dabitch: Anyone else suspect that the little missus is the inexperienced dom?

I read somewhere that his death happened while the rest of his family was visiting a sick relative in North Carolina.

My guess is that gave him the opportunity to get really elaborate.
posted to MetaFilter by MonkeySaltedNuts at 10:39 AM on October 14, 2007

desjardins says: There is no analogy between someone who engages in a sex act by themselves ... and someone who hurts children.

umm, no analogy other than the perpetrators belonging to the uptight-moral club and violate that with their actions.

Your comment is so off base that I guess that you are pushing some personal agenda. Is your point that people who like to wear double wet suits for sexual reasons should not be treated... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by MonkeySaltedNuts at 6:16 PM on October 16, 2007

I personally think Steve Pinker is a puke bucket. He's a wanker that can't write well and that hardly has any original ideas but instead collects the spew from those he considers his superiors and just regurgitates it with a popularizing sheen.
posted to MetaFilter by MonkeySaltedNuts at 11:03 PM on October 10, 2007

Most every time I've been to a yard sale I see someone trying to unload a little-used exercise machine.
posted to MetaFilter by MonkeySaltedNuts at 6:58 PM on September 20, 2007

TheophileEscargot : "Does anyone else get the impression Naomi Klein doesn't like contemporary capitalism?"

Well there is capitalism and then there is Completely Unfettered Capitalism and anything less that that leads to Communism.

I've often wondered how low-income fundamentalist Christians have been convinced that their interests coincide with those of the very-rich and giant... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by MonkeySaltedNuts at 12:39 PM on September 17, 2007

I was fascinated with analog computers in high school, read fairly deeply about them, and knew enough to construct a model.

About the coolest thing I recall was and entire new helicopter design modeled on an analog computer. The designers would "fly" it in real-time to see how stable it was and how it handled, and then look at the generated strip charts to see if the stresses were enough to make the rotors break
posted to MetaFilter by MonkeySaltedNuts at 9:50 PM on August 4, 2007

In College (mine had a high percentage of nerds) I was friends with this one girl who was somewhat nerdish. Her two roommates were even nerdier and seemed to have no friends and always ate meals with my friend, so I got to know them.

One roommate was into (as I recall) History of Theater. She spoke precise English (almost Boarding School British but not that extreme). She was interesting and mostly a person of the mind with ideas and ideals rather than being all that... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by MonkeySaltedNuts at 9:03 PM on July 29, 2007

ouch
posted to MetaFilter by MonkeySaltedNuts at 12:15 PM on July 28, 2007

Signing is not just hand movements - everything is involved. Check out the facial expression for

Conversational Phrases>Animals>"Does it bite?"
posted to MetaFilter by MonkeySaltedNuts at 3:15 AM on July 26, 2007

Ah Ha! You can link to individual clips:

http://www.aslpro.com/phrases/animals/Doesitbite.swf
http://www.aslpro.com/main/p/parasite.swf
http://www.aslpro.com/main/p/paranoid.swf

posted to MetaFilter by MonkeySaltedNuts at 3:29 AM on July 26, 2007

mek sez: I do sous-vide at home frequently. You can just use a ziploc bag ...

Warning: Ziploc says DON'T use their bags for sous-vide.
posted to MetaFilter by MonkeySaltedNuts at 7:53 AM on July 13, 2007

I've been able to download some files from that site.

NOTE: check the size of your downloads. If it is less than 1KB then it is just a html message saying the server is busy and you need to re-download.
posted to MetaFilter by MonkeySaltedNuts at 7:42 PM on July 9, 2007

.
posted to MetaFilter by MonkeySaltedNuts at 8:45 PM on July 9, 2007

.
posted to MetaFilter by MonkeySaltedNuts at 11:37 AM on July 9, 2007

epimorph: How in the world does one reach the keys on the top keyboard?

I'm pretty sure the lower keyboards are well below the level one would find on a normal 2 manual organ. Note the music rack above the top keyboard. You have to be able to easily reach up and turn pages.
posted to MetaFilter by MonkeySaltedNuts at 10:14 AM on July 3, 2007

Maybe Irving Scooter has a real phobia about being in prison and let it be known that if he ever was in prison he would start squealing and leaking like a dog strapped to the roof of a station wagon.
posted to MetaFilter by MonkeySaltedNuts at 5:19 PM on July 2, 2007

Floydd: It's interesting that Steve Jobs still seems to think that a phone number is associated with a place.

Actually in American English, a phone number is conceived of as standing for the location of a telephone. In the US a number takes the preposition atCall me at 555-1212 (at my office)In British English, a phone number is conceived of as the phone line that the called party is connected to. (maybe because party lines were more common in Britain.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by MonkeySaltedNuts at 6:15 PM on June 29, 2007

oops, the google search for the on phrase above should be Call me on.
posted to MetaFilter by MonkeySaltedNuts at 6:19 PM on June 29, 2007

#0 rule - make sure your party contains somebody you can out run (in case of bear attacks).
posted to MetaFilter by MonkeySaltedNuts at 11:24 AM on June 29, 2007

The study sucks.When the Duke researchers looked at the ratios of the first two formants in speech spectra, they found that the ratios formed musical relationships.Umm. Most of speech has to do with how formants move, not static relations. Take a look at this spectrogram of "The damage reduces the value.". Look at the "you" sound at the very end and you see a resonance that does a prominent sweep up and down. What is the "musical relation" in that?... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by MonkeySaltedNuts at 12:07 PM on June 28, 2007

The actual abstract of the paper says:Throught history and across cultures, humans have created music using pitch intervals that divide octaves into the 12 tones of the chromatic scale. Why these specific intervals in music are preferred, however, is not known.Wrong, the 12 tone scale is mostly a European invention. And why 12 tones is easily known from harmonic considerations. Start with the definitions and desires:A "note" is equivalent to any octave relation of the note's frequency.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by MonkeySaltedNuts at 12:37 PM on June 28, 2007

Punched cards are almost obsolete. There are no longer key punch operators, and practically no current computers have card readers. Thus there is no longer the army of engineers who knew about the problems and quirks in such systems.

However this obscure obsolete technology lingers on in some voting machines (remember "hanging chad"?). I guess if there is a technology that can help fix elections certain interests don't want to abandon it.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by MonkeySaltedNuts at 9:55 PM on June 25, 2007

Troy is a popular place to claim descent from. The British people descend from Brutus of Troy, grandson of the Trojan hero Aeneas, (maybe after a long stopover in Italy).
posted to MetaFilter by MonkeySaltedNuts at 1:22 PM on June 24, 2007

Here is a still open Ask MeFi thread where it is never really resolved that the asker is infested with Trichomycosis Axillaris.
posted to MetaFilter by MonkeySaltedNuts at 11:49 AM on June 18, 2007

Oh come on, Dixie J. Hobbs
3499 Confederate Drive
Clayton, NY 13624
Mother's maiden name: RosenthalYes, a woman named Dixie would like to live on Confederate Drive, but you wouldn't find that street in NY and her parents wouldn't be Jewish.

[ Whoops, there is 1 Confederate Drive in NY. However I challenge anybody to find a Jewish person named Dixie. ]

BTW,... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by MonkeySaltedNuts at 8:45 PM on June 7, 2007

Wow. I looked again at that NY Confederate Drive map. That street is nestled right next to Grants Dr, Lee's Ln, and Sherman Hill Rd. Maybe some Southern born sub-division developer was trying to counteract the evil generated by a street named after Sherman.
posted to MetaFilter by MonkeySaltedNuts at 8:55 PM on June 7, 2007

Is it true that most sysadmins are named Steve or Eric? And why do they always have mustaches.
posted to MetaFilter by MonkeySaltedNuts at 11:27 AM on May 23, 2007

READ UNHAPPY: MAKNAM
posted to MetaFilter by MonkeySaltedNuts at 3:29 PM on May 17, 2007

I think it really doesn't matter if the program works or not.

As we are coming to see with many of the Right-Wing/Republican programs their point is not to achieve anything other than help Republicans win elections.

The message to the voters is: Do you support us and modest sexuality, or our oppenents who encourage rampant teenage promiscuity.
posted to MetaFilter by MonkeySaltedNuts at 3:08 PM on April 13, 2007

I wonder what would have happened if he played at the end of the work day rather than the beginning.

At the start of the day, most people have to be someplace on time.
posted to MetaFilter by MonkeySaltedNuts at 1:48 PM on April 7, 2007

PLT Scheme is free and has oodles of libraries for just about anything.
posted to MetaFilter by MonkeySaltedNuts at 12:53 PM on April 4, 2007

mrgrimm: but who postulated that the fall of the dinosaurs accelerated the evolution of mammals? I was never taught that.

Someone must have put forth this idea long ago, and these days it is popular folk science. For example this story in the Boston Globe says:

The dinosaurs died out, making room for mammals and eventually for man.

posted to MetaFilter by MonkeySaltedNuts at 4:10 PM on March 28, 2007

jamjam: we mammals are about 40% rodent.

and about 20% bats. And humans' closest major group relatives are rodents and rabbits, not something noble like lions, horses, or elephants.
posted to MetaFilter by MonkeySaltedNuts at 5:15 PM on March 28, 2007

miss lynnster is such a twinkie. She did not link to any pages that give the actual ingrediens like Wiki, or the BBC. Wiki does not say what purpose could be served by Sodium stearoyl lactylate or Calcium caseinate.

The BBC article warns:Basically, shove your Twinkie on the plate and microwave for about one minute. One of two things will happen:Your Twinkie will explode, covering your microwave in countless flecks of sponge, piping hot cream and burnt cake. Do not open... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by MonkeySaltedNuts at 10:28 PM on March 5, 2007

(sorry about the above bold.)

I also wanted to mention that the ingredients cannot be found on the Official Tiwinke site.
posted to MetaFilter by MonkeySaltedNuts at 10:33 PM on March 5, 2007

three blind mice: Growing up in Philadephia, home of the Tastykake Krimpet, we had a much healthier alternative.

At least the Taskykak website lists the ingredients and gives allergy warnings:Sugar, Bleached Enriched Flour (Wheat Flour, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamine Mononitrate-B1, Riboflavin-B2, Folic Acid), Water, Eggs, Partially Hydrogenated Vegetable Shortening (Canola, Soybean and/or Cottonseed Oils), Corn Syrup, High Fructose Corn Syrup,... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by MonkeySaltedNuts at 10:58 PM on March 5, 2007

myopicman: Tastykake also gets points from me just for using the same background colour as MeFi.

Actually that Tastykake page uses this jpeg as a background image and it doesn't have just one color - I haven't checked to see if it contains MeFi's blue.

Anyway I can't understand why that background shows One Liberty Plaza rather than Ciity Hall with its famous statue of William Penn which can be fit... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by MonkeySaltedNuts at 11:33 PM on March 5, 2007

I think one crucial step is "a theory of mind" - other people have minds and you have to think about what you think they are thinking about.

This theory can generalize to "wolves have minds", "trees have minds", "the sun has a mind", etc.

This explains why all early/tribal-group religions are basically anamatism - it is ok to look for intentional explanations behind all events because if you can construct... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by MonkeySaltedNuts at 1:16 AM on March 4, 2007

Do see the Illinois Pork Producers Association response to the question of why you can't buy pig milk.
posted to MetaFilter by MonkeySaltedNuts at 12:45 AM on March 4, 2007

I read a lot and to keep track of the books I wrote a Greasemonkey script. Most of the books come from my great local library system (which makes a point of not remembering what you have checked out after it is returned) so my script mainly looks at my library account and scrapes out info about what is currently borrowed.

Since I started running the first version of the script, it has recorded 227 books that I borrowed. Maybe 12% were stinkers that I rejected before... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by MonkeySaltedNuts at 10:06 PM on March 3, 2007

I had never heard of her before but her blog is a hoot. Unfortunately many women who make their living from their beauty are total airheads and/or become coke addicts. (I recall the several times times I've seen Playmates on TV when they open their mouths). Then again I once sat next to an a great model on a transatlantic flight - She even helped me reading a French tabloid - Q: "why are you reading such crap?" A: "my French isn't great but this stuff is written for a 10 year old,... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by MonkeySaltedNuts at 3:03 AM on March 1, 2007

Anyway the above great model I flew with spoke maybe 6 languages. Somehow when the flight crew was having problems communicating with a passenger they came to her and she went off to resolve the communication problem, almost like it was her job.

I don't know how the crew knew to find her. Maybe she was registered with the airline and flies for free or at a large discount.

And no, the woman did not have the sort of gorgeous that prompts strangers... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by MonkeySaltedNuts at 3:49 AM on March 1, 2007

effwerd : It does sound expensive. At an ounce of truffles for two meals, that's about $30 per meal in truffles alone.

It all depends upon the truffle quality - for good ones you are not talking about ounces. A truffle the size of a large grape sliced turned into in paper thin slices can give simple pasta for 4 a heady erotic perfume.
posted to MetaFilter by MonkeySaltedNuts at 11:41 PM on February 26, 2007

It sounds like a great idea and I'm going to order some.

This is the real meat:The large enterprises can force prices down, and most growers have no choice but to sell to coyotes for "40 or 50 or 60 cents a pound."

With Fair Trade coffee, "fairer traders" buy the raw beans from the growers for about $1.25 to $1.50 a pound, he says, a good step up. But Just Coffee is what he calls "Fair Trade Plus." The co-op does the... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by MonkeySaltedNuts at 9:12 PM on February 18, 2007

Whoops, above the ordering page link should have been ordering page.
posted to MetaFilter by MonkeySaltedNuts at 9:45 PM on February 18, 2007

While the sub-divisions of African descended Americans may be interesting for sociological or genetic/medical reasons, analyzing Obama's blackness is mostly an attempt to drive a wedge into America's "black" communities (whatever that means).

Another indicator of wedging is the phrase "Uncle Tom" and it is somewhat active with Obama - Google currently gives ~68,300 hits for the search obama "uncle tom".... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by MonkeySaltedNuts at 12:48 PM on February 18, 2007

I think discussions of different types of blackness can be interesting and illuminating.

For them to only to appear in the national media when some are veiled attacks on politicians is disgusting.

(but then again I've never understood Clarence Thomas).
posted to MetaFilter by MonkeySaltedNuts at 9:37 PM on February 18, 2007

From Ted Haggard's email to some members of New Life Church:As part of New Life's efforts to help me, they sent Gayle and me to Phoenix for a three-week psychological intensive that gave us three years worth of analysis and treatment.
...
We are both planning on getting our masters in Psychology so we can work together serving others the rest of our lives.
Hallelujah, its a miracle. 3 years of therapy in just 3 weeks. So of course he is going to go to school... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by MonkeySaltedNuts at 10:38 AM on February 6, 2007

of course he is going to go to school so he too can effect such miracle cures.

and work closely with men who are trying to suppress their homosexual urges.
posted to MetaFilter by MonkeySaltedNuts at 10:40 AM on February 6, 2007

For those who think this is stressful just consider trying to treat a high stress cat. We had one that needed to be flea shampooed and taken to the vet for medical problems.

We had tried gentle shampoos at home but I didn't have the full leather gauntlets and face mask to protect me. I got elected as the bad guy. The cat would start panting and enormously drooling once she was in the carrier. Eventually she would throw up on the way. After we eventually got home she... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by MonkeySaltedNuts at 5:36 AM on January 26, 2007