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What the waltz?

disillusioned — Sun, 27 May 2012 09:21:22 GMT

What waltz is in my head?

I've been greatly enjoying my Chopin Pandora station, and now I have what I think is a Strauss II waltz stuck in my head, but I don't think it's Blue Danube since I've just given that an entire listen to, though I'm really tired and could be wrong...

I don't think it's Vienna Woods either.

I uploaded me whistling the portion that's in my head here. (Think of it as a waltz without me making that clear in my whistling too well. I also think they're close, but I don't know if the two segments I whistle are adjacent in the actual piece.)

Is this Blue Danube and I'm just going insane? It doesn't sound like any of the interludes to me.

It could also be someone other than Strauss, he's just my best guess. I don't think it's a piano arrangement; I feel like it's strings/a similar orchestral arrangement to Blue Danube.

Please. Help. With. Earwig.

Privacy violations in an ER?

xyzzy — Sun, 27 May 2012 08:49:08 GMT

Recently I had to spend a few hours in a psychiatric emergency waiting room where none of the staff seemed to have any consideration for the privacy of the patients being triaged there. Are any of the things I experienced violations of HIPAA or the like, and if so, what, if anything, would you do about them? (Details inside.)

These things happened:

1. The first waiting room was next to the initial triage room where patients were briefly interviewed, had their vitals taken, etc. The glass between these rooms must have been paper thin, because I heard every single thing every patient in there said.

2. While I was being interviewed, the charge nurse was interrupted several times by a subordinate. He asked questions about patients using their first AND last names. At no time during any of my interviews was the door shut.

3. One patient was doing her intake interview in the hallway outside one of the waiting rooms. There were a number of vacant rooms, so it seemed a bit weird to do pre-counseling in the hallway.

4. Another patient had her intake data taken IN the waiting room. Full name, home address, why she was there, where she worked--all right there in the corner while she cried in her pajamas.

Am I weird for thinking this is way over the top? Should I do something about it, and if so, what?

Replacement wheel for luggage

hruntlefoot — Sun, 27 May 2012 08:48:25 GMT

I have a Mandarina Duck trolley case - carry-on luggage for flying - and one of the wheels has broken. I am trying to find a replacement to buy and fit myself, but have had no luck to date. Can anyone please advise or help? Many thanks, Kevin

Showing work in a UX design portfolio without violating NDA's/intellectual property laws

matrushka — Sun, 27 May 2012 08:34:27 GMT

I'm updating my UX design portfolio. I've signed a NDA with my current employer so I can't show work that isn't already live. However, I have a lot of great mockups & wireframes I made either for prospective clients (that we didn't sign) or clients whose sites we haven't made live yet. I designed some amazing mockups for a huge client, but their site won't be live until 2013, and I really want to show my work now. How do I show my work in a way that doesn't violate my NDA?

If I redesign the mockups so the UX and design is entirely my creation and not within my company's standard guidelines, and is not work that I turned in to them as part of my job, is it OK for me to feature this on my web portfolio?

In short, if I feature mockups I made for Prospective Client ABC - but never showed my company or Prospective Client ABC - will I be violating any intellectual property law (or be in violation of my NDA or any other law, yadda yadda) if I put them on my web portfolio? Or would Prospective Client ABC say "HEY WHY IS OUR LOGO ON A MOCKUP ON YOUR SITE AND WHY DID WE NOT SEE THIS BEFORE?" and come after me? Do I black out their logo and any other trademarks?

Just trying to figure ways to show my work that isn't violating any rules.

Thank you.

I'm in the worst non-relationship ever and I don't get myself out.

patientpatient — Sun, 27 May 2012 06:15:45 GMT

I'm addicted. To a person. And much like addictions to other things, I know I need rehab, but I'm not ready to go there. What can I do to manage until I bottom out/finally wake up/he drops me?

If you care to read any of my other posts, yes, it's this same guy.

We've been on and off now four times since we met at the end of November and I'm basically all out of excuses for going back to him.

He doesn't want to be in relationship, even if he did, has doubts about me, we're all wrong for one another, and him being in my life has brought nothing but tears and misery.

My friends are clearly (and justifiably) over it. I can't afford therapy. I'd consider AL Anon, but I'm not really down with the whole 12 step thing.

I've done everything short of telling him to leave me the F alone. Blocked him on all social media, don't initiate contact, have stayed away from places he may be, erased our text threads, took him out of my phone (though I have his # memorized) etc.

I pray he won't get in touch with me or that he meets someone else, as much as that would destroy me. I do believe time heals wounds and know for certain I'll be fine without him. The past couple of weeks were fine, even though it was hard not hearing from him. I knew/believed it was for the best and felt good that I didn't have a weak moment by caving and contacting him. I figured I was on to something when even being drunk wasn't enough for me to go there.

But just a simple "hi" from him via text after that couple of weeks of zero contact and I'm at his beck and call like nothing ever happened.

I'm fairy sure if he suggested I jump off a cliff with him, I'd take his hand and not ask any questions.

I'm lost. I'm sick of myself. I know he's using me, I know it's not going to end well. In some ways, I'm not sure why I'm bothering to write this.

Any thoughts/advice/stories are appreciated.

Best way to fix hole on painted wall?

mooza — Sun, 27 May 2012 04:25:43 GMT

Oh crapsticks! What is the best way to fix a slightly gouged hole on a painted wall?

Like a good renter, I used some of those 3M picture hanging adhesive tabs to hang my mini whiteboard; while removing it, a spot of paint came off on one of the tabs and some undercoating of some sort which crumbled away so now there's a bit of a divvet as well.

What's the best way to fill in the gap and paint over it so that it's fixed? Is there some nifty way to figure out how to match the paint colour (it's creamy beige)? Aw man!

turning a page of links into a playlist

nadawi — Sun, 27 May 2012 04:07:47 GMT

Is there an addon for Firefox or Chrome that will scrape a page (like this one) for Youtube links and then put them all in a playlist?

Help me help my husband put on weight or deal with the way his body is.

kat518 — Sun, 27 May 2012 04:06:06 GMT

My husband has always been skinny. I love his body and everything about him but once in a while, he starts talking about how he wants to work out and gain weight.

There are two issues here: one is a health issue and one is a relationships issue.

The health issue: My husband has always been skinny. The first time I saw him in a pair of shorts, I nearly cried because his legs are so skinny. He's a healthy guy but he's one of those people with a great metabolism. He doesn't work out, he eats whatever he wants, and he's still skinny. I love his body and everything about him but once in a while, he starts talking about how he wants to work out and gain weight.

The relationship problem: When he talks about working out and gaining weight, he talks about joining a gym. I've taken him to a gym before and he just gets bored. My workouts involve yoga and running. He runs with me occasionally but not seriously. Since it's getting hot out, I prefer to run in the mornings but he is not a morning-running person. He's gone to yoga but he doesn't like it. He says that he doesn't like it when people tell him what to do so I feel like that rules out all or most fitness classes. So I don't know what to suggest.

I feel like this is one of those things where we just kind of go around in circles once in a while. I want to be supportive of his interest in gaining weight and working out but he'll say he's interested in joining a gym, I'll say okay, he'll say, no, I mean it this time, I'll say okay, end scene. I've asked him what he wants to do, he doesn't really know. So where do we go from here?

Honey, get a shoe...again.

daisystomper — Sun, 27 May 2012 03:21:39 GMT

Solve for X, where X = number of spider appearances necessary to justify calling an exterminator.

We've been finding a few spiders from time to time in our house since moving in nine months ago, but now that the weather's warm we've found at least one spider a day for the last week.

They've shown up in many parts of the house, but primarily downstairs (the lower level of a split-level house). They are small dark spiders about the size of a nickel.

Neither my SO nor I are fond of spiders, but on the other hand it's not like they're pouring out of the walls Forbidden Forest-style. But as it has come to be a couple spiders a day, and as we have a baby on the verge of learning to crawl, is it worth ponying up the dough for an exterminator? Or is there something else we could do first?

Where can I find these frames?

thineownself — Sun, 27 May 2012 03:18:10 GMT

I am trying to find these glasses: Steve Zahn in Treme. Looked on zenni and a few other sites, but had no success. Thanks for any leads or advice!

Please help me find a psychology winter research scholarship overseas :)

KLF — Sun, 27 May 2012 03:10:59 GMT

I'm an Australian psychology student looking for an undergraduate research program/scholarship overseas (anywhere, but especially UK or USA), any time from October 2012-early 2013. The problem is, my summer is your winter, and I can't seem to find any "winter research programs" via Google.

I complete my Honours year this October, and I will only be officially an undergraduate for another couple of months, so if I undertake one last undergrad research scholarship, it has to be Winter in the Northern Hemisphere, this year!

I am, of course, applying for summer scholarships in Australia, but I thought it would be much more fun to travel somewhere fancy.

What did you do with your molecular biology PhD?

jlibera — Sun, 27 May 2012 03:02:39 GMT

I'm doing a PhD in molecular biology, and I want to get a broader feel for my options when I graduate.

I'm from Europe, but currently studying in Canada, and I'd prefer to work outside the U.S. I enjoy my work (which has a strong evolutionary focus), and have always wanted to go on a career in academia.

But I've also been watching my colleagues moving from postdoc to postdoc into their forties, or struggle miserably to find a more permanent position, and I've seen the funding situation for basic science everywhere go from bad to worse (work in our field is super fun, but has absolutely no short-term applications in the real world). And lately, I've been feeling disenchanted with the general culture of academia - the lack of a life outside the lab (really, academia can feel like a cult at times), the ridiculous little interpersonal dramas, and the fact that so much time at higher levels seems to involve grant-writing or teaching rather than doing science anyway. A final thing that's been bothering me is that I feel as though after the first postdoc at the latest, it becomes a lot harder to change job (i.e. research) directions or countries than it would be outside academia, and I enjoy experiencing life in different countries. What I do still love is learning about the world around me. I'm a huge introvert, but I do appreciate the chance to work with people from many different countries, who are interested in the world at large, and with whom I can share geeky jokes.

So while I'm still looking at postdocs, I'm also looking into jobs in industry; but more importantly, I'm trying to learn more about other, less traditional career paths (science policy, teaching or academic publishing being the obvious ones), particularly ones that would allow me to travel. I've been reading up on anything I can find online, but thought I'd ask MeFi for more personal experiences.

So I'd love to hear from anyone who left academia after getting a PhD in biology, preferably on the molecular side of things. How did you find your new job? What differences did you notice in the overall culture? What about the hours and benefits? Did you actually end up using your PhD for it? Do you regret your decision at all, and why/why not? Did you find that any of the things you disliked about academia turned out to be universal? Did you find it easy or hard to stay in touch with friends from grad school who stayed the academic route?

Indie pop female vocalists

flibbertigibbet — Sun, 27 May 2012 02:46:55 GMT

I'm really liking female indie-pop vocalists right now (Kimba, Florence Welch, Adele, Marina + the Diamonds). Who else should I listen to? Sorry, I hate Kate Bush.

Multilingual Talents

dgaicun — Sun, 27 May 2012 01:48:19 GMT

Multilingual Performers: Name actors/actresses that have acted in at least three different languages, the roles they were in, and (if known to you) if the language-use was fake, broken, fluent, or flawless (without identifiable accent). The most obvious example is Christoph Waltz in Inglorious Basterds: German/flawless; French/(dunno if fluent or flawless); English/flawless; Italian/fake.

Feel free to also name directors that have made movies in at least three languages. (e.g. Roman Polanski: Knife in the Water/Polish; The Tenant/French; Chinatown/English.

Please try to make three the minimum requirement though, not two (which, I'm sure, has many more examples).

Hey, I just met you and this is crazy. No, this is literally crazy.

Anonymous — Sun, 27 May 2012 01:29:49 GMT

I'm hopelessly, desperately clueless at dating. Extensive tl;dr content contained herein. Be gentle, but above all: HALP. Now, watch as I over think my plate of beans.

I'm separated—for almost a year—and soon to be divorced. Not long after getting separated, I began to see someone and it became pretty serious. She was really kind and sweet, but she was several years younger than me (I'm 33) and I could never really get past it. Our lives were just in very different places, and I could detect she not only wanted "more" from what we had but she also, sadly, couldn't really articulate what "more" meant. We broke up about two months ago. I've been on a few dates with someone else, but there's no real spark there. I did OKC (which I found awful), but didn't go on any dates.

Then I was introduced to this person, and—like the cliche—it completely threw me for a loop. I've silently hoped to meet someone like her for years, never thinking I actually would. She's funny, progressive, incredibly intelligent, beautiful—you name it. I am smitten. I guess a lot of this has to do with the fact that I really like this person, so it makes it seem like everything is under a microscope.

We've hung out several times now, and I'm pretty sure these are what you might call "dates"; she works late hours, so we meet up after she works and are routinely out until very late. We talk and talk about everything in the world. And she *laughs*—oh my gods SO much laughing. I have a need to be funny, and she fulfills it tenfold. She compliments me (even though I'm no prize), and there's some touching and lots of eye contact but not so much as a kiss yet (more on that below). Recently we were out until dawn, and never ran out of things to say.

But here's my dilemma. I'm terrified. I'm so worried about fucking this up that I'm almost certain I will. I've been really available and have tried to be Johnny on the spot when it comes to hanging out at all hours. Aren't I supposed to play it cool? We also text and leave each other images on that billion dollar image service, and even though I probably only text her 3-4 times a day (and even then only one day out of the week) I feel like I'm creeping her out, even though that seems ridiculous.

We had made (very tentative, not concrete) plans to hang out last night, and I didn't hear from her. My rational, once-married, father of a 2.5 year old brain knew this was no big deal—but my inner 19 year old was crushed. This morning she texted to apologize, which was totally unnecessary but felt like getting a stay from the governor. There's nothing cool about that.

So, my questions are:

- What in the actual fuck? I mean, really? I'm a grown man. After my marriage (which, courtship included, lasted ten years) I thought I'd never go through this teenage nonsense again. But here I am.

- I've also never made the first move. My ex-wife gave me our first kiss so that we could "get it out of the way"; had she not done it, I'd probably still be trying to figure it out. I have an impulse to hold or kiss this person, but after my marriage I'm sort of stigmatized about it. My wife was not really physically affectionate, and I "unlearned" everything I knew about PDA and how to do it. I'm terrified that I'll get the same eye rolling or strained half smile from this person that I got from my wife. I'm pretty sure I won't, but there's a fear.

- Are there rules about how often to ask her to spend time with me? We spent three consecutive days hanging out last week, and no one asked anyone out; I would get a text that said, basically, "I'm finally out meet me at the place in 20 minutes." (That alone was fucking amazing.) But now I've moved into this thing where I feel like I'm asking her out too often. Is that bad? Is there a rule about this?

- I guess having said all that, should I even be trying this at all? Maybe I would be better served by doing a few years of therapy before I taint another poor soul with my special brand of crazy.

- And most importantly, if this does not turn into a romantic thing how can I avoid creeping her out so thoroughly that we can't be friends? She's so genuinely wonderful and cool that it would be a shame to not be friends just because I'm over eager.

I have more questions, but if I ask them I'll owe you all a co-pay. Any advice you can give about how to take some of the guesswork and terror out of this is much appreciated. Thanks!

Some questions about lighting, indoors and out

DMelanogaster — Sun, 27 May 2012 01:19:28 GMT

Dim bulb regarding electricity seeks illumination.

(1) I want to fill my unused cast iron bathtub with potting medium and put plants in it, OR fill it with water and grow a water lily in there, but I have to add lighting because there is very little natural light in that room.

I don't want to go through the expense and hassle of hanging plant lights from the ceiling. My thought is to hang some fixtures around the shower curtain ring (which is currently not being used), but I need them to be cheap, and able to hold very bright lights (I need the equivalent of about 6 hours of sunlight a day to grow the plants).

I have a half-formed idea about getting some sort of flexible tubing that looks like copper or something and attach cheap fixtures of some kind that would hold plant-friendly bulbs (like the kind used for hypoponics?) but I am not knowlegable to know how to go about doing this. (hence, the question). Also I want this setup to be aesthetically pleasing, if in a strange, half-Victoriana=greenhouse-quasi-steampunked-Little Shop of Horrors sort of way.

Here is a guy who is growing water lilies under a bulb (if you scroll to the last picture on the page). But in the picture you can't see his whole setup. Also, I don't have a fixture on the ceiling directly above my tub; it's to the left several feet. I also have a nice chandelier in that fixture and don't want to remove it. I want to plug the plant lights into an outlet that is much closer to the bathtub (but can't be seen in the photo).

Also I don't want to get electrocuted. I'm looking for advice about what kind of fixture(s) to buy and how to attach them to the shower curtain rod. Or any other ideas.

(2) I can't keep cheap strings of lights (specifically, these) hanging up in my backyard all the time, rain or shine, right?

Well what is good (and not expensive) lighting for a backyard?

Looking for life-organizing software

digdan — Sun, 27 May 2012 00:18:51 GMT

I am looking for software to help organize my life : notes, calendar, to-do lists, links, passwords

I need something that I can use on my home, work, phone, and on the go.

Therapist answers texts during our session

Anonymous — Sun, 27 May 2012 00:11:20 GMT

How much does this therapist suck? Or am I being overly sensitive?

I've been seeing my therapist for a year and during that year I have asked for guidance as far as social skills, food and money issues---mostly I get from her "I give you permission to work on your issues". She is a psychoanalyst. Her phone goes off periodically during our sessions and at one time ( I have let her know that it's not cool to look at her texts prior to this) she said, "Actually I have to respond to this because it's urgent" and dashed off a quick text.

Another time she asked me if I had experimented with drugs and alcohol and I told her that wasn't really an issue for me. She then said, "Yes, food is far more satisfying, isn't it?" That felt disrespectful to me.

So my two parted question is this:
1. What should I be reasonably expecting from therapy?
2. How unprofessional is it for her to leave her phone on?

What's the best situation for my sensitive kid?

biscuits — Sat, 26 May 2012 23:33:40 GMT

My 8 year old daughter is a highly sensitive introvert who needs social skills. What kind of atmosphere or school or activities would benefit her?

My daughter has always been highly sensitive, anxious, emotional, and introverted. She cried a lot as a baby and had a lot of separation anxiety. She has always been more emotional than other kids (cries easily, at most movies), needing a lot of nurturing and closeness. As a preschooler, we had her evaluated for sensory integration. They found that she had poor fine motor and gross motor skills, difficulty with how she perceived her body in space, etc. She did a year of OT and managed kindergarten great.

My daughter goes to a large public school and has been pretty content there. Because the school is large, they mix up the classrooms every year so she has had a different "best friend" every year because she loses touch with the best friend from the previous years. She says she's a "one friend at a time kind of person." She's pretty shy and quiet at school and sometimes won't return other people's hellos, won't join a conversation in line or join a group of kids playing.

The reason I am asking my question is lately she's been asking to switch schools. I have a feeling it has to do with this year's "best friend." Let's call her Suzy. Suzy is alternately nice to my daughter and then will be controlling and negative. She will put her down calling her things "babyish" or "lame, no offense." She'll brag about herself and it irritates my daughter who feels competitive with her. Suzy gets into arguments with other girls on the playground and complains a lot about her "enemies." Even though my daughter complains, she still wants to invite her over to play every week. She's pretty rude when she comes over and I have to set a lot of limits with her. My daughter is scared to break up this friendship because she says "you don't want Suzy as an enemy."

Bottom line is I know my daughter needs better social skills. She seems attracted to girls like this and needs to know how to make better friends. She needs to be able to stand up for herself. We go over the different things she can say in response to rude remarks, how to stand up for herself, what a "good" friendship looks like, how no one can "make you" do anything. We talk about what it feels like to have a good friend, one that makes you feel happy and makes you laugh. All that stuff. I just am at a loss at how to really teach her this stuff.

The question is: I'm wondering if my daughter would benefit from a smaller school? Since it's a large school, they mix things up every year and my daughter is not staying connected. Perhaps a smaller school would be more nurturing and you'd really get to know the kids better? On the other hand she might find another Suzy at a small school too. I could go to administration and say that I want her separated from Suzy next year but there are no guarantees that they will honor this request or that they won't meet on the playground. I've investigated another school nearby with a more alternative philosophy (mixed grades, flexible curriculum, self-directed study) but it's much louder and more chaotic than her current school. I think they study in groups so I like the social part of it, but I'm worried about the noisy atmosphere. My daughter is doing fine academically at her traditional school where the classroom is quiet. We'd be choosing the alternative for the sweeter, community-oriented social aspects.

If the school switch is not the answer, what other activities or things can I put her in that would benefit her? What should I expose her to? We've tried sports and she doesn't seem to like it. Same with karate.

If you have a child like this, what has been good for her/him? Maybe you were a child like this--what was helpful to you?

PS. I don't want to bash Suzy--she's not a bad kid. I think her mom is lovely and Suzy is perhaps affected by a divorce plus needing some social skills herself. It's complicated. Just fyi.

What is this Chief of Staff?

Chrischris — Sat, 26 May 2012 23:28:46 GMT

Joni Mitchell's Harry's House/Centerpiece. A lyrics question.

This lyric:
She is lost in House and Gardens/
He's caught up in Chief of Staff.

What is Chief of Staff? A magazine? A television show?

My google explorations have turned up nothing....

Find a flash game!

daninnj — Sat, 26 May 2012 23:20:50 GMT

Help find this shooting flash game!

There was a flash game that was all the rage in my middle school in the early 2000s. It was on a game site with a black background an the purpose was to use the keyboard arrow keys to go over and light circles on a grid while avoiding being shot at by things moving around the edge of the grid. When you lit all the circles, you won the round.

Can't remember the website or the game name. Anyone?

Finding a full-time gig in Japan while over there, work visa expiring soon?

Kamelot123 — Sat, 26 May 2012 23:03:19 GMT

Looking for work in Japan - Have a work visa that will expire in early August. Details inside.

Hi everyone,

I was an English teacher (ALT) in Japan for two years, and have a Japanese major/English minor. I decided not to stay on for a third year due to some personal/family problems.

Now I will be doing a part-time job over in Japan over in the summer, and after much soul-searching have decided to try for a more permanent position in japan and get my work visa renewed while I am there.

Unfortunately, I do not have much time - The visa will expire on August 2nd. I will be in Japan from June 1st until the visa expiration date, unless I am able to secure another gig. And I know that it takes at least a few weeks to change the visa over.

I have somewhere between JLPT 1-kyuu and 2-kyuu Japanese at the moment (am taking JLPT N1 in July). I can speak, write and read fairly well, in my opinion. If possible I'd like to find a position in which I could use the Japanese I've learned, but I realize that I am running out of time.

I am currently looking on some job sites like careercross, gaijinpot, and a few temp agencies.

Anyone have any experience with anything like this? Any suggestions would be much appreciated!

PS: (I am in the States now, but will be in Japan in a week)

Filling time between speakers while hosting an event

nzydarkxj — Sat, 26 May 2012 22:59:32 GMT

I'm the host/presenter at an event where there will be multiple contestants presenting speeches onstage to a high school-aged audience. What types of things could I say between speakers to fill the time as they set up and judges deliberate? Something interesting/funny to keep the audience interested...

One theme or topic would be good where I could use different examples or talk about different aspects of that theme in short (1-3?) minute intervals between each speaker. If there is a huge technical problem or something I could move on to the next part...

This should be in some way related to speech/language or body language/talking in public/etc.... (this is what the event concerns...) However I would like to avoid things that could directly affect the participants or their speeches. (i.e. I dont want to give tips to grab the audience's attention because I may be spoiling the surprise attention grabbing statement of one of the speakers).

Last year's host for this event used fun facts about speech/language. This was perfect...though we cant use it again.

Games for 75th birthday party

ms_rasclark — Sat, 26 May 2012 22:50:21 GMT

Help me with games/activities for my mom's 75th birthday party. My sisters and I are planning a birthday party for my mom. There will 60 people there, ages 5 - 80. She doesnt want people just standing around bored and would like some games. We are already spending more than we budgeted on food and drink. Please suggest some no cost or extremely low cost entertainment ideas. Two of us will be flying into town a couple days before the party and the other sister who lives in town is also planning a high school graduation party for her son and just added a year old foster child to her brood of six kids so most planning will need to be done remotely. We're having a Fiesta theme so bonus points for taking that into account.

I've wondered where home is. It's when I was in Indianapolis when I was nine years old. Had a dog, a cat, a brother, a sister.

oflinkey — Sat, 26 May 2012 22:16:46 GMT

Inspired by this thread, from which I got Dan Mangan's Basket, and Chocolate Genius' My Mom. I'm composing a playlist as a mediation on my parents, and I wondered what other songs others thought of when they thought of Mom and Dad.

How do I direct my customers' phone calls to the correct location?

Night_owl — Sat, 26 May 2012 22:11:43 GMT

My store has three locations. People often call the wrong location. Is there a low-cost way to transfer or forward a call to the correct location without forcing the customer to hang up and dial a new number?

Factors:
-doesn't require us to change our phone number
-doesn't require a recurring charge (or requires a very low one)

Floatings and boatings!

elizardbits — Sat, 26 May 2012 21:47:02 GMT

Where in the US (ideally east coast) can I go sailing on a full-rigged ship?

I would really like to go for a daylong sailing adventure on a full-rigged ship. Where in the US can I do this? I don't care if it's a replica or not, and I don't care about participating as a crew member (that would be neato, but I have no experience in anything larger than a beetlecat). I definitely do not want any kind of motored yacht - sailing only!

I'd prefer something on the east coast but it's not a big deal as long as it's a domestic flight away. I've seen a bunch of triple masted museum ships at various maritime museums, but from what I can tell, none of them actually take on passengers and sail around for anything other than rare invite-only special occasions.

I guess a special charter would be okay too but man will I feel kind of weird chartering the entire thing just to nerd out over boats by myself, maybe with some poor reluctant non-boaty friend I have coerced into joining me.

BOATS!

Midsomer Murders DVD collection

boby — Sat, 26 May 2012 21:36:02 GMT

Is there any place to buy the Midsomer Murders DVD collection from the start of the series up until the present time?

I've seen various seasons for sale but not the whole collection from the beginning till the current series.

Van Nuys New Wave Manifesto?

ar0n — Sat, 26 May 2012 21:35:55 GMT

What's the Van Nuys New Wave Manifesto referred to in this "Government Center" Jonathan Richman video at 2:41? The Google does nothing.

STAMPED

(Arsenio) Hall and (Warren) Oates — Sat, 26 May 2012 20:52:10 GMT

Somewhat inspired by this thread, I want to order a bunch of funny stamps for friends. Questions. What is a good company to use, what is a "standard size" stamp, anything I should know about fonts, etc.? Also, should I buy an ink pad for everyone, as well, or is just getting the stamps enough?

Where to start with Supernatural?

ellieBOA — Sat, 26 May 2012 20:04:20 GMT

Should I carry on with season 1 of Supernatural or skip to a later season?

So a million tumblr screencaps convinced me to start watching Supernatural, but the first season (fair enough I'm only 2 episodes in) hasn't really grabbed me. Wikipedia tells me that season 4 shines above the first 3, should I jump ahead? Will I miss out on important context to the later seasons? Does season 1 improve?

Down-Tempo Acoustica

Jode — Sat, 26 May 2012 20:02:12 GMT

Seeking recommendations for the s-l-o-w-e-s-t tunes you can think of from the "roots" repertoire of South, Central and North America.

Folkloric music, jazz, blues, gospel, country, salsa, son, beguine, etc. While I lean towards instrumental music, there is no instrument like the voice of a great singer. There are some simmering slow grooves in rhumba. Bill Evans and Mingus both recorded tunes at very slow tempos.
What are the slowest tunes you know: moody, menacing, maudlin, mysterious, mournful?

Help me ship a years' worth of personal effects from Netherlands to Southern California

luciphercolors — Sat, 26 May 2012 19:52:20 GMT

I'm looking for the cheapest options for shipping <20kg of personal effects from Amsterdam, Netherlands to Southern California.

Hi all,

I'm wrapping up a year-long study-abroad and would like to put together a package of stuff to ship home. So far I've found TNT Post, but shipping with them is more than €100. I'm a student who would rather not fork over that much cash for this...

My family was able to send me packages for $60-$70 US, and was hoping I could find something closer to that rate.

I'm particularly interested in shipping by boat, if it's an option. I couldn't find a rate card for PostNL, but UPS NL wants €245 for their cheapest service.

Do you know any alternatives?

Thanks!

What conveys the importance of marriage and/or love in approximately 1-3 minutes?

slide — Sat, 26 May 2012 19:34:08 GMT

Wedding readings filter... I realize this has been asked before, but new members are constantly being added and new material is constantly being generated, plus there's always a bit of individual nuance. In short, I'm looking for an entirely non-religious wedding reading for a humanist ceremony. A few more details inside.

I've been asked to do a brief reading at a good friend's wedding ceremony. No time limit was provided - I'd think one or two pieces that take between 1-3 minutes to read in their entirety would be great.

What I have been told is that it is a humanist ceremony and the reading cannot contain anything religious or even allude to religion or a higher power, etc. One suggestion was excerpts from the Massachusetts Supreme Court's decision in Goodridge (the same-sex marriage decision) about the nature and importance of marriage. I've heard that used at weddings before, and may end up with that, but I've been given license to make other suggestions and I'd like to consider everything and give the couple some options to choose from! And so I turn to you, Metafilter - hit me with some good wedding readings!

I want to read novels like they're visual novels! Without making them visual or anything.

Senza Volto — Sat, 26 May 2012 17:51:19 GMT

The Internet having destroyed my abilities of concentration, I'm looking for anything, preferably a web app, that can help me read large texts, like novels on a sentence-by-sentence basis.

I am not looking for page-by-page, paragraph-by-paragraph or the one-page-a-day-email services.

The inspiration for this idea comes from visual novels, which I've been exploring lately. I really dig the idea of sentences being revealed one by one, and I was wondering if there's an app that does that for any text you give it. The 'scrolling reveal' effect would be preferred, but not necessary.

If you don't know visual novels, think old-timey games, especially old Japanese role-playing games, where you had sentences shown slowly, one at a time.

If you still can't seem to grasp what I mean, watch a video of a visual novel in action.

Please recommend an air conditioner!

aparrish — Sat, 26 May 2012 17:15:15 GMT

I need a recommendation for a window air conditioner unit. Preference: as quiet and energy efficient as possible.

It's difficult to find reliable reviews for air conditioners, for some reason. I'm turning to AskMeFi before I shell out $20 for a subscription to Consumer Reports.

We need something in the 8000-10000 BTU range. We're willing to pay more for a unit that is super efficient (to keep the electricity bill down) and as quiet as possible. (I recognize that it's impossible to buy a silent air conditioner, but I'd like to be able to watch TV without turning the volume up full blast.)

We live on the top floor of a Brooklyn brownstone, and it gets hot up here in the summer. All of the warm air from the rest of the house seems to rise up into our apartment, and I don't think the insulation in the ceiling is all that great. One room has a skylight, which lets the sun shine directly into the apartment—this is almost always awesome, but I suspect that it contributes to the heat problem in the summer. Any other tips for keeping an apartment like this one cool (fans? better insulation on the doors?) would be appreciated.

There is ice on my AC unit.

4ster — Sat, 26 May 2012 17:05:21 GMT

So my air conditioning is not blowing cold air. I go to the basement to check the unit, and there is about a half-inch of ice on the main pipe leading out of the unit. Help.

I know I need to call a professional, but it being a holiday weekend, I'd like to avoid that until Tuesday, if possible. I've shut off the heat pump, but I'm curious as to why this happened, and how, if possible, I can fix it myself.

Leaving the city?

bunderful — Sat, 26 May 2012 16:46:21 GMT

For the past few months I've been strongly considering moving from NYC back to the flyover state I came from, that my parents and extended family live in. I made the initial move to NYC in a matter of weeks (from decision to actual Greyhound bus ticket to temp job). Now I'm older and more cautious.

I'm single. I can't see myself buying a home and settling down in NYC. I'd like to be closer to my parents as they age. I miss the easy access to nature. NYC seems to have me stuck in an extended adolescent phase (I'm edging towards 40). I wonder if it would be easier to find a mate if I weren't in NYC. I stayed in NY for a long time thinking that my career might take off but it hasn't - and it isn't going to. I'm just not very career-oriented. Moving would be a pretty uncomplicated process - just clothes and books and musical instruments. I have friends I care about here but there's no role I fill here that can't be easily replaced by someone else.

There are many things I love about the city but I'm also stressed at being surrounded by noise and people and yet so unconnected. No one hugs here. I miss the hug greeting. I feel almost instantly happier when I get out of the city to open skies and green spaces.

I have this fantasy of having a house (a house! to myself!) sitting on a porch looking at a garden (a garden!) and drinking iced tea and listening to the birds while having meaningful chats with friends and family. Being part of a community. Being there to make a casserole when a cousin has a baby or an aunt breaks a hip. However, most of my friends back home have gotten married and had kids while I was gone. Everything will be different. My first year back I expect to struggle with depression and re-learning to drive.

What questions can I ask myself that will make this decision more clear? What other factors should I consider?

Abusive consultant pushes my buttons

cartoonella — Sat, 26 May 2012 16:26:16 GMT

How do I remove or minimize the menace of an abusive person who makes me see red?

I work in a field where we have consultants come in to help us with fundraising three or four times a year. Our managers have hired a team of two for this purpose.

The guy in this duo is the owner of his consultancy, and the woman is his employee. (I call them Svengali and Mini Me. She's also his girlfriend.) These people are beyond unprofessional. They are both rude, arrogant and contemptuous, and one has been consistently abusive to me personally. My objection to these people isn't so much that they offend me and hurt my feelings - waah! - though that's true. It's mostly that they're a downer for the whole team. When one person gets yelled at, everyone else on the project gets affected. When we're doing fundraising, we all need to be sparkly and on top of our game, since we're asking people for money. These two have a habit of torpedoing morale right at the moment when we all need it most.

My company has gotten roped into two more fund drives with these people. I realized, last time the dude yelled at me, that I wasn't going to be able to work with him individually any more. It's kind of a long story how this works - so let me try to condense. I work in radio. Our on-air membership appeals happen every few months. Most of the time I don't have to deal with Svengali, which is great. But he's in the control room with me when I'm on the air during my show, on the occasion of these drives.

So I don't mind consultants being in my space with me during the fundrdaising, but I do mind being snapped at and put off balance when I'm trying to stay professional on the air. Last time he yelled at me, I almost took his head off.

Another problem is his favortism - he picks one person he likes and addresses all his instructions to them. He refuses to make eye contact with me, unless he's yelling at me. He also tells long stories about "the time I met Alec Baldwin," etc. At one point in our last drive I had less than two minutes to go on the air. Svengali pushes his laptop across my body and shoves it in the face of my co-pitcher, and makes the poor guy watch a video clip of Svengali's eleven-year old daughter playing the drums and singing during her talent show. This is while we're getting ready to go on the air in a few seconds. It's just incredible. He's a radio consultant who doesn't get radio at all, and that's part of why he drives us all nuts.

I'm a pretty tolerant person, known for being able to get along with everyone at work. And I stay professional. I've never made a big on-air mistake - never sworn when my mic was on, said anything racist or offensive. I'm good at my job and I don't screw up.

But I'm to the point where I'm worried about what might happen - I can't trust myself with this person. I don't know or care what his issues are. I think he's a sexist bastard who treats women like they don't exist, and it's clear he has nothing but contempt for my work. It's all unpleasant, but the only part of this that really matters is that he's destroying the team's morale just at the moment when we really have to soar for the station. The guy is just dangerous.

My question/problem - I need to find a tactful and effective way of describing what I'm going through to my immediate manager. Management is aware of the personality issues around Svengali, but their mantra is: "He gets results." Honestly, we don't know that - we've never done a membership drive without him, so there's no basis of comparison.

How do I approach this with my manager? One difficulty is that they tend to shoot the messenger where I work. So I need to present the issue so as to persuade them that they should help ME out, because I'm their employee and they care about me (I'm not sure how true this is). That is, it would be very easy for them to perceive me as an entitled whiner around this issue. Their first instinct will be to defend the consultant, because they tend to defend the status quo (it's just easier for them, and they identify and side with power-trippers). I need to overcome their resistance on this one - and I need to ensure that I don't get stuck working with the evil asshat again, without coming off like a whining diva. So your suggestions for phrasing the issue effectively would be welcome.

One thing in my favor - the boss has witnessed at least one of Svengali's outbursts to me, so he knows it happens. (He never mentioned it because he avoids confrontation, and has never gone to bat for me on any issue since I've worked there.)

I would also be interested in finding out what other people have done when they've had to deal with abusive people in the workplace. Have you ever just gone off on someone? What was the result? Did life get better as a result? Did you get your hand slapped? Did you get fired, or did your status and professionalism suffer?

Mastering ramen.

graphtheory — Sat, 26 May 2012 16:23:14 GMT

Find me a month-long cooking class in Japan.

I want to travel to Japan for a month. Instead of the usual tourist wandering, I'd like to focus on developing a new skill. Namely, cooking.

Is anyone familiar with cooking classes somewhere in Japan? I'd be ok with a month-long deep exploration of just ramen, or something with a little more variety. Timing is flexible. And language... well, English would help. If there's a great non-english option I might be able to make that work too.

Thanks.

Where should we have our family reunion?

linettasky — Sat, 26 May 2012 15:46:21 GMT

Where should we hold our family reunion?

My family has a somewhat unusual situation. My grandmother was one of eight children, all of whom married and had their own (sometimes large) families. Every other year for about the last fifty, we've gathered together for a reunion. We've been meeting at a church camp in southern Idaho that my great-grandfather helped found, but that situation isn't going to work for much longer. The central reunion-attending population is aging, and the camp is becoming less comfortable for that group. The next reunion (in 2013) will be there, but we need to find someplace new by 2015.

Here's the stuff we'd like to keep about the current situation, and some relevant info:
- Three-day event
- Attendance averages about 80, with about 60 staying onsite and 20 coming for single days.
- We've generally made all our own food.
- The campsite allows for a variety of activities -- people talk, play cards and board games, go fishing, hike, golf, cook together, knit, make music, chase babies, dance, share pictures, paint watercolors, etc.
- Central meeting space. We like that families sleep in their own separate spaces, but everyone can gather in one space for meals and activities.
- Cheap! People generally spend <$100/person for the entire three days (not including travel costs). We recognize that this is outrageously inexpensive, but keeping costs down as much as possible is important.

Here's the stuff we'd like to change, most of which is to accommodate an aging population:
- The camp is remote -- a few miles up an unpaved road, an hour's drive away from the nearest town with hospital, zero cell phone service, etc. (People are divided on whether that last one is a plus or a minus.)
- Sleeping spaces are concrete-floored cabins with plywood bunk beds and foam mattresses. Some folks tent-camp or sleep in RVs.
- There's one central bathroom facility, which even some of the younger older people find difficult to navigate to in the middle of the night when the generator's off.
- Accessibility is generally poor -- some wheelchair or walker-bound family members are obligated not to attend because they simply can't get around.

We are aware that many families simply hold their reunions in one day in hotel ballrooms or parks or whatever. But we (mostly) LIKE spending several days in each others' company, and those of us involved in more organizational roles are concerned that people won't travel for a one-day event.

There is a small amount of money (four figures, I think) set aside for deposits and major expenses -- in the past, we've been able to do things for the camp like build a new front porch on the lodge (with ramp), add ramps to the bathroom entrances, and buy a new generator.

We are interested in moving the event geographically -- Oregon is much more central than Idaho at this point, so we're looking in that direction. But we're totally lost about ideas! Few of us have the kinds of connections to church or community facilities that the oldest generation had.

Lend me your ideas, O Wise AskMe. Where in Oregon or the PNW can we get ~75 people together for three days on the cheap with a good deal of accessibility?

How do I take this from my browser into real life?

bumpjump — Sat, 26 May 2012 15:27:53 GMT

I'm having a ridiculously fun time playing with Audiotool and am learning a ton about desktop production. Where do I go from here?

It's been about a month since I started using Audiotool (a flash-based DAW) and I think I'm ready to dive into music production outside of my web browser. What gear do I need to start making hip hop beats and house/electro music? Caveat: I'm a PC user so I'm pretty sure Logic is out of the question.

Can this deny me unemployment insurances? Is the company being sneaky?

Wazooga — Sat, 26 May 2012 15:24:19 GMT

May be let go for sales performance, company wrote "general misconduct for not achieving monthly target"...is this a play on words to deny me unemployment insurance?

I have worked for 8 months at my present position, which is a high stress sales environment, but cannot keep up with my sales targets and have been placed on probation.

The manager explained stated there's concern over my figures not being a certain standard over the last few months. He explained that he believe its because I am not passionate about my position but feels I can turn this around if I choose. However, then he contracted himself and stated that it's not about my sales figures (that I'm on probation) but rather that I do not have passion for the job and they are concerned over the long term. He ended it off by telling me, that he leaves it up to me to decide and based on how I act that will show them what I decided.

My concern is that the company is trying to spin this around and deny me unemployment benefits (State of New York) by making it seem that I chose to not work there based on how I acted; thereby, denying my claim.

First of all, I work hard during my normal hours of operation 830-530 and put in maximum effort, but I do not stay overtime like everyone else, even when my figures are falling behind. I do not have any benefits, nor do I get paid for overtime, so I do not feel a compulsion to do this (this is why they think I do not care). My performance, in terms of number of opportunities opened a day, is measurable through SalesForce and shows my effort along.

Does the community think they can deny me claims over this? Should I speak to HR and have my letter of probation rephrased from conduct to performance (even if the letter already contradicts itself) Or is that event already because of the reason it gave "not achieving monthly target"

P.S. I have recorded this conversation with my boss.

Hot, Summer Beef....Stew?

LN — Sat, 26 May 2012 15:05:49 GMT

Recipes using stewing beef for hot summer days?

When bonehead and I were married, my overly-generous sister and brother in law gave us a cow. Not a live one. Cut and wrapped in butcher paper. This all went in the freezer in the basement. Over the past two years we have been working down the inordinate number of packages of hamburger, roasts, etc. But there is something like 50 lbs of stewing beef still to use.

This wouldn't be a problem, except the hot weather is here and stews just seem kind of...ech. Does anybody have ideas for recipes that use stewing beef, that would be good for hot summer weather? Or recipes that could be adapted to use stewing beef? What about beef satay or something, if the beef were sliced across the grain?

Bear in mind the packages are frozen, and the cubed beef is about 1 1/2 to 2 inches square.

P.S.: did you know? One cow, cut and wrapped is 14 cubic feet. This I know from stuffing a freezer.

Broken Temporary Crown?

besonders — Sat, 26 May 2012 13:26:02 GMT

Temporary crown on back molar fell off in two pieces, won't stay on with dental cement. I have the appointment to get the permanent put on on Tuesday--what do I do between now and then to minimize the chance of having to go through the whole process again?

Can I leave the crown off and only consume liquids? This isn't a root canaled tooth, but it doesn't feel particularly sensitive. It does hurt when I try to put the crown back on. I can't call my dentist because they're out of the office, and I'm anxious about going to any other dentist because I *do* have the permanent crown appointment for Tuesday.

Finding a tall blonde hunk in Dublin

omnigut — Sat, 26 May 2012 12:13:02 GMT

Handcuffing the groom to a midget on his stag do is an immoral and degrading tradition. So, we want to find a gorgeous, very tall, blonde Atlas of a hunk to handcuff him to, in Dublin. Where should I look? Modelling agencies? Dating website?

Aquatic subterranean polar bear

arha — Sat, 26 May 2012 10:56:10 GMT

I read an odd (and very stupid) novel around 1997. Please verify that this book exists and wasn't a product of my young addled mind.

The protagonist was a middle aged man with an ailing marriage. In an unlikely sequence of events he was targeted by an unlikely group of satanist (?) bikers (?) for human sacrifice. As an equally unlikely result he ends up trapped in a underground cavern and forced to survive there for months. Subterranean aquatic polar bears are involved. The end of the novel has him reconciled with his nasty wife who is cured of her nastiness by his survival and aquatic bear manliness skills.

I swear I am not making this crap up and I have tried to google it to no avail. I admit that my brain may have embellished it. I vaguely remember a reference to"The World According to Garp" on the dust jacket, but neither John Irving or Steve Tesich seem remotely responsible. I do have a habit of conflating John Irving with John Updike so my memory is definitely suspect.

hot coffee

compound eye — Sat, 26 May 2012 10:34:51 GMT

does this mug have uranium glaze?