In 10 Years Our iPads Will Be Here

Our iPads will one day be stacked on a pallet, like these old PCs. They’ll be retro curiosities, having done their jobs — empowering us to build even better tools. Similar:How important is the look 'n' feel of your website?”The look ‘n’ feel of your website is im…BusinessHe Googles for some random memes to connect…

Ian Bogost – Gamification is Bullshit

This rhetorical power derives from the “-ification” rather than from the “game”. -ification involves simple, repeatable, proven techniques or devices: you can purify, beautify, falsify, terrify, and so forth. -ification is always easy and repeatable, and it’s usually bullshit. Just add points. Game developers and players have critiqued gamification on the grounds that it gets…

Apple, publishers conspired against $9.99 Amazon e-books, says lawsuit

I was doing a lot of impulse buying during the $9.99 days, but since then, on occasions when I’ve seen the ebook offered at a higher price than a paperback, I have just turned to interlibrary load instead. “Terrified” by Amazon’s Kindle e-reader and discounted e-book pricing, five major publishers allegedly acted together to increase…

Students aim for Broadway in musical with true-life focus

David Mahokey of Dunbar, a senior at Point Park University, and Greg Kerestan of Greensburg, a senior at Seton Hill University, wrote the 20-song score and script, respectively, for ″In Control,″ a musical that focuses in part on Mahokey’s real-life battle with bone cancer. Two free performances of ″In Control,″ directed by Anthony Marino, artistic…

Books Without Borders

The heartbreaking thing is that this fall, over 10,000 bookstore employees across America will be out of work. The way the publishing industry is going, many of those people won’t be able to find jobs that are even tangentially related to books anymore; they’ll go on to work in movie theaters and grocery stores and…

Karel Capek Slighted

The layout of this display at the Carnegie Science Center almost makes it look like the Maria duplicate in Metropolis came before Karel Capek’s play RUR (which was written in 1920, first performed in 1921). Similar:Data's Day (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season Four, Episode 11)Rewatching ST:TNG after a 20-year break….DanceStarship Mine (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season 6,…

Carnegie Science Center Model Train

The control panel. Similar:Progress over 11 years of Blender3D practiceOver the past few years I have created l…AestheticsStudent: “Just wanted to let you know that your class has benefited me outside of just lit…In my online class on literary dystopia,…AcademiaAn alternate universeMy plans to use a Chromebook over the we…CultureAmazing High School Yearbook Politics SpreadI’m…

USS Requin

Images from an extended tour of a cold war submarine. (We liked the tour we took last year so much, my son and I came back.) [portfolio_slideshow size=medium trans=scrollHorz ] Similar:I didn't ask for the AI icon on my Kindle app. I can't turn it off.I really hate that little sparkly icon w…BooksThe AI revolution…

Stage Right Greensburg Wizard of Oz

My daughter, as the wizard, with her talented castmates, in our local theater school’s preteen summer camp musical. Similar:Star Trek Beyond was an enjoyable nerdy family outing.PersonalPOV: You are coding the automatic doors on your fantasy neovictorian cruiser personal proj…  POV: You are coding th…AestheticsThis morning I awoke to YouTube’s live footage of crowds circling…

Bluejay Catching a Bug

My friend and colleague, Balázs Tarnai, shared these pictures of a bluejay catching a bug on his garage roof. Similar:Kittenwar”May the cutest kitten win…” –Kittenw…AestheticsAnother section of a #steampunk control panel. Useful for a cutaway shot after a character…AestheticsCreating textures for background buildings in a medieval theater simulation project. I can…Creating textures for background buildin…AestheticsLast…

LEGO figures flying on NASA Jupiter probe

LEGO figurines representing the Roman god Jupiter, his wife Juno and Galileo Galilei are flying to Jupiter. (NASA/LEGO) August 4, 2011 — They have launched aboard the space shuttle, visited the space station, and flown to Mars. Now, three more “very special” LEGO figurines are set to fly to Jupiter with NASA’s Juno spacecraft. The…