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seatonist's comments

seatonist | 8 years ago | on: Introducing Airbnb Plus

Many Airbnbs I've stayed in will just have a key under a house plant or doormat. The key can be a little tricky to find that way but for a lower cost listing it's totally fine (by me).

I suspect that's the sort of practice they're trying to parse out for this Plus offering.

seatonist | 10 years ago | on: What the Heck Happened to Google?

..."an artificial neural network for machine vision (whatever that is)"...

It's hard to take seriously an article that so unabashedly flaunts its own ignorance. Especially when the answer to this rhetorical question could be found with a five second Google search.

There are legitimate arguments to be had about Google's current strategy. But this piece is not part of them! He doesn't even really seem to assess any of the allegedly ill advised Google projects he lists...instead he makes fun of the names.

seatonist | 11 years ago | on: Policing, Mass Imprisonment, and the Failure of American Lawyers

It's important to know one's rights, but I think that's by no means the best we can do. For starters, we can support organizations like the Equal Justice Initiative (http://www.eji.org) or the author of TFA's org, Equal Justice Under Law (http://equaljusticeunderlaw.org) that are working to both defend indigent defendants and fundamentally reform the criminal justice system.

Beyond that, I think that there is a lot of opportunity to advocate around these issues on the state and local level right now. Whatever you think of bodycams for police, you have to admit that in light of recent events they're going to become dramaticaly more common. That's just one example of how a crisis can provide a great opportunity for advocacy, and ultimately change. That's not to say that we will be able to make fundamental change quickly on this very difficult issue. But it is to say that there are paths forward, and I would invite people who care to dive in.

seatonist | 11 years ago | on: Death for stealing candles

"Prov'd" is just a contraction of "proved". It was common at that time. This might have a familiar ring...

  If this be error, and upon me prov'd,
  I never writ, nor no man ever lov'd.
(It's from Shakespeare's famous sonnet that begins "Let me not to the marriage of true minds / admit impediments".)

Beyond that, "prove", "proof", "proven", etc are all from the latin provare - to try, or test.

seatonist | 11 years ago | on: PullClean: Door handles as sanitizers

Despite actually watching the video and reading the site, I was still kind of visualizing a push door when I wrote this (whoops!) but I have definitely hooked my elbow or shoulder into the right sort of pull doors if I'm carrying a bunch of equipment, or bags, or something. Or, more likely, I'll brace the equipment against the door and grab with a hand, then keep it open with a foot. Raises the same issues with the dispenser.

In any case, I still think there is risk having this ambiguous button like thing, both from passersby bumping it and from normal use. And, as my comment (and the immortal Far Side comic) illustrates, many pull doors and push doors look confusingly similar, so people will push the pull handles.

Also, may I suggest making your correction in a friendlier way next time? Especially because it is possible that the person you're correcting may not be the total doofus you imagine them to be!

seatonist | 11 years ago | on: PullClean: Door handles as sanitizers

Is it just me, or is this a recipe for slippery sanitizer-covered floors after people bump into these handles and trigger the pump? (Whether deliberately, by opening the door with their backs with hands full, or inadvertently just walking around in a crowded corridor.)
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