Author: ryan

Ten ways to be average

10 Common Characteristics of Average People writes: There are plenty of resources online if you want to learn how to be successful, but what about those who are only looking to achieve adequacy? If you’re shooting for the big dog pile at the bottom, here are 10 common characteristics of average people to aim for: Ugh, I’m very guilty for… Read more →

Stack Exchange has an English Language Site!

Do you have a question about the usage of English, such as Should I put a comma before the last item in a list?,What is the correct way to pluralize an acronym?, or “My friends and I” vs. “My friends and me” vs. “Me and my friends” look no further than the Stack Exchange site English Language & Usage. Stack… Read more →

Bruce Baker wants to analyze educational reforms correctly

Meet The @FiveThirtyEight Of Education. Bruce Baker Will Bring Sanity To Reform Hype Stop Cheerleading Education Miracles, i.e. Education Effects Are Small “We really have failed in the teaching of mathematics and probability,” decries Baker, who regularly debunks myths about unicorn policy changes that radically improve student outcomes. At scale, experiments rarely move the needle more than a few percentage… Read more →

Giving technical presentations

Presentation Zen: No excuse for boring an audience: Advice on giving technical presentations: Long before “death-by-powerpoint” or vertigo-by-prezi, there were bad presentations. Really bad presentations. So don’t blame the software. The genesis of painfully dull or muddled presentations predates the computer. No one knows this better than scientists, researchers, and academics, who have long been required to attend numerous conferences… Read more →

If anyone needs an idea on what to get me for Christmas

Harrison Ford “Han Solo” DL-44 Blaster from Star Wars Particularly noteworthy scenes requiring this lighter version are when Darth Vader uses the Force to lasso the blaster out of Han’s hand in Empire, and in Jedi when Han wrestles with a Stormtrooper to regain possession of his blaster during the Rebels’ encounter with Imperial forces on Endor. This would be… Read more →

View near realtime satellite imagery of Earth

Near Real-Time Satellite Images of Earth On November 25th UrtheCast launched two cameras aboard a Soyuz rocket. The rocket delivered the cameras to the International Space Station where they are now being installed. Once the cameras are up and running UrtheCast will begin streaming near-realtime satellite imagery of the Earth. Neat! Read more →