Just FYI, it's entirely possible for a human to survive exposure to the vacuum of space for a limited time without any permanent damage -- as long as you expel all the breath from your lungs to avoid an embolism. Horrifying scenes of sudden explosive decompression or immediate freezing are, as far as I can tell, a myth. (In other words, Mission to Mars got it wrong, 2001 got it mostly right. But that's no surprise now, is it?) Link via BadAstronomy. Love that site.
posted to MetaFilter by brownpau at 8:27 PM on August 23, 2001 (16 comments)

Has anyone noticed Al Gore's new look yet?
posted to MetaFilter by brownpau at 7:37 AM on August 4, 2001 (51 comments)

It's probably old news to most of you that Skybiz (which I am deliberately not linking) recently came under FTC scrutiny for being a pyramid scheme. What I'm wondering is: why is the original news article about it no longer on CNET News, and why can't I seem to find any more news about this scam? (Here's the cached Google copy of the news item.)

Coverup? Or just an "expired" article? (While we're here, anyone with firsthand feedback on Skybiz?)
posted to MetaFilter by brownpau at 6:44 PM on August 1, 2001 (1 comment)

Do you Yahoo? Kaycee-Nicole does. Just when we thought the dust had settled, the Kaycee Nicole hoax now has its own Yahoo category. If this is a double-post, someone bonk me.
posted to MetaFilter by brownpau at 2:36 AM on May 30, 2001 (7 comments)

Erap to be arrested today. Filipinos might be interested to know that a warrant of arrest has been issued to deposed Philippine president Joseph Estrada for the non-bailable offense of economic plunder. A few thousand of his supporters have gathered around his residence in the affluent subdivision of North Greenhills, and there have already been untoward incidents. My family lives there; Mom says anti-riot police are roaming the streets.
posted to MetaFilter by brownpau at 9:11 PM on April 24, 2001 (23 comments)

Does this mean free lattes for the Cylons? Director Bryan Singer to work on a remake of BattleStar Galactica. Or is it going to be "BattleStar Galactica: The Next Generation"? What I'm wondering is: What's Starbucks going to do about it?
posted to MetaFilter by brownpau at 8:59 PM on March 3, 2001 (10 comments)