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See also SHIFT for similar-but-different black/white reversal gameplay.
posted to MetaFilter by Rhaomi at 5:00 PM on February 22, 2008

"It's so ... black!'' said Ford Prefect, "You can hardly make out its shape... light just seems to fall into it!''

Zaphod said nothing. He had simply fallen in love.

The blackness of it was so extreme that it was almost impossible to tell how close you were standing to it.

"Your eyes just slide off it...'' said Ford in wonder. It was an emotional moment. He bit his lip.… [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Rhaomi at 9:52 AM on February 20, 2008

For future reference.

A bit out of date, but hey, it rhymes!.
posted to MetaFilter by Rhaomi at 2:40 AM on February 19, 2008

Blazecock Pileon: "She's playing games behind the scenes to get superdelegates to support her nomination, instead of the candidate supported by the popular vote."

Interesting point: I was watching this video on YouTube, sort of an "Obama behind-the-scenes" type of thing. It was filmed at the California state Democratic convention last summer. At one point, he is walking down a corridor with an advisor in his ear quietly telling him… [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Rhaomi at 3:58 PM on February 18, 2008

kyrademon: Obama has not, to the best of my knowledge, exhibited hypocrisy with regard to the Nevada caucus. The numbers widely reported in the media on election night were not counts of the popular vote -- caucus results are based on delegates and so do not track the raw numbers of voters, which are irrelevant to the process. Clinton only "won" in terms of county-level delegates. These delegates are an intermediary step -- not the final count. And if all the state-level delegates vote… [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Rhaomi at 5:28 PM on February 18, 2008

Just be glad they didn't give him an MRI.



Hello, my name is Rhaomi, and I apologize for that mental image
posted to MetaFilter by Rhaomi at 12:00 PM on February 14, 2008

I'm suddenly reminded of the Echo myth.
posted to MetaFilter by Rhaomi at 8:25 PM on February 13, 2008

rocket88: "Aside from antiquity and rarity, what makes a Strad worth more than $2M? Has there really not been a comparable sounding instrument made in the last 300 years? Do concert-goers really have ears sensitive enough to tell the difference between a Strad and a top-quality modern violin?"

vbfg: "Out of interest, did the guy who made these have the last word on how to make a violin? Nobody's made a better or comparable one… [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Rhaomi at 2:37 PM on February 13, 2008

delmoi: "Who cares? I'm sure those things are insured, and only a pompus wanker would claim that the music out of one of those truly sounded sweeter then out of any other nice violin."

Maybe. But the admiration for the violins is not just pompous wankery. They are of a unique construction which researchers do not yet fully understand, and so cannot be replicated exactly. Saying that a Stradivarius is worth no more than a modern high-end… [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Rhaomi at 2:56 PM on February 13, 2008

newdaddy: "I just spoke to someone at Barbara Mikulski's office who was very polite, but I gotta say, the press release he pointed me is pretty horrendous in that entirely sidesteps the issue of warrants, and, uhh, civil liberties. Some parts of it read like a treatment for CLOVERFIELD:'There had been an attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Other attacks were being planned. The nation was gripped by fear and apprehension that another attack was imminent.… [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Rhaomi at 2:04 PM on February 12, 2008

Benny Andajetz: The ex post facto restriction only applies to punishments, not pardons.
posted to MetaFilter by Rhaomi at 4:58 PM on February 12, 2008

I have an unlucky history with ARGs, which is too bad, since they sound so fracking awesome. You see, I'd seen the remake of The Manchurian Candidate, and was curious about the movie's evil corporation, Manchurian Global. A quick Google search led to manchurianglobal.com, which was an in-universe dealie hiding a few intriguing and ominous details about the conglomerate. Creepy, static-y videos, references to biochips and brainwashing, etc.

I later came… [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Rhaomi at 12:39 AM on February 12, 2008

Kid Charlemagne: "Hey, this is the internet! I don't want to look at disgusting stuff like this. I want to see boobies!

Er, wait a minute."

IT IS TOO LATE TO STOP THE BOOBIES
posted to MetaFilter by Rhaomi at 6:15 PM on February 11, 2008

Is this something you'd need a crippling Blackberry addiction to understand?



Oh, right, it is. Sorry.
posted to MetaFilter by Rhaomi at 5:52 PM on February 11, 2008

They've obviously never met Mr. Jimmy Dean.
posted to MetaFilter by Rhaomi at 1:02 PM on February 11, 2008

I'm really not a fan of these new digital composites of the world. They're too Technicolor, too Photoshop-y. I think that images of Earth are always better when they're raw photos actually taken from thousands of miles away. They may not be as sharp or as colorful as patchwork satellite imagery or computer simulations, but they still convey that sense of scale and wonder and authenticity that only comes from the real, unprocessed thing. Just the thought that a real human held up a camera and… [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Rhaomi at 11:15 AM on February 11, 2008

What, no Pumpkin with the Stars?
posted to MetaFilter by Rhaomi at 10:39 AM on February 11, 2008

chrominance: "I watched an incredibly cheesy docudrama about four scenarios that could bring the end of the world in the space of a day, and even that alarmist show, with all the proclamations of "it's not a matter of if, but when we'll all be killed by a meteor strike!", couldn't bring itself to say the strangelet outcome was at all likely. "On this one we can sleep soundly," the talking head said."

That Wikipedia article… [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Rhaomi at 10:31 AM on February 11, 2008

Sure, it sounds like a terrible idea, but consider: wouldn't China be more likely to deal favorably with a Vice President named Rice? They love that shit. The quickest way to the heart of a rising global superpower is through its stomach.
posted to MetaFilter by Rhaomi at 4:54 PM on February 10, 2008

wallstreet1929: "Thane Heins , who named his invention after a Greek word meaning an action that "has the opposite effect to that intended," has perhaps created a...perpetual motion machine. His 20-year obsession has broken up his marriage and lost him custody of his two young daughters."

I see your pitiable, divorced, minor-celebrity theorist with a 20-year obsession and raise you a pitiable, divorced, minor-celebrity theorist… [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Rhaomi at 10:17 PM on February 9, 2008

Fry's dog. Fry's dog.

*tiny tears*
posted to MetaFilter by Rhaomi at 7:27 PM on February 9, 2008

It's hit-and-miss. More hits than misses, though. Forsooth!
posted to MetaFilter by Rhaomi at 7:17 PM on February 9, 2008

You know, cringe-worthy Obama-related videos are a two-way street.
posted to MetaFilter by Rhaomi at 5:00 PM on February 7, 2008

Say what you want about Wikipedia, but at least they've admitted to having a problem. And admitting the problem is the first step in curing the disease.
posted to MetaFilter by Rhaomi at 1:53 PM on February 7, 2008

That wxSand game is the best of the bunch, I think. I love how it lets you load up an image file to create an instant map -- it's a lot easier to create complex contraptions in MSPaint than with that sprinkler tool you have in-game.

Also, the mods people have come up with are pretty amazing. I haven't seen that forum linked to in the FP yet, but there's a physics loader in wxSand (File -> Load physics from online wiki) that has some great, great stuff. There's one… [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Rhaomi at 12:43 PM on February 7, 2008

4... 3... 2... 1...

i can't feel my spleen
my flesh is lime green
the pain is extreme
it makes me wanna scream

(skin graft please, skin graft please)

this acid burn is crazy
it totally dismays me
gotta call up 911
fo'sheezy

(skin graft please, skin graft please)
posted to MetaFilter by Rhaomi at 10:05 PM on February 6, 2008

Burhanistan: "It's kind of bad form to knock another crappy celebrity fake fight post on Metafilter in one's own crappy celebrity fake fight post on Metafilter."

This obviously calls for a crappy crappy celebrity fake fight post on Metafilter fake fight on Metafilter.

May the best crappy celebrity fake fight post on Metafilter win.

(I call the rubberized Louisville slugger!)
posted to MetaFilter by Rhaomi at 9:35 PM on February 6, 2008

I don't think I'm doing it right.
posted to MetaFilter by Rhaomi at 11:36 AM on February 6, 2008

THE FOAM. IT WAITS.
posted to MetaFilter by Rhaomi at 2:22 AM on February 6, 2008

Of course, forays into the political world are not without consequences. Witness the grisly murder of MAD's Pee-yew-litzer Prize-winning editor Phil Fonebone in the back streets of Potrzebie, Blecchistan.
posted to MetaFilter by Rhaomi at 7:38 PM on February 5, 2008

quin: "Similarly to the observation's pardonyou? provided upthread, this bothers me. It's basically saying that we should like Obama because he is willing to trust his gut. Isn't this pretty much exactly what we dislike about the current president? That he is willing to stand in the face of popular opinion, not rely on intelligence, and instead trust his morally-guided feelings?"

The sense I've had of it is the opposite -- that Obama went… [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Rhaomi at 12:39 PM on February 5, 2008

teleskiving: Part of the reason is that the Board of Registrars is operating under a provisional leader, acting registrar Dean Logan, who is of questionable background. The previous registrar, Conny McCormack, retired in early January after leaving the election system a mess and engendering much bad blood with the voting integrity community.
posted to MetaFilter by Rhaomi at 5:15 AM on February 5, 2008

XMLicious: I know as much is true with regard to the abortion flap; I've even seen the flyers put out by the Clinton campaign. Basically, they tried to make Obama look cowardly for voting "present" instead of "aye" on several pro-abortion bills in the Illinois state legislature. What they conveniently failed to menton was that Planned Parenthood had explicitly recommended the "present" strategy -- they did this because the bills were toothless, and designed by… [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Rhaomi at 5:45 AM on February 5, 2008

Cecil sez:

In the old days it was thought you had to draw a line in front of the chicken with chalk, but modern masters of the art have learned you can dispense with the props. The trick seems to require physically restraining the chicken and administering some strong stimulus, e.g., drawing lines. This induces total sensory overload in the chicken's two-volt brain, putting him/her/it under for anywhere from 15 seconds to 30 minutes.… [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Rhaomi at 12:14 AM on February 5, 2008

That would make for an awesome superhero. Quantum Mario, spinning off a skillion expendable doppelgangers to achieve the impossible!

♪♫ Quantum Mario... ♫♪
♫♪ (CAN WE DO IT) ♪♫
♪♫ Quantum Mario... ♫♪
♫♪ (YES WE CAN) ♪♫




(0.0000000000000001% of the time.)

(You die horribly the rest of the time.)

(♪♫)
posted to MetaFilter by Rhaomi at 10:30 PM on February 3, 2008

Pope Guilty: "...so rehosting of Something Awful threads is the best of the web? Really?"

Pope Guilty: "Bah, that was meant to link to this thread in the Something Awful Goldmine."

Awww, I really wanted this to be some bizarre, ex nihilo mystery with no source or explanation or meaning. But then I had to go ahead and find out it came from SomethingAwful.

You killed the dream, Pope Guilty.
posted to MetaFilter by Rhaomi at 6:46 PM on February 3, 2008

You know, when you smell dog crap or rotting food or some other nastiness, actual particles from said nastiness are actually going inside your nose. Literally.

Would you enjoy shoving cat scat up your nostrils? Ever consider packing some burnt hair upside your head?

I didn't think so.

So never smell anything. Ever. It's a dangerous world out there.
posted to MetaFilter by Rhaomi at 1:04 PM on February 2, 2008

Some choice threads from icechewing.com:

* * *
TOPIC: If I could be a superhero

Flashy McFlash: I think I'd be Iceman, with the ability to manifest ice from nothing. I would just turn myself into ice and chew on my fingers all day and all night.

In a related question, do you think that chewing ice is a form or function of OCD (Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder)?… [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Rhaomi at 8:21 PM on January 30, 2008

empath, I hear Obama is keeping in close contact with Kenya's foreign minister, though I agree there's little he can do to quell the violence. There's no doubt he has a personal stake in it though -- his uncle is among those trapped by the conflict.
posted to MetaFilter by Rhaomi at 6:15 PM on January 30, 2008

The Cartooned Candidates
posted to MetaFilter by Rhaomi at 6:00 PM on January 26, 2008

whir: "I'm surprised nobody thought of drawing a Tilley of color, but then again it is the New Yorker."

"Hah, hah, hah! I'd like to see that complaint get rectified!"
posted to MetaFilter by Rhaomi at 3:34 PM on January 25, 2008

Rome had some pretty awesome graffiti, too. Here are actual Latin phrases found carved into ancient Roman settlement walls (via Wikipedia):

The first known example of "modern style" graffiti survives in the ancient Greek city of Ephesus (in modern-day Turkey). Local guides say it is an advertisement for prostitution. [Ed. note: Well, of course...] Located near a mosaic and stone walkway, the graffiti shows a handprint that vaguely… [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Rhaomi at 11:29 PM on January 24, 2008

Heh... I was on a GUI binge on Wikipedia a few weeks ago, browsing the articles they had on all the elements of the modern desktop environment. All the niggling bits like radio buttons and status bars and the Start button, which have a universe of thinking and terminology and experimentation behind them that nobody knows about. It's all invisible stuff we use all the time and take for granted, but interesting to discover the reasoning behind them -- the difference between a standard progress bar… [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Rhaomi at 8:39 PM on January 24, 2008

Obama is most definitely still in the game, and by some interpretations is actually winning. The media is spinning it otherwise, of course, but the truth's gotta come out sometime.

Just look at Nevada. I was feeling pretty down Saturday night, as all the networks were reporting that Clinton had "won" the caucus. After all areas had reported in, she beat Obama by about 600 "votes".

But that was not the case. I later learned… [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Rhaomi at 12:33 PM on January 24, 2008

sotonohito: "The deep, visceral, hatred of HRC seems, to me, to be mostly rooted in a deep, visceral, hatred of any woman who isn't a brainless Stepford Wife."

That may be true for some, but not all, or even most. I don't support her because she strikes me as corrupt, and lacking integrity and good judgment. Just look at the shiftiness of her Iraq war vote. At least Edwards has the gumption to admit he was wrong and work to fight against what… [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Rhaomi at 12:48 PM on January 24, 2008

Or, if you crave power, you can simulate the rides and cackle as the tiny computer people queue in vain for miles for a ride you've halted for no apparent reason.

FOOLISH MORTALS! WHERE IS YOUR FASTPASS NOW?
posted to MetaFilter by Rhaomi at 12:57 PM on January 22, 2008

Pretty cool. Reminds me of the better mid-century cartoons with the action choreographed to the music. For instance...
posted to MetaFilter by Rhaomi at 9:09 PM on January 17, 2008

I really wish Michigan Democrats would quit with the highjinks and think ahead. If I lived there, I'd be casting an "uncommitted" ballot on the Democratic side. That way, if the situation with the state leadership is somehow reconciled and their delegates are allowed to vote at the convention, they won't all be firmly in the Clinton column. Not to mention that having Hillary suffer an overwhelming loss to "uncommitted" would be a pretty embarrassing p.r. blow. And if there's… [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Rhaomi at 8:03 PM on January 14, 2008

I'm partial to Who Wants to be a Millionaire's "Adverbs or verbs?" idjit. Unlike most "stupid" contestants who are merely flustered by having to make quick decisions in a high-stress situation, this guy lets his pigheadedness come to a low boil and simmer for the course of a few minutes. He forgoes all reasonable advice and blows all his lifelines on one of the easiest questions out there, to high-larious effect.

Apologies for the… [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Rhaomi at 9:42 PM on January 13, 2008

She's okay, but she can't hold a candle to Maadhu in geographical prowess or raw cuteness. It's good, though, it gives her something to aim for -- she can start working on her periodic table right after she gets potty-trained.
posted to MetaFilter by Rhaomi at 10:44 AM on December 28, 2007