MetaFilter

The Tao of Podunk celebrates the vast diversity of the American urban experience, from big cities to, well, Pudunks (be sure to check out the Podunk extras, such as claims to fame and imaginary places).
posted by moonbird at 7:31 PM PST - 2 comments

Robotic Scientist - Scientists created a closed, automated system to conduct simple labor intensive scientific experiments in molecular genetics. The robot creates hypothesis and tests them. Supposedly it works more efficiently (picks less expensive experiments, and fewer of them) then its human counterparts (graduate students in biology and comp sci.). More detailed article in Nature here (institutional access / subscription required). I for one, welcome our new robot overlords.
posted by nads at 7:15 PM PST - 5 comments

Back to the archive, one tape at a time. A new old episode of previously missing Doctor Who has turned up. It's episode two of The Dalek Master Plan which means we've now got three of the twelve parts that make up that story. Nine to go... (a clip with lots of Daleks in can be seen here).
posted by feelinglistless at 4:03 PM PST - 11 comments

Dream Dollars "Discover the mystery of Nadiria, the Lost Colony of Antarctica. Nadiria flourished as a utopian colony deep inside the Antarctican ice shelf for over thirty years until its mysterious disappearance in 1899. Here are the beautiful reproductions of its unusual currency, Dream-Dollars, studied by scholars and dream researchers for almost a century. Long unavailable, these exotic notes will amaze, astound, and fascinate all those interested in the strange and the beautiful."
posted by anastasiav at 3:19 PM PST - 11 comments

Anyone in the mood for a celebration!? Today is Personal Firewall Day! Who's bringing drinks?
posted by bhayes82 at 2:27 PM PST - 38 comments

Oak Island is one of the greatest treasure hunting mysteries of the last 400 years. The Money Pit as it is called, has stirred up a bevy of questions including how this simple pit has alluded treasure hunters and scientists to this day. Some believe that it might be the location of the Holy Grail, stashed by the Templar Knights. Other's believe that it might be the resting place of Sir Francis Bacon's original plays acreditted to William Shakespear. The most common belief is that The pirate Captain Kidd hid his huge stash of gold deep within the pit which accounts for all of the unusual traps. Regardless of the wild speculation there has been evidence to suggest that there is deffinately something in the pit. But not all agree....
posted by Benway at 1:59 PM PST - 17 comments

A collection of absurdly interesting stories. (Note to the gun-shy: not in Comic Sans.) via the always excellent JerryKindall.com
posted by stupidsexyFlanders at 12:59 PM PST - 6 comments

Complaint to nic.cx results in goatse.cx being suspended. Obligatory online petition is started. Screams and sobbing are heard on a regular basis on Slashdot. Links are SFW, but any investigation further may not be. This is truly a dark time for the internet.
posted by angry modem at 11:50 AM PST - 70 comments

State Library of Tasmania, Heritage Collection Image Library.
posted by hama7 at 11:30 AM PST - 3 comments

Generic Rap Song by Princeton student. An excellent undergrad piece that lampoons the current state of rap music. Includes a satirical rap song (complete with downloadable MP3, streaming audio, downloadable DivX video, and streaming RealVideo) and an analysis of each verse. Even an essay that compares the satire in the piece with some 200 year-old satire ("A Modest Proposal" by Jonathan Swift). Amazing, accurate, and funny as all get out.
posted by timbley at 11:19 AM PST - 52 comments

Tibet Visual History Online. A project of the Pitt Rivers Museum.
posted by plep at 11:15 AM PST - 7 comments

An imaginary record collection. Okay, so I hit the flea market last Thursday in the freezing cold and came upon this dope soundtrack collection - Melinda, Sweetback's Badass Song, The Marketts Play Batman, Mannix, More Mission Impossbile, etc.., when I came upon this box of... fake records!!
posted by soundofsuburbia at 10:53 AM PST - 22 comments

El Niño is Spanish. Like all things spanish, it is dangerous.
posted by jmgorman at 9:31 AM PST - 32 comments

How to be an Internet Woo-woo. From fake moon landings and mystery lights to Roswell Rods and Grey Aliens, the Woo-woo Credo gives you the lowdown on being an effective conspiracy theory monger.
posted by brownpau at 9:03 AM PST - 11 comments

Journey to the center of the Earth. No, really.
posted by cedar at 8:39 AM PST - 16 comments

Top 10 impossible inventions that allegedly work. Includes such conspiracy-nut favorites as a system for sending power wirelessly, an anti-gravity device, the cloudbuster and an electronic telepathy device. [Snagged from Disinformation.]
posted by boost ventilator at 7:44 AM PST - 17 comments

While CD sales in the UK continue their upward march (nearly 8% this year) and UK music retailers show healthy profits, the Record Companies are gearing up to sue their British customers (ala The RIAA). Not all record companies, however, are taking the big stick approach: - Warp Records - (home of Aphex Twin, Boards of Canada and Chris Morris) steps up to the plate with high-quality music downloads, unencumbered by DRM. Go figure.
posted by Blue Stone at 6:09 AM PST - 10 comments

We believe that we invent symbols. The truth is that they invent us; we are their creatures, shaped by their hard, defining edges. When soldiers take their oath they are given a coin, an asimi stamped with the profile of the Autarch. Their acceptance of that coin is their acceptance of the special duties and burdens of military life--they are soldiers from that moment, though they may know nothing of the management of arms. I did not know that then, but it is a profound mistake to believe that we must know of such things to be influenced by them, and in fact to believe so is to believe in the most debased and superstitious kind of magic. The would-be sorcerer alone has faith in the efficacy of pure knowledge; rational people know that things act of themselves or not at all.

Gene Wolfe      -     Now step within Father Inire's mirrors....
posted by y2karl at 12:49 AM PST - 25 comments