—Facing and Fessing Up to Old Age (MetaFilter) A pleasant, if late, birthday present… a reminder on MetaFilter that I am not alone. Similar:New NASA Astronaut Wrote a Limerick to Get Hired “There was a lot of writing involved…AmusingSuperman Comic about Sympathy and HopeJust in case someone out there could use…AestheticsFranz Joseph and Star Trek’s Blueprint…
Monkeys can control a robot arm as naturally as their own limbs using only brain signals, a pioneering experiment has shown. The macaque monkeys could reach and grasp with the same precision as their own hand. —Duncan Graham-Rowe —Monkey’s brain signals control ‘third arm’ (New Scientist) Similar:In September, 2003, I was blogging about the emerging fad…
Without getting into the politics (other than to say I find Sept 12 to be a useful, thought-provoking piece, and exciting new genre for games), I’m not sure why Greg and some of his commenters are so vitriolically opposed to calling Sept 12 a simulation. —Simulation Aggravation (GrandTextAuto) “Sept 12” is an interactive political cartoon —…
Letters from hometown soldiers describing their successes rebuilding Iraq have been appearing in newspapers across the country as U.S. public opinion on the mission sours. | And all the letters are the same….Sgt. Christopher Shelton, who signed a letter that ran in the Snohomish Herald, said Friday that his platoon sergeant had distributed the letter…
These are your panel questions. You will be asked some of them, not necessarily in this order: Is our fate in our genes or in our stars? Explain. What are the potential injustices or misuses of DNA information? Will the human genome diminish humanity by taking the mystery out of life? Jurassic Park was a…
In a few hours, my TV will care less about me. A show might attract relatively few viewers, and be panned by the critics, but if it attracts enough people in the magic age group of 18-34, it can pull in a lot of advertising dollars. In a few hours I will turn 35. Our…
Order and Respect in the ClassroomLitreracy Weblog) [Note: I’ve changed the title of this entry and edited it slightly — mostly by changing which words I used to link to Mike Arnzen’s blog. The previous version the previous version implied an association that I didn’t mean to create.] On his PEDABLOGUE, Mike Arnzen confesses he…
In a statement, SunnComm Technologies Inc. said it would sue Alex Halderman over the paper, which said SunnComm’s MediaMax CD-3 software could be blocked by holding down the “Shift” key on a computer keyboard as a CD using the software was inserted into a disc drive. —Ben Berkiwitz —Princeton Student Sued Over Paper on CD…
On the bridge, Baldwin counted to ten and stayed frozen. He counted to ten again, then vaulted over. “I still see my hands coming off the railing,” he said. As he crossed the chord in flight, Baldwin recalls, “I instantly realized that everything in my life that I’d thought was unfixable was totally fixable–except for…
—Muppet Terror Alert (Geek and Proud) Found on Sarcasmo’s Corner Similar:Modular support craft from the #neovictorian #steampunk bedtime stories I used to tell my …Modular support craft from the #neovicto…AestheticsNational Dance DayIn the restaurant parking lot after dinn…CultureAs coronavirus cases climb, the White House line is consistent: Everything is well in handTraditional journalism aims for neutrali…Current_EventsLooks…
Barriers are being destoyed at the same time as bridges are being built within the literary community just as in almost every other field affected by the almighty computer. Arguments fly on all sides especially as to what constitutes art. Progress constantly changes the determination–even when it may be that it is a subjective view,…
It must be that time of the semester (no, no, Michelle, not that time): people are talking about grading student papers. —Ron Vitia —Grading Papers (Vitia) I don’t understand the in-joke referring to Michelle, but the conversation that ensues is good. Via Clancy on KairosNews. Similar:Why Our Brains Make Us Click on ListsThe article-as-numbered-list has several…CultureSeven…
A note from C.M. Worth reminds me to blog that Neil Postman, author of Amusing Ourselves to Death died this weekend. —Neil Postman, Mass Media Critic, Dies (NY Times) Similar:All the world’s an appA review of three books — The App Gener…CultureNASA confirms the best-ever evidence for water on MarsMars is the only [other] place where…
Once the system is in place, patrons will be asked to stand in front of a camera to have their picture taken and will then swipe their drivers’ licence, or possibly show some other form of identification, that will automatically give the establishment the patron’s name and age and show if he or she has…
Raelians have made fun of the media that gave such extensive coverage to their cloning story. —Brigitte McCann —Rael’s Clones a Hoax? (Calgary Sun) This article refers to the burst of media attention this odd sect got over claims that a human had been successfully cloned. Similar:The Women’s Media Center: The Status of Women in the…
A self-taught bear expert who once called Alaska’s brown bears harmless party animals was one of two people fatally mauled in a bear attack in Katmai National Park and Preserve – the first known bear killings in the 4.7-million-acre park. —Rachel D’Oro —Bear enthusiast, companion fatally mauled in Katmai National Park (Ancorage Daily News) Just in…
Forty-five percent of Americans believe the news media in this country are too liberal, while only 14% say the news media are too conservative. These perceptions of liberal inclination have not changed over the last three years. A majority of Americans who describe their political views as conservative perceive liberal leanings in the media, while…
A very outgoing young man in my class (“Troy”) keeps a blog (Internet diary) about his schoolwork, partying, and politics. As I read his entries, including his grousing about my class, I tell myself that I am not eavesdropping, and that he is entitled to write whatever he likes in a public forum. Yet his…
[T]he recipients of higher education (along with the parents whose experience is 30 years out-of-date if they had one) do not know in advance what they need. If they did, they wouldn’t need it, and what they often want, at least at the outset, is an education that will tax their energies as little as…
A study carried out by USA Today and seven other newspapers in 2001 concluded that faulty design, not punch-card machines, was responsible for voters’ confusion in Palm Beach County in 2000. Despite this finding, states have focused their election-reform energies on upgrading old punch-card machines to optical-scan systems or on implementing electronic voting. They have…