While Nic was here, I was telling her about how useful #joiito can be when you have a quick, simple question you need answered. It's faster than Google, and adds a human bit of understanding. For example, I don't really keep up with the mainstream media at all, so when we kind of wondered what ever happened with Michael Jackson's legal issues, we asked the Channel. They told me, and we went on with our night. (As an experiment, I just tried to get the same information from Google, and all I could find was stuff about Nicole Kidman and quadruplets.)
We needed to know what was a seven-letter word for "an area of London" that started with "w-e". So I asked the Channel. "Wembley," said two Britons.
Earlier today, I wanted to listen to This American Life. I couldn't exactly remember the name of the show my friend Dave had told me about, but I knew it had "America" or "American" in it. A Google search turned up nothing to jog my memory (and I like to think I'm pretty good at Googling), so I asked the Channel.
<trav> I'm trying to think of a show on NPR. America something... or This American...
<lefauxfrog> This American Life
<trav> Bam.
<trav> Thanks
<trav> Uhm... I just put some chicken in the oven, and shortly thereafter, it occurred to me, that I have no idea how long or at what temperature one should bake two pieces of chicken.
<trav> Help?
<wiredfool_> 350 till the juice runs clear
<wiredfool_> the flesh should feel firm, not squishy, not charred
... (later)
<trav> wiredfool_: Should I flip them over, or just let 'em cook?
<wiredfool_> trav: generally flipping is good
<trav> A flip there shall be, then.
A couple times recently, I've had to try to explain why I don't eat pork or chicken from industrial "farms". This is why.
Comments:
"umm ur hot and ur a god singer "
-brittni [2004-07-23 00:43:30]
(1 comments)
Just about every day after work, a bunch of us from the Service Center get together and play disc golf. Even though most of us are at different jobs. It's a good time, and I've really gotten into it. Most the time I end up over par, but I'm improving, and... it's not all about the end.
I bought some bananas some time ago, but some went ripe before I could eat them. So, in lieu of throwing two bananas away, I went and purchased all the other ingredients necessary to make the first search result for banana bread. It spilled over the pan, and therefore failed to rise, but the bit I broke off the top was delicious. We'll see when it's done cooling.
Comments:
"You make your Mom sooooo proud!! Why don't you put the coffee on and I'll come and visit!??!?! Mmmm looks so yummy!"
-Your Mom [2004-07-14 09:40:04]
(1 comments)
Well, I'm starting to come to grips now. Everyone has been really great--it's times like this that remind you who cares about you, and I hope Casey's parents know how many people have them in their prayers.
Comments:
"Just so you know...you and also Casey's family are on dozens of prayer chains....we feel so bad for their loss, too. Sometimes life is hard. But sometimes it is so wonderful, too...it is good when people are able to let others know how much they care about them. And we are happy to bring that sweet Florida girl for a visit in 151 hours! It is good to be surrounded by those who love you when you are hurting. Please take good care of yourself, ok?"
-Your Mom [2004-07-11 14:06:33]
(1 comments)
An officer just stopped by and told me that a man died. Yesterday, I remember that after I got off the phone with 911, several people who were also driving south had stopped, and were standing around me taking turns telling me, "I saw the whole thing; there was nothing you could have done."
"There was nothing you could do. It could have been any of us."
I still can't explain how I feel.
Man killed in fall from bike
Forum staff reports, The Forum
A 42-year-old Fargo man died Wednesday after he fell off his bike and was hit by a car on South University Drive.
The man was southbound on his bike near 15th Avenue when he fell into the southbound lane at about 3:30 p.m. He died at the scene from a traumatic head injury.
Fargo police said a medical condition may have caused the man to fall off his bike. An autopsy is being conducted to determine if he had medical problems prior to the accident, police said.
Witnesses said the driver did not have time to react. No charges are expected to be filed.
Police are expected to identify the man today.
Comments:
"*hugs*"
-D* [2004-07-08 10:45:51]
"I love you."
-Missy [2004-07-08 12:02:39]
"HUG."
-bianca [2004-07-08 19:31:05]
"."
-nic [2004-07-08 20:59:19]
"So many people are so sad for what you are going through...through NO fault of your own...just a horrible coincidence....we hope you are comforted by the fact that many prayers are being said for you and that God will wrap his arms around you and hold you close to Him. Time will help heal."
-Your Mom [2004-07-08 21:26:38]
"Your mom's comment almost made me cry.
I don't know what else to say. It's good to know you have loving people around you."
-JustAgirl [2004-07-11 14:10:00]
(6 comments)
I can't really explain what happened today. Not with text, anyway. Sometimes things happen, and you can't do anything about it, but it doesn't make you feel any better.
I'm not sure what to do next, but the future is coming. I hope by the time it gets here, I'll know what to do with it.
It's been said over and over that people don't read manuals. This is certainly true.
Armed with this fact, most software companies have simply stopped printing them, favoring online help systems instead, claiming they work better, and reduce costs. This is also true.
(Now, if you know me, you're probably glancing up to make sure that I'm actually writing this post, and it's not someone else. Hold on, now...)
This is why the lack of manuals sucks:
Yup. Most people don't read manuals. This is true in the same way that it's true that most people don't play disc golf. But some do, that's why we still have disc golf courses. I'd like to solidify my argument by pointing out that after the software companies stopped distributing manuals with their software, other people started to print manuals for them. At a profit. Now people like me, who play disc golf and (used to) use the term RTFM, end up paying extra for manuals written by someone who reverse engineered the software rather than getting a free one written by someone who helped write the software. Oh, when you buy the software, you'll certainly get a glossy little pamphlet that may claim to be a manual (with a title like a "guide to the features of..."). I got one of those too. It's 20 pages, and has cute pictures. What it doesn't have, is any sort of explanation of features that aren't obviously labeled in the user interface to begin with. I've got five more just like them. These are marketing materials, not manuals. This is a manual. (The man pages on my FreeBSD box are about 25 megs.)
The argument could be made that not printing costly manuals saves money in the software development life cycle. Unfortunately, a much stronger argument can be made that each successive version of Windows cost roughly a hundred dollars more than the one before it, and you had to buy Mac OS X twice: once for the beta, then again when it was actually released.
An argument could also be made that online help is better than a manual anyway. It's searchable, cross-linkable, and adaptive. Unfortunately, it's also written for the type of people who don't read manuals, and those people don't read online help systems, either. Whether it's online or printed, they still ignore it, preferring to ask the nearest computer geek--a person who, until recently, read the manual. Interestingly enough, he doesn't read online help either, because the online help is written for people who don't read manuals, and answers questions that manual readers don't need help with. So, to recap: the online help is written for people who don't read manuals, and the people who read manuals don't read the online help because the kind of questions they need answered aren't covered by the online help, because it's written for the people who don't read manuals, which are the same people who are busy not reading the online help, opting instead to ask the manual readers, who don't know the answers, because there's no fucking manual. The only way for manual readers to get manual-quality knowledge is to either a) use the software enough to stumble upon the answers, b) pay for a sub-optimal 3rd-party book written by someone who used the software enough to stumble upon the answers, or c) scrape knowledge from other manual readers who paid for sub-optimal 3rd-party books.
In a pinch, you used to be able to call tech support, and ask them your question. Why call tech support? Because they had a book with color-coded tabs with in-depth information used to answer frequently asked questions about the software. In other words, the company would pay him $15/hr to read a software manual to me. I don't call them anymore, because the last time I called tech support with a list of questions, the tech support guy gave up after he couldn't find the answers in the online help.
When I have a sufficiently advanced question now, I usually end up in IRC, asking someone who works for the company and is either on the development team, or at least might know someone who is on the development team for the software in question. Then they can ask the guy on the dev team whose job, until recently, was the write the manual. These days, with the money they're saving by not having to print manuals, the company can afford instead to pay him to write features for the software that few people will ever use, because no one knows they exist. In his desk drawer is a big list of features of the software he's writing and how they work, which was printed for him by the company.
In closing, iTunes documentation bites.
Comments:
"This is toooooo funny...right before I read the part about "Now if you know me, you're probably glancing up to see if I wrote this post"
I WAS GLANCING UP TO SEE IF YOU WROTE THAT POST!!!
And, as YOU know, I don't read manuals, I just call my personal computer geek for help...thanks for being there!!! "
-Your Mom [2004-07-06 08:35:47]
(1 comments)
Your guess is as good as mine. Parking break forgetfulness or annoying prankster drinking buddies?
Comments:
"Whew...had to enlarge that to see that it wasn't Foo!! ;)"
-Your Mom [2004-07-05 10:07:34]
(1 comments)
B's site is hilarious. Go.
I was going to blog this earlier, but didn't, and now seems an appropriate time to share.
Every year, my hometown has a big to-do on Memorial Day. The whole thing is quite a ritual.
There's the downtown ceremony: opening prayer, a couple songs from the school children, a couple selections from the high school band, readings of "In Flanders Fields" and "We Shall Keep the Faith", and a speech by a guest speaker (my Dad had the honors this year) followed by a roll call of the dead. Here, they list the names of every passed member of our community who has served in the armed forces, along with where they're buried. The list takes about twenty minutes, but we listen every year.
Following the ceremony is a parade with several classic cars (one for each war). Veterans climb into their respective car and wave as they drive three blocks of main street. After the parade, everybody goes up to the cemetary for another prayer, the playing of Taps, and a 21-gun salute. Then it's back down to Memorial Hall for a potluck in the basement (except for those in the parade; they all have a free beer together before the potluck, even though it's only late morning). Yes, there's a potluck for the whole town, but that's not nearly as big as it sounds.
It's a interesting event really, and difficult to explain. The feeling is very somber, but in a strange way joyful. It's kind of like Christmas, but scaled up: each year the town comes together and hangs out like a family. Kids come home, everybody dresses nice, and you're reunited with the people you haven't seen for ages. Mixed among the sad poems and names of fallen soldiers are little inside-jokes ("Hey Tim, your old uniform getting a little tight?") and friendly elbow jabs ("I know I should move this along, my wife told me I'd be in trouble if we weren't out of here by eleven"). They've been doing this for over 120 years, and although it's always the same, I go back home every time.
Hey, somebody has to drive the "Desert Storm" car, and hell if some punk thinks he's driving our Monte Carlo.
Comments:
"And your coming home for Memorial Day each year is one of our "traditions." Thank you, Son!!"
-Your Mom [2004-07-04 17:31:47]
"I want to live in a country town that might have little rituals like that. Potluck! xoxoxo."
-Missy [2004-07-04 23:28:16]
"You got to drive the Monte Carlo???"
-D* [2004-07-05 21:32:54]
(3 comments)
So, here's a neat meme (albeit time consuming): Take the list of movies. Bold the ones you've seen. Add three. (I'd like to add the disclaimer that Jessica and I watched so many movies that, due to the sheer volume, I often failed to retain movie titles. So there might be some I've actually seen, but didn't bold. I'd also like to point out that regardless of how much the emo kid at the video store will wax evangelical, Kubrick sucks.)
01. Trainspotting
02. Shrek
03. M
04. Dogma
05. Strictly Ballroom
06. The Princess Bride
07. Love Actually
08. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings
09. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
10. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
11. Reservoir Dogs
12. Desperado
13. Swordfish
14. Kill Bill Vol. 1
15. Donnie Darko
16. Spirited Away
17. Better Than Sex
18. Sleepy Hollow
19. Pirates of the Caribbean
20. The Eye
21. Requiem for a Dream
22. Dawn of the Dead
23. The Pillow Book
24. The Italian Job
25. The Goonies
26. Baseketball
27. The Spice Girls Movie (Spice World)
28. Army of Darkness
29. The Color Purple
30. The Safety of Objects
31. Can't Hardly Wait
32. Mystic Pizza
33. Finding Nemo
34. Monsters Inc.
35. Circle of Friends
36. Mary Poppins
37. The Bourne Identity
38. Forrest Gump
39. A Clockwork Orange
40. Kindergarten Cop
41. On The Line
42. My Big Fat Greek Wedding
43. Final Destination
44. Sorority Boys
45. Urban Legend
46. Cheaper by the Dozen
47. Fierce Creatures
48. Dude, Where's My Car
49. Ladyhawke
50. Ghostbusters
51. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
52. Back to the Future
53. An Affair To Remember
54. Somewhere In Time
55. North By Northwest
56. Moulin Rouge
57. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
58. The Wizard of Oz
59. Zoolander
60. A Walk to Remember
61. Chicago
62. Vanilla Sky
63. The Sweetest Thing
64. Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead
65. The Nightmare Before Christmas
66. Chasing Amy
67. Edward Scissorhands
68. Adventures of Priscilla: Queen of the Desert
69. Muriel's Wedding
70. Croupier
71. Blade Runner
72. Cruel Intentions
73. Ocean's Eleven
74. Magnolia
75. Fight Club
76. Beauty and The Beast
77. Much Ado About Nothing
78. Dirty Dancing
79. Gladiator
80. Ever After
81. Braveheart
82. What Lies Beneath
83. Regarding Henry
84. The Dark Crystal
85. Star Wars
86. The Birds
87. Beaches
88. Cujo
89. Maid In Manhattan
90. Labyrinth
91. Thoroughly Modern Millie
92. His Girl Friday
93. Chocolat
94. Independence Day
95. Singing in the Rain
96. Big Fish
97. The Thomas Crown Affair
98. The Matrix
99. Stargate
100. A Hard Day's Night
101. About A Boy
102. Jurassic Park
103. Life of Brian
104. Dune
105. Help!
106. Grease
107. Newsies
108. Gone With The Wind
109. School of Rock
110. Tommy
111. Yellow Submarine
112. From Hell
113. Benny & Joon
114. Amelie
115. Bridget Jones' Diary
116. Monty Python and the Holy Grail
117. Heavenly Creatures
118. All About Eve
119. The Outsiders
120. Airplane!
121. The Sorcerer
122. The Crying Game
123. Hedwig and the Angry Inch
124. Slap Her, She's French
125. Amadeus
126. Tommy Boy
127. Aladdin
128. How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
129. Snatch
130. American History X
131. Jack and Sarah
132. Monkey Bone
133. Rocky Horror Picture Show
134. Kate and Leopold
135. Interview with the Vampire
136. Underworld
137. Truly, Madly, Deeply
138. Tank Girl
139. Boondock Saints
140. Blow Dry
141. Titanic
142. Good Morning Vietnam
143. Save the Last Dance
144. Lost in Translation
145. Willow
146. Legend
147. Van Helsing
148. Troy
149. Nine Girls and a Ghost
150. A Knight's Tale
151. Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey
152. Beetlejuice
153. E.T.
154. Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone
155. Spaceballs
156. Young Frankenstein
157. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
158. American President
159. Bad Boys
160. Pecker
161. Pink Floyd: The Wall
161. X-Men
162. Sidewalks of New York
163. The Children of Dune
164. Beyond Borders
165. Life Is Beautiful
166. Good Will Hunting
167. Run Lola Run
168. Blazing saddles
169. Caligula
170. The Transporter
171. Better Off Dead
172. The Abyss
173. Almost Famous
174. The Red Violin
175. Contact
176. Stand and Deliver
177. Clueless
178. William Shakespeare's Romeo+Juliet
179. Dangerous Laisions
180. I Am Sam
181. The Usual Suspects
182. U-571
183. Capricorn One
184. The Little Shop of Horrors
185. Die Hard
186. The Flamingo Kid
187. Night of the Comet
188. Point Break
189. Empire Records
190. Down With Love
191. The Sound of Music
192. The Lost Boys
193. Pump up the Volume
194. The Last Unicorn
195: White Christmas
196: Say Anything
197: Saturday Night Fever
198: Cube
199: Reality Bites
200: The Shawshank Redemption
201: Gerry
202: High Fidelity
203: Pirates of Silicon Valley
There is no reason why a gas pump should need such instruction labels. This is a usability failure if I've ever seen one.
Comments:
"Fix it. Make the world a better place."
-D* [2004-07-01 07:57:42]
"Nice blog!"
-JustAgirl [2004-07-02 08:39:34]
"Thanks! You too."
-trav [2004-07-08 00:40:08]
(3 comments)
[ home - archives - quoteboard - blogger decoder - wishlist ]
This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons License.