Reading, writing and video games

Capitalizing on youthful passion for video games, school leaders hope to keep more kids in school by offering the chance to conceive, design, build — and sell — their own video game. “That’s what they love,” said David White, the school’s chief academic officer. “That’s the hook.” —Scott Elliott —Reading, writing and video games (Dayton Daily…

Blender Basics, 2nd Ed (pdf)

—Blender Basics, 2nd Ed (pdf) (Central Dauphin High School) Where was this book during the last 3 weeks when I was struggling with random half-finished tutorials? Thank you, James Chronister! Similar:I’m really enjoying the embossed labels. #Blender3D (Making props for my fantasy #steampun…AestheticsA stranger approached me today.A stranger approached me today. I was a…CulturePhysics simulation demo:…

Experience Disney Without the Long Wait!

RideMax is a computer software program guaranteed to help you save time waiting in line at Walt Disney World and Disneyland. RideMax allows you to specify the attractions you wish to ride during your visit, then uses a sophisticated scheduling algorithm to order your attractions so that the amount of time you spend in line…

Summer Blogging Slowdown

Summer Blogging Slowdown (Jerz’s Literacy Weblog) I’m going on a little family vacation, and won’t be back until Tuesday. We’re visiting my brother-in-law in New Jersey, and plan to visit Philadelphia, too. I hope this trip goes better than last year’s. Similar:The Other 21st Century Skills User Generated Education.AcademiaThe storage shelves of my fantasy steampunk CGI…

Knights of the Round Table — Star Trek TOS

—Knights of the Round Table — Star Trek TOS (YouTube) Amusing. Not side-splittingly funny, like that Bush/Blair mashup that was circulating last year. But still amusing. Thanks for the suggestion, Rosemary. Similar:Datalore (TNG Rewatch, Season 1, Episode 12) Data's bro wants to be with a big crystal tr…In “Datalore,” an encounter with Data’s …CultureThe Perfect Mate…

Overheard at Soccer Camp

Angry mother to preteen girl: “Don’t ever tell me to shut up again. That’s totally disrespectful. Now go and fill your damn water.” Similar:That story about the pope requiring Catholics to fast from meat as part of a deal with the… That story about the pope requiring Ca…BusinessHow to Use the Feynman Technique to Identify…

Moving Past Survival

Although professors may hope to remove obstacles to success, innate personality and other environmental factors may influence learning more than what we are able to offer with the short number of hours we are in contact with students. Yet, there are some tactics that seem to encourage real engagement in undergraduate core classes: —Shari Wilson…

Hey! Who turned me in?

The 28-year-old, identified only as D.M., took a photo of his speedometer showing 170 km (100 mph) on a back road in northern Croatia and then put it on the Web site of his local municipality. Police found him three days later. —Hey! Who turned me in? (Reuters) Similar:Raw Deal on Printer Ink”The ink we print…

Space Invaders

Qui ne se souvient pas du SPACE INVADERS, lun des premiers jeux vidéo — Aux commandes d’un vaisseau, il s’agissait de défendre la Terre contre des escadrilles d’envahisseurs venus de l’espace… Et bien, la plus grande partie de SPACE INVADERS de la planète a eu lieu le 24 juin 2006 au festival Belluard. —Space Invaders (notsonoisy.com)…

Maize: the final frontier

—Maize: the final frontier (ABCnet.au) A Star Trek cornfield maze. I’ll spare you the fanboy analysis, which would hinge on the fact that it looks like that’s the original series Enterprise, firing what looks like a phaser from the secondary hull (should be coming from the base of the saucer) at a Borg cube, but the…

”Uh…”

And yes, Liz’s face registers the shift between thinking Jon is sweet and deeply weird, but the sudden retraction of her hand from Garfield’s back seals the deal: she wants so little to do with Jon that even touching his cat feels wrong. —”Uh…” (Garfield: Permanent Monday) The world needs more daily critical analyses of Garfield…

People Power

Today’s peer-production machine runs in a mostly nonmonetary economy. The currency is reputation, expression, karma, “wuffie,” or simply whim. This can all sound a little like, well, ’60s-style utopianism. After all, Marx himself believed that the industrial proletariat would revolt against the bourgeoisie, creating a state where the workers own the means of industrial production.…

Muppet Wiki

—Muppet Wiki  (Muppet.Wikia.com) Too much information on the muppets. Way, way too much. Similar:Finland's Museum of Contemporary EmotionsA history of the beginning of the pandem…AestheticsR.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots) Artistic Prosperity TrailerWe rehearsed and recorded a Zoom recordi…ArtTeenage Usability (Jakob Nielsen's Alertbox)Teens often work on laptops with track p…CybercultureBuilding a ridiculous amount of detail as I…