Dodecahedron Books: More AI Silliness – Magpies Eat Mouse Eggs

Wednesday, 10 July 2024

More AI Silliness – Magpies Eat Mouse Eggs

I was researching magpie behaviour, since we have a nest in a tree in our back yard. I came across this:

“– Digging – Magpies may dig into the burrows and nests of mice to grab young mice and eggs. Their long bills help them excavate and probe.”

https://www.birdful.org/do-magpies-eat-mice/

While it is true that in cartoons, mice have tiny kitchens well stocked with eggs in their burrows, I don’t think this happens in the actual world.

To be fair, most of the magpie content on this blog seemed reasonable. But the sentence implying that mice lay eggs (or at least have larders stocked with eggs) is a bit daft, and a tell that the blog content was at least partly based on AI answers to prompts. Thus, the risk of ridiculous claims showing up in content that is mostly alright. Usually that is essentially harmless but relying on AI content can lead to serious consequences in some circumstances (e.g. health, investing, etc.).

So, watch out. You may be reading AI silliness.

In this book about hiking the Juan de Fuca Marine Trail, mice did get into our backpacks, but we didn’t have any eggs in there for them or the magpies to eat.

A Walk on the Juan de Fuca Marine Trail

The hiking journal "A Walk on the Juan de Fuca Trail" is free this weekend on Amazon. Normally, it costs 99 cents. Here is a summary.
The Juan De Fuca Marine is considered by many to be one of Canada’s finest hiking trails. It hugs the southwestern shore of Vancouver Island, between Jordan River and Port Renfrew for a distance of about 48 kilometres. Like its (perhaps) more famous neighbouring hiking trail just to the north, The West Coast Trail, it features both beach and forest hiking along a rugged coastline. The hiking is a nice test of one’s fitness, the views are spectacular, the wildlife (marine and forest) is plentiful and the people are friendly. What more could one ask for?

What follows is a journal of a five day trip, taken in early September of 2002. It is about 13,000 words in length (60 to 90 minutes reading), and contains numerous photographs of the trail. There are also sections containing a brief history of the trail, geology, flora and fauna, and associated information.

The book is priced at only 99 cents U.S. or equivalent in other currencies. It is also available on Kindle Unlimited and is periodically offered on free promotion.

U,S. Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B013VKEXV2
U.K. Amazon: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B013VKEXV2

Amazon Canada: http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B013VKEXV2

Amazon Australia: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B013VKEXV2
Amazon Germany: http://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B013VKEXV2
Amazon Japan: http://www.amazon.co.jp/gp/product/B013VKEXV2
Amazon France: https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B013VKEXV2