MeFi: Basically every classic game and system in your browser

blahblahblah — Thu, 16 May 2013 02:42:34 GMT

A gigantic list of browser-based emulators and classic game ports covers everything from the Amiga to the ZX-Spectrum. Some things not to miss for either the nostalgic or the lover of classic games: Play Dune 2 (the original RTS) in HTML 5; Command and Conquer; an authorized version of many Sierra adventures (works on iPads too); beautiful versions of the Nintendo Game and Watch games; a nice Apple //e emulator (Bard's Tale! Neuromancer! Karateka!); and, of course, every NES game [a few of these mentioned before]. All in your browser!

Ask MeFi: What's good at the Asian grocery?

Admiral Haddock — Mon, 20 May 2013 16:43:26 GMT

There's a giant Korean supermarket not terribly far from where I live (the mega Hmart in Burlington). It's enormous--big enough to have small aisles dedicated to different Asian groceries--a Thai aisle, an Indian aisle, a Japanese aisle, etc. It's far more than I'd ever be able to explore on my own. What items available in a truly excellent Asian supermarket should I seek out? This is pretty much a pan-Asian free-for-all, so if you have a favorite Indonesian mustard, or an unforgettable Cambodian pickle, please share here. Bonus points for sous-vide-able items!

I've always loved supermarkets, and I've been buying stuff from Asian markets since I was a kid, so I'm hoping for recommendations that are more off the beaten path than sriracha or Pocky sticks.

So, for instance, in the Japanese soy sauce aisle--saishikomi-shoyu, dashi-shoyu, etc. Which of the different types should I seek out? What of the many different fermented bean pastes should I try? Unusual spices?

If you can share a link to a picture, or the name in the original language, or include a phoenetic spelling, that would be great. Generally, most products have only the import label in English, and everything else is in the relevant foreign language.

MeFi: New RSS Reader

Blasdelb — Tue, 21 May 2013 15:14:39 GMT

In the wake of the impending loss of google reader on July 1 (Previously) it was perhaps inevitable that someone would come up with a suitible and bloat free replacement, meet CommaFeed

It is open source, available in hosted as well as self-hosted formats, and has the ability to import directly from google reader. Enjoy!

MeFi: You give me two notes and I'll give you one shiny coin.

blahblahblah — Fri, 17 May 2013 04:13:48 GMT

Behavioral Economics for Kids [pdf] is a free ebook from the Ivey School of Business that illustrates (to adults, really) the basic principles of behavioral economics, including the Endowment Effect (we value what we have more than what it is worth), Hyperbolic Discounting (the time we wait for rewards influences value in non-linear ways), the dishonesty of honest people, and Base Rate Neglect (why we make bad assumptions based on inherent biases). Though the findings are well-established, the labeling is subject to change, as many social psychologists argue, this is not behavioral economics, it is well-established psychology.

Ask MeFi: Simple word games -- no accessories required

southern_sky — Mon, 20 May 2013 12:28:44 GMT

Occasionally my partner and I will find ourselves with an hour to kill and nothing to do (e.g., we show up too early for a movie). I'm looking for word games that we can play that don't require access to the Internet, paper/pen, more than two people, a game board, or anything other than ourselves.

The only one I know of is the movie title game, where one player names a movie title and the other names another movie that starts with the last letter of that title, and so on. I guess we could do the same game with songs, cities, etc. There's also "I Spy." What other simple word games could we play?

Ask MeFi: Help me find some new webcomics to follow

pete_22 — Wed, 15 May 2013 13:37:13 GMT

With the welcome return of Hyperbole and a Half, I'm realizing that the comics folder in my RSS reader has dwindled over the past couple of years as several favorites have been retired (e.g. Mr. Wiggles) or near-retired (Achewood). Can you suggest some replacements?

I've read the previous questions about this but my requirements are a little different. Here's my current list:

Favorites: Cyanide & Happiness, Wondermark, Oglaf

Others I like often enough to keep on there: Hark! A Vagrant, Dinosaur Comics, Red Meat, xkcd, chainsawsuit, a softer world, three word phrase

As you can probably tell, my taste runs to one-off strips that are relatively absurdist, cynical and/or nsfw. I generally don't like long-running storylines, realistic characters, any kind of fan culture, or anything with a "message" or worldview (even xkcd annoys me when it gets too "omg science is awesome"). Any suggestions?

MeFi: The Customer Isn't Always Right

phaedon — Wed, 15 May 2013 10:20:30 GMT

For the first time in Kitchen Nightmares history, British chef Gordon Ramsay walks off his own show. In the segment that aired this week, the difficult owners of Amy's Baking Company in Scottsdale, AZ - Samy and Amy Bouzaglo - are shown stealing tips from their waitstaff, admitting to firing more than 100 employees over a one year period, firing a waitress for asking a question, telling a customer who had been waiting over an hour for his food to go fuck himself (yes, the police were called during filming), and passing off frozen, pre-made raviolis and desserts as if they were homemade. The couple was so resistant to criticism that even the typically steadfast Ramsay decided he couldn't help them and shut the show down before beginning the rehab phase.

And after viewers took to Yelp to trash the restaurant, that's when shit really hit the fan. Amy Bouzaglo went on Facebook and proceeded to have an epic meltdown, going so far as to threaten commenters with police action, and Photoshopping a Reddit thread to make it look like the police were calling users. They have since taken down the comments, claiming that their social media accounts where hacked.

Amy Bouzaglo is no stranger to controversy. In 2010, Bouzaglo made the local news for ripping a Yelp reviewer to shreds, and calling him a moron. Turns out she also used to be known as Amanda Bossingham, and in 2008 she served some time for felony bank fraud and identity theft, attempting to use someone else's Social Security Number to secure a $15,000 loan.

MeFi: "Cheeseburger" is just a word.

Sebmojo — Mon, 20 May 2013 00:56:38 GMT

Daniel Dennett's seven rules for thinking. "A deepity (a term coined by the daughter of my late friend, computer scientist Joseph Weizenbaum) is a proposition that seems both important and true – and profound – but that achieves this effect by being ambiguous. On one reading, it is manifestly false, but it would be earth-shaking if it were true; on the other reading, it is true but trivial. The unwary listener picks up the glimmer of truth from the second reading, and the devastating importance from the first reading, and thinks, Wow! That's a deepity."

MeFi: Trans*Scribe

jiawen — Mon, 20 May 2013 05:43:43 GMT

Since February of this year, Autostraddle ("News, Entertainment, Opinion and Girl-On-Girl Culture") has been running a very interesting series of articles about trans experience (primarily focused on trans women) called Trans*Scribe.

So far, they've run:

MeFi: The Lethality of Loneliness

ereshkigal45 — Fri, 17 May 2013 03:10:24 GMT

I will die alone, like a dog, and my cats will eat my face.

MeFi: Crosswalks are less common in poor neighborhoods.

southern_sky — Thu, 16 May 2013 02:37:30 GMT

In 2011, Raquel Nelson was convicted of vehicular homicide in the death of her four-year-old son, A.J., because he was hit by a car and killed while he, his mother, and his siblings crossed the street without using a crosswalk. Nelson and her three children were crossing the street to get from a bus stop to their apartment complex. In order to use a crosswalk, she would have had to walk a third of a mile in each direction. Streets with marked crosswalks are significantly more common in high income areas than in middle income or low income communities. (.pdf) A 2012 New Jersey study found that poor pedestrians are more likely to be struck by cars.

Low-income people and people of color are disproportionately victims of traffic fatalities while on foot.

Many low-income families live in places where design favors cars to such an extent that following the law – not jaywalking – is incredibly difficult.

More about the status of Raquel Nelson's case.

Another Atlanta child was killed in 2012 while crossing a street without a crosswalk to get to his home. Currently, more than a year after 7 year old Zederick Carr's death, the state department of transportation is finally constructing a crosswalk where he died.

MeFi: 'workers who are "flexible"—that is, dispensable'

the man of twists and turns — Tue, 21 May 2013 01:47:54 GMT

"Everyone Only Wants Temps" - My stint doing "on demand" grunt work for one of America's hottest growth industries

It's not a pretty formula, but it works. With 600 offices and a workforce of 400,000—more employees than Target or Home Depot—Labor Ready is the undisputed king of the blue-collar temp industry. Specializing in "tough-to-fill, high-turnover positions," the company dispatches people to dig ditches, demolish buildings, remove debris, stock giant fulfillment warehouses—jobs that take their toll on a body.

Part of the Economic Hardship Reporting Project

MeFi: The Hawkeye Initiative

xdvesper — Wed, 15 May 2013 11:39:18 GMT

A female data scientist working on HAWKEN (a videogame) takes issue with the poster of a scantily clad comic character her CEO displays on his wall, and while he is away, replaces it with something else...

Inspired by the Hawkeye Initiative [previously], which is a Tumblr blog described by Kotaku as "a place where people take ridiculous portrayals of female comic characters and... replace them with a sketch of Hawkeye, from the Avengers, doing the same thing."

HAWKEN is a free to play game by a small indie studio praised for its excellent graphics and fast gameplay.

MeFi: On Why Star Trek is Great

Atreides — Wed, 15 May 2013 18:31:27 GMT

Slate's Matthew Yglesias 'Boldly Went Where Every Star Trek Movie and TV Show Has Gone Before,' by watching every Star Trek movie and television series,* and offers his position on why Star Trek is great.

* No mention of the animated show.

In addition, Mr. Yglesias threw his gauntlets on the table and ranked from best to worst the movies, the series, episodes, and crew members.

And by the way, the next installment of J.J. Abrams' Star Trek universe, Star Trek Into Darkness, opens in the United States tomorrow. Reviews are coming out:

MeFi: Christians fight the Right

No Robots — Thu, 16 May 2013 16:27:14 GMT

The goal of Red Letter Christians is simple: To take Jesus seriously by endeavoring to live out His radical, counter-cultural teachings as set forth in Scripture, and especially embracing the lifestyle prescribed in the Sermon on the Mount.

Red Letter Christians are part of a Christian backlash against the Christian Right. The "Red Letters" are the words spoken by Christ himself, often rubricated in Bible editions.

The Red Letter movement is certainly not without critics.

The movement is growing, with churches like that of the pirate pastor springing up.

Red Letter Christians do not want their movement to become an instrument of the partisan Left. They see its role as social and cultural, as opposed to political. It is up to politicians, then, to respond.

Historical antecedents include The Social Gospel Movement and Christian Socialism.

Ask MeFi: Nonfiction about rituals and magic and so on

goosechasing — Tue, 21 May 2013 02:58:21 GMT

I want to read nonfiction about ritualistic/magical/occult/religious practices or events in a historical/cultural context that will learn me real good without sacrificing the fun factor. More interested in things like druid sacrifice or the Salem witch trials than modern-day ghostbusters or psychics, but all cultures are welcome.

Ask MeFi: What do DINKs eat?

donut_princess — Wed, 22 May 2013 01:23:33 GMT

My husband and I may soon have two incomes. Hoorah! But how do we balance that with making food for our meals?

With some luck, our household may soon become dual income (FT). There are so many reasons why this could be great if it happens. The only problem with this is food prep. How do you prepare breakfast, lunch and dinner and still manage to both get to work on time, have enough nourishment to get through the day, and not have to cook and clean up for 1.5 hours when you get home?

Right now we only eat out about once or twice a week. We plan our weeknight meals in advance and have leftovers for lunch. We don't do dinner repeats over the course of the week, but we're not opposed to them. These steps help keep our grocery bill low.

Here's what I'm looking for:
-A list of your best (at least moderately healthy) go to breakfasts, lunches and dinners
-What you do in advance for meals, if anything
-What techniques you use to get enough nourishment throughout the workday
-Tips for avoiding boredom sprouting from repetition

Ask MeFi: Okay, SHOW me how you move from talking to kissing.

zeri — Fri, 17 May 2013 02:30:48 GMT

I honestly don't understand how "chemistry" works or what it means for "sparks to fly". When I go on a date it looks like this: I ask a question, she replies; she asks a question, I reply; I make an observation, she concurs or demurs; she makes an observation, I concur or demur; repeat for an hour or two, after which we both say "it was nice meeting you" and each go home. Sometimes I ask for a second date, and if she agrees, the second date looks exactly like the first. At what point are you supposed to go "Oh yeah, I went backpacking in South America once too, and don't you think Natalie Portman was pretty good in that movie, and now if you don't mind I am going to lean in and kiss you." I know you're supposed to flirt and try to make the girl laugh, but I'm not much good at doing this and when I try it comes across as wooden at best, creepy at worst. What I want is to see this process modeled. I would like to see actual footage of real people dating and crossing the boundary between "platonic small talk" and "romance". I know this sounds weird -- who'd videotape a date? -- but stranger things have been found on the internet. Any leads?

MeFi: The Myth of Nazi Efficiency

Miko — Sat, 18 May 2013 14:21:04 GMT

The Myth of Nazi Efficiency

Ask MeFi: Are you good at doing stuff? Tell me how you get stuff done.

sprezzy — Tue, 21 May 2013 19:16:15 GMT

I constantly have a huge list of things to do in my head and I'd like to get better at organizing/prioritizing them.

The thoughts swimming around tend to be:

1) stuff I have to do immediately --work assignments, replying to emails, lunch dates, errands (going to the bank/store)
2) Habits I'd like to work on -- schedule of cleaning, exercise/biking schedule, going to be earlier
3) Maintenance/other appointments-- car, doctors appointments, etc
4) Random stuff I'd like to do -- go to a new museum! go kayaking! try skydiving!
5) art career/project stuff -- networking with people, participating in galleries, doing personal work to develop more of an presence
6) big goal stuff-- date/toward a relationship, save for a house?, travel

I think I'm slightly ocd so I generally feel better if I have every little thing written down somewhere (which then allows me to "clear" it out of mental space). The problem is finding a system that would best help me tackle all these things. So far I've been just writing everything down on notes on my iphone--I currently have 284 notes and a lot of them are repetitive, but I just keep creating more notes every time I think of something (even if I've thought of it before). I also keep a physical planner, but I sometimes fall prey to overbooking myself. Usually I'll come up right against a deadline and it'll be easy to decide to devote all my time to that one thing--I won't have time to think about all that other stuff. I become more productive out of necessity, but after it's done I have to regroup. I'd just like to get better at being a responsible, organized adult--I get so caught up in thinking and planning stuff instead of actually doing it. Maybe it's a matter of simplifying and letting go of some stuff, but I don't know.

So help me out, mefites! When you have a head full of goals/to-dos/dreams, what do you do to help you prioritize/stay focused? How do you work toward that person you want to be? Any helpful apps/techniques/mantras? I know it's not always possible to boil this down to something simple and everyone is different, but any advice would be appreciated!

Popular Posts Across MetaFilter