“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:PAC-MAN: The Untold Story of How We Really Played…
“All that I am or ever hope to be, I owe to my angel Mother.” — Abraham Lincoln —Tribute to Mothers Similar:In News, What’s Fake and What’s Real Can Depend on What You Want to Believe The proliferation of fake and hy…CultureThe Missing Will, by Agatha Christie (WAOB Audio Theatre)I had a great time playing…
“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:Split Infinitives in English: Not Actually Wrong, But UnwiseThe rule against split infinitives is a …CultureThe Physics Behind Traffic JamsIn between today’s various events, I das…CultureLies about history…
“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:August Wilson Trifecta (Two Trains, Ma Rainey and Fences on the same…
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:New NASA Astronaut Wrote a Limerick to Get Hired “There was a lot of writing involved…AmusingProto iPads and…
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:Think Like A Journalist | Kelsey Samuels | TEDxPlano …
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:Stephen Greenblatt's The Swerve racked up prizes — and completely misled you about the…
“[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:Chilling analysis of organized, anonymous disinformation campaign against Parkland survivo…Forty-seven minutes…
“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:Pluto FlybyWhen I was about 10, I wrote to NASA and…Current_EventsThe Declaration of Independence (Dramatic Reading)I rather enjoyed…
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:Why teens are leaving Facebook: It’s ‘meaningless’However, there’s a silver lining for Mar…BusinessDaughter is in 2 theatrical productions opening this weekendThe daughter plays Laertes in Seton Hill…BooksHow Are Websites Made?This one chart is actually the punch lin…AmusingCreating Games for JournalismWe as journalists can learn a lot…
>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:Peter vs. the PenguinsFor the past hour, Peter (who is not yet…AmusingModular…
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:Wet Book Rescuehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9_fwmdC…BooksThe right — and surprisingly wrong — ways to get kids to…
(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:Branding Essentials for the English Major: 4 Examples of How to Re-package Your Skills for…It seems every week some “expert” publis…AcademiaThinking a lot lately about masking and…
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:…