An Evening with a Board Game and Grandma

By the way, I won. Similar:My son showed me #PacificRim.My son showed me #PacificRim. Liked the …CybercultureAnother section of a #steampunk control panel for a texture atlas. #blender3d #blender3dar…AestheticsSettling in for a half day updating my knowledge of the job market my students will face.Settling in for a half day updating my k…PersonalTo my daughter…

Yes, I do feel rather awesome right now.

Lost brand-new earbuds. Reached in pocket of freshly-washed pants & found old earbuds. (They work!) Looked down & spotted new earbuds. #win Similar:Another square of #steampunk control panel eye candy. #blender3d #blender3dart #design #a…AestheticsTwitter changes strategy in battle against internet 'trolls'Reducing the reach of abusive tweets is …BusinessThe boy wins once again. #chessGamesR.I.P. Blogging, Killed…

Fun With Charts: Scale Matters

At first glance, this chart makes it look like food stamp usage has gone from almost nothing at some unspecified time in the past, to some huge amount over a span of who-knows-how-long. Only a fraction of the visitors to the site will click on the chart to see the scale, which reveals that the…

Waiting for Godot Paper Dolls

Arts on the Waterfront’s Waiting for Godot Kit! Simply print and cut. Share it with the thespian in your life! Put one on your desk today. If you want take a photo of it and share it on our page. —Arts on the Waterfront. Similar:Lego TimelineThe Lego brick system was patented 50 ye…AestheticsMy Teenage Son…

Zork: The Great Underground Empire

A blogger has started chronicling a journey through the classic 1980s computer game, Zork. Before King’s Quest and its successors took the realm of adventure gaming into colorful graphics, adventure titles were solely text. Infocom specialized in these during the 80s, including the Zork series, Planetfall, and The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. But Zork,…

Stop Clubbing, Baby Seals

Similar:Just Doesn’t LIke MasksCurrent_EventsUpdated a post about Sarah Rush — the "launch when ready" crew member from 1979 Battlesta…I recently noticed that a blog post I cr…AmusingThe elements, in haikuEach element of the periodic table gets …AmusingRay Harryhousen, visual effects pioneer, dies  The Harryhausen family regret to…AestheticsEmployers unhappy with new generation of workersShow up, prepared…

Tolkien v. Orwell: Who understood modern surveillance best?

Interesting set of observations exploring the limits of omniscience and the sheer scale involved in watching an entire population. Failures in empathy lead to misinterpretation of anonymous rebellion in plain sight. Tolkien’s most potent and intimidating image of centralized surveillance, the Eye of Sauron atop a tower, taking in the whole world, has resonated with…

The Pixar Theory

Jon Negroni creates a meta-narrative to connect every Pixar movie, using Boo as the still point in the turning universe. Every Pixar movie is connected. I explain how, and possibly why. Several months ago, I watched a fun-filled video on Cracked.com that introduced the idea (at least to me) that all of the Pixar movies…

The contrast between KTVU’s treatment of its trium…

The contrast between KTVU’s treatment of its triumphs vs errors reminds us of the difference between journalism vs public relations. Similar:Maybe I'll just delete these QUARTER OF A MILLION spam comments.Not kidding — 254,460 spam comments in …CybercultureProto iPads and Paper Coexist in Classic Star TrekRewatching the classic Trek episode “The…CybercultureJury Duty UpdateI’m a happy,…