Nyan Cat Rock

My daughter saw the Nyan Cat video, and then opened a rock-painting gift from a secret Santa. The result was inevitable. Similar:My Daughter's Synesthesia: "S" Is Always Red, and "T" Is Lime GreenAccording to a color-picking test at syn…AestheticsBefore and after making a meme of myself as Oberon, King of the FaeriesCultureMSU asks faculty &…

Blender Griffin, Part 3

Okay, that’s enough work for one evening. I added a skeleton I had already created for another project, and I added new rigging for his wings and tail. I still need to add the fancy stuff, like having the eyes follow a target, having the limbs move automatically to follow the placement of the feet…

Blender Griffin, Part 2

After another couple of hours of work, I’ve added the Griffin logo and a tail (trust me — it’s there). I’ve improved the lighting, and added some very subtle ambient occlusion (the inside of his beak and the inside of his eyes are shaded more realistically). I could probably do a better job differentiating such…

Correlation or Causation? – Businessweek

Correlation or Causation? – Businessweek. Similar:Enterprise-D Blueprints As a newlywed, when my in-laws were …BooksHow Facebook and Twitter control what you see about FergusonOn Twitter, I see tear-gassed civilians,…CultureWhy Study Humanities? What I Tell Engineering FreshmenWisdom from science writer John Horgan.[…AcademiaUrsula K. Le Guin: A Personal Take on Go Set a Watchman  Before Watchman was…

Blender 3D Update

Holy ray-tracing, Batman, it’s a Blender 3D update! I have not had the chance to try out Blender 2.61, which features an ocean simulator, motion-tracking, and real-time ray-tracing. blender.org – Blender 2.61. Similar:Students say they prefer lectures, but "active learning" is more effectiveA recent study measured differences in s…AcademiaMy son showed me Seven Samurai. I…

Blender Griffin

To celebrate yesterday’s on-time submission of final grades, I spent part of last night and much of today working on this Blender 3D model of our school mascot, the Griffin.   Similar:Narnia board game — enjoyable family activity (but it's weird that the Pevensies compete …It’s weird that in the Narnia board game…BooksNASA's Perseverance lander…

Narnia Lesson Plans: Activities Related to the Musical (based on The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe) — Jerz’s Literacy Weblog

I just posted the latest musical theater education packet, written by my wife, as she aims to make the most of our home-schooled children’s participation in Stage Right Greensburg’s student theater production. 1.10) Narnia, once a utopia or paradise, has become a sad, cold dystopia under the Witch’s rule. Read & discuss other examples of…

Pittsburgh Parent Magazine: Future-oriented College Majors

Pittsburgh Parent Magazine’s December issue features Seton Hill’s New Media Journalism major in a cover story by Kelli Robinson. Similar:Carolyn featured on Steel City News for The Nutcracker The credit at 0:30 should read “Caro…AestheticsA student just booked an appointment to discuss picking up journalism as a second major. E…AcademiaText Messaging Declines in U.S. for…

Losing Face

This story features my Seton Hill colleague, Lee McClain. “It’s kind of like if you are looking at a bunch of leaves on a tree, you could study them, but you’d have to work really hard to tell them apart,” said McClain. That is how she sees faces. “That part of my brain that most…

On the Spot: Campus Diversity

One of my journalism students posted this insightful and well-edited documentary. (She also posted a brief introduction.) HTML5 HTML5 480p FLV360p FLV360p MP4240p FLVFlash Similar:BWW Reviews: Prepare Ye for GODSPELL in Fox Chapel  I’d like to say a few words in d…CultureI'm really enjoying seeing how my students are responding to Hamlet.As part of a…

National study: Youth ‘sexting’ is downplayed

A national study released Monday suggests there is a smaller percentage of young people involved in “sexting” — sending or receiving explicit or sexually suggestive images via cell phone or Internet — than previous studies found. via National study: Youth ‘sexting’ is downplayed – Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Wait a minute… who or what is doing the…