We all know that technology makes it easier for some students who are tempted by academic dishonesty. I just recently used a little-known feature of MS-Word to cast doubt on a fairly standard — and fairly lame — student excuse. Fifteen minutes before an assignment is due, I get an e-mail from a student who…
“‘The Internet allows us to do all kinds of things quickly and efficiently, and that includes hoaxing,’ Jerz says.|Jerz, an assistant professor of English at UW-Eau Claire, learned of the Olsen hoax when a skeptical student emailed him the fake CNN story….News hoaxes aren’t the only ones that spread by e-mail, says Jerz, who often…
“Once you’ve got her, the next step is keeping her. To do this, just remember that your geek girl has a few special things about her that distinguish her from other women. All women like gifts, but the geek girl’s tastes are different. The average woman likes flowers, but the geek girl is not average,…
“All the scenester dudes are either dating a series of interchangeable high-school riot grrrls in baby doll dresses and an overdose of manic panic, or permanently shacked up with some bitter old lady who pays all the bills. Which will it be, a wifely prison or a humiliating one night stand? Into this void of…
“There are two types of people — those who prefer to communicate via e-mail, and those who prefer the phone. What the phone people don’t realize is that their need for information means that they’re going to interrupt someone else’s day to get that information. E-mail, on the other hand, is just as quick and…
“If recent rumours are to be believed, AOL is getting ready in the next month or so to add blogging to the home-page services it offers users.|It is a sign of how far these regularly updated pages of web links with personal comment have come in the past five years.” —Blogging for DollarsThe Age) Hrmm.…
“Google adds fresh pages to its database everyday. You can search these fresh pages to find new information from today, yesterday or over the last 7 days if you wish. The only thing is, do not head to Google.” —Search the Fresh Internet in Google with GooFresh!Smoogle) A description of GooFresh, a website that lets…
“Things like the Back and forward button, we never intended that to be a permanent part of the interface. But people get locked into metaphors. You have to be careful with the metaphors you put in front of people because once they click onto one, that’s it.” An interview with Netscape creator Marc Andreessen —Web…
“Your task is to write the first line of an imaginary novel. Your goal is to make it hilariously bad…. Maximum sentence length: 25 words.” (Deadline: 14 April 2003) —Jennifer Stood There, Quietly OvulatingAdam Cadre) Adam Cadre, who started the Lyttle Lytton contest as a reaction against what he sees as the increasingly lengthy and…
“Cool-2B-Real is about real girls like you! Whether you’re in school, playing sports or just having fun, strive to be the best you can be! Real girls are ‘keepin’ it real’ by building strong bodies and strong minds… and they’re feeling great about themselves!” Brought to real girls everywhere by the award-winning experts in girl…
“I want to invent a word which describes the experience of following all those links on the sidebar of someone’s blog. Yeah, I know blogrolling exists. But that’s just for making the links. When I visit DFWblogs or Grumpy Girl , I get hooked on all these fascinating blog names (ethnic lounge, not so girlie,…
“Game importers and Internet cafés remain vulnerable. Police are cracking down on players of Counter-Strike, Age of Empires, and digital backgammon and chess. More than 50 people have been arrested and face up to three months in prison and 5,000-euro fines.” —More Fallout Over Greek Game BanWired) Similar:Being a dad-nerd means finding new ways to…
“Over the past month, the U.S. military has periodically sent e-mail to Iraqi military and government officials urging them to protect their families by helping U.N. inspectors and turning away from Saddam Hussein.|U.S. government officials won’t comment on the campaign, but according to sources in Iraq and Iraqis living in the United States, each time…
“By the time school opened, I was thrilled to start molding the brains of my children. My optimism and naiveté evaporated within hours…. Raynard had told [his mother] that I had violently shoved him in the chest out the door of my classroom, injuring his head and back. His mother had dialed 911 and summoned…
“In its relentless pursuit of the power curve of Moore’s law, at the expense of the much less interesting price curve, the entire electronics industry may be unknowingly trapping itself in a giant and attenuated version of the dot-com bubble–living years into the technological future, only to be painfully snapped back to the human and…
“We are a powerful race, but we are not a violent one. The wars you wage on your planet are an outdated notion to us, as we prefer more intellectual pursuits. We also enjoy jogging, hiking, basketball, and golf, so we will accept nothing but the best in athletic footwear from Adidas, Reebok, and Converse.…
“When you play a multiplayer FPS video game, like Counter-Strike, you enter a complex social world, a subculture, bringing together all of the problems and possibilities of power relationships dominant in the non-virtual world. Understanding these innovations requires examining player in-game behavior, specifically the types of textual (in-game chats) and nonverbal (logo design, avatar design…
“Remember, too: you’ve just been wounded, and in addition to the adrenaline that’s just been dumped into your system, you’re likely looking at anywhere from a few drops to a steady flow of your own blood – a highly upsetting experience for many. Which means you’re shaking, and most likely trying to do this all…
“Over the next two and a half years, Güntürkün recorded 124 scientifically valid kisses in public places across the United States, Germany and Turkey.” —Most People Kiss the Right WayNature) The story cited above is a puffy little version of an academic article called “Adult persistence of head-turning asymmetry” Similar:Loki's Loop Escape RoomGreat concept for…
I got an e-mail from Bob Mosley, compiler of the Columbia loss FAQ, which called to my attention the latest updates to the Columbia FAQ resource, which was assembled rapidly by scores of volunteers on the day of the incident, —STS-107 “Columbia” Loss FAQsci.space.*) Similar:Star Wars: TIE Fighter 20th Anniversary RetrospectiveIn the Star Wars films,…