Seconding kookoobirdz-- I had this problem for a while and a little lube in the condom was a big help. You want water based lube, since oil based can weaken the condom. You also want to make sure the brand you're using isn't too tight, since that will reduce the friction you need to get off. I like the Trojan Twisted Pleasure ones, but YMMV. After you finish, be sure to hold the bottom of the condom as you pull out, since all that slippery looseness will make it more likely to slip off as... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by InfidelZombie at 1:00 PM on July 16, 2008

I've been in my band about three and a half years now, playing small bars and clubs. As Cortex says it can be a drag to play when there's not many people there, but I always have a great time as long as whoever is there is into it. We have a pretty energetic show, so we can usually get people moving.

We played in a Staple's parking lot once, which was weird. I had a friend who thought it would be a good idea to do daytime shows for charity wherever he could get... [more]
posted to MeFi Music by InfidelZombie at 9:40 AM on July 8, 2008

do you pay royalties to Gibson when you play your guitar?

I paid Gibson when I bought my guitar. If you want to use somebody's music as an instrument, you should pay them for it.
posted to MetaFilter by InfidelZombie at 3:20 PM on June 23, 2008

You're all hellbound infidels.
I'm not going anywhere.
posted to MetaFilter by InfidelZombie at 2:28 PM on June 17, 2008

I have a friend who did this for a while, and she just responded to an ad in the back of the LA Weekly.
posted to Ask Metafilter by InfidelZombie at 2:44 PM on June 11, 2008

About 20 years ago some friends and I got busted drinking beer in the Disneyland parking lot. We'd only been in the car for a couple minutes when security showed up and we hadn't seen any patrols, so we couldn't understand how they knew what was up.

As security drove us to the Disneyland Jail to call our parents, they told us that the parking lot was designed so that the windshields of the cars all faced the Disneyland Hotel. On the top floor of the hotel was a room... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by InfidelZombie at 1:44 PM on May 22, 2008

ROCK LOBSTER!

Amiga 500!

Video Toaster!

Babylon 5!

Spiderman!

Kenny Rogers Roaster!

Silly little word games that Metafilter brings,
These are a few of my favorite things.
posted to MetaFilter by InfidelZombie at 11:42 AM on May 16, 2008

I like the idea of having a few set categories. Maybe have one lyrical Challenge, one musical, and one completely crazy, off the wall Challenge each month. Flapjax could pick the best idea in each category from what peple send in, and people could attempt one or more of the Challenges in their songs as they were inspired to.
posted to MetaTalk by InfidelZombie at 7:17 PM on May 12, 2008

I have nothing on your first question, but the father of Eddie Murphy's love interest in Coming To America rana restaurant called McDougal's (I think) that was exactly like McDonald's.

No spumoni?! Heathens.
posted to Ask Metafilter by InfidelZombie at 8:23 AM on May 12, 2008

Maybe you could make a trip to the music store together part of the gift. Have the salesperson bring over all their models that fit your criteria (dark tone, heavy strings, under $1000 etc.) for him to try out. He plays each, but can't look at the price tag. He makes the selection, you pay for it, everybody's happy.
posted to Ask Metafilter by InfidelZombie at 1:06 PM on May 1, 2008

Count me in too.
posted to MetaTalk by InfidelZombie at 9:52 AM on April 29, 2008

Good ideas Karlos. I did all these RPM Challenge tracks with drum loops, and I just didn't get a chance to add in any fills on this one. It's a little robotic without any variation, that's for sure.

I don't know if I'll do a rework of this version-- I mostly do these recordings as demos for the band, not as a final product. In fact, we were working on this song last night and it's turning out very different-- maybe I'l post it if the practice tape we did last night came out OK.
posted to MeFi Music by InfidelZombie at 2:02 PM on April 28, 2008

One of the authors of the textbook, James Q. Wilson, also had an op-ed in yesterday's LA Times.
posted to MetaFilter by InfidelZombie at 12:08 PM on April 28, 2008

Really cool song, with some great melodic guitar work. You guys should come out of hibernation.
posted to MeFi Music by InfidelZombie at 10:30 PM on April 26, 2008

Thanks Karlos- good ideas. We got sidetracked working on other new songs last practice, but I'll be sure to post another version of this as we work on it more.
posted to MeFi Music by InfidelZombie at 12:28 PM on April 17, 2008

Even if you think this is legitimate as art, why the hell would you need to do it repeatedly over 9 months? It seems like you would get everything you need for the project the first time.
posted to MetaFilter by InfidelZombie at 9:48 AM on April 17, 2008

It would be really great to take the whistling you're doing with the vocal line at the end, and alternate it with the vocal lines at the beginning. So you'd go "Green traveling hat knit around my head"... "whistle melody" ... "One of these days gonna hitchhike my ways up out of this bed.""... "whistle melody", etc., through the first two verses.

I love the idea of some harmonies on this, I'd start adding them in slowly... [more]
posted to MeFi Music by InfidelZombie at 1:55 PM on April 12, 2008

I'd use the strap button on the bottom end of the guitar as one support point, and the lower side of the neck as the other. That way you can put the low end in a stud, then pick a point along the neck that gives you the angle you want and hits a stud.

What you use to support the guitar will vary depending on how thick it is, maybe a big nail for a thin electric but some sort of hooks for an acoustic. You should be able to find something decorative at the hardware store.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by InfidelZombie at 10:32 AM on April 5, 2008

I was able to get all 10 songs done, which made me very happy. I posted a couple of the songs to Music, and have a few demos up here. I figured I'd wait for the to release the jukebox for the whole thing to be online.

I was surpised I actually got it all done. I decided to go ahead and write everything last month too, and it was almost too much. By the middle of the month I had 8 song structures built but no lyrics or melodies. I had to write one song on the 29th... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by InfidelZombie at 9:08 AM on March 12, 2008

Just to follow up: the RPM 2008 Jukebox is now up live. The search function on the Library tab is pretty cool, just type in any word and it narrows the results if that is part of the track name, artist, song title, or genre. You can find my songs by typing in "Jimi Jimmy"
posted to MetaTalk by InfidelZombie at 10:52 AM on March 29, 2008

I really feel like I should write a song for this project.
posted to MetaTalk by InfidelZombie at 11:53 AM on March 28, 2008

Yeah, but they never call afterwards.
posted to MetaFilter by InfidelZombie at 9:55 AM on March 21, 2008

Gibson ships its guitars with .10s, I've played .11s on my Les Pauls with no problems.

Don't use WD-40 on the pots, it will leave an oily residue. You want electrical contact cleaner, which you can find at any hardware store.
posted to Ask Metafilter by InfidelZombie at 10:18 AM on March 13, 2008

I CAN HAZ PNUT BUDER AN BANANA SAMMICH?
posted to MetaTalk by InfidelZombie at 2:52 PM on March 11, 2008

There should be a common data field in your Census data and the boundary file, most likely the census tract number. Do a JOIN on the two tables using the common field, which will append the census data to the boundary file table.
posted to Ask Metafilter by InfidelZombie at 4:00 PM on March 6, 2008 marked best answer

Becky has a special "dead eyes" filter for that, right?
posted to MetaFilter by InfidelZombie at 2:07 PM on March 6, 2008

Oh my god, there's a girl without her face totally obscured in that first picture. SOMEBODY PROTECT HER!!!!
posted to MetaFilter by InfidelZombie at 12:53 PM on March 6, 2008

I bet Bruce Springsteen was delighted to discover that his mournful tale of a Vietnam veteran returning to an economically depressed and unsympathetic nation is being used as jingoistic torture by criminals who aren't clever enough to listen to his lyrics, but only clever enough to know that USA is in the title.

I doubt he's too shocked-- that was pretty much the reaction the song got when it was released (except for the torture part.)
posted to MetaFilter by InfidelZombie at 1:45 PM on February 26, 2008

Refurbished items are usually a good deal, most online places will give you the same warranty on them so you can return it if there's a major problem. The more expensive Dots have a maple top in addition to the binding and other cosmetic additions, that will give you a brighter tone overall.

Actually, a semi-hollow might be a good choice for you as a starter guitar. That way you can work with it as an acoustic also, so you don't always need to be plugged in when you... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by InfidelZombie at 10:02 AM on February 14, 2008

The guitar volume is an interesting control in itself. For most of its range it raises volume like you'd expect, but at the high end you get less volume increase and more saturation in the signal (a dirtier sound.) This effect is more pronounced the more overdriven your amp is, and shows more with humbucker pickups than with the single coils on your strat. But often if you play with a lot of distortion you'll hit full volume at about 3 or 4, from that point on the signal gets more distorted... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by InfidelZombie at 2:01 PM on February 22, 2008

"See, that's a selling point for telecasters-- their more streamlined heads make for easier removal after an ass-ramming."

If you play based on what's least-uncomfortable to have rammed up your ass, you end up as one of those weenies with a Chapman stick.

And now I finally understand the Dean headstock design-- it prevents ass-ramming entirely.
posted to MetaFilter by InfidelZombie at 3:29 PM on February 20, 2008

Heaven's for martyrs!
posted to MetaFilter by InfidelZombie at 12:39 PM on February 14, 2008

Yeah, but it sounds great doing it.
posted to MetaFilter by InfidelZombie at 11:09 AM on February 14, 2008

Glass houses, fish.
Giant aquarium!
posted to MetaTalk by InfidelZombie at 9:01 AM on February 14, 2008

The bass player in my band is constantly messing with his amp setup, so I've heard him through 2x10's, 4x10's, 1x15's, and various combinations of the three. I like his tone better when he has 10's in the mix, it is tighter and cuts through great. However, you lose that feeling you get in the chest when the bass really hits you. That doesn't seem to come unless you're running at least 1 15" speaker.
posted to Ask Metafilter by InfidelZombie at 2:15 PM on February 13, 2008

"Very heavy," deadpans father McCain, 71, when asked what he thinks of the blog.

He's trying to relate to the youth-- kids today call things "heavy" when they like them. He just wants them to know he's "hep".
posted to MetaFilter by InfidelZombie at 12:44 PM on February 13, 2008

You can't Godwin a thread with Mussolini!
You can, but you have to say "Atsa spicy Godwin-a meatball!"
posted to MetaFilter by InfidelZombie at 12:49 PM on February 11, 2008

But in the end we settled on three choices: number three ... the Sprouts, sent in by Mrs Vicious of Hastings... very nice ; number two..... the Phlegms... from Mrs Childmolester of Worthing; but the winner was undoubtedly from Mrs No-Supper-For-You from Norwood in Lancashire... Miserable Fat Belgian Bastards.
posted to MetaFilter by InfidelZombie at 1:04 PM on February 8, 2008

but how does one "obscenely" smash heads in?

Hit 'em in the head with this.
posted to MetaFilter by InfidelZombie at 1:58 PM on February 1, 2008

I'm going to give it a shot too-- profile. I think it is going to be a lot of fun, even if I can't get the full 35 minutes done.

O9scar- your profile link isn't working, it just prompts me to log into my account. I went my profile off the Participants list to get the link I used above.
posted to MetaTalk by InfidelZombie at 8:50 PM on January 27, 2008

Thanks flapjax-- I just can't help myself, I have to RAWK!
posted to MetaTalk by InfidelZombie at 8:57 AM on January 28, 2008

I have also read the series several times, there's a lot there that you only pick up on the second or third reading. Don't rush to get your answers, a patient search will be rewarded.

I'd also reccomend The Urth Of The New Sun, which covers Severian's life after the end of the 4th book and sheds new light on the story of the Conciliator and the Claw.
posted to Ask Metafilter by InfidelZombie at 9:03 PM on January 27, 2008

Guitar Geek has the rig he used in Shellac, though no pointers on how to get a particular sound.
posted to Ask Metafilter by InfidelZombie at 12:51 PM on January 25, 2008

I mean really, how much bleaching do you get? What does it look like?

If you use too much, it becomes transparent.

And I thought it would get a hole in it.
posted to MetaFilter by InfidelZombie at 8:42 PM on January 24, 2008

I thought I was going to regret plowing all the way through that "most europeans" link, but then I came to this:

Behold the massive crack infusion flowing into your arm. (Or at least trying to. Remember, kids, you can always just pull the needle out.)

...and it made it all worthwhile.

YOU SMOKE CRACK, YOU MORON!
posted to MetaFilter by InfidelZombie at 9:17 PM on January 23, 2008

So tkchrist, what did you think of his advice to stand with your strong hand/foot forward? I'd always been told to do the opposite, and it seems like you'd throw a better punch driving off your rear foot instead of the front one.
posted to MetaFilter by InfidelZombie at 2:07 PM on January 17, 2008

Those are both decently made import guitars with set necks, carved tops, and two humbuckers-- haven't heard anything bad about them. Either one will be able to get the tones you're looking for. The best way to choose will be to play both, and buy the one that feels and sounds best to you.
posted to Ask Metafilter by InfidelZombie at 10:25 AM on January 15, 2008 marked best answer

One other thing-- play more than one of the model you decide on. Quality can vary a lot from guitar to guitar, you want to get the best of what the store has in stock. Play them unplugged for at least a little bit, and go with the loudest one. More resonance = better construction.
posted to Ask Metafilter by InfidelZombie at 10:30 AM on January 15, 2008 marked best answer

Little do they know, Pepsi is the best thing around to wash down the brains. BWAHAHAHA!!
posted to MetaFilter by InfidelZombie at 12:11 PM on January 11, 2008

limeonaire-- it's not a survey based on a random sample, it's an actual count of all the ballots submitted. If I have 100 people in a room and ask them all their opinion on something, that's different than asking 30 of them and determining via statistics what the other 70 likely think. Margin of error and significance don't apply in this case.
posted to Ask Metafilter by InfidelZombie at 11:09 AM on January 10, 2008