MetaFilter

Even as oil prices hit record highs, the Saudi’s are now warning that they do not have the oil supply to keep up with future demand. With news like this it’s time to start taking peak oil seriously. Matthew R. Simmons, a former bush advisor, recently wrote a book that examines the future prospects of Saudi oil reserves and the implications for global oil production. He finds that the amount of oil left in the big fields may be much lower than is publicly reported and that there is no where else in the world where we can find the oil to make up for the shortfall. This interview with Simmons (part 2, part 3) was one of the scariest things I’ve read in awhile. I guess it’s time to buy a hybrid… (Peak oil previously talked about here and here and here)
posted by afu at 9:47 PM PST - 70 comments

Incredible -- but true coincidences are fascinating, and pleasing, to the psyche. I tend to agree with John Littlewood (a University of Cambridge mathematician) that "...in the course of any normal person's life, miracles happen at a rate of roughly one per month." In other words, statistically speaking, unusual coincidences are to be expected in a world teeming with billions of humans. Still, I find such coincidences stangely inspiring. More can be found here.
posted by ember at 7:37 PM PST - 97 comments

Securing public computers isn't easy, but a Microsoft kit to do that may also help families share home computers. If you share a Windows XP Home or Professional computer with other users, particularly, children, or family members, you may find the Shared Computer Toolkit beta an interesting idea. But caveat emptor: this is free "beta" software, has a spooky "validation" process to confirm your copy of Windows is "genuine," and installation is not for the faint of heart. Then again, neither is re-installing Windows after a friend/relative/SO inadvertently trashes your computer.
posted by paulsc at 6:40 PM PST - 18 comments

Hey, Soba has a website! Is what I thought when I finished Joe Sacco's War's End -- a heartbreakingly frank, lovingly illustrated snapshot of life during the Bosnian War . Naturally, I had to see this S(h)oba fellow's work. Of them all, I dig this one most, prolly.
posted by undule at 6:30 PM PST - 9 comments

OK, the movie, The Wedding Crashers, doesn't look all that interesting to me, but I gotta say that the Crash the Trailer viral ad that they whipped up is Awesome! You upload pictures of yourself or whomever, and they superimpose the pictures onto the faces of the stars of the movie. Very clever, or at least kind of fun for a second.
posted by willnot at 6:07 PM PST - 18 comments

A Chip and a Chair: The World Series of Poker's Main Event started today at the Rio in Las Vegas. That's a change from every other year, when Binion's Horseshoe hosted the event. With the rise of online poker and televised tournaments, it's no surprise this is the biggest year ever: 5,661 people registered for the $10,000 no-limit event. That's about $50 million in prize money, once the tournament and casino costs are taken care of. CardPlayer has up-to-the-minute updates on the tournament. Things at the WSOP can get pretty crazy, as you've got thousands of gamblers ready for any sort of action. For instance, poker celeb Phil Gordon put together a Roshambo tournament (paper rock scissors) together with a $10,000 first prize, just to kill time. The main event, by the way, is only one of 45 events, started back in 1970 by a group of hard-core gamblers. Despite the record turnout, however, there's still plenty of people who didn't make it to the main event, including former Harper's reporter James McManus, who placed 5th in the Main Event in 2000 and wrote a fascinating novel on the subject.
posted by Happydaz at 5:12 PM PST - 22 comments

The Rules of Hipster Dating insites into "The Real World, and other dispatches from The Jesus of Failure.
posted by dial-tone at 3:59 PM PST - 68 comments

Joan Rivers on the subject of Boobs: "I think the stereotype that if you ah big breasts you can't be smart came from the fact that your breasts hid your schoolbooks. So it was a little harder to learn." A&E tackled the subject of cleavage in a special that aired first in 2002 and again last night. SFW unless you work for the Archdiocese.
posted by kahboom at 1:39 PM PST - 54 comments

Museum of old Russian radios I want the styling Zvezda-54 and one of these early iPods. The Thermogenerator TGK-3 looks like fun.
posted by arse_hat at 12:02 PM PST - 13 comments

People don't panic in disasters Here's what Lee Clarke has to say about Panic: Myth or Reality. And he has some things to say about terrorism as well.
posted by warbaby at 11:35 AM PST - 31 comments

Alarming Article on Security Procedures What is alarming is not necessarily that there is a "no-fly" list, or that we have security measures in response to a percieved terrorist threat. What's alarming is that there seems to be no accountabity or due process demanded from public officials. Without accountability, what's to stop public officials from acting arbitrarily, or for some political endeavor? (See the Plame case.) Combined with the Right's seeming position that the president is above the law in prosecuting a war, U.S. Supreme Court Case No. 03-1027 (Rumsfield v. Padilla) and Case No. 03-6696 (Hamdi v. Rumsfield), (see also the recent DOJ position papers), and for the 1st time I am becoming nervous that America might devolve into something like a police state.
posted by JKevinKing at 10:53 AM PST - 36 comments

Context Free: A small language for design grammars. These grammars are sets of non-deterministic rules to produce images. The images are surprisingly beautiful, often from very simple grammars. And you can download and play on your own.
posted by signal at 10:42 AM PST - 21 comments

"More than 10-million U.S. homes are equipped with [wi-fi] routers that transmit high-speed Internet to computers using radio signals. The signals can extend 200 feet or more." And Benjamin Smith was just arrested for going online through an unsecured one that didn't belong to him.

It begs the Doonesbury question: Isn't it still a free country?
posted by NotMyselfRightNow at 9:41 AM PST - 249 comments

Yes, it's the great god bird,
with its altar call.
posted by deafmute at 9:35 AM PST - 15 comments

The Electric Unicycle makes transportation a breeze: "You lean forward to accelerate, lean backwards to brake, and gyrate your arms wildly to turn." (Invented by the man who thought his own homemade Segway had one wheel too many)
posted by Robot Johnny at 9:19 AM PST - 14 comments

Gulu Walk. Aiming to increase awareness about the Night Commuters of Northern Uganda, some Canadians have started a month long series of nightly walks from their homes into the city to sleep. The Night Commuters are children from rural areas near Gulu who must travel into the city each night to remain safe from kidnappers in the countryside.
posted by jacquilynne at 9:08 AM PST - 16 comments

Coffee hacking: See self-heating coffee cans and cold-brewed coffee. [via MAKE: blog, which is shaping up nicely]
posted by Lush at 8:11 AM PST - 14 comments

Judith Miller Goes to Jail...for not revealing her source. Opinions seem to differ on Miller's personal credibility and reporting history. But is that the issue?
posted by Jon-o at 7:44 AM PST - 62 comments

Got a message to the receiver, hope for an answer someday. Watch real time responses to the bombing through a multitude of blogs. First link sorted by tube station.
posted by klangklangston at 7:26 AM PST - 2 comments

Major Incident on London Underground reported. Anyone have any further information?
posted by Cobbler at 2:17 AM PST - 714 comments