Overnight Open Thread

What's The Oldest Internet Meme You Can Remember?

The internet has been around long enough now for people to start playing the I-remember-when game regarding various memes that have spread thru the intertubez STD-like over the years.

For the writer of this article it was the 'All your base are belong to us' meme - a true classic. This video will explain it to you if you're not familiar with it.

For me I think the first true internet meme I can recall was kibo who used to prowl usenet grepping on his name. It would been around 1993-4 or so that I saw my first kibo-response.

And going back even further into the mists of online time to the old dial-up and mainframe BBS days I remember first seeing the smiley, :-), in posts back in 1984. Which was actually when it was still all young and shiny since it was invented in 1982 by Scott Fahlman:

So what's the first internet meme you can remember?

Conservative - Perception Vs Reality

Mona, I get some of the same mail you do, from people who think that Newt is the Last Word in Conservatism. I’m learning, more and more, that political perceptions have a great deal to do with style. If you slash and shout, many people think of you as “conservative” or “right-wing.” If you say right-wing things in a calm, polite way, you may be seen as a moderate.

“Attitude” is another word that comes to mind — attitude and style. They have so much to do with political perceptions.

Why Apple's Products Are 'Designed in California' But 'Assembled in China'
If you think it's just because of labor costs, you're wrong. It turns out that they're made in China because the US just doesn't have the manufacturing resources - people and factories - to supply the sheer volume that Apple needs.

The New York Times asked that question, and after an extremely well-researched report involving interviews with both former and current executives at Apple, the answer the Times found is both simple and chilling: iPhones aren't made in America because they just can't be. The infrastructure and labor force doesn't exist at the levels necessary to support Apple's operations -- it's not even close.

To exaggerate the point, many have claimed that an American-manufactured iPhone would cost thousands of dollars. It turns out that's hyperbole; according to the New York Times, the increased cost of paying American wages to workers would add $65 to the cost of an iPhone.

Five Medical Innovations of the Civil War
One of the few benefits of war is that it tends to force medical innovation. And the Civil War was responsible for several including the routine use of anesthesia during surgery:

In 1863, Stonewall Jackson’s surgeon recommended the removal of his left arm, which had been badly damaged by friendly fire. When a chloroform-soaked cloth was placed over his nose, the Confederate general, in great pain, muttered, “What an infinite blessing,” before going limp.

What Happens If You Refuse To Leave Jail?
You will be charged with disorderly conduct...and be put back in jail.

Most people can't wait to leave jail, but one northern Arizona inmate has been charged with trespassing after refusing to leave the Coconino County lockup.

Coconino County Sheriff's Office spokesman Gerry Blair says 44-year-old Martin Batieni Kombate was arrested in Flagstaff last week for trespassing and was scheduled for release Monday on his own recognizance on the charge.

But when detention officers from the sheriff's office showed up to escort him out, Kombate allegedly said he wasn't leaving and was staying because he couldn't find his wallet.

Blair tells The Associated Press that Kombate was disorderly in a jail cell, would not leave, so the police were called and Kombate was arrested.

Blair says Kombate remains in jail.

Greatest Acceptance Speech?
Daddy must be so proud...wherever he is.

So Why Can't You Name Your Kid Brfxxccxxmnpcccc- lllmmnprxvclmnckssqlbb11116?
Because many countries - especially in Europe - have tight rules regarding what you're allowed to name your children. Because that's what nannystates are there for.

Denmark’s very strict Law on Personal Names is in place to protect children from having odd names that suit their parents’ fancy. To do this, parents can choose from a list of only 7,000 pre-approved names, some for girls, some for boys. If you want to name your child something that isn’t on the list, you have to get special permission from your local church, and the name is then reviewed by governmental officials. Creative spellings of more common names are often rejected. The law states that girls and boys must have names that indicate their gender, you can’t use a last name as a first name, and unusual names may be rejected. Of the approximately 1,100 names that are reviewed each year, 15-20% of the names are rejected. There are also laws in place to protect rare Danish last names.

Rejected names: Anus, Pluto, and Monkey.
Approved names: Benji, Jiminico, Molli, and Fee.

6 Reasons Homemade Porn is a Worse Idea Than You Think
Well first of all you're no looker. And you probably don't have the dedication to smut that it takes to produce pr0n that people actually want to see.

But look at amateur porn. Look at Screech for God's sake. Like a malnourished, shaven orangutan, he brings nothing to the table. In real porn, actors and actresses are chosen from the finest broken homes in the Midwest and given top of the line plastic surgery and full body make up. Have you ever heard of asshole bleaching? Porn stars do that. A porn star is so dedicated to their job that, when given some constructive criticism on set like, "Hey, Starla, I noticed your anus is looking a bit on the dingy side, maybe look into that?" they make a mental note to visit the ass bleaching salon later in the day and have a stranger apply some manner of pigment-reducing spackle to their crapper.

The Yahoo AoSHQ group. You know the way.

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posted by Maetenloch at 10:17 PM

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