In trying to figure out what all those rings of power in Middle Earth actually do, I came across some videos by the self-described “Tolkien Professor,” Corey Olsen, where he fields a number of questions. This was evidently well received enough that they did another one, which I kinda like more: There’s also an explanation about all the different peoples and creatures of Middle Earth. So there you have it. A lot more Tolkien information…
A holiday tradition for many people is cookie making, which is all well and good, but what to do about all those cookies once they’re made? Here, we learn from the undisputed master of cookie eating.
Earlier this Fall, there was a flurry of posts, thought pieces, and assorted hand-wringing about “Quiet Quitting,” which sounded weird until I learned far too many people have been using the phrase to describe people doing their jobs, just not going above and beyond. To reference The Princess Bride, I don’t think “quitting” means what they think it means. In fact, I rather side with the people pushing back at hand-wringing over people doing what…
For my work, I’m often focused on continuous improvement — and the silver lining of broken processes means there’s always room for improvement. On the one hand have you ever met those people for whom 99.9999% just isn’t close enough to 100%? Can more optimization be too much of a good thing? Derek Thompson over at The Atlantic feels that might be the case, starting, with that most American of statistics obsession: baseball. If you…
I was almost going to let Halloween go by without an appropriately thematic post, and then an old classmate shares something he’s narrated — and sharing is scaring!
I mean, if I’m going to post for the vikings yesterday, I might as well do this today:
I fell down a YouTube rabbit hole earlier this year, going through the various “experts in [X] talk about the treatment of [X] in movies.” When I saw this one, I knew it had to be this year’s Leif Erikson Day post. (Because of course I have to have a Leif Erikson post. Have you seen my name?).
You may wonder what authors think about when their books are banned, so why not frequent vlogger and author John Green who found his book, Looking for Alaska, in the crosshairs of censors. I should note this particular video is from 2016, referencing the top challenged books of 2015. There’s usually a lag time compiling the data: while it’s interesting, it’s not necessarily pressing. However, the video is also under 3 and a half minutes…
I’ve had a busy week, so I’m just pointing you to the recap of all the reveals and videos and tidbits from yesterday’s Star Trek Day.
Let’s say you’re contemplating whether you or a loved one is currently experiencing a ‘mid-life crisis,” and you’re wondering why that is, what that means, and who came up with the concept anyway. The Royal Society has your back. Just be prepared for some very British references. Honestly, based on the level of research Professor Mark Jackson has put into this, I’d be interested in a much longer lecture or series of lectures, but it’s…