Okay, this is another week in review for the slackers, or for people who just forget things too quickly.

Mark learned a valuable lesson this week in journalism: Don’t tell your boss what you are going to do before you do it. While waiting for his plane ride home, Mark presented his idea for an A-I Event Exposé to his boss, Bill Ellis, on the phone. Ellis, taking on the role of a corporate PR suit, nearly dropped a load when he heard Mark’s idea, which included being specific about the persons involved. “NO NAMES! DON’T PRINT ANY NAMES!” Ellis squealed as he worried over lawsuits, which Ellis believes is the second most favorite habit of Silicon Valley moguls. Not only did Ellis nix publishing Mark’s article and robbing him of a paycheck, he told Mark to put it on his own blog, but still keep the names out of it. It looked like Mark happily accepted the rebuke and the need to self-censor, almost bragging about it!

For shame, Mark! This is not the fiery, cross-the-line, rabble-rousing, rock ‘em-sock ‘em nature journalist that we thought we knew. Conspiracy Alert: Who is this obvious fraud? Was the real Mark Trail replaced by some kind of A-I programmed robot? Perhaps we’ll all find out tomorrow after Mark has had his first night back at home with Cherry. Until then, let’s read his Sunday nature chat:

Jules Rivera’s Mark Trail Sunday strip always features a customized title panel. Most of the time, the depiction of the strip’s title is cleverly fashioned through some thematic tie-in. But it’s not always possible. I think this is one of those days, where the title is just a rough, water-based solution.

Anyway, today is at least an informative Sunday strip bringing out some facts on a subject many of us probably don’t think or know about. And that’s the point, right? However, I still dislike two things that are not unique to today’s strip: First, the inclusion of Mark’s image throughout the panels. This was not always the case on the Sunday strips in the pre-Rivera past. I don’t know why Rivera feels the need to panel-bomb Mark’s face so often. Second, Rivera has a habit of ending Sunday strips with a lame joke or cute reference. I’d rather see the final panel devote more information to the current topic.

For example: The barking tree frogs often group in temporary “choral groups” of up to 20-25 in the water to enhance their ability to attract females to mate with. However, the competition to thrive takes a toll on the males, who have to take breaks away from the group after becoming too weak. This gives them time to restore their strength and return. That’s probably necessary because they will mate with multiple females, whereas the females only mate once a season. But an equally interesting question is “How do biologists figure all of this out!?“