Dennis G. Jerz | Associate Professor of English -- New Media Journalism, Seton Hill University | jerz.setonhill.edu Logo

In December 2001 I was blogging about

In December 2001, I was blogging about Changes in Online Culture The End of Free (chronicles services that used to be free but that now cost money) Is the [Technology] Revolution Over? Imagine Silicon Valley Buried Like Pompeii Wil Wheaton While the character of teen wonder Wesley Crusher was annoying because weak scripts had him…

Visiting my parents. Admiring their original Hallmark Enterprise Christmas ornament. I asked my mom if I could take it with me. She politely said no.

Similar:Apparently, I needed to watch a supercut of doors and corridors from Star Trek.I did in fact search YouTube for videos …AestheticsDelightfully geeky news story about a legal kerfuffle over typefacesI’m very amused at this nerdy news story…AestheticsIt's probably safe to throw these out.PersonalAfter a successful piano recital.CulturePublic service announcement! If you are feeling awkward…

Chain of Command, Parts 1 & 2 (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season 6, Episodes 10 & 11) When Picard’s reassigned, the new captain’s a grind (there are four lights)

Rewatching ST:TNG Picard is relieved of command and assigned to a special ops mission, as the Cardassians provoke a war with the Federation. The new CO arrives with plans to reorganize every department. Jellico is very hands-on, giving Riker specific details for reworking the shift rotations, and crawling trough the Jeffries tubes with LaForge. He…

Lovely #greebles give attractive details to the the flat surfaces of this little bot (from the #steampunk bedtime stories I used to tell my kids). #Blender3D

Similar:Franz Joseph and Star Trek’s Blueprint CultureIn 1977, when I was about nine, I saw th…AestheticsGoogle Docs "Writing to Learn" ActivityI created a fresh Google Docs page with …AcademiaHappy retirement celebration to two dear colleagues.AcademiaMy daughter was five or six when she created the character “Moonbot” for the #steampunk be…https://youtu.be/GoWiNB_tlJ8  AestheticsEveryone wants to save the…

Techno-greebles. Geometrically these are identical plain cubes, with custom shaders that simulate #steampunk details. #Blender3D

Similar:The Child (TNG Rewatch: Season 2, Episode 1)Rewatching Star Trek: The Next Generatio…CultureGoogle Docs "Writing to Learn" ActivityI created a fresh Google Docs page with …AcademiaInnovative journalism: A game about the rising sea, a podcast about fire, a 20-year Colum…How do you tell a story that people know…CultureThe Rise of Curiosity JournalismKatz and his kindred…

Gathering background objects to create cluttered shelves. This Baby Gund “Rainbow Hector” that I made years ago will help. #Blender3D

Similar:Humans Aren’t Mentally Ready for an AI-Saturated ‘Post-Truth World’ How is AI going to change individuals …CybercultureCrossfire #StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch (Season 4, Episode 13) Odo's feelings for Kira complicate…Rewatching ST:DS9 Odo meticulously ar…EthicsNASA's Perseverance lander brought some Easter eggs with it to MarsIt’s a bit of a stretch to call this Ted…AwesomeHas Academia Ruined Literary…

The LA Times deletes tweets that used passive voice, as details emerged about police killing a teenage bystander (while they also killed an assault suspect)

Several journalist-involved tweet deletions occurred in connection with the Los Angeles Times.   Doesn’t that statement sound awkward?   Language like “was shot and killed by police” and “police-involved shooting” downplays the moral choices made by LEOs who aim their weapons at fellow human beings and squeeze the trigger.   If a police report states…

Assembling wall units to bake into a texture atlas. Teacup is a freebie from polyhaven.com. I completed the place setting myself. #Blender3D #holiday

Similar:I'm Gradually Losing My Hearing. (It’s Part of Aging.)During a department meeting today, I not…AcademiaUnmarked papers today. How it started, how it's going.PersonalFacebook paid Teen Vogue to run a fake article praising Facebook for "helping ensure the i… After FB crowed about this sup…BusinessSold out opening night of Mamet’s Oleanna. Chilling. Gasps from the audience.…

The Quality of Life (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season 6, Episode 9) Boxy bots start to skive; Data thinks they’re alive, that’s a-plot twist

Rewatching ST:TNG During a poker game, Crusher tweaks Riker, Worf and LaForge for wearing beards.  The bumpy-headed scientist Farallon is super-dedicated to a “particle fountain” mining project, which the Enterprise-D is assigned to evaluate. Along the way she has also had time to tinker with remote-controlled, AI-driven gadgets she calls “exocomps.” After an exocomp refuses…

More modeling in #blender3d. Very happy with reflections and lighting. (The teacup is a polyhaven.com freebie.)

Similar:White House Bars Times and Other News Outlets From BriefingKudos to the reporters from Time and AP …Current_EventsInterview: Bjarne P. Tveskov, Classic LEGO Space Designer – Boing Boing GadgetsBoing Boing interviews Bjarne P. Tveskov…AestheticsLotteries: America's $70 Billion ShameCan this be true? People spend more mone…Books5 Fun Ways to Help Your Kids Learn Math OnlineMy son…

Florida Woman Bites Camel

Identifying her as a “Florida woman,” as I interpret it, suggests that we’re dealing here with what Newfoundlanders would call a come-from-away and New Yorkers would call an out-of-towner. The tantalizing implication is that a local woman would have known that you could give a truck-stop camel an infection requiring antibiotics by biting its genitalia.

While the veterinarian was caring for the camel, was anyone attending to that Florida woman? She had, after all, been sat on by a six-hundred-pound camel, an experience that has to be at least uncomfortable and probably injurious. A reader has to wonder if she had some broken bones or some cracked ribs or at least a nasty taste in her mouth.

And we still have the deaf dog to deal with. –Calvin Trillin, New Yorker

A Fistful of Datas (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season 6, Episode 8) Worf Trapped in Western Simulation

Rewatching ST:TNG Silly Gagh-Western finds Worf trapped on the holodeck with gunslinging copies of Data. When the crew gets a few unexpected days of downtime. Picard practices his flute and Crusher casts a play. After running out of excuses, Worf finds himself wearing a sheriff’s badge and moseying into a holo-saloon, at the request of…

Physician: “My career of treating patients has ended”

Very painful Reddit thread. Similar:The Fantasticks (Oct 18-27, Theatre Factory)  https://youtu.be/SYp1jQaSwjo …CultureThe lesson of Rolling Stone and UVA: protecting victims means checking their stories It is a depressing certainty that th…Current_EventsEssay on meaning of a life grounded in the liberal arts @insidehigheredFor David N. DeVries, the critical think…Academia‘Tentacles squelching wetly’: the human subtitle writers under…

More #Blender3D practice. Making many objects to liven up a #steampunk environment.

Similar:At the airport, sending the daughter off to Ireland.At the airport, sending the daughter off…PersonalSupport the arts in your community! #augustwilson #radiogolfSupport the arts in your community! #aug…CultureThat should be the top "Under 800" prize, but the plaque has an extra zero. #chessPeter spent the day at a chess tournamen…GamesWest Side Story (Aug 9-12) #somethingscomingCultureAngry…

Rascals (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season 6, Episode 7) Transporter glitch tween-ifies Picard, Ro, Guinan and Keiko

Rewatching ST:TNG A glowing Space Thing causes the transporter to revert Picard, Guinan, Ro and Keiko into 12-year-olds, with their adult memories intact. The four child actors do a fantastic job channeling the personalities of characters we already know well.  Tween Picard tries to carry on giving orders as usual, and contemplates returning to the…

Southwest Airlines CEO Gary Kelly, who testified unmasked at a Senate hearing on Wednesday, has since tested positive for the coronavirus, the airline said in a statement.

Kelly testified at the hearing that he believes masks do not add substantial protection to airplane passengers and cited aircraft ventilation systems.

“I think the case is very strong that masks don’t add much, if anything, in the air cabin environment,” he said. “It is very safe and very high quality compared to any other indoor setting.”

The hearing lasted approximately three hours. Five witnesses were seated in close proximity and went most of the hearing unmasked.

Kelly was seated between American Airlines CEO Doug Parker and United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby. Kirby tested negative, the airline said. American said that “Doug is symptom-free, fully vaccinated and getting tested this afternoon.” –CNN Business

True Q (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season 6, Episode 6) Visiting Intern Exhibits Q-like Powers

Rewatching ST:TNG On its way to help an ecologically devastated planet, the Enterprise-D picks up a clever young intern, who reveals for us her secret power of making puppies appear from nowhere. Amanda (played with an impressive mixture of maturity and teenaged vulnerability by Olivia D’Abo) chats with Dr. Crusher about family, and we learn…