Bernard Shifman is a Moron Spammer

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:Reporters’ Privilege…

Anger Plays Key Role in Human Cooperation

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:Typeset In The FutureWhile watching classic science fiction…

The Lord and the Ring

“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:Carolyn Jerz (Viola): Meet the cast of Twelfth Night! #PSTTwelfthNightMeet the…

Reading Anxiety

“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:Technical and Literary Writing: What’s…

The End of Free

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:How not to attract women to coding: Make tech pinkJust watched videos of the musicals “Tho…AcademiaThe Most Awesome 450 Page Presentation Everhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bt9F7tKc…Aesthetics‘Tentacles squelching wetly’: the human subtitle writers…

Wow, Check out that Motorcycle Revving!

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:Broken Link #StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch (Season 4, Episode 26) Odo gets drippy, must visit Chan…Rewatching ST:DS9 In Garak’s shop, th…Empathy#Blender3D practice: #Steampunk control panel #trimsheethttps://youtu.be/4j7qAzaDg3w   …AestheticsPope calls Argentine…

Wikipedia

is an open-source encyclopedia. If it doesn’t have an entry for something, you can write it yourself! —Wikipedia Similar:Students must learn how to get things wrong. Only one subject does that. [English.]I invest a lot of energy asking my colle…AcademiaNellie Bly: A Race Against Time | Heinz History CenterOn Nov. 14, 1889, Bly waved goodbye…

"A Visit from St. Nicholas"

‘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:Donald Trump tests positive for Covid-19. CNN: "A nightmare scenario for the White House." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdXL…Current_EventsI'm no longer surprised, but still want to document.This is really…

Sept. 11 Widows with Newborns

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:Opinion | Defiant, Now Infected: Trump Is a Morality TaleFrom Frank Bruni, NYT It’s a measure …Current_EventsKatie Couric…

Weird Science

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:Tell Me a Smart Story: On Podcasts, Videos, and Websites as Writing AssignmentsIt does take longer to evaluate student …AcademiaSeton Hill Student Journalists…

What Kind of Murderer has Moral Fibre?

“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:Peter Sallis: Wallace and Gromit actor dies aged 96 The voice of Wallace has died. The si…CultureMy contribution to WAOB Audio Theatre’s plan…

The Geek Syndrome

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:Pict Free Summer Webinar: Shakespeare’s HeroesCultureWilliam Zinsser: What Is Good Writing? (Clarity, Simplicity, Brevity, and Humanity.)Most of the students in my “News Writing…CultureDragging Myself to a New Skill…

IMPORTANT! PLEASE READ CAREFULLY!

“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:People hate reading instructions, and will only glance at them after they are already frus…I…

Ring: One for the Book

“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:Another 10 sq cm of #steampunk control panel. #blender3d #blender3dart #design #aestheti…AestheticsCode? Not So MuchI teach my journalism…

DayPop.com

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:WARNING: Picasso, Van Gogh, Gauguin have been stolen in UKOne of several paintings that were, acco…ArtBing's AI chatbot helped…

Museum of Hoaxes

Over a century before Orson Welles’s “War of the Worlds” hoax, the New York Sun‘s moon hoax claimed that an astronomer discovered life on the moon. The website also describes many other hoaxes  —Museum of Hoaxes Similar:News organizations held off on reporting Venezuela raidThe New York Times and Washington Post l…Current_EventsSurprise: Humanities Degrees Provide Great…

Imagine Silicon Valley Buried Like Pompeii

(book review) : “…the activity stilled, the cars, houses and workplaces buried beneath layers of volcanic ash, the artefacts of a single moment preserved. What could we learn…?” —Imagine Silicon Valley Buried Like Pompeii Similar:What Can Science Tell Us About Dad Jokes?Beyond making the audience cringe and, h…CultureMcCain's 2008 Concession Speech: Republicans interrupt their candidate's…