Observations on the state of things…

  • Pennsylvania Dog Law

    Pennsylvania Dog Law

    The Pennsylvania Dog Law of 1982 Just about everything having to do with dogs in Pennsylvania goes back to Public Law 784, enacted on December 7th, 1982 and commonly just called “The Pennsylvania Dog Law of 1982”. The Pennsylvania Dog Law of 1982 is a piece of legislation that governs various aspects of dog ownership…

  • Gutenberg vs. Divi

    Gutenberg vs. Divi

    In late January (2022), I upgraded this site to WordPress 5.9 and, on impulse, I decided I would go full-Gutenberg. The Gutenberg block-based editor is the future of WordPress, to be sure, and it seemed like maybe even in its less-than-fully-mature state it would be up to the demands of this very modest site. I…

  • Rouvy or Zwift?

    Rouvy or Zwift?

    Recently I decided it was time to give another indoor riding environment a try. After 1,000 rides on Peloton and grinding through more than 40 levels of Zwift, I was beginning to feel like I had exhausted those platforms, and with so many options I wanted to try something new. Enter Rouvy (like Zwift, another…

  • Not a valid JSON response

    Not a valid JSON response

    For developers, what do you do when it’s your plugin that’s getting the dreaded “Update failed. The response is not a valid JSON response.” message? While I was developing my WordPress plugin, I occasionally found that I was encountering the enigmatic “not a valid JSON response” message when I was trying to update my test pages. As you…

  • On Writing a WordPress Plugin

    On Writing a WordPress Plugin

    In December of ’21, I wrote my first WordPress plugin for something other than my own use. That plugin was “PetPress”, a plugin connector for PetPoint and WordPress. In January I submitted it to WordPress.org for inclusion in their catalog, and after a little back-and-forth (described below), it became the first and only plugin of…

  • on Replacing your Peloton Pedals

    on Replacing your Peloton Pedals

    What pedals should I replace my Peloton pedals with? I have been asked that question numerous times since I wrote my blog post on broken Peloton pedals and the need to replace them periodically (about every 12 months, according to Peloton). You’re a busy person, so I’ll give you the short answer first… Answer: just…

  • Ban the Tron Bike?

    Ban the Tron Bike?

    Just about every time I ride Zwift, I wish I hadn’t won the Tron Bike. I still remember how much I wanted it at the time, and I remember how hard it was to get, but now that I’ve had it for a while, I am actually a little sad that this part of the…

  • ACCT executive director resigns

    ACCT executive director resigns

    Today Aurora Velazquez resigned her executive director position at ACCT Philly (Animal Care and Control Team Philadelphia). ACCT has been widely criticized from many sides for the conditions of the shelter and lapses which included procedural errors that led to (among other things) the mistaken euthanization of a dog put into their protective custody. Ultimately, a change.org petition demanding the removal of key…

  • Pittsburgh moves to ban declawing of cats

    Pittsburgh moves to ban declawing of cats

    This week Pittsburgh’s City Council advanced legislation that would make it the first city in Pennsylvania to prohibit the practice of declawing cats. The ordinance, #1877, has the hashtag-ready name “Ordinance amending The City Of Pittsburgh Code, Title Six (“Conduct”), Article III (“Dogs, Cats And Other Animals”), Chapter 633 (“Dogs And Cats”), by adding a…