13: Viewer Mail

August 17, 2007 5:28 PM

Lucky show #13 is the viewer mail show, featuring questions from 13 mefites that jessamyn and I answered. It's about 40 minutes long and we recorded it on August 17, 2007 [much more inside]


posted by mathowie to MeFi Podcast at 5:28 PM (72 comments total)

helpful links:
Podcast Feed RSS (Subscribe to the MeFi Podcast in iTunes)
Direct mp3 download

The Viewer Mail show!

Music
Satiomega by tehloki

Intro stuff
The Sound of Young America (by youngamerican!)

metachat voices section

NetZero's Private Phone service

Questions
1. yhbc
2. ALongDecember

StickyCarpet's advice for finding love
We've Got Blog book
KY's newest slogan

3. Miko

penguin pie

4. shoesfullofdust

The new user page that mentions Trust

5. Ambrosia Voyeur

Kevin Kelly's review of Ask MeFi

6. carsonb
7. melissa may

Melissa May interview on the previous show
TravelFilter

8. woodblock100

MeFi Users Sites post about him

9. rob511
10. Mayor Peace Love and Unity
11. "anonymous"
12. dobbs
13. parmanparman
posted by mathowie at 5:30 PM on August 17, 2007

Dammit, I'm just listening to the Melissa May one! Slow down!†

† DON'T!
posted by Eideteker at 5:44 PM on August 17, 2007

Antarctica meetup? Divine_Wino, breezeway, gaspode, Lola_G and others have drank here more times than I can count. Close enough?
posted by jonmc at 5:49 PM on August 17, 2007

Thanks for the "helpful links" section - I'm hearing-impaired, so the text pointers are really helpful!
posted by desjardins at 6:03 PM on August 17, 2007

What? You guys didn't think that my advice in finding love wasn't useful? :P

Can't say I blame you, actually.

Thanks for another great podcast guys!
posted by Effigy2000 at 6:14 PM on August 17, 2007

I still can't find my socks, you bastards.
posted by jonmc at 6:17 PM on August 17, 2007

So, uh, no dice on the Viking issue?
posted by cortex at 6:31 PM on August 17, 2007

That anonymous has some good ideas, i say we take his advice!!
posted by jonson at 6:34 PM on August 17, 2007 [8 favorites]

The "be cool" policy.
posted by nola at 6:47 PM on August 17, 2007

Playing wii with pb is a cool phrase.
posted by Rhomboid at 6:53 PM on August 17, 2007

it would make a great euphemism.
posted by jonmc at 6:55 PM on August 17, 2007

Time to make the donuts!
posted by mdonley at 6:57 PM on August 17, 2007

Wow, can you nutjobs overthink this here plate.
posted by Eideteker at 7:16 PM on August 17, 2007

Noo-kyu-lar, Matt? Say it ain't so!
posted by mdonley at 7:32 PM on August 17, 2007

I still can't find my socks, you bastards.

It's a good bet they're somewhere in Queens.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 7:59 PM on August 17, 2007

Feedback:

Don't bring back the image tag.

Wimmin' represent.

mathowie said "nu-cu-lar."

Even when people smoke, they can still call in, and they can still post to metafilter.

Parmanparman wants to have a meetup in Redwood City, but he is too chicken to post to metatalk so instead he mentions this 39 minutes into the podcast.
posted by croutonsupafreak at 8:08 PM on August 17, 2007

Aaaaah I want to hear but I'm on the freeway in King City and can't get EVDO...
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 8:15 PM on August 17, 2007

I loved "Hi this is Carson. The b is silent".
posted by iconomy at 8:27 PM on August 17, 2007 [3 favorites]

Ambrosia Voyeur, I'm hoping you were in King City in order to visit the Wild Horse Cafe, Home of the "Truckerburger".
posted by oneirodynia at 8:40 PM on August 17, 2007

I sound weird on the phone. Thanks for selecting it though.
posted by ALongDecember at 8:47 PM on August 17, 2007

Long live the Wall of Text!

Love the "time to make the donuts" reference, which this thread agreed to be a serious East Coast regionalism. I hope this podcast spreads the meme worldwide, so people from away will not look at me so strangely when I say it.
posted by Miko at 9:34 PM on August 17, 2007

C'mon, people, show ya love! Spread the meme!
posted by flapjax at midnite at 9:41 PM on August 17, 2007

Yes, you should make this a recurring feature -- I really love getting to hear people's voices. And I love Mayor Peace Love and Unity almost as much as I love Mayor Curley, seriously.

And aw, it's ok, matt. That cool Kevin Kelly 1k profit you sent me says thank you like nothing else could!

What, none of you other interviewees paid? Sucks to be you, eh?
posted by melissa may at 9:52 PM on August 17, 2007

That is as slow as I speak. I did good.
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 10:08 PM on August 17, 2007

I don't really sound like that do I?
posted by dobbs at 10:10 PM on August 17, 2007

Okay so there was sort of another question, the second part of my second question, the shame/nostalgia question. Any thoughts?

Sorry for the deluge, I thought you'd edit! I paused between questions and salutations so you could cut me! Sorry for hanging about here, I'm now on the freeway in Nipomo. *yawn*
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 10:15 PM on August 17, 2007

That new user page is a great reference. Expect snippets to pop up in MeTa soon and often.

Thanks for answering my questions, and at such amusing length.

"MetaFilter-curious" LOL
posted by carsonb at 10:16 PM on August 17, 2007

Again, I LOVE THE PODCAST!

I listen to the podcast while I clean. If you make more podcasts, my room will be kept cleaner. It's the only way to be on MeFi while not at the computer (no iPhone for me!). So keep up the good work and keep my house clean!

And I have to disagree - I think a doc on MeFi could be really interesting if done the right way.
posted by SassHat at 10:38 PM on August 17, 2007 [1 favorite]

Thanks, guys! (You don't need to change my username; after all this time, it just occurred to me how close mine was to a Big Gulp felony.)

I'm standing on my head as I'm writing this, relative to y'all Northern Hemisphere types.
posted by rob511 at 11:50 PM on August 17, 2007

That was great! The podcasts sound so cozy... in fact, I don't think the name "podcast" even fits the format. Can we call them the MetaFilter Fireside Chats?

One request, though, if it's possible: Can the sound levels be adjusted to even up the volume? I listen on my earphones, and with the volume turned all the way up, I could barely hear some of the call-ins.
posted by taz at 12:15 AM on August 18, 2007

Hey, how about that ... young women gasp at the sound of my voice! What more can I expect from life after this!

This was a fun podcast ... please consider making the call-in a regular 'corner' of the shows, at least one or two each time. With 57,000+ members (or however many it really is) it'll take quite a while to hear everybody, but it should be fun trying!
posted by woodblock100 at 12:47 AM on August 18, 2007

MetaFilter curious?
posted by Chuckles at 12:50 AM on August 18, 2007

Ambrosia Voyeur has a soothing voice. /creepy
posted by liquorice at 12:53 AM on August 18, 2007

Can we call them the MetaFilter Fireside Chats?

Das muss sein.
posted by Meatbomb at 6:01 AM on August 18, 2007

Can the sound levels be adjusted to even up the volume?

Yeah this was an unusual circumstance because we usually do them and record them with Skype which was unexpectedly down for a few solid days at the end of the week, so we had to do some scrambling to try to find decent solutions in a pinch. I think future call-ins will have better levels and I think we both had a good time too so we'd love to make this a regular feature.

And AV, we did space the second part of your second question "If MeFi goes mainstream what about the early days will you feel most nostalgic about or most ashamed?" I think I just couldn't really imagine it happening. It's weird how even though MeFi is almost 200x as big as when I started -- and arguably more mainstream -- it still mostly seems like the same place. There's definitely a few things that have changed, it's rare to wake up in the morning and see that something has totally fallen apart overnight or destroyed the site -- I'm thinking specifically of the "login" fiasco or the Head of Jerry -- and there was a sort of "what the heck is going to happen next" aspect that may be a little more absent nowadays.

And for me personally being a moderator means not really being able to be just a casual contributor anymore which doesn't really fall along the shame/nostalgia continuum much but evokes some wistfulness from time to time.
posted by jessamyn at 6:35 AM on August 18, 2007

Call in shows need compression/normalization. Garageband has a compressor built in.
posted by doctor_negative at 6:52 AM on August 18, 2007

Which explains why Garageband does not dance.
posted by Eideteker at 7:09 AM on August 18, 2007 [3 favorites]

Hey, it's Miko from Metafilter. Ha.
posted by smackfu at 7:15 AM on August 18, 2007

13: Viewer Mail on last.fm. "Similar artists: Josh Millard."
posted by smackfu at 7:40 AM on August 18, 2007 [1 favorite]

Hey, it's Miko from Metafilter. Ha.

I know, I realized as I said that how idiotic it was. I wish I could say I was being ironic, but no. Reflex.
posted by Miko at 7:49 AM on August 18, 2007 [1 favorite]

Hey, it's Miko from Metafilter.

I actually open my emails to metafilter people exactly that way, so this sounded totally normal to me.
posted by jessamyn at 7:50 AM on August 18, 2007

I usually start my emails "Hey, it's MeFi's own Meatbomb."
posted by Meatbomb at 8:32 AM on August 18, 2007 [1 favorite]

Hey, it's Miko from Metafilter. Ha.

I actually open my emails to metafilter people exactly that way, so this sounded totally normal to me.

Really? You identify yourself as Miko in your emails?
posted by item at 9:02 AM on August 18, 2007

I do that too, jessamyn; I think that's probably where the reflex came from. Since my email address is my own name, I usually need to start emails to MeFites with that clarification.
posted by Miko at 9:07 AM on August 18, 2007

Today, we are all Miko from Metafilter.
posted by cortex at 9:37 AM on August 18, 2007 [2 favorites]

I usually start my emails, "Hey, it's MeFi's own Miko"
posted by Kwine at 11:23 AM on August 18, 2007

I've been told it's hard to hear what Mayor Peace Love and Unity opens with. It's his version of "namaste".
posted by Mayor Curley at 2:27 PM on August 18, 2007

I usually start my emails "Hey, it's MeFi's own Meatbomb."

I usually start my email with, "If you want to see them alive, you will leave $10,000 in the dumpster behind the KFC on North Avenue"

Of course, I don't get a lot of continuing conversations with my correspondents, which makes me sad.

I totally hope you guys keep the call-in theme. I love hearing what other mefite's voices sound like.
posted by quin at 3:06 PM on August 18, 2007 [1 favorite]

I think I started saying nuk-u-lar ironically a few years back when everyone made fun of Bush for it, just like how I call cops the POH-lice to show how I'm from the streets.
posted by mathowie at 4:01 PM on August 18, 2007

The mean streets of Placentia. (motto:
"if you don't eat them, they'll eat you!")
posted by jonson at 4:48 PM on August 18, 2007

I thought that it was neat to hear people call in, but I totally couldn't hear what they were saying when you guys started talking over them.
posted by philomathoholic at 1:09 AM on August 19, 2007

They used my song! Huzzah, I am a star.
posted by tehloki at 3:22 AM on August 19, 2007

mathowie's closing "That's the show" immediately put me in my mind of this segment from Berio's Sinfonia. The MetaFilter Podcast will for me forever be flavoured by this.
posted by chrismear at 9:25 AM on August 19, 2007

> And for me personally being a moderator means not really being able to be just a casual contributor anymore...

We should have a fundraiser to buy Jessamyn a sockpuppet account.
posted by ardgedee at 9:25 AM on August 19, 2007

I was disappointed that you didn't use my comment, which was about using the various members of Metafilter as impromptu breeders of Yorkshire terriers, and then I remember that I had not bothered to look at the phone number to properly call in, but instead had randomly dialed numbers until someone answered, and then had yelled at her for about 20 minutes about my fear that strangers are plotting to defenestrate me.

Now to return to my regularly scheduled Sunday activity, which is, of course, watching television personalities to see if they make eye contact with me, and then to note what they said just before the eye contact, and try to decipher the secret message they are sending to me. As far as I can tell, it's a suggestion that I grow a luxurious mustache and curl it up at the ends, like the guy on the bottle of Old Raj gin.
posted by Astro Zombie at 11:05 AM on August 19, 2007 [1 favorite]

The people on TV aren't looking at you with their eyes. "They" are looking at you through the eyes of the TV people. It's easy to miss that subtlety.
posted by Burhanistan at 11:08 AM on August 19, 2007

Thanks for keeping up with the podcast, it's right on. I hope the call-in thing becomes a regular feature. It was great!
posted by snsranch at 5:39 PM on August 19, 2007

Fantastic podcast. Certainly not the best one you've ever done, but it's hard to top the gold standard. And by that, I mean the Melissa May interview, of course.
posted by ColdChef at 5:49 PM on August 19, 2007

They used my song! Huzzah, I am a star.

Yeah, but listen, kid, don't let it go to your head. Sure, you're sittin' on toppa the world, today: the spotlight's on ya and the future's bright ahead, right? Hah! They'll forget about'cha tomorrow. Just as quick as they put you up on that nice cushy pedestal, they'll pull ya down, and lemme tell ya, it ain't pretty down there. Not after you've smelled those sweet roses and sipped that sweet wine up at the tippy top. Not after dancing til dawn at the dizzying heights of adulation. Not after you've seen the world from up on the top tiers of fame, a dazzling babe on each arm and your song on everyone's smiling lips. It's all gonna come to a sickening, sudden and heartless end, pal.

You'll see.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 6:05 PM on August 19, 2007

Hey flapjax, that's pretty funny, except that it's hard to tell if you're kidding. (You are right?)
posted by snsranch at 6:24 PM on August 19, 2007

...except that it's hard to tell if you're kidding. (You are right?)

I wish I was, kid... I wish I was...

Bartender! Gimme another double!
posted by flapjax at midnite at 6:44 PM on August 19, 2007 [1 favorite]

Bartender! Add that to my tab.

*tips hat at flapjax at midnite*
posted by ColdChef at 6:45 PM on August 19, 2007 [1 favorite]

I guess I'll be getting the next round! Cheers!
posted by snsranch at 7:07 PM on August 19, 2007

If a Redwood City meetup does happen, it should absolutely be at Chuck's Donuts. I'll be there in spirit.

Man, I miss that place.
posted by MadDog Bob at 8:20 PM on August 19, 2007

Wow, a lot of metatalk threads are turning into roleplaying bars lately.
posted by tehloki at 5:52 PM on August 20, 2007

Roleplaying? Who's roleplaying? This is real, man, and serious as a heart attck! Just for that, you're buying the next round, tehloki!
posted by flapjax at midnite at 7:38 PM on August 20, 2007 [1 favorite]

But that reminds me of a hilarious joke:

Roleplaying horse walks into a roleplaying bar.
Roleplaying bartender says:
Hey, why the long roleplaying face?

Ha ha roleplaying ha!
posted by flapjax at midnite at 7:40 PM on August 20, 2007

what
posted by tehloki at 11:09 PM on August 20, 2007 [1 favorite]

The moderators at work, ten minutes out of every hour...
posted by The corpse in the library at 12:12 PM on August 21, 2007

I liked how all the callers were quite formal, yet you two were cursing like sailors (as per usual) and matt did a fake KY jelly ad that would've made Lenny Bruce blush.
posted by chuckdarwin at 7:24 AM on August 22, 2007

Thanks Matt!
posted by YoungAmerican at 8:41 PM on August 22, 2007

I was the guy who told Kevin Kelly about ask.mefi on 8/6/04. I can think of nobody in my meatspace life who I could even explain this to, hence this sad little post.
posted by mecran01 at 9:16 PM on September 6, 2007