Our future robot overlords never looked so squishy. A team of Harvard University scientists has built an entirely soft robot — one that’s inspired by an octopus. The octobot, described this week in the journal Nature, could pave the way toward more effective soft robots that could be used in search and rescue, exploration and…
Similar:'Thought Leader’ gives talk that will inspire your thoughtsSaving this for the next time I assign a…AmusingCode of Honor (ST:TNG Rewatch — Season 1, Episode 3) Rehashed Amok Time plot that gets ra…Rewatching TNG after almost 20 years. (Y…CultureLocal TV News Stations Present Amazon PR Video as JournalismAbout a dozen local TV news stations air…BusinessHow…
This short film documents an early attempt to use hypertext to help students study poetry. A fascinating early collaboration between computer science and the humanities. Similar:What Does Children’s “Obsession” With Technology Tell Us About What They Really Need?Wise thoughts. When we look at children…CybercultureImagine, if you will, a Shakespeare course / Propos'd in blank verse…
Similar:Why We Fall for Fake News and How to Bust ItMeasuring the impact of fake news spread…Academia"It's called an amphora," the artist says.AestheticsReplica of George Washington’s field camp. @fortligonierReplica of George Washington’s field cam…PersonalBiggest accomplishment of the dayThe real problem is timing — they had c…GovernmentThe Pentagon has ordered Stars and Stripes to shut down…
If movies about space have taught us anything, it’s that no one can hear you scream. If you get lost in space, nobody’s going to find you. Unless you’re a spacecraft with a direct link to NASA. Then, there is hope for you yet. STEREO-B, from the Solar and Terrestrial Relations Observatory mission, went missing on…
Today my son asked me to take him shopping for his favorite foods. He’s tired of fast-food take-out. I told him I was busy today running the spotlight for and videotaping yet another one of Carolyn’s performances (this time her voice teacher’s summer revue).
The poor boy has been left at home a lot while the rest of us did so much theater over the summer. He competed in a chess tournament last week. I fell asleep in the next room. He came in second place. (I have no pictures. I’m a bad father.)
While secondary schools pour their resources into helping students get into a good university, and adults rush to teach teens how to behave well socially, no one’s covering what kids need to know for, you know, the actual classes. I have a clear picture of what’s missing from their preparation. Here’s what to tell your…
AFTER A 14-YEAR run, Gawker.com is shutting down next week. Gawker Media’s new owner, US Spanish-language TV network Univision, made the decision to shut down the site after bidding $135 million for the web publisher’s seven-site portfolio in a bankruptcy auction earlier this week. (A bankruptcy judge is set to approve the final sale later…
Helen Keller, rendered blind and deaf after an infection as a toddler, learned the gift of language from her patient and determined teacher, Annie Sullivan. Their story is told in the play The Miracle Worker (and my daughter plays Helen in three more shows this weekend at Latrobe’s Cabaret Theatre). As a young woman Helen Keller…
Similar:Every few years, I Google the name of the kid who saw "The Empire Strikes Back" the night …HistorySnape and Ginny at the Hogwarts Club event.PersonalThe problem I just learned about calls for tea in the big mug.CultureMore glorious #steampunk control panels, created for no practical purpose. #blender3d #ble…AestheticsIs this the little girl I carried?…
Business Insider calls this article an “anecdote… provided by linguist and cross-culture studies expert Richard Lewis.” The article provides several direct links to other works by Lewis, including an Amazon link for his book and an advertisement for the services he offers to businesses. The article makes many unsourced claims, and assumes that all Americans…
Similar:I asked my geekling whether she was ready for bed…I asked my #geekling whether she was rea…AmusingThere are many Star Wars references in Dani Girl, so I made this tribute to Tom Jung's 197…CulturePater Noster Passenger ElevatorsSome 50 years ago, my father took me to …AmusingThank you, anonymous person who left a container of Oreo…
Similar:How Literature Became Word Perfect There can be no true distinction drawn …CybercultureWAOB MisSpelled (final episode airs)The final episode of the fantasy/comedy …AmusingA Fistful of Datas (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season 6, Episode 8) Worf Trapped in Western S…Rewatching ST:TNG Silly Gagh-Western …AmusingCrabby 9yo Constructs a Head-mounted Frump-amplification Isolation CubeMy 9yo was ordered not to leave…
Similar:Again with the chess.I try to go to Planet Fitness or chess w…PersonalFriday night board game therapy. #startrek #monopolyPersonalThe chief engineer has a forward-facing station, on a platform above the technical staff c…PersonalMerchant of Venice Part 2 live, now! #PPTPlaytimeDramaWhen you see a show alone often you can get really good seats. Idaspe @quantumtheatreCulture"It's called…
Similar:More #steampunk control panel goodness. #blender3d #blender3dart #aestheticsAestheticsYes, Duolingo is free and I’ve learned a lot. No, I don’t like the psychological manipulat…Yes, Duolingo is free and I’ve learned a…EthicsThe girl on Halloween 2018. (The boy and I were watching the 1931 Frankenstein at the libr…PersonalI had to act like I knew something about golf.…
Trump offers plenty of opportunities for his detractors to criticize him. In the case of BabyGate, it does appear that the media were quick to spread an unflattering story without confirming some key facts. From a reporter seated one row behind the crying baby: “Mom and baby, very much not kicked out, came back to their seat a bit later. The baby was sucking a pacifier, silent.” There’s a little more to the story than the transcript and video suggest.
Kinetic Theatre‘s production was full of great twists that honor the source material while also smashing the fourth wall. (Carolyn has worked with all three cast members in PICT’s Great Expectations and/or Oliver Twist.) Similar:I am not really sure why I have kept it up this long. I have no immediate or foreseeable p… CultureThe Sacramentality of…
I’d rather blog about prepping my fall classes than actually start prepping my classes, so here you go. I don’t spend much time on the syllabus on the first day, though I do show students where key topics are, and I do assign a take-home syllabus quiz. (“If Gus Griffin tells you he’s worried about…
We spent Sunday afternoon at the Sadecky’s Puppets studio/workshop in Tarentum, Pa. Carolyn recorded an audio track for a musical adaptation of “Heidi,” to be synced with performances of live puppeteers touring across 9 states during the coming school year. Mr. Sadecky, who has been performing with his puppets since the early 80s, was charming…
Americans are more worried than enthusiastic about using gene editing, brain chip implants and synthetic blood to change human capabilities. Majorities of U.S. adults say they would be “very” or “somewhat” worried about gene editing (68%), brain chips (69%) and synthetic blood (63%), while no more than half say they would be enthusiastic about each…