Saint-Emperor Nikephoros Phokas dedicated his life to defeating the Muslim Emirates that for centuries had attacked Byzantium. His success was so complete that the military manual he penned with his brother Leo, the Praecepta Militaria, begins with an apology:

One third of the way through reviewing the editing on my translation of the memoirs of France's 18th century colonial governor in India. With any luck it'll be ready before the end of the year, "only" two and a half years after I started on it

Suffered a mild setback at work

Pycnonotus jocosus, the crested bulbul, is ond of several birds that were introduced to Réunion island in the hopes they'd control agricultural pest insects. Now they're ferocious competitors with the remaining indigenous birds. Btw they used to be part of the genus "Lanius"

Daphnia magna in fullmetal alchemist: brotherhood (episode 11)

Parasite of the day is Langsdorffia, a parasitic plant that uses a haustorium to divert nutrients from its host’s tissue, the host’s roots enveloped entirely in its tuber. It doesn’t undergo photosynthesis, so it exists above ground only as a showy red inflorescence.

This is an ʻAhu ʻula, a Hawaiian feather cape, and on the right also a Mahiole, a feather cap or helmet. Once symbols of the ali'i aristocracy, they are precious as relics of Old Hawai'i, but their value goes beyond mere historical value. They literally cannot be replaced.

I lost any remaining respect I had for the Dutch when I learned their vernacular name for the majestic black-crowned night heron is "een kwak"

New Translation! I have published translations of 8 different folk tales about Lake Teletskoye in the Altai Mountains Also known as the Golden Lake, the lake is the pearl of the Altai region The myths tell how the lake was created & others are fables substackfwd.xyz/?url=https://c…

Often seen perched from a good vantage point, the Loggerhead Shrike is a handsome—and predatory—songbird. It uses its hooked bill to capture insects, but can hunt animals as large as rodents and even other birds! Read more via the Audubon Bird Guide: bit.ly/4dSlMj4

"What is the charge? Enjoying a meal? A succulent pigeon meal?"

Sleep too little: migraine Sleep too much: migraine I am not a centrist by choice, but by necessity

Do you know what phylogenetics has to say about fleas these days? That they're related to THESE guys! The order mecoptera (scorpionflies) is very closely associated to siphonaptera

SORGHUM FARMERS ARE POORER THAN THEY WERE 254 YRS AGO, LESS HEALTHY THAN THEY WERE 254 YRS AGO, LESS SAFE ON THE ROADS THAN THEY WERE 254 YRS AGO, MORE DEPRESSED & UNHAPPY THAN THEY WERE 254 YRS AGO, & LESS OPTIMISTIC & CONFIDENT IN THE FUTURE THAN THEY WERE 254 YRS AGO!

It's so frequent for research papers to end with "more research is needed" in order to keep begging for more funding and also because that's just "how it's done", I really want to end a paper with "ok case closed, time to move on"