The girl tried to weird me out with a video of the Latvian “blblblblbl ah ah” guy. I retaliated with Devo’s “Whip It” and Max Headroom, then finished her off with “Now is the time on Sprockets when we dance.” Similar:Recording my lines for a student escape room project.PersonalWorld Press Freedom Day. (Don't take the…
In “Datalore,” an encounter with Data’s more human-like “brother” showcases Brent Spiner’s acting talents and the optical FX crew’s mad split-screen skillz. While I enjoyed the plot twists and character bits as they happened, as a work of science fiction this episode offers little beyond popcorn “evil twin” fare.
The opening captain’s log lampshades an unprompted, random visit to Data’s home planet. The “Data practice sneezing” scene is silly, but the character development subtly allies Data’s desire to be human with Wesley’s desire to be respected by adults. The scene also accustoms us to the idea that Picard uses Wesley to deliver in-person messages, which kinda sorta helps explain why in this episode Wesley ends up where he needs to be to witness just enough to suspect Lore, but not enough to prove anything to the dumb-as-a-fencepost adults.
Similar:Another delightful #blender3d #cgi #steampunk control panel. #design #aesthetics #blender3… On a busy day when I spent 7.5 hours o…AestheticsThoughtful Gestures Sometimes Speak Louder than WordsShe ended up waiting out the light cycle…AmusingSummer Theater Camp Photos: "Patrice" in "13" My 11yo performed the part of “Patrice…Current_EventsA day may come when the strength of the girl…
My 20yo son, who plays a lot of Star Wars battle simulations, was very taken with the music and story. I had read about this game when it came out, so some plot points were spoiled for me, but I still teared up at the end. You can find it for a very reasonable price…
Rewatching Star Trek: The Next Generation after a 20-year break. The first of (far too) many “trapped on the holodeck” episodes. Exhausted while preparing for a high-stakes diplomatic ritual, Picard takes a break in a virtual-reality simulation of a 1940s detective novel. I remembered enjoying Brent Spiner’s portrayal of Data adapting to the noir setting,…
Sometimes people get the name of my school wrong. On a whim, I searched Google for “dennis jerz seton hall” and found a recent letter to the editor that referenced one of my handouts: Verify or Duck: Good Journalists Confirm Details They Didn’t Witness Dennis Jerz of Seton Hall University writes “Good journalists confirm details they…
Similar:A little better all the time.A little better all the time.PersonalToday’s adulting was brought to you by a failed motor vehicle inspection. #notacarguy #win…The car shop wanted to charge over $300….ModdingGoodby big Android… hello little budget iPhone SE 3rd.I just removed from my syllabus template…AcademiaThe Big Boy GraveyardOn road trips in my youth, watching the…
Similar:Celebration of Writing — a big presentation day for freshman writing classes.PersonalFaculty lining up for #SetonHill's "Go Orientation" — new ceremony hands students from th…AcademiaWe found a mushroom fairy ring in our yardIt won’t make the afternoon of mowing mo…Aesthetics10 years later it’s so much worse.PersonalMerry Christmas 2018PersonalHappy Father’s Day One of my favorite pictures…
Rewatching Star Trek: The Next Generation after a 20-year break. This low-stakes, character-driven rom-com pulled off everything it set out to do — fill out the romantic backstory between Riker and Troi, showcase Patrick Stewart’s comic timing, and set up an apparently unrelated B plot as the surprise resolution to the A plot. In her…
Rewatching Star Trek: The Next Generation after a 20-year break. The powerful, unpredictable Q conjures a Napoleonic scenario from Picard’s mind and takes the rest of the bridge crew there, leaving Picard on the Enterprise. Memorable not for the fuzzy-faced toy soldiers that get way too much screen time, but for a Shakespeare quote battle…
Similar:Take a moment to appreciate these good COVID-19 statisticsMay 1, my state had the third-highest pe…AwesomeTalk with us about books! English as a minor or second major @setonhilluniversityAcademiaThat's what's been bothering me since yesterday's #AirPod reveal. #manamanaNumber of times one of my $9.99 headphon…BusinessArsenic and Old Lace. I haven't seen this show since I played…
Similar:Visiting my parents. Admiring their original Hallmark Enterprise Christmas ornament. I ask…Amusing#PPTPlaytime adaptation of The Merchant of Venice.Top — nonverbal addition with Jessica an…DramaMy colleague Dr. Cusick bakes Irish soda bread every year to honor Saint Patrick's Day.AcademiaThe girl asked me to read R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots) to her. #quarantine #partylik…BooksMy adorable daughter (Easter 2021)…
Similar:West Side Story (Aug 9-12) #somethingscomingCultureThe Girl Wins the Upper Division Monologue in the 25th Annual Pittsburgh Public Theatre's …CultureStudents present their research for the Celebration of Writing @setonhilluniversityPersonalMaking movie magic with my dueling gut-shot daughterAestheticsFirst they came… #kristallnacht @nccheshuFirst they came… #kristallnacht @ncchesh…PersonalAt the airport, sending the daughter off to Ireland.At the airport, sending…
A Ferengi set on revenge tricks Picard into lowering the Enterprise’s shields and unceremoniously beams him into space.
Uh, no, actually the Ferengi plan involves finding a derelict starship Picard abandoned nine years ago and slipping a beach-ball sized “thought maker” into his personal effects, so that when he stops by his old cabin and gets a headache he can’t finish packing, so his uninspected trunk is brought to his quarters on the Enterprise, where opening the lid tips over a bucket, causing a marble to flip a little man into a tub, in which Picard re-enacts the Battle of Maxia and triggers the jittery vengeful descent of a little plastic cage.
She ended up waiting out the light cycle directly in front of me. When I looked straight ahead I was looking at her profile. With an innocent expression she continued to pretend not to notice she had cut me off, but I guess guilt or curiosity got the better of her, and she glanced to her left. I was ready.
In which Wesley commits a crime on the Legalistic Planet of Blond Joggers. (Rewatching Star Trek: The Next Generation after a 20-year break.) We get right into the story by having an away team return to the bridge and briefly report on their first contact with the Edo, a peaceful people who seem to spend…
Similar:Lining up for Honors Convocation 2016. #setonhillAcademiaStunned by Viola Davis, Chadwick Boseman and the rest of the cast in Ma Rainey's Black Bot…Stunned by Viola Davis, Chadwick Boseman…DramaStandardized Test Scores Don't Really Measure LearningThere are ways to raise a child’s test s…AcademiaFall 2020 Midterm Grades: SUBMITTEDPersonalA brief respite from grading. A brief respite from grading.…
I had a complex model that I created in Blender 2.79, and imported (with some tweaking) successfully to Unity 2018 a few months ago. When I switched to Blender 2.8 and Unity 2018.2, I found big problems with my model. Blender 2.8b tells me that all the normals are exactly what I expect — the…
Do you have a regular news-consumption routine? Facebook doesn’t want you to leave Facebook, so it’s algorithm favors posts that will keep you on Facebook, rather than links that will send you elsewhere. I listen to a 5-minute podcast from NPR News Now about once a day, usually while I am doing my morning exercises.…
Conflict between two species who petition for membership in the Federation turns out to be the B-plot. On its way past a mysterious optical special effect, the Enterprise picks up a strange glowing spark via the sensor array, and as such entities tend to do in Star Trek, it starts wreaking havoc. We get a lot of exterior shots of the ship, some alien character designs that would have worked better in background shots, a glimpse at a sensor relay room we’ve never seen before (though it’s pretty obviously a redress of Engineering), and some glimpses of the Crushers at home.