"If Einstein had died as a child, someone else would have discovered General Relativity; if Beethoven had died as a child, the Opus 111 Sonata would never have been written." Dennis Dutton —What is Genius? (Philosophy & Literature) Similar:'My Fair Lady' Couldn't Actually Dance All Night, So These Songs Had To GoClever little Easter eggs…
"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:I MacGyvered myself a heat sinkI’m…
(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:Why Even Try if You Have A.I.? Now that machines can think for us, we have to choose wheth… We’re drawn to activities that invite …AcademiaLe règne des robotsÉcrite…
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:If Wishes…
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:The Out-of-Control AuthorWhen you’re writing just for yourself,…
“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:Are "Keds" still a recognizable kid shoe brand?Are Keds a brand…
“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:Elementary, Dear Data (TNG Rewatch:…
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:Jeff Bezos Plan for News: The Washington Post Becomes an Amazon ProductFor the past few months, a group inside …BooksMy Freshman Comp Student Didn’t Recognize the Term ‘Word…
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:The Whole Internet Hates MeAmusingTwittering The MachineI’ve never been a phone guy. My vo…AcademiaTrials and Tribble-ations #StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch (Season 5, Episode 6) Trivial Time Travel…Rewatching ST:DS9 Strait-laced time…
is an open-source encyclopedia. If it doesn’t have an entry for something, you can write it yourself! —Wikipedia Similar:Grading writing: The art and science — and why computers can’t do itTech companies and university administra…AcademiaBP Lawyers Cheat by Adjusting Line Spacing in a Legal Brief U.S. District Court Judge Carl Barbier…BusinessWanted in College Graduates: Tolerance…
‘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:Homeward (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season 7, Episode 13) Worf's foster brother interferes w… Rewatching ST:TNG The Enterprise-…Ethics'History has treated her badly': Hamnet and the 400-year-old…
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:Merry Christmas 2013Current_EventsI just learned I only have months to live. This is what I want to say.…
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:On Instructional Technology and Face-to-Face Interaction Cybercultureink: Inkle's open source scripting language for writing interactive narrativeGearing up to teach “Digital Storytellin…CybercultureBrother Stuck in…
“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:Ginger Christ Superstar!AestheticsWorld Trade Center Literary and Cultural Reflections (first posted September 11, 2001) Not knowing what else to do, in the…
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:Time article with clickbaity headline: Web users annoyed by marketing tricksThis Time magazine article is a good one…CybercultureiTunes 11: It’s time for Apple’s horrible, bloated program to die.At…
“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:Covfefe chaos: What Trump’s typos say about his administrationMisspelled tweets and typos in press rel…CultureAcademics…
“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:When is the phrase "when asked about…" part of good news writing? Rarely.A new graphic for an existing…