The 2009 Lyttle Lytton Contest

My favorite “winner” in this year’s Lyttle Lytton Contest, which awards writers who can, in one sentence, imitate the infamous “It was a dark and stormy night” novel opening. Alex turned to Gertrude, in much the same way Martin Landau turned to Barbara Bain in the opening of Space: 1999. — Alex Dering Similar:This Is…

Blender 3d Softbody Demo

I can’t say I understand my creation, but it sure was fun making it. Similar:Another lovely variation of a #steampunk control panel. #blender3dart #neovictorian #desig…Aesthetics"The Machine Stops" by E.M. Forster (a reading)https://youtu.be/mppsaL4MEXU https://…BooksPopcorn MakerI’ll have to look into this. Popc…AestheticsProfessor teaches class of 300 students from his phone while trapped in elevator with 2 sm…https://twitter.com/jayvanbavel/status/1…AcademiaDarkest…

Secretary charged with changing daughter's grades

A high school secretary has been charged with illegally changing grades in a school computer system to improve her daughter’s class standing and with lowering the grades of two other girls. —Elanor Chute, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Similar:Facebook's director of media tries to appease news industryFacebook’s Patrick Walker assured a room…BusinessDo you get your news mostly from…

Mega Drop-Down Navigation Menus Work Well

Big, two-dimensional drop-down panels group navigation options to eliminate scrolling and use typography, icons, and tooltips to explain the user’s choices. — Jakob Neilsen Similar:Yahoo, You Nagged Me Too Many Times; Bye!I have a Yahoo account that I use when a…BusinessIn Changing News Landscape, Even Television is VulnerableThe transformation of the nation’s news …CultureAlmost Flat…

Mind Your BlackBerry or Mind Your Manners

“You’ll have half the participants BlackBerrying each other as a submeeting, with a running commentary on the primary meeting,” Mr. Reines said. “BlackBerrys have become like cartoon thought bubbles.” Some professionals admitted that they occasionally sent mocking commentary about the proceedings, but most insisted that they used smartphones for legitimate reasons: responding to deadline requests,…

Open Source, Open Access, and Commons-Based Peer Production: Creating a Sustainable University Culture — Computers and Writing 2009

Roundtable Chair. Charlie Lowe, Grand Valley State University Scott Banville, University of Nevada, Reno David Blakesley, Purdue University How can open source software, open access publishing, and commons-based peer production (CBPP) principles help us to create a sustainable university? How can they positively impact the social and economic development of the university and expand the…