Paste and Match Style
My workflow includes a lot of copy and pasting of texts into documents. Alas, the formatting often comes with and I have to adjust and rearrange. You can paste without formatting, but that’s not necessarily what I want. More often, I want paste and match style.
Ally MacDonald points out a simple way Mac users can make pasting without formatting the default:
Want to improve your quality of life in 5 seconds?This change re-maps the default “Paste” keyboard shortcut to paste and match style.1. Go to System Preferences
2. Keyboard
3. App Shortcuts
4. All Applications –> add “Paste and Match Style” ⌘V
Done.
What a timesaver.
The End of the Monday Night Wars
I remember when the end of the Monday Night Wars happened. I was watching WCW Nitro and Vince McMahon showed up at the top of the show telling everyone he bought the company. It was pandemonium.
The Ringer’s David Shoemaker tells the behind the scenes tale and frames it like a series finale. In a very real way, it was.
That night was the last night of Nitro. It was the last night of WCW as its own entity entirely. WWF talked about reviving WCW as its own show under the WWF banner, but it never came to be. And so we were right about the stakes of the Monday Night Wars. WWF won and, a silly invasion feud aside, WCW was gone. And if WWF had ended that night too, it would have been the greatest series finale of all time. It was certainly the end of the best story ever told, because it was a story that actually mattered. For all of pro wrestling’s forced hyperbole, a story line bigger than Hulk Hogan vs. Andre the Giant ended that night, and it was a clean finish. The last episode of WCW Monday Nitro was without question the greatest series finale of all time.
I Can’t Hear You
Julia Belluz at Vox does a deep dive into the increasingly high decibel levels of restaurants.
Being exposed to noise levels above 70 and 80 decibels — which many restaurants boast these days — causes hearing loss over time, Gail Richard, past president of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, told me. This kind of hearing loss is “preventable, but it’s also irreparable,” she added.
I’ve noticed the rising levels, and my wife and I avoid those locations when dining out. The piece outlines ways to fix acoustics, but unsurprisingly, they are expensive.
How an Ex-Cop Rigged McDonald’s Monopoly Game and Stole Millions
Jeff Maysh in The Daily Beast has one of the summer’s most engrossing stories.
Jerome Jacobson and his network of mobsters, psychics, strip-club owners, and drug traffickers won almost every prize for 12 years, until the FBI launched Operation ‘Final Answer.’
I knew a little bit about this story, but not all of it. The McSting is awesome.
Stop Trying to Change Yourself
Mark Manson on change:
You can’t change yourself, so don’t even try. I know that’s not what the infomercials and self-help seminars tell you. But fuck it. They’re wrong. You can’t change. Like a thirsty man in a desert chasing a mirage, or a fat man peering into an empty fridge—there’s nothing there. So stop chasing it. Go do something else instead.The rest is really good too.
Ten Years Later, “The Dark Knight” and Its Vision of Guilt Still Resonate
The Village Voice does a deep dive into The Dark Knight on its ten year anniversary.
I haven’t watched it in a good long while, so I wonder what I’d take from it today?
How to Make Your Presentations Better
Seth Godin on making your presentation better. Good advice all around.
- Make it shorter. No extra points for filling your time.
- Be really clear about what it’s for. If the presentation works, what will change? Who will be changed? Will people take a different course of action because of your work? If not, then why do you do a presentation?
- Don’t use slides as a teleprompter. If you have details, write them up in a short memo and give it to us after the presentation.
- Don’t sing, don’t dance, don’t tell jokes. If those three skills are foreign to you, this is not a good time to try them out.
- Be here now. The reason you’re giving a presentation and not sending us a memo is that your personal presence, your energy and your humanity add value. Don’t hide them. Don’t use a prescribed format if that format doesn’t match the best version of you.
Mike Matheny Finally Fired
Chris Thompson at Deadspin pretty much sums up my feelings on this half-season St. Louis Cardinals baseball. It finally culminated in a firing I honestly thought wasn’t going to happen until October at the earliest―the firing of Mike Matheny.
Sloppy and boring may actually go away now. Obviously, TPTB think the Cardinals can still make the playoffs. I hope so.
The Bizzare Story of the Seattle Mystery Vending Machine
Karl Smallwood writes about a strange vending machine with a mysterious history in Today I Found Out. It’s a great read about a truly odd tourist attraction.
A Welcome Addition
A new member of the family arrived in our household a little over a week ago. He has completely upended our idyllic life. His name is Rocco and this little puppy has cuddled his way into everyone’s hearts.
For as long as I’ve known her, my step-daughter has wanted a dog. Unfortunately, it was not possible in the rental properties we were all living in at the time. With the move now complete to the club of proud owners of our own home, the next logical step was finding the perfect opportunity to give her the dog she has desired. Her birthday in July made the most sense and after navigating the web, an appropriate breeder was found within a day’s drive and she picked him out immediately.
Rocco is a combination of the Shih Tzu and Bichon Frise dog breeds and is commonly referred to as a teddy bear (or Shichon or Zuchon). He’s quite affectionate and loves getting his belly rubbed. As of this writing, he’s nine weeks old and teething like crazy so he’s constantly gnawing on his chew toys.
He’s just the cutest puppy ever.
Everybody else in the house has owned a pet of some kind before. Me… not so much. No dog, cat, hampster, beta fish, etc. My neighbors around the house I grew up in all had little dogs. My uncle had a large black labrador named Star. My other uncle had a small little dog named Sammy. Lastly, my brother’s family had a dog for a long time with Ozzie just recently passing away after living a long, great life.
I’ve never had a dog.
Of course, technically the dog is my step-daughter’s 100%. She’s the one taking care of the dog nine times out of ten. Still, Roccco is dominating our household. For the better, I might add.
I thought buying a house was going to be the biggest adjustment I was going to face this year, but I think living with Rocco is taking the cake. I never knew how much fun it would be to have this dog chasing after chew toys, rolling over for belly rubs and watching him learn his name and get acclimated to his new surroundings. After these first few days, this pup has done nothing but put a smile on my face and everyone else’s face for that matter.
A welcome addition.
Like a Rolling Stone
I’m a sucker for redesigns and reimaginings of products and brands. This one from Rolling Stone is huge.
The old logo’s drop-shadowed, cross-hatched look is iconic, so making a change to a modern, flat logo is pretty bold. I think it works. It pops on the magazine shelf, but right now, it does because it’s this combination of familiar and different.
It’s an excellent evolution for a brand that plays a massive part in American culture.
Simple and Low Key
Milestone birthdays are supposed to be remembered and cherished. On my 16th birthday, I drove to the mall by myself. On my 21st birthday, I have no idea. I was probably at some bar watching a band. On my 30th and 40th birthdays… I do not recall anything special or memorable. Birthdays simply have never been a big deal for me.
When I was growing up, my family would have a nice dinner and a cake. My grandma would come over, and I’d have a card and a present or two. It was always a pretty low-key affair. I don’t recall ever having a birthday party with a bunch of friends at the house.
Today, however, is a milestone. I want to remember it, cherish it. Yes, I turn 50 today. I don’t feel 50. I guess I feel younger, but I’m wise enough to know I’m most certainly not younger, nor am I getting any younger.
I woke up to Happy 50th Birthday decorations that my wife and stepdaughter had hung around the house. It was a pleasant surprise and one I really appreciated. Tonight, we meet my parents for a birthday dinner at an Italian restaurant. I’m looking forward to getting together and enjoying the evening.
Simple and low key.
How Heisler Became the Most Popular Fake Beer
Writing for Thrillist, Shannon Carlin tells the story of Heisler. You know Heisler, the Bud Light of fake beers.
Full of Marks
I think this story of grifter and con artist Anna Delvey by Jessica Pressler in The Cut has got to be one of the most jaw-dropping exposés I’ve ever read. If you haven’t read it, go. Do it now before it becomes a blockbuster of a movie.
Not Your Father’s Avengers
This story speculating on the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe offers us an idea that I’ve had ever since the Black Panther movie was so well received and the Captain Marvel movie is on the horizon.
That idea is The Ultimates. The team that debuted in 2015 and boasts a diverse cast of interesting characters ready to take their place among the Captain Americas, Thors, and Spider-men of the MCU.
The article gives an excellent outline of who is who in this version of the Ultimates. Additionally, as the article points out, it is important to present this as something new and not Avengers 2.0. The fact that there isn’t a white male on the team is also groundbreaking and something new and different in today’s super-hero movie landscape.
Plus with the imminent acquisition of the Fantastic Four properties, a two-hour movie where this team stops Galactus would be epic and worthy.
The only thing you’d have to do is change Blue Marvel’s name to something like Ultramarine and you’d be good to go. Although, to be honest they kept Rocket Raccoon for Guardians of the Galaxy so maybe all bets are off on that front.