Battle of the wombat haikus

I asked ChatGPT to write a haiku about wombats last night and wrote one myself after being inspired by its work. ChatGPT’s haiku: Wombats in the wild, Marsupial’s burrowed home, Night’s quiet, earth’s child. My haiku: Wombats, oh wombats! Oh! Wombats! Wombats! Wombats! Ohmigawd, wombats! Which one do you like better? (ChatGPT won’t be offended […]

Tales of Father Goose

Hundreds of fairy tales, children’s stories, and nursery rhymes are attributed to Mother Goose, an imaginary author with origins in France and England. There’s a reason why Mother Goose was given credit for these classic yarns: Father Goose was clearly an ill-tempered, dim-witted, jackass. I rode on the Wadhams to Avoca Trail yesterday afternoon, an […]

Improvising

I taught improvisational acting for a few years at our local community college. It’s simple to learn the basic concepts of improv, but much harder to actually master it. I’m certain I never did, but I could improvise well enough to be able to teach others how to do it. The main rule of improv […]

Imaginary islands

When I travel to a new place or try a new restaurant, I like to find out details about it ahead of time. Fortunately, the internet makes that simple for me these days. I can get reviews, photos, street views, and detailed directions on a map. Sometimes, though, when I get there, the place doesn’t […]

Laws are not absolute, but the rule of law should be

I broke the law yesterday. I went out to grab some lunch and on the way I found myself going 38 miles per hour. The posted speed limit was 35. According to Section 257.627(16) of the Michigan Vehicle Code (Act 300 of 1949, as amended): A person who violates a speed limit established under this […]