Activity from m.polo

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OK, this whole Harry Potter thing - while...

OK, this whole Harry Potter thing - while completely out of proportion to any real value in the books - has up till now been pointless but essentially harmless. But wasting a Hugo Award on this crap?! To quote (oh, I don't know, some Clinton-hating Republican): "Where's the outrage?!"
posted to MetaFilter by m.polo at 7:52 PM on September 5, 2001 (60 comments)

In the midst of being indignant over the death of...

In the midst of being indignant over the death of the BeOS, Scot Hacker talks about Microsoft's OEM license with hardware vendors. Although Microsoft claims the terms of the agreement are a "trade secret," preventing it from making appearnce in the DOJ circus, apparently it prevents OEMs from installing any non-Microsoft OS along side a Microsoft OS... If true, the "browser integration" thing's just a minor annoyance - this would be monopolistic and anti-competitive... via rc3.org
posted to MetaFilter by m.polo at 8:18 AM on August 31, 2001 (9 comments)

Stolen shamelessly from Tom: a charming clock,...

Stolen shamelessly from Tom: a charming clock, reminding us once again that "time" is an intellectual concept meaningless without human participation... (Don't miss the webserver, either.) Considering the depth and breadth - and apparent copious free time - of the MeFi community one would hope we'd be able to help fill in some of the still unphotographed minutes.
posted to MetaFilter by m.polo at 6:29 PM on July 27, 2001 (3 comments)

but still leaving the rope around the neck. "Far...

Loosening the noose... but still leaving the rope around the neck. "Far from hastening its own demise by allowing the Internet to penetrate its borders, an authoritarian state can actually utilize the Internet to its own benefit and increase its stability by engaging with the technology." An interesting - if not entirely expected - report on Internet access in Cuba and the People's Republic of China.
posted to MetaFilter by m.polo at 4:59 AM on July 18, 2001 (2 comments)

What happens when the info-age Web runs afoul of...

What happens when the info-age Web runs afoul of attitudes and societal restrictions that haven't been allowed to change or be questioned in 1,500 years. For my part, I was unaware that merely writing in the style of Qur'an, even with the most honorable of attentions, was proscribed. (At least AOL didn't let us down - their reaction was as craven and cowardly as we come to expect from that bastion of mediocre blandness.) (via scissorfish by way of plasticbag.org)
posted to MetaFilter by m.polo at 7:00 PM on July 5, 2001 (4 comments)

You can forget all about that "goat sex" photo...

You can forget all about that "goat sex" photo thing when there's something as horrifying as this closeup available for public viewing. Good God, he's barely human at this point! All I could think of once it loaded was: "That's just not right."
posted to MetaFilter by m.polo at 2:39 PM on June 24, 2001 (20 comments)

The French, determined to prove that even if they...

The French, determined to prove that even if they could understand that the "World Wide" web includes France and the rest of the world, they would continue to pretent they didn't. Like Yahoo before them, a web hosting service that caters to neo-Nazi groups (oh, sorry... "racialists"...) has run afoul of the French desire to control what appears on French browsers.
posted to MetaFilter by m.polo at 11:53 AM on June 22, 2001 (17 comments)

I usually just ignore Jakob - he has his right to...

I usually just ignore Jakob - he has his right to his opinions, tho' I seldom agree with him - but I draw the line at misrepresenting a technology so egregiously... Acrobat's not that hard to understand; I can't believe it's possible for Neilsen to not know that the features he berates Acrobat for missing are, in actuality, right there to be used.
posted to MetaFilter by m.polo at 7:33 PM on June 17, 2001 (37 comments)

Apparently, the Lt. Governor of Illinois has WAY...

Apparently, the Lt. Governor of Illinois has WAY too much time on her hands.... Of course, rallying public support for a boycott of Abercrombie & Fitch doesn't really seem like what she was elected to do, but hey, never hurts to throw your title around when your teenagers are going ga-ga over half-naked muscle-boys, huh?
posted to MetaFilter by m.polo at 3:41 PM on June 15, 2001 (24 comments)

Do coverage of ongoing dramatics between a single...

Do coverage of ongoing dramatics between a single site owner and a single site user (and in neither case is the site referenced MeFi...) qualify as valid MeFi front page posts? Our survey SAYS... ?
posted to MetaTalk by m.polo at 12:09 PM on June 7, 2001 (7 comments)

My God, how I've loathed them over the years for...

My God, how I've loathed them over the years for their heart-stopping mix of hubris, brilliance, clueless, utter lack of any discipline whatsoever and oh, the sheer arrogance, but after all these years, it's with a distinct sense of ennui that I read that Netscape is throwing in the towel.
posted to MetaFilter by m.polo at 5:14 AM on June 6, 2001 (53 comments)

"Peace? Peace? We don' need no steenken' peace!"...

"Peace? Peace? We don' need no steenken' peace!" Israel rejects freeze on continued building of illegal settlements in West Bank and Gaza; Apocalypse at eleven...
posted to MetaFilter by m.polo at 5:45 AM on May 14, 2001 (57 comments)

Lost in the higher profile Elianapalooza with...

Sometimes, the good guys still win... Lost in the higher profile Elianapalooza with regard to the Pulitzer Prizes was the editorial writing prize awarded to the relatively small Rutland (VT) Herald's David Moats, who championed the recognition of same-sex couples on an equal legal footing with inter-sex couples. Quietly, eloquently but always with the utmost conviction, Moats' series of editorials together form a compelling, difficult to refute argument, enabling his Pulitzer victory over the Arizona Republic and the New York Times.
posted to MetaFilter by m.polo at 7:24 AM on April 18, 2001 (2 comments)

The Florida ISP responsible for those high-quality...

DeathDorm.com? The Florida ISP responsible for those high-quality entertainment sites VoyeurDorm.com and DudeDorm.com (note that both of those links resolve to "adult content") sues the Feds for the right to put a webcam in the viewing room when Timothy McVeigh is executed on May 16th. As noted here previously, McVeigh wanted the execution televised, so it's hard to imagine he would be opposed...
posted to MetaFilter by m.polo at 9:14 AM on April 8, 2001 (17 comments)

Mac IE 5. Both the "Preview" and "Post" buttons on...

Mac IE 5. Both the "Preview" and "Post" buttons on the link submittal are resolving post_preview.mefi today, resulting in an inabilty to actually post the link once I've verified that everything's hunky-dory.
posted to MetaTalk by m.polo at 10:09 AM on April 7, 2001 (2 comments)

This just in: Headlines So Scary You Can't Read...

This just in: Headlines So Scary You Can't Read The Article...
posted to MetaFilter by m.polo at 6:16 AM on March 15, 2001 (12 comments)

- shocked, I tell you! - to discover that Larry...

Shareholders are shocked - shocked, I tell you! - to discover that Larry Ellison has been overstating Oracle's capabilities and earning potentials in public... and personally profiting from the deceit to the tune of $895 million! What will the little Gates-hating, sex-harassing genius think of next?!
posted to MetaFilter by m.polo at 7:41 AM on March 11, 2001 (8 comments)

It’s black attitudes, not white racism, that’s to...

"What's Holding Blacks Back? It’s black attitudes, not white racism, that’s to blame." (John McWhorter, in City Journal, via Arts & Letters Daily)
posted to MetaFilter by m.polo at 7:12 PM on March 1, 2001 (48 comments)

From our No Matter How It Reads The Article Can't...

From our No Matter How It Reads The Article Can't Live Up To The Headline Dept. in beautiful downtown Janesville, MN comes the news that Michael Jackson to Speak on Family Values... The world, no doubt, waits with bated breath...
posted to MetaFilter by m.polo at 2:44 PM on January 11, 2001 (14 comments)

He said he wanted his administration to be...

Apparently, Junior wants to be the "edufication president"... He said he wanted his administration to be remembered for making America ``a more literate country and a hopefuller country.''. Sigh. How do you spell "potatoes," again?
posted to MetaFilter by m.polo at 9:05 AM on January 11, 2001 (59 comments)

a decent stab by Stephen Levy from Newsweek/MSNBC...

Screen Wars, a decent stab by Stephen Levy from Newsweek/MSNBC at summarizing the changes afoot in desktop OS GUIs. Credit where credit is due for some notable Apple alums; more faith than is justified in .NET.
posted to MetaFilter by m.polo at 9:45 AM on December 5, 2000 (14 comments)

or, "How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the...

Rent-A-Riot, or, "How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Mob"... Taking my cue from the Repubs themselves I say, "Where's the outrage?!"
posted to MetaFilter by m.polo at 7:35 PM on November 29, 2000 (1 comment)

With all the recent MeFi Flash-trashing and...

With all the recent MeFi Flash-trashing and usability-ranting in mind, I am just now getting around to the viewing the website for Darren Aronofsky's Requiem for a Dream (Flash required). Aronofsky defends the site in a brief interview with the online version of print mag Entertainment Weekly. It certainly could be classified as annoying, but then, that appears to be Aronofsky's point. Coming from anyone less talented than he, I'd say it was just posturing; here, I'm not sure...
posted to MetaFilter by m.polo at 10:43 AM on November 27, 2000 (5 comments)

Judge Terry Lewis rules that Florida Secretary of...

The end is near. Judge Terry Lewis rules that Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris can disregard recounts in Florida counties.
posted to MetaFilter by m.polo at 7:45 AM on November 17, 2000 (10 comments)

The Twelfth Amendment to the Constitution looks...

The Twelfth Amendment to the Constitution looks like it states that Texas cannot, in fact, cast its electoral votes for Bush and Cheney. Although he was careful to be photographed in Jackson Hole, WY, Cheney is in fact a resident of Texas and has a Texas driver's license. (Overheard from radio news) (Discuss)
posted to MetaFilter by m.polo at 7:00 AM on November 9, 2000 (14 comments)

Michael Moore, Certified Public Crankyman,...

Michael Moore, Certified Public Crankyman, explains why Gore is so deeply undeserving of the vote I'll probably cast for him anyway...(via memepool)
posted to MetaFilter by m.polo at 6:56 AM on November 7, 2000 (6 comments)

"Gee... I'm kinda thirsty... and I think I gotta...

"Gee... I'm kinda thirsty... and I think I gotta pee, too... Lemme see, there's this big hotel's lobby, those five or six restaurants... and this hole-in-the-wall-bar with the entrance you could walk right by and not even know it was there, whose patrons all seem to be men casting admiring glances at each other across the room... Seems OK to me..." Yeah, buddy, I believe your story...
posted to MetaFilter by m.polo at 12:39 PM on September 22, 2000 (1 comment)

Apparently, the conventional wisdom is not quite...

Apparently, the conventional wisdom is not quite right. The SDMI's Executive Director says they have "thousands of entries" in their contest to hack the various proposed digital music security schemes. As I pointed out recently in a similar context, the "Linux community" and the population of computer literate, financially motived, non-OS-sectarian hackers are far from being one and the same...
posted to MetaFilter by m.polo at 11:20 AM on September 20, 2000 (6 comments)

it still completely creeps me out. Oh, sure, I'm...

While I can see how this is beneficial, it still completely creeps me out. Oh, sure, I'm getting used to the fact that I can buy anything and everything on the Internet now, but the idea that I can go to DiseasedOrgans.Amazon.com and toss a coupla pounds of cancer-ridden spleen into my electronic shopping cart is just a little too much for me...
posted to MetaFilter by m.polo at 11:47 AM on September 1, 2000 (4 comments)

When colleagues in countries outside the U.S....

When colleagues in countries outside the U.S. attempt to get me to understand how the rest of the world could loathe us quite as much as they do, this is what they are talking about. "Well, shee-oot, they don' even speak English down there, howthehell they gonna know them tires is not safe? Just slap a little ol' label on 'em and say they're safe.... Oughta be good 'nough!"
posted to MetaFilter by m.polo at 12:05 PM on August 29, 2000 (16 comments)

(via Taken Outtacontext in an unrelated post)....

"And you're little dog, too!" (via Taken Outtacontext in an unrelated post). Finally someone puts this whole Survivor nonsense into terms I can understand. The PC-types are going to be all over Stuever on this one, but damn it's funny!
posted to MetaFilter by m.polo at 7:18 AM on August 23, 2000 (4 comments)

Not just a deranged, hateful old man with a gun......

Not just a deranged, hateful old man with a gun... a drunken deranged, hateful old man with a gun... (I personally attended an event at one of these "various universities" - social drinker my ass...)
posted to MetaFilter by m.polo at 4:57 AM on August 1, 2000 (37 comments)

I am shocked - shocked, I say!- to discover that...

I am shocked - shocked, I say!- to discover that the Linux/Open Source media would operate using the same sort of shenanigans as the media covering the Evil Empire!
posted to MetaFilter by m.polo at 7:00 AM on July 14, 2000 (8 comments)

I tread warily here, but... Matt, you've been...

I tread warily here, but... Matt, you've been working on customisation and filtering, have you considered a preference that would display only new items? I've looked at the current Prefs page and don't see it, nor do I think it's come up in these threads discussing the filtering feature set (obvious apologies if I'm walking back over old, tired ground...).

A simple boolean should be enough to get started with this:

[ ] Show me only thread that have new comments

I'm assuming that you either consider a new thread to automatically be a new comment as well in the back end, or that you can relatively easily do so. Since the db already "knows" what we've read, you'd be screening us from any threads that have had no activity. The benefit would be to allow setting the "show number of days" up higher to track discussions you are interested in, without having to wade through the many, many threads that have their day or two in the MeFi sun and then go the way of all things.
posted to MetaTalk by m.polo at 8:53 AM on July 9, 2000

Yes, I have a cell phone. Yes, I use it. But, I...

The Last Refuge... invaded... Yes, I have a cell phone. Yes, I use it. But, I turn if off any place it would be rude to be having a full-voiced conversation, because I hate it when people make or take a call in those situations. I'd always sort of enjoyed the fact that the airlines claim they'll screw up navigation systems; whether they do or not, it means I don't have to listen to a dozen suits around me trying to out-do each other a-wheelin' and a-dealin and a-squealin' up and down the aisles. Guess I won't be flying Virgin Atlantic again any time soon...
posted to MetaFilter by m.polo at 7:40 AM on July 6, 2000 (17 comments)

Just when thought the 2000 US Presidential Race...

Oh, happy day! Just when thought the 2000 US Presidential Race was going to be a woebegone contest between Dull and Duller, the impish whackjob returns for yet another round of merry hi-jinks and paranoiac delusions presented as fact!
posted to MetaFilter by m.polo at 11:29 AM on June 29, 2000 (4 comments)

as an amendment to a military spending bill. All...

US Senate approves hate crimes legislation as an amendment to a military spending bill. All of the Democrats (minus Byrd) and thirteen Republicans brought the tally to 57-42. As was recently discussed here, this is a contentious issue, even among those who support some type of increased punitive power based on the perpetrator's state of mind and opinions.
posted to MetaFilter by m.polo at 5:17 PM on June 20, 2000 (3 comments)