My #Blender3D set design for a Zoom-based production of Rossum’s Universal Robots, which I’ll be recording next week.

I’ve loved this 1920s play for almost 30 years, and never imagined I’d be in a production. Similar:The Blood and the BlameMoments after Donald Trump was…CultureAt the Johnstown Flood Museum. (May 31 1889 the neglected dam at the South Fork Fishing an…At the Johnstown Flood Museum. (May 31 1…CultureCause and Effect (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season 5, Episode…

Yes, I spent the last hour designing this brutalist pen holder for a virtual production of Rossum’s Universal Robots. #priorities #Blender3D

Similar:The Hidden Benefits Of DaydreamingWhen your mind wanders, its like P. T. B…CultureWithout ComPUNction: Doing verbal battle at the O. Henry Pun-Off World Championships. “It doesn’t have to be good. It just ha…AestheticsBeard Typeface GuideChristian Goldeman felt compelled to mat…AestheticsComfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable. –Mr Dooley on the function of journali…“Comfort the afflicted…

The Offspring (StarTrek:TNG Rewatch, Season Three, Episode 16) Data Experiences Fatherhood

Rewatching ST:TNG after a 20-year break. Data builds an android derived from his own positronic neural pathways, and intends to raise it as his child — a prospect that invokes Picard’s iconic facepalm. Picard (to admiral conjured up by writers who needed an antagonist): “There are times, sir, when men of good conscience cannot blindly…

Police Department, Fire Department Tell Different Versions of Same Richmond Incident

A Richmond police official and a fire official agree that Sunday, multiple individuals interfered with a fire truck’s response to a fire. But beyond that, each source tells a rather different story.

I just watched a pretty good Star Trek episode exploring the premise that well-intentioned people can remember and sincerely believe widely different interpretations of the same events, without being intentionally deceptive.

When equally credible sources make conflicting claims, there’s probably a story there somewhere. If a source makes unverifiable claims, or won’t respond to legitimate follow-up questions, or vilifies or aggrandizes a third party, that’s a good reason to be skeptical.

Yesterday’s Enterprise (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season Three, Episode 15) Alternate history featuring the Enterprise-C

Rewatching ST:TNG after a 20-year break. A space anomaly activates an alternate timeline in which the Enterprise-D is a bustling battleship, Picard is a hard-edged militant facing defeat after decades of war against the Klingon Empire, and somehow only Guinan realizes something’s wrong. This version of Picard struggles with ethical complexities that “our” Picard could…

Presidential Rhetoric

Similar:In November 2000, I was blogging about the US Presidential election, mirrors, Arts & Lette…In November 2000, I was blogging about …Business"What Teachers Make" Sequence of AssignmentsEvery year I rewatch Taylor Mali’s passi…AcademiaA Better Way to Say Sorry I’m sorry for… This is wrong beca…CultureWant a tech job? Study this. Advice from Mozilla, Reddit, Tumblr…

A Matter of Perspective (ST:TNG Rewatch, Season Three, Episode 13) Multiple-POV Courtroom Drama

Rewatching ST:TNG after a 20-year break. An agitated Riker, beamed off of a research station just before it explodes, finds himself charged with murder. Testimony from Riker, the victim’s widow, and (indirectly) the victim tell conflicting stories. A solid storytelling concept, which somewhat freshens a mishmash of already-familiar TNG tropes: a brilliant male scientist, his…

All Sheep Matter

Similar:The State Of Media EmploymentThis is why I require my “new media jour…BusinessCost of Living (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season 5, Episode 20) Alexander's Jolly Holodeck H…Rewatching ST:TNG Who’d love to see ano…EmpathyVortex (#StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch, Season 1, Episode 12) Rogue spins a tale about meeting oth…Rewatching ST:DS9 At the bar, Quark a…CultureThe Host (#StarTrek #TNG…

Slate: “Police Erupt in Violence Nationwide” | Notice how writing style frames a story? Grammar matters.

The ongoing protests following the killing of George Floyd were caught up in violence again on Saturday, as police all over the country tear-gassed protesters, drove vehicles through crowds, opened fire with nonlethal rounds on journalists or people on their own property, and in at least one instance, pushed over an elderly man who was walking away with a cane. Here are some of the ways law enforcement officers escalated the national unrest.

Minneapolis Police Injure, Arrest Journalists Covering Protests

Throughout the protests over the death of George Floyd, journalists have been injured and arrested covering the unrest. That trend continued Saturday and there were examples across the country but journalists on the ground in Minneapolis expressed dismay at how law enforcement officials seemed to be targeting members of the media. In the Friday night…

Hong Kong: journalist permanently blinded in one eye amid increased police violence

A rubber bullet shot by the Hong Kong police on Sunday caused a journalist to lose sight in an eye. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) again urges the authorities to guarantee reporters’ safety. A reporter working for Indonesian-language media outlet Suara Hong Kong News, Veby Mega Indah, has permanently lost eyesight in the right eye on…

Microsoft lays off journalists to replace them with AI

Microsoft is laying off dozens of journalists and editorial workers at its Microsoft News and MSN organizations. The layoffs are part of a bigger push by Microsoft to rely on artificial intelligence to pick news and content that’s presented on MSN.com, inside Microsoft’s Edge browser, and in the company’s various Microsoft News apps. Many of the affected workers are part of Microsoft’s SANE (search, ads, News, Edge) division, and are contracted as human editors to help pick stories. Robots will now pick news stories for MSN and Microsoft News.

Sad that NASA is taking a back seat to a private company, but still nerding over an American launch of astronauts.

Similar:That should be the top "Under 800" prize, but the plaque has an extra zero. #chessPeter spent the day at a chess tournamen…GamesText Wrangler Discontinued (Free Mac Text Editor)I still miss Notepad++, a Windows tool o…Current_EventsThe poetry of deafnessMy auditory processing disorder makes it…AestheticsCarolyn's performance as Ariel #bardinbloom @ThePublicPGHSo good to see her preforming live…

Minneapolis protest cleanup: Did you share this meme without fact-checking it? (Don’t spread fake news about the news.)

A Facebook meme with 52k reactions and 37k shares includes pictures of volunteers cleaning the streets in Minneapolis, the day after mass protests of the death of George Floyd. The pictures make a powerful point about the values of the community. However, the text includes an unnecessary slam against journalism, because it introduces the images…

#PPTPlaytime adaptation of The Merchant of Venice.

Top — nonverbal addition with Jessica and her mother’s ring; bottom — good camera work (the actors choreographed when to turn on their cameras in order to arrange themselves in this order) @thepublicpgh Similar:Why the Internet Isn’t Fun AnymoreI used to spend time in class teaching s…BusinessJury Duty UpdateI’m a happy, responsible, and no-longer-…GovernmentIn October,…

Merchant of Venice Part 2 live, now! #PPTPlaytime

Similar:She was a musical ingenue Sunday, filmed a slasher movie past midnight Monday, and was pre…AcademiaStar Wars: The Last Jedi abuse blamed on Russian trolls and 'political agendas'More than half of the hostile responses …CultureFantasticks (Theatre Factory, Oct 18-27)  AestheticsAnother delightful section of #steampunk control panel, for a personal #blender3d project….AestheticsAir miles be damned. I…