v0.53 – Dystopika And The Mason’s Edition

This self-post was originally posted to /r/MegaMegaMonitor. See more things from Dan's Reddit account.

A new version to support a certain new MegaLounge (thanks, /u/dystopika). Users who update MegaMegaMonitor without getting the most-recent data will probably see the wrong icons for a few hours. Sorry! If you’re affected, (a) update or reinstall MegaMegaMonitor, then (b) click your GreaseMonkey or TamperMonkey icon and then “MegaMegaMonitor: manually update user lists now” and you should be fine.

Adding this new feature was a drag, because my architecture’s not set up well to accommodate this kind of “mixed bag” of MegaLounge access. I’ll be revising my architecture to make this a stronger, more-flexible tool going forwards, but until then there won’t be any “extra” lounges added. I’m talking to you, /r/MegaEarth!

Is it possible to show a list of posts by a particular subset of users?

This self-post was originally posted to /r/redditdev. See more things from Dan's Reddit account.

E.g. with subreddits, I can view multiple ones at once with /r/aww+cows (for /r/aww and /r/cows), but I can’t find a way to do the same for multiple people (I guessed that /u/ketralnis+spez might work, but it didn’t). Adding all of the requested people to my friends list would work, but isn’t ideal. Any suggestions?

Edit: sorry – I might have just tagged ‘ketralnis’.

v0.51 released – fixes all the things I broke!

This self-post was originally posted to /r/MegaMegaMonitor. See more things from Dan's Reddit account.

Turns out I shouldn’t code after I’ve been drinking. v0.50 will have not-worked for almost everybody, because I forgot what programming language I was writing in about half-way through it and tried to use a feature that doesn’t exist. And then somehow managed to deploy it and not notice. Sorry.

v0.51 fixes it. It should work again. Sorry, sorry, sorry…

Review of Total Recall (2012)

This review originally appeared on Amazon. See more reviews by Dan.

Why are there remakes?

Sometimes I wonder why a film gets remade only to make it worse. The original Total Recall was a good film. Not a masterpiece by any stretch, but a clever, funny, action-packed (and only slightly campy) romp through space and the human mind. Not so this remake – if you can see past the overused lens flares, here’s what you’ll learn about our future:

  • Cars, elevators, emergency exits, surgical equipment, and life in general will become less safe, not more, as we invent increasingly smart automated systems.
  • All common sense will be lost along the wayside: when faced with the opportunity to kill their enemy, both good guys and bad guys alike will prefer to give them another chance to fight back. Again. And again.
  • Even though a nation is capable of building robots capable of working tirelessly and surviving in the inhospitable parts of the planet, they’re far more-likely to use those robots to kill other humans working for them in the hospitable parts of the planet.
  • At some point in time, people will stop caring how practical their mobile phones are, and instead start using ones that require that you find a nearby window before you can use the screen (which can then be seen by all the strangers near you).
  • Gravity turns out not to work like we think it does. Who knew!

If you can forgive the silly plot and unbelievable characters, the acting isn’t intolerable and the story’s “fun enough” that it’ll distract you for a while. Don’t expect miracles, though: this film should have gone straight to DVD.

 

MegaMegaMonitor 0.50 – Greypo Edition

This self-post was originally posted to /r/MegaMegaMonitor. See more things from Dan's Reddit account.

I’ve just made available version 0.50 of MegaMegaMonitor. Thanks to everybody who’s helped test it so far. This version removes the limitation on people who’re listed as approved contributors to more than a hundred subreddits, like /u/Greypo. Well, it probably does that. Personally, I’m only an approved contributor for like 65 subreddits. Give it a go and let me know how you get on!

Those of you getting automatic updates should “just get” it within the next day or so, not that you care because it probably already works for you!

[MegaMegaMonitor] v0.41 released – fixes “disappearing icons” bug

This self-post was originally posted to /r/MegaMegaMonitor. See more things from Dan's Reddit account.

Your browser should automatically update to the latest version, but if it doesn’t then you can nudge it from your GreaseMonkey/TamperMonkey UserScripts list, or else you can reinstall it from the site.

v0.41 makes the following change:

  • MegaMegaMonitor icons no longer “disappear” when scrolling with NeverEndingReddit or when posting a new comment (or rather, they disappear but they come back again, now!).

How to install MegaMegaMonitor

This self-post was originally posted to /r/MegaMegaMonitor. See more things from Dan's Reddit account.

MegaMegaMonitor is distributed as a UserScript: a piece of Javascript code that your web browser runs on a particular website (in this case, Reddit). Here’s what you need to do to install it:

(note: you need to be part of the MegaLounge chain or a certain other MegaLounge to get any benefit from this tool)

1. Install a UserScript manager

Firefox: GreaseMonkey
Chrome: TamperMonkey
Opera (15+): TamperMonkey Beta
Android: TamperMonkey Dolphin

If you manage to make it work on another platform, let us know how!

2. Install MegaMegaMonitor

Go to https://danq.me/megamegamonitor/ and click on the “Install MegaMegaMonitor” button. You’ll be asked for confirmation first – you’re welcome to inspect the source code if you’re not sure whether or not you should trust it, but it’s pretty self-explanatory.

3. Know your place

As you browse Reddit, you’ll now see icons after people’s names. You can hover over them for a tooltip/more details, but here’s a summary of what they mean:

  • Black roman numeral on white background – this user has climbed the MegaLounge chain no higher than you have. The number indicates the highest level they’ve reached; hover over it for the name of the MegaLounge they’ve attained.
  • White roman numeral on black background – the MegaLounge you’re in right now is the highest level attained by the user you’re looking it. They’d probably appreciate a gilding, so if they’ve said something clever, give them some gold!
  • White roman numeral on red background with green “plus” sign – this user has climbed the MegaLounge chain higher than you have! The number (and tooltip) shows the highest level you both have in common.
  • Other icons? – these should be self-explanatory to you. If you’re supposed to know what they mean, then you probably already know what they mean.

Limitations

Note that certain secret places on the MegaLounge chain are omitted for reasons of security. ‘Nuff said.

Oh, and it won’t work (or won’t work reliably) if you’re a contributor to more than a hundred different private subreddits. Sorry. If there’s demand, I’ll fix it. Fixed in 0.50.

And it’ll sometimes be inaccurate at the very highest echelons of the MegaLounge chain: new MegaLounges only get added to the plugin manually, as soon as I remember to do so.

The tool will only update the details of contributors once every day or two, to minimise the risk of hammering Reddit’s servers. Therefore, it can sometimes be out-of-date (but usually not by more than 24 hours).

Current Known Bugs

  • If you add a comment to a page or scroll using NeverEndingReddit, all the icons might disappear until you refresh the page. Fixed in 0.41.
  • People whose highest lounge is /r/MegaLoungeX see “?” instead of “X+” when looking at people whose highest lounge is higher than that (may affect others, too). Believed to be fixed: “manually update user lists” or wait 24 hours if you’re affected and it should be fine.

I am avapoet. AMA!

This self-post was originally posted to /r/MegaManlounge. See more things from Dan's Reddit account.

[this post was originally made to a private subreddit]

Last month, /u/Snazzlo did an MML AMA. I suggested that we should get to know one another better by making it a regular thing, with each IAmA MMLer nominating the next, and in response, /u/Snazzlo nominated me. Let’s do this thing!

I’m working from home this morning before I go to a dentist’s appointment at lunchtime, then I’m in the office in the afternoon (but I’ll still be on Reddit). Which is welcome, because I’m still slightly hungover from my birthday yesterday! And good news – the weekend is coming!

  • Me, sat at my desk, waiting to answer your questions. Sorry about the mess! My study is an absolute chaos at the moment, partially because we’re using large parts of it as storage space while we floor the loft but partially because I’m lazy. Looking to give me a challenge? Wait until I get to work this afternoon then ask me to identify some random thing in the photo.

11:20 Update: Off to the dentist. I have my phone, so I’ll try to answer any more questions from the waiting room.

14:10 Update2: At my desk at the office having come back from the dentist. My co-workers have belated birthday cake for me, but I can’t eat any yet because I can’t feel my lips! Maybe later!

15:40 Update3: Off to a meeting with my boss and a coworker – back in 20 minutes or so.

16:10 Update4: Back. But in another hour or so I’ll be cycling home, and probably offline for a few hours (gotta feed and bath the baby for bed, etc., and deal with some emails from my voluntary work): back as soon as I can though!

18:26 Update5: Home, eating pizza, baby’s about to get bathed by her mummy and daddy so I’ll soon free to pour myself a glass of wine, answer any more questions, decide who to nominate to do this next time, and perhaps hack some more code for MegaMegaMonitor!

21:23 Update6: /u/vanityprojects /u/Luckyaussiebob – I nominate you to be the next MegaManLounge AMA-er!