MetaFilter http://www.metafilter.com/ The past 24 hours of MetaFilter en-us iTunes, Brushed Metal. Lunch in this town again. The iTunes 5 Announcement From the Perspective of an Anthropomorphized Brushed Metal User Interface Theme. ]]> http://www.metafilter.com/mefi/44998 Solutions For Grandeur Solutions For Grandeur Nicolas Sarkozy has become the most popular French politician by diving headfirst into the country’s most explosive political issues. If he has his way, this hyperactive, pro-American, Gaullist, free marketer will transform French politics for good. via]]> http://www.metafilter.com/mefi/44997 #1 searched term on Technocrati It should be mentioned wherever possible, and it should not stop until the mainstream media and all politicians realize that we, the people, will not stand for gross negligence, willful and wanton misconduct, nor the utter lies, any longer.
"We" the people? Or just a couple of blowhard bloggers? Do you feel a storm brewing?]]> http://www.metafilter.com/mefi/44996 Davis-Bacon Suspension The Davis-Bacon Act was passed in 1931 and requires all contractors for federally funded or assisted projects to pay their workers no less than the locally prevailing wage. The impetus for the act was a contractor from Alabama, hired to build a Veteran's hospital in Long Island, who brought a low-paid workforce with him rather than hiring more pricey locals. Organized labor is rather fond of this Act while others see it as racist and un-American. One provision allows the president to suspend the Act in times of national emergency, and now is one of those times.]]> http://www.metafilter.com/mefi/44995 You sign, it's posted. Know Thy Neighbor --playing hardball with those who sign a petition amending Massachusetts' Constitution to end same-sex marriage there. All who sign it will have their names and addresses posted on the site. It's the brainchild of Thomas Lang and Alexander Westerhoff, one of the first gay couples married in Massachusetts. A little more here, including this: ...altering the state Constitution is a big deal, and if the backers of this (or any) constitutional amendment can't find 66,000 Massachusetts residents who feel strongly enough about doing so that they're willing to make their support public, then maybe the measure shouldn't be on the ballot after all. ...]]> http://www.metafilter.com/mefi/44994 Katrina's Mob Connection Katrina Was Caused By... The Yakuza! ]]> http://www.metafilter.com/mefi/44993 Norway Norway is the world's third largest oil exporter and western Europe's largest gas producer. It has been saving oil revenues in a fund worth around $190 billion for future generations. Norway has an amazing welfare system. The Daily Show's book hit the nail on the head (pdf)(see 1967/93) Norwegians love hot dogs so much that a university professor wants to ban them. What an interesting country! They have a priest as their Prime Minister, but for how long? . Oslo, the country's capital, is the most expensive place to live... But minimum wage is far higher than in the US. They have had state accepted unions of same-sex couples since the early 90's. Norway isn't part of the EU.

Today Norway sits on approximately half of the remaining reserves of oil and gas in Europe.. And even though Norway's oil production has dropped, it still remains a huge supplier of oil to the US. But, no matter what, they will be okay.. Oh yeah.... the UN just said that it is the best place to live (pdf) in the world. (p.s The US went from 7th to 10th in the last year...wonder why?)]]> http://www.metafilter.com/mefi/44991 LEGO Case mod LEGO case mod. ]]> http://www.metafilter.com/mefi/44990 그림 Watercolor galleries from Korea (2,3,4,5).]]> http://www.metafilter.com/mefi/44989 Paying for Katrina Paying for Katrina: Republican congressman Zach Wamp of Tennessee suggested today that the costs associated with Katrina were 'good reason to at least delay' expanding the Medicare prescription drug benefit. Should the elderly and poor be expected to bear this burden?]]> http://www.metafilter.com/mefi/44987 Java applets to help visualize various concepts in math, physics, and engineering Java applets to help visualize various concepts in math, physics, and engineering ]]> http://www.metafilter.com/mefi/44985 Come One, Come All, There's Plenty of Misery to Go Around Meanwhile, Malawi Withers
After a poor harvest that brought in 1.3 million tons of maize (well short of the 2.1 million tons needed) the United Nation made an $88m (66 million pounds) food appeal for Malawi ten days ago but has not received a single penny or pledge of aid from any nation so far.

Woops, check that, Ireland's just pledged a million euros. Only 65 million to go.]]> http://www.metafilter.com/mefi/44984 U.S. Can Detain Padilla Indefinitely U.S. Can Detain Padilla Indefinitely. President George W. Bush was handed a major victory on Friday in his effort to assert sweeping presidential powers in the war on terrorism as a US appeals court upheld his authority to imprison indefinitely a US citizen captured on American soil.]]> http://www.metafilter.com/mefi/44983 Deutschland 1929 Beautiful Gallery (Google Cache) of b & w photos of Germany from 1929. The shots look like something out of a fairy tale, or a Jean Cocteau film. Here are some favorites. Compare to this (all to brief) flickr gallery of photos from about 15 years later, during WWII.]]> http://www.metafilter.com/mefi/44982 Good things come to those who quoit. The Third Annual World Quoits Championship will be held tomorrow in Amityville, PA. This ancient game, related to the discus, involves pitching rings at a peg in the ground. Once widely played in the UK and US, the game of quoits has declined in popularity over the years, replaced in the US by its derivative--horseshoes (which are easier to throw and more likely to score “ringers”). Today, it’s a regional pastime, played primarily in PA, NJ and NY. Learn everything there is to know about quoits here. They’ll even find you a partner.]]> http://www.metafilter.com/mefi/44981 But...what about Flickr? Shutterbook - "drag and drop photo sharing." A flash-based Flickr-esque photo community..."The service is similar to Flickr before Yahoo and while it is in an open beta at the moment, there will be a cost for the premium version..."]]> http://www.metafilter.com/mefi/44980 Big September 11th Sale! NYC Remembers: Public Service Audio and Video Ads
"It's our big September 11 sale! Take 30 to 40 percent off every item throughout the store! Plus early birds take an additional 10 percent off! . . . Doors open early and stay open late!" (Video Ad 3)
The ad is the creation of One Day's Pay (similar post from 9/11/04) a nonprofit group working to establish Sept. 11 as a national day of volunteering. [via]]]> http://www.metafilter.com/mefi/44979 How grampa might have done it. Vintage Projects do it yourself plans, vintage reprints and building ideas from the 40's, 50's and 60's for farm, workshop, woodshop, machineshop, kids and camping. Includes plans for a pop-up camper, toy excavator, snow blower, and concrete block machine.]]> http://www.metafilter.com/mefi/44978 Back to the horsing circuit with you Michael Brown, head of FEMA is relieved of duties. After a rocky week and increasing doubts about his background and experience (like a padded resume), Brown gets pulled from FEMA duty. Pretty surprising to see, given that the "CEO President" proclaimed "Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job" just a few days ago.]]> http://www.metafilter.com/mefi/44977 Food fight! La Tomatina! Every year, on the last Wednesday in August, the world's biggest food fight takes place at the Plaza Del Pueblo in the small town of Buñol in Spain. In 2005, the streets ran red with juice of 25 tons of tomatoes.]]> http://www.metafilter.com/mefi/44976 Katrinanomore&global warming Katrinanomore&global warming Welcome to the first web site in America dedicated exclusively to raising awareness about the connection between hurricane Katrina and global warming. See below an essay just written by author Mike Tidwell that explains how climate change will soon turn every coastal city in America into another New Orleans unless we make a rapid switch to clean, renewable energy worldwide.]]> http://www.metafilter.com/mefi/44974 What country, friends, is this? Born abroad. 7.5% of the UK's population was born outside the UK and Ireland. This fascinating mini-site from the BBC shows where they all came from, and where they live now. Immigration has been a hot-button issue in UK politics for a while now. In Scotland, they want more immigrants. In England, at least on the right, they want far fewer. The conservative right hate Europe, and hate immigration. Perhaps we'd better not tell them that Germans are the third-largest immigrant group (India and Pakistan at 1 and 2), while the USA-icans languish in 5th.]]> http://www.metafilter.com/mefi/44973 Socialist London commuters celebrate! The Guardian Newspaper is changing to a Berliner format. This follows similar moves by both The Independent and The Times. The familiar Guardian masthead is also being revised, with the familiar and much loved sans-serif font being replaced by an entirely new font.]]> http://www.metafilter.com/mefi/44972 Chess Machine thinking patterns shows you what it is thinking. It also explains how it works. Rather fascinating.]]> http://www.metafilter.com/mefi/44971 The Chinese in California The Chinese in California 1850-1925. The site is poorly designed. To get to the content click Essays & Galleries. To get to the photos, click on the (practically hidden) gallery link at the top right of each short essay.]]> http://www.metafilter.com/mefi/44970 Chicago Heat Wave 1995 heat wave in Chicago. Over 700 people died. Most of them were the elderly, poor, and African-Americans. Link above is a Slate article by Eric Klinberg who wrote the definitive Heat Wave: A Social Autopsy of Disaster in Chicago (2003) in which he concludes that "a city, in its decision to operate like a corporation, experienced the breakdown of massive social services" and the resulting "widening cracks in the social foundations of America's cities".]]> http://www.metafilter.com/mefi/44969 Freedom Deadline Looms Freedom Walk? Better register today or you will face arrest on Sunday. If you'd rather cheer on the march instead, be prepared to peer over a four-foot high "snow fence."]]> http://www.metafilter.com/mefi/44968 Simply Not Worth It "We should not fight because it’s simply not worth it." Are these the words of a long-haired hippy? A neutral Swiss? A flip-flopping Democrat? A Frenchman in mid-surrender? Nope. It's from a speech by Texas Republican Ron Paul.]]> http://www.metafilter.com/mefi/44967 New Orleans Photo Essay Yes, it's another Katrina post - sorry, but... this is a great photo essay from with New Orleans before, during and after Katrina. Besides some really interesting photography, it goes some way to showing just why people didn't leave before, or immediately after the hurricane - the sense of normality is astounding, given what we know now...]]> http://www.metafilter.com/mefi/44966 Cerfle Vint Cerf, "father of the internet", joins Google! It seems Google is going from strength to strength. Not content with buying up the world's dark fibre, they've now wooed Vint Cerf to work for them as "Chief Internet Evangelist" (what a great job title!) Vint's interview is here, and information on his major cause: the need for more IPs!]]> http://www.metafilter.com/mefi/44965 More on Republican fraud in Ohio: None Dare Call It Fraud: Harpers article on the report Preserving Democracy: What Went Wrong in Ohio.]]> http://www.metafilter.com/mefi/44964 For the first time, I thought to myself, this could be the day I die. Indiana Daily Student, and has written a three-part series for the paper about the experience.
"The field before us, which would have been ideal to lay down on was empty, but off bounds. The field was manned by National Guardsmen who would not allow people on it. I was told by those around me that it was a multi-million dollar field which the stadium management did not want ruined."
"Our first choices for a bed that evening were: a wet floor, damp chair or in the reeking but dry hallway."
"The atmosphere in the dome had gotten incredibly tense and the soldiers were walking around with shotguns, which I assumed was an ideal weapon for close quarter combat."]]> http://www.metafilter.com/mefi/44963 New Orleans Flood in Your City New Orleans Flood in Your City Map overlays of the New Orleans flood over various US cities.]]> http://www.metafilter.com/mefi/44962 You blinked! The "accountability moment" for Katrina has come and gone House and Senate GOP leaders announce the (Republican dominated) "Hurricane Katrina Joint Review Committee" which should ensure that no-one near the top of the (Republican Dominated) chain of command is in any danger of repercussions over the death of a great American city. In fact, it seems likely that incompetence will be richly rewarded: representative Waxman thinks that a Provision in Katrina Emergency Bill Leaves Government Open to Waste, Fraud, and Abuse. But that's nothing! Despite near-universal opprobrium as a dysfunctional bureaucracy led by an unqualified political appointee, FEMA will receive nearly all of the funds approved on Thursday -- $50 billion... (all links via TPM)]]> http://www.metafilter.com/mefi/44961 Some R&R NO First Responders and their families are getting some time off in Las Vegas. In the wake of two suicides and lots of resignations, some first responders are being rotated out to get a break from the stress of responding to the disaster. The trips are being paid for by the Red Cross as well as donations from Station Casinos and Allegiant Air. The first group arrived Tuesday, and gets five days to check out the town and get some rest - sleeping in soft beds, eating hot meals, gamble if they please and maybe catch a show or two. Other cities like Atlanta are also participating in helping the first responders get away from the disaster zone to get a break.]]> http://www.metafilter.com/mefi/44960 Lustron House Lustron House "We were revolutionizing a whole industry," said Richard Jones, former Lustron vice president of sales. "We were saying with our house: 'You put down a hammer and a saw and pick up a wrench.'" Though radical in its use of porcelain enameled steel, the Lustron house — a one-story, gabled-roof ranch with a bay window and side porch — looked much like other postwar-era dwellings. Behind its traditional façade, however, lay the hopes and expectations for a new era in American housing.]]> http://www.metafilter.com/mefi/44959