Microsoft needs to go back to the WinXP /2003 base and try again. Vista "Workstation" or whatever it is called is a terrible operating system. Jerry Seinfeld can't fix that and the average consumer doesn't care what Jerry has to say anyway. Nor can they buy a new computer without Vista. Microsoft is clearly targeting the insanely disproportionate number of middle age IT admins with purchasing power that think quoting the show is a great substitute for wit.

I... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by McGuillicuddy at 12:35 PM on August 23, 2008

It is difficult to capture the dignity of the aged and infirm without obscuring the humiliation and loss that is quite apparent when seen first-hand. This site did so beautifully. Thanks for the link.
posted to MetaFilter by McGuillicuddy at 2:35 AM on July 24, 2008

Genevieve Bell, Director of User Experience within Intel’s Digital Home Group and an anthropologist by training, gave the commencement speech at Berkley [pdf] this year. Not my school, and I didn't attend, but I found it worth reading (if you in the mood for a commencement speech).
posted to MetaFilter by McGuillicuddy at 8:27 AM on June 9, 2008

From Genevieve Bell's speech:
Anthropologists, it turns out, are full of advice. What do the following statements all have in common: “The safest seat is always the one directly behind the driver.” “Take 10 grams of quinine every night and keep off the women.” “Walk in cheap sandshoes, the water runs out of them faster”. And “Always lie to customs officials”? Well, they are all pieces of advice given by anthropologists to would-be anthropologists before they set off to the field.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by McGuillicuddy at 8:30 AM on June 9, 2008

If this were not just a quick hit to gain 2 or 3 percentage points in tomorrow's election, it might be problematic for her campaign that Hillary Clinton plagarized Mario Coumo when she said "You campaign with poetry. You govern in prose."
posted to MetaFilter by McGuillicuddy at 6:30 PM on February 18, 2008

LOLHeartOfDarkness: IN UR AFRIKA, <3'n UR DARKNEZ.
posted to MetaFilter by McGuillicuddy at 11:58 AM on September 21, 2007

Score: -1, would not date again.
posted to MetaFilter by McGuillicuddy at 10:29 AM on August 24, 2007

This is what Pearl Jam had to say about the incident. Lawrence Lessig chimed in as well.
posted to MetaFilter by McGuillicuddy at 10:42 AM on August 10, 2007

They don't have to read the comments too, do they?

The comments on your favorite website suck.
posted to MetaFilter by McGuillicuddy at 8:20 AM on August 9, 2007

It is worth noting that the elder Bacevich considers himself a "Catholic conservative". The younger Bacevich worked for 3 Republican politicians, including Strom Thurmond. This is obviously not a political thread, but the political leanings of the author help give the article some context.

Overall, the article is very good. Unfortunately, I share the author's pessimism concerning our ability "to see the world as it is and to see ourselves as we really... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by McGuillicuddy at 1:52 PM on May 16, 2007

My favorite part:
BILL MOYERS: Well, what is your thinking about why it is as-- the war enters its fifth year, and the President has announced - an extension of tours to 15 months, and they're going to call up the National Guard. And April was the bloodiest month so far since the war started, and there was one day in April that was the bloodiest day. That people have seen they have no way to get the guys in Washington, and Condoleezza Rice, to listen to them. That there seems a... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by McGuillicuddy at 5:05 PM on April 29, 2007

Since before the invasion, I've been convinced that there is no military solution to terrorism or long-term Mid East peace. And I've read and sympathized with Riverbend for quite a while.

But lately, her tone has changed and she seems to blame the US almost exclusively for the suffering going on in Iraq. Rather than criticize those that represent her, she displays the loyalty to sect that is the root of most of the current violence in Iraq.
I remember... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by McGuillicuddy at 1:56 PM on April 27, 2007

Mass graves are a difficult topic, especially because the Administration used them as part of the bogus justification for war. However, in kirkaracha's links Human Rights Watch estimated in May 2003 that 290,000 people were "missing". From the article, written in 2004:
Of 270 suspected grave sites identified in the last year, 55 have now been examined, revealing, according to the best estimates that The Observer has been able to obtain, around 5,000 bodies.
Of... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by McGuillicuddy at 4:41 PM on April 27, 2007

The photos selected are so consistently good. It's remarkable how seldom I cry reading text online, and how easily these collections of photos draw tears even after repeated viewing.

thread about 2006 feature photography winner
thread about 2005 feature photography winner
posted to MetaFilter by McGuillicuddy at 6:37 PM on April 18, 2007

I second PhotLobley. And I'll point out a thread about the 2005 feature photography winner. I just looked at the photos again, remembered the story, and sit here teary-eyed.
posted to MetaFilter by McGuillicuddy at 10:18 AM on April 18, 2007

Very cool video and personal anecdotes. Thanks for sharing a glimpse of your life, silentmiaow. It is appreciated.
posted to MetaFilter by McGuillicuddy at 10:57 AM on January 26, 2007

Cool. Thanks for the links.
posted to MetaFilter by McGuillicuddy at 7:36 PM on November 28, 2006

It has probably been posted elsewhere, but there has been a recent Superior Court ruling in Massachusetts that allows same-sex couples from Rhode Island to get married here. More info...
posted to MetaFilter by McGuillicuddy at 6:41 PM on October 25, 2006

Det är bra.
posted to MetaFilter by McGuillicuddy at 7:01 AM on September 10, 2006

>> The blowback on the children of the users of agent orange is some fascinating bio-karma.

I'm failing to see the karma. It is simple-minded to think that the young men, often conscripted, sent to Viet Nam deserve additional suffering beyond what they already endured. The people responsible for the policy of de-forestation are not the people suffering from the consequences. Before blithely assigning responsibility to soldiers for following... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by McGuillicuddy at 11:15 AM on September 2, 2006

Ahmadinejad sounded considerably like our own failed statesmen. Unless you actually believed that Saddam's 16 rusty missiles were a threat to American security, that taking out Noriega would stem the flow of narcotics, or that the lives and legitimate desires of the majority of Vietnamese could be compared to a game of dominoes.

The Persians and Arabs are no more afraid of our threats and bombs and technology than the Vietnamese were. The Apocalypse is not at hand just... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by McGuillicuddy at 7:57 AM on August 14, 2006

Jimbob - I realized that after the fact. I retract it, I was drunk at the time.
posted to MetaFilter by McGuillicuddy at 8:13 AM on August 14, 2006

From the site with the Ascaris video linked above, here are more GI parasite videos (including more Ascaris). (self-link)
posted to MetaFilter by McGuillicuddy at 6:52 AM on March 6, 2006

This was a good manuever on the part of the Democrats. We know that the "nuclear option" is looming over Alito's nomination, and this was the first shot in the larger looming battle over the role of the minority party in the US Senate. By design, the minority party can grind the Senate to a halt.

The Republicans may win many battles to limit the power of the Democratic minority, but they can't win the war, and they are likely to strip the minority of any... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by McGuillicuddy at 6:38 PM on November 1, 2005

Also, the even better quote from the CNN interview was basically: "Well, I'm sorry if Mr. Frist doesn't like my use of Senate procedure."
posted to MetaFilter by McGuillicuddy at 6:42 PM on November 1, 2005

dios - Very good discussion. But I imagine you sitting in Dallas, not having known many Muslims. I don't know too many, but probably have known 30 fairly well in my life. I've never met a radical "Bring back the caliphate' type Muslim. And the Muslims I've known assure me they don't know folks like that either. A bit of anecdotal evidence, but I think most folks would agree with it.

The entire world is divided over many of the same issues that divide this country,... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by McGuillicuddy at 8:24 PM on October 6, 2005

jefgodesky - I agree that I'd expect American Muslims to have more in common American Christians that Arab Muslims. I should have made clear I was referring for the most part to emigre Muslims I've known from Iran, Lebanon, Syria, and Africa that are living in Europe.

My point was really that for all the similarities you can't paint Muslims with too broad a brush. We're talking about cultures spanning from Western Africa to Indonesia. To say Muslims truly want a... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by McGuillicuddy at 5:51 PM on October 7, 2005

WHAT THE FUCK!!!
posted to MetaFilter by McGuillicuddy at 10:15 AM on September 4, 2005

Chertoff's behaviour is absolutely unexcusable. Nobody predicted it?!!? The exact scenario was described in The National Geographic a year earlier.

WTF America?
posted to MetaFilter by McGuillicuddy at 11:56 AM on September 4, 2005

The FDA has thoroughly studied MSG and declared it to be safe.

Well, that proves it. Or maybe it's time for your Vioxx, Fen-Phen and a cigarette, other drugs the FDA studied and declared perfectly safe at one time.

Yeah, yeah, you'll probably tell me that the FDA is in league with a secret cabal of companies...

How ridiculous! How absurd! What reputable source would claim politics... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by McGuillicuddy at 8:10 AM on July 10, 2005

Peacay - I'm saying that believing MSG is safe because the FDA didn't find otherwise is similar to believing that Iraq was involved in 9/11 because Dick Cheney said so. Why would the Vice-President lie about that again and again?

It is foolish to believe the FDA is not always lobbied hardest by those with a financial stake in the matter. It is not unlikely that the FDA management is/was considering a cost/benefit scenario in examining MSG, weighing health effects... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by McGuillicuddy at 8:43 AM on July 10, 2005

Petroleum is naturally occuring too but I won't be using gasoline to spice my cappuccino this morning. Cinnamon, nutmeg, and dried seaweed are natural spices, monosodium glutamate is neither naturally occurring nor a natural spice.

Some people are arguing that your health is not the top priority of this massive, frequently mistaken government organization.

Exactly.
posted to MetaFilter by McGuillicuddy at 9:08 AM on July 10, 2005

But I guess that's not going to stop these crowd of MSG-hating lunatics from blaming the evil FDA for killing us all.

Despite aerify's zealous attack on anyone that would question his (lack of sited) evidence or the political machine at the FDA, I only posted because blind-faith in government agencies is ill-advised. The list of substances the FDA approved then disapproved when more evidence was taken under consideration is long and scary. Would... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by McGuillicuddy at 9:58 AM on July 10, 2005

There was an article in this month's Business 2.0 about corporate jingles. You need an account to read the whole thing, but BugMeNot should help with that.
posted to MetaFilter by McGuillicuddy at 2:18 PM on May 17, 2005

I'm not even gay, so whatever "conspiracy" Phelps is running wouldn't even be against me...

Well, it still might be....


posted to MetaFilter by McGuillicuddy at 7:45 AM on May 8, 2005

You'd think that if God hated Swedes, he'd send a tsunami to, oh, Sweden

I was thinking Switzerland, actually. Even the one-in-many, omnipotent source of creation gets them confused. Of course, his biggest mistake was making homosexuals in his own image. I eagerly await GodHatesGod.com to enlighten us on this tricky conundrum.
posted to MetaFilter by McGuillicuddy at 9:27 AM on May 8, 2005

There is spin in these photos and the articles, but I think it goes both ways. Neither the San Francisco Chronicle nor the journalists and photographer are likely proponents of unilateral preemptive war. Thankfully, there are soldiers and Americans that make us proud in this story, but I can't imagine seeing this story as propaganda. Rather it delivers a glimpse at victims of war and their recovery.

When I finally saw Saleh with a beaming smile running toward his mother,... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by McGuillicuddy at 7:31 AM on April 23, 2005

Eliazar Velasquez, a sophomore at Central High School (Providence, RI), snapped pictures of Principal Elaine Almagno apparently smoking a cigarette outside an open school door earlier this month. Smoking within 25 feet of a school building violates state law. Velasquez then posted the pictures on a Web site and distributed fliers at school telling students where to find the photos. On the site, along with the photos, was a message criticizing Almagno... Velasquez was suspended Friday, the day he... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by McGuillicuddy at 9:12 PM on March 23, 2005

That is how it works in the victory business. You see it every time. The Weak will suck up to the Strong, for fear of losing their jobs and their money and all the fickle power they wielded only twenty-four hours ago. It is like suddenly losing your wife and your home in a vagrant poker game, then having to go on the road with whoremongers and beg for your dinner in public....
There are no rules in the passing lane. Only losers play fair, and all winners have blood on their... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by McGuillicuddy at 7:56 AM on February 21, 2005

As Cape Codder that shared some of the same social circles as the murder victim, my heart goes out to her daughter and her extended family. But when the DA got on the nightly news promising to keep a close eye on anyone who did not willingly surrender their Constitutional rights, well something started to smell fishy and it's not the Wellfleet oysters. Thankfully, the ACLU is getting involved (link to shitty local paper, will only work on 1/10/2005).... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by McGuillicuddy at 11:20 AM on January 10, 2005

TGC - I am an American and I can't fathom some of our people. But the fact that men in Truro are willing to freely submit to DNA testing is probably driven by an honest hope that they somehow will help solve a brutal murder in a small, close knit community. Just trying to explain the local's rational, I can't explain or apologize for ewkpates' ilk.
posted to MetaFilter by McGuillicuddy at 7:15 PM on January 10, 2005

While her overall argument is weak, mokujin does have a point. A parent has every right to object to the public school curriculum their child is taught. If said parent likes exercises in futility, they can attempt to influence the curriculum of the school from the outside. But if public schools let every concerned parent influence the curriculum, well, we'd likely have Sharia-based curricula ten years from now. I'm pretty sure that would be similar, but not exactly what Ms. Minnon/mokujin have... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by McGuillicuddy at 7:49 AM on December 23, 2004

Thank you, miss lynnster. This is good.

(What fletchmuy said.)
posted to MetaFilter by McGuillicuddy at 7:46 PM on December 20, 2004

As a sign of how quickly US citizens are losing the protections from governmental intrusion that guarantee and define our freedom, in 2003 John Gilmore was able to bail out John Barlow without identifying himself. He would not have that "luxury" today.
posted to MetaFilter by McGuillicuddy at 4:54 PM on December 10, 2004

John Gilmore was able to bail out John Barlow without identifying himself. He would not have that "luxury" today.

Your [sic] mixing apples with oranges here. Pretty sure it was a county/city clerk that asked his name, not a cop.

From the article: [Gilmore posting bail] very nearly turned south when [Gilmore] would not produce a government-issued ID for the deputy at the desk.

More to the... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by McGuillicuddy at 8:06 PM on December 10, 2004

>>What possible secrets could an Iranian glean from some java applet?<<

Matt - Of all people, you should know the awesome power of a JRun bomb.

Also: [ThisPolicyIsFuckedUp]
posted to MetaFilter by McGuillicuddy at 2:01 PM on December 10, 2004