MetaFilter posts by louigi

Tornado Engines

louigi — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 13:32:01 -0800

Atmospheric vortex engines : or, more evocatively, giant, human-controlled tornados.

The ozone layer was just jealous.

louigi — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 11:49:35 -0800

There are holes in the earth's crust! It turns out that the ozone layer was just keeping up with the Jones's; in the middle of the Atlantic ocean, there is a patch of several thousand square kilometers where the mantle is exposed. 'The team of scientists from Cardiff University stress there is no need for the public to panic about the giant hole even though they describe it as "a gaping open wound in the Earth's skin".' The scientific team departs today to investigate the hole. They will be detailing their progress on a blog. And you can ask them questions about their project, which they may answer online.

Bank robbery

louigi — Thu, 25 Jan 2007 12:22:24 -0800

How often can a customer walk into a bank and take a whole till full of cash, till and all? Well, that's what Declan Purcell did (okay, actually bailiffs acting on his behalf) after the Royal Bank of Scotland failed to comply with a court order to refund him 3400 pounds in bank fees.

Jump from one plane to another.

louigi — Fri, 18 Aug 2006 07:31:41 -0800

Whether or not you generally enjoy testosterone-ridden activities, watching Greg Gasson jump from one plane to another is pretty cool. Also: a longer video of a second such jump, plus lots of annoying commentary. Registration required.

identity theory

louigi — Wed, 01 Jun 2005 08:16:08 -0800

Interviews: Russell Banks, Susan Orlean, Tibor Fischer, Azar Nafisi. | Writing on social justice: Susan Power on Bosnia. Barbara Erenreich on poverty. | e-books: Aristotle, Emma Goldman, Buddha. | New Non-fiction, fiction. | Hundreds of Reviews. Graphic Art, Poetry, Music, and much more from identity theory, one of the best literary websites I've encountered, thanks to an incredulity-inducing amount of work by what seem to be volunteers. Wow. (Specific interviews already MeFid in these threads.)

search inside booooooooooks

louigi — Mon, 14 Feb 2005 06:04:09 -0800

whoa again. Amazon introduced "Search inside the book" a while ago, but now the searchmasters are doing it.

There's nothing Nietzsche couldn't teach ya 'bout the raising of the wrist ...

louigi — Wed, 24 Nov 2004 21:52:00 -0800

Plato was a bore. Everything Nietzsche ever wrote is available on The Nietzsche Channel, in both English and German. They have many other Nietzsche-related resources, including a quiz. (Geocities, unfortunately.)

I have a feeling we're not in Christchurch anymore, Frodo...

louigi — Wed, 27 Oct 2004 21:17:42 -0800

Hobbits found near New Zealand! A new species of human, only 4 feet tall and dating to only 18,000 years ago, has been discovered in Indonesia. It's important enough that Nature has a special issue. Even better? The tiny people hunted tiny elephants. (Journal article here, for those of you with access.)

Ye scurvy bilge rat!

louigi — Sun, 19 Sep 2004 08:54:36 -0800

What's a pirate's favorite aspect of computational linguistics? PARRRsing sentences.

Happy Talk Like a Pirate day, me hearties!

Beauty in print

louigi — Tue, 03 Aug 2004 13:13:29 -0800

Browsing at my local library, I just came across a display of the winners of this year's Canadian Awards for Excellence in Book Design. I was blown away by the design and content of The Gryphons of Paris, a limited edition collection of black-and-white photos of surpassing beauty. This led me to the web page of the photographer, Ronald Hurwitz, his city vignettes and remarkable portraits. A good reminder that not everything of value can be found on the internet.