Firehose

Was eating dinner and various cables and USBs kept getting stuck to the magnet in my hand.

Such a first-world cyborg problem.

(I’ve just realised this honestly sounds like some sort of satire and not an actual experience I had.)

I think the main reason I prefer e-readers to paper books (beyond my love for e-ink as a technology) is the fact that I can bring up the definition and etymology of a word.

Of course, not having to prop open the book I’m reading while lying semi-comatose is another benefit.

Improving Early Kindles

I will never let it rest.

A guide wrapper about how to bring old Kindles, such as the Kindle Keyboard, as well as the Kindle 4, and Kindle 5 up to speed a bit to be usable in the modern era. Covering screensaver hacks, improved font handling, and more comprehensive customisablity with KOReader.

https://vale.rocks/posts/improving-early-kindles

I kinda miss the days when sites would get complete redesigns pretty much annually. It kept the web feeling fresh and cutting edge.

I suppose it was simpler to do everything over when all it took was a bit of hacking away with HTML and CSS.

Google has a secret ‘Forums’ tab that exclusively returns results from forums and discussion boards. You just need to append the query “udm=18” to the URL.

e.g https://www.google.com/search?q=JPEG+XL&udm=18

Further, and as you’re likely aware, you can use “utm=14” for a simpler set of results devoid of cruft such as knowledge panels and AI slop. It is reminiscent of the Google of old.

An Inventory of Lexical Loves

A wonderous wealth of words.

A collection of my favourite words (as defined by their extreme specificity, enjoyment to say, and overall zaniness) presented with definitions and in some cases their etymologies and my justification for inclusion. Including quality terms including defenestration, vellichor, contronym, bloviate, and schlock.

https://vale.rocks/posts/an-inventory-of-lexical-loves

The Flow State

The hypnotic trance of productivity.

A description and look at the productive trance that is the flow state (AKA zen state). An attempt at capturing in words the essence of complete cognitive immersion and the enthralling rush it brings.

https://vale.rocks/posts/the-flow-state

Friendly reminder you can chuck document.designMode = "on"; in your browser console, and it’ll let you directly edit the text of the current page.

I was thinking about the other future today. The one where Microsoft didn’t get done for having a monopoly, and we all searched the web using Bing via Internet Explorer.

I misinput a value in one of my recent articles, so it stated the post was revised in February rather than January.

Out of the thousands of viewers, only one person caught it and pointed this out to me.

It is so important to get fresh eyes on things and to seek feedback.

Remember: For every person who reports an issue, there are likely dozens or hundreds (or even thousands) who noticed but stayed quiet.

https://pointersgonewild.com/2019/11/02/they-might-never-tell-you-its-broken/