Jury Duty Update

I’m a happy, responsible, and no-longer-obligated-for-jury-duty citizen. Similar:"Jewish priests do this. It's where Leonard Nimoy got the Vulcan sign," says the geekling,…CultureThe first officer's office adjoins the officers' pub, because of course it should. Working… Aesthetics"I might be putting a little too much effort into designing the cravat for the captai…AestheticsA brief respite from grading.…

Judge: Apple conspired to fix eBook prices.

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:Games as…

RT @spj_tweets: How TV could suffer the fate of newspapers

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…BooksYes, I do feel rather awesome right now.Lost brand-new earbuds. Reached in pocke…PersonalRT @JordanFor: One of the counters from the…

Juror’s Creed

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.

Spent a productive work day doing nothing but optimizing my blog. Added a very nice plugin for displaying thumbnails of related posts. Similar:Modular support craft from the #neovictorian #steampunk bedtime stories I used to tell my …Modular support craft from the #neovicto…AestheticsQuick visit to see my mother and siblings.AestheticsToasty Warm Bed (designed by drunk AI…

RT @mykidcancode: Managing Your Preschooler’s Fasc…

RT @mykidcancode: Managing Your Preschooler’s Fascination with Apps – bit.ly/lv1ZyR #parenting #technology Similar:Students Don't Read Syllabi, Exhibit 58623https://twitter.com/ConnorMEwing/status/…AcademiaWhy Even Try if You Have A.I.? Now that machines can think for us, we have to choose wheth… We’re drawn to activities that invite …AcademiaIn April 2000, I was blogging about HTML frames, the future of reading,…

“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:1949 NBC Radio Adaptation of Orwell's 1984Long before the Apple ad, and Michael Ra…CultureJerz Family Tin Can Robot Warshttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIBQkobPW…PersonalThat gut-wrenching photo of immigrant children in a cage? First published in 2014.Don’t blame “the…

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:Former student: "I remember sometimes being annoyed with all of our blogging assignments, …A third alum in the last few weeks has c…AcademiaHabits for happiness: tips for looking on the bright side of lifeHabits…

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:Carolyn Gombell Is Not a Real Person: #JusticeforCarolyn Is a Campaign Against Twitter Ref…Fascinating use of social media. To be c…Current_EventsRT @DDeClaudio: Who do you think controls the news…RT @DDeClaudio:…