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merlinmann / better.md
Created February 19, 2010 17:16
Original version of Merlin Mann's Better. See http://www.merlinmann.com/better

open mic nite

Politics, celebrity gossip, business headlines, tech punditry, odd news, and user-generated content.

These are the chew toys that have made me sad and tired and cynical.

Each, in its own way, contributes to the imperative that we constantly expand our portfolio of shallow but strongly-held opinions about nearly everything. Then we're supposed to post something about it. Somewhere.

From businesses we've never heard of, to countries we've never visited, to infants who've had the random misfortune to be born into a family that's on TV -- it's all grist for obvious jokes and shortsighted commentary that, for at least a few minutes, helps both the maker and the consumer feel a little less bored, a little less vulnerable, and a little less disconnected. For a minute, anyway, it makes us feel more alive. Does me, anyway.

@merlinmann
merlinmann / mmd_template.md
Last active February 14, 2022 00:20 — forked from fonnesbeck/mmd_template.txt

Title: MultiMarkdown Document Subtitle: Adventures in MultiMarkdown Author: ${TM_FULLNAME}
Affiliation: ${TM_ORGANIZATION_NAME}
Email: ${TM_EMAIL} Web: ${TM_URL} Date: ${TM_DATE} Copyright: ${TM_YEAR} ${TM_ORGANIZATION_NAME} This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/

@merlinmann
merlinmann / twitter-bios.md
Last active April 24, 2024 06:29
bios - Merlin likes to change his Twitter bio for some reason. #runx

Good Twitter Bios runx

Bios

The bar is in the globe.

This is a factory, not a circus.

I weigh less than a slice of bread.

@merlinmann
merlinmann / Merlin's Descript Fan Art.html
Last active February 14, 2022 02:01
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="US">
<head>
<meta charset="utf-8" />
<meta http-equiv="X-UA-Compatible" content="IE=edge,chrome=1" />
<title>Merlin's Descript Fan Art</title>
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0" />
<style id="mkstylesheet">
body{-webkit-font-smoothing:antialiased;font-family:"Helvetica Neue",Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif;margin:30px 0 0;padding:0;background:#fff;color:#303030;font-size:14px;line-height:1.45}#wrapper{padding:20px}li{font-size:110%}li li{font-size:100%}li p{font-size:100%;margin:.5em 0}h1{color:#000}h2{color:#111}h3{color:#111}h4{color:#111}h5{color:#111}h6{color:#111;font-style:italic}p,td,div{color:#111;font-family:"Helvetica Neue",Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif;word-wrap:break-word}a{color:#0d6ea1;text-decoration:none;-webkit-transition:color .2s ease-in-out;-moz-transition:color .2s ease-in-out;-o-transition:color .2s ease-in-out;-ms-transition:color .2s ease-in-out;transition:color .2s ease-in-out}a:hover{color:#3593d9}h1,h
@merlinmann
merlinmann / Official Cursor-Resting Area.txt
Last active October 8, 2023 20:57
Paste this into your Google Doc for a place to store your cursor.
⌨️ Official Cursor-Resting Area:
╭―――――――╮
│ >_< │
╰―――――――╯
@merlinmann
merlinmann / wisdom.md
Last active April 17, 2024 21:52
Merlin's Wisdom Project (Draft)

Merlin's Wisdom Project

Or: “Everybody likes being given a glass of water.”

By Merlin Mann.

It's only advice for you because it had to be advice for me.

@merlinmann
merlinmann / quotes.md
Last active January 27, 2024 16:40
Quotes to get right. #runx

Quotations to Get Right

@merlinmann
merlinmann / MMGtL on Pasta.md
Last active February 14, 2022 02:02
Source of Merlin's beloved "Bachelor Pasta" recipe

PASTA FOR MODERN MEN

“Pasta.” The Modern Man's Guide to Life, by Denis Boyles et al., Harper & Row, 1987, pp. 450–451.

How to cook pasta: Salted water boils faster, so put a teaspoonful of salt in a gallon or so of water and bring it to a rolling boil. At this point, you can add a little olive oil to the water if you want. It seems to prevent the pasta from sticking together. Break the spaghetti in half and let it fall gradually out of your hand and into the water. Try to allow the sticks to fall horizontally, and not in a big, lopsided pile. Give the water a stir and let it boil uncovered until it's cooked.

When's that? When it sticks to the wall it's done, at which time you pour the pasta into a colander, rinse it very briefly with cold water to stop the cooking process and return it to the pot.

Five Good Pasta Dishes:

@merlinmann
merlinmann / Harry-Potter-Years.md
Last active March 2, 2022 14:48
A fast trick to knowing Harry Potter's age, time, and book/film order.

The Harry Potter Trick

Here's a fast trick to knowing ages, time, and order. JK makes it super-simple for us:

Harry's age, the school year, the chronological year, the book number, and the movie number each end with the digit "1," then just increment up.

Book & Movie Number Chron. Year HP Age Book Movie Year Pp.[^1]
1 1991 11 Stone 2001 233
2 1992 12 Chamber 2002 251
@merlinmann
merlinmann / Better.md
Last active February 8, 2024 19:58
Original version of Merlin Mann's essay, "Better."

Better

Politics, celebrity gossip, business headlines, tech punditry, odd news, and user-generated content.

These are the chew toys that have made me sad and tired and cynical.

Each, in its own way, contributes to the imperative that we constantly expand our portfolio of shallow but strongly-held opinions about nearly everything. Then we're supposed to post something about it. Somewhere.

From businesses we've never heard of, to countries we've never visited, to infants who've had the random misfortune to be born into a family that's on TV -- it's all grist for obvious jokes and shortsighted commentary that, for at least a few minutes, helps both the maker and the consumer feel a little less bored, a little less vulnerable, and a little less disconnected. For a minute, anyway, it makes us feel more alive. Does me, anyway.