MetaFilter

In the sub-basement of what was once an industrial park, the server continued asking questions to the void. The network was long-gone--the ethernet cables vaporized right where they emerged to the surface--but this didn't stop the server. It had a queue.

The third wave of bombings had collapsed the ceiling, destroying almost all the other racks in the room, but the server remained. It was closest to the large metal cage that held the enormous emergency power supply. It... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by Ian A.T. at 5:20 AM on March 17, 2008

Is it the $5 or the age of the user making the comment? In 10 years, will AskMe comments say, "OMG! u2?! Mathowie hawtt! Jess kick yer a$$. Should I eat this or n0t?"
posted to MetaTalk by acoutu at 10:42 PM on March 24, 2008

From my astronomer girlfriend who studies GRBs:

(Sadly, no one was looking at the area with an optical telescope at that exact time.)

There were two that were observing the site of the burst at the time of GRB itself. And many more that responded rapidly.

The peak of the afterglow emission occurred ~30 seconds after the satellite-detected gamma-ray burst itself, and that gave lots of time for robotic... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by hought20 at 8:10 AM on March 24, 2008

history of tetracycline use?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by ruwan at 6:05 AM on March 24, 2008 marked best answer

Some background for those of you who don't understand a word of what's going on here.

By now, I imagine most of you have probably noticed that when you type 'www.metafilter.com' in your browser and hit enter, your computer connects to this server and displays the web page there. But have you ever wondered just exactly how that works?

When you start a conversation with Metafilter, your computer assembles a connection-start... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Malor at 1:09 PM on March 2, 2008

http://www.avocado.org/about/fruit_selection.php

* To ripen a California avocado, place the fruit in a plain brown paper bag and store at room temperature 65-75° until ready to eat (usually two to five days).
* Including an apple or banana in the bag accelerates the process because these fruits give off ethylene gas, a ripening reagent.
* Soft ripe fruit can be refrigerated until it is eaten, but not for more than two or three days.... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by spikeleemajortomdickandharryconnickjrmints at 1:42 PM on March 22, 2008

I will offer up another possibility here from the ones given above. Sometimes it is clear to a company that a candidate is EXTREMELY interested in them, while they do not have those same feelings about the candidate. Usually companies will wait until an offer is made and accepted before they will notifiy all the rest of the candidates of their status. The person who said this to you may have sensed how much you liked this opportunity, knew in fact that you would not get this job, but didn't... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by LiveLurker at 5:11 PM on March 21, 2008

See also, "dey be", "she frontin", and my personal favorite "dumb bitches".

Hollabag!
posted to MetaTalk by Armitage Shanks at 12:13 PM on March 19, 2008

The internet has been taken over by obsessive compulsives who are incapable of finishing their day without constructing illusions of order through grouping similar things into sets of arbitrary sizes. And vast populations are held in their thrall, gripped by fascination with ever more trivia sequencings.

You can read all about this in my new blog, "Eighty Eight Annoying People I Found On the Internet, Plus Cat Pictures".
posted to MetaFilter by ardgedee at 2:20 PM on March 17, 2008

Coming soon to MetaFilter:

The Poet In Shanghai: Auden Visits The Pacific Rim.
posted to MetaFilter by rdone at 3:05 PM on March 18, 2008

Your subject matter is borderline, Sir, but at the Times Book Review we draw the line at anapests.
posted to MetaFilter by kid ichorous at 9:39 AM on March 18, 2008

All artefacts are palimpsests with infinite layers.

I can't tell you the number of times I've screamed this out during sex.
posted to MetaTalk by quin at 7:28 AM on March 14, 2008

Innovative cardiovascular surgeon Dr. Michael DeBakey still sees patients and writes papers at age 99, even though he almost died two years ago. Ironically, he had a heart condition for which he had previously pioneered a procedure.

He recently talked to Esquire about what he's learned over the years.

I think he drinks milkshakes made of gumption for breakfast.... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by the littlest brussels sprout at 8:00 PM on March 16, 2008 marked best answer

There is better footage of it on youtube
posted to MetaFilter by jfrancis at 3:15 AM on March 15, 2008

Besides, you don't think a man is capable of having such drama and issues, do you?

That's asinine. What about men that are, by their nature, more passionate than is seemly, such as sodomites and Italians?
posted to MetaTalk by ND¢ at 9:47 AM on March 14, 2008

A LITTLE HELP DOWN HERE PLEASE? OH GOD THE CRUSHING MAKE IT STOP!
posted to MetaTalk by loquacious at 12:51 PM on March 14, 2008

Also: It is clear that ikkyu2 has tenure in a little hell of his/her own. All we can do is ignore the screaming.
posted to MetaTalk by ewkpates at 11:11 AM on March 13, 2008

Well, pathetic may be too strong a word. But it really is shocking that anyone could read her query and not be awestruck by the vapidity and shallowness of it, and in response think that some well-crafted coda is going to somehow be seen as enlightening by a person that would post such purple horseshit. Worse yet, everything she's already said in her post makes it clear that she openly or subconsciously has nothing but disdain for people that actually treat her with respect. These people... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by docpops at 8:56 AM on March 10, 2008

You dumb fucks can all kiss my ass
Cause I only cut on the bias
I'm a couture diva sew-and-sew
Not a liberal knee jerk fashion ho
Made the heads at 212 explode
And I'm fierce!
posted to MetaFilter by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 4:55 PM on March 9, 2008

They should have done a comparative analysis examining the dialectics behind his substitute argument of having pros in the same locations. That could have yielded a substantive examination of the disparate message provided via official broadcast mediums like radios and television, and underground, community-based channels. Is this an attempt at suggesting unification of the two groups? Is this bifurcation an attempt to cause strife between them? Or perhaps this is a more veiled commentary,... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by cashman at 10:09 AM on March 9, 2008

nax: As long as we use "sin" industries-- liquor, cigarettes, drugs (prescription and illicit), sexual exploitation, and gambling-- to fund the military, business, and consumer excesses of our society, people with far fewer resources than this lawyer are going to go bust in painful ways, for them and their families.

First, I don't believe any real choice is involved in supporting "sin" industries. These basic demands and... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by kid ichorous at 2:30 PM on March 9, 2008

And I saw for the first time that the mirrored lenseswere surgical inlays, the siilver rising smoothly from her high cheekbones, sealing her eyes in their sockets.
(Plus she had these fingernail razor blades)
posted to MetaFilter by Smedleyman at 11:50 PM on March 8, 2008

Yeah, there are several bundled questions here. The most basic about the A2 slot is that Royko worked his way up to that position at the Daily News in the 1960s/1970s, and when that folded, moved over to the Sun-Times in the same position (both papers were owned by Marshall Field IV). When the latter was sold to News Corp./Murdoch, Royko jumped to the paper he loathed, but less than he loathed Murdoch, the Trib. Getting A2 was a contract thing, all but... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by dhartung at 4:35 PM on March 8, 2008 marked best answer

I worked at Chicago's other paper for a while.

I'm not 100% sure I understand the question.

I think Kass would tell you he's a journalist. He's also a columnist, which means he's free to inject his opinion in what he writes. Since he writes on the news (and not, say, relationships or lifestyles), he appears in a news section. The fact that he has his head floating above the type is supposed to tip you off to the fact that he's a columnist and... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by veggieboy at 11:47 AM on March 8, 2008

Lab Tick
posted to Ask MetaFilter by mpls2 at 7:21 PM on March 8, 2008 marked best answer

You know what's really great? When I have my clinic waiting room full to standing with people sick from the worst flu season in my career, my desk is covered with paperwork that's gonna keep me in my office til 9 on a friday night, and I have 15 minutes to do an entire developmental assessment and vaccination update on an 18 month old who's behind on her shots. And the two parents who don't have a high school education are asking for an explanation of why they should ignore the "risks of... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Slarty Bartfast at 6:00 PM on March 7, 2008

And whether or not it's unaesthetic it's good form to put such a disclaimer out there before you make any assertions about the question at hand.

No, it's good form to only answer questions you know the answer to.
posted to MetaTalk by NotMyselfRightNow at 12:46 PM on March 7, 2008

She had talked to parents who took a normal, healthy toddler in for vaccinations. The girl had an obviously bad reaction to the vaccine, developed a high fever, nearly died, and afterward progressed into autism-like symptoms.

I knew a guy who drank a lot of water. Then he had a heart attack and died.
posted to MetaFilter by Justinian at 12:41 PM on March 7, 2008

Same as in town.
posted to MetaTalk by arto at 8:26 PM on March 7, 2008

"Oh, the sweet, delicious irony," he thought to himself as he flagged a question that asked how to abuse an on-line community's flagging system.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by dersins at 11:52 PM on March 3, 2008

OK, I tried my best, you arrogant fucking bastard.
posted to MetaTalk by docpops at 9:43 PM on December 5, 2007

Seriously, why did you post this?

On the facts to hand, almost certainly Narcissistic Personality Disorder.

No problems, though. ikkyu2 can cure these by drinking a litre of coconut cream and then standing on his head for an hour per day, followed by a four hour ice-bath.
posted to MetaTalk by UbuRoivas at 7:29 PM on December 5, 2007

"Ok ok, aside from shame on you, what is your point here?"

Shame on you, dipshits?
posted to MetaTalk by mr_crash_davis at 7:21 PM on December 5, 2007

What the fuck is this article about?

A student hooker who is over-enthusiastic in the pursuit of trade and an Attorney General who thinks his penis is a national monument being threatened by terrorists.
posted to MetaFilter by PeterMcDermott at 10:38 AM on March 2, 2008

Just heard a great anecdote from Bob Ezrin (producer of Alice Cooper, Kiss, Pink Floyd, etc.). When he was a teenager, his dad hired Lonnie Johnson to play in his bar for an extended engagement.

One night, Bob was sitting there, soaking up the music, and something came over him. He went up to Lonnie after the set, and asked him, "Can you teach me how to play blues guitar like that?"

Lonnie responded instantly: "Fuck, no!... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Aquaman at 8:35 AM on March 2, 2008

Here is a classic blues turnaround I learned from watching Jimmy Johnson in Chicago. Blues in the key of A. When you get to the V chord (E):

---------------------------------7--------------------
----5-5-5-----7-bend up to... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by KevinSkomsvold at 1:11 AM on March 2, 2008

If 500 people favorite this comment, I'll disable my account.
posted to MetaFilter by hermitosis at 3:54 PM on February 10, 2008

Sorry. I am just passionate about this stuff, and so I get caught up in technical speak sometimes. Imagine if you will that a laser field cycle is the sheet on your bed. You and three of your friends each hold a corner of the sheet and pull it taught. The zero-field particles are the dust motes floating around the blanket and the hyper accelerated light wave electrons are the light waves coming from the lamps in your bedroom, but these lamps would be moving around your room at the speed of light!... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by ND¢ at 8:27 AM on February 26, 2008

I am pretty well versed in this area and will try to explain this in a way that makes it a little more intelligible to the layman. The thing that you have to realize is that before this experiment, it was believed that the ionization of an electron making waves through the laser field cycle would result in a scattering of the zero-field particles. This video, and the data that it represents, proves that team shifted attosecond pulses can hyper-inflate the perceptible field of light in a way... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by ND¢ at 8:15 AM on February 26, 2008

Whew, had a moment of insanity there and actually attempted to discuss racism on an internet discussion board. Time to check my meds.
posted to MetaTalk by tkolar at 8:50 PM on February 25, 2008

No strings attached free money

Are they going to count it as income and therefore tax it come next year? I'd hate to only be partially screwed.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Brandon Blatcher at 4:41 PM on February 24, 2008

Lady Bug came out in 1981.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by box at 3:12 PM on February 23, 2008

I don't think this farmer could have been rasher in getting porked, unless trottering off into hamicide. I mean he could have got smoked.
posted to MetaFilter by Henry C. Mabuse at 3:11 AM on February 23, 2008

WTF, nicolas léonard sadi carnot, read your Silmarillion.

The bending of the world occurred in 3319 S.A. while Gandalf and the Balrog fought in 3019 T.A.

THE MATH IS CORRECT.

Christ, the ignorance about history on this website astounds me.
posted to MetaFilter by TheOnlyCoolTim at 12:23 AM on February 16, 2008

MATHOWLIE

For Cortexamyn

I

I saw the best minds of mefi generation destroyed by
madness, starving hysterical naked,
clicking themselves through the blue pages at dawn
looking for an angry fix,
angelheaded hipsters burning for the ancient heavenly
... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Rumple at 4:12 PM on February 15, 2008

This thread sucks.
posted to MetaFilter by ninjew at 11:07 AM on February 14, 2008

If you view this image you will discover that you've automatically favorited this post.
posted to MetaTalk by RichardP at 7:35 PM on February 10, 2008

I liked this article better when it was Ed Norton's monologue from Fight Club.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has famously said that living in New York is a luxury good, i.e. you pay a premium to live there. Living in New York, in the eyes of the people who run it, is just another form of conspicuous consumption, and that is what I think this article is really about.

Wine. Jacques Torres chocolates. Kiehl’s skin... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Pastabagel at 1:13 PM on February 5, 2008

Oh my god just throw it out
posted to Ask MetaFilter by 1 at 8:38 AM on February 11, 2008

I don't know if their arguments are right but they sure make a shit flash game.
posted to MetaFilter by Justinian at 3:43 PM on February 9, 2008