Ideapad

Blogging since 1998. By David Wertheimer

Page 41 of 129

links for 2009-06-18

  • This is a riot: the U.S. Mint is selling dollar coins at face value with free shipping, which the bonus-program wonks figured out is a great way to earn frequent flier miles. Order the coins with a mileage-program credit card, get them delivered to your door, then dump them in the bank and pay off the credit card bill. The website allows orders of up to $5,000, which is a nice bundle of bonus points essentially for free. Well, free plus figuring out how to shlep five thousand dollar coins to the bank. (The FlyerTalk thread where this originates dates to last summer but is new to me and still viable.)
    (tags: money humor)

Pronounced “Baw-st’n”

As mentioned on the business end of things, I’m in Boston at the Internet Retailer Conference & Expo, culminating in my presenting at the conference Wednesday afternoon. It’s great to be back in town–with the exception of a six-hour business meeting in January, I haven’t spent any time in Beantown in nearly a decade. We took advantage tonight, eating at a local restaurant in the North End, and I have plans to see at least one old friend before I leave town.
Massachusetts always strikes a great note with me. The history, the architecture, the weather: everything is the way I like it. A lifetime of summer visits to Cape Ann (and, more recently, Martha’s Vineyard) has certainly influenced me. And even though I’m a Yankee fan in the Red Sox’s backyard, it just feels good to be here.

Headspace

Are high ceilings a sign of wretched architectural excess or just good taste? in Slate.
Having moved from a postwar 1980s apartment to a century-old Manhattan prewar, I can confirm the finding of this article, which is that high ceilings have good architectural effects. A 10-foot ceiling makes a room feel larger, airier, and more comfortable than ones with 8′ ceilings. To someone six feet tall or larger, postwar heights create a hint of claustrophobia and shorten light throws.
High ceilings were actually part of our search criteria when we were buying our apartment. Now that we have them, I’ll probably never go back.
As Slate’s writer notes, “Living and working in older buildings, people discovered that taller rooms simply felt–and looked–better.” Amen to that.

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