I just touched up a handout on Parallel Structure vs Faulty Parallelism. Similar:Harper Lee, author of To Kill a Mockingbird, dies aged 89Harper Lee, whose 1961 novel To Kill a M…BooksAmbiguous language in journalism: Monkey Pox and Camel Privates Amazing lead: A veterinarian prescr…AmusingMy J-Term course on August Wilson doesn’t actually start until tomorrow, but…
These comic panels cover the issue well. (Pennington Publishing) Similar:The Transformation of American Journalism Is UnavoidableThere will always be a public appetite f…BusinessDesiderata (Nerdy Inspiration)This is a little story about an inspirat…CultureWhy Study Humanities? What I Tell Engineering FreshmenWisdom from science writer John Horgan.[…AcademiaTake my feedback if you want to pass.As my students in…
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:5 Characteristics of Successful Work Groups (at Google)Google’s internal study of work groups f…BusinessThe Xplor Store: The Forgotten Carnegie Science Center Exhibit? (Guest Post by Leigh Jerz…The other day, my wife suggested a Carne…BooksCaptain Gearheart inspects progress on his #neovictorian #steampunk æther…
I’m a happy, responsible, and no-longer-obligated-for-jury-duty citizen. Similar:Thoughtful Gestures Sometimes Speak Louder than WordsShe ended up waiting out the light cycle…AmusingStage Right's "The Secret Garden": Performing with My Talented Daughter This weekend has been magical. Frida…CultureSummer project: learning the Unity gaming engine.One bedtime about 11 years ago, my 5yo d…PersonalAbove the Forward Ops conference platform…
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:Don’t worry:…
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:RT @PhilKomarny: A floppy disc… In #context htt…RT @PhilKomarny: A floppy disc… In #co…TweetsTweet: For an anatomy project, my #geekling made a Vulcan…For an anatomy project, my #geekling mad…TweetsAnd the girl has succeeded in…
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:Beowimp (spoof I wrote for my high school lit magazine c. 1985)I got an email this morning from someone…AmusingJournalist flexes in story about Trump Media accountant who has spelled his…
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:Spring office cleaning thoughts: 1) I used to print a lot. 2) I have enough tote bags. I used to print a lot. I have e…AcademiaNerd-buddies”He likes Lord of the Rings, Star Wars…
RT @mykidcancode: Managing Your Preschooler’s Fascination with Apps – bit.ly/lv1ZyR #parenting #technology Similar:Fake News Remains Top Industry Concern in 2017“In the past, people fabricated content….CultureI am not up on My Little Pony lore. Can anyone suggest why this AI features a winged Vulca…AestheticsAre Grading Trends Hurting Socially Awkward Kids? One might argue that the new…
Not kidding — 254,460 spam comments in my trash folder! Similar:Picking a rubric in Canvas should not be so frustrating that it makes me want to blog abou…In general, I find Canvas a fairly decen…AcademiaThey grew up in a mostly analog/paper world and squirmed with joy the first time they clic…Today’s students have many strengths.…
“Bach is not for the weak of mind.” — Miss Renee, my kids’ piano teacher. “I’m in trouble.” — Peter, my son. Similar:The reception line begins. Grad2018PersonalThank you, anonymous donor of Mardi Gras candy.Okay, on closer inspection I see the red…AestheticsLounge area of a steampunk villain’s lair. Still needs a light fixture or two. #blender3dAestheticsI'm…
While I am uncomfortable with the whole “classroom as marketplace” metaphor, since it’s pretty much gamifying without the fun, I am nonetheless interested in this strategy for encouraging students to collaborate by having them attach a value to the artifacts they present to the class for sharing.. We shop for everything from apps to ideas.…