Brain-Dead Teen, Only Capable Of Rolling Eyes And Texting, To Be Euthanized

via Brain-Dead Teen, Only Capable Of Rolling Eyes And Texting, To Be Euthanized – YouTube. Similar:WAOB MisSpelled (final episode airs)The final episode of the fantasy/comedy …AmusingThe New American Man Doesn't Look Like His FatherNPR has a story that should probably hav…CultureSteampunk flag for the United States of Britannia (from the alternate history my kids and…

Hackers and Makers

A longer-than-usual introduction to a reading assignment in my “Media and Culture” class turned into a useful opportunity to reflect. We are all busy people; yet somehow, many people who say they are too busy to take on another task spend hours reading, interpreting, and debating Harry Potter; some post stop-motion Lego spoofs; some do…

Zombie Code and Extra-Functional Significance | Play The Past

Useless code and comments in code—these are the zombie figures of software. They serve no purpose in a program’s execution, but they exude what Mark Marino calls extra-functional significance. They have meaning beyond the program. They speak not to the machine or the compiler, but to a different audience, another reader. In software development, that…

Tantalizing Details for Colossal Cave Adventure Enthusiasts

The most detail I’ve ever seen about Will Crowther’s other creative projects; here, in a conversation dated 1996, he discusses “different ‘adventures’”, and reveals that he wrestled with many of the same challenges that interactive fiction programmers faced through the 1980s and on to the present. I have at various times made different “adventures.” Two…

Facebook can be used to predict academic success, job performance | ZDNet

A good example of correlation. (Simply changing your Facebook content won’t automatically make you a better worker or student, but certain Facebook details do correspond to achievement in the offline world.) Researchers spent about 10 minutes looking at photos, wall posts, comments, education, and hobbies on Facebook profiles, while answering personality-related questions including whether the…

Bag a Bot Day

At midnight tonight, participants in the FIRST Robotics Competition must stop working on their robots and seal them up in a plastic bag. Here’s the working bot my son’s team built. Pretty good for a rookie team.     Similar:Just Doesn’t LIke MasksCurrent_EventsReading Literature on Screen: A Price for Convenience?Because all of my Seton Hill…

Wonderful Performance of Raymond Scott’s “Powerhouse”

Fantastic composition, deeply embedded into the brains of any kid who grew up watching Looney Tunes. Raymond Scott recorded “Powerhouse” on this day 75 years ago. Similar:copyranter: New Milwaukee Public Library ads mock facebook, YouTube, and Twitter.      copyra…Amusing14% of Americans [say that they] have changed their mind about an issue because of somethi…Young…

Gamasutra – News – Second Life developer acquires experimental game studio LittleTextPeople

LittleTextPeople, founded by writer Emily Short and Maxis veteran Richard Evans, has so far focused on the development of software that replicates complex social interaction. For instance, among its internal technology is a simulator that models social behavior and individual personalities. —Gamasutra – News – Second Life developer acquires experimental game studio LittleTextPeople. Similar:At Home…

You are standing in a field. There is a meme here.

Via David Thompson Similar:Sobering data; stunning visualization.This NYT story on the effects of race on…CultureAmenities are limited on a short range excursion craft, but we can still meet for tea in t…AestheticsRare find discovered amid town's Old West kitschInstead of dispensing a card like Zoltar…AestheticsStudents Produce Breathtaking 3D Simulation of 17thC LondonThe haze effect lying…

Twitter / Search – “couldn’t remove your contacts” – All Tweets

Twitter / Search – “couldn’t remove your contacts” – All Tweets. Similar:A ‘Dewey Defeats Truman’ Lesson for the Digital AgeIf we were surprised Tuesday night, it w…CultureMinnesota authorities can't arrest or threaten journalists after judge approves settlement… A federal judge brokers an agreement i…Current_EventsTwitter is testing a tool for reporting fake & offensive contentIt’s risky…