I am worth 9 goats! Woooooo! *does a little dance*

What?
posted to MetaFilter by rtha at 3:06 PM on August 7, 2008

God damn it. I feel like the sky is falling, I can't be sure if water is still wet or fire is hot because all of my internal instruments for judging reality are completely out of whack and are going to totally need to be recalibrated.

Because I just saw something with Paris Hilton that made me kind of like her.

And that shit is just fucked right the hell up.

A co-worker just came by to find out what I... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by rtha at 10:13 AM on August 6, 2008

If it's possible to roar with laughter while banging one's head on the desk, then that is what I am doing.
posted to MetaFilter by rtha at 12:14 PM on August 5, 2008

Am I the only one who finds it mind-boggling that the private & highly sensitive data of all these people was stored on a laptop to start with, no matter whether it was encrypted or handcuffed to the employee!?

Nope. Me too.
posted to MetaFilter by rtha at 2:15 PM on August 5, 2008

I saw this yesterday and was simultaneously overjoyed at the discovery and apprehensive that now Everyone Knows.
posted to MetaFilter by rtha at 8:56 AM on August 5, 2008

Metafilter streams.
posted to MetaFilter by rtha at 6:08 PM on August 3, 2008

For liberals, sex has become the problem that has no name; one simply does not hear liberals articulate a defense of sexual rights.

Where has he been for the last forty years? Women's rights movement; abortion rights movement; gay rights movement.

Also, baby Jesus butt plug.
posted to MetaFilter by rtha at 6:35 PM on August 1, 2008

I am out in nature all the time and while I know most flowers and trees, I couldn't name bird species. Why do I need to? (Unless I plan on being an ornithologist).

Because they're cool! And they give you something to look at and contemplate while you're waiting at the bus stop, or whatever. In San Francisco, I've seen peregrines and redtails and Cooper's hawks and Swainson's hawks and Golden eagles and lots of other excellent birds. From my back... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by rtha at 1:10 PM on August 1, 2008

Friend [acting like I am seriously putting him on]: Bushtits weigh six raisins. You're so weird.

I am falling down laughing.

I have had similar conversations with non-bird-geek friends.

The thing is, when I was a kid (1970s), I didn't know the names of a lot of things. I spent a lot of time outside, and I got Ranger Rick magazine and watched Mutual of Omaha's... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by rtha at 3:37 PM on August 1, 2008

Infinitywaltz: The Sibley guide is where it's at, guide-wise.

But the easiest and best way to start learning birds is to go with people who know more than you do. Go on some local Audubon walks, and check local nature centers/parks for guided walks with a docent or ranger. It can be really hard to start by yourself because it's easy to get lost in a guidebook - looking for a bird with a lot of yellow on it, for instance - where you'll find a zillion birds with yellow. It... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by rtha at 6:15 PM on August 1, 2008

Oh, and back on topic - when I was a kid, I could name and identify a huge number of dinosaurs, despite never having seen one. This is because someone showed me how interesting dinosaurs are.
posted to MetaFilter by rtha at 6:17 PM on August 1, 2008

I remember a mefi post - a while back - where Hersh was saying we would be attacking Iran NEXT FUCKING MONTH. It seems like every time I've seen his name recently it's because omigod we're going to attack Iran right now omigod!!!!

Perhaps one of the reasons this has not (yet) come to pass is Hersh's reporting, and his sources' willingness (and courage) to talk to him.
posted to MetaFilter by rtha at 2:19 PM on August 1, 2008

Slutty IS appealing, big tits/small waists/round cabooses ARE attractive and heels ARE sexy for the vast majority of males, or these traits/enhancements simply wouldn't be so prevalent.

Jesus. If I were this ignorant (and/or myopic) about history, fashion, and evolution and what it can tell us about what body types are attractive to which culture in which century, I wouldn't be so quick to announce it.
posted to MetaFilter by rtha at 10:55 AM on August 1, 2008

Congrats to the happy family!
posted to MetaFilter by rtha at 7:02 PM on July 25, 2008

if 'he' has a uterus than 'he' is not a 'he'

*bangs head on table*

So my biologically and socially gendered female friends who have had hysterectomies are not "she"s?

How many times do we have to have the gender-is-a-social-construct conversation? Thomas Beatie says he is a man; he took surgical and hormonal steps to be perceived as a man; legally, he is a man; his community views him as a... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by rtha at 11:16 AM on July 26, 2008

Ms. seems to me to be a fine, all-encompassing label (for women) that does not depend on anyone knowing, caring, or putting emphasis on the woman's marital status. Like the way Mr. works for men. Mr. doesn't care if the guy is married or not, or if he's 17 or 70. Why not do away with Miss and Mrs. and just have Ms.?

(Though I can kind of grok you about just calling people by name - I grew up calling older adults who were not related by blood or marriage (but who were... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by rtha at 6:07 AM on August 1, 2008

Two things:

A lot of people will come into this thread and say "What, this surprises you?" I get that. This administration has constantly pushed my astonishment threshold. I feel stupid for being amazed, surprised, and horrified.

And: what the fucking fuck?

Oh, three things: I am profoundly ashamed of my government. And have been for a while. I'm sick of feeling like that.
posted to MetaFilter by rtha at 10:09 PM on July 31, 2008

A judge is saying what is what and is not looking at what the majority of the population wants.

That's right. Because that's how the judiciary works. The electoral branch responds to what its constituents want (tax cuts, longer hunting season, whatever). The judicial branch, in response to challenges (lawsuits) to laws passed by the electoral system, decides whether those laws conform to the state/federal constitution (and previous legal precedent).... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by rtha at 8:23 AM on July 30, 2008

However don't take something from the heterosexual culture Marriage

Please explain to me (and I'm really not being snarky here - I'm genuinely curious) how my marriage to my partner (we're both women) takes something away from you. Please explain what it takes away from you.

(We've been married four times now - four! Once in CA in 2004 - that one got annulled (by the same state courts that you're railing... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by rtha at 8:40 AM on July 30, 2008

*quietly untapes sausage from cats*
posted to MetaFilter by rtha at 11:30 AM on July 30, 2008

just because you think you are right does not oblige the majority of the population to do a damn thing.

That is correct. The fact that my partner and I can, and did, marry in California does not oblige you to do one. damn. thing. You didn't have to get divorced, or get married, or force your daughter to marry a woman instead of a man. You didn't even have to send me flowers or a card or a kind thought. So what's the fucking problem?
posted to MetaFilter by rtha at 2:14 PM on July 30, 2008

I, too, like Waiter Rant when it was full of waiter rants. Not such a big fan of the later stuff.

yoinks, you are coming across as outraged, though. (Data point: I have never waited tables, though I have worked retail.) You seem....angry that people like waiter rant and are happy to talk about it because they can relate to it, because they too have been waiters.

I am puzzled. People like to talk about stuff that they relate to, have done, or... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by rtha at 7:42 PM on July 29, 2008

sondrialiac - not sure why you called out my comment specifically, here. I was responding to yoink saying I'm really not "outraged" by this, by the way, when it seemed to me that there was outrage. And I'm still puzzled by the point yoink is trying to make. I wasn't attempting to "police" yoink's tone - I was attempting to figure out/ask what s/he's objecting to.

As others (perhaps me, as well) are clearly reading something into... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by rtha at 12:20 PM on July 30, 2008

Any more questions?

Is there any popcorn left?
posted to MetaFilter by rtha at 9:22 AM on July 30, 2008

It seems like they ought to at least let her attend the games and perform in a non-gendered category

I hope she likes horses. The equestrian events are - I think - the only ones in which men and women compete against each other.
posted to MetaFilter by rtha at 1:33 PM on July 29, 2008

Yeah. No.

The first page of my search for "red-tail hawk" is full of stuff that I can buy. On my old friend Google, the first couple of links go to places that will give me information about rthas, not try to sell me stuff.
posted to MetaFilter by rtha at 8:41 AM on July 28, 2008

some dumb jew tried to thwart my friday night but little does she know how much better she actually made it.

i had a fun affair and now i'm back where i belong.

i really have a lot to say now about things and mainly last night. it's just i have all these visions, mostly of my ass, your head, your hands, and even your nose. the stuff i write it's for you, everything else, who cares? i enjoyed talking to you, speaking to you. we don't... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by rtha at 10:28 PM on July 25, 2008

The ones where I grew up were surrounded with sand. Bailing out into deep, soft sand is awesome.

My elementary school playground was paved (asphalt). We learned to not fall off the jungle gym (too much), or go headfirst down the slide. I'd've thought sand was a good idea, too...but they had to sift the little kids' sandbox everyday to make sure nobody got stung by a scorpion.
posted to MetaFilter by rtha at 2:12 PM on July 21, 2008

This is such a fantastic post, burhanistan. Well done, and thank you!
posted to MetaFilter by rtha at 9:57 PM on July 18, 2008

The Giants game against the Brewers is not going to wendell.

GO MARINERS!
posted to MetaFilter by rtha at 9:08 PM on July 18, 2008

(um. wrong thread.) (sorry.)
posted to MetaFilter by rtha at 9:11 PM on July 18, 2008

One of the jobs of the poet laureate is to go out and get people who think they hate poetry, or who are afraid of it, interested in it. The poet laureate doesn't have to be the most challenging poet in the country. I don't know that I want to start arguing about "best" - although given that this is the blue, it may be inevitable. Having won the Ruth Lilly prize certainly puts her in good company.
posted to MetaFilter by rtha at 3:12 PM on July 18, 2008

Thanks, Peach, for those links. Fantastic.
posted to MetaFilter by rtha at 5:16 PM on July 18, 2008

That Feist video is a great thing. Thank you!
posted to MetaFilter by rtha at 6:37 PM on July 16, 2008

Whoa.
posted to MetaFilter by rtha at 7:42 PM on July 15, 2008

Exposure to food advertising among children (pdf)*:

- Children ages 2–7 see an average of 12 food ads a day on TV. Over the course of a year, this translates into an average of more than 4,400 food ads—nearly 30 hours (29:31 hr) of food advertising.
- Children ages 8–12 see an average of 21 food ads a day on TV. Over the course of a year, this translates into an average of more than 7,600 food ads—over 50 hours (50:48 hr) of food... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by rtha at 4:29 PM on July 15, 2008

Actually, the don't-touch-baby-birds thing is, as far as I know, a myth.

Most birds have virtually no sense of smell (vultures are the big exception). I've seen video and stills of scientists banding peregrine falcon fledglings and nestlings, and while the parents are clearly outraged (it's good to wear a helmet if you're going to do this), they don't reject the babies once they're banded.
posted to MetaFilter by rtha at 9:26 AM on July 15, 2008

jinx! thanks for the cite, annaramma.
posted to MetaFilter by rtha at 9:27 AM on July 15, 2008

I have watched both mallards and Canada geese raise young, and I gotta say, mallards are not very good parents. There's a reason why broods tend to be large - not many will survive to adulthood.

The males don't help much (or at all), and the female will just let the ducklings swim wherever with very little supervision. The Canadas, OTOH, will carefully tend their young, with one parent leading the nestlings (usually 2-4 birds) and the other swimming along at the back of the line.
posted to MetaFilter by rtha at 11:26 AM on July 15, 2008

Wow. Fantastic. Thanks!
posted to MetaFilter by rtha at 11:21 AM on July 15, 2008

Happy birthday, MetaFilter!

Is there any cake left?
posted to MetaFilter by rtha at 6:56 AM on July 14, 2008

I remember that Hatfield belltower fracas - I was living in Northampton at the time, and I remember wondering what people expected when they moved to a New England town with churches on the Green.

I lived in a small town in Maine, and we were right next to the volunteer fire department. The GIGANTICALLY LOUD horn that blew to alert firefighters to get to the station was....well, it woke us up sometimes. But hey, firehouse next door - you're going to get sirens.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by rtha at 11:30 AM on July 9, 2008

The gas station on the corner was here before me. I can't sue when its waste plume (which every gas station has) reaches the town water well? Baloney.

The waste-plume seepage is illegal. Of course you could sue them. The drummers, however, are not breaking any laws.

If you moved to a place with a gas station on the corner and then decided to sue because the gas station has traffic going in and out...well, it's America, so you... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by rtha at 1:23 PM on July 9, 2008

I started reading this yesterday. I was a little surprised that he didn't reference two of the more notorious murders on the AT, that of Julianne Williams and Lollie Winans, in 1996.

Agreed that the writing is blech.
posted to MetaFilter by rtha at 11:02 AM on July 9, 2008

scblackman - I can't believe it! One of my all-time favorites. The mental image of your car sailing over the Jamaicaway....so, did you get an automatic?

I'm wondering how the TV version can improve on the radio version...
posted to MetaFilter by rtha at 9:49 PM on July 8, 2008

I made a very interesting sound when I read this, over and over again just to make sure I had read it correctly.

Me too!

It's weirdly addictive. I keep saying, I'm just going to read one more paragraph/sentence. It's hard to stop.

Great find, desjardins. Thanks!
posted to MetaFilter by rtha at 1:45 PM on July 8, 2008

This is me being incredibly surprised.

(Is it okay if we jump to conclusions now?)
posted to MetaFilter by rtha at 10:33 PM on July 7, 2008

"most of the suicides occur on the side facing into the city (the eastern), rather than the west side, which faces the ocean"

And until quite recently, the west side was closed to all pedestrian and bike traffic.
posted to MetaFilter by rtha at 4:25 PM on July 7, 2008

The previous fpp about who commits suicide at the GG bridge is interesting. Includes contentious discussion about barrier vs no barrier.
posted to MetaFilter by rtha at 5:42 PM on July 7, 2008

Thanks for this, whir.

I've been obsessively reloading the Cal Fire site, and its linked fire map.

The forecast says is going to start getting very hot in the next 24 hours here in Northern California. Not Good.
posted to MetaFilter by rtha at 2:56 PM on July 7, 2008