Peter (age 10, having just read another book on the Civil War): Daddy, what do you know about William TECK-um-suh Sherman? Me: Te-CUM-suh. Not much. Other than during the Civil War, he lead a march to the sea that split the Confederacy into north and south sections, which pretty much led to the end of…
A random observation that floored me, reminding me just how different today’s Internet is from the trusty, dusty, crusty home PCs on which I first learned the command-line interface. Today’s front page of The New York Times is over 129 kilobytes of code alone, with another 461 KB of supporting code, give or take. That’s…
Vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin’s private Yahoo e-mail account was hacked, and some of its contents posted on the internet Wednesday. (Wired) Was Palin’s personal account fair game because she has been accused of using her personal account to conduct public business? If there really is damning evidence in that account, and a judge delivers a…
The Commonwealth of Virginia announces plans for a free, open-source physics textbook. The Virginia Physics “Flexbook” project is a collaborative effort of the Secretaries of Education and Technology and the Department of Education that seeks to elevate the quality of physics instruction across the Commonwealth. Participating educators will create and compile supplemental materials relating to…
Good editing skills and random, candid video = 2 minutes of awesomeness. This is why I love the internet. Takes just a tad too long to get started — give it about 45 seconds before you decide to bail out. You’ll be hooked by the second time you see the flip-flops. Via. “Ah-ah-ah ooh, ah-ah,…
Thanks, Karissa, for sending this collection of reasons why it makes sense to be careful when you post photos online.. 5. Yo Ho Ho and a Bottle of Rum What do you do with a drunken pirate? Throw her in the brig–or, if you’re Millersville University, deny her a teaching degree. That’s what happened to…
At the beginning of last semester, when I called roll in a class that included a student with the last name “Gearhart,” I have been telling steampunk bedtime stories to my kids (Peter, 10; and Carolyn, 6). Each night, after my daughter has finished the tooth-brushing and prayer-saying, in total darkness I try to advance…
I should admit to myself.. that SD card reader is gone. It’s gone. I didn’t lose any important data, but it was a 2G card. Sigh. Similar:Just in case you can’t find the tweet that Trump, who got trolled for making a rookie erro…This is how the President of the United …PersonalThe Fantasticks (Oct 18-27)PersonalStuffed…
I haven’t seen the ads in question, but thought this InformationWeek commentary was blogworthy. “Some may wonder what Jerry Seinfeld helping Bill Gates pick out a new pair of shoes has to do with software,” Microsoft concedes. No, probably everyone who watched the ad is wondering what shoes and Seinfeld have to do with software.…
Research-Based Web Design & Usability Guidelines (a government website that identifies research backing up good web design practices). Similar:A stranger approached me today.A stranger approached me today. I was a…CultureWhy Fears of Fake News Are OverhypedFacebook seems to have made changes that…CultureScratchy "Cloak of Darkness" on Scratch”Scratchy Cloak of Darkness” is based on…AestheticsVideo-Game Violence Is…
A wonderfully expressive, almost wordless essay on language, problem-solving, and code.The Synonym Problem (See also Jono DiCarlo’s “These Things I Believe” — a humanist manifesto about computer code.) Similar:Journalists who are doing their job by reporting fairly on a controversial topic often get…Americans can fairly and legitimately di…EthicsBlue Feed, Red FeedFacebook is designed to keep…
Groklaw has a good analysis of the recent Harry Potter Lexicon smackdown. Fair use good, too much verbatim copying bad. The fact is, Rowling and her editor led the defendant on with praise of his website work, such that there was a suggestion by him that he might be the editor of the official encyclopedia,…
A financial researcher comes across a six-year-old article about United Airlines. Thinking it is a current news story, he summarizes it, then republishes the summary out of context. Within 10 minutes, a mass panic hits shareholders who are responding to his summary. More than a billion dollars evaporates into thin air. Tribune Co. said Wednesday…
Great news for those interested in the first draft of history. (Not-so-great news for those worried about Google’s increasing control over so many kinds of information.) C|Net Google is making searchable, digital copies of old newspapers available online through partnerships with their publishers, the company said Monday. Under the ad-supported effort, Google will digitize millions…
Most gamers have never heard of Braunstein. Sad but true. In the hierarchy of self-awareness you’ll find the circle of gamers who know what D&D is (a very, very large circle), then inside of that is the circle of gamers who know what Greyhawk is (large but smaller), and inside that the circle who knows…
Great little vignette highlighting the perils of live TV reporting. NBC’s Andrea Mitchell demonstrates the perils of live television as she gamely tries to report from the Republican National Convention during the midst of a major balloon drop in this clip that’s amusing the chattering class the day after the two-week convention marathon has come…
A former student sent me a link to a Republican spoof of FaceBook, BarackBook. It’s an interesting piece of new media campaigning, where the RNC has created an entire Facebook parody displaying the social network of Barack’s friends. I know you go to great lengths to remain unbiased in the classroom (which is awesome!) but…
Great use of 3D technology to enable the study of an historic art form. Virtual Vaudeville: Watch legendary comedian Frank Bush in a vaudeville performance from a variety of perspectives in the theater, from the most expensive boxes to the cheapest balcony seats. Compare the reactions of different spectators and even experience the act through…
Whenever ice cream sales rise, so do shark attacks (eating ice cream makes you tastier?) (Part of a great series by the BBC. Bookmarked for a future journalism class.) Similar:Context for Hayles, My Mother was a Computer (Ch 3 & 4)My undergraduates are working their way …AcademiaWatching Shakespeare With Your KidsMy retired parents and bachelor…
Because the children were rarely bored – at least, when a television was nearby – they never learned how to use their own imagination as a form of entertainment. “The capacity to daydream enables a person to fill empty time with an enjoyable activity that can be carried on anywhere,” Belton says. “But that’s a…