MetaFilter

.NET integration I use MSN messenger and am notified by it of any mail arriving in my hotmail account. I just logged in to hotmail with the intention of forwarding a few emails to my POP account for download by my mail client, and was informed that my account was suspended, and all mail, folders and addresses deleted, because I hadn't logged in to hotmail for more than 30 days. I've logged in to messenger virtually every day, but I hadn't received any mail so why would I log in to hotmail?

Is this a punishment for not requesting spam, or a sign that even Microsoft doesn't "get" integration?
posted by southisup at 11:37 PM PST - 25 comments

I know that Blogathon is mentioned in the side panel, but I was interested in what MeFi'ers think of it. Did any of you participate last year? What was your experience with it? Who's in for this year?
posted by dobbs at 11:15 PM PST - 66 comments

Taming the Wild West Net. The Washington Post takes a stab at the internet and what's been going on the last year +. Also, a roundup of piracy and antitrust issues. Good series of articles, except no real conclusion on how the "Wild West Net" should be tamed. Or why it has to be.
posted by Happydaz at 10:18 PM PST - 0 comments - Post a Comment

Fortune Magazine went roadtripping in search of the technological future by trying (and not succeeding) to blend in with college kids. After getting schooled themselves, they came up with a list of cool web companies with lots of sex appeal, in the categories of media, communication, biotech, and international. via Blogger.
posted by iconomy at 10:13 PM PST - 6 comments

You might think Arafat and Sharon are bitter enemies... but you're wrong. Dead wrong. They are best friends, as this gallery of (photoshopped) images prove. If only someone could send this to the Middle East...who knows - maybe it would strike up some old memories.
posted by hidely at 10:05 PM PST - 10 comments

Angering Arabs for Dummies, By Ariel Sharon. "Israel will respond to acts of terror by capturing PA territory," says Sharon. How, exactly, will this stop the bombings? Sorry for the I/P post, but this seems fairly important.
posted by fnord_prefect at 6:21 PM PST - 34 comments

World Cup Conspiracy. Here's one for the X-Files. The Azurri believe they were the victims of a conspiracy to oust them from World Cup 2002.

Alessandro Del Piero broke his usual cool exterior as anger seeped through. "In ten years of my career I have never complained," said the Juventus star, "but in four games too many strange things have happened."
posted by percine at 5:52 PM PST - 19 comments

A Person Paper on Purity in Language. An old William Satire (aka Douglas Hofstadter) piece that's well worth reading. "One of the more hilarious suggestions made by the squawkers for this point of view is to abandon the natural distinction along racial lines, and to replace it with a highly unnatural one along sexual lines. One such suggestion-emanating, no doubt, from the mind of a madwhite-would have us say 'he' for male whites (and blacks) and 'she' for female whites (and blacks). Can you imagine the outrage with which sensible folk of either sex would greet this 'modest proposal'?"
posted by jacobm at 3:34 PM PST - 21 comments

So Queer as Folk now has a comic book attached to it, sort of. It's called Rage. It's set in Gayopolis. Gag me with a set of pride rings. I think it's time to ask this question again.
As much as I despise the show, I'm curious where they go with this.
posted by Su at 3:19 PM PST - 31 comments

So where are Mr. Congeniality (Ari Fleischer) and his bride-to-be registered for their upcoming wedding? Let's see. . .Macy's, Crate & Barrel, and. . .Target?
posted by arco at 1:56 PM PST - 43 comments

We are all snobs "I do look down on certain selected people--preferably, it's true, from a distance and until now unbeknownst to them. Yet look down I do, usually with an uncomplicated feeling of satisfaction.....Why did I need to assert my superiority, even to myself, when no one was contesting it ?" We are all snobs in one way or another.
posted by Voyageman at 1:52 PM PST - 15 comments

Nickelodeon is airing a special tonight on families that have same-sex parents. The concern of some is that this show: "proves that this network has been co-opted by homosexual activists who are targeting children. Sodomy is not a family value. Nickelodeon has now lost the trust of parents."

My issue with it is that it appears that they are not publicizing the fact that they are showing this to the parents to allow them to decide if their children should watch it or not... I couldn't find anything on their website, except the listing in the schedule for "Nick News Special Edition" (MORE INSIDE)
posted by darian at 1:50 PM PST - 67 comments

Is scientific illiteracy a problem in America? Take the quiz, how do you measure up? Sample question asked (with response)
Q: "Where would you find chlorophyll?"
A: "Probably in your toilet."
posted by patrickje at 1:32 PM PST - 60 comments

It's the plot, stupid. USA Today runs their usual insightful commentary about the upcoming release of Lilo and Stitch. It obsesses over the absence of CGI graphics pointing to Atlantis as evidence for the failure of traditional animation to draw box office. Funny me, I thought that Atlantis bombed because of a plot better left in 50s serial format, a cast of sterotypes rather than characters, and no sense of humor beyind dirty French jokes repeated over and over again. And is huge success of Pixar due to their pioneering animation, or their brilliant comic talent? What causes FX myopia anyway? Granted I can understand why fanboys obsess over the wrong things in a movie. Do the studios set it up by trying to hype each new summer release as the next big technical development (while the artistic development gets trumped by Waking Life and Insomnia?)
posted by KirkJobSluder at 1:31 PM PST - 7 comments

The Icelandic company Decode Genetics may have the lead in creating a catalog of the deviant genes that cause most diseases. Led by Dr. Kari Stefansson, the project uses a novel combination of genotyping living Icelanders and comparing the results to Iceland's unique genealogical database that extends back 1100 years. With Iceland's other project to completely switch from fossil feuls to hydrogen power, my admiration for that island of Vikings keeps growing stronger. (2nd and 3rd links are nytimes, free registration required).
posted by homunculus at 11:39 AM PST - 6 comments

The New York Social Diary: "Cruelty to me has never been funny and it is getting unfunnier by the day, if for no other reason, than 9/11," says your man on the Upper East Side and Hampton's circuits. All your gossip needs are met with all the latest on Martha Stewart, the ladies of leisure, the state of homosexuals, and of course Liza! "His reports on the gyrations of the Rich and Climbing are not to be missed," squeals Liz Smith.
posted by RJ Reynolds at 11:19 AM PST - 7 comments

Kuro5hin launches a fund-raising drive and moves toward non-profit status. (Via Blogroots.) Could this be a model for MetaFilter?
posted by timeistight at 10:36 AM PST - 40 comments

U.S. Supreme Court rules on searches of passengers on public transportation. In a decision that could aid the government's anti-terrorism efforts, the Supreme Court ruled Monday that police can question passengers on buses and trains and search for evidence without informing them that they can refuse.
posted by Ty Webb at 10:00 AM PST - 43 comments

Korea 2-1 Italy. A classic World Cup in the making? First it was Senegal dumping out the French, and then the Argies and the Portuguese were left biting the dust. Spain and Ireland fought out a nail-biting penalty shoot-out, Saudi Arabia got hit for eight, and now South Korea continue their miraculous journey by sending Italy home. Next on the cards: let's hope for another classic when England take on Brazil!
posted by arrowhead at 9:42 AM PST - 39 comments

Stolen: Hundreds of Flash Games. Shareware game developer CleverMedia is pissed; the French website flash-game.net has stolen many of their games and is passing them off as their own, along with hundreds of others. Developers like Sega, Shockwave.com, Octopi.com, FlashArcade.com...all ripped off. flash-game.net has simply ignored the e-mails demanding that the games be removed. Do you see any of your games on their site?
posted by waldo at 9:41 AM PST - 10 comments

MN Governor Jesse Ventura announced he will not run for re-election -- Ventura said, "You've got to have your heart and soul into these types of jobs. You've got to want to do it. * * * I feel that it's time to go back into the private sector." (He also said that his decision was "partly tied" to allegations by former employees that his 22-year-old son had thrown parties in the governor's residence.)
posted by subgenius at 9:39 AM PST - 15 comments

Supreme Court OKs IRS to estimate tips. The IRS can now use estimates of employees' tips in its calculations of what businesses owe in payroll taxes (the dreaded FICA), the Supreme Court said yesterday. The estimates of cash tips -- which are nearly impossible to track directly -- can be based on recorded credit card tips. The IRS said they don't plan to audit servers themselves -- but the effect on restaurants could be chilling. "Seven out of 10 restaurants are small businesses, many of which operate with slim margins. Quite frankly, this decision could mean the difference between a restaurant staying in business or closing its doors," said Peter Kilgore, general counsel and senior vice president of operations for the National Restaurant Association in Washington.
posted by me3dia at 9:29 AM PST - 27 comments

British papers seem to be the only place we can find out what goes on in the US these days. Probably has to do with the liberal media, wouldn't you say?
posted by nofundy at 8:44 AM PST - 36 comments

They Might Be Giants have a new album for kids and I can't wait to foist it on mine.
posted by engelr at 7:59 AM PST - 33 comments

Billy Jean's not my lover. Should non-fathers pay child support to someone else's children? More states are saying "no."
posted by kablam at 7:47 AM PST - 29 comments

Pac-Man fever, tis driving me crazy. It was 1981 or so, I was in 6th grade. I had a mom cool enough to take me out of school for a day, give me a few rolls of quarters and send me to this local bar, where I played Pac-Man all day. I made it to the fourth intermission a few times (which was a damn repeat!), how far did you get?
posted by jeremias at 7:47 AM PST - 26 comments

Greens target Senator Wellstone. "What could possibly explain this idiocy? Natural selection? Ever since Wellstone built the most vibrant left-leaning organization in the nation, any Minnesota progressive with the intellect to tie his shoes has been a Democrat -- leaving the Greens with the sandaled, the shoeless, and the slow. This could just be some Minnesota exceptionalism. But it's not."
posted by boltman at 7:44 AM PST - 15 comments

Bad Photoshoppery. When graphic artists go bad. VERY bad. Way stinky bad.
posted by rushmc at 6:39 AM PST - 22 comments

"Relax, this is your captain speaking." (Chicago Tribune link, use metafilter/metafilter to view) A United Airlines captain made a refreshingly honest, down to earth statement, in the cabin rather than the cockpit, at the beginning of Chicago - DC flight recently. A Chicago Trib reporter transcribed the pilot's remarks, and they seem to be just the kind of no-nonsense reassurance that the flying public could use more of right about now. Would you like to hear something like this the next time you have to fly?
posted by Dreama at 1:22 AM PST - 48 comments