Portrait of a Ten-Year-Old Girl

This thoughtful article demonstrates how to use colorful details to keep a reader engaged enough to absorb statistics and trends. What could be just an amusing slice of a Canadian girl’s life of carpools, playdates, and self-invention becomes a launching point for social commentary. The author does refer to herself, but deliberately, selectively; to serve…

My son showed me #PacificRim.

My son showed me #PacificRim. Liked the child actress in the flashback. Enjoyed the feuding scientists. The rest? Flashy, soulless CGI. Similar:CEO’s brutalist office, for a Zoom-based production of R.U.R. (Rossum’s Universal Robots)….AestheticsGoogle Pledges $300 Million to Clean Up False NewsThis is a welcome step, but we cannot tr…CultureIt was Mrs. White with the revolver…

Conflict Strategies for Nice People

Nothing to do with Christmas… just thinking about the upcoming group projects due in my online J-Term course. I should also probably re-read some Dale Carnegie, which I do every few years. Teams need conflict to function effectively. Conflict allows the team to come to terms with difficult situations, to synthesize diverse perspectives, and to…

What’s wrong with the way I talk?

Wife & daughter competing w each other to imitate brassy actress from Singing in the Rain. “Whaat’s wrong wit’ da way I taawk?” #pleasestop Similar:All Good Things… (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season 7, Episode 25) Picard faces a timey-wim… Rewatching ST:TNG When we all fir…AwesomeIn September, 2002, I was blogging about science writing, satire, ebonics, Google…

Merry Christmas 2013

Similar:Peter vs. the PenguinsFor the past hour, Peter (who is not yet…AmusingThe Post drops the ‘mike’ — and the hyphen in ‘e-mail’When I announced these style changes, an…CultureCharming solar system scale installation on Baltimore St. in Kansas City.PersonalA colleague bakes Irish soda bread to share on the Humanities floor every St Patrick's DayPersonalReport to the…

Theory Trading Cards

This set of 21 Theory Trading Cards, published by AltaMira Press, is based upon the online trading cards which have been so popular at David Gauntletts website www.theory.org.uk. Being actual cards, these are two-sided and contain more information; and whereas the online cards were only an official set of 12, for the published version, 21 new…

RT @Historiator: “@dancohen: Finally upgraded to O…

RT @Historiator: “@dancohen: Finally upgraded to OS X 10.9. It feels like a Borges story about OS X 10.8.” @MikeArnzen @DennisJerz Similar:Jury Duty UpdateI’m a happy, responsible, and no-longer-…GovernmentCarolyn Gombell Is Not a Real Person: #JusticeforCarolyn Is a Campaign Against Twitter Ref…Fascinating use of social media. To be c…Current_EventsDesert Bus: The Worst Video Game Ever…

RT @Rhymestyle: First leaked photo from the set of…

RT @Rhymestyle: First leaked photo from the set of Star Wars Episode VII http://t.co/xji8x9J5zL Similar:Overheard at Quora: "Why after all these years is Moodle still so ugly?"Moodle is a free course-management tool …AcademiaJuror's CreedWhile researching my obligations for #ju…CultureRT @JordanFor: One of the counters from the Civil…RT @JordanFor: One of the counters from …TweetsIn Defense…

RT @Historiator: Nicely balanced, real-time post m…

RT @Historiator: Nicely balanced, real-time post mortem on last night’s Twitter event. @DennisJerz @PhilKomarny @magawelek http://t.co/IwQ0… Similar:My Minecraft-obsessed tween made this blocky foam pig at art camp. Next up: Stage Right summer musical th…AestheticsParallel Structure vs. Faulty ParallelismI just touched up a handout on Parallel …HumanitiesI'm no longer surprised, but still want to document.This is…

RT @PhilKomarny: @Historiator @DennisJerz @magawel…

RT @PhilKomarny: @Historiator @DennisJerz @magawelek Glad that it ended with some donations to @AidforAfrica justinesacco.com Similar:Yes, I do feel rather awesome right now.Lost brand-new earbuds. Reached in pocke…PersonalHello, there, mini.Hello, there, mini. Let’s restore you fr…TweetsProto iPads and Paper Coexist in Classic Star TrekRewatching the classic Trek episode “The…CybercultureIn Defense Of Metaphors In Science WritingWe…

A Word About Group Projects

Okay, students… who loves group projects! Let’s hear it for group projects! (Crickets… crickets…) Okay employers… who puts “Ability to work in a team” at the top of a Forbes Magazine list of 10 skills employers say they seek in new hires? Employers: (cheering wildly) We do! We do! Here are the 10 skills employers say they seek,…

Why NORAD Tracks Santa

The call had come in on one of the top secret lines inside CONAD that only rang in the case of a crisis. Grabbing the phone, Shoup must have expected the worst. Instead, a tiny voice asked, “Is this Santa Claus?” “Dads pretty annoyed,” said Terri Van Keuren, Shoups daughter, recalling the legend of that…

I Made a Cheerful Maze Game in Scratch

Well, it’s cheerful unless you touch something red AND DIE. Similar:"It's called an amphora," the artist says.AestheticsThe Best Way to Start an Academic PaperBoth of the following writing samples de…AcademiaFarewell Internet Explorer: You Weren't All BadThe main reason I still dislike Internet…BusinessAI crawlers destroying websites in hunger for contentTraffic on my website has plunged over…

I made a cheerful maze game in Scratch. It’s cheer…

I made a cheerful maze game in Scratch. It’s cheerful unless you touch something read AND DIE. scratch.mit.edu/projects/14908… made w/ Scratch Similar:My Minecraft-obsessed tween made this blocky foam pig at art camp. Next up: Stage Right summer musical th…AestheticsI asked my geekling whether she was ready for bed…I asked my #geekling whether she was rea…AmusingDesert…

RT @Historiator: Please note @PhilKomarny @magawel…

RT @Historiator: Please note @PhilKomarny @magawelek @VissatMaureen “@HistoricalPics: All this technology is making us antisocial. http://t… Similar:Tweet: Came around the corner and saw my kids huddled on…Came around the corner and saw my kids h…TweetsHabits for happiness: tips for looking on the bright side of lifeHabits for happiness: tips for looking o…PersonalIn Defense Of Metaphors…

Nerd-buddies

“He likes Lord of the Rings, Star Wars *and* Star Trek!!” — my nerdling daughter, eyes shining, about a new friend. Similar:This morning I awoke to YouTube’s live footage of crowds circling a mosque in Mecca. For m… CultureProgramming as Magic Spells in Erica Sandbothe's New NovelIn her new novel, Codecrafter, Sandbothe…BooksIf I don’t stock…