Not 100% sure what to make of Google Trends, but I’m liking this chart.
via Trends | toni.org.
Budapest
Sales Funnel
Perhaps “wash hands” would be a better first step?
“Call With Skype” Service for Mac OSX
Update: “Call with iPhone” now available too.
I spend a lot of time on the phone these days, and am tired of copy/pasting phone numbers into Skype’s finicky little dial pad, so I hacked together a Service for OSX to dial them for me.
Download this zip file, unpack it, and drop the Call With Skype file into ~/Library/Services/ (note for anyone using an OSX version since Lion: the Library folder is hidden…you’ll need to use the command line or go to Finder > Go and press your Option key).
Once you’ve done that, you should be able to highlight a phone number within any application, and right click to Call With Skype:
It should work for international numbers too.
Also, a tip: if you have a bunch of Services installed, “Call With Skype” might get buried under a “Services >” submenu when you right-click. Most people don’t use Services at all…if you’re in that camp you can head to System Preferences > Keyboard > Keyboard Shortcuts > Services to disable any that you’re not using. If you disable enough of them, the submenu will disappear.
Post-Irene Flooding in Warwick, NY
Spotted a gang of high-schoolers canoeing down the railroad tracks that run through the center of our little town.
Moon Mountain Panorama
Guess The Couch Stain
Click through for the answer:
An Unfortunate Trend in Advertising
Disgusting things, personified:
Class Action Park
Wikipedia’s entry for Action Park, a (now shuttered) amusement park near my home town in New Jersey, does an amazing job of capturing the spirit that made the park so popular:
Many of Action Park’s attractions were unique. They gave patrons more control over their experience than they would have at most other amusement parks’ rides, but for the same reason were considerably riskier.
Its popularity went hand in hand with a reputation for poorly-designed, unsafe rides; inattentive, underaged, underpaid and sometimes under-the-influence employees; equally intoxicated and underprepared visitors — and the poor safety record that followed from this perfect storm of circumstances.
This section on the Alpine slide, probably one of the most dangerous amusement park attractions ever, is just perfect:
The sleds themselves were a large factor in the injuries. A stick that was supposed to control speed led, in practice, to just two options on the infrequently maintained vehicles: extremely slow, and a speed described by one former employee as “death awaits.”
Announcement: I’m Joining Automattic
I’m excited to announce that starting today I’ll be working for Automattic, makers of WordPress.com and myriad other web products, as their Director of Platform Services. I’ll be working with a team of talented Automatticians on expanding WordPress.com’s VIP Support and Hosting program specifically.
It’s an exciting time to join. WordPress.com is simply killing it: they we are currently hosting 15.7 million blogs (including the likes of CNN, Time Inc., Dow Jones, and more), and adding about 900,000 more each month. Roughly 500,000 posts and 400,000 comments are published every day. Monthly page views are at 2.3 billion.
On top of the opportunity to work on such compelling products, I’ve been continually impressed with the way the company is run.
And yes, to answer the obvious question, I will be relaunching this blog on WordPress (but only because I want to, not because I have to!)
A Typekit Bookmarklet
Have you ever had a moment where you knew a site used Typekit but you didn’t recognize the fonts? I know I have.
Me too. No longer!
Ma’am, I answered your question.
“Ma’am, I answered your question. I answered the darned… I’m cooperatin’ here!”
Fargo (1996)
From If We Don’t, Remember Me., a Tumblr site featuring (usually) subtle animated GIFs from film. [via Waxy]
How to fight IE6
“New Low”—Superchunk
Javascript Blacklist
JavaScript Blacklist is a simple extension for Safari 5 which blacklists scripts from a configurable list of domains. If a common “utility” script used by sites that you visit is annoying you, this will let you opt out quickly and easily.
I use it configured with the following domains, to block all sorts of annoying in-text ads, toolbars, and trackers that knucklehead publishers foist on their readers.
- tynt.com
- intellitxt.com
- snap.com
- meebo.com
- infolinks.com
- kontera.com
Bearded Robocop
Bearded Robocop by Vanja Mrgan.
Up There
Shot high above the streets of New York City, Up There reveals the dying crafts of large-scale hand painted advertising and the untold story of the painters struggling to keep it alive.
Capturing a trade that is equal parts artistic precision and grueling labor, the film represents a painting tradition pre-dating modern advertising. A craft that today finds itself dangling precariously on the brink of extinction.
You’re Doing it Wrong
Whenever a TV product commercial plays I bust a gut during the parts where they show us what we’re doing wrong and why we need the product.
Me too. [via]
Web Inspector Updates
Tons of new features and improvements coming to Webkit’s Web Inspector tool for web developers.
Of note: Edit as HTML (finally), Timelines, and Audits.
You can use these now in Webkit’s nightlies, but we’ll have to wait and see when they’re formally released in Safari.
The Opposite of Fitts' Law
The next time you’re constructing a user interface, you should absolutely follow Fitts’ law. It just makes sense. But don’t forget to follow the opposite of Fitts’ law, too uncommon or dangerous UI items should be difficult to click on!
[via]