That Class Where Stanford Profs Projected Hundreds of Zoom Students on a Video Wall

Of course, not all institutions happen to have a video wall that’s 32-feet wide and 8-feet tall. But Stanford already did, in its Wallenberg Hall. So the three professors reached out to the university’s director of classroom innovation, Bob Smith, to see what they could rig up. No matter how big your screen, Zoom can…

Soldiers and Sailors Memorial and Museum

Another visit to Pittsburgh with my history-loving son. Similar:Enjoyed making a 3D print of the captain’s chair from the #steampunk bedtime stories I use…Enjoyed making a 3D print of the captain…PersonalPope calls Argentine kiosk owner to cancel paper deliveryThis is a very cute story, further illus…AmusingEnjoyed watching the restored version of the hugely influential 1927…

Darmok (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season 5, Episode 2) Picard of the Federation, His Metaphors Timely

Rewatching Star Trek: The Next Generation After an awkward encounter with aliens whose language is incomprehensible, Picard finds himself on a strange planet. The alien captain, holding two daggers, offers one to Picard, saying “Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra.” When I first saw this episode, as a young grad student in a crowded room full…

Redemption, Part II (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season 5, Episode 1) Klingon Empire Wages Civil War

Rewatching Star Trek: The Next Generation The teaser opens with Worf serving on Kurn’s ship, and being scolded for second-guessing his younger brother’s aggressive tactics. Picard convinces an admiral to agree to a blockade, to prevent or expose Romulan support of the Duras faction. LaForge’s new strategy for detecting cloaked Romulan vessels requires a network…

Steampunk flag for the United States of Britannia (from the alternate history my kids and I made up during bedtime stories)

In the steampunk world my kids and I made up for bedtime stories (from about 2007-2013), Benjamin Franklin’s discovery of ether technology was the bargaining chip that forced King George to grant the 13 colonies full membership in the new kingdom of United States of Britannia. I’m working on a Blender3D model of the flagship…

A WWII Propaganda Campaign Popularized the Myth That Carrots Help You See in the Dark

Yet another widely held cultural myth falls to the cold hard power of actual research. During the 1940 Blitzkrieg, the Luftwaffe often struck under the cover of darkness. In order to make it more difficult for the German planes to hit targets, the British government issued citywide blackouts. The Royal Air Force were able to repel the German…

When an Eel Climbs a Ramp to Eat Squid From a Clamp, That’s a Moray

Somewhere today a headline writer is wearing a happy little smirk. Moray eels can hunt on land, and footage from a recent study highlights how they accomplish this feat with a sneaky second set of jaws. —New York Times Similar:Grumpy Gamer – Happy Birthday Monkey IslandI guess Monkey Island turns 25 this mont…CyberculturePope calls Argentine…

Spot of sunlight seems to be sliding down an escalator.

  View this post on Instagram   A post shared by Dennis G. Jerz (@dennis.jerz) Similar:Headlines: Why editors matter in journalism.Headlines are important. (Send an editor…AmusingDress rehearsal of The NutcrackerPersonalSeton Hill Hogwarts Dinner What would I get if I added powdered…AcademiaA selfie with a Chekov action figure after learning of Anton Yelchin's deathCurrent_EventsThings Past #StarTrek #DS9…

How Nasty Was Nero, Really?

In The New Yorker, Rebecca Reed reports on modern historians’ efforts to rehabilitate the Roman emperor Nero, whose name has become synonymous with corruption. Depictions of Nero as notorious are “based on a source narrative that is partisan,” Thorsten Opper, a curator in the Greek and Roman division of the British Museum, told me recently.…