Category Archives: Rant

Quickly – Facebook Quietly Updates Events RSVP Options

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Facebook-Like-IconWhen Facebook first rolled out their “Events” section ages ago it gave invited guests three options with which to RSVP.

  1. Going
  2. Maybe
  3. Not Going

Seemed like enough. But people who RSVP “Maybe” to events kind of suck at life. I can’t maybe make more food on the fly. I can’t maybe have enough alcohol. I can’t maybe have enough room for everyone. These are things that I have to have. Ryan and I host parties from time to time and often get as much as 50% of our RSVPs as “Maybe” and it drives me crazy.

Facebook seemed to understand this and for a period of time you could remove the “Maybe” option. People were either there at your party or not there. No longer were there these Schrödinger’s cat guests! (I love making physics jokes…)

Sadly this option was taken away but today I noticed a new option in place of the “Maybe”. Now invitees can select “Interested”.

Facebook Events Interested

This doesn’t bring back the ability to disable all those indecisive people from not committing to your event. However, the wording change might prevent people from abusing the selection like they abuse “Maybe”.

If someone is interested in coming over they should understand that it doesn’t mean they have said they are or aren’t going. It’s a non-commital option that should tell everyone involved that at this point, you’re not going but the event interests you.

Do you think this will make a difference? I sure hope so. Also, properly RSVP to events people. It’s the civilized thing to do. Just ask Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham.

How I Really Feel about Instagram

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I am known in my circle of friends as the guy who hates Instagram. This isn’t really true, I don’t hate Instagram, I philosophically loathe it. That is to say, I don’t enjoy the way many people on Instagram treat the art of photography.

When I talk about Instagram I am often met with a rebuttal as strong as those over religion or politics. In the end we are all entitled to our beliefs. I have a feeling that a similar post as this was written by many film photographers when the first digital SLRs started hitting the market.

justex07-on-InstagramI’ll keep this brief but here is my gripe. People take ordinary photos, what we would call snapshots, what we would drop in a shoebox and forget about as quickly as we took them. These photos do not stand out like the ones we would put in a physical album, that we would pay to have printed or that we would submit to a gallery for showing. They are the epitome of disposable photography and there is nothing wrong with that.

What I have qualms with are people that elevate these toss-away photos to a level of importance not by context or content but by obscuring the banality and ordinary mundanity of the photo with a filter, sometimes to such a degree that the original content of the image is totally obfuscated. That is not art, that is glorified censorship. Continue reading →

Ghosting Retina MacBook Pro is a Known Unknown

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Just yesterday I noticed while editing some Illustrator and Photoshop documents that there was significant ghosting on my August 2012 Retina MacBook Pro screen. You know, the screen known for its brilliant resolution and eye-popping color. And also for this particular flaw.

Ghosting MacBook Pro with Retina Screen

I absolutely love my Apple MacBook Pro with Retina Screen (rMBP). It is the most powerful computer I have ever owned, the thinnest computer I have ever owned and has the longest battery life of any computer I have ever owned. It is so amazing that I plan on putting my iMac out to pasture, replacing it with this computer and a 27″ screen.

But there is this issue with the ghosting. When I went to my Apple Genius appointment today the tech told me something I couldn’t believe and reminded me of this famous Rumsfeldism…

Secretary of Defense Donald RumsfeldThere are known knowns. These are things we know that we know. There are known unknowns. That is to say, there are things that we know we don’t know. But there are also unknown unknowns. There are things we don’t know we don’t know.

Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld

Oh those were the days… Here is an approximation of how it went down.

Continue reading →

My Rant to Inside Columbia Magazine

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This is in response to an email I got this morning from Inside Columbia Magazine:

I simply cannot believe you guys are obfuscating the unsubscribe options from your emails. This is a violation of MailChimp‘s terms of service, which I am sure you already know.

White text on a white background is a deceptive way of hiding the unsubscribe option as well as your physical address. This is a violation of the CAN-SPAM Act. I recommend whoever is running your email marketing read up on the FTC‘s rules. I’ll be as kind as to provide a quick link.

Here also is an excerpt:

Tell recipients how to opt out of receiving future email from you. Your message must include a clear and conspicuous explanation of how the recipient can opt out of getting email from you in the future.

I’ll even provide a screenshot of what I was sent so you can see the issue at hand.

I would not have unsubscribed, or blogged this situation, had you guys followed the rules. I’ve also informed MailChimp following instructions on their abuse page.

-justin
http://itsjustjustin.com

J Vineyards and Winery, a Bitter Taste

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J Vineyards and WineryI tweeted earlier in the week that Kayla, Marris and I had a dreadful wine tasting at J Vineyards in Healdsburg. J Vineyards responded on Twitter requesting I direct message them my story so they could make it right. I told them I’d put it together here and so I have. A direct message, while definitely tidier for J, would never allow me to fully explain my disappointment. Here goes:

If you’re a regular reader of my blog, you probably know about the never-ending renovation I’ve been doing on my house in wine country. I find myself going up north to meet with a contractor or furniture delivery person at least once a month. While this might be annoying to some, and it is to me, the best part of these trips is getting to see Kayla.

It’s a rare event that Kayla and I are in the same zip code and don’t do some sort of wine tasting. So on this trip to Sonoma County, she and I decided to hit up J Vineyards for a quick tasting and pick up my wine club shipment. Marris was in town and joined in on the adventure. But before we go there, let’s learn a bit about the winery and my history visiting them. Continue reading →