Another "no" vote here. Telephoto lens plus cow in dappled shade at the leading edge of the depth of field. I think compression artifacts are creating the illusion that there's more focus on the cow's face than is actually there.
posted to Ask Metafilter by hades at 12:00 PM on August 16, 2008

I thought for years that the 1930s "revival" was a very successful prank on the part of a few historians. I was a little sad to be proven wrong a couple of months ago.
posted to MetaFilter by hades at 5:20 PM on August 15, 2008

Medicinal leeches? One of my high school teachers claimed to use them to get rid of bruises quickly. (Funny, the things you remember. Don't ask me anything about the French class she taught.)
posted to Ask Metafilter by hades at 11:38 PM on August 12, 2008

I bet the .int is some previous admin's clever idea for specifying 'internal', not a true .int registration. Try doing a whois lookup on folksdomain.int to confirm. If that's the case, then the .int is pretty much out of the picture as far as anything external to your intranet is concerned.
posted to Ask Metafilter by hades at 11:21 AM on August 11, 2008 marked best answer

If 'whatever' and 'servername' are just two different names for the same machine, then all you should need to do is give whatever.folks.com (in dns) an IP address that the outside world can use (so, not in 192.168.x.x) and configure your public-facing firewall to pass traffic for that IP and service in to 'servername'. If you want to be tricky, you could have your dns server return the internal IP of 'servername' for internal requests only, although I don't know how to do that under Windows.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by hades at 1:28 PM on August 11, 2008

Interesting! I was just reading a book earlier today in which the apostrophes were messed up in exactly the same way, but only in the preface. On closer inspection, it looks like the preface is a different font than the rest of the book.
posted to Ask Metafilter by hades at 8:47 PM on August 8, 2008

My wife's bachelorette party was held at a science museum where normally they have birthday parties and science demonstrations for 'tweens. They were happy to chang a banner to 'happy wedding' and do the demos for a group of 30-somethings, though, and the group got to play with liquid nitrogen. It sounded pretty cool to me. And I had fun confirming for the party director that the guest of honor was indeed closer to 33, not 13.
posted to Ask Metafilter by hades at 3:12 PM on August 8, 2008 marked best answer

Scott Joplin? Professor Longhair?
posted to Ask Metafilter by hades at 4:50 PM on August 4, 2008

GPSPhotoLinker and any SirfIII or MTK chipset data logger. I have a Qstarz BT-Q1000 which works pretty well in urban canyons, but you're going to have to accept some amount of walking through buildings and jumping bridges with any GPS--they're not magic. I see that the ATP Photo Finder uses the SirfIII chipset, which is generally recognized to be one of the best, so you're probably not going to get drastically better results from a different GPS, at least not an inexpensive one. If you move up... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by hades at 9:26 AM on August 2, 2008

I think the theme park example you're thinking of might be this:The perhaps most sensational aspect of false memories was described by Elizabeth Loftus and colleagues (e.g., Loftus 2003) who demonstrated the ease with which fake memories can be generated. In a typical experiment they asked subjects who had visited Disneyland before to evaluate advertisements and answer questions about their trip to Disneyland. The first group of subjects received an ad about the theme park that did not mention... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by hades at 12:25 PM on August 1, 2008

I've been in your position, fairlysober, and I feel for you. It really sucks. My former fiancée and I had started dating in college, I'd tried to break up with her a few times because I knew she wasn't the one, and eventually I gave up trying and lived with her for seven years before proposing because I felt I owed it to her. And I did love her--I don't think it's possible to live with someone that long without experiencing some sort of love for them--I just wasn't in love with her. And... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by hades at 11:43 PM on July 15, 2008

If you can find a copy, the Operators Manual for Spare Ass Annie is also good.
posted to MetaFilter by hades at 10:46 PM on July 8, 2008

The CA-100 USB charging cable is super-handy, and ridiculously expensive. There's a much cheaper knockoff, but you might get what you pay for--this one melted while in use.

The iGo Stowaway is a pretty good folding keyboard, if you're going to be doing much text entry. It sometimes goes on sale for around $30; at that price, it's a bargain. I'm not sure I'd pay the $60 it looks like it's going for right now, though.

If you're going to use it as... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by hades at 8:27 PM on July 7, 2008 marked best answer

"I contend that we are both atheists. I just believe in one fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours."

Followed by, "please don't call me again."
posted to Ask Metafilter by hades at 6:23 PM on July 7, 2008

My favorite bit about this whole thing is that two of the disappeared posts at BoingBoing are coverage of Google dropping some sex blogs from their index:

+ Missing/Archive
+... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by hades at 10:32 PM on June 30, 2008

Anyone have that comment still sitting in their cache? Can we get a screen grab?

Not a screen grab, but here's my browser cache file with the original comment in it.
posted to MetaFilter by hades at 3:04 PM on July 1, 2008

Damn it, empath, that's the second time this thread I've had to double-check that you aren't me. "Empath" is my handle on another system, and some of my friends there have talked to me about comments "I" have made here, not knowing that those were your comments. I'm used to them getting us confused; me getting us confused, not so much.
posted to MetaFilter by hades at 10:23 PM on July 1, 2008

Another data point, if this isn't completely played out yet: compare BoingBoing's policies page as of June 25th and their policies page now.

"We reserve the right to unpublish or refuse to unpublish anything for any or no reason."

A sensible policy. Too bad it wasn't there, oh, a year ago. Or even a week ago. I think that's it for me. I've enjoyed Making Light (and, by extension, TNH) and BoingBoing for a long time, and I was willing to... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by hades at 10:48 PM on July 1, 2008

Well, qxntpqbbbqxl did suggest encryption. But that depends on how "non" your non-tech-y recipients are. "Simple instructions" aren't going to cut it for some people, unless you're standing there next to them saying "now do step two. No, see, right under step one. The one you just did. At the top of the page."

It may be the correct way, but it's unlikely to work. Call them.
posted to Ask Metafilter by hades at 8:26 PM on June 28, 2008

Up by Northgate there's Bernina Northwest. I don't think they sell used machines, but I'm pretty sure they do have a bulletin board where you could post a flyer.
posted to Ask Metafilter by hades at 8:45 PM on June 23, 2008

I've got a Topeak Explorer rack that has standoffs for mounting to a frame with disc brakes. It works fine, but I've heard that they changed their quick-release trunk/rack system since I bought the rack, so I might not be able to find bags that fit the quick release rail. I use oyster buckets on it, so that hasn't been a problem for me.

But, yeah, if I were going to carry a laptop a lot, I'd probably use a backpack instead of a pannier, unless it were a pannier with... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by hades at 2:50 PM on June 23, 2008

Your other kids are 18 and 23, and lost contact with you when they were 11 and 16, right? If you've re-established contact with them in the last couple of years, maybe you could ask them what they think.
posted to Ask Metafilter by hades at 10:10 PM on June 22, 2008

I still have a Dragon's Lair laserdisc, although I've long since given away the serial-controllable LD player that let me play it via DAPHNE. When it originally came out, we were too poor for me to play it, but you can bet that I borrowed my friend's strategy guide (I can still vividly remember the smell of that book) and memorized it so I'd know what I was doing if I ever happened to stumble across a cache of quarters and a way to get to the one arcade within an hour of where we lived.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by hades at 9:47 AM on June 21, 2008

The strategy guide listed what sequence of moves got you through each scene, and what order the scenes appeared in. So, yeah, not so much in the way of "strategy"; more "memorization". Of course, it also only helped with certain firmware versions, as far as scene order went.

One cool thing about the Dragon's Lair Project is that they have a replacement firmware that you can swap into an old DL cabinet (or use in DAPHNE) to greatly improve play... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by hades at 2:55 PM on June 21, 2008

Seconding the advice, impractical as it is, that you should quit your job. Some of us just aren't wired for working in the corporate world, and from your posting history, it sounds like you're one of us. It's not just IT; it's pervasive. Of course, your situation means that it would be highly unpleasant to actually quit. So you have a choice: do you stay in the unpleasant job, or do you quit and face unpleasant financial insecurity? It sucks, but there it is. Which is the least bad option?... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by hades at 4:00 PM on June 17, 2008

Xtracycle gives every customer a bunch of business card sized FAQs to hand out to people who stop them and ask about the bike. Maybe you could make something similar?
posted to Ask Metafilter by hades at 10:02 PM on June 13, 2008

I've done the direct stencil method with freezer paper: tutorial links

And, yeah, Gocco's pretty sweet too. You can buy new machines and supplies in the US from Welsh Products, Paper Source, Northwood Studios, and a few other places. Or, of course, eBay.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by hades at 8:06 PM on June 12, 2008

Or, if the rocket doesn't do it for you, imagine a floatplane sitting on a conveyor belt. How fast does the belt have to move to prevent the plane from taking off? Well, depending on the friction between the floats and the belt, it probably doesn't have to move at all. But given a sufficiently powerful engine on the plane, there's no amount of acceleration that can be applied to the conveyor to prevent takeoff. In your scenario where the friction from the wheel bearings is relevant, your plane... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by hades at 12:42 AM on June 5, 2008

Honestly, I think this is a non-starter. I know several professional poets (in the sense that they are frequently paid by well-known publications for their poetry), and I can't imagine any of them using poetry-specific software. If you're looking to sell something to the poetry.com crowd, that's something else--a rhyming dictionary and maybe a helpful list of forms with examples might be attractive there.

But, really, sindark is right--a way to write free of distractions... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by hades at 12:45 PM on June 3, 2008

One suggestion I have, now that I know you are apparently targeting the poetry.com crowd: if you're writing the tutorials, lessons and help file system, hire an editor to go over your text. Because what you've posted here is missing a bunch of words and punctuation.

And, with all due respect, drjimmy11, I went through a respected creative writing program taught by a MacArthur Fellowship "genuis" grant recipient as an undergraduate, and a good number of my... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by hades at 5:44 PM on June 3, 2008

I think that last line should be:

--bufu8040bufu8040--

But I don't know if that would cause problems for gmail.
posted to Ask Metafilter by hades at 10:25 AM on May 29, 2008 marked best answer

If you're calling for technical support and you're at all competent yourself (meaning you've tried rebooting, checking the cables, and all the things the front-line people ask you to try), try asking to be escalated to tier 2 support. If it's a large call center, you can say that you were working with someone else and got disconnected.
posted to Ask Metafilter by hades at 9:37 PM on May 26, 2008

Well, damn.

.
posted to MetaFilter by hades at 3:16 PM on May 24, 2008

I like it in risotto and in pasta with basil and balsamic vinegar. Also, yeah, mixed into scrambled eggs.
posted to Ask Metafilter by hades at 3:05 PM on May 24, 2008

I'll give them a try; thanks.
posted to Ask Metafilter by hades at 2:01 PM on May 16, 2008

What katemonster and heeeraldo said. You need to have the media and license key from a previous installation of XP. You use them to downgrade from Vista, and when the product activation fails you call Microsoft and explain that you're exercising your downgrade rights:

Q. What about product activation? When a previously licensed version of Windows XP Professional is used for the downgrade, won’t activation fail on the new PC?

A. When an end user... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by hades at 6:46 PM on May 12, 2008

I have wished for a tiny supply of platypus venom with which to disable my enemies ever since I read this:Spicer (1876) cites a case where "The pain was intense and almost paralysing. But for the administration of small doses of brandy, he would have fainted on the spot: as it was, it was half and hour before he could stand without support: by that time the arm was swollen to the shoulder, and quite useless, and the pain in the hand very severe".Pain that requires a nerve block to stop.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by hades at 11:16 PM on May 8, 2008

What's the tune that plays at the very end of the press conference video?
posted to MetaFilter by hades at 11:15 PM on May 7, 2008

Yeah, that's the one. I recognize it as the music used by Godfrey Daniels in his performances at the Moisture Festival in Seattle, but that's a different recording, and I've never heard it any other context.
posted to MetaFilter by hades at 11:33 PM on May 7, 2008

(Listening to the audio from his VH1 Storytellers performance even now. I sure wish anywhere within 500 miles of Seattle were part of that constellation. *sigh*)
posted to MetaFilter by hades at 11:35 PM on May 7, 2008

Awesome, thanks, MrVisible! Apparently, I've never listened to Swordfishtrombones. I'll have to hunt down a copy.
posted to MetaFilter by hades at 12:36 AM on May 8, 2008

I've never even been to Toronto, so I don't know for sure, but www.torontohispano.com has a business listing section, and I found these under "supermarkets":

Market-tino
2394 Keele St Toronto
(416) 614-7701

Mario's Latin Video Ltd.
614 Bloor St. W. Toronto
(416) 537-3449

El Gran Tropical
391 Kerr St Oakville
(905)... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by hades at 12:46 AM on May 5, 2008 marked best answer

I found a copy of the automator actions, and stashed a copy for you here. I have no idea if they work; I've never used them.

If I were going to do something like this I'd probably write a script that used gpsd and exiftool.
posted to Ask Metafilter by hades at 11:34 PM on May 1, 2008 marked best answer

On further inspection, it doesn't look like those actions do realtime tagging either. Check out gpsd and exiftool--if you're going to be writing a script to do this, they (and a way to trigger a shot on the webcam) should be all you need. If you don't mind waiting until the weekend, drop me a line in MeFi Mail and I can probably write something for you. Maybe something that watches a directory for new images, and geotags them with the current location as they appear; that way all you'd need to... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by hades at 11:40 PM on May 1, 2008 marked best answer

Also...
posted to Ask Metafilter by hades at 8:46 PM on April 28, 2008

10 minutes of drinking water down the drain? I switched to DE shaving a couple of years ago, and I don't think I've ever used more than one basin of hot water. Why would you need running water? You just wave the razor around in the basin, and you get the same effect.

Also, switching to a Merkur Slant has really reduced the amount of time it takes me. It's a much more aggressive razor, so you wouldn't want it to be the first thing you tried when switching from an electric.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by hades at 8:34 PM on April 28, 2008

Yeah, this happens to me all the time. Thanks to bizarrely high search result placement for a number of queries, some people ^(AOL) seem to think I am an expert on spiders, bees, canceling efax.com service, and contacting WWE stars, Alton Brown, and some actor named Josh Server. I'll drop you a line with some links.
posted to Ask Metafilter by hades at 2:21 PM on April 27, 2008

These wide-mouth stainless steel bottles have the same thread as Nalgene bottles, in case you have any accessories (sippy cup insert, water filter, etc) designed for Nalgenes.

A SIGG snack box can protect anything you've wrapped in paper from crushing.
posted to Ask Metafilter by hades at 12:04 PM on April 25, 2008

The wood-grain hardiboard siding we had installed looks pretty good, I think. Definitely better than any vinyl or aluminum siding I've ever seen.
posted to Ask Metafilter by hades at 9:52 AM on April 25, 2008

Which is still cheaper than the TypePad Pro cost, and doesn't tie you into using any particular piece of software. With a hosting account, you could switch to Movable Type or Blosxom or something if you found WordPress didn't work for you. Or you could decide that what you really wanted was a wiki, or a photo gallery, or a bulletin board style discussion forum. Or maybe you have friends who want their own blogs or web sites, and you offer them space on your hosting account--there's very little... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by hades at 12:12 AM on April 21, 2008