Never work for the government. My husband writes policy documents, and because the IP is owned by his Department, people feel free to cut-and-paste his work into their own without attribution. What he finds really sucks is when they take his good work (he's my husband, of course his work is good) and use it in shitty work.

(sorry for getting all boring and stuff. back to your regular MeFi absurdity now folks.)
posted to MetaFilter by Megami at 12:03 AM on August 8, 2008

Just as a data point, I have absolutely no synaesthesia. Numbers don't have colors, letters don't have colors, colors don't have sounds, sounds don't have colors. All of the above sound ridiculous to me, although there's certainly enough evidence to believe that some people really experience them.

Same here. I am sure it is a real 'condition' for some people, but I have also met quite a few fakes out there (I studied music for quite some time). The... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Megami at 11:32 PM on August 6, 2008

Going by what is on the link nickyskye provided (and thanks for that BTW) I say clever concept but meh as an artwork - doesn't do it for me.

As for 'the browser thing' - some of us are slackers who use the interwebs at work. And many government systems won't view properly with Flash. My loss I know, but there you have it.
posted to MetaFilter by Megami at 11:17 PM on August 4, 2008

a) 'crop dusting' has a long and dishonourable history in the airline steward/ess business.
b) 'Belle de Jour' is a pretty successful book (and TV series) spin-off from a blog. This is by no means the first.
c) BitterOldPunk, I didn't stick with it as long as you did, but I waited tables, bar-tendered and was even once a floor manager at a restaurant. It is a great line of work if you have the right personality - it is not all drudgery, though yeah, I agree on the silverware bit.
posted to MetaFilter by Megami at 6:46 PM on July 29, 2008

I loved the books, but I didn't know there was a cartoon version. I grew up in Australia though, perhaps it never aired here.

Thanks for the link.
posted to MetaFilter by Megami at 6:19 PM on July 27, 2008

Madonna. American Pie. The day the music died.
I mean, if you ever want an example of how a good song can be weaponized (as in turned into something that could kill someone by making them want to go out and kill themself ...)
posted to MetaFilter by Megami at 7:09 PM on July 21, 2008

I would love for us to do away with our car. I hate driving, and lived without doing it until very recently. I run to work in the mornings (10km) and either drive or bus home (my partner works near me so if he drives to work in the morning I can pick up the car in the afternoon). But the reality is that getting our family of three to where we have to be during the week - work, preschool etc. - is near impossible without a car. We often do trips by bike (with four year old in the bike trailer)... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Megami at 6:11 PM on July 20, 2008

Fark. Sorry folks. I did search, but it obviously didn't work. Please delete!
posted to MetaFilter by Megami at 5:29 PM on April 22, 2008

Well, for all of you who were 'touched' by this - do any of you actually listen to choir music/ church music very often? Has it occured to you maybe it was just the piece of music? Look, the kid is okay, but perhaps part of the 'ooh, wonderment' is that we just don't see young boys singing very often. At least outside of boy bands.
posted to MetaFilter by Megami at 5:09 PM on April 14, 2008

Fair call hydropsyche. I too have sung in choirs, listen to a lot of sacred music (though leider is more my type of thing) and wouldn't class ALW as, well, 'classical' music. But it is still a sacred piece. And the kid is nice, but I wouldn't say the best I have ever heard, but that is of course personal opinion. I still contend that a lot of the 'reaction' is people who are just amazed a kid can sing something other than rap or nursery rhymes. I know that in the UK and Australia there is not a... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Megami at 5:55 PM on April 14, 2008

As pointed out by crossoverman, you are not quite correct with your wording. Also, I am not sure how the G-G can really make a significant mark on the country these days, unless we have another dismissal fracas, and I can't see that happening. I don't see this as really being a big deal (and I am a woman and a Queenslander).
posted to MetaFilter by Megami at 8:43 PM on April 13, 2008

Sorry, my link to explain the dismissal disappeared: http://whitlamdismissal.com/overview/
posted to MetaFilter by Megami at 8:44 PM on April 13, 2008

Okay, call me a cynic, but do people really believe that having a female G-G (after having women premiers, state govenors, pretty much ever level of leadership in Australian society) is all of a sudden going to 'inspire' women and girls? As in 'you know, I never really thought I could achieve anything as a female in Australian society, I have never had any examples to emulate, but hey, now we have a female G-G I am feeling empowered!'

Frankly, why not just say that this... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Megami at 5:29 PM on April 14, 2008

As a parent of a almost-four year old, this is something I (and my husband) are starting to think about. A lot of it is not that you don't think the world is safe, but actually you are worried about being accused of being a bad parent - you don't worry your kid is going to be abducted, but that other people will think you are a bad parent because they think your kid might be abducted. The same as hot-housing your kid, or making sure they go to the right activities - it is... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Megami at 3:56 PM on April 13, 2008

My mother's child-rearing policy was one of benign neglect. My brothers and I spent a lot of time climbing trees, starting bonfires and falling over. Now my mum runs an outdoor nursery where she takes children (three to five years old) to the woods and they do pretty much those things, taking due care re:safety. She says filling in the risk-assessment paperwork is a bit of a palaver though.

Eponymouse, is this in Scotland? I know of one nursery... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Megami at 4:09 PM on April 13, 2008

So that cheap Italian 'rot-gut' really was rot-gut?

When travelling through Italy a few years ago we discovered the horror that is cheap wine sold in tetra-packs in the supermarket. We would class the better ones as 'a better breed of cat is obviously responsible for this one ...' I think in these cases it was just crap cheap wine rather than manure or acid at fault though.
posted to MetaFilter by Megami at 5:27 PM on April 9, 2008

Sorry elpapacito, wasn't trying to imply that all Italian wine was tainted, or crap. Some of the better stuff is sublime, I will grant you that. Kind of the good stuff is good, but the bad stuff is bloody awful. Happens with most countries, I think.
posted to MetaFilter by Megami at 5:36 PM on April 9, 2008

Depends. How would you feel if you knew that many contemporary 'classical' music recordings are frankensteins patched together from hundreds of best take edits of a few measures length? It's done for the same reason as electronically enhanced 'live' performances -- 'We can play this, just not reliably.'

Most people who buy classical recordings are already aware of this. That is why a 'live' recording is listed as such.

For... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Megami at 8:13 PM on April 8, 2008

Thanks for this - some beautiful examples of the best the human voice has to offer.
posted to MetaFilter by Megami at 7:21 PM on April 8, 2008

Ironmouth - I was hoping this would lead to a discussion about cultural norms. Do you have a problem with that.
Bunglin Jones - thanks for the additions.
posted to MetaFilter by Megami at 7:45 PM on April 6, 2008

So I will take my one acre in the suburbs with big trees, a huge garden, wood heat and chickens in the backyard.

And if everyone on the planet has that attitude ...
posted to MetaFilter by Megami at 5:54 PM on April 6, 2008

Also, moustaches aside, Sharpies were pretty tame compared to my elementary school drug of choice, fresh mimeograph ink. Mmmmmm.

One of the schools I went to was a small country primary school which was probably the last one in the country that used these bad boys. Kids today don't know what they are missing.

At my younger sister's highschool they banned spray-on deoderants because supposedly they can be used as a weapon... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Megami at 5:14 PM on April 6, 2008

Ah, Bastard Boys - getting to watch Rhys Muldoon as Julian Burnside was the highlight of my viewing year. Having met the wonderful Mr Burnside, can I say he is nothing like Rhys.
(Note: sorry if you have never watched the Australian Play School, as references to Rhys will probably mean nothing to you.)

Unfortunately, I don't think the Patrick Stevedores Dispute shook up the Australian population as much as it should have. And the fact... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Megami at 5:06 PM on April 6, 2008

For those of you celebrating Tartan Day, you realise the rest of the world think you are wankers, don't you?
And I say this as someone who is lucky enough to have lived in Scotland previously, and is married to someone 'with Scottish heritage' (his mother was born in Aberdeen).
posted to MetaFilter by Megami at 3:40 PM on April 6, 2008

So, sgt.serenity, why does a country like Australia, which I am guessing (don't have stats) has just as high a percentage of the population, if not higher, who can claim Scottish 'heritage', whatever that is, not have bogus occassions like this 'Tartan Day'. And why is it that the busloads of North American tourists 'discovering' their roots in Scotland are laughed at by the locals? And why is it that they celebrate the 1/16th or whatever it is of their background that is Scottish but not the... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Megami at 4:32 PM on April 6, 2008

What really got me about health care in the UK is that you have to register with a GP (on a list of GPs that are willing to take new patients) to get GP care. And you can't choose where the GP is, it is linked to your postcode. So, if I work across town, and want to register with a GP near my work rather than my home, I can't do that. It was explained to me that you need to be ergistered with a GP near your home in case they need to do a home visit. I politely explained that if I was so ill I... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Megami at 3:17 PM on April 3, 2008

The UK coins are creative and attractive, but I can't help but pine preemptively for the current one-pound coins--so delightfully, satisfyingly hefty, like honest-to-goodness real treasure (you'll never forget you've got three pounds in pocket money)!

When we spent two years in the UK earlier this decade, I was continually marvelling at having something like dubloons (sp?) to pay for everything. It was cool. And unlike here in Australia, the sizes... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Megami at 3:21 PM on April 2, 2008

What am i doing wrong?

Well, unlike me you didn't marry someone who could make bookcases for you :) In all seriousness - my husband had never done woodwork before, but is a handy guy. He made us, out of normal pine (the cheap stuff) two double book cases (with doors on the bottom section) that are about 7' high and two singles. Adjustable shelves, the works. (He also made a small bookcase for my son's room, two desks, the TV unit ... I know, rubbing... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Megami at 3:27 PM on March 30, 2008

A lot of progressives like to believe that they're part of One Big Movement — that the feminists and the vegans and the anti-racists and the localvores and the unionists and the Wal-Mart haters and the medical marijuana advocates and the free-Tibeters are all in it together.

Amen to that. The year of the big anti-war protests in the UK, I was going to weekly meetings at the Manchester Buddhist Centre. One of the members was a 'professional protester'... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Megami at 9:54 PM on March 27, 2008

I always swing between laughter and anger when it is assumed that ALL vegans are vegangelical nutters who are intent on eating crap food, calling meat murder and trying to convert everyone. I am a vegan, raising my son as a vegan. My husband is an omnivore, but since he is an awesome guy, he cooks vegan at home. We eat awesome, fantastic food that all our friends rave about, including committed meat lovers. And that is going to achieve a heck of a lot more understanding about veganism than... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Megami at 3:18 PM on March 25, 2008

Have any of the respondents ever read "Kitchen Confidential", or more importantly, cooked for a living?

I have read the book a couple of times, and have worked both as wait staff at a few places and floor manager for a restaurant. So yes, I have dealt with both egotistical chefs (it's just food ffs) and ridiculous diners (asking for a rack of lamb, but with no pink, if you please). And as a vegan, if I go anywhere other than places I... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Megami at 7:35 PM on March 25, 2008

Bourdain rails against this for precisely the kind of self-entitled bullshit attitude that you are projecting. You shouldn't expect the chef to go off-menu, whether your diet requires it or your ethics requires it or because you just feel like it. The simple act of asking is being rude, period.

I agree with you to a point. In that, if people go around with a 'self-entitled bullshit attitude' well then, they are going to get slapped. But why is asking... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Megami at 11:07 PM on March 25, 2008

LionIndex, that was what I was thinking too. Much the same as when countries sell off poached ivory that they have recovered from criminals - how is that the answer to stopping the trade in ivory?

ps: thanks for everyone being so nice (so far) on my first link.
posted to MetaFilter by Megami at 5:15 PM on March 25, 2008

Thanks for this. To be honest, I am not much of a folkie, but my academic supervisor has just spent four days 'hanging out with the hippies' (his words) at our local folk festival, and he loves this stuff. He is sure to be thankful as well.
posted to MetaFilter by Megami at 2:58 PM on March 25, 2008

tkchrist, I have been to various Holocaust museums. I have spoken to Holocaust survivors. I have studied the Holocaust as part of my undergraduate degree. And I still think a lot of what you are spouting here is absolute rubbish. So please do try and claim some moral superiority or superior knowledge just because you 'felt their pain' or some such. You can have empathy and still be wrong you know.
posted to MetaFilter by Megami at 6:25 PM on March 24, 2008

While there is all the pontificating in the press, ala Hyde and others, that the Prince was just treating this as a game, it was a waste, he wasn't realy in the thick of, what strikes me is that no-one he was serving with 'ratted him out' - one of his squaddies (or fellow officers for that matter) could have made a huge amount of money by tipping off the press. But they didn't. Perhaps those he was serving with actually respect him, think he was just trying to do his job?... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Megami at 5:15 PM on March 3, 2008

And we only have Janet Albrechtsen here in Australia ... yet again Australia is the poor cousin to the rest of the English speaking world.
posted to MetaFilter by Megami at 2:44 PM on March 3, 2008