FWIW, CUPS is a dream on the mac. If CUPS people read this, thanks. CUPS is the best. It's one of those rare software systems that makes computers excede your expectations.
posted to MetaFilter by jeb at 11:56 PM on April 13, 2004

So let’s start with the obvious: you coined the phrase “fo’ shizzle,” right?


I was the first one who put it out there real tough in 1996 on my song “Rappers Ball.” We were saying “fo’ sheezy,” and “fo’ shizzle.” I told Jay-Z after he used it on his record, I said, “That’s a Bay Area word, man.” That’s from the land where they pop they collars and jack they slacks. Then I took it to “fo’ shiggedy”, to “fo’ shiggadough” and now “fo’ shiggadale,”... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by jeb at 1:24 PM on May 23, 2003

the hoi polloi

I believe the "the" here might be redundant, as "hoi" is greek for "the". Then again, perhaps only linguistic conserva-fascists would argue against what is undoubtedly a common usage among hoi polloi.
posted to MetaFilter by jeb at 2:31 PM on May 5, 2003

krunk - Flying A in New York has moleskines of several types and I think they'll ship anywhere.
posted to MetaFilter by jeb at 9:36 AM on May 1, 2003

you're paying the same price for a non-physical product with substantially lower cost for promotion (no physical printing/pressing)

I think this annoying too, cause I like having the notes and stuff, but the manufacturing of most CDs costs almost nothing, so taking that out of the picture for the labels doesn't really save them any money.

no license to share freely with friends (unlike a cd)... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by jeb at 2:10 PM on April 28, 2003

When I was a poor college student, I went to Quinta da Capela during the day and drank tea and pretended I was staying there. But, one of my favourite places I have ever stayed is the ultimate in-the-algarve-and-broke place: Rubi Mar.
posted to MetaFilter by jeb at 7:49 AM on April 18, 2003

Dude, drugs are so over. It's all about God Helmets now.

I'm surprised that this far into the thread, there've been no Kary Mullis mentions.
posted to MetaFilter by jeb at 12:02 PM on April 16, 2003

weston - have you ever read The Alchemy of Finance by George Soros? It's about the self-fulfilling nature of speculative bubbles, a principle Soros calls "reflexivity".
posted to MetaFilter by jeb at 9:18 AM on April 4, 2003

If you're interested in this sort of thing there's some discussion of game theory and its detractors, particularly relating to the validity of the idea of 'rational actors' and the use of GT in the Cold War in this book Against The Gods: The Remarkable Story of Risk
. FWIW, I vaguely remembering the author citing a paper that credited the US' 'moves' during the CW with the broad proliferation of world-ending nuclear weaponry.

I was just reading about this... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by jeb at 3:51 PM on February 28, 2003

dcodea- I just meant that that stuff was new to me. This book is written for a very broad audience and it was just summing up little bits of papers by game theorists and economists and so on. In my brief encounters with that material in college (in computer science and economics), I just sort of took the economic idea of rational behavior as one of those 'this isn't quite *real*, but it's a reasonable assumption to work from' type things. The book though made me realize that it's much farther... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by jeb at 4:41 PM on February 28, 2003

As far as rationality goes, rational-choice theories in general work well when you can appeal to some sort of evolutionary pressure that will drive out actors who consistently behave irrationally.

There were a bunch of examples about lifelong professional investors, doctors choosing among possible treatments, people selecting radiation vs. surgery as a cancer treatment, and so on where all of those pressures were in place (possibly not the patients)... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by jeb at 4:46 PM on February 28, 2003

I never thought of it that different-payoff-structure way. I figured, 'it's poker, the point is to get the most money' but maybe they looked at it differently. It seems to make sense. I think one kid I knew valued the appearance of being a ballsy player more than winning the money, so given that, he was certainly rational.
posted to MetaFilter by jeb at 4:57 PM on February 28, 2003

the issue changes vastly when you consider the sheer numbers and influence that music has today, compared to 40-50 years ago. You must know this.

Maybe I'm really dumb, but I completely fail to see how this is true in any way. If anything, I would have thought it easier to argue the reverse.

(katemonkey - don't worry 'bout us. t.a.t.u was 13 on the u.s. charts this week and still climbing)
posted to MetaFilter by jeb at 9:03 AM on February 27, 2003

I think you're being really unfair with this post. First of all, anyone who thinks this is strictly a practice of the majors is wrong. Indies will hold off releasing a finished record for four months at a time almost as a matter of habit, and they'll certainly go longer. Hell, Jack White's got a band on his label (Third Man) that have a record done that he's sitting on right now(Greenhorns?).

No matter how many evils the labels are source of, there is still a whole... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by jeb at 5:22 PM on February 8, 2003

Anyone else notice that the reason for being physically assaulted by the office linebacker was the office drone not including the cover sheet to his TPS report?

I noticed this. Is a TPS report a real thing or was that an Office Space reference? My friend james said it was real, but...james says a lot of things.
posted to MetaFilter by jeb at 1:07 PM on January 27, 2003

pjgulliver- if you get any good laptop, you'll probably be able to do all that stuff fine (STATA runs on OS X). As to obsolescence, that's probably impossible to answer because it depends on your usage (most would consider your PI laptop beyond obsolete), but one thing to note is that fancy Apple hardware seems to hold it's value a lot better than the fancier PC stuff. You'll be in a better spot if you have to trade up.


FWIW, that 8000 came... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by jeb at 9:51 AM on January 8, 2003

There was a really cool article about this in McSwy's #5 that was taken from a book by semi-regular McSwy's contrib Paul Collins called Banvard's Folly: Tales of Renowned Obscurity, Famous Anonymity, and Rotten Luck

Always sounded like it would be a cool book, and this link reminded me that I'd wanted to get it, but when I googled for that amazon link just now, I found a less than stellar review of it on MeFier snarkout's blog. On another note, it is... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by jeb at 2:57 PM on December 11, 2002

that sucked
posted to MetaFilter by jeb at 2:59 PM on December 11, 2002

Mondo, read the book Tryptamines I have Known and Loved (Tihkal), specifically, the chapter titled "DMT is Everywhere". Actually, don't read the book, just skip to that chapter. It's a pretty weak book.

Also, the link above reports that 5-MEO-DMT is effective when ingested. I could be wrong (IANA neuropharmacologist), but IIRC DMT and near relatives will be broken down by monoamine oxidase before they reach the brain when ingested. Consequently, for oral... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by jeb at 10:11 AM on December 5, 2002

that must've ruled. Where is thesmokinggun when you really need them?
posted to MetaFilter by jeb at 11:55 AM on December 5, 2002

This whole thread constitutes a technical circumvention measure for copyrighted, protected content. As such, it is in violation of the DMCA. Mathowie, please delete immediately and turn over access logs for this thread to the authorities.
posted to MetaFilter by jeb at 9:20 AM on December 2, 2002

riffola- why the SR60s and not 80s? I remember trying them out, albeit in a store, and the price difference being minimal relative to the quality diff. Not so much sound quality as comfort actually. The SR60s are brutal, at least on my head. Need something to replace my AKG-240s (too high impedance. Only thing that drives them well is my mixer, and carrying them around with an iPod is ridiculous).

FWIW, on the ad issue, I liked this post.
posted to MetaFilter by jeb at 11:44 AM on November 14, 2002

Really though, I don't know who people can boil water without a Le Grand Palais 180 Series Range, it's only 26,000 dollars.

At least you get a whole stove for that. At Vertu, you'd only get a cell phone.
posted to MetaFilter by jeb at 2:14 PM on October 15, 2002

a) what jart said
b) on the only-animals-that-milk-other-animals issue, not to lend credence to this argument, but what about those ants that milk aphids?
posted to MetaFilter by jeb at 11:47 AM on October 10, 2002

I've heard that ass-breast theory before, and I'm really not buying it yet. Was it really someone's job to think of that and write it up?
posted to MetaFilter by jeb at 12:36 PM on October 10, 2002

Awesome link. What do you do now?
posted to MetaFilter by jeb at 7:50 AM on October 10, 2002

No way. AT&T Long Lines is way uglier.
posted to MetaFilter by jeb at 2:29 PM on October 8, 2002

'Rembrandt Q. Einstein'
posted to MetaFilter by jeb at 11:35 AM on October 8, 2002

best. episode. ever.
posted to MetaFilter by jeb at 7:50 AM on October 2, 2002

Focusyn is probably my second favourite. It's tough. I think Bart might have said something like that...maybe in the one where they go to sunday school and Bart asks the teacher, "if you're in hell burning forever, wouldn't you get used to it?"
posted to MetaFilter by jeb at 7:24 AM on October 3, 2002

This guy is a regular guy, but he dresses up like peter pan!
posted to MetaFilter by jeb at 8:23 AM on October 2, 2002

Finally, proof that microsoft is evil
posted to MetaFilter by jeb at 12:14 PM on October 2, 2002

And why does everyone in Florida have such strange names? Fran? Sylvia? Jeb?

'jeb' is a perfectly kromulant name.
posted to MetaFilter by jeb at 11:03 AM on October 1, 2002

I hate the baby boomers.
posted to MetaFilter by jeb at 12:13 PM on September 30, 2002

Every landlord not participating in rent stabilization is making a ridiculous killing. In Manhattan? Can you back that up? Look at some real estate listings for buildings and work out the numbers.

Second, what is with this whole group of New Yorkers that feels they are entitled to live in Manhattan for some certain 'reasonable' amount of money? Everyone wants to live there and it's a small place. If you take the pricing system out of it, how would... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by jeb at 5:39 PM on September 13, 2002

I remember I was just starting to learn about graphics and programming when I first saw Future Crew's Second Reality and I thought it was the coolest thing ever. My friend had d/l'd it from some place in scandinavia, maybe x2ftp.oulu.fi, where we used to get a lot of cool stuff. He too was just learning about all that stuff and was like, "dude, you gotta see this." Now that I think about it, that was probably the first step on the path that led to his current employment at Pixar.
posted to MetaFilter by jeb at 2:39 PM on September 5, 2002

Good old informative ads?
When RJ Reynolds released Camel cigs around 100 years ago, they hired a NYC ad firm to do a media blitz that postered cities with line drawings of Camels and cryptic messages like "The Camels Are Coming". No reference to the product for months before it was available.

How hard can you sell a car, or a sneaker, or a carbonated beverage?
Real, real hard. Remember when the... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by jeb at 12:34 PM on September 5, 2002

Or the Carrot Top ads. I'm never, ever going to dial down the center when I need to make a collect call. I'm sticking with Ava Savalot.
posted to MetaFilter by jeb at 1:40 PM on September 5, 2002

Slashdot heralds beginning of psycho-history.
posted to MetaFilter by jeb at 10:14 AM on August 26, 2002

To everyone complaining about the $129 upgrade price, the slashdot people said that there are three cards in the box your mac came that entitle you to $20 upgrades (Called "Up-to-date Coupons" or something). So you don't get that $20 one on the webpage, but you still can get it for $20 if you have a card left from your last mac purchase. This is my first mac, could someone who's been around longer confirm or deny this? I bought this one new last fall.
posted to MetaFilter by jeb at 9:21 AM on July 17, 2002

I kind of want to watch it again. On mute. The animation was bad-ass. Everything else sucked:


"Well, you know what Nietzsche said about that..."
"No, I'm afriad I don't."
"Well, as it says on page 234 of this text..."

I have been having some crazy-ass lucid dreams lately, though.
posted to MetaFilter by jeb at 7:43 PM on July 15, 2002

YUPPIE SCUM SAY: "DIE YUPPIE SCUM!"
posted to MetaFilter by jeb at 10:06 PM on June 16, 2002

Sounds like a torture from a myth.
posted to MetaFilter by jeb at 9:47 PM on June 3, 2002

I thought it was earnest. Who doesn't like lists of things? The only thing better is quizzes.
posted to MetaFilter by jeb at 12:21 PM on May 22, 2002

Decriminalizing/full-out legalizing marijuana seems pretty reasonable, but has anyone ever seen a decent approach to the heroin problem? Was it the Netherlands that tried the program whereby addicts would be allowed to safely use heroin in a supervised environment, on a boat, that ended up being a tragic failure when it was discovered dealers were smuggling in heroin and selling it?
posted to MetaFilter by jeb at 5:57 PM on May 19, 2002

Neon sign transformers, come on, go pole pig:

"they are supremely dangerous. While you may survive a shock from a neon sign transformer a pole pig will surely kill you instantly. The power level is high enough that body parts can be burnt right off."

I used to know where this page was with a picture of a tesla coil in a warehouse that was like 15 feet tall with 12-17' streamers coming out of it, but I can't find it.
posted to MetaFilter by jeb at 12:17 PM on May 14, 2002

sweet linkage.
posted to MetaFilter by jeb at 11:40 AM on May 14, 2002

I almost just posted about this...weird.
posted to MetaFilter by jeb at 5:30 PM on May 11, 2002

Hype or not, there's some cool stuff on his website. Cellular automata that figure out primes and stuff...
posted to MetaFilter by jeb at 7:21 PM on May 11, 2002

Speaking as a product of a single-sex school, I think it would be great if everyone had the opportunity to go. I think it was better that way. If anything, it seems like single-sex education is an unfairly distributed advantage to me, and offering it to a broader range of students sort of levels the playing field. I'm sure a lot of people won't believe it's better, but I think it is and a lot people agree with me.
posted to MetaFilter by jeb at 6:44 PM on May 9, 2002