Just noticed this on Projects and decided it was totally postable; then discovered that Cortex had already totally posted it.

Great stuff. Looking forward to the Comic Koran. Or perhaps, better not. I'm sure the Dalai Lama would endorse the Comic Bardo Thodol, however.
posted to MetaFilter by beagle at 8:05 AM on July 23, 2008

So, I'm a little slow, sorry. I take it that what the linked page shows is essentially time-lapse photographs in which someone, or something has moved a light source around a stationary scene to create the image? We used to do this with sparklers, which can create nifty retinal images if you move them around fast enough. IOW, this is not something that's visible to the observer the way projection bombing is done. Is that right?
posted to MetaFilter by beagle at 3:57 PM on July 15, 2008

Random thoughts:

1. So, who did Cain marry? Presumably a sister not mentioned in the Bible.

2. As mentioned above, John Irving's novel Hotel New Hampshire gives some pretty good insights into this kind of relationship. For those who thought this story was hot, well, then, that book is on fire.

3. I knew a woman once who described to me a "beautiful" relationship she had had at the age of 13 with an uncle... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by beagle at 2:56 PM on July 15, 2008

But the solar-collector windows idea strikes me as dumb.

It would be a matter of balancing transparency with energy-gathering. Allow enough light through for interior lighting and viewing, capture the rest as electricity. Right now, in a lot of skyscrapers, a lot of money is spent (a) making the windows reflective to reduct heat gain, (b) putting shades and drapes inside the glass to keep the light out. Much of that reflected light off mirrored... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by beagle at 9:33 AM on July 14, 2008

Another satirical cover not long ago had Hillary and Barack in bed together, both reaching for the ringing red phone. No particular outrage, that time. This one, too, will fade from view in a couple of weeks when the issue is recycled.
posted to MetaFilter by beagle at 7:02 PM on July 13, 2008

Mutant, we thank you for this lesson and countless others.
posted to MetaFilter by beagle at 5:39 AM on July 9, 2008

From Jerry's Wikipedia Page:

Jerry Levitan produced and starred in the animated short "I Met the Walrus" about his meeting with John Lennon and Yoko Ono during their "bed-in" in Toronto, Canada. Though a 14 year old teenager, Levitan got a 40 minute interview with them about peace, The Beatles, and their music.

The film was nominated for an Oscar Award in 2008 for best short. It also won Best Animated at the... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by beagle at 5:44 PM on July 6, 2008

Better link here.
posted to MetaFilter by beagle at 11:17 AM on July 2, 2008

How to post a blog entry you mean.
Perhaps that was not meant negatively, but the last time I checked, this here site is a blog. The post is long, but there's nothing wrong with that.

Great post, forrest. I'm going to take some time to explore the links. Some wars were worth fighting, some battles were crucial in those wars, some moments were turning points, and this is one. I would guess, also, that this is the most documented battle... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by beagle at 6:19 AM on July 2, 2008

So a Canadian engineer has a plan to spin up his own twister and extract energy from its tethered tail.

Not in my back yard. What if the thing gets loose?
posted to MetaFilter by beagle at 1:44 PM on June 27, 2008

Actually, it doesn't look like a completely crazy idea. I wonder if the cooling tower of a nuclear plant (such as the one in NKorea just blown up) could be repurposed for one of these.
posted to MetaFilter by beagle at 1:46 PM on June 27, 2008

Well, thanks for setting the ground rules there, DU, I'm sure everyone will comply.
posted to MetaFilter by beagle at 9:03 AM on June 26, 2008

@DU: Wow, I've never looked into the Volt before. It looks like they've done it exactly right

The only problem is, they haven't done it yet. From this recent Atlantic mag story [emphasis added]:
Only recently has the advent of lithium-ion batteries brought a full-range electric car into the realm of the practical. Even so, the battery for the Volt doesn’t yet exist, at least not at a mass-market price, and building it poses... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by beagle at 9:40 AM on June 26, 2008

Anyone managed to make an electric car that is more efficient (including electricity generation, transmission and storage losses) than an internal combustion engine yet?

They're more efficient more or less by definition. A petrol-powered car has an efficiency of around 25% in pulling mechanical energy out of the total energy contained in the fuel. Electricity is generated at around 60 percent fuel efficiency and the battery chargers will work at... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by beagle at 10:44 AM on June 26, 2008

From the Wikipedia page of Jerome Lettvin, MIT cognitive scientist:

While working in the Marine Zoological Station in Naples, Italy, he [Lettvin] had a 30 foot long room in which octopus holding tanks were kept, with fine mesh metal screens to keep them from escaping. One tank, at the far end, held his youngest son's pet octopus named juvenile delinquent (JD). One day he teased JD with a stick. The next morning, his son and he came to the door and noticed a... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by beagle at 9:33 AM on June 25, 2008

Another interesting piece about cephalopod intelligence.
posted to MetaFilter by beagle at 1:51 PM on June 25, 2008

Great site! Interesting that publishers will allow full content for these books, which the generally don't for current adult books on GoogleBooks. We need Lookybook-for-grownups.
posted to MetaFilter by beagle at 8:27 AM on June 24, 2008

*&$(, @*_(, @$%*, ?<>$*}, @!@s.
posted to MetaFilter by beagle at 4:47 AM on June 23, 2008

Thanks Faze. If every place that claims to be a stop on the underground railroad actually was used as one, there wouldn't have been a slave left in the South.

But that hoax link is incorrect.
posted to MetaFilter by beagle at 10:58 AM on June 15, 2008

Perhaps it has been mentioned somewhere, but one of the interesting side affects of Alzheimer's is heightened sexual interest, along with loss of inhibitions. My mother-in-law, at a certain stage of her dementia, would say "I need to get me a man", something she would never have said pre-dementia, even if she wanted one.
posted to MetaFilter by beagle at 10:30 AM on June 11, 2008

This is similar to the low-tech methodology used in the Gardner Museum heist in Boston, 1990. So basically, while museum security people may have learned something from that, they didn't mention it to the campus cops at UBC.
posted to MetaFilter by beagle at 2:05 PM on June 4, 2008

Yeah, it's staged.

Look very carefully at the very start of the incident, where White Shirt is shuffling papers across the aisle, and then very deliberately moves backward to knock the papers off Crazy Guy's desk. That's not a normal, accidental move.
posted to MetaFilter by beagle at 6:58 AM on June 4, 2008

lumpus:
We know from so, so many other sources that there is a huge amount of violence in the world. Why is it so implausible that some of this has been caught neatly on surveillance cameras?

I agree, and I was going to point out that in the US, people go postal on a regular basis and off some of their coworkers with guns. But when I watched it one more time, that initial provocation struck me as staged, and still does.
posted to MetaFilter by beagle at 9:33 AM on June 4, 2008

Right now most of us are getting unlimited bandwidth for $30-$50 a month a pretty good connectivity speed. That was fine as long as there was plenty of slack in the network as broadband penetration and content ramped up. But, the net is running into traffic jams and the current configuration will hit full capacity by 2010, according to AT&T. Something's gotta give, obviously.
posted to MetaFilter by beagle at 7:22 AM on June 4, 2008

What happens if you subscribe, set up all kinds of email messages to your good-for-nothing friends who will surely be left behind, and end up getting Left Behind yourself after all?
posted to MetaFilter by beagle at 10:00 AM on June 3, 2008

Back around 1971, I helped decant a case (yes, a case) of 1947 Petrus that was being consumed by a group of gourmets at the St. Francis Hotel in SF, where I was working at the time. I would guess this would rank in the top 10 of all time, as well. Unfortunately, I only got to smell, not taste. It's now listed for up to $17,000 per bottle.
posted to MetaFilter by beagle at 9:09 AM on May 30, 2008

When the cat's away, the mice will play.
When the mods sleep late on a holiday, spammers will play.
posted to MetaFilter by beagle at 6:17 AM on May 26, 2008

If you blow up the map by clicking on it, the scrolling line of the drawing becomes a series of straight line segments. The end points of those segments match the coordinates in the "instructions to DHL" chart/poster, which can be blown up as a PDF via the link below it. So, if this is to be believed, DHL followed instructions to make a long series of pointless flights (refuelling in mid-air?) all over the world. Not to be believed, clearly.

By the way, DHL,... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by beagle at 6:23 AM on May 24, 2008

@humanfont: I disagree with the doomsday analysis. I believe that the market will generate subsitutes for petrolium and fossil fuels and the price of oil will ultimately retreat to 90-100/barrel. General economic growth will be lower over the next 10-15 years as we adjust; but not negative other than some recessions along the way. We may see a collapse of oil prices towards the end of this adjustment as supply outstrips demand.

I'm with you. And not... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by beagle at 1:51 PM on May 22, 2008

I have had the privilege of having several long discussions in recent years with Sen. Kennedy in very small group settings, asking him questions about a variety of topics, and I've been at several events where he spoke (all the way back to around 1970). For all the (alleged) hard partying, the guy absolutely has all his marbles and is always on top of the issues. He is a first rate orator, especially when speaking off the cuff on a topic he cares about. As noted already, his office is... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by beagle at 2:59 PM on May 20, 2008

Understanding the p-hole currents holds the key to deciphering pre-earthquake signals. ("When the earth speaks", a lecture by a NASA scientist on how the p-hole phenomenon may lead to a means of predicting earthquakes. Video and audio versions available.)
posted to MetaFilter by beagle at 12:02 PM on May 20, 2008

And, an article on earthquake prediction co-authored by the same NASA scientist (Friedemann Freund), and a rebuttal.
posted to MetaFilter by beagle at 12:08 PM on May 20, 2008

Another vet's PTSD testimony.

From a CBS study last fall, the suicide rate among veterans (all wars, not just Iraq) is double that in the general population. More than 120 veterans commit suicide every week.

There are about 1000 suicide attempts by vets every week.

One in 5 returning Iraq/Afghanistan vets has PTSD symptoms. Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-HI) is trying to get something done about it.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by beagle at 12:50 PM on May 17, 2008

Scratches head.

Elbruz seems to be a random collection of geographical information and tools. For example, a sun calculator that tells you time of sunrise or sunset wherever you may find yourself. As long as you know your exact latitude and longitude. Elbruz appears to support "explorations and research projects adding to knowledge of earth, sea and sports." Sports?

The best part is the "Largest island in a lake on an island in... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by beagle at 10:35 AM on May 15, 2008

I thought that was on Manitoulin, beagle?

You're thinking of the Largest island in a lake on an island in a lake, which is an unnamed island in Mindemoya Lake on Manitoulin Island in Lake Huron. (same page)
posted to MetaFilter by beagle at 10:54 AM on May 15, 2008

This Daily Mail story has a nice pic of the model. Also, via the "enlarge" link under the picture of the painting on that page, you get a much better blow-up than the pixellated one at Art Daily linked above.
posted to MetaFilter by beagle at 10:23 AM on May 14, 2008

Fuzzy Monster, that Hirst sale has to be prefaced by "reportedly". The investors are anonymous. It was also reported at the time that he himself may have been part of the "investment syndicate." If that was the case, it's not a true arms-length transaction, and it's even possible he just sold it to himself, cutting in his cleaning lady and gardener for a few bucks each in order to be able to call it a "syndicate.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by beagle at 10:32 AM on May 14, 2008

So... what is the most expensive work by a living artist?

As noted above, it was the $80 million private sale of Jasper Johns' False Start, in 2006.
posted to MetaFilter by beagle at 10:52 AM on May 14, 2008

Well, I'm thinking more about the possibly upcoming pandemic spurred on by having hundreds of thousands of bodies essentially rotting in the beginning of a tropical summer. [Way up there]

Some doc on NPR today discussed this as a frequently-repeated but unsubstantiated canard. Rotting bodies, distasteful as they may be, do not spread disease, with the possible exception of plague, which is not factor here. The microbes that infect humans require... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by beagle at 5:12 PM on May 10, 2008

I don't *want* my brain to be put through a blender

Your prerogative and good for you. I did acid and whatnot 40 years ago, yet I'm glad my kids are not interested in it. But. Anyone who uses it as Hoffman, in the linked interview, suggests it should be used, will not regret it and will have a richer life as a result.

.
posted to MetaFilter by beagle at 6:36 PM on April 29, 2008

I have to say Stonestock has a point. The Vitelli map is useful only if you already know what's aboveground, or you have a surface map besides. It's a bit like all those New York highway signs that say things like "Major Deegan", when your map says I-87.
posted to MetaFilter by beagle at 6:00 PM on April 24, 2008

I recommend this padre for a Darwin award.
posted to MetaFilter by beagle at 5:52 PM on April 24, 2008

Another piece of the firefighter's job that has bitten the dust is riding on the rear running board of the fire truck, holding on to a horizontal bar, which was one of the highlights of my volunteer firefighter stint in the early 1970s. Riding back there, hanging on for dear life through the curves, is a bit more of an obvious OSHA violation than sliding down the firehouse pole, although I do still see garbagemen, excuse me, sanitation workers riding on the back of the garbage truck from stop... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by beagle at 10:16 AM on April 21, 2008

Thanks for the post. I experienced Sun Ra at one of the first shows at the Boston Tea Party in 1967.

Incidentally, the father of current Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick was Laurdine Patrick, a side man for Sun Ra for many years.
posted to MetaFilter by beagle at 6:10 PM on April 20, 2008

The moral of this story is, you should always carry a cell phone when riding an elevator.
posted to MetaFilter by beagle at 11:31 AM on April 15, 2008

As the comment thread on the linked page has already pointed out, missing in action are Thomas Pynchon, Ezra Pound, Herman Melville, Mark Twain, Cervantes, etc. etc. Also, there is nothing outside the Western tradition. Even the histories are pretty much Euro-centered. Which just goes to prove you just can't boil all of human literature down to 110 books.
posted to MetaFilter by beagle at 8:26 AM on April 8, 2008

so all that stuff you see marked at .99 is actually going to drop down to .95

Agreed. And if we get rid of the nickel, too, it'll go down to .90. To make sure of this, it would be a Good Thing if Congress, when abolishing the penny, abolished pricing in anything except multiples of .05 or .10, depending what the smallest surviving denomination is -- including gasoline prices, which have been set to steal $.009 over the perceived price per gallon for nearly 100 years.
posted to MetaFilter by beagle at 12:55 PM on April 4, 2008

flings: The problem with getting rid of the nickel as well is it makes getting change for a quarter impossible. In order to work, you'd also have to either get rid of the dime as well, or get rid of the quarter, perhaps adding a $0.20 piece in it's place.

No to axing the dime, yes to the quarter, no to a $0.20 piece. If we get rid of the penny and nickel, the real solution is to move to coinage and bills in the same ratios we have now, which means... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by beagle at 6:29 PM on April 4, 2008

It would be interesting to see the United States Senate start a blog along these lines.
posted to MetaFilter by beagle at 1:57 PM on April 1, 2008

.
posted to MetaFilter by beagle at 9:46 AM on March 30, 2008