I thought this was going to be one of those sites that sends back a picture of a monkey on a driver's license with your name on it or something.
posted to MetaFilter by loiseau at 12:27 AM on July 25, 2008

Though Segways are illegal on the streets of Montreal (save for a small tourist area in the Old Port) cops here have just picked up a few three-wheel T3 Motions to add to their patrols.

Judging by the video these things sound like they're fuelled by angry bees.
posted to MetaFilter by loiseau at 6:24 PM on July 23, 2008

Also.

I have only seen a Segway once -- actually four times, as a family of four douchebag yuppies zipped around the waterfront on a rented set -- and I laughed my ass off. They just seemed like the most ridiculous, ostentatious thing ever. I am glad they are not allowed around here.

But my view of the Segway as a concept, and of Dean Kamen as an inventor, changed drastically as a result of this fascinating thread about his more recent work and... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by loiseau at 6:28 PM on July 23, 2008

Blazecock Pileon said: "My view of the Segway is unchanged, but watching that brought a little tear to my eye. The Segway is consumer garbage, but a prosthetic arm that brings normalcy to people scarred by accidents or war is some genuinely Good Technology."

Hawking "consumer garbage" to wealthy fucks with too much money and not enough ideas is what has given Kamen money to tool around fairly quietly with really expensive technology... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by loiseau at 9:10 PM on July 23, 2008

I would hardly call "I wish he wasn't dead so he could still be suffering" a substantive critique.

Maybe the people saying things like that truly believe them, but I personally think it's despicable to cheer at this man's death. He was born and was once a kid, just like you were. He had parents, kids, friends, neighbours, loved ones -- just like you. He suffered from a terrible, painful, embarrassing illness and then died from another terrible illness that we... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by loiseau at 2:25 PM on July 12, 2008

I've never taken Amtrak, only Via, the Canadian rail corp, but I've heard dozens of horror stories of the 5-hour trip from Montreal to NYC being stopped for 5-hour delays mid-voyage. I wonder what's so different there regarding infrastructure ownership... I've taken the 4-hour trip on Via between Toronto and Montreal many times and never experienced a significant delay.
posted to MetaFilter by loiseau at 10:56 PM on July 10, 2008

Marquis said: "As others have said, the major delay on the Montreal-NYC train is simply customs."

Oh no, not the stories I've heard. I know there's a border there. But that's fine, they may be outliers.

As for Toronto-Montreal, I've taken it less (maybe 7-8 times) but I think almost always the 4-hour express train... I wonder if that has something to do with the lack of delay.
posted to MetaFilter by loiseau at 6:45 PM on July 11, 2008

...and XKCD readers grow even more obnoxious.
posted to MetaFilter by loiseau at 12:54 AM on July 8, 2008

I must admit I thoroughly enjoyed finding this terribly bitter entry on the children's game Seven-Up.
posted to MetaFilter by loiseau at 6:40 AM on July 8, 2008

Okay, I must mention that I am still laughing after discovering that the defecation article has a note stating that "This article may require cleanup."

I don't care what this says about me.
posted to MetaFilter by loiseau at 12:37 AM on July 10, 2008

improveverywhere.metafilter.com
posted to MetaFilter by loiseau at 10:31 PM on July 8, 2008

Maybe I'm just grumpy tonight, but is anyone else sick and motherfucking tired of Google? Pardon my language but like seriously.
posted to MetaFilter by loiseau at 10:30 PM on July 8, 2008

Ugh. I knew this shitty story would make it here.

It's scary to me that the egos involved in the Gawker empire have become so large that these people actually think they are celebrities.

But what's even scarier is that in a way, they are -- in this blog review of the show, the 20-year-old blogger is so excited that Tracie Egan replies in the comments that she calls it a "HOLY SHIT MOMENT". She also refers to Egan and Tkacik as her... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by loiseau at 4:28 PM on July 6, 2008

delmoi said: "I wrote a long post about this a while ago, I think it's simply related to an ever increasing access to information media and wealth amoung all people. Whereas earlier in the century only the rich had access to passive media, controlled publishing, etc. Now everyone has access to TV and disposable income to be advertized too."

Strongly disagree with you here. Do you really think everyone has access to TV and disposable income?... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by loiseau at 9:27 PM on July 7, 2008

So... my point stands, then.
posted to MetaFilter by loiseau at 11:04 PM on July 7, 2008

I can't believe they did this on 50 separate pages.
posted to MetaFilter by loiseau at 6:49 PM on July 5, 2008

I sort of see Dr. President et al's point -- if you were a child-free person working at Google, it would probably chafe that the company was subsidizing the guy next to you to the tune of $37,000 per year. I'd probably be asking what the company has done for me lately.
posted to MetaFilter by loiseau at 1:54 PM on July 5, 2008

(I said) if you were a child-free person working at Google, it would probably chafe that the company was subsidizing the guy next to you to the tune of $37,000 per year.

Brian B. said: "This is always a big problem with Americans who define equal as same (ie, specifically rather than categorically). "

Not American.
I believe wholeheartedly in the healthcare for all which my country... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by loiseau at 6:01 PM on July 5, 2008

Not American.
I believe wholeheartedly in the healthcare for all which my country provides to its citizens. But I can also sympathize with the other position. Maybe you should try it.

Brian B. said: "Try what? Try sympathizing with the status quo?"

You're really wound up. If I were you I'd try taking a walk around the block.

Maybe part of the reason the US is... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by loiseau at 6:27 PM on July 5, 2008

This is kind of a weak post, isn't it? Two Wikipedia links and a CTV story without any sound clips?
posted to MetaFilter by loiseau at 9:31 PM on July 3, 2008

Mitheral said: "WTF: "Atlantic Canadian"? Who the hell referrers to people from that region as Atlantic Canadians?"

Lots of people, occasionally people from there (like me), depending on who you're talking about.

Newfoundland isn't part of the Maritimes, but it is part of Atlantic Canada.
posted to MetaFilter by loiseau at 10:37 PM on July 3, 2008

randomstriker said: "Geez...it takes 14 comments for someone to finally figure out what I'm alluding to. Are you all Newfies or somethin'? (*ducks for cover*)"

Probably some people just found it offensive and chose not to dignify it.
posted to MetaFilter by loiseau at 10:39 PM on July 3, 2008

thejimp said: "Personally, I don't find the term itself offensive, just the ignorant bigotry of people like randomstriker, wendell and jonmc."

Yup. All depends on who's saying it and in what spirit.

And this post and some of the comments definitely cross that line.
posted to MetaFilter by loiseau at 10:09 AM on July 4, 2008

Way to be a dick, Raider.

This thread sucked from beginning to end. Thank god for the "remove from recent activity" link.
posted to MetaFilter by loiseau at 11:36 PM on July 4, 2008

I didn't quite appreciate this until I watched the bodybuilding one. "I don't take steroids... but I do have corn flakes every morning."
posted to MetaFilter by loiseau at 11:24 AM on July 4, 2008

bhnyc said: "pet peeve- the dollar sign goes before the number"

bhnyc, not in Quebec.
posted to MetaFilter by loiseau at 6:48 PM on July 3, 2008

signal said: "It takes a special kind of arrogance and authoritarianism to decide that what you think of as your "art "will be on other people's property and the community's public spaces whether they like it or not."

Oddly, most public space advocates appreciate well-crafted graffiti.

Corporations illegally using public space as free advertisement, now that's something worth getting upset about. And it's... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by loiseau at 6:52 PM on July 3, 2008

I gotta admit I don't even understand what you just said or if I should be offended. Shrug.

I'm always a little surprised by how knee-jerk anti-graffiti Metafilter tends to be. It's interesting.
posted to MetaFilter by loiseau at 7:52 PM on July 3, 2008

Billegible, so do I. I find it's done both ways but frequently after the number. YMMV. I'd grant that anglos do it the American way more often.
posted to MetaFilter by loiseau at 9:38 PM on July 3, 2008

illiad said: " Canada allows for legal abortions, thanks to Dr. Henry Morgentaler, who yesterday received the Order of Canada."

Uh, just to clarify that first sentence if I may, abortions have been legal in Canada for a long time -- it's just that the honour was recently given to one of the most prominent crusaders. I don't know if that was so clear.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by loiseau at 6:10 PM on July 2, 2008

So tragic.

.
posted to MetaFilter by loiseau at 1:35 PM on July 2, 2008

Can anyone explain to me in good faith why these women so often seem to dress identically, right down to the odd wall of hair over the forehead? I am sincerely curious about it. It doesn't seem that desiring to dress modestly logically means everyone dressing alike, but maybe there's something I don't know about this tradition.
posted to MetaFilter by loiseau at 8:43 PM on July 1, 2008

Okay, I'm back again being thinky about religious-mandated dress. Someone above suggested that cults usually have uniforms. But I live near a very Hasidic neighbourhood, and I don't think anyone considers Hasids a cult. (Do they?) Yet they all wear black suit/white shirt/black hat/curls (men and boys) or long skirt/long hair (women and girls). And I just don't get this kind of thing. It's probably because I'm not religious, but I don't get it.

A couple of the Mika Rose... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by loiseau at 10:54 AM on July 2, 2008

I guess this is sort of how telling kids not to have sex makes 'em more pregnanter.
posted to MetaFilter by loiseau at 8:35 PM on July 1, 2008

I want to marry this man and have his babies.
posted to MetaFilter by loiseau at 8:33 PM on July 1, 2008

Pope Guilty said: "Don't leave your bike outside."

Ha. I live in Montreal. I guess I'll be needing your help carrying my bike up and down three storeys of wrought-iron spiral staircase, then.
posted to MetaFilter by loiseau at 11:52 AM on July 1, 2008

It's totally worth it to take it inside if you're physically able. I did when I lived in a basement apartment. But I just can't manage the lift up and down three storeys every day (at least once).

I like the idea of this planter thing but obvy I have nowhere to put one. Plus I'd need to see it in person before I could really trust it. It just doesn't look that imposing to me.
posted to MetaFilter by loiseau at 3:30 PM on July 1, 2008

I was taken aback by this part of Xeni's comment in the BB comment thread (emphasis mine):

The "unpublishing" versus "deleting" issue is this: the posts were removed from public view while an evaluation of what to do took place. We didn't want to pay to host them on our blog anymore. This is also why we remove hateful, ad hominem attack comments from public view, too: this is our home, we are proud of the home we built and the guests who... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by loiseau at 2:01 PM on July 1, 2008

I had no idea the Donnas still existed.

Happy Canada Day!
posted to MetaFilter by loiseau at 10:03 PM on June 30, 2008

On the forum I run we set the word-replace filters to weird things just to amuse ourselves. Sometimes they're obscure enough that it takes weeks for someone to notice and start complaining about it, but it's always worth the wait.

Anyway, I don't think 'rightwingwatch.org' is really the best source for a FPP, is it?
posted to MetaFilter by loiseau at 5:03 PM on June 30, 2008

This is so simple but for some reason is one of my favourite posts in a long time.

I live a couple of blocks away from a train overpass and I always feel happy when I cross under on my bike when a train is passing overhead.

When I was a kid we used to spend summers at my grandparents' house, which was about a kilometre from a train crossing. When we heard the whistle blowing from across the bay we'd run like crazy to get as close to the tracks as... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by loiseau at 9:34 AM on June 30, 2008

Another thing I love about being near train tracks is that from my apartment at night I can just hear the thunk-ka-thunk-ka-thunk of one passing... not too loud, just perfect.
posted to MetaFilter by loiseau at 9:40 AM on June 30, 2008

I heard Joss Whedon farted, once.
posted to MetaFilter by loiseau at 3:37 PM on June 29, 2008

If anyone wants citizenship I'm willing to marry for a nominal fee. Male or female.
posted to MetaFilter by loiseau at 3:26 PM on June 29, 2008

five fresh fish said: "I get plenty of the sex plus I get to live with and love my very best friend forever. The idea of bagging strangers for one-night stands seems lonely and sad by comparison."

Yeah... well, it's nice that you feel lucky but it's pretty shitty to feel superior to people who either don't want or just can't find what you have.

If it were just a matter of putting in an order for... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by loiseau at 11:45 PM on June 27, 2008

You were the one who said you were "much, much more successful" and that one-night stands seem to you "lonely and sad".

Of course I believe most people want to have love in their life. I certainly do. But not all people want that. Try not to judge.
posted to MetaFilter by loiseau at 9:42 AM on June 28, 2008

You are some kinda drama queen, FFF.
posted to MetaFilter by loiseau at 11:01 AM on June 28, 2008

Totally thought this was going to be about FUBAR the movie.
posted to MetaFilter by loiseau at 9:51 AM on June 28, 2008

I only got a few right because they're mostly US chocolate bars -- it's amazing how many duplicate bars you have. (Mars/Milky Way, Heath/Skor, etc.) I wonder why?
posted to MetaFilter by loiseau at 9:36 PM on June 27, 2008

worst. idea. ever.
posted to MetaFilter by loiseau at 6:51 AM on June 27, 2008