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So perhaps you'll understand my position a bit better when I suggest that when people have the ability to read each other's mail, it makes it much more likely that they can continue to act like gentlemen?

Doubtful. It's a well-known and long studied reality of human psychology that human beings need privacy--and yes, even personal secrets--to have a healthy, stable identity and social life (one cite but there are plenty of others even the most... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by saulgoodman at 9:41 AM on July 1, 2013

To anyone who reads about the intelligence "game" literally nothing about his revelations has been a surprise at all.

Plausible deniability is a thing. There is a difference between people knowing things and people knowing that you know things and so on. It's out there and everyone knows that everyone knows about it, so it needs to be discussed in the open finally.
posted to MetaFilter by empath at 4:30 AM on July 1, 2013

In your personal life do you:

1. Install spyware on the computers of every enemy, rival, friend, and loved one you visit...if you can get away with it.

2. Find that your use of spyware should be judiciously limited to your enemies and rivals who are a serious threat to you.

3. Only use it in cases where you have legitimate access to the target, such as a computer shared by a couple during a divorce.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Drinky Die at 11:33 PM on June 30, 2013

desjardins - at my company they were allowed a single withdrawal from an atm from a specific national bank within 72 hours of the money being loaded at no cost - but any subsequent withdrawals incurred a fee. and then yeah, off to the grocery store to get a money order or two.
posted to MetaFilter by nadawi at 8:36 AM on July 1, 2013

That's $21,000 more that can go to executive perks and bonuses, man

Why do I have the feeling their thinking is going to be something like, "Brilliant -- we just saved ourselves $21k per year. Let's award ourselves $100k for being so clever!"

In one of the Grand Theft Auto games, one of the randomly generated lines for NPCs when you pull off a carjacking is "Damn, man, you can't have shit... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by lord_wolf at 8:22 AM on July 1, 2013

I like how the last paragraph gives the full name and city of a young woman who says she has a shoe box full of 10's and 20's in her closet. Thanks, Times. Smrt.
posted to MetaFilter by dirtdirt at 8:13 AM on July 1, 2013

I am not a violent person, but I would take great pleasure in kicking this guy in the nads....... repeatedly.

You can fairly represent that he is benefiting from you not wearing spiked boots.
posted to MetaFilter by jaduncan at 8:09 AM on July 1, 2013

Companies and card issuers, which include Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Citigroup, say the cards are cheaper and more efficient than checks — a calculator on Visa’s Web site estimates that a company with 500 workers could save $21,000 a year by switching from checks to payroll cards.

The cards are cheaper than traditional check/direct deposit payroll because they pass the cost of doing business onto the employees. Gross.
posted to MetaFilter by muddgirl at 7:59 AM on July 1, 2013

You might find it easier just to spell it: "Machiavellianism"

Actually, that is kind of hard to spell too.
posted to MetaFilter by Drinky Die at 8:56 PM on June 30, 2013

The part I like the best is the protest signs when Obama was in Berlin with his cartoon face and "Stasi 2.0". There are a lot of people in the former East Germany who had relatives sent to gulags using this shit.
posted to MetaFilter by bukvich at 8:02 PM on June 30, 2013

It's OK when say, China spies on the US, but evil when the US spies in other countries.

There once was a time when the United States aspired to be better than a communist dictatorship.
posted to MetaFilter by justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow at 7:11 PM on June 30, 2013

I keep hearing that there's no practical way to search through all of this acquired data. That's fundamentally wrong - the reason why the tech is available to store all of that stuff is that the software required to analyze it - all of it - has been keeping pace.

Big Data is everywhere in the enterprise right now, and there's a hell of a lot of money and manpower going into it - this is because it helps huge companies focus their marketing and product positioning.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Slap*Happy at 7:08 PM on June 30, 2013

I don't understand the real-politick "why should we be surprised by this?" response.

The response seems rather naive, in that it assumes the European countries are actually surprised. If you want to go down the real-politick rabbit hole, you have to go the whole way. Of course the US is spying on the EU, and vice versa. They all know that, and this is all Kabuki. But it's diplomacy Kabuki: we all knew the Emperor had no clothes, but once someone points it... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by chortly at 7:04 PM on June 30, 2013

...the NSA vacuums up everything so that analysts have the data at their disposal when they want to examine particular individuals...

Again, Germany particularly should understand how OK this is.
posted to MetaFilter by DU at 6:58 PM on June 30, 2013

it is the NSA's job to spy on other countries

Someone must have added "indiscriminately" to their job description.
posted to MetaFilter by hat_eater at 6:32 PM on June 30, 2013

But then he knows Joffrey -- who also gets "your grace" -- so I suppose he gets named when people talk about him

Everyone remembers Joffrey's name. It's a perfectly hatable name for a perfectly hatable character. I mean, just look at it. There's no way to read that sequence of letters and not want to have Peter Dinklage slap its bearer.
posted to MetaFilter by painquale at 3:52 PM on June 30, 2013

So it begs the question: if a song starts out as a digital file, why does it sound so much better after being made into vinyl?

Look, I don't doubt this Kevin guy's got some good ears, but:

1) I'll be a lot more interested in what he thinks if he comes to the same conclusion after running some double-blind trials, and

2) If he can put it all together in a longer, more coherent form than a series of... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by soundguy99 at 3:02 PM on June 30, 2013

Hodor is actually named Walder. There are at least 4 of those that I can think of, offhand.

*applauds the subtle sally*

All 6,000 of Walder Frey's children are a Walder or Walda. Maybe like two aren't. Maybe there's like one Jim and one Helen amidst the legion of Walders. Definitely there is exactly one Waldo Frey but good luck finding him.
posted to MetaFilter by byanyothername at 2:54 PM on June 30, 2013

Heh, and I forgot what I came here to say.

This is bullshit because:

1. The video tells a blatant lie. There IS a download, and isn't just an app, the whole track is being streamed from the Internet. There is simply NO WAY for a cell phone to read an entire record by putting its camera on top of one little area.

2. It generates huge quantities of waste and packaging.
posted to MetaFilter by lupus_yonderboy at 1:21 PM on June 30, 2013

Vinyl does not sound better. One might prefer it

You must be using some definition of "better" that I don't grok. For me, "preferred" MEANS "better".

Audiophilism is a disease, and it has nothing to do with music. Music has nothing to do with "sound quality", whatever that is. If you prefer vinyl, then VINYL IS BETTER. Objective standards? No such thing. And I wouldn't be interested in... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Fnarf at 12:18 PM on June 30, 2013

"King of the Guys"? Dothraki = best frat evar.

The hazing at the initiation is pretty rough though.
posted to MetaFilter by MCMikeNamara at 1:20 PM on June 30, 2013

My favorite is Tsundere Clegane.
posted to MetaFilter by nicebookrack at 1:04 PM on June 30, 2013

Multiply by 100 and you get a sense of the complexity of the books.
posted to MetaFilter by Foci for Analysis at 12:46 PM on June 30, 2013

It was a 7" record with a really neat shiny foil cover .... When I put it on my turntable, I realised the disappointing truth that there was nothing on there at all.

It's almost like Jesus decided to tell a parable about advertising.
posted to MetaFilter by benito.strauss at 11:08 AM on June 30, 2013

There's is a word I'm reaching for here: not quite "kitsch", but something like it. An object that is false, lying, facile, diversionary.

"Advertisement".
posted to MetaFilter by flabdablet at 9:00 AM on June 30, 2013

If you want to save some money just spray paint a bunch of empty toilet paper tubes black and mail them out as phonograph cylinders.
posted to MetaFilter by orme at 7:26 AM on June 30, 2013

ADHD meds are commonly knows as "Amphetamines". With all the associated issues of abuse. And if you need uppers to stay focused AND sleeping pills to go to bed, I'm going to be concerned if they're not being monitored effectively.

My problem isn't people who take meds for ADHD. My problem is people who abuse ADHD meds. Zimmerman really should have had his blood drawn as part of the investigation. Guess that's one reason to avoid a trip to the hospital.
posted to MetaFilter by mikelieman at 7:15 PM on June 29, 2013

There was no just cause for arresting Zimmerman that night.

What sort of justification is required before arresting someone who has just fatally shot a teenager in a suburban housing complex?
posted to MetaFilter by winna at 5:07 PM on June 29, 2013

BTW- Zimmerman's great grandfather had black skin..

And my great great grandmother was Cherokee!
posted to MetaFilter by shakespeherian at 8:07 AM on June 13, 2013

My experience with large enterprise is that there is no such thing as trust. Companies continue to do business with Microsoft because money.
posted to MetaFilter by mcstayinskool at 10:42 AM on June 28, 2013

Nuclear-powered ships are hideously expensive. In general, the fact that the US military uses a technology is very poor evidence to prove something is cost effective.
posted to MetaFilter by ssg at 7:13 PM on June 28, 2013

Will you white crackers please stop whining?

Years back, my (white) roommate in Chicago was riding the train and joking around about street smarts with an older black man ...

"Yeah, I know ... I'm totally being a cracker right now ..." D says self-effacingly, as most white people have done at some point or another.

Suddenly, the guy gets real serious.

"Don't... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by pokermonk at 10:05 AM on June 28, 2013

Racist bullshit? So you were there and saw this with your own eyes? You best hurry down to Florida and introduce yourself to the prosecutor, I think he needs your help.

Actually, Zimmerman's own statements to the police actually do state that he was an armed white man making aggressive statements who initiated the original following, and killed Martin. Also, let's not forget that the defense is now trying to claim that Martin... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by zombieflanders at 8:49 AM on June 28, 2013

It seems to me that a defense asserting self-defense (or, for another example, insanity) would need to do more than nothing to prevail.
posted to MetaFilter by maggieb at 10:15 AM on June 28, 2013

The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary. -- H. L. Mencken (1918)
posted to MetaFilter by jfuller at 2:24 PM on June 28, 2013

Which sort of cuts straight to the heart of the "solution" to racism being for people to just try not to say blatantly racist things in front of other people.

I think for many people, not just of her generation but in general, the only thing they feel is necessary in order for them to tick the little "probably not a racist" checkbox in their minds is to not actively commit violence against minorities.
posted to MetaFilter by elizardbits at 10:57 AM on June 22, 2013

we could probably do worse than to have the spokeswoman for casual racism also be the spokeswoman for type-2 diabetes.

In that type-2 diabetes is also a shameful moral failing?
posted to MetaFilter by wreckingball at 10:28 AM on June 22, 2013

I'm saying the the article assumes that the NSA is breaking the law (as I understand it - by looking associating the phone number with people and entities without a warrant) to say that the collection of metadata is criminal. Now, if they have evidence that the NSA does do that, that would be criminal. They just don't present that in their argument.

What possible use would random phone numbers be if they couldn't connect them to people or places? I... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by ryoshu at 6:58 AM on June 28, 2013

I do not understand the real-world relevance of the argument you are trying to put forward.
posted to MetaFilter by seanmpuckett at 5:13 AM on June 28, 2013

I posted this last week and it was deleted. Glad to see it sticking this time as I definitely thought it was a cool thing that the MeFi community would dig. Long live the blink tag!
posted to MetaFilter by COD at 11:23 AM on June 28, 2013

It's not quite this simple, this nation has no tolerance for terrorist threats but plenty of tolerance for mass shootings, rising sea levels, and fertilizer plants blowing up next to elementary schools.
posted to MetaFilter by leopard at 11:48 AM on June 28, 2013

I don't like the new logo at all. It has some potential, but it is poorly designed.

You really have to approach it as a period artifact. It's pretty pitch-perfect, perhaps even a bit ahead of the period, reflecting the emergence of photo typography, and an explosion in new font designs.
posted to MetaFilter by Thorzdad at 11:13 AM on June 28, 2013

( fun fact, if you type Is Don Draper ... into google it autocompletes with " an alcoholic?" " a sociopath" " going to kill himself?")

Bob Benson
..."serial killer"
..."don draper son"
..."shorts"
posted to MetaFilter by Iridic at 9:19 AM on June 28, 2013

%n: "Sexagesimal (base 60) is an interesting case. We use it to measure time but we don't have 60 symbols we just 'map' it into base ten and divide the digits with colons. So 12:45 is really 'symbol12symbol45"

After we run out of letters, we could always turn to Emoji or Unicode.

Mainly, because I really want to schedule a meeting at 4:CAT FACE WITH TEARS OF JOY.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by schmod at 9:46 AM on June 27, 2013

Diverging offtopic, why the hell is Britain still using the stone as a unit of weight? That shit is base-14. Ain't nobody got time for that.
posted to MetaFilter by schmod at 7:47 AM on June 27, 2013

And, Jesus, yes. We need more education that focuses less on rote memorization and computation. I'm very glad that there are intelligent people out there who are debating and thinking about this.

I specifically remember being quizzed in middle school on "estimation." I once had points docked from a test because my answers were too accurate. It's helpful to know good estimation strategies (am I seriously the only person who can calculate a ~18% tip in my... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by schmod at 7:40 AM on June 27, 2013

Things that may not slow global warming but people should do anyway: Stop feeding the trolls.
posted to MetaFilter by entropicamericana at 9:52 AM on June 27, 2013

But it sounds like everyone in this situation is being hostile. It's internet drama. And Wales is participating in it as much as anyone.

And, again, I don't know Jimmy Wales, and maybe he has something in his past that makes this triggering for him, or is just a sensitive dude. Maybe there is a history of sexually harassing stuff from the guy who commissioned the piece, and it's all part of an ongoing aggression that has created a hostile environment. Maybe he genuinely... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Sara C. at 11:24 AM on June 27, 2013

I don’t really get how the penis part is so terrible either. Silly and weird, but offensive and sexual harassment? What if it was a finger painting? Fingers are used for sex A LOT.
posted to MetaFilter by bongo_x at 11:41 AM on June 27, 2013

Unless you are actually breaking the law, what is the point of all of this?

who's to say the people accessing your information are just interested in whether you broke the law? - they might be interested in whatever trade secrets you have, who you're doing business with, whether you're talking with a "headhunter" or another company, what products your company is planning to release, all sorts of things that could conceivably make someone... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by pyramid termite at 5:47 AM on June 27, 2013