January 3, 2026

Began the morning on the phone with Daniel A.

Bought a clump of birdseed in the shape of a bell and set it on the porch. It remained untouched for several weeks. Moved it to the side yard, with the other feeders and food sources, tied it so it dangles from a bit of metal, and it was attacked by wrens and titmice within five minutes, an attack that went on until sunset. Flickers hammering great chunks out of the seed cones.

AI takes all joy from watching material on the Internet. I believe I can tell fake from real, but what if I can’t?

In a dazzling passage of effrontery, even for himself, Trump seizes Venezuela. Even his admission that the issue was actually oil (it was allegedly drugs, of a particular kind of which Venezuela is not the source) does not bring mobs with pitchforks and torches to the White House. There is end, no check, no timely antidote. No one with a backbone is near enough to strike.