The phrase “debate begins” in the headlines of multiple stories on coronavirus does not mean sneaky journalists copy-pasted a press release

If you encounter the same story on different news sites, that does not mean you caught sneaky America-hating fake news “journalists” in the act. A meme I recently encountered shows three slightly different coronavirus headlines, all of which use the phrase “debate begins.” Text shared along with the meme suggests the repetition means the story…

Twitter, Fix Your Cropping Algorithm

When given the chance to crop four different arrangements of photos of two different men, each time the Twitter algorithm chose to center on the white man and crop the black man out of the picture. Source: https://twitter.com/sina_rawayama/status/1307506452786016257 Update, 22 Sep: See also https://twitter.com/TLopesVictorM/status/1307846503885672449     Similar:Oh dear, George Lucas! Why the Star Wars universe…

Fact check: Biden ad misleadingly suggests Trump called Covid-19 a ‘hoax’

CNN fact-checks a misleading Biden ad, which edited a Trump speech to make it look like he called coronavirus a Democratic hoax. To be clear, Trump’s informal and freewheeling style of speaking at rallies often leaves his exact meaning hard to pin down. But I agree with CNN that this ad misrepresents Trump’s intentions. Here’s…

The Anatomy of a Shakespeare Play: King Lear (Free video lecture from Pict, 2pm Friday)

Similar:Brought my in-progress #blender3d project into the #unity3d gaming engine. Plenty of frust… AestheticsMy theory: Trump was composing therapeutic poetry, and got stuck on the last line. PersonalEducated, uplifted, boosted, and fed. Block party celebrating August Wilson continues thro…CultureThe Girl Has Started Rehearsals for PICT Classic Theatre’s Jane EyreI’ve chauffeured the girl into Pittsburg…BooksPlaying a well-dressed…

Scientists should be goggled and in the lab, where they belong. Shut up and make me a vaccine, beaker-nerd!

Am I doing the tribal rage thing right? Laura Helmuth of Scientific American says the decision to break tradition was both unanimous and quick: “We took this decision very seriously. You don’t give up 175 years of tradition for nothing.” —‘Scientific American’ Breaks 175 Years Of Tradition, Endorses A Presidential Nominee –NPR Similar:Topical Satire Is…

Something to Ponder — Let Me Fix That Meme For You

Similar:More split-screen actinghttp://youtu.be/EGgeZWskEs8DesignMultimodal Composition: Every time a student submits a narrated PowerPoint, a puppy cries.AcademiaWorking Towards a ResolutionLooks like all the content has been remo…BusinessSerious reading takes a hit from online scanning and skimming, researchers say  The brain was not designed for r…BooksNewly acquired technology for teaching writing in the age of AI. (Not for…

Boy, this sort of thing sure makes some racist people very angry.

We stand together against racism. #ItTakesAllOfUs pic.twitter.com/xfeUACPu8Z — Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) September 14, 2020   Similar:Creationism dismissed as 'a kind of paganism' by Vatican's astronomerBrother Consolmagno, who works in a Vati…CultureYou’re Just Gonna Be Nice by A. LangeIn a study, over 1000 gamers were survey…CultureNational Mall site approved for memorial to fallen journalists Federal officials…

Stunning picture of my daughter

Similar:Futuristic Acrylic Chair (Blender 3D Animation)Yesterday, I sketched a chair I found at…AestheticsLet Me Explain Why Miley Cyrus’ VMA Performance Was Our Top Story This MorningBrutally honest satire, from The Onion. …AmusingKelly Gallagher on "Readicide" I am reading to my daughter the four…BooksThe Story of Rolf and the Viking Bow: Icelandic bromance, with weapons, secret…

Remember Me (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season Four, Episode 5) Dr. Crusher vs The Universe

Rewatching ST:TNG after a 20-year break. When people start disappearing from the Enterprise without a trace, only Dr. Crusher remembers them. Some cringeworthy lines (e.g. “If there’s nothing wrong with me, maybe there’s something wrong with the universe”) still earn a facepalm, but I really enjoyed Gates McFadden as she Shatners her way through increasingly…

Drumming Kid Is Epic. That Is All.

Similar:Broken Link #StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch (Season 4, Episode 26) Odo gets drippy, must visit Chan…Rewatching ST:DS9 In Garak’s shop, th…EmpathyUnity Normal Problems (Importing an object from Blender 2.8b)I had a complex model that I created in …AestheticsAt the Johnstown Flood Museum. (May 31 1889 the neglected dam at the South Fork Fishing an…At the Johnstown…

IN-ZOOM (A world-premiere 10-minute play)

A very current short play by Bill Irwin. Very creative use of Zoom as a performance space.  I didn’t expect it also to cover so much else. Very touching. Similar:CNN employees resign after retracted articleCNN is pretty upfront; three journalists…BusinessThe Declaration of IndependenceI recorded a recitation of the Declarati…CultureBehind the bar in the officers' pub,…

Suddenly Human (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season Four, Episode 4) Picard Bonds with Human Teen Raised by Aliens

Rewatching ST:TNG after a 20-year break The Federation faces war with the Talarians over a culture-shocked teenager who sees Picard as a father figure. The Enterprise detects faint life signs on a damaged Talarian ship. Of course they can’t just beam the injured directly to sickbay; they must first send an away team to wave…

Being a deaf lipreader during a pandemic means increased social anxiety

Even social events are a minefield. The more people there are, the more spread out everyone is. My excellent lipreading skills can’t surmount distance. I also find myself avoiding things I used to enjoy, like going to stores by myself. I don’t want to worry about one-way conversations.

“Adfl etgjw ilserj mjikas!” That’s what everyone will sound like, if I can hear them at all.

What’s a deaf person to do, at least until face shields become de rigueur?