The Frustrated Bunny

Technology. Science. Politics. Geek. Etc.

Random

4 easy tips to become a better writer

As much as I get frustrated with some of the things I edit, my current job is teaching me a LOT about where people fall short in being able to communicate well in writing.    Up until recently, most of the editing I’ve done has been for a relatively small group of people. In any given job, I’d be editing stuff written by the same handful of people all of the time. Now, I’ll probably edit things written by 70+ different people each month, and from month to month, I only get a few repeats. As a result, I’ve started...

Technology

Two social media algorithm changes that are ruining the browsing experience

The social media algorithm is a perpetual battleground. Whether it’s a platform trying to create a better user experience or a content creator wanting to make sure that people see their posts, constant adjustments by both sides can often annoy users. Here are a couple of social media algorithm oddities that are driving people crazy lately 1) Still images being turned into videos on Facebook  I keep seeing still images being shared around on Facebook that are actually videos. Others have noticed this as well and have expressed anywhere from annoyance to bafflement at the practice. Page owners and marketers...

Personal / Random

How to make actual money without leaving the house

There are loads of articles floating around the internet about how to earn money online, make money from home, etc. And most of them are, as you would expect, written for consideration, advertising scams, and maybe at best only have a couple of good suggestions while the rest are a complete waste of time. So I’d totally understand if you saw the headline of this post and thought, “Well, crap, she’s gone commercial. First ads, now this.” Though honestly, the ads are just one of the few ways that I’ve found to make use of my skills and resources to...

Meta / Personal

How a one-off rant about hair donation changed how I blog

Five years ago, I wrote what has become, by far, the most popular and most widely-read article I’ve ever written, with close to 200k unique views. My article on hair donation and why it’s not for me turns up on the first page of results for a number of Google searches related to hair donation, gets shared on social media by people I don’t even know, and stirred up the most comment section controversy this blog has ever seen. When I wrote this article, the only people who really read this blog were friends, family, and a few colleagues. I’d...

Science

We get signal: New Horizons’ first science data payload

Last night, the New Horizons team received a signal from the probe containing a data payload that was mostly engineering data–systems status, telemetry…basically, phoning home letting Mom know it was doing just fine after its busy day flying by Pluto and taking lots of pictures and scientific measurements. This morning, from about 7:00 – 8:25 am ET, they received the first payload of those pictures and measurements. This payload will include three very high-resolution, greyscale images in which each pixel represents a quarter mile. Beginning at 3:25 pm, more data will start streaming in. But this is only the beginning–it...

Science

New Horizons Pluto mission is up there with the moon landing in American space achievement

If ever there were a perfect use for the phrase, “I can’t even,” this is it. Today we saw a high-resolution picture of a world over a billion miles away, taken by a small probe launched nine years ago on a mission that has been over 25 years in the making. And oh, yeah, that tiny probe not only took pictures, but it (presumably) took a variety of scientific readings, passing just 7,500 miles from Pluto. That’s less than the average diameter of the Earth. In astronomical terms, that’s CLOSE. I hardly have words for how absolutely awesome it is...