The Spark Between

XKCD FTW

Colin M — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 08:06:54 +0000

Step 1) Read:

Step 2) Skim: this, this, this, and this.

Step 3) Click.

Retro Geek Lust

Colin M — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 01:59:22 +0000

If only this didn’t represent my sister’s dying MacBook.

Bringing MARQUEE Back

Colin M — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 00:29:32 +0000

In honor of friends buried under torrential snowfall in Madison, WI, I bring you the following Web 1.0 HTML gimmick goodness, handcrafted over post-lunch coffee:

And to the XHTML validator: why don’t you go pick on some other, standards-compliant site?

Thanksgiving travels 2009

Colin M — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 07:31:16 +0000

Couple pictures to share from the plane rides:

Flying out of Seattle shortly after sunrise, I looked down and saw this crazy pattern in the trees, where someone had very carefully harvested every other square up and down the sides of these foothills. No idea why they do logging like that, but from the air, it looks like a chessboard:

Chessboard of the Giants

On the return trip, we left Green Bay just before sunrise on a very overcast day. The clouds with the pre-dawn colors on them looked just like a sea, complete with waves:

Cloud Sea

Later, the clouds broke as we flew over Milwaukee, WI, and we got a pretty awesome view of the city lights from not too far above the ground:

MKE at dawn

Happy Capitalism Day

Colin M — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 19:31:49 +0000

Where can I pick up my complimentary gift mug?

Is this airport comedy?

Colin M — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 14:07:37 +0000

The sign in the Seattle-Tacoma airport concourse says:

Why must I show my ID?
Identity is important. We need to make sure that the name on your ID matches your boarding pass.

Dear Sea-Tac:
Your sign merely restates what you’re doing. It does not provide any further insight into your question at all, much less provide an answer.
Yours,
A Traveler With a Brain

Who does this?

Colin M — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:46:21 +0000

I was going to grab a can of orange juice from the refrigerator at work this week, when I found the can below on the shelf. You’ll notice that someone seems to have tried opening it, but ripped the little opener off the can while it was only partially opened. So instead of taking care of their own mess, they put it back in the fridge. On its side and leaking.

Could we please take a little responsibility for ourselves? I know we’re a bunch of socially inept nerds, but this does not make us helpless children.

Look:

Very funny, United

Colin M — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 01:16:42 +0000

There are two flights leaving Madison for Chicago around 7pm tonight. Mine on American Eagle at 7:00, and another slightly later on United Express at 7:21.

The time is 6:59 and we are still sitting at the gate with no plane in sight. The gate agent for the other flight comes on the PA system and says, “This is the final boarding call for United Express 6716 to Chicago. The doors will be closing in 1 minute for another on-time departure brought to you by United Express.

Show-offs.

Halloween Castle

Colin M — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 12:55:41 +0000

They decorated the American Airlines castle at Seattle’s gate A9 with some ghosts for Halloween. A little cheesy but I needed something to post for the start of my trip. I’m flying through the haunted castle!!! :-)

Who says timezones can’t be fun?

Colin M — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 16:59:26 +0000

I’ve had to get involved with timezones and daylight savings time rules at work recently, while another coworker who usually handles them was out on vacation. It’s a really interesting thing to work on given how most people take it entirely for granted that their computer “knows what time it is.” Take my word for it, a lot of work goes into that particular piece of magic, and it’s very detail-oriented work because you really don’t want to get that wrong.

Anyway, as detail-oriented as it may be, timezones can also be quite interesting. I enjoyed this article about some of the historical anecdotes around timezones.