merlinmann

A Unified Field Theory of the Mike Schuriverse

• The Office - Can I be loved?

• Parks and Rec - Can I be useful?

• Brooklyn Nine-Nine - Can I be respected?

• The Good Place - Can I be redeemed?

merlinmann

Every day, somebody's born who's never seen "The Flintstones."

Cincinnati's independent UHF channel 19 (WXIX, get it?) used to have a "1 O'Clock Movie" that ran for two hours every weekday afternoon. They were mostly old black and white films that, even with all the commercials, often ran shy of the 120-minute block allotted.

When they had to fill the extra time, they'd run a "Questions to the Station Manager" segment, where viewer letters were read and the manager responded on-air. Why'd you stop running Ultraman? (Too violent). Why'd you stop showing pro wrestling? (Too violent). How come you show so many commercials? (Well. We're a business and stuff).

Anyhow. One time a viewer expressed her frustration that WXIX was still showing reruns of The Flintstones, a dumb kid's cartoon that hadn't even been on the air in almost a decade ferchrissakes.

The manager calmly explained that, in addition to lots of kids enjoying the show, you have to keep in mind that, believe it or not, that show is stil

merlinmann

javascript:(function()%7Bwindow.location.href%3D'https%3A%2F%2F12ft.io%2F'%2Bwindow.location.href%3B%7D)()

merlinmann

A Quickie Voice Log Spec

Short Version

By invoking a quick phrase, Siri captures a sentence or two of dictated text and adds it to a bucket where I can then do something with it later. Critically, it should also automatically capture the location where the note was made as well as the date and time of the note.

Genesis

I'm new to riding a 70 lb. ebike on which balance can be tricky and the 20mph+ speeds mean I really prefer to keep both hands on the handlebars and ready to hit the brakes. I don't even like using one hand to adjust a mirror or signal a turn—let alone trying to fiddle with a device like my Apple Watch or iPhone.

merlinmann

Every day, somebody's born who's never seen "The Flintstones"

Cincinnati's independent UHF channel 19 (WXIX, get it?) used to have a "1 O'Clock Movie" that ran for two hours every weekday afternoon. They were mostly old black and white films that, even with all the commercials, often ran shy of the 120-minute block allotted.

When they had to fill the extra time, they'd run a "Questions to the Station Manager" segment, where viewer letters were read and the manager responded on-air. Why'd you stop running Ultraman? (Too violent). Why'd you stop showing pro wrestling? (Too violent). How come you show so many commercials? (Well. We're a business and stuff).

Anyhow. One time a viewer expressed her frustration that WXIX was still showing reruns of The Flintstones, a dumb kid's cartoon that hadn't even been on the air in almost a decade ferchrissakes.

The manager calmly explained that, in addition to lots of kids enjoying the show, you have to keep in mind that, believe it or not, that show is still

merlinmann

Merlin's First Fruity Pleaser

Ingredients

• Peychaud's Bitters | 3-5 squirts
• Angostura Bitters | 2-5 squirts
• Regular Crappy Bottled ReaLime® | 1+ capful
• Seltzer Water | 12 oz | Chilled

Steps

merlinmann

myname@mysynology:/usr/sbin$ cd /usr/sbin/
myname@mysynology:/usr/sbin$ sudo /usr/sbin/ntpdate -u time.nist.gov
Exiting, name server cannot be used: Temporary failure in name resolution (-3)28 Nov 18:58:43 ntpdate[12680]: name server cannot be used: Temporary failure in name resolution (-3)
myname@mysynology:/usr/sbin$ nc -z -v nist.gov 80
-sh: nc: command not found
myname@mysynology:/usr/sbin$ wget nist.gov
--2023-11-28 19:00:43--  http://nist.gov/
Resolving nist.gov... failed: Temporary failure in name resolution.
wget: unable to resolve host address 'nist.gov'
myname@mysynology:/usr/sbin$ 

merlinmann

Sous Vide Cooking Times

Good?	FOOD	TIME	TEMP	COMMENT
CANON!	pork chops, MED	1:30	143°
CANON!	prime rib roast, MR	6:00	129.5	Works every time!
CANON!	pork chops SUPER thick	1:45	142°	solid MR+
YES	ribeye, frozen, R	1:30	126°	Awesome at low temp
YES	thick pork chops, MR	1:30	142°	SO good
XXX	filet mignon, MR	1:30	130°	XX

merlinmann

All the rage was the Scarlet Johansson-branded protective helmet. It's a colorful helmet, it is a planter with 11 specific draining holes, and it's an important crucible for ideas.

We met at a media event held at a junior high. Scarlet was polite, but perfunctory.

Then there was a very small hotel room with glass walls and doors. Stocked with Herbal Bourbons — ice machine didn't work. Scarlet said "No way am I drinking that shit." She was serious and smart. Might be Las Vegas.

merlinmann

Things That Need a Name

• The Chicken Problem
• The Photoshop Problem
  • cf. Unix
  • How do you know enough to know which five commands are twenty times more important than all the others?
  • banner vs. cd
  • "Posterize" vs. "Unsharp Mask"
• The Kawaii Marriott Reaction