MeFi Favorites by spacewrench

Ask MeFi: Ditch the Cell

Benzle — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 07:01:24 -0800

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.

Ask MeFi: I'll take Painful Medical Procedures for $4000, Alex!

spacewrench — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 11:18:31 -0800

What's a typical range of discount negotiated by insurers with ambulance companies?

MeFi: RESOLUTE!

felix — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 09:56:28 -0800

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.

MeFi: Ievan Polkka

zonem — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 19:20:50 -0800

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!

MeFi: What should I do with my life?

vytae — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 09:45:03 -0800

"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.

MeFi: Heavens to Murgatroid

substrate — Fri, 10 Sep 2004 09:12:21 -0800

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.

MeFi: Of course, the frames are probably made from Chinese toothpaste...

Arthur "Two Sheds" Jackson — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 20:24:01 -0800

A selection of eyeglasses for $8. (That's including your lens prescription.) Or if that's not to your liking, there's $39.

MeFi: Nomic is a game where modifying the game is the game.

cortex — Mon, 27 Aug 2007 20:57:43 -0800

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.]

MeFi: nanohub rulz ok!

sergeant sandwich — Sat, 25 Aug 2007 14:30:47 -0800

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]

Ask MeFi: MDF and PVC are nice, but do you have something more...standard?

ostranenie — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 08:01:16 -0800

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)?

Ask MeFi: Recommendations for films to improve your sex life?

Anonymous — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 06:37:36 -0800

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?

MeFi: How low can you go?

cenoxo — Sun, 28 May 2006 23:06:19 -0800

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.