William M. Hartnett

I’ve looked at the ArcGIS print window a thousands times and never gave it a second thought until now. Maybe I’m crazy, but here’s my question: Of all the places in the world ESRI designers could have chosen for the thumbnail map that illustrates output image quality, is it even remotely possibly that they would [...]

Longtime readers, which is to say those that have been checking in since mid-March, will recall that I hate my 2001 1.8T manual transmission Volkswagen Jetta. This has not changed. It’s junk. However, by driving more conservatively than a frightened old lady, I coaxed 423.4 miles and 35.4 MPG out of my most recent tank. [...]

I really, really hate wearing shoes, particularly during muggy Florida summers. It’s the long men’s dress socks that get me. I don’t know why it took me so long, but I think I may finally have found an acceptable compromise between going barefoot and wearing long, stupidly uncomfortable, instantaneously sweat-inducing socks: Low-cut cycling socks. I [...]

The Asian American Journalists Association convention in Miami has been interesting, but I don’t really have any great journalistic revs to report. Mainly, I’m entertained by the confusion that surely must greet regular hotel guests who, having arrived here in the gateway to Latin America, are immediately confronted by the sight of nearly 1,000 Asian [...]

> Martin High student suspended for mooning classmates (PB Post)
Just your routine story of a 13-year-old getting suspended for nine weeks because he allegedly mooned his classmates at the end of the previous school year. But this lede distinguishes the story: “A 13-year-old Palm City boy will miss out on the first nine weeks of [...]

Should Americans be at all concerned that the Wikipedia entry for Harry Potter is longer than the Wikipedia entry for the United States Constitution? Mind you, the Harry Potter series does run quite a bit longer than the document that is the supreme law of the United States. Also, having read the Constitution carefully, I [...]

> Champion at Checkers That Cannot Lose to People (NYT)
All of my best strategies when playing checkers, which I believe is commonly referred to as “Operation” in the UK, involved rampant cheating whenever my opponent’s attention was diverted. Bathroom breaks were of course brilliant opportunities for widespread chicanery. This, to me, was what made checkers [...]

Two little things from PalmBeachPost.com …
Tsk, tsk. You kids these days, with your Facebook and your Arctic Monkeys. You probably have never even heard of a pressman’s hat. I’m reminded of this particularly charming piece of newspaper lore by my database colleague Christine Stapleton, who just started an enviro blog called Seeing Green at work. [...]

Many, many months before I owned a single piece of furniture after graduating from college, I plunked down serious plastic for a fairly dear Giant road bike and an even more expensive, and even harder to justify, Specialized mountain bike. But to properly, if belatedly, celebrate this year’s wide-open, favorite-less Tour de France, only one [...]

Mark Schaver just earned my eternal gratitude for introducing me to Ian McKellar’s LOL Feeds, which generates cat macros from any feed you care to try. You really must see its awesomeness to believe its awesomeness. How have I not seen this before?
Here is this site’s LOLified feed, which is OK. My wife’s site feed [...]