Linkspam for 23-8-2008

[matgb]

• Bad Science — Think yourself thin!
  How weird is this? If you think you live a healthy lifestyle, your body responds as if you do, but if you think you don';t, it degrades, EVEN IF YOU ACTUALLY DO. Mind over matter. Gotta love Dr Ben
  (tags: placebo health)
• Penny Red: Bipolitics and the fourth wave
  The politics of bisexuality, an older post from Laurie that I had saved to link to but never actually did
  (tags: sexuality equality bisexuality)
• Coding Horror: XP Automatic Update Nagging
  Turning off that annoying nag when there's a reboot due. FFS, if I could reboot now I would, piss off and let me do it when I want.
  (tags: windows xp tweaks)
• The Truth about Web Navigation (by Jeremy Zawodny)
  Short answer: real people don't use the Address Bar. They just google. Even if what they're looking for is, well, Google. Maybe Firefox and the uber-bar will help change that? Maybe? Please?
  (tags: usability browsers navigation)
• More than a "little hill" - Feministing
  The clitoris, a users guide. MY careful empirical research has me convinced that some are more sensitive than others...
  (tags: sexuality)
• The Lego Mega-Guide: Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Lego
  Exactly what it says on the tin. Yes, having a 5 year old is a good excuse to spend time in the lego section looking at the prices in horror...
  (tags: lego toys)
• On open marriage | Life and style | The Observer
  I'm thinking someone at the Guardian/Observer is poly, they seem to run a fair few articles like this, softening things up a bit. Regardless, I approve.
  (tags: polyamoury relationships)
• At last, a sensible way to measure poverty —Tim Harford
  Tim on the Rowntree report, approvingly. I think I concur, poverty can't just be based on the old 'dollar a day' measure, even Adam Smith would've disputed that. But then that old lefty has frequently been misinterpreted by fools.
  (tags: economics poverty joseph+rowntree)
• Tor.com / Science fiction and fantasy / Stories / After the Coup by John Scalzi
  Free short story from Scalzi on Tor's new super SF siteâ”still haven't found the time to read it but still, worth linking to.
  (tags: john+scalzi fiction tor)
• I Can't Draw Feet — June 26, 2008
  Unexpected results from the Hadron collider. I giggled
  (tags: humour webcomics science)

Comments

[miss-s-b.livejournal.com]

MY careful empirical research has me convinced that some are more sensitive than others...

Orgasmness doesn't just, or even mostly, depend on clit sensitivity. It's also (I think about 75%) dependent on state of mind.

[matgb]

Oh yeah, if you're not in the mood it ain't happening regardless, but for those in the mood some are much easier to keep happy than others. Filthy perve.

[miss-s-b.livejournal.com]

Yes, but by state of mind, sexy bum, I'm not just talking about current mood, but personality, level of repression and depression, stuff like that.

[bopeepsheep.livejournal.com]

Sigh. Why is FireFox the Holy Grail? It's not "IE or FF: there can be no other way". Other Browsers Are Available. (Some of which did tabbed browsing before FireFox. *scowls at FF site that claims FF invented the idea*)

I only Google for stuff I don't know how to find already. My nice little row of shortcut/quick links/whatever you want to call them works quite nicely, as do the address bar and a bookmark file. *worries about people who can't use a bookmark file*

[matgb]

worries about people who can't use a bookmark file

It's remarkably common—people who either don't know how or don't bother at all. Given the number of different places I trawl to regularly I couldn't manage without it.

But yeah, Fx (correct abbreviation) isn't the only alternative, I've tried and like Opera, and always tell people if you want a good browser and don't want/need plugins, Opera is better, but it's nowhere near as extensible (this post was made using an Fx plugin, for example).

But the new addressbar behaviour in Fx3 makes using both a lot easier and much more useful, given 30% of browsing is now Fx, that might mean that the addressbar becomes more commonly used.

But that there is now a large variety of browsers available is good for all, including IE users—IE7&8 are both much better because of the competition, which is good.

[miss-s-b.livejournal.com]

Why is FireFox the Holy Grail?

Because it's incredibly customisable, and I can (easily) make it do lots of useful things that I can't (easily) make other browsers do.

[innerbrat]

How did you get it to work. BTW?

[matgb]

http://deliciousblogrescue.mozdev.org/

Andrew found it, rather than hoping delicious posts, I just run the plugin after I've done the links, it even gives me error messages so I can guess at a problem, and I can dig out old days if I miss or manage to mess up. I cancelled all my scheduled updates, this just makes more sense.

[tiredstars.livejournal.com]

What's described in the Tim Harford article appears to be essentially the concept of "human poverty" outlined by Amartya Sen quite some years ago. Specifically adapted to empirical use in Britain though, which can only be a good thing.

[staceyuk.livejournal.com]

Coding Horror: XP Automatic Update Nagging
Turning off that annoying nag when there's a reboot due. FFS, if I could reboot now I would, piss off and let me do it when I want.
(tags: windows xp tweaks)

♥ I love you for passing this on! ♥

[paulatpingu.livejournal.com]

Why not just change auto updates to download but not install? Then they run when you switch your PC off and you can just click shut down and go to bed? Be careful with group policy, by the way, it's not a subtle tool...

Voting for Firefox because, well, I know how to use it and it does exactly what I want. Opera is too inflexible and the 'but it does everything out of the box' argument is wrong and therefore restricting.

[tyrell.livejournal.com]

Ah yes, I saw the Jenny Block article when it came out - very good. And a very responsible write-up from the Guardian, shockingly.

[freddiefraggles.livejournal.com]

Been using Vista for so long I'd forgotten that XP did that. There's a dialog that prompts you to change when you're next reminded to reboot with Vista (10mins, 1hr, 4hrs).

[jackthomas.livejournal.com]

Tor - They also have a short story by Charles Stross, who I discovered last month and have since devoured his work. V highly recommended.

[rhythmaning.livejournal.com]

I use the address bar! I do!

Not always, but often.