Category: categories

Who me? Just reading a magazine.

Have you ever seen one of those book safes that’s hollow inside so you can hide important stuff? I want a travel laptop small enough to hide inside a magazine:

That’s part of my latest post for the WePC campaign, which is as much about laptop security as portability. This is because people are fond of stealing my shit.

Please go read, and tell me what you think. Am I being paranoid? I’m hoping I’m not the only one who feels anxious using expensive equipment in public — especially in a foreign country where your laptop may be equal to, say, the average annual salary.

Workaround for @ Replies on Twitter

*Post Update: Yikes! I misunderstood the problem. Apparently (and I cringe as I attempt to grasp this) the issue is that you can no longer see conversations between people you do follow and those you don’t, but only if they begin their tweet with an @. So if you were Twittering about Tina Fey, and I don’t follow her, I wouldn’t see:

@TinaFey Let’s go for cheeseburgers.

But I would see:

Say @TinaFey, let’s go for cheeseburgers!

Is that right? Please don’t hit me.

Sooo… couldn’t we just work around this for the time being by putting a character in front of the @ sign before we talk to someone? Like so: “FU @Maggie, you can’t begin to grasp my fury.” Et voila?

My tutorial on running search terms is still below. Forgive my misguided first attempt to help, and supply your own ideas in comments. Also, you can tell me if I’m wrong again, and we’ll do this over. The less vitriol the better. Thank you.

As you may know, Twitter recently made a change to how @ replies are received. People are kind of freaking out. If you use Twitter and you still want to see @ replies from folks you don’t follow, do this:

1. Find the search box in the sidebar and type in @ plus your username. I typed in @Maggie:

2. Click on the little magnifying glass to the right of the search box.

3. Verify that your main bar now shows search results on the @replies for that user name:

4. On the top right of the main bar, you’ll see a little green button next to the words “Save this search.” Click there. Here’s a detail view:

5. Look in the right sidebar again. Under the search box, you should see a subtitle “Saved Searches” and a clickable link to searches on the user name you’ve selected. Click on the user name you’ve saved whenever you want to see @replies from everyone, even folks you don’t follow.

For now, I hope that helps. I know it doesn’t address every issue, but it’s an easy workaround for now.

My Gang of Street Toughs

My good friend Josh Cagan was guest hosting the prompts on Plinky last week as part of the promotion for his new movie Bandslam. I’m getting to them a little late, but here’s the answer to my favorite one:

OH NO, IT’S A RUMBLE! Quick, put together your ideal gang of street toughs!

When I need to assemble a gang of street toughs, and I need to do it fast, I turn to professionals. As usual, Sean “P. Diddy” Combs has anticipated a market for frenzied, murderous song-and-dance crews, and has conveniently assembled Danity Kane.

These girls have it all — doe eyes, gams that go all the way up, and a volatile helping of latent rage. Plus, they already have matching silver-lamé cutout leotards. So, timesaver.

I know what you’re thinking; the ladies can’t exactly dance. But what they lack in dance talent, they make up for in heart. And the desire to bathe in your arterial blood.

The Power of Words, and Continuity

From an interview with Argentine director Lucrecia Martel in Bomb Magazine:

“It doesn’t matter how real or true the facts are; the issue is how something that somebody says is transformed into something that will change the world… I can say something—it doesn’t matter if it’s true or not—but your reaction and the emotion it generates within you are real. It happens a lot in lovers’ quarrels, where people say things that they probably don’t even mean, but once stated, they are reacted to as if they are true. It is actually the person being spoken to who gives these words their power.”

“In Salta, repeating the lives of others is a goal. Establishing continuity gives security and prestige: the doctor who has a son who is a doctor, and who uses his father’s office.”

We’ve Out-Nerded Them

Holy crap. Did you get my back on the Moleskine laptop or what? Thank you, guys. You are goodies.

As it turns out, you want a Molekskine laptop too. (Make one, ASUS. Do it.) There was much discussion about exactly what you want, so instead of doing my wallet-laptop spiel, this next post is a roundup of your most desired features and clever comments.

We’ll also talk about this thrilling photo:

Gah! Give me that.

Also! A couple of you had your own ideas about dream laptops, and I found this intriguing. To be honest, I’ve never spent much time making laptop wishes until I got this assignment, but it’s surprisingly fun. Tell me your computer fantasies! Unless they involve fox costumes and beeswax — in which case, this might not be the best forum.

Anyway, go see! Tell me what you think. And thanks again.

Zombies! An Eight Step Plan

1. Twitter.
2. Crowdsource a Costco takeover.
3. Secure entrances.
4. Neutralize Costco undead in increasingly cinematic ways, using only products at hand.
5. Clean off that food processor. We might want to use it later.
6. Set up Wifi.
7. Update Facebook status.
8. Organize a yoga class.

Guest Posting on Plinky

Remember when I told you about Plinky? Well, I’m writing this week’s Plinky questions, which makes me feel powerful beyond measure. Well, moderately powerful anyway. Do my bidding!

I’m posting a new question every day this week, so go have a look.

In the meantime, Plinky didn’t have space for one of the prompts I wrote, so I thought we could answer it here:

Hideous, no? Now choose. Show your work in comments.

Mortality, the Blog

This is the skull of a suspected vampire.

“At the time the woman died, many people believed that the plague was spread by ‘vampires’ which, rather than drinking people’s blood, spread disease by chewing on their shrouds after dying. Grave-diggers put bricks in the mouths of suspected vampires to stop them from doing this.”

Huh. I found her on Legacy Matters, a fascinating blog that’s mostly about death.

The link above is to the site’s “No Way to Go” section, which is worth a look, my friends. Here’s a Roald Dahlian photo of a priest who floated away with a bunch of helium balloons and was never found.

Given some of the more choice examples in the “No Way to Go” section, this one is looking like an unequivocally excellent way to go.

I prefer to think he just floated right on up, no waiting.

Pity the Fool, a Quotation

From a A Cup of Joe:

“I must learn to love the fool in me–the one who feels too much, talks too much, takes too many chances, wins sometimes and loses often, lacks self-control, loves and hates, hurts and gets hurt, promises and breaks promises, laughs and cries. It alone protects me against that utterly self-controlled, masterful tyrant whom I also harbor and who would rob me of human aliveness, humility, and dignity but for my fool.” — Theodore I. Rubin, MD