I enjoy Spelling Bee, but I also find the allowable words so arbitrary. Why is puppylike a word but eellike isn't. And why is eely a word but elky isn't? And don't get me started on all the excellent Scottish words it omits! I am feeling a bit elky about this!

My inbox (presumably everyone's inboxes) is basically a classic game of 1970s Space Invaders. You successfully fight off one group of aliens/emails only to find that the next group comes even faster and more lethally/urgently!

It's nice to see Idris Donut (my dog) getting due credit for his artistic output! (Thank you Leah Kardos/The Wire)

I've got a similar daughter!

I call this one "Still Life Or: There Are Pre-Teens in the House"!

Does this mean people under 35 are more likely to listen to classical music than their parents are, or that they are more likely to listen to classical music than they are to their parents? (Judging by my experience with 12-and-unders, I'd say it is the latter!)

Oh no! That happened to us last week. I baked a lot of large squashes to have an excuse to keep the oven on! Have you checked if it's a frozen drain pipe? If so you may be able to thaw it by pointing an electric heater at the wall and/or pouring boiling water on the pipe outside.

Sea lemon (Doris pseudoargus)

I have previously co-authored a piece with my dog (Idris Donut). But to co-author a paper? That is life goals!

The whippet wishes you a happy snow day!

The whippet is on day 2 of "bed rest" (ha, has the vet ever met a whippet?) for a running injury. He is handling it remarkably well, but his food thieving tendencies have increased exponentially!

Same here!