Metafilter's own Adam Savage in the Christian Science Monitor

September 15, 2006 5:11 AM

"Jamie is all about total, complete, and utter control. Thinking first and then acting. Adam is about acting first and then thinking."

Excerpted from a nice write-up about one of our own.
posted by grabbingsand to MetaFilter-Related at 5:11 AM (37 comments total)

Well, kinda.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 5:36 AM on September 15, 2006

If George Bush was a Mefite, would every Bush article have to go in MeTa instead of the blue? I'd argue that we should institute a rule banning him from the site because of the havoc it would cause in the already-overloaded MetaTalk.
posted by Plutor at 5:43 AM on September 15, 2006

Overloaded? Why, there were no posts at all on 9/13! :)
posted by muddgirl at 5:48 AM on September 15, 2006

Wait, I think I saw an article on Dave Gorman a few years ago. Please post no more comments before I've googled it.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 6:04 AM on September 15, 2006

Hey, to be fair, he *is* still kinda active, with his most recent comment on September 1... but he's hardly prolific. Hell, he's not even as active as *I* am :)
posted by antifuse at 6:17 AM on September 15, 2006

This is the MeTa equivalent of saying "My brother is in a rock band....well, he used to roadie for them...well, he KNEW a roadie for them...well, he met a guy in a bar who said he was a roadie for them..."
posted by briank at 6:24 AM on September 15, 2006

If George Bush was a Mefite

he was, then mathowie banz0rated his unruly ass.
posted by quonsar at 6:43 AM on September 15, 2006

Come on now ...

Prolific or not, almost everybody likes our resident MythBuster.
posted by grabbingsand at 6:44 AM on September 15, 2006

I like him too, but don't feel the need to show off with some fancy-pants research.
posted by allen.spaulding at 6:52 AM on September 15, 2006

Nevermind.

I'll send up a flare for deletion.
posted by grabbingsand at 6:57 AM on September 15, 2006

Bush has no time for news or links. He's too busy reading classic literature.
posted by graventy at 7:18 AM on September 15, 2006

Killing an Arab!
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 7:20 AM on September 15, 2006

This is the MeTa equivalent of saying...

I thought it was the MeTa equivalent of "Hey, one of us was mentioned/quoted/interviewed in this article." It's been done many times before, and probably at least once for the esteemed Miguel Cardoso, who is just as much a celebrity(Which I am assuming is part of the reason folks are leery about this) as asavage.

And while yeah, his oh so important answers to questions ratio could be a little better, just because he's never participated in a pile-on or posted a .gif doesn't mean he doesn't count as a MeFite. I doubt leaving this up will lead to people posting links to every interview or mention of the guy.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 7:28 AM on September 15, 2006

Who the fuck is Adam Savage?
posted by MiguelCardoso at 8:01 AM on September 15, 2006

Thanks for posting. I had no idea he was a member of ye olde community blog.
posted by mattbucher at 8:04 AM on September 15, 2006

It's been done many times before, and probably at least once for the esteemed Miguel Cardoso, who is just as much a celebrity(Which I am assuming is part of the reason folks are leery about this) as asavage.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 7:28 AM

Who the fuck is Adam Savage?
posted by MiguelCardoso at 8:01 AM


Beautiful.
posted by Baby_Balrog at 8:33 AM on September 15, 2006

Who the fuck is Adam Savage?

According to the CSM article linked in the post, he's the co-host of Mythbusters, a TV show with an audience ranging over four continents. That is, a range over four more continents than your own audience.
posted by solid-one-love at 8:43 AM on September 15, 2006

It's been done many times before, and probably at least once for the esteemed Miguel Cardoso, who is just as much a celebrity(Which I am assuming is part of the reason folks are leery about this) as asavage.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 7:28 AM

Who the fuck is Adam Savage?
posted by MiguelCardoso at 8:01 AM

touché
posted by briank at 8:45 AM on September 15, 2006

I'm not entirely sure a member with those sorts of usage stats actually qualifies as "one of us." The guy simply doesn't participate in the community.

Indeed, looking at his question:answer ratio, he is, at best, an AskMe leech.
posted by five fresh fish at 8:50 AM on September 15, 2006

According to the CSM article linked in the post, he's the co-host of Mythbusters, a TV show with an audience ranging over four continents. That is, a range over four more continents than your own audience.
posted by solid-one-love at 8:43 AM PST on September 15

damn
posted by Optimus Chyme at 8:52 AM on September 15, 2006

thread redeemed.
posted by NinjaTadpole at 8:54 AM on September 15, 2006

I'm not entirely sure a member with those sorts of usage stats actually qualifies as "one of us." The guy simply doesn't participate in the community.

In public debate here, the xenophobic commentary trades 'usage' for 'learns english'.

Indeed, looking at his question:answer ratio, he is, at best, an AskMe leech.

Quality not quantity should be the measure.
posted by peacay at 9:18 AM on September 15, 2006

AskMe: The Torrent Tracker of The Mind!!!
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 9:20 AM on September 15, 2006

So it's not so much a question of whether Adam is a mefite as whether he's enough of a mefite in proportion to his pop-culture fame?

Dear Adam: stop being famous, or we'll kick you out. Unless you want to be famous in Portugal, because, honestly, nobody cares about Portugal around here.
posted by cortex at 9:57 AM on September 15, 2006 [2 favorites]

So it's not so much a question of whether Adam is a mefite as whether he's enough of a mefite in proportion to his pop-culture fame?

I'm reminded of the restaurants/dry cleaners/barbershops that feel compelled to document every celebrity that ever once deigned to patronize their establishment. It's an attempt to grab a little reflected glory through a tenuous association.

Now, when quonsar gets his own Discovery Channel show, THEN we've got some bragging rights.
posted by briank at 11:22 AM on September 15, 2006

It's an attempt to grab a little reflected glory through a tenuous association.

...bragging rights.

Oh, I can buy that side of it. I'm not defending bragging rights—I'm really just kind of bothered by the presumption of dissing right, as such:

I'm not entirely sure a member with those sorts of usage stats actually qualifies as "one of us." The guy simply doesn't participate in the community.

Fuck that. His usage stats are not that different from a a lot of less-prolific Ask-centric mefites. That he asks a lot of questions (but not as many as he answers) is a testament to AskMe's usefulness. His profile would not earn a second blink if he weren't a known entity, and that's what I see as notable, and why I made my earlier comment—would anybody be dropping dismissive shit about whether or not he was "one of us" if he wasn't Somebody Else as well?
posted by cortex at 11:34 AM on September 15, 2006 [1 favorite]

Agreed, cortex.

There's "attempt[ing] to grab a little reflected glory through a tenuous association," and then there's "So, ya think yer special? Hey everyone, come see how unimpressed I am!" posturing.

I haven't seen very much - okay, any - of the former (Most folks' reactions were "Cool!" and then they went back to MeFi business as usual.), but there is some of the latter floating around.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 12:02 PM on September 15, 2006

I get Adam Savage confused with sex advice columnist Dan Savage frequently for reasons I can't explain.
posted by boo_radley at 12:36 PM on September 15, 2006

I get Adam Savage confused with sex advice columnist Dan Savage frequently for reasons I can't explain.

Great. Now I have the image of a man getting his ass hammered by a giant jury rigged contraption involving a broomstick and an industrial paint mixer stuck in my head.
posted by atrazine at 1:14 PM on September 15, 2006

I keep trying it, and it never seems to work, but I'll try it again...

ASAVAGE ... I SUMMON THEE!
posted by frogan at 1:15 PM on September 15, 2006

It's OK, boo. I get Michael Savage mixed up with Dan Savage, myself.
posted by MrMoonPie at 2:41 PM on September 15, 2006

Now, when quonsar gets his own Discovery Channel show, THEN we've got some bragging rights.

Hmm. What would that show be called? "Fish and the men who love them." I got nothing. Anyone?
posted by madamjujujive at 2:47 PM on September 15, 2006

"Deadliest Pants"

Season One: quonsar trolls the Bering Sea for opellio crab

Season Two: quonsar trolls MeFi for pissing elephants
posted by briank at 3:59 PM on September 15, 2006

He's asks lots of questions on AskMe, you say? And he has a television show where he answers questions about whether certain statements are myths or not? This is perfectly normal. Leave the poor fellow alone.

By the way, I hope you'll all tune in to my new television program entitled "SupraTalk." It's about common problems and solutions having to do with the administration of community web logs.
posted by koeselitz at 4:05 PM on September 15, 2006

Holy shit, now Adam Savage is Internet Famous. It's about time he got his due.
posted by absalom at 9:56 PM on September 15, 2006

Oh, and if I'm ever in SF and see him/you on the street, I'll say "Hey, aren't you on MeFi?"
posted by absalom at 10:01 PM on September 15, 2006

Shortly after Mythbusters came on the air, I tracked down Adam's email address to ask him some technical questions about the equipment he was using. He got back to me promptly and answered all my questions without a hint of ego. I was greatly impressed.

I've found his posts here to be equally informative and well written. I was thrilled when I discovered he was a part of our community. He may not contribute a lot, but when he does, it's almost always valuable information.

For similar reasons, I was totally stoked when this gentleman joined.

Celeb or no, they make MeFi a better place.
posted by quin at 5:53 PM on September 16, 2006