I was all set to debate, but like, my printer's been acting weird, so like, I couldn't print out my debate cards? And then something with the economy happened? And then like, my roommate asked me to help him with his econ work? 'Cause like, he's really worried? It would just help me a lot if I could have like one more day to work on this.
posted to MetaFilter by Greg Nog at 12:34 PM on September 24, 2008

McCain can't handle a debate. Palin can't handle a press conference. Let's just cancel the election and put these guys in charge of the free world already.
posted to MetaFilter by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 12:37 PM on September 24, 2008

It's weird that people think their gut is the same as everyone's gut. When I heard McCain was trying to shut down the debate, my gut said he was using an idiotic excuse to back out of a debate that he fears. Who says swing voters don't have my gut and not yours?
posted to MetaFilter by Astro Zombie at 1:23 PM on September 24, 2008

Man with all due respect to our fundamentalist/dominionist hardcore conservative friends, if there is a God and there were a time that God Himself sought to intervene in American politics, it has got to be happening now. A cat-5 hurricane predicted to hit new orleans during the start of the RNC convention, and a market shock/financial system collapse timed with the fall run up to an election between an old Republican drone (and a cynical faux religious half-wit with a pregnant teen daughter as... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by psmealey at 2:38 PM on September 24, 2008

Well any time you see one of these lists you have to keep in mind that it's all subjective and there are always personal differences but the important thing to keep in mind *HEY* .... um... the important thing *HEY* *HEY!!!!!!*

(*Sigh*) Pardon me but the 14 year old version of myself wishes to say something....

*WHAT ABOUT THE ALIEN FROM ALIEN*

Well, yes, that's a perfect example of what I was saying. Too you, well to us,... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Bonzai at 6:55 PM on September 23, 2008

Observe: Sarah Palin has a nice ass. Orient: Her ass is on the bottom of her backside. Decide: I want that ass on my ticket. Act: Stand back and ogle.
posted to MetaFilter by dances_with_sneetches at 7:20 AM on September 11, 2008

Or a conscience.

If you say so. I wouldn't know.
posted to MetaFilter by Mr. President Dr. Steve Elvis America at 5:35 PM on September 9, 2008

I live in a bedroom-community-within-the-city in Toronto. We have one bus route that loops one-way through the whole community. Each loop takes about 17 minutes, and you're never further than about a 5 minute walk from the bus route. Bus starts at around 6:30AM, last loop at 12:30PM. Just one bus, two drivers. Could something like that work for you?
posted to Ask Metafilter by dirtynumbangelboy at 10:47 AM on August 22, 2008

One thing...redneck [not equal to] hillbilly. This is an important distinction if you are a redneck.
posted to Ask Metafilter by phunniemee at 6:55 PM on July 9, 2008

Here are some more Hitchens headlines:

Hitchens: Ocean Large, Wet
Sun Describes Arc Across Southern Sky
Babies Simultaneously Cuddly, Smelly

Fuck this guy and his stupid stunt and his stupid war. No amount of sanctimonious self-indulgent penance will shrive Hitchens and his pundit pals of their guilt.
posted to MetaFilter by Mister_A at 9:23 AM on July 2, 2008

I hope Hitchens will volunteer for an experiment I have devised–I will test the hypothesis that getting kicked in the nuts repeatedly constitutes torture.
posted to MetaFilter by Mister_A at 9:30 AM on July 2, 2008

They tricked him into it by telling him they were going to stick his head in a tub full of whiskey.
posted to MetaFilter by briank at 10:17 AM on July 2, 2008

From the article:

if waterboarding does not constitute torture, then there is no such thing as torture.

Listen liberal Hitchens-haters like me, this is the sound of us winning! We could, y'know, not be such sore winners. Then maybe more people will want to change their minds as well.

Of course, if you just want to show how you've been so right all along, then full steam ahead with the silly invective!
posted to MetaFilter by ferdydurke at 10:58 AM on July 2, 2008

lukemeister: Time to turn this thread into a limerick contest.

A blogger named Violet Blue,
considered by some taboo,
last year or last night,
was erased from the site...
The official response was "Who?"
posted to MetaFilter by zachxman at 10:19 AM on July 1, 2008

They're really digging themselves into a hole.

Also known as unclimbing out of the unsky.
posted to MetaFilter by Blazecock Pileon at 3:00 PM on July 1, 2008

ODD to be so dismissive of Zinsser. He has a number of best selling books out; (ah)has taught writing at elite colleges; is highly regarded for his work on non-fiction prose writing in all fields.
If you are so unfamiliar with a writer so well known for so many years by so many intelligent writers and readers, then you ought not use foul language to show your "superiority."
posted to MetaFilter by Postroad at 2:41 PM on June 22, 2008

The researchers estimate that 5.4 million people died from 1955 to 2002 as a result of wars in 13 countries.

So?
posted to MetaFilter by telstar at 11:10 PM on June 20, 2008

Delete
posted to Ask Metafilter by pieoverdone at 5:25 AM on June 19, 2008

I just ignore it. People are generally doing it to be helpful and to maintain contact. Some people just don't know how to write a personal email. Other than a couple seconds of time, costs me nothing to receive these. It makes them feel a little better to have sent it.

If it's something that could put the person in danger, then I correct it by sending a snopes link. Otherwise, I just ignore it.
posted to Ask Metafilter by 26.2 at 6:44 AM on June 19, 2008

within 24hours - gotta draw a line somewhere
Should i send you 1 message for every game name or just put them all into one for convenience?
posted to MetaFilter by Citizen Premier at 5:15 PM on June 17, 2008

The worst book? Catcher in the Rye. Read it when I was 22. I just completely missed the boat. I kept thinking, "this guy's a total dickhead."
posted to MetaFilter by parmanparman at 3:45 PM on June 15, 2008

Worst book I've ever voluntarily read: The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald.
The worst book? Catcher in the Rye

Ooh fun! Can I play?
Worst play ever: Hamlet. Awful.
worst band: The Beatles. Just terrible.
Worst animal: Puppies. Puppies are a bunch of bullshit.
posted to MetaFilter by drjimmy11 at 5:00 PM on June 15, 2008

It would be traditional to begin the course enthusiastically, then give up about half an hour in.
posted to MetaFilter by Abiezer at 6:35 AM on June 16, 2008

These people seem to have very little understanding of what life was like in 1000 AD.

I'd like to rephrase my previous post: people seem to have very little understanding of what life was like in 1000 AD.
posted to MetaFilter by Pollomacho at 10:12 AM on June 11, 2008

Big hit in China and spawned local versions in Beijing, Hong Kong and Taipei.

But you know that those local versions would be utterly watchable. Carrie would be exploited by the corrupt owner of the free sheet she writes for, then get into terrible debt borrowing money from loan sharks to buy Jimmy Choo originals rather than the more sensible knockoffs most local girls of limited means wear. Unable to pay, she would be forced to work in a Mongkok... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by PeterMcDermott at 3:49 AM on June 1, 2008

If You Can Read This

You have eaten
the plums
that were in
the icebox

and which
I was
saving
for breakfast

They would
have been delicious
so sweet
and so cold

I hope
your head
falls off
posted to MetaFilter by designbot at 2:56 PM on May 31, 2008

...Colin Powell has revealed that he spent 2½ hours vainly trying to persuade President George W. Bush not to invade Iraq...

Wow. An entire two and a half hours. Well, I guess he tried his best. He's off the hook.
posted to MetaFilter by goatdog at 8:51 AM on May 28, 2008

Well, why, all of a sudden, if he had all these grave concerns, did he not raise these sooner? This is one-and-a-half years after he left the administration. And now, all of a sudden, he's raising these grave concerns that he claims he had.

-- Scott McLellan [via]
posted to MetaFilter by kirkaracha at 10:55 PM on May 28, 2008

Well, paging LanguageHat, obviously. However this is a trivial search in the BNC. The tag for all adjectives is AJ? and for all nouns is NN? (see the list of all tags). Using the 'explore' search for 2-grams and sorting by descending frequency you get:

p
right hon. 2963
roman catholic 645
latin american 515
only other 463
other european 455
social democratic 446
other... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by unSane at 5:13 AM on May 29, 2008

The right thing to do is agree to work with them, yield no useful information, and collect as much info about the FBI's probes as possible to report back to the community and the news media. What this country lacks is effective counter-intelligence, goddammit.
posted to MetaFilter by kaibutsu at 4:11 PM on May 27, 2008

AD CAMPAIGN (wrapped up in smug retro gooiness) MAKES US DOUBT OURSELVES (by preying on our fears of drudgery in the Age of Robot Leisure) AND GAINS TRACTION (as a new cultural signpost) BY SWINGING THE PENDULUM TO INFANTILISM (decaying empires suck--let's party like adolescents) BECAUSE OF THE WAR.
Thanks for letting me get that outta my system.
posted to MetaFilter by Dizzy at 4:21 AM on May 27, 2008

The expiration dates on cartons of eggs do not have to be very precise, so there's a little bit of leeway in what's actually printed. But the cartons also have the Julian date on which they were packaged stamped on them, which is a more reliable way to determine how fresh the eggs are.

In my experience, telling missionaries that I am atheist or agnostic does not make them give up. Telling them that I am Jewish almost always does. The exception is with Mormon missionaries,... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by ErWenn at 8:02 PM on May 26, 2008

I have The Woodbook and What Wood Is That? and they're both good. But I'd really love to have the Lie-Nielsen Wood Sampler. There are 46 samples, each 6" by 3" by 1/2". Only North American woods are included, so she'll have to augment the set herself later on.
posted to Ask Metafilter by wryly at 11:10 AM on May 25, 2008 marked best answer

I am afraid that this decision opens a Pandora’s Box that the Administration will now be unable to close.

Oh yeah. THAT's the misstep that'll unleash hell on future generations. The polar bear policy!
posted to MetaFilter by rokusan at 10:10 PM on May 14, 2008

Holy living stupid fuck. Yes, this will put a crimp in Alaska's economic growth plans. People - it's goddamned Alaska. It's a frigging wilderness. We can live without raping it. These stupid idiot Alaskan senators should make their #1 job getting people the hell out of Alaska, not creating jobs.

Fuck - this makes me incoherently mad. You stupid fucks.
posted to MetaFilter by GuyZero at 10:25 PM on May 14, 2008

Dare I? Dare I?

Christ, what an asshole.
posted to MetaFilter by notsnot at 4:02 AM on May 15, 2008

Can't blame him: that's one hell of a sand trap he hit into.
posted to MetaFilter by Kinbote at 4:37 PM on May 13, 2008

How is using electricity to generate a gas out of water and then burning that gas ever going to be more efficient than using the electricity itself to power your car's motor?

Not more efficient than x. There's going to be massive energy loss in this system - which is why people are looking for ways of generating more HHO gas with less electricity.

What it is, however, is more accessible, less toxic and runs on existing... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by loquacious at 5:57 PM on May 13, 2008

Hasn't it always been the duty of the Court Jester to tell the Emperor that he's not wearing any clothes?
posted to MetaFilter by blue_beetle at 11:18 AM on May 8, 2008

The question of journalist "balance" is an interesting one. One is tempted to just throw this principle out; however the prospect of left-news with FOX's intellectual deadness is hardly thrilling, even were it to agree completely with my own perspective. It seems that there are certain procedures that one might look for in "serious" television news:

1) The presentation of coherent oppositional views.

2) A willingness to... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by washburn at 11:33 AM on May 8, 2008

I'm not sure what happened, but I can only hope that congress is retroactively making it legal as we speak.
posted to MetaFilter by kittens for breakfast at 10:15 AM on May 6, 2008

Let's see...

Justice Department was being manipulated by Karl Rove in the firings of attorneys. Special Counsels office is investigating that. Karl Rove's office was using Special Counsel's office to harrass and intimidate whistle blowers, certainly in the Dept. of Justice and the GSA. GSA was being used by Karl Rove's office to reward Republican donors and get the Republican message out. Former GSA head now arguing that the whistleblower system is broken and needs to be... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by afflatus at 10:58 AM on May 6, 2008

By which I mean either "have a cameo" or "make a cameo appearance". Time for another Heming-WAHEY! (mojito served inside a shotgun barrel, with a fun little paper umbrella).
posted to Ask Metafilter by turgid dahlia at 9:26 PM on May 5, 2008

I have a feeling that all you twitter bashers are just a bunch of defeated old farts

I'd actually give two shits about twitter if it was for defeated old farts.

"I just scowled at some kids who stepped on my property."

"I'm down at the grocery store, with 300 coins of various denominations, about to buy $45 worth of groceries."

"I'm... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by cashman at 11:18 AM on May 5, 2008

I have a feeling that all you twitter bashers are just a bunch of defeated old farts that don't like anything new or popular.

I like plenty of things that are new and popular, but the thing is, I don't have time or attention to track something like Twitter. I would have loved it in my 20s when I was more concerned with my social world, it was more volatile, and I had more time.

I have only a few communications indulgences... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Miko at 11:20 AM on May 5, 2008

More ^

an hour to let them down wetting all myself always with some brandnew fad every other week such a long one I did I forgot my suede gloves on the seat behind
about 2 hours ago by mollyb from im

when I stood up and asked the girl where it was what do I care with it dropping out of me and that black closed breeches he made me buy takes you half
about 2 hours ago by mollyb from im

laughing and... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by ormondsacker at 5:40 PM on May 5, 2008

This art is lousy
posted to MetaFilter by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 at 6:00 AM on May 2, 2008

limerick:

Inside a museum there's a German
Who has covered himself with white vermin.
The sight isn't nice.
HE'S COVERED WITH LICE!
Is it Art? I don't know, but I'm squirmin'.

haiku:

i came to see art
but parasites follow me
and get hefty grants
posted to MetaFilter by crazylegs at 6:51 AM on May 2, 2008

I'd advise calling them and asking. They'd know better than anyone else.
posted to Ask Metafilter by goatdog at 6:50 AM on April 25, 2008

Ivanov's trailer house. Left, the front of the house and the picnic table. One of the windows is open. In front of the picnic table is a broad semicircular space from which weed-lined walks lead left and right. Right, rows of vegetables and plastic chairs. On the picnic table, a lamp is burning. Evening; it is growing dark. As the curtain rises, we hear music from the boombox. Ivanov sits by the table and reads. Borkin appears at the end of one of the walks, wearing shitkicker boots... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by languagehat at 8:09 AM on April 24, 2008