The Most Epic Demo in Computer History Is Now an Opera

This is nice, but what I really want to see is an Elizabethan-style revenge play featuring Clippy. December 9, 1968… in an underground convention center in the heart of San Francisco, Doug Engelbart gave The Mother Of All Demos, introducing the world to an astonishing slew of technologies including word processing, video conferencing, windows, links,…

Creationism dismissed as ‘a kind of paganism’ by Vatican’s astronomer

Brother Consolmagno, who works in a Vatican observatory in Arizona and as curator of the Vatican meteorite collection in Italy, said a “destructive myth” had developed in modern society that religion and science were competing ideologies. He described creationism, whose supporters want it taught in schools alongside evolution, as a “kind of paganism” because it…

The Life and Times of ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

But, in addition to symbolizing despair, ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ can be wielded as a Zen-like tool to accept the chaos of universe. Meditate on its wide eyes and upturned mouth; that’s not the expression of a quitter, it’s the carefree face of #blessed, radical openness. —The Awl. Similar:I'd love to do a shift at these gorgeous #neovictorian…

Blog ten-beat lines of verse, like Shakespeare wrote.

Blog ten-beat lines of verse, like Shakespeare wrote. But lazy bloggers, fill you not your posts With words transpos’d, poetic more to seem. Like this, who speaks? Like Yoda will you sound. Nor stuff your limping lines with pointless words And really wasteful phrases filling space And stretching points so thin across each line In order to fulfill the ten-beat rule. Yet rhymeless…

Joyful white guys finish ahead of struggling woman and black man in this university’s catalog

Looks like the quality control process at this school needs a little refinement.“The image was not representative of UNG’s commitment to diversity, and this will serve as an opportunity for increased dialogue about diversity issues and we expect that to better inform our processes and publications,” said Kate Maine, the university official. —Raw Story Similar:Wired…

Leonard in Slow Motion (9min video)

Leonard exists in slow motion but lives in a regular speed world. When he discovers his office crush is getting transferred to Florida, Leonard decides he must somehow become regular speed to win her heart before she leaves town for good. Similar:As part of an ongoing feud over the rights to use a particular shade…

National Science Foundation announces plan for comprehensive public access to research results

This is good news. It’s unfair that government-funded studies get published in private databases that make money off of the public’s desire to access results of studies paid for by our taxes. NSF will require that articles in peer-reviewed scholarly journals and papers in juried conference proceedings or transactions be deposited in a public access…

The Teen Brain “Shuts Down” When It Hears Mom’s Criticism

Wired summarizes an egghead study for the rest of us. Parents may benefit from understanding that when they criticize their adolescents, adolescents may experience strong negative emotional reaction, may have difficulty cognitively controlling this emotion and may also find it challenging to understand the parent’s perspective or mental state. (From a study summarized in Wired.) Similar:Thesis…

9 Photography Tips (Steve McCurry)

9 Photography Tips Similar:Ex-Pope Benedict says the Selfish Gene is science fiction. He's half rightThe Selfish Gene is a brilliant phrase. …AcademiaGames as Text and K12 Social Studies Rather than training students to ident…CultureNew Kindle Helps Readers Show Off By Shouting Title Of Book Loudly And Repeatedly New Kindle Helps Readers Show Off By S…AmusingFake…

Lighten Up (an illustrator explores the racial politics of skin color in comics)

Lighten Up — The Nib — Medium. Similar:Evolution of Gambling: Pay by Phone CasinoWhat will we use our phones for next?&nb…BusinessNeuroscientist Explores the Ethical Quandries of a Digital AfterlifeNow imagine the resources required to si…CultureAnother 10 sq cm of #steampunk control panel. #blender3d #blender3dartAestheticsWhile at Sadecky's Puppets to record the role of Heidi, Carolyn met…

My copy of Plotkin’s Hadean Lands arrived today. 

 Similar:Educated, uplifted, boosted, and fed. Block party celebrating August Wilson continues thro…CulturePracticing my Unity3D design skills. Forgot to turn on gravity.https://youtu.be/PkxxiPAmTFg I’m brus…AmusingYour Students Learn by Doing, Not by ListeningToday one of my students gave a final pr…AcademiaWhat Is Gamergate, and Why? An Explainer for Non-GeeksI’ve been following the frustrating slow…Current_EventsIf You Check the…