MetaFilter

Time to rewatch They Live.
posted to MetaFilter by doctornemo at 6:29 PM on June 9, 2024

The thing about physical dice is that very few — outside of the ones in licensed casinos — have actually been tested for true randomness.

I've been hoping to lean into this, actually. I want to build some ostentatiously loaded dice I can use in presentations about climate change - i.e., how global warming skews outcomes.
posted to MetaFilter by doctornemo at 3:24 PM on June 9, 2024

Similar practice with others here: I use digital randomizers when I'm running a game, like Reacting to the Past. As a player, I tend to the physical - unless they aren't around.
posted to MetaFilter by doctornemo at 3:24 PM on June 9, 2024

Thank you for this one, Brandon. I'm working on another space exploration post and will gladly reference this.
posted to MetaFilter by doctornemo at 4:02 PM on June 6, 2024

Dogs and babies? Makes sense.

When we lived in Vermont black bears visited us from time to time. Once a black bear and some cubs charged right across the little dirt road I was driving my kids along. Another time a big guy ambled across our land to visit the chickens; I convinced him to change his ways with some shouting.

Our old dog once treed a bear cub. Man, she was a good dog, but not always the brightest.
posted to MetaFilter by doctornemo at 1:56 PM on June 6, 2024

"a big red cat is a very scary thing to imagine"

Paging Neil Gaiman's Sandman
posted to MetaFilter by doctornemo at 3:59 PM on June 6, 2024

MetaFilter: you’re DEFINITELY not allowed to talk about Dyngus Day
posted to MetaFilter by doctornemo at 1:45 PM on June 6, 2024

This study reminds me of Ernst Bloch's The Principle of Hope, where he tried to suss out the desire for a better world in anything he could find.

(I've only read the first book. Fred Jameson told me he thinks he's the only person who read the whole trilogy. One can hope.)
posted to MetaFilter by doctornemo at 1:54 PM on June 6, 2024

Thank you for sharing this, reality_is_benign.
posted to MetaFilter by doctornemo at 6:51 AM on June 5, 2024

The TFA's conclusion sounds good to me:

We need to acknowledge boys’ feelings, to talk with our sons in the same way we do our daughters, to hear them and empathize rather than dismiss or minimize, and engage with them as fully emotional beings.

They are more than ready to talk. We just need to make sure we are listening.
posted to MetaFilter by doctornemo at 6:53 AM on June 5, 2024

I think you're right, star gentle uterus. What you describe comes up every time MeFi discusses problems afflicting men and boys.
posted to MetaFilter by doctornemo at 7:41 AM on June 5, 2024

Want to talk about boys? OK. I'll mention two.

GenX man here, born 1967 in New York City. Childhood and teen years trained me *thoroughly* never to express nearly all emotions. Sadness, love, confusion, even whimsy: parents, teachers, fellow kids, popular culture took pains to make sure I knew those were Very Bad Moves, signs of weakness, open cries for the vultures to descend and tear my flesh.

One of the painful parts of reading this thread… [more]
posted to MetaFilter by doctornemo at 7:15 PM on June 5, 2024

Thank you for doing that, kristi (and 1024).
posted to MetaFilter by doctornemo at 1:17 PM on June 6, 2024

Thank you for sharing this, clavdivs. What a powerful radio speech.

Kudos to the site for including Eleanor Roosevelt's column as well.
posted to MetaFilter by doctornemo at 5:41 AM on June 6, 2024

The article misses the other fronts in place

Usually I agree with this sentiment, but not today. The post was specifically about FDR's radio prayer. And, as you note, FDR mentioned the Italian campaign.

If you want to really focus on what the post mentions, you didn't mention by far the largest and most significant part of the European war: the Soviet-Nazi war. By June 1944 the Soviets were already driving the Germans back… [more]
posted to MetaFilter by doctornemo at 5:45 AM on June 6, 2024

I had no idea at all.

It's not getting much media coverage or general discussion, from what I can see.
posted to MetaFilter by doctornemo at 2:24 PM on June 5, 2024

As many as 150,000 people have died since the conflict erupted last year, by American estimates. Another nine million have been forced from their homes, making Sudan home to the largest displacement crisis on earth, the United Nations says. A famine looms that officials warn could kill hundreds of thousands of children in the coming months and, if unchecked, rival the great Ethiopian famine of the 1980s.
posted to MetaFilter by doctornemo at 2:40 PM on June 5, 2024

What exactly would the students be protesting about?

For one, they might protest at the lack of action taken by their national government concerning the crisis.

They could also request teaching about the topic, as well as service learning and other forms of helping Sudanese civilians.
posted to MetaFilter by doctornemo at 5:53 PM on June 5, 2024

I remember the “Kony 2012” people being active on college campuses.

Me too.
Back in the 1990s I tried to get people exercised about what was then becoming former Yugoslavia.

In the 1920s and 30s there were various student movements about war in Europe and the United States.
posted to MetaFilter by doctornemo at 7:18 PM on June 5, 2024

Occasionally I just try to read something on the web on my phone and I'm appalled by how intrusive and actively user-hostile the design is.

Same experience here.

I've taken to use my RSS reader on the phone to quickly skim news, then forward myself the articles needing serious reading on my laptop/desktop.

Definitely can't read digital comics on the tinyphone. (One reason I'm looking into Folds for the next machine)
posted to MetaFilter by doctornemo at 6:50 PM on June 5, 2024

I wish people who frequently travel would scale things back enough so that other people who don't travel at all could have an opportunity while still reducing the overall amount of travel.

maybe this talk of whether or not travel is ethical, necessary, broadens minds and brings peace is completely moot, because if people continue to travel, it contributes to global warming.

This is one possible future.… [more]
posted to MetaFilter by doctornemo at 7:04 AM on June 5, 2024

How much tourism actually does anything to help people understand and grow in reality? Given who has had access to routine travel, I think the evidence for it creating empathy or broadening cultural horizons is very slim. I think that on the whole, the world would be a lot better off without whatever empathy or life lessons travel taught people, if it were also spared the carbon emissions and economic exploitation.

That's an example of the view I mentioned earlier.
posted to MetaFilter by doctornemo at 7:37 AM on June 5, 2024

Find your local prison books program.

Yes. And TFA has a link to one such.
posted to MetaFilter by doctornemo at 6:33 AM on June 5, 2024

I think the discussion here is conflating a few things.

1) Books in poor physical shape (ex: mildew).*
2) Books on topics we don't like for various reasons, including being out of date.
3) The supply of secondhand books now massively exceeds the demand for print titles.

I agree with #1, unless the thing is super scarce and can be repaired.

Being out of date is a good reason to recycle a book. I've… [more]
posted to MetaFilter by doctornemo at 6:42 AM on June 5, 2024

I was saddened to see no mention of Traveller.
posted to MetaFilter by doctornemo at 4:33 PM on June 1, 2024

Gift link to NYTimes piece.
posted to MetaFilter by doctornemo at 3:21 PM on May 30, 2024

I would love, love, love to see this:

At the presentence interview, a psychologist or social worker working for the probation department may also talk to Mr. Trump, during which time the defendant can “try to make a good impression and explain why he or she deserves a lighter punishment,” according to the New York State Unified Court System.
posted to MetaFilter by doctornemo at 3:23 PM on May 30, 2024

Came here to recommend The Lives of Others. So many great scenes, like the one with the ball.
posted to MetaFilter by doctornemo at 12:53 PM on May 30, 2024

A small datapoint for the argument that tv is crucial to understanding Trump.
posted to MetaFilter by doctornemo at 12:51 PM on May 30, 2024

Thank you for the alternative link, Lanark.
posted to MetaFilter by doctornemo at 12:48 PM on May 30, 2024

That was fun. Brought back some memories of playing in an arcade, wondering how this new tv show Battlestar Galactica would turn out.
posted to MetaFilter by doctornemo at 7:44 AM on May 30, 2024

Against being age-specific:

But almost without exception, if you ask an American when times were worst, the most common response will be “right now!”
posted to MetaFilter by doctornemo at 10:23 AM on May 29, 2024

From Frankenstein:

When I returned home my first care was to procure the whole works of this author, and afterwards of Paracelsus and Albertus Magnus. I read and studied the wild fancies of these writers with delight; they appeared to me treasures known to few besides myself. I have described myself as always having been imbued with a fervent longing to penetrate the secrets of nature. In spite of the intense labour and wonderful discoveries… [more]
posted to MetaFilter by doctornemo at 10:14 AM on May 29, 2024

I was just at UNE a few weeks ago!

...the one in Saco, NotMyselfRightNow . And Biddeford.
posted to MetaFilter by doctornemo at 12:28 PM on May 27, 2024

Splendid post.
Hurrah, Dalkey Archive!
posted to MetaFilter by doctornemo at 12:26 PM on May 27, 2024

So very cool. I love uncovering early human history.

Plus I fooled around with making drystone walls. Man, that takes time.
posted to MetaFilter by doctornemo at 12:25 PM on May 27, 2024

The average pronatalist is “young, nerdy, contrarian, autist,” Malcolm says, proudly. “Girls that have gender neutral names are more likely to have higher paying careers and get Stem degrees.” ...
“I am autistic, and I really feel uncomfortable sitting still.” Simone was diagnosed fairly recently, after Octavian was diagnosed. She and Malcolm see her autism as an asset. At the recent Natal conference in Austin, Malcolm says, “one of the big jokes was how autistic the… [more]
posted to MetaFilter by doctornemo at 11:20 AM on May 25, 2024

The names remind me of classic Puritan ones.
posted to MetaFilter by doctornemo at 11:20 AM on May 25, 2024

Thank you, Zumbador, Jacen, and nanny's striped stocking.
posted to MetaFilter by doctornemo at 2:10 PM on May 25, 2024

A very good list. I'm glad it spends time with his early stories.
posted to MetaFilter by doctornemo at 6:24 PM on May 24, 2024

One of the decent things my father did before he died last year was to get rid of most of his stuff. To be fair, my brother and I did most of the grunt work of hauling, boxing, etc. But when he passed there wasn't much there. Furniture was the biggest issue, really, so we hired someone to take it away.

He also did the smart thing of making a list of his accounts, complete with login info.
posted to MetaFilter by doctornemo at 10:30 AM on May 23, 2024

Now my wife and I are thinking hard about this for ourselves.

She had two (2) heart attacks last year and now feels very close to death, so she buys nearly nothing physical and wants to get rid of stuff.

For me, the big issue is my book collection. That's, oh, 3200 or so titles. I think fondly of a story about a scholar who died surrounded by his favorite tomes, and maybe that's what I can do, winnow the stuff down to a few hundred dear friends.
posted to MetaFilter by doctornemo at 10:32 AM on May 23, 2024

scolbath, a book appraiser is a very good idea.
When I worked for a used/antiquarian bookstore, the owner used to do some of that. Man, there were some stories.
posted to MetaFilter by doctornemo at 1:40 PM on May 23, 2024

someone should tell MeFi I'm gone, the way one tells the bees.

MetaFilter: the told bees.
posted to MetaFilter by doctornemo at 1:40 PM on May 23, 2024

7 hours? I'm not hating

I'm pretty close to hating. There is no way I have time for a *one* hour video, much less freaking four or, blessed Cthulhu, seven.

The most I can do now is 30 minutes, if the visual content doesn't matter much and I can listen to audio while doing something else.

(Audio is key to my massively overclocked life. There's a good amount of listening available when making food, doing housework, exercising, being stuck in transportation, etc.)
posted to MetaFilter by doctornemo at 10:28 AM on May 21, 2024

You can't say I didn't warn you.

True!
posted to MetaFilter by doctornemo at 9:03 AM on May 22, 2024

I wonder if he's seen it yet.

As far as I know Trump prefers tv to all other media.
posted to MetaFilter by doctornemo at 10:25 AM on May 21, 2024

an NYT gift link is like a paper bag full of shit, afire, on the doorstep, and posting NYT is like ringing the doorbell. Can we not? I just wonder.

Actually, I want to thank box for this link. Not everyone has a NYT subscription, so I appreciate the thought.
posted to MetaFilter by doctornemo at 10:22 AM on May 21, 2024

My wife also saw Han Solo in carbonite, gottabefunky.
posted to MetaFilter by doctornemo at 1:00 PM on May 15, 2024

Well obviously it was painted that way to appeal to Queen Carmilla

For cstross:

The grave of the Countess Mircalla was opened; and the General and my
father recognized each his perfidious and beautiful guest, in the face
now disclosed to view. The features, though a hundred and fifty years
had passed since her funeral, were tinted with the warmth of life. Her
eyes were… [more]
posted to MetaFilter by doctornemo at 1:45 PM on May 15, 2024