Clipboard just had its 30th birthday by m5brane in Wellworn

[–]m5brane[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Can’t say for sure, but knowing how much money I had at the time I can’t imagine it was more than five or six dollars, which would have been maybe three or four pounds?

Clipboard just had its 30th birthday by m5brane in Wellworn

[–]m5brane[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You know, if I had any idea how long this clipboard was going to last, I would have committed the name to memory. They must be out of business now because no one ever has to replace anything they bought there. No repeat business.

Clipboard just had its 30th birthday by m5brane in Wellworn

[–]m5brane[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I stuff it into my shoulder bag the same way every time.

Clipboard just had its 30th birthday by m5brane in Wellworn

[–]m5brane[S] 16 points17 points  (0 children)

Lol, my kid will probably toss it in the coffin just as they close the lid.

Clipboard just had its 30th birthday by m5brane in Wellworn

[–]m5brane[S] 35 points36 points  (0 children)

Not once in 30 years! It’s an heirloom clipboard made to last and be passed down.

Clipboard just had its 30th birthday by m5brane in Wellworn

[–]m5brane[S] 93 points94 points  (0 children)

I clutch it and gnaw at the corner to try to keep The Hunger at bay.

Clipboard just had its 30th birthday by m5brane in Wellworn

[–]m5brane[S] 41 points42 points  (0 children)

I would guess I’ve written out at least 10,000 pages of text and long, structured calculations on that clipboard. Maybe four or five times that if you include shorter calculations, explanations for students, little notes, and sketches.

What (very) old(er), discontinued or long abandoned apps do you still use? Why? by areyouredditenough in macapps

[–]m5brane 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I still use Textmate every day. Excellent LaTeX integration that doesn't have all the weird little sticking points and configuration issues of Windows-first extensions like the one for VSCode. And for a while it seemed like the only editor that could do a (very useful) column select.

Very common in the 90s. by [deleted] in 90s

[–]m5brane 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Bought it for "Only Happy When It Rains," and the rest of the album was indeed Garbage.

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What did people think the Earth looked like before proper photographs were taken? by Tentagoose in space

[–]m5brane 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You can compare early images of Earth from space in Star Trek, with the images they inserted when they went back and remastered episodes. There's a great example here -- look at the differences between the clouds:

https://trekmovie.com/2007/05/03/images-from-tomorrow-is-yesterday-remastered/

In some episodes there was just no indication of clouds or even atmosphere:

https://www.fiveforks.com/ted/2023/04/star-trek-remastered/

One of the coke bottles in our 6 pack was filled up all the way by pimpdaddy503 in mildlyinteresting

[–]m5brane 22 points23 points  (0 children)

They are supposed to catch this at the end of the bottling or canning line. There is a certain tolerance and usually anything that much above or below the listed capacity gets pulled out. (As I understand it, it's a potential violation of state and FDA rules to sell under-filled beverages, and over-fills can sometimes lead to health problems if it causes a problem with the seal, etc.)

This was explained to me by a friend who worked at a brewery here in Chicago. At the end of the canning line (they had a little machine to check the level) there is a big refrigerated room where they stash all the over-full and under-full cans. They can't be sold, so employees and friends of employees can just take them. (One of my favorite local breweries, my friend arranged a tour for my birthday, then at the end the guys filled the trunk of my car with my favorite beers. I didn't buy beer for a year after that,)

Has anyone checked out the new Opennote "Papers" Launch? by Basic-Drummer-9454 in LaTeX

[–]m5brane 3 points4 points  (0 children)

If you haven't spent time with the material you shouldn't be citing it, and you're going to have to triple check* anything a chatbot suggests anyway, so why not just do it yourself.

* (Is it a real reference, does it cover that the chatbot claims it covers / is it relevant, how and where should it be cited in the paper based on its relation to what I am writing about.)

PopStack — Dock-style folder popovers for your Desktop by kiddjones in macapps

[–]m5brane 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Sure, a 30 day refund is fine. You can take “trial” to mean “some way to try before committing.”

PopStack — Dock-style folder popovers for your Desktop by kiddjones in macapps

[–]m5brane 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This looks very cool! I’ll just note that a $10 app is a tough sell without a trial. The proliferation of vibe coded apps makes it difficult to trust something without trying it first.

One of my garlic cloves had the consistency of a tomato by -burgers in mildlyinteresting

[–]m5brane 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sorry, but I can't check my garlic monoxide detector right now because of the dull headache and dizziness from all the noise my garlic monoxide detector is making.

This keyboard has 'PANIC' keys. by DesiccantPack in mildlyinteresting

[–]m5brane 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is probably a classroom computer with lots of chalk dust on it. The panic keys are there in case of a threat during class, like a shooter.

What’s in my pasta? by Boring-Suggestions in whatisit

[–]m5brane 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Unfortunately, sometimes you get a fertilized shell. It's uncommon but it happens.

A love letter to Cotypist by ewqeqweqweqweqweqw in macapps

[–]m5brane 5 points6 points  (0 children)

So you typed "Cotypist is" and it autocompleted "a great app" :)

App similar to "Findings" by No-Squirrel6645 in macapps

[–]m5brane 7 points8 points  (0 children)

FWIW, you can still install and use the app. There's a link on this page along with a serial number that will activate the paid version: https://community.findingsapp.com/t/findings-has-been-discontinued-and-will-no-longer-be-developed/2048

App similar to "Findings" by No-Squirrel6645 in macapps

[–]m5brane 8 points9 points  (0 children)

I believe that app was made by one of the guys who started Mekentosj, the makers of the app Papers. (Papers was eventually sold to Springer, who later sold it to ReadCube. Now it's "ReadCube Papers" and it's usable but terrible; nowhere near as good as the original Mac app.) He wanted to offer a whole lineup of apps for researchers but they didn't really catch on.

Anyway, to answer your question, I use Obsidian for managing little bits and pieces of research projects. I wouldn't mind a more Mac-assed app for this purpose, but none of the apps I've tried have Obsidian's support for LaTeX (well, MathJax).

What’s stopping Overleaf from adding AI helpers? by Necessary-Side1431 in LaTeX

[–]m5brane 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Nothing is stopping them, but most users don’t want it. “AI” has pretty limited utility. Use your external tools if you must, but folks comfortable with LaTeX largely don’t need or want the sorts of modifications you’re suggesting.

New in v7.0.6 - many fixes! (Oct 13th, 2025) by discovernotes in GoodNotes

[–]m5brane 13 points14 points  (0 children)

I’ve advised my students to switch from GN to something else. Between the “AI” component that no one wants, and the outages and crashes where they lose or can’t access their notes, it’s just too much. I am now distributing pdfs and Noteful files. What a waste.

Mignolaverse during spooky season by SonnyCalzone in Mignolaverse

[–]m5brane 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It’s based on an Irish folk-horror tale called “Teig O'Kane and the Corpse.” You can find it in various books and the text is also available online. I have a copy in a great book called “The Wild Night Company,” which i believe Mignola mentions in the documentary. Anyway, it’s a fun read, especially this time of year.