Back in my grad school days, I was called a “run-of-the-mill programmer” by a brilliant IT genius. For a guy whose only computer coursework consists of a Pascal class in high school (“taught” by a math teacher who didn’t know the language, and checked my answers against those in the teacher’s manual), I still consider…
King Henry rallies his troops just before the decisive Battle of Agincourt. From this day to the ending of the world, But we in it shall be remembered- We few, we happy few, we band of brothers; For he to-day that sheds his blood with me Shall be my brother; be he ne’er so vile,…
RT @textfiles: Hi internet. In another few minutes I go onstage to point everyone to archive.org/details/histor… and hopefully computer history … Similar:Parallel Structure vs. Faulty ParallelismI just touched up a handout on Parallel …HumanitiesParallel structure in writing: Use it!These comic panels cover the issue well….HumanitiesMaybe I'll just delete these QUARTER OF A MILLION spam comments.Not…
Not my item, but the pathos caught my eye. Similar:Dear Jacksonfish.com: Please contact me to discuss your plans for compensating me for this…Here’s a comment I left on the jacksonfi…BusinessAuschwitz color photo: 'A 14-year-old girl, not just a statistic'I don’t know what this prisoner did, but…AestheticsThe Tribune-Review published a nice preview of Dani Girl.My daughter…
Seriously: What is Amazon? A retail company? A media company? A logistics machine? The mystery of its strategy is deepened by two factors. First is the company’s communications department, which famously excels at not communicating. Three requests to speak with Amazon officials for this article were delayed and, inevitably, declined. This moves discussions of the…
Tween: “My friends say Bieber’s a jerk now.” Me: “It’s hard when your idols fall.” Tween: “That’s why I don’t have any. Except for you.” Similar:I asked my geekling whether she was ready for bed…I asked my #geekling whether she was rea…AmusingHabits for happiness: tips for looking on the bright side of lifeHabits for happiness:…
A new Emily Dickinson archive is online. Here is the opening of one of her most famous poems. Reading View for Fascicle 23. Similar:How it feels to watch a user test your product for the first time Jonathon Shariat.AmusingPlanet of the Blind: Oprah, If Only You Had Read the Book!I can’t wait for a TV…
My wonderfully geeky tween made these Blinky, Pinky, Inky and Clyde pendants with her Rainbow Loom. Next on her list: making Pac-Man. Similar:The history of Tetris randomizersA pleasantly detailed analysis of how th…CybercultureIs Superman the next Drudge? Clark Kent quits newspapers in latest issue Even Clark Kent can see through the wri…Current_EventsLooking forward towards the…
Have you heard the story about the lady who spilled coffee on herself and won millions of dollars from McDonald’s? Have you looked up the details on the story, or do you just know the story as a TV show punch line? Stella became a symbol for frivolous lawsuits and fodder for talk show hosts,…
Reporters have been sometimes fired for willful misconduct, such as repeated instances of plagiarism or fabrication. Reporters who’ve suffered that fate, such as the New York Times’ Jayson Blair and The Washington Post’s Janet Cooke, were guilty of gross journalistic malpractice. But firing a reporter over an unintentional mistake is “extremely rare,” said Scott Maier,…
I’m getting ready to introduce my freshman writing students to college-level research, so I found it helpful to read this brief introduction to the internal problems Wikipedia creates for itself. When a major news event takes place, such as the Boston Marathon bombings, complex, widely sourced entries spring up within hours and evolve by the…
“Does size matter?” — student journalist, making a person-on-the street video interview about the new iPad. Similar:Former student: "I remember sometimes being annoyed with all of our blogging assignments, …A third alum in the last few weeks has c…AcademiaIn Defense Of Metaphors In Science WritingWe live in an elegant universe. The c…CultureLoved seeing A Comedy of Errors…
RT @joningold: Thing is, the freedom of the parser is a sham – not because it *doesn’t* understand everything but because no-one plays as t… Similar:She doesn't have keys or a phone or an ID. Why does my tween need a purse?To stash her Lemonheads and Smarties. ht…AmusingMy Minecraft-obsessed tween made this blocky foam pig…
In the Nightly Noodle Monthly, former North Adams Transcript journalist Isaac Avilucea posts this passage, which he says was removed from a sports feature that got him fired. But there’s a reason she’s not at MountGreylock anymore, choosing to transfer to a school with somewhat inferior academics and athletics. Part of it has to do with the stuffy social atmosphere that…
I just did the thing where you look everywhere for your glasses but you can’t find them because you are already wearing them. Similar:Overheard at Quora: "Why after all these years is Moodle still so ugly?"Moodle is a free course-management tool …AcademiaLoved seeing A Comedy of Errors @setonhillLoved seeing A Comedy of Errors @setonhi…TweetsHello, there,…
Inside Higher Ed Similar:Kids Today: A Response to Mark Bauerlein (from "Dean Dad")Mark Bauerlein’s essay “What’s the Point…AcademiaA computer scientist urges more support for the humanities (opinion)”Lior Shamir, a computer scientist who’s…AcademiaMale Microsoft Leaders Ignored Women Who Really Hated ClippyI hated Clippy, not because it looked li…BusinessWhat about Socialization?Sometimes, I worry that by homeschooling…Current_EventsVirtual debates…
I can’t quite understand a world in which people will pay $4 for a cup of coffee… So I have no particular interest in coffee-shop culture, but the unrelenting advance of automation is worth noting. But note the word “could” in the headline. The Briggo coffee kiosk knows how to make a perfect coffee because…
EL231 “Digital Storytelling” (Dec 18-Jan 22) Unit 1 (Dec 18-22) mostly experiencing digital stories (reading, watching, listening, playing, whatever), and reading articles & discussing them online. (We take a break Dec 23-Jan 1: no classes, no homework.) Unit 2 (Jan 2-7) trying out 4-5 tools for creating digital stories, and learning two in a little…
First of all, I’m always wary about any news article with “could” in the headline. Second, Wired produces a lot of paragraphs without actually giving away anything about the radical new teaching method (which is simply a motion from the “sage on the stage” model to the “guide on the side” — the current state…
Neil Gaiman tells us why books matter: When you watch TV or see a film, you are looking at things happening to other people. Prose fiction is something you build up from 26 letters and a handful of punctuation marks, and you, and you alone, using your imagination, create a world and people it and…