It's Just a Bunch of Stuff That Happens » Off The Wall http://stuffthathappens.com/blog Technology and Geek Stuff by Eric Burke Fri, 04 Jun 2010 14:44:50 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 en hourly 1 Death by Spoon http://stuffthathappens.com/blog/2009/10/31/death-by-spoon/ http://stuffthathappens.com/blog/2009/10/31/death-by-spoon/#comments Sun, 01 Nov 2009 03:02:03 +0000 Eric Burke http://stuffthathappens.com/blog/?p=1549 I love the Internet.

]]> http://stuffthathappens.com/blog/2009/10/31/death-by-spoon/feed/ 1 Strange Comment http://stuffthathappens.com/blog/2009/10/02/strange-comment/ http://stuffthathappens.com/blog/2009/10/02/strange-comment/#comments Fri, 02 Oct 2009 15:04:04 +0000 Eric Burke http://stuffthathappens.com/blog/?p=1462 Today, a bizarre comment appeared on Twittch.com. Out of the blue, with no context or explanation, someone suggested I should move my Leopard menu bar to the top of my secondary display. This is the entire comment, bad spelling and all:

So put your menu bar at the top of your external screen instead of on your MacBook pro (drag it their in the Display prefs).

At first I thought maybe this was a bug in Disqus, or maybe my page IDs were incorrect and I was pulling in comments from some other site.

But the comment seemed vaguely familiar…I recalled reading an article about multiple monitors and Macs…but it took quite a bit of thinking to realize this person was referring to the comment I left on Elliotte’s blog.

I don’t understand how anyone could think this is the appropriate way to respond to comments on web sites:

A) Leave your response on a completely different site
B) Make no mention of what you are referring to

]]> http://stuffthathappens.com/blog/2009/10/02/strange-comment/feed/ 2 Chestnut Blight http://stuffthathappens.com/blog/2009/10/01/chestnut-blight/ http://stuffthathappens.com/blog/2009/10/01/chestnut-blight/#comments Thu, 01 Oct 2009 22:00:08 +0000 Eric Burke http://stuffthathappens.com/blog/?p=1447 I’ve always found it fascinating that as recently as 100 years ago, the Chestnut tree accounted for nearly 1 in 4 trees in some parts of North America. The Chestnut Blight wiped out nearly four billion trees.

]]> http://stuffthathappens.com/blog/2009/10/01/chestnut-blight/feed/ 0 Invisible Man http://stuffthathappens.com/blog/2009/10/01/invisible-man/ http://stuffthathappens.com/blog/2009/10/01/invisible-man/#comments Thu, 01 Oct 2009 14:06:13 +0000 Eric Burke http://stuffthathappens.com/blog/?p=1443 An artist who paints himself to blend in with background scenery:

Liu Bolin…The Invisible Man…

[via @kohlerm]

]]> http://stuffthathappens.com/blog/2009/10/01/invisible-man/feed/ 0 Faeries and Enchantment http://stuffthathappens.com/blog/2009/09/13/faeries-and-enchantment/ http://stuffthathappens.com/blog/2009/09/13/faeries-and-enchantment/#comments Sun, 13 Sep 2009 18:47:43 +0000 Eric Burke http://stuffthathappens.com/blog/?p=1396 Faeries and Enchantment magazine: The UK’s first FAE magazine dedicated to all things faerie.

]]> http://stuffthathappens.com/blog/2009/09/13/faeries-and-enchantment/feed/ 0 Help Jesse and Bob! http://stuffthathappens.com/blog/2009/08/14/help-jesse-and-bob/ http://stuffthathappens.com/blog/2009/08/14/help-jesse-and-bob/#comments Sat, 15 Aug 2009 01:07:25 +0000 Eric Burke http://stuffthathappens.com/blog/?p=1295 Time is nearly out! Help Jesse and Bob raise some money for the American Liver Foundation.

They swim 1.5 miles from Alcatraz to San Francisco tomorrow morning.

]]> http://stuffthathappens.com/blog/2009/08/14/help-jesse-and-bob/feed/ 0 Dear Movie Theater Owner http://stuffthathappens.com/blog/2009/08/08/dear-movie-theater-owner/ http://stuffthathappens.com/blog/2009/08/08/dear-movie-theater-owner/#comments Sat, 08 Aug 2009 21:12:06 +0000 Eric Burke http://stuffthathappens.com/blog/?p=1285 Dear Movie Theater Owner,

Your web site sucks. When I go there, I see:

  • A big, slow, Flash “welcome” page
  • When I click, you do something bizarre and make little stars follow my mouse around the screen
  • Everything on your web site blinks. (maybe your “designer” is a MySpace fanatic?)
  • Your site sets cookies, but doesn’t bother to remember my ZIP code…seriously, WTF?
  • After I enter my ZIP and search for show times, you put the results in a tiny scrolling frame that does not print correctly

Try to think of your audience! When we go to your page, it’s because we want to know show times. Your web site should display this information immediately and in a plain, easy to read and print format.

Yes, you can also provide additional links to purchase tickets, view trailers, and get directions to the theaters. Simple hyperlinks are sufficient.

Is it really so hard?

Your friend,

Eric

]]> http://stuffthathappens.com/blog/2009/08/08/dear-movie-theater-owner/feed/ 1 Exploding Balls http://stuffthathappens.com/blog/2009/04/24/exploding-balls/ http://stuffthathappens.com/blog/2009/04/24/exploding-balls/#comments Fri, 24 Apr 2009 12:10:21 +0000 Eric Burke http://stuffthathappens.com/blog/?p=1164 I received an email from Amazon about a product recall for a Valeo fitness ball. Here is a portion of that email:

We have recently learned that EB Brands (Yonkers, NY), in cooperation with the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), is voluntarily recalling certain FITNESS BALLS.

…

These sold from May 2000 to February 2009 for between $15 and $30. An overinflated fitness ball can unexpectedly burst while in use, causing the user to fall to the floor.

Consumers should contact EB Brands to receive a copy of the updated instructions on how to safely inflate the ball.

This ranks right up there with “warning: coffee is hot”. The ball is rubber. If you overfill it, it will pop. Is it really that hard to figure out?

I want to see a video of someone falling to the floor when their fitness ball pops. Cue the lawyer comments.

]]> http://stuffthathappens.com/blog/2009/04/24/exploding-balls/feed/ 6 Inauguration Close Up http://stuffthathappens.com/blog/2009/01/21/inauguration-close-up/ http://stuffthathappens.com/blog/2009/01/21/inauguration-close-up/#comments Wed, 21 Jan 2009 14:24:40 +0000 Eric Burke http://stuffthathappens.com/blog/?p=972 Everyone’s posting pictures of the inauguration from hundreds and thousands of miles away. How about inches away?

]]> http://stuffthathappens.com/blog/2009/01/21/inauguration-close-up/feed/ 0 Hayden Panettiere is (not) a Local Single http://stuffthathappens.com/blog/2009/01/05/hayden-panettiere-is-not-a-local-single/ http://stuffthathappens.com/blog/2009/01/05/hayden-panettiere-is-not-a-local-single/#comments Tue, 06 Jan 2009 02:56:51 +0000 Eric Burke http://stuffthathappens.com/blog/?p=961 I’ve seen this ad a few times now:

I’m fairly certain she is not a “local single” near O’Fallon, MO. (That is Hayden Panettiere, right?)

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