"In 1044, a Chinese manual on producing gunpowder-based weapons included cannons, bombs for lobbing at invaders, two-stage rockets, and land mines." Chinese researchers stumbled across the formula for gunpowder while researching what they called the "immortality pill". What forces control the way inventions end up being used? Mark Robinson —Accidental Geniusb> (Wired) Similar:Stage Right Arts4Homeschoolers…
The genius of Web sites for accommodating multiple points of view is nowhere better illustrated than in the recent on-line craze for public diaries, or “blogs.” The term is a shortening of Weblog – and also the name of the easy-to-use technology available at www.blogger.com: “Push-Button Publishing for the People.” Jeff Warren —Point and Think…
September 11, 2001.It’s been six months since Similar:Faculty stacked up in launch tube beneath McKenna gym, ready for graduation 2022.AcademiaBury Berry Family Members – a review of "Very Berry Dead" – 'Burgh VivantThe cast of comical, quirky characters a…AwesomeDog and TP WallAmusingJournalists dream of puns like this.AmusingABC News executive placed on administrative leave after reports…
If they throw this renegade hacker hero in jail, it’ll be the first time he’s had a steady place to stay in five years. —He Hacks by Day, Squats by Night (Wired) Similar:The Mere Presence of Your Smartphone Reduces Brain Power, Study Shows The researchers found that participants…AcademiaBlender 3D UpdateHoly ray-tracing, Batman, it’s a Blender…AestheticsApple Watch…
: "No more blog blog blog!" — line not quite spoken by Captain Kirk ("Miri," Star Trek). —William Shatner’s Weblog Similar:TARDIS from today's 3D printing class.AestheticsIn March 2000, I was blogging about Palm V computers for the Navy, NCAA banning online jou…In March 2000, I was blogging about …AcademiaGingerbread USS EnterpriseMr. Sulu, set phasers to…
"Not telling someone where you got your information from is a kind of power stroke, effectively sealing your book off from any possible scrutiny, debate or challenge." Kathryn Hughes —The re-vision thing: Why are contemporary biographers and historians so afraid of footnotes? (Guardian) Similar:Phoenix journalist admits 'bad reporting' in claiming White House press censorshipNEWS FLASH:…
In 1085, William the Conqueror commissioned the Domesday Book. In 1986, the BBC spent £2.5 million to create an electronic version. While William’s original is still in fine shape, there are no computers capable of reading the laser discs on which the BBC version was published. —Ancient Domesday Book Outlives Electronic Versionb> (Ananova) Similar:Emily Dickinson…
(ZDNet) "The only way to explain Microsoft’s decisions over the past couple of years is to say that they know their packaged software business is doomed," says open-source advocate Eric Raymond. —Cheap PCs will doom Microsoft Similar:A woman approached The Post with dramatic — and false — tale about Roy Moore. She appears …This looks…
: Plants are psychic. The Russians are interfering with the weather. An early USENET conspiracy theorist from UWEC was once responsible for generating nearly 90% of Internet news traffic. —Robert E. McElwaine from the UWEC is an "Internet Legend" Similar:Pieces of Earliest Games RecoveredThese small sculpted stones unearthed fr…CultureWhen You've Already Got a Major, But…
"…in the past three months, the pent-up thirst for knowledge and modern skills has transformed the capital. Dozens of storefront language and computer skills centers have sprung up, and last week several thousand young people showed up to take entrance exams at the newly revived university." —With War Over, Afghans Battle Ignorance (WashPost) Similar:Commonly Misused…
My student Matt Hoy sent me this link. Thanks, Matt! —Scholarly Electronic Publishing Weblog Similar:Seton Hill Student Journalists Launch Local Election Coverage Students in my journalism class are pu…AcademiaHappy U.S. citizenship, Dr. Garcia-Quismondo @SHUHumanities @Setonhill AcademiaLiberal arts college professor assaults alt-right group memberCarefully choosing language that fits yo…AcademiaOne of my undergrad lit papers. Dot-matrix printed, with…
(New Yorker) Manhattan treasure hunt: "Across the street, a writer for ‘Who Wants to Be a Millionaire’ and a crossword virtuoso named Ellen Ripstein are scrutinizing graffiti in a phone booth. Catercornered to them, the editor of the Wall Street Journal crossword is standing beside a professional palindromist who is riffling through a bin of…
"The history of teaching teems with machines that have jammed and stained. Who can forget that buried next to the ditto are the old-fashioned 8and 16-millimeter film projectors?" —Jamming Together: Remembering the Dittob> (Chronicle) Similar:Google Autocomplete Still Makes Hateful Autocorrect SuggestionsThe top suggestion for a Holocaust searc…BusinessSupport the arts in your community! I’m here for…
No, he was not squashed by a falling safe or run over by an Acme Indestructo Steel Ball. Jones created the Road Runner and Coyote cartons. Rules from that series: “No dialogue ever, except ‘beep beep.” “No outside force can harm the Coyote — only his own ineptitude or the failure of the Acme products.”…
A palindrome is a word or phrase that reads the same backwards and forwards: "Madam, I’m Adam." Nick Montfort & William Gillsepie have written a whole palindrome story. —2002: A Palindrome Story Similar:Internet Explorer cheated its way to the top, and I won't miss itI started teaching myself HTML in earnes…AcademiaUneasy Lies the Head –…
“The day I came home for Christmas vacation my parents and I were sitting in the kitchen, I looked at them and said, ‘I’m pregnant. Just kidding, I want to change my major.’” Jeanine Savageau —Changing Majors: Junior Realizes Journalism Isn’t for Her (UWEC Spectator; registration required) Similar:Partisan Pa. websites masquerading as local news threaten trust…
“The year 2002. The 20th day of the 2nd month, 2002. And, on the 24-hour clock, at two minutes after 8 p.m., harmony. 2002.” —2002 2002 2002 (Toronto Star) Similar:Incoming Seton Hill Students Pick Up Their MacBooks and iPads TodayI find it impossible not to be cheerful …AcademiaThe Rhetoric of Anthems and the Drama of KneelingI…
"Traditional publishers… couldn’t understand his willingness to surrender his ‘authority’ over his own work by letting others participate. Nor could they understand his desire to ‘devalue’ his copyright by posting a whole book online." —A Footnote to E-book History (Wired) Similar:The girl asked me to read R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots) to her. #quarantine #partylik…BooksIn June,…
“Alongside the boom, however, there have recently been a few faint signs of backlash. As increasing hordes take on the task of trying to keep new sites looking nice, sounding original and free from banalities, more hordes just seem to fail.” —Blah, Blah, Blah and Blog (Wired) Similar:My "Writing About Literature" Students Are Sampling Text…
“…I think the wonder of our aesthetic or religious sense, or musicality, is increased by the fact that it depends on three pounds of jelly in our head.” —Interview with Oliver Sacks (neurologist and novelist) Similar:The Dish (2000 Australian comedy)I try to watch this every July to commem…CultureThe Most Unexpected Workplace Trend Coming in 2020:…