My Ouya arrived — a Kickstarter-funded gaming console. I have never been a console gamer. Lately, I haven’t even been a PC gamer — when I have the time I would much rather create in Blender 3D or, in the past year or so, make a video. But the principle behind the Ouya — that…
Maybe it’s not the super-robots we need to fear, but the ones just good enough to displace one worker’s salary. Consider the automated checkout line at your local grocery store. It makes more mistakes than a human clerk, it is harder to use, and it is slower because of the rotating error light that loves…
The Stanford marshmallow experiment is a famous study that linked the willingness to delay gratification (children were told they could have one treat now, or two if they waited about 15 min) to a range of positive life outcomes. Many of my students who can’t resist checking their phone in class or during one-on-one office…
“You don’t like to think about a holocaust, but it’s quite possible,” he said. He referred to the long-standing belief among many anthropologists that H. sapiens exterminated Neanderthals with superior weapons and intellect. For a long time, there seemed to be no other explanation for the rapid disappearance of Neanderthals after H. sapiens arrived in…
Half of hiring managers say wearing attire ill-suited for an interview was one of the biggest mistakes they saw. Others include lack of eye contact (33%), checking phone or texting (30%), fidgeting (26%) and bad posture (22%). Other interview horror stories? Nearly half of hiring managers (44%) said showing up late or on the wrong…
You might wonder why we flip out over stress the importance of accurate grammar and usage. Well, there are a couple of reasons … You look silly or unprofessional when you don’t get it right. Don’t think the proofreading police aren’t watching. They are. And they never sleep. Great writers not only struggle with their…
I wrote my undergraduate honors thesis on the plays of Sam Shepard. I took my first-ever date (hi, Maria) to see Shepard in The Right Stuff. He’s dressed in country clothes – a checked shirt and a nondescript jacket – and, unlike most writers, he has an outdoors complexion; a lived-in face. But what’s most…
With a big Hollywood movie now in theaters, some recent printings of the book have abandoned the classic cover in favor of one that ties in more closely with the film. So high school students working their way through the summer reading list this year will be hard pressed to find a copy without Leondardo…
The possibilities of combining Civil War re-enactment and steampunk fantasy role-playing are mind-boggling. Just imagine Rhett Butler steam-flying Scarlet out of Atlanta. The American Civil War brought about great advances in the use of technology in warfare. Balloons, railroads, ironclad ships, and even a submarine were demonstrated throughout the conflict, and new ideas were constantly…
This nerd’s geek heart grew three sizes today. Ubernerds are restoring the Gallileo set piece from the original Star Trek. Dedicated fans are giving new life to the shuttlecraft used in the original “Star Trek” television series. Two “Star Trek” fans are a couple of weeks away from fully restoring the last surviving large set…
I just noticed that a few days ago, a Wikipedia user uploaded a photo to the bio for computing history legend Will Crowther. The caption reads “Will Crowther in fall of 2012 in the Shawangunk Mountains.” A bit of Google-fu leads to several photos showing Crowther is still climbing (the hobby he had long before…
I am not a big fan of traditional slide-show lectures. This is in part because I am not a visual learner, but also because, as a writing teacher, I can see how easily a slide show can fill time without actually informing, persuading, challenging or moving the audience. Students who create slides that summarize what…
Several of my journalism students have gotten interested in infographics. I’m not finished with the spring term yet, but I can’t help thinking about the fall. When we look at our reading habits and our daily interaction with all this digital data that surrounds us day and night, it becomes clear that Kress point does…
Nancy Grace and Ashleigh Banfield Hold Split-Screen Interview in Same Parking Lot – Dashiell Bennett and Philip Bump – The Atlantic Wire. Similar:How do you know when your #steampunk fantasy cruiser has enough lamps? #blender3d #unity3dhttps://youtube.com/shorts/YF3z91jL7Pc …AestheticsIf Google+ Heads to the Grave, at Least It’ll Have DirectionForced Google+ integration in Google Rea…BusinessDonald Trump's chilling…
PHD Comics: It’s in the syllabus. Similar:Other than #StarTrek memes, my favorite part of the web is how it's a rhetorical battlegro…Saturday, Donald Trump tweeted that he k…Current_EventsKorean News Station Pokes Fun at KTVU with Fake American Pilot Names After Southwest Airli…This is certainly a joke, but it’s funni…AmusingTwo Artificial Intelligence (AI) Chatbots Talk…
Similar:How to lie with charts, by the @NYTimes I tend to defend journalism when sho…Current_EventsNew CarWednesday morning my resourceful brother…BusinessRocky Horror Show Live 2012 — Stage Right GreensburgThrow toast at the actors and get spaced…AmusingYes, it's happening here at Seton Hill. Quidditch. Academia8yo who found 1500-year-old artifact in a lake: “I had to give the sword…
Be still, my nerdy heart. Steampunk — which has inspired books, art and fashion — hinges on the idea of a future in which we use steam, rather than oil or electricity, as our primary source of energy. Still confused? Think 19th-century fashion and technology, but applied to a futuristic world. Or check out bing…
In most situations, the person juggling e-mail, text messaging, Facebook and a meeting is [not multitasking, but] really doing something called “rapid toggling between tasks,” and is engaged in constant context switching. As economics students know, switching involves costs. But how much? When a consumer switches banks, or a company switches suppliers, it’s relatively easy…
The Harryhausen family regret to announce the death of Ray Harryhausen, Visual Effects pioneer and stop-motion model animator. He was a multi-award winner which includes a special Oscar and BAFTA. Ray’s influence on today’s film makers was enormous, with luminaries; Steven Spielberg, James Cameron, Peter Jackson, George Lucas, John Landis and the UK’s own…
Similar:Scientists thought only male birds sang – until women joined the researchFor more than 150 years, scientists have…AcademiaLegos and M&M’s Bulge IllusionThese are straight vertical and horizont…AestheticsMelissa Terras' Blog: Male, Mad and Muddleheaded: Academics in Children's Picture BooksLabcoats, suits (but not if you are fema…AcademiaClose Reading: Introduction to a College English SkillI’ve been meaning…