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:Not a #carguy but I pried open the hatch of the van to change 4 bulbs. #adulting Personal"Shakespeare in Love" with the Westmoreland Symphony Orchestra and Stage Right!When I teach Shakespeare, I will from ti…CultureHappy Easter 2016PersonalWhen students don't show up during office hours: I…
[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:A Christmas Carol — new audio adaptationBooksAnother #steampunk interior. High tech garden gazebo or away team dropship? Why not both? … AestheticsCollege Seniors Confident about Their Work…
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:Another 10 sq cm of #steampunk control panel. #blender3d #blender3dart #relaxing #aestheti…AestheticsTook the whole day off and spent part of it making…
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:They're coming in faster than I can mark them. This number will be higher tonight, so I'm …Personal"She even disgraces the name of Linton." –Heathcliff, on his simpering wife Isa… PersonalVote for your favorite Monopoly token — or else!One of the six current…
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:What Was the TED Talk?The title borders on clickbait, but the …CultureSo Why Do People Shrug? Researchers Say ¯\_(ツ)_/¯While contemplating what sort of body la…CultureDefiant (#StarTrek #DS9…
“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:A Few Good Men at the Pittsburgh Public TheatreFantastic performances, powerful writing…CultureLawsuit Against Warner/Chappell Music Claims Happy Birthday Belongs to Public Domain20 years ago, I chose for my dissertatio…AcademiaStunning writing in this WaPost reflection on the Trump campaign's journey from a gold…
If you like bloody, singing, punning demons you will love this show. Similar:I've spent 8 hours with 24 different Verizon agents who keep transferring me back and fort…It’s not a Verizon Wireless issue. It’s …BusinessBody Parts #StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch (Season 4, Episode 25) Quark announces he's dying; Kira …Rewatching ST:DS9 In Ops, O’Brien frets…AmusingSo many…
I am not in the splash zone but still definitely out of my comfort zone. Support the arts in your community. Similar:Canadians Love Poop, Americans Love Pizza: How Emojis Fare Worldwide The company SwiftKey analyzed more tha…AestheticsI love my students enough to teach them the difference between passive voice and past tens…If a goggles-for-brains Lego…
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:We love us some Sherlock any way we can get it.PersonalNo, Prince Philip did not dress as a palace guard to…
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:A vacation minibar story from 20 years ago.PersonalThis is How Literary Fiction Teaches Us to Be HumanPracticing empathy through drama and poe…BooksDax (#StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch, Season 1, Episode 7)…
“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:FDR in AnnieI’ve accepted the role of FDR in the upc…CultureHere's how…
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 Declaration of IndependenceI recorded a recitation of the Declarati…CultureLiz…