Favorites from empath

Showing comments from:
Displaying comments 1 to 50 of 4971
MeFi post: Bubble gum, bubble gum, in a dish...
What a frustrating article. "It tastes like a lot of different things. It's a secret. Please enjoy some enormous stock photos related to gum."

WHAT IS THE FLAVOR IN BUBBLE GUM THOUGH
posted to MetaFilter by potrzebie at 10:25 PM on July 31, 2017
MeFi post: Our fake history
There is a racist undertone underneath some (obviously not all) of the "The Dark Ages were a myth" stuff, because when Western Civ was going "dark", the Islamic world was going though a scientific golden age.

The logic is that: Muslims are super backward and stupid, so they couldn't have their golden age, so all the scientific progress that took place during that time was actually done by white people, during a time historians say Europe was hiding... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by sideshow at 9:10 AM on August 1, 2017
Ask MeFi post: Software Developers: Am I right to be annoyed about this?
You're not being unreasonable, but it would be unreasonable to expect anyone to conform to your standards without clearly documenting those standards. And that's a whole process whereby the engineering org comes together and agrees on those, or it's dictatorial from a manager, and it's all very political and leads to you spending less time coding and more time approving other people's code and blame being thrown all over. At least, that's what I've seen.

I would suggest... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Pacrand at 10:00 AM on July 27, 2017
As a former developer and now a management person, I have a little bit of advice. Remember that your company's (or team's or whatever) purpose is delivering value to your customers/clients/whatever you call them. You're not hired to produce the most beautiful and elegant code, you are hired to deliver value and solve problems. In a well-functioning engineering team, you can do both. And can definitely make the argument that bad or inconsistent code will slow things down in the long run due to... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by primethyme at 10:29 AM on July 27, 2017
MeFi post: "Are my methods unsound?" "I don't see any method at all, sir."
(I've been following these threads, but I will admit my knowledge of the scope of the ability of the president to just dictate things is lacking.)

I am not sure about this particular thing, but I think one of the things we've learned is that it's possible there's no law against the president pooping on the rug in the oval office and the only thing that has kept others from doing it is decorum and human dignity. We didn't think we needed a 'don't poop... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by A Terrible Llama at 7:41 AM on July 26, 2017
Ask MeFi post: What websites integrate footnotes well?
Edward Tufte style, using sidenotes rather than footnotes.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Kabanos at 9:53 AM on July 25, 2017 marked best answer
MeFi post: ' the most sacred of sacred cows'
For some reason, I remember them writing about how awful adventure games were and none of that stuff.

Yeah me too. I specifically remember OMM as the first games writing I read that was actual criticism, and not just paid product placements for game companies. A site that might talk about bad things games do, but by people who loved games and were insightful. These days I go to Rock, Paper, Shotgun for that kind of writing. Thankfully they are mostly... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Nelson at 8:08 AM on July 13, 2017
Ask MeFi post: How to digital nomad in Latin America
If you're thinking about Mexico, San Miguel de Allende is a great spot full of expats -- so it's an easy place to ease yourself into Latin American life, and plenty of opportunities for meeting other expats, and many AirBnBs/rentals.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by BlahLaLa at 10:38 AM on July 8, 2017
MeFi post: “Ah, now you make sense!”
Whoa, this article is dishonest. Here is the quote from the original news article:

He told the Canberra press club the two countries could not be allies because they had irreconcilable differences. It was in Russia’s “genes to be opposed, diametrically opposed, to the United States and western democracies”.

In this context it is disingenuous to edit that to read:

“It is in [the Russian... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by boubelium at 3:25 PM on June 7, 2017
Ask MeFi post: Python for the novice programmer?
She might look at Python the Hard Way. The version I linked to is free but there's paid options with things like video lectures.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Candleman at 8:21 AM on May 11, 2017 marked best answer
Ask MeFi post: New Honda Fit wouldn't start day after purchasing
I had the same problem after I bought my Honda CRV: Brand new car, drove it home. Parked my car outside to open the garage, but then the car wouldn't start! I called the sales guy I had dealt with earlier in the day and it was because they didn't change the dealer codes for the car security system or whatever. I think the sales guy that came had some kinda of device that had to be within vicinity of the vehicle for it to be able to start - it's an anti-theft measure so people don't just... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Seboshin at 9:26 AM on May 8, 2017
MeFi post: Appleseed WA 38
Isn't cloning pretty much how all cultivated apples roll, though?

Yes, apples don't inherit their parents characteristics. Wikipedia calls it "extreme heterozygous". I don't understand the mechanism, but it means that if you grow an apple tree from seed you'll almost always end up with a crab apple tree.
posted to MetaFilter by papercrane at 7:15 AM on May 8, 2017
Isn't cloning pretty much how all cultivated apples roll, though?
posted to MetaFilter by soren_lorensen at 7:08 AM on May 8, 2017
Isn't cloning pretty much how all cultivated apples roll, though?

yes.
posted to MetaFilter by entropicamericana at 7:12 AM on May 8, 2017
Ask MeFi post: Tell me it’s not a tumor… memory problems edition
How's your sleep? I had similar issues when I wasn't sleeping well for weeks on end.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by mattholomew at 8:27 AM on April 23, 2017
Ask MeFi post: Hex Map Math
If you want to explore and understand tiled hexagons by touch, consider that circles tile exactly the same way. If you lay out a bunch of pennies and push them together, they will take the same form as hexagons would.

If you lay out the pennies in a square grid (placing them inside a square corner will help) and then you push each successive column up by a half penny, they will pack in a hex shape.

If I imagine pushing and skewing your... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by fritley at 4:24 PM on March 23, 2017
MetaTalk post: Alexa, play Mefi* music
I can volunteer my AWS account for hosting, if needed.
posted to MetaTalk by forforf at 5:34 PM on March 22, 2017
MeFi post: Iranian 1979 revolution: Rare footage from French television
Welcome back, brother.
posted to MetaFilter by Foci for Analysis at 12:32 PM on January 28, 2015
Ask MeFi post: Hey, Hive Mind. Could I be dating a narcissist?
It seems like you are well aware of which yellow flags are already flying, and which red flags to keep a sharp eye out for. Proceed with caution, yes.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by The Noble Goofy Elk at 5:21 AM on January 28, 2015
MeFi post: I open up my wallet and it's full of blood
God, I thought it was just a joke that Madden releases the same game each year with updated jerseys.

It stops counting points above 255? They're using ONE BYTE of data for each team's score?! Did they write this code back when Madden himself was still playing?
posted to MetaFilter by Riki tiki at 8:13 PM on January 27, 2015
MeFi post: "Basketball would be bad enough. But hoops?"
that's probably more common than you might think

It's also fairer than you might think. If you have a huge pool of hirable candidates and no real way of choosing between them, hiring by lottery at least truly manages not to be discriminatory, on which grounds looking for the best "fit" (and interviewing/networking in general) is demonstrably a terrible way to proceed. Many more jobs probably should be... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by RogerB at 12:26 PM on January 27, 2015
MeFi post: "Where is the door?"
Not quite. There are an infinite number of pairs of primes no more than 246 apart from each other. That doesn't mean there's always a pair of primes in any 246 number interval.
posted to MetaFilter by kmz at 9:28 AM on January 27, 2015
MeFi post: A new way to tackle ultra-poverty
how does this compare to smashing capitalism?
posted to MetaFilter by entropone at 3:05 PM on January 26, 2015
MetaTalk post: Perhaps a deletion was not the best solution in this case.
I have never, ever, EVER seen NoraReed deliver anything like the level of weapons-grade foulness that was in aryma's comment. Not even close -- not even in the same vein.
posted to MetaTalk by KathrynT at 2:42 PM on January 26, 2015
MeFi post: Whistling at Your Mom
how do you think they found these dudes moms?

Absolutely. Think of the logistics here:

- Find a man randomly catcalling on the public thoroughfare.
- Somehow identify them without their knowledge and track down their mother.
- Successfully negotiate a filming deal with said women that will publicly embarrass their son.
- Install hidden cameras presumably where that man was... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by CynicalKnight at 12:29 PM on January 26, 2015
MeFi post: Try to make you angles as non-euclidean as possible
OK concept, zero effort
posted to MetaFilter by anazgnos at 9:39 AM on January 26, 2015
MetaTalk post: Perhaps a deletion was not the best solution in this case.
How to get banned from Metafilter.com in just over 6 hours -- sheesh. I say we should keep the money.
posted to MetaTalk by potsmokinghippieoverlord at 11:04 AM on January 26, 2015
MeFi post: Why I Am Not a Maker
Having a skill that is a pre-requisite for the existence of an extremely profitable business is the missing ingredient.
posted to MetaFilter by idiopath at 7:59 PM on January 24, 2015
MeFi post: I didn't know squirrels could vote!
Shouldn't it be Florida?
posted to MetaFilter by graphnerd at 4:18 PM on January 23, 2015
MeFi post: 2015: The year that sci-fi becomes real
The comparison to google glass and glassholes is mistaken - this is clearly a tool for home or office, not something you'd wear all the time.

I'm curious to know whether its a 3d effect or a flat transparent LCD. Either way, making a transparent screen onto which arbitrary things can be projected is no mean feat.
posted to MetaFilter by memebake at 8:56 AM on January 23, 2015
Ask MeFi post: mono headphones?
There's an adaptor for you! Search or ask in a shop for a 3.5mm stereo to mono adaptor, and pick one that seems unobtrusive and durable.
I think you'll want two adapters though, because the phones and the source are both stereo. One adapter is stereo plug to mono jack, and the other is mono plug to stereo jack, all 3.5mm. Mono plug goes into mono jack, stereo plug goes into your audio source, and your headphones plug into the stereo jack.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by in278s at 4:53 AM on January 23, 2015
Ask MeFi post: Help Detecting Internet Usage via Router
The reality is that even if you cut wifi off completely, she could still be on her phone all day doing things.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by JoeZydeco at 10:39 AM on January 21, 2015
I feel a bit bad for your babysitter because you sound just like a boss who failed to communicate what the real expectations of the job are, and acted like you were cool with something that you actually aren't cool with at all.

Before you go confronting anyone, you need to get a lot clearer about what your own expectations of your babysitter's behavior actually are.

You chose to give the babysitter your express permission and direct access to... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by hush at 10:27 AM on January 21, 2015
MeFi post: The Likely Cause of Addiction Has Been Discovered
No offense, but how can you consider it "successful" if you've "quit" 3 times?

*whoosh*
posted to MetaFilter by jklaiho at 10:45 PM on January 21, 2015
I'm not sure I believe his assertions, especially about the low rate of success of the nicotine patch. I've successfully quit 3 times in the last year using the patch. I'm wearing one right now. OK I just took it off and I still don't want a smoke.
posted to MetaFilter by charlie don't surf at 9:58 PM on January 21, 2015
MeFi post: "Internet Famous"
"What it was like to co-found Model View Culture with Shanley Kane" by Amelia Greenhall.

Huh. I didn't even realize Model View Culture had a co-founder.
posted to MetaFilter by grouse at 6:18 PM on January 20, 2015
MeFi post: I bring you a Pankaj Mishra longread in The Guardian
Satire is one thing, but wave a red flag at a bull and things happen.

It's not that I can't decide if this sentence is offensive or not, it's that I can't decide which of the many ways it is offensive is the most offensive.
posted to MetaFilter by Justinian at 11:46 PM on January 20, 2015
it's a question of which God you disbelieve in, isn't it?
posted to MetaFilter by thelonius at 10:12 AM on January 20, 2015
MetaTalk post: Another thing Metafilter doesn't do well
Comparing Israel's policies to Nazi Germany should only be used as a purely rhetorical move, since any analytical comparison is going to get you nowhere and there are much more appropriate analytical choices, like Apartheid or colonialism. Its also a pretty shitty rhetorical move because it is needlessly polarizing and carries with it a whole lot of unnecessary baggage. I generally don't know why people do it, unless they just want to shout and yell and say exaggerated things.
posted to MetaTalk by MisantropicPainforest at 9:37 AM on January 20, 2015
MeFi post: LMGTFY
This is why tech support questions like: "Why can't I get to google?" are so frustrating, because any step along the line there could be broken

I will first usually ask, "is your HID transport passing the key-down event to the KBDHID.sys driver?"

Phones are quiet today.
posted to MetaFilter by sylvanshine at 9:02 AM on January 20, 2015
Ask MeFi post: Sesame Street has me flummoxed
VERTICES. That's the word mommy brain stole from me! Thank you!
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Owowthathurts at 4:55 AM on January 20, 2015
Ask MeFi post: I already know how to multiply
As a more serious example, it keeps asking me to simplify rational expressions. Those kinds of questions waste a lot of my time, and I often mess up not because I haven't "mastered" it but rather because I make a stupid mistake (which I will never ever not do).

If you can't successfully simplify rational expressions correctly, then you're going to get the calculus problems wrong that depend on such simplifications. I totally understand... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by leahwrenn at 9:06 AM on January 20, 2015
Ask MeFi post: Is it even possible to "date" anymore?
How do I make that happen? With your words.

It reads to me like you did a poor job of communicating to the women you've dated what you wanted out of the relationships and are now acting like you had no say in how quickly or slowly things progressed. If someone presents you with a timeline of what they want from the relationship, discuss it with them.
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Bretley at 6:57 PM on January 17, 2015
MeFi post: Homocentric Spheres
Wikipedia has an interesting page on heliocentrism and its history.
posted to MetaFilter by BungaDunga at 2:18 PM on January 17, 2015
MeFi post: French left wing satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo attacked by extremists
So, all those media organisations who refrain from posting images of Muhammad out of professed respect for their Muslim readers and viewers are actually doing it out of respect for, and to avoid causing offence to, the Taliban.

That's pushing the pendulum a little too far the other way. This has been an issue on which Muslims have taken a range of opinions for a long time, and it's false to suggest that the idea that depictions... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by yoink at 9:40 AM on January 16, 2015
MeFi post: Flashbang Grenades
The original sin was when we (well, the courts) made it ok to serve a no-knock warrant based on the theory that preventing destruction of evidence was more important than the privacy and safety of occupants.
posted to MetaFilter by RobotVoodooPower at 7:31 AM on January 16, 2015
Ask MeFi post: Costa Rica - Quepos, Arenal, Monteverde
And advice on driving in CR in general?

Don't.

Although I haven't lived there since 2006 so maybe the roads have since improved. But when I lived there, they were really terrible and most of the other drivers were crazy, so much so that it's safer to leave the driving to the professionals who are used to local conditions.

So I recommend skipping renting a car, walk or take taxis locally, and take one... [more]
posted to Ask MetaFilter by Jacqueline at 5:00 PM on January 15, 2015
MeFi post: Green Bay's Board-Game Obsession
I'm not sure why this is surprising, football is essentially a turn-based strategy war game.
posted to MetaFilter by octothorpe at 8:05 PM on January 15, 2015
MeFi post: Why do employers care about grades and diplomas?
I have two degrees but they are not Bachelor degrees and often when applying for jobs I feel like this is a major deterrent, despite me knowing several programming languages, having a portfolio full of active projects, most of which have press quotes, and a myraid of other technical skills. I can't quantify this much, but it has happened in the past and some recruiters brought it up. As well as saying "we only pay $x for people with your education level"

Where... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by hellojed at 3:24 PM on January 15, 2015
Page: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 ... 100