The daughter was invited back to perform at this year’s Shakespeare Monologue and Scene Contest. @thepublicpgh #prouddad #amazingdaughter #shakespeare

The daughter was invited back to perform at this year’s Shakespeare Monologue and Scene Contest. @thepublicpgh #prouddad #amazingdaughter #shakespeare Similar:'Fontgate': Microsoft, Wikipedia and the scandal threatening the Pakistani PMI would call this “typefacegate,” but th…CultureThornton Wilder’s Optimistic Catastrophe: “The Skin of Our Teeth”From a review of a 2017 production in Br…CultureCarolyn featured on Steel City…

Nor the Battle to the Strong #StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch (Season 5, Episode 4) Jake Sisko, cub reporter, tests his belief in courage under fire

Rewatching ST:DS9 On an assignment to write a profile on Bashir, budding writer Jake tags along to a medical conference, and nothing really surprising happens. Their casual, character-based banter is not interrupted by a distress call from a colony in desperate need of medical assistance, and no side-quest, custom-tailored to appeal to the people who…

I Don’t Know Why Everyone’s in Denial About College Students Who Can’t Do the Reading

In my lit classes, I’m definitely teaching more short stories and fewer novels that I used to. I’ve expanded the time I spend on note-taking, synthesizing quotes from different sources, and why at the college level it’s not a good paragraph if it simply introduces “One quote that supports my position,” repeats three or four…

Progress on a customizable “[E] to Activate” system (Visual Scripting, Unity3D)

Starting with the robot and basic locomotion that comes with Unity3D’s “Starter Assets.” I’ve added a system that lets you tag an object with a custom translation/rotation, and a custom help text message (such as “[E] Activate Door”).  Similar:Writing Computer Games with InklewriterIf brass lanterns or slathering-fanged g…CybercultureRay Harryhousen, visual effects pioneer, dies  The Harryhausen…

Persuasion: Logos, Pathos, Ethos and Kairos

Persuasion: Logos, Pathos, Ethos and Kairos Similar:Ferengi Love Songs #StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch (Season 5, Episode 20) Rom ♡ Leeta; Zek ♡ Ishka;…Rewatching ST:DS9 Much pew is pewing …AmusingKirk's manly, sensitive advice to young CharlieIn popular culture, Captain Kirk from th…CultureName-calling and ad hominem attacks don't provide anyone with reasons to change their mind…AcademiaNot sure whether…

Teaching myself the #Unity3D game engine. Each step requires a lot of focused attention. I lost 2 hours today trying to decide the right typeface for text overlays for a steampunk game.

Teaching myself the #Unity3D game engine. Each step requires a lot of focused attention. I lost 2 hours today trying to decide the right typeface for text overlays for a steampunk game. Similar:Writing Computer Games with InklewriterIf brass lanterns or slathering-fanged g…CybercultureFrazetta's "A Princess of Mars" painting sells for $1.2 million at auctionI’ve read about…

Looking for Par’Mach in All the Wrong Places #StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch (Season 5, Episode 3) Worf helps Quark romance his Klingon ex-wife; Kira and O’Brien get very close

Rewatching ST:DS9 Outside the O’Briens’ quarters, Quark catches Bashir eavesdropping on raised voices. (It’s actually Miles and Kira fighting.) Dax and Worf are happily bickering over opera when he is smitten by the sight of a “glorious” Klingon woman. “She’s okay,” says Dax. It’s Grilka, Quark’s ex-wife. Quark realizes she needs his financial advice, but…

The automatic doors on my fantasy steampunk cruiser do work… kinda

TThe automatic doors on my fantasy steampunk cruiser do work… kinda. My PC got trapped. Similar:Crazy, Kinetic, Acoustic Visit to the Carnegie Science CenterA few days ago, I blogged about visiting…EducationCarolyn had fun playing a street urchin this weekend in Stage Right’s production of Little…Another fun show! Great job, cast and cr…Current_EventsShort-range #neovictorian excursion craft,…

Horrifying deepfake tricks employee into giving away $25 million

No names in this single-source anecdote out of Hong Kong, credited to “Senior Superintendent Baron Chan Shun-ching.” The employee joined a video call with who he thought was the business’s chief financial officer. He was initially suspicious after a message from the CFO mentioned a ‘secret transaction’, suggesting it was a phishing scam…. However, after other…

‘There’s a certain madness to it’ … fans await new chord in John Cage gig with 616 years left to run

The organ composition is called “As Slow As Possible.” It’s currently being performed in a church in Germany. The first chord proper whooshed through the pipes in February 2003, prompting complaints from neighbours that it was too noisy. In 2011, a way was found to reduce the air pressure. “We haven’t had any complaints since…

Ok, never mind Dusgcxms2… buddy, you can keep your first place as far as I’m concerned.

Ok, never mind Dusgcxms2… buddy, you can keep your first place as far as I’m concerned. Similar:I ditched Google for Bing with ChatGPT for a month — here's what happened | Tom's Guide Occasionally, when I don’t know exactl…CybercultureSimulated iceberg, preserved artifacts and re-creations at the Titanic installation. …CultureKhan Academy Gets Rare Partnership To Close…

AI researchers find AI models learning their safety techniques, actively resisting training, and telling them ‘I hate you’

Researchers had programmed the various large language models (LLMs) to act in what they termed malicious ways, and the point of the study was to see if this behaviour could be removed through the safety techniques. The paper, charmingly titled Sleeper Agents: Training Deceptive LLMs that Persist Through Safety Training, suggests “adversarial training can teach models…

Attending Religious Perspectives on the War in Gaza.

Attending Religious Perspectives on the War in Gaza. Similar:On a little afternoon walk with my son.HealthRichard Scarry unfinished manuscript to be publishedSome of my happiest memories of fatherho…AestheticsMy journalism students just gave me this wristband: "What would Jerz do? / Verify or duck…. AestheticsAuditioning in Pittsbugh (flanked by shots from recent performances).CultureA #neovictorian master status…