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New York City Fire Department Forcible Entry Reference Guide
"Forcible entry has always been a primary goal of the fire service."
An illustrated reference guide to breaking in to buildings with the goal of preserving property and saving lives.
Top Five Architecture Maps
Top Five Architecture Maps:
- Iconic Houses is an international network connecting architecturally significant houses from the 20th century that are open to the public as house museums. The Iconic Houses website includes a useful Google Map showing the location of architecturally significant houses around the world.
- Archilovers is a social network for architects, designers and lovers of architecture. Users of the network can post projects, exchange opinions and interests, and get to know designers and architects around the world.
- The World Architecture Map (WAM) is a database of architectural information that uses Google Maps to show the locations of architectural interesting buildings around the world. It is possible to search for buildings on WAM by location, building type, architectural style or by tags.
- Arti-Fact is great collection of architecturally important buildings and sculptures that can be found on Google Maps Street View.
- MIMOA is a Google Maps based guide to modern architecture around the world. It is possible to browse the collection of modern architectural gems by location and by type of project.
"I draw with paper instead of on it"
Yulia Brodskaya is a Russian artist/illustrator now living in England whose quilled paper pieces are increasingly in demand. Her website is rich with her work - jump right into the illustration or art sectons - or browse the news section to see a roughly reverse chronological listing. Design Taxi has collected a group of images highlighting her quilled typography.
The Santa Maria found?
"More than five centuries after Christopher Columbus’s flagship, the Santa Maria, was wrecked in the Caribbean, archaeological investigators think they may have discovered the vessel’s long-lost remains – lying at the bottom of the sea off the north coast of Haiti."
Oh the places we could go...
My friend and I are trying to decide on a vacation destination (August '13), and we're looking at Puerto Rico or Costa Rica. We backpacked around Vietnam a few years ago and enjoyed the historical/cultural sights. Neither of us is a resort-loving tourist, so we're definitely looking for some destinations which are less sitting on the beach and more checking out some neat stuff. Can you help us decide?
Ishi, last of the Yahi: of two worlds, and in three centuries
Throughout the west, prospectors and settlers clashed with native people, diminishing the populations of tribes greatly reduced by disease. By the 1850s, it was believed that all Native Americans were "civilized," before those in the young field of anthropology were able to record first-hand accounts of native people in their own elements. In 1853, a lone native woman was found on a remote island off the coast of southern California, but she contracted dysentery and died after she had been on the mainland for only seven weeks. Then in 1911, a bedragled native man was found in a farmer's slaughter house corral in rural Northern California. He was the last of his people, and he lived to share a glimpse of an ancient way of life, in his five years spent living amongst anthropologists, doctors, and linguists. He was Ishi, the last Yahi (Snagfilm; also on Hulu, Netflix, and Amazon Instant).
friendship bracelets
Friendship bracelets! A photo tutorial for chevrons and another photo tutorial for basic stripes, chevrons, & diamonds. More basics with simple patterns & advanced. The BeyondBracelets thorough video tutorials (& on her blog is a bracelets 101 to gradually progress your skills). For complicated patterns check out these, and also these (with alphabet patterns & instructions), and also this crowdsourced free pattern-sharing site (patterns & tutorials), and finally this dollar-a-pattern pay site. If you're not interested in bracelets you can use the same idea for tangle-free headphones or wrapping tech cords & cables. (previously: lanyards)
The Manga of Miyazaki
If you recognize the name Hayao Miyazaki, it's most likely due to his anime films. But along with his involvement in animation, Miyazaki has produced some manga and illustrated story books. Part of the reason his work in still images is less known is lack of translation and distribution. That's where the fans come in, digging up and translating many Miyazaki works, back to his first published manga, which was a serious serialized work, in 1969-1970.
old-school unix talk for the web
cellphone and I created a simple two-person character-at-a-time talk utility modeled after old-school unix (but you don't have to care about that to use or like it!).
Google is driving me nuts
Is there a way to automatically "force" Google to search for the words I typed in, without having to manually include "+" before every single term? I do sometimes utilize fuzzy search, but I'm finding that lately, it is doing more harm than good, and nearly every search requires me to go back and add "+".
Short-fingered vulgarians
Google Books has digitized all issues of SPY, the 80s New York satirical magazine that combined humor with investigative reporting. Half the issues are now available; the other half will be released soon.
You may regret tossing that old, broken stuff.
Feeling nostalgic for all that old, broken "junk" you tossed out?
"The wizards of obsolete" can help you to not make the same mistake again.
Architectural Stationary
Around the late 1800s and early 1900s, receipts, envelopes, letterheads, and other corporate correspondence often featured drawings of a factory or storefront. Columbia University's Biggert Collection of Architectural Vignettes on Commercial Stationery contains over 1600 examples. Why not browse through?
William Morris and the Kelmscott Press
The multi-talented William Morris' most famous achievement was the Kelmscott Press, which played a leading role in establishing the private press movement. Although the fifty-three books issued by the Press ranged from Shakespeare's poems to Morris' own work, one book remains prized above all others: the Kelmscott Chaucer. Published in 1896, and featuring illustrations by Edward Burne-Jones, the Kelmscott Chaucer was the most exquisite work of a press known for exquisite work. (Previous Morris.)
DumbAmericanFilter
Give me some real-world benchmarks so I can understand the metric system.
What's a similarly-functioning alternative to mininova.org for finding torrents?
What's a similarly-functioning alternative to mininova.org for finding torrents?
David Simon in conversation with Bill Moyers about The Wire
Bill Moyers Journal, April 17, 2009
From crime beat reporter for the BALTIMORE SUN to award-winning screenwriter of HBO's critically-acclaimed The Wire, David Simon talks with Bill Moyers about inner-city crime and politics, storytelling and the future of journalism today.
Sorry for the one link post.
Human particles in a (happy) box
When you moved to live with your partner, or your partner moved to live with you, what helped set the groundwork for a lasting, strong and wonderful relationship? What missteps would you try and avoid?
"This mighty garden" and its "methods of culture"
I first encountered the concept of forest gardening in Charlotte Perkins Gilman's Herland (1915) [relevant part pages 79-80]; the fictional race of women in her book have completely remade the forests to contain only beneficial and food-bearing plants, which live harmoniously together and replenish the soil naturally. This is actually being done, less than a hundred years later. More; similar, similar.
Indie platformer extravaganza!
Do you enjoy classic 2D platformers? Then boy, are you in luck! The indie game community is thriving, and a good majority of its games are exactly that. I've spent many hours playing these unique, beautiful, and often exceptional projects, and there's quite a few - more than I can count on my fingers! - that could stand toe-to-toe with the finest contemporary games. Inside is a list of some of the greatest indie platformers, based on community recommendations and my own experience. Enjoy!
Coming Home
Homeless people are just too lazy to work, aren't they? Besides, they panhandle to get by, so what's the big deal? What does it mean to be homeless [previously] anyway? How do people find themselves in these sorts of situations, and why can't they get out of them? How do they feel about it? And are there any alternatives that we can supply them with?
Where do I send old super 8 film to be developed?
I've got four rolls of undeveloped super 8 film that I shot almost six years ago, and I would like to know if I'm out of luck or if I could still try to get them developed. Warning: I don't know anything about this stuff.
How to mitigate size problems in sex?
Anatomy/sex/size-compatibility question. nsfw
Babies at the keyboard
My 18 month old baby loves to pound on the computer keyboard in imitation of her mom and dad. Does anyone have any experience with programs that would both prevent her from deleting all of our files while providing an entertaining experience?
Get Laid More Often
Learn to Play Guitar!
Justin, of JustinGuitar.com (not the dork with the TV camera strapped to his head) offers over 100 free video guitar lessons for absolute noobs & guitar enthusiasts, with lesson categories & written instrx as well. For people who want tablature to play along, the good people of Guitar Video Tabs provide full tab notation under videos hundreds of popular songs.
Enough #2
Acoustic version of a previous entry.
Joshua's Lament
This was one of those late jam sessions that turned into an early morning song writing session. This melody originated to the sun coming up over the field in my back yard. Its reasons like this that make me thankful we always left a mic on record while we hung out. I'm on mandolin, my friend is playing guitar.
It was the best of MeFi. It was the worst of MeFi.
If you were showing the MetaFilter Universe (including the main page, Ask, Talk, Projects, Music, everything) to someone for the first time, what threads would you choose as examples of MeFi at its best and at its worst?
I shall be a man of destiny like my father the King, who does not concern himself with books and study and the queer prattlings of foolish bookworms and scribblers.
Does anyone get over the resentment of having rich, privileged friends?
MTV when it was AWESOME
Those of us who were born in the 1970's have a number of indelibly permanent shared experiences. Relive a few of them with
3 hours of MTV from 1983.
Talking to the dying
A good friend just received a brain cancer diagnosis with an estimated one year survival time. She wants to talk about death and time. She thinks I have something to teach or tell her worth hearing. I'd like to be helpful, but have no confidence in my ability to say or do anything meaningful. What I've said so far she appreciates.
What can I read that might help me frame discussions. I don't need pop psychology stuff, or advice dealing with the health care system or funeral arrangements. I like the idea of Zen notions of letting go but am too ignorant to know what to say.
Advice, experience, suggestions for gathering information please.
How do I sell an adult domain without getting screwed?
I've owned a domain name for quite a while that was intended for an "adult novelty" online store. I believe it to be an excellent name for that and now I'd like to sell it. How do I valuate that and how do I sell it without going to huge amounts of effort?
Romancing The Wife
RomanceFilter: Since getting married and having a kid, the dynamic of the relationship between my wife and I has changed in many ways. One thing she cites is my lack of 'romance' in general... Help me figure out ways I can be romantic in small ways day to day.
Heavy Metal Skeletons in the Closet
This cheesy 1979 promo film
from the group, Blackjack, offers a glimpse into the hard rock past of balladeer Michael Bolton, which also includes a co-writing credit for a Top 40 hit by Kiss. Similarly, Bill Joel disavows the days when he posed in medieval armor next to slabs of raw beef on the cover of the self-titled album by Joel's heavy metal duo, Attila, although Julian Cope is a fan of the album and its Deep Purplish vibes (check out Holy Moses and Wonder Woman). To round out the trifecta, we have Tori Amos who got marketed as the metal-chick frontwoman of Y Kant Tori Read (check out the video for The Big Picture). On the other hand, metalheads have the opposite problem of hiding their pop past. Examples include the industrial metal band Ministry's early days as a new wave synth act and Tommy Iommi's brief tenure as a member of Jethro Tull before becoming lead guitarist of Black Sabbath. Meanwhile, Bon Scott, the late lead singer of AC/DC, is probably spinning in his grave over the YouTube footage of him as an Australian teen idol and a bearded hippie with a recorder.
Plans for simple plywood boats
Hannu's Boatyard
is a site by a Finnish guy who offers free plans for two dozen simple plywood boats you can build, along with photos illustrating the build process of each. He also describes basic woodbending technique and some of the design process, in a pleasing writing style that makes me want to get off the internet and make things. My favorites: Portuguese style dinghy; tiny stubby halfpea; round, Welsh-style coracle -- if you click on no other link today, click on the coracle link and scroll down at least to the black and white photo.
Hostile takeover at BME?
"Last night false charges were filed against me and I just got out of prison, upon which I discovered that I had been locked out of administrative sections of all the servers as well as being totally locked out of BME." (Google cache, copy available here) Shannon Larratt, founder of the Body Modification E-Zine has seemingly been the victim of a hostile takeover.
MTV FALL 1981-2
It's Friday afternoon. 1981 - 1982ish. I just got home from high school and I want some MTV. Back then, MTV played these things called "music videos". But they didn't have a large catalog of them yet, so they tended to play everything they had. You really got to see some lesser known classics. For Example: Jan Hammer/Neal Schon
Lies. The Hitmen Bates Motel. Utopia
Feet Don't Fail Me Now.
Landscape My Name is Norman Bates.
Chilliwack My Girl.
Ultravox Vienna. Snakefinger
Man in the Dark Sedan.
.99999...=1
No, I'm sorry, it does.
There are some arguments that never end. John or Paul? "Another thing coming" or "Another think coming?" But none has the staying power of "Is 0.999999...., with the 9s repeating forever, equal to 1?" A high school math teacher takes on all doubters. Round 2. Round 3. Refutations of some popular "They're not equal" arguments. Refutations, round 2. You don't have to a mathematician to get in on the fun: .99999=1 discussed on a conspiracy theory website, an Ayn Rand website (where it is accused to violating the "law of identity"), and a World of Warcraft forum. But never, as far as I can tell, on MetaFilter.
LOLcatcam
CatCam
is exactly what it sounds like. A crappy digital camera, Atmel Attiny13 and a little electronics skill are all it takes to get your cat photoblogging. The results are pretty great. via Hackaday and possibly also Baby_Balrog
The Intersection of Origami & Escher
Origami Tessellations
is the website of Metafilter member Eric Gjerde. In addition to the many interesting posts on the main page (such as this article about an artist who lasercut an 85:1 scale model of his house into a hardback book), the site features many original pieces by Gjerde, with downloadable PDF diagrams & graphics to show you how to make your own geometric art out of paper.
Singing School
Sacred Harp singing uses a system of four shaped notes first introduced by Little and Smith in The Easy Instructor in 1801.
The four shapes denote the four syllables (fa, so, la, mi) of the scale used in American Singing Schools. Of course, solfege has been codified since at least the 11th century, but the adoption of shape-notes dovetailed with the tradition of Sacred Harp singing in the United states. With it's emphasis on participation and instruction in the moment, Sacred Harp singing is in the midst (NPR story) of a renaissance. MP3s here and here. Here is an excellent set of resources, and here is set of essays on everything from history to how to organize a Sacred Harp sing. Here is an interactive index to the 1991 edition of the traditional hymn book called, you guessed it, The Sacred Harp. Here's a special link to Manhattan Sacred Harp resources for jonmc who mentioned Sacred Harp before in the blue.
Are We Really Real?
Are You Living In A Computer Simulation? The Simulation Argument is a regularly-updated site, organized by Nick Bostrom, examining the hypothesis that we are currently living in an "ancestor simulation" run by a future "post-human" society.
Bill Moyers interviewed Jon Stewart
Bill Moyers interviewed Jon Stewart on April 27. The video is on the Moyers' soon-to-be great new site.
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