Twenty years ago this month, I watched a portion of the Bay Bridge upper deck collapse in the Loma Prieta quake.

Yesterday, I watched a portion of the Bay Bridge upper deck collapse during the rush hour commute. Next to the bridge is its replacement, twenty years in the making, still leading to nowhere.

That California requires more than twenty years to replace this crumbling structure is a perfect symbol of my state's failure.
posted to MetaFilter by Chinese Jet Pilot at 8:12 AM on October 28, 2009

Along with Oakland, my town of Richmond, CA is suffering a plague of drive-by shootings. A drive-by is a sloppy way to gain respect or get revenge -- too many innocent bystanders, including children, are in the way. Re-introducing the American tradition of the duel would save lives every year.
posted to MetaFilter by Chinese Jet Pilot at 8:29 AM on September 15, 2009

Happened to me. I tried many of the article's suggestions. What worked? Better clients.
posted to MetaFilter by Chinese Jet Pilot at 8:50 AM on May 27, 2009

I'm so accustomed to live streaming video of shuttle missions that I can't comprehend a mission where even mission control didn't get pictures. But of course it's easy to forget that cold war paranoia was very tangible in 1988.
posted to MetaFilter by Chinese Jet Pilot at 4:13 PM on March 28, 2009

I examined the photos of Richmond, CA, where I have lived most of my life.

I'm surprised to learn that, according to Vergara, I live and work in a ghetto.

Many of Vergara's photos confuse working-class neighborhoods in Richmond with a ghetto. He failed to take his camera very far into Richmond's real ghetto, the Iron Triangle. It's a long stretch to consider the Richmond neighborhoods he photographed "invisible".... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Chinese Jet Pilot at 11:35 AM on March 3, 2009

Another videogame character named Jumpman went on to bigger things after a name change.
posted to MetaFilter by Chinese Jet Pilot at 1:20 PM on February 20, 2009

Say what you will about the broken housing market, but it's exchanges like this that make me grateful I own a detached house with plenty of buffer space between my neighbors.
posted to MetaFilter by Chinese Jet Pilot at 10:40 AM on February 20, 2009

There used to be a Microsoft store, years ago, at the Sony (now Westfield) Metreon in San Francisco. It didn't last. I never understood why someone would travel to a fancypants mall to pay premium prices for a copy of Windows.
posted to MetaFilter by Chinese Jet Pilot at 4:32 PM on February 13, 2009

If his skin tone wasn't so light, I'd swear he was acting the part of Thelonious Monk.
posted to MetaFilter by Chinese Jet Pilot at 11:23 AM on February 12, 2009

Not only is the campaign over, so it Mortal Combat.
posted to MetaFilter by Chinese Jet Pilot at 10:15 AM on February 12, 2009

The phone number for his financial management business was disconnected, and public records do not list his current home phone number.

Too bad he wasn't as creative with his clients' money as he was running away from the mess he made with it.

A map of East Milton, Florida where the plane finally crashed shows it to be populated -- it's just luck that nobody on the ground was killed. Which suggests to me that he planned his... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Chinese Jet Pilot at 1:27 PM on January 12, 2009

Here's a nice narrative from Arch Hall, Jr. reminiscing about the last time he saw Steckler.
posted to MetaFilter by Chinese Jet Pilot at 5:32 PM on January 9, 2009

I predict that future voice-operated computer interfaces will sound exactly like Majel Barrett-Roddenberry.
posted to MetaFilter by Chinese Jet Pilot at 4:01 PM on December 18, 2008

Languages, applications, even operating systems had the mark of an individual back then.

I can't imagine programming Microsoft BASIC or anything on the PET's abysmal original keyboard.

We had a roomful of PETs at my elementary school that were used to play Lemonade Stand.
posted to MetaFilter by Chinese Jet Pilot at 12:38 PM on November 14, 2008

Fans of the 1962 Wold's Fair in Seattle should check out the "soundtrack" album, Attilio Mineo's Man in Space with Sounds. It's got a lounge-y, space-age sound that perfectly fits these photos.
posted to MetaFilter by Chinese Jet Pilot at 8:55 AM on November 14, 2008

Fans of the 1962 Wold's Fair in Seattle should check out the "soundtrack" album, Attilio Mineo's Man in Space with Sounds. It's got a lounge-y, space-age sound that perfectly fits these photos.
posted to MetaFilter by Chinese Jet Pilot at 8:55 AM on November 14, 2008

I recently showed a friend's penguin-obsessed four-year-old a Chilly Willy cartoon on my iPhone, via YouTube. He was terrified! Kids today don't get enough TNT, quick-drying cement, or falling anvil gags from Dora the Explorer.
posted to MetaFilter by Chinese Jet Pilot at 5:59 PM on November 7, 2008

100 years of Guardian photography, marred by a crummy Flash interface.
posted to MetaFilter by Chinese Jet Pilot at 11:53 AM on October 23, 2008

I bought the VHS tape when I was too poor to own a VCR.

I bought the soundtrack CD years before I owned a CD player.

But I will skip the Blu-Ray and wait for it to play in a theater again.
posted to MetaFilter by Chinese Jet Pilot at 4:10 PM on October 17, 2008

I have such fond memories of the 1991-1992 U.S. recession. Of course, I had just turned 21, I earned about $22k a year, and in the first presidential election I was old enough to vote in, I selected Bill Clinton because he seemed like a regular guy. The recession was too abstract for me; I was generally HAPPY in spite of it.

This time around I'm solidly middle-class, a homeowner, a well-informed voter, and ENRAGED.
posted to MetaFilter by Chinese Jet Pilot at 7:55 PM on October 1, 2008

I was more baffled by the blue-sky backdrop that replaced the green lawn. I assumed someone forgot to chroma-key a background of the burning twin towers.
posted to MetaFilter by Chinese Jet Pilot at 9:49 AM on September 5, 2008

Previously
posted to MetaFilter by Chinese Jet Pilot at 6:28 PM on August 21, 2008

I once caught this guy playing two trumpets simultaneously, but he was playing with a large band so I can't vouch for his accuracy.
posted to MetaFilter by Chinese Jet Pilot at 12:15 PM on August 6, 2008

Mid: I don't say "cremated remains," I say "cremains".



And yes, it's in the dictionary.
posted to MetaFilter by Chinese Jet Pilot at 1:54 PM on August 3, 2008

First Nathaniel W's Metropolis post, and now this. Finally I have something to look forward to watching.

I highly recommend Viking Eggeling's Symphonie diagonale on Europa Film Treasures, a groundbreaking piece of experimental animation.

Too bad I can't embed the videos.
posted to MetaFilter by Chinese Jet Pilot at 6:33 PM on July 2, 2008

If he's targeting the "mature adult" market, then he needs to get back on the AM band.
posted to MetaFilter by Chinese Jet Pilot at 10:33 AM on June 19, 2008

capnwacky.com's written descriptions are less funny than insulting. Tip: let the artwork speak for itself.
posted to MetaFilter by Chinese Jet Pilot at 8:11 AM on June 10, 2008

You mean to tell me that war profiteering wasn't a felony before the fall of 2007? It's no wonder that Halliburton ran its contracts as a "cost-plus" enterprise.
posted to MetaFilter by Chinese Jet Pilot at 9:22 AM on May 23, 2008

Porklips Now is Fosselius's finest film. It's a funny parody with some fine filmmaking.

This post motivated me to pull my VHS copy of Hardware Wars and Other Film Farces off the shelf. It's from 1983 and dense, very heavy plastic, built to last.
posted to MetaFilter by Chinese Jet Pilot at 11:33 AM on May 20, 2008

My visit with the new president did nothing to assuage my apprehensions. The man—and by that I mean the inner man, the essential man—seemed unequal to the awesome powers entrusted to him.

This is why I fear my President. And lately, a lot of insiders are confirming it.
posted to MetaFilter by Chinese Jet Pilot at 3:00 PM on May 2, 2008

Charlton Heston's Gun Taken From His Cold, Dead Hands
posted to MetaFilter by Chinese Jet Pilot at 10:44 AM on April 7, 2008

The source brings back fond memories. I wouldn't be caught dead with a CENTER, B, FONT, or HR tag today. It's really charming 100% HTML code. Adorable, even.

First web site: Some guy's Twin Peaks tribute.
posted to MetaFilter by Chinese Jet Pilot at 2:25 PM on April 1, 2008

What strikes me about these recordings is that no one sounds like they're having much fun.
posted to MetaFilter by Chinese Jet Pilot at 1:17 PM on March 31, 2008

The film may be from 1898, but the streams are clearly of 1998 vintage.

Interesting how the cameraman framed the shot. Most of the diamond except for 3rd plate and home base is obscured; instead of recording the action, the camera is pointed at people milling around off the playing field. The film has no sense of composition.
posted to MetaFilter by Chinese Jet Pilot at 6:08 PM on March 26, 2008

He's coming back in spite of himself. Thriller is everywhere. And you have to admit that you can't take your eyes off him in this video.
posted to MetaFilter by Chinese Jet Pilot at 2:28 PM on March 25, 2008

Another view, from behind the scenes of Reagan's announcement:
http://www.jerrypournelle.com/view/2008/Q1/view510.html#starwars
posted to MetaFilter by Chinese Jet Pilot at 9:01 AM on March 25, 2008

Clarke was the master of "hard" science fiction. He was the best at communicating complex concepts in few, simple words. Time to pull Rendezvous with Rama off my shelf for another read.
posted to MetaFilter by Chinese Jet Pilot at 4:04 PM on March 18, 2008

If this is true, I don't understand is AOL's insistence on bundling IE into their software. If they owned Netscape by 1997, it doesn't make sense that they'd support their competition in that way.

It's because of what they got in return: a sign-up icon on every Windows desktop.

I don't think AOL had any interest in the browser market. They seemed more interested in the netscape.com portal, which got a lot of eyeballs when NS... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Chinese Jet Pilot at 10:05 PM on December 28, 2007

Don't forget Jim Backus' classic recording, Delicious!
posted to MetaFilter by Chinese Jet Pilot at 12:17 PM on August 15, 2007

Last year I put a 60-mile ChannelMaster antenna on my roof to draw in KALX, the UC Berkeley radio station. The vast number of random broadcasts floating through the ether is astounding. I can see how it could become a hobby.
posted to MetaFilter by Chinese Jet Pilot at 3:59 PM on August 13, 2007

"Explorers, investigating a giant meteorite crater after gifting a church organ to Bolivian locals, discover a breed of two-nosed dogs". You can't make this stuff up.
posted to MetaFilter by Chinese Jet Pilot at 10:57 AM on August 13, 2007

Sounds like you had a panic attack. Very common and very treatable. New age jargon and chiropractic quackery, however, won't help.

Aladfar, I felt exactly like you until the new age quacks cured me. I posted this because, if it happens to you, I don't want your opinions to get in the way of your cure.

Incidentally, my doctor did prescribe several hundred dollars in meds, including an inhaler. They did nothing but make me... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Chinese Jet Pilot at 2:18 PM on August 10, 2007

How come I'm not hearing any anti-war songs on the radio in the Iraq era? Some of the songs on the list were mainstream hits. Of course, the Dixie Chicks took a lot of heat, and I guess we can't expect much from today's pop stars. I think this is a sign that the recording industry is too cozy with government.
posted to MetaFilter by Chinese Jet Pilot at 9:00 AM on August 8, 2007

SmileyChewtrain, a modified version of that image (sans the CCCP on the helmet) used to appear in the CSA Images catalog. The csaimages.com site doesn't seem to have it anymore, unless I missed it.
posted to MetaFilter by Chinese Jet Pilot at 3:47 PM on August 2, 2007

I like that Leskiw puts plenty of points of interest in his maps to make driving those imaginary roads worthwhile.
posted to MetaFilter by Chinese Jet Pilot at 10:36 AM on August 1, 2007

2sheets: As evidenced by this comment about another post, I seem to have a knack for missing obituaries.
posted to MetaFilter by Chinese Jet Pilot at 12:14 PM on July 10, 2007

It would be yet another example of the damaging covermount culture which is destroying any perception of value around recorded music

No, it's an example of an artist held in high esteem by his fans in spite of his label's profiteering.

We're seeing the first wave of high-profile artists who are fed up with this line and bringing their music -- and getting their profits -- directly from their fans. Paul McCartney is doing the... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Chinese Jet Pilot at 8:47 AM on June 29, 2007

The genius of this invention is its low cost. It's going to be everywhere in twelve months.
posted to MetaFilter by Chinese Jet Pilot at 10:17 AM on June 20, 2007

I lived in Austria during one year of Waldheim's presidency. Austria seemed to forgive him for being Nazi. After all, many people found themselves members of the Nazi party not by choice, but were either conscripted, or because it was the only available organization where they could apply their profession (many learned of Nazi attrocities only after the war). The real controversy, and what raised suspicions -- inside and outside of Austria -- was that he denied it. Obviously he was hiding... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Chinese Jet Pilot at 8:54 PM on June 14, 2007

Correction: Polecat's N1 model was launched in 2007.
posted to MetaFilter by Chinese Jet Pilot at 12:34 PM on June 13, 2007