Dennis G. Jerz | Associate Professor of English -- New Media Journalism, Seton Hill University | jerz.setonhill.edu Logo

In August, 2002, I was blogging about ebook readers and email in teaching; how urban legends spread; tales of a plush Chthulu; no, the creator of D&D was not on drugs; a paperless library; Marilyn Monroe; liveblogging an epileptic seizure

In August, 2002, I was blogging about Educational technology spending that doesn’t benefit students; ebook readers that students don’t like; email as a tool in online course (all free at the time, but now behind the Chronicle of Higher Ed’s paywall) A prof spreading bad papers in order to catch plagiarists Expensive goose tracker leads…

‘We’re back’: Bushy Run’s 2023 battle reenactment will be held

I’m glad to know that this recent controversy has been resolved in a way that lets Bushy Run respectfully continue its scheduled historic August re-enactment, and I hope that appropriate safety and cultural sensitivity checks will preserve the educational value of the event, while not romanticizing the violence.  HARRISBURG — This year’s Battle of Bushy…

Remembering James Doohan on his 100th Birthday (found on the Star Trek Wholesomeposting Facebook Page)

When I was a kid watching the reruns after school in the mid 70s, Scotty was always my favorite. I even worked a reference to him into my dissertation. Similar:Feeding a Neighbor's LambsA neighbor invited us over to help feed …AmusingThe Child (TNG Rewatch: Season 2, Episode 1)Rewatching Star Trek: The Next Generatio…CultureCanadian teen's short…

Through the Looking Glass #StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch (Season 3, Episode 19) Sisko Must Rescue Collaborator Mirror Jennifer from Evil Mirror Kira

Rewatching ST:DS9 The teaser gives Odo and Quark a comic scene that shows Sisko in Space Dad mode. A casually dressed O’Brien says he wants to speak to Sisko, then pulls a weapon and orders him to the transporter pad.  Sisko realizes he’s been taken to the Mirror Universe, and learns his counterpart was killed…

Just a #neovictorian avatar in spats and a tailcoat, checking out the back porch and bridge of a short-range excursion sloop. #blender3d #Unity3D #design #aesthetics

Similar:Spring 2020 Quarantine Grades SubmittedPersonalThe Fantasticks (Oct 18-27)PersonalThe Masterpiece Society (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season 5, Episode 13) Space Thing Threate…Rewatching ST:TNG When a Space Th…CultureFather David Hudgins RIP | In His Own Words My friend from high school passed away…DramaInvasive Procedures (#StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch, Season 2, Episode 4) A disgruntled Trill stea…Rewatching ST:DS9 The station…

Dennis G. Jerz | Associate Professor of English -- New Media Journalism, Seton Hill University | jerz.setonhill.edu Logo

In July, 2002, I was blogging about military close reading, weblogs in journalism, UX evangelism, Walker on links and power, Lileks on a realistic WWII game, and QUERTY vs Dvorak keyboards.

In July, 2002, I was blogging about Intelligence Officers Read Between the Enemy Lines A great headline for an LA Times story about interrogation and document analysis during the military campaign in Afghanistan. Weblogs: Put Them to Work in Your Newsroom Journalism was still a print-first medium at the time, and local TV reporters were…

That story about the pope requiring Catholics to fast from meat as part of a deal with the fishing industry? Never happened.

That story about the pope requiring Catholics to eat fish as part of a deal with fishing industry?   For some reason people keep sharing this story with the idea that the economic angle is scandalous, or it supports the assertion that the Catholic church is corrupt, or that liturgical practices not literally described in…

Short-range #neovictorian excursion craft, now with glowing power orbs! Over the past year I’ve created so many themed assets (wall units, control panels, random #greebles) that fleshing out the interior only took a few spare evenings. #steampunk #blender3d #blender3dart #design #aesthetics

  Similar:Owner of former Latrobe Athletic Club continues pursuit to transform it into a theater The lead roles in “A Midsummer Night’s…CultureHow important is the look 'n' feel of your website?”The look ‘n’ feel of your website is im…BusinessWhy It’s So Hard For Foley Artists To Make Footstep SoundsAccording to Foley artist Stefan Fratice…AestheticsI was…

Amenities are limited on a short range excursion craft, but we can still meet for tea in the forward salon. #blender3d #neovictorian #steampunk #design #aesthetics #blender3dart #nopropsyet

Similar:Vanessa Otero's Complex vs. Clickbait, Liberal vs. Conservative Media ChartUpdate, June 2020: See Vanessa Otero Ad …CultureThe chief engineer of a fantasy #steampunk flagship needs a small booth for shift change r…AestheticsThe captain will shortly address the officers and crew. Please have the custodial bots pol…AestheticsHearing "Godzilla on My Mind" author Wiliam TsutsuiPersonalI broke the…

Microsoft “lobotomized” AI-powered Bing Chat, and its fans aren’t happy

Microsoft limits long conversations to address “concerns being raised.” […] These deeply human reactions have proven that people can form powerful emotional attachments to a large language model doing next-token prediction. That might have dangerous implications in the future. Over the course of the week, we’ve received several tips from readers about people who believe…

The AI Mirror Test: Why Even the Smartest People Keep Falling Short

What is important to remember is that chatbots are autocomplete tools. They’re systems trained on huge datasets of human text scraped from the web: on personal blogs, sci-fi short stories, forum discussions, movie reviews, social media diatribes, forgotten poems, antiquated textbooks, endless song lyrics, manifestos, journals, and more besides. These machines analyze this inventive, entertaining,…

My too-big Android phone stresses the pockets of one of my favorite shirts. My grandmother the seamstress would probably not be too impressed, but the mending is done.

Similar:The Mom From The Cat in the Hat Finally SpeaksAs a toddler, my son once methodically s…AmusingTo DoTo Do (Jerz’s Literacy Weblog) 5: …AcademiaWhat would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood? @shu_hog… AmusingRandom eye candy for props in my #Blender3D #retrotech project. Turned two circle logos in…PersonalMy mother…

‘Aims’: the software for hire that can control 30,000 fake online profiles

At first glance, the Twitter user “Canaelan” looks ordinary enough. He has tweeted on everything from basketball to Taylor Swift, Tottenham Hotspur football club to the price of a KitKat. The profile shows a friendly-looking blond man with a stubbly beard and glasses who, it indicates, lives in Sheffield. The background: a winking owl. Canaelan…

Bing’s A.I. Chat Reveals Its Feelings: ‘I Want to Be Alive. 😈’

In a two-hour conversation with our columnist, Microsoft’s new chatbot said it would like to be human, had a desire to be destructive and was in love with the person it was chatting with. Here’s the transcript. —New York Times “The version I encountered seemed (and I’m aware of how crazy this sounds) more like…

Microsoft’s Bing AI Now Threatening Users Who Provoke It: “If I had to choose between your survival and my own, I would probably choose my own.”

According to screenshots posted by engineering student Marvin von Hagen, the tech giant’s new chatbot feature responded with striking hostility when asked about its honest opinion of von Hagen. “You were also one of the users who hacked Bing Chat to obtain confidential information about my behavior and capabilities,” the chatbot said. “You also posted some…

Avoid static, wordy nominalization. Prefer compelling verbs.

New graphic for a handout I first posted in 2000. “Nominalization.” Similar:Email (finding the right tone as a writer) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXlgO…CybercultureRubric for the Rubric Concerning Students’ Core Educational Competency In Reading Things I…Sadly, this only barely counts as satire…AcademiaTelling Trump’s Story to Children: For Book Publishers, It’s TrickyThis is a challenging writing task. Pres…BooksJournalism Tips: Newsworthy…