I read a similar article to M.C. Lo-Carb's, but about a teflon sheet that could be put down when a road was being built and the asphalt placed on top. The benefit was that it would wick away water, and could triple the lifespan of a road.

The asphalt industry hated that one too, and the technology, as far as I can tell, died.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bshort at 6:26 AM on March 13, 2008

Is this the link you're curious about?

When you click into the individual images you'll see they're actually little flash apps. Right clicking on them doesn't bring up the typical context menu for a flash widget, instead it shows a copy and paste menu with most of the options disabled.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bshort at 5:51 AM on January 28, 2008

You probably won't, but since the details aren't hammered out, no one is going to be able to answer your question.

Just make sure you let your representative know how angry you are, and that you plan to vote in the fall based on their vote for the package. :-)
posted to Ask Metafilter by bshort at 10:15 AM on January 24, 2008

Carry a stick when you walk your dogs. It doesn't have to be a huge stick. One of those tiny novelty baseball bats will do.

If another strange, unleashed dog comes anywhere near you, act the alpha-male, and if he gets within swiping distance then smack him with the stick...

Also, call animal control. Loose dogs should absolutely be dealt with before they hurt themselves, or someone else.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bshort at 9:37 PM on January 8, 2008

Call 311. It sounds like they're trying to get rid of the current tenants.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bshort at 7:49 AM on December 8, 2007

I also recall reading that in many instances you can hear the feedback from Larry's headphones.

If that were true, wouldn't he have had to have had the volume turned up so loudly that'd he'd be pretty much deaf?
posted to Ask Metafilter by bshort at 2:46 PM on September 25, 2007

Fuzzy Truffle is a great name...

I usually pick Gentle for my Quake handle.

That, or The Red Blur.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bshort at 2:33 PM on September 25, 2007

"Just for Men" is Just for Men. Greta, whose profile says "Gender: F", is not Just a Man.

They don't do a junk-check when you buy it.

Just For Men should work just fine. It's also easy to apply and fairly inexpensive. It's worth a shot.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bshort at 4:57 PM on September 19, 2007

You're doing it wrong.

It rhymes with "hem."
posted to Ask Metafilter by bshort at 12:16 PM on September 14, 2007

What does your lawyer say?

You have a lawyer, right? If not, get a lawyer.

It sounds like you'll need to start eviction proceedings....
posted to Ask Metafilter by bshort at 2:42 PM on September 10, 2007

I also find baffling that they're not teling who manufactures their full-frame sensors -- don't potential customers have the right to know who makes the heart of the really expensive camera they may buy?

The reason Nikon and pretty much every other DSLR maker used DX (APS-C) sensors in the first place is that although they only cover half the 35mm frame, it's far far cheaper to create a 16mm x 24mm sensor than a 24mm x 36mm sensor. It's not just half... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by bshort at 8:03 AM on August 30, 2007 marked best answer

If I were going to design a car-wash system I wouldn't go through the time and effort of creating a perfectly hack-free system that required super-special transmitters and IR diodes to work.

I'd create something that was just good enough that most people wouldn't figure it out and move on to the next project.

I bet you could use a programmable remote control where you have to point it at another control and then press the button that you want... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by bshort at 6:34 AM on August 29, 2007

I'm pretty sure that even if you have your Mac automatically log in when you reboot, you still have to type the user password (or the admin password) when you install applications.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bshort at 7:22 PM on August 26, 2007

I think what you're looking for is the LD50 of cooking oil or fat multiplied by the average weight of an adult (180lbs for an adult man) multiplied by 9 kcal per gram.

That would give you the average maximum number of calories that an adult man would be able to ingest via the most efficient means (largest number of calories per weight).
posted to Ask Metafilter by bshort at 7:07 PM on August 26, 2007

That seems like an awfully inefficient way to kill someone.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bshort at 3:46 PM on August 26, 2007

No, I'm saying even just killing with the bolt is inefficient. He has to cart around the tank, and as long as you stay the length of his arm reach plus the length of the handle plus the 6 inch length of the bolt away from him, you're fine.

Also, in at least one of the shots the killer looks like he has a limp.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bshort at 4:08 PM on August 26, 2007

You should know that programming is lucrative because most people are very very bad at thinking like a programmer needs to, and because you usually need to have a huge quantity of fiddly knowledge on hand at all times.

Depending on the job, you'll need to either know or learn about the ins and outs of various programming languages, know how they work (and don't work) in various deployment environments, be able to think on your feet about abstract notions of... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by bshort at 8:31 AM on August 23, 2007

Brak is right. If you need .NET, then learn C#. It's very very closely related to other "curly bracket programming languages." So much so, that you'll be able to get the gist of any Java, C or C++ code that you happen to come across.

VB isn't really good for anything these days.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bshort at 11:07 AM on August 16, 2007

Why, exactly, do they need the water? If there's a valid reason, then get a note, but if there's not then why do you feel they need it?

Is this just a gut feeling? If so, then you might just ask your doctor to put "neurotic mother" on the note and see if the school accepts it.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bshort at 10:50 AM on August 16, 2007

It's because the Europeans had immunity to the diseases that domesticated livestock carried.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bshort at 10:44 PM on August 12, 2007 marked best answer

And, just to be clear, Europeans at the time had domesticated a whole menagerie of animals, including pigs, cows, and chickens.

The Native Americans had almost domesticated the Guinea pig and the llama, and only in South America.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bshort at 10:46 PM on August 12, 2007

I think it would be a gross oversimplification to say that the only animals domesticated by pre columbian societies were a few south American creatures one would find in Michael Jackson's petting zoo, but aside from overlooking dogs, which were used for both labor and food (chihuahua's were not pets, nor were they labor...) they had a different model of domestication then the old world did. They were more environmental managers, creating environments in which their chosen food animals... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by bshort at 10:30 AM on August 15, 2007

I'm a similar size and shape and I've had very good luck at Men's Wearhouse.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bshort at 9:40 AM on August 15, 2007

This number ignores those who have exhausted their unemployment benefits, those who've given up on the system altogether as well as those who are underemployed with no benefits correct?

That's something that rarely comes up in discussions in the economy, yet seems rather crucial.

The "funny" thing is that they could decrease the unemployment rate by just cutting benefits.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bshort at 1:01 PM on August 10, 2007

I know you're anti-Tom Clancy (and believe me, I am now too) but his first couple of novels were brilliant compared to the schlock he's putting out now.

I completely agree with this. I think at some point he decided that every word on every page was a precious snowflake that had to be protected from evil editors. His solution was to "edit" his work himself and it really shows.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bshort at 5:59 AM on August 10, 2007

Get XP. Vista has nothing you need.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bshort at 7:42 AM on August 8, 2007

What state are you in? How old are you? How old is the car you're insuring, and what's the make and model?
posted to Ask Metafilter by bshort at 6:55 AM on August 3, 2007

Russia is flailing around these days as it struggles with its loss of status in the world. There was a time when it was considered on par with the United States in all ways, but that time is long past.

I think we'll see more stunts like this as Russia's economy continues to swell from the exploitation of its natural resources, especially so long as they slew back towards a totalitarian government.

The fact is, though, they have absolutely no... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by bshort at 6:52 AM on August 3, 2007

You need to stick it out. Don't look at it as a whole year before you get out, think about it one day at a time.

All you have to do is get through today. Just today. You can focus on tomorrow when it gets here.

Good luck, you'll be out before you know it.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bshort at 6:38 AM on July 31, 2007

How would you have it work? Once the text is long enough to wrap, Firefox is wrapping at the first available space before the textarea text width.

Do you want no linebreaks, except for explicit returns?
posted to Ask Metafilter by bshort at 10:47 AM on July 27, 2007

When you get here, don't ever eat in a chain restaurant. There's so much amazing food in this town that you should never ever have to eat in an Olive Garden, Applebee's, etc.

Spend as little time around Penn Station as possible, unless you're going to B&H for camera equipment. The rest of it's a pit and seems to be where all the tourists who don't end up in Times Square mill around.

Spend as little time around Times Square as possible.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by bshort at 5:00 PM on July 26, 2007

londongeezer, you're joking, right? Tell me you're joking.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bshort at 9:26 AM on July 27, 2007

Dude, he just likes puzzles.

That, or it's a sex thing.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bshort at 6:01 AM on July 26, 2007

Make sure you get enough RAM. I can't emphasize that enough.

Make the switch. You'll love it.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bshort at 11:49 AM on July 24, 2007

Yeah, she's into your boyfriend.

She also owes you a massive apology for drunkenly scolding you about an issue that's absolutely none of her business.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bshort at 11:45 AM on July 24, 2007

Which "Libertarian governments" are you talking about?

I think you can probably believe in all three ideologies and embrace the contradictions since any of them actually have internal contradictions.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bshort at 10:46 AM on July 24, 2007

You were surfing porn at work? What the hell is wrong with you?

Ok, that being said, just tell future interviewers that you left to pursue other opportunities. Employers won't tell other employers about specific problems as it opens them up for litigation. They'll just confirm that you worked there.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bshort at 11:20 AM on July 23, 2007

The Nikon 60mm Micro is a fantastic lens, but it has a really short working distance. The first thing you need to do is seriously think about what it is that you want to take pictures of.

If it's plants or small inanimate objects, then the 60mm Micro is great. It also works perfectly as a portrait lens.

If you want to take pictures of bugs, then you're going to need to back up a bit, because once you're inside their circle of fear, they're going... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by bshort at 11:00 AM on July 23, 2007

I can get you set up with an excellent email marketing engine. Send an email to the address in my profile.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bshort at 7:35 PM on July 22, 2007

I think you're confused about what AxMe is for.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bshort at 7:25 AM on July 20, 2007

Set her up with a non-administrator account and Firefox. Turn on the windows firewall, and install an anti-virus package.

She should be fine.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bshort at 7:25 AM on July 20, 2007

Because her boss told her to.

Look, there are all sorts of foreign policy goals set by the Administration that make absolutely no sense. I can imagine that they think that having a homeland will give the Kosovars some protection they don't currently have, at least not without lots of NATO troops standing around with guns, but I don't think it would.

Tweaking Russia is actually a bonus, by the way, since our current policy seems to be to get... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by bshort at 2:32 PM on July 19, 2007

"Not to be altered by computer" is a really strange stipulation because most RAW files look very flat before processing since they're capturing a very wide dynamic range. Similarly, sharpening almost always needs to be done so that the picture looks sharp in it's final form. This means that pictures intended for the web need more sharpening than pictures intended for printing.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bshort at 9:44 PM on July 14, 2007

You don't have to pay the recruiter, since she bills the company you're going to work for. Her deal is with them, and if they want to pay her, that's their decision.

She failed to do her job, though, and is flailing about trying to reclaim her worth. I'd make sure that the company knows what the situation is, and it might be worth it to have everyone sit down in a room together and discuss the next steps.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bshort at 9:48 AM on July 14, 2007

All lenses that will fit the D50 will also fit the D40, but only "AF-S" lenses will autofocus.

Your 55-200mm probably says "AF-S" on it, which means it will autofocus on the D40, and yes, it will fit and work on ANY Nikon (and Fuji) DSLR.

The D50 was discontinued and the D40 took its place. The D80 is very similar, but is really a replacement for the D70.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bshort at 9:45 AM on July 14, 2007

Well, do you have a backup hard drive and backup software running on some sort of schedule?

That's BY FAR the best use of a hundred dollars or so, if you want to enhance your computing experience.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bshort at 10:56 AM on July 12, 2007

I have a very similar experience on my laptop (Ubuntu / Firefox) and my home machine as well (OSX / Firefox or Safari). It's gotten bad enough that I just don't even use Flickr any more, and I let my subscription expire.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bshort at 2:37 PM on July 10, 2007

If it's hypothetical, then it's not appropriate for AxMe.

If it's not hypothetical, then you definitely, absolutely, need to talk to a lawyer. The HiveMind is often wrong, which isn't going to do you a lick of good in the case that you actually need the non-prenup prenup to stand in court.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bshort at 10:36 AM on July 7, 2007

I made this one that I really like, although it's not very fancy.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bshort at 6:46 PM on June 30, 2007

A lifetime warranty? In 4 years your video card will be outdated, no matter which model you buy. Spend that money on something that will actually matter, like more system RAM.
posted to Ask Metafilter by bshort at 11:17 AM on June 29, 2007