Dan Lewis - Latest Comments

Re: What Does it Mean to “Buy” an E-book?

Raelynn Marks — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 12:29:13 -0000

I think that the terminology of 'buying' an ebook should be changed to 'leasing' an ebook. As of right now, it's implied that you own the book, which is not the case. Also, the comparison of buying an ebook to buying a ticket at the movie theater fails in a couple ways. With a movie ticket, there is no illusion that you are keeping the movie. You know from the very start that you have a very limited window in which to view the movie, and that you are only paying for one viewing. You do not bring it home with you. Even if you do, (a rental dvd, for example) you still have to bring it back. It is the nature of the beast. However, you also don't pay the same price. With the exception of self published ebooks and small ebook 'sellers', most ebooks are sold at nearly the same price as the physical copy. Essentially, you are paying for less rights than you wold be if you bought a physical copy, and the only trade-off is that you don't have to lug the physical copy around (or have it shipped to you if no one near you carries it). I agree that the whole experience needs to be simplified, and in addition I think that clarifying what exactly it is you are doing with your money would be helpful.

Re: Hi, New RSS Readers!

Mark Pilloff — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 12:52:21 -0000

Ditto. RSS would be great.

Re: Unintentional Humor, Facebook Recommendations Style

Sunny Chenfang — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 05:36:36 -0000

why!
who can tell why!
http://www.hellojersey.us

Re: Hi, New RSS Readers!

Grapeshield — Sat, 09 Apr 2011 08:02:23 -0000

+1 for making an RSS feed.

Re: Hi, New RSS Readers!

Deej — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 12:35:56 -0000

I'd sure as heck use it.

Re: Why Do Facebook’s Friend Suggestions Suck?

Lorenzo — Mon, 27 Dec 2010 09:09:48 -0000

I have had the same 200 friend suggestions frozen on the Friend Suggestion page for months now. They can no longer be X'd out. No way to at least "refresh" the page? Seems like a stagnant waste.

Re: Hi, New RSS Readers!

Hello — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 17:32:32 -0000

You might get a few more followers if you'd make a feed for it. :)

Re: Planes, Trains, and Automobiles: Five Things I Learned About Transit Last Week

Performance Parts — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 10:26:23 -0000

Yea I don't think planes run out. They have many safety protocols for that. Well, I guess some rare times it does.

Re: Why Aren’t People Shot on the Upper East Side?

Paul Smith — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 11:20:20 -0000

I'd suggest that in lower income areas guns are more prevalant because of the higher crime rate i.e. criminals are more likely to carry guns.

Murders in richer areas are more likely to be spur of the moment or in anger where people grab the nearest thing to them. Generally something you can hit someone with (blunt object) or a knife.

Re: Ten Awesome Video Renditions of the Super Mario Brothers Theme Song

Giochi Mario — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 07:42:39 -0000

the second video is amazing

Re: Planes, Trains, and Automobiles: Five Things I Learned About Transit Last Week

Dan Lewis — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 14:42:07 -0000

A fair point, but probably semantic. The takeaway is that such a
thing (falling below minimum reserves) happens. It's just so odd --
you'd think that airlines would go to great, great lengths to prevent
an outcome like that.

Re: Planes, Trains, and Automobiles: Five Things I Learned About Transit Last Week

PeeJ — Tue, 22 Jun 2010 14:36:51 -0000

No, planes do not "run out of gas" They sometimes fall below minimum reserve.

The FAA requires that domestic airlines carry enough fuel to continue to an alternate airport plus an additional 45 minutes after that. The alternate airport has to have good weather in the forecast.

Before each flight, the captain reviews the fuel requirements, the fuel computed by the dispatcher and the weather at destination and alternate airports. If he feels more is needed, he'll pick up the phone and ask for an extra one or two thousand pounds from the dispatcher.

The fuel plan shows the time and the amount of fuel the plane is computed to have at each waypoint. It takes into account the forecasted winds, the altitude and the weight of the aircraft.

Re: Ten Things I Learned During Internet Week 2010

Dan Lewis — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 07:01:57 -0000

Thanks, and good point. I keep looking for ways to use the same
principles in my job, but it's not yet come to me yet!

Re: Ten Things I Learned During Internet Week 2010

Peter Kupfer — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 22:42:42 -0000

Very interesting. The last point is exactly what Malcolm Gladwell talks about in The Tipping Point in terms of finding the people who know the popular trends before they are popular which was part of Airwalk's advertising success.

Re: Ten Things I Learned During Internet Week 2010

Dan Lewis — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 21:02:41 -0000

Thanks to you too! It was great to meet you and the event was fantastic.

Re: Ten Things I Learned During Internet Week 2010

Marshall — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 20:30:56 -0000

Great write up Dan! Thanks for everything, keep up the good work and say hi to Oscar the Grouch!

Re: Why Do Facebook’s Friend Suggestions Suck?

Hansoksendahl — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 12:20:42 -0000

Use this bookmarklet... It clicks the little "X" next to friend requests.

javascript: var f = function() { var a = document.getElementsByClassName('fg_action_hide'); var evt = document.createEvent( 'MouseEvents' ); evt.initMouseEvent( 'click', true, true, document.defaultView, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0 ); for( var i = 0; i < a.length; i++ ) { a[i].dispatchEvent( evt ) }; }; setInterval( f, 2000 );

Re: Why Do Facebook’s Friend Suggestions Suck?

Dude — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 12:01:55 -0000

This is because the problem you are is an instance of one of the most difficult problems in theoretical computer science http://www.claymath.org/mil...

Re: The Wikipedia Reading Club: Jackie Robinson

Dan Lewis — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 18:36:55 -0000

Agreed. I'm trying to pick topics which are bigger than the one-liner
for which they're known, and have a bigger application to the world at
large. Adams and Robinson were honestly easy picks.

For my next topic? I have no idea :). But please pick one and start
the conversation on your blog (or somewhere). I'll be certain to
join!

Re: The Wikipedia Reading Club: Jackie Robinson

Chris Wuestefeld — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 17:33:10 -0000

I have to start off by noting that I'm not at all a sports fan, knowing next to nothing about the details of the baseball history and Mr. Robinson himself.

But even without an interest in baseball, reading this makes the tapestry of history a bit richer. The way Robinson's life weaves not just through sports (touching on football and even tangentially on boxing), but also the broad civil rights movement, the national political picture, and even the world of business, makes ones view of those topics a bit more vivid.

Might I suggest that next time you diversify outside the domain of biography?

Re: The Wikipedia Reading Club

Dan Lewis — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 13:20:37 -0000

Another Reading Club meeting: Jackie Robinson.
http://dlewis.net/2010/03/1...

Re: The Wikipedia Reading Club

Dan Lewis — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 18:15:33 -0000

I like that take. Jefferson, especially, feels like a Declaration-era,
pre-Constitution visionary, while Hamilton, Jay, Madison, and
Washington are central figures starting at the Convention.
(Washington's military leadership is distinct from his later role as
statesman.). Adams' (and Franklin) are probably more the former than
the latter, as you note -- even if their Convention-era roles are
larger than Jefferson's.

Re: The Wikipedia Reading Club

Chris Wuestefeld — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 18:02:32 -0000

My sense is that there was a sort of trinity in the American Revolution. I think of Jefferson as the Revolution's mind: he was the thinker, schooled in the enlightened thinking of the day (Locke, Adam Smith, etc.) and with the ability to synthesize this into a vision of a new order. Franklin was its soul, creating the vision of an "America", and even inventing the term "American". And finally, John Adams was the heart of the revolution, bringing to it all of his passion and fervor for the ideals he believed in.

Re: The Wikipedia Reading Club

Michael G.R. — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 16:52:32 -0000

Yes.

http://www.imdb.com/title/t...

Re: The Wikipedia Reading Club

Dan Lewis — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 16:34:20 -0000

It's based on the McCullough's book, right?