U.S. citizens will soon be able to log in to government websites using their Google account, or the URL of their Yahoo profile. It’s a significant embrace of the open and emerging tech standards the Obama administration promised. —Wired Similar:Programming as Magic Spells in Erica Sandbothe's New NovelIn her new novel, Codecrafter, Sandbothe…BooksHow Humans Respond…
Not as cleverly written as that video that has a line or two about each U.S. president (which I can’t locate at the moment) but still very nicely done. Similar:My student journalists sport their fashionable “What Would Jerz Do?” wristbands.AcademiaGoogle Autocomplete Still Makes Hateful Autocorrect SuggestionsThe top suggestion for a Holocaust searc…BusinessEnjoying my "Dystopia in…
From the president’s prepared remarks to school children, scheduled for tomorrow. Every single one of you has something you’re good at. Every single one of you has something to offer. And you have a responsibility to yourself to discover what that is. That’s the opportunity an education can provide. Maybe you could be a good writer – maybe…
A team of scientists from Britain, the United States and Papua New Guinea found more than 40 previously unidentified species when they climbed into the kilometre-deep crater of Mount Bosavi and explored a pristine jungle habitat teeming with life that has evolved in isolation since the volcano last erupted 200,000 years ago. In a remarkably…
Top-down grading by the prof turns learning (which should be a deep pleasure, setting up for a lifetime of curiosity) into a crass competition: how do I snag the highest grade for the least amount of work? how do I give the prof what she wants so I can get the A that I need…
I remember some years ago reading an article that used a similar strategy to describe exactly what it would feel like to stand on Mars. One of things Ford wasn’t ready for is the weird smell. “From the [spacewalks] there really is a distinct smell of space when they come back in,” Ford said from…
In many ways, the Times’ blogs are no different from anyone else’s. But there’s one organizational trick they employ very effectively: Division of Labor. Times bloggers don’t work on their own. They don’t handle every aspect of their blogs. Who does what is divided up to bring specific expertise to bear on different parts of…
“Just make sure that you spell everything wrong and swear a lot.” Facebook, Twitter Revolutionizing How Parents Stalk Their College-Aged Kids Similar:Man enough to sew my own computer bag. Insecure enough to seek validation on social media …AmusingComputer Interfaces in Star Trek's "Assignment Earth"I was watching classic Star Trek with my…CybercultureThe iPad Falls Short of…
The economic reality of working in journalism in the present economy: good people are losing their jobs. For the past several years, largely as a result of free news and classifieds on the Internet, ad revenues and circulation have been sinking for newspapers nationwide. Sun management and their bosses at the Chicago-based Tribune Company, which owns the paper, have…
Clever DVD Verdict review (written by recent SHU graduate Mike Rubino) DM: You pick up Dungeons & Dragons: The Animated Series, and find that it is lighter than expected. Your nostalgia level receives a +5 for the next nine hours and 54 minutes. (Thanks for the link, Josh.) Similar:The Muse #StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch (Season 4,…
“The more dependent we allow ourselves to become to something like Facebook — and Facebook does everything in its power to make you more dependent — the more Facebook can and does abuse us,” Harmsen explained by indignant e-mail. “It is not ‘your’ Facebook profile. It is Facebook’s profile about you.” — Virginia Heffernan, New…
In 1970, the gap between shows featuring magic and shows featuring more science-based themes is fairly wide, which may be related to the relative cost of producing the different types of shows; Captain Kirk required pricey sets and a makeup crew while Samantha Stevens just needed a film editor and the ability to wiggle her…
If this were a Monday, I might have had my “News Writing” students watch it during class, since many of them are education majors (and a fair number of them admitted they were only in the class because their teaching certificate program requires the course). This is the first time an American president has spoken…
As US newspaper publishers mull charging readers on the Web, a Pennsylvania daily announced plans on Monday to put some content behind a pay wall. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette said “PG+” would be a “members-only website with interactive features and exclusive content” available to subscribers for 36 dollars a year or for 3.99 dollars a month.…
Is your Spidey-sense tingling? Disney will take over ownership of 5,000 Marvel characters, such as Spider-Man and the X-Men.–BBC Similar:How Facebook – the Wal-Mart of the internet – dismantled online subculturesFacebook wants you to spend more time on…BusinessAI Agents Are Terrible Freelance WorkersAI is getting better at rote tasks, but …BusinessMedia Bias Chart 8.0 (Left…
A technology win from the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: Rather and Potter emptied the victim’s pockets of his cell phone and wallet and told the victim to “get out of here,” police said. The victim ran off while Rather and Potter headed toward Fifth Avenue, police said. When officers showed up at the victim’s home, he was…
Listen to a short news broadcast, such as the NPR Hourly News Summary. These stories will typically include audio clips from newsmakers, and perhaps the noise of crowds or nature. But we’re just focusing on the sound of the radio journalist’s voice. Don’t try to sound like “an announcer.” Forget the barking style of voice that radio announcers always…
Similar:The Nagus (#StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch, Season 1, Episode 11) Quark is named the financial lead…Rewatching ST:DS9 In an episode focus…CultureSuch pictures fill my weekday world at fiveYour pictures fill my weekday world at f…AestheticsThe Psychology of Getting More Done In Less TimeSummary of not-so-new scholarship, but p…CultureThe 7 key components of a perfect elevator pitch…
[L]ast fall, for the first time in 15 years, Ms. McNeill, 42, did not assign “Mockingbird” — or any novel. Instead she turned over all the decisions about which books to read to the students in her seventh- and eighth-grade English classes at Jonesboro Middle School in this south Atlanta suburb. Among their choices: James…
I’ve long been annoyed by the fact that Verizon hijacks my URL typos and sends me to its own lame search service. The opt-out instructions are designed to look pretty ominous, so I decided I’d call Verizon customer support, and have them do a remote connect to my computer and perform the procedure for me.…