Tootfinder

a beautifully weird mckenna-ish mystery: chinese mushrooms that reliably bring the little people, but don't seem to contain any psychoactive elements (& yet obviously do) https://nhmu.utah.edu/articles/experts-explore-new-mushroom-which-cau…

Experts Explore New Mushroom Which Causes Fairytale-Like Hallucinations
Between traditional folklore and modern biology, the wild forest floor and the sterile scientific laboratory, lies the story of the lilliputian mushroom.

Childbirths and Marriages Are Up and Divorces Are Down in World’s Least Fertile Country https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/childbirths-and-marriages-are-up-and-divorces-are-down-in-worlds-least-fertile-country/

Childbirths and Marriages Are Up and Divorces Are Down in World’s Least Fertile Country
Childbirths have grown at the fastest pace in 18 years on the Peninsula, with a 6.2% increase totaling 233,708 babies.

War in the Middle East Threatens Global Food Production - The New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/07/business/middle-east-war-fertilizer-supplies.html

Total Cohort Fertility Rate and Total Period Fertility Rate for Ireland, using birth data up to end 2024. Consistent downward trend in both, the relative pause in the middle of the TPFR decline is associated with large net in-migration (including of young women) during the Celtic Tiger.
#mastodaoine

War on Iran and the metabolic rift. Another argument for agroecology rather than high (fossil fuel) input industrial agriculture. Of course such a transition can't be done overnight.
How the Iran war could create a ‘fertiliser shock’ – an often ignored global risk to food prices and farming

How the Iran war could create a ‘fertiliser shock’ – an often ignored global risk to food prices and farming
Without this form of fertiliser, crops will not produce yields on which the world’s population depends, leaving people starving.

@… #FriedhelmAufTour Auf Datentour um #aachen

“Recently I read Because Internet by Gretchen McCulloch and Algospeak by Adam Aleksic. The language we speak (and text) to each other is at the core of who and what we are, and the Internet is the strongest among the forces that channel and fertilize its growth. So there’s scope for plenty of books on the subject. Both books educated and entertained, one made me angry.”

For what it’s worth, we have a system in MN that’s not too far from this: if you’re not already registered to vote, you can show up on election day with one from a limited set of approved gov-issued photo IDs, •or• proof of residence such as a utility bill plus a registered neighbor who will legally vouch for you.
The result? We have some of the highest voter turnout rates in the country (often •the• highest), and just •vanishingly• small rates of fraudulent / illegal votes (because the consequences for such votes are just as severe as ever, not changed at all by the ease of same-day registration).

America's demise foretold.
What if a sitting president became dangerously unstable? The 1965 novel Night of Camp David makes for uncanny reading today https://theconversation.com/what-if-a-

What if a sitting president became dangerously unstable? The 1965 novel Night of Camp David makes for uncanny reading today
Fletcher Knebel’s novel has much to say about the fragility of our democratic institutions and the dangers of unchecked authority.

Did a post on my trip to Scotney Castle.
https://www.simoncox.com/post/2026-01-07-scotney-castle-visit-on-a-cold-day/