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:Books Wield a Dangerous PowerWhile we might point to violent video ga…BooksSesame Street had a big plot twist in November 1986My older siblings say they remember our …CultureHow exactly do bridges bridge? How do rivers rive? How much detail does my model of #medie…How…
[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:Where the press is free, and every man able to read, all is safe. —Thomas JeffersonEducationWhy liberal arts and the humanities are as important as engineeringWe learned…
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:The Post drops the ‘mike’ — and the hyphen in ‘e-mail’When I announced these style changes, an…CultureHow Poetry Helps You Improve Your…
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:I am a dog and I am a good boy and I am prepping my Spring courses.AcademiaVery interesting adaptation of Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice. #pptlaytime @thepublicpghCultureThat felt sooo good!PersonalJust wrote the first ending to my in-progress journalism game (created in Twine)3,486 words,…
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:Conspiracy (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season One, Episode 25) Parasitic Bug Doppelgängers on…Rewatching Star Trek: The Next Generatio…MediaNo, these "Perspective matters" photographers aren't misrepresenting the size of a…
“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:First page of a student’s Texture project. (This made me laugh.) This clever freshman writing student…AcademiaChess again with my son.GamesFor years, I’ve tried to work my way back into the middle classWell-meaning people tried to encourage m…CultureThe Teen Brain “Shuts Down” When…
If you like bloody, singing, punning demons you will love this show. Similar:The girl as Gimli, Legolas, Aragorn and Thorin. #proudofthegirl #notentirelysurewhy #still…AestheticsEmissary (#StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch, Season 1, Episodes 1 & 2) Cmdr. Sisko establishes a Fede…Rewatching ST:DS9 The episode begins …DramaThe GE Mascot That Proves They've Never Seen 'The Matrix'On a scale of 1…
I am not in the splash zone but still definitely out of my comfort zone. Support the arts in your community. Similar:Time’s Arrow, Part 2 (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season 2, Episode 1) Data (fate preordained)…Rewatching ST:TNG Some time has passe…CultureAnti-globalism Is Common Factor in Social Media Conspiracy Theories, says UW ProfFascinating academic effort to find…
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:Time’s Arrow, Part 2 (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season 2, Episode 1) Data (fate preordained)…Rewatching ST:TNG Some time has passe…CultureSeize the Day!PersonalIgnorance…
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:The Harry Potter Decision, as text – UpdatedGroklaw has a good analysis of the recen…BooksIt is often said that autistic people lack empathy. Some autistic people are told that…
“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:Interface (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season 7, Episode 3) LaForge, using experimental augmen…Rewatching…
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:Can we hope to understand how the Greeks saw their…