Author: Ezra S F


  • I was asked to work my “Unix magic”. The problem? Duplicate courses were spooled and converted from the WebCT format to the Desire2Learn. The conversion process creates an import file using the WebCT SourcedId.Id as the OrgCode. The first time the OrgCode is used, it creates a course. The next and subsequent times, it duplicates…

  • Scrambls encrypts social media posts and lets users specify exactly who can see them, across all social media sites. The user can form groups from friends and family, going as broad as everyone with a Gmail account down to a specific colleague or even those who know a certain password. Everyone else (including the social…

  • Hope you have a great day!

  • Supposedly this is the future. Students helping each other rather than looking to the teacher. Instead of long boring lectures, students get short videos. If the below does not work, then try Peter Norvig: The 100,000-student classroom.

  • Today is the 183rd day or midpoint of the year, so where am I with those goals? Reading goals should be at 50%: Complete unfinished novel series. 13 of 27 done. That is 48%. So I am a little behind. American History and Decision Making. 4 of 10 done. That is 40%. So I am a little behind. Science. 6…

  • Something that annoys me about politics in the United States is candidates for President claiming they will pass or repeal laws. A President can ask, cajol, badger, and otherwise influence Congress to pass or repeal a law. However, the President cannot go alone and create a law. He can only agree not to prevent a…

  • My main page on quotes is Quotes to Make You Think. Additional ones can be found under the Quotes tag. The future is here; it’s just not evenly distributed. — William Gibson (source) Shatner’s portrayal [of Kirk in Star Trek] is a little boy’s idea of what a captain is. He’s handsome, heroic, dashing, gets all the ladies. He…

  • For a few weeks The Demise of Guys by Philip Zimbardo and Nikita Duncan has occupied a corner of my attention. It started when a friend posted about the Reddit AMA: I am a published psychologist, author of the Stanford Prison Experiment, expert witness during the Abu Ghraib trials. AMA starting June 7th at 12PM (ET). I even bought…

  • Alan Turing was born today one hundred years ago. WIRED UK has a couple pretty good post on his legacy and timeline. I wonder what he would think about computers today? Especially the idea that his Turing machine lets us play Words With Friends or chat with someone near instantly on the opposite side of the planet.