HURRAH FOR M.I.T.—AND ITS PRESIDENT’S WORD COUNT! PART 1
VIMAL PATEL WRITES, “M.I.T. Rejects a White House Offer for Special Funding Treatment,” The New York Times, October 10, 2025. Patel describes, “The proposal, called the ‘Compact for Academic Excellence … Continue reading
INTERACTIVE MEDIA & GAME DEVELOPMENT—WPI AMONG THE LEADERS
COMPUTATIONAL ADVANCEMENTS—ROBOTICS, EDUCATION, HEALTHCARE, ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, AND EDUCATION—are a significant driver of modern culture. And Worcester Polytechnic Institute, my undergraduate school, is among those leading the way in Interactive Media … Continue reading
THREE VIGNETTES SHOW THE LAMENTABLE STATE OF OUR COUNTRY PART 1
PRONOUNCEMENTS FROM THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION continue to emphasize its dedicated march to autocracy. Just so there’s no BS about its meaning (like the phony “antifa/terrorism”), Merriam-Webster defines “autocracy” as “1. … Continue reading
HOAX REDUX
GEEZ. I THOUGHT I HAD COVERED ALL THIS IN “Hoax: A Real Etymology,” SimanaitisSays, March 22, 2018. It even had lots of Trump references (Henry VIII was “Donald Trump in … Continue reading
NICE NEWS—和風
IF EVER I FELT THE NEED FOR NICE NEWS, it’s now as our democracy undergoes continued disintegration at the hands of Donald J. Trump. (See “Does Anyone Believe Trump?,” “Bribes? … Continue reading
REMEMBERING THE GROUND OBSERVER CORPS PART 2
YESTERDAY, MY AEROBIBLIOGRAPHIC RECOLLECTIONS encountered Bruce Callander’s “The Ground Observer Corps,” Air & Space Forces Magazine. Today in Part 2, we continue gleaning tidbits from it, together with my (barely … Continue reading
REMEMBERING THE GROUND OBSERVER CORPS PART 1
I WAS LEAFING THROUGH MY AVIATION SHELVES, a collection, I immodestly note, better than in many secondhand bookshops I peruse from time to time. This includes gems such as “Jane’s … Continue reading
THE 35TH FIRST ANNUAL IG NOBEL PRIZES
HANNAH RICHTER REPORTS “The Ig Nobels Are Science’s Most Lighthearted Event. This Year Is ‘Not Typical,’ ” AAAS Science, September 19, 2025. Not typical, of course, because of Trump’s autocratically … Continue reading
BANKSY LIMITLESS, SORTA
BANKSY, WIKIPEDIA DESCRIBES, “is a pseudonymous England-based street artist, political activist, and film director whose real name and identity remain unconfirmed and the subject of speculation. Active since the 1990s, … Continue reading