I'll be attending an outdoor music festival this summer, in which we'll be parking our cars a good distance from where we will set up our tents for camping. I'll need some kind of wheeled cart for transporting our bags, tents, etc., but which could fold up (or easily disassemble) and fit into my car, and I'm not sure what would work well. Looking for your ideas, or things that have worked well for you in the past.My car (subaru impreza sedan) has a decent sized-trunk, and I can put the back seats down to accomodate longer items. So for example, a two-wheeler would fit, but that doesn't seem like it would be good for the size and quantity of stuff that we'll have. (or would it?) You can buy foldable carts, but they're more for indoor/office use, so that's not a good option. My kids have a Little Tykes wagon I could use, but that would be too small. And embarassing - my children won't be with me. : ) I'm thinking that a decent-sized cart would have wheels that are about a yard/meter apart. Are there other existing cart variations that I'm not thinking of? All the better if it's something can I can buy cheaply off of Craigslist! One idea I have, is to build a simple wooden cart with 4 wheels that would have hinges and could be folded in half for transport, but would "lock" open when needed. Perhaps the wheels could be made to be removed easily, too. The advantage here is that I could customize the dimensions so that it is large-ish, but still fits into my car. But, is this even realistic, functionally speaking? Do you have any design/material suggestions if I go this route? What have YOU used in the past, that has worked, in a similar situation? (And, for that matter, what HASN'T worked for you in the past?) Please share your stories and ideas. Thanks!
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I need a recommendation for a 32GB USB 3.0 flash drive, please.I'm confused about the price spread in this product category. For example: is this $59 Lexar drive really worth almost twice as much as this $36 Patriot drive? I want reliable and fast, but the USB 3.0 is really a future proofing thing for me since my current computer (due to be replaced) doesn't have it yet, so going for this (apparently) ultra fast Kingston drive probably doesn't make sense (as well as it only being available in 64GB or higher.) Thanks in advance for any suggestions you make.
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I'm looking for a specific website that details what to buy for a newborn. Here's what I remember: It was one person's site, not on Parents.com or about.com or anything like that. The author, a mother, lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. There were multiple sections, like one for strollers, one for bouncy chairs, etc. It was very comprehensive and kind of funny. I think I actually found it here on AskMe, but I can't for the life of me find it again. I know, that's not much. But maybe you remember this?
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I know amalgam fillings are more durable. However, they also require drilling away more of the tooth. Given this, which is a better choice for filling a molar in the long run for a young person?I need my first filling! :-( Now I have to decide which kind to get. I am concerned about both mercury in the amalgam fillings and BPA in the composites. However, I found some good information on that topic, so that isn't what I'm asking about here (though if you have some expertise, feel free to share). Since there doesn't seem to be a clean winner in terms of health risk, I am trying to determine which type of filling would be less likely to lead to me needing a crown in the future. I am 25, so whatever I choose, it will probably have to be replaced someday. From what I understand, amalgams tend to last longer, but they also require removing more healthy tooth. Does this outweigh their superior durability over many years, when the process has to be repeated? I have been thinking that maybe, if I get a composite, by the time it has to be replaced there will be new materials available that will be stronger and not contain either mercury or BPA, and then I would have more tooth left. I don't know if that is reasonable, though. Thanks for your help!
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I'm trying to play the SNES version of Shiren the Wanderer, with the English translation patch, on a Mac. The ROM without the patch works fine. When I put the patch in the same directory with the same base filename (the procedure for using a patch), the ROM loads and hangs. I'm using SNES9X as my emulator. Has anyone gotten this working? I'm willing to try any emulator.
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"The comedian and actor lives with his wife, Jeannie Noth Gaffigan, and five children — that's not a typo — in a two-bedroom apartment in lower Manhattan." An NPR interview with Jim Gaffigan on kids, comedy, and apartment living. "In an urban setting, when you live in an apartment building, you hear everything. But if you could imagine living under five little kids, it's a crisis ... we're now on our third set of downstairs neighbors, but when our two preceding neighbors were moving, they asked us to hide the fact that we had children from prospective buyers, and the only polite thing to do, really, is to hide your existence so you can trick the next set of downstairs neighbors. But there's been moments where we've had to hide our children in a bedroom, and it feels like a scene from Sound of Music, you know."
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"That a woman of color on a major network show should have a character this focal and active without any romantic angle is a rare bird. It's also deliberate." --- But -- "Remember the time Sherlock and Watson looked up a clue on a sponsored computer product while he sat on the toilet? I sure do! Bing me!" -- However -- "We have, at last, a true partnership for Holmes and Watson, couched in that particular soulmate simpatico of 221-b, and moving distinctly forward without losing sight of the canon." -- Why Elementary is the bestest if flawed modern Holmes television adaptation, according to sf/fantasy author Genevieve Valentine. Some spoilers.
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Asking for a gentleman without a metafilter account: Can you recommend a stylist in Manhattan who specializes in, or at least does an excellent job with, male curly hair?He usually goes to a barber who cuts it short on the side and leaves it longer on top, which looks tall, and thus silly, to me. When branching out before, we had one disaster with a low-end stylist who announced "I've never cut curly hair before!" and then went on to prove it. Surely there is someone in this city who knows what to do with a man's curls. Right?
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My school is currently working on a new "Respect for Freedom of Expression Policy". A PDF of the latest draft is available here. I would appreciate any feedback about ways to improve it, especially from the perspective of allowing maximum free speech, protest, and dissent, and limiting the ability of the school to crack down on campus activism.I am hoping that people have experience with these kinds of policies from other schools and might be able to share what you have learned. Is there anything in the document that jumps out as a red flag? How might the school use the contents of this policy to limit activism on campus? What changes should we try to have made to the current contents? Also, is there anything that isn't in this draft that we should try to have included? Because Emory is a private institution, it has some leeway in setting it's own policies. We would like to have this document improved to allow for maximum rights for future campus activists so that we can hold Emory to this standard in the future. Any comments or insights about these kinds of policies would be appreciated, as well as the specifics of this draft.
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So, for the nth year in a row the air conditioning system in our office is busted. It's not even summer yet and it's already way too hot in here. I need some way of keeping cool and sane.There is currently no ventilation in the building, as they're repairing the air handlers. The chiller (replaced last year after it was struck by lightning) is apparently broken again. We were supposed to get the HVAC turned back on two weeks ago, but that deadline came and went. Today the outside air temperature was around 70F and it's currently over 85F in here. I spent most of last summer suffering from heat exhaustion and falling asleep at my desk; I need a better solution this year. Things I have control over: -Stuff that is inside my cubicle, including computer, monitor, and desk lighting. -Clothing, up to a point. Short-sleeve shirts ok, shorts generally not. We were given special dispensation last year to dress down because of the heat. -Food and water intake. -Where I work, up to a point. Boss supports working from home on extreme days, but considering it's not even the end of May and it's already too hot I can't really spend all summer at home. Things I cannot control: -I have no window, so shades or opening a window don't apply. -General lighting. -Bathrooms are frequently out of paper products, so (for example) grabbing lots of wet paper towels to sponge off would be looked down on. -Management. I am co-located at a customer's site with several coworkers from my own company; our company management is aware of the issue but there isn't room or desire to relocate us somewhere else. Due to sequester issues and the general military culture (e.g., suck it up and deal) there aren't really any options available through the chain of command here. They know about the problems but short of condemning the building until the AC is restored I'm not sure what they can do. How do I keep cool this summer? We haven't had many hot days yet and it's already too much. Tomorrow is supposed to be significantly warmer than today and I'm worried I'm just going to melt in to a puddle. (Second question - is this in any way an OSHA violation? Is a military installation exempt from OSHA regs?)
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I'm looking for new mystery series with a strong, atmospheric setting.I love mystery series with a strong sense of place, people or culture - series where the setting informs what the characters do and provides a sense of atmosphere that might as well be a character itself. The location of the setting itself doesn't matter, as long as the story is written well and pulls me into a different world. I have read and really enjoyed: - Dana Stabenow's Kate Shugak series - Craig Johnson's Walt Longmire series - Tana French's Irish detectives series - Sara Paretsky's VI Warshawski series - Tony Hillerman's Navajo Tribal Police series I tried a few books from Faye Kellerman's Decker/Lazarus series and thought they were well-plotted, but not as atmospheric as what I'm looking for. I also found the first Maisie Dobbs book a little bland for the same reason. The recent spate of Scandinavian thrillers would seem to fit the bill, but I've tried the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and the Harry Hole series and both had a kind of chilly remove, perhaps as a result of the translation, that really missed the mark for me. I slightly prefer a contemporary setting but am willing to try historical stuff, should it come highly recommended. Female and male protagonists are both fine, but as with most things I'd like to avoid outright misogyny. I have seen (and posted, in fact) in this thread, but I'm looking specifically for mystery series.
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I don't think I'm narcoleptic, but I fall asleep all the time.I'm 25. Since junior high, I have fallen asleep in classes, lectures, and meetings, but only if I'm not doing anything else. This is so, so embarrassing at work, and I need to fix this for my job as well as for impending grad school. My various coping strategies over the years have included sudoku, crosswords, and the internet. Things that don't work include taking notes (I will fall asleep writing), doodling or other engaging activities with pen and paper, and active listening; I promise you, I have tried these over and over and over. I try very, very hard to listen and to stay engaged. I am not bored or usually even tired when I fall asleep. I just fade out. If I am expected to listen to a lecture or meeting, I will just start slipping into sleep. This afternoon, at a weekly department meeting, I was out for a good forty minutes of it. It is not subtle. I do not know when I am starting to sleep, either; I was taking minutes during the meeting but still drowsed off. I often fall asleep during movies and plays, even though I love these events. I have, on occasion, fallen asleep sitting up at my desk while working if I am just editing a document or something non-engaging. I've always been good at school and a hard worker, so I haven't been in big trouble for this yet. My hypothesis is that my brain just needs to be doing something, and it can't just sit there and be quiet. If I can't mentally grab on to something, my brain seems to just take that as, "well, I'm not doing much anyway, so I'll take full advantage of this rest time." Health stuff: I take an SSRI and thyroid medicine. I work out 3-5 days a week. I eat tons of fruits and vegetables, lean protein and fat. (I've eliminated a lot of sugar from my diet, because I've noticed that I crash during the day if I eat it.) I sleep at least seven hours a night. I wake up and go to bed at the same time almost every day, even weekends. I consume a cup of coffee every morning. (Caffeine will not keep me awake during these meetings, no matter how hard I try.) I don't drink a lot. What is the deal, and how can I stop sleeping like this? Is this a doctor-worthy issue?
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People have long been interested in the architectural endeavors of animals. The internal structure of bee hives, the hexagonal combs of wax, have been amongst these ponderings, going back to Marcus Terentius Varro's Rerum Rusticarum Libri Tres, a volume on Roman farm management. He wrote, "The geometricians prove that this hexagon inscribed in a circular figure encloses the greatest amount of space," and over the years, mathematicians have studied the hexagonal structures made by bees, and in 1998, Thomas Hales produced a mathematical proof for the classical hexagonal honeycomb conjecture, which "asserts that the most efficient partition of the plane into equal areas is the regular hexagonal tiling." Pappus of Alexandria also wrote upon the sagacity of bees, in their selection of the hexagon for their honeycombs. In 1913, Virginia Farmer produced Roman Farm Management: the Treaties of Cato and Varro, done into English, with notes of modern instances, and the section "Of bees" contains notes of later studies, namely Maurice Maeterlinck's book, La vie des abeilles, or The Life of the Bee, which was published in 1901. That volume notes that the French scientist René Antoine Ferchault de Réaumur posed to the mathematician Johann Samuel König the following question (Google books preview): Of all possible hexagonal cells with pyramidal base composed of three equal and similar rhombs, to find the one whose construction would need the least material. König's findings were close to the earlier calculations of the French-Italian astronomer and mathematician, Giacomo Filippo Maraldi (or Jacques Philippe Maraldi), which matched the design of honeycombs. The Colorado State Beekeepers Association has a PDF with more mathematicians and their studies of hexagonal honeycombs. Hales' honeycomb conjecture was last revised in 2002, and the paper is available on Arxiv in a more legible format than that found on Hales' website, where you can find more background on the Hexagonal Honeycomb conjecture. The recent NPR story on this topic also references the article titled "Symmetrical Universe" by Alan Lightman in Orion Magazine. An article excerpt is available on Longreads, or you can read the whole article in the gorgeous Orion Magazine Digital.
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Where would be a good location in Eastern Massachusetts to see and photograph both the sunset and (full) moonrise on Sunday, June 23rd?Sunset is at 8:25 PM, azimuth 303° (NWbW). Moonrise is at 8:33 PM, azimuth 116° (ESE). I would like to be somewhere where I can see both these things happen with little or no obstruction. Priority is on the moon but if I can get a clear view to both that would be best. I'm thinking up high or on the water. Right now Castle Island is in the lead which would give me the moon rising over the islands and the town of Hull. The place should be legally accessible after dark, which rules out the Blue Hills and many other reservations. I am a hiker and have no problem with night hiking but I'd prefer to keep it less ambitious. Paved or at least smooth trails would be best. Dark sky doesn't matter. The moon is bright. In fact if I can find somewhere where the moon is over the Boston skyline, that would be pretty cool. I'd prefer a natural location but if the best location is on top of an empty parking garage in Cambridge, let me know. Parking and/or T accessible are a plus. Nothing that requires a boat to get to. I am also kicking around the idea of making this an IRL meetup if there is interest. Somewhere like Castle Island would be good for a pre-sunset picnic. The moon will be full that night and will be at lunar perigee, also known as the "Super Moon", which if you believe the TV news means the Moon will be located approximately 17 miles from the Earth.
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Can you point me to specific stories, either your own or else freely available on the web, of times when someone has really disliked an activity at the beginning and found it very difficult or unnatural, but after working at it for a significant amount of time, finally comes to love and excel at it?
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Looking for tips and tricks to come up with a skin care regimen for myself (31, F, with a beautiful baby). My goal is to get a glowing healthy skin in 3 months. The idea is to inculcate good habits, and hopefully some of them will stick for life. Any suggestions, beautiful men and women? Diet suggestions welcome, work out suggestions welcome, beauty tips welcome... basically all suggestions welcome :) You could also just share your inspiring story and that will keep me motivated enough ;-) Thank you!!
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I constantly have a huge list of things to do in my head and I'd like to get better at organizing/prioritizing them.The thoughts swimming around tend to be: 1) stuff I have to do immediately --work assignments, replying to emails, lunch dates, errands (going to the bank/store) 2) Habits I'd like to work on -- schedule of cleaning, exercise/biking schedule, going to be earlier 3) Maintenance/other appointments-- car, doctors appointments, etc 4) Random stuff I'd like to do -- go to a new museum! go kayaking! try skydiving! 5) art career/project stuff -- networking with people, participating in galleries, doing personal work to develop more of an presence 6) big goal stuff-- date/toward a relationship, save for a house?, travel I think I'm slightly ocd so I generally feel better if I have every little thing written down somewhere (which then allows me to "clear" it out of mental space). The problem is finding a system that would best help me tackle all these things. So far I've been just writing everything down on notes on my iphone--I currently have 284 notes and a lot of them are repetitive, but I just keep creating more notes every time I think of something (even if I've thought of it before). I also keep a physical planner, but I sometimes fall prey to overbooking myself. Usually I'll come up right against a deadline and it'll be easy to decide to devote all my time to that one thing--I won't have time to think about all that other stuff. I become more productive out of necessity, but after it's done I have to regroup. I'd just like to get better at being a responsible, organized adult--I get so caught up in thinking and planning stuff instead of actually doing it. Maybe it's a matter of simplifying and letting go of some stuff, but I don't know. So help me out, mefites! When you have a head full of goals/to-dos/dreams, what do you do to help you prioritize/stay focused? How do you work toward that person you want to be? Any helpful apps/techniques/mantras? I know it's not always possible to boil this down to something simple and everyone is different, but any advice would be appreciated!
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Can you please suggest a blog or resource that will tell me what under-the-radar science fiction movies I should go see?I did not like the new star trek movie. Hollywood will keep making mass-marketed movies as long as I keep going to see them. But I don't know what else to see. I'm hoping for a blog that cares about how hard the science is and how strong the plot is.
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You're a competitive athlete. How did you level up?I'm really passionate about a sport, and am interested in going from rec-league competitive to Way More Competitive. Just the thought of it excites me and terrifies me, which -- if past experience is any guide -- means it's probably a good and rewarding idea. I know I can be self-sabotaging when I make determinations like this. I am hell bent on not heading down that road ever again, and would love to get your help. What I would like to know -- how do you stay driven, when training can be grueling, slow, and requiring all of your heart and patience? When the rewards are obvious and palpable but... quite far away? What are your mechanisms for keeping your head and heart fully in the game? I'm good at the things google tells me (setting small goals, celebrating every little victory) -- I would love to hear the weird, lived, funny, particular things that real athletes do to keep themselves inspired. What happened to make you fully commit? Did you have a "turning point" or definable moment? How did you change your approach to training -- mentally, emotionally, physically? Finally -- was it worth it?
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My wife and two kids (and our two cats) and I may soon need to move from Maryland to Seattle. What's the cheapest way that we can move ourselves and our stuff across the country?We may be moving if I accept a job offer. They are offering some reimbursement of moving expenses, but we would still need to afford it up front. We'd be moving a 3BR house, but I am willing to sell furniture and get rid of as much of my unnecessary crap as possible to make the load lighter. I'm working on convincing my wife and kids to do the same. At the moment, it looks like renting a Penske truck and driving our car across in tandem seems to be the cheapest option. The Penske is only a 3-seater, and we'll have four people, so towing isn't an option, unfortunately. It looks to total around $5K, including gas and tolls for both vehicles, and hotels. If you have any insight into doing something similar, I would be extremely grateful for any alternate suggestions you might have, or any tips on minimizing our expenses.
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I'm looking for sitcoms with three or more children where a middle child was the breakout star.Sitcoms frequently feature families with three kids (or occasionally more). Whether by design or chance, the kid ensemble frequently becomes more of a one-person show. The big star can be the oldest (Family Ties, Diff'rent Strokes) or the youngest (Full House), but rarely the middle child. Can you think of some examples? The only one that comes close that I thought of is Roseanne.
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Microsoft has unveiled their new console, and it wants to dominate your living room. How Xbox One plans to fight Sony, Steam, and everything else.
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New York City dwellers: Do you use Green Mountain Energy for your household power? Why or why not?I see those guys promoting on the street and it seems like a good deal. Have you/do you have it? How does the cost (fixed rate) compare to normal ConEd costs? Do they have good customer service? Are you happy with it? Why or why not? I'm moving into my own place in the city for the first time and I've never been the holder of the electricity account (I paid roommates my portion). Thanks!
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I just got laid off from my job, and I've booked a few freelance gigs here and there and have some ongoing freelance writing stuff as well. Do I need to report this income when I earn it, or when I get paid? (This is in California).Please note: I am not trying to scam CA EDD, I just want to report my claim properly. If you make a mistake, your claim gets stuck in red tape hell, and I would like to avoid that. So, for example: I wrote a short article a few weeks ago, and I have check coming to me hopefully this week or next. I worked on this article before I filed for unemployment - do I need to report the income? Or would I only need to report it if I worked on it during a week that I am claiming unemployment? Another example: Let's say I write an article while I am claiming unemployment. Do I report the wages I earned the week that I wrote it, or do I wait until the check arrives? This is all a labyrinth, and you can never get anyone on the phone. I need the money, though, so I guess it's worth jumping through the hoops. So, good people of Metafilter, please help me avoid getting in trouble.
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We are building a mutant vehicle for burning man. It's a 20 foot diameter UFO that will be 10 feet off the ground. Does anyone have Madrix software experience with pixel mapping?The "belly" of the UFO will be covered in 4000 WS2811 RGB LED pixels. I am using SanDevices e682 Controllers and Madrix to drive the effects. So we are basically building a giant travelling party light that people can dance under. I have the boards built, I have the 4000 lights wired in. What I need is some advice about the layout of the pixels in Madrix. The pixels are 4 inches apart. I have 2 conceptual options for setting it up, layout in a grid of 4" squares, or use a radial pattern like the spokes of a bicycle wheel. If I set up as a grid, it's going to get really complicated on the controller end, but the effects will play more like a giant TV screen... if I go radial it will still be cool and a lot easier to set up, but I'm having trouble wrapping my head around making a round thing in software that doesn't let me visualize it that way. The software is mostly used by VJs and people who are in the Christmas Light subculture, I have posted in several forums without any luck. Hoping for a Metafilter miracle. if you are curious, the build blog is here. Thanks in advance!
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