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The Minor Irritant Thread (Page 8)
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Thorzdad
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Jan 14, 2020, 11:25 AM
 
A part failed at the water plant and the city-wide line pressure dropped below 20psi. Apparently, a boil water order is automatic when the pressures drop that low.
     
BLAZE_MkIV
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Jan 15, 2020, 01:20 PM
 
They're still using wooden water mains in some cities. Id follow that boil order. https://www.timesunion.com/news/arti...photo-16899494
     
andi*pandi
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Jan 15, 2020, 01:24 PM
 
That's pretty cool that they are still finding them, and mostly functional to boot.

Which is worse, wooden water mains, or lead?
     
reader50
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Jan 15, 2020, 01:36 PM
 
Lead piping can be replaced slowly if there is no contact with the water. ie - if a mineral layer has thoroughly coated the inside of the pipes. That's how it was in Flint before hand.

An emergency manager switched to a different water supply - one that was more acidic. They could have treated the water to raise the pH and everything still would have been OK. But that would require steady purchases of chemicals, and ... (psst) they were saving money. (/psst)

Over about a year, the more acidic water leached through the mineral buildup. Started exposing the lead, and leaching that too. Lead readings started appearing erratically, then more and more consistently. Emergency manager and his boys concealed the readings, and downplayed the risks when people asked. Until someone told the EPA, and the house of cards collapsed. Those turkeys need jail time so bad.
( Last edited by reader50; Jun 5, 2020 at 11:20 PM. )
     
subego  (op)
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Mar 2, 2020, 02:04 AM
 
Lorem Ipsum generator I’ve been using got infected by an ad which takes over your browser and makes you think you need to update Flash. It’s surprisingly good. Had me going for a second. Luckily, I hate Flash, so there was no chance I’d download anything, but when I was trying to close it, I felt I was dealing with genuine Adobe jackassery.

Now, the generator I’m using has a different paragraph length.


Also, ****ing Peapod shut down here.
     
andi*pandi
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Mar 2, 2020, 10:28 AM
 
which lorum ipsum? Hope it's not cupcake ipsum.
     
subego  (op)
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Mar 2, 2020, 03:10 PM
 
The infected site is lipsum.com. I’ve switched to loremipsum.io.
     
subego  (op)
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Mar 2, 2020, 05:20 PM
 
My quick and dirty comparison is loremipsum.io edges out lipsum.com. loremipsum.io has a copy button, so it’s easier to scrape, and looks a little better when justified (better distribution of word length I guess). The biggest fault is it always makes “lorem ipsum dolor etc.” the first sentence, so I need to trim those manually. lipsum.com allows disabling that.


Edit: loremipsum.io is also a lot faster overall when it comes to moving massive amounts of text like I am, mainly because it has a better UI.
( Last edited by subego; Mar 2, 2020 at 05:58 PM. )
     
Thorzdad
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Mar 4, 2020, 08:43 AM
 
The iOS keyboard on my iPad Air. The combination of the size of the keys and the spacing of the rows of keys is such that, as I'm typing, I constantly don't quite make the reach down to the spacebar, tapping on either n or m instead. So, instead of typing "good morning" I type "goodnmorning". If I could just shrink the keyboard a little, the problem would go away. And, no, splitting the keyboard doesn't help.
     
subego  (op)
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Mar 4, 2020, 10:32 AM
 
On the regular iOS keyboard, this happens to me with “Q”. Always hitting “W” instead.

Just did it right now.
     
andi*pandi
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Mar 4, 2020, 11:52 AM
 
I do the opposite. Instead of hitting m, I hit spacebar and comma: good ,Orning to you.
     
subego  (op)
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Mar 4, 2020, 12:16 PM
 
I get it at both ends, but on the lower right it’s usually a return.

Good m.
Orn [dammit! DAMMIT!]
     
Laminar
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Mar 4, 2020, 12:17 PM
 
Originally Posted by Thorzdad View Post
I type "goodnmorning"
That's just German.
     
Spheric Harlot
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Mar 7, 2020, 11:25 AM
 
Originally Posted by Thorzdad View Post
The iOS keyboard on my iPad Air. The combination of the size of the keys and the spacing of the rows of keys is such that, as I'm typing, I constantly don't quite make the reach down to the spacebar, tapping on either n or m instead. So, instead of typing "good morning" I type "goodnmorning".
Opposite here. I keep splitting words by typing a "space" instead of "n", "m", or "b".
     
Waragainstsleep
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Mar 10, 2020, 05:54 AM
 
I only have these issues with spaces (or lack thereof) on my iPhone.
I have plenty of more important things to do, if only I could bring myself to do them....
     
subego  (op)
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May 22, 2020, 03:06 PM
 
Being told by a duplication house that using FireWire to transfer a DV tape will “lose quality”.
     
andi*pandi
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May 22, 2020, 04:48 PM
 
Well it's like photocopying, isn't it?

     
subego  (op)
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May 22, 2020, 04:52 PM
 
     
andi*pandi
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May 22, 2020, 06:50 PM
 
Wonder if I find a floppy drive I can open my macpaint files from 1992...
     
subego  (op)
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May 22, 2020, 07:21 PM
 
If you try, you’re gonna want to clean the heads afterwards.


Ironically, I could see some older disks lasting longer because they weren’t cheaping-out on materials yet.
     
Thorzdad
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May 22, 2020, 08:20 PM
 
Originally Posted by andi*pandi View Post
Wonder if I find a floppy drive I can open my macpaint files from 1992...
I have a USB floppy drive. Still works great, too. Not sure I have anything that can open a MacPaint file, though.
     
subego  (op)
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May 22, 2020, 08:37 PM
 
Does whatchahoozy still exist?

It was a program which would open almost any format.

Was it Graphics Converter?
     
Laminar
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May 23, 2020, 07:18 AM
 
Triggering my nostalgia with that one. Like VLC for image files.
     
Thorzdad
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May 23, 2020, 07:30 AM
 
Originally Posted by subego View Post
Does whatchahoozy still exist?

It was a program which would open almost any format.

Was it Graphics Converter?
DOH! Totally forgot about GC. Yeah, it's still around. It's up to v.11 and supports OSX up to 10.15. It's kind of impressive that a little company like Lemkesoft is still around and (apparently) thriving after all these years. I think I was using GC on OS8.
     
Thorzdad
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May 23, 2020, 07:31 AM
 
Originally Posted by Laminar View Post
Triggering my nostalgia with that one. Like VLC for image files.
VLC does image files? I've just used it to play videos all these years.
     
Laminar
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May 26, 2020, 08:13 AM
 
Originally Posted by Thorzdad View Post
VLC does image files? I've just used it to play videos all these years.
Analogy. VLC opens any type of video, GC would open any type of image.
     
Thorzdad
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May 26, 2020, 12:21 PM
 
Ah. Obviously didn't catch that. Brain fade.
     
subego  (op)
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May 26, 2020, 12:33 PM
 
Not that anyone would want to do it, but I took a peek, and it wouldn’t be that hard to scrape an image directly out of a MacPaint file. It’s a really simple format. It’s monochrome, all images are the same size, and the image data always starts at the same address.

The only wrinkle is it’s compressed, but I get the idea it’s pretty simple. Probably something like FAX compression, where a line is made up of lengths of black or white.
     
subego  (op)
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May 26, 2020, 01:04 PM
 
Since we’re doing MacPaint memories, who remembers Mike Saenz?

And, kudos to Apple for putting his last name in the autocorrect dictionary.

Phun phact: it’s pronounced “signs”. Knew a guy who interned at Image that clued me in.


Edit: I meant First.
( Last edited by subego; May 26, 2020 at 02:15 PM. )
     
mindwaves
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May 28, 2020, 02:49 AM
 
Taking off my face mask somehow almost always also takes off my glasses. The ear bands always tangle with my glasses frames. I don't understand it. Doesn't matter if I put my glasses on first or last.
     
Thorzdad
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May 28, 2020, 07:32 AM
 
The ear bands are made by the same company that makes wire coat hangers, Tangle Inc.
     
ghporter
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May 30, 2020, 06:16 PM
 
I work in a rehab hospital, and we have to wear masks all day long, so I have one on when I walk into the building, and take it off only when I get back into my car. It gets kinda tiring.

And since I only wear reading glasses, they either fog up or sit wrong on my nose when I'm wearing a mask. Or both.

I have a short, well trimmed beard. Whatever kind of mask I wear tends to move downward as I speak. Cloth or "paper" masks, makes no difference, except maybe how long it takes to start grabbing my beard. So I have to either undo the ear loops and reposition the mask, or pull it up by the ear loops. Not terribly graceful at any time...

I also have issues with whatever elastic is on masks irritating my ears. I have 3D-printed "ear savers" that help quite a lot, though they're not perfect.

So even though I'm trained and experienced in wearing masks (plain, procedure, N95, etc.), and even though I have military experience with honest-to-gosh gas masks, this full time mask wearing thing is a minor (+) irritant every single day.

Glenn -----OTR/L, MOT, Tx
     
Spheric Harlot
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May 30, 2020, 06:46 PM
 
Originally Posted by subego View Post
Since we’re doing MacPaint memories, who remembers Mike Saenz?

And, kudos to Apple for putting his last name in the autocorrect dictionary.

Phun phact: it’s pronounced “signs”. Knew a guy who interned at Image that clued me in.
Oh man. Flashback — I'm hearing that voice go "MacPLAYmate" in my head now. Wow.
     
OreoCookie
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Jun 1, 2020, 08:15 PM
 
Originally Posted by ghporter View Post
I work in a rehab hospital, and we have to wear masks all day long, so I have one on when I walk into the building, and take it off only when I get back into my car. It gets kinda tiring.

And since I only wear reading glasses, they either fog up or sit wrong on my nose when I'm wearing a mask. Or both.
Do you have some advice here? As a fellow bespectacled person, I have trouble wearing masks for exactly that reason, especially the reusable ones, they tend to fog up my glasses.
I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy every minute of it.
     
Spheric Harlot
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Jun 1, 2020, 09:01 PM
 
Originally Posted by OreoCookie View Post
Do you have some advice here? As a fellow bespectacled person, I have trouble wearing masks for exactly that reason, especially the reusable ones, they tend to fog up my glasses.
I've found the trick to be wearing the masks with the embedded wire over the nose, and adjusting it to be rather pointier than the ridge of the nose, so that pulling the mask tight almost feels like you're holding your nose.

The air will then push out the sides of the mask, rather than under your eyes.
     
ghporter
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Jun 2, 2020, 08:22 PM
 
Keeping the nose wire adjusted firmly against the nose helps quite a bit. My issue is that usually by the time I've donned and doffed those specs a few times, my mask has shifted just enough to no longer keep my "exhaust" from slipping past the nose of the mask.

A related tactic is to firmly place the glasses onto the top of the mask, so that the glasses help hold the mask against the nose. This requires glasses whose nose pieces are properly adjusted for fit; poorly fitted nose pieces won't do the job correctly.

Something I haven't yet tried is an "antifog" product for glasses. I leave the pair of reading glasses I use for work AT work, so I simply have to bring them home and see if the product my wife has on hand will do the trick.

Glenn -----OTR/L, MOT, Tx
     
mindwaves
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Jun 2, 2020, 11:05 PM
 
I hear putting a piece of toilet paper over your nose and under the mask helps. Also, wash your glasses with shaving cream. It helps a lot.
     
subego  (op)
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Jun 3, 2020, 12:28 AM
 
Has anyone tried a coat of spit? It’s a little grody, but is standard practice with a diving mask.
     
ghporter
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Jun 5, 2020, 09:19 PM
 
I may have to try the TP -over-the-nose trick. Depending on TP quality, of course...

I think the diving mask trick only works because the mask is held tight against the face. I could be wrong about that. I'm going to bring my work glasses home Sunday (I am working then) and try the anti-fog stuff my wife has.

Glenn -----OTR/L, MOT, Tx
     
andi*pandi
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Jun 7, 2020, 06:57 PM
 
there is stuff we use on ski goggles. It's called Cat Crap. No really.
     
reader50
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Jun 7, 2020, 07:03 PM
 
Dust. Doesn't just settle on the floor, where it's easy to clean up. It seems attracted to everywhere you don't want it. Keyboard, screen, heat sinks, other internal components. Wherever it will do the most harm.

Dust. Not only a minor irritant, it may be out to get us.
     
Thorzdad
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Jun 8, 2020, 04:50 PM
 
Awhile back, I had to replace the fill valve on our toilet. No biggie. It’s a simple job.

After installing it, I took a look at the tiny type on the instructions and saw a serious warning that the fill valve would be damaged if it came into any contact with bleach. You know those handy cleaning discs you drop in the toilet tank and leave there until it’s dissolved away a month later? Bleach.

I’m pretty sure the fill valve manufacturer knows their potential customers use the discs. Why would you engineer a product that can’t survive the environment it’s intended to live in?
     
andi*pandi
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Jun 8, 2020, 11:08 PM
 
so that people have to replace them more often, duh
     
ghporter
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Jun 9, 2020, 12:19 PM
 
I think a leaky flush valve is a particularly irritating minor irritant. The whole idea of automatically cleaning the toilet bowl with every flush is more than just attractive; it’s incredibly logical. Cleaning the bowl with every flush just makes too much sense to not try some sort of method to do this. Too bad those cheap and easy bleach bars wear out rubber parts faster than they should wear out. But...

There’s a product called FluidMaster Flush and Sparkle that avoids the bleach eating the flapper valve issue. It routes part of the filler flow through a cartridge with <optionally> bleach tablets, or their “blue” cleaner concentrate. Their product information specifically points out that none of their chemicals gets on the flush valve, fill valve or other internal parts. Ever had the chain between the lever and the flush valve fall apart? Yeah, bleach can do that too.

So what’s the issue with occasionally replacing a relatively cheap flush valve? (Or the chain, for that matter.) In itself not much. But the gaskets between the tank and the bolts that secure the tank to the pedestal of the toilet are also susceptible to damage from bleach. Which means the tank leaks out through the bottom and all over creation... Yes, this is (sadly) personal experience talking.

I now have brand new gaskets and stainless steel (not brass) bolts holding the tank on the toilet in our second bathroom because of this very issue.

Related: the tank is not really built to be a sturdy back rest. So folks that push back on the tank repeatedly may cause those gaskets to wear out. There’s a product or two that supports the back of the tank against a wall to stabilize it.

Glenn -----OTR/L, MOT, Tx
     
mindwaves
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Jun 14, 2020, 08:48 PM
 
Synthetic benchmarks to test computers and phones' processing and GPU power. All I want are real life benchmarks, such as rendering a video or frame rates of a game. Speaking of, how about not just rendering video benchmarks but Xcode compiling numbers? I would like that as not everyone is a video renderer who needs to process Youtube videos. Or something else not is not video related.
     
reader50
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Jun 14, 2020, 09:26 PM
 
macOS click-through. Where clicking on a background window not only brings it to the front, but registers the click through to the app.

Whenever you do it, your cursor jumps to the click location. This is occasionally helpful. But more often, it makes me lose my place in text. Or stops a spreadsheet cell edit to jump to a random cell. So now instead of clicking on the right window and resume what I was working, I first have to seek out the window title bar. The Dock icon will work, if that app only has one window open.

I'd love to turn off click-through. Anyone know a hack to kill it globally? Or per-application. It's annoying mostly in a handful of document-editing apps. LibreOffice, TextWrangler, TextEdit.
( Last edited by reader50; Jun 14, 2020 at 10:22 PM. )
     
mindwaves
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Jun 14, 2020, 10:32 PM
 
So many "x" to click when I visit a webpage. So many "pop-ups" that have an "x" close box makes the webpage so annoying.
     
mindwaves
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Jun 15, 2020, 01:48 AM
 
Youtube thumbnails that have someone's face in a weird angry or distorted manner. It is so annoying that people have their faces like that. It is all clickbait and I never click on them, but annoying to see. Also, fake or misleading thumbnails, like a snake wrapped around an elephant or a car windshield all cracked (when the actual windshield has a small chip).
     
Laminar
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Jun 15, 2020, 08:21 AM
 
Originally Posted by reader50 View Post
macOS click-through. Where clicking on a background window not only brings it to the front, but registers the click through to the app.
Similarly, Windows and focus-follows-cursor scrolling. On Win7 I had a utility installed that forced the mouse to scroll whatever window it was hovering over, not necessarily the window currently at the forefront. Win10 has a built-in setting for this, but it only works like 25% of the time. When I'm working in multiple documents on multiple screens, I just want to move my cursor over a window and scroll it. But what happens is that I move my cursor over a window, then scroll the window I'm not looking at. So now I have to click on the window I want to scroll, scroll it, then look back at the first window to compare. Except it got accidentally scrolled away from where I was looking, so I have to scroll back. OOPS forgot to click on it, so now I've scrolled the second window away. Rinse and repeat. If it was 100% one way or 100% the other, I could deal, but when it's inconsistently pulling this shit on my is when I get irritated.
     
Laminar
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Jun 15, 2020, 10:28 AM
 
Here's another irritating Windows glitch. Say I'm on my laptop away from my desk hosting a meeting and displaying a Powerpoint. Meeting's finished, so I stop the WebEx, return to my desk, plug in the dock and the external monitors. Both additional monitors pop up and start working, everything's great. I go back into Powerpoint and stop the presentation. At this point, Windows wigs out and disables both external monitors, so I have to go into the display settings and reenable both monitors. I assume that Windows is trying to go back to the monitor configuration that was in place when I first initiated the Powerpoint presentation mode, but it's irritating.
     
 
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