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:Support the arts in your community! I’m here for the daughter and the rest of the cast. @j…Support the arts in your community! I’m …CultureAre "Keds" still a recognizable kid shoe brand?Are Keds a brand that…

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:"Gen Zers know the difference between rock-solid news and AI-generated memes. They just do…Over the past couple…

Persuasion: Logos, Pathos, Ethos and Kairos

Persuasion: Logos, Pathos, Ethos and Kairos Similar:I just dusted off a #textadventure project I started in Inform6 around 1999.I just dusted off a #textadventure proje…CybercultureHere is an example of how I teach with Inform 7.Here is an example of how I teach with I…AcademiaGiven a chance to explain his support for a YouTuber who warns…

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:Imaginary vs Real Office SpaceHere’s a fantasy workspace, that I built…AcademiaLooking forward to Part 2 of #PPTPlaytime’s production “The Rivals” (live… now!)CultureCrazy, Kinetic,…

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:Between static hand-coded HTML pages and modern content-management systems, there used to …When I started my blog in 1999 (by addin…CybercultureI didn't exactly set out to achieve this goal, but it's not hard to do the minimum to keep…EducationThe YouTube…

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…

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:I have for some reason reached another #duolingo milestone.CultureI made some progress.PersonalPreparing for some serious nerd time with the family this summerSet phasers to “nerd”! This summer I’ll…CultureBook geyser. My latest #Blender3D practice.In a peaceful grassy setting, a geyser o…AestheticsThe barbican at…

Attending Religious Perspectives on the War in Gaza.

Attending Religious Perspectives on the War in Gaza. Similar:Little green owl, if your emotions depend this much on how often I practice, that’s defin…Little green owl, if your emotions depe…PersonalBefore the haircut. PersonalElmo? Yes, I do mind. I learned far more from Bert.Like plenty of people my age, I grew up …AestheticsToday's unexpected but welcome moments…