Are you learning MySQL at the same time too, or are you already versed? I picked up both PHP and MySQL at the same time, and O'Reilly's Web Database Applications with PHP and MySQL was invaluable as a starting point. The PHP.net references did everything else.
posted to Ask Metafilter by DrJohnEvans at 9:02 AM on August 22, 2008

You should be fine on the 10th floor, especially at that price. It's highly unlikely that there will be regular construction on Saturdays. Besides, you're right across from people in the Manulife Centre who (a) are closer to the construction, and (b) are paying a LOT more than you, so their noise complaints will be fast and frequent, and should keep the builders in line.

I've never been inside the buildings (although they look a little dingy from the outside), but it... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by DrJohnEvans at 9:55 AM on July 22, 2008

In the old photo, the office tower to the immediate left of the smokestack is One Yonge Street. It's not visible in the new photo.
posted to Ask Metafilter by DrJohnEvans at 1:37 PM on June 2, 2008

Sorry kids, out-of-town wedding. Not mine, but still.
posted to MetaTalk by DrJohnEvans at 7:09 PM on May 2, 2008

Dude! We just got a breadmaker too and had the same problem. Turns out that the little measuring cup actually holds a cup and a half, not just a cup like we thought, so we were using too much flour. This may be too simplistic a solution for your needs, though. Good luck!
posted to Ask Metafilter by DrJohnEvans at 9:37 AM on April 6, 2008

Montreal seems to have no shortage of what you're looking for. I stayed at Manoir Ambrose a couple of years ago. It's more sterile than funky, but still pretty classy, and a good deal in a great location (just west of the McGill campus). It's probably worth putting on your list in case the funkier options don't work out.

I can't tell you much about Toronto hotels because of the ol' I-live-here syndrome. Good luck!
posted to Ask Metafilter by DrJohnEvans at 6:57 AM on February 25, 2008

Right around the corner is the Red Room, on Spadina just south of College, west of the street. Maybe a little crowded and student-y but with a funky atmosphere that will definitely appeal to Montreal expats.
posted to Ask Metafilter by DrJohnEvans at 3:46 PM on September 15, 2007 marked best answer

- Where to live? What to pay for it?

If she's working downtown, and if you're only staying for a year, you should definitely live downtown. It's the best way to experience the best parts of the city.

Take an hour or two to browse the Toronto Neighbourhoods map, especially the downtown maps, to get a feel for what kind of area suits you. Then check out the craigslist Toronto Rentals to get a feel for prices. (Wikipedia also... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by DrJohnEvans at 10:13 AM on August 20, 2007

Just FYI, TD Canada Trust not only will not count change (at least, for personal accounts), but will charge you a percentage for each roll of coin you bring in over six or eight rolls. Something like that. I was astonished.

I suspect this is probably a branch-level policy. I've brought in rolled coin to TD+CT before (Church and Wellesley branch) and never had any such charge.
posted to Ask Metafilter by DrJohnEvans at 9:44 PM on August 14, 2007

Closest thing I can think of is the Man With a Tape Recorder Up His Nose. If there's a closer match, it's probably too obscure (i.e. not a Flying Circus sketch, but from one of the live performances or German shows) to be worth worrying about.
posted to Ask Metafilter by DrJohnEvans at 5:22 PM on June 13, 2007

The song was used in "The Meaning of Life" film, but it was just in the background. I don't recall it coming from anyone's orifices.

Obviously the orifice was off-camera.
posted to Ask Metafilter by DrJohnEvans at 10:07 AM on June 14, 2007

Johnny G's. They have the sign in the window and everything.
posted to Ask Metafilter by DrJohnEvans at 6:07 PM on June 4, 2007

Don't fold over the corner of the page to mark your place. Use a bookmark.

Other than that, you'll be fine.
posted to Ask Metafilter by DrJohnEvans at 8:25 PM on May 25, 2007

Saturday morning would definitely be best. The 401 might be a little busy, but the 407 should be fine.
posted to Ask Metafilter by DrJohnEvans at 9:41 AM on May 16, 2007

Not that anyone's counting, but I use Google Reader with the Next 187; bookmarklet, so I can actually, you know, visit the sites.
posted to Ask Metafilter by DrJohnEvans at 10:41 PM on May 11, 2007

Oh live preview, how you scorn me.
posted to Ask Metafilter by DrJohnEvans at 10:42 PM on May 11, 2007

Yeah, Regent Park. I wouldn't go there for fun on a Friday night, but I wouldn't panic and call the cops if I found myself there unexpectedly.
posted to Ask Metafilter by DrJohnEvans at 11:11 AM on April 25, 2007

Ya, I don't think it makes that much difference.. Toronto just doesn't have the university atmosphere that Montreal manages to generate.

I don't think that's accurate at all. Living with your parents makes all the difference. It is ridiculously easy to be a social undergraduate at U of T: either you're in Arts & Sciences and socialize with your college, or you're in a ProFac and you socialize with your faculty and program. Either way, you meet... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by DrJohnEvans at 5:55 PM on April 12, 2007

Warning: site uses pop-ups to display pictures.

[via Veer]
posted to MetaFilter by DrJohnEvans at 11:00 AM on February 8, 2007

I ran into this same problem last week: I have a pile of work-related books to get through, but no allocated time to read them. If I do find a half hour here or there to read a bit, I find my information retention rate is so terrible as to make the bother not worth it.

I love reading and literature in general (the non–computer-science half of my degree was English), but yeah, being self-employed, putting aside an afternoon for a book seems frustratingly... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by DrJohnEvans at 7:56 AM on January 4, 2007

Play Ultimate.
posted to Ask Metafilter by DrJohnEvans at 4:24 PM on December 21, 2006

SportsFilter?
posted to MetaTalk by DrJohnEvans at 7:46 PM on December 13, 2006

Squidoo?
posted to Ask Metafilter by DrJohnEvans at 11:14 AM on December 12, 2006 marked best answer

Well, I can't say that it's ever done enough to really grab my attention—although I did get that vibe of "hey, remember all those sites you visit to get compact, handmade content? Forget 'em, now you can just come here!"
posted to Ask Metafilter by DrJohnEvans at 7:22 AM on December 13, 2006

You could reverse-engineer this.
posted to Ask Metafilter by DrJohnEvans at 4:55 PM on November 30, 2006

Yes, any number of things could be going wrong here. If this happened to me, first things I would do is validate: both my original source, and my post-insertion generated source.

(The Firefox web developer toolbar is your friend.)
posted to Ask Metafilter by DrJohnEvans at 4:00 PM on November 29, 2006

If someone buys a ticket, the airline gets its money, whether you show up or not, right? So what's the logic of overbooking again? I mean, yes, it's very sad that sometimes people don't show up, but if they've already paid for their tickets, why should the airline care if they actually occupy the seat or not?

Because there's almost certainly somebody else out there willing to pay to use that empty seat, which is another ticket's value in the airline's bank.
posted to Ask Metafilter by DrJohnEvans at 3:33 PM on September 17, 2006

I feel like I should have something to contribute to this thread.
posted to Ask Metafilter by DrJohnEvans at 3:52 PM on August 23, 2006

Fantastic. Fantastic beyond words.
posted to MetaFilter by DrJohnEvans at 11:35 AM on August 23, 2006

Okay, I'm impressed. Where do I sign up?
posted to MetaFilter by DrJohnEvans at 10:27 PM on August 14, 2006

with a little math and some judicious JavaScript

You'd think that I would've learned years ago to flee any document containing this phrase.

Neat.
posted to MetaFilter by DrJohnEvans at 10:16 PM on August 14, 2006

The Blue Jays are owned by the guy that also owns the TV and radio network upon which the vast majority of their games are broadcast. FWIW.
posted to Ask Metafilter by DrJohnEvans at 10:20 PM on July 25, 2006

When clicking a link, I make certain assumptions:

1. it will take me to a normally-rendered (X)HTML-based web page.
2. there will be no obnoxious music/video/effects that slow down the page load and annoy me.
3. the page will not require or activate any unusual plug-ins.
4. the page will not open in a new window.
5. I will be able to navigate back to the page I came from.

If any of these... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by DrJohnEvans at 1:29 PM on July 19, 2006

ROU_Xenophobe is right. You don't really need to take the 401 at all if you're heading into the Niagara penisula. Either the 407 or DVP routes will work fine for you, depending on the time of day you're travelling. Also, is it a weekday or weekend?
posted to Ask Metafilter by DrJohnEvans at 3:11 PM on June 24, 2006

For posterity: this is interesting:

Nineteen per cent of Canadians said they follow the CFL, compared to 13 per cent for the NFL. That's a surprising finding, considering the CFL has routinely found ways to shoot itself in the foot over the years while expanding television coverage has resulted in more NFL games being broadcast, thus making it easier for Canadian fans to tune in.

"I think we underestimate the extent which the CFL... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by DrJohnEvans at 7:37 PM on June 8, 2006

Wonderful show. Terrible shame about the cancelation. I'd been looking very casually for a quality recording of the theme song, and it was lovely to find it sitting so graciously on the AskMe front page. Thank you!

I'm afraid I can't help re: the costume though.
posted to Ask Metafilter by DrJohnEvans at 7:17 PM on June 8, 2006

I've got an open spot on a Phoenix baseball team—wait, it's Thursday mornings. Sorry.
posted to MetaTalk by DrJohnEvans at 11:16 PM on April 27, 2006

I played Threshold for some time back in high school. It had a deep population, beautiful text descriptions, and a fascinating world.

Part of the credit was due to its very strict in-character rules. Everything in the game was done in-character. Acting out-of-character within the game was strictly forbidden and resulted in punishment. It made the world that much more complete and intense.

It also made it ridiculously addictive. It was free... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by DrJohnEvans at 4:43 PM on April 10, 2006

While the question is indeed a bit odd, it's wonderful to read the answers, having gone through this old thread the other day.
posted to Ask Metafilter by DrJohnEvans at 4:03 PM on April 7, 2006

Yep. Co'd a coupla BBSs in the Windsor area. Did ANSI art. The usual.
posted to MetaTalk by DrJohnEvans at 6:52 PM on March 29, 2006

I think we need to orchestrate some sort of World Series between the winner of this pool and the winner of the SpoFi pool.
posted to MetaTalk by DrJohnEvans at 1:15 PM on March 29, 2006

Obviously we need a "flag it and move on" flag.
posted to MetaTalk by DrJohnEvans at 9:30 AM on March 28, 2006

That site's background is actually a number of shades of green.

Get ColorZilla for Firefox and take your pick:

posted to Ask Metafilter by DrJohnEvans at 7:38 AM on March 28, 2006 marked best answer

Obviously you need a mnemonic.

"The function's called print_r(), eh?"
posted to Ask Metafilter by DrJohnEvans at 7:05 AM on March 27, 2006

so the question makes an incorrect assumption.

Actually, there's nothing incorrect about the question's assumption (that the conveyer belt will move at a velocity exactly opposite of the plane's). The question at no point says that the plane will remain stationary. The problem occurs when a person reads the question, mistakenly thinks first of a wheel-propelled vehicle, and assumes that the plane will remain stationary.

The... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by DrJohnEvans at 9:22 AM on March 25, 2006

Try these related thought experiments: If the wheels on the airplane were replaced by skis, would it still take off?

My favourite was the rollerblades-on-a-treadmill one from the kottke thread.
posted to Ask Metafilter by DrJohnEvans at 9:24 AM on March 25, 2006

Also, at no point does the question state that the plane has wings. Or wheels. So yeah, I've always just assumed this was a meme written by some physics snot somewhere who loves seeing people get tricked.

Although I would like to point out that the level of discussion of this thread is many orders of magnitude higher than that of the kottke thread.
posted to Ask Metafilter by DrJohnEvans at 9:49 AM on March 25, 2006

Rash, please re-read the context of Cecil's Basic Realization #2. Here's the belt specification from the question here:

So as the plane speeds up so does the conveyor to be exactly the same speed but in the opposite direction.

And here's your version of the belt spec:

its condition is a belt which precisly negates the plane's forward speed

These are two... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by DrJohnEvans at 10:14 AM on March 26, 2006

Actually, hang on. This glove is the closest I've been able to find. I think that's just about the colour my glove was: it's a little hard to tell with the weird cream trim though.
posted to Ask Metafilter by DrJohnEvans at 10:39 PM on March 20, 2006

It started out as an innocent whim, but now I'm completely emotionally committed to finding this glove.

Imagine a cross-breed between this one and this one. I definitely recall a small round insignia patch at the base of the thumb, like the second one. It could very well have been the modern Mizuno logo.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by DrJohnEvans at 12:27 PM on March 21, 2006