xkcd

by **RollingHead** » Thu May 03, 2012 10:40 am UTC

Sunday through tuesday I had an awewsome theatre workshop which was out of town, saturday evening I learn that there's no room for me to sleep there but I can't go home because my house is full of distant relatives and exchange students and my bed is full. Fortunately my friend has an extra bed and we get a ride to her home, but I forget my bag with all my money in the car and can only get it back on tuesday morning. Tuesday afternoon shortly before the outdoor show it starts pouring, so we do the show in the rain and get absolutely drenched. Wednesday I have the rare and unfortunate occurrence of a mandatory class and I spend over 5 hours in the lab with a fever, but on the plus side I lose all perception of time and it doesn't seem so terrible. Still, it was awesome and I regret nothing.

by **TimelordSimone** » Thu May 03, 2012 9:52 pm UTC

The people in this focus group recording I am trying to type up keep talking over each other. This makes it very difficult to hear what any of them are saying! Some of them have a tendency to mumble too. Urgh. I am going to be up all night doing this.

by **Hofstadter'sLaw** » Fri May 04, 2012 3:34 am UTC

TimelordSimone wrote:The people in this focus group recording I am trying to type up keep talking over each other. This makes it very difficult to hear what any of them are saying! Some of them have a tendency to mumble too. Urgh. I am going to be up all night doing this.

I conducted a series of 1 hour to 1.5 hour interviews for a project before and had to transcribe them afterwards to be able to use them. First few took me over two hours to do each one because I kept pausing and going back and writing it word for word. Not sure what you're doing (or are required to do), but it got a lot faster when I paused after every sentence to type it, and I only typed the general gist of it instead of word for word.

I also used headphones, which seemed to improve the volume/clarity a great deal.

A group recording with mumblers and talk-over-ers does sound nightmare-ish. I imagine you'll have a lot of [inaudible]. :P

by **TimelordSimone** » Fri May 04, 2012 4:01 am UTC

Yeah, I have good headphones from having done music tech, thank goodness. I have to type it up word for word, which normally isn't so bad. I mean I've been doing this since December now, this one is just particularly irksome, especially since the person leading the discussion seems perfectly content to allow everyone to talk at once. Usually they make a point of telling everyone not to talk over each other, but not this time! Urgh. (Nearly done though, woo.)

by **gorcee** » Fri May 04, 2012 12:33 pm UTC

Dear asshole in the unit below me

It's 8:15 AM. You're weedwhacking your patio.

I hope you and your redneck family rot.

by **SlyReaper** » Fri May 04, 2012 4:21 pm UTC

Oh man I cut my finger on the knuckle on a shard of glass and it won't stop bleeding. Bloody hell.

by **roband** » Fri May 04, 2012 4:24 pm UTC

Obvious advice: If it doesn't stop bleeding, go to A&E. Cuts on moving joints are fucking horrible.

by **SlyReaper** » Fri May 04, 2012 5:07 pm UTC

I'd take your advice, but I'm feeling a bit woozy. I think I might go sleep it off.

I kid. It's stopped now, but I've gone through like a million tissues. Today, I've been keeping Kleenex in business. Feel free to quote the previous sentence out of context.

by **cemper93** » Fri May 04, 2012 6:26 pm UTC

I bought a fancy new wallet because a button in my old one teared out. It is brand-ish, it is fashion-ish, and it has lots of spaces into which you can put things I didn't know they even existed (judging by the form of the spaces, that is). Hell, it even has the space for the 12-14 debit cards the average American is juggling with! Of course, with me not living in the USA, but in the Federal Bureaucracy of Germany, I would rather need the space for all the paper I have to keep with me, including the huge personal identity card (granted, they started giving out new ones which are smaller, but those have all kinds of fancy RFID, and me, being a paranoid nerd, would never want to keep such a thing in my wallet) and my car's letter of admission (or actually the letter of admission part one, because part two is such a giant beast of ministerial paper that even the ministry doesn't require you to carry it around). Of course, the fancy new brand-y fashion-y wallet does not have any spaces large enough to put something like that in without tearing it. In fact, it has a space that seems to be made for papers like these, but it is precisely (I measured!) 3mm too narrow for my identity card to fit in, and I can't even fold the card because it's actually a card, not a sheet of paper which would be the right medium for printing a forgery-proof monstrosity of 10.4 x 7.6 cm on.

Gee, I don't even know whether I'm ranting on the wallet or on the state I live in.

by **gorcee** » Fri May 04, 2012 7:57 pm UTC

cemper93 wrote:I bought a fancy new wallet because a button in my old one teared out. It is brand-ish, it is fashion-ish, and it has lots of spaces into which you can put things I didn't know they even existed (judging by the form of the spaces, that is). Hell, it even has the space for the 12-14 debit cards the average American is juggling with! Of course, with me not living in the USA, but in the Federal Bureaucracy of Germany, I would rather need the space for all the paper I have to keep with me, including the huge personal identity card (granted, they started giving out new ones which are smaller, but those have all kinds of fancy RFID, and me, being a paranoid nerd, would never want to keep such a thing in my wallet) and my car's letter of admission (or actually the letter of admission part one, because part two is such a giant beast of ministerial paper that even the ministry doesn't require you to carry it around). Of course, the fancy new brand-y fashion-y wallet does not have any spaces large enough to put something like that in without tearing it. In fact, it has a space that seems to be made for papers like these, but it is precisely (I measured!) 3mm too narrow for my identity card to fit in, and I can't even fold the card because it's actually a card, not a sheet of paper which would be the right medium for printing a forgery-proof monstrosity of 10.4 x 7.6 cm on.

Gee, I don't even know whether I'm ranting on the wallet or on the state I live in.

I know I could google this in about 12 seconds, but aren't different denominations of the Euro printed on paper of different dimensions?

That would annoy the fuck out of me.

by **Ubik** » Fri May 04, 2012 8:00 pm UTC

They are. People who have trouble seeing appreciate it.

by **Cassi** » Fri May 04, 2012 9:27 pm UTC

I don't buy purses from US based stores anymore, because 9 times out of 10 they will be ever so slightly too small to fit a £20 note in, which is extremely irritating. (Not that I often have £20 notes in my purse, to be fair. Or any cash, really...)

by **Whelan** » Fri May 04, 2012 9:32 pm UTC

My wallet is just a fraction of a millimetre shorter than a £20, so they just slightly poke out the top. Good thing I'm a poor student.

by **SlyReaper** » Fri May 04, 2012 9:35 pm UTC

Mine is too, but I bought mine in Spain and I think 20 euro notes are a bit smaller than 20 pound notes.

by **Ptolom** » Fri May 04, 2012 10:47 pm UTC

Half my wallet is a coin purse. I don't care; I can produce my change in less than a second.

by **cemper93** » Fri May 04, 2012 10:57 pm UTC

50€ notes poked out of my old wallet, but do easily fit into my new one. 100€ notes would probably still poke out, but frankly, I have never owned a bill of such denomination.

On a side note (no pun intended), my ID card has now been successfully inserted into my new wallet, even though it is under heavy pressure now and the lamination on the edges is torn. Producing a good wallet seems to be extremely hard to accomplish. Maybe I should go into wallet production; there doesn't seem to be any serious competition in that field.

by **ShootTheChicken** » Fri May 04, 2012 11:20 pm UTC

Are different sized bills superior to braille markings?

by **Zarq** » Fri May 04, 2012 11:34 pm UTC

How readable are braille markings if the bill is all crumpled?

by **SurgicalSteel** » Fri May 04, 2012 11:34 pm UTC

Probably easier to produce, and the size of a bill won't change recognizably over normal use, whereas braille on a paper product would probably rub off eventually. I don't know what Euros are made of, but I don't think braille would even be possible on the paper/cotton blend US dollars are made of, seems like it would be too flimsy to hold a recognizable nodule.

by **gorcee** » Sat May 05, 2012 12:52 am UTC

cemper93 wrote:50€ notes poked out of my old wallet, but do easily fit into my new one. 100€ notes would probably still poke out, but frankly, I have never owned a bill of such denomination.

On a side note (no pun intended), my ID card has now been successfully inserted into my new wallet, even though it is under heavy pressure now and the lamination on the edges is torn. Producing a good wallet seems to be extremely hard to accomplish. Maybe I should go into wallet production; there doesn't seem to be any serious competition in that field.

I'm willing to bet that if you made stylish and practical wallets, you could sell them on Etsy/whatever fairly easily. I bought a new wallet last weekend, because my old one was just so bulky, and didn't hold the cards. The new one is OK, but it still doesn't hold everything I need. I don't mind the thickness so much, but honestly, a wallet needs to have pockets for both single cards (ie, my debit and primary credit cards) that get used frequently, as well as pockets for multiple cards (ie, retail charge cards, membership/reward cards, etc) that get used sparingly.

by **PhoenixEnigma** » Sat May 05, 2012 12:53 am UTC

I'd imagine it would last quite well on the new polymer bills that are slowly appearing in various places, though.

by **Hofstadter'sLaw** » Sat May 05, 2012 3:19 am UTC

I have a All-Ett Wallet (sport version, made of ripstop nylon). It's paper thin, so it's like not having a wallet in my pocket, just whatever cards/cash I have on me. I really like it, and it's held up well over the past few years I've been using it.

All-Ett also has two wallets with slots for ID cards, one for foreign currency, one for people who have a crapload of cards, etc. The wallets come in leather in addition to the nylon.

http://www.all-ett.com/mens-wallets/

by **e^iπ+1=0** » Sat May 05, 2012 12:35 pm UTC

cemper93 wrote:granted, they started giving out new ones which are smaller, but those have all kinds of fancy RFID, and me, being a paranoid nerd, would never want to keep such a thing in my wallet

http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/security/8cdd/

by **OBrien** » Sat May 05, 2012 1:22 pm UTC

I made my wallet myself out of a specialist material for maximum comfort and any size I like for the note holder.

The material in question:

Spoiler:

by **Ptolom** » Sat May 05, 2012 2:30 pm UTC

PhoenixEnigma wrote:I'd imagine it would last quite well on the new polymer bills that are slowly appearing in various places, though.

The problem with that is you can't light a cigar with them in a gesture of decadence without producing noxious fumes.

by **Whelan** » Sat May 05, 2012 2:36 pm UTC

In America that's even more decadent! You can afford healthcare!

by **Coin** » Sat May 05, 2012 2:36 pm UTC

Ptolom wrote:
PhoenixEnigma wrote:I'd imagine it would last quite well on the new polymer bills that are slowly appearing in various places, though.

The problem with that is you can't light a cigar with them in a gesture of decadence without producing noxious fumes.

I know what you mean, I had the same feeling when I used up the last piece of dodo skin to light mine. Siberian Tiger hair just isn't the same...

by **Garm** » Sat May 05, 2012 5:03 pm UTC

e^iπ+1=0 wrote:
cemper93 wrote:granted, they started giving out new ones which are smaller, but those have all kinds of fancy RFID, and me, being a paranoid nerd, would never want to keep such a thing in my wallet

http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/security/8cdd/

I have this wallet. It's quite nice. I don't care much about the RFID proofing, my wife got it for me because it's like having a tiny Faraday Cage in my pocket (I occasionally work in one to clean up wifi environments). I can't tell you how well it works but it's a comfortable wallet.

by **SlyReaper** » Sat May 05, 2012 5:44 pm UTC

Don't faraday cages have to be earthed to work? Does it have a wire dangling down your trouser leg or something?

by **emceng** » Sat May 05, 2012 6:05 pm UTC

It's not really a Faraday cage - more just shielding. You'll get decent attenuation just from shielding due to reflection. That said, if the wallet was just the right size, and the RFID just the right frequency, it could actually act as an antenna.

by **cemper93** » Sat May 05, 2012 9:15 pm UTC

SlyReaper wrote:Don't faraday cages have to be earthed to work?

Whoa, good to know. So that's why I couldn't shake off the feeling that they are after me - my tin foil cap wasn't earthed!

by **SlyReaper** » Sat May 05, 2012 9:17 pm UTC

cemper93 wrote:
SlyReaper wrote:Don't faraday cages have to be earthed to work?

Whoa, good to know. So that's why I couldn't shake off the feeling that they are after me - my tin foil cap wasn't earthed!

How do you know I'm not just saying that because I'm in on the conspiracy, and earthing your tin foil hat will actually make it easier for us to read your brain waves?

by **cemper93** » Sat May 05, 2012 10:12 pm UTC

SlyReaper wrote:
cemper93 wrote:
SlyReaper wrote:Don't faraday cages have to be earthed to work?

Whoa, good to know. So that's why I couldn't shake off the feeling that they are after me - my tin foil cap wasn't earthed!

How do you know I'm not just saying that because I'm in on the conspiracy, and earthing your tin foil hat will actually make it easier for us to read your brain waves?

They were reading my brain waves all the time, so I have nothing to loose.

by **Ptolom** » Sat May 05, 2012 10:14 pm UTC

I owe Ebay £60 and now they're coming to break my legs. I thought they just took the fees out automatically.

by **Menacing Spike** » Sat May 05, 2012 10:48 pm UTC

Aliens do not have gigabrains that can extrapolate your future brainwaves easily. One moment of weakness is perfectly understandable and not all it takes for them to gather the data they require.

You can remove your hat for a few seconds, do not worry. This will not hasten assimilation.

by **Steax** » Sun May 06, 2012 1:43 am UTC

SlyReaper wrote:Oh man I cut my finger on the knuckle on a shard of glass and it won't stop bleeding. Bloody hell.

Just had the exact same thing happen to me.

I hate my reflexes. Someone knocked over a glass of water on the table, where it shattered and rolled off, but I caught it by reflex, assuming it hadn't broken (and thus I could prevent it from breaking on the floor). Catching a shattered piece of glass while it's falling is... not nice to my left hand.

However, my right hand's knuckle sustained most injury.

Huh.

by **Menacing Spike** » Sun May 06, 2012 2:31 am UTC

Steax wrote:I hate my reflexes.

Mine are along the lines of "destroy anything that may be a threat", so that's a bit dangerous to people and objects around me. Example: I sense an approaching paper plane on the border of my field of view, and immediately catch and crush it. Onlookers are all full of praise ("cool!" "fast" "nice reflexes" "wow") but the fact that the default action was to crush sours any pride that may arise.

Another time, I remember meeting someone whose existence hurt me in a corridor: my head snapped around, analyzing her position, my surroundings, and how to destroy her best. Of course I stopped the impulse, but that was not a pleasant feeling. Also she gasped when my head snapped, eyes presumably full of murderous fury.

Or box of food or something falling over onto my head? It gets ripped apart before I can think, and my hands hurts. Destroying also hurts the destroyer... and noodles or peas or such spill on the floor.

If I can anticipate the danger, such as playing with my cat, it's okay. If I cannot (such as the cat pouncing upon my toes at night), the consequences are dire (said cat was kicked violently and flew into the wall, hit it with a wet sound and a sickening cry, and darted out, he was okay afterwards though).

by **OBrien** » Sun May 06, 2012 2:05 pm UTC

On the other hand you've got ²/₃rds of the whole "Crush. Kill. Destroy." routine already worked out for you.

by **The Scyphozoa** » Sun May 06, 2012 3:42 pm UTC

Now all you need is the "swag".

by **Menacing Spike** » Sun May 06, 2012 3:45 pm UTC

OBrien wrote:On the other hand you've got ²/₃rds of the whole "Crush. Kill. Destroy." routine already worked out for you.

Yeah, my rant is formatted as "crush, kill, destroy, kick cat", but tis just a coincidence.

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