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: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…AmusingYes, I do feel rather awesome right now.Lost brand-new earbuds. Reached in pocke…PersonalMy…
I just touched up a handout on Parallel Structure vs Faulty Parallelism. Similar:An Academic Conference Where YOU are the Hero: Interactive Fiction in Print and OnlineI wish I had known about this in advance…AcademiaStudent: “Just wanted to let you know that your class has benefited me outside of just lit…In my online class on literary…
These comic panels cover the issue well. (Pennington Publishing) Similar:The Importance of Writing Skills in Tech-Related FieldsGood writing skills are valuable, even i…Academia"What Teachers Make" Sequence of AssignmentsEvery year I rewatch Taylor Mali’s passi…AcademiaExploring Myst's Brave New World”We wanted a true persistent world. If y…CybercultureNews Feed FYI: Click-baitingIt’s hard for me to think of…
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:Harvard revokes admission of several students for posting "offensive" memesThe First Amendment of the constitution …AcademiaScholars' unconvincing case about the value of the humanities (essay)A literary work is a powerful tool for s…AcademiaCarolyn appears as homeschooled teenager "Carolyn." Free holiday show Tuesday…
I’m a happy, responsible, and no-longer-obligated-for-jury-duty citizen. Similar:The Scarlet Letter (Prime Stage)PersonalMy more or less daily 10cm section of a #steampunk control panel. #blender3d #blender3dart…AestheticsMechanical innards for a Steampunk set piece. #Blender3D #greebleshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oChXOu8C…AestheticsSpring 2023 Grades: Submitted! (I only had 3 last-minute submissions to mark today.)AcademiaIn the Hands of the Prophets (#StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch, Season 1,…
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:Descent, Part…
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:Classroom collaboration marketplaceWhile I am uncomfortable with the whole …BusinessJudge: Apple conspired to fix eBook prices.Judge: Apple conspired to fix eBook pric…BooksI asked my geekling whether she was ready for bed…I asked my #geekling…
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:Sins of the Father (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season Three, Episode 17) Klever Klingon Kaper…Rewatching ST:TNG after a 20-year break….PopCultMost Christians don’t actually care about Starbucks cups. Here’s what we do…
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:The News from Ferguson – Live, on Twitter[I]t turns out that Twitter is not just …AcademiaI told them to put their name on both pages.I told them to put their name on both…
RT @mykidcancode: Managing Your Preschooler’s Fascination with Apps – bit.ly/lv1ZyR #parenting #technology Similar:Googling Is for Old People. That’s a Problem for Google.When I ask my students to use the librar…AcademiaFacebook just dealt another potentially lethal blow to local journalismFacebook will pay some publishers millio…BusinessHow hate and misinformation go viral: A case study of a Trump…
Not kidding — 254,460 spam comments in my trash folder! Similar:Twitterverse, are we grieving over coder droves now leaving? AmusingShould your grieving mum see your digital secrets?A US state has passed a law that will gi…Current_EventsCollege student makes masks for the deaf & hard of hearing Other than one trip to the grocery sto…Current_EventsAmerica’s Real…