If you were to go as far out into space as you can imagine, what would you encounter? Would there be a limit to how far you could go, or could you travel a limitless distance? Would you eventually return to your starting point, or would you continue to traverse space that you had never encountered before? In other words, does the Universe have an edge, and if so, where is it?

Believe it or not, there are actually three different ways to think about this question, and each one has a different answer.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/startswithabang/2020/01/21/how-far-is-it-to-the-edge-of-the-universe/#2c6c6c8155a3

"When tuition was a relatively small piece of the budget, it worked well as a sort of Keynesian stabilizer. It went up when enrollment did, mostly covering the marginal cost of the next students, but we had operating funding to cover the base when enrollment dropped. Over the years, though, tuition has become the majority of the budget. When that happens, we’re basing permanent commitments — like tenure — on fluctuating revenues. That’s not sustainable. Colleges sometimes compensate by moving more of the faculty to contingent status, but that just offloads the unsustainability from the institution to individual people. And over time, it can have negative effects on quality, thereby defeating the purpose."
https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/confessions-community-college-dean/keynesian-community-college-0

https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/dantes-nine-circles-of-hell-reimagined-for-linguistic-transgressions

The 8th circle!

"The souls in this circle often toured the other circles, mocking the poor souls who suffered there for their poor command of the English language. Little did they know that one of the worst circles was reserved for them and their grating tendency to overcorrect English usage at every opportunity. *

Public libraries are unsung heroes of their communities. Many a busy working adult can take their importance for granted. But parents of young children know—the library is a quiet haven, place of wonder and discovery, and free resource for all sorts of educational experiences. Given the importance of libraries in kids’ lives, it’s no wonder that six of the top ten most-checked-out books—according to the New York Public Library—are children’s books.

The NYPL calculated the most checked out books in its history in honor of its 125th anniversary. Given that it houses the second largest collection in the U.S., after the Library of Congress, and serves millions in the most linguistically diverse city in the country, its circulation numbers give us a reasonable sampling of near-universal tastes.

http://www.openculture.com/2020/01/the-new-york-public-library-announces-the-top-10-checked-out-books-of-all-time.html

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/jan/11/we-are-approaching-the-limits-of-computer-power-we-need-new-programmers-n-ow

Interesting article, particularly about bloatware.

https://twitter.com/Astropartigirl/status/1211813423706587136?s=09

While survey research in the United States is a year-round undertaking, the public’s focus on polling is never more intense than during the run-up to a presidential election. This essay is our attempt as survey methodologists and social science researchers to assess the state of the craft in 2019.
https://www.pewresearch.org/methods/2019/11/19/a-field-guide-to-polling-election-2020-edition/

http://www.openculture.com/2020/01/38-major-pop-songs-played-with-the-exact-same-four-chords.html

The 4 chords are I, IV, V, and vi. Wiki says (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Axis_of_Awesome) they are played in a I-V-vi-IV order (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I%E2%80%93V%E2%80%93vi%E2%80%93IV_progression).

Though the ‘80s didn’t invent music videos, they did become an essential form of cultural currency, as high profile directors, big budgets, and a channel that played them non-stop pushed them into our collective consciousness. But it’s only recently that those original videos–most shot on film, not video by the way–have been getting the remaster treatment that Hollywood blockbusters and art house classics receive. Last month, we saw the film grain and romantic lighting in Wham’s “Last Christmas” video remastered in 4K. And now another inescapably ‘80s earworm gets the treatment: “Take on Me” by Norway’s finest, A-ha.
http://www.openculture.com/2020/01/watch-a-has-take-on-me-video-newly-remastered-in-4k.html