DonRocks Posted March 19, 2013 Author Share Posted March 19, 2013 Tip O' The Day: Q: What does the little star to the left of some of the thread titles mean? A: It means you've posted in that thread. A dark star means you've posted in that thread *and* there are unread posts. A faint star means you've posted in that thread, and you've read all the posts. A dark circle means you haven't posted in that thread and there are unread posts. <--- Get it in gear. A blank (i.e. nothing) means you haven't posted in that thread and you've read all the posts. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darkstar965 Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 Just an FYI for some who may have wondered before realizing the site was down for at least a few hours late yesterday/last night. I got a couple of emails about it (i.e., could I log in?) so no doubt Don got a ton, including one from me, since I didn't have any answers and figured he might. Seems the host or isp sometimes have issues though doesn't seem to happen very often; a good thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonRocks Posted March 20, 2013 Author Share Posted March 20, 2013 There was a huge power outage, apparently affecting hundreds, if not thousands, of websites. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonRocks Posted March 20, 2013 Author Share Posted March 20, 2013 There was a huge power outage, apparently affecting hundreds, if not thousands, of websites. http://www.dreamhoststatus.com/2013/03/19/power-disruption-affecting-us-west-data-center-irvine-ca/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FunnyJohn Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 Probably the Norks did it. Or maybe just gremlins. http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/21/us-korea-north-attack-idUSBRE92K02W20130321 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darkstar965 Posted March 22, 2013 Share Posted March 22, 2013 On a more practical note, I wanted to share something I only just discovered that i) many others already know but that ii) perhaps even more do not. Just on the off chance helpful to some. With thanks to fishinnards, who regularly posts incredibly gorgeous photos of delicious dishes on the dinner thread and kindly clued me in when I asked. Ever wonder why some photos posted here on dr.com post as thumbnails that you have to click to view fully whereas others just embed in post so can be viewed in full size with no click? In full disclosure, I did. Don has a helpful FAQ item here for the counter-intuitive uploading process that allows you to post a photo from your computer/hard drive as an attached file. These appear as thumbnails. Click and they expand for viewing. But, nothing in that FAQ covering the full-size photo question. Seems the only way to embed a photo in a post so that it appears already full sized (thus not requiring the 2nd step of clicking to see it in all its glory) is to do so by linking to a website where the photo resides. Flickr, one of (if not the) biggest photo sharing sites, provides a link that, when copied into a donrockwell post, will display the photo full size. FWIW for whomever didn't already know this and apologies to those who already knew. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JuneBacon Posted March 22, 2013 Share Posted March 22, 2013 Imgur.com is the king of photo linking on the internet, FWIW. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonRocks Posted April 1, 2013 Author Share Posted April 1, 2013 I can score the DC-area restaurants as fast as I can type, but modifying each title and tags takes about 30 seconds. Multiply that by over 2,000 restaurants, and you can see why I can only promise doing this for threads going forward, i.e., only threads that are updated on-or-after today will get scored. I have too much else on my plate right now, and not enough people to help me with it all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Banco Posted April 1, 2013 Share Posted April 1, 2013 Ah, April Fool... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonRocks Posted April 1, 2013 Author Share Posted April 1, 2013 Ah, April Fool... No, just the first day of the second quarter of the year. I'm also going to begin my DCDining reviews again, as of dinner this evening. Spring has sprung, and I am making some changes, both in the website and in my personal life. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Posted April 1, 2013 Share Posted April 1, 2013 I can score the DC-area restaurants as fast as I can type, but modifying each title and tags takes about 30 seconds. Multiply that by over 2,000 restaurants, and you can see why I can only promise doing this for threads going forward, i.e., only threads that are updated on-or-after today will get scored. I have too much else on my plate right now, and not enough people to help me with it all. Why are you using "barrel scores" for some restaurants, but not others? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonRocks Posted April 1, 2013 Author Share Posted April 1, 2013 Why are you using "barrel scores" for some restaurants, but not others? The ones that haven't opened yet get a ten-point range; the ones that just opened get up to a five-point range. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Johnston Posted April 1, 2013 Share Posted April 1, 2013 No, just the first day of the second quarter of the year. same thing I'm also going to begin my DCDining reviews again, as of dinner this evening. and where will that be...... Spring has sprung, and I am making some changes, both in the website and in my personal life. Think there is a MJ song about this....man in the mirror Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonRocks Posted April 1, 2013 Author Share Posted April 1, 2013 No, just the first day of the second quarter of the year. same thing I'm also going to begin my DCDining reviews again, as of dinner this evening. and where will that be...... Spring has sprung, and I am making some changes, both in the website and in my personal life. Think there is a MJ song about this....man in the mirror It begins with a D. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Owl Posted April 1, 2013 Share Posted April 1, 2013 I can score the DC-area restaurants as fast as I can type, but modifying each title and tags takes about 30 seconds. Multiply that by over 2,000 restaurants, and you can see why I can only promise doing this for threads going forward, i.e., only threads that are updated on-or-after today will get scored. I have too much else on my plate right now, and not enough people to help me with it all. Yes, I am gullible and fell for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sthitch Posted April 1, 2013 Share Posted April 1, 2013 In particular, the 100-point scale which is, depending on how you view humanity, anywhere from naive, stupid, and hubristic on one end of the scale, to fraudulent, manipulative, and deceptive on the other end. Even some of my close friends, all of whom I respect immensely - Allen Meadows, Gerry Dawes, David Schildknecht (not a close friend, but certainly a friend), Josh Raynolds, and John Gilman come to mind - have bought into this utter bullshit (under the guise of "commercial necessity") that wines can be rated with such a ridiculous degree of precision and accuracy. Bottle variation alone - especially with older wines - destroys any credibility that such a highly calibrated system has. Robert Parker has done two things to devastate the wine industry: 1) popularize the 100-point system, and 2) promote the international style of winemaking. I'm not sure which is more destructive, but in the long term, it's probably going to be the 100-point scale because the international style is already beginning to fall out of favor. I will *never* forget that mercantile twit Adam Strum, of The Wine Enthusiast, who began using *his own* 100-point system strictly for the purposes of selling his own wines! He'd advertise something like: "Exquisite Echezeaux! 97 points!" from some junkyard producer that *nobody* who knew anything about wine would spend any kind of money on, certainly not the outrageous sums The Wine Enthusiast was trying to peddle this garbage for. He had just slapped his own number onto an advertisement for his own personal profit! It is incredible that he got away with this, but he did! Gerry will argue that, blah-blah-blah, and "I can have the same wine six months apart and my ratings will be within two points of each other." Sorry, Gerry, you're a great taster, but you've fallen into the trap of believing your own bullshit about this one, and so has everyone else. I can have two wines from the same case on the same night that aren't within two points of each other. Otherwise respectable critics have adopted this system for one reason and one reason only: they felt like if they didn't, the general public wouldn't accept them. As usual, it all comes down to money. *Every single one* of those guys will pull me aside privately and say, "Of *course* it's bullshit, but you've gotta do what you've gotta do." Kudos to Terry Theise for being the only person brave enough to stand up to this deceptive rating scale. Does this mean that you have changed your mind about wine scores? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Banco Posted April 1, 2013 Share Posted April 1, 2013 Wait a minute. You mean civilization really is coming to an end? I still cry, hopefully, April Fool. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Owl Posted April 1, 2013 Share Posted April 1, 2013 Wait a minute. You mean civilization really is coming to an end? I still cry, hopefully, April Fool. I fell for it! Some good foodie ones today, captured here: http://eater.com/archives/2013/04/01/the-best-april-fools-pranks-in-the-food-and-restaurant-world.php Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonRocks Posted April 2, 2013 Author Share Posted April 2, 2013 Does this mean that you have changed your mind about wine scores? In my heart and soul? No. In the financial reality of keeping a website up and running? Yes. The public is getting what it has demanded (in economic terms). It's also getting what it deserves. It's not what I want; but it's what people want. It's a hard life, trying to make a living full-time doing this, and concessions have to be made. Do you have a problem with that? If so, are you willing to donate money to keep this website up-and-running as it has been for the past 7.5 years? Is anyone else willing to do so? Right. I didn't think so. So, you guys are getting what you've indirectly "asked for." The truth is, I can issue "point scores" in a matter of seconds - literally, as fast as I can type - because I know what the lay of the land is. So, this leap into "appeasing the public" is nothing more than a matter of issuing artificial grades because people want an expert to guide them. I'm perfectly willing to do that, and am light years more qualified than anyone else to do so. I can do it with wines too, if you folks want me to. I can do it in my sleep. This is the legacy of Robert Parker which has been copied by restaurant critics from around the globe. It doesn't take anything more than a secretary to convert my ratings into scores, and if that's what people want (in particular, I'm talking about what restaurants want for their PR), then that's what they'll get. NOW, I'll all-of-a-sudden (gee, whiz - why didn't I think of this earlier!) be mentioned on websites along Tom Sietsema and Todd Kliman. Is that really all it took? Well, yes! It really *is* all it took. Do I think the general public is beyond stupid for *this* being all they're willing to support? Well ... duh. I'm more than happy to pander to idiots, if that's what the idiots want. Steve, you know, and I know, that this isn't what I really want to do, but, hey, Frank Lloyd Wright was designing gas stations in order to survive. And you know what else? They're pretty damned nice gas stations. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porcupine Posted April 2, 2013 Share Posted April 2, 2013 are you willing to donate money to keep this website up-and-running as it has been for the past 7.5 years? Is anyone else willing to do so? I know that I am not the only one here who's made that offer. More than once. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ericandblueboy Posted April 2, 2013 Share Posted April 2, 2013 I know that I am not the only one here who's made that offer. More than once. The points are down now.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonRocks Posted April 2, 2013 Author Share Posted April 2, 2013 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Delicious Posted April 2, 2013 Share Posted April 2, 2013 Am I the only one who misses the scoring system? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonRocks Posted April 2, 2013 Author Share Posted April 2, 2013 Am I the only one who misses the scoring system? In all seriousness, I could always stick it in the Dining Guide if anyone ever wanted one (but I'd never put it in the thread titles). But nobody can score or rate so many restaurants with such precision. Impossible. All you have to do is simple arithmetic, and you can see that I haven't been to some of these places in years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darkstar965 Posted April 2, 2013 Share Posted April 2, 2013 In all seriousness, I could always stick it in the Dining Guide if anyone ever wanted one (but I'd never put it in the thread titles). But nobody can score or rate so many restaurants with such precision. Impossible. All you have to do is simple arithmetic, and you can see that I haven't been to some of these places in years. This is NOT directed at Don per se. C'mon man!! Every site on the planet does scores and top 10/50/100 lists. So cliched. So useless (usually). The whole point of dr.com is the quality of its content. The quality of the insight. The knowledge of the posters. And thus the utility of all the information. To me, that's as blindingly obvious as anything and scoring is a total non-sequitir for an archive like this. It'd be like a five-point score being used in the Louvre. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ad.mich Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 Frankly I'm still waiting for some Top 50 _____ slideshows around here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonRocks Posted April 4, 2013 Author Share Posted April 4, 2013 This is NOT directed at Don per se. C'mon man!! Every site on the planet does scores and top 10/50/100 lists. So cliched. So useless (usually). The whole point of dr.com is the quality of its content. The quality of the insight. The knowledge of the posters. And thus the utility of all the information. To me, that's as blindingly obvious as anything and scoring is a total non-sequitir for an archive like this. It'd be like a five-point score being used in the Louvre. My point exactly BUT ... the most serious food AND wine information sites in the world all use point scores or grades or stars, so this joke is actually based in reality. Think about that, at least. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darkstar965 Posted April 5, 2013 Share Posted April 5, 2013 My point exactly BUT ... the most serious food AND wine information sites in the world all use point scores or grades or stars, so this joke is actually based in reality. Think about that, at least. You know, I probably posted that scoring dismissal a bit too hastily. The more reasoned thought is that both types of sites play helpful roles for consumers. When I travel to less populated cities/areas, the scoring/metrics are the only thing that enables me to squeeze anything useful from Yelp when dr.com can't help and the other sites (chowhound, et al) aren't current. 4 stars or more with a large number of reviews usually (say 60% of the time) will point one to a worthwhile spot. Especially when there isn't really any alternative guidepost. But for the larger cities, quality content is king. And, for DC and some other spots, that's where dr.com really excels. Maybe RWBoone's new site will help bridge some gap between exceptionally good content and better, more navigable functionality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonRocks Posted April 5, 2013 Author Share Posted April 5, 2013 Maybe RWBoone's new site will help bridge some gap between exceptionally good content and better, more navigable functionality. It will, but for the time being, only for DC, and you already know that market. The new Dining Guide Site will really shine when it expands to new cities, and I'm going to be struggling to keep up with it. Our thoughts are that, for now, it will be useful for dr.com members, but *really* useful for non-dr.com members. If folks here could spread the word about it (especially once it gets cranked up), I'd appreciate it - Rich has toiled endlessly on this, and I'd like to see it pay off for him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sthitch Posted April 18, 2013 Share Posted April 18, 2013 If you are going follow the other lemmings and use a star system I believe that the way the San Francisco Chronicle does it is the most helpful. They give an overall number of stars, but then they break that down and give ratings for the food, service, and atmosphere. I would add wine list/drinks program as well, since not everywhere they review has a liquor license I understand why they would not include it, but it would still be helpful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheezepowder Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 I have a technical question -- I uploaded a picture but for some reason it's only viewable if you're logged in (it's my picture in the NY forum for Coppelia). If I click the picture when I'm not logged in, it says I don't have permission for that. Other pictures I've posted have not been that way. I don't know what I did differently here. How do I make the picture accessible to everyone ( by uploading rather than linking to a photo hosting site)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonRocks Posted April 30, 2013 Author Share Posted April 30, 2013 I have a technical question -- I uploaded a picture but for some reason it's only viewable if you're logged in (it's my picture in the NY forum for Coppelia). If I click the picture when I'm not logged in, it says I don't have permission for that. Other pictures I've posted have not been that way. I don't know what I did differently here. How do I make the picture accessible to everyone ( by uploading rather than linking to a photo hosting site)? Okay, I just fixed this (I hope). These "permissions" are forum-specific settings, and I'd neglected to set this one for the NY forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonRocks Posted May 7, 2013 Author Share Posted May 7, 2013 New York forum websites are being spammed by a person posing as someone who lives in Kentucky. Unfortunately, the person who lives in Kentucky is a real person, so I don't wish to reveal her name. The spammer is undoubtedly not her. Anyway, the spammer's member name is "terryanny," and is posting innocuous 1-2 sentence posts, hoping that the reader will click on his signature file, which leads you to the website NYTargetedTraffic.com So clearly, the spammer has some connection with NYTargetedTraffic.com. Based on the signature file the spammer used here on donrockwell.com, English is most likely a second language. It says (and don't click on that link unless you want to go to the website): "We will Promote website in New York." The spammer is using the email terryannyposts@gmail.com, and registered with IP address 98.19.69.77 which resolves to h77.69.19.98.dynamic.ip.windstream.net. Thanks to weinoo for alerting me to this - I was suspicious earlier, but for now had given the person the benefit of the doubt (while at the same time sending a friendly note to cool it a bit). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lion Posted May 8, 2013 Share Posted May 8, 2013 The site (forum software) has some weird behavior in terms of posting, I was trying to post a link for a youtube video. However, that didn't work and I couldn't delete the posting. On my macbook air using the safari browser, it will download a file when I log in after clicking the login button. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonRocks Posted May 8, 2013 Author Share Posted May 8, 2013 The site (forum software) has some weird behavior in terms of posting, I was trying to post a link for a youtube video. However, that didn't work and I couldn't delete the posting. On my macbook air using the safari browser, it will download a file when I log in after clicking the login button. Well, we're going to upgrade to version 3.4.4 which, among other things, gets rid of these *annoying* editor bugs. But I'm not sure about your problems - could you write me privately, and I'll try to figure these out with you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ericandblueboy Posted May 16, 2013 Share Posted May 16, 2013 Just realized that you can load avatars without shrinking, cropping, etc. now. I think I will be changing my avatar more often. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonRocks Posted May 18, 2013 Author Share Posted May 18, 2013 Our amazing Calendar Girl lperry is taking a much needed vacation, and in her absence, I'm trying to cover for her in keeping the calendar up to date. As I suspected, I can't. "Yeah, sure, no problem - I've got it covered! Enjoy your trip!" I told her. I can't do it. Look at this thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bart Posted May 31, 2013 Share Posted May 31, 2013 Don - I can't do myself and I'm not sure it even matters, but the Arcadia Farm dinner that was supposed to be on May 19 has been moved to this coming sunday, June 2nd. Here's the calendar link: http://www.donrockwell.com/index.php?/calendar/event/1368-arcadia-farm-dinner-and-benefit/ I have no idea if this thing is sold out or if there are tickets still available, but it looks pretty cool. Anyone else going? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonRocks Posted June 25, 2013 Author Share Posted June 25, 2013 We had 25 different threads updated in the DC Restaurants and Dining forum yesterday. Anything over 20 is a really good day for us, so I just wanted to say thanks. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonRocks Posted July 3, 2013 Author Share Posted July 3, 2013 It's time for our children to grow up and fix their own spacing issues. I'd say that 50% of the posts I read, I correct them, and I'm tired of it. A block of quoted text, followed by a response, should look like this: Here's the block of quoted text And here's the response. Simple right? Not like this Or this But this And this. Got it, class? Seriously, I'm being snide and kidding, but due to my disorder, I HAVE to fix FULLY 50% of all posts i see. Please bus your own tables while I'm trying to get invision to fix their software problems. I know it's not your problem, but it's just an awful thing that it's also mine. Get that quoted text up to where it's touching the top and the bottom of the box, then double space before beginning your reply. It's as simple as that. There are spacing bugs, yes, but they're easily worked around, and I'm going insane doing everyone's for them. So please let's do our own, even if it takes an extra minute or two. Help out? Thanks! Rocks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bart Posted July 3, 2013 Share Posted July 3, 2013 So what would happen if you didn't fix these things? Is it just a matter of aesthetics (more grey space and a bigger box)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonRocks Posted July 3, 2013 Author Share Posted July 3, 2013 So what would happen if you didn't fix these things? Is it just a matter of aesthetics (more grey space and a bigger box)? Yes. It isn't neat. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimRice Posted July 5, 2013 Share Posted July 5, 2013 Yes. It isn't neat. And now I'm reminded of this. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PappyVanWise Posted July 25, 2013 Share Posted July 25, 2013 Does anyone else get little question mark icons in the title of the Founders Rübæus VBT thread?  Looks like the Umlaut and Dipthong are rendering incorrectly.  Don, if this is an issue, please change it to just Rubaeus. Thanks, Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RWBooneJr Posted July 25, 2013 Share Posted July 25, 2013 We changed the charset last night to fix a different issue (if anyone cares, we changed it to UTF-8 -- it was ISO-8859-1 for legacy reasons, which, basically, ensured that we were incompatible with the rest of the world). I fixed this one instance, but if anyone notices others, let me know. If it's too widespread, we can revert to the old charset, but hopefully the issue only shows up in a few places. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonRocks Posted July 25, 2013 Author Share Posted July 25, 2013 We changed the charset last night to fix a different issue (if anyone cares, we changed it to UTF-8 -- it was ISO-8859-1 for legacy reasons, which, basically, ensured that we were incompatible with the rest of the world). I fixed this one instance, but if anyone notices others, let me know. If it's too widespread, we can revert to the old charset, but hopefully the issue only shows up in a few places. This change sucks ventworm nut! http://www.donrockwell.com/index.php?/topic/30-rosa-mexicano-sucks-ventworm-nut/?p=80 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barbara Posted July 25, 2013 Share Posted July 25, 2013 We changed the charset last night to fix a different issue (if anyone cares, we changed it to UTF-8 -- it was ISO-8859-1 for legacy reasons, which, basically, ensured that we were incompatible with the rest of the world). I fixed this one instance, but if anyone notices others, let me know. If it's too widespread, we can revert to the old charset, but hopefully the issue only shows up in a few places. Just noticed that in the tomato recipe Pat posted a few years ago, the same question mark inside a diamond appears where the measurements are supposed to be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonRocks Posted July 25, 2013 Author Share Posted July 25, 2013 Just noticed that in the tomato recipe Pat posted a few years ago, the same question mark inside a diamond appears where the measurements are supposed to be. Found one here too. It's odd because many very old posts are fine; others, aren't, and there isn't a clear pattern that's obvious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RWBooneJr Posted July 25, 2013 Share Posted July 25, 2013 Found one here too. It's odd because many very old posts are fine; others, aren't, and there isn't a clear pattern that's obvious. The software is suppose to dynamically convert this stuff, it just doesn't always succeed. Any moderator can fix it -- you just add the correct character back into the title or post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonRocks Posted July 25, 2013 Author Share Posted July 25, 2013 The software is suppose to dynamically convert this stuff, it just doesn't always succeed. Any moderator can fix it -- you just add the correct character back into the title or post. Yes, but if there are 5,000 posts with problems, then that's not good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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