: “Every report you ever write from this day until the day you die should start out by saying something nice about the product or service you are reviewing. Then you can get down to business.” Tog —How to Deliver a Report Without Getting Lynched Similar:Apple faces threat of legal action over ‘in app’ paymentsI…
. Painfully funny small-town satire from The Onion. —Wal-Mart Opens Store in Winesburg, Ohio Similar:Google, AI Announcements, and the Future of LearningGlenda Morgan does not sound that impres…AcademiaAngel One (TNG Rewatch, Season 1, Episode 13) Sexist Amazon chief flips Riker leitmotif, t…Rewatching Star Trek: The Next Generatio…AmusingGreat moments from Pride and PrejudiceI haven’t read Pride…
“If anything, the recent expansion of literacy and educational opportunities has increased our access to literature and our enjoyment of it.” J. Peder Zane —What Good is Literature? Similar:“If music be the food of love, play on!” I may have mentioned that I have a daughter who d… CultureText Games in a New Era…
“Today, I’m one of the world’s leading anthropologists, an accomplished archaeologist, and an award-winning novelist. And, at 41, I’m only now becoming aware of the globetrotting rut I’ve been in my entire life. Looking back on everything I’ve seen and done, I can’t help but ask, ‘Is that all there is?’” more satire from The…
Microsoft Word requires at least 30% more keystrokes and 100% more mouse moves to accomplish certain editing tasks than would an optimal word processor. Forbes —Bad Design Can Be Costly Similar:Why the Internet Isn’t Fun AnymoreI used to spend time in class teaching s…Business‘I saw the possibility of what could be done – so I…
“We are the Gist Generation. We have acquired a taste for hit-and-run, cut-and-paste knowledge. We expect a home page or e-mail correspondence to give us the gist and only the gist—time is money and you’re a click away from an iconographic trash can, so get to the point.” Jeff Barbian Similar:Seton Hill's #CIO @PhilKomarny is…
This computer game tries something new. “If a character tells you he’ll call you tomorrow, he’s not kidding. You’ll have to wait a day to get his information. Faxes may arrive without warning, and instant messages may pop up onscreen when you least expect them — maybe even while you’re at work.” Wired.com —“Majestic” Invades…
“Organized religion was a primary target of every one of the twentieth century’s regimes of terror. But as is evident in Nazi and Communist terrors alike, organized irreligion (to put it in Royal’s sharp formulation) has proved far more dangerous than organized religion ever was.” Alicia Mosier Similar:In May, 2001 I was blogging about lanuguage,…
You might assume there could not be a worse time for a field calling itself “Internet studies.” You would be wrong. The Chronicle of Higher Education Similar:New Voices For The Voiceless: Synthetic Speech Gets An UpgradeWonderful, inspiring article that uses t…CultureFCC Approves Net Neutrality Rules For 'Open Internet'Verizon and Comcast lobbyists hang their…BusinessAre "Keds" still…
“Lambert received the e-mail in December, a piece of scrap in the vast electronic junkyard that is the World Wide Web. Regrettably, she says now, she removed the letter’s forwarding markers and unintentionally put her name at the bottom, making it appear that she was the author.” Washington Post —Don’t forward that e-mail just yet!…
“[W]hat could be more scholarly than a nice, authoritative statistic, quoted from a professional journal in the student’s field?” The Chronicle of Higher Education —Telling the Truth About Damned Lies and Statistics Similar:BWW Review: TWELFTH NIGHT Is Farcical Fun at Prime StageIn his review, Greg Kerestan, who must h…CultureThe Duolingo owl has been judging my…
The longer the company’s annual report, the less successful the company. This isn’t really a technical writing issue — usually companies with bad news to report need a lot of words to explaining themselves. But if this is what it takes to get some pinhead CEOs to appreciate brevity, so be it. Wired Similar:Plans for…
Danielle Preston —You Know You’re a Technical Writer When… Similar:There is no cloud. It's just someone else's computer.I have so far resisted the jump to strea…BusinessDon’t Text While Parenting — It Will Make You CrankyThe study summarized in Time Magazine lo…Culture5 myths about Facebook’s Messenger appReal journalism takes a look at that Huf…BusinessSenior Tech #1:…
A student of mine makes comments on interactive fiction, garish colors, and dancing text. Jan Carroll —Just For the Record Similar:A Pox On Your Listicle ClickbaitYup, seeing “1 of 21” at the top of your…BusinessThe 3 Scariest Words A Boy Can Hear ("Be a Man")Former NFL player and current pastor Joe…CultureFormer NFL receiver Antwaan Randle…
learns something from my freshman comp students. On March 13, 2000, I e-mailed web guru Jakob Nielsen to tell him that six of my freshmen spent 8-30 minutes on his site without finding a plain-text “search” link on the home page. A week or so later, I noticed that Nielsen changed his page, making the…
“[W]hen it comes to writing, whether you’re a seventh grader, a college student, a professor, a beginning copywriter, or an accomplished novelist, a B isn’t good enough.” Kathy Henning —For Writers, Writing Is Never a Waste of Time: Part 2 Similar:Rehearsing 'Fiddler on the Roof' is like trying to herd cats onto a grid and…
“[A] society without literature, or a society in which literature has been relegated–like some hidden vice–to the margins of social and personal life, and transformed into something like a sectarian cult, is a society condemned to become spiritually barbaric, and even to jeopardize its freedom.” Mario Vargas Llosa Similar:Me (glares in iambic pentameter)Me: I need…
The creator of Cliffs Notes has died. Here’s his obituary — although I know you probably won’t bother to read the whole thing. Similar:1 small shirt for a man, 1 giant leap backward for women: ColumnIdea for a scientist pull-cord doll: “Fa…AestheticsPositive Feedback on a Blogging AssignmentA former student who is now excelling in…AcademiaDHS official…
On the tasteless side, but still very funny: “Some Features You May Need on Your Computer“ Similar:Trials and Tribble-ations #StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch (Season 5, Episode 6) Trivial Time Travel…Rewatching ST:DS9 Strait-laced time c…AmusingMars Panorama — 10yo with iPad Pretends Her Bed Is NASA Roverhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4rCkr0oA…Current_EventsBook geyser. My latest #Blender3D practice.In a peaceful grassy setting, a geyser…
“It is our duty, as responsible citizens, to stop the rot. Next time someone touches base with you or moves your goal posts, punch them in the face.” Clint Witchalls —Business and the English Language Similar:More Fake News from the Biased Fake Crappy Bad MediaClearly the pesky reporters whom the pow…BusinessThe Course of True Fun…