Bird of the day: American bittern It is a well-camouflaged, solitary brown bird that unobtrusively inhabits marshes and the coarse vegetation at the edge of lakes and ponds. In the breeding season it is chiefly noticeable by the loud, booming call of the male. The nest is built just above the water, usually among bulrushes and cattails, where the female incubates the clutch of olive-colored eggs for about four weeks. The young leave the nest after two weeks and are fully fledged at six or seven weeks. #birdstr

Daily Roman History: A sore spot for Marcus Licinius Crassus, the richest man in the Empire, was he had no military accomplishments to point to, unlike his future Triumvirate colleague Pompey Magnus. He was given a chance during the Third Servile War in 73BC. This was an uprising of slaves on the Italian Peninsula numbering up to 120000 men, woman, and children led by the legendary Spartacus. After proving surprisingly effective against the legions Crassis was given command in 71BC. He was able to lead his troops to a routing of the slave army and effectively end the war. However, the fleeing slaves were captured or killed by an approaching army lead by Pompey. Pompey was able to spin this as while Crassus won the battle, Pompey ended the war and took most of the credit. Perhaps due to his anger at this Crassus ordered all 6000 surviving rebels to be crucified along the Appian way. Some years later Crassus got another opportunity to lead an army invading the Parthian Empire to the east. Unprepared for the harsh desert environment, and betrayed by guides this turned into a debacle where the Roman army was destroyed, the army standards lost, and allegedy Crassus himself was killed by having molten gold poured down his throat. #history #rome

Run 9 in my return to running. Just an easy 10km to finish off the week. #running

@npub1eequ...at9s just made a purchase! Looking forward to the delivery 😁

Bird of the day: Ruddy Shelduck The ruddy shelduck mostly inhabits inland water-bodies such as lakes, reservoirs and rivers. The male and female form a lasting pair bond and the nest may be well away from water, in a crevice or hole in a cliff, tree or similar site. A clutch of about eight eggs is laid and is incubated solely by the female for about four weeks. The young are cared for by both parents and fledge about eight weeks after hatching. #birdstr

IF YOU LOVE SOMETHING AND YOU WANT TO SEE IT SUCCEED THEN YOU MUST SUPPORT IT. #NOSTR

I HAVE BEEN NOSTR ONLY FOR JUST OVER A MONTH. LIFE IS GOOD. THERE IS NO GOING BACK.

Daily Roman History: During the battle of Alesia Julius Caesar had the enemy army and their leader Vercingetorix trapped within a fortified settlement. With army and citizens of Alesia totaling more then 80000 a seige would not take long to force surrender. To begin the seige and make sure absolutely no supplies got in Caesar ordered a 10 mile wall be built around the site complete with trenches, towers, anti-cavalry traps, and redoubts. However, an Gallic army of reinforcements somewhere between 50000-100000 men appeared and began to head toward the beseiged city. Rather then abandon the chance at total victory Caesar ordered a second 12.8 mile wall be built facing out to block the approaching army. Thus a race against time began to see who would surrender first. Over the next several days the Romans repelled numerous attacks from both sides, one such attack that nearly became a full breach saw Caesar himself lead a cavalry charge out of an exposed section of the wall to rout the opposing forces. When it became clear they would not last Vercingetorix gave himself up and was taken prisoner. This would effectively end Gallic resistance to Rome and soon after the new territory was added to the Republic, and Caesars fame and notoriety skyrocketed. #history

@Parker Lewis if you start using #nostr then I’ll buy your book.

Return to running: run #8 Super easy run with a friend today. Feeling good. Actual training begins next week 😄 #running

Bird of the day: Asian koel The Asian koel (Eudynamys scolopaceus) is a member of the cuckoo order of birds, the Cuculiformes. It is found in the Indian Subcontinent, China, and Southeast Asia. It forms a superspecies with the closely related black-billed koels, and Pacific koels which are sometimes treated as subspecies. The Asian koel like many of its related cuckoo kin is a brood parasite that lays its eggs in the nests of crows and other hosts, who raise its young. They are unusual among the cuckoos in being largely frugivorous as adults. The name koel is echoic in origin with several language variants. The bird is a widely used symbol in Indian and Nepali poetry. #birdstr

Daily Roman History: One of the claimants in the ‘Year of the Five Emperors’, Didius Julianus, was not picked due to his lineage, nor his military successes, nor even to his proximity to the Imperial regime. He was selected because after the murder of the previous Emperor, Pertinax, by the Praetorian guard a call was put out that the highest office in the Empire would go to whomever paid the most for it. After the bidding ended Julianus was selected with a bid of 25000 sesterces to every member of the Praetorian guard. The senate was threatened into approving the appointment. From the start he was not a popular ruler, with street mobs accosting him constantly. To make matters worse the remaining three claimants of the year were all capable generals who led their respective armies towards Rome. Septimus Severus, being the first to arrive, was declared Emperor, and Julianus saw his allies shrink to a single prefect and his son-in-law. 66 days after assuming the throne Didus Julianus was killed by a soldier in the palace, his last words reportedly being “But what evil have I done? Whom have I killed?”. #history

I’m now officially ready to go parabolic.

Bird of the day: Turkey vulture The turkey vulture is a scavenger and feeds almost exclusively on carrion. It finds its food using its keen eyes and sense of smell, flying low enough to detect the gasses produced by the beginnings of the process of decay in dead animals. In flight, it uses thermals to move through the air, flapping its wings infrequently. It roosts in large community groups. Lacking a syrinx—the vocal organ of birds—its only vocalizations are grunts or low hisses. It nests in caves, hollow trees, or thickets. Each year it generally raises two chicks, which it feeds by regurgitation. It has very few natural predators. In the United States, the vulture receives legal protection under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 #birdstr

Run #7: 8km easy run #running

Daily Roman History: Emperor Septimus Severus' final words to his sons in 211 AD was "Be Harmonious, enrich the soilders, scorn all others". Unfortunately, soon to be co-rulers Caracalla and Geta ignored the first bit, and took the rest way too seriously. Their animosity was evident as soon as they donned the purple, avoiding each other the entire journey back to Rome from Brittania, sleeping in different lodgings each night. Back in Rome they divided up the Imperial palace, some reports to building a literal wall down the middle. They would also never meet each other unless at the behest of their mother who acted as a peacekeeper. In the end Caracalla would win out by having his brother murdered in front of their mother by his bodyguards at one such meeting. So much was his hatred for his brother Caracalla had him declared damnatio memoriae and had his likeness and memory erased from the Empire. #history