NASA's Spirit won't be roving Mars anymore

With its six wheels stuck in powdery sand and two wheels no longer working, the resilient little explorer will become a fixed, immobile scientific observatory — if it can survive the harsh temperatures of the upcoming winter. —LA Times Similar:There's nothing like a fair-minded, good-faith analysis of the factsThere’s nothing like a fair-minded, good…Current_EventsI just…

The Priest and Pastoral Ministry in a Digital World: New Media at the Service of the Word

While the Bible does present Jesus as being able to read, and there is a story of Jesus drawing something unspecified in the dirt, the first followers of Jesus lived in an oral culture. The Gospel of Luke begins thus, identifying to the difference between oral culture and print culture: Since many have undertaken to…

Learning the art of creating computer games can boot [sic] student skills

“Worldwide, there is increasing recognition of a digital divide, a troubling gap between groups that use information and communication technologies widely and those that do not,” the team explains. “The digital divide refers not only to unequal access to computing resources between groups of people but also to inequalities in their ability to use information…

Howard's Butt, Why is Howard's butt blogging? (Start here)

Diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma of the rectum, author and cyberthinker Howard Rheingold responds with humor, and a new blog. http://howardsbutt.tumblr.com Similar:Wearable Tech: Rest in Peace, Google Glass: 2012-2014I did enjoy the opportunity to play with…CultureIn January 2001, I was blogging about Bill Clinton's #WhiteHouse security deposit, anachro…In January 2001, I was blogging about …AcademiaDeadline…

Amazon Invites Devs to Write Programs for Kindle

Amazon.com unexpectedly announced the Kindle Development Kit Thursday morning, which will allow developers to develop “active content” for the Kindle platform, to take advantage of the e-reader’s electronic ink display, Whispernet 3G technology, and days-long battery life.–PC Mag Somebody, please create a Z-code interpreter. I want my Kindle to guide me through a maze of…

Digital Humanities and the case for Critical Commons

A little context… a popular internet meme involves adding creative subtitles to a movie in which Hitler reacts to some very bad news. Here we see the evil dictator responding to some recent developments in academia.  Similar:Facebook Spot-tests New Local News FeedI have no reason to trust Facebook to fi…BusinessRemember Who The Enemy IsGood article…

Cut This Story!

On the Internet, news articles get to the point. Newspaper writing, by contrast, is encrusted with conventions that don’t add to your understanding of the news. Newspaper writers are not to blame. These conventions are traditional, even mandatory. Take, for example, the lead story in The New York Times on Sunday, November 8, 2009, headlined…

Technology and Innovation

Great collection of essays that capture the wonder of now-ubiquitous technology that was once strange.  Oliver Wendell Holmes on photography in 1859, Mark Twain on telephones in 1880, Philip G. Hubert Jr. on the phonograph in 1889, up to James Fallows on the personal computer in 1982. These eight excerpts show the attempts of writers,…

Color Me A Dinosaur

The number of crayons in a Crayola box doubles every 28 years. What colors have been in said box over the years? See the full-size version at weathersealed.com Similar:Airlock for a #steampunk #blender3d project featuring #neovictorian #greebles. #blender3da… Aesthetics10 questions to help you write better headlinesI already have some handouts on writing …DesignWhy teens are…

Writing Good English

I’m getting ready to teach a one-credit journalism course on editorial writing, which will also be a test case for a potential “topics in advanced composition” course. This essay looks like a good way to start the class. The good nouns are the thousands of short, simple, infinitely old Anglo-Saxon nouns that express the fundamentals…

'Rude' texting students say they're only multitasking

Two Seton Hill sources are mentioned in this local story. Millennials appreciate professors who bring technology into the classroom, whether it’s YouTube, PowerPoint or posting grades online after assignments, said Theresa Conley, 27, a junior at Seton Hill University in Greensburg. “That way, you can see where you’re at and what you’re getting, so you’re…

Learn from this typesetter’s mistake

Wisdom to keep in mind as I plan for this semester’s “History and Future of the Book.”   FAIL Blog. Similar:Operation War DiaryOne hundred years ago today, Britain dec…CultureFacebook touts fight on fake news, but struggles to explain why InfoWars isn't banned10 points to CNN’s Oliver Darcy for work…BusinessProgress on a customizable "[E] to Activate"…