This guy must have been in so much pain when that picture was being taken. To get that kind of muscle (and vein, eugh) definition you need to be seriously dehydrated. If you're doing it right you collapse just after you leave the stage. They do it by not drinking (obviously) then drinking hard alcohol a little while before to get the diuretic effect. Health is not exactly their watchword...

Sounds like a good game. I'd like to suggest the following frequent exchange...

boring...

I hate people complaining that boingboing posts are boring.

I hate people complaining about people complaining that boingboing posts are boring

I hate people complaining about people complaining about people complaining that boingboing posts are boring

etc. I'll stop naow.

d

I just think it's part of how things work, what's the point of comments if every comment is "This is amazing, you're a god, I love you", I don't choose friends who only have views exactly the same as mine because I think (and please forgive the massive cliche, but I can't think of a more current example) a bit of disagreement is just grist for the mill, it makes my experience better. Ok being rude=not good, being nasty=not good but just saying you don't like something? I think that's fine.

note: I may only be arguing about this because there's no civil liberties/god existence/environmental issue to vent rage about... :p

I don't like comments abusing boingboing or the staff either, but I think it would be quite disingenuous to describe Dbarak's comment as a "buzzkill" especially since that seems to imply you get your buzzes from reading about shoe bikes.

I mean all he said was he'd seen these before, and didn't consider them news... whether you consider them news or not, or whether you consider boingboing a news site or not doesn't really come in to it, as he didn't say or even imply that boingboing should only show news or that his opinion was shared by anyone else.

Just because someone says something critical of the site does not mean they're wrong, and vice versa, boingboing isn't always right and the automatic view that it is/isn't is the main thing that annoys me on these message boards.

also @ antinous, although boingboingers undoubtedly derive a lot of amusement from their contribution to this great site, I doubt they do it solely or even mainly for their own amusement, it is after all a considerable effort. Although it's really nice to attribute profitless motives to everyone, it's seldom true, and even if the main reason for people's contribution to boingboing is the love of the site, I'm guessing they still get paid. In a comparable way I often enjoy serving people at my student union bar, but I wouldn't do it if I didnt get paid, and I also wouldn't suggest someone left if they didn't feel my service was up to standard.

@winstonian. We drink warm beer, not warm lager. warm lager is digusting, warm beer is lovely :)

@Matt, I think morally any level of meaness is too much, directed at anyone. I mean what moral backing have you got to be mean to someone at all? perhaps you could say being mean to people like this was part of the punishment they deserve for their crimes, but I don't think that fits the criteria I consider relevant when deciding punishment for criminals.

Deter: it doesn't, anyone planning on committing crimes like this isn't going to stop because someone's mean to them.

Incapacitate: It certainley doesn't do that, they're already in prison and as incapacitated from doing crimes as we can make them

Vengeance: It does provide vengeance, as a society being mean to serial killers could make us all feel better, but I always thought vengeance was the weakest of these three reasons for punishment, because I don't really agree with doing anything to hurt someone else just to make yourself feel better...no matter who they are

btw this doesn't mean I'm never mean :) it just means I think I'm wrong when I do it.

The responses from the killers all make me feel sad. These are arguably some of the worst, most evil people in the world, but it still doesn't feel right for this guy to be lying to them like this. He really jerks them around with his replies, seemingly trying to mock them by saying they've inspired him to do law or become a prosecutor, but most of their responses seem motivated out of genuine desire to help billy out. Even manson's mad first letter is mitigated by his second one in which he seems quite pleased that billy has done well for himself.

I'm sure there'll be a lot of posts now along the lines of "I'm glad this guy tricked them, they deserve whatever they get...etc. etc.". This is a valid point, their crimes are unforgiveable, but these letters really don't seem right to me.

Old absence of meme is Old.

@Antinous, I wouldn't dispute that JK Rowling is very kind, generous, decent, great in bed etc. etc. but it doesn't really matter that she's planning on publishing an encyclopedia herself, nor that she's planning to donate the money to charity. Nor should it, What matters is whether her suit is legal or not.

To venture into the ever nebulous world of hypothetical examples for a second her situation as you describe it is akin to ACME lightbulb manufacturers suing a rival company for copying their design (they say), when the rival's design significantly improvees upon it (he says).

It doesn't matter whether ACME were going to make an improved lightbulb just like their rivals, or if they were going to donate all the profits from it to widows and orphans, what matters is whether the design was a copy or not. And, unless you want to change our legal system to one of utilitarianism from one of absolute morals, thats how it should stay.

If anyone reading this wants to see some very good, scientifically accurate, well explained proof of evolution in four and a half minutes have a look at;

Ken Miller on Evolution
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zi8FfMBYCkk&feature=related

A very well respected biologist, also a theist.

This is very compelling evidence, in fact I would say irrefutable proof, that humans and the other great apes evolved from a common ancestor.

/thread

If anyone's interested the number led me to the statue of sir john betjamen in paddington station, then to another phone number, then to the name of a girl who I emailed and got a few more paragraphs of story...I've been searching round on the net and this alternate reality game has been going on since the first stories were posted, it all adds up to a seventh story that uses bits gleaned from each of the others to lead you through a number of fake blogs and websites...you can follow it over one Unfiction under 'We tell stories'

It's really interesting, very involved and has about two weeks left to run so you can still participate in trying to solve the mystery...

If anyone's noticed there's an alternate reality game in "the 21 steps" a number flashes up on one of the loading pages. Call it to get info, unfortunately it directs you to a place in england, so americans are out of luck. I'm meant to be revising for some 2nd year medical exams which start on the 28th but fuck it I get so excited by this kind of thing I'm going to follow it all day.

@Agent 86, yes, yes they are. I think most of the users on /b/ are just meme bots, occaisonally updated with new insults and images. If they're not then they're just really good at failing the turing test...

@#18 yeah that's kind of the point...and then you get old meme is old is old etc. on /b/ you'd use images as well as text, people used to use an image of the two old muppets with 'old meme' text, but that's old now :p

@Xeni, nice roll there. It reminds me of one time when I got in with a bad croud at school when I was younger, I started doing all kinds of drugs and just generally being a dick, then one day I was arrested for spray painting some rubbish tag and the police took me back to my house, to talk to my parents, my mom got scared and told me 'you're moving with your auntie and uncle in bel-air', I whistled for a cab and when it came near the license plate said fresh and it had dice in the mirror. If anything I could say that this cab was rare but I thought 'Now forget it' - 'Yo homes to Bel Air'. I pulled up to the house about 7 or 8 and I yelled to the cabbie 'Yo homes smell ya later'. I looked at my kingdom, I was finally there, To sit on my throne as the Prince of Bel Air.

OLD MEME IS OLD

Also, in before moderation...this is just moaning, but it's also an appropriate response to old memes. If you're not convinced post a link to this video on /b/ where the 'rolling' meme originate, or don't, because what you'll get is loads of CP, racism and insults back.

Argh, I was going to make that humourous statement! I thought I had a good chance of getting in with it too since there was only one comment...these things are sent to try us.