MetaFilter

mjbraun asked: Why is it that we have to spend so much money just to be happy (if we are happy at all without our antidepressants)? Not to delve too much into rabid anti-consumerism Adbusters-esque territory, but why is consumerism so tightly linked to our joy?

I don't watch TV. My joy isn't linked to consuming products. Or owning things. My joy is linked to doing things.

Please, I don't say this from a... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by loquacious at 3:39 PM on August 14, 2007

As jamaro says, the pith (white part of the peel under the yellow zest) is terribly bitter.

The zest itself, though, is the difference between pretty good lemonade and the tangy, fragrant lemonade you deserve. The zest is full of delicious citrus oil.

I slice the zest from the lemons before slicing or squeezing them. I use a sharp knife, since it's easier to control that a vegetable peeler. Then with the edge of the knife, trim off any residual... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Elsa at 6:33 PM on August 1, 2007 marked best answer

cortexamyn! save us from the nasty intarwebz!

Tell you what, bucko—start changing one out of every four interesting links madamjujujive posts to blort to a Rick/Tay video. Doing otherwise would be overprotecting her from the nasty intarwebz.

Let 4chan be 4chan and Stile be Stile. We don't actually need to encourage the shittiest, guileless web dorkery to set up shop on the site just to prove how much fucking buddho-anarchist... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by cortex at 5:08 PM on July 28, 2007

My point was just that it was a singlelink post to a youtube video and it stayed, whereas a singlelink post to something that wasn't quite as amusing but was possibly inflammatory was deleted, and the apparent reason given was "bad post."

Yes. A single link to something random and good was undeleted, and a single link to something that was Yet Another shitstorm honeypot on a topic that had not just been essentially but, as mediareport... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by cortex at 8:17 PM on July 26, 2007

"It is certainly my opinion that a book worth reading only in childhood is not worth reading even then." --C.S. Lewis

I'm not sure where the best place is for this mini-rant, so I'll post it here. If Harry Potter isn't to your taste, fine. But this idea that because something is written in the genre of children's fantasy, or because it is popular with children, it should therefore be avoided by serious-minded adults is a more juvenile and shallow thought than... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by Pater Aletheias at 12:11 PM on July 19, 2007

Hi Joe, I just traveled back in time from 2007, and I want to explain one of the quirks of the future to you: imagine the government outlawed TV commercials. Coke wants to find a way around this, so they spend hours piling bricks on this scaffolding over Rockefeller Center. They arrange the bricks so that if the scaffolding floor is pulled our from under them, they'll crash to the ground and the debris will spell out "Coke is it!" The they wait until the "Today Show" cameras... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by grumblebee at 2:35 PM on July 20, 2007

UbuRoivas writes "Pater Aletheias: nicely written comment, but what is your point, again? That an adult will read more into a book than a child? Fantastic. Does this apply to any other books you can think of?"

I think his point is "the Harry Potter series, like many many other books, can be read on multiple levels. Therefore, while they may be primarily aimed at one group, they may offer interest to other groups. If you are... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by Bugbread at 8:14 PM on July 19, 2007

God, once again the internet disconnect from the working poor is amazing. This guy runs a fucking truck stop, y'know? He had a $300 credit limit. What kinda plasma TV are you getting for $300, tehloki? One that plugs into the idiotic snark outlet?
It's incredibly easy to slip into credit card debt, and these structures are set up to inflict the most damage possible on people who can least afford it. But hey, you've never had to put a doctor's visit and prescriptions onto a credit... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by klangklangston at 10:54 PM on December 10, 2006

I'm actually very glad you've asked this question. I've been faced with a similar choice - and it is, ultimately, just that. It's a choice to do something that doesn't sit well with you, or else you wouldn't have asked your question in the first place.

So......all of this is based on e-mails? This whole thing is based on things you've read? Okay, let's back up for a second.

Since you're considering all of this based on... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by TryTheTilapia at 7:56 AM on July 17, 2007

I'm sorry, but I do not agree with the people who suggest you place this cat in a shelter or find a new home for her, animals live in the moment, they care about quality of life, your cat's quality of life will suffer greatly if you send her away to let her live out the rest of her days with strangers in a strange place. Letting her go a bit earlier than she might have done otherwise, but still while she is happy, comfortable, and with you there, is the right thing to do in my opinion - she... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by biscotti at 8:55 PM on July 15, 2007

The cat is 20. It has kidney failure.

So, it can either be put down now, painlessly, by its loving owner, having had a good, long, healthy life, or.....it can spend its last days alone, in a stinking, loud, scary shelter, in a cage, getting shots and meds all the time, and being sick. I know what I would choose.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by tristeza at 6:48 PM on July 15, 2007

There's no rational reason to believe that you should expect anything significant to change merely due to the position of the stars and planets.

You can look forward to a MetaTalk discussion.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by grouse at 4:13 PM on July 12, 2007

Confirmation bias. If you think things are going to suck, you're going to make them suck, or only see things that suck. If the horoscope you're reading says that things are going to be great, then they'll be great. Go read a different horoscope. None of them are based on reality anyway, so they can all say whatever they want.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by matildaben at 3:39 PM on July 12, 2007

Listen, that isn't just black dust, that the essence of a dark matter borne from the thrashing coils of a fear engine tearing asunder an unholy false idol upheaved from the gaping maw of a turtlenecked beast after consuming the tortured souls doomed to a depraved religion based on fruit.
posted to MetaFilter by Stan Chin at 10:12 PM on July 10, 2007

AskMe is not about "the Methylviolet experience."
posted to MetaTalk by sciurus at 2:46 PM on July 7, 2007

Do "I Saw U" ads in The Stranger really work?

Help me prepare for my hot date tonight!

What are the actual odds of getting a girl pregnant from a one night stand if a condom wasn't used? I thought she might be on the pill, and she's never had a boyfriend before.

There seems to be a rash on my privates. Is this invariably VD or could it just be an allergy to nylon?

Is there any real harm... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by maxwelton at 9:22 PM on April 1, 2007

All this talk of their failing business model reminded me of something. It's not that the model is failing so much as a lack of vision to develop a new model.

Sears was started in the 1890's as a mail order business to compete against local general stores (think of all those westerns with "General Store" on one of the buildings - they were Sears competition). The guys Sears worked on railroads, and he saw all the middlemen tacking on markup as products moved... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Pastabagel at 9:07 AM on June 26, 2007

You'll get Nothing... and like it!


(if you want)
posted to MetaTalk by Nothing... and like it at 12:55 PM on October 12, 2006

Stay classy, Dave.
posted to MetaTalk by Blazecock Pileon at 5:48 PM on June 19, 2007

F. Scott Fitzgerald's advice to his (11 year old) daughter. Might be somewhat applicable.

Things to worry about:

Worry about courage
Worry about cleanliness
Worry about efficiency
Worry about horsemanship...

Things not to worry about:
Don't worry about popular opinion
Don't worry about dolls
Don't worry about the past
Don't worry about the... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by jessamyn at 8:53 PM on May 28, 2007 marked best answer

(Oh. I would like to take this opportunity to shoot dersins in the face with a bazooka, as per an earlier request. So you're welcome. BOOM.)
posted to MetaTalk by cgc373 at 2:32 PM on June 15, 2007

I recommend ChatFilter! It's like AskMe but it breaks the guidelines!
posted to Ask MetaFilter by TheNewWazoo at 7:56 PM on June 14, 2007

A good friend of mine named his intramural soccer team the Jew-Tang Clan.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by pdb at 9:55 AM on June 13, 2007

I'M FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF SHITTY POSTS


_.-*'"*---*"\
_..-*" \
/`***----***' \
/ \
.' .' .'
.-' _. -._ / .'
.-' _.-*' ,... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Rhomboid at 5:10 AM on June 6, 2007

This would only be acceptable if the time-stamps were dynamically updated. Otherwise, imagine the chaos. You would load a page, and after a minute ALL OF THE TIME STAMPS WOULD BE WRONG! If there's a long thread that took ten minutes to read, then by the time you got to the bottom, the last comment might say "posted one minute(s) ago" but that would be an error of ONE THOUSAND PERCENT! This change would mean that the time stamp of EVERY comment on the page would be a LIE! MADNESS.!1!... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by nowonmai at 9:01 AM on June 1, 2007

    **** COMMODORE 64 BASIC V2 ****

 64K RAM SYSTEM  38911 BASIC BYTES FREE

READY.
BAN QUONSAR Y/N? █

posted to MetaTalk by Rhomboid at 8:44 PM on May 31, 2007

I thought the "goal" was to get compensated for your broken antique that you had purchased on your trip. I would write down a number a couple bucks more than what I paid for it because of the stupid rules that the untrusting airline manager with no sense of customer service has created. If the other person chooses a higher number we both get fairly compensated. If the other person chooses $2, I get a little irate and say "Two dollars? Where the fuck did you buy yours??? First... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by DanielDManiel at 12:23 PM on May 30, 2007

how many ethereal blighs does it take to change a light bulb?

If one examines expressionism, one is faced with a choice: either accept cultural discourse or conclude that consensus must come from communication. Thus, an abundance of theories concerning the bridge between language and class may be revealed. The main theme of the works of Burroughs is the role of the poet as observer.

In the works of Burroughs, a predominant concept is the concept... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by pyramid termite at 10:40 PM on May 23, 2007

some honesty on my part is called for here.

i've not been kind to matt. always quick to smart off and criticize. i'm a knowitall jerk to a great degree.

matt has been kind to me, and communicated his recent displeasure to me privately.

i have been particularly cranky and restless the last week, for reasons i'm well acquainted with and that have nothing to do with matt or anyone else.

the... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by quonsar at 7:32 PM on January 24, 2005

I have to ask, what's the point of your question?...You don't indicate that you're in any kind of moral conundrum.

What psmealey said.

It's basically impossible to answer this question in a helpful way, because there is absolutely no framework on which we can evaluate your choices. You don't state that you respect and love your girlfriend and don't want to hurt her - in fact, you're pretty much saying the opposite. So we... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Miko at 9:47 AM on May 16, 2007

Homo Romerus?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Elsa at 11:07 AM on May 15, 2007

Meat. Every morning your kitty jumps into your bed to see if you are still alive or if the feast begins.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by LarryC at 3:30 PM on April 19, 2007

I'm married to the OP, and I would just like to assure everybody that he is going to be called Shooty McGunpants at least daily for the rest of his life.
posted to MetaTalk by joannemerriam at 6:31 PM on April 24, 2007

I'm against revenge in principle.

Good. Your mind is probably in the right place. What screws people up in these situations is that they tend to (unconsciously) have to agendas at once:

1) solve the problem.

2) win. (I'm right. They're wrong.)

Neither of these goals are wrong, but they often conflict. So it's worth getting really clear with yourself which is more important to... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by grumblebee at 9:20 AM on April 10, 2007

OMG
posted to MetaTalk by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 9:06 AM on April 5, 2007

A better question might be why it's necessary to delete posts that point out uncomfortable truths about XTIANS. From what I can tell it's never because the posts contain false information or pose a legal risk.
No, it seems that they get deleted because America's favorite victim group gets it's panties in a bunch when confronted with their own stupidity and whine and cry until a moderator comes along and makes it all better. Apparently god is powerless to defend himself against... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by 2sheets at 11:01 AM on April 4, 2007

The most obvious perceptible clue would be breathing patterns. Let's face it, the real question is why your cat wants to torment you when you're asleep. And the answer is obvious: because your cat is a dick.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by nanojath at 7:31 PM on January 6, 2007 marked best answer

Also, how are they "Hostages"? Generally soldiers running around where they shouldn't be are captured.

The British soldiers were well inside Iraqi waters when captured.

Well, they really don't belong there, either.
posted to MetaTalk by cmonkey at 12:01 PM on March 28, 2007

Thanks for your hard work, Matt.

But let me tell you, the internet without Metafilteris not so good.

I went to this site called "Digg", with two g's. Have you heard of it? They have articles and you can vote on which articles go to the top. I don't get it either, I mean why can't people just scroll down or click 'Next'? Anyway, on each of the articles, you can log in and post a comment, kind of like how Metafilter does it.... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by Pastabagel at 8:16 AM on March 26, 2007

Dame, your question was, "Why are you so paranoid your food will kill you?" It was not "why are you so paranoid about this tuna sandwich."

But since you bring it up, that tuna sandwich was probably prepared on a surface used for food preparation. People careless enough to leave their tuna sandwich out all day might have prepared raw chicken on a surface used for food preparation too, and failed to wash it. Yesterday's chicken drops Campylobacter on... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by ikkyu2 at 3:22 PM on March 19, 2007

I can't believe you wasted your one bi-weekly question on this. What if you find a dragon?
posted to Ask MetaFilter by crabintheocean at 8:59 PM on March 12, 2007

It is time now to talk about The Wheel.

Growing up, my parents had obviously read all the studies about praise and punishment and their effect on a developing child. My father came from a distant, reserved family and was the middle of three brothers. My mother grew up in a close-knit, church going family as an older sister. He went to gradschool for plasma physics and she was the secretary that typed up his thesis.

They obviously disagreed on how... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by robocop is bleeding at 9:15 AM on February 13, 2007

My friend Andrew had the same complaint, and began growing a neck beard the Christmas before last. By summertime, the thing was quite gnarly, but very novel, especially for a 20 year old surfer on the beach. Guys generally approved, especially older surfers, who waxed nostalgic about the good old days of long-haired, bearded, short-shorts wearing surfers. Reviews from the ladies were mixed at best, but young Andrew perservered.

Whilst surfing the north break of St.... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by saladin at 4:05 PM on April 29, 2004

Hi! My name is Keith, I'm 17, and I am the most powerful person on the planet. I know I'm not much to look at with my acne problems or my slight paunch, but please believe me when I say that I can have a half dozen Federal agents kicking down the door to your house in about an hour.

How, you ask? Simple! Unlike what you're read on those left-wing websites like Kos or MoveOn or Metafilter, I'm actually the guy that pulls President Bush's strings. Yeah, me. Not Cheney or... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by robocop is bleeding at 10:04 AM on October 24, 2006

Confessing a sin to a minister is hardly the same as "dumping" your guilt on someone.

Ten years ago, the guy killed someone in a fit of rage, and then the girlfriend he killed for died in a car accident. Since then, he's been numbing his guilt with drugs and alcohol. He's now sober. He has to face what he did without emotional novocaine. If I were him (there but for the grace of God...), my first tentative steps toward atonement would probably be confessing my... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by granted at 9:46 PM on October 20, 2006

They don't call them sane cat ladies.
posted to MetaTalk by smackfu at 8:55 PM on October 16, 2006

Warning: long-ass post.

MetaFilter has a lot of people who care about words and ideas and view the Web as the ideal medium for both. The cam and e/n crowds, in contrast, see the Web as a tool for personal connections. As an example (and not to pick on linuxkitty), I would be mortally embarrassed to write something like "however a way I see fit" and post it where other people could see it. This is because I value clarity and elegance in writing and I value the opinions of... [more]
posted to MetaTalk by kindall at 12:02 AM on September 23, 2001

Did you NOT notice that SHE PULLED A HANKERCHIEF OUT OF HER VAGINA???

Hell, that's nothing. My girlfriend pulled a baby out of hers.
posted to MetaFilter by lekvar at 11:00 AM on October 15, 2006

Here is my hard-earned wisdom, in small, easy bites. They might sound like blurby truisms, but there's an essay of meaning behind each one:

Fresher is always better.

Eschew recipes! They lie!

Cooking is art; baking is science.

Sharpen the damn knives!

Optimize for Maillard

Know your ingredients.

You... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by majick at 1:39 PM on September 28, 2004 marked best answer

Mathowie, this is precisely the kind of thing that happens in a financial mania. Remember all the craziness around the dotcom boom and collapse? Booms cause this kind of stupid behavior; they feel great, but they do immense hidden damage to an economy.

We haven't really suffered through the downturn from the Nasdaq collapse, because the Fed injected absolutely unprecedented amounts of money into the system to prop things up. So the financial mania, attracted by rates... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Malor at 4:09 PM on October 6, 2006