Reading List

The most recent articles from a list of feeds I subscribe to.

Get xkcd Cartoons at 2x Resolution

I recently learned a neat trick from Marcus Buffett: xkcd has an undocumented way to get images of the cartoons at double their normal resolution.

The _2x trick

For example, xkcd #2582 “Data Trap” lists this URL as the direct link:

That leads to this 275x275px image, quite small by today’s standards:

But there’s a trick! Add a _2x to the filename in the URL:

That gives you a version that’s 2x the original resolution, at 550x550px:

List of 2x-resolution xkcd Cartoons

This is a list of all the xkcd cartoons that are available in 2x resolution, as of today’s date.

See the accompanying post, “Get xkcd Cartoons at 2x Resolution,” for an explanation.

I Once Appeared in The Old New Thing

I’m a pretty humble guy, so most people don’t know this extremely impressive fact about me: Raymond Chen once mentioned me on The Old New Thing, the classic Windows development blog.

No, he didn’t mention me by name nor did he provide any way to identify me, but I still deserve credit for how little I boast about this stunning achievement.

In 2009, Raymond Chen mentioned me in an issue of The Old New Thing.

Refactoring English: Month 9

New here?

Hi, I’m Michael. I’m a software developer and founder of small, indie tech businesses. I’m currently working on a book called Refactoring English: Effective Writing for Software Developers.

Every month, I publish a retrospective like this one to share how things are going with my book and my professional life overall.

Highlights

  • I got useful feedback from early readers about my chapter list.
  • I found it frustrating to edit video of an interview but had fun creating a written transcript.
  • My plan to promote my freelance blog editing services went better than I expected.

Goal grades

At the start of each month, I declare what I’d like to accomplish. Here’s how I did against those goals:

Give Your Spouse the Gift of a Couple's Email Domain

I’ve only been married for a few years, but I have a fantastic marriage tip you won’t hear from any marriage counselor or book:

  • Get a couple’s email domain

What’s a couple’s email domain?

My wife and I share a .com domain name for email. I’m not going to reveal our real domain name, but pretend it’s this:

  • @shinytable.com

Emails to michael@shinytable.com go to both me and my wife, and the same for her name.