"The best way I can describe our predicament to someone outside our culture is to call up the sensation of orgasm. You lose control of your destiny, and you are grateful for the loss. Time dissolves. Nothing that came before matters. You lose all sense of consequences and would sacrifice anything to safeguard the moment. Then, just seconds later, the blighted past and an uncertain future rush back in to drown you." Michael Harris writes in Walrus Magazine about coming of age in the long shadow of the AIDS epidemic. via utne.
posted to MetaFilter by jquinby at 5:48 PM on December 2, 2011 (14 comments)

Occupy George is an attempt to convey the current wealth distribution of the United States by using dollar bills as a medium. But is it legal?
posted to MetaFilter by falameufilho at 6:59 AM on October 17, 2011 (84 comments)

“Watching the video I thought that it was wise of Major League Baseball to combine this sort of sentimental moment with mass speculative litigation. It kept brand values strong. I felt strangely grateful that I could have a moment to remember that afternoon. Surprised by the evidence of both copyright violation and father-daughter affection.” —Paul Ford, “Nanolaw with Daughter”
posted to MetaFilter by kipmanley at 9:43 PM on May 15, 2011 (26 comments)

Bohemian Rhapsody on Ukulele by Jake Shimabukuro [via NPR | 3QD]
posted to MetaFilter by peacay at 3:13 AM on January 28, 2011 (33 comments)

This song is called Alice's Restaurant, and it's about Alice, and the restaurant, but Alice's Restaurant is not the name of the restaurant; that's just the name of the song, and that's why I call the song Alice's Restaurant.
posted to MetaFilter by Miko at 10:32 PM on November 24, 2010 (164 comments)

12 years in the making, a good working hypothesis about the nature of conciousness.
posted to MetaFilter by AceRock at 3:08 PM on December 4, 2009 (72 comments)

Just finally got my Google Voice account! I have been using Skype for a long time, and now with google voice I am finally ready to get rid of the cell phone all together. BUT, can anyone recommend a good piece of hardware, (The iPod Touch comes to mind) that I can use "like" a cell phone, with minimal tweaking, where wifi is available. A netbook would work, but a little big, can you hook up a mic to any Palm or anything? Thanks everyone.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Benzle at 7:01 AM on October 20, 2009 (15 comments)

What's a typical range of discount negotiated by insurers with ambulance companies?
posted to Ask Metafilter by spacewrench at 11:18 AM on September 18, 2009 (1 comment)

It is the central, most eyecatching feature of the modern Oval Office. But for over a year, abandoned by a captain said to be harsh and venereal, it drifted slowly, its huge frame creaking, locked in ice, in the land of endless night.
posted to MetaFilter by felix at 9:56 AM on January 27, 2009 (123 comments)

The Ievan Polkka ("Eva's Polka"), as sung by the Finnish quartet Loituma (lyrics). Suddenly, in a flash (previously) of brilliance, youtube is inundated with lots and lots of remixes. Most contain Bleach girl Orihime Inoue spinning a leek (now lovingly known as Leek Girl). Others teach you how to dance, play piano, and, of course, sing. But don't forget Rick!
posted to MetaFilter by zonem at 7:20 PM on November 26, 2008 (23 comments)

"If I make enough money now, I can quit and do what I really love later." "If I just think hard enough, I'll finally figure out what I want to do with my life." "I know people in this career path lose their souls, but I'll be different." "What if I try a new career, and it turns out I don't like it?" Po Bronson tackles some of the thoughts that keep people from pursuing a career they would really love. The article (one-page version) is based on his New York Times bestseller, What Should I Do With My Life? The writing is several years old, but the question seems to spring eternal.
posted to MetaFilter by vytae at 9:45 AM on June 26, 2008 (195 comments)

Heavens Above! This is a pretty neat website for anybody interested in astronomy. Give it your location (City names work, even my white bread red-neck plains town did) and it'll give you star maps, fly by times and viewing instructions for satellites and so on.
posted to MetaFilter by substrate at 9:12 AM on September 10, 2004 (6 comments)

A selection of eyeglasses for $8. (That's including your lens prescription.) Or if that's not to your liking, there's $39.
posted to MetaFilter by Arthur "Two Sheds" Jackson at 8:24 PM on September 19, 2007 (81 comments)

Nomic, as introduced by inventor Peter Suber (homepage): a game of self-modification—every move is an attempt to alter the rules governing how the game is played. Further from wikipedia. [A great deal more within.]
posted to MetaFilter by cortex at 8:57 PM on August 27, 2007 (59 comments)

nanoHUB is an information goldmine, aimed primarily at scientists and engineers engaged under the broad umbrella of nanotechnology research, funded by the NSF, and based at Purdue University. Start with a series of nano tutorial lessons at the undergraduate or graduate level. Move on to seminars from top researchers on a variety of topics, or try some self-paced learning modules. Then run (real, useful) simulations in your browser. [some stuff requires free registration]
posted to MetaFilter by sergeant sandwich at 2:30 PM on August 25, 2007 (2 comments)

Is there an adult equivalent of a modular construction set (Erector Set, fischertechnik, K'Nex, Tinker Toys, etc.,) suitable for building more serious projects (desks, projector enclosures, tables)?
posted to Ask Metafilter by ostranenie at 8:01 AM on March 28, 2007 (13 comments)

Neither my boyfriend nor I have a particularly high libido, and we make love once every few weeks or so. We've discovered, though, that we really enjoy watching good movies that are also....well....hot. And I do mean good films -- not porn -- that also are sexual. (Sex & Lucia, Shortbus, etc.) We enjoy watching a film, find it arousing, and then we have great sex! I'm curious what other films are out there that tell a good story....have strong character development....and are sexy. Any recommendations?
posted to Ask Metafilter by Anonymous at 6:37 AM on March 27, 2007 (73 comments)

Project Nekton — Take Mt. Everest, add a mile to the top, and turn it upside down. That's how far oceanic explorers Jacques Piccard and USN Lt. Donald Walsh descended on January 23, 1960 into the Pacific's Challenger Deep, the lowest spot in Earth's oceans. Their submersible, the second-generation bathyscape Trieste, was designed by Swiss balloonist Auguste Piccard (Jacques' father) and built in Italy. This underwater balloon was buoyed by 70 tons of gasoline, ballasted by nine tons of steel shot, and dangled a cramped, six-foot diameter, 14 ton observation gondola underneath it [more Trieste photos here]. It took Piccard and Walsh nearly five hours to touch bottom 35,800 feet down in the Mariana Trench. Their unique voyage still stands 46 years later: no one has gone back—except by ROV—and more people have landed on the Moon.
posted to MetaFilter by cenoxo at 11:06 PM on May 28, 2006 (28 comments)