MetaFilter

Googlewhacking. A procrastination aid like no other. Find The One -- and score it. I'm getting a little verklempt. Talk amongst yourselves.
posted by pedantic at 10:41 PM PST - 135 comments

By The Way - food for thought (India Pakistan Relationship) "When scorching winds blow across the Rajasthan desert they touch Cholistan and Bahawalpur too. When the snows don't melt in the Himalayas the effect is the same on the Indus and the Ganges. It is strange though that the pain which soil and vegetation can feel is not felt by the leaderships of the two countries."
posted by adnanbwp at 10:08 PM PST - 1 comments

George Bush: Union buster. 500 federal employees (including US Attorneys' offices, Interpol's U.S. branch, the Criminal Division, the National Drug Intelligence Center, and the Office of Intelligence Policy and Review) fired because the presence of unionized workers would not be "consistent with national security requirements and considerations." [via bb]
posted by mathowie at 10:06 PM PST - 34 comments

I'm fat and I'm suing Twinkies. Art imitating life? Who else saw this past Sunday's episode of The Simpson's? First a bus driver named Otto kidnapping children and now this.
posted by suprfli at 8:40 PM PST - 31 comments

Missing school bus found near D.C. Berks Academy administrator Robert Becker said: "I am totally relieved and thankful to the Lord for protecting these kids." Um, excuse me?
posted by hitsman at 7:45 PM PST - 33 comments

Taleban faction ditches Kandahar, reneges on surrender agreement. My only question is, why were these people not disarmed, or was this some sort of "Munich Pact" surrender agreement?
posted by insomnyuk at 7:43 PM PST - 8 comments

Was Enron a cult?
posted by neilkod at 3:56 PM PST - 12 comments

Fireplace log may cause fire. No kidding? "Michigan Lawsuit Abuse Watch" releases it's winners of "Wacky Warning Label" contest. Click on "Wacky Warning Label" button. Also, be sure to check out past winners, such the bottle of sleeping pills which says, "Warning: May cause drowsiness".
posted by msacheson at 3:36 PM PST - 16 comments

The "Pardon Effect" - economic theory applied to the death penalty Pardons increase homicide rates. "The pardon effect is a matter of simple market economics... pardons reduce the chances that convicted killers will pay the ultimate price for committing murder. Thus a pardon represents a decrease in the cost of committing the crime and is accompanied by an increase in the homicide rate. Conversely, if you increase the "cost" of committing murder by executing a larger share of convicted killers, then economic theory suggests that the murder rate will fall" . The chairman of the economics department at the University of Colorado claims to have the data to support the theory from their analysis of all 6,143 death sentences handed out between 1977 and 1997 in the United States.
posted by Voyageman at 2:02 PM PST - 23 comments

Did you know about the "African-American Slavery Reparations" tax credit? (Neither did I.)
posted by Steven Den Beste at 12:47 PM PST - 37 comments

In 1976 four ABA teams joined the NBA. This left 2 teams to be compensated. One team accepted a $3 million buyout. The other team, as per an agreement made 6 months earlier and thought up by the owner of the team, got 1/7 of the other 4 teams television money forever. Has there ever been a better business deal/gamble?
posted by betaray at 12:28 PM PST - 15 comments

If your flamingo doesn't have a signature on its bum, the terrorists have already won. Someone has secretly monkeyed with the classic plastic pink flamingo -- and outraged connoisseurs are calling for a worldwide boycott of America's beloved bauble of bad taste.
posted by stuporJIX at 12:02 PM PST - 9 comments

Smoking Gun in Enrongate A serious charge that President Bush is open for impeachment, according to this piece, which also dismisses out of hand GOP dismissing all Enron involvement besides the taking of polical donations. The source of this piece is, clearly Liberal, but that does not change matters if true.
posted by Postroad at 11:39 AM PST - 31 comments

Are you sick of those Survivor/House programs that are based on competition and "winners"? Then take a look at Quest For The Bay - it's about co-operation and getting along together. Different, eh?
posted by scotty at 11:33 AM PST - 8 comments

How much does a worm's soul weigh? Dr. Amrit Sorli thinks it's around 90 micrograms. "It appears that to determine the average weight of a worm's soul, Dr. Sorli only needs to divide 90 micrograms by the number of worms he murdered..." says James Randi (scroll down the Randi page until you see the worms)
posted by Fat Elvis at 11:13 AM PST - 8 comments

Police Boycott "Harry Potter" Police in Penryn, PA (near Harrisburg) have refused to direct traffic at a YMCA event. The police claim that because the YMCA reads "Harry Potter" to local children that they are promoting witchcraft. Fire Police Capt. Robert Fichthorn says "I don't feel right taking our children's minds and teaching them (witchcraft). As long as we don't stand up, it won't stop. It's unfortunate that this is the way it has to be."
posted by terrapin at 9:34 AM PST - 47 comments

Bloggie nominations.
posted by Tin Man at 9:27 AM PST - 29 comments

Phantom Patriot attacks Bohemian Grove. I'm no conspiracy theorist. I don't believe that the world is ruled by a secret cabal consisting of the Queen of England, The Bushes, The Sultan of Brunei and the ghost of Red Foxx. But Bohemian Grove is pretty freaky. I mean, a 40 foot owl statue? The Cremation of Care? Obviously, the Phantom Patriot is a little, well, off. But why do the rich and powerful need secret societies and kooky rituals anyway?
posted by emptyage at 8:51 AM PST - 27 comments

Mad Japanese Scientists create real-life swamp thing. "We removed the 'fattening' genes from pigs and replaced them with 'vitamin-enriched' genes from spinach!" I will not eat it in a box, I will not eat it with a fox...
posted by greensweater at 8:25 AM PST - 17 comments

Do you suffer from sleeplessness? Don't bother counting "the same dirty old sheep"!! Seems the old tried and true method does not actually work but do any of them? People are obviously obsessed with sleep in our sleep-deprived culture. What do you do to get to sleep and stay asleep at night???
posted by gloege at 7:39 AM PST - 32 comments

*click* Mew! *click* Meow! *click* Purrrrrr .... You need this: a random kitten generator. (Link via Camworld)
posted by maudlin at 7:34 AM PST - 15 comments

Hmmmmm - Ribbony. Delicious FLASH / SHOCKWAVE site.
posted by Spoon at 3:28 AM PST - 8 comments