building howbigismypotato

The story of a page and a kitchen tool: howbigismypotato.com

Saturday, October 07, 2006

Warning! Damage!

Here's a bit of a problem that somebody pointed out to me. Computer screens aren't actually designed to have things held up to them, so there's a possibility that things might go wrong while trying to measure a potato. Just in case, I've decided to put in these warnings. I've also included them in a disclaimer just in case something really bad happens.
I think there are two main things to be wary of:
  1. Scratching or denting the screen. Be careful with the edge of your credit card, and your finger nails when holding it. Only measure relatively clean potatoes; big chunks of earth could be quite abrasive. If necessary, it would be possible to measure a potato wrapped in a clear plastic bag which would be less abrasive.
  2. Damaging other computer components. Laptops are really common these days. Laptop keyboards are notorious for allowing bad stuff to enter between the keys and cause serious damage below (usually the processor is directly underneath the keyboard). While measuring a potato does not involve the worst laptop poison (hot sugary coffee) it's conceivable that earth or even water could find its way between the keys during the process.
So, you've been warned. Please be careful and enjoy a safe measuring experience.

7 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

I would like to know if you've managed to come up with the correct Partial Differential Equation to measure temperature diffusion in accordance with your potato-volumetrics system?

I store this member of the Solanaceae family in my pocket during the cold-weather months and would find it very useful to know how long my potatoes can be expected to keep me warm on a walk in sub-freezing weather. This would also help me in deciding how large of potato I need to utilize, how many, and how large my pockets need be. Any feedback that you can provide would be most helpful. Thank you kindly.

5:17 PM  
Blogger djchaco said...

I think I love your website. Came across it totally by accident & just linked to it from my Facebook wall. Nice job - useful, if impractical, application, equals tons of spud fun!

:D Sergio

8:09 AM  
Blogger A E Newman said...

In case no one has told you, it works perfectly with Safari.

However, as one who has not, and never will, abandon English/American measurements, being told that my potato weighs 348 1/2 kilos is meaningless. How about about also showing weight in real numbers? You obviously are a gifted programmer, so it should be a snap for you.

Good fun. Thanks.
A E Newman

4:10 PM  
Blogger Alistair Jones said...

Hmm, Imperial units. Maybe for version 2?
Thanks for the suggestion!

-Alistair

5:22 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

This website IS pretty cool, i mean, where else can you measure a potato online?

6:45 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

@A E Newman -- really? That's your beef? You do realize that the USA, Liberia, Burma and the UK (partially) are the only goombahs on the planet that haven't adopted the metric system, placing you in the minority, globally-speaking.
Here's a thought: Get the result, then hop over to Google for a conversion, voila!

2:45 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

warnings will explode your computer

5:02 AM  

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