Study Ball

Shackle yourself to your work, and set the timer.Thanks for the link, Josh. Similar:Games Without Frontiers: Victory in VomitWired reviews Mirror’s Edge When you ru…AestheticsMore #steampunk control panel goodness. This section features a nice retro pixelboard text…One of many steampunk control panels I’v…AestheticsTrump Is Making Journalism Great AgainLong gone are the days when the media…

Days with My Father

A touching tribute in images and words. Phillip Toledano Similar:The Neutral Zone (ST:TNG Rewatch: Season 1, Episode 25)Rewatching Star Trek: The Next Generatio…CultureJournalism is doing just fine, thanks — it’s mass-media business models that are ailingHmm… I warn my freshmen not to use the…BusinessIn June, 2001 it seems I only blogged three times…I’m not sure…

Adventure Themed Play in The Brick Theater's Antidepressant Festival

Clever piece on a games-themed theater performance in Brooklyn next month. One of the more unusual plays in this year’s Antidepressant Festival is Adventure Quest, which mimics old-school computer adventure games, combining live action with vintage graphics and 8-bit music. For those too young to remember these strange, puzzle-intensive artifacts of the Reagan era, the…

Magic Tree House: The Musical

Okay, I’m officially lame. I teared up a few days ago during Star Trek, and tonight I teared up during this song from The Magic Treehouse: The Musical, based on a series of easy-reader books by Mary Pope Osbourne. The touring show was in my town tonight; we had front-row seats. The song is a…

Hypercritical

A budding artist learns his real skill is not artistry, but the ability to critique. I’m blogging this for the next time I introduce iteration as an important cognitive skill — something that requires dedication, time, and a willingness to take risks in order to learn from failures (something that doesn’t often fit will with…

I Mark, Therefore I Am

It’s the first time I’ve given a final exam in a while. I usually mark final projects or final papers, which I’ve seen in numerous draft forms for the past month, so all I really need to do is read the student’s final reflection, after all the hard work is over. But in a large-ish…

Why Mathematics is Boring

This paper riffs on one of the most popular handouts on my website — Short Stories: 10 Tips for Novice Creative Writers (originally written by one of my technical writing students in 2002, though I continue to tweak it), and applies it to mathematics. [B]efore anyone can understand a piece of mathematics, they must first…

Latest addition to the Star Trek canon

The cuteness of a tribble, the temper of a mugatu, and the ham of a Shatner. Similar:When you accidentally send a "Dear Satan" letter.My family and I are in the voice cast of…PersonalThe Hunted (ST: TNG Rewatch; Season Three, Episode 11) Honorable soldier exiled by the pea…(Rewatching ST:TNG after a 20-year break…EthicsThe Cabinet of Dr.…