Just like it says, Popcorn Shorts is about the kind of things we think are really interesting, but don’t really need a large article to explain them. From the sublime to the ridiculous, check in here for crunchy bits of info you’ll love to munch. By the way, much (but not all) of our delicious Popcorn comes from articles we’ve posted on our Facebook page. If you’re on Facebook, please stop by and “Like” us and we’ll keep a fairly-constant-but-not-frequent-enough-to-be-annoying stream of these coming to your virtual door!
Great Tricks You Didn’t Know Your Smartphone Could Do
AMAZING FACT! Did you know your smartphone does more than let you receive anonymous robocalls? It’s true! From diagnosing leaky windows and natural identification to customizing vibrational patterns or even blocking those robocalls, your little black box is a bottomless bucket of usefulness. Check out these ideas to make your phone more than an expensive pocketweight…
Eight Things Your Phone’s Camera Can Do—Other Than Snapping Selfies by David Nield in Popular Science, Mar 2018
Things You Didn’t Know Your Smartphone Could Do by J. Gillman on BestPhoneSpy, 2017
Tips and Tricks For Using Your Android Phone or iPhone on BaBaMail
8 Things You Didn’t Know Your Smartphone Could Do by Calum Rutter on NewsShopper
Sellwood’s Parking Problem… SOLVED!
Sellwood is just one of the Portland neighborhoods overflowing with cars and nowhere to park them. As population density increases there are no simple solutions, but other people have tried before. Here’s a look at innovative parking solutions from around the country, including how Portland solved the problem over 60 years ago…
Pigeon Hole Parking, Portland, Oregon, 1955 by D. Strohl in HemmingsClassicCar, Feb 2014
The Marvellous History of New York’s ‘Hotel for Autos’ by J. Metcalfe in CItyLab, Sep 2015
15 Creative, Innovative & Hilarious Parking Solutions by Steve in WebUrbanist
A Ferris Wheel for Cars and Trucks by Benjamin Preston in NYTimes, Oct 2014
Parking Crunch? Tivoli Hopes To Stack Cars by Samantha Craggs in CBC News, Jun 2014
113 Years Of Oaks Amusement Park
Who’s your oldest neighbor? Bet we have you beat. Our oldest neighbor (or at least one of them) is the 113-year-old Oaks Amusement Park on the Willamette River. As their new Adrenaline Peak Roller Coaster opens, the Oregonian has this great photographic retrospective of the park all the way back to its opening on May 30, 1905. Things have changed quite a bit, but one thing hasn’t… you’ll still see smiles on the faces of everyone there!
How To Criticize With Kindness (and WIN the argument!)
FOX News is one of the most glaring examples of screaming, blathering disputation pretending to be debate and discussion, but they’re hardly the only one. There’s two drawbacks to this type of “discussion”… no one “wins”, and no one learns anything. Philosopher Daniel Dennett proposes some simple rules for successful criticism that work because they transform an opponent into a more receptive audience for your criticism or dissent. It’s still up to you to make a strong case, but as Dennett (and others) point out, the best place to start is with respect.
