#learning2026 — Public Fediverse posts

The History Blog and Japanese Saws

I follow The History Blog by psuedynmous blogger livius. It features blog posts about history (surprise?) focusing significantly on archaeology news. Significantly, The History Blog links to sources. Take for example a June 6, 2026 blog post titled Oldest iron saw in Japan identified. The post summarizes a linked Asahi Shimbun report on what appears to be a saw found in Japan dating back to the second century A.D. Significance of the find other than its age: Iron was not yet produced on the […]

https://social.emucafe.org/naferrell/the-history-blog-and-japanese-saws-06-09-26/

Disabling AI in WordPress 7.0

This site is (as of the publication of this post) on WordPress 7.0. I became aware that WordPress added some AI features through articles and blog posts instead of the WordPress admin area. The fact that I did not notice on my own is probably a good sign. In any event, Rodrigo Ghedin published a useful blog post describing two methods to disable the new AI features (or anti-features?) in WordPress 7. Because I have access to wp-config.php, I added the following to my file: define( […]

https://social.emucafe.org/naferrell/disabling-ai-in-wordpress-7-05-28-26/

Pook-Emu Bee: Links For 04-20-26

I present for your reading enjoyment our daily selection of Pook-Emu Bee links for Monday, April 20, 2026. 1. AI Use Appears to Have a "Boiling Frog" Effect on Human Cognition, New Study Warns (Maggie Harrison Dupré for Futurtism. April 14, 2026.) The top-line results are consistent with my priors. While I am not sure how useful the specific methodology of the study is, I appreciate that it used solving math problems as an example in light of my recent NLJ post, AI Today, Calculators Back […]

https://social.emucafe.org/naferrell/pook-emu-bee-links-for-04-20-26/

Learning About Zespri RubyRed Kiwi

I learned two things from Kat & Satoshi's April 6, 2026 post on Our Adventures in Japan (see the first). The post featured four photos. The last of four photos shows slices of yellow-orange-red kiki on a plate (see their kiwi photo). Granting that I am not a big kiwi person, every kiwi I have seen has been green. Through Wikipedia, I identified Kat & Satoshi's red kiwi as the Zespri RubyRed variety. Specialty Produce's page on the RubyRed kiwi provides the history of the fruit: Between 2005 […]

https://social.emucafe.org/naferrell/learning-about-zespri-rubyred-kiwi-04-13-26/

Asian Carp and Gefilte Fish

I have read about the invasive Asian carp problem in U.S. waterways. But I learned something new from Dan Lewis' aptly named "Now I Know" blog: Asian carp is commonly used in gefilte fish. I must confess that I have never tasted gefilte fish. The jars of it at the grocery store do not make it look appetizing. Does learning that Asian carp is often used in the making of gefilte fish change my view? Not at all. Asian carp do not look tasty to me. But with that being said, I would certainly take […]

https://social.emucafe.org/naferrell/asian-carp-and-gefilte-fish-04-13-26/

Japan’s Oil Imports

Access to natural resources has long been a challenge for Japan (see e.g., World War II). According to a report by Alex Kimani for OilPrice.com, prior to the commencement of Operation Epic Fury, Japan was importing 90% of its oil from the Middle East (Saudi Arabia and the UAE its top suppliers). Moreover, approximately 95% of Japan's oil imports passed through the Strait of Hormuz. The report notes that Japan is looking to diversify its oil supplies: Japan is reaching out to suppliers in […]

https://social.emucafe.org/naferrell/japan-oil-imports-04-07-26/

U.S. States With Alienation of Affection Laws

According to WRAL News on November 11, 2025, six U.S. states still still have alienation of affection laws: Hawaii, Mississippi, New Mexico, North Carolina, South Dakota, and Utah. I knew about North Carolina and Mississippi, but I do not think I knew the other four. North Carolina's alienation of affection law is in the news with former U.S. Senator Kyrsten Sinema (Arizona) facing a lawsuit.

https://social.emucafe.org/naferrell/us-states-with-alienation-of-affection-laws-03-17-26/

The Oldest Known Mallard

I subscribe to Cornell Lab's All About Birds RSS feed. Through the feed, I learned that "[t]he oldest known Mallard was a male, and at least 27 years, 7 months old when he was shot in Arkansas in 2008. He had been banded in Louisiana in 1981." Impressive, albeit an unfortunate end to a mallard life well-lived.

https://social.emucafe.org/naferrell/the-oldest-known-mallard-03-04-26/

Things I Learned: Berlin’s Road Salt Ban

I am used to seeing road salt in New York City before and after it snows. A couple of years ago (definitely during the Eric Adams administration), I recall having noted remarkable amounts of road salt in the street near Atlantic Avenue in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn. We are in the midst of what I would describe as a subpar snow clean-up, and perhaps coincidentally, I have observed less salt than in other recent snows. But while I have come to expect road salt, I learned from Brussels Signal that my […]

https://social.emucafe.org/naferrell/berlin-road-salt-ban-02-11-26/

Things I Learned: Official Languages in Russia

From a January 12, 2026 Jamestown Foundation report by Vadim Shtepa: The Karelian language has no official status in Russia because it is written in the Latin alphabet, as only those written in Cyrillic can be official languages of Russian republics. Thus, I learned that only languages that use the Cyrillic alphabet can be granted "official status" in Russia. This reminded me of something I learned which inspired me to write Similarities between Moldovan and Romanian on The New Leaf […]

https://social.emucafe.org/naferrell/official-languages-in-russia-01-16-26/