Favorites from mathowie
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What is the Zenni Optical of things other than glasses?
Recently discovered and fell in love with Zenni Optical, and now I'm wondering if there are other things that are "best kept secrets" that provide incredible value.
"What's the Matter with Kids Today?"
I'm looking for quotes that express one generation's frustration with the next.
I can only hope that they never decide to implement "lolreverts"
Sometimes a one-line text-only description of your git commits just isn't enough.
For those types of scenarios there is software called "lolcommits" that is available for Windows, Mac, and Linux that, when enabled, takes a photo with your webcam every time you commit your code via git. Now you can really let your co-workers know how you feel about having to fix their whitespace issues all the time with just a simple facial expression. After the photo is taken, the git message is overlayed on top of the image is a style reminiscent of lolcats. The resulting image files are then stored locally in your home directory.
Yacht or not?
Does actor Colin Firth own a yacht? Has he ever publicly expressed interest in owning a yacht? (I am aware he is slated to appear in an upcoming movie featuring a yacht.)
R2d2 takes unfair advantage of females
Our group at the University of North Carolina has just published a paper (open access) on an exciting new female meiotic drive system that we call R2d2. There is also a nice accompanying perspective article (also open access) from researchers at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Institute in Seattle. Read on for a short description of meiotic drive and the findings of the paper.
Fold in quarters
Paper Arcade!
A flickr collection of print-fold-and-glue classic arcade cabinets.
Stories of empathic cats
Here and elsewhere, I keep running into the sentiment that cats are adorable, fuzzy little psychopaths. They understand us but they don't care. They are self-absorbed. They only need us for food. They will gnaw on our corpses. That line of philosophy runs completely counter to my own experience with cats, three of whom were absolutely in love with me. I would like to read some positive articles, stories, etc about cats who defy the "fuzzy psychopath" stereotype.
Something like Vimeo, but that allows slideshows set to songs
Vimeo is now removing any uploaded videos that contain any copyrighted music.
Are there any services that have similar features to Vimeo, but don't do this?
little ways to make the world a slightly better place?
When I'm out drinking, I bring my group's empty bottles and glasses back up to the bar so the bartender doesn't have to come out and get them. When I go out to eat, I consolidate the plates and cutlery after the meal so they're easy to bus off the table. What are some other similarly inconsequential-seeming habits I can adopt to help make the world a slightly easier and more pleasant place for my fellow travelers to live?
Everything you wanted to know about Middle Earth but were afraid to ask
What manner of being is Tom Bombadil? • Why didn't Sauron command his army to search for Frodo? • Why weren't the dwarves corrupted by the Rings of Power? • Why was the One Ring able to be melted in Oroduin? • Why didn't Frodo just fly an eagle to Mount Doom? • Where are the blue wizards? • Why did Saruman need an army if he was so powerful? (multi-link Quora)
A Martian Bolt of Thunder
Does Mars have thunder?
10 Seconds of Static
Lot's of interesting things you can do with static. For the January Challenge.
One life-changing experience, please.
I've read a lot about saving money for experiences rather than things. What are some experiences that are absolutely worth saving up for?
Who owns Los Angeles?
Using publicly available data and open source tools to find answers to questions about Los Angeles.
What are the most expensive pieces of land in LA County? Which of these has the most expensive “improvement”, or building? What is the assessed value of Dodger Stadium? What are the most expensive cities by area in LA County? Who owns the most land? What percentage of the land in the city of LA is devoted to public space? where is the geographic center of LA County?
In the living room the voice-clock sang
Deathhacks: Tech tips for people who are going to die (someday)
Jessamyn West (Mefi's own) describes the challenges that came with being executrix of her father's estate, and his house.
I want the easiest-reading, most engrossing history books.
Tell me the history books you've read that you could not put down. History of just about anything, but especially historically significant people, say, before WWI.
Tour the US with the Tichnor Brothers' full color postcards, ca. 1930-45
From the Boston Public Library's Postcard Collection, enjoy approximately 25,000 office proofs of postcards of the United States published by the Boston firm Tichnor Brothers Inc. The collection is sorted by state, plus a few miscellaneous US-related cards and other postcards, including two different color charts. Some images are also available on Digital Commonwealth, and Wikimedia Commons.
The most addicting website since The Blue
[TheFaceBook]:
It comes in the genre of LiveJournal, MySpace, and Friendster - except with a focus on digitally connecting pre-existing friendships on college campuses rather than finding new friends worldwide. Subsequently, it has thus far avoided the stigmas I’ve seen attached to its predecessors by non-users. Its use has skyrocketed: about 15% of my campus has signed up since this past winter. All of it through word-of-mouth. One of the neat tricks it does is show a visualization of your friends on the network in a spider webbed vectored graphic connecting them based on their mutual friendships. It’s also proven very useful in tracking down those “where do I know him/her?” names through a prominently displayed list showing up to two-degrees of separation to the mystery person. Oh, and you can send text messages to cell phones through it. Did I mention it also reminds you of birthdays?
Metafilter TMBG Flood Tribute Album
After months of joyful toil under the expert and unflagging stewardship of Faint of Butt, I am proud to announce that the Metafilter Flood Tribute Album is now complete, just in time for the mid-January 25th anniversary of the release of They Might Be Giants' now classic record.
🎶 You know everybody knew our name 🎶
Boston's eponymous first album was 8 tracks long. Every single track on that album received (and still receives, on classic rock stations) significant airplay. Are there other albums about which this can be said?
ramen 🍜
- the state of ramen: Dave Chang
- the state of ramen: Peter Meehan
- a guide to the regional ramen of japan
- Harold McGee on the science of alkalinity (on alkalinity article)
- a timeline of ramen development
- Momofuku Ando and the invention of instant ramen
- an interview with the ramen rater, Hans Lienesch
- how to make tonkotsu-style broth (recipe)
- how to make instant ramen cacio e pepe (recipe)
- how to make instant ramen gnocchi parisienne (recipe)
- how to make instant ramen fideos (recipe)
- how to make instant ramen encrusted skate (recipe)
- more recipes: momofuku ramen 2.0, ramen broth 2.0, fresh alkaline noodles, momofuku pork belly
Isla Vista LocalWiki
When I went to UC Santa Barbara, the message I got as an incoming freshman is that the next-door student neighborhood, Isla Vista, is a risky land of parties and not much else. It took me a while to realize how interesting Isla Vista is, and how fun it is to go explore and understand it. I'd like to help other students get to that point faster, with fewer stereotypes about it and more stories about weird houses and public art and folklore and community gardens and land use history. I'm working on a LocalWiki for the neighborhood, in the style of DavisWiki, writing a lot of articles myself and also helping other people contribute. (LocalWikis have fewer rules than Wikipedia about things like notability and sourcing; you can write about the nice cat at the corner store if you want to.)
What's floating in cyberspace?
Just about everything.
On January 8, 1995, a reporter from the Dallas Morning News wrote that 1994 was the "Year of the 'Net, the turning point where everyone with anything to say, sing or display raced to stake a claim in cyberspace." Take a few minutes out of your Friday and enjoy this blast from the past.
GIS: coming up with solutions for the problems no one asked!
Mitch Hedberg and GIS
Disproving “La Quinta” is Spanish for “next to Denny’s.”
Which must-read non-fiction books can I tackle in a single sitting?
I loved Buzzfeed's 46 Brilliant Short Novels You Can Read In A Day last year. I've just started reading the very short, very good Feel The Fear And Do It Anyway and it made me wonder...what other classic non-fiction books can be read in a single sitting/day? Are there any non-fiction lists like that Buzzfeed one?
Pressing the equality button
"Women and men should have equal prize money".
Helen Wyman, UCI pro cyclist and newly-minted UCI commissaire, has been working diligently this year in her new role to ensure, among other things, gender equality in pay and treatment for women in the demanding and rapidly growing sport of cyclocross.
Your favorite dad joke.
Please hit me with your favorite dad joke.
I'm looking for those extremely lame ones like when you say, "I'm tired." Dad says, "Hey Tired, it's nice to meet you. I'm Dad."
If you can cite who originally made the joke that's great, but not really needed (I just like giving credit).
I would prefer short jokes to long jokes. Thank you. I'll take my answer off the air.
The Value of Growing Up Poor
My (hypothetical) offspring will know a level of privilege and wealth early on in their lives that... frankly, blows my mind. How do I make sure that my kids grow up to understand the nuances of poverty, affluence, and everything in between?
I spy, with my little eye, everything that is happening everywhere
I am fascinated by live tracking types of websites such as FlightAware and Tweetping. Where can I find more real-time website goodness?
Do you know how to make the lemoniest cookies that ever lemoned?
I love citrus and sour things, and would like to make super-lemony delicious holiday cookies. Do you have a recipe that just knocked your socks off with lemon power? Either cookies or bars, as long as they are transportable, are acceptable. My friends and family thank you, as do I.
What books from 2014 blew your socks off?
What literature from 2014 would you consider to be the best? I'm looking for page turners that tempt you to stay up late at night and exceed your expectations to a great degree. Fiction, non-fiction, short stories, space opera, graphic novel, anything goes. I'd like the best of the year to enjoy over break, and I'd like the recommendations to come from other like-minded mefites.
I'll admit my brains started leaking out of my ears around mashup #5.
2014 is coming to a close. Likely you've seen the previous post about DJ Earworm's 2014 mashup, in which 25 songs (and their videos) were compressed into a 4 minute and 11 second mix. But while the United State of Pop is the oldest game in town, it's far from the only one. Here a half-dozen other takes.
Translate 1-page letter from English to Spanish
My wife just died tragically at the age of 35. I am trying to send a letter to her favorite NBA player with a special request. This player speaks English but he is a native Spanish speaker. I would like to find someone who could translate my letter into Spanish. I can't tell you how much this would mean to me.
"Stephen Colbert": Great host? Or *the greatest* host?
Tonight! He's "a well-meaning, poorly informed, high-status idiot." An it-getter. A knight. A doctor (of fine arts). A Real American Hero. And after tonight, his arched eyebrow of justice will never again grace American television screens in quite the same way. "Stephen Colbert": a brief retrospective. Truthiness - The White House Correspondents' Dinner - Better Know a District - Formidable Opponent - Tek Jansen - Papa Bear - I Am America (And So Can You!) - Americone Dream - The ThreatDown - Late Night Fight! - Testifying to Congress - The Rally to Restore Sanity - Colbert Super PAC - Maurice Sendak - Wheat Thins - Lorna Colbert - Tolkien-off - Ask a Grown Man - The Decree. So much more inside.
Ceiling cat is watching you lift the table
ⓂⒺⓂⒺ ⒷⒶⓁⓁ
- the Internet meme-themed pinball machine
Christmas Rhapsody
Kris Kringle! No! Do not give him coal!
There must be something ghostly in the air of Christmas
It was Christmas Eve. I begin this way because it is the proper, orthodox, respectable way to begin, and I have been brought up in a proper, orthodox, respectable way, and taught to always do the proper, orthodox, respectable thing; and the habit clings to me. Of course, as a mere matter of information it is quite unnecessary to mention the date at all. The experienced reader knows it was Christmas Eve ... It always is Christmas Eve, in a ghost story.In Told After Supper (1891), Jerome K. Jerome parodied the tradition of telling Christmas ghost stories, but it's plain to see that he had fun writing them. And horror writer Ramsey Campbell, himself the author of a number of Christmas stories, recently dropped by /r/WeirdLit to list off a few places to find more.