Writers write
I am so grateful for your many heartfelt and touching condolences. Thinking about the question of when to resume writing the blog, I think it’s a good idea for me to just plunge in – maybe not at quite the … Continue reading →
Category Archives: Blogging and bloggers
Slightly overzealous comment filter
The new comments policy I instituted a while back has been working very well so far (knock wood) to block trolls. On the other hand, it’s a trifle overeager and sometimes blocks certain comments from regular comments for no reason … Continue reading →
A restrained AI spam comment
As I said, the new AI spam comment generator is very very clever. But this comment gives itself away. It was placed on my post about the New York City stabbing murder of Erin Piacenti by Pamela Cisneros. The AI … Continue reading →
The new AI spam comment generator is very very clever
I’m a connoisseur of blog spam. I’ve seen a great deal of it in my time, almost always trapped in the spam filter. I’d divide it into several categories. The first is the simple advertisement, usually for porn websites. It … Continue reading →
All the lonely people
Here’s a study indicating that Americans are lonely and young Americans are the loneliest of all. It’s from quite a while ago, 2018. But it’s not atypical of the sort of figures such polls often get, and this one has … Continue reading →
I’m baaaack
Oh dear. Perhaps I shouldn’t have mentioned in the Open Thread that today is the Ides of July. When I was about to start writing, the blog went down. Nor was it the usual “too many requests” problem. This time … Continue reading →
ANNOUNCEMENT: new comments system is now operating [scroll down for newer posts]
[I’m planning to pin this post to the top of the page for at least a few days, so scroll down for newer posts.] I’ve turned on the new comments system and I hope it goes smoothly. I’ve already tested … Continue reading →
Connectivity problems seem to have resolved – but it’s too darn hot
I had major Wifi connectivity problems today and had to finish and publish the previous post on my cellphone. That’s a far-from-ideal situation and quite frustrating. But all seems well now. Usually the connection here is pretty strong and pretty … Continue reading →
Last Friday was the 17th anniversary of commenter FredHJr’s death
The old-timers here remember commenter FredHJr. I have posted annually around the time of his death, which occurred in 2009. Sounds like ancient history, doesn’t it? The following is the text, slightly edited, of one of those posts. Unbelievable that … Continue reading →
Note on comments
I’m taking my time to implement a new process for comments, studying the alternatives as well as collecting data on trolls and bots. So there won’t be a change today, although there probably will be one some time this week … Continue reading →
I’m contemplating some changes for the comments here
No doubt regular readers have noticed a lot of recent troll activity here. It’s not the first time and not the first troll, so I’ve long thought about the issue. One possible solution is to tweak the comment system slightly … Continue reading →
Update on tech stuff here
First of all, I finally got a new computer. It takes me a while to get used to tech change, and this is no exception. The good part is that it’s much faster than my old one, which was geriatric. … Continue reading →