Wiarton Willie, along with most of his Canadian counterparts, has predicted an early spring after he did not see his shadow on Monday morning on Groundhog Day.

Groundhog Day is a long-held tradition of watching animals coming out of hibernation to predict whether there'll be an early spring or six more weeks of winter.

Every Feb. 2, groundhogs and even a crustacean emerge from their shelters to see if they see their shadows.

After "awareness" campaigns that failed to move the needle for years, Denmark’s leading anti-piracy group is shifting to a more aggressive litigation strategy. The Rights Alliance confirmed it will begin filing civil lawsuits against individual students who are caught sharing even a single digital textbook. The anti-piracy group prefers not to mention the targeted platforms but says it uses undercover monitoring of private groups to gather evidence.

Danish Students Face Legal Action and Fines Over Textbook Piracy * TorrentFreak

After "awareness" campaigns failed, Denmark’s leading anti-piracy group is shifting to a more aggressive litigation strategy.

^{Ernesto Van der Sar (TF Publishing)}

Doing an "Orphan Black" re-watch and this scene gets me every time.

With Sound

Admiral Patrick

2026-02-02 15:18:24

Oh, there's an "-ism"

Felix goes to a club and is disappointed to learn there's an "-ism" required to be there.

Limia Díaz is a historian, writer, member of the National Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba and director of the Cuban TV program MARCAS.

Feb. 2, 2026

The U.S. military leaders know that Cuba is not Venezuela, that they wouldn’t have the easy victory of January 3rd. We do not know the word surrender, and that is why Trump has set out to recreate the shameful chapter of Weyler’s Reconcentration, ordered by that Spanish general to starve our people into submission, given his inability to defeat the Mambí Army on the battlefield. They cannot forgive us for being considered a moral compass despite all the difficulties, and the spirit of revenge leads them to act with genocidal cruelty. What will humanity do: succumb to fascism or respond with courage and integrity? “Whoever stands with Cuba today, stands for all time.”

‘We Don’t Know the Word Surrender’: Cubans Respond to New U.S. Threats - World-Outlook

On January 29, 2026, U.S. president Donald Trump issued a new executive order declaring a “national emergency” because of the “unusual and extraordinary threat” the island nation allegedly poses to the United States.

^{world-outlook.com (World-Outlook)}

I haven’t thought about it in a while but the premise of the article rings true. Desktops are overall disposable. Gpu generations are only really significant with new cpu generations. CPUs are the same with real performance needed a new chipset and motherboard. At that point you are replacing the whole system.

Is there a platform that challenges that trend?

I'm choosing devices based on how good they work with zha and HA and usually have to browse a bit before settling for something. If they manage to implement this properly, I'm all here for it.

Maybe they should talk to the zigbee device compatibility repository people (or maybe they already have).

How we'll build the device database, together

We're building a device database to help everyone make better choices for their smart home. Discover our plans and how you can help shape them.

^{Home Assistant}

Jon Queally
Feb 02, 2026

Progressive critics of Senate Minority Chuck Schumer had fresh reasons to speak out Sunday after the powerful New York Democrat said that “one of many of [his] jobs” in the US Senate was to fight for ongoing taxpayer-funded military and financial assistance to the Israeli government, a position that has been the focus of growing protest among rank-and-file party members and the public at large in the face of Israel’s brutal genocide against the Palestinian people of Gaza.

“I have many jobs as [Senate] leader... and one is to fight for aid to Israel — all the aid that Israel needs,” Schumer said at a gathering of Jewish leaders and community members in New York on Sunday.

According to Jacob Kornbluh, who provided footage of the remarks while reporting for The Forward, Schumer told the audience that his support for Jewish security funding will only continue growing under his leadership, calling it his “baby.”

'No, That Is Not Your Job,' Say Critics After Schumer Claims 'Job' Is to 'Fight for Aid to Israel'

"Seventy-five percent of Democratic voters oppose sending Israel more military aid, as do 66% of independents and 60% of Americans overall," noted one domestic policy expert.

^{jon-queally (Common Dreams)}