Category Archives: Technology

The Art of the Fire Escape (Milwaukee’s City Hall)

Posted on December 4, 2014 by Katherine Wikoff

I had to walk past City Hall to a dentist’s appointment yesterday.  For months (actually, years off and on!) the Market Street shortcut behind City Hall has been blocked off by scaffolding erected to preserve/shore up the nearly 120-year-old structure.  I almost … Continue reading →

Posted in architecture, Art, Life, Milwaukee, Nature, Science, Technology | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Does penmanship matter?

Posted on July 1, 2014 by Katherine Wikoff

Two handwriting stories. One:  After I got a D in penmanship in third grade, my parents made me sit at our dining room table every night practicing my handwriting. The reason I’d gotten a similarly bad grade in arithmetic was that … Continue reading →

Posted in Higher education, Life, Music, Popular culture, Teaching, Technology, Writing, blogging | Tagged , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

“Smart” is kind of creepy

Posted on April 20, 2014 by Katherine Wikoff

Today’s Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has a story headlined “Madison software firm Solomo develops customer-tracking technology.”  Yes, I’m creeped out, although seeing this story just pulls together a lot of things that have been creeping me out for a while now. Basically … Continue reading →

Posted in History, Life, News, Popular culture, Science, Technology, WPLongform (posts of 1000 words or longer) | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Art -vs- Science: An Artificial Divide

Posted on March 22, 2014 by Katherine Wikoff

I was paging through the weekend Wall Street Journal this morning and practically jumped out of my chair when I saw Walter Murch’s face looking out from the “Review” section. Murch is an Oscar-winning film editor who has worked on … Continue reading →

Posted in Higher education, Life, Movies and film, Nature, News, Popular culture, Science, Technology | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

#iphoneography

Posted on April 20, 2013 by Katherine Wikoff

I just discovered a terrific Twitter hashtag: #iphoneography.  (There are also parallel hashtags #iphonegraphy and #iphonography.) If you love photography, you’ll enjoy following this “conversation.”  You probably already know about it, in fact.  I’m usually late to the party. Basically #iphoneography, … Continue reading →

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Who’s the Shop Steward on Your Kickstarter? | Josh MacPhee | The Baffler

Posted on April 15, 2013 by Katherine Wikoff

Who’s the Shop Steward on Your Kickstarter? | Josh MacPhee | The Baffler.  Interesting, detailed article on how Kickstarter provides the infrastructure for turning your social network into a commodity, which they then take their percentage of. It’s important that everyone’s eyes be wide … Continue reading →

Posted in Books and reading, Technology, Writing, blogging | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

The MOOCS that laid the Golden Egg

Posted on April 5, 2013 by Katherine Wikoff

True fact: America once had thousands of auto manufacturers. When the horseless carriage craze swept the nation, carriage makers in cities across the country shifted gears, as it were, to become automobile makers instead.  An ad for “The American Carriage … Continue reading →

Posted in Higher education, History, Teaching, Technology, WPLongform (posts of 1000 words or longer) | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Invisibility Cloak Research Moves Forward at Michigan Tech « CBS Detroit

Posted on March 27, 2013 by Katherine Wikoff

Invisibility Cloak Research Moves Forward at Michigan Tech « CBS Detroit. Not just for Harry Potter or Sam and Frodo anymore!  Actually, the research hasn’t gone quite that far yet, but still . . . this is a really cool, … Continue reading →

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Learning to focus is our next digital challenge

Posted on March 25, 2013 by Katherine Wikoff

Will the Internet, with all its abundance, prove to be a distracting road to perdition or the “straight and narrow” pathway that leads humanity to its highest potential? Here’s a link to an excellent article, “You’re distracted.  This professor can help,” from The … Continue reading →

Posted in Life, Teaching, Technology | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments