Friday Hodgepodge

Four Things

Here are a few moderately creative solutions to a variety of problems...

1. Problem: A bunch of idiots who insist on cramming their tiny office refrigerator with tubs of butter are preventing someone from using said refrigerator for lunch. Solution: (1) Brainstorm with others, (2) realize (after having to rule out some apparently obvious solutions) that the real problem is that the full refrigerator is preventing enjoyment of a cold drink at lunch, and (3) hide said drink in a butter tub. The photo at the solution link is quite amusing, and I smirk along with the "subterfuge."

Image by Kirk Thornton, via Unsplash, license.

2. Problem: On seeing a discussion of Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater, I realized with dismay that I now live too far away to visit it easily. Solution: I searched "fallingwater virtual tour" to discover both an app and a really good 3-D video tour so I can at least get an idea. Scroll down for the video, by Cristóbal Vila, which is just under five minutes. Beneath that is a half-hour documentary about the house.

3. Problem: You're stuck with the responsibility for keeping a shared kitchen clean. And people keep loading the sink with their coffee mugs. Solution: Write an amusing message in the sink, as pictured here. (Scroll down to Item 5.)

4. Problem: Some of the podcasts I listen to when driving contain great information -- which I can't take down for obvious reasons. Solution: At some other time, while I'm doing something else, I let Otter transcribe the really valuable parts. Otter is a free app that is surprisingly accurate on its first pass and exceedingly easy to use for editing. I agree with the folks at Fast Company, who write, "There's no perfect transcription app, but Otter is getting there."

Now, all I need is a better text-to-voice app and I'll be set.

-- CAV