MetaFilter posts by paulsc

No word yet on a national odd sock exchange...

paulsc — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 04:18:28 -0800

The National Odd Shoe Exchange is a non-profit organization that is a source of footwear for those requiring single shoes or pairs of differing sizes. Many have this need due to injury, disease or genetic disorders.

Boys with bigger toys make more noise.

paulsc — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 00:18:11 -0800

Two Weeks Till Takeoff. The oldest, and only civilian owned Sea Harrier jump jet gets drafted for the air show circuit, after minor problems.

"An execution is an execution."

paulsc — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 00:35:04 -0800

Mecca's Executioner. A 2006 interview with Abdullah Bin Said al-Bishi, a man who wields his sword as one of Saudi Arabia's official executioners. (11:30 minute .wvx Windows Media file or written transcripts.)

Ubiquitous, useful wooden slivers

paulsc — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 13:48:00 -0800

It took Yankee manufacturing and marketing savvy to make the humble wooden toothpick a profitable business. But once it was a common item, accessories and accoutrements necessarily followed, in capitalistic, if sometimes whimsical certainty , and continue, to this day. The small wooden slivers have even become art, toys, architecture and science projects.

A worthy life, deserving of re-consideration.

paulsc — Sat, 29 Dec 2007 22:10:16 -0800

"At age 21, Eric Kamau Gravatt was McCoy Tyner's drummer, one of the most coveted jobs a jazz musician could hope to get. After 20 years of working as a prison guard, he's back behind the kit again as Tyner's drummer."

A Tribute to a Friend, and A Plea

paulsc — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 20:04:45 -0800

Even Astronauts Commit Suicide. Former Navy doctor, astronaut and Space Shuttle mission specialist, ham radio operator, and one time flight surgeon of The Blue Angels, Dr. Chuck Brady, was denied a hip replacement by the Navy shortly before he took his own life in July, 2006, and, according to his friend Dr. Ed Drum, this was a pivotal point in the depression that led Dr. Brady to apparently take his own life.

Good Night, Sweet Icarus

paulsc — Sat, 01 Sep 2007 16:36:00 -0800

R.I.P Paul B. MacCready Paul MacCready, inventor of the Gossamer Condor, the first human powered heavier-than-air aircraft, and the Gossamer Albatross, the first human powered aircraft to cross the English Channel, has died, according to AeroVironment, the company he founded.

"You can do all kinds of things if you just plunge ahead," he said in an interview with Science in 1986. "It doesn't mean you're any good at them, but you can be good enough."

Second chance heaven.

paulsc — Tue, 14 Aug 2007 19:46:21 -0800

St. Louis Cardinals' manager Tony La Russa loves re-treads more than a long distance trucker. And even though the Cards are often willing to take a chance on former big league players with problems, their latest retrieval from the scrap heap is unusual, even for them. At the ripe old age of 28, former pitching phenom Rick Ankiel is back. As a hitter.

Thinking out of the box.

paulsc — Sun, 29 Apr 2007 08:13:43 -0800

Foldschool offers free downloadable PDF patterns you can use to make children's furniture and "fun objects" out of 4mm corrugated cardboard. via

A ship is safe in the harbor, but that is not why ships are built.

paulsc — Tue, 05 Dec 2006 10:53:25 -0800

Make Life Better with a Sailboat-in-a-Closet. A multi-section plywood meditation for overcoming life's vicissitudes through apartment woodworking.