The complex geometry on this wedge building took me all weekend. The interior walls still need work. And from this angle, those roof tiles look too big. Similar:Enjoying my "Dystopia in American Literature" class.After a kind of prelude in which we look…AcademiaHow do you spend your last week of summer break?AcademiaLine breaks are really, really…
My older siblings say they remember our mother sitting them down to watch a new TV show called Sesame Street. A running gag was that Big Bird’s friend, the huge, gentle wooly-mammoth-like Snuffleupagus somehow always disappeared before anyone else on Sesame Street could see him, leading the adults on the show to believe “Snuffy” was…
I played hooky to go see Wild Robot this afternoon, so I went back to the office to mark more papers. Plenty more to go, but I put a good dent in things. The story and characters of Wild Robot were not as engaging as those of Wall-E, and the problem of “how do predators…
Similar:Depression Dog Successfully Previewed HTML in DIY LOL GENERATOR AmusingLast weekend I roughed out shapes to represent buildings, in order to provide some sense o…Last weekend I roughed out shapes to rep…PersonalBlender GriffinTo celebrate yesterday’s on-time submiss…AestheticsCarnegie Science Center: Roboworld (and a bit of SportsWorks)Here’s a brief video, made up of clips…
I first started teaching with this handout in 1999 and posted it on my blog in 2000. Like the Ship of Theseus, I’ve made gradual changes so it’s not really the same document, but just now I spotted hilariously out of date references to bringing along transparencies with you as a backup. Similar:Let He Who…
First they came… #kristallnacht @nccheshu Similar:Set design for a virtual production of R.U.R. (Rossum’s Universal Robots). Post-apocalypti… AestheticsIs this stripe appearing or disappearing? FULL BLOOM (Aug 30 to Sep 2)PersonalAnd yes, that's her picture in the program (from the PPT Shakespeare contest).At PPT’s The Diary of Anne Frank. …CultureHeadphones, Croutons and RhetoricME (with crouton tongs in…
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:My simulated city has 1000 capsule inhabitants that are just smart enough to gather around…My simulated city has 1000 capsule inhab…DesignChess with my son. As usual, it didn't go well for me.GamesIt's such a privilege to introduce these young people to Shakespeare's body of…
[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:Took the whole day off and spent part of it making #greebles with #Blender3D because reaso…AestheticsStar Trek: "Wink Of An Eye"/"The Empath"Amusing, if cynical, reaction to some…
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:I just looked up the context for the bald guy dropping the chili. I guess I was expecting something like…DesignNerd Break! Listening…
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:And you thought your last teleconference was rough!PersonalWhen you hear your daughter the understudy is going on for a sold-out show. Live theater i… CultureWorld Trade Center Literary and Cultural Reflections (first posted September 11, 2001) Not knowing what else to do,…
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:“The Cowherd Who Became a Poet,” by James Baldwin. (Read by Dennis Jerz)Inspiration can come to those with the h…BooksKarate, Wonton, Chow Fun: The end of 'chop…
“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:Social Media Companies Aren’t Liberal or Conservative. They’re capitalist.Facebook cares more about scalability—th…BusinessBrain activity of a dying man suggests we do recall memories at deathThe 87-year-old man developed epilepsy a…CultureI accidentally started a Wikipedia hoaxHoaxes roam the Information Superhighway…BooksThe Impact of Google…
If you like bloody, singing, punning demons you will love this show. Similar:Little Green Men #StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch (Season 4, Episode 8) On Earth in 1947, Quark, Rom…Rewatching ST:DS9 A plot contrivance pa…MediaAnecdotal evidence reliable? One man says “yes”.AcademiaElevator shaft on a #steampunk #blender3d cruiser, just because. #design #aesthetics #blen… AestheticsJournalists play a vital role…