First-Gen Social Media Users Have Nowhere to Go
I check into Musk’s X every few days, but I no longer *use* it as I once did, as a way of learning from credible experts responding to breaking news, and as a way of connecting with colleagues in my field, mostly just listening quietly while they shared their wisdom with each other. I first…
Font vs Typeface: bold and italics are fonts, but Arial and Times New Roman are typefaces
Burgh to Burg, episode 2.
Burgh to Burg, episode 2.
After decades lost, Star Trek’s original Enterprise model may have been found
Long before sci-fi shows created their visuals with computer-generated images, sfx crews filmed detailed models against a plain. Wide-angle close-up lenses, softly glowing internal lights, and slow camera motion give the impression of great size. The large 11-foot model of the original Star Trek’s U.S.S. Enterprise is on display in the gift shop at the …
To the Death #StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch (Season 4, Episode 23) The Defiant’s pursuit of disloyal Jem’Hadar raiders leads to an unlikely alliance
Rewatching ST:DS9 In the Defiant mess hall, Dax and Bashir give O’Brien friendly advice about parenting, and Dax and O’Brien warn Bashir not to sit in Worf’s favorite seat. A Jem-Haddar sneak attack on DS9 has fragmented a docking pylon, and during the hectic scene that follows, the camera leaves Kira’s in-progress tactical report so…
The Supreme Court could soon change the internet forever — here’s what you need to know
There’s a history of case law protecting the rights of privately owned publishers and social networks to make their own editorial decisions — including algorithmically sorted content. The U.S. Court of Appeals (11th Circuit) ruling in May 2022, which blocked Florida’s law, stated “while the Constitution protects citizens from governmental efforts to restrict their access to social…
Why is Elon Musk attacking Wikipedia? Because its very existence offends him
So, the sight of Elon Musk charging towards Wikipedia with his trademark guile and delicacy was so predictable that it was almost relaxing. He saw a collective resource that people prized and he wanted to hurt it. Why does Wales even need any money to run Wikipedia in the first place, he wondered on Sunday. You could…
How to fix the internet: If we want online discourse to improve, we need to move beyond the big platforms.
A teenager in Indonesia may not see the same images on Instagram that I do, but the experience is roughly the same: we scroll through some photos from friends or family, maybe see some memes or celebrity posts; the feed turns into Reels; we watch a few videos, maybe reply to a friend’s Story or…
Can you melt eggs? Quora’s AI says “yes,” and Google is sharing the result
Google Search is already well-known for having gone dramatically downhill in terms of the quality of the results it provides over the past decade. In fact, Google’s deteriorating quality has resulted in techniques like adding “Reddit” to a query to reduce SEO-seeking spam sites and has also increased the popularity of AI chatbots, which apparently provide answers without…
For the Cause #StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch (Season 4, Episode 22) Eddington and Odo suspect Sisko’s smuggle-buddy Kassidy; Ziyal offers friendship to Garak
Rewatching ST:DS9 Sisko and Kassidy playfully tease each other about balancing duty and their relationship. After she leaves, Sisko blissfully smells her pillow. Eddington briefs the staff about protecting a shipment of industrial replicators from the Maquis (former Federation citizens whose colonies were ceded to the Cardassians against their will). Sisko sends Worf to patrol…
The Muse #StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch (Season 4, Episode 21) Jake meets his muse; pregnant runaway newlywed Lwaxana asks Odo for help
Rewatching ST:DS9 From his spot on the upper level, Jake watches new arrivals, taking notes for his stories. An alien woman, perhaps drawn by something, looks up at him. Odo finds someone waiting in his office — it is a weeping and very pregnant Lwaxana Troi, who has left her possessive husband. Odo is attentive…
Pythagorean Theorem Found On Clay Tablet 1,000 Years Older Than Pythagoras
Translating the markings from base 60 – the counting system used by ancient Babylonians – showed that these ancient mathematicians were aware of the Pythagorean theorem (not called that, of course) as well as other advanced mathematical concepts. “The conclusion is inescapable. The Babylonians knew the relation between the length of the diagonal of a square and…
Shattered Mirror #StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch (Season 4, Episode 20) Jake Meets Mirror Jennifer Sisko
Rewatching ST:DS9 Lonely Jake frumps in the Promenade people-watching spot where he and Nog used to hang out, and Odo and Quark try to offer him comfort in their own faux-antisocial way. At home, Jake is shocked to find a visitor — Jennifer Sisko from the mirror universe. Though he knows this is not actually…
Henry Bemis waited his whole life to finally read a book. Listen to Lynn Venable’s story, “Time Enough at Last” to learn what happens. Read by Dennis Jerz.
Hard Time #StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch (Season 4, Episode 19) O’Brien deals with the implanted memories of a 20-year prison sentence
Rewatching ST:DS9 A haggard O’Brien, with a scraggly beard, is released from an alien prison. He seems disoriented… “I can’t leave. Where would I go to?” A concerned Kira watches as smug aliens infodump that they punish offenders by inserting extended memories of incarceration — twenty years, in O’Brien’s case. Sisko explains to Keiko that…
ChoiceScript tutorial for making casual, phone-friendly, stats-driven storygames. Choice of the Rhetor.
Rules of Engagement #StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch (Season 4, Episode 18) Worf is accused of destroying a Klingon civilian ship
Rewatching ST:DS9 After a nightmare featuring dead Klingon children, Worf wakes up in Odo’s security cell. He’s clearly in trouble. A Vulcan admiral convenes a Federation hearing called to explore allegations that, while commanding The Defiant, Worf destroyed a Klingon civilian transport. A Klingon prosecutor, Ch’pok, intends to prove Worf’s negligence, thereby stoking sympathy for…
In September, 2003, I was blogging about the emerging fad of internet plagiarism, ethnically diverse anthropomorphic recyclables, EverQuest, and VeggieTales
In September, 2003, I was blogging about What the NY Times called the “campus fad” of Internet plagiarism. “What Does a Professor Do All Day?” (Clearly we are wasting our time whenever we are not standing in front of a classroom.) “Graphic Artist Carefully Assigns Ethnicities To Anthropomorphic Recyclables“ Leni Riefenstahl Dies (although she distanced…