False equivalency in a copspeak guide to dealing with the media
Police chief and writer Cliff Couch knows his audience. In a paragraph from an article advising LEOs how to deal with reporters, Couch begins with context he assumes his readers already accept, and carefully moves from there to the new ideas he wants them to consider. The horror tales you may have heard about reporters…
In September, 2002, I was blogging about science writing, satire, ebonics, Google News, owl callers, astronaut Buzz Aldrin punching a moon landing denier, and an email from a former student (who thanked me)
In September, 2002, I was blogging about “The Science of Scientific Writing” (1990) from ‘pong’ to ‘pac man’ Michigan Police fall for The Onion satire about terrorist telemarketers “Ebonics” (ebony + phonics) Silly alarmist story about recessive blonde genes A scientist undone by plagiarism Google News (when it was new) Mel Gibson’s plan to film…
The Onion’s Supreme Court Briefing on Satire Is Stunning
From October: A man who was arrested over a Facebook parody aimed at his local police department is trying to take his case to the Supreme Court. He has sought help from an unlikely source, which filed a friend-of-the-court brief on Monday. –The New York Times,Area Man Is Arrested for Parody. The Onion Files a…
Evolution of Gambling: Pay by Phone Casino
What will we use our phones for next? Image Source The online casino world is consistently evolving. New technologies are transforming the way these platforms operate and how people use them. The biggest evolution occurred when smartphone popularity reached mainstream consumers. People were able to play online casino games no matter where they were.…
Still shot from a flyover video that's been taking about 3 minutes to render each frame. I'm rendering it in chunks over successive nights. #Blender3D #blender3dart #aesthetics #design #steampunk #neovictorian
Ushering The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. @prime_stage
In August, 2002, I was blogging about ebook readers and email in teaching; how urban legends spread; tales of a plush Chthulu; no, the creator of D&D was not on drugs; a paperless library; Marilyn Monroe; liveblogging an epileptic seizure
In August, 2002, I was blogging about Educational technology spending that doesn’t benefit students; ebook readers that students don’t like; email as a tool in online course (all free at the time, but now behind the Chronicle of Higher Ed’s paywall) A prof spreading bad papers in order to catch plagiarists Expensive goose tracker leads…
‘We’re back’: Bushy Run’s 2023 battle reenactment will be held
I’m glad to know that this recent controversy has been resolved in a way that lets Bushy Run respectfully continue its scheduled historic August re-enactment, and I hope that appropriate safety and cultural sensitivity checks will preserve the educational value of the event, while not romanticizing the violence. HARRISBURG — This year’s Battle of Bushy…
Remembering James Doohan on his 100th Birthday (found on the Star Trek Wholesomeposting Facebook Page)
When I was a kid watching the reruns after school in the mid 70s, Scotty was always my favorite. I even worked a reference to him into my dissertation.
Through the Looking Glass #StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch (Season 3, Episode 19) Sisko Must Rescue Collaborator Mirror Jennifer from Evil Mirror Kira
Rewatching ST:DS9 The teaser gives Odo and Quark a comic scene that shows Sisko in Space Dad mode. A casually dressed O’Brien says he wants to speak to Sisko, then pulls a weapon and orders him to the transporter pad. Sisko realizes he’s been taken to the Mirror Universe, and learns his counterpart was killed…
Just a #neovictorian avatar in spats and a tailcoat, checking out the back porch and bridge of a short-range excursion sloop. #blender3d #Unity3D #design #aesthetics
In July, 2002, I was blogging about military close reading, weblogs in journalism, UX evangelism, Walker on links and power, Lileks on a realistic WWII game, and QUERTY vs Dvorak keyboards.
In July, 2002, I was blogging about Intelligence Officers Read Between the Enemy Lines A great headline for an LA Times story about interrogation and document analysis during the military campaign in Afghanistan. Weblogs: Put Them to Work in Your Newsroom Journalism was still a print-first medium at the time, and local TV reporters were…
That story about the pope requiring Catholics to fast from meat as part of a deal with the fishing industry? Never happened.
That story about the pope requiring Catholics to eat fish as part of a deal with fishing industry? For some reason people keep sharing this story with the idea that the economic angle is scandalous, or it supports the assertion that the Catholic church is corrupt, or that liturgical practices not literally described in…
Short-range #neovictorian excursion craft, now with glowing power orbs! Over the past year I’ve created so many themed assets (wall units, control panels, random #greebles) that fleshing out the interior only took a few spare evenings. #steampunk #blender3d #blender3dart #design #aesthetics
DeSantis-backed bill would make it easier to sue news media
American law protects the free speech and press rights of all citizens, including journalists; and the courts are open for all citizens, including the subjects of new stories. Democracy has flourishes where the press is free. Despotism rises where it is not. DeSantis is framing this as a defense of the average citizen, but we…
Amenities are limited on a short range excursion craft, but we can still meet for tea in the forward salon. #blender3d #neovictorian #steampunk #design #aesthetics #blender3dart #nopropsyet
Microsoft “lobotomized” AI-powered Bing Chat, and its fans aren’t happy
Microsoft limits long conversations to address “concerns being raised.” […] These deeply human reactions have proven that people can form powerful emotional attachments to a large language model doing next-token prediction. That might have dangerous implications in the future. Over the course of the week, we’ve received several tips from readers about people who believe…
The AI Mirror Test: Why Even the Smartest People Keep Falling Short
What is important to remember is that chatbots are autocomplete tools. They’re systems trained on huge datasets of human text scraped from the web: on personal blogs, sci-fi short stories, forum discussions, movie reviews, social media diatribes, forgotten poems, antiquated textbooks, endless song lyrics, manifestos, journals, and more besides. These machines analyze this inventive, entertaining,…
