Latest Readings

Shame on me for stumbling on something wonderful. I sure am a sucker for koans. (I'm especially a fan of ones where Sussman is the apprentice). But these are fine, too:
Zen Stories to Tell Your Neighbors

Who's your friend?

Anyone who supposes that Facebook's users are its customer has got the business model precisely backwards. Users pay nothing, because we aren't customers, but product. The customers are the advertisers to whom Facebook sells the information users hand over, knowingly or not.

You may think that your Facebook friends care what you're up to, but they'd drop you like a stone if it cost them money to learn you had just become imaginary mayor of an imaginary town, or even that you had just had a row with your mother and slammed the phone down. The only people to whom that information is worth even a fraction of a penny are those who want to take advantage of it to sell you something you don't need – except, that is for your real friends, but imaginary ones are so much more reassuring.

Guardian original article.

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Google Support Forum

I have to say I'm glad I found this. And I'm sad that it's come down to blocking google. This was a major headache as I often scroll through the results using the keys, and each time a new page pops open on the right, which certainly wasn't expected, and nowhere is there a button in search options to disable this. I understand google is under some pressure to be friendly and helpful, but really, a clean simple interface is good for the world, and was google's biggest success. I might have had to find an alternate search site if this was not fixable.

Score one for ad block plus.


urbanrocker
Level 2
11/17/10
The only thing I can suggest is a solution that unfortunately only works for Firefox users however it does in fact work like a charm.

If you have Firefox, you'll need to install the "AdBlock Plus" add-on as well as the ABP 'Element Hiding Helper' extension companion. Once installed, restart and search for anything on google (i.e. "bonsai trees"), then go to the ABP icon in the upper right corner of FF. Click "select an element to hide" and hover over any result on the page or click the magnifying glass icon, a red box will show up over the icon; click it and voila! It's good riddance to this godawful page preview.

Alternatively you can press ctrl+shift+k, hover over a search result until the preview shows up, click on the preview until the red box shows up over the entire thing, click it and all subsequent previews are gone for good.

Thanksgiving Shopping

I know everyone wants to go shopping the day after thanksgiving, but sometimes you need to buy drinks on the way to dinner. I poked aimlessly around Binny's website for some time before I found a great hint at Gaper's Block and found out they'll be open until 4PM. Wonderful. Then I realized this was from 2006, and now I'm still digging...

Cafe Hoang

This afternoon Beth and I were pretty hungry, and we were already south of downtown, so we made our way to Cermak and stopped in for a late lunch at Cafe Hoang (just east of the Archer intersection in Chinatown). First, it's been a long time since we got spring rolls that were perfect. These had thin, sticky wrappers, a long piece of pork, shrimp in the center, and stuffed with basil leaf and vermicelli. Couldn't have asked for it better. Then we order the vietnamese pancake (Banh Xeo), which was a little crispier than the last time we enjoyed this. Served with a plate of lettuce, basil, cucumber and carrot slivers. This was again a huge relief. At this time, we should have just stopped and paid, but we'd already ordered plates. Beth had a vermicelli and chicken bowl, and I ordered a spicy beef stir fry.

This was a great meal! The service was very solicitous. The restaurant was quiet (it was after 2PM when we arrived) and it all kept coming on schedule. For about $7-10 per item, this was a good deal. I think I won't be going to Argyle again when I want some Vietnamese food.

Halsted and Roosevelt

It's a good idea to come to a complete stop before turning right on red. Only day I drove in two months.

-- TICKET INFORMATION --

Ticket Number Violation Description License Plate State Issue Date Ticket Amount
7003031XXX Red light violation XXXXXXX IL 10/27/2010 $100
Grand Total $100

Funny Stuff in comp.lang.c

Date: Mon, Nov 8 2010 1:13 pm
From: MartinBroadhurst


On Nov 8, 7:43 pm, "Jon" wrote:
>
> >>>>> Just because you found other incorrect usages of the term doesn't
> >>>>> make it correct. A "concrete" class in C++ is one who's object
> >>>>> instances behave like built-in types. Such a class must include
> >>>>> the following special member functions: a default constructor, a
> >>>>> copy constructor, a copy-assignment operator, a destructor.
>

Jon, you're so wrong that people who are merely massively in error
look to you for consolation.
You're so wrong that the people of the planet Wrong have rung to say
that they don't know you.
You're so wrong that somewhere in Paris, there is an aluminium
simulacrum of you; it is the SI unit of being wrong.

Martin