OldComputers.com

I spent some time today getting reacquainted with some old friends: the Texas Instruments 99/4a (1979), the Atari 800 (1980), and the Commodore C 64 (that I took to college with me my freshman year, 1986).  (Thanks for the link, Bruce.) —OldComputers.com Similar:#MyNYPD Hashtag Promptly HijackedSomeone is regretting this PR move. …Current_EventsShatoetry iPhone app lets…

Borg Journalism

“When all is said and done, what is the role of journalists in breaking news? Are journalists relics of a golden era, now useful only as a conduit to pass along the whispers of the hive-mind to the unplugged masses? Or have we been reduced to Stamps of Approval, as we validate blog-based trends with…

Preparing for the Coming Era of Participatory News

"Storytellers – specialists in the art of conveying human emotions — rule this future. And in this future, everyone is a storyteller. Everyone creates the collective experience. Everyone creates the collective intelligence." Dale Peskin —Preparing for the Coming Era of Participatory News (Online Journalism Review) Similar:A woman approached The Post with dramatic — and false…

Worst Manual Contest

“The instructions in this manual explain more about how to get fired than about how to succeed at work…. For instance, employees are asked to follow ‘rules’ that include stealing, disobedience, and excessive absenteeism (or should they have been termed ‘actions that may result in termination’?).” (Suggested by Jason Amdor.) —Worst Manual Contest (Technical Standards,…

100 Best Fictional Characters since 1900

(NPR) —100 Best Fictional Characters since 1900 Similar:"Godspell" is sure to entertain audiences of all ages and faithsThat’s me in the white shirt, with a tie…CultureHeadphones, Croutons and RhetoricME (with crouton tongs in one hand and s…CultureThe Last Soviet CitizenInteresting reflection on the collapse o…CultureTrektacular Google DoodleAmusingKnowing Poe [Annotated Version of 'The Raven']Edgar Allan Poe’s…

Don't talk on the phone while driving.

2-year-old Morgan was broad-sided by a man who admitted he was distracted by his cell phone. Morgan was killed; the guy on the phone got a $50 fine and 2 tickets. —Don’t talk on the phone while driving. Similar:Being a dad-nerd means finding new ways to play.https://youtu.be/-c6IirtwFawAestheticsFraternity Announces "Legal Action" Against Rolling Stone”The Rolling Stone…

Merchants of Cool

(PBS)  A report on the creators and marketers of popular culture for teenagers (teens talk back). —Merchants of Cool Similar:What employers really want? Workers they don’t have to trainI do teach a number of very practical co…AcademiaElevator shaft on a #steampunk #blender3d cruiser, just because. #design #aesthetics #blen… AestheticsAttribution, Editorializing and DefamationIn the Nightly Noodle Monthly,…

Digital Divide Basics

There has always been a gap between those people and communities who can make effective use of information technology and those who cannot. Now, more than ever, unequal adoption of technology excludes many from reaping the fruits of the economy. —Digital Divide Basics Similar:Scientists should be goggled and in the lab, where they belong. Shut…

Debunking the Digital Divide

It may turn out that the “digital divide”—one of the most fashionable political slogans of recent years—is largely fiction. —Debunking the Digital Divide Similar:Culture Desk: My Life in PencilsDevotees of the Blackwing had been payin…AestheticsGoogle responds to streaming report with shruggie GIFThe Daily Dot proceeded to shrug the GIF…AmusingGrappling with Genocide: Fostering Empathy and Engagement…

Gettysburg Address on PowerPoint

"After one too many bad presentations, I decided to see if I could do something about it. Back in my hotel room I decided to show what Abe Lincoln might have done if he had used PowerPoint rather than the power of oratory at Gettysburg." Peter Norvig —Gettysburg Address on PowerPoint Similar:Shakespeare Popularized Falconry TermsEnglish…

The Social Life of Paper

“Computer technology was supposed to replace paper. But that hasn’t happened. Every country in the Western world uses more paper today, on a per-capita basis, than it did ten years ago.” —The Social Life of PaperNew Yorker) Similar:Computers and Writing workshop on Inform 7. (Happening now. In an asynchronous way.)https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLa8nP…AcademiaWhen an Eel Climbs a Ramp…

Star Trek Chaplains?

The first space colonists will probably take their faiths to the stars. The reference to “Star Trek” in the title of the article is cute, but Star Trek: The Next Generation was almost universally hostile to religious concepts (except when aliens presented them, that is). The more recent TV show Bablylon 5, although created by…

Bush's Orwellian Address

A progressive critique of Bush’s response to the 9-11 attacks, interpreting Bush in terms of George Orwell’s bleak totalitarian novel 1984:  "1984 has arrived. In his address to Congress Thursday, George Bush effectively declared permanent war — war without temporal or geographic limits; war without clear goals; war against a vaguely defined and constantly shifting…

You might have a Ph.D. if…

“‘Nigerian Money Offers’ zoomed from the seventh to the third most common type of online fraud last year, and the reason is obvious. In days gone by, the scammers had to canvass potential victims one at a time by fax and snail mail; now they have the speed, cost-effectiveness and anonymity of the Internet at…

The Last Words

"Asked by the firing squad commander if he had a last request, James Roges said, ‘Why yes. A bullet-proof vest!‘" Christopher Orlet —The Last Words (Vocabula Review) Similar:30 years later, Sierra's Laura Bow mysteries are still a treasureWhen I was in college and grad school, a…CultureIf You're Getting Walled in a Cellar I Feel Bad…

Girls Read Twice as Much as Boys

The survey, published by an organization promoting "World Book Day," probably does not count time spent in chat rooms, reading web pages as "reading", but the news item does not raise that issue. Related question: has feminism harmed boys? —Girls Read Twice as Much as Boys (BBC) Similar:Netflix’s ‘The Piano Lesson’ adaptation breaks cycle by…

The Company Therapist

A "collaborative hyperdrama" purports to be the archives of a young psychiatrist offering his services to the employees of a dot-com.  "Through transcripts of therapy sessions, patient diaries and logs, doodles, personnel records, telephone conversations, and other written and graphical materials, the Company Therapist is designed to allow a deep exploration of its characters and…