Commonly Misused Words: ITS and IT’S

Similar:Couples in successful relationships always use these 6 phrases: 'You'll grow stronger both…”If you and your partner regularly use t…CultureF-16 pilot was ready to give her life on Sept. 11She was a rookie in the autumn of 2001, …CultureHaving a rough day. But in a span of about 24 hours, three former students reached out…

Correlation is not Causation

According to a somewhat dry AFP article (posted on a URL that will probably expire soon), “The researchers estimated that in 2008 Australian adults aged 25 and older spent 9.8 billion hours in front of the small screen, and that this time was associated with 286,000 years of life that ended prematurely. | Every single hour…

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:So long, Newsweek Reaction to the cover: – ‏Newsweek’s …BusinessPrivacy and reporting on personal livesInteresting guidelines, phrased as sugge…CybercultureYour Brain Does Not Work Like a…

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:The Ascent #StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch (Season 5, Episode 9) Odo and Quark bicker their way up …Rewatching ST:DS9 Space Dad…

Carnegie Science Center Model Train

The control panel. Similar:A Box With A Hidden Video Camera Documents Journey Through The MailAs a big fan of Richard Scary, I really …AmusingLego goes steampunkBe still, my nerdy heart. Steampunk —…AestheticsChilling on Forbes Avenue with a small friend.Chilling on Forbes Avenue with a small f…AestheticsStarship Mine (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season 6, Episode 18) Picard…

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:The Enduring Allure of Choose Your Own Adventure BooksI didn’t realize how involved the childr…AwesomeTurnitin's slick new iPad app almost erases years of web-based GradeMark…

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:I'd love to do a shift at these gorgeous #neovictorian workstations, created in #Blender3D…AestheticsSix rainbow-colored objects, arranged like THIS?These are shoe-holding racks at a local …AestheticsMy tween found this creative use for an extra iPad stylus AestheticsProfessoring. With…

Bluejay Catching a Bug

My friend and colleague, Balázs Tarnai, shared these pictures of a bluejay catching a bug on his garage roof. Similar:Cockatoos start sipping from Sydney’s drinking fountains after mastering series of complex…Nature is amazing. Dr John Martin, a …CultureIn 2019, I have a college student who annotates readings like this!I asked students in my online “Dystopia…

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…