Cowboy Who?

As you may have noticed, sometimes I waste time gathering useless information. Today we’re going to look at write protect notches for floppy disks and other media.

The 8-inch floppy was unusual in that the drive was mounted vertically. You inserted the floppy with the label facing left. The write protect notch was at the top of the leading edge. If you put the floppy on a table with the label in the upper left, the leading edge would be the bottom edge, and the write protect notch would be on the left part of that bottom edge. The presence of a notch made the floppy write-protected, so you started with a write-enabled floppy, and if you wanted to protect it, you punched a notch at just the right spot.

If you placed a 5¼-inch floppy on a table with the label in the upper left, the leading edge would be the bottom edge, and the write-protect notch was on the right edge, near the top. When inserting the floppy into the drive, it would be on the left side near your hand. The presence of a notch made the floppy write-enabled. To protect it, you covered the notch with a sticker. So it was really a write-enable notch, not a write-protect notch.

The 3½-inch floppy had a write-protect hole in the upper right corner when you put the floppy on a table with the label in the upper left, leading edge at the bottom. An open hole made the floppy write-protected; a covered hole made it write-enabled. A sliding door on the underside of the floppy let you decide whether the hole was open or closed. Update: Corrected 2026-03-04.

The Iomega Bernoulli Box was a proprietary system that used cartridges for storage. If you put the cartridge flat on a table, the natural orientation was for the label to be at the bottom, with the leading edge at the top. There was a sliding switch on the bottom left corner to control whether the media was write-protected, but no hole. Instead, the switch had a ⊘ symbol on one side (not ), indicating that moving the slider to that side would write-protect the cartridge.

The last media I used regularly from this era was the cassette tape. The write-protect notch was a recess in the upper left corner covered by a tab, and if the tab was broken, then the cassette was write-protected.

I’m amused that different media had different opinions as to whether the presence of a hole/notch/recess meant that the media was write-enabled or write-protected.

Format	Position when on table	Hole means
8-inch floppy	Bottom edge, left side	Read-only
5¼-inch floppy	Right edge, top side	Writable
3½-inch floppy	Top right corner	Read-only
Bernoulli cartridge	Bottom left corner	No hole!
Cassette tape	Top edge, left side	Read-only

The post Just for fun: A survey of write protect notches on floppy disks and other media appeared first on The Old New Thing.

Some time ago, I was purchasing online tickets to an event. When I got to the end of the checkout flow, I got this:

The countdown timer gives me only three minutes to read the Purchase Terms, Terms and Conditions (which in turn incorporates by reference the Privacy Policy and Supplemental Terms), and Payment Terms. Given that these documents add up to several thousand words, I think I have a case for claiming that the terms are unenforceable.

¹ I wonder how many people stuck around to watch the clock count all the way down. There is no Easter Egg, sorry.

The post The fine print giveth and the bold print taketh away: The countdown timer appeared first on The Old New Thing.

I noted in the past that Microsoft engineers had trouble fitting into the IBM corporate culture when on temporary assignment at IBM offices in Boca Raton, Florida. In particular, they struggled with so-called “security violations“. I noted that one such category of security violation was “wearing shorts to work.”

Bearing this in mind, you may appreciate this brief incident.

One of the Microsoft developers beeped his badge to enter the building while wearing his usual shorts and sneakers.

An IBM employee sarcastically asked, “Dressed a bit casually today, huh?”

The Microsoft employee replied, “Oh no. I dress like this every day.”

The post A snappy answer when asked about dressing casually at IBM appeared first on The Old New Thing.

Howdy folks, today’s post is going to be a short one. Honestly, I didn’t plan on doing posts this week in honor of Spring Break. However, time is of the essence as the Kroger at the northwest corner of Kuykendahl and FM 2920 will close in about a month. The store opened in April 2003 and managed a good twenty-three-year run before succumbing to what was likely a management decision. The store led a rather ...

Residents and businesses’ demand for water could soon exceed supply. Gov. Greg Abbott said the state could step in if solutions aren’t found.

The family, including the mother and her five children, detail in letters what they describe as neglectful medical care, inedible food and a disregard for their religious accommodations. They’ve been imprisoned at the nation’s only family detention center for more than nine months and are believed to be the longest held there.

Several intense supercell thunderstorms moved across northern Illinois and northwestern Indiana on Tuesday, including one supercell responsible for at least four tornadoes, according to the National Weather Service office in Chicago.

You guys got a phone I could use?

Tommy’s parents are on a trip up north somewhere, so he’s inviting the whole class over to open his dad’s liquor cabinet. You in?

Reference #15937

The post Tommy’s Parents Are Out Of Town, Let’s Party appeared first on The Onion.

The couple’s Maldives destination wedding was largely a litmus test to find out which of their friends and family they can hit up for money in the future.

The post Jason Schaible and Erica Finch appeared first on The Onion.

#CowboyWho

HOUSTON, TX – American consumers shocked by sharply rising gas prices demonstrated their keen understanding of global geopolitics by demanding that the Department of War bomb some foreign country into dropping the cost of oil. “It is my birthright as an American to have cheap gas and it’s the responsibility of our government to bomb […]

The post Americans demand to know who they have to bomb to lower gas prices appeared first on The Beaverton.

Underground Artists is an ongoing comic by Ali Fitzgerald (Hungover Bear & Friends) that follows woodland creatures as they create art and search out whimsy in a bleak forest.

While you may believe I have a natural feel for ferry terminals, actually I had to watch a lot of videos about arrival at Hull docks to capture this authentic patina. Where do the cars queue up? What happens when they do? How do they drive onto the boat? What time to do the ferries run? Can you observe this behaviour from a multi-storey car park? Some people just make this stuff up you know. Fearing the fine tooth comb of my most engaged readers, I dare not.

The post Big car crèche appeared first on Bad Machinery.

FRANKLIN, TN—Insisting that she hoped the spike in oil costs was only the beginning of a long upward trend, MAGA voter Kaitlyn Leonardi told reporters Tuesday that she loved high gas prices. “I don’t care if the prices rise—heck, I prefer them that way,” said Leonardi, who crossed her arms in defiance as she lauded gasoline as “a great product” that had been “too cheap for too long.” “If they tell me it’s $4 a gallon, I walk in and pay them $8 a gallon. Shell deserves a little walking-around money. I figure anyone who sells oil knows better than I do what to do with my money. As my grandmother used to say, the higher the gas price, the closer to God.” Leonardi went on to state that if anything made her unhappy, it was the fact that the prices weren’t even higher.

The post MAGA Voter Claims She Loves High Gas Prices appeared first on The Onion.

MILWAUKEE—Dismissing the concerns of loved ones as seriously lacking in perspective, local woman Sara Heston, 32, argued Tuesday that her boyfriend was barely an alcoholic as far as boyfriends go. “Dan is essentially sober compared to my previous partners,” said Heston, alleging the 35-year-old man who often claimed he could not fall asleep without five or six beers barely cracked the 50th percentile of heavy drinkers she’d dated. “Sure, he likes to have a good time and enjoy a few drinks when he’s out with friends or home alone, but he always climbs into bed by sunrise or so, even if he’s still dressed in all his clothes and sometimes his shoes. Plus, he has a job, and I don’t think they’d let someone who had a real drinking problem work in a bar.” Heston went on to add that her boyfriend didn’t have much time for partying anyway on account of his drug habit.

The post Boyfriend Barely Alcoholic As Far As Boyfriends Go appeared first on The Onion.

Dozens of former employees accused Danish chef René Redzepi, who co-founded Noma, widely regarded as one of the best restaurants in the world, of inflicting physical and psychological violence on the staff for years. What do you think?

The post Founder Of Noma Restaurant Faces Abuse Allegations appeared first on The Onion.

Jason McNamarra, 28, did technically swallow that sword.

The post Jason McNamarra appeared first on The Onion.

No, no, no, no. You see how your comprehension fails you, for we communicate only with our minds.

You see, we have evolved beyond the needs for bodies, and now we are simply brains.

Y'know, Tor was originally offered the role of the mom in this film.

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A reader writes:

I work in healthcare and my colleagues and I are confused about what behavior crosses the line and can be classified as “abusive.” We are a small workplace and therefore don’t have high up HR/management to ask. The owner of the surgery also finds this a grey zone.

For example, I was supposed to be doing some treatment on a patient but our entire computer system was down for two days, so no access to notes, X-rays, etc. It was a disaster, but out of our hands.

We decided we would not be able to do treatments on anyone who needed anything more than a quick review. But we had no way of even knowing who was coming in to be able to cancel patients in advance. Most were really understanding of this frustrating situation.

The husband of one pleasant patient was not nice about it, pointing out work cancellation (which we felt awful about, but couldn’t do anything about). He was belligerent and kept repeating in an annoyed tone that he didn’t understand why we didn’t contact them or why we couldn’t treat his wife. Finally I gave him an appointment card to take to reception and apologized repeatedly. He tossed (flung?) the card at the receptionist and spoke to her in a really annoyed voice.

It was so hard to tell if this interaction crossed the line between “understandably frustrated” to “verbal abuse.” He didn’t raise his voice, he just sounded incredibly annoyed, but it affected all of us afterwards. I’ve noticed in general that patients and their families are becoming more abrupt and irritable with any inconvenience and becoming short-tempered with the staff, but it’s not shouting or physical abuse.

My reception team said that they were fine to “let this one go” and continue seeing the family in future. Whereas I’m starting to wonder that we are allowing too much low-level bad behavior directed at staff. We have signs in the waiting room but of course they’re ignored. I didn’t appreciate having someone behave that way towards my staff (who are mostly young women trying their hardest to accommodate people) but the worst thing I could say about his behavior is that he was “mean.”

This is tricky because there are some things that clearly cross a line — yelling, using abusive language, becoming physically aggressive — and others that are more of a grey area. It sounds like this situation came down to tone, and there’s a whole possible range of intensity for “incredibly annoyed” — and this is a situation where some annoyance is understandable (they took time off work and went through the hassle of getting to an appointment, only to find out they couldn’t be seen) — but only up to a point.

It’s reasonable to allow for some annoyance in fields where you are working with frustrated fellow humans in stressful situations, but when it’s unrelenting and things aren’t moving forward productively or if it crosses over into belligerence, then it’s reasonable to draw a line.

So an initial annoyed reaction? Understandable. Repeatedly ranting that he didn’t know why you didn’t contact him, after it had been explained? Less so. At that point, ideally someone would have asked to speak to him privately (so the reception team and any other patients in reception didn’t have to continue to listen to it) and then, in private, said something like, “I absolutely agree this is frustrating. Because our systems were down, we had no way to contact you. This is not the fault of our reception staff, so I can’t allow you to continue speaking to them that way. We have set a new appointment for (date) and will be happy to see your wife then.” If he continued ranting after that, ask if he’d like you to cancel the next appointment — and be willing to cancel it yourself if he didn’t regain some composure.

Sometimes just the escalation of “let’s speak privately” from someone who appears to be speaking with some authority will jar a person into being more reasonable, or the specter of cancelling the next appointment will. Other times it won’t.

I’d also say something like, “Let me walk out with you” so that he was escorted out and couldn’t lay into the receptionist again without you being right there to intervene.

Ultimately, the question of where to draw the line is up to management, and they should get (and take seriously) input from staff. Wherever you decide to draw it, it’s important to talk that through openly and empower your staff to set limits with people who aren’t being civil. They should know exactly what that could look like (down to having specific language they can use), and who is available to back them up, and that they will be backed up.

The post in customer-facing jobs, where’s the line for tolerating abuse from the public? appeared first on Ask a Manager.

Why risk losing a costly stationary house when this Class C motor home can also transport you away from floods and fires.

Reference #023478

The post It Wasn’t Called ‘The 2008 RV Market Crash,’ Was It? appeared first on The Onion.

New work requirements for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program have gone into effect across the nation, threatening benefits for millions of Americans. The Onion shares everything you need to know about the new SNAP restrictions.

Q: Why were new work requirements put in place?

A: Barb Klimath of La Crosse, WI, saw someone pay for a coke with EBT and absolutely freaked out.

Q: What if I have children?

A: Thanks to your forthcoming reduction in SNAP benefits, you won’t have to worry about that for much longer.

Q: What will meeting the 80 hours per month minimum work requirement entitle recipients to?

A: They will be granted access to wet food on top of their kibble.

Q: What sort of training will SNAP beneficiaries need to complete?

A: A mandated 45-minute course designed to teach them what a scum-sucking parasite they are for relying on government funds.

Q: Have there been any changes to the types of food that can be purchased through SNAP?

A: The definition of “hot foods” has been expanded to include any food that tastes good.

The post What To Know About The New Requirements For SNAP Benefits appeared first on The Onion.

United Airlines announced it will begin removing passengers from flights who refuse to wear headphones when listening to content on their personal devices, claiming that such behavior could lead to a permanent ban. What do you think?

The post United Airlines To Kick Off Passengers Who Refuse To Use Headphones appeared first on The Onion.

TEHRAN – Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of Iran’s recently-assassinated Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has been chosen as the country’s new supreme leader, leading to call from former Canadian legacy Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. “It’s a lot of pressure, stepping into your father’s shoes,” Trudeau explained in a phone conversation with Khamenei, who assumes power amid the […]

The post Justin Trudeau offers tips on political dynasties to Iran’s newly-chosen supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei appeared first on The Beaverton.

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The baby also goes to jail and has the cutest little orange jumpsuit.

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