Back in 2003, shortly after I moved with my wife and two young children to take my current job, I was eager to make new friends and rebuild my social network. One evening, my wife agreed to watch the kids so I could drop by the local branch of a national service organization in which…
In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. @thepublicpgh Similar:One of my students is demonstrating the perceived value of brand-name vs no-name products…. PersonalWhat gives you comfort? I collect lights. Some of these have magnets!!AmusingWe celebrate the good life of my father, George Joseph Jerz “Be straight like a board!” …EmpathyI was perhaps…
[A] popular type of generative AI model can provide turn-by-turn driving directions in New York City with near-perfect accuracy — without having formed an accurate internal map of the city. Despite the model’s uncanny ability to navigate effectively, when the researchers closed some streets and added detours, its performance plummeted. When they dug deeper, the researchers…
I was perhaps a bit more conversational and chipper than usual during class today. A grinning student asked what I was drinking. (It really is just iced tea.) Similar:Humanities research is groundbreaking, life-changing… and ignored Most arguments for “saving” the humani…AcademiaWhat, exactly, am I looking at here? I’m so confused.What, exactly, am I looking at…
I create five color variations of each #blender3d building I #design, and each of those has closeup, high, mid, and low resolution variations. It’s tedious but enjoyable. Kinda like knitting. #medievalyork #mysteryplay #aesthetics Similar:After my conference talk, a post-audition, pre-Jane-Eyre-performance dinner with the girl.PersonalShirley Temple Black, Screen Darling, Dies at 85 Shirley Temple Black, who…
Journalism is not a crime. It’s not a crime if it offends the powerful. It’s not a crime if it doesn’t offend them enough to suit you. Yes, journalists make mistakes. Yes, you should take a break from doomscrolling for your mental health. But the First Amendment freedom of the press is crucial to democracy.…
I just caught myself thinking, “This doesn’t suck.” #medievalyork #mysteryplay #blender3d #design #aesthetics Similar:My basement dehumidifier was flashing an error code. YouTube had a tutorial with a possibl…My basement dehumidifier was flashing an…PersonalAppreciating the production values and so-stupid-it-might-be-brilliant comedy in Avatar: T…The daughter is showing my wife and me “…AestheticsFrazetta's "A Princess of Mars" painting…
As part of an ongoing bid to get his hands on Vantablack, the super dark, light-absorbing material to which Anish Kapoor controversially has the exclusive license, artist Stuart Semple has legally changed his name to… Anish Kapoor. “It’s something I’ve been thinking about for a long time,” Semple told me. “I like the idea of being able to try a name…
Predatory publications are not concerned with writing quality (or even coherence), and thus also do not care about writing tools (although we could, perhaps, include generative AI as a tool that replaces those used by human authors). The rules change pretty radically as the predatory version does away with nearly all of the rules in…
Our family has seen David Whalen in the persona of Sherlock in five or six different shows. So happy Carolyn will be on stage with him this time. Similar:McDouble is cheapest and most nutritious "food" in human historyMorgan “Supersize Me” Spurlock spoke at …BusinessCarolyn will portray Cosette Saturday at 2pm with 70 talented Stage Right…
“While my dad has always spoken lovingly and fondly of his old Camaro he sold for my ‘diaper money’ he was never sour about it,” Jared confesses. “There wasn’t negativity about it. He wasn’t sad. He wasn’t angry. He talks about the selling of the car like it was a duty.” This diaper money Camaro…
“While my dad has always spoken lovingly and fondly of his old Camaro he sold for my ‘diaper money’ he was never sour about it,” Jared confesses. “There wasn’t negativity about it. He wasn’t sad. He wasn’t angry. He talks about the selling of the car like it was a duty.” This diaper money Camaro…
I may have mentioned that I have a daughter who does things. @frontporchtheatricals Similar:Term grades submitted. Homeschool son graduated. Time to breathe.AcademiaFive myths about daylight saving timeNo, Daylight Saving Time was not created…BusinessA surprising detail in bank records helped a historian bust a longstanding myth about Iris…A scholar uses bank records to track the…BusinessIt's Friday…
If you like bloody, singing, punning demons you will love this show. Similar:Let Me Explain Why Miley Cyrus’ VMA Performance Was Our Top Story This MorningBrutally honest satire, from The Onion. …AmusingEthics (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season 5, Episode 16) Leaky cargo barrel-1, Worf-0.Rewatching ST:TNG Worf is paralyzed i…CultureThe Sacramentality of Teaching and LearningFor the one-credit…
I am not in the splash zone but still definitely out of my comfort zone. Support the arts in your community. Similar:Sinéad O'Connor's open letter to Miley CyrusI was never a fan of Sinéad O’Connor, bu…AestheticsThe girl told me to post this with the caption, “The Addams Family Goes to the Big League….PersonalAnother #neovictorian control…
I have a daughter who does things. If demon curses and buckets of stage blood are your thing, join the fun this weekend in Greensburg. (I will not be seated in the splash zone.) Similar:If You Check the Source of an Inspirational Prayer You Shared on Social Media, You Might B…I needed this prayer yesterday.…
Yes, Duolingo is free and I’ve learned a lot. No, I don’t like the psychological manipulation. I’m still using it but I changed my user name. Similar:Brother Stuck in the BathroomThe girl posted this story on Instagram …AmusingTaking the Lid Off the McDonald’s Coffee CaseHave you heard the story about the lady …BusinessVandal scratches Poe…
“Murdering meteorologists won’t stop hurricanes. I can’t believe I just had to type that.” — Michigan-based meteorologist Katie Nickolaou. A wide range of misinformation has been spread as Helene and then Milton gathered pace in the Gulf of Mexico, such as claims spread by Trump that Fema had run out of cash for hurricane survivors…
It’s so heartbreaking seeing the amount of disinformation being spread by elected officials and partisan agitators with lots of followers. FEMA is not out of money, it’s not confiscating damaged property, and it’s not biased for against any ethnic groups or political affiliations. Similar:Zooming into the abyss: Black squares don’t contribute much to the learning…
My mother-in-law invited me to try out the 60- year-old tape machine that belonged to my father-in-law. When I worked in radio news in the late 1980s, we were still loading reels and splicing tape, so it all came back to me pretty quickly. Similar:The Course of True Fun Never Did Run Smooth: A…