"With the rise of search tools that unerringly bring you to the page you want, the need for a highly specific domain name — one that a casual Web user would be able to guess — has practically disappeared." Dan Gillmor —"’Google Effect’ Reduces Need for Many Domains"b> (SiliconValley.com) Similar:Meet the 12-year-old boy who makes…
(Abstracts due Feb 7) "We’re looking for essays that shed light on the history of interactive fiction, especially if they discuss how IF has evolved technologically and in its conventions; essays that teach and illuminate the craft of IF, including but not limited to puzzle design, world building, characters, prose style, and atmosphere; and essays…
A student project on why Microsoft is evil includes this parody of the Alcoholics Anonymous "12 step" program. Sammy Carranza —12 Steps to Stop Using Microsoft Similar:The 19th Annual Interactive Fiction Competition Welcome to IFComp 2013, the competit…Current_EventsThe Internet Is RottingI do what I can. It’s disheartening how,…AcademiaThat Uplifting Tweet You Just Shared? A Russian…
A clueless fellow looking for a job in information technology sends out his resume in a mass mailing. Bernard Shifman, an unrepentant spammer, then threatens to sue practically anyone who even mentions the incident. Pete Moss documents what is most likely the end of Mr. Shifman’s career. —Bernard Shifman is a Moron Spammer Similar:The AI…
From a blurb on the National Coalition against Censorship webpage: Jan Carroll’s weblog offers a substantial amount of collected poems written in response to September 11; articles on poetry and politics; interviews with poets about September 11; and musings on the role of art and aesthetics in times of tragedy.” [Jan created her poetry weblog…
An experiment in which group members could pay for the privilege of fining free-loaders suggests that the threat of being punished by angry peers helps to check selfish behavior. (Consider this in light of the "Bernie Shifman" article.) —Anger Plays Key Role in Human Cooperationb> (New Scientist) Similar:Dinosaur Comics Creator Stuck in Skate Park Hole…
“It began as a fireside story spun by a Catholic dad. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings became a great epic that has inspired conversions, steeled young people in virtue, and changed lives — including mine.” John Zmirak —The Lord and the Ring (catholic.net) Similar:Beauty and the Beast (St. Vincent Summer Theatre)The girl (blue skirt…
“There’s only so much time. And there are so many great books. And every year more books are published, some of which will be great. Reluctantly, the reader begins to acknowledge the appalling necessity of choosing to read certain good things and not other good things.” —Reading Anxiety (Nat’l Post) Similar:Two Trains Running ( #AugustWilson…
Hundreds of websites that used to give their content away for free are now charging for their services. This weblog chronicles the changes. —The End of Free Similar:Blender 2.8 Released. Please leave us alone together for a few days.I’ve been using the beta for months, but…CybercultureGoogle engineers mined the text adventure game "Zork" for AI…
Yelling out of cars, turning your speakers out the window to blast your music onto the street, setting off M-80 firecrackers, firing automatic weapons into the air—these are all well and good. But none of them create a merry atmosphere of insouciance and bonhomie quite like a revving motorcycle. —Wow, Check out that Motorcycle Revving! (The…
You have not truly lived, until you have seen Star Wars rendered as ASCII animation. The FAQ page includes the answer to “Why (oh, God why)?” Similar:Another 10 sq cm of #steampunk control panel. #blender3d #blender3dartAestheticsHalf a Life (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season 4, Episode 22) Lwaxana Meets CogsworthRewatching ST:TNG The teaser sets up an…CultureCivil Defense…
is an open-source encyclopedia. If it doesn’t have an entry for something, you can write it yourself! —Wikipedia Similar:Stapler jam during a midterm exam.My years of watching MacGyver definitely…AcademiaTelevision is Now the Second Screen for Kids with TabletsOf course, not all kids have tablets, an…CultureWe Are the Product Facebook SellsFacebook does not care what Hobbit…
‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house / Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse… [More or Livingston? Authorship uncertain.] —“A Visit from St. Nicholas” Similar:Facebook Removes Human Curators From Trending ModuleToday, Facebook announced that human cur…BusinessAir miles be damned. I say the best way to find out about the…
Very sad: “Sixteen mothers, all of whom were pregnant on Sept. 11 and lost their husbands in the terrorist attacks, and their babies are photographed with news anchor Diane Sawyer.” —Sept. 11 Widows with NewbornsAP via Yahoo!) Similar:NYT: G.W. Bush is "super-overexposed" and "so far to our right" — so they omitted his pre…The quotes…
Programming bugs have bedeviled many a scientific researcher. Now, some researchers in Japan have programmed a bug. Thanks to a surgically-implanted device, scientists can control the motion of “Robo-roach.” —Weird Science (Guardian) Similar:What’s Lost as Handwriting FadesWhen I used a Windows XP Tablet computer…CultureHealing the WebThe lessons I learned in just over an ho…BusinessThe battle…
“An experiment to uncover the world’s funniest jokes has found that some computer-generated gags can be more amusing than those thought up by humans.” —What Kind of Murderer has Moral Fibre? (New Scientist) Similar:Facebook Announces $300 Million Project, Allegedly to Support Local JournalismOnce upon a time, local newspapers could…BusinessSave our children from the Grammar TribeSimilarly,…
Children born to high-tech nerds appear more likely to show signs of a behavioral disorder similar to autism. Silicon Valley cases are booming. —The Geek Syndrome (Wired) Similar:Dozens of Plagiarism Incidents Are Reported in Coursera's Free Online Courses”If we really are trying to teach the wo…AcademiaMentoring skills, communication/listening, empathy, critical thinking define successful em…A Google…
“We are confident that you will have many years of trouble-free enjoyment if you carefully read these instructions and follow them.” (Note: Anybody who bothers to read instructions at all is probably already grouchy and impatient.) —IMPORTANT! PLEASE READ CAREFULLY! Similar:Once again, The Onion gets it right: Clinton Not Expecting To Collect White House Security…Once…
“Does Jackson’s effort remain reasonably true to Tolkien’s richly imagined universe? And will filmgoers not inculcated with the lore of Middle Earth enjoy it anyway? The answers, happily, are ‘probably’ and ‘definitely.’” —Ring: One for the BookWired) Similar:In "World Drama" I'm adding the absurd, optimistic "The Skin of Our Teeth" (dropping bleak… In light of…
Search an index of 6000 frequently-updated weblogs, news summaries, and opinion pages; or, see a list of the top 40 pages cited by the ‘bloggers who create Internet buzz. My new second-favorite website (after google). —DayPop.com Similar:Gettysburg Address event marks 150th anniversary of President Lincoln’s historic speechOn the Civil War battlefield where Presi…CultureBooks vs. Kindles:…