Spent a productive work day doing nothing but optimizing my blog.

Spent a productive work day doing nothing but optimizing my blog. Added a very nice plugin for displaying thumbnails of related posts. Similar:Flying Saucer Irony AmusingFamily ( #StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season Four, Episode 2) Picard Retreats to Family Vineyar…Rewatching ST:TNG after a 20-year break….DramaSpring 2024 Grades: SubmittedSpring 2024 Grades: SubmittedPersonalAdam Savage’s 10 Commandments Of MakingAdam Savage…

RT @mykidcancode: Managing Your Preschooler’s Fasc…

RT @mykidcancode: Managing Your Preschooler’s Fascination with Apps – bit.ly/lv1ZyR #parenting #technology Similar:In Defense of DistractionIf you’re a fan of lifehacking, you’ll a…CultureProgramming as Magic Spells in Erica Sandbothe's New NovelIn her new novel, Codecrafter, Sandbothe…BooksInterview: Bjarne P. Tveskov, Classic LEGO Space Designer – Boing Boing GadgetsBoing Boing interviews Bjarne P. Tveskov…AestheticsWhat If the Newspaper…

“Bach is not for the weak of mind.”

“Bach is not for the weak of mind.” — Miss Renee, my kids’ piano teacher. “I’m in trouble.” — Peter, my son. Similar:What TV journalists did wrong — and the New York Times did right — in meeting with TrumpThe Times played it right…. Off-the-re…CultureHow professors use their time: faculty time allocationInteresting social science approach…

Classroom collaboration marketplace

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.…

Study: Singing together synchronizes your heartbeat

The researchers found that each singer’s heartbeat was linked to the song’s melody – i.e. the speed and structure of the music. They also found that when the choir sang together, their heart rates tended to increase and decrease at similar times. “As soon as the singing begins, (the hearts) start following each other,” Vickhoff…

In Defense Of Metaphors In Science Writing

We live in an elegant universe. The cosmos is like a string symphony. Genes are selfish. There is an endless battle between thermodynamics and gravity. Do you love these statements, or hate them? The reading world gets pretty divided over whether or not it’s okay to apply metaphors and similes to descriptive science writing. It…

The Reading Project

Literature majors and students otherwise drawn to literature courses can be an introverted bunch. Students overall can at times resist course projects that fall outside the expected parameters of a given discipline. Yet my class proved my assumptions wrong. Many of the students were nervous, to be sure, but overall they seemed to enjoy the…

Tweet: Feeling productive. Hammered out eight scripts fo…

Feeling productive. Hammered out eight scripts for training vids (3-5min each). It helps that I had an outline & know the content well. Similar:And the girl has succeeded in getting me to wear t…And the girl has succeeded in getting me…TweetsTweet: Came around the corner and saw my kids huddled on…Came around the corner and…

Tweet: So, the correct quote from “Miri” is actually “No…

So, the correct quote from “Miri” is actually “No ‘blah blah blah’” not “No more ‘blah blah blah.’” Classic Trek trivia I did not know. Similar:In Defense Of Metaphors In Science WritingWe live in an elegant universe. The c…CultureParallel Structure vs. Faulty ParallelismI just touched up a handout on Parallel …HumanitiesTweet: Came around the corner…

The Library Adjacent to My Ethership Control Room Needed Books

For me, summer vacation means spending hours modeling shelves full of antique books in Blender-3D, so that the library adjacent to the bridge in my steampunk ship-of-the-line looks more lived-in. Similar:Tales from the Antiquities Theft Task ForceA shot of Kim Kardashian leaning ag…AestheticsVisiting my parents. Admiring their original Hallmark Enterprise Christmas ornament. I ask…Amusingxkcd: Types of…

Tweet: Came around the corner and saw my kids huddled on…

Came around the corner and saw my kids huddled on the couch, reading an Iron Man comic. http://t.co/S3xPQoZh1o Similar:Juror's CreedWhile researching my obligations for #ju…CultureMy Minecraft-obsessed tween made this blocky foam pig at art camp. Next up: Stage Right summer musical th…AestheticsShe doesn't have keys or a phone or an ID. Why does my tween…

The Humanities: What Went Right?

The search for what went right might take a hard look at the job market for our graduates. One recent survey, by the Web site payscale.com, paints a somewhat depressing picture of salaries, with humanities majors typically earning from $5,000 to $15,000 less than those with undergraduate professional degrees. Fifteen years after graduation, however, the…

Handshakes Really Do Matter

Monday night handshake/eye contact practice. [W]hen was the last time you analyzed your handshake? Consider these questions: If you are a male and you meet a female, who should extend their hand first? If you are a male and you are meeting another male, who should extend his hand first? If you are a female…

‘LOL, JK’: Texas teen faces 8 years in prison for making ‘terroristic threat’ online

An Austin, Texas, teenager faces eight years in prison for making a “terroristic threat” after he made a sarcastic comment online about shooting up a school. —Washington Times. Similar:Modern Masterpieces of Comedic Genius: The Art of the Humorous Amazon Review, Part DeuxI love me a good Amazon mock review. Her…AestheticsA tiny bit of rogue news…

Tweet: RT @EKSwitaj: Higher Ed drinking game: every time…

RT @EKSwitaj: Higher Ed drinking game: every time someone says MOOC, buy 1000 bottles of liquor, drink three shots, and say you drank all 1… Similar:Former student: "I remember sometimes being annoyed with all of our blogging assignments, …A third alum in the last few weeks has c…AcademiaCarolyn Gombell Is Not a Real Person: #JusticeforCarolyn Is a…