Minor things that please you

[kphoger]

When a big pop-up appears on a webpage and covers everything up, but simply hitting the [Esc] key gets rid of it without any further action required.

[kphoger]

Sunday evening, I was stopped at a red light, waiting for a green arrow.  It was after dark, and I saw the reflection of the turn signal on the street sign up on the mast arm.  But our car is 24 years old, and it's built low to the ground, and so I realized there's no way that such a bright reflection was from our car.  So I looked in the mirror and determined that it was from the vehicle behind us, which was a newer model SUV.

Our two vehicles' turn signals were completely in synch with each other—and they stayed completely in synch the whole time I was waiting at the light, without drifting apart at all.

Sooooooooooo satisfying!

[vdeane]

The NYSDOT CPU includes a PMS survey.  Also, at least the Region 1 contribution to the effort involved the SAT.

[Scott5114]

The NYSDOT CPU includes a PMS survey.  Also, at least the Region 1 contribution to the effort involved the SAT.

The New York State Department of Transportation central processing unit includes a pre-menstrual syndrome survey, which involved the Scholastic Aptitude Test???

[vdeane]

I managed to get through a site update without the server kicking me off my ssh session for the first time in over a year.  Let's hope this is a permanent change on their part and not a fluke.  In any case, it was very welcome when adding 149 photos to the gallery.

[freebrickproductions]

On my end of things, I recently added a new item to my collection: a rare failed 3M/Peek "high visibility" (IIRC) 12 inch signal adapter!

PXL_20260531_213416695 by freebrickproductions, on Flickr

PXL_20260531_213422428 by freebrickproductions, on Flickr

PXL_20260531_213433150 by freebrickproductions, on Flickr

PXL_20260531_213438677 by freebrickproductions, on Flickr

PXL_20260531_213500685 by freebrickproductions, on Flickr

IIRC, these were an attempt by 3M to make a "high visibility" adapter for 12 inch signals, I believe in an attempt to make incandescent signal indications brighter. Unlike their M-131 signals or their 8 inch signal adapters, these completely lacked the ability to internally-mask the indications for "programmable visibility" purposes, and, unlike their 8 inch/12 inch enlarger (an adapter that could be mounted on an 8 inch signal to give one of the indications a 12 inch lens instead, such as for arrows), these also didn't really have any other major benefits or advantages. They did, however, have a completely flat lens like their PV signals and adapters, which basically caused this adapter to have a much larger issue sun-phantoming compared to a traditional incandescent signal with none of the PV benefits of most of 3M's other signal products. Unsurprisingly, these awkward little signal products were a very short-lived failure, and are pretty rare to find. Amazingly, at least one survives in the wild, and it's also a red one like the one I own, located in an incandescent Kentron signal in downtown Tuscumbia, AL (on the right in the video below). They definitely look pretty neat when lit-up!

Obviously, the one I own is branded as a Peek product rather than a 3M product, and it's believed that Peek were licensed to sell these under their brand name as a third-party product. Someone in North Carolina apparently had several of these brand new still, and was selling them for pretty cheap on eBay, so I went ahead and picked this one up. Now I just need to get a gutted 12 inch signal section (preferably from Peek, but any brand will do) to put it in...

[kphoger]

The NYSDOT CPU includes a PMS survey.  Also, at least the Region 1 contribution to the effort involved the SAT.

The New York State Department of Transportation central processing unit includes a pre-menstrual syndrome survey, which involved the Scholastic Aptitude Test???

That's the only explanation I can think of.  Or else the Mexican federal tax administration service (Servicio de Administración Tributaria)...

[formulanone]

I needed luggage last year; usually I've been good at getting the airlines to buy me stuff each time they break it, but I failed to notice some not-inconsequential damage a month after they'd handled it (or maybe I broke it putting it in my car...it was late at night). So my wife bought me new hard-sided luggage and it also came with a matching carry-on; I already had three of them, so I hadn't used it. Besides, it's slightly smaller than the other two and has no exterior pockets.

Well, the spinner one I'd been using for 10 years finally split a wheel last week...still works despite a lot of wear but noisily clomps on any surface but carpet. Daughter borrowed the other one for a trip which is a little smaller, mostly used for weekend getaways.

So that left me the "baby bear" luggage; it's a stitch narrower and seems to give up 1-3 cubic feet to the others, but I can fit 5 days of clothing if packed just right, so I'm off with it on Monday. The pleasing thing is that it actually fits inside a regional jet's overhead compartment! (CRJ 700 and 900, for those keeping score.) So now I like it.

Thank you for tuning into my shaggy dog story.

[on_wisconsin]

Finding a weed killer combo that nics wood soral from the yard...

[1995hoo]

...

So that left me the "baby bear" luggage; it's a stitch narrower and seems to give up 1-3 cubic feet to the others, but I can fit 5 days of clothing if packed just right, so I'm off with it on Monday. The pleasing thing is that it actually fits inside a regional jet's overhead compartment! (CRJ 700 and 900, for those keeping score.) So now I like it.

Thank you for tuning into my shaggy dog story.

So what brand is it? My wife has been grumbling about the wheels on hers not rolling as smoothly as she'd like. Three times this week when we've been somewhere that had luggage on display she started looking at it (I had to point out that unless she throws away her current bag, she'd have a problem getting a new one home). I think she will want something new after we get home. So what do you have?

[formulanone]

...

So that left me the "baby bear" luggage; it's a stitch narrower and seems to give up 1-3 cubic feet to the others, but I can fit 5 days of clothing if packed just right, so I'm off with it on Monday. The pleasing thing is that it actually fits inside a regional jet's overhead compartment! (CRJ 700 and 900, for those keeping score.) So now I like it.

Thank you for tuning into my shaggy dog story.

So what brand is it? My wife has been grumbling about the wheels on hers not rolling as smoothly as she'd like. Three times this week when we've been somewhere that had luggage on display she started looking at it (I had to point out that unless she throws away her current bag, she'd have a problem getting a new one home). I think she will want something new after we get home. So what do you have?

Delsey, but I can't find the model on their website. Edit: Looks like it's the Shadow or Aero model, from a reverse image search.

She found it at BJ's Wholesale Club last fall. They're all spinner wheels, which is worth it for navigating and weaving through airports and narrow aisles. If you're only wheeling luggage to a vehicle and a hotel then back, you can skip the spinners; you'll gain a little bit of luggage space since the wheels can now take up space in the luggage cavity. Drawbacks to the spinner wheels is that they're susceptible to damage since they move freely during excessive handling.

I'll post the model when I get back to the hotel, but my guess it was a closeout special of old stock. This particular hard-sided luggage design has a smooth, glossy surface, so it does get scratched up...so I presume the smaller one will eventually bear scratches as well. I've been meaning to wax and polish it to see if some of the luggage handling marks buff out...best bet is to look for one with a knurled or textured surface if that matters to you.

One major thing I prefer about soft-sided luggage is it's easier to open up, since the lid is usually only 10-20% of the space; zip it and flip it because most of the weight and bulk is in the lower section. It also compresses easier, since not all overhead compartments are the same, even along the same aircraft model from the same airline. Drawbacks are that it's not waterproof, though it's rare that my luggage has soaked through from the elements.

Hard-sided luggage tends to have the zipper down the middle, so it's tricky to balance it when open if there's contents on either side. But when it breaks and cracks, it's pretty much done for.

If you're looking for a "buy it for life" brand, step up to Briggs & Riley. They seem to the be the last ones with a lifetime guarantee, but expect to pay $700 and up for a carryon; Tumi used have a similar policy but I've read it's 5-10 years, which is what I got out of my last one (which was neither brand, a Victorinox I picked out of the United catalog...Werks model?). Before that, a TravelPro, but it was a lower-end model which the handle broke off after 3 years (Delta reimbursed me though, fortunately with status they didn't ask for a receipt under $200).

[kphoger]

When I read some sarcastic jab from |Max Rockatansky| that's poking fun at something on a different thread—but I haven't yet gotten around to reading the post he's referring to.  With no context, it's nonsensical at first, but it's fun to try and guess the context from his jab, then later land on the original post and see if I was close.