Answers

Dear Umbrella people...

Wed, 09 Dec 2009 09:43:38 -0500

I am completely jealous of your dryness.

It’s an illusion. We’re not actually dry. Umbrellas don’t actually work.

disneyzane regarding stuff on steam-heat radiators: Everyone rests stuff on their radiator like...

Sat, 05 Dec 2009 19:31:26 -0500

disneyzane regarding stuff on steam-heat radiators:

Everyone rests stuff on their radiator like that, but I still feel that if I do it I will wake up to an inferno in my apartment.

It’s all on a wood shelf, and wood doesn’t conduct heat very well to the books. Additionally, wood doesn’t ignite unless it reaches at least 300°F (or closer to 400° if it’s in reasonable shape). Since the wood can never get hotter than the radiator, which itself can never get hotter than the steam, and the steam is usually no hotter than about 220°, and the radiator is highly unlikely to ever actually reach the steam’s full temperature, and the wood on top of it is highly unlikely to reach the radiator’s full temperature, a fire caused by this sort of setup isn’t a risk I’d worry about.

karmcity: A hilarious graphic made by Microsoft showing that...

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:59:12 -0500

karmcity:

A hilarious graphic made by Microsoft showing that their IE9 browser, slated for a late 2010 release, is slower than today’s competing browsers.

I really don’t understand why Microsoft would think to publish this — unless they’re trying to highlight how much more work they have to do.

Actually, I bet they’re trying to communicate how much faster Internet Explorer is becoming compared to previous iterations. This is a classic example of the bubble Microsoft employees live in. They think consumers care about relative speed increases. In reality, consumers want whatever the fastest is and nothing else matters.

The graph also says, “Look how bad IE8 is compared to today’s browsers! You really have no reason to use IE today.”

catbird: Anyone out have eyes good enough to make out what this...

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 13:44:40 -0500

catbird:

Anyone out have eyes good enough to make out what this says?

West Pitfall, Texas? (random guess)

allisonweiss: Today I buckled down and started to learn CSS...

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 10:55:50 -0500

allisonweiss:

Today I buckled down and started to learn CSS for real. I’ve been barely scraping by (via dashboardconfessional) with a basic knowledge of text attributes (or whatever), but now I’m finally learning how to build things.

I honestly feel like my life has changed.

Thinking about getting this mug to commemorate the occasion.

Get it in two-tone: http://www.marco.org/93489908

boringloser: Program Kudos: JDiskReport 1.3.1 Mike Greiner...

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 10:30:53 -0500

boringloser:

Program Kudos: JDiskReport 1.3.1

Mike Greiner helped me out with a pretty nasty computer problem today, and it was all thanks to a pretty sweet program that I think you should all give a run if you use a mac. I was down to 12 GB of free space on my PowerMac with no idea where a bunch of gigabytes were being used. Found some hidden folders like “Volumes” using up tons of space and NUKED ‘EM. I felt like a little Tron guy running around in my hardrive blowing up files.

I also got rid of all my LiveType LiveFont files because, who the fuck uses those anymore? Not me.

Be careful. /Volumes is where external disks are mounted.

Tonight???

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 17:25:24 -0400

dawnowar:

Folks with kids are rushing off for trick or treating. I’m all WTF cause it’s not freakin’ Halloween.

Welcome to Columbus, where trick-or-treating is always held on a Tuesday or Thursday before October 31, and always in a timespan that mostly happens before it actually gets dark outside.

peterwknox: Dominos advertised a $12.99 special; they showed up...

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 10:20:55 -0400

peterwknox:

Dominos advertised a $12.99 special; they showed up with a 20oz instead of a 2 liter and a $26 bill instead of $16. Not pleased.

Yes, but in their defense:

You live in New York.
You ordered from Domino’s.

Therefore, I have no pity for the mishaps that resulted from this tragic error in judgment.

marc: Apparently the Toyota Prius is faster than I...

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 13:23:44 -0400

marc:

Apparently the Toyota Prius is faster than I realized.

Wow. Trust me, it’s really not.

A Visit to the Apple Store

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 16:29:00 -0400

marc:

I’ll be interested see reviews of the new Apple AirPort Extreme Base Station. (The Apple Store Short Pump doesn’t have any yet.) Apple claims:

Improvements in antenna design give you up to 50 percent better Wi-Fi performance and up to 25 percent better range than with the previous-generation AirPort Extreme Base Station.

I’m not geeky enough to understand all the technology behind Wi-Fi. We have the dual-antenna AirPort Extreme Base Station that was the current model until this new one was announced. It’s very peppy for both LAN and and Internet stuff. I have a hard time understanding how the new device gets 50 percent better performance on the same 802.11n standard. If that’s true, wow. I know it has something to do with triple antennas (antennae?), but I still don’t really get it. Maybe my geekier friends will explain.

The big difference is that it has three antennas and radios instead of two, and (like the two-antenna version) can use them all simultaneously.

WiFi has 14 “channels” that APs can broadcast on, but it’s more like 14 different sliding-windows over a three-channel-wide space — there’s only enough space in the band for three channels (1, 7, and 14) without any overlapping. Usually, overlapping another channel isn’t a problem, but the interference and radio congestion does reduce performance and speed.

Triple-radio APs can effectively broadcast simultaneously over the entire block of WiFi frequencies in parallel. Not only does this increase potential throughput, but it increases the likelihood that client devices at long ranges will be able to pick up at least one of the signals. It’s great if you’re the only one using WiFi in the area. It’s not so great otherwise.

This is a test

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 14:52:00 -0400

scotth:

Tumblr appears to be stripping my Markdown headings of their HTML tags in the Dashboard. Why? I don’t know.

It always has. The Dashboard only allows a subset of tags to maintain security and consistent appearance. Currently it’s:

a, b, em, br, br, p, strong, i, ul, ol, li, 
blockquote, del, strike, code, pre, sub, sup

Tags are occasionally added to the list and styled appropriately in the Dashboard. Maybe the H-tags should be there.

dstrelau: Paper Towel Dispenser, Bathroom, Clif Dogs If you...

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 10:21:48 -0400

dstrelau:

Paper Towel Dispenser, Bathroom, Clif Dogs

If you meant Crif Dogs, I put that there, and it was one of the first Tumblr stickers.

chartier: Windows 7 showed up, so of course I had to do an...

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 16:22:39 -0400

chartier:

Windows 7 showed up, so of course I had to do an unboxing.

I’m amused that your unboxing didn’t involve actually removing the product from its box, presumably because opening Microsoft’s new boxes is unintuitive and needlessly nonstandard in their effort to be flashy and innovative.

rockuboff: So I have a job interview on Monday. I’ve been in touch with the woman who contacted me...

Fri, 09 Oct 2009 16:48:11 -0400

rockuboff:

So I have a job interview on Monday. I’ve been in touch with the woman who contacted me to discuss details a few times in the past 24 hours. In the last email she sent me she addressed me as Stacy. In the empowering words of The Ting Tings, THAT’S NOT MY NAME.

GREAT. SEE YOU ON MONDAY XOX STACY

Maybe she works at Starbucks, Aimee.

topherchris: Curse you, Apple Store, for believing that I’m smart enough to know that the Apple TV...

Sun, 04 Oct 2009 17:45:45 -0400

topherchris:

Curse you, Apple Store, for believing that I’m smart enough to know that the Apple TV doesn’t come with an HDMI cable.

Don’t buy retail. You’ll pay out the ass. Instead, go here, scroll to the big “28AWG HDMI 1.3a Category 2 Certified Male to Male Cables” section near the bottom, and pick your desired length or color. Here’s a basic 5-foot black one for $3.40. Expect shipping to cost about $3.

The same thing in Best Buy starts at $30.

dalasverdugo: amandalynferri: -Mrs. Butterworth Sometimes,...

Fri, 02 Oct 2009 17:57:47 -0400

dalasverdugo:

amandalynferri:

-Mrs. Butterworth

Sometimes, the most innocent intentions fail hilariously.

jeffbaum: RIP my Xbox 360. November 22, 2005 - September 24,...

Thu, 24 Sep 2009 22:33:31 -0400

jeffbaum:

RIP my Xbox 360. November 22, 2005 - September 24, 2009.

It was only a matter of time, I guess…

Is that the HD-DVD drive on top? You got screwed twice… sorry man.

valhallaisland: Double the price for an extra 3 inches. There...

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 11:07:29 -0400

valhallaisland:

Double the price for an extra 3 inches. There must be something about 30” panels that makes them significantly more expensive to produce and it sucks.

Three things:

They differ significantly in resolution. 27” monitors are usually 1920x1200, the same as 24” models. 30” monitors are 2560x1600.
Very few manufacturers make the 30” panels. (I think it’s just one, actually.) Dell, Apple, etc. just put their shells and electronics around them.
Very few people buy 30” monitors. There’s just not a lot of demand. So economies of scale can’t happen.

Pooped.

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 16:27:18 -0400

mallisser:

We haven’t even taken off & Lauren’s already asleep.

That’s the best way to fly: fall asleep during taxi, wake up when the wheels hit the ground.

(via kevin) You know, that could have really backfired if he...

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 15:04:48 -0400

(via kevin)

You know, that could have really backfired if he didn’t make it.