MetaFilter

isolation, loss of resources, the death of loved ones and reduced social support” doesn’t seem to be distributed evenly. Likewise, increased rudeness doesn’t necessarily seem to be distributed evenly, and I’m not sure how much overlap there is between the set of especially rude people and the set of people especially negatively impacted by the pandemic?

Per the isolation — I think what I’m witnessing is the personal becoming public. Tho isolation... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Silvery Fish at 4:08 AM on November 8, 2021

There's a James Burke series or two in here.
posted to MetaFilter by bonehead at 6:08 AM on November 1, 2021

There's a James Burke series or two in here

Benedictine vows of silence to Facebook's algorithmic control over who is to be heard in eight steps, glass is step three, we can do this folks.
posted to MetaFilter by justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow at 8:29 AM on November 1, 2021

The deliberative process privilege, probably. But if it's a final draft, then that arguably shouldn't apply.

If drafted by counsel, very likely attorney work product (FOIA Exemption 5). This is a recurring issue in litigation.

I had been hesitating to make an FPP, but for people reading this who have somehow missed the news--this month we got a radical, but temporary, expansion of eligibility for PSLF.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by praemunire at 1:55 PM on October 30, 2021

It's a fantastic song. Not sure if the kids like it or if it's just that a 20 second clip of it sounds hilariously over-the-top in its misery.

It turns out the real curse of Gen-X irony is that later generations take it literally and just assume we were idiots...
posted to MetaFilter by TheophileEscargot at 4:01 AM on October 27, 2021

I have a lot of medical school debt. Not as much as many, but definitely six figures. I work in a city with a pretty high unemployment rate. My uncle-cum-Tea Party enthusiast insists as I mature and earn money my political convictions will veer inexorably rightward. But I've got to say, this experience of indebtedness—with a debt which legally cannot (basically) ever be liquidated—even coming as it has with every opportunity for reasonable deferment, and without threats of violence, has been a... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by adoarns at 7:20 AM on August 28, 2011

AND NOW, THE METAFILTER ELOCUTION SOCIETY SHOUTS THE ANGLO-SAXON EPIC, BEOWULF!

HWÆT! WE GARDENA IN GEARDAGUM,
ÞEODCYNINGA, ÞRYM GEFRUNON,
HU ÐA ÆÞELINGAS ELLEN FREMEDON.
OFT SCYLD SCEFING SCEAÞENA ÞREATUM,
MONEGUM MÆGÞUM, MEODOSETLA OFTEAH,
EGSODE EORLAS. SYÐÐAN ÆREST WEARÐ
FEASCEAFT FUNDEN, HE ÞÆS FROFRE GEBAD,
WEOX UNDER WOLCNUM, WEORÐMYNDUM ÞAH,
OÐÞÆT... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by TheWhiteSkull at 7:21 AM on October 22, 2021

They're either trying to get away from a toxic name in order to protect WhatsApp, Instagram, Oculus, etc or they're flailing around with rebranding in pursuit of this Metaverse nonsense. Maybe both.

The Metaverse thing is astonishingly stupid. They expect hundreds of millions of people to buy an expensive VR rig and seal themselves off from the outside world in order to...watch virtual Powerpoint presentations with Wii-era graphics?

VR is... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by jedicus at 3:27 PM on October 20, 2021

One of my favourite poems:
Life is short, though I keep this from my children.
Life is short, and I’ve shortened mine
in a thousand delicious, ill-advised ways,
a thousand deliciously ill-advised ways
I’ll keep from my children. The world is at least
fifty percent terrible, and that’s a conservative
estimate, though I keep this from my children.
For every bird there is a stone thrown at a bird.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by ellieBOA at 5:07 AM on October 12, 2021

I'm old enough to remember life before social media. Things were not perfect, but thinking back, it was really nice. Sure, there are some bright spots in social media, but the overall effect is one of social corrosion.

What's happening is the baseline effect, where new entrants think that this is the way it always has been, and always has to be. It doesn't. I would love for young people to re-discover real relationships (without anonymity or upvotes/likes) the way... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by dum spiro spero at 7:32 AM on October 5, 2021

Only mildly on-topic, but my new favourite thing is using Microsoft Natural Voices to read ebooks aloud. It's a neural network based text-to-speech agent that's finally developed to the point where I find it more than tolerable for storytelling.

If you have a Windows machine, convert an ebook to PDF, open it using the Edge browser, then press the "Read Aloud" button. You can choose different voices from the Voice Options, and you should try "Microsoft Mia... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Eleven at 3:31 AM on September 16, 2021

Seems to me the easiest way to move from repeating sentences to saying new ones is to do just that. When I am studying a language and there is a sentence to learn such as "Où est les toilettes?" I repeat it, pause to think about it and then make up a new related sentence: "Où est ma tête ?" and another "Où sont les chats?" and another "Où sont mes livres?"

You don't need to be talking to anyone to practice, and of course you won't... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Jane the Brown at 1:05 PM on September 15, 2021

The word "kith" exists. As in "kith and kin."

Just saying.
posted to MetaFilter by explosion at 12:31 PM on September 10, 2021

I love DUST. DUST is like pizza, it ranges from amazing to just mediocre and there’s more of it than I can ever consume in my lifetime.

I’ll recommend Timelike, which elevates a familiar trope through nightmare logic, and Time Trap, which is just bizarre and hilarious.
posted to MetaFilter by ejs at 9:09 PM on September 10, 2021

Romundt – a softly spoken Canadian with the optimistic, healthy glow of someone who combines entrepreneurial success with water sports...

I know what it means but I also know what I want it to mean.

On a relevant note though, these libertarian schemes all seem to miss the attraction of libertarianism: being left the fuck alone. In contrast, by making their "government" exactly contiguous with their populace, they... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by DeepSeaHaggis at 5:05 AM on September 7, 2021

Massive dude diligence fail.
posted to MetaFilter by BobTheScientist at 4:00 AM on September 7, 2021

That baby is still chasing a dollar?
posted to MetaFilter by snofoam at 9:36 AM on August 27, 2021

I was a deeply depressed adolescent (suicide attempt at 12) who discovered relief at 14 when I began taking LSD. After years of tripping on weekends, I started taking microdoses every day and maintained a livable level of daily happiness. I believed that it saved my life and my sanity. I discontinued the microdosing in my 20s when I started taking legal antidepressants. I thought that maybe I had just convinced myself with BELIEF that the microdoses were effective. In the last few years, there... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by a humble nudibranch at 3:31 AM on August 20, 2021

Well, he does seem to be at a different point on the political spectrum than the last group concerned with free range grazing rights in Oregon to make the news.
posted to MetaFilter by eviemath at 4:50 AM on August 17, 2021

A lot of us told you 20 years ago that we didn't want you to do this. And this is why.
posted to MetaFilter by EmpressCallipygos at 5:16 PM on August 14, 2021

As someone on the front of Gen-X, all I can say is that I'm glad I didn't turn cynicism into a habit. More luck than anything, but I look at some peers and feel I really dodged one there. Snark is fun and all, but it's no way to live.
posted to MetaFilter by bonehead at 9:47 AM on August 4, 2021

"For research on this video, I read a book"

I'm not going to say much, because, there's not much 32 years in the field can do to rebut an hourlong youtube video based on such a thoughtful approach, really. The thing is, it's all true, and we know it; and none of it is true, and we know that too.

I've written and erased 8 paragraphs already only to realize that I've fought this fight every day i'm at work, and... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by OHenryPacey at 10:15 PM on August 3, 2021

Mail carrier?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by The Bellman at 11:58 AM on August 2, 2021

New Zealander here. We keep joking how nice it is that billionaires want to stash caches of goodies in well-known locations for us.
posted to MetaFilter by i_am_joe's_spleen at 1:26 AM on August 1, 2021

djseafood - these people are preying on exactly the kind of pain you describe.
posted to MetaFilter by showbiz_liz at 7:02 AM on July 31, 2021

what the actual fuck.

Sokath, his eyes uncovered.
posted to MetaFilter by saturday_morning at 6:54 PM on July 30, 2021

I like to imagine that the twist of "Piano Man" is that the Piano Man doesn't realize he is in a gay bar. John, who buys him drinks. Paul, who never had time for a wife. Davy, who's still in the Navy. "Man, what are you doing here?"
posted to MetaFilter by DirtyOldTown at 2:41 PM on July 27, 2021

I feel the same way about Billy Joel as I feel about Rush and a few other artists. On paper I hate them, for a number of reasons, but any time I actually hear one of their songs on the radio I turn it up because it's a fucking banger.
posted to MetaFilter by bondcliff at 1:55 PM on July 27, 2021

Cats sleep and rest 18 hours a day, which is handily the amount of time most people spend on sleep plus work. When I had a singleton cat, each time I came home in the middle of the day he was deeply asleep. Two months to cuddle and bond sounds like a perfect start to the relationship.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by I claim sanctuary at 12:51 AM on July 20, 2021

I still share a home with my ex-husband. We were very affectionate before we ended things. We are still close but rarely hug or cuddle.

Instead I find myself doing little things:

- squeeze his big toe when he has his feet up
- hold out my index finger until he presses his to mine E.T. style
- hook my index finger around his and initiating a micro tug-of-war
- hold my hand out for a quick free-style... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by i_mean_come_on_now at 4:58 AM on July 20, 2021

And 1984....I'm also kind of surprised Dune isn't on there, or Alien/Aliens.

1984 is on the list, but they arbitrarily decided to only use movies set on Earth and non-post apocalypse flicks, so some notable choices are missing, which goes with some of their apparent non-explicit concepts that also limited their pool of options.

For some broader options, here's a few Letterboxd lists to browse for what was left off or just... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by gusottertrout at 5:24 PM on July 18, 2021

Disallow ransom payments as a deductible business expense and the problem would get fixed very quickly.

Outlawing use of cryptoscrip may help limit its application for underwriting crime, along with limiting the ecological damage. It won't eliminate the problem, but if criminals can't be paid as easily as they can now, it will make that form of crime less attractive.
posted to MetaFilter by They sucked his brains out! at 1:33 PM on July 15, 2021

I'm so sorry this is happening to you.

It's not just you. Putting something (anything!) you created out there is a brave act. But there's a large, vocal, tranche of people who don't write or review to be helpful or constructive - they do it as performance. Even on this site the first few comments on any given article are just a race to the wittiest crowd-pleasing one-liner.

They really don't actually care about you or your book at all. They're... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Lorc at 6:08 AM on July 15, 2021

My partner is generally a much tidier person than I am which makes me absolutely delighted that she tolerates and has even joined in with my radical anarchist “just put the roll on the vanity” system.
posted to MetaFilter by mellow seas at 6:24 AM on July 14, 2021

I am firmly an "over" person; my child firmly an "under." During their high school years, a silent but persistent 4-year battle ensued, where neither one of us talked about The Toilet Paper Thing, but I would go to use the facilities, see it had been switched to "under", and I would change it back to "over." Four years of this; never discussed. I came to love this; and love the persistence in my child, in the way that only love can transform what, in... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Silvery Fish at 6:01 AM on July 14, 2021

Gondolas already often make tight turns in urban settings by switching cables. Either using turning "stations" or "towers."

You might want to read Bruno Latour's Aramis for an exploration of issues that arise trying to design a transit system that operates like a packet switched network.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by snuffleupagus at 5:22 PM on July 12, 2021

We don't get credit for inventing the whole "Okay, Boomer" perspective, but then, we Gen-Xers are used to that sort of thing.

We weren’t even supposed to be here today.
posted to MetaFilter by The Underpants Monster at 6:48 PM on July 9, 2021

Find local public defenders and talk to them. They know your DA's deal, whatever it may be. They know the worst, which is what to expect.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by away for regrooving at 1:24 AM on July 9, 2021

I've spent LITERALLY (and I literally mean "literally") 30 years investigating masters and PhD options in order to put to rest what, for me, was a very unsatisfying and incomplete grad school experience when I was in my 20s.

It is my white whale. It has become my "borne back ceaselessly into the past". The albatross around my neck. The one area of my life that has left me deeply unsatisfied and feeling inadequate and incomplete.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by darkstar at 7:57 PM on July 8, 2021

I’m sensing a theme today …
posted to MetaFilter by anshuman at 8:59 AM on July 8, 2021

I used irc in 1989, which always baffles people who think The Internet started in 1997 or whenever their town got dialup.

I was on a BBS that became an ISP that became an IRC node and then when people started using the trust-everyone server named "Eris" to wreak havoc, it joined the freshly-formed "Eris-Free Network" (EFNet for short).

I was confused about the notion of "channels" for ages. I joined # at someone's... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by rum-soaked space hobo at 7:46 AM on June 29, 2021

About 20 years ago I spent a bunch of time expanding the core irc daemon software for an in-house chat product. Unlimited size messages, new commands, chat history, integration with corporate user auth, that sort of thing. Smooth sailing until I managed to put in a crashing bug that still is in the top 3 of my "hardest bugs to find ever", considering it took me a good week to figure it out even after I could make it happen daily. I only partially blame myself though, considering that... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by true at 12:54 PM on June 28, 2021

Thank goodness it never occurred to my mother to do matchy-matchy dresses. She was busy when I was a kid.

... They were also a way to rebel when girls routinely got in trouble for too-short mini skirts - we could go against what the schools wanted us to wear and dare them to object because, after all, they couldn't say we were showing too much skin. The Wikipedia article says two girls in Oakland were sent home for wearing them.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Countess Elena at 2:21 PM on June 28, 2021

My mom attempted one matched outfit with me in 1982. She asked if she could and I relented because it was for Mother's Day and I'd been particularly shitty in the months leading up. I was 7 and a tomboy and by May I'd already destroyed one church dress and the black patent leather shoes were scuffed beyond oblivion. So I relented and allowed her to make a powder blue number from the McCall's sewing section that was dedicated to Laura Ashley.

That Mother's Day Sunday was... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by teleri025 at 1:43 PM on June 28, 2021

This is the first I've heard.

It's been going on for a long time.

What caused this reaction from MetaFilter? It seems to have come up only now, but I cannot find anything in recent Guardian issues that might have prompted the action.

recent things from the guardian that are transphobic:

2 days ago: an op-ed alleging Stonewall UK, being supportive of trans... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by i used to be someone else at 3:25 PM on June 8, 2021

This bears reposting, as it's an easy way to make a tasty meal with minimum heat. Ladies, gentlemen and other lovely people, here it is for your culinary enjoyment and sustenance in hot times: the couscous trick.
It's not a salad as such. But it's a good way to start one.

- put couscous in a big bowl, together with the same volume in boiling water, or a bit more (it's not an exact science)
- wait for couscous to soak up all the water (5 minutes or... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by Too-Ticky at 2:47 PM on June 27, 2021

I would find a personal note on nice paper charming, regardless of the method of writing but there is something personal about script.

FWIW, I had terrible handwriting until I sat down and taught myself Palmer cursive. Took a couple months and ongoing practice to get it. I would get a comfortable pen and just go for it-- it's worth it to be able to handwrite notes, labels, addresses on packages, ideas on napkins, etc.

Definitely try Getty-Dubay... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by blnkfrnk at 6:24 PM on June 27, 2021

I retired this year and I'll admit I have no financial complaints (I receive two pensions, Social Security and have a little over $1 million investments.)

I accomplished this by not having a life. I live in the same house I bought when I was 25. I drive my car to death before buying a new one. I have no wife and no children. I don't travel.

So, financially, I'm well off. But the opportunity cost was very, very high. I'd give up most of my money... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by SPrintF at 1:22 PM on June 27, 2021

My favorite shelf is the top of a fencepost on the edge of my yard. It's just the right size to set a tiny lantern on it, and it makes a dark yard pretty cozy on moonless nights.
posted to MetaTalk by mochapickle at 12:10 PM on June 7, 2021

Sigh. I still haven't recovered from the loss of Craig Ferguson's Late Late Show.
posted to MetaFilter by interogative mood at 1:55 PM on June 23, 2021