“In the last general election, John Barrow, the incumbent, defeated the Republican challenger Max Burns (himself a former congressman) by all of 867 Votes.”

In a district which, in the meantime since Barrow was first elected in ’04, had been redrawn to exclude Athens/Clarke County, a very strong Democratic area, while expanding westward to include more Republican-leaning areas. This is a district that will be hotly contested again this year.
posted to MetaFilter by breaks the guidelines? at 10:53 AM on June 20, 2008

I’m a little nonplussed by the select items I clicked on in that huge “Sexism Watch” list. Largely, it seems, the offense is directed from some hack journalist using strained metaphor or some classes nobody hawking tchotchkes like the Hillary Clinton nut-cracker. Honestly, what do you expect the Obama campaign to say or do about this? Doesn’t the Obama campaign already have enough defense to run against the racism and xenophobia directed at him? Is he expected to deflect... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by breaks the guidelines? at 8:54 AM on June 4, 2008

“The right seems to have the worst graphic designers.”

Yeah, the JPG artifacts in the McCain banner are bad, and the lighting really makes him look sick, beady-eyed, and sinister. (He reminds me a bit of Tommy Lee Jones’ Two-face character from that really bad Batman film.) And they used Trebuchet MS — at least it’s consistent with the rest of their website, but gross and weak when compared to Gotham.

But I don’t think it’s a trend of Right vs.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by breaks the guidelines? at 1:53 PM on June 5, 2008

McCain: “The Constitution established the United States of America as a Christian nation.” (Apparently also believes that “In God We Trust” was coined by the Founders.)
posted to MetaFilter by breaks the guidelines? at 7:01 AM on June 9, 2008

Forgive me for this link, but now even LGF has blacklisted Larry Johnson’s “No Quarter” blog (purveyors of the Michelle Obama video rumors,) for disseminating “dirty tricks and misinformation.”
posted to MetaFilter by breaks the guidelines? at 10:46 AM on June 9, 2008

“Now, it all makes sense. He's 18.”

psmeasley, that’s not Larry Johnson, that’s just a contributer to his blog. Johnson is a former CIA agent, and considerably older than 18, certainly old enough to know better.
posted to MetaFilter by breaks the guidelines? at 7:34 AM on June 11, 2008

McCain’s online store has some new “vote red” products that kinda rip off the (product) red stuff. Funny that McCain doesn’t have a clue of what to do about AIDS. (I cannot find any official mention of HIV/AIDS on McCain’s website—just a few press clippings. OTOH, Obama’s site does have an HIV/AIDS fact sheet.)... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by breaks the guidelines? at 10:20 AM on June 18, 2008

“I make the observation that MeFites seem to lack skepticism of Obama, the response back is nuh-uh because we say so, and when I ask for some evidence otherwise I'm told to go construct some.”

So you’ve made a purely speculative, baseless claim, are then subsequently refuted, and you want us to provide evidence supporting or denying your own opinions? The burden of proof is rightly upon you.
posted to MetaFilter by breaks the guidelines? at 1:32 PM on June 16, 2008

This Onion article (one of my favourites) also turned out to be prescient, although it took more than a year, and it was mentioned here before.
posted to MetaFilter by breaks the guidelines? at 1:10 PM on June 11, 2008

Imagine your sweet, kind, grey-haired grandmother. Now picture that she has just picked up two live chickens by the neck, one in each hand, and with a flick of her wrists, their necks are broken and their lifeless bodies hang limply. This is my youth.

I also recall once, I was probably 12 years old, going back to the kitchen for a second helping of yellow rice, and, upon lifting the pot lid, seeing two yellow chicken feet sticking out of the rice. That scared the shit... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by breaks the guidelines? at 12:44 PM on June 10, 2008

Also, if you think butchering your own chickens is too gruesome, please take an afternoon to tour a commercial chicken processing plant to see how the assembly-line butchery works.
posted to MetaFilter by breaks the guidelines? at 12:47 PM on June 10, 2008

It pains me to say, there are a plethora of recipes that are non-starters for me because I don’t have a grill. And this is the worst time for such poverty since all the periodical cooking magazines invariably devote the early summer issues to grills.
posted to MetaFilter by breaks the guidelines? at 11:59 AM on June 10, 2008

“I’ve been hearing how simple and awesome Bittman is…”

Here’s the simplest and awesomest Bittman recipe, Sausages with Grapes: cook sausages; add grapes and balsamic vinegar; serve with bread.
posted to MetaFilter by breaks the guidelines? at 12:03 PM on June 10, 2008

king walnut, I’ve got a friendly poker game I’d like for you to attend.
posted to MetaFilter by breaks the guidelines? at 12:55 PM on May 30, 2008

I didn't hear him say that Pfleger's insults toward her were wrong - and McCain did. Sure he did it for political reasons. But I don't hear a lot of respect for Hillary and her supporters from Obama and the more it continues, the more it hurts him if he's the nominee. — citron

Seriously? On this past Saturday, during his announcement that he is resigning from Trinity, Obama said he is “deeply disappointed in Father Pfleger's divisive, backward-looking rhetoric.” On... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by breaks the guidelines? at 8:42 AM on June 2, 2008

quint, I believe that was good faith satire, not an argument, that you attributed to Pope Guilty.
posted to MetaFilter by breaks the guidelines? at 2:24 PM on May 22, 2008

Considering that the new Libertarian VP candidate is a professional sports handicapper, I can see how at least some number of Libs would be in favor of Futocracy.
posted to MetaFilter by breaks the guidelines? at 8:20 AM on May 27, 2008

I want to like Flash. I really, really do. I love ECMAScript (ActionScript,) and the fact that the Flash plugin is installed on something like 98% of browsers, vs. maybe 50% for QuickTime or WMV, means that it is the most compelling platform for delivering video on the web. But Christ, the Flash-based ads on reddit and some other sites are horrible about excessive CPU usage and frequently causing Safari to crash. And the Flash development IDE is just... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by breaks the guidelines? at 5:33 AM on May 21, 2008

slut
posted to MetaFilter by breaks the guidelines? at 10:07 AM on May 20, 2008

“When the iMac shipped, it was a rather desperate calculated move by Apple.”

It marked the beginning of Apple’s digital convergence strategy. They had acquired NeXT less than 2 years prior. Demos of “Rhapsody,” the first glimpse on what would become Mac OS X, had been circulating for a year or so, and Mac OS X Server 1.0 was released about a year later. I remember configuring a bondi blue iMac to boot from a network image, served by a B&W G3 running that release.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by breaks the guidelines? at 12:49 PM on May 6, 2008

Is it wrong that as I was reading this thread last night from my dual 2 GHz MacBook, I wished for my trusty old 400 MHz Pismo PowerBook to be back in working condition?
posted to MetaFilter by breaks the guidelines? at 6:08 AM on May 7, 2008

bonaldi, my Pismo ran OS X like a champ! I did nearly all of my college compsci programming on it.
posted to MetaFilter by breaks the guidelines? at 7:40 AM on May 7, 2008

Very impressive that the image scales fairly well with the font size.
posted to MetaFilter by breaks the guidelines? at 1:38 PM on April 30, 2008

“There isn't an Obamaton on this thread that would have changed their mind, so please chill with the patronizing comments.”

I think it’s time for you to chill.
posted to MetaFilter by breaks the guidelines? at 10:30 AM on March 20, 2008

Clinton’s campaign a winning combination? The very fact that Clinton hasn’t already won means that she has lost. Clinton came into the race as the inevitable nominee. Obama rose from near-anonymity to best her in the primaries. Obama’s campaign simply recognized the winning strategy, given the rules of the primary process: the race is ultimately about the delegate count, and his campaign played to obtain more delegates. Clinton’s strategy seems to have been to rely upon the old “keystone”... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by breaks the guidelines? at 10:45 AM on March 20, 2008

I’ve been following this post sporadically, and I think it’s a sign that I’ve seen too much of MetaMan when I can identify his comments on the basis of reading only the first sentence.
posted to MetaFilter by breaks the guidelines? at 1:01 PM on March 28, 2008

Paul Graham could be more out-of-touch with reality, but we probably wouldn’t notice.
posted to MetaFilter by breaks the guidelines? at 10:26 AM on March 21, 2008

Jeez, that sounded like a Chuck Norris joke… perhaps I could start a new meme.
posted to MetaFilter by breaks the guidelines? at 10:28 AM on March 21, 2008

Here’s John Gruber’s takedown of the Wired article.
posted to MetaFilter by breaks the guidelines? at 10:52 AM on March 21, 2008

# “Team Clinton would have us believe that those are just pretty words, digaman.”

Ask Clinton if these were just pretty words.
posted to MetaFilter by breaks the guidelines? at 12:51 PM on March 18, 2008

“Though this rule is relaxed if the artist is listed as working with someone else [ie Brian Eno is also allowed the Brian Eno & David Byrne album My Life in the Bush of Ghosts]”

Eno was also in 801 and Roxy Music, and he produced and performed on the Talking Heads’ Fear of Music, and he collaborated with Bowie on Low, so he’s featured on at least 6 albums.
posted to MetaFilter by breaks the guidelines? at 11:22 AM on March 13, 2008

Hear hear, dw. I’m a little guilty of having the thought of Ron Paul supporters being a personality cult, but the polemic claims of 45moore45 and Clinton’s supporters against Obama just smack of sour grapes.

This thread sunk low pretty quickly, but instead of trying to revive it, here’s my attempt at lowering the level of discourse even farther. Do you know why Obama’s ahead in the race for the Democratic nomination? I heard it’s because black guys have big caucus.
posted to MetaFilter by breaks the guidelines? at 11:28 AM on March 10, 2008

# “It may not be as insta-hook as one might think.”

I wasn’t hooked until episode 9, Game Day. I believe that may have been the best episode of any television show, ever.
posted to MetaFilter by breaks the guidelines? at 1:03 PM on March 6, 2008

Yeah, I’d like to see a source for more information on Obama’s role in the FEC nominations hold-up, but I seriously doubt that he alone could prevent a confirmation.
posted to MetaFilter by breaks the guidelines? at 1:50 PM on February 26, 2008

I managed 49.0m. Starting to believe that 50 isn’t possible.
posted to MetaFilter by breaks the guidelines? at 1:16 PM on February 22, 2008

I want to know who’s dumb idea it was to but a keyboard on the Kindle. I’d like to ask them, “What was the last book you bought that came with a keyboard attached?”
posted to MetaFilter by breaks the guidelines? at 9:12 AM on February 21, 2008

“And the keyboard? Yes ugly and clunky, …”

Look at the onscreen keyboard of the iPhone for comparison. Every bit as functional, and neither ugly nor clunky, but the main benefit is that it isn’t there when you aren’t using it. Yes, you can use the Kindle’s keyboard to search and annotate, but those are secondary functions, at best. The primary function of the device is reading text, not typing it. And yet the keyboard makes up 20 or 30% of the device’s size.
posted to MetaFilter by breaks the guidelines? at 10:42 AM on February 21, 2008

What, you thought the things you see on TV are real? Or, what everyone else said.
posted to MetaFilter by breaks the guidelines? at 1:10 PM on February 20, 2008

# afx114, the main byproduct of hydrogen combustion is water. Besides, who says we can’t use non-potable water in these sorts of reactions?
posted to MetaFilter by breaks the guidelines? at 11:43 AM on February 18, 2008

“But does this thing work the same on sea/waste water as it does on fresh water?”

Salty water is actually better for electrolysis, as the reaction is more intense.
posted to MetaFilter by breaks the guidelines? at 12:45 PM on February 18, 2008

Yeah, this site sucks. The most useful and obvious feature, sorting by suckage, has been inexplicably left out.
posted to MetaFilter by breaks the guidelines? at 12:32 PM on November 30, 2007

The site’s availability seems to be getting sporadic. Here’s a cache: 1 2 3 4
posted to MetaFilter by breaks the guidelines? at 8:04 AM on November 30, 2007

Yeah, the ethical or moral objections to embryonic research are, as stated so eloquently, “unmitigated horseshit.” These embyros were already biomedical waste. It’s not as if researchers were stealing fetuses from the womb. They were conceived in vitro at fertility clinics, and if they aren’t used in research, they will just be destroyed or kept on ice indefinitely.
posted to MetaFilter by breaks the guidelines? at 5:48 AM on November 21, 2007

KokoRyu, there may be some actual, clinically provable, beneficial effects of some bark and twigs and rocks, but homeopaths claim that the mere idea or impression of some bark and twigs will cure what ails you.
posted to MetaFilter by breaks the guidelines? at 12:00 PM on November 19, 2007

“If life is so complex and mysterious that the placebo effect can be employed so effectively, then it is complex enough for certain remedies to affect certain people certain ways under certain circumstances”

Reading on past that bit, Goldacre writes about a double-blind clinical trial in which “the people getting the placebo sugar pills do just as well as those getting the real, posh, expensive, technical, magical homeopathy pills.” The point being... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by breaks the guidelines? at 1:37 PM on November 19, 2007

kuatto, you’re talking nonsense and you’re way off-topic. The difference in the efficacy of placebo treatments has nothing to do with their actual, physical or chemical properties. That’s the very nature of a placebo! The effective difference comes as a result of the participants’ perception of the treatment.

Getting back to your initial disagreement with my statement, how can you distinguish the effect of a homeopathic treatment from the effect of a placebo? The... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by breaks the guidelines? at 11:18 AM on November 20, 2007

The blue pill does nothing. The red pill does nothing. The homeopathic treated water does nothing. The placebo effect is due to the participants’ conscious or subconscious expectations of some result.
posted to MetaFilter by breaks the guidelines? at 12:07 PM on November 20, 2007

Again, kuatto, how can you distinguish the effect of a homeopathic treatment from the effect of a placebo? The clinical trials show no significant difference. The simplest explanation for those results is that they are the same. You can continue to postulate that some invisible, unmeasurable mechanism makes some imperceptible difference in how we arrive at the result, but that violates Occam’s Razor.
posted to MetaFilter by breaks the guidelines? at 1:03 PM on November 20, 2007

You’re conflating the difference between red and blue pills with the difference between a homeopathic treatment and a non-homeopathic placebo. No one is denying that the colour of a pill can affect the outcome of a placebo-controlled trial. Just stop bringing it up. The question is, assuming the perceivable physical properties are the same, how do you distinguish a homeopathic treatment from a non-homeopathic placebo?
posted to MetaFilter by breaks the guidelines? at 1:31 PM on November 20, 2007

kuatto, why keep changing the parameters of the discussion? Why not answer my simple question? My initial statement was made in the context of a clinical trial, not a homeopathic store. In a clinical trial, the different treatments will be visibly indistinguishable because we know that, for example, two placebo pills of different colours can have a different effects under the same conditions. So, once more, how can you make a distinction between a homeopathic treatment and a non-homeopathic... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by breaks the guidelines? at 2:01 PM on November 20, 2007