Yes, Duolingo is free and I’ve learned a lot. No, I don’t like the psychological manipulation. I’m still using it but I changed my user name. Similar:"Moorish girl" in Man of La Mancha. (Vulcan Moorish girl.)PersonalThings that have made me start singing "Tradition!" in my head so far todayAfter last night’s first rehearsal for “…AmusingI…
“Murdering meteorologists won’t stop hurricanes. I can’t believe I just had to type that.” — Michigan-based meteorologist Katie Nickolaou. A wide range of misinformation has been spread as Helene and then Milton gathered pace in the Gulf of Mexico, such as claims spread by Trump that Fema had run out of cash for hurricane survivors…
It’s so heartbreaking seeing the amount of disinformation being spread by elected officials and partisan agitators with lots of followers. FEMA is not out of money, it’s not confiscating damaged property, and it’s not biased for against any ethnic groups or political affiliations. Similar:Carolyn as Maria in West Side StoryPersonalDebunking the newspapers are dying ideaDon’t…
My mother-in-law invited me to try out the 60- year-old tape machine that belonged to my father-in-law. When I worked in radio news in the late 1980s, we were still loading reels and splicing tape, so it all came back to me pretty quickly. Similar:Helping students find my office (St. Joseph 403)PersonalThe Psychology of…
My job is often to help students understand things that they aren’t good at doing yet. If a student arrives in my classroom with a solid ability to construct clear sentences and summarize difficult readings, using an AI tool that helps them spot grammar mistakes with less effort and capture the gist of a reading…
Did you see that guy’s license plate? Similar:Journalists report what sources say and do. They can't report what sources think, believe …EmpathyAn English professor tries to help ChatGPT write and revise a sonnetShortly after my online AmLit survey beg…AcademiaPost Gazette Corrects Headline of Seton Hill iPad FollowupEveryone makes mistakes. As a student jo…AcademiaThe Wedding PresentI’m…
Touched up and created an infographic for a web page that I first posted in Nov 2000. Similar:Skin of Evil (TNG Rewatch, Season 1 Episode 23)My rewatch reflection on the Star Trek:T…DesignFirst time experimenting with depth of field. The pilot's perch in a fancy #steampunk crui… AestheticsUnless Buzzfeed-style Clickbait Replaces all Forms of Human…
A healthy respect for the free press and the institution of journalism is absolutely crucial for a healthy democracy. Media literacy matters, while a jaded “I don’t trust journalists, I do my own research” DIY attitude is easily co-opted. A false claim that Vice President Kamala Harris was involved in a June 2011 hit-and-run incident…
What is this? I do not like this change, @duolingo (For some reason I can’t practice to recover from an error.) Similar:Amazon’s Tactics Confirm Its Critics’ Worst SuspicionsThis week, as part of a contract dispute…BooksBad Writing Costs Businesses BillionsThis is thinkpiece rehtoric rather than …AcademiaRest assured, there will soon be enough Rey toys to monetize…
About 30 years after I first saw John Speed’s 1676 map of York, today I was working on a region labeled “Z.” Or is that a “2“? There’s both an X and a 3 nearby… confusing context! A glance at the legend shows how brilliantly Speed handled the ambiguity. #usability #ux #ui #design #medieval #cartography…
Added an overhead minimap to my #medievalyork #unity3d simulation. #mysteryplay Similar:Author of 80s classic The Hobbit didn't know game was a hit The Hobbit stood out from the advent…CybercultureA Successful Failure: The TI-99/4A Turns 40My family had one of these when I was 12…AwesomeMore glorious #steampunk control panels, created for no practical purpose. #blender3d #ble…AestheticsCarolyn featured…
Talkback session after the matinee and my brother and faculty colleagues after the evening performance. Audiences were gasping, laughing nervously, exclaiming sotto voce about “fingerprints!” and “the key!“ and “Was that *supposed* to happen?” and “This is *good*!” @thepublicpgh #dialm #understudy (We knew well in advance Carolyn would be performing yesterday.) My daughter informed me…
Looking forward to this! @thepublicpgh Similar:My parents holding a picture of the family I took with my first SLR camera in 1987.PersonalIn the Hands of the Prophets (#StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch, Season 1, Episode 19) Keiko's scienc…Rewatching ST:DS9 A candidate for Baj…CultureFeeling classy while I lose. Feeling classy while I lose. PersonalAs Twinkle Twinkle is to…
She’s on her way to the @thepublicpgh for two shows today as Margot in Dial M for Murder. Similar:The Siege (#StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch, Season 2, Episode 3) Sisko defends DS9 while Kira tries…Rewatching ST:DS9 Picking up where s2…CultureAt the airport, sending the daughter off to Ireland.At the airport, sending the daughter off…PersonalThe daughter opens another…
My simulated city has 1000 capsule inhabitants that are just smart enough to gather around markers and wait. In May, I had nothing. I‘m learning. #medievalyork #mysteryplay #unity3d Similar:If Wishes Were Horses (#StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch, Season 1, Episode 16) Hallucinations become…Rewatching ST:DS9 Quark tries to inte…CultureSherlock Holmes and The Woman (WAOB Live Virtual Performance)I was…
I’ve had a lot of fun in this new ensemble audio storytelling series. Did I do a good job convincing my friends I really saw a time-traveling elephant? Similar:Frisbee is a brand name, but how newsworthy is that?What would you do? Today I wrote 192 …AcademiaSledding in Spring Break SnowMy wife suddenly decided I should…
That’s water under the bridge! Crowds of NPCs charge across, sweeping the player along. Gotta work on that! #unity3d #medievalyork #mysteryplay Similar:In October 2001, I was blogging about nothing, apostrophes, the anthrax scare, and Boilerp…In October 2001, I was blogging about …AmusingUsing a Typewriter Simulator to Teach Media HistoryWorking on the syllabus for my “Media…
How exactly do bridges bridge? How do rivers rive? How much detail does my model of #medievalyork need? My first try will be my worst try. #mysteryplay #blender3d Similar:I made some progress.PersonalWhat You Get When 30 People Draw a World Map From Memory Tasked with creating “a piece of art…AestheticsAlex and Carolyn rehearse for “The…
My project starts to get clunky while managing 1000 NPCs but I think if I split them up into groups of about 10, and only give instructions to the group leader, that will help. Not bad for my first weekend simulating crowds. #unity3d #medievalyork #mysteryplay Similar:August Wilson House officially opens in Pittsburgh's Hill DistrictThe August…
My virtual army of grey capsules is just barely smart enough to follow my avatar around. #unity3d Similar:Kirk's manly, sensitive advice to young CharlieIn popular culture, Captain Kirk from th…CultureU.S.S. Requin — Extended Tour of the Cold War Submarine at the Carnegie Science CenterSoon after WWII began, the USS Requin be…CultureAn alternate universeMy plans to…