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I’ll do the thinnin’ around here, Baba Louie
I’m an excellent matchWith my humans;I picked them carefully. I tell them whatThey should think and should doAnd they go along cheerfully. They often believeThat they have ideasWhich really they get from me, But that part’s a secretWhich we won’t tell.I’m glad that you agree. -Chocolate Continue reading
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I Win.
I am modest;self-effacingBut really, I’m the bestat chasing! Squirrels I amalways beating,until those trees(and climbing’s cheating). As for Hayley,I’m quicker, butshe’s sneakywith her shorty cuts. With humans,I win every timeWhen there’s a chasethe win is mine! -Chocolate Continue reading
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If Only They Had Good Noses
I like humans pretty wellthey’re nicer than I used to think.Their hygiene though!They cannot tell,But some of those guys really stink. The worstest scents,which should be banned,they do on purposewith a can. -Chocolate Continue reading
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Being a good pet owner
If you have a humantake good care of him or herYou have to keep them nice and warmbecause they have no fur. We dogs must pay attentionor communications fail;I think it’s ’cause their ears are flat and they’ve no handy tail. But all the trouble’s worth itIf you keep one as a pet.I myself have… Continue reading
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September 18
Corn is quite the important grain. It’s “maize,” really, and it came from southern Mexico, where it was cultivated over 10,000 years ago. Even the word “maize” comes from what the indigenous Taino called it: “mahiz.” It’s called “corn” in English because the word already existed, meaning a small, hard particle like a grain of… Continue reading
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September 17
It’s kind of amazing that today, September 17, isn’t more widely commemorated as the day Norton I, Emperor of the United States, was crowned. As emperor of the egalitarian USA, it makes perfect sense that Norton I started life as a commoner. He was born Joshua Abraham Norton in England in 1818. Or sometime between… Continue reading
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A noggin of noggins
The word “noggin” has a longer history than you might expect for a slang term for your head. When the word is used today, it’s used the way it appeared in Landfall in 1951: “Thanks, chum,’ said Vic, ‘You used your noggin.’” Roald Dahl used it, too, in The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar: “Of… Continue reading
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H.A. Rey
You might remember, from your childhood, an impish monkey named Curious George. He and his companion, The Man with the Yellow Hat, were born today. Well, sort of. Actually Hans Augusto Reyersbach, who was H.A. Rey, one of the authors, was born September 16, 1898 in Hamburg. Reyersbach and his wife Margret (who was Margret… Continue reading
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September 16 September 16
This is it. September 16. The very day that, in 1959, the first successful photocopier was introduced. This is it. September 16. The very day that, in 1959, the first successful photocopier was introduced. This is it. September 16. The very day that, in 1959, the first successful photocopier was introduced. It was the Xerox… Continue reading
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The dog optimist
Hayley just eats when she’s hungry.She says that she’ll wait for a while.I’m always ready for a treat or a snackAnd either one makes me smile. When I was a pupThere were bad folks aroundAnd I learned right awayI should eat what I found But Hayley has nevermet anyone meanAnd she doesn’t believeWhen I say… Continue reading
About Me
I’m Pete Harbeson, a writer (among other things) located near Boston, Massachusetts. In addition to writing my own content, I’ve learned to translate for my loquacious and opinionated pup Chocolate Bossypaws. No surprise, she mostly speaks in doggerel. You can find her contributions tagged with Chocolatiana.
Check out my newsletter, Artisanal Scribbles, where I’m grappling with writing, authentic human authorship, integrity, and the craft of beauty in the AI age. You can also find some of my old software projects at GitHub. Nothing very impressive. I mostly wrote tiny utilities in Python and shell scripts. I’m mostly retired from coding nowadays.
I find myself suddenly de-corporatized (their choice, not mine). To help keep the lights on, buy me a coffee!
Recent Posts
- The Cycles within the Arc
- I’d rather have a taco
- 20-something Hubris
- You can’t be a leader without followers
- Candy Trees and Handkerchiefs
Categories
Artificial Intelligence
Chocolatiana
Essays
History, sort of
Immorality
Incompetence
Quotations
Resistance
Stories
Tales from the Forest
Technicalities
Tragedy
Unanticipated Consequences
Privacy policy
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Contact
peterharbeson@me.com