IIRC, the exact chain of events was: Invasive Species Observation posted -> a curator at the LA Natural History saw the post and notified the CDFA (Agriculture Inspectors) -> CDFA contacts iNat to get email address -> CDFA contacts my SO. I don't recall whether iNat had a built-in messaging service at the time (they do now).

Regarding endangered species, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife evidently joined iNaturalist, in part to enhance their data collection. They seem to be monitoring iNaturalist and contacting users who have relevant observations. They seem very sensitive to privacy concerns, and cooperation is voluntary. I'm thrilled a state agency is engaging the public in protecting our natural resources.

These state employees have indeed been proactive.

People who walk by the yard might tell their friends, but ordinary word-of-mouth can't be queried online. Not yet.

EDIT: We did have what turned out to be a significant invasive species observation. It was published in my SO's account with the location obscured. I looked up the species online and realized it might be a concern, so I killed it and put it in the freezer. In the meantime, the California Agricultural Inspectors got wind of it and contacted iNat to obtain the email address associated with the account. After making contact, they sent someone to pick up my specimen, and the later, 4 inspectors (yes, really, 3 inspectors and a supervisor) were sent to look for additional specimens. None were found.

Unrelated to this incident, I posted endangered species (not on our property) in my account, and iNat automatically obscures the location. Later on, I got an ~~email~~ message via iNat from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife asking for access to the precise locations, which I gladly provided.

"Tinney went on to paint more than 80 covers for Byte, working almost entirely in airbrushed Designers Gouache, a medium he chose for its opaque, intense colors and smooth finish. He said the process of creating each cover typically took about a week of painting once a design was approved, following phone conversations with editors about each issue’s theme. He cited René Magritte and M.C. Escher as two of his favorite artists, and fans often noticed their influence in his work."

[0] https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/02/byte-magazine-artist...

That hits a bit close to home!

[0] https://x.com/carl_feynman/

It's a text about non-duality, among other things. Like the Heart Sutra, or the Diamond Sutra, or 101 Zen Stories, it's not supposed to make sense in an ordinary way. A successful translation is, like the original, intended to catalyze a shift in awareness.

EDIT: For those with a nerdy or scholarly bent, I suggest Red Pine's translation[0], which includes translation of historically relevant commentaries.

[0] https://www.amazon.com/Lao-tzus-Taoteching-Lao-Tzu/dp/155659...

[0] https://fireinabottle.net/every-fire-in-a-bottle-post-from-t...

EDIT: I'm sympathetic to Brad's argument and I'm concerned that RFK Jr's incompetence will interfere with ongoing research in this area of metabolism.

"The ASD program costs nearly $50 million annually while most of the flight time is not devoted to high priority events. Our audit found that the estimated annual cost to operate the helicopter program is $46.6 million (i.e., $127,805 per day or $2,916 per flight hour). There are 14 City departments whose annual budgets do not reach this amount;"

https://controller.lacity.gov/landings/lapd-helicopters

It's much more likely to be the Adderall.

"One reason that narcissists so commonly abuse drugs and alcohol is because the substances amplify their feelings of grandiosity and invulnerability. More so, narcissists often get stuck in the cycle of drug abuse because drugs readily cause the brain to deny there is a problem." https://illinoisrecoverycenter.com/narcissism-and-addiction/

Impulsivity mediates the association between narcissism and substance-related problems beyond the degree of substance use: a longitudinal observational study "A grandiose self-enhancement strategy should be reflected in motives of self-enhancement, such as increasing confidence through substance use." https://bmcpsychiatry.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12...

Personality Disorders, Narcotics, and Stimulants; Relationship in Iranian Male Substance Dependents Population "correlation between stimulant use and histrionic personality disorder (P < 0.001) and antisocial and narcissistic personality disorders (P < 0.05)" https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4553170/

Yes, the way Michael Grandner explains it in this podcast[0], melatonin is an ancient molecule that signals, "it is dark." If you give it to nocturnal species, it wakes them up!

[0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQF_eopP1ys

[0] https://web.media.mit.edu/~raskar/trillionfps/

EDIT: Video with explanation. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EtsXgODHMWk

The podcast is only 3 hours long! The GLP-1 discussion starts at 2:09:53.

[0] https://www.foundmyfitness.com/episodes/ben-bikman

EDIT: ycopilotFYT version https://www.cofyt.app/search/dr-ben-bikman-how-to-reverse-in...

[0] https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-rich-roll-podcast/...

I think this is overstating the risk in supervised clinical usage, depending on what you mean by "some level of damage." It's possible that a single alcoholic beverage may induce some level of damage, but that is irrelevant for most drinkers. A more realistic comparison might be the risk associated with surgical anesthesia, which is significant, but that doesn't mean surgery should be necessarily avoided. There are always risk/benefit tradeoffs, and the MAPS research has focused primarily on MDMA use after other therapies have failed.

The MAPS Investigator's Brochure[0] acknowledges that, while preclinical studies in animals have shown serotonergic neurotoxicity at high or repeated doses, there is as yet no consistent evidence of neurotoxicity in controlled clinical settings with limited dosing. The report characterizes high-, medium-, and low-level risks. No high-level risks were identified, and medium-level risks are mainly cardiovascular and psychological.

[0] https://maps.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/MDMA-IB-15th-Edi...