MetaFilter posts by fleener.
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The Childbirth Centrifuge You must be pregnant to ride this ride. Why push your baby out when you can spin the sucker out? This device probably makes one mean martini, too. Unlike many patent applications, the Apparatus for Facilitating the Birth of a Child by Centrifugal Force is described in great detail, making me wonder whether a prototype actually got constructed. Link goes to a summary. Click through for the completely confusing text of the patent.
posted on Jan-25-07 at 11:18 AM
Compare the death count from the tsunami to the deaths at the World Trade Center using graphs. Rob Cockerham took a break from his victimless pranks to help put things in perspective. Those without a giant monitor will have to do some horizontal scrolling.
posted on Dec-31-04 at 1:19 PM
Heartless response An American couple survived while diving off Thailand during the tsunami. Because they had lost all their possessions, they had to have new passports issued. At the Bangkok airport other governments had set up booths to assist their citizens. The couple searched there for officials from the American consulate for three hours, before finding them in the VIP lounge. Oh, and U.S. officials demanded payment before taking any passport pictures.
posted on Dec-29-04 at 7:27 AM
Apologies not accepted. In response to Sorry Everybody.com.
posted on Dec-6-04 at 6:26 PM
Twenty-one reasons Bush took us to war Now in convenient chart form for those of you playing along at home.
posted on Oct-23-04 at 10:11 AM
Pirates and Emperors is the story of America's funding of terrorists (freedom fighters) put to music and animation, ala Schoolhouse Rock. It's a simple civics lesson that even elementary school kids, and our nation's highest leader, can understand. (link via BoingBoing)
posted on Oct-15-04 at 5:40 AM
Blog catches FoxNews.com in mocking fabrication Are you surprised it was in a story quoting Senator Kerry? (A sequential account. Scroll upward to follow developments.)
posted on Oct-1-04 at 9:34 PM
Sleeping with the president is not a good idea. Bush had no answers to big questions, such as 'what happens on the morning after.' The Daily Telegraph reports that documents show Prime Minister Tony Blair signed up to the U.S. policy of regime change in March 2002, a year before the conflict started... after he was warned that postwar stability would be difficult and the U.S. had few answers. Oh, no problem. This week, Bush said he is 'pleased with the progress' in Iraq.'
posted on Sep-19-04 at 7:18 AM
Who bombed Judi Bari? We'll likely never know because of FBI bungling. Pursue and blame the victim to stifle activist speech. So is this a running theme at the FBI?
posted on Jun-12-02 at 6:16 AM
Bigots are alive and well in America. Here we are still fighting for equal rights for all Americans. Some will find this link uplifting because of the outpouring of community support, but to me it's just another sign of how quickly intolerance turns to attempted murder.
posted on Feb-10-02 at 11:25 AM
Niches of Trust is an Online Journalism Review article about three 'consumer journalism' sites run by individuals who come from journalism backgrounds. They do something now rare in corporate media - provide honest information separate from advertiser influence and, when necessary, are critical of the business or product being reviewed. The sites are The Car Place, Theme Park Insider and Consumer World. What are your favorite run-by-one-person sites that provide critical analysis of products?
posted on Jan-27-02 at 4:21 PM
Do you support the WTO? No one protested the WTO 2001 Summit. Perhaps because you were too busy going to the bathroom 10 times a day. Don't miss the thousand names contest.
posted on Dec-23-01 at 10:53 AM
Rabbits with big pointy teeth are on my list of gifts for friends this holiday season. What other cool gifts are there that you can get for under $50?
posted on Dec-13-01 at 2:15 PM
You too can piss off Jerry Falwell. It seems Bev of FunnyTheWorld had an idea: "...when Christmas comes around this year and all those [Salvation Army bell-ringing] Santas take to the streets, I will have a card ready to slip into the pot. The card will let them know that I really wanted to contribute money for them to help the needy at Christmas time, but because of their homophobic philosophy, I have taken the money I would have donated and have given it, instead, to a local AIDS organization." Well, Saundra of HeadSpace liked the idea too and shared it with gay-rights organizations. Now Jerry Falwell is pissed off.
posted on Nov-29-01 at 6:49 PM
Hackers: a report on the Internet's vulnerabilities Anyone see the original broadcast of this PBS "Front Line" special? Any good? It airs again Nov. 29, 2001.
posted on Nov-29-01 at 1:58 PM
Vote Wil Wheaton 'Entertainer of the Year' in Entertainment Weekly's poll. As one Farkster put it, "a vote for Wil Wheaton is a vote for messing with the normals." Won't Britney Spears be crushed? At the moment "Wil" is leading, but his evil twin "Will" is coming up fast.
posted on Nov-22-01 at 11:09 AM
President takes month-long vacation After 6 months of delegating work to Cheney and others, who doesn't deserve a vacation three-times longer than the average American earns in a year? Good work Dubya! It's Miller Time!
posted on Aug-3-01 at 5:23 AM
Citizen wins 3-year battle on bogus jaywalking ticket, but his lawyer pockets most of the $27,500 settlement. Ahh, well, at least he fought the good fight and won.
posted on Jul-20-01 at 6:37 AM
France's 35-hour work week has boosted the economy and proved a hit with both employees and their bosses. "If the French experiment works then the UK Government may be forced to look at France rather than the U.S. for new ideas about reforming the jobs market." Thanks to AlterNet for the link.
posted on Jun-30-01 at 8:39 AM
Invictus is the name of the poem Timothy McVeigh provided as his last words. Written by William Ernest Henley more than a 100 years ago the name means "undefeated" in Latin. What poetry would you use for your last words?
posted on Jun-11-01 at 9:03 AM
Highest gas prices in the country will accompany your vacation to the beautiful redwood country. They're now the subject of a folk song (mp3) (framed parent link: khum.com).
posted on May-7-01 at 9:30 AM
These facts and figures about our TV viewing habits (PDF) come from the TV Turnoff Network, which is busy promoting TV-Turnoff Week April 23-29. Can you quit cold turkey for one week? At first it's seriously difficult to fight the urge to turn on and veg-out. But after the first few days you discover you have time for everything you always wanted to do, although the TV urge doesn't disappear quite so quick.
posted on Apr-23-01 at 4:01 PM
Sheriff defies order to return medical marijuana Is it any wonder this is the game guy tied to dabbing eyeballs with pepper spray?
posted on Mar-30-01 at 7:44 AM
It's going to get ugly a few years from now. Mad Cow Disease has an incubation period of between 10 and 16 years (or even as much as 30 years). Significant exposure predates 1985. Oh joy.
posted on Mar-22-01 at 9:47 AM
NBC apologizes to Latinos for 'Law & Order' episode The network's action was swiftly criticized by Dick Wolf, executive producer of the long-running legal drama. So a TV network caves into a lobbying group, even though the episode was based on real events.
posted on Jan-28-01 at 9:12 AM
"My Untold Story" - What if we threw a presidential campaign and nobody came? Ralph explains how he tried to engage the press, and why it didn't work.
posted on Jan-26-01 at 6:29 PM
Jakob takes on the presidency in this Wired review of whitehouse.gov.
posted on Jan-23-01 at 7:14 AM
How the Grinch Stole Election Day The Grinch hated voting! He thought it a bore. Now, please don't ask why. Could be Bush, could be Gore.
posted on Nov-26-00 at 8:36 AM
posted on Jan-25-07 at 11:18 AM
Compare the death count from the tsunami to the deaths at the World Trade Center using graphs. Rob Cockerham took a break from his victimless pranks to help put things in perspective. Those without a giant monitor will have to do some horizontal scrolling.
posted on Dec-31-04 at 1:19 PM
Heartless response An American couple survived while diving off Thailand during the tsunami. Because they had lost all their possessions, they had to have new passports issued. At the Bangkok airport other governments had set up booths to assist their citizens. The couple searched there for officials from the American consulate for three hours, before finding them in the VIP lounge. Oh, and U.S. officials demanded payment before taking any passport pictures.
posted on Dec-29-04 at 7:27 AM
Apologies not accepted. In response to Sorry Everybody.com.
posted on Dec-6-04 at 6:26 PM
Twenty-one reasons Bush took us to war Now in convenient chart form for those of you playing along at home.
posted on Oct-23-04 at 10:11 AM
Pirates and Emperors is the story of America's funding of terrorists (freedom fighters) put to music and animation, ala Schoolhouse Rock. It's a simple civics lesson that even elementary school kids, and our nation's highest leader, can understand. (link via BoingBoing)
posted on Oct-15-04 at 5:40 AM
Blog catches FoxNews.com in mocking fabrication Are you surprised it was in a story quoting Senator Kerry? (A sequential account. Scroll upward to follow developments.)
posted on Oct-1-04 at 9:34 PM
Sleeping with the president is not a good idea. Bush had no answers to big questions, such as 'what happens on the morning after.' The Daily Telegraph reports that documents show Prime Minister Tony Blair signed up to the U.S. policy of regime change in March 2002, a year before the conflict started... after he was warned that postwar stability would be difficult and the U.S. had few answers. Oh, no problem. This week, Bush said he is 'pleased with the progress' in Iraq.'
posted on Sep-19-04 at 7:18 AM
Who bombed Judi Bari? We'll likely never know because of FBI bungling. Pursue and blame the victim to stifle activist speech. So is this a running theme at the FBI?
posted on Jun-12-02 at 6:16 AM
Bigots are alive and well in America. Here we are still fighting for equal rights for all Americans. Some will find this link uplifting because of the outpouring of community support, but to me it's just another sign of how quickly intolerance turns to attempted murder.
posted on Feb-10-02 at 11:25 AM
Niches of Trust is an Online Journalism Review article about three 'consumer journalism' sites run by individuals who come from journalism backgrounds. They do something now rare in corporate media - provide honest information separate from advertiser influence and, when necessary, are critical of the business or product being reviewed. The sites are The Car Place, Theme Park Insider and Consumer World. What are your favorite run-by-one-person sites that provide critical analysis of products?
posted on Jan-27-02 at 4:21 PM
Do you support the WTO? No one protested the WTO 2001 Summit. Perhaps because you were too busy going to the bathroom 10 times a day. Don't miss the thousand names contest.
posted on Dec-23-01 at 10:53 AM
Rabbits with big pointy teeth are on my list of gifts for friends this holiday season. What other cool gifts are there that you can get for under $50?
posted on Dec-13-01 at 2:15 PM
You too can piss off Jerry Falwell. It seems Bev of FunnyTheWorld had an idea: "...when Christmas comes around this year and all those [Salvation Army bell-ringing] Santas take to the streets, I will have a card ready to slip into the pot. The card will let them know that I really wanted to contribute money for them to help the needy at Christmas time, but because of their homophobic philosophy, I have taken the money I would have donated and have given it, instead, to a local AIDS organization." Well, Saundra of HeadSpace liked the idea too and shared it with gay-rights organizations. Now Jerry Falwell is pissed off.
posted on Nov-29-01 at 6:49 PM
Hackers: a report on the Internet's vulnerabilities Anyone see the original broadcast of this PBS "Front Line" special? Any good? It airs again Nov. 29, 2001.
posted on Nov-29-01 at 1:58 PM
Vote Wil Wheaton 'Entertainer of the Year' in Entertainment Weekly's poll. As one Farkster put it, "a vote for Wil Wheaton is a vote for messing with the normals." Won't Britney Spears be crushed? At the moment "Wil" is leading, but his evil twin "Will" is coming up fast.
posted on Nov-22-01 at 11:09 AM
President takes month-long vacation After 6 months of delegating work to Cheney and others, who doesn't deserve a vacation three-times longer than the average American earns in a year? Good work Dubya! It's Miller Time!
posted on Aug-3-01 at 5:23 AM
Citizen wins 3-year battle on bogus jaywalking ticket, but his lawyer pockets most of the $27,500 settlement. Ahh, well, at least he fought the good fight and won.
posted on Jul-20-01 at 6:37 AM
France's 35-hour work week has boosted the economy and proved a hit with both employees and their bosses. "If the French experiment works then the UK Government may be forced to look at France rather than the U.S. for new ideas about reforming the jobs market." Thanks to AlterNet for the link.
posted on Jun-30-01 at 8:39 AM
Invictus is the name of the poem Timothy McVeigh provided as his last words. Written by William Ernest Henley more than a 100 years ago the name means "undefeated" in Latin. What poetry would you use for your last words?
posted on Jun-11-01 at 9:03 AM
Highest gas prices in the country will accompany your vacation to the beautiful redwood country. They're now the subject of a folk song (mp3) (framed parent link: khum.com).
posted on May-7-01 at 9:30 AM
These facts and figures about our TV viewing habits (PDF) come from the TV Turnoff Network, which is busy promoting TV-Turnoff Week April 23-29. Can you quit cold turkey for one week? At first it's seriously difficult to fight the urge to turn on and veg-out. But after the first few days you discover you have time for everything you always wanted to do, although the TV urge doesn't disappear quite so quick.
posted on Apr-23-01 at 4:01 PM
Sheriff defies order to return medical marijuana Is it any wonder this is the game guy tied to dabbing eyeballs with pepper spray?
posted on Mar-30-01 at 7:44 AM
It's going to get ugly a few years from now. Mad Cow Disease has an incubation period of between 10 and 16 years (or even as much as 30 years). Significant exposure predates 1985. Oh joy.
posted on Mar-22-01 at 9:47 AM
NBC apologizes to Latinos for 'Law & Order' episode The network's action was swiftly criticized by Dick Wolf, executive producer of the long-running legal drama. So a TV network caves into a lobbying group, even though the episode was based on real events.
posted on Jan-28-01 at 9:12 AM
"My Untold Story" - What if we threw a presidential campaign and nobody came? Ralph explains how he tried to engage the press, and why it didn't work.
posted on Jan-26-01 at 6:29 PM
Jakob takes on the presidency in this Wired review of whitehouse.gov.
posted on Jan-23-01 at 7:14 AM
How the Grinch Stole Election Day The Grinch hated voting! He thought it a bore. Now, please don't ask why. Could be Bush, could be Gore.
posted on Nov-26-00 at 8:36 AM