"The practice of using the secret Word format for interchange impedes the growth of our community and the spread of freedom. While we notice the occasional annoyance of receiving a Word document, this steady and persistent harm to our community usually doesn’t come to our attention." Richard Stallman —We Can Put an End to Word…
This is the time of year that college departments hiring new faculty members whittle down to two or three promising candidates, from the dozens or even hundreds of applicants. (A candidate for a UWEC English department job is interviewed towards the end of the article.) —The Tightening [Adacemic] Job Marketb> (Chronicle) Similar:First Day in the…
: "Nowadays, art that prompts ‘controversy’ usually has one thing in common: it’s bad. Bad in conception or bad in execution, and frequently bad in both." Lileks —Does the Pope S– In the Woods? Similar:I let her tend the rabbits.Great production of a very moving story….Books'Island of the Blue Dolphins' woman's cave believed foundFor more…
"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:Preschoolers Outsmart College Students In Figuring Out GadgetsThis is flexible, fluid thinking — child…PsychologyHarper Lee, author of…
"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:Twitter suspends Trump's accountTwitter suspended Donald…
(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:‘Aims’: the software for hire that can control 30,000 fake online profiles At first glance, the Twitter user “Can…BusinessOn Instructional Technology and Face-to-Face Interaction CybercultureMesmerizing Video of a Printer…
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:War via…
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:Arsenal of Freedom (TNG Rewatch, Season 1, Episode…
“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:Today's 10 sq cm of retro #steampunk control panel. #blender3d #blender3dartAestheticsSpring…
“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:Just finished a good literature…
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:Sesame Street Is Moving to HBO, and the Symbolism Is CrushingI’ve been fascinated by the rhetoric of …BusinessNarrow ParsersCreating n00b-friendly interactive ficti…CybercultureHypertext as a Teaching Tool — Brown University…
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:Report: Many U.S. Schools Can’t Afford Mannequins, Human Urine For Art Classes“It’s sad, but my students don’t even ha…AestheticsAdded a splash of color to this section of a #neovictorian…
is an open-source encyclopedia. If it doesn’t have an entry for something, you can write it yourself! —Wikipedia Similar:One of my undergrad lit papers. Dot-matrix printed, with hand-written instructor annotatio…AcademiaYour Brain Does Not Work Like a ComputerThe brain-as-computer is a powerful meme…HealthCommentary: What My Struggling Students Wanted Me to UnderstandI haven’t taught a developmental course…
‘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:Chilling analysis of organized, anonymous disinformation campaign against Parkland survivo…Forty-seven minutes after news broke of …CultureFact check: Biden ad misleadingly suggests Trump called Covid-19 a…
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:Covfefe chaos: What Trump’s typos say about his administrationMisspelled tweets and typos in press rel…CultureFacebook Hired Journalists to…
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:It's Science! Carolyn Uses Anastasia's Lip Balm KitMy friend Anastasia gave me a home-made …AestheticsHenry Bemis waited his whole life to finally read…
“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:Gender and Language — Revisiting Advice I Posted in 1998When I was in college and active in a Ca…CultureDelightful interview with a…