How can this thread have gotten this far without a mention of Rushmore, or the other Wes Anderson films that really originated this colored-pencil typographical affectation, at least in their DVD releases?
posted to MetaFilter by eschatfische at 7:20 AM on September 5, 2008

Apple commonly has items from several generations back in the refurb store. Availability varies on a day to day basis, although items 2 or more generations prior to the current generation tend to be more rare (they often get sold quickly, since the old machines are usually sold at an extremely steep discount).

That being said, the LED displays for the 15" models were introduced in June of 2007 with the Santa Rosa Macbook Pros. All of the 2.2, 2.4, and 2.5Ghz... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by eschatfische at 2:45 PM on August 25, 2008 marked best answer

That's not a retarded big-headed midget guy in a suit! It's Eric Stoltz in Back to the Future. Duh.
posted to MetaFilter by eschatfische at 8:26 AM on August 11, 2008

They were for water softeners -- I suspect this or this is what you recall.

Supermarkets tend to have bags of salt pellets for water softeners these days instead of the big blocks of the 70s. Hardware stores may carry the big blocks. I imagine this does vary regionally depending on how hard the water is.
posted to Ask Metafilter by eschatfische at 4:41 PM on July 23, 2008

The next obvious steps from the same era, assuming you've already tapped out Henry Mancini's other work (Lujon!) are Lalo Schifrin (of Mission Impossible fame) and Michel Legrand. Still, they might not have quite the same amount of "zing" that you're looking for.

The Sound Gallery compilations, volumes 1 and 2, are truly superb on the incidental, orchestral drama front.

The original soundtrack to Lupin III is the Japanese take on the... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by eschatfische at 9:38 PM on July 11, 2008

TechNet is your friend in any Microsoft shop. Here's all the details on Exchange 2007 deployment.

However, Microsoft is about to release Windows Small Business Server 2008. If you're a "one server shop," you may want to wait for that, since SBS consolidates most of the features that a small office that wants to run their own Exchange server might need.

There's also service provider hosted Exchange, both from Microsoft and third... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by eschatfische at 10:02 AM on July 3, 2008

The iMate works just fine with 10.5 for keyboards. For Wacoms? Dunno.
posted to Ask Metafilter by eschatfische at 10:05 AM on July 1, 2008

Here's another post about the same scam.

Craigslist has a big, yellow-lined warning at the top of their Avoiding scams and fraud page that states: "DEAL LOCALLY WITH FOLKS YOU CAN MEET IN PERSON - follow this one simple rule and you will avoid 99% of the scam attempts on craigslist."

That really is the cardinal rule of Craigslist.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by eschatfische at 8:58 AM on June 30, 2008 marked best answer

It's Wendell Johnson, discussing stuttering. The clip can be found on this page in the "Plogglies" section.
posted to Ask Metafilter by eschatfische at 5:54 PM on June 27, 2008 marked best answer

Er, not discussing stuttering -- discussing general semantics.
posted to Ask Metafilter by eschatfische at 5:58 PM on June 27, 2008

I realize they're horizontal panels here, but is it this 2002 re-release poster?
posted to Ask Metafilter by eschatfische at 12:16 PM on June 14, 2008

The Apple UK refurb store has 2.1GHz Macbooks for £599. So really, you're talking a £349 ($700) difference between the Powerbook G4 and the Macbook.

That £349 buys you several important things:
1) A full year's warranty.
2) A fresh battery. Unless you have a fresh battery in your Powerbook, you'll likely only get a c couple of hours of runtime, whereas you'll get 4-5 out of a new Macbook.
3) A processor that is many times... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by eschatfische at 5:51 PM on June 9, 2008

Well, the problem is finding one that gets 30 or above. You can get sedans that will work, but they may only get 20-25 mpg. We're having a hard time finding one that will have enough room in the back and yet be as efficient as our smaller Honda and Saturn sedans.

Take a look at the Honda Fit. It's truly amazing how much interior room/cargo space it has for such a tiny car -- I think you'd be surprised at how much passenger and cargo room there is... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by eschatfische at 4:44 PM on May 31, 2008

Switches create the "backbone" of a network. Like a phone switch, they direct network traffic between the different ports on your network to points upstream (such as a router or other switches).

There are a few big questions you need answers to:

1) How many Ethernet ports (wall jacks) do you need to connect?
2) What do those wall jacks ultimately need to connect to? A router to the outside world? Internal servers? Do... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by eschatfische at 12:12 PM on May 21, 2008 marked best answer

Someone needs to get this guy together on the same bill as Frank Chu.
posted to MetaFilter by eschatfische at 9:02 AM on May 21, 2008

Justice's DVNO, while somewhat obtuse and likely metaphoric, is at least partially about getting into a dance club. It also has the best video I've seen in years.
posted to Ask Metafilter by eschatfische at 11:52 AM on May 16, 2008

Another vote for an airport shuttle. We've used SuperShuttle in those cases where public transit hasn't worked out, and they're fine. I agree that it will probably run $15-20.

Redwood City isn't that far from the airport, but it's hard to get to with public transportation. You can figure out public transportation schedules on the 511.org trip planner. For the starting location, enter SFO as the landmark, and San Francisco as the city. Even with 511.org's help,... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by eschatfische at 8:51 AM on May 16, 2008 marked best answer

Go to Expedia, click on the Hotel button, and pull the "Find Hotels near" down until it reads "A US Address". Enter the address and the dates, and click "Search for Hotels". You'll then get a list of bookable hotels from nearest to furthest, with ratings and reviews.
posted to Ask Metafilter by eschatfische at 10:57 PM on May 12, 2008

It's a blog, not an archive, but Cliptip.
posted to Ask Metafilter by eschatfische at 12:25 PM on May 12, 2008

First stop: get a MUNI Fast Pass. For $45 each month, it'll give you unlimited rides on the buses, trolleys, cable cars and BART (so long as each ride begins and ends in San Francisco).

Second stop: 511.org. 511.org will help you figure out how to get from where you're staying to anywhere else in San Francisco on public transportation using the Fast Pass.

Third stop: Read the free weekies to get a feel for what's going on in the city. The... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by eschatfische at 7:26 PM on May 9, 2008 marked best answer

That's not a big problem. There are plenty of standard headset to computer converters out there for cheap.

If your headset doesn't use a standard 2.5" jack, if you could provide information on the the type of jack or the model of you headset, as well as the type of jack on your phone or the model of the phone, I'm completely sure the MeFites will be able to find you an adapter or adapters that will fit the bill.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by eschatfische at 9:21 AM on May 4, 2008

If you don't need a tracking system specific to software development, Request Tracker may be what you're looking for. Multiple queues, assignment between resources, different accounts are able to look at different aspects of different people's tasklists with "saved searched" and customized dashboards, ticket dependencies, approval, tickets generated from e-mail or on the web, RTx::Statistics to show little graphs of things, etc. No red/green/amber status display, though, but if... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by eschatfische at 10:48 AM on May 2, 2008

I had the same injury around 5 years ago, except in my left pinky finger.

I didn't change up my diet during the time, nor was I advised to. I ate a fairly standard diet in lines with typical RDAs and took a multivitamin. I did have daily calcium through dairy (mostly yogurt), but I can't imagine it was substantially more than the RDA. I didn't avoid carbonated beverages.

Similar to you, my pins were in for just under three weeks. A pin... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by eschatfische at 1:09 PM on May 1, 2008 marked best answer

The SlimServer (now renamed Squeeze Center) will do most of the web-based functions you're looking for, runs on any number of operating systems, and interfaces with a number of software and hardware MP3 players for streaming. The problem is that the SlimServer reads files out of normal directories; while it can stream tracks to a remote device, actual sound file upload and download capabilities are usually handled via FTP or SMB (Windows or Samba file sharing) -- I don't believe there are... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by eschatfische at 4:21 PM on April 23, 2008 marked best answer

It's not San Francisco specific, but you may want to take a look at Tablet Hotels, a booking site for interesting boutique hotels in major urban centers. They have a number of listings for SF, almost all of which are in the City Center and near SF's unique tangle of public transportation options.
posted to Ask Metafilter by eschatfische at 8:45 PM on April 8, 2008 marked best answer

The terminology to use with Applecare is "intermittant system freezes" and "video distortion", then describing the specifics. This sounds like a failing mainboard.

Three things to do before you call:

1) Generic Mac OS system problem voodoo fix: repair the permissions on your drive.
2) Generic Mac OS system problem voodoo fix 2: reset the system management controller. Shut down, take the battery out, unplug,... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by eschatfische at 10:21 AM on March 20, 2008

repair the permissions on your drive.

FYI, this is in Applications -> Utilities -> Disk Utility. Click on the drive, then on "Repair Disk Permissions" in the First Aid section.
posted to Ask Metafilter by eschatfische at 10:23 AM on March 20, 2008

This FPP reminds me of the one where various riffs from Stereolab songs were compared with similar riffs by musicians that they were referencing. Yes, of course they do. Soon you'll tell me that Disney (and co.) didn't create the characters of Pinocchio or The Little Mermaid. Or that Weird Al didn't write the lyrics for "Like a Surgeon." Or that Frank Sinatra didn't record the first My Way.

In short: of course his work references prior work. The name... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by eschatfische at 3:17 PM on March 18, 2008

Er, that example was supposed to be Weird Al writing the music for "Like a Surgeon." I'm quite confident that Al wrote the lyrics for that one.
posted to MetaFilter by eschatfische at 3:18 PM on March 18, 2008

Speaking as a San Franciscan who recently went to London, you can pretty much expect that due to the tanked dollar, eating in SF will almost invariably be cheaper than eating in London when comparing the same class of restaurant.

You can get a huge, delicious burrito almost anywhere for the equivalent of £3, with a drink and chips making things no more than around £4. A large cheese pizza on the Haight is $16.95, or around £8.47, and you can find cheaper pizza... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by eschatfische at 9:40 AM on March 16, 2008

There are really only six major changes from how I remember flying in in 70s and 80s:

* When you book tickets online, you get an e-ticket -- or, essentially, a receipt. When you go to the ticket counter, you use a kiosk to print your boarding passes -- or you can print it at home when you check in online. If you're not checking bags, you can go straight to security.
* There's a new list of prohibitive items and what can be in a carry-on.
... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by eschatfische at 12:18 PM on March 9, 2008 marked best answer

I hadn't thought of my iPod for watching videos with noise cancelling headphones (thanks for that too johngalt). However I had thought there was all this stuff about electronic device use during flights. I gather iPod use is OK (???).

Use of radios are prohibited -- and that includes cell phones these days, but they're allowed on the flight as long as they're turned off. Non-radio portable electronic devices (like iPods) are allowed, but the pilot... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by eschatfische at 1:53 PM on March 9, 2008

Double. But a good one.
posted to MetaFilter by eschatfische at 6:48 PM on March 8, 2008

Just FYI, this isn't a hypothetical question with some goofy catch. I've tried both "dimmable" CFLs and 60W incandescent bulbs in the same light fixture in our home with the same dimmer. The 60W incandescents put off a small but pleasing amount of light at the lowest setting, and provide bright light on the high setting. The 15W "dimmable" CFLs put off very bright light on the lowest setting, and extremely bright light at the highest setting.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by eschatfische at 9:55 AM on February 27, 2008

If she bit you to initiate physical contact during an intimate moment, that's pretty sexy.

If she bit you "out of nowhere" based on non-sexual urges, that's kinda creepy.

The appropriate response to suss out where things stand would be to say something to the effect of: "Better be careful -- I bite back."

If she hasn't told you she has a boyfriend, she probably doesn't. But if you don't kiss her or... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by eschatfische at 8:13 AM on February 27, 2008

Semiotics for Beginners.
posted to Ask Metafilter by eschatfische at 6:39 PM on February 5, 2008 marked best answer

Geek Squad is quoting way too high. Replacing a hard drive on a 600M is extremely easy -- the area around the sound jacks has a screw and a tray slips out with the drive; you just screw a new drive into the tray, pop it back in, and replace the screw. A new 80GB hard drive only costs around $60 on Newegg, and installation of the hardware itself only takes a few minutes. If it seems daunting to you, you may be able to find a computer shop to do a hardware installation for 10-20 bucks; it's not... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by eschatfische at 1:24 PM on February 2, 2008

You want a Chumby.
posted to Ask Metafilter by eschatfische at 6:53 PM on January 29, 2008

I visited Japan last year. Having a fairly substantial amount of interest in Japanese pop culture, there actually wasn't a huge amount of culture shock for me. Actually, after leaving Tokyo for more rural areas, I was actually shocked at how similar rural Japan was compared with, say, rural Wisconsin.

But there was one completely unexpected and bizarre cultural moment. They have Shakeys Pizza in Japan. We went to the one in Harajuku, where all the young punks hang... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by eschatfische at 11:15 AM on January 25, 2008

You may want to watch Three to Get Ready: A Progress Report from BART, which chronicles the efforts at digging the subway beneath San Francisco and building the underwater channel that carries BART through the bay in the late 60's.

caddis, BART isn't a subway? Wha?
posted to Ask Metafilter by eschatfische at 5:45 AM on January 5, 2008

It's not a matter of whether the screen is glossy or not. I use a matte 1st-gen MacBook Pro for work, and had a matte PowerBook at home -- and my new (2.2Ghz) MacBook with a glossy screen looks to be just about on par with the MacBook Pro (that is, bright and vivid) and looks around 10 million times better than the old PowerBook screens. It's not the greatest LCD I've ever seen, but I'd certainly say it was vivid.

The MacBook does have a bit of a viewing angle issue;... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by eschatfische at 9:25 AM on December 14, 2007

Like j.edwards' friend, I too run an Apple Extended Keyboard (the AEK II model) with a Griffin iMate. It's wonderful; the Extended Keyboard II has a magnificent feel and is as robust as any keyboard I've ever worked with (yes, even the vaunted Northgates). I absolutely love it, and people are amazed at just how quickly (and loudly ;) I can type on it. The only substantial thing it's missing from the current Apple keycaps is an eject key.

I'm not entirely sure it could... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by eschatfische at 3:03 PM on December 13, 2007

This is what Request Tracker is for -- allowing individuals to assign or "take" incoming e-mails so toes aren't stepped on and requests are... tracked. It's free and open source, but they also have a hosted solution if you're not Perl or Linux inclined.
posted to Ask Metafilter by eschatfische at 11:53 AM on December 10, 2007

I like our Chumby.

Upsides: best clock radio ever, and the only clock radio I've ever seen with readable type. iPod connectivity is nice, and the Internet radio features that just came through on the latest beta are fantastic. Speakers are shockingly good for the device's size. If you're a linuxy type, it's trivial to ssh in and add your own cgis to do things via web interface, or create your own widgets if you're a flash type. It's very cute, the interface is neat,... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by eschatfische at 10:53 AM on December 10, 2007

Groundspring offers inexpensive credit card processing services for charities and non-profits, and may well be able to set you up quickly.
posted to Ask Metafilter by eschatfische at 2:42 PM on December 7, 2007

We bought our Samsung xx87 DLP (the lamp type, not the fancy new LED type) from Amazon, and I'd do it again in a second.

The Amazon part: the price was substantially lower than anywhere else, shipping was free and easy, and the shippers brought it up the stairs, put it on our pedestal for us, took the box and packing materials back to the truck and waited for me to test it.

The Samsung DLP part: it's magnificent. Some people really hate DLP,... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by eschatfische at 5:15 PM on December 5, 2007

A used car. Since he's 15, he'll be getting his learner's permit soon, right? It'll help him learn (without the stress on the family of learning on the family car), it'll help him get a job... and it'll help him get the aforementioned girlfriend.

(If you're in the middle of a major walkable urban center, on the other hand, you can nix this.)
posted to Ask Metafilter by eschatfische at 1:37 PM on November 30, 2007

Are you sliding all over with Torque on Demand turned on?

I let my tires get pretty bald with my 2000 Trooper (which is a close cousin to the Vehicross) and had no problem at all so long as I left 4WD Auto on all the time (yes, it's designed for that). With TOD turned off, on the other hand, the truck was scary.

Is the wear completely even between front and back? If not, see if you can get a new pair of the same tires you currently have from... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by eschatfische at 1:40 PM on November 26, 2007

At 27, driving a rental car while traveling on business in Cleveland, listening to the Pixies. I don't know what it was, but a switch had been thrown. Inexplicably, Cleveland had made me a man.
posted to Ask Metafilter by eschatfische at 8:43 AM on November 20, 2007

Go into Home -> Library -> Preferences, and rename the Microsoft folder Microsoft.old. Start an Office app. Sigh with relief.
posted to Ask Metafilter by eschatfische at 3:25 PM on November 16, 2007 marked best answer