The Silver Lining

A fan-produced Kings Quest sequel is shut down. What a way to treat your brand’s most loyal followers. Recently, however, ownership of the Sierra IP changed hands and became the property of Activision. After talks and negotiations in the last few months between ourselves and Activision, they have reached the decision that they are not…

The Internet Bible: The Fall of Eve

Via Similar:Facebook will Emphasize News Articles; De-emphasize Non-Facebook Meme PhotosFacebook wants you to see more serious n…BusinessThe Onion's Supreme Court Briefing on Satire Is StunningFrom October: A man who was arrested ov…AmusingAs CRT Supplies Vanish the Classic Arcade Machine is Virtually DeadIf you understand the environment in whi…CultureHow CNN Found the Reddit User Behind the…

Doyle Redland Says Goodbye

I’m still mourning the loss of Herman T. Zwiebel.  And now this? Similar:Synchronous Online Classes: 10 Tips for Engaging StudentsEvery time I have taught an online class…AcademiaBeing a dad-nerd means finding new ways to play.https://youtu.be/-c6IirtwFawAestheticsStandardized testing: I opted my kids out. The schools freaked out. Now I know why.And so, on the first day of…

"By Their Sidewalks You Will Know Them"

There are no sidewalks where I live, but if there were, my sidewalk, and my conscience, would be clear. Here’s the first stanza of a five-stanza poem by TImons Esaias. Originally there were eleven CommandmentsMoses, perhaps confused by the unfamiliarsnow, ice, and sidewalk,botched one, and left it out. Similar:The 1931 Histomap: The entire history of…

The ABCs of Adventuring

Thanks for this find, Mark Sample (via Twitter). The ABCs of Adventuringby Admiral Jota, Dylan O’Donnell, G. Kevin Wilson, and Dan Shiovitz.A is for Adventure, the first of them all;B is for Brass lantern, so you don’t take a fall.C is for Compass, an unseen one you keepD is for Drinking, eating and sleep.E is…

American History: "Growth of a Nation"

This animated map of the expansion of American territory since the original 13 colonies is a bit cheesy in terms of production values, and not nearly as high-quality as the wonderful animated map of The Civil War in Four Minutes, but still a good resource. Similar:UChicago College Admissions, Indiana Jones Mystery PackageWhat we know: The…

What Makes a Great Teacher?

Gripping story of an effort to use data to predict teaching excellence. As Teach for America began to identify exceptional teachers using this data, Farr began to watch them. He observed their classes, read their lesson plans, and talked to them about their teaching methods and beliefs. He and his colleagues surveyed Teach for America…

Why Google Has Become Microsoft's Evil Twin

Google Buzz combined the openness of Twitter with the “whoo-hoo look at me!” aspects of Facebook. The result? A total face plant. —PC World Similar:Conspiracy (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season One, Episode 25) Parasitic Bug Doppelgängers on…Rewatching Star Trek: The Next Generatio…MediaMy semester with the snowflakesInsightful essay from a US Military vet …AcademiaDatalore (TNG Rewatch, Season…

Critical Code Studies Working Group — Colossal Cave Adventure Annotation

This week, I’ll be facilitating a week-long collaborative annotation project, as part of the Critical Code Studies Working Group online conference, on the source code to Crowther’s original Colossal Cave Adventure (a classic text-only computer game from the 1970s). According to Donald Knuth, designer of the “literate programming paradigm,” Colossal Cave Adventure is the “ur-game…

Happy V-Day: Valentines for Journalists

Valentines for Journalists. Similar:Anti-Semitic Times Square Elmo admits to Girl Scout extortion attemptThe headline made me click the link, and…Ethics'Our worst nightmare': New legal filings detail reporting of Rolling Stone's U-Va. gang ra…The court documents, submitted as eviden…AcademiaAfter a pretty crappy day, I found shreds of joy in this clip of socially distanced salsa.In my…

Frisbee inventor dies at 90

Walter Frederick Morrison, the man credited with inventing the Frisbee, has died at the age of 90. —Guardian Similar:Thank You, Verizon, for this Confusing ScreenA few weeks ago, I had to get a new cred…BusinessChoiceScript tutorial for making casual, phone-friendly, stats-driven storygames. Choice o… https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis…AcademiaGranting a Student SuperAdminGoddessOMGWhatHaveIDone Network PrivilegesI should probably not grant a…