MetaFilter

Metafilter: Is this your first conversation?
posted to MetaFilter by JohnnyGunn at 3:05 PM on October 24, 2013

I find it amazing and infuriating that he managed to go through that entire interview without once using the words "evolution" or "evolve".

It's particularly disappointing because this isn't a mere matter of nomenclature, that pathogens evolve, and become resistant to antibiotics and also become more or less virulent, is all about evolution and we cannot in the long run practice medicine without approaching pathogens in that context.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Ivan Fyodorovich at 7:51 PM on October 24, 2013

God I love Frontline. This is such a great example of how you do a science interview in a mainstream media outlet: start with the real basic basics, keep questions short and simple at first and gradually expand into details by building off of each simple question with a slightly more complex/nuanced one and let an expert teach. It's like a breath of fresh air after a million awful sensationalist hack jobs.
posted to MetaFilter by jason_steakums at 7:14 PM on October 24, 2013

This is the hero the internet deserves, but not the one it needs right now.
posted to MetaFilter by Foci for Analysis at 3:35 PM on October 24, 2013

I teach at an English-immersion preschool/kindergarten here in Japan, and during afternoon daycare we often have time for free drawing. So I have a lot of conversations with three- to six-year-old children about their artwork. Last year one of the five-year-old girls and I had this discussion:

Me: K, that's a great picture! Is that you?
K: No, it's Emmalee!
Me: Wow! I'm so happy! What am I doing?
K: You're having Christmas... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by emmling at 8:03 PM on May 29, 2010

Not that I don't understand, but too much emotion over the dead is not healthy.
Some is normal, but this forever keeping keepsakes and souvenirs is awesomely unhealthy .

I was at a memorial recently for a young woman who died way ahead of her time. Sad indeed. One of the rituals her family observed was apparently inspired by the local First Nations. It involved the laying out of little tokens that had been found among the dead woman's... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by philip-random at 10:26 AM on October 17, 2013

The Empire of Jennifer in the 1970s was pretty impressive compared to the fleeting dominance of everything else.
posted to MetaFilter by tavella at 10:34 PM on October 19, 2013

I feel like this is turning into a Yakov Smirnoff joke.

"In home state politicians choose voters!"
posted to MetaFilter by Alison at 11:48 AM on October 18, 2013

Kidd Video opening song
posted to MetaFilter by DirtyOldTown at 4:40 PM on October 12, 2013

Someone please explain to me why Mr. T is traveling with a gymnastics team in this series.

The 1984 Olympics were held in Los Angeles and were a big deal-- remember that television choices were much more limited back then, so people would actually watch events that they would never willingly sit through now.

Gymnastics had traditionally been the forte of foreign communists like Nadia Comenec. However, in 1984, the US had a... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Mayor Curley at 2:42 PM on October 12, 2013

I had no idea there were a bunch of folks out there with bottomless shafts under their toilets.
posted to MetaFilter by Lutoslawski at 4:00 PM on October 9, 2013

I like the part where the stress of success tests their friendship.
posted to MetaFilter by Hicksu at 10:32 AM on October 8, 2013

Did you ever look at your public policy failures? I mean, really look at them?
posted to MetaFilter by thelonius at 2:09 PM on October 7, 2013

The problem, it seems to me, is that people write half-thought out books where they make a few assertions, perhaps weakly supported with evidence. Then businesspeople, politicians, and administrators of various stripes half-read those books and cherry-pick quotes to support whatever half-thought-out ideas they want to implement. Bolstered by this, they forge ahead with plans ignoring the input of people who actually work in the area that will be affected. More often than not, time is wasted,... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by GenjiandProust at 12:46 PM on October 5, 2013

When we were in grad school a decade or so ago, a friend and I blew off steam by coming up with TenureJournal: The Cross-Disciplinary Report. It would be dedicated to the idea of helping students and young faculty pad their CVs by publishing any paper that was submitted, after a cursory peer review by a committee made of other people looking to pad their CVs by appearing on peer review committees.

Apparently this was not an original idea.
posted to MetaFilter by telophase at 2:02 PM on October 3, 2013

For the most part we also forget what we eat, but it still nourishes us.
posted to MetaFilter by weapons-grade pandemonium at 6:57 PM on October 2, 2013

I keep seeing people write stuff like "wait until Wall Street/Koch Bros./Fat Cats/Plutocrats/Business get angry about the Teahadists disrupting the money flow, economy and profits - and then they'll rein in the baggers and that'll be the end of it."

That is not my take on the situation at all. All those actors may have at one time or another financed or used the Tea Party fanatics for their own purposes, may even had a hand in creating some of that astroturf.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by VikingSword at 4:57 PM on October 1, 2013

"Singing is Serious Business Until You Find a Stick" is my favorite MeFi headline in ages. It sounds like ancient wisdom or a life lesson. Like it should be on an inspirational poster or on a pillow.
posted to MetaFilter by Slack-a-gogo at 10:17 AM on October 1, 2013

I wouldn't have expected any part of Apollo 12 to be in a solar orbit.

The S-IVB stages of Apollo 8 through 12 were all deliberatly put into a heliocentric orbit. After they plucked the LEM out of the spacecraft adapter atop the stage, NASA remotely fired the auxiliary propulsion system to deliberately slingshot the stage around the moon and into solar orbit, to make sure it couldn't hit the CSM/LEM.

From Apollo 13 onwards,... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by eriko at 8:48 PM on September 26, 2013

I like her trolls against apples and almonds (comments are so very much worth reading), though nothing ever has lived up to Text Messages from a Ghost.

. . . I pretty much like everything Mallory Ortberg has ever written.
posted to MetaFilter by jeather at 9:28 AM on September 27, 2013

I just flew in from the coats, and boy are my rams tired. #goats
posted to MetaFilter by moonmilk at 5:29 PM on September 19, 2013

I guess this is where I get to tell one of my favourite jokes:

q. How do you get 100 Canadians out of a swimming pool in a hurry?
a. Say: "Would everyone please get out of the swimming pool."
posted to MetaFilter by not_that_epiphanius at 12:26 PM on September 17, 2013

Greg Giraldo was far and away the best thing about the show. Watch him make mincemeat of reactionary idiot Denis Leary.
posted to MetaFilter by Atom Eyes at 8:45 AM on September 17, 2013

"Voyager, in case it's ever encountered by extraterrestrials, is carrying photos of life on Earth, greetings in 55 languages, and a collection of music from Gregorian chants to Chuck Berry... including 'Dark Was The Night, Cold Was The Ground' by '20s bluesman Blind Willie Johnson, whose stepmother blinded him when he was seven by throwing lye in his eyes after his father had beat her for being with another man. He died, penniless, of pneumonia after sleeping bundled in wet newspapers in... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by DirtyOldTown at 4:31 PM on September 12, 2013

McCandless' story will be forever tangled with that of Everett Ruess (previously) for me.. Both young men, both seeking some sense of extreme independence and connection with Nature... Both died in pursuit of that goal. Pretty much everything about those two men is different except for that one thing, that inner drive to confront the vastness of the planet alone and survive.

I've read a lot about Ruess, and quite a bit about McCandless, and I've felt those same pullings... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by hippybear at 5:13 PM on September 12, 2013

It's a good thing that in America people can write op-eds in newspapers disagreeing with the government and generally not fear for their lives.
posted to MetaFilter by triggerfinger at 10:33 PM on September 11, 2013

A few nights ago I found a copy of Holy Grail on YouTube and started to watch it.

It's been a few years since my Python binging days, and I haven't watched Holy Grail since. So it was a legitimate delight to realize that that film is just as brilliant and perfect as I used to think it was. Fans don't ruin everything!

Truly one of the greatest comedy groups there ever was. Few people come close. Mr. Show, Kids in the Hall, Key and Peele... all... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Rory Marinich at 5:51 PM on September 11, 2013

|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\|\

I am now an awesome machine intelligence.

Either that or you just won the 100-yard dash in Microsoft Decathlon.
posted to MetaFilter by escabeche at 3:32 PM on September 11, 2013

<marquee>possums</marquee>
posted to MetaFilter by Rock Steady at 5:26 AM on September 11, 2013

If you miss Strong Bad and Homestar Runner, may I suggest the Telltale Strong Bad (PC/Wii) games? The Brothers Chapman were obviously deeply, deeply involved in those games and they are like an interactive version of about 100 Strong Bad emails. They're stuffed full of hilarious new content as well as tons of callbacks to the Strong Bad videos.

I assume they are a big reason the Strong Bad emails stopped. I imagine the guys must've got burned out somewhat making the... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by straight at 12:05 AM on September 11, 2013

I've talked about this elsewhere on the site, but for us, the key was to develop some first principles. We decided that our first principle was "Be Kind." Everything else stems from being kind. We don't steal CDs from the library, because those CDs belong to everyone, and it's not kind to deprive others of them for our own personal use. We don't talk obnoxiously about the birthday party we're going to next week because it's not kind to talk up an experience that's forbidden to... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by KathrynT at 9:02 AM on September 9, 2013

My kids are preschool age, so this is advice geared at that group. Lots of talking about actions vs. feelings.

Also, remember that it takes time for kids to understand their own feelings, then from there, they learn to understand other people's feelings.

If you are interested in reading books, we love:

The Way I Act
The way I Feel

The biggest thing you can do with a kid who is around... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by zizzle at 7:53 AM on September 9, 2013

Adults have a fearlessness of asking questions to get the information they want. It's confidence, but it's more nuanced than that - it's the life experience to know that you don't know everything and the self assurance to show that you're no less deserving of respect for showing your desire for information. And it's reciprocal - the more you respect other people in this way (not being aloof, helping them, being clear in your communication) the more they'll respect you back. So for example, when... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Mizu at 9:24 PM on September 5, 2013 marked best answer

For the texture, we came up with the nice idea of creating a chiseled triangular depth to the logo - this causes the letter Y to appear in the shading at the ends of each of the letters.

Some days I wish time travel and those Men In Black memory wipey things existed so I could go back and stop people from remembering they noticed the FedEx arrow.
posted to MetaFilter by jason_steakums at 10:56 PM on September 5, 2013

I'm starting to think he might lose this election.
posted to MetaFilter by 4ster at 1:44 PM on September 5, 2013

"That's a mission that's hard to get excited about."

I don't really understand this point of view that chemical weapons are no worse than conventional weapons. Mustard, chlorine, and phosgene gases during WWI freaked people out. For the people who lived through that period, soldiers and the general public, it very much seemed like a qualitative difference. The organophosphates that are the nerve gases, like sarin, are... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Ivan Fyodorovich at 3:08 PM on September 1, 2013

I love this. Maybe he isn't "right" about everything, but it's what he sees. He can't be wrong about his impressions. I love getting to see my world through his eyes, no matter what the limitations are.

One of my favorite books was a tourist guide to the USA from England. It pointed out things they found odd, from baseball (explained as if you knew cricket) to the fact that a flag on a building doesn't mean it's a government building. Also not to make fun of... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by cccorlew at 7:26 AM on September 1, 2013

I have to admit that given the site, I went into this expecting this student's musings to be a vehicle for a certain pro-austerity "Americans are too over-privileged; they need to work much harder and expect much less in life to remain competitive" editorial, but I was pleasantly surprised at how favorably the U.S. comes across in some of these musings, especially the ones about helping each other succeed (without resorting to cheating) at work and at school.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by RonButNotStupid at 7:10 AM on September 1, 2013

And then all her clothes came off. And I saw everything. I saw it all.
posted to MetaFilter by bleep at 5:30 PM on August 28, 2013

These guys are the undisputed prank champions for my money, if only for their consistently good output.

(although I also loves me some Improv everywhere)
posted to MetaFilter by Popular Ethics at 9:41 PM on August 27, 2013

And not to pick on Japan only, there's also this prank on Brazilian TV that involves having a Ringu-girl appear in an elevator and scream at the rider.
posted to MetaFilter by FJT at 5:58 PM on August 27, 2013

I prefer my pranks subtler, like a fine scotch.
posted to MetaFilter by Navelgazer at 4:57 PM on August 27, 2013

It's the seed of another wikipedia.

Attempt no landings
posted to MetaFilter by thelonius at 4:20 AM on August 27, 2013

Report a stolen _________ to the police, no profit for them, hence, no action.

Smell of pot in a car or house, and bring out the SWAT team, civil forfeiture is a big revenue stream for the cops. Talk about holding you up at the end of a gun barrel...
posted to MetaFilter by dbiedny at 12:06 PM on August 26, 2013

I hope so 3: The Hopening.
posted to MetaFilter by djb at 4:39 PM on August 25, 2013

It doesn't matter if the majority of anonymous comments are trash. The question is whether the non-trash ones are worth it.

In my experience, they are. Anonymity, or pseudonymity, gives people space to voice unpopular opinions. That's a useful counterweight to groupthink. Groupthink is a trillion times more destructive than trolling, and any significant reduction in it is worth grinding through more or less any amount of dross.

Civility is not... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Hizonner at 7:56 PM on August 23, 2013

I'll never forget that time I was pranked with the overflowing basket of balloons. "Ha ha, this basket is no longer able to contain these balloons," I laughed!
posted to MetaFilter by sleevener at 10:05 AM on August 23, 2013

The point of seeing a band live is to stand the whole time making a jiggly video on your smartphone

Half joking here, but do you wanna bet the next generation of kids decides this is all a big waste of time and instead of attending "concerts" they just pay for a private mobile video download of the show they want to see? Everyone saves time and money.

I'll check back in twenty years to see if I'm right.
posted to MetaFilter by JoeZydeco at 6:47 AM on August 23, 2013

He was given a refund for that flight. He still had to purchase replacement flights, which cost him an extra $700.

This bit really jumped out at me:"Will you have any trouble following the instructions of the crew and flight attendants on board the flight?"

"No." I had no idea why this would even be in doubt.

"We have some female flight attendants. Would you be able to follow their instructions?... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Joe in Australia at 11:44 PM on August 22, 2013

Did somebody mention Don Pardo?

Born February 22, 1918... 95-and-a-half years old and still a booming voice.

Before SNL, he was staff-announcing all over NBC New York from 1944 (when it was all radio), was the first announcer for The Price Is Right (when Bill Cullen was host) and Jeopardy! (when Art Fleming was host - recreated in this Weird Al video). He also did intros for NBC Nightly News, local channel 4's Live at Five and the Macy's... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by oneswellfoop at 10:55 PM on August 22, 2013