Why Evolution Is True

Svetlana (Lana) Jitomirskaya is a mathematics professor at Berkeley (Wikipedia, which puts her at two other schools, is out of date), and is one of 29 authors (I’m in there, too) on a paper in the Journal of Controversial Ideas, “In Defense of Merit in Science“. Lana is also a winner of the American Academy … Continue reading Berkeley math professor argues that we need to bring back SATs and othe…

I wondered what Bill Maher thought about the sketchy Graham Platner and his run as a Democrat for the Senate seat from Maine. Well, see the video below. Maher realizes that Platner is a “broken person,” but we’re “always electing our reflection in the mirror.”  And he thinks that Dems should still vote for Platner … Continue reading Bill Maher on Graham Platner

I’ll put up some videos of the World Cup games or highlights that interest me. Here are 20 minutes of highlights between Brazil and Morocco, which was tied 1-1 at the end. Summary from the BBC: Vinicius Jr spared Brazil the embarrassment of defeat in an opening World Cup match for the first since 1934 … Continue reading World Cup: Brazil vs. Morocco (highlights)

Again we have the last batch of wildlife photos on hand.  Send yours in, please! Today’s group of photos come from reader Ephraim Heller; it’s the second part of a two-part series (part 1 is here). Ephraim’s text is indented, and you can enlarge his photos by clicking on them. Little St. Simons Island is … Continue reading Readers’ wildlife photos

Welcome to June 14, 2026, shabbos for gentile cats (remember that the Sabbath was made for cats, not cats for the Sabbath), and National Strawberry Shortcake Day. I don’t have a photo, but here’s a substitute: a strawberry shave ice from Hawaii, photographed in 2019. Shave ice, in all its various forms, is one of … Continue reading Sunday: Hili dialogue

We have three cat-related items today, the first from the  Journal of Chemical Ecology. Click to read it, and after doing so you might consider giving your cats silver vine rather than catnip. Silver vine (Actinidia polygama) grows in the mountainous areas of NE Asia, and has long been known as a cat attractant. Here’s a … Continue reading Caturday felid trifecta: Cats prefer silver vine to catni…

Did you find the two California toads in this morning’s photo? Here’s Robert Lang’s reveal:

Yesterday I planned a full day of reading and writing for a project I’m working on, but was interrupted three times for duckling rescues, so in terms of “professional” work, I got nothing done. In terms of waterfowl work, I—with the help of others—did rescue eight stranded ducklings who would otherwise have died.  I suppose … Continue reading A hard day: three duckling rescues

Today we have another “spot the” feature from Robert Lang, whose commentary is indented below.  Spot the two frogs! There will be a reveal at 11 a.m. Chicago time. The last two days on early-morning hikes, I’ve encountered literally dozens of tiny frogs hopping across the trail—so many that I had to watch my step … Continue reading Spot the toads!

My, how the week has flown!  We had bad storms on Thursday—part of the tornado/storm system that hit the Midwest. Luckily we didn’t lose power, though I had to drive the wrong way down a one-way street on my way to work: a large tree had fallen, locking off the legal route. Welcome to CaturSaturday, … Continue reading Saturday: Hili dialogue

Today’s Jesus and Mo strip, called “twist,” is labeled as “a Friday flashback from 12 years ago.”  Once again Mo shows his characteristic behavior of instantiating exactly what he objects to.

Here’s the second part of “duck doings” (first part here), this part recounting the attempt to capture Vashti and her brood before it got to the pond, where it would harassed out by the resident aggressive ducks. I’ll put it up for the record, as part 1 didn’t attract much interest. On May 15, Vashti … Continue reading Duck doings, part 2: Vashti’s baby’s hatch, attempted capture of brood

Voilà: my last batch of photos, this time a small selection from Norm Gilinsky, including two species we have in Botany Pond.  Norm’s captions are indented, and you can enlarge his photos by clicking on them. All of these photos were taken with an ordinary iPhone on June 1 on the eastern shore of Lake … Continue reading Readers’ wildlife photos

Welcome to Friday, June 12, 2026 and it’s National Loving Day, celebrating both romantic bonding but, more important, celebrating the day when . . . the 1967 U.S. Supreme Court decision Loving vs. Virginia. This decision struck down all anti-miscegenation laws remaining in sixteen U.S. states. The ruling cited, “There can be no doubt that … Continue reading Friday: Hili dialogue

I believe I’ve mentioned before that we’ve lost two broods of ducklings in Botany Pond this year: Vashti’s brood of 7 and then an unnamed duck’s brood of 12.  I was in Savannah, Georgia when Vashti’s brood came down on Sunday, April 19, and several people fed her and her brood, though of course the … Continue reading Duck doings #1: Brood of unnamed duck vanishes the day it came down; miscellaneo…

Mark Sturtevant has been kind enough to send the last batch of photos I have, some lovely ones of arthropods. Mark’s captions and IDs are indented, and you can enlarge his photos by clicking on them. The various arthropods shown here were all photographed from my area in eastern Michigan. Most were taken outdoors where … Continue reading Readers’ wildlife photos

Welcome to Thursday, June 11, 2026, and it’s National German Chocolate Cake Day. From Wikipedia: German chocolate cake, originally German’s chocolate cake, is a layered chocolate cake filled and topped with a coconut-pecan frosting. Originating in the United States, it was named after English-American chocolate maker Samuel German, who developed a formulation of dark baking chocolate that came to…

I came upon this list while lost in the depths of Wikipedia; it’s an entry for “Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time,” a list that has been revised several times. And of course I had to read the article (which gives only the top ten assessed at various times) and comment. Here’s how … Continue reading Rolling Stone’s “Greatest Songs of All Time”

The latest Jesus and Mo strip, called “Ta da!”, came with this caption, “Ta da! It’s a new J&M on an old theme.” Wikipedia in fact has a whole article on “Criminal charges against Joseph Smith”. Here’s a summary: Joseph Smith, the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, was the subject of approximately twenty-one documented criminal … Continue reading Jesus ‘n’ Mo ‘n’ scams

I got two new batches of photos!  So hooray for the readers! Today’s photos come from Ephraim Heller, whose captions and IDs are indented. You can enlarge the photos by clicking on them. Little St. Simons Island is an 11,000-acre barrier island on the coast of Georgia. Much of it is salt marsh, with a … Continue reading Readers’ wildlife photos