Category Archives: what i learned today

Copying The Text In Message Boxes

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I’ve been using Windows since it was released 20 years ago (I’m not proud – I’m just sayin’), yet I discovered this today:

Pressing Ctrl+C (i.e. copy) when a window’s message box is displayed copies all the static text within the box.

Go on, try it: Click the Start menu, then Run, then type in “asdf” (assuming you don’t have a program named that).

Windows message box

Press Ctrl+C (that’s holding the Ctrl key and then pressing C), then paste into your favorite text editor. This is the text that’s copied from the above window:

---------------------------
asdf
---------------------------
Cannot find the file 'asdf' (or one of its components). Make sure the path and filename are correct and that all required libraries are available.
---------------------------
OK
---------------------------

I Don’t Want A Date With Drew Barrymore

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Brian from My Date With DrewI’m in Flint again, watching too much television; however, I just watched an excellent movie: My Date With Drew. It’s a documentary about a guy trying to get a date with Drew Barrymore:

Don’t worry, it’s not like he’s expecting a relationship or anything. He’s just talking about one dinner here. Heck, the girl’s gotta eat, right?
This is a movie for anyone who’s ever imagined getting a date with the person of their dreams…and then realized they don’t have a chance in hell. But despite the odds, Brian finds encouragement in the words of Drew Barrymore…
“If you don’t take risks, you’ll have a wasted soul.”

WAIT! It’s good! It’s funny and personal, taking you on the ups and downs of his attempts at trying to get a date with a famous movie star. After watching it you’ll want to make a movie about your own stupid goals in life.

Update: An accurate review of it from Berardinelli.

Preparing Your House For Winter

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Not included in How to Prepare Your Home for Winter is replacing your 30 year old windows that don’t work much better than wire-mesh. We had our first snow storm yesterday, and besides getting the snowshoes out for my trek to work and putting the polar bear traps out (they go hunting for frozen humans), I arranged to get all the windows (14) in my house replaced, in addition to putting a sub-floor into one room and some other minor renovations. I recently renegotiated my mortgage, getting a bigger one to pay off some debts and have some money for renovations. That’s right, I borrowed money to pay off money.

White Bread In Disguise

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I learned today that some “brown” bread (associated with being healthier than white bread) is actually white bread with food coloring:

Brown bread is not always more nutritious than white. In fact, the brown color is often just a marketing gimmick, just white bread with coloring added (like a fake tan). To tell if a brown bread is really more nutritious, read the label. If the first ingredient is “whole wheat,” this is a healthy food. If it says “bleached” or “enriched” flour, or just wheat flour, it is just colored white bread.

My family buys whole grain breads (organic if we can find it) when we don’t make our own. Still, it’s disturbing (but not surprising) to learn this.