Worth reading: Falsehoods Programmers Believe About Names
This is worth looking at: John Graham-Cumming wrote an article today complaining about how a computer system he was working with described his last name as having invalid characters. It of course does not, because anything someone tells you is their name is — by definition — an appropriate identifier for them. Link: Link to original
Worth reading: How to Be Polite — The Message — Medium
This is worth looking at: Most people don’t notice I’m polite, which is sort of the point. I don’t look polite. I am big and droopy and need a haircut. No soul would associate me with watercress sandwiches.
- Link to site: Worth reading: How to Be Polite — The Message — Medium
Worth reading: Motivating Students: Should Effort Count?
This is worth looking at: I’ve always said no, effort shouldn’t count. When students pleaded, “but I worked so hard,” or “I studied so long,” I would respond with the clichéd quip about people with brain tumors not wanting surgeons who try hard. Link: Should Effort Count?
- Link to site: Worth reading: Motivating Students: Should Effort Count?
Worth reading: Grocery Store Economics: Why Are Rotisserie Chickens So Cheap?
This is worth looking at: A couple of years ago, I got it into my head that I wanted to roast a whole chicken, just because. I wandered around my local Ralphs for a few minutes looking for poultry that hadn't already been turned into individually shrink-wrapped meat units before asking for help. Link: http://ift.tt/1hHdpX1 My Blog
Worth reading: Hillary Clinton: ‘Failure’ to Help Syrian Rebels Led to the Rise of ISIS
This is worth looking at: President Obama has long ridiculed the idea that the U.S., early in the Syrian civil war, could have shaped the forces fighting the Assad regime, thereby stopping al Qaeda-inspired groups—like the one rampaging across Syria and Iraq today—from seizing control of the rebellion. Link: http://ift.tt/1A5bEuv My Blog
Cool new board game: Kickstarter: “Lift Off! – Get me off this Planet”
"Lift Off! Get me off this Planet has a casual space theme and never takes itself too seriously. My goal was to make an easy to learn, fast-paced game, where everyone feels engaged and "in it" until someone has won or the planet explodes!
The objective of Lift Off! is to be the first player to get their Aliens off the planet using resource cards, action cards‚ and phases of the moon to escape. If the planet explodes before everyone escapes‚ the player with the most saved Aliens wins."
Fun! I am supporting the Kickstarter campaign. Are you? You should!
Worth reading: Queen’s Tragic Rhapsody
This is worth looking at: It was an utterly unexpected rebirth. from the moment Freddie Mercury and the other members of Queen – guitarist Brian May, drummer Roger Taylor and bassist John Deacon – took the stage at London's Wembley Stadium, on July 13th, 1985, at the historic Live Aid concert, the group captured the day. Here's the full article.
- Link to site: Worth reading: Queen’s Tragic Rhapsody
Model, Tsiolkovsky Space Craft
Check out some really cool images: Soviet model makers built this spacecraft based on the designs and notes of Konstantin Tsiolkovsky. Late in his life, much of Tsiolkovsky's theoretical work focused on ideas about transporting humans into space on board rockets. Although this model, reflecting the scientist's ideas, grossly overestimates the living space available on board a rocket, it does convey a sophisticated understanding of the physical constraints of space travel for that time. Among Tsiolkovsky's concerns were the effects of acceleration and weightlessness on the human body.
- Link to site: Model, Tsiolkovsky Space Craft
Worth reading: 5 Programming Languages You’ll Need Next Year (and Beyond)
This is worth looking at: We’ve reached a bit of a turning point in the world of programming. Ten years ago, programmers were moving into dynamic languages. To many of us, those languages seemed like a bit of a fad, even if they made programming easier. Link: http://ift.tt/1xvv7S4 My Blog
Worth reading: Corporations are people. So what if people were corporations?
This is worth looking at: “Checked the tax code,” wrote a friend who’s engaged to a woman from a low-tax country. “Unfortunately, marrying [my fiancee] does not entitle me to a tax inversion like the big US companies are getting. Thanks for nothing IRS.” That got me thinking.