One proposal put forward is that Newton’s idea that the force of gravity weakens as distance increases may be incorrect over very large spaces, and may drop off over very long distances. —Robin McKie —Space probes feel cosmic tug of bizarre forces (Guardian) Similar:World Trade Center Literary and Cultural Reflections (first posted September 11, 2001)…
NEW YORK – It‘snot just students who need to brush up on their writing. A majority of U.S. employers say about one-third of workers do not meet the writing requirements of their positions, according to a survey by the College Board‘sNational Commission on Writing. —Survey show workers shud write better (MSNBC/AP) I’m sorry, this is just…
It is an article of faith with millions of Americans, most of them on the left, that George W. Bush is stupid. Many reasonable people think his policies are ill-advised, but millions more insist Bush must be a moron because he sounds stupid… In a letter to be published in The Atlantic’s October issue, Price…
“Turn off the television and read the newspaper. There’s more truth in your local paper than you’ll find on CNN.” — James McBride, author and musician, concluding his remarks at tonight’s lecture here at Seton Hill University. —James McBride Lecture (New Media Journalism @ Seton Hill University) Similar:Why fake news worksFake news works on our emotions,…
On April 12 1979, Kevin McKenzie of Arpanet’s MsgGroup made the following suggestion: Perhaps we could extend the set of punctuation we use, i.e.: If I wish to indicate that a particular sentence is meant with tongue-in-cheek, I would write it so: “Of course you know I agree with all the current administration’s policies -).”…
The popular online pastime known as blogging has found its way into the English classrooms at Georgia Tech. In an innovative approach, Dr. Charles Tryon and Dr. Doreen Piano have both integrated blogging into their English 1101 classes this semester for the first time. —Jeff Wei —LCC professors explore weblogging in English classes (Technique) I’m afraid…
“While trying to improve math, science, and technology in our schools, we’ve neglected writing,” said Commission member Gaston Caperton, president of the College Board, which founded the Commission. “Writing is a fundamental professional skill. Most of the new jobs in the years ahead will emphasize writing. If students want professional work in service firms, in…
Called Ka-on, which means “flower sound” in Japanese, the gadget consists of a doughnut-shaped magnet and coil at the base of a vase. It hooks up to a CD player, TV or stereo and relays sounds up through a plant’s stem and out via the petals. — Flower power turns up the volume (BBC) Thanks for…
While some early reviews bemoan the fact that elements of Fable had to be scaled back, it‘sclear that the game is still remarkably ambitious. As the player‘scharacter ages, and as the world changes around him (“him? because plans for female heros were among those cut), he can choose at almost any time to explore and…
While there were times in which some students wrote longer messages, more often than not, the posts were short, merely links to other documents, or text that was “cut and pasted” from another source. There was very little writing that could be described as reflective, dynamic, collaborative, or interactive. There was almost no exchange or…
When history books are written, bloggers’ real contribution to the 2004 election may well turn out to be in providing leagues of amateur sleuths to fact-check political controversy…. The Bush memo story has shown the Internet’s broader power of linking thousands of readers together, as much as it has demonstrated the intrinsic power of blogs…
Welcome to the exciting world of hurricane journalism! While your highly paid colleagues on the anchor desk are broadcasting from the dry safety of a heavily fortified television studio, you and your camera crew will be out in the maw of the storm, risking your lives for no good reason. ? What you should wear:…
On April 19, 2002, U.S. District Judge Stephen N. Limbaugh Sr. ruled that video games do not convey ideas and thus enjoy no constitutional protection. As evidence, Saint Louis County presented the judge with videotaped excerpts from four games, all within a narrow range of genres, and all the subject of previous controversy. Overturning a…
A computer game written by Douglas Adams is being revived to coincide with a new BBC Radio 4 series of The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy. The text adventure will appear on the station’s website and was described by the late Adams as “the first game to move beyond being ‘user friendly’”. “It’s actually ‘user…
“People fall for it all the time,” said Greg Paradee, a Chatting AIM Bot, or CAB, fan. “It acts so much like a real human, sometimes it’s hard not to fall for it. The bot … keeps conversation going with normal, everyday questions, so people answer those thinking it’s a real person.” —Beware of Bots…
Student Impressions of Internet History Milestones (Jerz’s Literacy Weblog) This morning I gave my students a randomized list of key events in the history of the internet, and asked them to estimate the year when each event happened. “Average” gives the average of all student guesses. “Actual” gives the actual date. “Diff” gives the difference. …
Historical Awareness of the Internet (Jerz’s Literacy Weblog) Most college students today would probably say that they feel very comfortable using the internet. Some really and truly are expert users, with a deep understanding of the function and history of the internet. But I find that when they first arrive at college, most students bring with…
We don’t have cable TV at home, so I don’t watch much TV. My mother-in-law occasionally tapes educational shows from PBS, and sends them up to us. In 2000, when my son was 2, she filled a whole tape with “Between the Lions” (about a family of lions that lives in a library… get it?…
The memos were written using a proportional typeface, where letters take up variable space according to their size, rather than fixed-pitch typeface used on typewriters, where each letter is allotted the same space. Proportional typefaces are available only on computers or on very high-end typewriters that were unlikely to be used by the National…
A ROBOT that will generate its own power by eating flies is being developed by British scientists. The idea is to produce electricity by catching flies and digesting them in special fuel cells that will break down sugar in the insects’ skeletons and release electrons that will drive an electric current. —Robot eats flies to…