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:ChatGPT answers more than half of software engineering questions incorrectlyThe results showed that out of the 512 q…BusinessSharing memes about news you don’t see is…

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:A Grave Tale (a short story I narrated for WAOB Audio Theatre)A Grave Tale (WAOB Audio Theatre) Wri…LiteratureAfter you finish…

Carnegie Science Center Model Train

The control panel. Similar:Unplugging for a Few Hours at Spruce Flats BogVisited a bog created when loggers clear…AestheticsSpent a half hour taming this tangle of cables (left) with a little tiny six-inch-wide car…AestheticsPicking a rubric in Canvas should not be so frustrating that it makes me want to blog abou…In general, I find Canvas a…

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:AI-generated essays are nothing to worry about (opinion)After reviewing 22 AI essays I asked my …AcademiaInfographics: the PowerPoint of the 2010sI used to say that…

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:Recent SHU journo grad, upon the hiring of an even more recent SHU journo grad: "Many time…A couple weeks ago I posted about a rece…AcademiaTake my feedback if you want to pass.I won’t be so assertive in…

Bluejay Catching a Bug

My friend and colleague, Balázs Tarnai, shared these pictures of a bluejay catching a bug on his garage roof. Similar:Vinyl Chairs, Lace Tablecloth, and Stainless Steel Canisters for a Villain's Lair #blender…I’m working with more complex materials,…AestheticsVintage Freebies for DesignersI wish I had time for cool stuff like th…AestheticsA WELL HOUSE FOR A LARGE SPRINGI…

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…