Rewatching Star Trek: The Next Generation after a 20-year break. The Enterprise visits a sexist planet run by women, where… well, that’s about it. There’s nothing particularly science-fictional about the plot, except that the Enterprise is tracking a space-freighter and looking for space-survivors who disappeared years ago near this space-planet. There’s nothing strategic about the…
From Buzzfeed: Sitting before the Stars and Stripes, another flag pinned to his lapel, former president Barack Obama appears to be delivering an important message about fake news — but something seems slightly…off. Similar:Summer Project: Responsive Web DesignI spent more time than I’d like to admit…AestheticsSomeone I know very well is in the trailer…
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:MoonBot is back. This time he fights a new adversary. #Blender3D physics practice.I submitted midterm…
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:Pop Culture Showdown with My Retro DaughterThe girl tried to weird me out with a vi…AestheticsBoy that feels good. AcademiaMy more or less daily 10cm section of a #steampunk control panel. #blender3d #blender3dart…AestheticsThe girl was cast as Luciana (the younger sister) in The Comedy of Errors in the PPT's sum…Show is July 28 at the…
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:Brought my in-progress #blender3d project into the #unity3d gaming engine. Plenty of frust… AestheticsA selfie with a Chekov action figure after learning of Anton Yelchin's deathCurrent_EventsWide-angle view of a villain’s secret lair. #blender3dAestheticsBackstage opening night.PersonalAnother sold-out Midsummer Thursday night. Personal#AugustWilson #CenturyCycle Three week intensive course (whew!) All the students did very …Personal
Similar:AP Style: try to determine, and then respect, a source's preferences when it comes to…PersonalBad Doggy — practicing "Tomorrow" with a human Sandyhttp://www.youtube.com/v/718e4XsNvGY …AmusingMy 10yo Launches a Soda Bottle Rocket http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbNu8…AestheticsThe Daughter's 21st Birthday Current_EventsCombined, base color, roughness and metallic passes. #Blender3d steampunk control panel. AestheticsIn-home schooling popularity slipping across stateWe were on our way…
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:Narrating "A Christmas Carol" for WAOB Audio Theatre. (The four episodes will be released …DramaEaster 2022PersonalThe Toulmin model for analyzing arguments came up at a faculty pedagogy workshop today. I … AcademiaI am very happy for these folks, who spent 20 or so years tweaking an insanely complex, co… Awesome'Little Mermaid' brings new music to…
Similar:My simulation project does not require me to master medieval daub and wattle architecture….My simulation project does not require m…AestheticsMy older brother falls to my son's chess skills.PersonalAdded an overhead minimap to my #medievalyork #unity3d simulation. #mysteryplayAdded an overhead minimap to my #medieva…DesignUshering The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. @prime_stagePersonalTheir faces when another dad…
Similar:Checkmate. Crushed again.GamesThe daughter is doing another thing, this time in Galway, Ireland. AestheticsI regularly teach Uncle Tom's Cabin, but have never seen it before. BooksRude mechanical sighting! Shakespearing it up with @newrentheatreco.PersonalWhere There's a Whip, There's a WayThe girl was singing lyrics she learned …AmusingThoreau's Cellphone ExperimentWhen I teach “Intro to Literary Study,” …Academia
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:Let's talk about books, old sport.BooksChipping away at the total as the final submissions pour in.PersonalEnjoying more live theater.CultureMaking sidewalks to go with the buildings. Tedious but will save time later. #blender3d #m…PersonalLooking forward to what looks like an exciting evening of dance.PersonalDress rehearsal for Mamma Mia.Personal
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…