Doing cock all? Biding my time, more like.
posted to MetaTalk by jack at 2:39 PM on October 6, 2008

We'd better start thinking about eugenics, rather than flipping our collective lids when anything which could be touted as resembling the subject arises, because it is already here and we will only be seeing more of it, but it will be at the trait-level, not at the level of wiping out giant swaths of ethnicity/race/heritage/generic-container-name. In utero analysis has already presented us with a variety of choices, but more are to come.... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by adipocere at 10:10 AM on September 16, 2008

hadjiboy's question was about how to have a relationship with a woman that you are currently friends with. wfrgms' answer seems to be based on the assumption that hadjiboy isn't actually interested in a relationship with this woman but just wants to have sex with her. My guess is that this is what hadjiboy was objecting to rather than the slang.
posted to MetaTalk by rjs at 3:06 AM on September 14, 2008

There are designated areas where to protest and where to set up your cameras and do your journalistic duties.

Yes, and the First Amendment designates the USA as such an area.
posted to MetaFilter by homunculus at 7:19 PM on September 1, 2008

asavage- also, randomly, what was the scotch you were 'forced' to drink for the sobriety tests?

mrzarquon: With respect, I think it's very cool that Adam Savage is a MeFite, but I think this should be one place where he should be able to make an appearance without the celebrity fawning. I realize that it's a temptation to ask questions such as this when the celebrity appears, but I'd much prefer his honest input into this or whatever threads he... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Turtles all the way down at 1:14 PM on August 31, 2008

So what do y'all think of the whole election brinkmanship thing? Do you think there will be a fall election? I'm not sure if it will happen. As useless as the current parliament is I think Harper stands to lose a few MPs from Ontario and points east if he tries to get too pushy about it.

Oh, wait, which election are we talking about?
posted to MetaFilter by GuyZero at 4:45 PM on August 27, 2008

electrasteph writes "You're not running a criminal justice system here; you're running a money-making event, and the safety of all of the participants is more important than parsing 'evidence.'"Err on the side of caution and throw out all accused when they're pointed out, before your event gets a reputation and women don't come at all because they don't feel safe, and before something serious -- like an actual rape -- occurs."

A Con... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Mitheral at 12:58 PM on August 26, 2008

Matt has a fat wad of change on Biden over at Intrade. You were about to fuck that up.
posted to MetaTalk by felix betachat at 7:51 PM on August 19, 2008

It feels like this place is full of grown-ups.

Yeah, on a lot of websites, it's easy to start thinking you're the smartest cat in the room. One of the things I like about metafilter is the knowledge that there are people who have been around longer than me, have seen more than I have, and have studied their areas of expertise much more thoroughly than I could ever hope to.
posted to MetaTalk by Greg Nog at 1:12 PM on August 9, 2008

Maybe we could start with baby steps... You could select from a few select possible profile page layouts 1) Myspace 2) Facebook 3) Livejournal 4) Geocities circa '99 and 5) Comic Sans
posted to MetaTalk by drezdn at 12:47 PM on August 1, 2008

Wow. I guess I'm late to my own party. I haven't scanned the Talk pages that often since I went on Active Duty last year.

Back before CSS was banned, I was playing around with it quite a bit, especially with transparency effects as they display in different browsers. I put that up, then CSS was blocked. Since then a number of small changes in the page have made it look increasingly skewed. I just haven't bothered to change it.

So I leave it to... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by mystyk at 11:36 PM on August 1, 2008

"any device capable of storing information in digital or analog form,"

I don't think the lawmakers are bright enough to understand this, but this literally includes every single thing in the universe.
posted to MetaFilter by TheOnlyCoolTim at 6:45 AM on August 1, 2008

It's because the idiot up front won't get out of the fast lane.
posted to Ask Metafilter by sanka at 9:45 AM on July 23, 2008

the only debate should be whether it's life without parole or death.

The ICTY reflects the policy of almost every civilized country in the world - it doesn't employ capital punsihment.
posted to MetaFilter by Neiltupper at 3:57 PM on July 23, 2008

This thread sheds some light on the subject.
posted to MetaTalk by burnmp3s at 5:57 AM on July 16, 2008

With all due respect, you have no idea...

We're talking about a product that is among the top 5% of all arabica coffees produced worldwide. It's been nurtured and coddled at every step from seed to cup. It begins with an extremely finicky tree that will thrive only above 3000 feet and only in the equatorial tropics, that won't produce a crop for four years, and then will produce only one or two pounds of coffee each nine-month growing season. Those cherries... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Divine_Wino at 5:17 AM on July 15, 2008

Class of 2008, I was born the son of industrialist Ambrose Osborn in Hartford, Connecticut. Although I was a brilliant student in the fields of science, my alcoholic father lost control of his company, and turned on his family. Traumatized, I killed the family dog, considering it another mouth to feed.

In college, I studied chemistry and electrical engineering, and met my sweetheart Emily, got married, and eventually had a son, Harry. I co-founded a major firm with Dr.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by ND¢ at 10:53 AM on July 10, 2008

Here's to the hope that tomorrow's Gettysburg post is as well researched.
posted to MetaFilter by Dave Faris at 6:45 AM on July 2, 2008

he difference between me and them is that their opinions materially affect my life when they get them enacted into law

you mean, like a law classifying a sexual orientation as a protected minority?
posted to MetaFilter by quonsar at 1:20 PM on June 20, 2008

My fingers flew in a flurry of furious activity. It'd taken all evening to find a box I thought was adequately vulnerable. A quick port scan showed some interesting possibilities; and not just the obvious ones. With deft keystrokes, I made some progress towards getting to root, but it was slow and frustrating. Since I wasn't having any luck, I decided to check some forums to see if I could find other's reports of exploits.

Following a few suggestions, first I tried... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by Eideteker at 3:58 AM on June 28, 2008

We therefore read Miller to say only that the Second Amendment does not protect those weapons not typically possessed by law-abiding citizens for lawful purposes, such as short-barreled shotguns.

This is deeply weaselly non-reasoning to deflect "That means I can have my machine gun!" by saying that, no, you can't carry a G36 around because you haven't been carrying a G36 around. If you had had a G36, you could have one, but because you didn't have one, you can't.
posted to MetaFilter by ROU_Xenophobe at 8:28 AM on June 26, 2008

I'd be completely up for a "well-regulated militia" but it's always indicative to me that people who love guns dismiss that phrase in the Bill of Rights as "meaningless".

It's not meaningless. It points out a reason why the right to keep and bear arms exists. It doesn't imply, however, that that's the only thing you're allowed to do with them.
posted to MetaFilter by oaf at 8:55 AM on June 26, 2008

So feel free to go on about your Second Amendment rights, but please realize that we are aware that you basically just like to see people get shot.

You can go to hell.

Seriously, how can you say something like that? I don't want to see anyone, anywhere shot. Guns exist and will never ever go away. You ban them, criminals will still get them and be confident in the knowledge you can't resist. Things like the Wichita Horror... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by codswallop at 8:57 AM on June 26, 2008

Wait. You don't own a TV?! Oh my god. You should totally mention that whenever possible.
posted to MetaFilter by milarepa at 9:58 AM on June 26, 2008

Guns are a very, very useful tool if you're looking to kill something. Realistically, of course, "something" means "someone". The vast majority of Americans are unlikely to ever have to fight a bear to the death.

Right now, I don't have any need to kill someone, but I'm not confident that this will never, ever be the case. I own a gun. I own a lot of things that I hope that I'll never have a reason to use. A first aid kit. An... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Parasite Unseen at 10:01 AM on June 26, 2008

Is the word "USAian" somehow derogatory or misleading?

In that it implies "American" isn't the proper word, yes, the latter.
posted to MetaFilter by oaf at 11:16 AM on June 26, 2008

Did anyone really not understand what I meant when I said, "USAian"

You meant "I mean to write `American,' but I'm sooooooo fucking sensitive to concerns that don't even exist in the real world that I'm going to write 'USAian' instead to avoid insulting those nonexistent Canadians and Mexicans and Costa Ricans who, when you say 'Excuse me, but are you American?' answer 'Yes!' Surely now hordes of American, I mean USAian, men or women... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by ROU_Xenophobe at 12:19 PM on June 26, 2008

I find it amazing that a private company can legally deny you the use of your car because you forgot to display a parking permit of which you are in possession. Or because you happened to park a little off-center in a parking space and your tire is on a white line (e.g., the pool service truck).

I also find it amazing that said company can then legally steal your car if you refuse to pay them to regain the use of your car.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by moonbiter at 2:14 AM on June 19, 2008

To me it's pretty simple: he admits he knew that if you park on the street, you get ticketed.

That's what I love about Metafilter. You can have literally every single fact 100% wrong, and you still get to be smug.
posted to MetaFilter by standbythree at 7:56 AM on June 19, 2008

I guess Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus! LOL!

The problem is that the women quoted in the article, who are quite obviously insufferable hens, confuse men's conversation filters with being boring. But these women would never want to have the conversation that would ensue if men simply said what was on their minds. For example:

F: My God, you're so boring!

M: What?

F: Boring! You... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Pastabagel at 8:21 AM on June 19, 2008

Did I miss anything?

You forgot ugly, lazy and disrespectful. Go fix me a turkey pot pie.
posted to MetaTalk by dersins at 3:57 PM on June 13, 2008

Perhaps we could restate the proposition thusly: "aside from general questions about the law (such as its doctrinal features, practical application, trends and developments, history and context) specific questions (of the genre that could reasonably only be answered by a competent legal practitioner who has a fuller grasp of the context and circumstances of the question) have no place on AskMe.

Or to put it another way,

Legal... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by oxford blue at 7:44 AM on June 16, 2008

Dear AskMe, I need legal advice:

Every time I stab a lawyer, I chip the tip of my knife. Are legal professionals made of harder material than the average person? And what kind of blade should I use to minimize problems like this.

I tried asking a lawyer about this, but he's bleeding and unwilling to talk to me.

Help!
posted to MetaTalk by quin at 8:09 AM on June 16, 2008

PS. Are these people martians or what? Why do they put seo in their user name? Doesn't that defeat the purpose? Isn't that like a Nigerian scammer calling himself the Esteemable Dr. Joseph Wire-Fraud Beloved in Christ?

Hi Ladies, I'm your new gym teacher Mr. Pervert Installing A Wireless Web Cam in the Locker Room, let's start with some stretches and then we'll do laps.
posted to MetaTalk by Divine_Wino at 9:32 AM on June 13, 2008

This is precisely the kind of thinking that put us into this corner, The Light Fantastic:

1) The Chernobyl design was awful. Using that as any kind of standard for prediction is a bit like saying we shouldn't drive Volvos, because Tin Lizzies aren't very good in an accident. Okay, maybe a Gremlin instead of a Model T. Even when I left it as a major quite some time ago, it was clear that nuclear engineering had come a long way from Three Mile Island.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by adipocere at 10:24 AM on June 13, 2008

> The US Govt. provides the insurance for nuclear power plants. Actuaries are pretty smart. If it's safe enough for regular use, insurance companies would insure it at a manageable cost.

And doubtless they would, but who wants to compete with someone who can manufacture money whenever they want to?

I'd much rather spend the money on researching new, more advanced, more efficient, and safer reactor designs, than on subsidizing power companies'... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Kadin2048 at 12:38 PM on June 13, 2008

As long as the nuclear waste is stored in an area that's uninhabited, I don't see a major problem with it. We have plenty of barren areas to bury nuclear waste. That might ultimately make the water tables *safer*, incidentally, because we'd be removing nuclear materials from the land where they *already are*, and putting it in reactors for fuel, then burying it safely in a remote area. In other words, are you safer if there's uranium being used as fuel in a plant, or are you safer with that... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by jamstigator at 2:35 PM on June 13, 2008

Hopefully you can start to see the massive implications of this hack

I think you misspelled fraud.
posted to Ask Metafilter by b1tr0t at 9:39 PM on May 27, 2008

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

Despite all protestation and handwaving, MeFi hasn't been solely about the links for some time now, but much more about the conversation.

I don't state this as a personal opinion - which it surely is - but also in the way that the site is actually used by the users.

I can get links all day long on about a dozen link aggregators. Each link posted to MeFi can be found there. Often, digg, reddit and del.icio.us all mirror MetaFilter and vice-versa,... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by loquacious at 12:19 PM on May 30, 2008

So if you happen to be a half black half asian homosexual you can run fast, do your own taxes, and you're always getting laid.

Sadly, you're also a car thief who can't drive, but you have lots of fun in the back seat.

Tip your waitress. We'll be here all week.
posted to MetaFilter by jonmc at 4:35 AM on June 2, 2008

No no no, not promiscuous they just have more sex then straight people. High five! So if you happen to be a half black half asian homosexual you can run fast, do your own taxes, and you're always getting laid.
posted to MetaFilter by nola at 4:32 AM on June 2, 2008

6 out of 4 people know that you can use statistics to prove anything that's even remotely factualized. 97.1% of people know that. The other 2.9% feel it in their bellies.

This joke about statistics is so played out and irritating to me that I wish we could have some type of Godwin's Law for it.
posted to MetaFilter by autodidact at 10:34 PM on May 19, 2008

True, but it doesn't give one license to ridicule those who believe in God, which is what many seem to do.

However, the ridiculous things that people who believe in God do and say do give one license to ridicule them.

I would also add that if many religious people weren't so terribly intolerant of other beliefs, constantly trying to push theirs on everyone, and so vocal about the contempt they feel for others, perhaps we'd cut them a little more slack.
posted to MetaFilter by lupus_yonderboy at 10:37 PM on May 19, 2008

True, but it doesn't give one license to ridicule those who believe in God, which is what many seem to do.
posted by BrooklynCouch at 10:15 PM on May 19

I wasn't aware they were inspecting licenses at the door. Does my passport from the People's Republic of Not-Needing-A-Fucking-Permission-Slip-to-Ridicule-People work?
posted to MetaFilter by Optimus Chyme at 10:52 PM on May 19, 2008

or what caused the universe to come into being.

this question in itself really captures the ignorance of the God Squad. It is a non-sensical question.

Based on current scientific theory, Time is a property OF THE UNIVERSE and hence there was no 'before' the big bang. Hence there was no need for a cause. the Universe simply was. without the BigBang there was no being. no time, there was nothing.
posted to MetaFilter by mary8nne at 2:53 AM on May 20, 2008

I feel sorry for those who are atheists. Rather than being smarter, atheism reflects a poverty of thought, and a lack of appreciation of the universe, including of love and evil.

After putting a lot of thought into it, I've decided that I love being evil.
posted to MetaFilter by COBRA! at 8:22 AM on May 20, 2008

sorry, but what are the scandalizing saint louis values, anyway?

"St. Louis is a gateway city, seemingly harmless but it will lead to stronger stuff," Maxwelton said archly.
posted to MetaFilter by maxwelton at 10:00 PM on May 24, 2008

I'd rather hang out with evil rotten mis-spellers and their ilk than bunched-panty grammar nazis.

Well, loiseau, I'm one of these 'grammar nazis,' and I must tell you that when I and my henchmen come to power I'm afraid you and your ilk will be rounded up swiftly and given a choice: repent or die. Now, I am a reasonable man, and I realize that the strength and robustness of the English language is its capacity to evolve with use. Sorry, would you be... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Turtles all the way down at 4:16 AM on May 22, 2008

I think the answer is printed on the money: "In God We Trust." The blind people can just throw down a bill, and God will ensure they choose the right one.
posted to MetaFilter by mullingitover at 9:59 AM on May 20, 2008