Raising a stink over printer ink

The price of printer cartridges has long irritated consumers and their advocates, and they say the lack of information from manufacturers only aggravates the situation. One recent study even estimated that consumers could save billions of dollars a year if they were armed with full information about how much it would cost to operate various…

First-Person Tetris

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What Type are You?

Why did Brian Wilson use Cooper Black on the cover of Pet Sounds? Why did Obama use Gotham for his election propaganda? It has long been apparent that typefaces reflect the character of the person using them, and that type choice, as well as the words that are typed, is a powerful conveyor of meaning. At…

I Hate Your Blog — MC Frontalot

Very catchy tune. I love the way the meter of the refrain sputters, not unlike the sporadic posts of a blog that won’t die. Similar:The Google Classroom TeaseJoshua Kim, Inside Higher Ed: “Google Cl…AcademiaOut of the Zuckersphere, (back) into the BlogosphereThis is why I still blog. While commerci…AcademiaR Grammar Gaffes Ruining The Language? Maybe Not…

Nil by mouth

Afer extensive treatments for cancer, including the removal of part of his jaw, film critic Roger Ebert is still critiquing movies and writing, but he is unable to speak; he also can’t eat or drink. His recent column reflects on life without a mouth. One day in the hospital my brother-in-law Johnny Hammel and his…

The Turtlenecked Hairshirt

Ian Bogost has stirred up some discussion with his post on how digital humanities has challenged the humanities at large.  I’ve been very happy with the level of support I’ve received from my English colleagues, my humanities colleagues, and the dean, but all interdisciplinary, hybrid, and emerging fields rub against the sharp edges of the…

Colossal Cave Adventure Playthrough (with my 11-year-old son)

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My 11yo Son and I Play Adam Cadre's 9:05 (Interactive Fiction Playthrough)

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A playable game of Tabletop Pong

If that’s not good enough for you, try Similar:Final Mission (ST:TNG Rewatch, Season Four, Episode 9) Picard and Wesley bond on a Desert …Rewatching ST:TNG. The plot, such as …MediaAdding details to a clip-art silhouette, for a project that will be released in a day or t… An important but small detail in a B…AestheticsThe…

What art thou, Pez?

What are thou, Pez, that must needs be dispensed? T’ be merely wrapped would leave thee so incensed? T’were better still to leave the fingers sticky, Than be vomited up by the likes of Mickey. — Mark Janello Curtis Allina, 87, Put Heads on Pez Dispensers Similar:It's not just you — we are all more…

Deus Ex Memories

I’ve just finished my final training run as a nanotech-augmented super-agent. Nasty terrorists holed up in the ruins of the State of Liberty have captured one of my fellow agents, and it’s my job to get him out. In real life, it’s 2002, and I’m just a guy in Wisconsin. My four-year-old son is asleep…

Video Game Culture and Theory

My online three-week course will start tomorrow morning. It will lean heavily on blogging, so chances are I’ll be a bit more productive than usual in that area. Video Game Culture and TheoryThis course isn’t about learning how to “win” a game, nor is it about programming or design. In fact, according to a recent…