I just touched up a handout on Parallel Structure vs Faulty Parallelism. Similar:We're Teaching Books That Don't Stack UpOur provost sent this link to English fa…AcademiaWrite instructions for busy grouches.Updating the graphic for a writing hando…AcademiaWhy I Still BlogI particularly value blogging because of…AcademiaT. S. Eliot and his Jellicle CatsLike Caryn Thurman, I came to…
These comic panels cover the issue well. (Pennington Publishing) Similar:What do students need to know about rhetoric?I love giving the “what is rhetoric” lec…AcademiaIn September, 2003, I was blogging about the emerging fad of internet plagiarism, ethnical…In September, 2003, I was blogging about…CultureThe Wedding PresentI’m approaching day 900 in my Duolingo a…CultureIf You Ever…
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:How a Radical New Teaching Method Could Unleash a Generation of GeniusesFirst of all, I’m always wary about any …CultureIn Ferguson, Washington Post reporter Wesley Lowery gives account of his arrestComedian Robin Williams and actress Laur…CultureThe Cover Letter That Led to Awesome…
I’m a happy, responsible, and no-longer-obligated-for-jury-duty citizen. Similar:Donald Trump's chilling escalation of his war with the mediaA journalist’s response to President Tru…Current_EventsApple faces threat of legal action over ‘in app’ paymentsI haven’t taken the plunge and installed…BusinessOn the spiral staircase that leads from the top deck down to the officers' pub and wa…AestheticsTrying out a…
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:Heard any…
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:Desert Bus: The Worst Video Game Ever CreatedPenn and Teller are involved with this s…BooksFormer student: "I remember sometimes being annoyed with all of our blogging assignments, …A third alum in the last few weeks has…
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:Obama vs. Romney D&D Smack-Down at NYC GalleryThis week, if you head to the Allegra La…AestheticsBattlestar Galactica 'Launch When Ready' Bridge Girl Fan Page (updated with links to archi… –Battlestar…
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:Relics (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season 6, Episode 4) When a huge hollow sphere traps a Sco…Rewatching ST:TNG The Enterprise-D tr…AmusingIf you want to work with words, then journalism courses are very practical options.AcademiaMy…
RT @mykidcancode: Managing Your Preschooler’s Fascination with Apps – bit.ly/lv1ZyR #parenting #technology Similar:LLM error rates I worked on LLMs, and now I go…AcademiaIn defense of the Selfie StickI’m sure there are hipsters, even now, l…AmusingSad that NASA is taking a back seat to a private company, but still nerding over an Americ…BusinessCave Gave Game: Subterranean…
Not kidding — 254,460 spam comments in my trash folder! Similar:Kids Whose Parents Limit Screen Time Do Worse in College, New Study Shows “Parents normally set these ru…AcademiaBeautiful, meditative video shows how books are madePretty sure you can’t do this to a Kindl…Aesthetics4 Skills to Help You Stand Out In Any Job InterviewAn employer will…
“Bach is not for the weak of mind.” — Miss Renee, my kids’ piano teacher. “I’m in trouble.” — Peter, my son. Similar:People with autism spectrum disorder avoid eye contact because it causes anxietyMy culture has taught me that eye contac…CultureHabits for happiness: tips for looking on the bright side of lifeHabits for happiness: tips…
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.…