January 29, 2024

Finding the Air Cannon

For about three weeks, folks living in Corvallis, OR have had their sleep disrupted by a sound of mysterious origin. Retired software engineer K Lars Lohn engaged in some clever acoustic detective work to pinpoint the source.
posted by mpark at 10:15 PM PST - 70 comments

It’s cold enough to freeze your tires square.

How long does it take to belong to a place? "From Here" by Annie Wenstrup for About Place Journal:
People introduce themselves like this: their name and how long they’ve been here. Like this, I’m Annie. I’ve lived in Alaska for twenty-five years, I’ve spent the last fourteen years in Fairbanks. There. Now you know I belong here, I’m not someone passing through. [more inside]
posted by spamandkimchi at 3:15 PM PST - 29 comments

To beat Trump, we need to know why Americans keep voting for him

Psychologists may have the answer Trump exemplifies extrinsic values. From the tower bearing his name in gold letters to his gross overstatements of his wealth; from his endless ranting about “winners” and “losers” to his reported habit of cheating at golf; from his extreme objectification of women, including his own daughter, to his obsession with the size of his hands; from his rejection of public service, human rights and environmental protection to his extreme dissatisfaction and fury, undiminished even when he was president of the United States, Trump, perhaps more than any other public figure in recent history, is a walking, talking monument to extrinsic values.
posted by folklore724 at 11:46 AM PST - 515 comments

Здорово! ser la leche! macizo! ヤバイ! knorke!

untranslatable.co is a searchable database of slang from nearly 100 languages.
posted by gwint at 8:45 AM PST - 17 comments

An interview with painter Amy Bennett

About a quarter of the paintings in Open Season were begun before the pandemic. I made a substantial model inspired by attending a 4H fair, and noting with curiosity that it seemed to attract both extreme ends of the political spectrum. I wanted to challenge myself to make images outside of the domestic realm. Painting crowds in the open air seemed like a counterbalance to the isolated interiors I had been immersed in. But it wasn’t long into lockdown that the theme felt too disconnected from our alarming new reality. We could finally see what a paradise we’d lost. [NSFW]
posted by cupcakeninja at 3:44 AM PST - 14 comments

Artificial roosts for endangered shorebirds

How oyster shells, foam and zip ties are offering a critical life raft for declining shorebird populations. Sea rangers hope an artificial floating roost made from oyster farm pillows will help provide vital habitat for endangered shorebirds.
posted by chariot pulled by cassowaries at 3:22 AM PST - 2 comments

You are the MeFite ... it's your weekly free thread

After last week's epic thread of The games MeFites play - which you can still contribute to - this week there's no optional topic. It's just ... you. Talk about anything and everything in your life and your world as this is your free thread.
posted by Wordshore at 1:43 AM PST - 199 comments

Won't Panic

We require leaders who recognize before disaster strikes that mass panic is largely a myth, not after they have mismanaged it. This is a hard thing to ask of a governing class. One reason this myth has persisted despite decades of evidence to the contrary is that narratives of panic are a useful crutch for leaders under pressure. By projecting their own insecurities onto the masses they lead, elites find a ready scapegoat for their own failings. A leader who does not measure up to the demands of disaster will find it easier to blame the crowd for panic than accept the crowd’s harsh judgments on his own performance. from The Myth of Panic [Palladium; from 2021]
posted by chavenet at 12:07 AM PST - 16 comments

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