The Pac-Man Dossier

Nerd heaven. In chase mode, Pinky behaves as he does because he does not target Pac-Man’s tile directly. Instead, he selects an offset four tiles away from Pac-Man in the direction Pac-Man is currently moving (with one exception). The pictures below illustrate the four possible offsets Pinky will use to determine his target tile based…

The Smart Set: Hot Wheels

Great little feature on a nostalgic pleasure. The Ferris wheel takes you nowhere but up and around. And it is precisely the lack of direction that makes you feel as if you are going everywhere. It doesn’t feed us, doesn’t clothe us, doesn’t give us a home. But man, we’re told, does not live on…

Civilization 3: Educational Review

What does my ten-year-old son think he has learned from playing Civilization 3? Similar:Mostly German, sometimes refreshing my high school Latin.PersonalLong Live the LARPers — My daughter plays the antagonist in this award-winning 48 Hour Fi…https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ku7wzUtO…AestheticsIt's a thing to do.PersonalSorry, Wrong NumberNumerical errors usually occur for one o…EducationCreate Engaging Infographics for your ClassroomSeveral of my…

Magenta Ain't A Colour

Disturbing, yet cool.  Biotele.com A beam of white light is made up of all the colours in the spectrum. The range extends from red through to violet, with orange, yellow, green and blue in between. But there is one colour that is notable by its absence.   Pink (or magenta, to use its official name)…

Proofread before you send it out, guys.

Update: The AP posted the correction within 18 minutes. Not bad. However… Similar:Faculty stacked up in launch tube beneath McKenna gym, ready for graduation 2022.AcademiaHow are you holding up? What difficult choices have you made? How can we all help each oth…Carolyn and were recently cast in a hist…CultureSlate: "Police Erupt in Violence Nationwide" |…

Coraline — My Quick Review

I bugged out of work a few hours early today so I could meet up with the family for a matinee showing of Coraline. The local theater had a rather defensive home-grown sign explaining that the extra $2.50 they were charging per ticket pays for the cost of renting the 3D projection equipment from Disney.…

‘Sexual Depravity,’ Student Fees and the Student Press

News about a free-speech dust-up in the department where I used to work at the University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire: This fall, the English department, the publication’s then “administrative home,” voted unanimously to sever its ties to Flip Side, citing, in a statement, interest in “fostering the responsible use of free speech and the mutually respectful community…

Blambot Comic Fonts and Lettering

A nifty little primer, compiled by Nate Piekos. CROSSBAR I This is probably the biggest mistake seen amongst amateur letterers. An “I” with the crossbars on top and bottom is virtually only used for the personal pronoun, “I.” The only other allowable use of the “crossbar I” is in abbreviations. Any other instance of the letter should just…