Rewatching ST:TNG Data plays poker with holodeck simulations of a crabby Isaac Newton, a genial Albert Einstein, and a grinning Stephen Hawking (playing himself). The Enterprise-D follows a distress call to an outpost, where they find a Borg task force. But everything seems off… not only did these Borg seem to be hiding, the drones…
Similar:Not doing well. As usual.PersonalDragging Myself to a New Skill Level with Blender 3DWorking on some very complex stuff in Bl…AestheticsOver the years I have leveled up my Blender3D skills.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNLArSlF…AestheticsAt Computers and Writing #cwcon for the weekend.Am I wise now? At an event for encouragi…AcademiaWe found a mushroom fairy ring in our yardIt won’t make…
I think this #denoising filter makes my #CGI scene look a bit like a hand-illustrated children’s book. #Blender3D #cyclesrender The fruit bowl and some of the base textures (like the cloth for the potholders, or the wallpaper) are from free kits. Similar:Slicing up a massively detailed trimsheet to simulate reflections and geometry for four…
Similar:Every Post-Game Press Conference (Weird Al)https://youtu.be/oXAW2qd65nAAmusingTwo decades of Alzheimer's research may be based on deliberate fraud that has cost million… Over the last two decades, Alzheimer’s…BusinessMy crazy Friday night involved tweaking the graphic for an #MLAstyle instructional web pag…AcademiaThe Ship #StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch (Season 5, Episode 2) Sisko defends his claim to salvage a…Rewatching ST:DS9…
Pandemic living can make it much more difficult to form a memory at all, let alone call it back when we need it, said Yassa, director of the Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory at the University of California, Irvine. “Sometimes we’re a little bit harder on ourselves. We think, ‘Oh, how…
The filter won’t replace real hand-drawn art, but the imperfections give some life to a CGI scene. Similar:Is this Wonka's factory, or the presidential picnic @setonhilluniversity ? PersonalFaculty/staff orientation begins @setonhilluniversity PersonalBefore the haircut. PersonalComputer Interfaces in Star Trek's "Assignment Earth"I was watching classic Star Trek with my…CybercultureVersu's Epilogue: How an Interactive Fiction Pioneer's 15 Year Project Ended…
In February, 2002, I was blogging about Robert E. McElwaine was a conspiracy theorist who had a habit of spamming multiple newsgroups with his political, religious, and social ideas. He used an account at the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire, and was very active until around the time I started teaching at that school. Animator…
Rewatching ST:TNG Picard, Data, Troi and LaForge are lounging in the back section of a runabout (seen only in this episode), reflecting on a conference they just attended, when they start running into pockets of space where time moves at different rates. They find the Enterprise-D and a Romulan Warbird frozen in time, apparently in…
A 20-something former CEO takes a fast food job The death of Astrid Lindgren (creator of Pippi Longstocking) at 94 Isadore, patron saint of web surfing (who remembers when “surfing the web” was the dominant metaphor?) Teenager created a glove to translate ASL finger positions to speech On the implausibility of the Death Star’s trash…
Clearly influenced by Kubrick’s 1969 film 2001: A Space Odyssey, the 1975-1977 British TV show Space:1999 features our protagonist riding a gleaming off-white almost empty shuttle to a gleaming off-white space station and then on to a gleaming off-white moonbase. A delightfully consistent design ethic created a seamless connection between the sets where the actors…
Similar:My schedule every Friday this term. (Payback for teaching a course over Christmas break.) PersonalNext up for the girl: Cherry in "The Outsiders" (March 6-15)BooksHappy Easter 2016PersonalToday’s adulting was brought to you by a failed motor vehicle inspection. #notacarguy #win…The car shop wanted to charge over $300….ModdingParent: "Why don't you use one of your stress balls?"…
Rewatching ST:TNG Worf is uncharacteristically late for a shift because he was distracted by a ritual to invoke the fabled warrior Kahless. He tells Picard that since meeting the young Klingons who grew up with no knowledge of their heritage (s6e16&17 “Birthright“), he has felt “empty,” and feels the need to test his faith. Picard…
Great writing and great photography in this story about a small Minnesota town where conservative Lutheran pastor Jason Wolter denies that COVID-19 vaccines work. “You’re lying to people,” he says, “You flat-out lie about things.” Wolter is speaking of Reed Anfinson, his next-door neighbor, who is the editor of the Swift County Monitor-News, “[a] contemplative man…
Part of my enjoyment of genre franchises is looking for and appreciating continuity. The other side of that coin is, of course, pointing out continuity gaps. But a plot hole is just a plot hole, and means nothing without context. A logical inconsistency in a tense psychological courtroom drama would be more serious than a…
A history of the beginning of the pandemic, oragnized around emotions. More recently, the Museum of Contemporary Emotions—a project of the Finnish government’s Finland Forward pandemic communications initiative—picked up Ekman’s work as its scaffolding. The Museum, really an interactive website, is a kind of digital archive of experience during the Covid-19 pandemic, styled with the sans-serif…
Rewatching ST:TNG A defeated-looking Crusher tells Guinan her career is over, and, film-noir style, narrates how “it all started when…” After meeting a Ferengi scientist at a conference, Crusher invites him to the Enterprise-D to demonstrate his unorthodox technobabble technology. Only four scientists accepted Crusher’s invitation to witness the demonstration — a Klingon (not much…
Rewatching ST:TNG A well-done mystery that could have, *should* have, redefined our understanding of intelligent life in the Star Trek storytelling universe, but did not. Picard’s beloved archeology professor shows up after 30 years with an invitation to join a mysterious expedition. I respect that the writers don’t ask us to believe that Picard is…
Similar:A college tells faculty it's illegal to speak to student journalistsCongratulations, President Meadows. You …BusinessTwitter suspends Trump's accountTwitter suspended Donald Trump’s account…Current_EventsMy simulated city has 1000 capsule inhabitants that are just smart enough to gather around…My simulated city has 1000 capsule inhab…DesignHide and Q (TNG Rewatch, Season 1, Episode 9) Riker, buffed up by Q,…
Similar:Carolyn performed as Ariel yesterday in the New Renaissance Theatre Company's production o… Carolyn performed as Ariel yesterday i…AmusingGreat energy at our Comp & Culture poster paper session. So proud of these students an…AcademiaThe heir to the throne of Gondor and and a scruffy looking nerf herder are handing out can… PersonalQ Who? (ST: TNG Rewatch,…
Similar:What You Need To Know About WordPress 3.9 Users are now able to create audio and…Current_EventsBeowimp (spoof I wrote for my high school lit magazine c. 1985)I got an email this morning from someone…AmusingThe Emma Watson nude pictures hoax shames our ‘news’ cultureDid you hear that a shady group of antis…Culture"Daddy, I'm sick of your…