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And would it be too trollish to point out that this 'demolition accident' killed more Philadelphians than that 'terrorist bombing' killed Bostonians?
posted to MetaFilter by oneswellfoop at 6:25 PM on June 19, 2013

I'm mid 40s and would consider 'When my ship comes in" to be a very common phrase. I've heard it my entire life.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by COD at 4:48 AM on June 18, 2013

If the NSA is doing nothing wrong, then it has nothing to fear from these breaches of its privacy.
posted to MetaFilter by straight at 4:24 PM on June 12, 2013

> The defense lawyers on the other hand, are scum incarnate. One of the few instances where having no representation would almost have been better for the defendant.

From the last link:
As Professor Michael W. Martin of Fordham Law’s Federal Litigation Clinic reminded me: “If the law allows the defense, the lawyer must use it, if it is viable, unless there is a good strategic reason not to. Otherwise, it is ineffective... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by cjorgensen at 5:55 AM on June 11, 2013

I was about to say that surely the Texan law doesn't really mean that you can kill someone absconding with your property, but yes. Yes it does.

Oh, and yes, that is a bad statute right there. There's enough to get mad about here in the real world - we don't need to exaggerate.
posted to MetaFilter by Sticherbeast at 5:29 AM on June 11, 2013

Not only does the post misrepresent the validity of the "Texas law says that you can shoot a non-performing alleged sex worker at night" idea, but by a wild coincidence, I sort of know the attorney who wrote the last link. She's delightful, and very very very smart.

From Ms. Dunlap's blog post, which everyone should read:

This story looks very different depending on whether you are looking at the law or at the reporting. Remember... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Sticherbeast at 5:26 AM on June 11, 2013

Ask a mod to delete this question RIGHT NOW and go talk to a lawyer.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Tomorrowful at 2:04 PM on June 10, 2013

I doubt this is just Verizon. Verizon just happens to be the only one successfully tapped by the journalists to give up the paperwork.
posted to MetaFilter by hydatius at 5:18 AM on June 6, 2013

I work in government. Doing privacy law.

Tomorrow is going to be a long day.

Nothing personal as I'm sure you and your colleagues work hard and ethically but in light of this story I'm totally visualizing the government's PRIVACY LAW department as a bunch of folks with feet on desks, balancing pencils between their upper lip and nose. "Hey, boss, you want us to write some laws to protect people's privacy?" "Nah,... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by No-sword at 4:46 AM on June 6, 2013

NEXT WEEK ON MAD MEN

Don: What?
posted to MetaFilter by Artw at 10:13 AM on June 5, 2013

And yet companies continue to sue on invalid patents.

Well, no, they sue on presumed-valid patents that either arguably should be or do in fact end up being invalidated later. Suing on an invalid patent is a one-way trip to sanctions-town.

IIRC software patents are actually barred from containing implimentation details at a code level - too close to being a mathematical formula, which cannot be patented.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by jedicus at 4:25 PM on June 4, 2013

Rubbish ones like "having a lock screen".

No, you mean:A method of controlling an electronic device with a touch-sensitive display, comprising:

detecting contact with the touch-sensitive display while the device is in a user-interface lock state;
moving an unlock image along a predefined displayed path on the touch-sensitive display in accordance with the contact, wherein the unlock image is a graphical,... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by jedicus at 3:46 PM on June 4, 2013

But clearly patent lawyers consider all patents "real" patents because they're about hating the players and not the game.

All patents are real patents in the sense that trying to single out particular types of patents for reform is doomed to failure as a political and practical matter. Furthermore, what's good for the goose is good for the gander. There are reforms that would substantially improve patent quality and reduce questionable... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by jedicus at 3:18 PM on June 4, 2013

Oh man it took me about 30 seconds to come up with the American objections to this idea from every side " How the government tell me what I should get for my baby, this takes away my FREEEDOM to not take part! Do you want the government to decide what Yiur baby " needs"? I bet they use CHEMICALS in those things! I hear people are getting Pregant JUST TO GET THE BOX and then sell it! Living Hugh off MY MONEY, why should it go to THOSE PEOPLE....etc"... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by The Whelk at 8:48 AM on June 4, 2013

Interesting comment on hacker news from someone who had a baby in Finland. He notes that it's not just the box, it's also pre-natal care, funded maternity ward, post-natal care, cash support towards daycare, and of course maternity and paternity leave that can somewhat be extended to three years.

The box is nice. What's really valuable is a state that sees value in caring for all aspects of having and raising a child. America won't do this because we're racists.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Nelson at 8:42 AM on June 4, 2013

If you want to start learning it, I'd start with Leonard Susskind's new book, 'The Theoretical Minimum' and then go on to his series of lectures on YouTube from Stanford, which is like hundreds of hours long, and covers everything from classical and statistical mechanics to quantum mechanics, cosmology and the standard model, and string theory. You'd also want to learn multi-variable calculus, linear algebra and group theory as well as advanced geometry, but Susskind kind of explains the math... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by empath at 10:29 AM on June 2, 2013

Apparently, it’s physics-week here on metafilter. I’m awake, I’ve got my coffee, let’s get physical.

What this article is discussing is the technical concept of “Naturalness.” Naturalness does not mean “pretty theories” or “mathematical elegance.” What the Naturalness problem is attempting to tackle is why are there vastly divergent energy scales* in the physical laws that govern the Universe?

*As I’ve discussed in detail before on metafilter,... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by physicsmatt at 9:13 AM on June 2, 2013

Amphetamine and methamphetamine share the same chiral center, so the differing effects of the levo and dextro enantiomers are more or less the same, with the dextro version being responsible for basically all the CNS effect. Adderall is racemic amphetamine and pharmaceutical methamphetamine is sold under the name Desoxyn (I have no idea if it's racemic or just the D- isomer).

Street meth, on the other hand, is basically all D-methamphetamine, because pseudoephedrine has... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by [expletive deleted] at 8:54 PM on May 31, 2013

HOLY HELL I LINKED TO A CAT PICTURE. *facepalm*

I meant that the antenna looks like this.

A cat might work too, but they require a bit more maintenance.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by MultiFaceted at 12:39 AM on May 30, 2013

The obvious answer is that her fee is too low and should be increased. Especially if it has not been increased in over a year. I see on preview that you've addressed this, but I think it's worth mentioning to the (parents of) current students that she appreciates their ongoing relationship, and is excited at the success of her venture. For whatever reason...(I'd go with length of time since last increase), the fee will be raised by $5 per 1/2 hour. If they all squeal, you can ease off by telling... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by bilabial at 11:16 PM on May 25, 2013

Just find a job you like is a highly privileged bucket of hogwash. Most people don't want to go into business or engineering for its own sake but do so because that's one one of the few ways to make a living and maybe support a family. I don't understand how these people aren't laughed out of the publishers office and publicly shamed. Bourgoisie claptrap.
posted to MetaFilter by ishrinkmajeans at 12:40 PM on May 25, 2013

Here is the complete list (except for "Beckett - Entire"), sorted by number of pages (Why not?):
63 John Ashbery Rivers and Mountains
80 Barthes The Pleasure of the Text
88 Kenneth Koch Thank You
96 Amos Tutola The Palm-Wine Drunkard
96 Peter Handke A Sorrow Beyond Dreams
100 Wesley Brown Tragic Magic
128 Mamet Sexual Perversity in Chicago
128 Max Frisch Man in the Holocene
128... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by mike_bling at 9:48 PM on December 23, 2009

If you and your husband will agree to always respect leash laws, become on-leash advocates AND remind others -- all and sundry with off-leash dogs in on-leash areas wherever you are -- to leash their dogs, I will pay your ticket.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by vers at 10:09 AM on May 25, 2013

You can get more, but it's a process (my sister sued OUR uninsured motorist insurance when she was injured as a passenger in a drunk driving accident in San Francisco). She got more than the max.

Here's the thing though do you feel it's fair and enough? If they aren't holding anything back, then I say, why not? It's a whole lot better than the nothing you're going to get for suing the guy who caused the accident and you get to keep it all, so I'm thinking that you're... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Ruthless Bunny at 8:42 AM on May 24, 2013

It seems hard for a man to initiate divorce in a marriage of lesbians.

But state legislatures sure will try!
posted to MetaFilter by GenjiandProust at 3:57 AM on May 24, 2013

If you think you can consistently rate the "quality" of wine, it means two things.

For me it means only one thing: I'm out of whiskey.
posted to MetaFilter by three blind mice at 5:24 AM on May 10, 2013

Citizens instead of employees? What are you, some kind of Communist?
posted to MetaFilter by Michael Roberts at 3:13 PM on May 9, 2013

"If you're going to lose a digit in an industrial accident, the amount of stories you get out of losing it in the dildo factory is the way to go."

A guy calls up his wife: "Honey, I'm at the hospital, my hand got caught in a piece of machinery at work, and I lost one of my fingers."
Wife: "Oh no, was the whole finger?"
Guy: "No, the one next to it."
posted to MetaFilter by 445supermag at 8:50 PM on May 3, 2013

Womb Broom is pretty good but I'd have called it the Quimney Sweep.
posted to MetaFilter by nathancaswell at 7:56 PM on May 3, 2013

Honey! Why are we out of black toner again?
posted to MetaFilter by Kabanos at 7:35 PM on May 3, 2013

yeah, nobody likes scabs touching their phallus
posted to MetaFilter by nathancaswell at 6:55 PM on May 3, 2013

If you're going to lose a digit in an industrial accident, the amount of stories you get out of losing it in the dildo factory is the way to go.
posted to MetaFilter by xingcat at 6:51 PM on May 3, 2013

Yes, my comment was in no way noticeably hyperbolic and should absolutely be taken as a valid suggestion of how humans should behave within the natural world. It is also exactly what will happen because I am the Nature Emperor and what I say goes.
posted to MetaFilter by elizardbits at 9:41 AM on May 2, 2013

I once purposefully cut the Internet access to my house so I could work.

Turns out I'm perfectly capable of spending all day reading 19th century melodramas, cooking, and napping in the bath rather than work.
posted to MetaFilter by The Whelk at 5:34 PM on May 1, 2013

Thanks for pointing that out, Ironmouth. Now I offer the following consideration to those who accept the contract: On May 1, 3013 I will refrain from calling them a nasty name.
posted to MetaFilter by jepler at 12:08 PM on May 1, 2013

IAAL, IANYL, TINLA.

Legally speaking, this is a copyright violation. Even if this company purchased from someone who legitimately bought it from your husband, there would still be a violation.

The big issue here is whether or not your husband registered this photo with the Copyright Office. Registration is a prerequisite for copyright claims except for attribution rights, which does not appear to be the case here. So, he would need to register... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Tanizaki at 9:53 AM on April 29, 2013

How come we've never had a MeFi prom? We could all dress up in prom gear and go there in a limo and do prom things, like slow-dancing, drug abuse and voting for prom Sovereigns. I watch Community like you people all told me to, and they have dances every fucking week, often involving crazy japes and hilarious adventures. Here at MeFi University we get NOTHING. Mathowie is the worst. dean. ever.
posted to MetaFilter by the quidnunc kid at 6:52 AM on April 29, 2013

Bonnie remembers growing up in a nice, middle-class neighborhood, but now she says it’s more like a rundown border town, full of Mexican immigrants

Hmmm.

part of the reason Bonnie and Andy were stuck in the hotel was that they wouldn’t consider renting or moving to neighborhoods more affordable than the solidly middle-class Bear Valley. Bonnie had owned a home, and she wanted to own one again.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by smoke at 6:39 PM on April 28, 2013

P.S. I actually think everyone who grew up middle class or above should, at some point in life, need to try to live on that amount of money. You realize, viscerally, how hard it is to maintain the barest semblance of what you think of as a normal life; how much living on that amount of money sets you up for these insane no-win scenarios.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by cairdeas at 4:49 AM on April 27, 2013

What do you call a group of baboons and dogs.

I fought the urge to type "A Republican party" and lost.
posted to MetaFilter by Bunny Ultramod at 6:52 PM on April 26, 2013

They're sniffing you out. Make no mistake, every single time you talk with a manager of any kind, they are evaluating you. Respond as though it is a job interview because... it kind of is. They won't fire you based on your response, but they want to see what kind of future positions you could hold within the company.

Or maybe it's someone involved with hiring practices who's interested in what draws new hires to work there and not elsewhere. "Oh,... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Tomorrowful at 7:08 AM on April 25, 2013

I stopped masturbating seventeen years ago. Relapsed once, about three years in, when i was drunk at a friend's wedding. Felt really sick, never been tempted since.

No hang on, that was smoking.
posted to MetaFilter by reynir at 1:27 PM on April 18, 2013

Am I over-thinking this?

Yep. Here's your letter:

Dear MANAGERTYPE:

As of TWO WEEKS FROM NOW, I will be leaving my position of JOB at COMPANYNAME. I wish you best luck in the future and I have enjoyed my time at the company.

Best regards,

NAME

Any company that can't replace an employee is already failing. Keep in mind that... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by saeculorum at 7:51 AM on April 18, 2013

Watch out, he's sitting on a submarine patent for the whole steak and blowtorch thing.
posted to MetaFilter by jenkinsEar at 7:21 PM on April 13, 2013

Knowing Google's obsession with data points, the whole program's probably a way to further subdivide their user base for advertising purposes.
posted to MetaFilter by Mooski at 8:44 AM on April 12, 2013

RE: MORTAL COIL

HAVE SHUFFLED OFF.

Sent from my iPhone
posted to MetaFilter by griphus at 8:39 AM on April 12, 2013

I was expecting a poodle in a box of regular peanuts.
posted to MetaFilter by box at 4:54 PM on April 9, 2013

In other news, google fiber is expanding to new cities.

Because if there is a monopolizing corporation you can trust, it's definitely Google Inc.
posted to MetaFilter by ennui.bz at 11:11 AM on April 6, 2013

Let's all consider ourselves very lucky that the stupid-ass things we thought during senior year of high school were never memorialized by the WSJ.
posted to MetaFilter by griphus at 9:06 AM on April 5, 2013

It's another example to trying to use technology to solve a human problem. The theory is that this will save money, but only in the sense that it will allow the state to further cut funding. Soon we will have a primary and secondary school system that pretends to prepare students for college, which will robo-pretend to prepare students for the jobs they won't get because of outsourcing and automation. In the end, there will just be a few legislators lurking in the rubble of their filthy chambers,... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by GenjiandProust at 5:24 PM on April 4, 2013