If you’d like to get updates to this list via twitter, follow my @mattscomments Twitter account. @mattscomments is focused solely on the comments on that I leave on articles across the internet. The Hot Iron - What I Learned The Weeks Of October 8 And 15 2021 Fonts do indeed have lots of silly names! I love exploring dafont.com for boatloads of font options. A few years ago, I looked up the least popular font from each free font service, and put them into a webcomic. https://www.spudart.org/comic/unpopular-fonts/ Stored on: October 16, 2021 Jackie Robinson Day at Dodger Stadium on April 15, 2019 – Chris Aldrich Scorecards! Can you share a pic of your scorecard? Even though it’s now over 2 years old—I found this post from your new index page. The Dodgers topic stuck out, because I’m a baseball fan. (And I love filling in scorecards.) Stored on: October 5, 2021 SpongeBob's great grandfather is in the Art Institute of Chicago collection - Spudart The name "Spudart" also looks like "Spongebob" a bit. Both start with "Sp", but are fun names. I realized this as I put my spudart watermark on the featured graphic. Stored on: September 28, 2021 Eiffel Tower time lapse and Twitter account by Matt Maldre I just found this post now through a feedly topic search for my name. Thanks for posting a link my blog post! Checking the Eiffel Tower webcam every morning is such a nice daily ritual. Thank you, internet! Stored on: September 22, 2021 Whenever I attend a conference, I love it when the conference organizers make it very clear what hashtag to use. It makes an event feel more organized and unified. Just as hashtag clarity one of your favorites when organizing an event, it's one of my favorites when attending an event. Stored on: September 21, 2021 What Can We [Still] Do With Flickr (circa 2021)? – CogDogBlog I love this! For so long, I've been meaning to continue my series on why Flickr is far superior to Instagram. (I use the Wordpress tag "Flickr is better than Instagram" https://www.mattmaldre.com/tag/flickr-is-better-than-instagram/ I'm glad you wrote and published all these points. You've captured many of the ideas I've been thinking about with Flickr. Stored on: September 13, 2021 Timeline – Brian Houston – Minus I have a print edition book of suck.com articles. Although a few years ago I think I gave it to goodwill. Ahh, the old things that fade away. So too will this service fade for its users as each person nears the 100-post mark. Stored on: September 12, 2021 Andrew Huff on Instagram: “Flowers of late summer” This is a rad idea—flowers of late summer. Next time I'm on a walk, I'll photograph the local flowers. Stored on: September 6, 2021 43: What You Miss Out On When You Die - by David Friedman - Ironic Sans Thinking about the great event of the Cubs winning the World Series in 2016, breaking their 108-year draught. I was commissioned by Chicago magazine to make a scorecard during every game of that World Series. On the side of each scorecard, I listed a few Cubs fans who had died just a few days prior. One of them is the father of a very close friend of mine. For the others, I looked through the local obituaries to see who mentioned Cubs. No big names. No one famous. I'm looking up who died on November 2, 2016 (the Cubs won on November 3 in Cleveland at 12:47 a.m. Eastern time). Maria Glazovskaya, Russian scientist and agrochemist, died on that day. She was 104 years old. Therefore, four years before she was born, the Cubs won the World Series in 1908. She taught soil science, soooo.... that's kinda like baseball. Baseball is played on dirt. At Moscow University in the Faculty of Geography she lectured on: "Fundamentals of Soil Science and Soil Geography, Soils of the World". How about some Wrigley Field soil? Now if we take the flip, who was born before the event. That would be my daughter. She was six months old when the Cubs won the World Series. She makes a special appearance on each of my scorecards. I drew her in the margins and what she did that day Cub-related. • Game 1: 90 minutes before the game started, we fed our 6-month daughter her first food. We fed her squash, because we hope the Cubs squash Cleveland. • Game 2: My daughter’s six-month doctor check-in was today. 14 pounds (Ernie Banks’ number) & 26 inches (Billy Williams’ number). • And so on for all seven games. Stored on: September 6, 2021 Patrick Wisdom is a teeny ray of Cubs fun. - Cubby-Blue Nice job photoshopping in that PB&J sandwich over the hot dog. You even got the vendor box too! Also funny seeing a fan wearing a Padres jersey with a Cubs hat. That immediately makes me think of Rizzo. She just needed a Yankees bracelet. Stored on: August 30, 2021 Phthursday Musings: A Sad Week, and, um, Some J-Pop - by Phil Huckelberry - META-SPIEL My mind is completely blown that Yoshi was on America's Got Talent as Kaptain Rock. Stored on: August 26, 2021 The New Totem Pole—Not the Same as the Old One | the Hall of Miller and Eric I really enjoy how your Hall of Fame is very flexible over time. Stored on: August 25, 2021 Why did the 2020 Summer Olympics TV ratings decline? | Diverse Tech Geek Yeah, the majority of people nowadays want things that are happening live now. Not what happened 14 hours ago. The streams of social media has gotten people hooked on "what's the shiny and new thing now, now, now?" I love watching the Olympics, even if I already know what happened. The stories are engaging. It's always fascinating to see how bronze and silver medal winners react—are they happy and grateful? Or are they frustrated and rejected? The Beijing Winter Olympics might drop even lower, because--well, it's the Winter Olympics. And, people will say, "didn't Beijing already have the Olympics in 2008? Seen that already. Thx." I'm looking forward to the Olympics no matter where it is. Especially looking forward to 2024 Paris! Stored on: August 23, 2021 Phthursday Musings: Another Viscous, Concrete Offering - by Phil Huckelberry - META-SPIEL Trea was asked about the slide after the game. (It's at the 4:58 mark in this video https://youtu.be/J_ZlWJ-GEsY?t=298) He calls it "soft". Stored on: August 19, 2021 Report: Topps Out, Fanatics In with MLB and MLBPA Baseball Card Deals I’m looking forward to Beckett’s continued reporting on this story. Open questions: 1. What happens in 2023 and 2024 when Topps has a MLB license, but not a MLBPA license? Topps can make cards with team logos, but no players? 2. When does the Fanatics deal start? Stored on: August 19, 2021 Phthursday Musings: Statement from Port Huron - by Phil Huckelberry - META-SPIEL I like how your photo of the fireball and the capital looks like it was photographed with an early 2000s cameraphone. I mean that in the best possible way—especially since I know you appreciate early tech. The road as calming. That reminds me of a quote: “When you're traveling, you are what you are, right there and then. People don't have your past to hold against you. No yesterdays on the road.” ― William Least-Heat Moon It comes from a quotation book that my two-year-old has been requesting first thing every morning for the past week. When she wakes up, we sit in the rocking chair with only the light coming in from the window, and I read all the quotes in the book while she quietly listens. At her age, she doesn't grasp the concepts, but it's fascinating thinking how she is absorbing these quotes in some way. Back to this particular quote. In a way, this quote helps to explain part of how on-the-road thinking is different from at-home thinking. Different environs inspiring you. Yet, the thinking from the road is not all over the place. The road thinking is guided in a way. You have just enough guidance to follow this safe road. So your thinking doesn't have to get distracted by obstacles. Instead, you have a clear path to clear thinking. Stored on: August 12, 2021 Top Five Takeaways From The National - One Million Cubs Project Love your Card-o-meter sign done in the 1989 Topps script. Stored on: August 11, 2021 Phthursday Musings: META-CLICKBAIT - by Phil Huckelberry - META-SPIEL The kangaroo on that ton coin is nice. Although it would have been really cool if the Aussies took something normally very small, like the western pygmy possum, and put that on the coin. Crop REALLY REALLY CLOSE on its face. Here's a quick photoshop mockup: https://www.spudart.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/western-pygmy-possum-australian-coin.jpg Stored on: August 11, 2021 What is “Waiting” All About? – Dr. Julie Caton Thank you for writing this about qavah in Genesis 1. I was searching qavah in Psalm 130:5, and was surprised to see the same Hebrew word used in Genesis 1. So I googled: gavah "genesis 1"; and came across your post. I like your thought of how waiting like multiple people entwined together to make a strong cord, all supporting each other while we wait the coming of Christ. Your post here is like one of those strands in the cord. Stored on: August 4, 2021 If I owned a boat crane, I would definitely put the Autobot insignia on it. Stored on: August 1, 2021 I came across this photo via a search on Flickr for croquet. (I love the sport of croquet, so I have this search bookmarked ). I also have two kids that look about the same age as the ones in your photo. Such a wonderful age, and how they interact. Your website is fantastic with the "picture every day". For the past year I've been doing a "video of the day" that gets shared with my family. The way you display your "picture every day" is really nice. I love how you mix up the photos of the kids with photos of things like flowers or food. That is inspiring me to shoot more videos of simply the items we eat, or the nature we encounter. Thank you for keeping up with such an inspiring website since 2003! Stored on: August 1, 2021 40: A Biography in Buttons - by David Friedman - Ironic Sans I was also a kid in the 80s, I have smaller collection of buttons that I need to dig up so I can make a post like this. Seeing your wide collection of buttons makes me want to start collecting buttons for my daughter, so 40 years from now she can make also make a post like this. Stored on: July 19, 2021 Visualizing The Catholic Lectionary - Part 1 Thank you so much for doing all this work to visualize how much of the Bible is in the lectionary. I was just wondering the same thing. The past few years I've been reading the weekly lectionary to my kids (now ages 2 & 5). I love being in God's Word with them on a frequent basis. But I also wonder how much of the lectionary doesn't cover parts of the Bible. Now I can see with your graphs! Prior to discovering your post today, I was thinking about doing the data work to unpeel this. You did such a great job. I'm more of of a hobbyist with data analysis, so it was really great to read your explanation of how you unpacked the data. Stored on: July 5, 2021 Phthursday Musings: Should We Talk About The Weather? - by Phil Huckelberry - META-SPIEL Whenever it rains, I tell my 5-year-old and 2-year-old, "the trees, plants, bushes, and grass are all happy today. They love the rain. I love the rain." Once the rain is over, the next day we observe how green everything is, and the birds. "The birds love the rain too". Stored on: July 1, 2021 The Hot Iron - What I Learned The Weeks Of June 18 and 25 2021 That 88x31 banner collection is fantastic. I just spent way too much time trying to track down PHP-Nuke and Postnuke banners. (A couple CMS systems I used to organize an alumni group back in the early 2000s). I did find a few; and passed them along to the webmaster of that page. Stored on: June 27, 2021 Those rainbow cards that you get with the prize tickets - are they really only 1.5x? : ToppsBUNT It's nice to hear people appreciating the Topps Bunt cards for their looks. I love all the designs that Bunt puts out. It's the primary reason why I use the app. I love seeing what they come up with next. And then tweeting or blogging about the designs. Stored on: June 14, 2021 hintspace: BBEdit/TextWrangler Codeless Language Module for IDL Looks like the plist file is no longer available for download. Clicking on the download link results in a "site not found" error. I'm really curious how you got the code folding to work. Stored on: June 10, 2021 The Worst Offensive Runs Ending A Career | the Hall of Miller and Eric Koyie Hill. The forgotten backup to Geovany Soto. The Cubs focus was on their RoY catcher. Hill just filled a slot for backup. Although in 1999, Hill played as the second baseman for Team USA. In the games, he totaled a .284 batting average, 3 home runs, and 21 RBI. He never played second base in the Majors. Baseball-Reference has Bob Uecker listed has Hill's sixth most similar batter. Stored on: May 25, 2021 The Hot Iron - What I Learned This Week For May 21 2021 The gas pump secret mute button reminds me of the Wired report this year on the secret code for the McDonald's ice cream machine: 1. Press the cone icon on the screen 2. Tap the buttons that show a snowflake and a milkshake 3. set the digits on the screen to 5, then 2, then 3, then 1. 4. A menu magically unlocks. "Only with this cheat code can you access the machine’s vital signs: everything from the volume of its milk and sugar ingredients to the temperature of the glycol flowing through its heating element to the meanings of its many sphinxlike error messages." All of McDonald's restaurants use the same ice cream machine model--The Taylor C602 digital ice cream machine. "No one at McDonald’s or Taylor will explain why there’s a secret, undisclosed menu" Stored on: May 25, 2021 Make your LinkedIn profile SHINE – FinTech over coffee Great tips! I need to implement some of these. Here's another one: make sure your paragraphs aren't too long. Going with your point using conversational English for your accomplishments, long paragraphs are a bit like someone rambling on and on. Break up the long paragraphs into shorter ones to make them more digestable. Stored on: May 25, 2021 Noël (@ok_mogwai) • Instagram photos and videos That tree has grown up to have a view. Stored on: May 10, 2021 What a great invention toasters are. TIL: the electric toaster was invented in 1893 by Alan MacMasters in Scotland. It toasted only one side of the bread, so you had to flip the bread over manually. By 1913 the Copeman Electric Stove Company introduced the “toaster that turns toast,” a device that eliminated the need for the bread to be turned manually halfway through cooking. In 1921, Minnesota mechanic named Charles Strite received his patent for the automatic pop-up toaster. On July 7, 1928, the first loaf of commercially sliced bread was sold. All this from hagley.org [Funny how sliced bread was sold AFTER the toaster. We only have commercially sliced bread, because of the toaster!] FYI National Toast Day is the last Thursday of February. MARK YOUR CALENDARS. Raise a toast to your toast. Stored on: May 10, 2021 Maybe a squirrel wrote this sign? Stored on: May 10, 2021 Andrew Huff (@me3dia) • Instagram photos and videos How wonderfully aged this sign is. I've long wanted to hang up baseball cards in the window of my desk at Tribune Tower (it faced the southern sun). I never did. And now I regret never having done so. Stored on: May 10, 2021 Andrew Huff (@me3dia) • Instagram photos and videos We might have learned this at some point in school, but I wonder why flowers come out before berries. Is there some sort of scientific reason?... Ok, so I just googled it. "Flowering plants produce seeds within a fruit." Stored on: May 10, 2021 With your work in Wheels4Water, you might be interested in the ESV version of this version... "Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and one who waters will himself be watered." Different type of "water" here, but rather interesting connection, nonetheless. 🙂 Stored on: May 10, 2021 The Architect's Office (1 of 2) | RIP Helmut Jahn: www.chica… | Flickr My goodness, Helmut Jahn had a lot of trinkets on his desk. But considering these were probably all buildings he designed, I would have those trinkets on my desk too! Stored on: May 9, 2021 Metra monthly ticket: October 2003 | Nicholas Rougeux | Flickr Wow. from 2001 up to 2016, there were some pretty bad Metra designs. Funny how I rode the Metra from 1997 to 2000, and then 2017 to now. I totally skipped over all those bad years of monthly passes! Stored on: May 4, 2021 Metra monthly ticket: September 1997 | Nicholas Rougeux | Flickr Oh man. I remember these Metra tickets. It was cool how they featured individual stations. I had these back for my first job out of college. Stored on: May 4, 2021 Why Anthony Rizzo has a chance to be this generation's Mr. Cub - 57 hits I’m not so sure Rizzo can have the title “Mr. Cub”. Maybe my standards are too high. Maybe I’m romanticizing the past of Sandberg and Banks too much. He should already lay claim to that title. But I feel like he’s not in that elite category of Sandberg and Banks yet. If Rizzo is already Mr. Cub of the 2010s, then would Derek Lee be Mr. Cub of the 2000s? Or Kerry Wood? The key to Rizzo becoming Mr. Cub is how he ends his career. Both Sandberg and Banks ended their career with the Cubs. I don’t think a player can go play another 5-8 years with another team, and be called a Mr. Cub—that would be like Harold Baines with the White Sox. Stored on: May 4, 2021