(1) You can combine the "T-Shirt Signup List" with the giveways. Just go with greenland's ratio above, keep a list for anyone who wants XS or XL (or for when a size runs out), and let them pick the T-Shirt up in a week or so.

(2) Have them sign up by email, rather than writing names on a list. Advertise the email address on noticeboards. Include a closing date on the advertising posters.
posted to Ask Metafilter by aeschenkarnos at 5:59 PM on July 24, 2008

Give, or sell it, to someone who has an otherwise-functional laptop with a busted HDD.
posted to Ask Metafilter by aeschenkarnos at 5:46 PM on July 24, 2008

It's technically possible, but if it leads to the telecoms getting less money out of you, don't bet on it happening. If you just want to get all calls to your mobile, you can redirect it, but you'll have to pay for both.
posted to Ask Metafilter by aeschenkarnos at 8:06 PM on July 23, 2008

What about male/female representation, interaction, marketing etc in online auction sites, eg "ebay businesses"? My guess is these would be no easier/harder for a woman or man to run per se (gender obscuration for marketing/privacy purposes is a question in itself), but given that childcare, aged care and "home duties" responsibilities fall more often on women, and as a result, women are proportionately under-represented in full-time employment, my guess... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by aeschenkarnos at 5:01 PM on July 23, 2008

Alternatively, consider AskMetaFilter. Whether the question/answer system constitutes "economics" is between you and your thesis advisor, but I'm sure there'd be interesting data in the types of questions, the tyes and frequency of answers, etc as analysed for gender difference.

Is a male or female questioner more likely to be advised to DTMFA? Do male or female answerers empathise with or criticize questioners more? Do male or female questioners ask more... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by aeschenkarnos at 5:07 PM on July 23, 2008

Even more so, Perdido Street Station, The Scar, and Iron Council by China Mieville.
posted to Ask Metafilter by aeschenkarnos at 4:50 PM on July 23, 2008

While rent has skyrocketed over the last few years, cleaning costs haven't risen as much. My suspicion would be that the cleaners are wanting some of the action, and (as is often the case) are giving real estate agents and landlords "incentives" to require frequent cleaning as done by specific firms. Cui bono?
posted to Ask Metafilter by aeschenkarnos at 4:49 PM on July 23, 2008

Very good advice here, and I have little to add except seconding most of it (especially, reading Word Freak by Stefan Fatsis, and everything ten pounds of inertia said). One minor point: you already know over 90% of the two-letter and three-letter words. So you don't need to bother memorizing the ones you know, providing you can avoid Effigy2000's friend's mistake of thinking of "Scrabble words" as a separate class of thing from the words you... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by aeschenkarnos at 1:13 AM on July 21, 2008

Oh! On the subject of "not allowing yourself to be rushed", unfortunately for some reason the Scrabble online sites are primarily populated by persons indistinguishable from hyperactive schoolchildren, who like TEN MINUTE GAMES and will constantly nag you to "hurry up".

This elevates luck over strategy. Depending on your personality and skills, this may be fun for you, or it may be extraordinarily annoying; in either case, it is not... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by aeschenkarnos at 1:19 AM on July 21, 2008

10lb You'd hate to play me in real life; I am notorious locally for playing very quickly. Using the standard 25-minute timer, I rarely use more than eight minutes and

Actually, I'd love to play you, because:

my club and tourney average score is 380.

which implies you (since my own average score is about 360) can give me a serious challenge from which I can actually... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by aeschenkarnos at 3:27 PM on July 22, 2008

so should plural forms be allowed if you're playing Scrabble with a regular dictionary?

IMO, no. No word not specifically appearing in the dictionary of record (although appearances in the definitional sections of other words count) should be allowed. Again, this is to enhance the bluff element.
posted to Ask Metafilter by aeschenkarnos at 3:29 PM on July 22, 2008

ditch scrabulous (not even a proper scrabble dictionary last I played

Minor quibble: as far as I can tell Scrabulous uses the unexpurgated SOWPODS (it allowed me LEZ recently), which is a perfectly proper Scrabble dictionary.
posted to Ask Metafilter by aeschenkarnos at 1:48 AM on July 23, 2008

What others said. If you like her as a friend, be her friend, but do date other people.

Also, she may be judging you by your friend (her ex) and your other friend (her jackass rebound guy). Which isn't unreasonable. Distinguish yourself.
posted to Ask Metafilter by aeschenkarnos at 8:34 PM on July 22, 2008

Toni Childs - "I've Got to Go Now"

(A ringtone? Who the heck wants a ringtone of that song? Unless it's an individual ringtone for the ex's number ...)
posted to Ask Metafilter by aeschenkarnos at 7:47 PM on July 22, 2008

(I have a friend who got his last job because he met someone playing World of Warcraft. I'm not saying that's what you need to do, but I think it's that sort of thing that's the key.)

This is networking. Not specifically the WoW thing, but asking friends about work. Do it. Jobs are far easier to get through friends, with an implicit or explicit endorsement from the friend, than through strangers. Advertisement of jobs to the public is often nothing... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by aeschenkarnos at 1:22 AM on July 21, 2008

I have someone like that. I think many people do. Thinking about calling her is generally an indication, for me, that things aren't going well in my life. So I take it as a sign to go and do something else, preferably something social, with friends.
posted to Ask Metafilter by aeschenkarnos at 12:59 AM on July 21, 2008

Not at all. It's the same as with Darkman: dipped in a vat of handwavium, he gains the power to ignore his horrible injury!

This is a far more realistic take on the character. So's this (Aaron Eckhart) and this. Those three could speak and eat and have relatively near-normal facial expression function.

IMO they went way too far with Two-Face's injuries, and he would have died of them, as depicted. I'd have... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by aeschenkarnos at 12:55 AM on July 20, 2008

Deeply unenviable, to say the least.

Your writing, the way you put the things you've said, indicates that you have a deep concern for her feelings and her welfare. That's the real point of love. You might say you don't love her, but what you say suggests otherwise. I think you have no idea how to get the message to her because, as you say, you're deeply out of practice at putting across contrary ideas to her. You've never insisted.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by aeschenkarnos at 12:32 AM on July 20, 2008

Fortunately, your actors probably have dealt with this before. Talk to them. :)

Your job is to make it look real (or how we think reality ought to be). This may require the actors to be able to portray intimate and loving familiarity with each other in one scene, furtive guilt in another scene, coercing and being coerced in another scene. As you well know, in every scene they are in they have to simultaneously (a) be totally aware of... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by aeschenkarnos at 12:06 AM on July 20, 2008

One more thing:

but I really want to make sure I cover all the bases and be as obliging and high-class as possible

sounds like you're on the right track already.
posted to Ask Metafilter by aeschenkarnos at 12:07 AM on July 20, 2008

George Clooney, during Syriana. He said (paraphrased): "Everyone has a year in their life during which they age ten years. This was mine."
posted to Ask Metafilter by aeschenkarnos at 6:54 PM on July 15, 2008

I know you've already picked a favorite answer, but a great little story on this exact topic is Bruce Stirling's "Maneki Neko".
posted to Ask Metafilter by aeschenkarnos at 9:23 PM on July 14, 2008

Also GPS (does it have GPS?). My Nokia 6110 Navigator will run itself out of charge in about four hours in my pocket, if I forget to turn off the GPS function before putting it away.
posted to Ask Metafilter by aeschenkarnos at 9:17 PM on July 14, 2008

That exact image is extremely familiar for some reason. I think it's from a famous painting. The art style looks like Dali or Bosch ... any art historians around?
posted to Ask Metafilter by aeschenkarnos at 9:14 PM on July 14, 2008

Whether it's legal or not, it's not a good idea. Change to the outermost lane first. You don't want to start doing this, and have the person outermost from you decide they want to do it too.
posted to Ask Metafilter by aeschenkarnos at 10:20 PM on July 13, 2008

Seems to me the people in the best position to explain what cement processing and testing equipment is and does, is your client. Can you have the agency send back "the translator wants to speak to (and meet) your experts to improve the quality of the translation" or something to that effect?

I don't know much about the translating business, but it seems reasonable to me that the translator ought to be able to have some access to the author(s) of the documents... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by aeschenkarnos at 9:04 PM on July 13, 2008

If you meant it in a way analogous to "what are the dimensions of the tower case of my computer", it's not strictly speaking a measurable quantity. "The Universe" is everything that is. To measure my computer requires that there is something above, below, left, right, in front and behind it. This is not true of the Universe.

Further discussion on what the expanding Universe is expanding into here; further interesting cosmology stuff here.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by aeschenkarnos at 8:06 AM on July 12, 2008

Definitely get better locks. The easiest way to dogproof a door is to get a lock that has no turning handle and requires a key from both sides.

There's another possibility no-one seems to have considered, ie the reason the dog peed on the floor may be the same reason he escaped the apartment: to pee. He may have been trained by your friend or his previous owner to pee outside. I don't know what arrangements your friend has made for the dog to pee while inside the... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by aeschenkarnos at 7:53 AM on July 12, 2008

Like davejay said, work out while she plays music. Alternatively, if you have a lockup garage, put your gym stuff in the garage, and move your car when you want to work out.
posted to Ask Metafilter by aeschenkarnos at 6:58 AM on July 12, 2008

If you're going to be using it 90% of the time as your home computer, in one place, consider getting a dock with a separate monitor, keyboard and mouse for it. This lets you keep the power adapter, USB hub etc in the laptop bag.
posted to Ask Metafilter by aeschenkarnos at 10:06 PM on July 10, 2008

If you intend to give a clear signal that you find him sexually attractive (as in the early stages of a relationship), for sure, do that. :) Otherwise, a simple "thank you" and smile is enough.
posted to Ask Metafilter by aeschenkarnos at 10:31 PM on July 9, 2008

Generally speaking you can't remove things from the Internet that have proliferated to several sources. If you're curious, get eMule and look for your band name.

Also, even though your style has now changed, your old style was what it was. If your style has changed so much that you wouldn't want to be associated with it (eg, used to play Gospel country rock, now play hardcore anarchist punk with techno influences), why not consider changing your band's name?
posted to Ask Metafilter by aeschenkarnos at 9:17 PM on July 9, 2008

Wear a cap under it. :)
posted to Ask Metafilter by aeschenkarnos at 8:41 PM on July 9, 2008

When I have my symptoms, caffeine seems to make them worse (especially mental fog). Alcohol, oddly, seems to make them better.

That's highly relevant, and should be mentioned to the endocrinologist. Also try eating meals consisting mostly of one type of food (bread, potatoes, pasta, fruit, meat, etc) and note how you feel an hour or two later, if there's any difference. Do the same with drink if you can, specifically milk, fruit juices, and sugary... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by aeschenkarnos at 7:03 PM on July 8, 2008

If you're worried about your privacy, just solve the problem outright: get a PO Box, pay to have your mail forwarded to it for at least six months, gradually replace your address on all your important correspondence with the PO Box address, tell your friends and put it up on your Facebook etc, print up some "RETURN TO SENDER - LEFT ADDRESS, PLEASE REMOVE FROM MAILING LIST" stickers, and slap 'em on all junk mail, credit card offers, etc. Treat it as a change of address without actually... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by aeschenkarnos at 11:58 AM on July 4, 2008

Has nobody suggested renting a post office box? They're fairly cheap.
Oddly enough, yes. :)
posted to Ask Metafilter by aeschenkarnos at 9:38 PM on July 6, 2008

Some specific on-point info (found by googling immigration domestic violence London):

"an application may be made as soon as it is relevant to the Home Office asking for indefinite leave to remain to be granted to person who is the victim of domestic violence during their limited (probationary) leave to enter or remain in the UK as the spouse or unmarried partner of a person present and settled here, and domestic violence was the reason for the marriage or... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by aeschenkarnos at 8:23 PM on July 6, 2008

"Getting him to confirm it" might actually amount to "rubbing his face in it", which might in itself amount to both a rejection from you, and an embarrassment to her. I would advise against this, and against even discussing it as an idea with her, let alone with him. Human pride is a complex thing.

There are reasonable arguments both ways on this, but in the absence of knowing anything about the specific people involved, chances are the husband is... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by aeschenkarnos at 12:19 PM on July 4, 2008

Me too. Oddly enough I have less trouble barefoot. When I wear shoes (which is actually most of the time, when I'm not in my house), I wear boots that go up above the ankle, rather than shoes. You could try this, but it may potential make your ankles even weaker.
posted to Ask Metafilter by aeschenkarnos at 11:53 AM on July 4, 2008

Masha Tyelna has been a huge success story because of her one in a million looks.
Wow, weird (just off "syndrome" weird), and IMO, very attractive.

Firstly, it's a pure probabilistic question. P(A) > P(A AND B). P(looks like a model) > P(looks like a model AND is a model). Secondly, modelling is generally a part-time, or second, job, because for most models, there isn't enough work to get by.

Going... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by aeschenkarnos at 2:46 AM on June 30, 2008 marked best answer

This sounds like "fear aggression", if you want a good search term to look up.

Feliway worked very well for my brother's fear-aggressive cat, at least to get her used to me, while I was catsitting her. I'm not so sure how well it will work for generalized fear of everyone, but my advice for application would be: about an hour before you expect the visitors, get the Feliway out, put it in the applicator in a socket in a... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by aeschenkarnos at 1:43 AM on June 30, 2008

It's all a matter of levels. Firstly, the individual believer doesn't decide anything one way or another about passages he or she hasn't actually read. The Bible is a big book; most highly-educated and well-read unbelievers, ie the kind who post here, whatever their attitude to the religion, assume it is read in its entirety by believers. It really isn't. Nor are passages memorized by believers. Biblical memorization is a remote-fringe practice in contemporary Christianity.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by aeschenkarnos at 3:05 AM on June 25, 2008

She should book into the youth hostel for a couple weeks, and while there, look around the colleges etc for accommodation ads. Even if she doesn't read the language, it should be pretty easy to figure out what "ROOM FOR RENT, $80/WEEK, NO BOND" is in Belgian.
posted to Ask Metafilter by aeschenkarnos at 2:10 AM on June 25, 2008

AFAIK Windows XP doesn't ask for a CD key during repair. Borrow a friend's XP disk and run through the repair process.
posted to Ask Metafilter by aeschenkarnos at 2:06 AM on June 25, 2008

On behalf of MetaFilter, I give you permission to put in applications for temp agencies and for every job that even vaguely interests you (especially jobs you can walk or take a bus to), to use up your sick leave attending interviews, and to print out your resume a few dozen times on the work printer.

glad to be doing a job where I could finally help people in a more significant way than just helping them buy new clothes.
Outside of some... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by aeschenkarnos at 1:59 AM on June 25, 2008 marked best answer

Make a throwaway email and join the site as another older woman. Write to this guy. String him along. Ask him questions. Respond to his sob story with, "Aw, that's terrible. As it so happens I haven't got much cash right now, but as of next week, my car insurance check comes through and I'll have $10,504 to spend, isn't that great? I'm sure I can spare a grand or so for you, sweetie." Then start the delay cycle. "This really got my goat last week, the insurer rang me up and said... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by aeschenkarnos at 9:44 PM on June 19, 2008

Those are exactly like Noah Bennett of Heroes wears: horn-rimmed glasses. Try second-hand stores attached to churches, they often get a lot of deceased-estate stuff.
posted to Ask Metafilter by aeschenkarnos at 9:30 PM on June 19, 2008

Running around with your kid is ideal exercise. Failing that, jogging is free. Go with a group, it's safer, more fun, and you'll make new friends who will like you and make you feel better about yourself. Also, yoga is great for a long list of reasons, and very cheap as exercise goes. No equipment is required beyond maybe a mat and maybe a wooden block or large book to help with stretches, and sweat pants and T-shirt that you already own.

We have a tendency to become... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by aeschenkarnos at 9:24 PM on June 19, 2008

What TedW said. Use social pressure through parents rather than bothering with lawyers who are (a) expensive; (b) don't, in the final analysis really give a damn about you, the flatmate, or the house, it's just a job to them; (c) are generally considered to be serious escalation of a situation.

Ring your folks. Ask for the name and number of her folks. Ring them. Tell them "Jenny's gone nuts. I'm sorry, but I have to get her out of my house. She owes me about $1000... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by aeschenkarnos at 11:37 PM on June 18, 2008 marked best answer

I remember when I first saw pornography it opened up a whole new world of experience and excitement for me. Nowadays most of it for me is just like pleasant oggling of the bikini-clad page three girl in newspapers in days gone by. What's going on?

You may just possibly be getting older, and have had more real sex. Just a theory. :)
posted to Ask Metafilter by aeschenkarnos at 11:21 PM on June 18, 2008