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Michael Porter

@MichaelPorter.ottawa.place.ap.brid.gy

Retired Chem/Physics/Earth Sciences teacher. I'm interested in everything. I think society performs at its best when we take care of others, especially the […] 🌉 bridged from ⁂ ottawa.place/@MichaelPorter, follow @ap.brid.gy to interact

Posts Replies Media

Michael Porter @michaelporter.ottawa.place.ap.brid.gy · 08/10/2026

Wow, this YouTube video purporting to educate about the Moon's orbit is absolutely stunning in its wrongness. Friends don't let friends learn from AI! (No, not linking to the account…) #AISlop #Astronomy

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Michael Porter @michaelporter.ottawa.place.ap.brid.gy · 08/10/2026

Today’s UX bummer, courtesy of Safari running on macOS 27. The whack-a-mole translation button. (I *get* that the first appearance isn’t a button, more like an adornment to the “Translation Available” message. But they are breaking the “buttons should look like […] [Original post on ottawa.place]

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Michael Porter @michaelporter.ottawa.place.ap.brid.gy · 22/09/2026

I guess the bots at Google aren't up on their poetry.

One of the reviews on Google Maps for the Royal Military College in Kingston. The review reads

It is sweet and elegant.
Translated by Google • See original (Latin)

For others not up on their poetry, the reviewer was referring to the 1921 poem “Dulce et Decorum Est,” by Wilfred Owen.

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/46560/dulce-et-decorum-est

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Michael Porter @michaelporter.ottawa.place.ap.brid.gy · 11/09/2026

Classic Costco 😄

A Costco flyer advertising the business centre (AKA Costco for *real* Costco diehards).
On offer:

1 FREE
BUCKET OF MAYONNAISE with your first online order
(on orders of $250 or more before tax)

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Michael Porter @michaelporter.ottawa.place.ap.brid.gy · 10/09/2026

45 years on, and Apple is still disappointing me with their watches. Where is the future we were promised?! 😄 #Apple #BYTE

The cover of the April 1981 Issue of BYTE magazine. The illustration shows a close-up of a wristwatch that has a tiny TV-like screen (similar to the shape and contours of an old CRT TV), with an extremely tiny extended keyboard below. The owner’s left hand is inserting a tiny floppy disk (the 5 1/4” kind, but this one is about 1 cm) into the side of the watch. The caption beneath reads “Future computers?”

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Michael Porter @michaelporter.ottawa.place.ap.brid.gy · 08/09/2026

Just went to check if my name was on the voters list for my area. Pictured below is part of the search form. If you were to glance quickly at this, which field would you enter your street number into? This isn't a quiz, it's supposed to be B. But does it look like it? #BadUI

Two text entry fields, stacked vertically, with the label “Street number (required)” between them. The label is closer to the field above it (labelled “A”) than the one below (labelled “B”).

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Michael Porter @michaelporter.ottawa.place.ap.brid.gy · 31/08/2026

#CanPol #USPol #Google

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Michael Porter @michaelporter.ottawa.place.ap.brid.gy · 27/08/2026

@marcoarment I have a CarPlay interface request for the Overcast app. *Many* is the time that I want to restart a podcast when I load it up in the car. I often start a podcast at home, get involved with something else, then wish to restart when I'm in the car […] [Original post on ottawa.place]

The CarPlay screen for the Overcast app. The app has buttons for play/pause, skip back or forward x seconds, a progress bar, a button for other options, and a skip to end/next button. I’ve added a “Skip to beginning” button with the text “Want (please!)” next to it.

There is a podcast playing (The Ezra Klein Show) and the podcast is about 25 minutes along. With the current settings, this would take 150 pushes of the “back 10 seconds” button to return to the beginning.

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Michael Porter @michaelporter.ottawa.place.ap.brid.gy · 27/08/2026

Hmmm, looks like the New Scientist YouTube channel is playing the clickbait game. I understand that this is all part of the game to maximize views, but I find it kind of annoying, especially when you see so much of it. "Wrong! Wrong! Wrong!” How about we think […] [Original post on ottawa.place]

A sampling of New Scientist YouTube videos:
We've Been Wrong About Neanderthals
We've Been Wrong About Black Holes
We've Been Wrong About The Dinosaur Extinction
The Autism Spectrum May Be Completely Wrong
We Were Wrong About Our Human Evolution
We Were Wrong About Matter

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Michael Porter @michaelporter.ottawa.place.ap.brid.gy · 13/08/2026

If you want to catch the Perseids and it's cloudy where you are, check out the web cam at www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJ7ZQtP5GXI - amazing skies! I’ve just been watching for a little bit and have already spotted a dozen or so meteors (and many more […] [Original post on ottawa.place]

A view from the Batchawana Bay web cam, showing the Big Dipper surrounded by a very rich starfield. Above the bowl of the Dipper, a streak from a meteor can be seen.

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Michael Porter @michaelporter.ottawa.place.ap.brid.gy · 13/08/2026

Well, I'm in my 60s now and just discovered another #MisheardLyric or is it a #Mondegreen? I was watching a Professor of Rock video today, and the subject of “Bette Davis Eyes” as sung by Kim Carnes came up. I always thought the lyric was “...she knows just […] [Original post on ottawa.place]

Snippet of lyrics from Bette Davis Eyes:

She's ferocious
and she knows just
What it takes to
make a pro blush

The word “pro” is highlighted and there is an “exploding head” emoji beneath it.

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Michael Porter @michaelporter.ottawa.place.ap.brid.gy · 03/08/2026

Wooooo it’s happening mas.to/@carnage4life/11702996960114… #AIBubble

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