When looking for a brief distraction, I still have web-muscle-memory that takes me to Digg.com. Though the site has changed completely from its time as the post-Slashdot/pre-Reddit community-powered news site, it’s still kind of fun.

The best part of the site, by far, is the tiny little taglines posted above each story headline. Somewhere, there is a person or group of people working away tirelessly to tag each story with a little quip that I always enjoy.

Here are a few examples from today’s Digg.com front page:

On the story, The Quest To Beat ‘Super Mario Bros. 3’ As Fast As Possible… Without Warping“, the tagline reads, TANOOKI SUIT UP.

On the story, We’re Losing Our Marbles Over This 11,000-Marble-Deep Marble Run, the tagline reads, THE ONLY THING TO SPHERE IS SPHERE ITSELF.

On the story, Huge Dog And Mini Horse Are The Cutest Best Friend Pair You’ll See All Week, the tagline reads simple, GIDDY UP.

Sometimes they editorialize, as on the story Why It’s Time We All Became Climate Change Optimists, where the tagline reads, WE’RE ALL GONNA DIE ANYWAY.

Sometimes they go terribly punny, as on the story Chinese Scientist Claims He’s Created World’s First Gene-Edited Babies, where the tagline reads, GATTACA-N YOU BELIEVE IT?

There are times when you can almost see them throwing up their hands in defeat, as on the story Here’s How Long It’d Take You To Poop A Lego, where the tagline reads only OKAY.

Thanks, digg.com-tagline-writer-people. We see you.

Beware of software that includes the name of its programming language in its name. This belies a focus on implementation details over the experience of using the software. Of course, exceptions abound.

This video tour of the history of mouse cursors by Michiel de Boer is oddly delightful. Apple or Microsoft should give Michiel a bucket of money to make their cursors better.

First few pages of parenting advice book: “Don’t invalidate your child’s feelings.”

My child: “I don’t like this casserole.”

Me: “Yes you do!”

There are relatively few great little improvements to desktop computing interfaces in recent years. One that I’ve particularly enjoyed is the searchable menus in macOS.

On any macOS app, open the Help menu and start typing. For example if you want the Connect to Server… feature in the Finder app, hit Help, start typing “conn…” and use the arrow keys and Enter key to choose the menu item.

This is particularly useful in complex applications, like Photoshop, that can have hundreds of nested menu items.

Update: As Antonio points out in the comments, there’s a keyboard shortcut for this (Shift–Command–?). I never knew! Thanks, Antonio.

As always, the latest episode of Heavyweight made me laugh out loud and feel feelings. My favorite detail is host Jonathan Goldsteins’ pretentious pluralisation of the “Hot Tub Time Machine” movies as Hot Tubs Time Machine.

Yes Jonathan, we noticed.

Recommended particularly for those who remember and miss the great CBC Radio show, Wiretap.

Here’s a stupid product idea for you.

It’s a case for the iPhone XS Max that is compatible with two Apple Watch wristbands, so you can wear your phone strapped to your forearm.

I figure it could be at least $299, since you’ve already had to spent at least $1,197 and as much as $2,577 (with options maxed) on your phone and two wristbands.

I’d call it the Armband Exxess [sic] Max for iPhone XS Max. If it existed.

Here’s an artist’s rendering:

What makes the testimony of a survivor of sexual assault so heroic is that they shouldn’t have had to be a hero. As a society, we owe a great debt.

A human being finishing Super Mario Bros. in 4m 55s is the four-minute mile of our generation. What a time to be alive.

I’m excited to have my second article in 17 years published on the website “For People Who Make Websites”, A List Apart: Design with Difficult Data.

Thanks to Ste Grainer for the great editing.