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Tough times for bond insurers.

This is definitely not a good time to be in the bond insurance business. With large-scale insurers Ambac and MBIA -- and with smaller players faring no better -- one could well think that in the end the lending crisis has brought to light considerable flaws at the very basis of the American -- and indeed global -- financial sector. (all links above except the first lead to 6-month stock charts)
posted to MetaFilter by clevershark at 4:17 PM on January 23, 2008 (19 comments)

There's always plenty more where that came from!

Looking for a gift for that hard-to-please environmentalist on your Xmas list? How about poop? Not just any poop, panda poop! Interestingly enough despite the relatively low number of, er, available sources this is not the first time that panda manure is being considered for commercial purposes... not even close.
posted to MetaFilter by clevershark at 5:06 PM on July 30, 2007 (5 comments)

More than a browser.

Safari: innocuous browser alternative or sneaky way for Apple to build its homegrown platform on top of Windows? Through suggestions and bundling Apple is installing more on your PC than just a browser.
posted to MetaFilter by clevershark at 9:14 AM on June 14, 2007 (44 comments)

It may be just a game, but it's serious business.

Running the numbers on Second Life. With Linden Labs' virtual world being taken seriously by journalists and even banks, it's clear that businesses see profits in virtual worlds. But with over US$800,000 in value changing hands in 24 hours it's becoming hard for even skeptics to deny the profit potential of Second Life. After all it's not just flying penis attacks. Not everyone agrees, however. How many of those residents just log in once, shrug then stay away?
posted to MetaFilter by clevershark at 8:05 PM on January 5, 2007 (52 comments)

Baby (Jesus) needs a new airplane?

What does God need with a private jet? Benny Hinn's latest pitch for donations. [via]
posted to MetaFilter by clevershark at 2:59 PM on December 2, 2006 (201 comments)

OMG LOOK PUPPIES!!!!eleventy!1!

Meet the TSA's newest, cuddliest employees! Sure, the TSA could spend its time and money developing a training course that won't result in a stunning 91% rate of failure in detecting weapons in carry-on luggage, but how do you make cute pictures out of that?
posted to MetaFilter by clevershark at 9:07 AM on November 29, 2006 (33 comments)

Sure it may not seem useful now, but if you need it you'll be glad you found out how.

How to regain control of a spooked camel. There really is a guide to everything on the internet, and it doesn't have to be computer-related either. How to get out of work. How to be a girl (for boys), and of course how to be a boy (for girls). How to disassemble a toilet. How to install a new toilet. How to display civic pride without sounding lame. How to set up a threesome (good luck with that one). How to kill your friend and steal his girlfriend. How to survive a long fall (presumably in case one of your friends throws you out of the window so he can get it on with your woman).
posted to MetaFilter by clevershark at 6:42 PM on November 13, 2006 (27 comments)

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a son-of-a-bitch." -Jack Nicholson

The philosophy of sex. Observations on the world's oldest pastime by its foremost current visionaries.
posted to MetaFilter by clevershark at 4:33 PM on November 5, 2006 (16 comments)

If voting could actually change anything...

The election isn't until next Tuesday, but already problems are being reported. It's not just in Texas, and not just in relation to everyone's favorite electronic-voting whipping boy, either; it's becoming clear that every vendor has its own unsolved security issues. In fact it seems that an increasing number of voices are warning that the US is in for an awful lot of contention from all parties involved after next week's vote, and that can't be good. Others are taking a non-disinterested rose-colored view of things and loudly proclaiming that there's nothing wrong with the system, or at least that no one should imply or infer or investigate the matter. Still others are quick to point out that there's nothing wrong with electronic voting, except when they're linked to a foreign government that doesn't get along particularly well with them. Whatever is true about the state of electronic voting in 2006, you can't deny that it has led to a certain plurality of opinions...
posted to MetaFilter by clevershark at 12:25 PM on November 2, 2006 (130 comments)

Runaway inflation or just Ebay-as-usual?

Man turns $1 bill into over $11 via Ebay. No it's not old, it's just a used 2003-series bill that's not even in very good condition. It does has an interesting serial number, though. As does this other $1 bill also on Ebay with a current bid of $11. Of course if your dollar bills don't have particularly rare serial numbers it doesn't mean you can't Ebay your way to profit.
posted to MetaFilter by clevershark at 5:49 PM on October 29, 2006 (31 comments)

Vote for, er, Jim?

Vote for James H. "Jim"? Voters in certain Virginia precincts will see electronic ballots featuring only part of some candidates' names. For some reason this is said to be "unfixable", even though this has been discovered two weeks ahead of election time. This problem only affects voting machines made by... not the one you'd expect, but Austin, TX-based Hart InterCivic, whose motto is "Always Accessible". Senatorial Candidate James H. "Jim" Webb (D) is, one may assume, not amused.
posted to MetaFilter by clevershark at 12:38 PM on October 24, 2006 (56 comments)

Where do you want to go tomorrow?

It needs an awful lot of RAM, disk space, and VRAM. Yet, with all this power, it suffers from very limited mobility (no, really); it's a big change from previous editions. It might even stop working on you, transforming your powerful workstation into a locked-down web-browsing paperweight (but what about your data?). It might not have the drivers you need to get your equipment working, which will be a problem because it won't load drivers that haven't been "blessed" by its maker. Certainly the technical challenges with Windows Vista are a handful, but what on earth were the Microsoft lawyers thinking when they inserted a clause in its EULA that specifically forbids problem-solving (clause 4)?
posted to MetaFilter by clevershark at 1:27 PM on October 19, 2006 (49 comments)

"Well, I guess Gary Condit's relieved..."

In 2002 Salon.com ran an article on "forbidden thoughts" about 9/11 that they had heard expressed around them or reported by others. Apparently the response from their viewers was so overwhelming that they ran a second feature based on emails they received. All of which goes to show that while 9/11 united people in thinking about a certain subject, it certainly didn't mean that everyone thought the same thing about that same subject.
posted to MetaFilter by clevershark at 8:00 AM on September 11, 2006 (189 comments)

Go Wild!

Heard of Girls Gone Wild? Of course you have, but what about Girls Gone Wild - Baghdad? or Black Girls Gone Wild? How about Golden Girls Gone Wild (contains partial blurred puppet nudity)? Into fetishes? what about Blind Chicks Gone Wild? Of course no GGW link compendium would be complete without the GGW segment from The Daily Show which aired a while back. (yes, it's YouTube. They all are.)
posted to MetaFilter by clevershark at 8:19 PM on August 20, 2006 (9 comments)

No one ever suspects the butterfly (larvae).

Parts of Sweden are overrun by caterpillars. Interesting photos of a caterpillar swarm, with pictures of trees, buildings and bicycles completely cocooned-over with visually stunning (if icky) results. Swarms aren't that unusual, but the term is more habitually used with flying insects like bees and locusts. Soon enough humans might be joining in the fun too, albeit via surrogates.
posted to MetaFilter by clevershark at 10:25 AM on August 4, 2006 (45 comments)

It's made out of people('s hair)!

Waiter, there's hair in my soy sauce! A new soy sauce from China is raising eyebrows in Asia and elsewhere. Why? IT'S MADE OUT OF PEOPLE! Well, people's hair. Someone ought to tell these guys. [via BoingBoing]
posted to MetaFilter by clevershark at 12:16 PM on July 27, 2006 (23 comments)

Good news, everyone!

Apparently Futurama is to be revived for (at least) 13 episodes. Of course this is not the first time people have talked about resurrecting the show, but it seems pretty official...
posted to MetaFilter by clevershark at 4:42 PM on June 22, 2006 (69 comments)

It makes the Prius seem as efficient as a Hummer

Meet the Loremo. Up until now high efficiency vehicles have looked a little bizarre, to say the least. Recently the Toyota Prius (in its 2.0 form) brought HE cars more into the mainstream, but the Loremo looks to beat it hands down. Having lightened the car as much as possible -- it weighs a paltry 450kg, less than half a ton -- engineers were able to bring its fuel consumption down to 1.5l/100km, or over 150 mpg. And make it look pretty good. And bring the cost down to less than 11,000 euro. The company says it'll be available in 2009, but are they for real? (via digg)
posted to MetaFilter by clevershark at 1:38 PM on February 25, 2006 (48 comments)

It's deja vu all over again?

Is Google the new Netscape? With GOOG having taken a tumble Wednesday and falling more than $12 so far today, it's not unreasonable to ask... also why is Gmail still in beta when I've been using it for over a year now?
posted to MetaFilter by clevershark at 11:55 AM on February 3, 2006 (53 comments)

Bubble collapses are, like, so 2001

Signs of a Bubble ? In a world where it makes sense for ebay to pay around $4 billion for (mostly free) internet phone service Skype, it's hard to not think that the old days of wild overvaluation are here again. Then again not everyone agrees.
posted to MetaFilter by clevershark at 7:02 AM on December 7, 2005 (25 comments)

That's *how much* per link?!?

Does AOL's acquisition of Weblogs, Inc. make financial sense? Yet another excellent quantitative analysis from Tristan Louis, who seems to spend a lot of time digging for numbers relating to the so-called blogosphere -- see also his granular analysis of what distinguishes A-list from B-list bloggers and another analysis more specifically examining Technorati links, as well as his analysis of the sort of cash Gawker is paying out which was discussed here earlier. Whatever the price investors don't seem to be hitting the panic button at the deal.
posted to MetaFilter by clevershark at 7:45 AM on October 11, 2005 (5 comments)

That RICO lawsuit is looking more justified every day.

Now that they're being sued on racketeering grounds, the RIAA says "to hell with appearances" and files suit against a 14-year-old girl. Candy Chan might have succeeded in getting charges against her dismissed, but in claiming victory, she probably didn't have much of an idea that the music cartel would proceed to file suit against her 14-year-old daughter specifically requesting that the court appoint a "legal guardian" for her. Whatever happens in this case, it'll probably be less embarassing than some of their previous cock-ups.
posted to MetaFilter by clevershark at 5:48 AM on October 6, 2005 (77 comments)

The blog of the #1 smartest President ever's #1 pick to be the next Associate Justice of the Supreme Court!

Harriet Miers's Blog!!! Silly parody web site in the tradition of the Jeff Gannon blog (related: see Knot Jeff Gannon) and the short-lived Osama blog (not too many internet cafes in Baluchistan apparently), or light-hearted response to this really obvious bit of astroturfing by FOBs (friends of Bush) known to bend the truth a little to help out a pal in need?
posted to MetaFilter by clevershark at 3:26 PM on October 4, 2005 (20 comments)

"Honey, it's work related, I swear!"

Want to watch porn for a living? The FBI might have a job for you. Yes, AG Gonzales is launching a crackdown on porn -- the "consenting adults" kind. After all, it worked so well for Ed Meese's legacy. The memo specifically mentions "sadistic and masochistic behavior" -- isn't it ironic that that DoJ could soon be bringing charges against people who take pictures of acts which the Attorney General has stated were perfectly legal when carried out in Guantanamo Bay?
posted to MetaFilter by clevershark at 1:02 PM on September 20, 2005 (82 comments)

The serendipitous web

Ever had one of those days when you want to look at web sites but don't know which ones you want to look at? A perl script on this page will show you a random web site. It's a great time-waster!
posted to MetaFilter by clevershark at 8:34 PM on August 5, 2005 (19 comments)

More than meets the eye...

Everything you thought you knew about Jean Charles de Menendez is wrong. There was no bulky fleece jacket. He didn't leap the barrier at the Tube station. He was shot seven times, not five. Is there anything in the original police reports which the Metropolitan police still considers to be "substantiated"?
posted to MetaFilter by clevershark at 9:17 AM on July 28, 2005 (110 comments)

Warning to all Montrealers!

Karla Homolka is due to be released today. For those of you who don't keep up with this story, Homolka and her husband Paul Bernardo kidnapped, raped and killed two teenaged girls in the St. Catherines (Ontario) area a few years ago, with one of the women being Homolka's own little sister. Homolka is getting away pretty lightly because of sheer stupidity on the part of the then-prosecutor. Well she's about to get out now. While the official Karla Internet Death Pool no longer exists, one does wonder how long she will last, assuming she's still planning on moving to Montreal's NDG district.
posted to MetaFilter by clevershark at 11:11 AM on July 4, 2005 (124 comments)

Get rich quick! well, maybe not so rich...

Gawker bucks vs journalists' bucks. The idea of bloggers going pro, though a relatively new one, has been discussed for a few years now. With blogging being discussed in the same breath as mainstream journalism, especially since last year's election in which the two activities seemed to clash in a very public way, is it time to ask ourselves if blogging is or can be just another form of journalism with its own professional personalities and success-based pay rates?
posted to MetaFilter by clevershark at 3:37 PM on May 11, 2005 (13 comments)

We only laugh because we can cry no more

Bush nominates Wolfowitz for World Bank post. "Willingness to accept a long-term American occupation force" is now set to become a condition for future bailouts.
posted to MetaFilter by clevershark at 9:59 AM on March 16, 2005 (84 comments)

They'd love to fly...

Like misbehaving teenagers, Jetsgo passengers find themselves grounded indefinitely. As it turns out you can't both operate on razor-thin margins AND spend millions upon millions in expensive marketing campaigns. Who'd have thunk it?
posted to MetaFilter by clevershark at 8:11 AM on March 11, 2005 (23 comments)

Why spoil a war plan with facts?

Who really killed Rafik Hariri? Does it really matter? Is the current finger-waving at Syria really about an assassination, or the culmination of long-held US plans?
posted to MetaFilter by clevershark at 9:52 AM on March 9, 2005 (22 comments)

The Mac Mini as the beginning of the end?

Why the Mac Mini may signal the end of Apple as a traditional computer company. Jobs might well be looking beyond Apple's role as a niche computer maker with this new product.
posted to MetaFilter by clevershark at 8:55 AM on January 14, 2005 (101 comments)

The time has come to set the record straight

Wolfpacks for truth. They thought they were shooting a Greenpeace commercial!
posted to MetaFilter by clevershark at 8:05 AM on October 24, 2004 (23 comments)

Rocking the vote?

The increasingly spotty record of the GOP's involvement with voter registration companies. This is a follow-up to Tueday's Nevada thread. If you registered to vote for the first time this year as anything but a Republican you should probably check to see if your registration was properly filed... you know, just to be on the safe side.
posted to MetaFilter by clevershark at 12:09 PM on October 14, 2004 (16 comments)

Another day, another criminal probe into Halliburton dealings with shady regimes.

Another day, another criminal probe into Halliburton dealings with shady regimes. This is for activities going back to the 1995-2000 period, when the current Vice-President was CEO of the petroleum exploration leviathan. It's also been well documented that Halliburton did business with Iraq during that same time period. This begs the question, how many "forbidden countries" were Halliburton doing business with during Mr. Cheney's stewardship? Note: it's somewhat related, though not quite the same, as this previous thread.
posted to MetaFilter by clevershark at 7:06 PM on July 20, 2004 (15 comments)

Metafilter, meet meatfilter.

Metafilter, meet meatfilter. An index to things vegetarian and vegan.
posted to MetaFilter by clevershark at 7:08 PM on July 6, 2004 (22 comments)

Google's blog is highly dynamic indeed!

Today's entry on the Google blog was altered in a subtle way. The earlier entry boasted of their Bangalore data center, but the afternoon's version now features the Zurich center more prominently and relegates Bangalore to a footnote. Could it be that the company is a little less boastful in their handling of the outsourcing debate than they thought they could be?
posted to MetaFilter by clevershark at 1:38 PM on May 11, 2004 (16 comments)

The world's second biggest supercomputer?

How many systems does Google have? It depends on how you look at their S-1 filing and estimate their buying patterns... any way you look at it there's some serious computing power there.
posted to MetaFilter by clevershark at 3:00 PM on April 30, 2004 (8 comments)

Digital asse(t)s

Think the RIAA is doing something new by threatening and suing? Think again... it's all part of a 4-step process.
posted to MetaFilter by clevershark at 1:05 PM on November 10, 2003 (13 comments)

Who were you on 9/11?

WHO were you on September 11th? To paraphrase the political cliche, are you really different now from what you were two years ago? A collective blog project taking place in one week (of course) will try and answer that question.
posted to MetaFilter by clevershark at 8:01 AM on September 4, 2003 (60 comments)

It's lightest just before dark

Utilities apparently should have known that trouble was brewing in Ohio. Kinda makes you wonder if this wasn't just a case of everybody (well, nearly) being asleep at the switch...
posted to MetaFilter by clevershark at 6:52 PM on August 22, 2003 (13 comments)

Buffett for Ahnold?

Warren Buffett endorses Schwarzenegger for CA Governor That's an interesting development which reminds us that beyond the circus there actually may be a real election at stake.
posted to MetaFilter by clevershark at 1:02 PM on August 13, 2003 (57 comments)

Just pick one...

There will be over 150 candidates on the ballot at the California recall. Does anyone else think that this might lead to ballot woes? Will officials use a 'butterfly' design to save space? What are your thoughts on this?
posted to MetaFilter by clevershark at 6:59 AM on August 10, 2003 (42 comments)

Remembering Halabja

15 years ago today Saddam Hussein launched an unprecedented chemical weapons attack on 20 Kurdish villages. (warning: disturbing images). I think this speaks for itself.
posted to MetaFilter by clevershark at 3:43 PM on March 16, 2003 (53 comments)

Tristan Louis's observations on the current state of blogging.

With his own blog in place Tristan makes interesting observations on today's blogs. He's definitely got a point when it comes to the variety of information on most blogs... sometimes it seems I can visit 20 blogs and see the exact same source articles over and over again. An interesting read from tnl.net, as always.
posted to MetaFilter by clevershark at 7:19 AM on February 26, 2003 (18 comments)

The ODP bans its successful users.

The Open Directory Project bans TNL.net Tristan Louis's web site can no longer be used to access the Open Directory. Why? apparently they can't handle the traffic, so they banned links coming from his pages in the early afternoon.
posted to MetaFilter by clevershark at 6:08 PM on January 17, 2003 (25 comments)

It turns out that Phil Donahue's new show is just...

Be thinkful? sure, whatever... It turns out that Phil Donahue's new show is just a sort of left-wing version of Bill O'Reilly's. What a shock. Read how guests are ambushed and shouted down by the guy who "doesn't let the government tell him what to think".
posted to MetaFilter by clevershark at 2:44 PM on August 20, 2002 (38 comments)

The "artist" (and I use the term loosely...

Sharing Eminem tracks on P2P? The "artist" (and I use the term loosely here) describes, in his usual trailer-park eloquence, what he would like to do to you. The real ones in need of a beating are those who made this tard a celebrity IMHO, but then we must take pity on those who know not what they do...
posted to MetaFilter by clevershark at 5:14 PM on July 9, 2002 (88 comments)

Caribou coffee is owned in majority by an Islamic...

A cup of joe a day might be funding the next suicide bomber. Caribou coffee is owned in majority by an Islamic bank. A bit of every sip goes to opposing "the illegal occupation of Palestine".
posted to MetaFilter by clevershark at 5:17 PM on June 11, 2002 (51 comments)

here's a no-nonsense article on Pim Fortuyn and...

Forget the commercial media spin... here's a no-nonsense article on Pim Fortuyn and how the 'mainstream' media, for the sake of ratings and profits, tried its darndest to make him look like the second coming of Hitler. Heck, I notice that at least one MeFi'er is guilty of that. Article by Adam Curry.
posted to MetaFilter by clevershark at 8:01 PM on May 10, 2002 (27 comments)

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