01.31.08
Posted in Blogs, entertainment at 8:14 pm by CMonster
Wikipedia has been used as everything from an artificial memory aid to an incredible time-waster.
With a resource that brings so many topics together in one place, it has, of course, been called many things. Some conclude it’s the source of all knowledge- just as reliable as the Encyclopaedia Britannica, even. (Said company begs to differ, but criticism is a two-way street.)
If wikipedia really does represent our collective consciousness, what’s on our mind?
Buffalo, apparently. (In every sense of the word)
…For this and more, check the List of Unusual Topics, a treasure chest for any blogger who traffics in the bizarre.
And if you’re worried about bias? Perhaps the Conservapedia can help you, with exciting articles like the origin of kangaroos (from the ark!) and the pro-witchcraft leanings of Harry Potter. There really is something for everyone.
Permalink
01.30.08
Posted in Looking Snazzy at 3:47 pm by CMonster
Ever receive a long, rambling, and deeply incomprehensible e-mail message?I know that I have, all too often from well-meaning students- selecting what to write is an important technical skill, but one often overlooked in education. Plenty of students are left learning by trial and error (mostly error).
Towards that end, I present two articles chock-full of advice to share the next time you receive a six-page missive asking for the time of day. The first, from the receiving end of bad messages: How Successful Writers E-Mail
The second, from a more corporate perspective- and, I suspect, someone who learned the hard way: Write a Perfect E-mail
If you ever find yourself moving out of email and into a heated online debate, I thought I’d also share my own version of of the two most important rules for any electronic exchange:
1. If the first attempt to explain something was ignored, step away from the keyboard. (Especially useful for discussion forums, where people repeating themselves can quickly swamp the attention span of new readers.) If your first wording was clear, let that stand for itself.
2. Never attempt to write something clever after 11pm. The combination of fatigue, attempted cleverness, and emotional investment will always come back to bite you later.
Permalink