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Credit Card Nation? And people who bought this book also purchased Fast Food Nation. Is the U.S., then, no longer Prozac Nation. Do we live in Hackneyed Nonfiction Title Nation? Or is it really a Credit Card Abusing, Fast-Food Eating Nation on Prozac?
posted by raysmj at 9:24 PM PST - 17 comments

fast company on customer service The thing I loved about this article was the associated forum filled with customer service horror stories. Air travel, cable tv companies, and customer service seem to be things people love to complain about.
posted by rdr at 8:36 PM PST - 5 comments

I spy again As that great American icon says in her song: oophs, I did it again. America to send another spy plane to cruise the Chinese coast. Jesse, keep your bag packed.
posted by Postroad at 7:30 PM PST - 28 comments

"Having flown around the earth in the first satellite I saw how beautiful our planet is, let us not destroy it!"

Remembering Yuri Gagarin, 40 years on.
posted by holgate at 7:22 PM PST - 8 comments

Linus doesn't hate Mac OS X after all. Contrary to what you may have heard, Linus Torvalds has said in an interview with LinuxWorld that he actually has nothing against Mac OS X--as some people here suspected, the original article seems to have been more aimed at creating controversy than at conveying information.
posted by moss at 7:03 PM PST - 2 comments

Astounding Websites dies This evening I received an email from "Big" Dave Bastian with the sad announcement of one of the best online design communities the web had to offer. (more inside)
posted by Brilliantcrank at 7:01 PM PST - 33 comments

Themestream Sinks Just got an email TODAY saying Themestream will "close its doors on April 13, 2001." They also say that they "believe it is very unlikely that we will be able to pay any other creditors- including contributors." Oh, also, you have until April 12 to download your articles if you don't have local copies.
posted by thunder at 4:51 PM PST - 9 comments

Charlotte Judge Says Get Married Or Move Out If you want to be released on bond in U.S. Magistrate Judge Carl Horn's court, you've got to stop breaking that 1805 law against shacking up. He doesn't release habitual lawbreakers! Note that he's a federal judge, enforcing a North Carolina Class 2 misdemeanor.
posted by BT at 4:33 PM PST - 13 comments

Kozmo is dead. I know they weren't making much money, they spent too much on advertising, and they were eventually going to go away, but they're possibly the most convenient and useful service on the web (amazon being the only thing close). I'm sorry to see them go, they were the greatest thing in the world when you're sick or when it's too late to go out for videos and ice cream (kozmo.com is unreachable already).
posted by mathowie at 3:59 PM PST - 47 comments

Harry Secombe passes at 79. I just saw the Peter Sellers bio on American Movie Classics the other day, and found out how important The Goon Show was in the history of comedy. A Hard Day's Night and Monty Python had their roots in this groundbreaking British radio show that ran from 1949-1960.
posted by aflakete at 3:51 PM PST - 12 comments

Slate's MeZine Central offers a sampling of politically oriented journalists' sites, featuring what they call "The Best Political Weblogs".
posted by frednorman at 3:43 PM PST - 0 comments - Post a Comment

Execution for Dummies, special McVeigh edition. The Bureau of Prisons has thoughtfully printed up a 56-page how-to guide for those in charge of putting Tim McVeigh to death. Now you can follow along in the comfort of your own home!
posted by aaron at 3:06 PM PST - 4 comments

Future Moon Base Sited

the key points:
Shackleton crater (best image)
a resource of hydrogen, likely in the form of water ice, ammonia, and other materials
at the Moon’s south pole and is some 30 kilometers in size
peak of external light - more or less continual Sun. solar energy becomes usable all the time. in the permanently shadowed areas in that region, various astronomical instruments could be operated with telescopic optics kept cold and stable
posted by Sean Meade at 2:29 PM PST - 15 comments

This link is copyright, Eric Costello... aka Glish. No, really, he's serious. Is this really necessary? Comments?
posted by silusGROK at 1:26 PM PST - 40 comments

Dodge ball getting flack for being too dangerous. Nevermind football, field hockey, or lacrosse. *sigh* Shame is, as the awkward, non-athletic kid they're trying to protect, dodge ball was my savior. It allowed me to fully participate in PE without the loss of dignity necessitated by other, mainstream sports.
posted by silusGROK at 1:23 PM PST - 40 comments

75% of Americans favor Government funding of faith-based organizations. However, when asked about specific faiths, that number drops dramatically to 38% for Buddhist Temples and 29% for the Nation of Islam. So what did they expect, their own religion should get funds, but no others?
posted by quirked at 1:18 PM PST - 36 comments

Arrest imperils an internet grant Those who can teach, teach. But sometimes they get drunk instead and lose a nice grant...Not a Bush to be seen here. But still, it is Florida.
posted by Postroad at 12:34 PM PST - 1 comments

A.I. is already into advertising. BELLADERMA-SRL-IT.COM, INOURIMAGE.ORG, METROPOLITANLIVINGHOMES.COM, DONU-TECH.COM, ROGUERETRIEVAL.COM, SPCB.ORG, ELECTRIC-TOYLAND.COM, KATENEI.COM, FAMILYCHAN.ORG, MARTINSWINTONDESIGNS.COM, RATIONAL-HATTER.COM, UNITE-AND-RESIST.ORG, JEANINESALLA.COM, MARTINSWINTON.COM, CORONERSWEB.ORG, TREACLE-WELL.NET, ONE-LUMP-OR-TWO.NET, OFFWITHHISHEAD.NET, ALEPH-NAUGHT.ORG, ELIZAS-TEAROOM.NET, RAVEN-LIKE-WRITING-DESK.NET, www.bangaloreworldu-in.co.nz are all part of the a.i. website.

more inside...
posted by tiaka at 11:37 AM PST - 13 comments

Yahoo sells porn. Is this a huge change? Is it finally time for them to "put a bit of a filter up, put their hand out and take the money" that flows through for masturbatory purposes?
posted by thebigpoop at 11:27 AM PST - 12 comments

Mmmm, stickers in my colon. Next time I'll be sure to wash the apple, doc. (see bottom pick).
posted by tomplus2 at 11:03 AM PST - 11 comments

Clippy dead - news at 11. Anyone who has had to deal with "Clippy" in Microsoft's Office products will appreciate this new spin Microsoft is placing on the animated character.
posted by milnak at 11:01 AM PST - 29 comments

I Love Paul Krugman! He, better than any writer I have seen, cuts through all the political BS to expose the Republican party, whose members, for the most part, obtain office by cleverly deceiving the little people on what is in their interest. I would love to see PK "debate" the President (link to the NYTIMES--make up a username/password if don't have one and you're that concerned).
posted by ParisParamus at 10:58 AM PST - 20 comments

"I buy as many as I can. I freeze them and we eat them all year round,'' she said. Gross. More news on America's... no... the WORLD'S... favorite (cough, cough) treat.
posted by fusinski at 8:07 AM PST - 17 comments

News picks from the Guardian. This is a very useful service of course: The Guardian links to top news stories on the web- weblog style... But is this a weblog or just a related links page...? Either way it's a news junky's heaven...
posted by talos at 6:56 AM PST - 6 comments

Bush is no idiot - or so claims this opinion piece from The London Times. "What a pity that President Bush’s critics haven’t learnt to leave the playground, and its insults, behind." What Bush has done is "show that a conservative isn’t just a leftwinger with better table manners but an honest defender of superior principles."
posted by revbrian at 5:57 AM PST - 28 comments

This Mastercard parody has been on-line for two years, and Mastercard only recently requested its removal. Here is the hilarious response to the cease and desist. What I find amusing is that the MC lawyers never mention that they find the parody tasteless or offensive. Just that it violates their trademarks.
posted by goto11 at 5:48 AM PST - 13 comments

Everybody sing along! (via u2log)
posted by kchristidis at 4:52 AM PST - 1 comments

"You are about to activate your first gesture command in Opera. A gesture command is activated by pressing the right mouse button, and while holding it down, performing a simple movement with the mouse, and then releasing the button"... such as left going back a page, or down opening a new window. Aliens bless gesture interfaces, and Molyneux.
posted by holloway at 3:43 AM PST - 17 comments