It's my soap of choice, dilute, dilute (don't get the undiluted stuff onto mucous membranes or your peehole). Sorry to be blunt, that's the price you pay for being a hippie/mountain person. It's awesome for camping because it doesn't have any harsh chemical detergents, so you can bathe with it in rivers, lakes and streams with a fairly clean conscience. I don't suggest brushing your teeth with it, although as others have said, you can. Dilute it and wash things with it, to your liking.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Divine_Wino at 3:28 PM on September 16, 2008

Meatbomb baby,

If you kinda feel like you're Jewish already, deep down, as you said, then you've already arrived at what you want. I know how you feel, I don't have any Jewish blood as far as I know, but my grandfather (New Jersey Irish) worked in the Benrus watch store in Lower Manhattan, where he picked up tons of Yiddishisms and the demeanor of many of his Jewish coworkers. He passed that on to my father and my father to me, it's part of my life, the expressions,... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Divine_Wino at 9:19 AM on July 25, 2008 marked best answer

My cats will make a litter scraping motion ("this is shit") when they encounter the physical source of a bad smell. Can you borrow a cat and see if they might move to the source of the smell, or a dog? Dogs like horrible smells in my experience. If it's in the walls though, you are going to have to do some kind of damage to get at it.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Divine_Wino at 9:05 AM on July 23, 2008 marked best answer

Yeah I do this, I either say "Oh God" or "Dammit" or I swear and then I shake my head a little or clench my fists. I always assumed it was a totally natural voluntary reaction, but I can see how it could be a tic.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Divine_Wino at 7:28 AM on July 23, 2008

Here is the other thing, depending on the time of year and overtime budgets postal carriers have to be back at a certain time of day, they get X amount of time and no more in which to deliver the mail, depending on your location in their route they might have to return to the station with your mail and redeliver it tomorrow. Usually there is a junior person delivering your mail at least once or twice a week due to days off, sick days and other reasons, it is very possible that they can't finish... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Divine_Wino at 1:51 PM on July 9, 2008

I have a friend who used to be a mailman letter-carrier. He had a few coworkers who would routinely take their day's allottment of mail, shove it in their locker, and go home for the day or hit the golf course or whatever. The next day they'd take two days worth of mail around their route.
I suspect something similar is happening with you.

Mail carriers have to scan at various points along their route nowadays, you know that little device... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Divine_Wino at 4:03 PM on July 9, 2008

Kids are easygoing but they also see and absorb more than you can imagine and it all becomes part of their way of dealing with the world. Your kids will never know to have to thank you if you take them out of this situation before something really nasty happens that sticks with them for the rest of their lives. This is what you want. I'm also sorry about your dad.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Divine_Wino at 6:30 PM on July 8, 2008

A Hero when I grew up in NYC, a Po' Boy when I lived in New Orleans, a Wedge or a Grinder when I visited Westchester or Mass and a Hoagie in Philly, maybe washed down with a Wooder Ice after. I've heard sub everywhere and I've heard Torpedo too and Italian, mostly in the north east.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Divine_Wino at 9:35 AM on July 8, 2008

That's not how we roll here skaramatthew, you took a wrong turn somewhere around your local craigslist.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Divine_Wino at 5:24 PM on July 7, 2008

They're generally nice people who are going to be pretty nice to you, take it easy and follow normal social cues, resist the urge to act or speak impulsively during the meeting proper and you'll have an interesting experience at the bare minimum.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Divine_Wino at 8:34 PM on June 21, 2008

Aggression is not normal for pits or am-staffs, they are gentle and patient dogs by nature, in fact the things that make them good fighters are what makes them so patient, for instance their resistance to pain. Unfortunately they are also very powerful dogs that represent masculinity and violence to shitheads, who beat and abuse them until they are constantly nervous and anxious which causes them to overreact to impulsive movements and unintentionally inflicted pain that sometimes small... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Divine_Wino at 2:47 PM on June 20, 2008

I had six malpeques tonight that were pretty good and I'm going to have six local Long Island oysters at Tully's out in Hampton Bays on Sunday (six for six bucks, the sweetest, freshest oysters I've ever had), after that I might take a break until the fall unless I'm really tempted by being around Tully's or I see some handsome ones, just because I really love them and I don't want to get a bad tasting bunch. It's more of a guideline than a rule for me in other words. Oysters are magical.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Divine_Wino at 6:28 PM on June 19, 2008

The nutty thing about getting a drivers license in America (and presumably in other places in the world) is that the time you will have to drive the best (according to traffic laws and basic theory) is the time you take the test, it's downhill from there until you hit your seventies or eighties and have to take the test again. She should take a traffic safety course/drivers ed course and spend as much time as possible learning how to control the car in as safe an environment as possible before... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Divine_Wino at 8:57 PM on May 21, 2008

On posting:
Yes, she needs to also drive in actual traffic before she takes the test, a bunch, as 23skidoo said.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Divine_Wino at 8:58 PM on May 21, 2008

Danila
You will need to get some kind of internet connection into your house, usually either DSl or Cable. Ironically you can probably get that from Earthlink. Verizon (since you are in Philly) offers DSL for about 22 dollars a month after taxes, you can get a dsl modem from them if you have a land line phone connection and they will throw in a wireless modem/router for free, which would let you have your own wireless (wifi) connection to the net. Call them and ask. Basically you... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Divine_Wino at 8:02 PM on May 17, 2008 marked best answer

Maybe you can't. You can live a life of ups and downs and maybe realize that all honest work is honorable and that it's how people treat you not what they do that matters. Then again, you could live a life of perfect privilege, never have to take a job you don't want, never have to do something that made you feel like you were compromised and if so, Mazel Tov, but you have to decide for yourself how you feel about things like this. I don't think there is some kind of psychological shortcut you... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Divine_Wino at 6:01 PM on May 6, 2008

These lists are almost universally a scam (or the kind of wack hustle half-hearted semi-scam that can actually be more frustrating than a real scam). Property management companies can be found by a quick google, look at the phone book, wander around the neighborhood you are interested in. Where are you looking for an apartment, what borough, how many bedrooms, price range, etc? Legwork, patience and quick decisions get you an apartment in New York, otherwise suck it up and find a broker,... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Divine_Wino at 3:14 PM on April 28, 2008

Fair enough, flxyp. I have no experience with that site and I doubt you will find anyone else posting here who does, and yes it looks like a scam, from the bad design, the cheap banner ads, the vague promises and the very fact that they are offering lists of property managers, which is generally always a scam. However I haven't really answered your question, sorry.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Divine_Wino at 5:12 PM on April 28, 2008

Sweet Aftons, they are delicious, named after a Robert Burns poem, they instantly go stale as soon as you open the pack, which has a lovely design (that design is probably totally out of date, the packs I remember were white, but they had the same image) unfiltered, mild, oddly shaped like English Ovals. Also they are impossible to get, at least in the US recently (possibly defunct), which will help you cultivate your air of mystery and secret access to the finer/stranger things.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Divine_Wino at 8:48 AM on April 15, 2008

You have at least two things going on here:
1) I'm aware that the very highest price ones are brand new books that have sat at the publisher's their whole lives, but excepting this, why such a price range?

That is almost always not true at all, books that sit on publishers shelves for years are remaindered, that is sold for a buck or two to used book dealers and resellers, because there is no demand for them, they are not rare at all.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Divine_Wino at 1:58 PM on March 26, 2008

Much of the used book selling online is actually automated so if someone offers a book for 80, someone else's bookselling software will adjust their own listing to 79.95 and then someone else will list it for 78.95 and so on down the line (in the bad old early days of the automated listing software you could actually set two bots bidding each other down to a penny.)

To clarify this a little, the original lister usually just slaps the book up there... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Divine_Wino at 2:00 PM on March 26, 2008

Listen, take a couple days and just do your routine, keep busy, talk to people, just grind it out. Then if you want to take a toy and bury it or something, with a little pomp you could do that. I have to tell you though, I'd just hang out, don't avoid missing your dog or feeling sad, but just plow on, it's going to hurt and it takes a while to go away. Give some money to a rescue shelter. Maybe in a six months to a year (you'll know) get a new dog (please from a shelter) and love the holy... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Divine_Wino at 3:44 PM on February 27, 2008

Yeah, Jeet Kune Do is a good one, but if you had a slightly more eccentric bent I'd say Savate, that would be my choice for a Wes Anderson type teenager. French Martial Arts, good stuff.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Divine_Wino at 5:13 PM on February 9, 2008

Anatomy of a Murder. Duke Ellington Orchestra, Billy Strayhorn composed the score. Great movie, great soundtrack.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Divine_Wino at 1:15 PM on January 27, 2008

Call or go back the branch.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Divine_Wino at 6:10 PM on January 17, 2008

I have nothing to add on the don't pursue "homelessness" front, that's been said more than well enough.

If you do decide to take it on the hoof or go vagabonding or whatever, find some travelers/crusties/hobos in your area and ask their advice. I, personally, advise you not to carry a switchblade, which was mentioned upthread, they're illegal almost everywhere in the US and will get you hassled and possibly arrested when/if you get searched, which is much... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Divine_Wino at 12:30 PM on January 15, 2008

Ak is a distributor and a publisher, Soft Skull is not a distributor. Call AK, they're good folks.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Divine_Wino at 10:23 AM on January 10, 2008

I offer this as nothing more than an anecdote, but I still have bits of charcoal in the top half of my Brita filter after two months with it, I assume it's because I got a filter that was loosely packed, the water still tastes filtered (ie less chlorine taste than straight NYC tap water, anyone else noticed the chlorine taste has gone up in the last year? I used to be a jug of water in the fridge dude and now I'm really glad I have the filter), there are no bits of charcoal in the filtered part... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Divine_Wino at 9:18 PM on January 9, 2008

Point being, if you have charcoal bits in the lower half of the pitcher, maybe you didn't install the filter correctly or maybe you have one that has a leak somewhere around where the filter part is, otherwise I think that's just the way it shakes out, I mean, if there are charcoal bits in the top part, well, you're straining all the water you drink through 4 or 5 inches of charcoal anyway.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Divine_Wino at 9:22 PM on January 9, 2008

I'm talking about like the last 5 to 10 years, but I admit that is could just be my tastebuds changing over time .
posted to Ask Metafilter by Divine_Wino at 9:28 PM on January 9, 2008

that could, dammit, sorry too much charcoal today.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Divine_Wino at 9:30 PM on January 9, 2008

"Hi, we've discussed it and we feel that someone wearing a face mask and rubber gloves would be off-putting to our other guests, and disruptive to the atmosphere we want. If you're really that worried about getting sick, we'd prefer you not come. Thanks!"

That sounds exactly right. If it was me I'd send a freakin' car for her and make sure everyone else was wearing a mask and gloves when she got there, but it might not be that kind of party.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Divine_Wino at 12:59 PM on January 8, 2008

Maybe a little something in a card for the Holidays, like for the postman? Offer them a glass of juice? Other than that, yeah, just roll one up and offer it. They almost always say no thanks (or they did back when I was in the market for delivery reefer). Most dealers think of themselves more like your accountant or lawyer than a service oriented role, in my experience.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Divine_Wino at 8:23 AM on January 8, 2008

Tim Powers.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Divine_Wino at 5:04 PM on December 20, 2007

Get copies made of as many of the keys as you can (maybe not the credit card one, but you should be able to call a neighbor to let you in if you make nice with them) and stash them with someone near by. I always say you don't have to like your neighbors, but you should probably make friends with at least one of them.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Divine_Wino at 5:54 PM on December 18, 2007

I used to be two cats.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Divine_Wino at 10:56 AM on November 28, 2007

As soon as I hear the words Multi-Level Marketing I head in the other direction. I urge you to be especially reluctant when hearing a lot of buzzwords and jargon related to the supposed health giving effects of some secret "process", avoid it like the plague.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Divine_Wino at 7:42 PM on November 20, 2007

What's wrong with my girlfriend?

She's a narcissist.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Divine_Wino at 8:56 AM on November 15, 2007

Don't do that, Google "no alcohol mouthwash" instead. Antabuse is serious business, read your own wikipedia link.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Divine_Wino at 8:25 PM on November 14, 2007

As Mr. Den Beste said.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Divine_Wino at 8:26 PM on November 14, 2007

I mean if you are advised to avoid alcohol in shampoo and deodorants, which can only be absorbed through your skin, in minute quantities. Listerine seems to have anywhere from 26.9% alcohol and up, going into your mouth and let alone you swallowing some, your gums and mucous membranes will absorb that alcohol into your blood at a much faster rate than your scalp and armpits.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Divine_Wino at 8:32 PM on November 14, 2007

Bluurgh, not enough time today anyway, wife and kid are returning home. Union forever friends.

Any WGA strikers reading askme and want to take six quick questions via email from a nice 12 year old for the school paper?
posted to Ask Metafilter by Divine_Wino at 11:30 AM on November 12, 2007

That's the problem OlderThanTOS, finding the picket lines. The WGA site says there are major events tomorrow and Wednesday at various sites, but list nothing today. Thanks though.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Divine_Wino at 11:31 AM on November 12, 2007

Sadly no CunningLinguist, she is required to speak with the true ink-stained wretch, but we'll soldier on. Thank you all for your answers.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Divine_Wino at 12:03 PM on November 12, 2007

Once again, thank you all.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Divine_Wino at 1:08 PM on November 12, 2007

Down and Out in Paris and London by George Orwell is not particularly an opposite, but more of an antidote, plus it's really great.

You Can't Win by Jack Black, the great hobo story, full of the warmth of human kindness where there should be none.

Actually now that I think of it, almost any really gripping book that talks about human relationships and the value of love, isn't that what makes Rand so obviously invalid and boring?... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Divine_Wino at 8:53 PM on November 9, 2007

Islay scotch, particularly Laphroaig (like drinking an old dock piling), with just a tiny few drops of water or one small ice-cube in the less expensive kinds.

Good old Jack Daniels on the rocks or one of the fancier Bourbons, I used to drink a bunch of Wild Turkey until I realized one day it tasted like garbage squeezings.

Stoli neat from the freezer or on the rocks with a little lemon, I also like Tito's and it's cheap.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Divine_Wino at 4:05 PM on November 7, 2007

Waving aside all the weird ideas about trying to "trick" her into locking the door, I have three suggestions for you:

1) Go to your RA and say "RA, my roommate never locks the door, can I stash my laptop with you for the weekend and when I come back can you help me tell her to lock the door, because she's not listening to me." That takes care of the immediate problem. That is what the RA is for, by the way, unless they totally suck they'll help you,... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Divine_Wino at 8:23 PM on November 2, 2007

Underscores, the choice of champions.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Divine_Wino at 6:39 AM on October 27, 2007

certainly brought up from fridge temperature by a hot water bath for 20 minutes or so.

By this I mean, a hot water bath before you poach them, the uncracked eggs in hot water.

Try it, even if you end up never wanting to eat poached eggs again, it's fun and you fell like you've really accomplished something when you get it right. A slotted spoon makes all the difference in terms of getting the egg out of the water.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Divine_Wino at 7:59 PM on October 26, 2007