Since YouTube removed the dislike button, I have replaced it with the 'do not recommend this channel' button. It feels like revenge on the algorithm. Anyone else doing this?

On the left, we have a field of grass. It’s a prolific crop. It grows in abundance without fertiliser and does not need protecting from pests. It’s the natural food source of ruminant animals: cows, sheep, goats.

When they graze on pasture, they stimulate the growth of more grass. The process is amazing. What we see on the surface is nothing compared to what is buried underneath: complex root systems intertwining deep underground, storing carbon and creating rich soil for the future.

Ruminant animals do not deplete when managed properly. They create abundance. Cows eating grass encourages more grass to grow, but also supports more flies, more birds, and more of the things that feed on birds. It is a living system.

So how did we end up believing this is the environmental disaster?

Now compare that to industrial arable farming.

First, rich prairie sod is tilled and “enriched” with fertilisers made using fossil fuels. That’s a double hit to nature: we release the carbon trapped in the soil, then use methane-derived fertilisers to force crops to grow. Over time, this depletes the soil. Instead of building more underground, shallow crop roots help turn the resource into dust.

Another thing people may not know about mined methane is that it also produces ethane. You cannot mine one without the other. Ethane is used to make plastic. This is one reason plastic recycling makes so little commercial sense: virgin plastic is practically free at source because ethane is treated almost like waste.

Then comes the next environmental crime that people have been led to believe is a solution: gas nature to save the crop. Don’t let insects eat their preferred food source, even though we planted it all together in one giant buffet.

What is your solution?

Mine is simple: let cows eat grass and let humans eat cows.

The way I see it, pasture-based livestock is not the enemy of the environment. It may be one of the only realistic ways to restore soil, rebuild ecosystems, and reduce fossil fuel inputs in farming.

How did they convince so many people that destroying nature is good for the planet?

It's shit and chemicals. Don't eat it.

I find some of the best temporary relief comes from a sauna. Its cheaper than you might think to get set up at home. (my set up cost less than £100). The 'white noise' from the steam generator, quiet dark space and relaxation help me to forget about it long enough to get to sleep when I'm struggling. Does anyone else find sauna helps. Have you considered it?

I am not sure if it was me that decided to watch it or my brain, but I enjoyed it. I think it he had done it when he was a school he would have won an award. It made me nostalgic for tales of the unexpected for some reason. Thanks Karl!

Has anyone seen the official IndexNow WordPress plugin submit plain WordPress post-ID URLs to Bing, rather than the final pretty permalink?

Example format:

/?p=368
/?p=362
/?p=342

The site uses pretty permalinks, and the proper canonical URLs exist in the sitemap. But in Bing Webmaster Tools, the IndexNow submissions list shows several ?p= URLs, some of which now return 404.

The site has been actively worked on, with pages being created, edited, deleted, and slugs changed, so I’m wondering if IndexNow is firing too early during the save/update process or submitting stale post IDs.

For now I’ve deactivated the plugin and am relying on sitemap submission/manual URL submission.

Has anyone else seen this? Is there a known setting/fix, or is sitemap-only usually cleaner for WordPress?

I’ve been thinking about the difference between love and approval.
Approval can be earned, lost, performed for, chased.
But love — real love — seems to be something else.

Maybe a lot of suffering comes from trying to earn what was never meant to be earned.

How do you see this?