nth-ing the Wii. I'm not sure there are any new games coming out for the Gamecube (IGN doesn't list any).

The Nintendo DS (portable system) is also a good choice if his friends also have it, or you think the portability would be a plus.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Gary at 10:56 PM on July 22, 2008

The Book of Ratings
posted to Ask Metafilter by Gary at 11:14 AM on July 9, 2008

1) Yes, using Handbrake. It also has an SD card slot if you have one of those. Then it won't stick out the side like a USB drive.

4) I'd recommend going with eeeXubuntu over the default Linux configuration if you decide to go that way. I had a much easier time finding and installing software once I had access to the Ubuntu repositories.

vlc will play pretty much any movie format and runs on both Linux and XP (and more).... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Gary at 1:53 PM on June 27, 2008

Mario Party. This is a better choice if he knows other kids around his age with DSes. But my niece plays it against the computer players and still has fun.

Seconding Nintendogs as well.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Gary at 7:12 PM on June 25, 2008

The dream sequence in Papillon, where he is judged to have lived a wasted life.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Gary at 11:26 AM on June 19, 2008

10am because you're going to be finished today. So a one time occurrence can be apologized for and forgotten if you do ruin anyone's morning.

If it were an ongoing thing, being extra considerate and waiting until noon would be advised.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Gary at 2:21 PM on June 1, 2008

If you're going to sell it, it's a pretty good time to do so since they still seem to be sold out a lot of the time.

Nintendo just announced a Wario sidescroller. I'm also looking forward to Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People. But those might not be your sort of games.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Gary at 2:18 PM on May 29, 2008

TvTattle is good for TV related news.

If you're looking for specific dates and episode information, Wikipedia usually does a very good job at that sort of thing.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Gary at 10:35 AM on May 15, 2008

Cagney & Lacey was saved by a letter writing campaign. A TWoP article about this sort of thing also lists a bunch of shows that switched networks for one or two more seasons (Roswell, Buffy, Family Matters). Most of those seem to be internal network dealings instead of fan campaigns, though.

And Futurama in a way too, although I think so far that's just been previously unreleased material.

It was new material, and... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Gary at 8:55 PM on May 5, 2008

Casablanca. It's a great movie and has contributed a large number of memorable quotes.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Gary at 2:01 AM on April 20, 2008

Comedians of Comedy: Live at the Troubadour, or their documentary feature which also has "Live at the El Ray".

Eddie Murphy's Delirious was re-released last year (I liked it better than Raw, but both are available pretty cheap).

2nding Chris Rock, with the recommendation to start with "Bring the Pain" and "Bigger and Blacker".

John Pinette is quite funny. He's lesser known and there's a... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Gary at 1:10 AM on April 3, 2008

greenland is correct. It seems like your memory has filled in the scene a little.
Smithers: What would each of you say is your worst quality?
Man 1: Well, I a workaholic.
Man 2: I push myself too hard.
Homer: Well, it takes me a long time to learn anything,
I'm kind of a goof-off...
Smithers: Okay, that'll do.
Homer: ... a little stuff starts disappearing from the... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Gary at 6:44 PM on March 24, 2008 marked best answer

Oh, and googling with site:snpp.com is sometimes better for Simpsons trivia than googling the internet at large. In this case, "job interview site:snpp.com" was enough for me.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Gary at 6:45 PM on March 24, 2008

Coquitlam is very much a suburb. Unless the Casino or IKEA are your thing, I'd also vote to go downtown. The drive down Barnet Highway / Hastings is about 30-40 minutes from Coquitlam Centre, but might be more interesting than Highway #1.

Unless you're outdoorsy and it's spring/summer, but even then you probably want to drive east past a couple other suburbs.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Gary at 10:04 PM on March 2, 2008

Pantagrool makes a good point. Looking at a map, if you want to go to Zulu Records definitely take Highway 1. My earlier mention of Hastings will leave you on the wrong side of Vancouver with an extra bridge to cross.

You won't be downtown, but you will be near Granville Island and in a generally nice area.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Gary at 12:34 AM on March 4, 2008

So far the PS3 has been a very good Blu-ray player. I haven't used a stand-alone blu-ray player, so I have nothing to compare it against. I will say it is much more responsive than my Toshiba HD-DVD player.

This review (from 2006) rates it favorably compared to the initial stand alone players and may provide answers for your audio questions.

It has wireless internet built in, which makes updating the firmware quite easy if you're set up for... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Gary at 8:52 PM on February 25, 2008

Gravity is weak compared to the other possible forces at work (magnetic or nuclear, for example). So that might help answer the "escape" part of your question.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Gary at 1:47 AM on February 21, 2008

If you don't like it so far I don't think you'll like the rest of it. The show gets better than "Cyberwoman", and there are even some good episodes, but I also gave up on it.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Gary at 4:26 PM on February 19, 2008

Introducing the Scrub. It can be used as another variant on "n00b", or "A scrub is a player who is handicapped by self-imposed rules that the game knows nothing about. A scrub does not play to win.". See also here.

This question was asked on the WoW forums. The responses indicate that not a lot of people know the second meaning.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Gary at 2:41 PM on January 12, 2008

Tetris (the DS version is quite good)
posted to Ask Metafilter by Gary at 10:40 AM on January 8, 2008

So while a diverse set of genres might be helpful, I'm *NOT* so much looking for a historical/academic representation of gaming.

Portal (PC) (if she likes that, then try Half Life 2)
Mario Galaxy (Wii) or Ratchet & Clank (PS3) depending on console availability
World of Warcraft (PC)
Tetris DS
Mario Kart (DS)
Puzzle Quest (DS)
Final Fantasy X (PS2 - Japanese RPG)... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Gary at 1:53 PM on January 8, 2008

Both of your "top 20" lists have 21 entries?
posted to Ask Metafilter by Gary at 4:15 PM on January 9, 2008

Since you mentioned "Movies" in your post, I should point out that you should avoid the movie. It came out in 1996 as an attempt to reach an American audience. It has none of the British charm and is basically a really dull TV movie.

Otherwise, everyone else is correct and you can and should start with the new series.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Gary at 12:43 AM on January 5, 2008

(Unless you meant the 1965/66 movies starring Peter Cushing that are sometimes found in cheap DVD bins. Those also aren't very good, but are at least more in the spirit of Doctor Who than the 1996 movie)
posted to Ask Metafilter by Gary at 12:46 AM on January 5, 2008

scarabic: It should be noted that Kiva will show you the inflation rate that the foreign lender charges. So if someone felt strongly about it they could wait around for opportunities in say, Togo, where they charge 1% interest. Although the inflation rate of a country and the rate normally available to the people are also good things to keep in mind.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Gary at 1:12 PM on December 26, 2007

Somebody asked the same question at the EeeUser forums, though there is only one response so far. Apparently the Creative Live Optia VF0270 works.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Gary at 10:20 AM on December 14, 2007

While the special breads are probably the cause, the toasters also came in around that time (2003?). That probably helps spread the smell around the restaurant.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Gary at 3:18 PM on December 13, 2007

There was this thread when the clips first went online that had a lot of favorites posted (the clips on thedailyshow.com list the original air date). Also, the recent Is America Ready for a Flilf? was great.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Gary at 2:56 PM on December 12, 2007

Also, Wikipedia keeps a somewhat detailed list of Colbert Report episodes, if you want to look up guests or segments.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Gary at 3:01 PM on December 12, 2007

Is anyone else having trouble viewing the clips on the Daily Show's web site? The ads play for me, but then it skips the actual show.

It's because you're in Canada. It does the same for me. According to Wikipedia, it's because CTV has exclusive rights to the content in Canada. For a while, it was re-directing Canadians from that site to the comedy network site.

Sorry for the derail. The... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Gary at 11:53 AM on December 13, 2007

I'm having trouble thinking of straight-forward adventure games for the DS. If you can give a examples of games she already likes, that would help.

Puzzle Quest is Bejewelled with rpg elements added on. So it's basically a puzzle game, but you also travel around the map and collect power-ups and special items.

TouchMaster is less than $20 and contains a bunch of single player card and puzzle games. The solitaire games work really well with the... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Gary at 5:09 AM on December 3, 2007

Wordplay was really fun. Spellbound was also good.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Gary at 7:28 PM on November 26, 2007

I don't know how on earth I would bring this up with my co-workers, especially since I don't know which of them does this.

If it still bothers you (because you sit on it accidentally), anything not time critical and not seen by customers can just be sat on. All day. Eventually they'll come by to complain, you can (pretend to) be a bit embarrassed, and hopefully they'll start putting it on your keyboard or desk instead.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Gary at 3:16 PM on November 20, 2007 marked best answer

Of course, it's probably better to learn to look before you sit.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Gary at 3:18 PM on November 20, 2007

100 Bullets

Criminal

Also, nth-ing Y: The Last Man, Box Office Poison, Blankets, and Astro City. Oh, and my other choice for "You said no superheroes but..." would be James Robinson's Starman. It lasted 80 issues but you could tell it was well planned out instead of the rambling mess a lot of super hero comics turn into.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Gary at 8:24 PM on November 13, 2007

The OLPC no longer has a crank.

The EEE specs are better than the OPLC specs. The current version of the EEE for sale is 900MHz, 512Mb ram and has a 4GB flash drive. The OLPC is 450Mhz, 256Mb ram and has a 1GB flash drive. The OLPC does have a nicer screen, so you'll have to look closer if you care about anything particular.

The OLPC is half the price and that is reflected in the hardware. They're both $400, but that's because the OLPC... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Gary at 10:45 PM on November 2, 2007

I would not mind if I could run the Sugar Interface on top of Ubuntu (which can be installed on the Eee) but how hard it that?

Here are the instructions on installing Sugar in Ubuntu. I haven't tried it, though. Ubuntu has some issues on the EEE. I'm sure they'll get resolved, but you might want to wait. Linux and incompatable Wifi drivers are not a fun mix.

One last comment to answer your original question. The OLPC... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Gary at 11:06 PM on November 2, 2007

The Merlin Show was quite good until it mysteriously stopped updating a few months ago.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Gary at 4:56 PM on October 31, 2007

I've always liked the Slik Stick that Pufferfish mentioned.

Risking sacrilege, for games that are notorious joystick breakers (Speedball 2) it is sometimes handy to have a couple Genesis game pads around. They also fit in the 9-pin connector.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Gary at 10:24 AM on October 31, 2007

That is, Pufferish ... without the third f
posted to Ask Metafilter by Gary at 10:25 AM on October 31, 2007

From your last question, I'll assume you are a relative beginner using C/C++ on a Linux environment. It would really help to know what sort of program you're trying to create.

If you're trying to add an interface to a desktop application, then what you want is some sort of GUI toolkit. Examples would be Qt, Tk or wxWidgets. I don't know enough about these to make a recommendation, but they should all come with interfaces for C/C++.

Those... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Gary at 11:32 PM on October 15, 2007

Oops, I meant, this last question. Or, this one.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Gary at 11:33 PM on October 15, 2007

DS Lite.

My niece really liked Nintendogs around age 4. I had to play it enough to earn money and unlock things. She liked taking the dogs for walks and throwing the frisbee around.

If you like Crash Bandicoot, the first two GBA games (The Huge Adventure and N-Tranced) were well done and can probably be found cheap used. They had a very similar feel to the original Playstation games. I haven't played the new DS Crash of the Titans game.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Gary at 1:56 PM on October 14, 2007

Each sub-domain of IGN has the same template with different images and colour schemes. They cover different video game consoles (Wii, PS3), DVDs, TV, etc.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Gary at 6:32 PM on October 9, 2007 marked best answer

But Discovery Times is not owned by ABC or Disney.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Gary at 5:37 PM on October 9, 2007

I'll second WiiPlay. If you're going to buy another remote, it comes with one and only costs $10 more. You won't get a lot of time out of it, but it has quite a few minigames for when you have people over. Kids seem to love the cow racing game, too.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Gary at 12:17 AM on October 5, 2007

Oops, I'll first WiiPlay then, which I guess cancels out with Effigy's un-recommend :)

The Wii does suffer from the same problem of the last two Nintendo consoles. There are a few really amazing first-party games with long droughts in the middle. If you're just looking for cheap fun, the Virtual Console Downloads are your best bet. Especially if you missed anything from the N64 era (Mario 64, Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Mario Kart 64, Paper... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Gary at 2:06 AM on October 5, 2007 marked best answer

As a follow-up, here's tweebiscuit's sketch:
Don't take the money
posted to Ask Metafilter by Gary at 1:06 PM on October 1, 2007

Here's a list of Vancouver Radio Stations. CBUX 90.9 looks like it might be the one? (It also gets rebroadcast on 88.9 in Victoria).
posted to Ask Metafilter by Gary at 6:38 PM on September 29, 2007 marked best answer

If you're willing to pay, you may be better off getting a netflix account (or zip.ca or whatever is available in your area) and going through their stand up dvds.

Or, if you're willing to settle for audio, emusic has a good selection of comedy CDs available.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Gary at 2:12 PM on September 28, 2007