Ask post: I'd like to make a profit off my book.

I write computer books, and I usually get a 2K to 4K advance. That's pretty high end, due to the fact that these are technical books and I'm an expert in my field. Also, these contracts are offered by my publisher -- I never instigate anything; nor do I start writing before the contract is signed and sealed.

I've written four books and just got my first royalty check ever. I think it was for $1.35.

My dad -- an academic -- wrote about 25 books.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by grumblebee at 2:07 PM on October 6, 2008

Ask post: Who was the Ur-Paris?

This has been going on for a long time (my guess since the birth of the human race). I think good parallels for Paris Hilton are not kings and queens, as they might actually have had an effect on their countries (aside from being celebrities), but minor lords and ladies -- gentry.

Most of these people are now forgotten (as Paris will be, soon enough), but people in the 19th Century (and earlier) used to gossip endlessly (read and write about) how lord so and so had a... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by grumblebee at 7:56 AM on October 5, 2008

Ask post: Does insanity exist outside the subjective viewpoint of a given society?

This thread is riddled with confusion because most people here aren't defining their terms. This leads Bob and Tim to THINK they're both talking about apples. In fact, Tim is talking about apples while Bob is talking about oranges.

I'm going to attack the problem via an analogy. "Insanity" is a loaded term, so I'm going to talk about physical injuries instead of mental ones (though, as a non-dualist, I don't really think there's a difference).... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by grumblebee at 12:30 PM on October 2, 2008 marked best answer

Does insanity exist, outside the subjective viewpoint of a given society?

Here's another related question: do humans and rocks exist, outside the subjective viewpoint of a given society?

If I hold a rock in my hand, do you think of me and the rock as one object or two? Let's say you think of the rock and me as two objects. Are we OBJECTIVELY two objects or is that just a cultural understanding?

In my... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by grumblebee at 1:15 PM on October 2, 2008

Ask post: Books To Make Time Fly

I would print out this thread and take it to the library/bookstore.

I disagree. That was my thread, and I worded my question poorly. I wanted the same sort of recommendations that you want, turgid dahlia, but I stupidly asked for "exciting" books. People interpreted that really broadly, and I got responses like "Never Let Me Go" and "Bel Canto," which are examples of literary fiction, not page-turner candy. (Though I... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by grumblebee at 7:41 AM on October 2, 2008 marked best answer

Ask post: You can't win, you twerp!

Some people can approach anyone, anywhere.

I guess I'm an edge case, but I HATE being approached in public. I can't think of any time, ever when I've wanted a stranger to approach me or have been happy when one has. It always irritates me. I know that paints a terrible picture of me, but I'd be lying if I said it wasn't true.

It's my tragedy to be misanthropic in this way while having an incredibly friendly, non-threatening... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by grumblebee at 7:03 AM on October 1, 2008

MeFi post: The Woodman Speaks

What in the holy hell has he contributed to film? ...His movies aren't really well-written; he doesn't draw characters that well beyond a stock set; his conception of space isn't really that developed; and he clearly hasn't thought that hard about what the image means.

I don't know if this is worthwhile arguing, because it involves so much subjectivity that the best one can do is truss up "Yeah, well I like it!" with... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by grumblebee at 2:22 PM on September 29, 2008

Sorry about the length. Here's the link (which I found by googling "'Hannah and Her Sisters' script."
posted to MetaFilter by grumblebee at 3:38 PM on September 29, 2008

Ask post: I've lost her wedding ring!

During my first year living in New York, I used to sometimes remove my wedding ring (because my fingers would get hot and swollen and because I wasn't used to wearing a ring -- not because I was trying to cheat!) and stick it in my wallet. This turned out to be a really stupid move, because someone picked my pocket. Wallet and ring were gone forever.

I was devastated and scared to tell my wife. But I did tell her, and -- guess what? -- I discovered that she loved me. She... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by grumblebee at 9:44 AM on September 29, 2008

MeTa post: Read before answering, please!

My job and hobbies often involve me giving people directions via email. I've found that the most effective instruction is one step long. So if I write, "Please meet me in the board room at 3pm," there's a pretty good chance people will understand and comply.

If I write "Please meet me in the board room at 3pm, and bring a notebook," I'll get some people there without a notebook and some people showing up with a notebook but at the wrong time or place.... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by grumblebee at 4:59 AM on September 28, 2008

I've also noticed that people tend to skim blocks of text. If you need people to get multiple points, it's worthwhile setting them up in some sort of typographically noticeable way.

Bad:

Please be at the meeting no later than four. If you have to come late, call in advance. The number is 123-456-7890. Call twice: once saying you're going to be late and once when you're leaving, saying you're on your way. Make sure you bring all the appropriate... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by grumblebee at 5:11 AM on September 28, 2008

MeTa post: Take it to Metatalk if you don't like it.

Second, you didn't read the article, you said something stupid, and you got called out for it. Getting called out happens here. It's happened to me when I've said stupid things.

Either you own up to your comments, or you move on, or both, but you will not be getting an apology from me, because frankly you don't deserve one.

I have a problem with "getting called out happens here." I agree with that as a statement of... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by grumblebee at 11:02 AM on September 24, 2008

I have to admit that I dislike the passive-aggressive implication of some kind of guilt on my part, in the manner of "personal responsibility" for my response. If you have a disagreement with its substance, please feel free to clarify.

I'm sorry I came off as passive-aggressive. To me, you were unclear. POSSIBLY you were being purposefully unclear. But I have no problem giving you the benefit of the doubt.

Here's... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by grumblebee at 11:59 AM on September 24, 2008

My main agenda is to try to clarify something, because I don't believe it's possible to move forward (solving any problem) until things are clear. And they're not clear to me. There's a specific question I keep asking you. You're not answering it, probably because I'm not phrasing my question well. (Or maybe you are answering it, and I'm just not understanding your answer.) But I'm kind of at a loss as to how to make myself clearer. I'll try one last time.

For the sake... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by grumblebee at 12:53 PM on September 24, 2008

I am a bit surprised to find the phrase "it speaks much about you" described as over the top. Gratuitous? Doubtless. Cutting? Surely. Justified? I have no opinion. But over the top? Compared to a lot of stuff on metafilter, the phrase seems positively polite.

I'm surprised you're surprised. You seem to be saying that it's weird to complain a bruise on your arm when you have cancer. Yes, but the bruise still hurts.

If something is rude, it's rude.
posted to MetaTalk by grumblebee at 12:56 PM on September 24, 2008

it gets people to take their gloves off and say what they're really thinking or at least get them to embarass themselves with an angry utterance.

I disagree. In my experience, when you insult someone, he's more likely to say stuff to save face (e.g. he becomes defensive) than to say what he's thinking. And I'm not sure I buy that people generally feel embarrassed when they make angry utterances.

I'm not saying this stuff... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by grumblebee at 1:57 PM on September 24, 2008

grumblebee, I like you, but you sound like you think you're at a tea party. Have you not noticed there's a lot of rudeness at MetaFilter? You may not like it, but it's not going away,

There are people -- and I'm not saying you're one of them, languagehat -- who seem to feel that they have their fingers on the pulse of Metafilter, that they know exactly what sort of community it is and what its members are like.

Hell, I... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by grumblebee at 9:15 PM on September 24, 2008

Rudeness, like the sex drive, is part of human nature, and we have to deal with it as best we can.

I think there's a difference. You can't stop the sex drive. You can pass dumb laws against certain acts, but the drive is so strong that people will just break the laws.

But MeFi is a moderated community. The mods could crack down harder on rudeness. They could make it unacceptable. I've spent time in plenty of groups in which... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by grumblebee at 9:06 AM on September 25, 2008

I get your personal opinion about me, loud and clear, but your repeated badgering is not welcome, thanks.

I'd like to extend a public and heartfelt apology to Blazecock Pileon. BP, I am sorry that I badgered you and that I made insinuations about your intentions.

I didn't intend to do either of those things, but my intent matters less than how my actions come across to you.

For the record, I have no... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by grumblebee at 9:36 AM on September 25, 2008

I value your perspective on this stuff a lot, grumblebee, and I hope I've communicated that well in the past, but this is a situation where I think we've established (and you've acknowledged) that you're arguing from something of an outlier position, so it can be hard to relate the middle-ground compromises we make here on a daily basis to your view of the ideal discursive model on the site.

I don't want to bore or exasperate people by repeating the... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by grumblebee at 11:53 AM on September 25, 2008

Articulating rude feelings is part of that creative impulse that runs through much of life.

Honest question: is "articulating rude feelings" the same thing as being rude?
posted to MetaTalk by grumblebee at 11:54 AM on September 25, 2008

What's odd to me is this: I admit my tea-party position is a minority one (though not a tiny-minority one), but that's just online. Most of the adult groups I'm part of offline are polite.

I've accepted the tea-party label as a shorthand, but in reality, that conjures up an image of formality that makes me uncomfortable. I contrast it against the work environments in my last few jobs and the creative collaboration I do at my theatre company.... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by grumblebee at 12:56 PM on September 25, 2008

When I said "what's odd to me is this," I didn't mean that it's odd that MeFi gets rude sometimes. That's not odd at all. That's the norm online (though I don't buy that it has to be).

What's odd to me is the suggestion I keep hearing -- or maybe I'm reading things into people's comments -- that rudeness is inevitable. That if you get a bunch of people together, they are necessarily going to be rude much of the time. That hasn't been my experience. It was my... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by grumblebee at 1:00 PM on September 25, 2008

Further, although it may be tempting to desire otherwise, any suggestion that an onus falls upon the moderators make us play nice is both unrealistic (in these troubled times, moderating powers are reserved for much more pressing needs) and threatening to many aspects of what makes metafilter so interesting.

The moderators DO make us play nice. They delete all sorts of hate speech and noise. It's a matter of degree.... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by grumblebee at 1:05 PM on September 25, 2008

cortex, I think all the challenges you brought up are valid (and challenging). But I don't think the problem is insolvable. Part of it comes down to the sort of tone you mods want to foster. I'm betting that if you, Matt and Jess all strongly wanted less flaming, you'd find ways (or try to find ways) to make that happen. And you'd have members here who'd be willing to help.

One example I'll bring up is AskMe. You guys have set up a pretty iron-clad rule that forbids... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by grumblebee at 1:23 PM on September 25, 2008

By the way, even if I could press a button and make all the mods agree with my vision of the site, I wouldn't expect that to lead to zero rudeness. The polite (but strong-voiced) communities I brought up (e.g. theatre) do involve some rudeness. It's just not the norm. And it's clear to everyone that such behavior is discouraged. And when it happens, there's a general feeling that troubleshooting is in order.

That's another difference between my idea and a tea party. At... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by grumblebee at 1:28 PM on September 25, 2008

Cortex, don't worry. I don't feel even slightly censored or ganged up on.

On Metatalk, it's sometimes unclear what a poster is trying to achieve. He might be demanding change, he might be complaining, he might be making a suggestion, he might be asking a question or he might be trying to spark discussion. I wanted to make it clear that I'm asking and sparking. I'm not demanding anything. My "I'm just giving my opinion" was just an attempt to make my intentions... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by grumblebee at 1:44 PM on September 25, 2008

Great question, dg, but I think it's serious derail territory, so I'll memail you. I'll be happy to send the info to anyone else who is interested. Just memail me.
posted to MetaTalk by grumblebee at 2:55 PM on September 25, 2008

TLF, by "moderating tone" I just mean pruning away, "You're a dick!" "Fuck you, asshole" and "If you think that, you're a major idiot" comments. If the pruning went further than that, I'd be against it.

And by "members willing to help," I meant helping to come up with ideas to make the site less rude -- I didn't mean help with policing. I'm against that. I don't even like the current level of policing.
posted to MetaTalk by grumblebee at 3:47 PM on September 25, 2008

Ask post: When to use C# keywords

Note: I'm an Actionscript programmer, but most of the same concepts apply.

So in Object Oriented programming, you have containers called classes. By "container," I mean a structure that contains a certain chunk of code and separates it from other code, much as a chapter separates a chunk of a novel from other chapters.

So...

Class Packman
{
// code that makes the pacman... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by grumblebee at 11:41 AM on September 24, 2008

Ask post: Test My Mettle

Another option: give things up.

No television or internet for a year; no electricity for a year...

I'm currently trying a vegan diet that is extremely austere (Dr. Fuhrman's diet). I'm only allowed to eat fruits, veggies and legumes. I can have half a cup of wheat per day. No refined sugar; no salt; no alcohol. No dressing on the salads I eat for almost every meal. I've been doing it for a month. It's been interesting. I've learned a lot about myself.
posted to Ask Metafilter by grumblebee at 10:40 AM on September 24, 2008

Ask post: Why am substituting one bird for another when I type?

GuyZero, I'm less worried by the fact that I do it than the fact that I'm doing it way more than I ever did before. I mean at least ten times more. (But, like I said, I'm also typing ten times faster.)

It's not wrong keypresses; it's real word substitution. I'll write things like "Was the dentist a plan or a woman?"

A Terrible Llama: I'm always a bit stressed. But I'm no more stressed than usual right now.
posted to Ask Metafilter by grumblebee at 12:12 PM on September 22, 2008

By the way, other than the substitutions, my writing is pretty typo-free. I don't transpose letters (teh) or anything. When I proof my writing, it looks really meticulous and clear except for the odd rhyming substitutions.

I really hate them, because sometimes -- when I'm dashing off a quick email or whatever -- I don't want to spend time proofing it. I don't mind if there's a "teh" or the like in it. But I risk being totally misunderstood if I write... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by grumblebee at 12:16 PM on September 22, 2008

If it's not a medical problem, then it's an interesting phenomenon. It must be two parts of my brain running at cross-purposes, unable to come to the correct conclusion because I'm typing so fast. I'd be interested to know if there's any literature about the neurology of typos.

One interesting (or maybe the opposite of interesting) thing: I never find myself making embarrassing Freudian-slip typos. Like I never type breast when I mean vest. It's always more mundane stuff,... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by grumblebee at 12:37 PM on September 22, 2008

As far as I know, I don't do it when I speak. If I do, no one has told me. I'm pretty sure my wife would call me on it if I did it.
posted to Ask Metafilter by grumblebee at 1:32 PM on September 22, 2008

But for me, typing is more like thinking than speaking. I type way faster than I speak. Maybe that's the issue.

Maybe it stores words that sound similar together, such as groove and move.

I'm imagining that my brain is trying to think of the word for a little slot. It knows the approximate sound, so it reaches for words in the "oove" category. If it had a fraction of a second longer to make a decision, it would narrow the search down... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by grumblebee at 1:41 PM on September 22, 2008

Does the problem go away if you type at a slower speed? If it does, I think you can chalk it up to typing more quickly.

Probably, but typing slower is a completely different activity than typing full speed. I mean, when I'm typing full speed, I barely notice I'm typing. It just feels like I'm thinking onto the screen. It's like the difference between breathing normally and thinking about each breath.
posted to Ask Metafilter by grumblebee at 1:43 PM on September 22, 2008

Does the word you substitute for the correct one tend to be the more common or popular word for your personal vocabulary?

I don't think so, but I'll pay better attention to that.

How fast do you type?

I've never timed myself, but the funny thing is that I never learned the correct way to type. I'm basically a two-finger typist (though I seem to use a couple of other fingers here... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by grumblebee at 8:06 PM on September 22, 2008

Well, according to that test, I type 55 words a minute. But I don't generally do work that involves transcribing or dictation. I'm usually typing original stuff. So having to read someone else's writing slowed me down a bit. I'm guessing I type around 65 or so words a minute when I'm not copying something.
posted to Ask Metafilter by grumblebee at 9:20 AM on September 23, 2008

Just timed myself at 91 words a minute. I was on a roll. I suspect I fluctuate between 70 and 90.
posted to Ask Metafilter by grumblebee at 1:28 PM on September 23, 2008

Ask post: You gonna answer him, Punkin?!?

How on Earth would the cats know each other's names?
posted to Ask Metafilter by grumblebee at 8:51 PM on September 22, 2008

Ask post: How can I force myself to write?

I just finished a book.

I have no time to write, because I work two jobs: one from 9 to 5, the other from 7 to 10. Then I have a long commute home. Then bed.

I kept telling myself I would write during my brief periods of free time during the day, like on my commute or in the dinner slot between my first job and my second. Or maybe on weekends. But I couldn't make myself do it. My mind and body just screamed for down time. I'd wind up surfing the... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by grumblebee at 8:37 PM on September 22, 2008

Ask post: Save me from Scroogedom.

Tell us more about your interests.
posted to Ask Metafilter by grumblebee at 12:00 PM on September 22, 2008

I ask because there's tons of stuff to do here. Are you looking for activities you can do on your own? Or are you looking for ways to hang out with other people? If I was in NYC by myself, I'd fill my time with museums, movies and shows. But you may not be into such things.
posted to Ask Metafilter by grumblebee at 12:07 PM on September 22, 2008

MeTa post: Trisomy 21, General Information

Evangeline, what you don't understand is that if you say "that black guy" -- even if you don't say it to the person's face -- you create a ball of negative racist energy that hangs in the air long after you've left the subway car. As someone who has bumped his head on one of those balls, I can tell you it's not fun.

My advice to you is to use positive-thinking exercises to train your brain to not notice skin color. Before you know it, you'll see a guy and not... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by grumblebee at 11:52 AM on September 21, 2008

People refer to me as "that Man Of La Mancha." I prefer it to "that La Mancha Man."
posted to MetaTalk by grumblebee at 1:21 PM on September 21, 2008

"Check out that Black lady with the purse!" Not seeing color means NOT SEEING COLOR, it means you see people.

That is one of the oddest things I've ever read. Maybe I'm misunderstanding, but are you saying you don't see a person's skin color? That's like not noticing that a person is wearing clothes. How can you not notice it?

I certainly notice skin color. And there's no way I'd push a button to make myself stop... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by grumblebee at 6:24 AM on September 22, 2008

TomMelee, I suspect all of us are coming into this discussion with good motives, but I have big problems with two things you wrote:

1.
I'm seeing that you're missing the forest for the trees in my comment, which is generally that racial descriptions just aren't necessary.

2.
if you're saying things about people that you wouldn't say to their face, then you're saying things you shouldn't say.... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by grumblebee at 8:20 AM on September 22, 2008

Ask post: Actionscript physics of curveball

angle = atan((y1-y0) / (x1-x0))

Translated into Actionscript, that's angle = Math.atan2((y1-y0) / (x1-x0))
posted to Ask Metafilter by grumblebee at 8:12 PM on September 19, 2008

If you find you still can't figure it out, you could try emailing Keith ("Making Things Move") Peters. He'd probably enjoy reading this thread.
posted to Ask Metafilter by grumblebee at 8:14 PM on September 19, 2008

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