MetaFilter posts tagged with fast

qsr drive-thru service study

aerotive — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 10:31:39 -0800

Craving some speedy, accurately prepared, clearly enunciated junk food with a typographically proper menu? QSR has released their yearly Best Drive Thru rankings, with reports for speed of service, order accuracy, speaker clarity, and menuboard appearance. Overall description of the survey, survey questions and demographics, and Methodology (via the consumerist and chicago trib)

Fast Food Apartheid

Cool Papa Bell — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 09:18:45 -0800

Fast Food Apartheid: The Los Angeles City Council has placed a one-year moratorium on the opening of fast-food restaurants in sections of the city with low-income residents. The council says it's meant to encourage healthy fare in locations that lack ready access to supermarkets and healthy restaurant. This columnist calls it "fast food apartheid." We're not talking anymore about preaching diet and exercise, disclosing calorie counts, or restricting sodas in schools. We're talking about banning the sale of food to adults. Treating French fries like cigarettes or liquor.

Go real fast.

loquacious — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 17:52:36 -0800

Since 1997 ThrustSSC holds the World Record for land speed, going as far as to officially break the sound barrier - something that the Budweiser Rocket claimed doing much earlier, but under unoffical circumstances - or outright suspicion and disbelief. With Thrust SSC looking like something out of a Podracer lineup, the inboard and outboard video is something to behold. While workman-like and almost boring in calculated precision, it can get hairy. For the hairy bit in the last video pay attention to how far the pilot drifts off course and struggles with the line of the run, just after the brief blackout in the (sorry, inherently low quality) video. "Starting to yaw, bringing it back... Bringing it back!!" It's easy to miss, but he drifts entirely off the dragged/smoothed strip just about as he's approaching the sound barrier while already hurtling along at over 500-600 miles per hour. Be sure to read the brief pilot's account about what steering that beast is like. (Same link as "sound barrier", above.) More video: -1- -2- -3- -4- This isn't the Thrust team's first jetcar, with Thrust2 previously holding the record for some time. Thrust SSC's (vintage) main site is here. Here are some links to other rocket cars and information about land speed record cars, and land speed records in general. Bonus: Video of the current un-manned rocket-sled World land speed record, and the current land speed record holder for wheel-driven speed. Yeah, I know Freud would have something to say, but sometimes a car is just a car.

Fat Profits

Pater Aletheias — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 14:01:22 -0800

"After a period of collective indigestion induced by the 2004 documentary Super Size Me and the 2001 book Fast Food Nation and its subsequent film adaptation, much of the industry is returning to its traditional customers—men—and its traditional food—meat—served up in ever-greater quantities. Although CKE's signature behemoths—the Carl's Jr. Double Six Dollar Burger and Hardee's Monster Thickburger, both introduced in 2004—out-calorie all comers, Burger King narrowed the gap with its Triple Whopper With Cheese (2005); Wendy's unveiled the Baconator (2007)...and Taco Bell awakened the industry to new possibilities with its 2006 campaign, which urged customers to enjoy a "fourth meal" each day."

It's always right - two times a day.

bigmusic — Fri, 23 May 2008 18:41:24 -0800

Fasting may be the remedy for jet lag. By overiding your clock (audio interview 12 min) that prepares your body to eat, it is likely that you can reset your body's clock. Might this be the missing step in training yourself to be an early riser? via

Correct letters in wrong positions

Blazecock Pileon — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 06:13:48 -0800

Use everyone's logic and vocabulary skills to figure out what the secret word is.

Kinda like that Fed Ex guy from the 80's

zardoz — Wed, 13 Jun 2007 04:04:49 -0800

Can you name all the books of the bible? How about all fifty U.S. states? Every U.S. president? All the Academy Awards Best Picture winners since 1927? And can you do it in under two minutes? embedded Google video

They say what boys do in these fields makes them fast. Is it a coincidence that there are so many of them in the NFL?

kyleg — Mon, 16 Apr 2007 22:58:53 -0800

"I'm not from here, so when I was told that what these boys do in the fields makes 'em fast, I didn't believe it." Welcome to Muck City.

Peak oil?

klangklangston — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 17:59:36 -0800

Go faster, shoot tankers (flash)

Lots of finger-tapping deliciousness

baphomet — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 15:25:08 -0800

Finger tapping is a very fast guitar technique in which the picking hand is used to "tap" individual notes on the fretboard, while the fretting hand can either remain stationary or be used to do hammer-ons/pull-offs to create even faster playing. Popularized in rock music by Eddie van Halen (YT, great visual example) in the late 1970's, the technique has become almost essential for speed/metal guitar players. Although finger tapping has been dismissed as "wankery" by some, I think that the intense, jazzy stylings of Stanley Jordan prove them wrong. (here is Stanley playing two guitars!) For more tapping madness you can enjoy the furious, virtuous insanity of Dragonforce (full video), and be sure not to miss the speed genius of Mr. Batio. Tapping isn't just for metal though, you can do it on a bass or an acoustic (amazing video).

Want to learn how? This lesson should get you started.

Handgun of the Future

reverendX — Mon, 10 Jul 2006 18:44:25 -0800

Metal Storm Limited specializes in weapon systems featuring rapid fire electronically fired bullets, up to 1 million a minute. The weapons platform can be used to make the worlds strongest handgun as well as be used to equip unmanned drones with firepower. The most frightening of which is perhaps the "dragonfly" micro copter. Their site has a number of videos showcasing some of the various weapons applications. Metal Storm has been around for a while, without getting a product to market, but with a recent influx of funding it doesn't look like they are going to go out of business any time soon.

Feel the need for speed?

RonZ — Wed, 14 Sep 2005 09:17:52 -0800

Feel the need for speed? Dodge Tomahawk motorcycle. 0-60MPH in 2.5 seconds and top speed 300+ MPH. Maverick from Top Gun woulda loved one of these. (Flash intro with rather loud music)

Annoyed by the oven mitt

tb0n3 — Wed, 01 Dec 2004 19:41:39 -0800

Everybody loves to hate the Arby's oven mitt. A slightly crazed version of mitt-hate. An editorial on how the commercials could have been amusing, but instead fell flat. Finally, scary stuff you can buy from Arby's (link on the left nav, can't link directly).

Does vomiting count as fasting? Then sign me up for this one!

XQUZYPHYR — Mon, 24 Feb 2003 22:08:46 -0800

Fast for George W. Bush. "If you are willing to fast at least one day a month primarily for George W. Bush's holiness (and other areas, such as bipartisan work among the Democrats and Republicans, Wisdom in his work, wisdom for his cabinet, healing for our nation, etc. ... but primarily holiness) then we encourage you to sign up and join us [...] Our goal is to have 1,000 people fasting for the President each day. That will greatly encourage him and keep him accountable when the Evil One seeks to sidetrack him from his commitment to the Lord. "