I’m taking a break for the next few weeks, so this is a shorter issue than would normally drop into your inbox. I hope that you enjoy this selection of links and pics, feel free to get in touch, and look forward to catching up later in the summer.
Back from travels and some catching up to do, but not full gas just yet. I have been unwell and also caught a cold, so I’m sniffing and sneezing, and having trouble sleeping.
Never mind, here are a few things that caught my eye this week.
I managed some drawing, mostly in my sketchbook using fine line sharpies and the watercolor sheets I got from Peerless. I used water from Lake Erie.
I’m doing so much reading and will keep a list, of mostly research papers that have sat in my inbox for months and a mix of books, some for work (on UX design, language learning, and technology) with a bit of poetry, The Forward Book of Poetry 2021 (affiliate link) and some more leisurely reads I picked up from the library.
I’m participating in XR Brain Jam run by the lovely people at Games for Change. We’re at an early stage, but we’re interested in creating an experience around disinformation and geographical factors in news reporting. There are some incredible projects underway, looking at mental health, climate change, social justice, and racism, which will be games, experiences, and apps that could one day be realized. I’ll give you a full jam report when it’s over.
So, here’s the list for this week. They get less academic-y as you go down them.
The project finishing mindset, always brilliant advice from Inger Mewburn.
InterCom is a weekly email digest from CASLS that offers just-in-time information in easy-to-digest portions. It is customizable by the target language, level, and content area.
I don’t want a computer on my face? Smartglasses will always be science fiction.
If there is “no identifiable tuna DNA” in a Subway Tuna sandwich, then what could it be made from?
Projecting all your zoom videos on a giant screen won’t necessarily make the session more engaging, surely?
Cultural analysis of fitness platform Peloton. Why are we seduced by the lifestyles and coaching style of their fitness experts, are they more than performative athletes? I use Apple Fitness, which has similar stars, already I know who I like to be coached by and who I would run off with (Dustin, how are fixed for Tuesday?).
General Mark Milley on why it is important for the military to discuss critical race theory. "I've read Mao Zedong. I've read Karl Marx. I've read Lenin. That doesn't make me a communist. So what is wrong with understanding — having some situational understanding about the country for which we are here to defend?"
I’ve been using alternativeto.net to find free open source versions of some of the proprietary tools that I use for my work, if you’re fed up with an application there’s often a better, simpler, and cheaper version out there.
How to talk to your kids about fat-shaming.
Happy Pride
During Pride Month, I’m matching my buy-me coffees and donating the funds to the Trevor Project, a national organization providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer & questioning (LGBTQ) young people under 25.
Have a good week, take care and rest up. I will too.
That’s all I have for you, see you next week.