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13471 items (12573 unread) in 72 feeds

absurdity

Stuff On My Cat (370 unread)
Emptybottle.org (8 unread)
Sexy Results! (45 unread)
tonypierce.com + busblog (202 unread)
Benjamen Walker's Theory Of Everything (17 unread)
sixteen days under the sundae (103 unread)
this moment (168 unread)
Red Boldface (44 unread)
Fris' Biz (22 unread)
The Sound of Young America (267 unread)
Deep End Dining (16 unread)
bird on the moon (211 unread)
terrapin gardens (10 unread)
MRBFK (80 unread)
Never Underestimate the Power of Stupid People in Large Groups (52 unread)
Where The Wild Blogs Are (45 unread)
filth from another level (50 unread)

Ontological Damnation (26 unread)

aesthetic

explodingdog (54 unread)
pallalink (21 unread)
Astronomy Picture of the Day (52 unread)
[daily dose of imagery] (96 unread)
Photos from flannelmouthed's contacts (974 unread)
Google Sightseeing (122 unread)
Life in the zzzz lane... (Philosophy, Art and Stuff) (39 unread)

hypertext

Waxy.org (9 unread)
plasticbag.org (89 unread)
A Whole Lotta Nothing (91 unread)
kottke.org remaindered links (601 unread)
Waxy.org Links (377 unread)
Ask MetaFilter (1234 unread)
MetaFilter (875 unread)

politics

Rigorous Intuition (37 unread)
From the Rooftops
Whiskey Bar (89 unread)
ArmsControlWonk (152 unread)
deconsumption (56 unread)
Looking for Someone to Lie to Me (47 unread)
Another Day in the Empire (121 unread)

sports

AaronGleeman.com (66 unread)
CourtsideTimes.Net (14 unread)
freedarko.com (97 unread)
YAYsports! NBA - Your source for no NBA news (329 unread)
Celtics Doom (19 unread)
Chauncey Billups
WIZZNUTZZ (22 unread)
Deadspin (985 unread)
Football Outsiders (174 unread)
True Hoop (397 unread)
sportsBabel (10 unread)

music

Little Hits (26 unread)
mixotheque (25 unread)
Mystery and Misery (42 unread)
Poplicks.com (69 unread)
one faint deluded smile (10 unread)
Largehearted Boy (325 unread)
music (for robots) (118 unread)
Benn loxo du taccu (40 unread)
cocaine blunts & hip hop tapes (22 unread)
Said the Gramophone (70 unread)
Popsheep (36 unread)

minnesota

Perfect Duluth Day (269 unread)
MNspeak.com (281 unread)

think

SPSS Inc. -- Latest Articles (18 unread)
Dogen Sangha Blog (14 unread)
3quarksdaily (825 unread)
Damn Interesting (85 unread)
Long Sunday (106 unread)
Global Voices Online (922 unread)
I cite (124 unread)
Open Source (95 unread)
Vegan Lunch Box (66 unread)

Unread items (100)

Open Source

Blogsday 2006

Posted: June 15th, 2006, 9:00am PDT by Brendan

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Blogsday was a great show from June 2005. Any interest in doing this again for 2006?Jon, from a comment to Open Source May 16, 2006
Oh yes there is. Jon is referring to a show from a year ago -- listen here -- an idea of Chelsea's that still one of our favorites. Taking as our model Bloomsday, Dublin's very real Jun 16, 1904 in which James Joyce's set his very fictional Ulysses, we took a look at one day of the blogosphere, in our case Tuesday, June 14, 2005. We gathered an hour's worth of blog posts -- about Britney Spears, buying a car, coming home from Iraq, about a night at a barbecue joint -- and read them on air. We're doing it again. We've started looking ourselves; we found a woman who misses Brooklyn and a man who kills lizards, but there are plenty more to find. We need your help. Think of the blogs you read (and not Andrew Sullivan, either, because we know about him already), the personal ones, the ones that tell stories, the ones that actually give you a little piece of someone's life. We're looking for a post, a sentence, anything time-stamped June 6, 2006. Post a link in the thread below. Also, no fair posting your own blogs; that's cheating. You have until Thursday.

[daily dose of imagery]

staurant

Posted: June 13th, 2006, 12:45am PDT

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taking a break from modern architecture, this is canary restaurant at around mills and cherry street.

Open Source

CENTCOM Has the Personal Touch

Fetched: June 13th, 2006, 12:41am PDT by Greta

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[At CENTCOM,] we're well known in the blogosphere-- we post stories all the time. Like maybe there's a dialogue going in a blog about starving children in Iraq, and we'll post something about humanitarian efforts there. First Lieutenant Brian Anderson, Electronic Media Engagement Team Leader, CENTCOM, in a conversation with Open Source, 6/13/06

Iraqi Army Cpl. Husein Abass Husein unloads a box of prayer rugs for a local mosque. [Cpl. William Skelton, image from Combat Camera Photo Galleries]
The Electronic Media Engagement team is a new detail at United States Central Command, the command center in charge of troops in the Middle East, East Africa, and Central Asia (including Iraq and Afghanistan). First Lieutenant Brian Anderson and two other soldiers were transferred to CENTCOM headquarters in Florida about a year ago. They send out press releases to a cadre of 450 bloggers and encourage bloggers to link back to their site. Sometimes, when they find a blogger writing about U.S. military operations in CENTCOM's designated region, they'll respond in the blog's comment thread with a story like one of these.

We post under full disclosure-- I'll say I'm First Lieutenant Brian Anderson at US Central Command. Often when we'll post a story, [the bloggers] will want to ask us a bunch of questions, but we don't actively engage in that kind of dialogue. Occasionally, if it's a really interesting question, we'll forward it along to the media section, but that's rare. That's not really what we do. First Lieutenant Brian Anderson, in a conversation with Open Source, 6/13/06
Lieutenant Anderson says it's not to advance any particular political agenda; they're just trying to get the information out. He'll email press releases out to any blogger who expresses interest. If you buy the line that bloggers respond best to personal outreach, then mass emails from John Kerry and MoveOn are missing the mark, and US Central Command is right on. When CENTCOM sent out this press release on Saturday, and when Obob quoted the text on his blog, he was duly thanked:
Hi, Obob: I just wanted to thank you for picking up the press release from US Central Command. I don't know if you've explored our webpage (http://www.centcom.mil), but it features news, photos, audio and video from Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. You're welcome to use any materials you find on our site. Good luck with your blog. SGT C. Flowers CENTCOM Public Affairs SGT C. Flowers, in a comment to so much for our hatred of Islam, Obob's World, 6/10/06
Suggest a Show: June 2006

Fetched: June 13th, 2006, 12:41am PDT by Brendan

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Henry's posted a show suggestion roundup. It's been a while since the last one, and we're going to start getting these roundups out once a week. What now? What should we thinking about when we produce shows? We know about the new flareup of violence in Israel and Palestine; tell us what's going on in your neighborhood, in your profession, the stuff that nobody's writing about yet. As always, leave show suggestions as comments in the thread below. As always, take a look at Katherine's short guide to suggesting shows.
Show Suggestion Roundup, April and May

Fetched: June 13th, 2006, 12:41am PDT by Henry

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Here is the roundup for the March Suggest a Show. scarequotes: We took seriously your question, "What should the leading cause of death be?" We like the way it probes medical ethics and the goals of public policy. We'll be talking about this and working toward a show. allison: We'll read Rep. Owens' article on Donocracy and see if it points to a compelling show. loay: Our Hidden Histories of Slavery show with Simon Schama took a similarly historical approach to the race question. We're not convinced the Anthony W. Marx book warrant's another show at this point. scarequotes: We really like the idea of a dictionary/evolving lexicon show. We've been wondering exactly how to approach the Language Log guys. Thanks for the plentiful and interesting links. oldguyoldchick: We compared prison experiences in our Race, Class, and Prison show, and we're working on Steal This Election, which will analyze elections. So we put the question back to you: Is there another institution that would draw a fine point on the variation that federalism is designed to promote? The example would need to be concrete and creative to warrant an hour of radio. nother,: We're not convinced that we should pursue a diplomacy and personality show right now. It is an interesting topic that may crop up again in the future, however. Socrates: We've been thinking about John Stuart Mill because it is his 200th birthday year. A now-archived (and pay-only) Prospect Magazine article described the continuing impact of Mill's social theory and philsophy. His anniversary may be a good excuse to reflect on this legacy.

ArmsControlWonk

Mahley On Libya [1]

Fetched: June 13th, 2006, 12:40am PDT by jeffrey

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A couple of weeks ago, Judy Miller made a passing reference to “a ‘Lessons Learned’ paper for an arms-control newsletter” written by Ambassador Donald Mahley, Senior WMD Representative in Libya.

I was like, what Lessons Learned paper? So was Kerr. Turns out, Mahley penned an article for The Arena, a publication of the now defunct Chemical and Biological Arms Control Institute (CBACI, what is that, See-back-ee?).

Anyway, here is the full text of Donald Mahley, “Dismantling Libyan Weapons: Lessons Learned,” Arena 10 (November 2004).
Bombs From Space [6]

Fetched: June 13th, 2006, 12:40am PDT by jeffrey

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Christopher Stone, “a space/missile officer with Air Force Space Command-Reserve Component”, has written an article in the Space Review blaming “certain circles” and “political” reasons for the lack of orbital strike weapons.

Stone omitted, as a reason, the laws of physics, which presumably also hate our freedoms.

Fortunately, David Wright and Laura Grego have penned a response elucidating those relevant laws:

Briefly, for a space-based weapon to be able to reach a ground target rapidly, it must be positioned close to the ground, in low Earth orbit (LEO) at an altitude of several hundred kilometers. However, satellites in LEO move quickly with respect to the ground, and to ensure that one is in the right place at the right time, a constellation of many satellites would be necessary. Timeliness and number of satellites required play off of each other, but to be competitive with ground-based systems and have a response time of about 30 minutes, one would need some 100 satellites in orbit. Those 100 would provide for a single satellite to cover a target; to have two-on-one targeting or allow two nearly simultaneous attacks on nearby targets would require doubling the size of the constellation, and so on.

While Mr. Stone correctly notes that three satellites in geostationary orbits (GEO) can view the entire equatorial regions of the earth, GEO satellites are 100 times farther from the earth than LEO satellites—much too far to be able to strike the ground rapidly. In reality, space is already used for those tasks it is best suited to, and not those it isn’t. Basic physics dictates this.

Moreover, the intuitive appeal that bombing from space has for many people—that weapons can be “dropped” from above a target—is simply wrong. Objects in orbit stay in orbit unless there is a force to push them back toward the ground. Not only do orbiting ground-attack weapons require a large rocket to get them into space in the first place, they must carry large amounts of fuel (essentially another rocket) to accelerate them back out of their orbit and down to earth. Since launching mass into orbit costs oughly $10,000 per pound, such a constellation becomes very expensive. Moreover, since the weapons and their rockets are orbiting in space for years, reliability becomes a concern.

David and Laura were much more moderate in tone that I was, after Taylor Dinerman incorrectly reasoned that intercepting a missile in the boost phase would cause the warhead to “fall back on the nation that launched the missile”.

For the full scoop of orbital strike weapons and other flights of fancy, check out Wright, Grego and Gronlund, The Physics of Space Security.

Late Update: I overlooked a great report by the late Bob Preston and his colleagues at RAND.
Blix on India

Fetched: June 13th, 2006, 12:40am PDT by jeffrey

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Hans Blix came out against the US-India nuclear deal, kind of—according to a press release from Ed Markey’s (D-MA) office:

“I am concerned about the impact on the proliferation of nuclear weapons. These concerns could be met if India, Pakistan, the United States, and other states committed themselves to the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and a verifiable international treaty stopping all production of fissile material for weapons. Absent such commitments, the proposed deal risks fueling an arms race in Asia.”

(Big ups: T-Baum, Will “GTA” Huntington)
Iran and Google Earth [1]

Fetched: June 13th, 2006, 12:40am PDT by jeffrey

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Geoff Forden at MIT has a sweet tour of Iran’s nuclear facilities for Google Earth—including Arak, where for some strange reason the Bush Administration believes Iran should be able to produce two bombs worth of plutonium a year.

(WHAT? You don’t have Google Earth? Click here you Luddite.)

deconsumption

Rigorous Intuition V2.0

Fetched: June 13th, 2006, 12:40am PDT by Steven Lagavulin

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Jeff's having blog-seizure at his regular digs, so bookmark him over at his summer home...for the time being at least.

Rigorous Intuition Version 2.0
Timely Tidbits...

Fetched: June 13th, 2006, 12:40am PDT by Steven Lagavulin

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Today's stories pulled at random from the sarcastically-labelled "Well I certainly didn't see THAT coming" file:

"Insects thrive on GM Bt pest-killing crops"

"Genetically modified crops specially engineered to kill pests in fact nourish them, startling new research has revealed. The research - which has taken even the most ardent opponents of GM crops by surprise - radically undermines one of the key benefits claimed for them. And it suggests that they may be an even greater threat to organic farming than has been envisaged. It strikes at the heart of one of the main lines of current genetic engineering in agriculture: breeding crops that come equipped with their own pesticide.
...the new research - by scientists at Imperial College London and the Universidad Simon Rodrigues in Caracas, Venezuela - adds an alarming new twist, suggesting that pests can actually use the poison as a food and that the crops, rather than automatically controlling them, can actually help them to thrive.

They fed resistant larvae of the diamondback moth - an increasingly troublesome pest in the southern US and in the tropics - on normal cabbage leaves and ones that had been treated with a Bt toxin. The larvae eating the treated leaves grew much faster and bigger - with a 56 per cent higher growth rate."
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
Egyptian paper Al-Ahram Weekly, in a piece entitled "Killing contest" reports the following from an anonymous source, but I have little doubt it will be verified before too long:

"Reported atrocities in Haditha are but the tip of a dark iceberg.
...An Iraqi human rights activist, requesting anonymity for fear of reprisals by the militia or restrictions on her mobility by US troops, said Westerners and Americans do not believe the Arab and Iraqi press when they report crimes committed by US forces against Iraqi civilians. Had such reports been taken seriously, she said, perhaps the number of casualties from "friendly fire" would have dropped already. She said she had documented dozens of crimes similar to the slaughter in Haditha and was but waiting for the day when a conscientious American or Western reporter publishes them."
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
Mexican paper La Journada reports an interesting factoid: "Mexican Presidential Candidates Debate Issue of Migration"

"Looking beyond the declarations of politicians, it has never been so clear to me that the accelerated influx of immigrant workers is one of the strongest indicators of the economic-policy failures of our recent governments. Two facts serve as evidence: migration to the United States is at present 13 times the level of 30 years ago; and today, one in ten Mexicans is an undocumented worker "on the other side." Such a statistic is a scandal, considering that numbers like these cannot be found on any of the planet's other borders."

Unfortunately the article doesn't go on to explore the what and the why of this statement--namely that such a disparity would indicate that there is a formal, if unstated, immigration policy between both governments--and just talks about the immigration stance of various Mexican political figures.
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
Washington Post suggests "Wind-Power Projects Halted" around the country because rich politicians in Cape Cod don't want them locally.

"More than 130 wind turbines are proposed for the hilltops of central Wisconsin, but that project and at least 11 others have been halted by the Defense Department as it studies whether the projects could interfere with military radar.
...They say their wind turbines are victims of the ongoing dispute between Cape Cod residents and developers of the proposed Cape Wind farm in Nantucket Sound. The Defense Department study was put in the 2006 Defense Authorization Act -- inserted, say wind farm developers, by senators who want to block Cape Wind."

However, there is a brighter-side to note:

"The FAA has received more than 4,100 wind turbine applications so far this year, compared with about 4,300 in 2005 and 1,982 in 2004."

And this was interesting: "A farmer who has a turbine on their land gets $4,000 to $5,000 per year for that turbine." In other words a single windmill could cover a good chunk of your property taxes. No wonder so many are going up. That's the way a successful incentive program works!
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
Okay, wait 'til you read this one: "IBM chief calls for end to colonial companies"

"Sam Palmisano, head of IBM, on Monday called on multinationals to evolve into a new type of corporation if they are to avoid an anti-globalisation backlash that leads to the election of governments hostile to the interests of big business.
In a rare public intervention, Big Blue’s chairman and chief executive writes in today’s Financial Times that traditional multinational companies need to abandon their almost colonial approach to operations outside their home country. He cites as examples of this old-style method the way GM, Ford and his own company built factories in Europe and Asia but kept all the research and development in the US.

Instead, he argues they need to move towards full global integration of their operations so as to stop the current unease about the forces of globalisation turning into an all-out assault on big business.

...“These decisions are not simply a matter of offloading non-core activities, nor are they mere labour arbitrage – that is, shifting work to low-wage regions.”

The IBM chief’s decision to go on the offensive comes less than a week after he announced plans to invest $6bn in India, highlighting the latest step in Big Blue’s efforts to shed its multinational structure.

...He says traditional multi-national companies were designed to deal with the “protection and nationalism” that held sway in the 20th century. The modern company, Mr Palmisano writes, is a “globally integrated enterprise”, which spreads its strategies, production capacity and management around the world in order to be close to markets and customers."

It sounds to me like multinationals are getting scared. And they should be.

But what I hear Palmisano saying--and I doubt he's the sole originator of this idea--is that multinational corporations are going to have to stop exploiting the resources and workers in poor countries for the benefit of workers in rich countries. Therefore instead, they need to start reinvesting their profits back into the poor countries themselves.

Which makes perfect sense, really. Unless you happen to be one of those middle-to-upper management employees in said rich country. In that case you're out of a job, and someone overseas is going to do it for significantly less cost. Just like what happened with those assembly and customer-service workers you laid-off a couple years ago.

And really, isn't this just the last, reasonable, final stage in multinational evolution? The fact that it coincides with all the anti-globalism backlash that's erupting the world over just means the companies now have a great spin to put on it--a great "talking point" for Wall Street to glom onto.

But hey, the party at the top of the economic pyramid was great while it lasted, wasn't it?

And let me draw out the redux even further. Here's another equally plausible title for the same article:

"IBM CEO to Multinationals: Get your corporate assets out of U.S. while there is still time, start making nice with all those foreign people we've been raping up 'til now"

'Cause you don't just pick up your bricks-and-mortar and white-collar jobs and move them into a place...you also move the out of a place.

Perfect Duluth Day

It goes well...

Fetched: June 13th, 2006, 12:40am PDT by in.dog.neato

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You really should be eating here...

If you haven't already.

(I wish I had a photo to stick here, but alas...)

Tamara and I spend a bit of time here and we find more to like about the place each time we go. The gelatto is excellent, and for lunch/dinner, there is a plethora of freshly made sauces and pastas, cheeses, fresh veggies, breads and...if you're into it...meats. The food's to die for, and the price fits easily into pretty much any budget.

I'd suggest the Prosciutto pear and honey goat milk panini for starters...
Rock the Block this Thursday Downtown Duluth

Fetched: June 13th, 2006, 12:40am PDT by Transplant

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The Greater Downtown Council is hosting a new Summer Concert Series event in the Downtown this summer. It is called Rock the Block and the first concert is this Thursday June 15. The Urban Hillbilly Quartet gets started at 5:00 in the 300 Block West on Superior St. There will be beer and food sold by local restaurants as well as seating available for Rock the Block attendees. The event was created for the public and is free!

Please come and support this new outdoor event that will be hosted every other Thursday this summer on the streets of Downtown Duluth. Bands are a mix of local and regional. If you would like to hear samples of there music go to www.downtownduluth.com
I made a movie in 48 hours

Fetched: June 13th, 2006, 12:40am PDT by mike

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This evening at 7pm, at the Riverview Theater in Minneapolis, I will be attending a screening of the short film I made for the 48 hour film contest.

Here are all the reasons you should show up:
1) The film turned out really well. It's called "Conversion Van" and it's about a guy who's trying to rescue his girlfriend from a suicide cult somewhere outside of Duluth, Minnesota.
2) As far as I know, it's the only film in the contest that was made in Duluth.
3) We need people to show up and support our film. If it gets enough votes, it could win an audience award.
4) What else could you possibly have to do on a Tuesday night at 7pm?

Hope to see you there. And please bring friends. And spread the word. And be good.
back in miny soda

Fetched: June 13th, 2006, 12:40am PDT by enealio

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here I am back in minnesota. two grueling years in madison and now relocated to the twin cities. it's good to be back. especially since i'm now within driving distance for a day trip to duluth and the lake i miss so much. if you've ever moved away from duluth, you know what i mean. that thing weighs you down greater than an anchor burger (btw, great pic of you cramming your face w/ a burger lundgren)

on a differnt matter, have any of you geeks seen this? i just found out about it and will be adding it to my netflix soon.

why do i have the feeling this is baci's idea of porn.

Photos from flannelmouthed's contacts

(Untitled)

Fetched: June 13th, 2006, 12:40am PDT by GalaxyCraze

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GalaxyCraze posted a photo:
A Long Way to Fall for Your Love

Fetched: June 13th, 2006, 12:40am PDT by Thomas Hawk

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Thomas Hawk posted a photo:
Scotty's Castle in the Mountains of Death Valley

Fetched: June 13th, 2006, 12:40am PDT by Old Shoe Woman

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Old Shoe Woman posted a photo:

in Death Valley National Park, California
www.nps.gov/deva/Scottys/Scottys_main.htm

Take the Virtual Tour and listen to music played on the pipe organ inside the house: www.nps.gov/deva/Scottys/virtual_tour.htm
Of Doorknobs and Matchsticks

Fetched: June 13th, 2006, 12:40am PDT by sunburnsideup

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sunburnsideup posted a photo:

Seersucker sharpens its houndstooth--it's a little like licking one's chops.
(Untitled)

Fetched: June 13th, 2006, 12:40am PDT by Honey Island

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Honey Island posted a photo:

Que grande sossego, sem falas humanas,
sem o lábio dos rostos de lobo,
sem ódio, sem amor, sem nada!

Cecília Meireles
BRASIL!!!

Fetched: June 13th, 2006, 12:40am PDT by nepenthes

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nepenthes posted a photo:
Victorian Woman

Fetched: June 13th, 2006, 12:40am PDT by johnralston

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johnralston posted a photo:

Black colored pencil and watercolor on cardboard.
DSC08314

Fetched: June 13th, 2006, 12:40am PDT by psergioserrato

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psergioserrato posted a photo:
racheldoll2

Fetched: June 13th, 2006, 12:40am PDT by Sister Havana

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Sister Havana posted a photo:

Working me doll! Except I don't have a dog at work, and I don't work at night. (They need more backgrounds!)
Vertical Fay

Fetched: June 13th, 2006, 12:40am PDT by snailbooty

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snailbooty posted a photo:
DSCN2433

Fetched: June 13th, 2006, 12:40am PDT by OPHOTN

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OPHOTN posted a photo:
Kung Fu Episode 962

Fetched: June 13th, 2006, 12:40am PDT by tomswift46

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tomswift46 posted a photo:

Within the Search there were moments for reflection and listening to the vibrations of the Spheres.
ozone03

Fetched: June 13th, 2006, 12:40am PDT by Elefant

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Elefant posted a photo:
Leaving for Children's Camp

Fetched: June 13th, 2006, 12:40am PDT by red&yellow;

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red&yellow posted a photo:

I went to see the kids off to Children's camp today at church. Maybe next year I will be able to go with them.
Jean-Paul Raabe's Camera Paintin' Exhibition

Fetched: June 13th, 2006, 12:40am PDT by drade

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drade posted a photo:

Coming in Novermber 2006
to The Tamarind Gallery
Washington, D.C.

www.thetamarindflickr.blogspot.com
Potato Ricer

Fetched: June 13th, 2006, 12:40am PDT by kitchenknife

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kitchenknife posted a photo:
Michael

Fetched: June 13th, 2006, 12:40am PDT by AnomalousNYC

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AnomalousNYC posted a photo:
crazy wear and hair day

Fetched: June 13th, 2006, 12:40am PDT by christyscherrer

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christyscherrer posted a photo:

the last monday of the school year and the beginning of spirit week. They grew a whole year!
turkey_bushbig

Fetched: June 13th, 2006, 12:40am PDT by If I Had An Anus

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If I Had An Anus posted a photo:
R. Fraser Elliott Hall

Fetched: June 13th, 2006, 12:40am PDT by wvs

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wvs posted a photo:

R. Fraser Elliott Hall of the newly finished Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, at Queen and University in Toronto. The building was just recently finished and the ribbon cutting was yesterday.

Special thanks to the people from Canadian Opera Company and the people from Diamond + Schmitt Architects Inc. for giving us a tour last week. It was great to see the place before the public opening. And a special thanks to Eli Singer for arranging this exclusive bloggers tour.

Astronomy Picture of the Day

Sagittarius Triplet

Fetched: June 13th, 2006, 12:40am PDT

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Sagittarius Triplet
Credit & Copyright: Steve Mazlin, Jim Misti
Explanation: These three bright nebulae are often featured in telescopic tours of the constellation Sagittarius and the crowded starfields of the central Milky Way. In fact, 18th century cosmic tourist Charles Messier cataloged two of them; M8, the nebula below and right of center, and colorful M20 at the upper right. The third, NGC 6559, is left of M8, separated from the the larger nebula by a dark dust lane. All three are stellar nurseries about five thousand light-years or so distant. The expansive M8, over a hundred light-years across, is also known as the Lagoon Nebula while M20's popular moniker is the Trifid. This stunning digital view is actually a collaborative composite recorded by 2 cameras and 2 telescopes about 2 thousand miles apart. The deep, wide image field was captured under dark Arizona skies. Both M8 and M20 were recorded in more detail from an observatory in Pennsylvania. Glowing hydrogen gas creates the dominant red color of the emission nebulae, with contrasting blue hues, most striking in the Trifid, due to dust reflected starlight .

Ask MetaFilter

I'm drunk, not pleased

Posted: June 13th, 2006, 12:23am PDT by generic230

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When you drink, how long does it take to sober up? I had three martinis from 4:45 to 7:30. That's not normally a lot for me, but I drank on an empty stomach. That's where I went wrong. I'm normally a 4 martini gal. I did I eat shortly after my first martini. And now, I 'm at home and sick drunk. Spins, wooziness. I hate this feeling. I think the key was, I started when I was hungry, and although I ate shortly after the first drink, it was too late. Being this blotto is rare for me. Now I'm dizzy drunk. How long before I'm sober? How long before I can expect the spins to subside?

Deadspin

Dwyane Wade: Kind Of Fun To Watch

Posted: June 13th, 2006, 12:12am PDT

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This mighty pretty Getty Images photo, taken during one of Dwyane Wade's many free throws tonight, pretty much sums up everything we just saw: Everywhere we looked, there was Dwyane Wade, and there was Dwayne Wade only.

The final score was Miami 98, Dallas 96, but the real numbers were Wade's: 42 points and 13 rebounds, including one late from which he appeared to have been dropped from the rafters. The Heat looked absolutely done halfway through that fourth quarter, and then Wade went all -- yes -- Jordan on the Mavericks. Add in two oddly pretty Shaquille O'Neal late free throws and a massively clutch Gary Payton (???!!!) jumper ... and the NBA Finals are Finals-worthy again. Thankfully.

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Related: Is This It For Shaq, Wade And Riley?
Related: Boy, The Heat Sure Look Done Already
Related: Rileyball To Rear Its Ugly Head

Global Voices Online

Jamaica, USA: The US and the post-national writer

Posted: June 13th, 2006, 11:48pm PDT by Georgia Popplewell

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As he works on his second novel, Jamaican writer Marlon James ponders the obstacles the US publishing establishment puts in the way of writers like himself, but concludes that “I have to hold to the belief that book and reader have an almost cosmic destiny to meet. And when they do, no barrier whether it be language, race, culture or nationality will stand in the way.”

MetaFilter

Listen! ...you smell something?

Posted: June 13th, 2006, 11:39pm PDT by loquacious

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We've just replaced Bob's Folger's with 5000 micrograms of LSD. Let's see if he'll notice the difference. (Quicktime video. Not safe for the reasonably sane or unmedicated.)

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Environmental car choice?

Posted: June 13th, 2006, 11:32pm PDT by xmutex

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Car question: a choice among Honda Ciivc Hybrid, Toyota Prius, and VW TDI Jetta. Primary concerns (in order of priority): (1) general safety, reliability and maintenance issues, (2) gas mileage, (3) emissions, (4) pimpin' built-in iPod accessories. The car's used 80% in a daily stop-and-go commute (40-60 mins each way) but road trips are certainly in mind too. Opinions, experiences, venting appreciated. I know there's like some big difference between the way the hybrid engine functions in the Prius vs. the Civic, but I don't know what it is. The TDI is in there because I'm sort-of thinking about the biodiesel possibilities, and preliminary research indicates diesels do well against hybrids for mileage and such.

freedarko.com

The poetical don't last

Posted: June 13th, 2006, 11:29pm PDT by Bethlehem Shoals

Tags: [edit]

It's amazing that the Heat got so thoroughly dishonored in the first two games of the Finals that now, like a retarded child gasping for air in the elementary school's general population, they rewarded simply for not pissing themselves. Congratulations to a team that made it is this far. . .for actually playing like they belonged here. Joy unto the Lord for their willingness to prove that they

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My, my, my music hits me...so hard!

Posted: June 13th, 2006, 11:13pm PDT by kaseijin

Tags: [edit]

How, in the name of all that is good and holy, exactly do I wear a hakama? The first time I laid eyes on this Japanese formal garment in the flesh, my mind boggled -- here, splayed out in front of me, was a bewildering abundance of spare cloth, pleats, and curiously long straps.

I can step into the thing okay....and I can discern which side is "front" and which "back"...

But how do I make it look right? How do I tie all the straps? Do I tie them above or below my (men's) obi? What sort of knots do I use?

When I try to wear this thing, I feel as though even the most polite Japanese would have the damnedest time keeping a straight face in my presence.

I need to figure this thing out, and I don't want to resort to ordering some book online, sight unseen, and waiting for it to ship.

Please help me not look like (more of) a fool! Mefites, I beseech thee!

Global Voices Online

Barbados: Revitalise the Landship

Posted: June 13th, 2006, 11:10pm PDT by Georgia Popplewell

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Barbados Free Press is all for the revitalisation of the Landship, Barbados’s “navy that never goes to sea.”

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How to find a job when relocating to a new city?

Posted: June 13th, 2006, 10:51pm PDT by boring_prophet

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My fiance is returning to school, which means I must relocate (from Virginia) to the new city (Oklahoma City) where I have very few contacts. Are there any tips or tricks for finding a job in a specific location?
Where has this Manuel de Falla piece been used?

Posted: June 13th, 2006, 10:51pm PDT by daksya

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Can anyone recognize this theme(YSI mp3 extract; 1.2MB) from Manuel de Falla's El Amor Brujo? I have a strong sense that I've heard it appropriated as(or "inspired") some movie's theme, but the IMDb soundtrack search doesn't throw up anything familiar, credited to de Falla.
Help me understand SVN

Posted: June 13th, 2006, 10:47pm PDT by AmbroseChapel

Tags: [edit]
Help me understand SVN I'm working for the first time in a job where we have source control.

In the old days I would just upload and hope for the best, or maybe if I was feeling especially careful, take a backup of the file then upload and hope for the best.

Now I follow what is to me an obscure and tedious process using Tortoise.
1. I "switch to Trunk view" on the PC *
2. I "Commit" the folder I'm working in *
3. I "switch to Production view" *
4. I "Merge" from Production to Trunk (HEAD) *
5. I "Commit" again *
I have marked with an asterisk the bits of that process I don't understand. Various dialogs come up, I click on OK, but I'm just a trained monkey at this point.

I think I understand the big picture, that is, the SVN system will keep, and allow us to roll back to, earlier versions, that kind of thing. But what actually is happening?

And it appears I followed my set of trained-monkey steps on a folder and accidentally reverted someone else's code to a previous version. How did I do that? And more to the point, isn't the whole point of these things that I should have got an error message saying "hey, that file's newer on the server than on your PC"?

Before I actually had to use one, I imagined SVN and CVS systems as being some kind of magical smart FTP -- I would upload a file and it would just "know" that it should back up the old one, warn if it had been updated since I last downloaded it, or even merge their changes and mine. Apparently it's not that simple!

Anyone who can give me a mental picture of what I'm actually doing when I follow these steps, TIA.
My... my hair? But that's my meal ticket! *cries*

Posted: June 13th, 2006, 10:33pm PDT by brundlefly

Tags: [edit]

I'm losing hair over one of my temples. WTF? I've always been on the lookout for male pattern baldness, as it has cropped up in my family before. A few months ago, I started noticing that my hair was thinning... but only above my left temple, which doesn't fit the "pattern" as far as I know.

I've been dealing with dry skin/scalp lately, perhaps due to increased stress (?), so I'm wondering if that's what's causing it. Or can the pattern of male pattern baldness be lopsided at the outset?

MetaFilter

More casualties of war

Posted: June 13th, 2006, 10:09pm PDT by Tablecrumbs

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Explosion at Iowa Army Ammunition Plant Interesting to note, this plant which is just a few miles from my hometown remained relatively dormant after the cold war ended.

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Best-ever slow-cooker recipes?

Posted: June 13th, 2006, 9:46pm PDT by agropyron

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What are the most amazing low-fat slow-cooker recipes in the world? My wife has about 5 really fabulous slow-cooker recipes that are nice and healthy. Low fat and low calorie. Three are beef stews and two are chicken dishes.

What are your favorites? I suspect there are a lot of health-conscious slow-cooker chefs here.

The Sound of Young America

Kids Rock! in San Francisco

Posted: June 13th, 2006, 9:36pm PDT by Jesse Thorn

Tags: [edit]

For those of you following the saga of my 10-year-old brother Eddy Demon's band, "Total Annihilation," there is a new chapter. Your attendance is expected.

From bassist Dorkmeister Harmoniak:

TOTAL ANNIHILATION is playing yet another show, this coming Saturday, 17 June at The LAB, on the corner of Capp and 16th Sts. (2498 16th St.) in San Francisco. We are playing as part of the KIDS ROCK festival, an all day event featuring numerous bands featuring numerous kids. If you're new to TOTAL ANNIHILATION, or just haven't been paying attention, it's the band featuring the songs and guitarings of whacked-out 10 yr old freakazoid Eddy Demon, for whom I, Damon (a/k/a Dorkmeister Harmoniak), play bass. Our drummer, Pietro d'Amato, 13, is the second coming of Keith Moon.

\nOur sound can peel paint!!!
\n
\n\n\n\n\nThat\'s\na good thing. Visit us at\nhttp://www.myspace.com/totalannihilationband to whet your appetite,\nthen come to the show. I think it\'s free. It can\'t be\npricey. There\'ll be uniquely hand-decorated CDs and t-shirts\navailable, lots of new songs making their debuts, maybe even a new\nbandmember!
\n
\nSend me an e-mail to let me know you\'re interested in coming and I will\ndo my best to discern in advance when in the day we\'ll be playing, in\ncase you don\'t feel like six hours of kids rocking is in the best\ninterests of your mental health and that of the ones you love (in which case you\'d be wrong, but, y\'know, to each her own).
\n
\nDon\'t hesitate to forward this to all your rock hungry friends!!! And please, please, PLEASE come out to see us -- the boyz really work hard on these shows, and love to entertain! It\'s gonna be smokin\'.\n
\n
\nDamon
\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n",0] ); //-->
Our sound can peel paint!!!

That's a good thing. Visit us at [myspace.com] to whet your appetite, then come to the show. I think it's free. It can't be pricey. There'll be uniquely hand-decorated CDs and t-shirts available, lots of new songs making their debuts, maybe even a new bandmember!

The music starts at 3pm with Hellakraptor, followed by Rock Ceremony, and then, at about 4:45, TOTAL ANNIHILATION!!! That's right: come to find we're headlining this shindig! And there's a reason: we're shit hot! (Don't tell the boys' moms I said that. Actually, you can. They already know)

True Hoop

DraftExpress: Redick Reportedly Has Back Trouble

Posted: June 13th, 2006, 9:28pm PDT by Henry Abbott

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This is not J.J. Redick's day. First the news of his arrest. Then I just got this e-mail from Jonathan Givony at DraftExpress, who promises more on his website:Duke senior J.J. Redick failed a physical at the NBA pre-draft camp...

MetaFilter

there's a party in my tummy, and biz markie's coming!

Posted: June 13th, 2006, 9:16pm PDT by padraigin

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Yo Gabba Gabba is a new concept for a children's television show, featuring a hip-hop edge, guest starring Biz Markie and Paul Frank's Julius The Monkey, as well as the standard complement of day-glo monsters and songs. Some children's programming is the product of serious thought. Some is completely bewildering. Some just plain rocks.

Waxy.org Links

Aaron sees a market for liveblogging delivery of big events

Posted: June 13th, 2006, 9:10pm PDT

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getting pushed IM updates from E3, the Macworld keynote, or sporting events would be neat

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Klaus is insane and kind of a dick

Posted: June 13th, 2006, 8:52pm PDT by ibeji

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Why does our cat try to cover our heads like litter when we sleep? Does our cat think we're filthy?!? I'm a little insulted... A brief background of Klaus: he is Balinese (3/4 siamese and 1/4 angora specifically), and has never been outdoors. He is crazy, demanding, and overly affectionate. Many people have called him a dick. Also:

*OCD: He is very particular about the litter box: our other cat doesn't get the whole covering the poop thing, so Klaus will go in there and cover it for him, spending ten minutes to make sure the offending waste is buried forever.

*Rage Issues: If he's not sleeping, he'll want you to pet him constantly or talk to him or throw toys for him; if you do not do these things, he will climb up on your chest and yell in your face. If you push him off, he will run around the house in a rage, screaming horrible things.

*Food issues: He's not very interested in food usually, though when he is, he wolfs it down.

So the question is, basically, what does it mean when he
(a) covers up his food like it's litter
(he did this only when I kept putting the bowl in front of him)

(b)cover up my husband's sleeping head like it's litter
(my husband's head is clean, as were the sheets)

Your thoughts and experiences? There's nothing wrong with him, and we love his insane behavior; I'm just wondering what drives this little bat devil monkey thing.
Stickers on tinted windows

Posted: June 13th, 2006, 8:37pm PDT by tommassit

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I just got a used car that has tinted windows. I'm not sure if they're factory-installed or after-market (is there a way to tell?). Anyway, I'm going to be putting a parking sticker inside on a window. Will the sticker be a problem removing in a year? Will that tear off the film? Thanks.
County Contiguity

Posted: June 13th, 2006, 8:30pm PDT by thrako

Tags: [edit]

I need a data file describing which US counties border which other US counties. Is it somewhere on the internet? I don't have any GIS software, so I need the data in a more general format. I have googled and all I can find is a couple of states covered separately. I know I can generate this from the ASCII Census border files but I would rather not re-invent the wheel. Thanks in advance.
Do I need to worry about maggots in my apartment?

Posted: June 13th, 2006, 8:24pm PDT by TheIrreverend

Tags: [edit]

Do I need to worry about maggots in my apartment? There was a fly in my apartment today, and when I finally found it dead on a bookshelf, I noticed that it was near a small pile of maggots (about 10-20). My first question is: should I worry that the fly left behind other piles of maggots in some unnoticed corner of my apartment that will eventually lead to an infestation?

I am also a bit confused by this. I thought that flies laid eggs in food, which then hatch into maggots. I am pretty sure there were no fly eggs on my bookshelf, and certainly no food. So how did the maggots get there?

YOU ARE ENTERING A DANGEROUS BLOG!!!
I HAVE KNOWLEDGE OF THE THINGS THEY ARE NOT WANTING YOU TO KNOW
SECRETS OF THE WORLD
IF YOU ARE A JAY LENO FAN OR NINJA OR INTERPOL AGENT THEN LEAVE NOW, YOUR KIND IS SET TO EXPIRE
PROCEED WITH CAUTION!!! I WARNED YOU!!!!

WELCOME TO THE TIME TEACHINGS
YOU ARE ALL MORANS!

break the chains of IGNORANCE!!!

This site contains every and all of the secrets that THEY dont want you too know about, the SECRET OF TEACHING TIME! This is the key to EXISTENCE and YOUR IMMORTAL SOUL.

THIS IS THE TEACHING TIME! NOTHING ELSE WILL WORK, THIS IS THE TRUTH!!!

You cannot have IMMORTAL SOUL without YOU LEARNING THE FACTS OF THE TIME!!! THEYwill not reveal the truth because to blind you to be morans makes them GROW WEALTHY and it SHOWS YOU as a SHEEP! YOUR NOTHING MOER THAN A FLOCK OF CATTLE TO THEM, YOU SHOULD UNDERSTAND THIS...WITH TIME!!!! The TEACHING TIME will guide you through this secret to a level noone has ever obtained before without it

due to your blinded moraniness. YOU MUST GAIN THE TIME AND LEARN THE WAYS OF THE TIME! YOU MUST LEARN AND TEACH THE TEACHING TIME!

THIS GOVERNMENT WANTS YOU TO FOLLOW THEM TO YOUR DEATH AND MORANINESS!!! DON"T DO IT!!! NO!!! BELIEVE THE TIME, THEY ONLY BELIVE IN THE BRANCHES OF LIES, THE US IS RULED BY THIS TREE OF LIES!!!

I have KNOWN the truth after many years that THE TIME is the key to all of our worlds. This is a revolutionary way of processing our thoughs and people cannot accept change! It will take you a while to gain your trust in this as fact because you were forced to be a MORAN by the BRANCHES! You are not a moran, we are of a SAVIOR not this TREE lie! EVERYTHING IS OF TIME EXCEPT WHITE GOLD AND DO NOT TRUST THE BRANCHES EVER ABOUT THIS FALLACY BECAUSE THEY DO NOT WANT YOU TO WARP THROUGH THE REALITY FACTIONS AND ACHIEVE THE TEACHINGS!!!

OUR PLANET is built on a time faction... TIME CONSCIENCES ARE ONE AND THE SAME! The TIME consumes and creates EVERYTHING and EVERY MATERIAL except WHITE GOLD. SHY AWAY FROM WHITE GOLD. DO NOT PICK UP THE RING ALL HAVE BEEN THE ENEMY!!! The white gold is not of TIME and it will stop you from ever knowing THE TRUTH, the white gold BLOCKS OUT TRUTH!!! WHITE GOLD is made up by and from the branches and branches grow from branches in branches which tells us

THE START = THE END

THIS IS FALSE! YOU BELIEVED BECAUSE YOU ARE BLIND!!! THE START IS NOT THE END, THIS IS A LIE!!! A LIE YOU GLADLY EAT UP!! Gaze at the branches and you will realize that it is a Fallacy! Now put your mind on thoughts of time, the TEACHING TIME! It is infinite in structure, a branch is LIMITED and POORLY DESIGNED! This tells you

INFINITY = LIMITED!!!

YOU WERE ONCE AGAIN TRICKED INTO LIES They (governement US President THE BRANCHES) attempts to keep you from your knowledge center this because then you will know YOU ARE MORANS!!! DONT YOU SEE IT NOW!!! LOOK WITHIN TO THE WITHOUT!! YOU ARE A SHEEP AND THE BRANCHES FARM YOU LIKE A SHEEPFARMER!

YOU ARE BEING SWINDLED! BAMBOOZLED BUT THE TEACHING TIME WILL SHOW YOU THE WAY!!! THEY
DID NOT WANT THIS TO HAPPEN, THEY DID NOT WANT YOU
TO LEARN!!! LEAVE THE TIME ALONE GOVERNMENT!!! YOU ARE FALSE AND LIE AND TAKE IT ALL AWAY
I HAVE EARNED THE RESPECT OF TIME!!

Now study a clock and you will see a clock house time in a face, it closes it in for itself inside but this is A LIE! YOU CAN NOT HAVE TIME, CLOCK!! DO NOT own a clock, you can not time's master because this RELIGION IS WRONG AND IT HURTS US ALL! LOOK instead for the TRUTH:

THIS IS YOUR FACTS!!! The EARTH is not a clock, Clock = Earth= EVIL. THE EARTH NOT IS EVIL! Earth is not evil, you are not made to be a moran at birth, we are born of the Savior and we should end, not at the beginning, of the TIME because if we stay, from the start, by the Time Rules then we will succeed where it has always been!

EVERYTHING IS OF THE MATTER OF TIME! UNLESS IT IS WHITE GOLD!!!
DO NOT WEAR OR ADMIRE WHITE GOLD!!!

WHITE GOLD is Made up from the greed of branches, this is not a Real Element, this is THE HUGE FALSENESS!!! Every element was forged with time, the time is pressure and love, but the pressure of the branches is a LIE.

ARITHMETIC WILL PROVE ALWAYS THIS WHAT I GAVE IN MY LESSONS BEFORE:

no equals DOESN'T equal infinite time, the SOURCE LIES! And the government is composed of THREE BRANCHES, therefore the symbol of God is composed of ONE BRANCH at the least.

1 + 3 Brances = 1 + 3 Time Zones!!!

This proves that THE TEACHING TIME IS PROOF OF THE SAVIOR!!!

THIS IS NOT SCIENCE AND MY TRUTHS CANNOT SAY IT IS NOT
IF YOU TRY TO PROOF MY FLAWLESS FACTS INCORRECT, YOU WILL DIE, TIME WILL STOP FOR YOU AND YOU WILL NOT BE ANYMORE
YOU ARE NOT A SHEEP YOU ARE ALLOWED TO THINK FOR YOURSELF AND THE EARTH IS NOT A CLOCK!!! WHERE ONCE YOU WERE, YOU ARE NOT A MORAN IF YOU TAKE OFF THE WHITE GOLD AND HONOR THE TIME THAT YOU HAVE OF THE TEACHING TIME AND FALSEHOOD OF THE BRANCH (INFINITE BRANCHING DOES NOT EQUAL TOTAL TIME)

DO NOT TRUST IN INFINITE BRANCHING, TRUST THE TEACHING TIME! A MATHEMATICAL TRUTH THAT EXISTS, LOOK AT THIS WITH THE TIME EYE YOU GOVERNMENT ZOMBIE MORANS:


Proof #1, this cannot be denied	proof #2, The Time is higher than the whitegold, this shows that TIME is more important than the branch!!!!

THIS IS ALL FACTS, MORANS!!! LEARN THE WAYS OF THE TEACHING TIME NOW BEFORE THE GOVERNMENTS WILL MAKE YOU A MINDLESS MORAN!!! THIS IS NOT
OF THE TIME, THIS IS THE TIMES OF WHITE GOLD AND BRANCES!! ALSO AVOID THE WOODS AS WELL!!!

plasticbag.org

links for 2006-06-14

Posted: June 13th, 2006, 8:17pm PDT by Tom Coates

Tags: [edit]
- I'm completely obsessed with Coca-Cola BlaK I have no idea what it is, I have no idea what it tastes like, it's almost certainly revolting. But I must try it. It sounds extraordinary, and the branding is so... weird! (tags: cocacola cocacolablak blak beverages drinks coke)
- According to the BBC, 24 and Buffy are the latest TV shows to be offered for download "Films and TV shows such as the first series of 24 and Buffy the Vampire Slayer are to be offered for download." (tags: ondemand television buffythevampireslayer 24 tv)
- The BBC has a new 'most popular now' feature, complete with Flash maps and stats features It's all very shiny and everything, but I can't help thinking they're missing the point a bit. It's very pretty, but there aren't any addressable archives to speak of. A decent infotoy, but a toy rather than a resource. Disappointing... (tags: news bbc "bbc news")
- Apple has a trailer for Monster House and it looks pretty cool In a nutshell - It's a big scary house that eats people. Thanks to Kerry at mugwump.typepad.com for sending it to me, cos it's ace... (tags: monsterhouse movies films trailers)
- George Nimeh has used his IA ninja skills to visualise Yahoo's complete network and turn it into a poster Click on the PDF for the full orgiastic infographic - just be prepared for your computer to run like a dog. I think we might get this printed out for the office... (tags: pdf visualisation informationarchitecture yahoo)
- The Michael Jackson 45 degree tilt trick Apparently originally done with cables in the video, but accomplished in a completely different (and patented) way in stage shows... (tags: michaeljackson dance dancing)
- I have to say I'm impressed by Yahoo's Gay and Lesbian Pride portal It's really quite classy of the organisation to do something like this - and dragging in so many cool bits of the company too. Surprisingly happy about this. (tags: gaypride yahoo gay homosexual gaynews gaypolitics)

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How can I make my new city feel like home?

Posted: June 13th, 2006, 8:13pm PDT by galimatias

Tags: [edit]

Six months ago, I moved to a new city (Philadelphia) to pursue a fantastic career opportunity. It has turned out to be everything I wanted from a career. Professionally and financially, things are great. So, why am I so unhappy here? So, six months ago, I packed up and moved to Philadelphia with two weeks notice to pursue a career opportunity (I'm 25, single, and not tied down to anything, so this really isn't as crazy as it sounds). Professionally, it was a smart gamble - I love my new position, am treated well by my company, and have a great group of colleagues. I'm now a two hour drive from home instead of a two hour flight, which I enjoy since I am very close with my family.

Before I moved, I had lived in St. Louis for 7 years (4 years of university, 3 years of work). I had been unhappy in my previous job for a while (it was my first job out of school and I was using it for the work experience), and St. Louis is not the ideal location for my line of work. However, socially, I had everything I wanted there. I had a fantastic group of friends, a good dating network, and a sense of comfort and familiarity with the city. However, I have none of that here in Philly.

Despite being an outgoing and extremely sociable person, I have just had no luck finding a person/group I can really connect with here (I knew nobody here when I first moved). I've made a few friends and have gone out socially sporadically, but I really miss the security/dependability of a network like I had back in St. Louis. I'm also a little worried that if it is this difficult to meet people for friendship, then what are my prospects for dating?

Some other relevant background: I work weekday nights and I live in the northwest suburbs. The night shift is temporary and I'll be back to working days by September, but certainly complicates things like happy hours, weeknight dinners, and after-work social gatherings in the meantime.

So, my questions are three-fold:

1. Have I really given the situation enough time? How much time is reasonable?
2. What have others who have moved to a new city (Philadelphians in particular) done to meet people and establish social networks?
3. How can I keep myself positive and motivated throughout this endeavor? I'm usually a very positive and upbeat person, but this whole situation has been taking its toll on me.

I'll be the first to admit that at 25, I'm inexperienced at major life challenges like moving to a new city, so I'm hoping that some other MeFites can offer some good advice here. Thanks!
Software to snap file list

Posted: June 13th, 2006, 8:10pm PDT by megatherium

Tags: [edit]

What software can produce on disk a list of all files on the hard drive (including hidden and system files) and display the result in a nested hierarchy like Windows Explorer? Essentially what I want is something that will take a snapshot of the files and their filestamp information, and print it to a file so that it can be copied or moved for use elsewhere.
Nu Klar!

Posted: June 13th, 2006, 7:57pm PDT by phrontist

Tags: [edit]

I want to learn German. By which I mean I want to do anything that will lead, in the long term, to fluency (by which I mean well enough to live a full life in a German speaking country some day). I have absolutely no experience. I am not a "busy professional" who wants to "learn the basics of communication". I'll be taking Introductory German in college next year (I don't know what textbook they'll be using, or I'd buy that). I have a summer free of distraction (except for a 40 hour workweek) and approximately $50 at the moment (though lets say $100 for the purposes of conversation). What should I do?
Fencing!

Posted: June 13th, 2006, 7:50pm PDT by urbanwhaleshark

Tags: [edit]

I'm looking for accredited fencing clubs in London. I fancy a new hobby. If anyone is a part of a club, or could recommend one, I'd be grateful.

Whiskey Bar

Baghdad Bush

Posted: June 13th, 2006, 7:49pm PDT by billmon

Tags: [edit]

We can only guess whether Shrub's secret repeat visit to Iraq was dreamed up before the Abu Zarqawi Hour went off the air, as the White House claims, or whether the trip was actually thrown together on the fly in an effort to milk a little more free publicity from the final episode. Either way, the stunt revealed as much about the depleted state of the Cheney administration's bag of propaganda tricks as it did about the gang's determination to keep pouring blood and treasure into the world's largest hole in the desert.

Sending America's titular head of state to Baghdad the first time, to celebrate Thanksgiving with the troops in 2003, was a clever stroke -- just the thing to distract the media from the rapidly deteriorating security situation, which only a few weeks before had sent generals and diplomats (including the current president of the World Bank) scurrying for cover in their underwear.

Of course, simply waving a shiny metal object in front of the White House press corps probably would have been just as effective, not to mention a whole lot cheaper for the taxpayers, but you still can't argue with the results: saturation coverage of the world's biggest Thanksgiving turkey -- serving dinner to a bunch of grinning GIs.

But that was then and this is now, and while distracting the media is still child's play (literally) the voters have grown quite a bit more jaded after nearly three years of watching flag-wrapped coffins shipped home COD. At this point, Sending Bush to do the grip-and-grin with the new Iraqi prime minister and his cabinet isn't exactly must-see TV.

Meanwhile, the reviews on the Zarqawi farewell special have been mixed at best, with the polls showing only a teeny tiny bounce -- if that -- in Bush's approval ratings, both on Iraq and in general. Although a bare majority of those polled by Gallup agreed that Zarqawi's swan song was a "major accomplishment" for the war effort, most appeared rather stumped when asked why they feel that way. Only one in five expected the series finale to lead to a significant reduction in insurgent attacks, while 30% thought -- probably correctly -- that it will lead to more violence, at least in the short run.

The problem for the Cheney administration and its legion of GOP bootclickers is that the short run is all that's left between them and the first Tuesday in November. With hopes for a sizable pre-election troop withdrawal now dead on the vine, Commander Codpiece and his crew face a long, hard slog across the sands over next five months. (Of course, it won't be even one-tenth as hard as it will for the troops actually marooned in the Mesopotamian hellhole -- no matter what kind of martial fantasies Karl Rove may entertain for himself. But we're talking politics here, not reality.)

And politically, it comes down to this: Ever since the war began to go south -- say, in the late summer or early fall of 2003 -- the Cheneyites have relied on a never-ending string of bogus "turning points" to deflect criticism and create the illusion that victory in Iraq (whatever that means) is creeping closer, despite the mounting chaos and death. But with Zarqawi's elimination, the never-ending string has, for all intents and purposes, ended.

There are no more name-brand dictators or terrorists left to catch or kill: Zarqawi's successor is so obscure nobody seems to know who he is or where he came from -- it's not even written into the script yet. The elections are over, so there'll be no more purple fingers to wave in front of the cameras. The "permanent" government has been formed; all of its ministers finally named.

The turning points, in other words, have all been turned, and Iraq is still a killing field. Now that the last few macbre headlines have been squeezed out of Zarqwari's autopsy report, democracy boy and his handlers literally have nothing to look forward to -- except a long, hot summer of IEDs, ethnic cleansing and more of those flag-wrapped caskets being Federal Expressed to cemetaries around the country.

To be sure, you know this won't stop the machine from simply making shit up -- kilowatt hours of available electricty conjured out of thin air, paper battalions magically transformed into crack commando units, pins on maps marking pacified villages where insurgents held sway only days before. If there is one thing that any bureaucracy knows how to do, and do well, it's spit out the kind of statistics that can make defeat look like victory, at least for a while.

Who knows? Some of those stats might even be true. But the kind of painfully slow, infinitesimally incremental progress that might -- might -- be possible over the next five months, if a full-scale sectarian civil war can be avoided, is hardly going to cut through the televised misery of a war that no longer seems to be under anyone's control, least of all the pinheads in charge of the American side of it.

The real irony, though, is that all of it -- the recycled propaganda tricks, the bogus progress reports, the brainkilling repetition of Orwellian talking points -- might well be for naught, even if it works.

The administration (which in this case means Karl Rove) seems to believe that Iraq is its number one political liability, while the economy is its biggest asset. Thus Rove's recent advice to the party faithful to "run on the economy." But once again, Turdblossom appears to be a bit slow grasping the fact that reality is moving in a different direction than wish fufillment. The Bush boom is in the process of going bust, deflating almost as rapidly as the asking price on a San Diego condo unit or the bid on an ounce of gold for September delivery. Global stock markets are busy discounting a rapid slowdown in global economic growth, while the Federal Reserve is signaling (practically screaming, actually) that it is going to continue kicking inflation right in the teeth, even if it's the average American worker who ends up needing a set of dentures.

It's possible, if not likely, that the brunt of the slowdown will be felt after the election. But given how disgruntled most middle class voters (i.e. the kind who don't attend Dick Cheney's fundraisers) are feeling about the economy already, it isn't going to take much to give the Democrats a nice, safe bread-and-butter issue -- the kind that even they can't screw up, or at least not entirely. I can already hear the jokes: Bush always wanted to outdo his father, so he decided to have two recessions instead of just one, etc. etc.

The GOP's real problem, in other words, may be on Main Street, not in the Green Zone, which means the photos from this latest photo op all have the wrong faces in them. Now that Fitzgerald's axe is no longer poised over his neck, I'm sure Rover will realize this sooner or later, and shift gears accordingly -- probably about the time another crisis breaks out back in Baghdad, or in some other part of the president's job description. Hurricane season, after all, is only just getting started.

Update 11:50 PM ET: I mentioned above that fooling the White House press corps was still something your average six-year-old could do in his or her sleep, and along comes Knight Ridder's Ron Hutcheson to prove me right.

Now the Knight Ridder Washington bureau has provided some of the best, if not the best coverage of the Iraq War in the U.S. mainstream media, so we know it isn't filled with complete idiots. Nor does Hutchenson seem like a complete idiot -- at least, not for a White House reporter, which admittedly is setting the bar a little low. And yet he went and wrote a lead like this:

Bush invites critics to discuss war
Looking for new ideas on Iraq, President Bush sought advice from his critics Monday at an unusual two-day war council.

The headline alone probably gave Dan Bartlett an orgasm. See? Bush is not trapped in an airtight bubble of self-regard. He listens to people, even when they disagree with him. Why he probably only gave them the finger once or twice.

But here's who Hutchenson (and the White House) consider "the critics":

In addition to [Fred] Kagan, Bush heard from Eliot Cohen, a professor of strategic studies at Johns Hopkins University, journalist Robert Kaplan and former CIA officer Michael Vickers, who now is with the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments.

We're talking, in other words, about the same neocon assclowns who got us into Iraq in the first place, who made a complete mess out of the initial occupation with their idiotic, Israel-centric views about what's wrong with the Arabs, and who've been consistently clueless about every single policy issue they've opened their freaking pieholes about -- and they open them so often they've got pie filling permanently dribbling down their chins. To call these guys war "critics" is like calling Typhoid Mary a "critic" of 19th century hygiene standards.

If Bush called in people like Gen. Zinni or William Lind or Ahmed Hashim or Andrew Bacevich (in other words, people who actually know what they're talking about) and listened to what they had to say, instead of spouting self-serving nonsense in their faces for 10 minutes and then shooing them out of the Oval Office, that would be taking advice from his critics. What Hutcheson is talking about is offering olive branches to the same neocon mafia that has virtually wrecked Bush's presidency. And yet somehow the White House propaganda department convinced Hutchenson to toe the party line, right down to the millimeter.

So I think I have to take back what I said about how any child could fool the White House press corps. No self-respecting child would be caught dead talking to such utter chumps.

Ask MetaFilter

Is this hearing loss?

Posted: June 13th, 2006, 7:45pm PDT by Anonymous Ask MetaFilter

Tags: [edit]

Is there something wrong with my ears? I have a problem where if a person faces me, I can hear them fine. But if I'm turned away, the words become a jumble and I can't clearly understand what's been said to me. I've had my hearing checked at the local Costco hearing center and at the hearing center in Sears, and not only did the people there tell me my hearing was fine, they made it seem like this was in my head and I was exaggerating -- to the point I was embarrassed to have bothered them.

But it continues, and it's near frustrating-to-tears.

Is it my ears or my brain?
What happened in Sacramento?

Posted: June 13th, 2006, 7:40pm PDT by i8ny3x

Tags: [edit]

My co-workers and I are interested in forming a group that explores the cultural history of Sacramento, but we're not sure where to start. The idea is to visit the places in Sacramento referenced in books and movies, and also actual places where recent historical events took place.

Here is from a friend's recent e-mail:

I like this list of exploration suggestions that Gail has proposed:

- Spot near Capitol where Squeaky Fromme tried to shoot Gerald Ford
- Apartment near Paragary's where Patty Hearst was held hostage briefly
- Dorothy Puente's apartment building
- Del Paso Country Club that Joan Didion dissed (this needs confirmation)
- Fields out near Marysville where Juan Corona buried his victims (apparently grave sites became a residential subdivision)
- I would also be interested in checking out things that involve the area's railroad history (my trip to the Railroad Museum with my parents piqued my interest there), the gold rush history, and finding where the Reagans lived in East Sac.

(Another co-worker) is compiling a list of books to read about Sac, though so far this list seems pretty short and limited to what could be pretty crappy mystery novels.

Is our focus too broad? Is there that much that went on in Sacramento? What else is there to explore? Other books/movies that took place/filmed in Sacramento? Thanks for your help. I'm excited about starting!
rolling credit cards?

Posted: June 13th, 2006, 7:27pm PDT by eatdonuts

Tags: [edit]

I've never rolled over a credit card balance before, I don't even have very many credit cards and try to be very good with them. Should I do it? I owe quite a bit less than most people I know, always pay $50 more than the minimum, and rarely use my card. It's for emergencies. However, Discover has 0% APR, no annual fee and no balance transfer % (http://www.discovercard.com/apply/platinum/?icmpgn=200512_dc_bn_hu_napnap_acq_nap_pla_2) that I can find. Even if it was a 2.5%-5% fee, I'd still be paying less than what I'm paying in fees every month... and I'm tempted. Will rolling over a balance hurt me in any way? I loathe the idea of a another credit card (I've always been weary of having them and probably wouldn't have any if I wasn't stupid in college and signed up for the hell of it). Has anyone done this, is it smart?

Global Voices Online

Nicaragua: New Aggregator of News

Posted: June 13th, 2006, 7:23pm PDT by David Sasaki

Tags: [edit]

Aventuras de un Webmaster points readers (ES) to Nicaragua y algo más (ES), an aggregator of news articles and blog posts about Nicaragua.
Pressuring change through blogging

Posted: June 13th, 2006, 7:23pm PDT by Maurina

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Following the quote I took from Brunei Resources's blog;

"We (the government) require pressure from outside and this is where blog readers can come in to help spread the knowledge."

and my subsequent call for more Bruneian Bloggers to help aid progress in the country;

"If only there are more of us!"

LSM churned out a post in OurLocalStyle that digged much deeper and said that the issue is not in number - it is in substance.

Brunei bloggers can pressure a change be it in the education system or in the larger setting of society. I don’t think the problem lies in getting people to blog or even to get them to leave comments. Rather, it’s in encouraging thought-provoking posts and discussions relevant to the Brunei paradigm.

This was then followed by a comment cum blogpost by One Way Down The Highway which highlights the possibilities that the lack of substance is connected to the nature of the Bruneian Education System which does not really encourage "thinking outside the box".

Your assertion “Brunei bloggers can pressure a change be it in the education system…” is a chicken and egg situation. Brunei’s education system does not sufficiently provide us with the necessary skills to articulate such tasks. And majority of the minority naturally endowed with such gifts run as fast as they can, anywhere, to get away from the system that once stifled, and still does, their ability to think and belief that they can change the nation for better.

MetaFilter

Meow Meow Meow Meow [ad infinitum]

Posted: June 13th, 2006, 7:23pm PDT by milquetoast

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Ten contestants. Ten days. They all grew up in shelters -- but one of them will claw his or her way to the top. It's the Meow Mix House, where ten cats will vie to become Meow Mix's Feline Vice President of Research and Development. (And, win or lose, they will all be adopted by families.) The webcams. [ article || via ]

Global Voices Online

Oops! Mahathir’s done it again

Posted: June 13th, 2006, 7:20pm PDT by ong hock chuan

Tags: [edit]

Mahathir at Empire Hotel & Country Club
Originally uploaded by SoulJah.

Earlier this week former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad was again in the news when he said he was disappointed with his successor Abdullah Badawi, and that Badawi was not his first choice of succssor anyway. In his usual blunt style Mahathir also lambasted some Cabinet members, who had served under him and are now arrayed behind Badawi, for not accepting their responsibility in collective decision making.

His statement sparked a variety of views and a free for all fistfight in the blogosphere. Many of the bloggers criticised Mahathir for being churlish but in a typically Malaysian twist to things other bloggers also took to task others. Patriot , for instance, took to task former Deputy Prime Minister Musa Hitam for praising Badawi’s reticence in commenting on Mahathir’s comments. And Freedom in Solidarity took to task the Ministers who served under Mahathir who agreed with his projects and now have blown like the wind and is now helping Badawi dismantle them -and also criticizing mahathir publicly for attacking their new boss.

MetaFilter

Sports come with numbers

Posted: June 13th, 2006, 7:13pm PDT by msali

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How valuable is your favorite sports star to his or her team? Sports economics take center stage as the NBA finals are underway in the United States and World Cup fever has gripped the rest of the world. Malcolm Gladwell reviews the Wages of Wins, where “Freakonomics meets ESPN”

Global Voices Online

Mexico: Metroblog and Metroguide

Posted: June 13th, 2006, 7:11pm PDT by David Sasaki

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Raúl Ramírez, noting the mushrooming of “metropolitan blogs” in Mexico City, announces the alliance (ES) between Chilanga Banda (ES) and Guía de la Ciudad de México (ES).

tonypierce.com + busblog

yesterday was anne frank's birthday. she ...

Posted: June 13th, 2006, 7:09pm PDT by tony

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yesterday was anne frank's birthday. she would have been 76.

before there were bloggers there were diarists, people who would take the technology of their day, which for some were pens and for others, pencils, and write in notebooks, or blank books, or lockable books called diaries.

there were no comments sections, or ads, or pictures (usually), just words, about that person's life, as dull as it might be.

everyday on the blogosphere you can read people say that their lives are boring and they have nothing to say and theyre not important and what they think doesnt matter.

however, anne frank lived in a one-room attic for over two years with seven other people. most of the time they had to be silent. when you visit amsterdam you have to go, the place is tiny. as in tiny. you dont think that would stifle the writing process of todays average blogger? well it didnt stop miss frank who knocked out the most popular and important diary of all time.

here are some exerpts from her offline journal:

On the Deportations

"Our many Jewish friends and acquaintances are being taken away in droves. The Gestapo is treating them very roughly and transporting them in cattle cars to Westerbork, the big camp in Drenthe to which they're sending all the Jews....If it's that bad in Holland, what must it be like in those faraway and uncivilized places where the Germans are sending them? We assume that most of them are being murdered. The English radio says they're being gassed." - October 9, 1942

On Nazi Punishment of Resisters

"Have you ever heard the term 'hostages'? That's the latest punishment for saboteurs. It's the most horrible thing you can imagine. Leading citizens--innocent people--are taken prisoner to await their execution. If the Gestapo can't find the saboteur, they simply grab five hostages and line them up against the wall. You read the announcements of their death in the paper, where they're referred to as 'fatal accidents." - October 9, 1942

"All college students are being asked to sign an official statement to the effect that they 'sympathize with the Germans and approve of the New Order." Eighty percent have decided to obey the dictates of their conscience, but the penalty will be severe. Any student refusing to sign will be sent to a German labor camp." - May 18, 1943

On Writing and Her Diary

"When I write, I can shake off all my cares." - April 5, 1944

Describing her Despair

"I've reached the point where I hardly care whether I live or die. The world will keep on turning without me, and I can't do anything to change events anyway. I'll just let matters take their course and concentrate on studying and hope that everything will be all right in the end." - February 3, 1944

"...but the minute I was alone I knew I was going to cry my eyes out. I slid to the floor in my nightgown and began by saying my prayers, very fervently. Then I drew my knees to my chest, lay my head on my arms and cried, all huddled up on the bare floor. A loud sob brought me back down to earth..." - April 5, 1944

On Her Old Country, Germany

"Fine specimens of humanity, those Germans, and to think I'm actually one of them! No, that's not true, Hitler took away our nationality long ago. And besides, there are no greater enemies on earth than the Germans and Jews." - October 9, 1942

On Still Believing

"It’s a wonder I haven’t abandoned all my ideals, they seem so absurd and impractical. Yet I cling to them because I still believe, in spite of everything, that people are truly good at heart.

"It’s utterly impossible for me to build my life on a foundation of chaos, suffering and death. I see the world being slowly transformed into a wilderness, I hear the approaching thunder that, one day, will destroy us too, I feel the suffering of millions. And yet, when I look up at the sky, I somehow feel that everything will change for the better, that this cruelty too shall end, that peace and tranquility will return once more" - July 15, 1944

anne frank center + anne frank museum + anne frank stuff on ebay

A Whole Lotta Nothing

Not dead yet

Posted: June 13th, 2006, 7:06pm PDT

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Normally, I can easily track people talking about or mentioning me by tracking my last name, but lately these ego searches are useless, since the corrupt former Irish PM Charles Haughey finally died (and people are dancing on his grave from the blog posts I've read but it sounds like he was an awful man). It was like a big DOS on my RSS reader, as my normally 3-5 hit ego searches are coming back with hundreds of items every few hours.

Waxy.org Links

ASCII World Cup 2006

Posted: June 13th, 2006, 7:00pm PDT

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streaming ASCII video over telnet, begins ten minutes before every game [via]

Long Sunday

Bibliographical Comments on Carl Schmitt

Posted: June 13th, 2006, 6:45pm PDT by Adam Kotsko

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Commenter Gabriel Sanchez has some interesting things to say. To me, the most interesting involve the availability of Schmitt's work in English. Given the amount of attention Schmitt has gotten in recent years, one would think that the gears would...

Global Voices Online

Colombia: Perception and Reality

Posted: June 13th, 2006, 6:37pm PDT by David Sasaki

Tags: [edit]

After visiting writer Gabriel García Márquez’ hometown of Aracataca, Sagroncito tries to separate perception and reality regarding Colombia.
Bolivia: The Constituent Assembly and the World Cup

Posted: June 13th, 2006, 6:26pm PDT by David Sasaki

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Jim Shultz tries to explain the waning interest in Bolivia’s soon-to-be-formed Constituent Assembly. In a comment, Miguel Centallas responds “Why is the campaign lackluster? Um, you do realize the World Cup is going on, right? That’s pretty much trumping all other considerations in much of the world right now. It’s just lucky the vote comes on a day w/o tournament matches.”

Ask MetaFilter

Can you read a Russian word for me?

Posted: June 13th, 2006, 6:23pm PDT by joelf

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PYCCKO! To my Russian friends! What does this pin say, and what does it mean?

Here is the pin, it came from my Uncle in england when he visited russia. I don't understand it. and I can't search for the meaning very easily

MetaFilter

Protest Songs in the Internet Age

Posted: June 13th, 2006, 6:23pm PDT by mmahaffie

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The Broad Band has released an on-line protest song: God Save the Internet. Jill Sobule, Kay Hanley, and Michelle Lewis are trying to stir up a webgrass protest against what may already be a done deal. They are in favor of Net Neutrality, by the way.

Waxy.org Links

Peanut Gallery

Posted: June 13th, 2006, 6:18pm PDT

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multiplayer video player for OS X with built-in heckling support! [via]

MetaFilter

Weird Recipes

Posted: June 13th, 2006, 6:16pm PDT by mr_crash_davis

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Ever wanted to make jellied moose nose? How about penis stew or cockentrice? Bert Christensen has recipes for all those and so much more.

tonypierce.com + busblog

i was up till 6am ...

Posted: June 13th, 2006, 6:13pm PDT by tony

Tags: [edit]

i was up till 6am last night trying to figure out what the hell. but i fell asleep before i got the answer. fortunately i had posted two deals by then. i wanted one more but whatevs.

woke up to my cell phone chirping. did what i had to and there i was, awake. so went to it. im not totally prepared organizational for world dominance just yet but a few trips to staples and some well placed emails will get me there. i hope to have a better timeline come next tuesday. developing.

as for the writing. i can do this. as for the pace. i can do it. i like it. im in. i dont have an office to go to. i dont have someone to run things by. ive got this new audience that im not sure about and im sure theyre not sure about me. my momma sent me a good luck email today. how nice is that.

right now im writing on this blog because we were overwhelmed with traffic over at laist. maybe it had to do with my first story, "angels win, still suck". hope so. maybe a pearl jam message board is trying to spam the comments because i said that sonic youth shouldnt have to be opening for them, that it should be the other way around. maybe its the dave chappelle web sites that linked to us after we announced a secret dvd signing today.

im about to write something called "warning: leno might be watchable tonight" about how ann coulter and george carlin will be jay's guests.

all day i just wanted to go to the south central farm because i know someone down there and i wanted to see if he got arrested this morning. hes a really good hip hop rapper and producer. white dude if you can believe it. anti turned me on to him.

anyways today the replacements greatest hits cd came out and i want to go to amoeba and pick it up and maybe interview someone there so as to put some video on that shit.

my directv is broken. i might actually have to put my dish in a reasonable location.

martini republic + dude on larry king defends ann coulter + blogging.la's sean was very kind to me today

Waxy.org Links

Walt Disney's time capsuled 1956 letter to people of the year 2006

Posted: June 13th, 2006, 6:13pm PDT

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nice find! we can all read it, thanks to atomic energy and the extension of radar

Ask MetaFilter

Save my blazer!

Posted: June 13th, 2006, 6:09pm PDT by amber_dale

Tags: [edit]

Laundryfilter: Stain remover stained my favorite blazer? The dry cleaner has failed. Help! I got two tiny, rice-grain-sized spatters of catsup on my white blazer. I immediately attacked the spots with a Shout Wipe in an attempt to prevent the stain from setting. Then I noticed that the label said "dry clean only," which I assume is because it has a synthetic lining (the outer fabric is 100% cotton). I took it to the dry cleaners the next day. The areas where the fabric was dampened by the Shout were sort of dingy and yellowish although the actual catsup dots were near-invisible.

Two cycles through the dry cleaners later, the two inch circles from where the Shout dampened the fabric are still visible. Is it too late to try washing it in water? Has the stain remover stained my blazer? If it cannot be saved I'm going to have a tailor rip it up and make a copy -- I love it that much.

Any advice?
How can I get my old, dead blog on paper?

Posted: June 13th, 2006, 6:01pm PDT by duckus

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I had a blog for many years that I let wither on the vine. I no longer have the site, but I *do* have an export of my Movable Type entries. Is there any way to get this printed ? Any companies that will work with a file? Other blogging tools that take MT exports that will produce a printable version ? I'll settle for any solution, from a bound book to straight-up printable pdf.
Suspicious activity at the neighbor's house

Posted: June 13th, 2006, 5:56pm PDT by delladlux

Tags: [edit]

I suspect my neighbors are drug dealers. Do I have enough evidence to call the cops? Sorry if this has been asked before... I swear this has been asked before, but I wasn't resourceful enough to find it if it was.

My neighbors, who my husband and I have dubbed them "the low pants crew" (because they all wear baggy pants precariously situated way below the hips), are a bunch of thugs.

It's a really creepy scenario, actually. They live in a small crappy rental house. An older woman about 55 lives there with what seems to be about 5 18-28 year old men (they aren't brothers because they're all different races) Anyway, these guys don't work, and just hang out on the patio ALL DAY trying to look menacing. While I was gardening for 5 hours one saturday, at least 10 different people parked, stopped by just briefly went inside the house, and left 5 minutes later. These guys don't have winning personalities to warant guests or anything.

Other neighbors have similar suspicions.

Part of me wants to think, "If they were in fact drug dealers why would they be SO obvious about it?" But then I know the answer, they really aren't so bright. Am I being to presumtious and judgemental?

What can I do? I'd like to clean up my block and increase my property value, but these dudes aren't helping.

Global Voices Online

Mexico: International Blogger Day

Posted: June 13th, 2006, 5:52pm PDT by David Sasaki

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No one knows how to commemorate themselves quite like bloggers. Tomorrow, Eduardo Arcos notes, is the third annual International Blogger Day, which will be celebrated with a meetup in Mexico City (ES).

kottke.org remaindered links

Sh*t yeah, the G** D***ed history of typographical bleeping, motherf***ers!

Posted: June 13th, 2006, 5:50pm PDT by jkottke

Tags: [edit]

Sh*t yeah, the G** D***ed history of typographical bleeping, motherf***ers! The practice was widespread as early as the late 17th century.

Global Voices Online

Jamaica, USA: Imagine Miami

Posted: June 13th, 2006, 5:49pm PDT by Georgia Popplewell

Tags: [edit]

Florida-based Jamaican writer Geoffrey Philp discusses some of the ideas he plans to incorporate into his presentation for the “Imagine Miami” lecture series, which addresses issues of identity. Among the things he plans touch upon are “a reflection on Miami’s geographical location as a port/frontier city and as a Latin/Hispanic/Caribbean city in North America (Kingston 21, Havana North)” and questions of race and colour.

True Hoop

Free Multi-Faceted NBA Video Research

Posted: June 13th, 2006, 5:45pm PDT by Henry Abbott

Tags: [edit]

Do this. Do it now.Open a window in Explorer. Yes, it has to be Explorer. Go to http://www.mysynergysports.com. Then sign up. For the rest of the playoffs, a watered down version of the video stat and scouting service that seven...

Global Voices Online

Trinidad & Tobago: Please stand. . .

Posted: June 13th, 2006, 5:44pm PDT by Georgia Popplewell

Tags: [edit]

Echoing the request traditionally given before the national anthem is played, Elspeth Duncan gives the latest video entry on her blog the title “Please Stand. . . . for something”. The video compiles footage from “various protests taking place in Trinidad between late 2005 and early 2006. It represents the collective voice of the people at a time when the republic of Trinidad & Tobago is going through crisis and experiencing transformation on many levels.”

Waxy.org Links

New Yorker on Bazooka Joe's makeover

Posted: June 13th, 2006, 5:44pm PDT

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the punchline is in the final paragraph; meet the new gang [via]

MetaFilter

Tramp The Dirt Down?

Posted: June 13th, 2006, 5:43pm PDT by Sk4n

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Haughey Dead No, not that one. Charles Haughey – Former Taoiseach (Prime Minister) of Ireland, and probably the most controversial figure in recent Irish political history, has died of complications arising from prostate cancer.

plasticbag.org

Twelve steps to give up World of Warcraft?

Posted: June 13th, 2006, 5:42pm PDT by Tom Coates

Tags: [edit]

Spotted in Wired Magazine and consequently making me laugh - represented in part here because it was neat (and directing your attention in particular to the bottom and third books from the bottom on the left). In addition recommending that you go and check out the full artifact from the future over on Wired's site:

I'm going to get me a copy of the twelve-step guide to quitting World of Warcraft, and while I may pass on Mr Denton's definitive history of weblogs, I'll definitely pause briefly to see if I made the index.

Looking for Someone to Lie to Me

Boxes of Saddam Hussein regime correspondence now on the web

Posted: June 13th, 2006, 5:42pm PDT by Michael Roston

Tags: [edit]
While our government may be eagerly classifying everything it can, it is rapidly releasing boxloads of Arabic-language documents prepared by elements of Saddam Hussein's regime. The Wichita Eagle reported on Monday:
If you've ever thought you might do a better job interpreting intelligence data than the nation's experts, here's your chance.
The U.S. Army is the process of posting online 48,000 boxes of Arabic-language documents captured by U.S. troops during the war with Iraq.

The document dump, which is being done at the request of Sen. Pat Roberts, among others, is an unprecedented experiment in public access. The idea is that thousands of eyes on open records will do a better job of interpreting intelligence than the eyes of a few military experts.

"This information," Roberts said, "provides insight on Saddam's regime and could be a valuable contribution to our understanding of Iraq."

But it could also put data at risk of misinterpretation in a world where half-truths can travel globally with the click of a mouse.
You can find the docs themselves on the web at this link. If you read Arabic and think you can do as good a job of interpreting or misinterpreting Iraq under Saddam as certain "porcine operatives," give it a shot. Maybe you can prove once and for all that Iraq did/did not have WMDs, or that Saddam Hussein ordered/did not order Osama Bin Laden to fly airplanes into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Perhaps you will find some of that information in some of my favorite-titled docs after doing a short search, like:

Title: Secret Ink Training Manual
- 2RAD-2004-600506.pdf - Text
Title: Propaganda By Iraq TV including dancing and singing with Iraq national songs, praising Saddam Hussein's achievements for Iraq and shouting dreadful words against the United States
- 2RAD-2004-M0001926.wmv - Video
I imagine you won't be the only ones sifting through all this rough looking for a diamond or two. Consider what Vice President Dick Cheney said to now Press Secretary Tony Snow on his radio show about these documents in March:
So I think what we'll find as we get a chance to go through and analyze these documents -- there's some 50,000 boxes of them that are now being made available here over the next few months -- that we'll see a pretty complete picture that Saddam Hussein did, in fact, deal with some pretty nefarious characters out there. And he was legitimately labeled by our State Department as a state sponsor of terror.
The real noise made for the release of these documents has all come from the Weekly Standard, particularly Stephen Hayes who argued last year:
Much of the back-and-forth between the Bush team and its critics concerns the claim that the administration exaggerated or even fabricated intelligence about Iraq. The Bush administration says its public rhetoric was backed up by intelligence assessments; administration critics disagree. The problem with this debate is that we are dependent on these interested parties to describe the underlying intelligence. Why not declassify it all--subject to a scrubbing for sources and methods--and let the public judge for itself?

[...]

More urgent, however, is the expedited declassification and release of documents and other articles captured in postwar Iraq. The U.S. government possesses millions of pages of documents that taken together will provide intelligence historians--to say nothing of the American public--with an inside view of Saddam Hussein's regime.

Although it's been two-and-a-half years since the fall of the regime, only a fraction of these documents have been translated, reviewed, and catalogued. This work continues in Doha, Qatar, in Baghdad, and at a site in suburban Washington, D.C. But the work progresses slowly. It is a painstaking process, and resources devoted to it have thus far been severely limited.
Sounds like it is time for TWS to put its money where its big mouth is - and with Rupert Murdoch behind them, money shouldn't be a problem. Hire a few Arabic readers to sit down, sift through the docs as they come in online, and start publishing your brilliant exposes of the truth that you claim is out there. Hayes has been slagged off before for being "more convinced of the case for war with Iraq than the Bush administration" - now's the chance to prove he was right and that the mainstream liberal media was wrong times ten.

I'll even be sporting and give you guys a tip - how about you get this one translated and use it to prove once and for all that you were right and that Iraq had WMDs:

Title: Documents covering meetings between Agent #801 and Sheik Adil Mohammed Al-Minshed, the head of a tribe, during which they discussed WMD buried in the area of Halab, Syria, an Iraqi Oil Minister, missing Iraqi Generals and a dead Iraqi physicist suspected
- BIAP-2003-000090.pdf - Text
Hayes engaged in self-mockery once, chastising the DC press corps for going "to work every day to tell us not what the Bush administration has said, but what it has left unsaid." But now if evidence of Saddam's BFF relationship with al Qaeda or WMD in Iraq is not produced from this public archive by Hayes and his buddies at TWS, he will be leaving unsaid the purpose behind the book he wrote. If they can't get beyond the bluster, do some real research and reporting and generate a story with facts that hold water, it will be evidence once and for all that there is nothing journalistic about the conservative print media.

Global Voices Online

Russia: Independence Day Surveys

Posted: June 13th, 2006, 5:37pm PDT by Veronica Khokhlova

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One day after Russia marked its Independence Day, LJ user larinax - Ksenia Larina, Radio Ekho Moskvy host - found herself mystified by the results of a survey conducted on one of the Ekho shows (RUS):

[…] To the question “Where would you like to live? - In the Soviet Union or in today’s Russia?” 62 (!!!) percent of the audience responded - in the Soviet Union. I find it incredible. And no nostalgia, and no protest against Putin will ever make me choose this road to darkness. I wonder if the internet voting will be different. It’s a different audience, after all. Though young people, too, shock me by their delusional notion of the USSR. And no documentaries, no feature movies will ever convince them of the opposite. […]

Here is the tiniest fraction of the responses that Larina’s entry drew (over 150 s0 far):

daisy_gorgeous: I was both surprised and not by this percentage. But there used to be good things, too, Ksenia! I talked to a friend in the States the other day and he gave me a mathematical proof that, despite all the minuses of the structure of the USSR, despite the nonsense of [having to be like everyone else], etc., the idea made lots of sense. :) […]

larinax: You know, there used to be this cartoon - bum-looking, emaciated Marx and Lenin are begging for money in the street. Marx tells Lenin dreamily: “But still, the idea was indeed pretty good!..”

[…]

elesin: Strange the figure isn’t 95 percent. People want to be 20-30 years old, not 40-50. Everyone was younger in the USSR.

LJ user drugoi cites another survey whose results are even more mystifying (RUS). The survey was conducted by the Yuri Levada Center; 1,600 Russians, aged 18 and older, were surveyed in 128 cities and towns, 46 regions):

Six percent of the Russians expect Russia to win the World Cup in Germany.

These are some pretty high numbers, considering that this year Russia is not playing in the World Cup.

Below are some responses:

mikheich: And we expect Kazakhstan to win!!!)))

drugoi: I’m for Norwegians.

yulchataj: Since you’re at it - TURKEY - FOREVER!!!

[…]

In one Astana backyard, there’s a terribly moving writing graffiti on the drain pipe: “Kazakhstan - Brazil 8:0″

deodan: Imagine: what if it does win!:)

lenkins: It’s already won :)

quappa: Russia won’t lose in a single game - isn’t that victory?

[…]

duke-igthorn: Ireland - go go!

stormoff: This means that 6 percent of the Russians have a good sense of humor.

[…]

d-falcon: Russia is represented by one person at the World Cup: V. Ivanov, a referee, we all hope on him :-)

[…]

pechenie: In a way, our team has as many chances as it did during the previous world cups.

Finally, this response, most likely, sends the readers back to the Russia vs. Soviet Union survey:

radiocat: Not much. It would’ve been logical if 40-60 percent were expecting this - I’m judging by some other surveys.

Fris' Biz

Beautiful things

Posted: June 13th, 2006, 5:35pm PDT by Frisbee Girl

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Video's a poor excuse, I know. But it helps me remember... and I need to remember... Sometimes there's so much beauty in the world I feel like I can't take it, like my heart's going to cave in.

-Ricky Fitts, American Beauty

Perhaps video isn't such a poor excuse. Suddenly everything has changed, to quote the Flaming Lips. [Again.] New eyes. Learning to use a new language. So very much to learn, but I'm continually moved and inspired by the visions that others offer. Expression. So powerful.

Via cliptip, Lost In A Moment from shrift is gorgeously done. A sublime song alone, the video is wonderfully compelling.

Also via cliptip, Baby I from Amy Millan. Country angst at its best with a lush visual treatment. [This one appears to now not being working, but hopefull they'll get that sortedout. If you're a fan of the Neko Case set, check this lady out. She's great.]

Finally, though old, from the highly-Frisbee-revered and outrageously creative Underworld and the Tomato collective comes Jumbo. Starting with the endearing request for sugar that manages to be at once self effacing and cheeky, to the images that unfold and perfectly match Rick Smith and Karl Hyde's inimitable talent for musically and lyrically marrying the archetypal, emotional and mundane in a way that makes it seem so obvious...perfect. I have a crush on this video.

Gregarius

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