The 40 most recent articles where I left a comment
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 Classic Chicago Three-Flat – The Secret Knowledge of Spaces
My dad and grandmother were Estonian refugees to America and lived in a two-flat. Good memories of that place in Ravenswood Manor.
Stored on: June 21, 2018
https://secretknowledgeofspaces.wordpress.com/2018/06/18/tribune-tower-a-vertical-museum/
I enjoyed your blog post, especially as we (the Chicago Tribune and other Tribune companies) moved out of the Tower last week. I worked in Tribune Tower for 18 years. Seeing your post brings back good memories. Thank you.
Stored on: June 21, 2018
I did a five-foot wide pencil rubbing on my last day in the Tribune Tower - Spudart
Pencil rubbings certainly make you pause and slow down a bit. Photos are so quick and easy. The rubbings take a little more time—which sometimes can be good.
Stored on: June 16, 2018
16 Reasons to Love 1991 Score Baseball Cards
You totally captured the greatness of the 1991 Score set. A few years ago I bought an entire set for all the reasons you outline. This set carries an immense of amount of wonderful entertaining subsets.
Stored on: June 16, 2018
Erik Maldre (@erikmaldre) • Instagram photos and videos
What this shot with your fancy iPhone? With Flickr, I could see the camera model. With Instagram, notsomuch. I hope you are posting this on Flickr!
Stored on: June 15, 2018
I like that you cropped out Trump Tower. That will be one of the things I certainly won't miss working in Tribune Tower—having to pass by the giant stupid Trump sign every day.
Stored on: June 15, 2018
Do hashtags only "count" when they are in the caption of the photo? If I put a hashtag in the comments, does the photo not appear in the official hashtag index?
Stored on: June 7, 2018
Thoughts on Apple's 2018 WWDC announcements | Diverse Tech Geek
As an iPhone 5s owner, I’m very pleased to hear that iOS12 will give better support than iOS11. Every day I denied Apple’s pop-up request to upgrade to iOS11. Then one morning, my phone showed a message welcoming me to iOS11. Since then my iPhone has become incredibly slower. Hopefully iOS12 will be more friendly to my iPhone 5s.
Stored on: June 6, 2018
Reflections on 2 Years Without a Car — Strong Towns
Kevin, I so highly admire that you have a family and are car-free. I've lived in Chicago my entire life (i'm 42 years old). In my adult years I never owned a car until I got married at age 39 (my wife has one). I've always said that single people living in the city of Chicago should not own a car. Families are the exception. So the fact that your family is living without a car is really amazing to me.
Stored on: June 5, 2018
Freelancers as the Future of the City – Chris Thilk
I'm so glad that I have never bought a car in my life. The only time I became a car owner is when I married one, when I was 39 years old. I've always lived around rail, and I love it! Whether it was on the south side in Beverly with the Metra. Or Wrigleyville with the red line. And then 13 years in Lincoln Square with the brown line. Through all those years I managed to date people that lived within walking distance of a train. Even my car-owning wife lived in Oak Park three blocks from the Green line. I absolutely love the train. Chicago could use more rail and better rail.
Stored on: June 5, 2018
Google announces YouTube Music changes; Google Play Music to stay (for now) | Diverse Tech Geek
For the past year I've been a paid subscriber for Google Music. I pay, because I get two services for ten bucks. Google Music and Youtube Red. Previously I was a subscriber to Spotify for about the same price. But since Google Music includes Youtube Red, I went over to Google for the extra service.
Stored on: May 20, 2018
T3: New Audio Transcription App | The Andersen Library Blog
Thank you for posting this! On and off through the years I've been looking for an affordable (preferably free) transcription service. The closest I've gotten was Google Voice's transcription of voicemails. That caps off somewhere around two minutes. I would break up podcasts into two-minute segments and send them off to Google Voice. I will gladly try Otter Voice.
Stored on: May 10, 2018
Spudart.org is back to a semi-regular frequency of blog posts - Spudart
These numbers do not include what I’m writing on my other blog, mattmaldre.com
Stored on: May 8, 2018
The Ramblings of a Chicagoan: Podcasts You Listen To
Podcasts on cassette! They run about 50 cents to a dollar these days. The vinyl, that would be crazy. Back when I originally read this blog post, I did some quick research and found a place that will make one record for $99. Also, you reminded me. I need to blog two things. 1. Downcast vs. iTunes. 2. The 39 podcasts I listen to. So far, I'm digging Downcast. I haven't gone back to iTunes, nor have I missed it at all.
Stored on: May 8, 2018
How to cut the noise out of Facebook (use a friends list sorted by most recent) - Matt Maldre
I guarantee you if you use this method, when you revisit the actual homepage of Facebook you'll be shocked at how inefficient and noisy it is. You'll never want to see the homepage ever again. Your Facebook list will become your Facebook regular bookmark.
Stored on: May 8, 2018
Chicago Spire redevelopment plan gets debut date - Curbed Chicago
I’m hoping for an eight-tentacle structure to crawl out of the hole. Each of the tentacles could serve a different public purpose. We’ll call it the Chicago Octopus.
Stored on: May 8, 2018
Tribune Tower ticket compared to State of the Union ticket - Spudart
We could probably add Monopoly card to this comparison!
Stored on: May 7, 2018
The discovery metadata field - Matt Maldre
By the way, my curiosity about J.E. Luebering's tweet might be solved, in a way. The tweet goes to <a href="http://www.aestheticamagazine.com/material-inspiration/">an interview about how an artist slices up discarded encyclopedias</a>. Luebering is the editorial director of Encyclopedia Britannica. Most likely he has a Google Alert for Encyclopedia Britannica being mentioned. Or someone in the office shared the article internally.
Stored on: May 7, 2018
Imagine the internet with no search engines - Matt Maldre
Bringing back the card catalog!
Stored on: May 4, 2018
Is Yahoo Directory still worth it? – Charles Neville
A Yahoo Directory listing costs $299 a year? Wow. I thought their editors just added stuff. I didn't know you could pay them to specifically put a site into the directory. That's just incredible to pay $299. Even back in 2010 or 2005. Although, I do miss the Yahoo Directory today.
Stored on: May 4, 2018
How to manage older blog posts | Diverse Tech Geek
I love having an archive of my old posts. I don't delete any of them. However, sometimes I go back and fix some grammar issues. I started blogging in 2001, when lower case was all the rage. So many of my blog posts have capitalization issues. And they also suffer from extremely low-resolution images. In some cases, the images are a mere 75x75 pixels! It's a slow cause changing them out. Initially, I was using a Wordpress plugin "Years Ago Today" that emails me links to all my blog posts from that particular day. e.g. I would go to all my blog posts made on May 4th through the years, and give them an edit.
Stored on: May 4, 2018
Start of summer 2018 in Chicago - Spudart
Yeah! It’s incredible how the bridge weighs so much yet needs only a tiny motor to operate it. In one of the bridge towers of the Michigan Avenue bridge is the McCormick Bridgehouse & Chicago River Museum. They had a free open house one day, so I went for a tour. The guide said it takes only the power of a lawn mower to open and close the bridge.
Stored on: May 4, 2018
Tribune Tower's End of Story tshirt - Spudart
You gotta love a good journalism joke.
Stored on: May 2, 2018
Victorville, CA: Tumbling like a tumbling tumbleweed | urban plant research
Tumbleweed invasion! The closest we get in Chicago is dandelion seed piles that are maybe an inch-tall.
Stored on: May 1, 2018
The first tulips are now blossoming in downtown Chicago! - Spudart
For now the plan is that we move out of the Tribune Tower in June this year.
Stored on: May 1, 2018
Three things not to do when asking for money - Spudart
The five-year Xanga memberships are starting to expire after June this year. I wonder how they are doing.
Stored on: April 30, 2018
Which Wikipedia account should I use? - Spudart
Apparently my official Wikipedia username for mattmaldre is not mattmaldre, but Mattmaldre. Yup, only the first letter capped. That’s weird. It’s not even a normal MattMaldre. Mattmaldre makes it feel like my real life first name is Mattmaldre. Given that odd capitalization, I’ll go with Spudart as my username on Wikipedia.
Stored on: April 30, 2018
Search for duck puns on duckduckgo - Spudart
And somewhat related story about geese this morning. (being kinda related to ducks). Today I watched two geese swim towards each other in the Chicago River. Each were squawking at each other while they got closer. I stopped to watch them, anticipating a fight. Once they got together, they simply turned, and swam towards the shore. One immediately hoped onto the edge. The other stayed in the water a bit, and used his/her head to pour water onto its back. And then it finally hopped onto the shore, and shook off all the water. It’s rather amazing to see a goose go from swimming in the water, to hopping up on the edge of a riverbank. The edge was probably about three feet higher than the water. The do a mini flight.But that their wings can get them to hop up out of the water and onto the shore. I don’t understand how they can do that.
Stored on: April 27, 2018
Trompe l'oeil: Not Just for April Fools | The Art Institute of Chicago
I would love to see Charles-Antoine Coypel’s "Portrait of Philippe Coypel and His Wife" installed in a window at the Art Institute facing outside. so people walking by the Art Institute, are like, WHAT THE!
Stored on: April 18, 2018
New Stuff Tuesday – April 17, 2018 | The Andersen Library Blog
Suga, sweet! I'm going to subscribe to Manoush Zomorodi's "Note to Self" podcasts. I like to intentionally zone out on the train for this exact reason. We bury our faces in phones all too much.
Stored on: April 18, 2018
New Libraries Join I-Share | Ames Library News
Welcome aboard, Abe, Spertus, Moody, and McHenry! I'm glad to see that my alma mater Illinois Wesleyan University has been a member since 1984. w00t!
Stored on: April 18, 2018
I miss talking about architecture... — julie dunne design
I feel the same way about art. I very much having the always-available group of people to talk about art anytime, for any length of time. I even run an alumni art group to help facilitate some sort of conversation--even if online. Now we have like & heart buttons. Alas. In your post here you say, "Out here in suburbia, though, I see so many opportunities to welcome the landscape into our residential designs, and it seems not many people are interested." Yes, unfortunately there are a great many not interested. However, I bet there are many people who simply don't really know what that means. Or how to implement that in their house. I'm a recent home owner (as of last year) in Chicago's suburbia. And I don't know how I would really welcome the landscape into my residential design. And, I'm a graphic designer. Yipes! But really. The nuts and bolts of how to do this with an existing house. Where do I start? What can I do on my little plot of land? (by the way, I found your blog via your Instagram post)
Stored on: April 17, 2018
Fitting Forty: Re-Born! – CAM Fitting Forty and Beyond
When I read this back in January, it really inspired me. And this continues to inspire me today. I never really thought about how we often choose death in our every day lives. And we don't have to choose death! We can choose life!
Stored on: April 12, 2018
Blog revision updates (April 2018) | Diverse Tech Geek
Wow! You were manually updating the most popular posts every week? I'm glad you got a plug-in to do that for you.
Stored on: April 6, 2018
Making your to-do list fun with silly ideas - Spudart
I couldn't quite decipher all the words it says something like, "Have a _____ day" His cape is indeed very sharp. I like the pen cap as a hat. (Or maybe the pen cap makes him a unicorn)
Stored on: April 6, 2018
The Progressive Scorekeeper: Your 2018 Rule Changes Bulletin - Scorekeepers Union
Ahhh, good point on the mound visits. I should start noting them somehow in my scorecards. Maybe with a word bubble. Inside the word bubble will the be the sequence number of that mound visit.
Stored on: April 5, 2018
Every Business Has a Company Culture: Here's How to Make it Great - Mavidea Blog
I love the insight behind how Mavidea runs. I've been following this blog on and off for awhile (I graduated a year after Erik Barnlund at IWU). This is my favorite blog post so far. The flair is a fun and unique idea that I haven't seen from another company yet. I would love to see more examples of what the weekly goals are. Since they are weekly, I would imagine they are client project related. Or are they more development goals? Perhaps taking a class. Or learning a new technique. I would so love to learn more about how Mavidea sets these weekly goals.
Stored on: April 4, 2018
Hear the Wisconsin poet laureate | The Andersen Library Blog
Oh wow! It's National Poetry Month! Today I just happened to ask the question on Facebook, "How do you tell when poetry is good or bad?" That was good timing! I'm looking forward to this Poem-In-Your-Pocket Day (April 26). I'll keep some poems in my pocket. And then WHAM-BAM! I'll have instant poem majesty. On that day of April 26th, when someone says something to me, WHAM-BAM! I'll take a poem out of my pocket and recite some fine lines of poetry. It won't matter if these lines are out of context. You know why? Because, it's poetry, man!
Stored on: April 4, 2018
A New Design for the Alsdorf Galleries | The Art Institute of Chicago
Remember when this space displayed the armor collection of George F. Harding Jr.? Known back then as Gunsaulus Hall (before the Renzo Piano renovation). Perhaps we can throw in some of the 56-pound Italian armor from the early 1600s. Or the 35-pounder Polish half armor. They could stand guard at the walls telling people to slow down and meditate on the Buddha.
Stored on: April 4, 2018
The classic sad tale about social media API. - Matt Maldre
That image in my blog post is a screenshot of what Instagram CURRENTLY has on their developer site as of right now. Here is Instagram totally screwing over developers by limiting their API calls. And they dare to have this promotion welcoming new developers to their service? Hard to make a "high-quality" app when you can't even make a decent amount of API calls to their service.
Stored on: April 3, 2018
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