Blogging this so I can find it when I teach my “News Writing” class this fall. People do like to prank journalists with fake names. In this case, the reporter did what you’re supposed to do — get confirmation — but sheesh. KTVU reports fake racist names of Asiana Airlines 214 pilots from NTSB intern…
I recently bought a new phone. since then, I have answered an incoming call in my car. It felt awesome. Similar:Proto iPads and Paper Coexist in Classic Star TrekRewatching the classic Trek episode “The…CybercultureTweet: Came around the corner and saw my kids huddled on…Came around the corner and saw my kids h…TweetsClassroom collaboration marketplaceWhile I…
I just touched up a handout on Parallel Structure vs Faulty Parallelism. Similar:Name-calling and ad hominem attacks don't provide anyone with reasons to change their mind…AcademiaWhen He Clicked the Link, You Won't Believe How Disappointed He WasAuthors of overhyped link text are like …CybercultureHow children lost the right to roam in four generations –How children…
These comic panels cover the issue well. (Pennington Publishing) Similar:Great moments from Pride and PrejudiceI haven’t read Pride and Prejudice in ab…BooksHas Academia Ruined Literary Criticism? “Professing Criticism” proceeds on the…AcademiaCrazy-looking keyboards that never caught on As the typewriter become popular, it w…AestheticsCause and Effect (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season 5, Episode 18) time loop.…
A thoughtful reflection on religion in Star Trek. While Humans aren’t depicted as participating in any form of organized religion (there is a reference to a Christmas party here, a nod to monotheism there), the series also includes a distrust of science and technology, regularly depicting mad scientists, societies over-dependent on technology, etc.) that insists…
If you’re legally present on a public street or sidewalk, you can legally photograph anything in plain view. (This includes children and crime victims… but just because it’s legal doesn’t mean it’s always a good idea.) If law enforcement engages you, ask whether you are free to go; if so, then move out of the…
Standardized testing rewards standardized thinking, while excluding creativity, resilience & other “soft” skills. I have started gong out of my way to remind students in my classes that I am not comparing their papers to a “correct answer” in the back of my book — I want them to learn a habit of mind that…
It’s a good day when one’s nerdiness is an asset to a colleague. Similar:Two More Chances to See Prime Stage's Twelfth NightThe show runs tonight at 8 and Sunday at…BooksTelegrams were always better plot devices than USPS lettersI can’t summon up actual nostalgia for t…BusinessCarolyn choreographed a fight-dance adaptation of Romeo and Juliet.PersonalWhat have my…
I’m a happy, responsible, and no-longer-obligated-for-jury-duty citizen. Similar:Phoenix journalist admits 'bad reporting' in claiming White House press censorshipNEWS FLASH: If your sources are an off-t…Current_EventsThe girl performed musical commercials for a fund-raiser in the Laurel Highlands (and she …The girl performed musical commercials f…CultureMy son showed me #PacificRim.My son showed me #PacificRim. Liked the …CybercultureHow…
Keep a local backup of anything important you’ve entrusted to online services. There’s no guarantee that, years from now, those services will honor the terms you agreed to. Backed by new investors, including singer Justin Timberlake, Myspace (after dropping the capital ‘S’) has been rebranded as a music-streaming service, with a new sleek interface, and…
Penn and Teller are involved with this story. Worth a read. The only record of the game’s existence was a handful of review copies that had been sent out to journalists in the weeks before the publisher went bust, in 1995. The game remained a curious rumor until September, 2005, when Frank Cifaldi, a freelance…
Judge: Apple conspired to fix eBook prices. #ethics #books The Federal lawsuit claimed that Apple, led by then-CEO Steve Jobs and senior vice president of Internet Software and Services Eddy Cue, conspired with HarperCollins, Hatchett, Macmillan, Penguin and Simon & Schuster to drive e-book prices up from the $9.99 price point Amazon had established. –readwrite.com Similar:Two classes…
RT @spj_tweets: How TV could suffer the fate of newspapers: @alanmutter shares the second installment of his two-part blog – http://t.co/l… Similar:Overheard at Quora: "Why after all these years is Moodle still so ugly?"Moodle is a free course-management tool …AcademiaMaybe I'll just delete these QUARTER OF A MILLION spam comments.Not kidding — 254,460 spam comments…
RT @DepressedDarth: Dear J.J. Abrams, If the new Star Wars is bad, you will forever be known as Jar Jar Abrams. Sincerely, Star Wars fans Similar:When you need to record footsteps on a sidewalk, and the carpeted studio has a brick wall.AmusingTweet: For an anatomy project, my #geekling made a Vulcan…For an anatomy project, my…
I really like MailChimp’s “Social” plugin, which not only publishes a WordPress blog entry to Twitter and Facebook, but also collects responses from Twitter and Facebook users and collects them as WordPress comments. Today I installed a different plugin, Twitter Tools, which is really just a single tool — it lets you create a WordPress…
Habits for happiness: tips for looking on the bright side of life. At bedtime, in order to avoid a nightly litany of complaints, I ask my glass-is-half-empty-and-I-hate-the-pirate-glass-and-there’s-a-bug-in-it tween to list three good things, two neutral things, and one sad thing about her day. Sometimes if she needs to share more than one sad thing, I…
While researching my obligations for #juryduty Thursday, I came across this “Juror’s Creed.” The gender-specific reference to men, the instruction to reflect upon the virtues of democracy, and the instruction to respect the judge’s education all hint at a historical context for the creed. Institutions never put their creeds into writing unless they feel those…
Spent a productive work day doing nothing but optimizing my blog. Added a very nice plugin for displaying thumbnails of related posts. Similar:My daughter who sometimes does things will be singing & swinging August 16 – 25 with @fron…My daughter who sometimes does things wi…CultureOkay, freshly downloaded app…Okay, freshly downloaded app, If you are…CybercultureThe Best Word…
RT @mykidcancode: Managing Your Preschooler’s Fascination with Apps – bit.ly/lv1ZyR #parenting #technology Similar:Closing the Door on the Video Store Era (with tweets) · chutry · StorifyNow that Blockbuster Video has officiall…BusinessTake my feedback if you want to pass.I won’t be so assertive in the first wee…AcademiaGoogle Pledges $300 Million to Clean Up False NewsThis is…
Not kidding — 254,460 spam comments in my trash folder! Similar:Twitter is testing a tool for reporting fake & offensive contentIt’s risky to get your news from a socia…Current_EventsFacebook’s Instant Articles restore subscription options they previously strippedThe ability to serve content faster than…BusinessAdventure | T.M. CampGreat story of nerdiness and discovery a…CybercultureThirty Years Ago, the…