Best Of MetaFilter

In song by nagillum (cc by)

If you really want to get your nerd on and have some older computer gear laying around, you can even build your own bird mic and analyze your results using free software. Here are some spectrograms of migration calls recorded with this method.

when.we.were.VHS-ized by Ludovico Sinz [Cane Rosso (busy!)] (cc by)

MeFites recommend some documentaries.

United Airlines, 1976 by Alan Light (cc by)

Two MeFites (update: three!) who have worked on airline systems explain why the computer reservation system that airlines use seems so slow and outdated.

Changing even one character on a green screen could break dozens or hundreds of third party applications. It was like cement; it would take months of negotiation to orchestrate the change in layout on a green screen if you wanted to, say, make a field one character wider.

Flood answers a question about long-lasting snowmen with an anecdote about the time Chile brought an iceberg to the World's Fair.

In 1992, I attended the World's Fair in Seville, Spain. I was living in Madrid at the time, and had friends in Seville, so I attended the fair at least 20 times through-out the course of that summer. It ran from April to October.

The country of Chile had one of the best exposition pavilions - partly because of the iceberg they brought to the fair. Yes, they brought an iceberg !!

"Holy cow! 14 minutes to solve the back of the card that has been bugging my family for 20 years! That is amazing!"

-342 : guinea pig pwn by Of Corgis & Cocktails (cc by)

AskMe's advice for novice gamers.

Leica 35 mm, 1928 by national museum of american history (cc by-nc-sa)

Also note how this photograph doesn't perfectly look like reality. Much of this comes from the fact that it was shot with grainy high-speed film, with unrealistic tones which we already contextually relate to a previous era. It looks like a photo from the 60s, because the technology wasn't there to make the shot look realistic.

Thanksgiving Pies by Al_HikesAZ (cc by-nc)

An AskMe thread with many recipes for simple pies.

hair removal photos by Jesse Hull on Flickr

Hi! I'm a trans woman! I've spent way too much time this year researching hair removal methods — in my case for the beard and not the scalp, but most of the details are the same either way. The online trans community, not surprisingly, cares a lot about this shit, and the advice I've found there is very consistent and mostly doesn't set off my bullshit filter.

Sensible run-down of hair removal advice from Now there are two. There are two _______.

Hot orange towel by Dave Goodman (cc by)

An eye-opening thread about how to get the most out of your towels at home.

Emmy graphic by Alan Light (cc by)

Who knew there were so many MeFites who could get their hands on an Emmy in any given day? (question is still unanswered. Do you know?)

by Foxtongue (cc by)

After seven long weeks, the prodigal cat returns! I am overjoyed -- I don't think I realized how much I missed her until I had her back in my arms.

tickingclock gets good results from hiring a pet detective.

January 8, 2011 by Jeremy Jenum (cc by)

MeFite spikeleemajortomdickandharryconnickjrmints talks about what sort of routine maintenance your bicycle is likely to need.

the big takeaway is that you need to ask your shop to break down the individual items on the estimate and also tell you WHY things need to be done. We expect to get called out on every recommendation, so we don't just make shit up, ever. If we say your wheels need to be replaced because your braking surface is worn, then we will also be ready to break out the tool that indicates this. If your shop says something like that, by all means reply with "Ok, could you please show me why you think that needs to be done" and if they wave their hands in the air and give you woo woo or something, fuck 'em.

Day 145: Attack! by lorenkerns (cc by)

brina offers some advice for people acquiring a new kitten, in outline format.