I think we've got a candidate for the MeFi sidebar

January 17, 2006 10:35 PM

I think we've got a candidate for the MeFi sidebar: I posted this morning about the AeroPress and tonight we've got posts from its inventor.
posted by spock to MetaFilter-Related at 10:35 PM (17 comments total)

wow, cool.
posted by mathowie (staff) at 10:45 PM on January 17, 2006

He signed his own post. Ban him.

sorry
posted by mullacc at 10:59 PM on January 17, 2006

This doesn't belong in the coffee press thread, but:

Thanks, Alan, for the killer flying discs and 'rangs. I remember playing with an Aerobie Pro ring when I was a kid and just chucking it for miles and miles.

It's always cool seeing notables come on board, even if only briefly.
posted by loquacious at 11:04 PM on January 17, 2006

Great! We even got him to say:

"MonkeySaltedNuts asked about bisphenol-A in polycarbonate."
posted by vacapinta at 11:04 PM on January 17, 2006

Aerobies were the only things which made holidays in Wales worthwhile and I don't drink coffee but that press sounds like a fantastic investment. This Todd Loken looks like the real world's polymath.

Sincerely yours,

Alan Adler
posted by NinjaPirate at 1:33 AM on January 18, 2006

Aerobie...5 minutes of throwing and an hour or so figuring out how to get the darned thing down once it ended up stuck on a branch 30 feet high up. Happened without fail. Good Times.
posted by juv3nal at 2:02 AM on January 18, 2006

Aerobie (and toobee, if I'm remembering the name correctly) were the thrown devices of choice throughout my childhood.

ahhh, thrown devices.
posted by shmegegge at 3:17 AM on January 18, 2006

Ah, the Aerobie. Come to think of it, I had that triangular boomerang thing, too. Imagine an unathletic, nearsighted child with terrible aim, equipped with some of the most advanced flying devices known to mankind. Good times, indeed. Thank you, Mr. Adler.
posted by Faint of Butt at 4:23 AM on January 18, 2006

Kinda cool, but he's already posted on, e.g. the Coffeegeek forums. It shows he's good at promoting his products online, perhaps in an honest way. Still fairly PepsiBlue though.
posted by rxrfrx at 4:45 AM on January 18, 2006

I suppose it is, by some definition. But I think that's why blanket rules make only Pharisees happy. I think it is an innovative product (perhaps even revolutionary) that is discussion-worthy and the inventor is able to provide insights and answers that others could only speculate about. I don't see how that is a bad thing, unless the post and his response was orchestrated - which it was not.
posted by spock at 5:33 AM on January 18, 2006

Still fairly PepsiBlue though.

Somewhat, but unlike many, he didn't post his product, someone else did, and he's replying. He's making no attempt to hide who he is.

Hiking in Rocky Mountain National Park, up to Flattop Mountain (didn't make the top, because of oxygen -- I'd been recovering from a bad knee, was out of form, and I live at 500' MSL, not 10,000, about 11,000 feet, I started getting tunnel vision. Oops. Amazing views, though. I digress.) we came upon a spot where we could see the parking lot at Bear Lake, where our car was. It was a long way off, and a long way down.

I looked at the guy I was hiking with and said "Aerobie. If only we had an Aerobie...."
posted by eriko at 5:34 AM on January 18, 2006

I'm not saying he's not cool for posting here. I'm just saying it's not really side-bar worthy, as his presence is designed to promote his product more than anything else.
posted by rxrfrx at 6:29 AM on January 18, 2006

So what? It sounds like a great product, and he's providing useful information. It's not like he's posting "YEAH MY PRODUCT ROXXORZ BUY IT SUCKERZZ!!!" New computer-geek products get posted and discussed all the time with no talk of Pepsi Blue.

/coffee addict
posted by languagehat at 6:43 AM on January 18, 2006

/keeps eye on Alan Adler's MeFi Projects page
posted by blag at 7:03 AM on January 18, 2006

Ya gotta admit it's pretty neat when a guy in outstate Nebraska can read about something, do some research on it, compose a post that generates some interesting discussion that somehow attracts the attention of the subject's inventor who then joins in on the conversation. God Bless the internet.
posted by spock at 7:30 AM on January 18, 2006

You don't recommend your own post to be added to the sidebar. HOW GAUCHE! It's an honor bestowed from on high by the Gods, unbidden and unsolicited.
posted by crunchland at 8:39 AM on January 18, 2006

Well, it isn't my post that makes it noteworthy but the fact that the inventor joined in (something I certainly didn't anticipate). But point taken.
: )
posted by spock at 10:45 AM on January 18, 2006