“Instead of a link… put a search box on your home page.” (UseIT.com) I e-mailed web guru Jakob Nielsen on 13 March 2000, telling him that 6 out of 6 college freshman couldn’t find the “search” feature on his website. I wrote: “I think it might help if, instead of a link, you actually put…
(UseIT.com) : “A company’s homepage is its face to the world and the starting point for most user visits. Improving your homepage multiplies the entire website’s business value, so following key guidelines for homepage usability is well worth the investment.” Jakob Nielsen —Home Page Usability Guidelines Similar:The Religious Origins of Fake News and "Alternative Facts"A…
“All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel Mother.” — Abraham Lincoln —Tribute to Mothers Similar:Murder Is Her Hobby: Frances Glessner Lee and The Nutshell Studies of Unexplained DeathSimulations are powerful tools for under…AestheticsHow reading fiction can help improve our mental healthIn general, I avoid clicking on any head…BooksWe…
“FACT: A 1987 survey found that Canadians have the worst handwriting in the whole world. They also frequently misspell the word ‘sauce.’” —The Truth about Canada Similar:Don't Help Your Kids With Their HomeworkGreater parental involvement in school (…AcademiaHeart of Stone (#StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch, Season 3, Episode 14) Odo tries to keep Kira's spi…Rewatching ST:DS9…
“What if a dispassionate computer had been making the decisions about [Andrea] Yates’ care, rather than a human doctor sitting across a desk from her? Would a computer have left her on medication? Would her children still be alive?” Ivan Oransky —Robo-docs (Salon) Similar:Seton Hill discontinues mask requirement for vaccinated individualsThe pandemic is not over.…
Geek website Slashdot was reporting, as of about 20 minutes ago (6:20 EST), that the actor best known for his role as Chief Engineer Mongomery “Scotty” Scott from the original Star Trek series, was in a coma and not expected to recover. In the time it took for me to post this message, Slashdot posted…
“I have too many books. I have begun to hate their mess and reprimand (“You haven’t read me in a long time,” or even, in the case of Silas Marner, “You have never read me”). Many of them are crap….. And yet…” Ian Jack —Throw Out All My Old Books? I Don’t Have the Spine…
Humans appear to have a hard-wired internal resistance to persuasive arguments. “Scientists are uncovering ways of making messages more persuasive. Politicians and salesmen use such tricks already. Who can afford not to read on?” —Persuasion (The Economist) Similar:The Coronavirus Is Rewriting Our ImaginationsPossibly, in a few months, we’ll return …CultureHere’s How the Pandemic Finally EndsThis…
A National Science Foundation survey reveals that 60% of Americans believe in ESP, and 51% feel that science is a dangerous profession. [The online presentation of the report is an excellent example of the effective use of blurbs.] —Science and Technology: Public Attitudes and Public Understanding Similar:Greebles make me happy.Before CGI, filming a science-fiction st…AestheticsThe…
When writing Copenhagen, playwright Michael Frayn saw science only as a metaphor. But the play fanned the flames of a smoldering debate among science historians about the events surrounding the invention of the atomic bomb. —Unraveling the Drama of Science (Wired) Similar:Len Deighton’s Bomber, the first book ever written on a word processor.The talented and…
“[H]is predictable language and trite sentiments lend the piece an incredible tedium. Formulaic phrases like ‘the cause of’ and ‘is survived by’ sound like they’re straight out of a Microsoft Word obituary template…” Noam Weinstein [Thanks, Matt!] —Death Critiqued: An Obituary Reviewed (Modern Humorist) Similar:Journalism Isn't Dying. It's Returning to Its Roots.An important reminder that…
“Bad names have played a tremendously powerful role in the history of the world and in our own individual development. They have ruined reputations, stirred men and women to outstanding accomplishments, sent others to prison cells, and made men mad enough to enter battle and slaughter their fellowmen.” — Institute for Propaganda Analysis (1938) —Propaganda…
See 1,247 vibrant engravings—many in color—from the classic 1918 publication, as well as a subject index with 13,000 entries ranging from the Antrum of Highmore to the Zonule of Zinn. —Gray’s b>Anatomy of the Human Body (Bartleby.com) Similar:Historians Admit To Inventing Ancient GreeksI knew it! Busted!! “One night someone …AcademiaMargaret Atwood: English lessons teach us…
A follow-as-you-go tutorial, the Inform Beginner’s guide creates three small games of increasing depth. No previous experience of computer programming or interactive fiction design is assumed. This book (available for free as a PDF) concludes with helpful summaries and reference tables. Firth and Kesserich (edited by Jerz). —Learn the Text Adventure Programming Language Inform(IF Library)…
—Blue Moon e-zine is looking for a literary blogger. Similar:U Michigan's North Quad Complex: A Media CathedralThe North Quad Residential Complex at th…AcademiaThe elements, in haikuEach element of the periodic table gets …AmusingA Pox On Your Listicle ClickbaitYup, seeing “1 of 21” at the top of your…BusinessOpen Access Journals in the Field of EducationUpdate, June…
>open curtains As you part the curtains, you see that it’s a bright morning, the sun is shining, the birds are singing, the meadows are blooming, and a large yellow bulldozer is advancing on your home. —The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (DouglasAdams.com) Similar:Is There a Santa Claus?Update, Dec 2020: https://www.youtube.c…CultureHeart of Stone (#StarTrek #DS9…
is — besides being further evidence that the Internet spells the end of society as we know it — a novelty service that allows customers to e-impregnate a person of their choice. The recipient will receive an e-impregnation notice and learn who e-impregnated them, as well as an update on their virtual pregnancy every two…
“Although Internet resources may be freely available, there is a lack of certainty that they will be available for students next month, next semester or next year.” Markwell and Brooks —Broken Links: Just How Rapidly Do Science Education Links Disappear?via Wired) Similar:York Corpus Christi Play Simulator Screencast (PSim 2.1; D.G. Jerz)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwNv1lx3…AcademiaThe Bill That Could Save…
(autistics.org) This web page is a step-by-step set of instructions advising autistic boys how to manage an important social ritual. Janet Villar —Asking a Girl on a Date Similar:How ‘twisted’ early childhood education has become — from a child development expertKids who got low scores, I was told, got…CultureShovel ReadyShovel Ready I recently heard our…
Women’s magazines regularly fabricate stories about you-know-what: “Many writers, editors and fact-checkers involved with these sex articles (most of whom asked that their identities be protected with the top-secrecy accorded CIA sources) agreed that the editorial standards for them are abysmal.” —Faking It: Sex, Lies, and Women’s Magazines (Columbia Journalism Review) Update, 13 Oct 2005:…