Posts filed under “General”

Easily switch between Amazon and Goodreads

I’m a big fan of Goodreads.com for maintaining a list of what I want to read.

Goodreads just recently gave up on using Amazon for its data source, but I wanted a dead-simple way to switch between the two sites for any given book I’m viewing. There didn’t seem to be anything out there, so I quickly threw together a javascript bookmarklet to switch between Amazon and Goodreads.

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javascript:u=location.href;if(u.match(/https?:\/\/(www\.)?amazon\./)!==null){var m=document.body.innerHTML.match(/ISBN-\d{2}:<[^>]+> ([0-9]{9,13})/);if(m!==null){location.href='http://goodreads.com/search?query='+m[1];}}else if(u.match(/https?:\/\/(www\.)?goodreads\./)!==null){var metas=document.getElementsByTagName('meta');for(var i in metas){var m=metas[i];if(m.getAttribute('property')=='good_reads:isbn'){location.href='http://amazon.com/dp/'+m.getAttribute('content');};};}else{void(0);}

Just drag this button to your bookmarks toolbar: Switch Amazon/Goodreads

It’s certainly not perfect or even efficient, but it does the job for me so I wanted to share. I put it in a public gist on GitHub, so please feel free to improve it as you see fit.

It’s not easy to “check out” but you should do it anyway

Julie at Boelter + Lincoln writes:

Here I am on vacation in the Northwoods writing this blog. I will be on vacation all week and will check my email every day – several times. I will log in to check on client campaigns and meet deadlines that could probably wait a few days. I am not an on-call rescue person, I work in advertising. But we have been conditioned to be connected all the time. What if I miss something?

– Can you “check out”?

My rule is very simple: if I’m not in the office, I’m not working. Obvious exceptions apply: those days when I’m just sick enough to stay home rather than infecting everyone else but not sick enough to be bedridden, days when last night’s blizzard buried my car in three feet of snow, and so on. But otherwise: no office, no work.

When I leave at the end of the day, my work laptop gets turned off and put in its bag. I don’t have a corporate-issue cellphone, so there’s nothing to persistently ding with each incoming email. The laptop doesn’t come out of its bag until the next workday morning. Once I’m across the front lobby threshold and into the parking lot, it’s me time.

However… I recognize that there will occasionally be instances where something needs to get done outside of business hours. If that happens, someone has to contact me directly. There needs to be a phone call, or a text message, or – depending on who’s asking – a Twitter mention or message. It needs to be initiated by someone from work; I won’t be actively looking for something.

It’s simple, but actually quite effective. My boss is well aware of this policy – it was made quite clear my first day on the job. If you really need me to do something, no problem, but it’s not happening unless you get in touch directly. I’m checked out otherwise.

Things to keep in your car

car on fireIt’s ask the audience time: what do you keep in your car? Everyone has a different answer, and I don’t think there’s any right or wrong answer. (Unless your answer is “a dead body” in which case that is a very wrong answer.)

Right now in my car is:

  • A basic first aid kit – some bandaids, ibuprofen, some gauze and tape, etc. Not a trauma kit, just a simple “stop the bleeding until we get home or to the ER” kit.
  • A spare tire, jack, lug wrench and air pressure gauge.
  • A pair of heavy-duty leather gloves – makes roadside tire swaps easier, especially if it’s freezing at the time.
  • LED flashlight – though I intend to replace this with a headlamp. Holding a flashlight while trying to change a tire is no bueno.
  • Jumper cables – seems like a waste if they just sit there, but that one time your battery dies, you’ll be glad you had them.
  • At least one spare bulb for every light in my car.
  • A pack of spare fuses.
  • Spare wiper blades.
  • One quart of motor oil.
  • One liter bottle of water – can be used for drinking, topping off a radiator, flushing a wound, etc.
  • Roll of paper towels – stuff gets dirty.
  • Owner’s manual, registration, etc.
  • Cellphone charger – as long as I have some battery life and a signal, calling for help is probably my best option for anything much beyond a flat tire.
There are a few things missing from the list that I want to add, like a small toolkit (wrench, pliers, etc), maybe some small reflective signs in case I end up on the side of a dark road, and so on. But I’m more curious in what you carry on a regular basis in your car. Any tips, tricks, handy gizmos or homemade solutions you might offer?

Photo by Officer Greg. (License: Creative Commons)

When you remember something way later.

When you’re in a conversation and can’t remember a particular detail, like it’s right on the tip of your tongue but can’t quite grasp it, and then days later remember exactly what it was and feel the need to somehow let someone know that you remembered, even though it was completely inconsequential?

There needs to be a word for that.

Suggest something. (I thought of something like Speicherausruf, “memory exclamation” according to Google Translate, trying to mimic the concept of schadenfreude.)