If animals could speak, the dog would be a blundering outspoken fellow; but the cat would have the rare grace of never saying a word too much.
— Mark Twain, Mark Twain’s Own Autobiography: The Chapters from the North American Review
Author: Mr. Breeze
I do be a kitteh. I haz a blog.
Was It Written by AI?
When an article sounds too good, suspect AI. Here are some things to watch out for.
Writing Style
- AI writes very even paragraphs with the same length and tone.
- It doesn’t follow the usual essay structure. Instead it tends to repeat the same point.
- You can swap sections or delete paragraphs without changing the meaning.
- AI tends to explain what something means too early instead of presenting evidence.
- AI rarely leaves things open-ended. The ending tries to wrap everything up neatly.
Repetition & Word Tricks
AI says the same thing in different ways by using synonyms like important, significant, and meaningful to hide repetition.
It uses drama for emphasis, like: “It wasn’t just X. It was Y.” or “No signs. No answers.”
Tone & Emotional Manipulation
- Instead of just telling what happened, AI suggests how you should feel. It may feel manipulative.
- AI often uses big words to sound “deep” but doesn’t really say anything new.
- The emotional tone stays flat the whole time.
Safe Language
AI avoids strong opinions by using non-committal phrases like “Some say…” and “Others suggest…”. It avoids ruffling feathers or being outright wrong.
Impersonal
AI writing has no typos or grammatical errors. It has little personality or regional voice, and it rarely includes personal anecdotes.
Common AI Formatting Tells
- Overuse of em dashes —
- “Quotation marks” for emphasis, especially “curly quotes”
- Repeated sentence structures across paragraphs
- Repeated information across sections
Accuracy
AI can “hallucinate” facts. Always check sources. References may sound right but not actually exist.
Large language models have a documented tendency to “hallucinate,” or make up false information. In one highly-publicized case, a New York lawyer faced sanctions for citing ChatGPT-invented fictional cases in a legal brief; many similar cases have since been reported. And our previous study of general-purpose chatbots found that they hallucinated between 58% and 82% of the time on legal queries, highlighting the risks of incorporating AI into legal practice.
– The Stanford Institute for Human-Centered AI (HAI), “AI on Trial: Legal Models Hallucinate in 1 out of 6 (or More) Benchmarking Queries“
Summary
AI doesn’t usually add new ideas. Instead, it repeats and reinforces the same point.
AI’s strength is gathering information but its fatal weakness is depth and originality.
If an article looks too polished, trust your instincts. Use one of the tools below to check.
Is It Wrong To Use AI?
Not completely.
AI is useful for gathering facts from multiple sources and summarizing that information, but it often falls short when writing full articles.
In this writer’s opinion, AI is better as a research tool, not a replacement for human writing.
Resources
There are free tools that can help identify AI articles, but none are perfect.
- GPTZero GPTZero detects AI content from ChatGPT, GPT-5, Claude, Gemini, and checks writing quality to make every word worth reading.
- QuillBot AI Detector by QuillBot. Paste your text to check whether it was written by AI. Our AI detector is trained to detect content generated by GPT-5, Gemini, Claude, Llama, and more.
- Grammarly Grammarly. Navigate responsible AI use with our AI checker, trained to identify AI-generated text. A clear score shows how much of your work appears to be written with AI so you can submit it with peace of mind.
#ChiliPawty 2026 Debrief
Life’s What You Make It. I live by this philosophy. Maybe it’s easier for me because I’m a dog.
— @MidgeTheMutt on X
Midge’s quote fit #ChiliPawty 2026 pretty well. This year was the 16th Chilipawty and once again the community came together to raise money for charity, share music, hand out pwizes, and hang out with friends old and new. Chilipawty started over a decade ago as a birthday pawty for sssspicy Sisfurcat Chilipepper and has become an annual tradition.
The barktenders served tasty noms and drinks. Anipals stopped by to talk, listen to music, and see old friends.
The DJs set the mood for the pawty. Blues, rock, dance music, or old favorites. Of course, nobody wanted to leave at 2 AM so the pawty kept going. At one point a discussion about the Rocky Horror Picture Show got mixed up with the Rocky boxing movies. Typical anipal!
The pwizes were part of the fun. Community members donated items, pwizemasters announced winners. Events like #Chilipawty are successful because so many anipals volunteer.
Meanwhile, sekurity handled patrols, monitored suspicious activity, and kept order throughout the timeline. Their work mostly happened in the background, but they are as important as the other roles.
After sixteen years, #ChiliPawty is still doing what it was meant to do: helping the charity and bringing anipals together. I hope to see you at the 17th #Chilipawty.
— Mr. Breeze
Visit the #Chilipawty blog to read more about #ChiliPawty.
Please consider helping our charity, Black Cat Rescue in Boston, MA.
U.S. Food Safety
In the United States, several government agencies work together to help keep people safe from foodborne illnesses and unsafe products. The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) each have different jobs related to food safety. The sections below explain what each agency does and list recent recalls.
- Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS):
FSIS is part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It makes sure meat, poultry, and egg products are safe to eat, healthy, and labeled and packaged the right way. - U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA):
The FDA protects people’s health by making sure most foods are safe, clean, and labeled correctly. The FDA also checks that medicines, vaccines, medical devices, cosmetics, and supplements are safe. It also regulates tobacco and protects people from harmful radiation. - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC):
The CDC studies and tracks food-related illnesses. It investigates outbreaks and works to stop them from spreading. The CDC also helps state and local health departments improve how they detect and respond to foodborne illnesses.
FoodSafety.gov is a consumer-friendly gateway to the food safety information provided by these government agencies. The Recalls and Outbreaks page has a list of recent recalls, duplicated below:
Current Food Safety Recalls
Quote: Mikhail Bulgakov on Cats
“Is that vodka?” Margarita asked weakly.
The cat jumped up in his seat with indignation.
“I beg pardon, my queen,” he rasped, “Would I ever allow myself to offer vodka to a lady? This is pure alcohol!”
— Mikhail Bulgakov, The Master and Margarita
Quote: Napoleon Bonaparte on Dogs
If you build an army of 100 lions and their leader is a dog, in any fight, the lions will die like a dog. But if you build an army of 100 dogs and their leader is a lion, all dogs will fight as a lion.
— Napoleon Bonaparte
U.S. Pet Food Recalls
Despite pet food companies emphasis on quality foods for pets, things can go wrong. Here is a list of recent recalls collected from around the web.
Quote: Théophile Gautier on Cats
Once [a cat] has given its love, what absolute confidence, what fidelity of affection! It will make itself the companion of your hours of work, of loneliness, or of sadness. It will lie the whole evening on your knee, purring and happy in your society, and leaving the company of creatures of its own society to be with you.
— Théophile Gautier, Ménagerie Intime
Is Your Food Safe? (US)
Three main departments help keep food – both for humans and pets – safe in the United States: FSIS, FDA, and CDC.
- Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS):
FSIS is part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It makes sure meat, poultry, and egg products are safe to eat, healthy, and labeled and packaged the right way. - U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA):
The FDA protects people’s health by making sure most foods are safe, clean, and labeled correctly. (FSIS handles meat, poultry, and some egg products.) The FDA also checks that medicines, vaccines, medical devices, cosmetics, and supplements are safe. It also regulates tobacco and protects people from harmful radiation. - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC):
The CDC studies and tracks food-related illnesses. It investigates outbreaks and works to stop them from spreading. The CDC also helps state and local health departments improve how they detect and respond to foodborne illnesses.
FoodSafety.gov is a consumer-friendly gateway to the food safety information provided by these government agencies. The Recalls and Outbreaks page has a list of recent recalls, duplicated below:
Food Safety Recalls
Quote: Lewis Carroll on Cats
And how do you know that you’re mad? “To begin with,” said the Cat, “a dog’s not mad. You grant that?” “I suppose so,” said Alice. “Well then,” the Cat went on, “you see a dog growls when it’s angry, and wags it’s tail when it’s pleased. Now I growl when I’m pleased, and wag my tail when I’m angry. Therefore I’m mad.”
— Lewis Carroll, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass
The Anipal Times 