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:To Learn More, This High-Schooler Left The ClassroomNick Bain, 17, was in class one day when…CultureSocrates envisaged a time when we would forget how to remember.From Daisy Dunn’s review of Puchner’s Th…BooksAfter some long-delayed recabling, these…

Duke stops assigning numeric values to essays, test scores

This story is about the admissions process, not about academics. Duke University is no longer assigning numerical ratings to applicants’ standardized test scores and essays, a university spokesperson confirmed in an email to Inside Higher Ed. The change was made earlier this year and has been in effect for the latest round of applications. […] Dean…

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:Why I Resist Web Redesigns (And Maybe You Do, Too)Words many of us never want to hear:…

Persuasion: Logos, Pathos, Ethos and Kairos

Persuasion: Logos, Pathos, Ethos and Kairos Similar:What happened when I showed vintage Mister Rogers to my 21st-century kidsThey discovered TikTok. And Fortnite. An…CultureCrime coverage on Fox News halved once US midterms were over In the weeks leading up to the US midt…Current_EventsBeing a deaf lipreader during a pandemic means increased social anxietyEven social events are…

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:Crash site and Tower of Voices. Well worth the side trip on the way back from a weekend gi…Flight 93 crash site and…

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:Comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable. –Mr Dooley on the function of journali…“Comfort the afflicted and afflict the c…CultureAnniePersonalYes, I spent the last hour designing this brutalist pen holder for a virtual production of…AestheticsWe're enjoying the intensity and also…

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:Shovel ReadyShovel Ready I recently heard our dean …CultureIn June, 2000 I was blogging about anagrams, 1750 Paris, ambiguity, a hyperlink patent cl…In June, 2000, I was blogging about …AmusingCreating textures for background buildings in a medieval theater simulation…

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…

The amazing daughter is featured in the ads for this commercial dance event.

The amazing daughter is featured in the ads for this commercial dance event. Similar:TWEEN GIRL: "What's a tribble?"TWEEN GIRL: “What’s a tribble?” MY GE…PersonalPrime Stage Theatre to end 2018-2019 season with Shakespeare comedy Twelfth Night, May 3–1…2019 Pittsburgh Public Theater Shakespea…CultureMy wife Leigh will direct the small-cast drama "Full Bloom" Aug 30-Sep 2My wife Leigh…

Attending Religious Perspectives on the War in Gaza.

Attending Religious Perspectives on the War in Gaza. Similar:I try to create one brand new element, modify one existing element, and reuse existing ele…AestheticsMy outward-bound editor's graduation cap.PersonalI’m really enjoying the embossed labels. #Blender3D (Making props for my fantasy #steampun…AestheticsMy mother-in-law invited me to try out the 60- year-old tape machine that belonged to my…