Rewatching ST:TNG When Picard is up in the middle of the night amusing himself with his archaeology hobby, he’s annoyed to find that Stellar Cartography has taken communications, library systems, and the replicators offline. When he heads down there, the officer in charge is taking some sensor readings that are so delicate they can be…
Objective news reporting is an ideal. Wherever humans are involved, there will be bias. There’s nothing intrinsically wrong with journalism that reports with a particular slant, but informed consumers of news who want to understand a complex issue aren’t served by one-sided media coverage that flatters and amplifies their world view. This chart sorts popular…
If you said hello to me recently and I didn’t seem interested in smalltalk, but just raised my eyebrows, made friendly sounds, and drifted on, I hope I didn’t seem indifferent. I really was glad to see so many familiar upper halves of faces at the Lamp Theatre last night, but it was also kind…
The role of mainstream journalists is significant, and, overall, their record has been far less than stellar. Too many, whether in a one-on-one interview or at larger sessions with a number of reporters, have failed to push back in a way that matters. Trump is such a facile talker — one who specializes in dazzling…
Rewatching ST:TNG The Enterprise-D visits Deep Space Nine, so that the producers can take advantage of the beautiful promenade set and jam in a guest appearance from DS9’s Dr. Bashir. O’Brien doesn’t appear in this episode, but he’s mentioned in a brief and completely unnecessary scene where LaForge complains the pasta on DS9 “tastes like…
Similar:On a little afternoon walk with my son.HealthAnother delightful section of #neovictorian #steampunk control panel, intended for backgro…One of many steampunk control panels I’v…AestheticsLast event of a busy day downtown. #AgathieChristie #murderontheorientexpressAestheticsIdlewild's Story Book Forest Improves Its SignageIn the past, I have pointed out copy-edi…AestheticsDragging Myself to a New Skill Level with Blender 3DWorking on…
For decades, champions of the video game industry have touted gaming’s cultural impact as the equal of literature, film and music. Traditionally, the classic works from those mediums have been preserved for study by future generations, and amid gaming’s global rise in relevance, a group of video game scholars and advocates is pushing to preserve…
Similar:I am not really sure why I have kept it up this long. I have no immediate or foreseeable p… CulturePuns really matter to us over here in English.I swore I would wield my powers only for…AcademiaA former student contacted me to share her thoughts.A few years ago, I told myself I would s…AcademiaFull Bloom…
Similar:Leftovers from the food my colleagues brought in to bribe/reward those few students who sh… Leftovers from the food my colleagues b…AcademiaMy mother-in-law invited me to try out the 60- year-old tape machine that belonged to my f…My mother-in-law invited me to try out t…AwesomeHidden Spaces, New Possibilities I’ve often had dreams about returning …CultureAscending…
Rewatching ST:TNG Picard is in sickbay with a gaping hole in his chest. Crusher can’t save him. In a white void, Picard meets a familiar figure, Q, who claims to be God, and conjures up a vision of Picard’s father (who is *so* disappointed), and voices from Picard’s past — people he says have died…
Similar:Charming solar system scale installation on Baltimore St. in Kansas City.PersonalIf you care about things like acting, or people, go see "Orphans." I'm over…PersonalI have two scenes in a horror film. My head appears in a third scene.During Fall Break, I filmed my scenes fo…AestheticsI am not really sure why I have kept it…
Similar:Standardized-test robo-graders flunk“According to professor of theory of kno…AcademiaYes I do own a copy of the 1975 Star Trek Enterprise blueprints, but this guy annotated hi…PersonalMy schedule every Friday this term. (Payback for teaching a course over Christmas break.) PersonalRepresenting the Humanities at Accepted Students Day.Representing the Humanities at Accepted …PersonalCanada's Globe and Mail Uses Expandable…
My friend from high school passed away a few days ago. What an amazing preacher. So intelligent, so approachable, so passionate. What a loss to the Diocese of Lansing and everyone who knew and loved him. I am laughing through my tears at his aside, “I want to smack ’em!” (I knew him…
Rewatching ST:TNG Troi wakes up, looking like a Romulan. When Subcommander N’Vek tells her she’s impersonating the imperial intelligence officer Major Rakal, and that she’ll be killed if she doesn’t play along, he invites her to use her empathic powers to see whether he’s lying. He’s not. He’s using the assumed authority of “Rakal” to…
A conspiracy theory featuring a news story that NPR posted early on Jan 6 2021 and then updated after the pro-Trump demonstration turned into an anti-democracy riot was shared widely last year. My meme explaining the concepts of time-stamps and updating a breaking news story didn’t get shared nearly as much. People who already believe…
Rewatching ST:TNG LaForge gets a little too involved when investigating the disappearance of a lieutenant posted on a remote relay station. On a routine supply mission near the Klingon border, the Enterprise-D finds only a friendly dog and a mystery. The plot requires the details of the mystery to remain fuzzy so that LaForge has…
Similar:Explore – Laconic history of the world in a typographic map…Explore – Laconic history of the world i…AestheticsWhen T.S. Eliot Invented the Hipster Prufrock cannot bring himself to…CultureDress rehearsal for Mamma Mia.PersonalJane Catherine Lotter's Self-written ObituaryI don’t know her, other than as the auth…EssaysThis weekend… Would YOU trade a Hank Aaron rookie card for Roberto…
Some of my amazing colleagues have collaborated on an amazing NEH-funded summer institute that provides teachers in grades 6-12 with resources for teaching about genocide. The event, scheduled for summer 2022, includes units on the erasure of Native Americans, an empathy-building Narrative 4 storytelling workshop, and more. There’s a stipend for participating in this event,…
Similar:Bilbo's party sociological infographic.AestheticsThe Curtains Were Blue: In Which I Fix Another Meme. Above is my response to a meme that …AcademiaPie, anyone?PersonalMy project starts to get clunky while managing 1000 NPCs but I think if I split them up in…My project starts to get clunky while ma…AestheticsThis is the first time during the pandemic…
Similar:My crowd simulation handles 2000 capsule NPCs at 130fps. I’m really pushing my coding skil…AestheticsHow to create a magazine: 5 tips from top designersCreative Bloq. AestheticsSmalltalk through masks is hard; I really was glad to see so many familiar upper halves of…If you said hello to me recently and I d…CultureNo one’s ready for this:…