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The thing I find most baffling is the way in which Reddits’s CEO is communicating about Apollo’s developer. Publicly accusing him of threatening Reddit is a bad start, but when the taped conversation is released showing that it was a misinterpretation which was cleared up immediately, he then doubles down by accusing the developer of being two faced.

It’s just an astonishing bit of miscommunication.
posted to MetaFilter by Stark at 5:45 AM on June 12, 2023

I should mention that I think this review really gets to the bottom of why this might be successful.
posted to MetaFilter by Stark at 9:03 AM on October 5, 2021

Previously
posted to MetaFilter by Stark at 2:43 AM on August 5, 2021

As far as I can see there are a number of problems, and I'm not an expert in visualisations:
The y-axis doesn't start at zero
The y-axis isn't labelled correctly (it should be % of Adults who report that they think violent crime is a problem)
The gaps between the data points on the x-axis are not representative of the gaps between the dates
The margin of error is not highlighted on the chart's data points
Straight lines between the data… [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Stark at 5:57 AM on June 25, 2021

I found the comments interesting - discussing how the ransom groups often have very good customer service, because if word gets out that they don't unlock when paid, people will stop paying.

There was a subsequent suggestion that someone just needs to set up a few ransomware groups that don't unlock when they are paid, to make everyone doubt that paying is worth it and taint the reputations of all the groups.
posted to MetaFilter by Stark at 4:31 AM on May 11, 2021

The BBC did a great series of podcasts on this topic.
posted to MetaFilter by Stark at 2:06 PM on April 24, 2021

My son got into Roblox last year. There are games in there where characters can buy virtual boomboxes which play annoying tunes incessantly. Many of these are low-fidelity copies of pop tracks, distorted rap, blown-out dubstep samples - and Parry Grip tunes.

It's Raining Tacos took a hold of our family.

My son tried tacos on the basis of this song. He doesn't like the crispy shells and the chaos which ensues when he tries to eat them, but I… [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Stark at 1:43 AM on April 8, 2021

I was unaware of NFTs and cryptoart, but vaguely familiar with Blockchain energy costs.

Nobody should not be selling / trading anything in a way that requires a massively disproportionate energy cost and thus ecological destruction. The total energy cost should be related to the required energy cost - i.e. the time, materials and labour required, and we should be actively working on reducing that total energy cost at the same time as improving the efficiency and… [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Stark at 5:05 AM on March 3, 2021

These are some amazing photos - thanks!
posted to MetaFilter by Stark at 7:38 AM on February 9, 2021

I am a huge fan of science and the need to check supposedly obvious details. But this did make me laugh:

"The researchers also found that cube-shaped faeces on an eight degree slope rolled far less than spherical-shaped models."

posted to MetaFilter by Stark at 6:00 AM on January 29, 2021

Warning: autoplaying audio, which you can turn off using the speaker icon in the bottom-left.
posted to MetaFilter by Stark at 7:58 AM on January 27, 2021

“World-class cereal-eating is a dance of fine compromises. The giant heaping bowl of sodden cereal, awash in milk, is the mark of the novice. Ideally one wants the bone-dry cereal nuggets and the cryogenic milk to enter the mouth with minimal contact and for the entire reaction between them to take place in the mouth. Randy has worked out a set of mental blueprints for a special cereal-eating spoon that will have a tube running down the handle and a little pump for the milk, so that you can… [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Stark at 8:37 AM on September 8, 2020

This reminded me of the start of the Mountain of Hell ride (warning: painful-looking bike crashes on snow/ice).
posted to MetaFilter by Stark at 5:24 AM on August 2, 2019

If anyone wants the data from Lachlan's GBDuro ride, it's on Strava: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

(and a shout-out to the MeFi Strava club!)
posted to MetaFilter by Stark at 7:12 AM on July 18, 2019

I agree that electric scooters shouldn’t be on the sidewalks. I also know that people are afraid of cycling as an alternative to driving due to safety worries. I hope someone can persuade more cities to invest in a network of cycle / scooter lanes which are properly segregated from traffic and pedestrians, as this solves both problems.
posted to MetaFilter by Stark at 10:46 AM on April 26, 2019

I saw Lost & Found yesterday and it broke me! Wonderful film.

I also saw Bao at the cinema prior to Incredibles 2 and the gasp from the audience at a given point was worth the price of admission.
posted to MetaFilter by Stark at 3:27 AM on December 19, 2018

The genius thing about this article is that it has a few things that are truly weird, and a few that are perfectly normal, so everyone gets worked up about the ones that are normal (puke bowls, pyjamas under the pillow).
posted to MetaFilter by Stark at 1:48 AM on September 14, 2018

BBC Radio 4 has a programme called "Last Word" which is obituaries on the radio. I don't usually read obituaries but I find when I catch this programme it's surprisingly fascinating and usually grabs my attention.
posted to MetaFilter by Stark at 3:35 PM on June 18, 2018

I couldn't quite tell if this really exists yet or if it's still at the prototyping stage, but it will be great when it's built for real - I love the general concept of automating snark!
posted to MetaFilter by Stark at 3:31 PM on June 18, 2018

This is great! BMX racing in the UK is such a friendly welcoming sport. My son recently started racing BMX a few years ago and I started trying it out as well in the last six months. It's very tough, high intensity bursts of energy with a surprising amount of technique and finesse required as well as the raw power. I've backed off a bit recently as I've been doing more road cycling but I really should get back onto the pump track and figure out how to get round faster!
posted to MetaFilter by Stark at 12:41 AM on June 5, 2018

Well, at least Eeyore's voice is spot on! Everyone else is a bit too fluffy and I'm really not sure about the sound of Pooh.
posted to MetaFilter by Stark at 10:34 AM on May 30, 2018

I was just writing on a post on this topic! I've been enjoying watching videos of dowsers failing in controlled tests. Anglian Water are also trying to push their use of more advanced technology. It's pretty disappointing that this is still believed within the world of water companies.
posted to MetaFilter by Stark at 4:23 AM on November 22, 2017

I thought this was fantastic - thanks for posting!
posted to MetaFilter by Stark at 1:57 AM on November 15, 2017

It reminded me of trying to ask baby Groot to fetch something!
posted to MetaFilter by Stark at 2:51 AM on October 4, 2017

Why has nobody yet mentioned Hey Duggee? Visually inventive, funny, and warm.
posted to MetaFilter by Stark at 2:14 AM on September 29, 2017

For what it's worth, I tried to avoid the "is it a photograph or is it a piece of created artwork" by referring to it as a "photographic artwork". Every piece of commercial photography sits on a scale between straight out of the camera to unrecognisably processed/manipulated/assembled. I think the debate about where a particular created work sits on that scale isn't always useful.
posted to MetaFilter by Stark at 11:15 AM on August 6, 2017

Come around to FanFare for some more discussion about Baby Driver.
posted to MetaFilter by Stark at 5:01 AM on July 5, 2017

Also - a quick shout-out to the Mefi Strava club! Join us and discover excellent cycling or running routes in distant countries, and virtually encourage your fellow Mefi folks.
posted to MetaFilter by Stark at 2:15 PM on April 28, 2017

Keith Talent - I don't believe thumping a mother superior is required; this location history heatmap seems to do the trick.
posted to MetaFilter by Stark at 2:20 PM on April 28, 2017

I was a student in Edinburgh and Arthur's Seat was one of the highlights of the place. It's part of an extinct volcano; a huge wild area in the middle of the city, and with terrific views from the top. Salisbury Crags are beautiful and a good place to do some bouldering if you're a cheap student with some climbing shoes. Walking with a girlfriend in the middle of winter around the small loch near the summit was rather magical. Watching the New Year's Day triathlon competitors when you have a… [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Stark at 6:34 AM on February 27, 2017

There's some quality videos in the previous discussion of dog agility, including a blur called Puzzle, a slightly slower Mastiff and a husky who just wants to play.
posted to MetaFilter by Stark at 12:17 AM on February 14, 2017

There was a recent change in India to invalidate the most common bank notes, apparently to reduce corruption. This lead to chaos, fatalities and massive uncertainty about how to pay for basic goods. The Bugle did a recent episode primarily focusing on this (starts about 10 minutes into the programme).

I wonder what percentage of the Indian population actually have a bank account? Does Aadhaar work if you don't have a bank account? Also, is there any solution for the… [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Stark at 12:38 PM on February 7, 2017

Apologies for restating questions that are discussed above; I thought the Bugle discussion may add a bit of colour to this topic. However, I may have missed the part where someone explains how to resolve the problems of people not having bank accounts or being illiterate? Any solution that relates to a UBI presumably has to work for 100% of the population; 98% would leave over 25 million people out of pocket in India.

Suggesting that people will "change their… [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Stark at 1:44 AM on February 8, 2017

It is indeed entirely possible that this is satire or a fake to garner internet outrage. However, I haven't been able to find anything yet to prove or disprove, and apparently the app is indeed available if you're in NYC. A user on reddit also found a job posting for a "crime center communications associate" that is linked to the company via the magic of Whois.

Let's hope it's satire!
posted to MetaFilter by Stark at 4:20 AM on October 28, 2016

Hatching an egg also gives much more candy than previously! And to go with the Halloween theme there's a massively increased number of "scary" Pokemon around - specifically Gastly, Haunter, Gengar, Cubone, Marowak, and Meowth.

There's a fair bit of discussion about this at The Silph Road's thread.

Personally I've just invested in some incubators but I'm stuck indoors for the next few days; very frustrating!
posted to MetaFilter by Stark at 6:33 AM on October 26, 2016

Yes, this contains at least three stunts that I've never seen him do before, and adds in a sense of fun and delight. Not to mention the beautiful countryside.
posted to MetaFilter by Stark at 6:05 AM on October 12, 2016

Very impressed with the one-handed zip wire! Excellent stuff.
posted to MetaFilter by Stark at 1:32 AM on October 7, 2016

This was featured recently in the BBC series "Forces of Nature" with Brian Cox. There's an edited version of that part of the programme on YouTube. Includes some heartstopping moments when the towers collapse.
posted to MetaFilter by Stark at 8:47 AM on October 4, 2016

There's a service called FakeSpot which analyses Amazon and Yelp reviews to spot fake reviews - perhaps Amazon just needs to buy their technology?
posted to MetaFilter by Stark at 5:50 AM on October 4, 2016

creating prosthetic extensions of his limbs that allowed him to move in the manner of, and spend time roaming hills in the company of, goats

The man pretending to be a goat has been on Metafilter previously.
posted to MetaFilter by Stark at 6:54 AM on September 23, 2016

Nettles on toast?! Admittedly I'm only from North Yorkshire and it's a big area, but I've never heard of this. Also, the current video is for making nettle soap, but I did find someone making some nettle rarebit.
posted to MetaFilter by Stark at 2:31 AM on September 21, 2016

As a non-scientist with an interest in antibiotic resistance, this is both very interesting and extremely scary.
posted to MetaFilter by Stark at 1:28 PM on September 10, 2016

It looks like this was created using MMD, which I only know about due to this wonderful Metafilter thread. Essentially you start with a source video, capture the movements and then apply them!

The reddit thread above links to the choreography for these dancing pokemon.
posted to MetaFilter by Stark at 12:59 AM on August 26, 2016

<spaced>Babylon 5's a big pile of shit!<\spaced>
posted to MetaFilter by Stark at 8:47 AM on July 5, 2016

This is great - very inspiring. Nice Danny MacAskill cameo in the Down but not Out video (the "enjoys" link)!
posted to MetaFilter by Stark at 3:31 AM on June 15, 2016

I find my issue with chatbots (like Siri) is that you have to know what is available - there are no affordances.

Just having a natural-language chat isn't going to work - you have to be aware that you can ask for travel times or sports scores or set the timer or add a reminder. It's quite useful when you know the correct syntax to use - just like any other UI that you learn how to use - but with the downside that there are few clues on valid… [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Stark at 1:57 AM on April 28, 2016

I wonder if it was jumping in a north-easterly direction?
posted to MetaFilter by Stark at 4:46 AM on February 11, 2016

More Mark Kermode on Nicholas Sparks:
The Best of Me
Safe Haven
The Longest Ride
posted to MetaFilter by Stark at 6:08 AM on February 7, 2016

The innuendo still lives on in Radio comedy, particularly I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue. They have a scorer called Samantha who often has to leave before the end of the recording...

"Samantha tells me she has to go now as she's off to the country residence of her new gentleman friend, who has some interesting birds in the thicket. He keeps a young chicken, but Samantha says there are also wild breeds there, and she can't wait to see his Woodcock, Pullet and Swallow.… [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Stark at 2:27 AM on February 3, 2016

People have been playing Mornington Crescent with computer assistance since 2008!
posted to MetaFilter by Stark at 6:42 AM on January 28, 2016