Pigs today, everything else tomorrow

Not too many animal welfare issues make it to the Supreme Court, but that is where we will find California’s Proposition 12 today. Proposition 12 is in the spotlight more because of its implications for interstate commerce than for what it means for animal welfare per se, but it’s a big deal on both fronts.…
Allentown Bans Declawing Cats

Following Pittsburgh’s ban on declawing cats passed in late 2021, Allentown this year has also banned the practice ($500 fine for violations). The vote in the city council was unanimous. Allentown has recently become one of the state’s leaders in animal protection, after banning puppy/kitten/bunny mill sales in October of 2022 ($600 fine for violations).…
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

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?

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

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

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

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?

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…