Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Online Censorship Day and Other Links

1)  Sharon Goldberg and Nick Feamster asked me to announce the following:

In the tradition of CAEC, NYCE, and etc, we are holding a "Day" on online censorship at BU on March 8, with speakers from technology, law and public policy.  We're currently soliciting abstracts for short talks and posters (due Feb 21).  Info is here:

http://www.bu.edu/cs/bfoc/

2)  The Crimson has a nice article on CS at Harvard, leading with

The computer science concentration has nearly doubled in size in the last two years and continues to drive growth in Harvard’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, according to new data released by the SEAS Communications Office.

3)  I wanted to point to this essay by Don RosaDon Rosa is well-known as the writer and illustrator for many of the tales of Scrooge McDuck, which I didn't read as a kid but have enjoyed with my kids as an adult.  (I'd recommend the Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck, but there doesn't appear to be an affordable version available on Amazon right now.)  The essay is a poignant explanation of why he stopped, which I expect might resonate with many people, including those who have never read a comic. 



2 comments:

Andy D said...

A powerful essay by Rosa---thanks!

Harry Lewis said...

That's quite a story by Rosa. It's really his cultural war story over the value of money and work -- he's not much interested in the former and greatly driven by the latter. In a society that tends to value everything by how much it costs and everybody by how much money they make, people with Rosa's combination are likely eventually to think they have been taken as chumps, no matter how much joy they claim the work brings them. His psychiatric and organic medical problems are really side issues, even though the crisis may never have happened without them. I'm glad he has enough money in spite of his medical problems -- that is sometimes where the stress becomes unbearable in the US, especially when the medical issues are those of a loved one.