But-heads (1) Nov 24, 2010
A "but-head" is a phrase at the beginning of a sentence meant to "preemptively deny a charge that has yet to be made" and is usually followed by the word "but."  For example: 
  • I hate to be the one to tell you this, but...
  • With all due respect
  • I hear what you're saying, but...
  • I'm not trying to hurt your feelings, but...
  • It's not about the money, but...
It's similar to a non-apology apology like "I'm sorry if you feel insulted" and a non-denial denial like "I'm not here to talk about the past."  We talking primates have many different methods of lying.  (via Kottke) #language
Nothing is free Nov 23, 2010
MetaFilter commenter: 
"If you are not paying for it, you're not the customer; you're the product being sold."
(via Lifehacker) #money
Funded ignorance Nov 23, 2010
Upton Sinclair: 
"It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends upon his not understanding it!"
From I, candidate for governor: and how I got licked. #psychology
Radio editing Nov 22, 2010
On The Media recently re-aired a segment about all the editing that's done before one of their shows is released.  Very interesting behind-the-scenes stuff. #entertainment
Taxpayer receipt Nov 22, 2010
The think tank Third Way suggests (via PDF, which is an extremely stupid way to convey information on the internet IMO, but alas) that the federal government should supply taxpayers with an itemized receipt to show how much of their money went to which government-funded causes.  Top of the list:  Social Security.  Translation:  We need a national age limit.  (via Ezra Klein via On The Media)

Update:  Ask and ye shall receive:  Official Federal Taxpayer Receipt #money
Used shoes Nov 17, 2010
I can't figure out if this eBay listing is a joke or not: 



The seller claims to have "way more shoes than closet space" and that "If you like your shoes very worn and very broken in, you absolutely won't be disappointed by these."  I guess my question is, who would buy well-worn used shoes?  What kind of person is this listing geared towards?  I think I'd very much like to avoid someone who purchases used shoes. #products
What I can control Nov 12, 2010
I'm a control freak, which takes the following forms: 
  1. I'll drive, because I don't trust anyone else with my safety.
  2. I'll rake the leaves and shovel the driveway, instead of paying some teenagers to do it, because I do a better job than they would.
  3. I'll design my own website, because I don't like the way anybody else does it.
It was only fairly recently that I realized I was a control freak and admitted it could possibly be a negative thing.  Control-freakery is sometimes good because it's often accompanied by perfectionism, which means certain tasks like cleaning and organizing get done, and get done well.  But it's bad in pretty much every other aspect, as evidenced by the primary side effect of being a control freak:  Getting angry about everything. 

The thing is, most things are out of my control.  Things like election results, cable TV outages, and people who leave their blinker on after they make a turn, are all things that are outside of my control, and since I can't control them, it makes me angry.  What's worse is that a lot of times there's an illusion of control.  Like with elections, I can exercise my right to vote, which makes me feel like I'm part of the process, but in the end the final decision is not in my hands.  It's similar with people who can't drive:  Maybe if I can just tell them they forgot to turn off their high beams, it'll make everything alright.  But in the end, that person can still decide to high-beam me, and that's not something I can control. 

The more I think about this topic, the more things I add to the list of things I can't control.  I thought I had it pretty well summarized by saying the only thing I can control is me.  But then there's the issue of my health:  Even if I eat well and exercise, there's still a chance I'll get sick or develop a disease.  So my own health is outside of my control.  But at least I can control my actions, right?  Wrong, if I happen to have muscle spasms or a seizure.  Surely my speech is under my control.  Nope, not if I have Tourette's.  My thoughts?  Sometimes.  But sometimes not. 

So in the end, I can pretty much control nothing. #psychology
Eating horses Nov 9, 2010
As I watched a few minutes of this past weekend's Breeder's Cup, I couldn't help but think, "Why don't we eat these giant, muscular mammals?"  Horses are essentially equal to cows in both size and dietary requirements, and beef is one of America's favorite foods.  As usual, Wikipedia has lots of information about this.  Also as usual, the internet has an offensive yet funny cartoon about it. 

One common argument against eating horses is that they're like pets, and we have problems with consuming the flesh of dead pets.  My counterargument is this:  Pets are only pets in America.  In every other country on earth, dogs are equivalent to rats and are hated as such.  And when people are hungry enough, they'll eat anything.  Personally, my aversion to eating pets consists of two parts:  (1) Dogs and cats eat things like bugs, poop, and other inedible objects, and I don't like my meal being furnished by those types of things; and (2) many pets, especially smaller ones, really aren't worth the trouble of butchering because they offer so little meat.  We have two pets rabbits, and if you decided to come into my house to kill them and eat them (provided you killed me first, because I will mess you up if you touch my rabbits), you'd be sorely disappointed to find yourself with less than 5 lbs of dead animal, and after gutting and deboning, I doubt you'd even have enough meat for a single meal.  (Plus you'd have my ghost on your hands, and I would mess you up.)  Horses, on the other hand, have the benefit of being vegetarians and being gigantic, so they could easily provide a lot of meat without being gross. 

[Sidenote:  Yes, I realize pigs are omnivores too, and they regularly eat garbage and rotting food and things like that.  But the cool thing about food processing is that you can make the final product completely separate from the original animal.  This is especially true of larger animals, where you're served a chunk of meat instead of a whole body part like a leg or a wing.  And of course, there's always ground meat, which is the farthest you can get from the original product.]

Another argument against eating horses is that the slaughter process is inhumane, or something to that effect.  While that's a legitimate concern, it can't really be used in an argument unless you're a vegetarian, since pretty much all food animals are raised and killed inhumanely (except the locally-raised happy cows and chickens Wendy buys from a nearby farm).  You know what's also inhumane concerning horses?  Forcing them to run around a muddy track with a little person on their back who insists on whipping them mercilessly all so some rich people can bet on them and become richer. 

A final argument against eating horses is that some religions forbid it.  Thankfully, I subscribe to the one religion that's pretty lenient about this, Christianity, which says, "All food is clean." 

My opinion:  We should eat horses. #food
Stiller and Meara Nov 5, 2010
Jerry Stiller and his wife Anne Meara have a series of videos where they talk for a few minutes about what's on their minds or what's in the news.  It's produced by their son, Ben Stiller.  It's essentially modern commentary by non-modern people, and it's great.  In the first episode, they talk about how it's their first time "on internet" and they discuss the phenomenon known as Spacebook, a.k.a. Facebook. #entertainment
Costume or not Nov 4, 2010
It was fun driving around this past Sunday (Halloween) trying to figure out who was dressed up for the holiday and who was dressed like normal, with normal being something that could easily pass as a Halloween costume. #sociology
« Older Newer »