Watch: “The Suburbs” by Arcade Fire
(Thanks, io9)
(Thanks, io9)
Traveling around to the Commonwealth campuses – especially now that I’m (temporarily) covering all of them – has brought me squarely in to contact with a phenomenon one doesn’t expect to encounter often: being the new “kid” in school. Unless you move a lot, you have this happen just a few times in life: preschool, elementary, middle school, high school, college, maybe grad school. But, if you work in higher ed, it can happen again every time you change jobs.
And, as a traveling media consultant for Penn State’s system of schools, it is now something I am experiencing on a weekly basis! The utter confusion when finding a classroom, the puzzled looks on students’ faces in the commons when they try to figure out if I’m “that guy from Econ,” the random faculty member admonishing me for parking in the reserved lot. I know eventually my youth will fade and I’ll look like hapless lost staff and eventually I’ll even know where the cafes and offices are when I arrive, but right now it’s wholly unique – and a little exciting.
Just gotta keep an eye out for the campus map for the next few weeks!
The Oxford English Dictionary has launched a campaign of word adoption in an effort to keep these mature, forgotten language components from falling out of common use. The clever website offers up a word finder with hilariously unusual sentences explaining how each needy word can be used. You can choose which one you would like to call your own and receive an emailed certificate to commemorate your pledge of support.
I’m waiting on my emailed certificate right now so I can start making use of my new “child,” however, I have to stress how (sillily) dire this situation is: impudent is on the list, and that’s a one I even use!
…and all the creatures were stirring, probably even the mice. I just fielded a phone call from a York faculty member who was putting the finishing touches on her presentation for tomorrow, to be shown as part of the Lightning Talks. Media Commons consultants are scurrying about tracking down equipment to be loaded up and driven to the library. Last-minute registrants are asking to join in on the fun. All in all, it’s mild chaos – and couldn’t be more enjoyable, as it’s all a sign of a vibrant energy surrounding digital creation, storytelling and exploration.
Not that anyone was really watching – which was the main reason why Syfy decided what they did – but Caprica has been canceled midway through its second season. This saddens me for all of the reasons that io9 explores in their post-mortem, “What killed Caprica?” Too smart for TV? Probably.
A shame, but I suppose more space on the DVR.
Hannah suggested that I attend the SMART Board demonstration that she had scheduled today in the upcoming Media Commons space for EMS in Hosler. A vendor from SMART drove all the way out from Indianapolis so that we could see the technology and explore the possibilities for how it might fit into the new media editing lab. Two misconceptions of mine that were smashed:
At a previous employer, SMART Boards were relatively plentiful but (I learned today) very underused. Despite having them in a multitude of learning spaces, I really only interacted with them a few times over a three year period and then, only when a faculty member wanted to write on a PowerPoint presentation. They were hardwired into the room and the amount of futzing with our set up certainly didn’t do the idea of the Board being effortless any favors.
However, our vendor did a fantastic job today showing us exactly what SMART technology can do. Ideas are now flowing for globe-trotting with Google Earth, collaboratively editing rough “dailies” in iMovie, recording entire presentations including video, web browsing and more for later review, practicing weather forecasting and meteorological analysis, etc, etc, etc. It was also PAINFULLY easy to set the SMART Board up: since he was running a bit late, three of us acted as roadies and had the entire system up and running rather quickly without any real directions.
With the upcoming addition of dual and multitouch enabled models, I have to say that I’m all aboard the SMART Board!
While I think of cars with pretty staggering regularity, I very rarely pay much attention to those from South Korea (which have always seemed like half-baked knock-offs of Japanese cars.) Recently, though, I’ve noticed my eyes drifting towards Kia’s offerings as they roll past and I had to ask myself: what the hell is going on here?
The Kia C’eed, Top Gear’s reasonably priced car from last season.
Well, the answer turns out to be something I already knew but had completely forgotten: Peter Schreyer is the chief of design for Kia. And his former job? Lead designer for Audi and VW.
I knew those crisp, clean lines looked familiar!
