Trump, Obama seem equally disinterested in portrait unveiling — but journalism takes hits from both sides

On social media recently I saw people mocking Trump for “refusing” to unveil the traditional presidential portrait of Obama, and I saw people attacking “the fake news media” for pushing a narrative designed to make Trump look bad. The original NBC story that broke this item accurately states that neither Trump nor Obama is interested…

Déjà Q (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season Three, Episode 13) Amusing, insightful study of human nature

(Rewatching ST:TNG after a 20-year break) The meddlesome entity Q, stripped of his powers, throws himself at the mercy of Captain Picard: “in all the universe you’re the closest thing I have to a friend, Jean-Luc.” Lots of well-done banter and self-absorbed patter from actor John De Lancie. While Worf and Crusher have memorable reactions to…

I just found an abandoned blog draft, dated 2011, on economics in early computer games. Published!

I just found a post on economics in early computer games, tucked away as a “Draft” in my WordPress database, dated Jan 2011. I’m not sure why I never published it. The web page I was responding to has disappeared from the Internet, so I’ve linked to the Wayback Archive instead. Similar:Students tend to zone…

Slow flyby of a scout shop. Starfield backdrop; particle-based engine exhaust; hull uses a Boolean modifier to cut out portholes; cockpit frame and text labels use shrinkwrap. #Blender3D

More progress as I continue to level up my #blender3d skills. Similar:Why You Hate Google’s New LogoThe new logo retains the rainbow of colo…BusinessOn Instructional Technology and Face-to-Face Interaction CybercultureInterior Detail of Steampunk Convertible Gazebo Spent much of Tuesday wrestling with co…AestheticsScrooge Is My BrotherMy daughter delivered the opening “Marle…CultureRules of Engagement #StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch…

Synchronous Online Classes: 10 Tips for Engaging Students

Every time I have taught an online class, I have made it asynchronous. I’m blogging these synchronous teaching tips so I can find them again when I’m prepping my fall classes (which will likely be HyFlex). The tips offered here won’t miraculously eliminate the initial awkwardness of virtual class sessions, but they’ll help. And over…

Carolyn Gombell Is Not a Real Person: #JusticeforCarolyn Is a Campaign Against Twitter Refusing to Delete Trump’s Tweets Accusing Joe Scarborough of Murdering Lori Klausutis

Fascinating use of social media. To be clear, this story about “Carolyn Gombell” is a fabrication, intended to spark Twitter to take action against people (such as Donald Trump) who use Twitter to publicize unfounded accusations. Will that matter to people who share it? It’s parody accounts, not journalists, who are retweeting this story as…

New York Times runs just 1000 names of the nearly 100,000 Americans who have already died from COVID-19

Similar:We are the product that Facebook has been testingUp to now, I refrained from posting anyt…BusinessI touched up an intro to hypertext essays from 2000.When I initially wrote this introduction…CybercultureMurder Is Her Hobby: Frances Glessner Lee and The Nutshell Studies of Unexplained DeathSimulations are powerful tools for under…AestheticsBury Berry Family Members – a review of…

Looking forward to Part 2 of #PPTPlaytime’s production “The Rivals” (live… now!)

Similar:That's not an argument. (Yes it is.)I spent some time this afternoon sifting…AcademiaJournalism is now the second draft of historyThe unavoidable truth is that first draf…CultureHandshakes Really Do MatterMonday night handshake/eye contact pract…CultureDear daughter, let Miley Cyrus be a lesson to youI am intrigued by the possibility that M…CultureMy precious is fifteen. PersonalMore #Blender3D practice. Making…

Dogmeat and I may yet win this game.

Yes, this was the decisive moment. I ended up cleaning my son out when he landed here later in the game. Similar:Carolyn's Theater Bio for Prime Stage's The Outsiders (Mar 6-15) Actor biography sample Program bi…BooksSharing a root beer float with your dad doesn't fix everything that's wrong in the world, …AestheticsEnjoyed watching the restored…

Leveling up my skills in #blender3D.

Using invisible shapes to cut holes in the hull, and a shrinkwrap modifier to align the cockpit frame and the glass. Similar:Those #fakenews people are at it again. #freepress #journalism #payattentionJournalist Sam Husseini, who had been ho…CultureWashington Post, Breaking News, Is Also Breaking New GroundThe Washington Post, famous for breaking…BusinessTwo Steps Down the Interactive Fiction…

I just bought Diamond City.

Similar:Hollow Pursuits (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season Three, Episode 21) Misfit Crewmember Faces…Rewatching ST:TNG after a 20-year break….AmusingHidden Spaces, New Possibilities I’ve often had dreams about returning …CultureWooden document holders. Pretty routine, but practice is practice. #Blender3DPersonalAs Twinkle Twinkle is to Suzuki musicians, so is a wooden shipping crate to CGI modelers. …https://youtu.be/diQF9buONqY I ha…AestheticsTaking a break…

The Rivals #PPTPlaytime

A great production of a delightful play. Similar:How Zuckerberg’s Facebook is like Gutenberg’s printing pressHistorian Niall Ferguson notes that Sili…BooksThe Anatomy of a Shakespeare Play: King Lear (Free video lecture from Pict, 2pm Friday)Personal"The face of the last man on Earth." #alquist #rur #robots #capek #virtual #theater Gettin…AestheticsThe Inner Light (#StarTrek #TNG Rewatch, Season 5,…

The High Ground (ST:TNG Rewatch, Season Three, Episode 12) Sensitive, Artistic Terrorist Is Also a Terrorist

(Rewatching ST:TNG after a 20-year break) Crusher finds herself sympathizing with the charming terrorist who kidnapped her. After last week’s “The Hunted” and the week before’s “The Defector,” it seems the writers are very interested in humanizing perceived enemies. An unusually exposition-heavy captain’s log establishes the Enterprise is visiting a non-aligned world shaken by terrorists.…

On a little afternoon walk with my son.

Similar:Grandpa Joe's Candy Store.Sugar rush at Grandpa Joe’s Candy Store….AestheticsOne wild place. (Sunday.)  NatureStar Trek: "Wink Of An Eye"/"The Empath"Amusing, if cynical, reaction to some of…AmusingReplica of George Washington’s field camp. @fortligonierReplica of George Washington’s field cam…PersonalThe Fantasticks (Oct 18-27, Theatre Factory)  https://youtu.be/SYp1jQaSwjo …CultureIn a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. @thepublicpghIn a…

Every few years, I Google the name of the kid who saw “The Empire Strikes Back” the night it opened, and blurted out the big spoiler during gym class.

Similar:Unfinished pine and not so ornamented, for the workshops and service areas of my fantasy #…PersonalThe Girl Wins the Upper Division Monologue in the 25th Annual Pittsburgh Public Theatre's …CultureWe are the product that Facebook has been testingUp to now, I refrained from posting anyt…BusinessImprobable Cause (#StarTrek #DS9 Rewatch, Season 3, Episode 20) Odo investigates…

And you thought your last teleconference was rough!

Similar:Perspective | After a stunning news conference, there’s a newly crucial job for the Americ… I have always taken a neutral stan…CultureSpring office cleaning thoughts: 1) I used to print a lot. 2) I have enough tote bags. I used to print a lot. I have e…AcademiaThis long-nelected CD-ROM case tucked away behind my monitor…

Researchers: Nearly Half Of Accounts Tweeting About Coronavirus Are Likely Bots

Researchers identified more than 100 false narratives about COVID-19 that are proliferating on Twitter by accounts controlled by bots. Among the misinformation disseminated by bot accounts were tweets that conspiracy theories about hospitals being filled with mannequins, or tweets connected the spread of the coronavirus to 5G wireless towers, a notion that is patently untrue.…