Grow anything you can get your hands on. Give things lots of room. Have fun. Experiment. Don't worry. Your new garden soil should do well the first time. Plant your tomato starts deeper than they sell them, cheating the stalk, tie them to a strong stick if you don't like cages. You'll figure it out, there are no rules. Think about the roots before the leaves. They grow first, but you tell them how deep, but letting them get a little dry at times. Diseases are a reality, but that's also a species... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Brian B. at 9:27 PM on June 4, 2008

Good question. Economics is a game that we play with our lives. It's a constant trade off in human values when faced with scarcity. The theories that serve economics are also political and philosophical, often absolute, because the game is dangerously complex and includes power, corruption, and internal and external threats.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Brian B. at 8:05 AM on May 31, 2008

The Laffer Curve. The theory is as basic as it can get- at 0% taxation, the government cannot do what it needs to do. At 100% taxation, nobody will have anything left with which to spend because the government will have taken it all. And that somewhere in between, an optimum level of taxation exists where the government generates the needed amount of revenue with the least amount of burden on the economy.

The Laffer curve seems to be an argument... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Brian B. at 6:55 AM on June 3, 2008

My computer is also a free graphing calculator.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Brian B. at 7:34 PM on May 28, 2008

Do they have anything of sentimental value that you can keep safely in the meantime?
posted to Ask Metafilter by Brian B. at 11:44 AM on May 18, 2008

Monogamy, whether between a man or woman or other entity, can never be polygamy without specifying it as such. The reason people confuse gay marriage for polygamy is because they lazily assume it was an argument between traditional marriage versus all other marriages, rather than a case of gay marriages demanding equal rights of monogamy like everyone else. Why do people have a problem with polygamy? Well, it wreaks havoc with inheritance, work benefits, divorce settlements, and welfare laws... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Brian B. at 8:57 PM on May 15, 2008

Really? This argument is still going on? People being told what not to do with their penises and vaginas?

What about those girls being ordered to serve their husbands under the guise of religion, guaranteed by the state? I'd say that "polygamists" raised this point by demanding legal protection in the first place. Nobody should tell someone what to do, and therefore that includes every demand for legal sanctions and state permissions that... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Brian B. at 7:02 AM on May 16, 2008

Hmm... are there any examples of monogamous communities or societies where everything worked out and there weren't any problems (i.e., a positive example to point to as a success)?

If there were, then that would be evidence against marriage in general, not evidence for polygamy. Why compound a problem?
posted to Ask Metafilter by Brian B. at 5:57 PM on May 16, 2008

Brian B., if there were examples of societies with problem-free monogamy, I would think this to be evidence for marriage in general, not against.

True, I took your tone for the point of the remark. The problems with monogamy don't support polygamy. When all kinds of breeding arrangements are examined, polygamy looks weakest, because of the genetic "bottleneck" of having one decrepit-minded man infect so many stupid women with his mental... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Brian B. at 9:15 AM on May 17, 2008

Adjusted for inflation, gasoline is lower than one might expect.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Brian B. at 9:14 PM on April 29, 2008

The oil industry pumps mostly from publicly owned wells in the US, usually offshore. These rights are given away due to political influence. Protecting these giveaway contracts has always been job one. Some have claimed that it costs the US taxpayer over $125 billion per year in royalties, which was an estimate from when gasoline was much cheaper.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Brian B. at 8:47 AM on April 19, 2008

"Not being a dick (about it)."
posted to Ask Metafilter by Brian B. at 9:12 PM on April 12, 2008

I think it's sad that a couple of people here refer to asserting one's rights as "being an asshole/dick."

Nice try, but if you are referring to Costco, you signed a membership agreement and it can be refunded to you at anytime if you don't like the terms of service. So, its like being a superdick really.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Brian B. at 9:56 AM on April 13, 2008

Previous online discussion about receipt checking, fueled by conspiracies and secret motives. Whatever they might say, it is an authentication protocol that immediately benefits the member who would rather not have their items stolen from their carts while eating a snack or using the restroom before leaving.

A former cashier at BJ's wholesale club verifies the overcharge benefit to the consumer.

The bottom line here is that people shouldn't sign... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Brian B. at 1:02 PM on April 13, 2008

Try using a small juice straw.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Brian B. at 3:48 PM on March 12, 2008

"Family values" was used to disguise anti-labor policies.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Brian B. at 8:29 PM on February 26, 2008

"School choice" is a funny term. It implies that one is deprived the right to attend a private school because the government won't pay for it in order to discredit our free offering locally at the public school. Never mind that the private school has far less accountability, and is either supposed to make a profit from education, or teach religion alongside academics.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Brian B. at 3:46 PM on February 27, 2008

Shuggie Otis
posted to Ask Metafilter by Brian B. at 9:34 AM on February 24, 2008

See the discussion and charts on this site.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Brian B. at 6:44 PM on February 13, 2008

SO, after all that blather, I would like to ask my godless brethren how they fill these holes without religion.

Art and nature, and these aren't substitutes, but the real deal that religion attempts to mentally bridge for the dispossessed. So, on that note, I would add freedom and equality to the list of devotions that religion replaces by turning inwards and away from this life.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Brian B. at 10:22 AM on January 5, 2008

We've ruled out termite king? (second row, far right)
posted to Ask Metafilter by Brian B. at 10:19 AM on November 18, 2007

Try Squashed Writers for free. Students can always read the whole thing if they like it.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Brian B. at 8:43 PM on November 15, 2007

Polyphasic sleep
posted to Ask Metafilter by Brian B. at 2:32 PM on November 11, 2007

Thanks EC.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Brian B. at 12:53 PM on November 11, 2007

What is the value of this website, or, what could it handle?
posted to Ask Metafilter by Brian B. at 6:57 PM on November 10, 2007

Try reading the problem backwards. Also, try guessing, then prove the guess wrong, then repeat.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Brian B. at 5:31 PM on November 3, 2007

preclude
erstwhile
fortnight
retard
posted to Ask Metafilter by Brian B. at 5:10 PM on November 3, 2007

Basically, you use a very hot iron tip plugged in to a socket to melt a thin soft strand of solder without burning your fingers. The solder usually comes ready to go. It melts instantly and hangs onto your tip in drops. Be exact, never sloppy. Try not to get the smoke in your lungs or eyes. The solder can be spread with the hot tip, but once it's on, you can only flatten it, not remove it easily. It dries in minutes, but never use your fingers to see it if is dry, because you can never tell, it... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Brian B. at 7:21 PM on October 7, 2007 marked best answer

The Ti-30X II allows input like a graphing calculator, such as the caret^button (+parentheses), and costs less than $20. It also has a solar option on most models.

For a free graphing calculator, download the amazing graphcalc for your desktop. It lacks a few statistical features, but uses a mouse to navigate and offers a savable or printable screen sized list of all calculations for the session. Graphcalc's wikipedia page.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Brian B. at 2:44 PM on October 7, 2007

There was unbounded optimism that has never been seen since. The future was going to solve all of our problems. In ten or twenty years we would not recognize now, maybe no hunger or disease. American Graffitti was another world, with bigger cars and cheaper gas and no Vietnam war, and that was about all anyone cared was missing.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Brian B. at 5:02 PM on October 4, 2007

That there were divisions is fairly evident

The South was still Democrat and switching sides at a record pace over civil rights. However, Nixon still felt comfortable enough to walk out of the White House and into a park with war protesters and talk with them (but he was a Quaker and that kind of conversation was normal to him). The song, "Tie A Yellow Ribbon" is an interesting observation, because nobody young ever admitted to liking that... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Brian B. at 5:54 PM on October 4, 2007

My friend has lost his faith but despite this feels he is a sinner against the god he no longer believes in. Fundamentalist Christianity hasn't been a good experience for him and he doesn't want to stay in his current church, or to explore other sects/faiths at the moment.

Faith is a will-based thought reform, by getting people to want to achieve success in a thought system for self-validation. When people remove themselves from its influence... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Brian B. at 7:03 PM on October 2, 2007

It's about 90 miles to Toroweap from St. George, and there are other routes. Also, the North Rim is open until snow closes the road around late October.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Brian B. at 9:52 PM on October 1, 2007

There are some very large copper strip mines in Southern AZ.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Brian B. at 9:00 PM on September 30, 2007

Critical thinking is a method of decision and valuation that implies the desire to avoid misleading or flawed persuasion, and by extension, the increased ability to appreciate honest and sound persuasion as convincing, whether from yourself or others.

See also,

Fallacies

Cognitive biases

Defense... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Brian B. at 8:58 AM on September 23, 2007

Is not the mistaken identity scenario also known as a Cinderella story?
posted to Ask Metafilter by Brian B. at 10:02 PM on September 10, 2007

Cinderella adaptations. Maid in Manhattan fits your description, and although many see them in terms of rags to riches, it symbolizes the ideal of love and looking past the first impressions and social standards to find it.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Brian B. at 10:53 PM on September 10, 2007

My cat once had a "foxtail" down in his eye from running through such grass when it was going to seed. The vet said it was very common, took it out with a pair of tweezers.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Brian B. at 4:13 PM on September 2, 2007

bullet + casing = cartridge.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Brian B. at 9:32 AM on August 25, 2007

Contrary to all the trite hippy stuff you see in High Times, weed is bad for you. It is linked to lung disease and mental disorders like schizophrenia and dementia. I kid you not.

Actually, the risk associated with marijuana was only slightly higher (40% higher I believe), which indicates to others that it may be helping instead. The reasoning goes like this: a drug typically attracts self-medicating types, like alcohol does. But alcohol has 10-20... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Brian B. at 4:20 PM on August 22, 2007

I don't know it as a rhetorical device, such as those found here, but it is a species of an ad hominem fallacy called "poisoning the well" which is described as a boobytrap in the link.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Brian B. at 6:30 PM on August 20, 2007

San Francisco, CA (WFN) -- Humans have evolved incredibly since the dawn of time -- and we have color-blind, bald, left-handed and homosexual men to thank.

San Francisco surgeon Dr. Leonard Shlain figures that 8 percent of all men are either color blind, bald, left-handed or gay. Therefore, those traits must benefit the entire race -- or they would have died out by now.

For instance, color blind men have an advantage while hunting... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Brian B. at 9:11 PM on August 16, 2007

The libertarian argument is a pretty straightforward fallacy of ambiguity. Pursue your self interests, as long as they are selfish and not collective. If your interests are collective, then they are not true self-interests, even if you think they are. One of the implied assumptions is that someone should lose in the exchange to be labeled as self-interest.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Brian B. at 9:03 PM on August 15, 2007

Libertarians would argue that an exchange will improve the situation of both people. If it didn't, the one getting screwed would not go through with it.

Yours is not a libertarian argument, because it doesn't address government. The libertarian reasoning in getting rid of oversight government is because such government tries to make the exchange more fair by collective standards, and this runs afoul of the libertarian assumption that business... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Brian B. at 10:04 PM on August 15, 2007

Libertarians who argue for their position on pragmatic grounds focus on the efficiency of the free market system.

I would argue against libertarianism on the same grounds. Take the fisheries in the oceans for example. We are fishing far below maximum sustainable yields because of the free market, which allowed the fisheries to be depleted to protection levels. Same for oil in the ground. The free market burned through most of it in such a short time,... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Brian B. at 4:21 PM on August 16, 2007

On a side note, libertarians don't look to give a free pass to polluters. Not by any means. If anything, libertarians want the 'externalities' of private businesses to be considered as much as possible and accounted for.

Actually, it is dogma that libertarians favor a method where the public is informed of the pollution, and then put the company out of business by boycotting them--a form of collective action no less. I've encountered this argument... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Brian B. at 4:37 PM on August 16, 2007

I don't understand how you equate a libertarian viewpoint with a facilitating or accepting monopoly among segments of the economy.

Libertarians support monopolies in theory and practice, and the only people I ever encountered who favored monopolies were libertarians. Take a class that covers monopolies to find out who broke up who (hint: government versus monopoly). It is natural tendency to monopolize because it seeks the highest profit, and... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Brian B. at 4:40 PM on August 16, 2007

From the argument referred to above: Additionally, one way that big corporations can put their competitors out of business is by lobbying government to apply very strict regulations that have high compliance costs.

Actually, the reverse is true. They lobby against all such compliance costs because the larger corporation has lower costs already by bulk purchasing and isn't afraid of teaming up with the whole field in a lobbying consortium, because the... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Brian B. at 4:51 PM on August 16, 2007

How about someone coming along with a better product?

Not only did you cite three companies in auto manufactoring (down from over thirty at one time), but the invasion you speak of were from existing foreign companies with world market share, not new ones. As they defeat each other, the market winnows down to the regulated few. On that note, Microsoft is a de facto monopoly, but government remains the only force to stop it. Linux is not a force per... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Brian B. at 5:05 PM on August 16, 2007

Cut the right foam to fit any case.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Brian B. at 10:17 AM on July 7, 2007