For anyone with a library card in the Fort Worth Public Library System, you can access genealogical records through HeritageQuest online at this link. Even though I live in Fort Worth, it doesn't work unless I say I live in Benbrook (the default first item in the drop down list). Then put in your library card number (the one below the bar code on the card) and you can access HeritageQuest which includes census records that FamilySearch won't provide for free.

You can... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Doohickie at 9:12 PM on July 27, 2008

More cyclists on the street, particularly novices, trying to save on gas = more fatalities.

As one of those "novices" (cycle commuting since February), I dare say the "novices" are far more cautious than experienced riders. Maybe it's different in Texas, but I still expect the worst of all the cars around me. And this being Texas, no amount of public awareness campaigns or prosecutions of car drivers doing what car drivers do is... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Doohickie at 7:48 AM on May 30, 2008

-harlequin-- I tend to agree with everything you've said here. I guess most of my bicycling I would characterize as suburban or rural. For all my holy-than-thou-ishness, I have to admit that I rarely pedal in truly urban areas, because, frankly, they frighten the hell out of me. Your link is a good one, I'll be reading that more closely.

As for the article loiseau posted, it isn't just that he's biking to work. It's that he's giving up on gas-powered transportation... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Doohickie at 2:28 PM on May 30, 2008

On the other hand, my wife was playing with Microsoft Money and did a report of expenses, and car fuel was only 2.1% of our total payouts for the month.

Crisis? What crisis?
posted to MetaFilter by Doohickie at 7:33 AM on May 31, 2008

Can't predict fasion, though, can you?
posted to MetaFilter by Doohickie at 5:56 AM on May 28, 2008

So you were listening to NPR this morning too, huh?
posted to MetaFilter by Doohickie at 1:34 PM on May 22, 2008

I thought my 9.5 mile bicycle ride home in nearly 100 degree temperatures was something...

...guess not.
posted to MetaFilter by Doohickie at 7:42 PM on May 19, 2008

So after all that, gomi....


...are you still preggers?




I'm still going on the theory that you've always been pregnant, and always will be!


Congrats! He's teh kyoot!
posted to MetaFilter by Doohickie at 6:09 AM on May 15, 2008

In other birthing news...
posted to MetaFilter by Doohickie at 6:19 AM on May 15, 2008

OMG a religionist capable of reason! Stop the presses!

What a bunch of ignorant twits the LOLXIAN crowd in this thread is. Especially turgid dahlia. The impression that science and religion are inherently at odds is total bull crap. Lots of Christians are scientists, engineers, etc.
posted to MetaFilter by Doohickie at 10:33 AM on May 14, 2008

What happens if the aliens are athiests?

What happens if they are Christians? How would that alter the atheist's viewpoint?
posted to MetaFilter by Doohickie at 6:18 AM on May 15, 2008

I see nothing in those pictures (which may have started out as film but have been transferred to digital format for presentation on the net) that couldn't be captured by a digital camera. When I used film, I never, ever, got colors as good as the cheap Kodak digital I have now.

I, for one, welcome our digital overlords.
posted to MetaFilter by Doohickie at 9:40 PM on May 13, 2008

Well, since she was trying to draw attention to an ideal, and most of the world hadn't heard of her previous to this, I think that in death she was more successful in her quest than she ever could have been had she lived.


This is proof of something, but I'm not quite sure what.

It's proof that you can hope for the best in people, but don't bet your life on it.


There... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Doohickie at 2:48 PM on April 21, 2008

Rereading this thread, I'm viewing it in a different light. There's a lot of talk of what she thought of people, that she felt they were basically good, but there is no discussion of her views regarding the world beyond; I can't remember if it was even mentioned in the article what her beliefs were.

But.... I've subjected myself to the opposite side of the transaction, where I've helped strangers in situations where it would have been easy, even prudent, to avoid them.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Doohickie at 9:15 PM on May 13, 2008

I never understood what value film critics bring to society anyway. They could all be taken up in the Rapture and I'd never notice.
posted to MetaFilter by Doohickie at 6:20 AM on May 9, 2008

I still don't see the value in a critic (or reviewer). I frankly very seldom agree with ANYTHING they say; I watch a movie once in a great while, usually on the recommendation of friends. I don't follow published critics enough to have a feel for whether their worldview is close enough to mine for me to give a rat's ass what they think about a given movie.
posted to MetaFilter by Doohickie at 9:05 PM on May 13, 2008

*head asplodes from teh kyoot*
posted to MetaFilter by Doohickie at 2:01 PM on May 13, 2008

Why don't sharks eat clowns? They taste funny.

And then there's the old proverb: He who farts in church, sits in his own pew.



Trust me, I'm not making this stuff up.
posted to MetaFilter by Doohickie at 10:01 AM on May 13, 2008

I still find ebay useful. I would never use it to buy an expensive, popular item where I have other options, but I have great success finding obscure items for not a lot of money, primarily car parts where my local salvage yard has come up empty. It hasn't happened yet, but whenever I place a bid I try to expect that something will go wrong and I will lose my money; thus I never bid a lot because I view it as at-risk money, and my expectations are so low that ebay always exceeds them.
posted to MetaFilter by Doohickie at 6:09 AM on May 9, 2008

Ol' Phil is a pretty smart guy.
posted to MetaFilter by Doohickie at 6:39 PM on April 23, 2008

This is why we can't have nice lips.
posted to MetaFilter by Doohickie at 6:12 PM on April 15, 2008

Awww!
posted to MetaFilter by Doohickie at 6:29 PM on April 15, 2008

ACK! MY FIRST FAN!
posted to MetaFilter by Doohickie at 6:42 PM on April 15, 2008

I'm sure you'd say the same thing to a doctor who proscribed penicillin too, because hey, it comes from OMG A FUNGUS!

Actually, it comes from a mold, but who's counting...
posted to MetaFilter by Doohickie at 7:49 AM on April 16, 2008

Yes, but what does the gender of the revealed offspring have on the gender of the second? It's like saying I'm flipping a coin twice. One flip is heads. What is the other flip? It's 50-50 for heads or tails (or boy or girl).
posted to MetaFilter by Doohickie at 10:45 AM on April 9, 2008

Let's look at it another way: Let's say for instance the odds are the following, listed in birth order:

(B,B), (B,G), (G,B), (G,G)

Now, you know that one of the two offspring is a girl, but you don't know whether she is the older one or the younger one. You have two cases:

Case 1. If she is the older one, you can be left with
(G,B) or (G,G), but NOT (B,G) or (B,B)
The chance of the other... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Doohickie at 10:53 AM on April 9, 2008

In the first line of my last post, it should say "possible combinations" instead of "odds".
posted to MetaFilter by Doohickie at 10:55 AM on April 9, 2008

Do people actually write noone when they mean no one?
posted to MetaFilter by Doohickie at 11:34 AM on April 9, 2008

(In other words, cut us language slugs some slack, Ynoxas; after all, you're one of us! ;-)
posted to MetaFilter by Doohickie at 11:35 AM on April 9, 2008

Sorry, TheOnlyCoolTim, but you are wrong. Just because you don't know whether you are in Case 1 or Case 2, you are undoubtedly in one or the other, but not both, so they can be viewed independently. So look at them one more time:

Case 1. If she is the older one, you can be left with
(G,B) or (G,G), but NOT (B,G) or (B,B)
The chance of the other offspring being a boy is 50-50

Case 2. If she is the younger one,... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Doohickie at 7:22 PM on April 12, 2008

You must agree that, like getting two heads in a row in a coin toss, getting two girls happens 1/4 of the time, as does getting two boys. Getting one boy and one girl happens 2/4 of the time. Knowing one is a girl, you limit yourself to the cases "one boy and one girl" and "two girls". But you see that the former is twice as likely as the latter.

TheOnlyCoolTim- Yes, when starting from the beginning you are absolutely correct. But.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Doohickie at 9:22 AM on April 15, 2008

Go back to your original question:

Now, I have two children, and I tell you that the oldest is a boy. What are the odds the other is a boy?

Without knowing anything about your children, the possible combinations are as follows, with the older child listed first):

(B,B), (B,G), (G,B), (G,G), so there is a 25% chance that you have two boys, 50% chance of one of each, and 25% chance of two girls.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Doohickie at 9:30 AM on April 15, 2008

Okay.... I didn't look back far enough in the thread and thought you were asking Question 1 from the Wikki (which I repeated in my last post). Further upthread, though, you also asked Question 2.

Having read the Wikki, I'm still trying to get my head around Question 2. Urrhhgh.
posted to MetaFilter by Doohickie at 12:27 PM on April 15, 2008

What a great article that was - nicely structured, with fascinating detours, and a mounting sense of suspense that was gripping. I can't think of what I'd have left out if I'd been the editor.

I would have left out most of the elevator industry background. After the first "aside" I simply skipped past them to find out what happened to White in the end.

The elevator industry stuff is mildly interesting, but I felt... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Doohickie at 7:24 AM on April 15, 2008

Right, because being trapped in a tiny room for days without so much as a glass of water is the kind of thing you would expect people to be able to bounce right back from.

Right, that's why I included the weasel words, "It's hard to know, having not gone through what he did,..."

But given the situation he was in, he just seemed to give up on life and didn't try anymore. He took an 8-week vacation (who has THAT much... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Doohickie at 8:29 AM on April 15, 2008

I agree, it could be psychologically damaging. I see no indication in the article that it was so psychologically damaging as to prevent him from working. And the fact that he didn't even try to go back to work (not on the advice of a medical professional, but on that of a lawyer) doesn't help his case. Yes, maybe this incident did render him unable to go back to work, but since he never tried, how are we to know?
posted to MetaFilter by Doohickie at 9:00 AM on April 15, 2008

It was aired during a hockey game! I watched hockey games when I was 5. Many 5 years old end up watching hockey. Why would you ever throw screaming horror into the middle of a nice, good, clean, family-friendly event?

I wonder how many five-year-olds saw Richard Zednick get his neck sliced open in Buffalo live back in February. I won't post a YouTube link; there's enough info to find it in that last sentence if you're really interested. Spoiler: He lived.
posted to MetaFilter by Doohickie at 6:26 AM on April 14, 2008

sotonohito, my wife, a 10th-grade history teacher, tells much the same story.

Strangely enough, she seems to get good response out of some of the students that other teachers have the most problems with. She is VERY strict and disciplined, but compassionate. Once they fall in line with the discipline (and some never do), they are often wowed that a small pastie-white woman actually believes in them... and not in a dumbed-down way. She somehow figures out how to relate... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Doohickie at 8:40 PM on April 11, 2008

Best use of a bowling ball that I've witnessed was at a Buffalo Bills tailgate party in Houston just before the Bills played the Texans a couple seasons back. Some folks were using the holes in the bowling ball as a shot glass.

Think about it.
posted to MetaFilter by Doohickie at 8:13 AM on April 4, 2008

and by the way: NSFW
posted to MetaFilter by Doohickie at 7:11 PM on April 3, 2008

I don't believe anything posted here today.

I'm diggin' that.
posted to MetaFilter by Doohickie at 12:51 PM on April 1, 2008

But the recent merger between Whole Foods Market and Wild Oats Markets, the two largest sellers of organic and natural foods, has given some analysts hope that a deal between Borders and Barnes & Noble might pass muster.

The merger of a couple of niche grocery store chains, versus the merger of the two largest bookstore chains? I just don't see that being the same. Competition for the organic and natural foods is still maintained, to some extent,... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Doohickie at 1:57 PM on March 27, 2008

I kind of knew things were going down, though, when they closed Borders #(something less than 50) here in Fort Worth last year.
posted to MetaFilter by Doohickie at 1:58 PM on March 27, 2008

I'm of Polish descent and was really looking forward to the site. Alas, after 4 minutes of loading, the site only got up to 85%, where it stalled out. All I got from this site is a confirmation of my previous opinion that there is no such thing as "a very beautiful flash site".
posted to MetaFilter by Doohickie at 6:30 AM on March 26, 2008

When I finally did get in, the flash made my head hurt. Maybe it had something to do with taking the better part of an hour to load had me already frustrated; I don't know. Maybe the site got noticed by the net and they just didn't have enough bandwidth to handle it. Whatever the reason, I was very, very disappointed with the link.

Maybe I'll try it again in a few days; people who got in apparently liked it. :/
posted to MetaFilter by Doohickie at 7:30 AM on March 26, 2008

Ack. I finally got in. I found it a very tought site to like. I suspect the content is very interesting, but the flash just about drove me nuts. I would very much like to see the site done in good old html.
posted to MetaFilter by Doohickie at 8:05 PM on March 26, 2008

All of quonsar's questions answered. via
posted to MetaFilter by Doohickie at 11:04 AM on March 26, 2008

I don't even want to know what video is "one of the most link to".
posted to MetaFilter by Doohickie at 5:44 PM on March 25, 2008

John Hughes' films always feature something or other that bothers me in some way. Donger is only one of the elements in Sixteen Candles. Another is the fact that in order to be considered cool by your peers you need to drink yourself under the table, get drag-out stoned, or have sex.

I know what you mean, but this attitude is prevalent in pretty much EVERY Hollywood teen movie. I think Hughes does a good job, comparatively speaking, in presenting it... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Doohickie at 6:21 AM on March 25, 2008

A message for Eric Thompson: YOU'RE DOING IT WRONG.
posted to MetaFilter by Doohickie at 9:23 AM on March 24, 2008