yort writes "but I am tempted to join the non pot-head community doesn't want to live in an experiment to see what happens if & when we fully legalize it."

I'm still trying to parse that. Anyway, would it have mattered whether it was alcohol or pot? Are you concerned that many more delinquents might take midnight swims if marijuana is legalized? I can see the cause for concern ...
posted to MetaFilter by krinklyfig at 10:19 AM on August 8, 2008

yort writes "this culture becoming a nation of slackers."

I don't think usage rates would be affected much. The Netherlands was not drastically affected, and its rates are lower than the US in some demographic groups. Whatever productive people and slackers currently smoke would probably continue to smoke, and life would go on, except without all the criminal underground, weapons that go along with it and rogue grow operations.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by krinklyfig at 10:24 AM on August 8, 2008

Everything with the article was just humming along nicely, about to draw to a close, then he does this:

"But perhaps the Bulletin is merely on-trend—or even ahead of its time. The Drudge Report, the Huffington Post, and Real Clear Politics have made names and money by sifting through RSS feeds; Tina Brown and Barry Diller are preparing the launch of their own news aggregator. Mike Ladyman and company may simply be bringing guerilla-style 21st-century content... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by krinklyfig at 10:08 PM on August 7, 2008

Never heard of bus rage? I've been pissed the fuck off just about every time I've had to ride a Greyhound.

It's more like bus malaise. Sticks with you for a while after, too.
posted to MetaFilter by krinklyfig at 8:43 PM on August 7, 2008

(This is a work computer, with the vast majority of history being local intranet sites)

Likelihood of you being FEMALE is 38%
Likelihood of you being MALE is 62%

It disregards intranet sites, so this is based entirely on Metafilter, Newegg, Google and two bank sites, which is my whole history for today.
posted to MetaFilter by krinklyfig at 3:21 PM on August 4, 2008

KokuRyu writes "I don't know what's worse: anti-Semitism in Adbusters or the ridiculous article linked to in this FPP."

I'm not sure that's a good example. The charge of anti-Semitism IMO was not legitimate, and was drawn from the same sort of knee-jerk accusation of anti-Semitism whenever anyone tries to examine the connections between Israel supporters in government and our policies regarding Israel. This was the same sort of thing... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by krinklyfig at 1:18 PM on August 1, 2008

vorfeed writes "When you get to the bottom of the hipster scene, there's nothing there, except more scene."

What do you get at the bottom of a heavy metal scene? Cigarette butts and Jack Daniel's empties?

I've seen a lot of metal shows in my day, and I never knew there was such depth that existed there that was absent from other "scenes." One thing I can say is that people are... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by krinklyfig at 1:27 PM on August 1, 2008

Also, obligatory Greggery Peccary reference:

Greggery Peccary takes the elevator up to the 83rd floor of a
grim, grey, evil-looking building with a sign on the front
reading "BIG SWIFTY AND ASSOCIATES...TREND MONGERS".
And what might you ask is a TREND MONGER?
Well a TREND MONGER is a person, who dreams up a trend, like
"THE TWIST", or "FLOWER POWER".
And spreads it... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by krinklyfig at 1:33 PM on August 1, 2008

Clarification on comment: My friend's father opened a Juice Bar in Bedford Stuyvesant a few years ago. It wendelled in about 4 months. Just because you build it does not mean they will come. Economics people...

Also, the first, second and third rule of restaurants: location, location, location.

I remember living in the war zone. I was grateful that I could find somewhere to eat for less than $5. Now I can do that with good... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by krinklyfig at 6:04 PM on July 31, 2008

A lot of you are under a misconception. The idea of American business changed in the last twenty years or so. It used to be about "good business" where both parties gained from the transaction. It's now all about attempting to scam your counterparty so that you can get double-digit profit increases each and every year

This is not new. I currently work for someone who is honest and ethical, but I've also worked for sleazebags. If you live in... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by krinklyfig at 6:20 PM on July 31, 2008

Subsidies could easily convince them to stop raising beef on corn and supplements, in favor of more sustainable and area-appropriate lamb or bison. Those meats may seem "funny" now

You gotta be kidding. Some of the best meat I've had lately was lamb steak, as well as buffalo green chile stew. It was free-range meat, organic and sorta pricey, but I figure that's the real price of eating meat as cultivated in a sustainable manner, so I don't... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by krinklyfig at 6:31 PM on July 31, 2008

porn in the woods writes "In late-breaking news, Chunky's still unclaimed, and she's going on Regis and Kelly tomorrow."

That sounds like some quality entertainment.
posted to MetaFilter by krinklyfig at 8:58 AM on July 31, 2008

Presenting the Generation-X Geek Orson Scott Card cycle:

I'm a gen x geek, and I'm proud to say I never even hit point 1 in the cycle. Well, I hear he's a good writer, but I don't feel like I really missed out.
posted to MetaFilter by krinklyfig at 11:08 PM on July 30, 2008

I'm surprised this story isn't a bigger scandal. I guess the Justice Dept. is so completely rotten, it's practices so clearly utterly corrupted by party-political machinations, that we all just sigh and say "well, of course they did that." But, really--this is in many ways bigger than Watergate.

Well, the thing about the DoJ is that it's explicitly non-partisan, or it's supposed to be. Until Bush, that's pretty much the way it's been. The... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by krinklyfig at 7:46 PM on July 29, 2008

I don't care which side of the political fence you're on, if someone has been commenting publically on any of those topics I would damn well want to know what they said before appointing them to anything....

Taken in isolation, maybe. But the DoJ is not supposed to be basing their decisions on political affiliation, and, under Bush, they have been. That's very clear now. This is just part of the whole pattern, and it didn't come out of nowhere.
posted to MetaFilter by krinklyfig at 7:58 PM on July 29, 2008

So apparently, Jess was lucky to have wound up with Kate Moss.

"Three men who aren't Jonathan Grattage"

Damn, that was the funniest thing I've seen on el Reg in a hell of a long time.
posted to MetaFilter by krinklyfig at 9:19 PM on July 28, 2008

The following is a direct quote from him, upon being asked why he votes Republican (this question was asked while he was in the middle of a tirade, and apparently took him momentarily offguard):

"I don't know."

And then, almost immediately, he started yelling again, about how he proudly votes Republican. And about how his welfare check isn't enough. And about how the lazy fucks on welfare are stealing his hard-earned money.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by krinklyfig at 8:31 PM on July 28, 2008

Even if everyone captured by the US has a legal status under the GC, though, that doesn't answer the question of whether the GC requires habeas. Boumediene certainly doesn't rest on the GC.

The entire reason for the designation of "enemy combatant" is to place the prisoners outside the protection of any law. Although Ex parte Quirin has been cited by the Bush administration, it's not clear that's a valid reason.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by krinklyfig at 2:30 PM on July 27, 2008

Meanwhile, they'll be arrested, so it's not like you need the information NOW; releasing the info can wait for the courts to decide. The only reason to release it before the conviction (or lack thereof) is to feed the media beast, and the hunger of their audiences, for gossip.

That's a good point. However, the police blotter should be public record. Tying all the various parts of the blotter to particular court dates does not necessarily benefit the... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by krinklyfig at 6:37 PM on July 25, 2008

Just adding that this is excellent, mostly so I can come back to this and look through it later ... need sleep now.
posted to MetaFilter by krinklyfig at 10:30 PM on July 24, 2008

Bottom line: a lot of Vista's pre-release hype was never delivered in the final product, like a new file system and a complete replacement for the registry. Instead, they "souped up" the interface and really pushed the envelope of hardware requirements, as the hardware industry had been whining for years that Vista's delay meant less upgrade sales. They delivered a bloated version of XP, that sort of looks like it has an Aqua theme that only a MS designer could imagine. Too much, too... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by krinklyfig at 9:52 PM on July 24, 2008

Ignore the run-on sentences ... it's late.
posted to MetaFilter by krinklyfig at 9:53 PM on July 24, 2008

You're right to put it in scare quotes. Aero is really no better than XP - which I find fast & easy to use, so it's not a bit problem for me, but if that's the case what's the use?

Yeah, fwiw, my everyday install is FreeBSD with xfce on the desktop, which I know and love and hope will always be there. I only use MS for games and music. ... And, well, for my job, which is network services and tech support. Like agress said, it's a PITA to support.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by krinklyfig at 10:16 PM on July 24, 2008

On the other hand... at work I'm on a project where I have to support things where people have machines ranging from Windows 2000 to Vista. And let me just say, that Windows 2000 and Vista are on the same level of "WTF, why isn't this shit working?" as Windows 2000.

I have to admit I miss Win2k for its stability, not really on home machines but more on the server side. Once you have the right hardware and stable software, it's like a rock.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by krinklyfig at 10:26 PM on July 24, 2008

But they've replaced Siskel and Ebert with such a dunce that it has made me miss Siskel and Ebert all over again.

Wow. Look at these chukleheads.

The unspoken rule about movie critics is that they're not supposed to look like actors, but regardless, they are supposed to love film as an art form and as entertainment, to be film geeks of one type or another. I don't think these guys fit the bill.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by krinklyfig at 8:06 PM on July 24, 2008

Oh, and a word to the wise: Don't rent (or dog forbid, purchase) the remake of 3:10 to Yuma based on the Ebert's four star rating. The only way I can justify his unbelievably generous review of the most trite, unbelievable--I'm talking Grand Canyon sized holes in the plot.

Well, he's certainly not out on a limb with his rating. I admit that I haven't seen it, but apparently Ebert's view was the view of the vast majority.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by krinklyfig at 8:24 PM on July 24, 2008

(Can't imagine why anyone prefers the Tim Burton atrocity over the original - that half-arsed Michael Jackson impression from Johnny Depp still makes me shudder now).

Yeah, it's too bad. I actually like Tim Burton, Johnny Depp and I really love Roald Dahl, but when they came together they didn't really work as well as the 1971 version with Gene Wilder. I guess there was more acid going around back then, or maybe it was just better quality.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by krinklyfig at 10:11 PM on July 23, 2008

Once the thing got moving, there were further complexities. As the thing picked up speed, and the mushers would tire, they had to be able to jump up onto the spoke bars and not lose their balance. The overseer would be on the lookout for emergencies, like if a musher went down by either losing balance or tripping while pushing. Then he or she would yell "Musher Down", which triggered two activities. The remaining mushers would jump up on the spokes so as not to trample their... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by krinklyfig at 7:42 PM on July 21, 2008

Is this the same Dana Carvey who made Master of Disguise? If so I'm not watching these until he flies out and personally begs me for forgiveness.

Steve Martin did Pink Panther (among other clunkers), and Mike Myers did Love Guru. They all have their bad moments. When he's good, Carvey is really good, but this show needed a bit more time to gel. He has had difficulty finding his stride in the last ... oh, ten years or so. Maybe when his kids are grown... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by krinklyfig at 6:28 PM on July 19, 2008

Watched Roxanne again lately? I have. It made me wonder whether the chemistry of Earth's atmosphere had seriously measurably changed since I was younger, preventing us from being so easily charmed. Has NOT held up well.

"Cocaine is a hell of drug."
posted to MetaFilter by krinklyfig at 8:46 AM on July 20, 2008

It's amazing how many things this comic proves Rinehart terrible at. He can't spell.

Not only that, but he misspells "pedophile" two different ways on two successive panels.
posted to MetaFilter by krinklyfig at 8:49 PM on July 19, 2008

Ah, "Art by Shane Suiters." Looks like he probably did the lettering, too, which likely means they gave him some copy and he just whipped it up. He even signs the last panel. That's some quality doodles, so you gotta sign it, right? The Rinehart campaign paid for it. I wonder if the art was volunteer or commissioned.
posted to MetaFilter by krinklyfig at 8:58 PM on July 19, 2008

I can forsee in the relatively near future a need for a freak lane

If there is such a thing as a freak lane, I'm on it.
posted to MetaFilter by krinklyfig at 8:20 PM on July 19, 2008

fiercecupcake writes "OK, OK, one more: Bootlegging Dr Pepper"

I work with someone whose family is from near there, and she brings me cases of the stuff. It's excellent, if you like Dr. Pepper. It's mostly the texture that's different. HFCS is much more syrupy.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by krinklyfig at 8:41 AM on July 18, 2008

Someone I met while hitchhiking got suckered into this. They pitched me over and over to join them, probably because I looked a bit hungry and desperate, but they came off way too skeezy.
posted to MetaFilter by krinklyfig at 8:43 AM on July 18, 2008

Trueluk, That happened to me a couple of years ago. Some smart and well spoken kids from some group call ed the Tower of Power

Tower of Power?
posted to MetaFilter by krinklyfig at 9:53 PM on July 18, 2008

Well, someone has to take over where Mark Russell left off.

OK, maybe someone doesn't have to.
posted to MetaFilter by krinklyfig at 11:19 PM on July 16, 2008

The common denominator is gameplay -- is the game enjoyable to play? I think there's room for both approaches to gaming in the market, but as soon as one starts to sacrifice enjoyable gameplay for either interface-oriented innovation or audiovisual innovation, the other will gain an advantage.

I agree, although text adventures and games like Myst manage to take advantage of the immersion aspect without relying on interface or audiovisual innovation.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by krinklyfig at 9:10 PM on July 16, 2008

I've been reading every article written in Byte

I used to dutifully type BASIC programs they printed into my Apple ][e, every one I could find. Sometimes took hours ...
posted to MetaFilter by krinklyfig at 10:21 PM on July 16, 2008

I don't know if any of you watch Kitchen Nightmares with Gordon Ramsay (BBC), but in one episode he was trying to make the point of good ingredients standing on their own. To make his point, he tried to order a single malt scotch with soda from the bartender at the restaurant. The bartender smartly refused, because you don't ruin a good scotch by mixing it with soda. Now, it may piss off the customer, but you're not being a good bartender by letting someone order a $20 scotch and soda (I used to... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by krinklyfig at 12:24 PM on July 14, 2008

bink writes "Can someone please explain to me how adding water to espresso, and then pouring that over ice, preserves the crema in a way that pouring straight espresso over ice does not?"

Have you ever been a barista? It's not quite as simple as it looks. Lots of factors play into the flavor of the coffee. Once you ice it, especially if you pour the coffee over ice, the oils separate a bit from the water and it becomes bitter. Espresso is... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by krinklyfig at 12:31 PM on July 14, 2008

jonmc writes "sciurius: I am a confirmed caffeine addict (3 large coffees every day) and I'll happily drink a Dunkin' Donuts large. This sounds more like simple yuppie silliness."

Well, I've heard lots of people claim PBR or Bud was good beer, but back when I drank, it tasted like horse piss. Now, I wouldn't turn down a beer in those days, but Bud ain't Arrogant Bastard Ale, and Cheez-Whiz ain't Camambert, and no class-based defenses of... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by krinklyfig at 12:34 PM on July 14, 2008

kcds writes "Being a good bartender means you serve your customers what they ordered, and you don't give them crap about it."

Really? When was the last time you served a single malt scotch with soda to a customer?

What? You aren't a bartender? That's surprising.
posted to MetaFilter by krinklyfig at 1:34 PM on July 14, 2008

adamdschneider writes "I like PBR."

I do, too, or I did. But I never put on airs like it was good beer. People who do that, or who try too hard to be hipsters, have caused the price to skyrocket in some bars, which is beyond silly, at least to the patrons.
posted to MetaFilter by krinklyfig at 1:36 PM on July 14, 2008

Dreama writes "Getting all precious about it is ridiculous. Coffee places and baristas really need to accept that despite their work and pretensions, the four shot espresso over ice is, to the consumer buying it, much much closer in meaning to a super size Coke than it will ever be to than Glenmorangie. Ever."

That quad will cost you at least $6 in most places, however.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by krinklyfig at 1:38 PM on July 14, 2008

jonmc writes "The whiny white yuppie factor comes in when people act like it's the end of the world when they can't get exactly what the want all the time, especially over stuff like coffee and beer, which (a lot of the time) are simply about waking up and buzz anyway."

I agree with that, and I say that as a former bartender and barista and current caffeine addict.

If someone were to order a rookie drink (such as a... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by krinklyfig at 1:46 PM on July 14, 2008

kcds writes "You're seriously suggesting I'd have to be a bartender in order to judge who's a good bartender?"

There's a difference between serving drinks for your friends and serving drinks for money. A good bartender, like a good card dealer, will at least warn you before you make a big mistake.
posted to MetaFilter by krinklyfig at 2:48 PM on July 14, 2008

Restaurants are always aiming for a particular type of customer through the products they sell. If you aim really high, as this place has done, then my experience has been that there are often a lot of silly rules and illogical faux pas that you adhere to and avoid, but the result is that the product is great. Like the whole ritual for the ortolan. It's a tasty little bird stuffed full and eaten whole, but that's all it really is, despite the whole wearing a napkin over your head deal, to hide... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by krinklyfig at 7:40 PM on July 14, 2008

Nick -- the owner of Murky -- had one of his two locations shut down by the DC government a few months ago because he had neglected to pay his DC taxes for 21 of the prior 24 months. So to frame him as any kind of hero here is a bit silly

Hero? Who said that?

Really is immaterial. I've worked in great restaurants owned by giant douchebags. Nobody thought they were heroes.
posted to MetaFilter by krinklyfig at 8:03 PM on July 14, 2008

I agree with you, but in this case, the server is willing to serve the espresso mixed with milk, and mixed with ice water. The policy of not wanting to let the customer make a "ghetto latte" is reasonable. But the argument that a traditional and tasty coffee drink violates the integrity of the experience in a way that an iced Americano and a cappuccino do not is bullshit.

It seems sort of arbitrary, but ice and espresso would be a very... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by krinklyfig at 8:15 PM on July 14, 2008