (I hope) feed proponent would be outraged about Reddit discontinuing its RSS feeds. To paraphrase the Reddit community: “Well ackshully….” Why in the world would I want to contaminate my feed collection with Reddit?

2 | Citi Bike user reveals outrageous ‘hidden tax’ slapped onto every e-bike (Aurielle Weiss for the New York Post. Sep. 26, 2026.)
These lunatics are complaining about the speed limit. The fees can’t be high enough.

Kitty

3 | Bronx Zoo welcomes adorable snow leopard cub threatened by extinction (Natalie O’Neill for the New York Post. Sep. 30, 2026.)
I too welcome the new snow leopard.

4 | Workers free kittens from shredder that could have ‘obliterated’ them in purr-fect rescue mission (Steven Vago for the New York Post. Sep. 28, 2026.)
A very timely kitten rescue.

Starcents

5 | Starbucks to close 250 stores: ‘Difficult decision’ (Anders Hagstrom for Fox Business. Sep. 24, 2026.)
I have never been a big burnt coffee fan, but there was once a time when Starbucks was clearing the bar many people

6 | Starbucks Japan releases new Pikachu Honey Cream Latte into the wild for new Pokémon collaboration (Oona McGee for SoraNews24. Sep. 29, 2026.)
I wouldn’t drink it because it looks like a year’s worth of sugar. But Starbucks did a surprisingly decent job of converting the Pikachu aesthetic into a drink.

Self-Hosting

7 | Radiology practices that own their imaging equipment less likely to face closure (Marty Stempniak for Radiology Business. Sep. 30, 2026.)
That checks out.

8 | Self Hosting Passwords (Chuck Carroll. May 20, 2026.)
He uses KeePassXC and Syncthing. He is a smart man. I hubly say that because I too use KeePassXC and Syncthing. With that being said, I would not necessarily recommend our combo to “normies.”

Photograph

9 | Sheep Tree (Jan Ulicki on Lens Culture. May 20, 2025.)
Great photo, baaaa.

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I have not had much time to post new articles (long or short lately), but let us get the last full week of September off to a good start with a new edition of the Pook-Emu Bee.

1 | Linux 7.3 Adds Support For Victrix Pro BFG & Azeron Controllers (Michael Larabel for Phoronix. Sep. 20, 2026.)
I have questions here. First, why is that controller $269? Second, why does it look like a hand with six fingers? I can’t weigh in on the new Linux support until those threshold questions are answered.

2 | Jane Austen’s 8-Bit Adventure Switch Review (Game Slush Pile. Sep. 19, 2026.)
The review makes it sound uninspiring. But what if you tried playing it with the “hand” controller? (See above.)

3 | NYC judge fails to take bite out of crime after repeat offender chomps on cop (Tina Moore for the New York Post. Sep. 19, 2026.)
I understand that the pro-crime judge is reluctant to remand anyone to custody, but what if we compromised and all agreed to send him to the pound?

4 | Hyperlocal New York City publications are having a moment (Hannah Frishberg for Gothamist. Sep. 17, 2026.)
I added a few of these to my feed collection. We’ll see if there are any Pook-Emu Bee links to be had.

5 | Judge Strikes Down Controversial Rule Changes Benefitting Embattled Brooklyn Party Boss (The City Repoter (via The Haitian Times). Sep. 17, 2026.)
Call me a romantic but I’m not counting out the possibility that Frank Seddio still has some magic left (see link 9 in Pook-Emu Bee 08-27-26). There are some notable contextual omissions in this ostensibly straightforward news report, but I choose to stick with the Seddio jokes.

6 | NYC ‘animal lover’ accused of stealing beloved bodega cat furiously claims she was unfairly arrested (Georgett Roberts and Jorge Fitz-Gibbon for the New York Post. Sep. 16, 2026.)
Pro-tip: If your position is that you are just a cat lover who genuinely thought the cat was a stray, try to avoid repeatedly referring to the cat you claim you thought you were rescuing as the “f—ing cat.”

7 | AOC Blasts Patriots Owner Robert Kraft for ‘Censoring’ Macklemore from Criticizing Israel (Dylan Gwinn for the New York Post. Sep. 16, 2026.)
Strange. Here I thought the Congresswoman was a big fan of Israel-related boycotts.

8 | After Landmarks Review, Hotel Bossert Moves Ahead With Reno, Ritz-Carlton (Anna Bradley-Smith for Brownstoner. Sep. 16, 2026.)
It sounds like the new owners are working in good faith to maintain the landmark while getting it up and running again. I approve.

9 | Who Is feeding the sudden panic about AI? (Issues & Insights. Sep. 15, 2026.)
The big AI companies and their lobbyists (both of the witting and unwitting variety). I try to be a reality-based AI critic as I fight to keep the scrapers from crashing my sites (preventing stealing my stuff is nice but sometimes you have to focus on the practical wins). That leads us to a fitting final link…

10 | Daily News Stuff 20 September 2026 (Pixy Misa at Ambient Irony. Sep. 20, 2026.)
The replies to excerpts from AI safety conversations have gotten unbelievable made me laugh and reminded me of how my friend was able to make himself look smart in front of friends and colleagues by sharing my 2021 election wisdom that, notwithstanding the polls, there was in fact no scenario wherein Andrew Yang would become Mayor of New York City.

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For the first time in about a week (if not a little more), I do not have a tight work deadline. Thus, I present you with a relatively leisurely edition of the Pook-Emu Bee to kick off September.

Three white flowers and leaves, shot from overhead. In the top right corner we see a bee flying toward the flowers.
Note the bee in the top right. I took this photograph in Brooklyn Bridge Park on August 28, 2026.

1 | Expression After Hit By Car (Ojai Raptor Center (via Owl’s in Towels). Oct. 11, 2024.)
That raptor has seen more things than the original raptors.

2 | GrapheneOS might skip the Pixel 11 series over the lack of MTE hardware security support (Paul for AlternativeTo. Sep. 1, 2026.)
Pixels are going in the wrong direction, but my (LineageOS-powered) 3a XL is going stron[-ish].

3 | Tether Brings the Apple Continuity Experience to Linux (Sourav Rudra for It’s FOSS. Aug. 31, 2026.)
I don’t run iOS (see above), but this looks like a neat project for Linux/iOS people. I have now done my PSA duty for the week.

4 | “A Cute Little LibGen Babysitter”: Music Publishers Sue Anthropic Founders Over Torrenting Spree (Ernesto Van der Sar for Torrent Freak. Sep. 1, 2026.)
I’m somehow not surprised that the Claude leadership described their thoughts about torrenting pirated works contemporaneously in the style of teenage girls keeping a diary.

5 | The 3DO Is Getting A New DOOM-Esque Shooter Featuring The Voice Of Silent Hill’s Lisa Garland (Sep. 1, 2026.)
Having conquered ONScripter-EN, should I make my next visual novel for 3DO?

6 | Dem AG urges Jewish voters to put humanity above ‘safety and security’ of own people (Alec Schemmel for Fox News. Sep. 1, 2026.)
I could state the obvious here. But instead I will offer a more novel take. How in the world did a woman with these political instincts win state-wide office in one of the biggest states in the union?

7 | I built my own streaming box, and it beats every smart TV I’ve owned (Anurag Singh for XDA. Aug. 31, 2026.)
I just use a mini PC running Fedora with KDE Plasma. With that being said, I should really test out LineageOS with Waydroid on my TV.

8 | Homan Denies Yiannopoulos Deported Quickly to Bypass ICE Detention (Pam Key for Breitbart. Aug. 31, 2026.)
I know this is going to be hard for a reporter at CNN to understand, so we can go slowly. Detention occurs in the course of removal proceedings or in the period after an alien has been ordered removed but has not for one reason or another been removed. Mr. Yiannopoulous had already been ordered removed in absentia, apparently did not seek to reopen his removal proceedings, and did not otherwise try to obstruct his removal to the United Kingdom, which apparently did not refuse to accept the return of its national (between the return of Prince Harry and Mr. Yiannopoulous, they are having a rough stretch). Thus, Mr. Yiannopoulous was removed expeditiously after DHS performed a social media touchdown dance instead of being detained pending nothing whatsoever. With my “Ted Talk” completed, I will note with some surprise that the new position of CNN is “the prompt execution of removal orders is special treatment.”

9 | Aki 2026 Banuzke Analysis (Fantasy Basho. Sep. 1, 2026.)
I’m thinking about putting together some detained predictions for the upcoming Aki Banuzke. Not fantasy though. Real, ice-cold predictions.

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I have a deadline today, so while the weekday Pook-Emu Bee streak continues, this will be another minimalist entry in my ongoing series.

1 | Israel: Law Adopted to Preserve the Memory of the October 7, 2023, Massacre and Commemorate Heroism (Ruth Levush for Global Legal Monitor. August 26, 2026.)
A sound law.

2 | Model Owl in a Towel (Wildbase Hospital [via Owls in Towels]. August 24, 2026.)
That is a [small] statuesque owl.

3 | How a Ukrainian commander sped through the ‘kill zone’ to save wounded troops (Vitalii Hinidyi and Dan Peleschuk for Reuters [via Defense News]. August 26, 2026.)
A teacher by trade, Vladyslav Polskyi taught a lesson in courage on the battlefield.

4 | Marines at Abbey Gate awarded Bronze Star medal upgrade (Patty Neberg for Task & Purpose. August 26, 2026.)
Well-deserved.

5 | Vanity Fair Drops Writer for Winking, Smiling at Camera During Lindsay Clancy Trial (Paul Bois and Ezra Dulis for Breitbart. August 26, 2026.)
Yes, her exuberantly giggling in the court room and spreading TikTok conspiracy theories (contra Clancy’s own defense) that Clancy’s husband is the hashtag-real killer may lead one to expect that she and her fellow travelers are distasteful human beings who would have reacted much differently had the victim been a single puppy rather than three children. But remember that I noted in Pook-Emu Bee 08-24-26 that Natasha Pearlman of the New York Post assured us that Clancy is just “living proof” of the worst fears of these women. Whew!

6 | The PocketBook Q is a Linux-based alternative to Android ereaders — new Boox rival has a 5.84-inch E Ink screen and will cost $235 (James Rogerson for TechRadar. August 25, 2026.)
I’m a PocketBook fan, but while it looks intriguing… I have my Xtenik X4 that I need to use, so I will probably stick with that alongside my preexisting two PocketBooks and my Kindle Paperwhite.

7 | I turned my Android phone into a retro gaming console for free (Varun Krishan for Make Use Of. August 25, 2026.)
I have thought about interesting ways to do something to this effect and I have three spare phones to work with, but it is on a long list of “tech” things to do and write about.

8 | Can you have too many hobbies? (Laura at Inky Imaginings. August 23, 2026.) [HT Well-Apportioned Desk]
I wish I could say that my comment on link 7 was referring to too many hobbies. But at the moment I am working on a flurry of immigration law matters with a pile of stuff next to me. So not quite…

9 | Brooklyn Dems change who picks party boss in closed-door vote; chair challengers head back to court (Adam Daly for amNY. August 26, 2026.)
The Brooklyn Democratic Party machine faced an existential red socialist threat after the June primaries. The last true (now unofficial) party boss, Frank Seddio, stepped in and resolved (pending legal challenges) the situation like a true party boss. I think the machine is on its last legs, but I wouldn’t bet against Mr. Seddio ensuring that it is not deposed just yet.

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Reposted How to Weigh a Large Bird by owlsintowels (owlsintowels.org)
Modelled for us by some of our recent owl patients, we weigh our larger birds by safely wrapping them up in a towel (we like to call this ‘burrito-ing’ the patient) and gently placing them claws up in a box. This is all placed on a scale, and we can get accurate weights to help monitor health, while keeping stress levels as low as possible. While it seems like it could be extra stressful for the bird, many birds are able to relax once visual stimulation has been reduced. (MARS Wildlife Rescue)

I have never had to weigh an owl before, much less a large owl. But in the event I were ever called upon to weigh a large owl, I learned from MARS Wildlife Rescue, via Owls in Towels (see Owls in Towels re-post) that I should first “burrito” the large owl in a towel and then gently place the likely malcontent large owl upside down in a box on a scale. I suspect that the ultimately successful pigeon rescue I assisted Victor V. Gurbo with back in 2023 would have gone smoother had we covered the pigeon’s head while telling it that it was being birdnapped. (Not long ago, I learned that upside down is also right in the context of transporting rhinos.)