Day: November 5, 2020

This week: Teaching during the pandemic / The NYC subway map reimagined / !!!!!!!!! / Remembering Lolita the orca / Inventor of Rubik’s Cube still at play

Most of these great items come from my social media networks. Follow me on Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, LinkedIn, and Facebook for more fascinating videos, photos, articles, essays, and criticism. Learn more about my academic background here.

1. In-person classes, Internet snafus, melancholy hallways: This is what teaching in a pandemic is like
By Nikkina McKnight | The Lily :: The Washington Post | October 2020
“Read one teacher’s 30-day diary, plus responses from readers around the world”

2. New York’s Digital Subway Map Comes Alive
By Christopher Bonanos | Curbed :: New York Magazine | October 2020
“In this dire year for New York City and its transit system, this digital launch is a rare moment of things looking up.”

3. Rogue Rocky Planet Found Adrift in the Milky Way
By Nola Taylor Redd | Scientific American | October 2020
“The diminutive world and others like it could help astronomers probe the mysteries of planet formation”

4. How to Spot a Counterfeit Watch
By Malia Wollan | Tip :: The New York Times Magazine | December 2019
“On the watch’s face, inspect the magnifying lens over the date, which is often not as strong on counterfeits.”

5. How the ‘right stuff’ to be an astronaut has changed over the years
By Jay Bennett | NatGeo | October 2020
“The first humans flew into space nearly 60 years ago from the deserts of southern Kazakhstan and the Atlantic shores of Florida. Since then, we’ve learned a lot about what it takes to leave the planet.”

6. Countering the tyranny of the clock
The Economist | October 2020
“How flexible working is changing workers’ relationship with time”

7. Read This Article!!!
By Julie Beck | The Atlantic | June 2018
“How many exclamation points do you need to seem genuinely enthusiastic?”

8. Native Americans honor Lolita the orca 50 years after capture: ‘She was taken’
By Cara McKenna | The Guardian | September 2020
“The southern resident orca, whom the Washington state-based nation calls Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut, was taken from waters off Penn Cove in Lummi territory when she was four years old.”

9. He Invented the Rubik’s Cube. He’s Still Learning From It.
By Alexandra Alter | The New York Times | September 2020
“Erno Rubik, who devised one of the world’s most popular and enduring puzzles, opens up about his creation in his new book, ‘Cubed.'”

10. Is it safe to drink from a water fountain during the pandemic?
Viral Questions :: Associated Press | August 2020
“There’s no evidence you can get COVID-19 from the water itself. But since the virus may linger on surfaces, experts say to avoid fountains if you can or to limit any direct contact when using them.”