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If you want a job in media, technology or a related field, make learning basic computer language your goal this summer. There are plenty of services—some free and others affordable—that will set you on your way. Teach yourself just enough of the grammar and the logic of computer languages to be able to see the big picture. Get acquainted with APIs. Dabble in a bit of Python. For most employers, that would be more than enough. Once you can claim familiarity with at least two programming languages, start sending out those resumes.
Kirk McDonald: Sorry, College Grads, I Probably Won’t Hire You - WSJ.com
This is great advice. I know it’s great advice because I’ve heard it half a bazillion times in the past year. I’d love to teach my journalism students some of these skills, but first I have to learn them.
If you know what McDonald means by “the grammar and logic of computer languages” (I do not), I could use your help. Got any specific recommendations? Where should I start?
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Denial nation?
Almost all of the college students in my Mass Communication class were born after 1990. They grew up with Internet-connected computers in their homes and elementary schools. Most had their own cell phones before high school.
Yesterday I asked them how good they think they are at multitasking. Most said “very good.” A few said “somewhat good.” One said “terrible” (that may have been me).
Then I showed them the first 15 minutes of this Frontline documentary called Digital Nation, where reporters interviewed researchers at MIT, Stanford and UCLA who said, essentially, we do better when we focus on one task at a time. As one scientist said, “Multitaskers are worse at everything.” They also said that we’re in denial about it.
Afterwards, I asked the students if the documentary made them question their ability to multitask. Every single one of them said no. Their explanation: the studies and/or reporting must have been biased.
Their reaction surprised me, so I’d like to do an entirely unscientific follow-up survey here. Two questions for you:
- Were you born after 1990? (Y/N)
- How good do you think you are at multitasking? (very/somewhat/not at all)
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lisasho on the road: Baby Steps
It doesn’t matter if you like kids or even have some yourself, you’ve done this. We all have.
You’ve just settled into your seat on the plane, looking forward to doing a little bit of work, maybe taking a nap, when you spot them heading toward you. A family. With, oh shit, a *baby*.
You silently…
Pro tip for traveling with babies: stow a 20-pack of ear plugs in your carry-on. As soon as you get situated, offer them to everyone around you. No one will take you up on it, but they’ll laugh and maybe hate you a little less.
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For weeks, he’s been asking me to take him to “the park with all the climbing rocks.”
I finally figured out what he meant.
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His favorite part of today’s Wine Rail Excursion on the Pacific Starlight: Somewhere between Paso Robles and San Luis Obispo, he looked out the window and saw the back of our train around the bend.
My favorite part: Pomar Junction’s 2010 Brooster Red Blend.
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Coloring Merlin (Taken with Instagram)
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Tomorrow's Kickstarter is live!
It took three weeks, a small forest’s worth of paperwork, hours on the phone with customer service agents, a crash course in starting a small business, and a road trip to the Los Angeles County clerk’s office (which is not, in fact, in Los Angeles). But we made it: Our Kickstarter page went live just moments ago. If you have the inclination and resources, we’d love your support, whether it’s $5 or $1,000. The incentives are sweet—stickers, tote bags, a personalized message from James Deen, and magazines too. We’d appreciate any help spreading the word via social media, too. And if you’ve emailed us about contributing in other ways, keep your eyes out for an email later today about how you can get involved.
We are so, so grateful for all the support you’ve shown us thus far. Now the fun part begins, and we can’t do it without you.
-Tim Fernholz, Ann Friedman, Megan Greenwell, Amanda Hess, Cord Jefferson, Dylan C. Lathrop, Zak Stone, Nona Willis Aronowitz
Support Tomorrow and get a one-of-a-kind personalized PG-13 phone message from porn star James Deen! Or support it a little less and get a tote bag.
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Lou Ferrigno just got sworn in as a reserve deputy with the San Luis Obispo Sheriff’s Office. I haven’t been this excited about getting into trouble since high school.
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This is what stars sound like. Specifically, this is what the brightness fluctuations of two stars sound like when their measurements are converted to sound and then sampled by a reggae/rock band.
At the request of the band Echo Movement, researchers from Georgia Tech’s Sonification Lab collected a year’s worth of brightness data from two binary stars, Kepler 4665989 and Kepler 10291683. They used their Sonification Sandbox software to turn it into musical pitches, then tweaked the timbre to suit the band’s celestial specifications.
Echo Movement used those sounds to create this melody, which will be part of the intro to “Love and the Human Outreach.” They’ll release the song in September.
I got a press release about this two days ago, and by the time I wrote it up, it had already been covered by Wired UK and several others. For some reason, no one is posting the audio. I thought you might like to hear it.
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New from USPS: bike stamps! Images include a kid’s bike, a commuter, a roadie and a BMX. Sorry, fixies, you didn’t make the cut.
Collectors: get your framable, uncut press sheets here.
