Category: website-related items

Possible brief slowdown in posting

March 6, 2026 • 11:00 am

I need a life—even if that is a life outside of writing for this website. That’s by way of informing you that posting here may be a bit light for about a week. I have a writing assignment, which is to answer Michael Shermer’s response to my own post on this site taking issue with his claim (also in his new book Truth) that we have a form of free will.  (My response will appear at Skeptic.) I can do no other than answer a form of compatibilism that gives us free will simply by redefining the folk notion of free will in an un-refutable way so that that we do have free will even if all our behaviors and thoughts derive from and are compatible with the laws of physics. But I digress.

My second task is to go shopping for much-needed Chinese groceries (I ran out of everything during the cold spell), but, most important, to meet my friend origami master and engineer Robert Lang, who’s invited me for splendid dinner at Next. Next is a sister restaurant of Alinea—surely one of America’s most famous restaurants. Next is equally highly rated. Both Next and Alinea are run by the same chef, Grant Achatz (see a Facebook interview with him here). Robert’s in town for an origami convention, and the trip to Next is prompted by his rare appearance in Chicago and the felicitous fact that Robert’s niece happens to be the general manager of Next.  I think that’s how we got reservations given that the site says, “On any given night, there can be 10,000+ guests on our waitlist.”

Next is so named because it changes menus to a new theme every few months.  This most recent theme is Japan, and I have the menu, which has nine courses that look fabulous (Earlier, Robert provided some origami for the menu.)  I’ll save the food experience for a post (with photos) tomorrow or Sunday. There will also be a wine pairing with the many courses, and I’m sure that a great and bibulous time will be had by all.

Stay tuned. As always, I’ll do my best, both at table and at this site. Oh, and don’t forget to set your clocks forward on Saturday night.

No readers’ wildlife today

February 18, 2026 • 8:15 am

I am sad to say that, due to a lack of contributions from readers, there will be no readers’ wildlife today.  This is sad because we’ve kept it going for years with nary a break.  I have begged and pleaded, to no avail. Either readers are out of photos or are unwilling to send them.  My only leverage is to say this: I work hard to post here several times a day, and is it too much to ask for people who have good wildlife photos to sent them in?  What happened to reciprocal altruism?

There: I’ve fired my last shot.

But here are three other shots, but not from readers but from the Proprietor (PCC[E]). They were taken last July in Svalbard. They show a pile of about 50 walruses (Odobenus rosmarus) with our ship in the background.

Click to enlarge!

From the WWF:

Walrus are very social. They hang out in large tightly packed herds usually separated by sex. A group of walrus can generate so much heat that sometimes a cloud of fog will form above them!

Walrus tusks are in fact canine teeth that never stop growing. They use them to keep breathing holes open in the ice, to fight other walrus, and to help haul themselves out of the water and onto sea ice.

 

Another reminder to read Da Roolz

February 5, 2026 • 9:30 am

There are a fair number of newbies coming on to the site, which is great, but a couple of them are hateful, like the one who tried to refer to your host yesterday as a “kike faggot who runs this site” with “a fine hooked nose as any other degenerate kike”. Needless to say, that person has been vanquished to the hinterland for antisemites for committing a big-time Roolz violation. But I wanted to let other new readers/commenters know that there are guidelines for commenting here, called, in Chicago argot, “Da Roolz“. You can find them on the left sidebar or at the preceding link. They may seem long, but I find them useful for ensuring civility and reasonable discussion on this website. If you haven’t read them, please do before posting.

And if you want to send me wildlife photos (I welcome good ones), read the sidebar post “How to send me wildlife photos.”

Thanks!

2026 update: modifications of Da Roolz

January 8, 2026 • 10:30 am

I haven’t had a look at Da Roolz (the commenting rules) for a while, and, having a gander, made one modification in them, as well as a change in the instructions aboout “How to send me wildlife photos“.  Both of these instructional posts are on the left sidebar of the site, and look like this. You can click on them to read them.

The main change in the Roolz affects #12, which now reads like this:

Be judicious about posting videos and very long comments.  I like good discussion, but essays are not on, particularly if you have your own website where you can post it.  Embedded videos are okay, but please think before posting: do they add to the discussion? If your comment is longer than, say, 400 words, it is probably too long. If you want to write stuff longer than that, please get your own website!

I’ve decided that 600 words was too long for any comments, and thus ask readers to limit them to 400 words. I’m not going to quibble if you go a few words over that, but I am asking for comments and not essays. I will enforce this limit.

I continue to urge readers not to overcomment, with the guideline being about 10% of the comments in a given post. If you’re writing more than that, please ratchet back.  In the interests of, yes, comment diversity, I do not want to see a few people making most of the comments.

As for wildlife photos, they come in huge variety of formats, and it sometimes takes me a long time to get them into a properly formatted post. To make this easier, I’m asking readers to zip their photos if they can, number them, and then enclose a Word document describing the caption for each numbered photo. Be sure to give the common name plus the Latin binomial. What I’m trying to avoid is having to cut and paste words from a document into WordPress, which sometimes is wonky. And if you really want to please me, use the Times or Times New Roman typeface.

If you are a new reader and haven’t read Da Roolz, please do so before you post again. And if you want to send me photos, the link for that should give you all the information you need, including the address where you should send them.

Finally, if you have any questions, you are welcome reach PCC(E) at the email address you all know (it’s also at the “wildlife photos” link).

Thanks!

I do not need “likes”

December 9, 2025 • 12:00 pm

I do appreciate readers “liking” posts or comments, but the problem is that each one generates an email to me, and there are many of them. The result is that my inbox is even more clogged up than usual, and that sometimes makes me miss messages.  So I’ll kindly ask readers to please refrain giving “likes.” If you especially appreciate a post or something I said, please show it by leaving it in the comments after a post, or sending me an email if you want direct contact. Many thanks!

No readers’ wildlife photos today

October 9, 2025 • 7:45 am

I have one batch of photos on which I’m waiting for information, and a few singletons that I could assemble into a heterogeneous posts, but otherwise we’re out of photos. If you sent me some in the past and I’ve forgotten to post them (this is entirely possible), please let me know and if possible re-send the photos.

And of course I know that there are several readers with batches being assembled, or so they say, so get off the stick and send them in. If you’re new, besure to use the “how to send me wildlife photos” instructions on the left sidebar.

Thanks!

 

AI comment = banning

May 13, 2025 • 9:00 am

A short while back I added a new comment to “Da Roolz,” the list of posting guidelines that everyone should read (especially newbies). The last guideline now reads:

26.) I will tolerate no comments that are generated with AI.  Even one of them will lead to instant banning for life.

Now I will be the judge of whether a comment is likely generated by ChatGPT or the like, but this one, which someone attempted to post on the thread after “Bill Maher: New Rules #1“, is surely the product of a bot. I won’t give the hapless writer’s handle:

Bill Maher’s “New Rules” segment, as discussed on Why Evolution Is True, delivers the comedian’s signature blend of sharp satire and cultural critique—this time tackling modern hypocrisy with his usual unflinching wit. The analysis highlights Maher’s ability to skewer both political extremes, though a deeper dive into his factual accuracy (or occasional oversimplifications) could add nuance. Fans will appreciate the curated highlights, while critics might crave more counterpoints. A thought-provoking read for those who miss Real Time’s mix of humor and hard truths.

Oy, my kishkes!  All I can say is that if you post something this bloody obvious—something that doesn’t add anything to the discussion—you better find another site for your Ai-generated lucubrations.  And this person must now do that.