Is it possible to sign the grandmother's house over to YOU? That way, your mother would only have one house and qualify for assistance.

Jesus, no. You will be totally fucked if you do that. The laws around Medicaid for long-term care recently changed and are dramatically more draconic than they used to be.

You need to talk to an elder-care attorney in your state NOW. It is possible that your plan of selling the grandma-house... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by ROU_Xenophobe at 8:27 AM on July 4, 2008

You seem to be falling into the common trap of thinking that a career through college means doing what you majored in. Except for engineers and business majors, this is rare for undergraduates moving directly into employment.

Majoring in psychology doesn't mean that you expect to be a psychologist or do psychology. It can also mean that you expect to do some as-yet-to-be-determined work for a large corporation or government entity that will probably have exactly... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by ROU_Xenophobe at 8:54 PM on July 3, 2008

Never played Rock Band.

Do you need to use sticks, or can you just tap on the pads with your hand? Would it maybe be less painful to do that?

I mean, I know that real drummers don't just use their hands. Real guitarists don't play lying down on the couch, neither, but I often play GH3 with complete assal horizontology... it's its own challenge.
posted to Ask Metafilter by ROU_Xenophobe at 12:14 PM on July 3, 2008

Unless your bank is run by saints, I would bet that it would go something like this:

(1) Person deposits check into their account
(2) The next day, your bank runs their accounts.
(3) They run all the debits against your account before any deposits.
(4) Even if the deposit went in the same day, the check gets hit with NSF because of (3).
(5) You pay a fee, or several.
(6) The person you wrote the check to... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by ROU_Xenophobe at 1:28 PM on July 2, 2008

Your approach of comforting her seems misplaced, because the statistics aren't very good.

If you use condoms normally, she has a one in eight chance of getting pregnant in a year.

If you use them perfectly, which almost nobody does, she has a one in 25 to one in fifty chance.

Do not pay much attention to used-perfectly statistics. Using them perfectly means never putting one on your dick,... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by ROU_Xenophobe at 7:52 AM on July 2, 2008

Like, if 200 couples has sex 1000 times, 1 of those women will get pregant.

Assuming condoms used normally, the expectation would be more like:

If 200 couples have sex 1000 times each, we would expect about 150 of those women to become pregnant at least once sometime in that period.
posted to Ask Metafilter by ROU_Xenophobe at 8:00 AM on July 2, 2008

I think you're interpreting the statistics incorrectly, ROU. 2 in 100 women who use condoms correctly will get pregnant IN A YEAR - presumably these women are having sex more than once annually. And condoms just aren't that hard (heh) to use correctly.

It's difficult enough that the actual rate when used normally is eight times higher than the used-perfectly rate. Anyone should bet that when push comes to shove, they'll be in the "as normally... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by ROU_Xenophobe at 9:14 AM on July 2, 2008

Surely your DGS or the Assistant-To-DGS who knows all and sees all will know the answer to the financial-aid parts.

That is, ask someone whether or not your aid (apart from loans) is dependent on your income. In most graduate programs, it is not.

As far as taxes go, it's very simple:

Do both of your taxes with you unmarried and him claiming the baby.
Do both of your taxes with you unmarried and you claiming... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by ROU_Xenophobe at 8:10 AM on July 2, 2008

How do you want to be remembered when you die? The programmer who had a bunch of dumb fucking gadgets and a big stupid fuck-off car and a ridiculous mortgage for a house eight times bigger than he needed? Or as a real person with a real soul who decided that the creative spirit was more important than dead matter?

Alternately, you might ask how you want to live before you die. Do you want to live comfortably with enough free time to write your novel... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by ROU_Xenophobe at 6:56 AM on June 30, 2008

First, there's no reason to bring this up with anyone until you have a bun in the oven, and not much reason until you have an actual baby girl.

Second, if your family dynamics are... odd... enough that you think it might somehow affect your life if your cousin doesn't like your kid's name, you shouldn't be talking to us. You should be talking to older people in your family, who know you and your great-aunt and your name-changing cousin, that you think you can trust.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by ROU_Xenophobe at 10:25 AM on June 29, 2008

You haven't even been? You should go for a week or two, and make a point of trying living-there stuff like finding semi-affordable places to live and doing commuting runs, and doing other non-tourist stuff.

I've spent winters in both suburban Chicago

Take Chicago.
Turn most of the black and nearly all of the latino people into Chinese and Indian.
Get rid of the Metra and most of the TTA subway lines.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by ROU_Xenophobe at 8:51 AM on June 29, 2008

Do you want a list of cities, where LA != Anaheim != Burbank, or do you want a list of metro areas such that Washington = Arlington = Fairfax?

There's a list of MSAs by population here, presumably taken from census information. The only thing you'd need to do is replace the not-very-useful names with "Greater NYC area," "Greater LA area," and so on.

On second glance, they even have nicknames, so hey. Free dummy.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by ROU_Xenophobe at 9:11 PM on June 28, 2008

I have no experience with taking care of a dog before.

Then, no. I wouldn't recommend any terrier as Your First Dog Ever, much less a pit.

I would not necessarily worry about the dog being OMG PIT BULL DANGEROUS!! I would worry more about the dog being stubborn, and perhaps overly independent, and generally pugnacious, and digging to China, and having to be firm enough with the dog to be disheartening or... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by ROU_Xenophobe at 2:47 PM on June 25, 2008

Democrats have a long-standing problem with looking like pussies. They're trying to signal that they're not.

The way these sorts of signaling games fall out, it takes a whole damn lot of signal to overcome an initial bias against whatever you're trying to signal. Technically, if you have a prior that's strongly tilted and you hear cheap-talk in the other direction, the signal is heavily discounted and you probably get an uninformative pooling equilibrium where the... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by ROU_Xenophobe at 10:07 AM on June 25, 2008

argh

s/you're gonna get beat up/you might well still get beat up/
posted to Ask Metafilter by ROU_Xenophobe at 10:08 AM on June 25, 2008

Leaving aside storage...

Lightning is so incredibly quick that it would be almost useless as an energy source

Wouldn't it make more sense to tap the potential difference that creates lightning before the lighting forms naturally?
posted to Ask Metafilter by ROU_Xenophobe at 6:06 PM on June 24, 2008

As someone with 111 graduate hours in ministry and theology, I guarantee you that not as single prof of mine has ever said "Just use the OT in the way the benefits you most."

Of course not.

ichibun seemed to be referring to the political reality, not what is taught.

The right answer is probably that someone like Dobson is not really a theologian, or necessarily even a Christian. Dobson and... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by ROU_Xenophobe at 3:13 PM on June 24, 2008

What you're asking is broadly equivalent to asking what proportion of the time a Borda count will produce a tie.

The question isn't a sensible one on its own. You'd have to make assumptions about how the judges are voting and about the distribution of quality among the contestants to get an answer that made any sense at all.
posted to Ask Metafilter by ROU_Xenophobe at 11:32 AM on June 24, 2008

To answer your unasked question:

It should not stand in the way of you pursuing a relationship with this woman. It's fussy and annoying and, though you didn't ask about that, expensive, but it's entirely do-able.

To answer your three subquestions:

(1) There's more than one legal way to skin that particular cat. More in a minute.
(2) The easiest way means that there will be a six to nine month period where... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by ROU_Xenophobe at 3:31 PM on June 23, 2008 marked best answer

What are the legal procedures?

There are three ways to do this. One before marrying, and two after marrying. The before-marrying way is probably the easiest. It goes like this:

(1) You file a bunch of paperwork with USCIS. The big one is the fiancee visa form. There's also a bunch of supporting stuff -- biographical information forms about you and her, photocopy of your proof of US citizenship, letters from you and her... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by ROU_Xenophobe at 3:41 PM on June 23, 2008 marked best answer

biwa-shu, that process (direct consular filing or DCF) is only for US citizens who are residents of Japan. Vorteks says he lives in Michigan.
posted to Ask Metafilter by ROU_Xenophobe at 7:29 AM on June 24, 2008

Lego, geoff. Lego. It's a plural noun.

In American English, more than one lego are (normally) legos. Not five lego, and not five lego bricks, and not five LEGO bricks, but five legos. We also spell colour color and call a two-four a case.

Most simply, legos touch each other. Bricks don't, and are separated by mortar. You could build bricks like legos so you just piled them on top of each other, but why would you want to?... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by ROU_Xenophobe at 12:21 PM on June 23, 2008

Well, it's not that concurrent or simple resolutions aren't binding.

Concurrent resolutions can be binding... on Congress. I'd need to double-check, but matters such as the setup of and appointments to the various joint committees are probably dealt with by concurrent resolutions. Likewise, adjournments can be dealt with through CR.

Likewise, simple resolutions can be binding. The most obvious examples are expulsions from the House or Senate;... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by ROU_Xenophobe at 12:06 PM on June 23, 2008

in most American legislators there are two sorts of bills you see - resolutions and proper bills

Except in Congress, there's no functional distinction between a bill and a joint resolution.
posted to Ask Metafilter by ROU_Xenophobe at 12:09 PM on June 23, 2008

preferably MA but with the possibility of a PhD

Unless American-studies is deeply weird, you will fare much, much better with funding if you instead enter a PhD program with the unstated possibility of leaving after an MA.
posted to Ask Metafilter by ROU_Xenophobe at 6:50 AM on June 23, 2008

It's normal for notebook computers to get uncomfortably warm.

That's why they have to call them notebooks now, instead of laptops.
posted to Ask Metafilter by ROU_Xenophobe at 8:18 PM on June 21, 2008

The estate is almost certainly going to be in probate into 2009 in any case.

My understanding is that housing prices are very low

My sense is that this isn't true. It's more true to say that house prices a year or two ago were unreasonably, even outlandishly, high in much but not all of the US, and that prices in those areas are not low. Just not as high.

One of the four who wants to eat the... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by ROU_Xenophobe at 11:58 AM on June 21, 2008

As far as the stocks, no reason your share has to be liquidated.

Curious: wouldn't that depend on what stock it is and the distribution of stocks in the portfolio? Once it stops being Dad's stocks and starts being Dad's estate's stocks, I can at least imagine circumstances where the executor would have a fiduciary duty to reinvest the portfolio in some way. Like, if the current portfolio doesn't meet a prudent-investor standard because it's 100% Ford.
posted to Ask Metafilter by ROU_Xenophobe at 8:16 PM on June 21, 2008

Call your government. The immigration (or whatever the local equivalent is called) division will be able to provide you with a definitive answer.

In the US, this wouldn't be true. The helpline that you can call is a notorious source of actively harmful disinformation.

Better to find the official web page of your country's immigration service. Since you didn't say what country you live in, you should google... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by ROU_Xenophobe at 7:21 AM on June 21, 2008

Jesus, no. No acronyms. No clever shit with the title.

Does the course have a title already? Then leave it alone. If it doesn't, then "Introduction to Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy." That is all you need.

It does not matter in the slightest to anyone on Earth or beyond whether the title is a complete and clear definition of the entire course contents.

If you are concerned about what people will... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by ROU_Xenophobe at 2:42 PM on June 19, 2008

I have always been somewhat of a dilettante

This does not bode well for any academic graduate program.

I see myself being happier as a professor

Lots of people think this only because they don't have a clear picture of what that life is like.

Do you enjoy spending a few months putting together a paper and sending it off to journals that routinely reject 80% of... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by ROU_Xenophobe at 1:31 PM on June 18, 2008

But I feel that by working in such a competitive corporate environment I am being forced to forsake my intellectual curiosity. For whatever reason I feel I'm not being true to myself.

Okay. That's why they pay you do to it. If it were an ever-increasing tide of self-fulfillment and enjoyment, people would pay to do it on their vacations instead of being paid to do it to fund their vacations.

You should expect that nearly... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by ROU_Xenophobe at 1:37 PM on June 18, 2008

I'm of the camp that thinks you only get this earth shattering, heart fluttering, crazy head over heels in love experience once in your life.

If this is your experience, it is unusual. There's a reason why the trope exists of the teenager lurching from OMG THE GREATEST LOVE EVER YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND to an intense breakup to some other OMG OUR LOVE MAKES ROMEO AND JULIET LOOK LIKE CASUAL ACQUAINTANCES YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND YOU'LL NEVER UNDERSTAND.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by ROU_Xenophobe at 8:00 AM on June 18, 2008

When something in your house needs repair you`re 100% responsible.

How is that different from living in a condo? If I own a condo and my fridge breaks, they don't buy me one. If my plumbing leaks and ruins my hardwood, they don't buy me a new floor or, probably, fix my plumbing. Likewise, I have to think that in any modern building, hot water heaters and furnaces are going to be the condo-owner's responsibility.

I would be... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by ROU_Xenophobe at 7:34 AM on June 17, 2008

Older sibling explained the tax liabilities would all fall on the beneficiary even if it was shared. Older sibling expected to get a 1099 for the full amount.

If anonymous can answer questions, does this mean that

(1) Older sibling intended to share, or says that he intended to share
(2) Older sibling was waiting for payment of appropriate taxes, complete with 1099 form, from younger?... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by ROU_Xenophobe at 10:32 AM on June 16, 2008

It would also depend on how far above ground they were. You can set of lots of bombs at 20--30km altitude without killing much of anything except electronics.

It would also depend on the design of the bomb. Tsar Bomba was very clean, with very low fallout for its yield. On the other hand, put a cobalt case around a basic big thermonuclear warhead instead of DU, and you can maybe wipe out all mammalian life with a few bombs from the Co-60.
posted to Ask Metafilter by ROU_Xenophobe at 11:46 AM on June 12, 2008

I've no idea where you would go to do this.

I do know that in political science, getting a political philosophy/theory job is quite difficult.
Applying to programs is cheap, so you might as well. Then, I would look at the results. Unless I got into at least 5 or 6 top-10 departments and at least three were actively wooing me, I would not bother wasting 5--8 years.
posted to Ask Metafilter by ROU_Xenophobe at 6:11 PM on June 10, 2008

...there are lots and lots and lots of really smart people in the humanities/soft-ish social sciences (literature, art history, cultural studies, edgy Poli Sci) who are finding really useful ways of thinking in these supposedly "disproved" models of the world.

Not so much in political science, and where it appears outside of political theory it's generally very, very, very far from "edgy." I'd associate it more with doddering old... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by ROU_Xenophobe at 10:13 PM on June 10, 2008

She's not insane or a loon. Just a bigot. Plain old garden variety bigot.

If the majority of her exposure to German culture is the Holocaust, and she feels the pain of that time very strongly for whatever reason

Imagine the insult you'd have gotten if the only exposure she'd had to German culture had been Scorpions videos.
posted to Ask Metafilter by ROU_Xenophobe at 4:28 PM on June 10, 2008

The big thing you're going to find in southern states with low education rankings is wide disparities. Wide disparities in funding, wide disparities in student preparation, wide disparities in parent involvement, wide disparities in everything.

It means that you ought to be careful when house-hunting about what school district you're in, and even what particular schools your kid would go to from a given address.

You should... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by ROU_Xenophobe at 11:04 AM on June 10, 2008

About RAM... Assuming your new machine takes DDR2/800 memory:

2 GB will cost you $44
3 GB will cost you $75
4 GB will cost you $85

(all just going with whatever has the best rating on Newegg)

Remember, a lot of people said the same things of XP when it rolled out. "2000 works just fine for me! XP is teh suck!"

I think you mean "98 is great... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by ROU_Xenophobe at 4:01 PM on June 8, 2008

PJ ORourke's Holidays in Hell is okay.
posted to Ask Metafilter by ROU_Xenophobe at 2:29 PM on June 5, 2008

Your goal is mostly illusory. If you found a source that was truly impartial and perfectly balanced and so on, all it would give you was a dry display of facts, and it would have so much coverage that it would be impossible to get anything out of it. If you want coverage worth paying attention to and in-depth articles, you need to accept that this comes with people making (biased) choices about what to cover and people offering (biased) interpretations of what's going on.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by ROU_Xenophobe at 7:55 AM on June 5, 2008

Niven isn't really hard SF -- hyperspace, antigravity, psionics, heritable luck, goofy biology, etc.

At least as hard as Niven:

Varley's "Eight Worlds" books and stories.

Seconding Culture, Xeelee, Revelation Space.
posted to Ask Metafilter by ROU_Xenophobe at 6:51 PM on June 4, 2008

IZarc claims to be vista-compatible.
posted to Ask Metafilter by ROU_Xenophobe at 8:06 PM on June 3, 2008

Student of Man might also be thinking of repeated or iterated games, where a single "stage game" is repeatedly played. Here, players can have larger-scale strategies about the strategies they will employ in each stage game.
posted to Ask Metafilter by ROU_Xenophobe at 2:11 PM on June 3, 2008

I assume you mean whether you want upscaling to be normal/full/double, and whether you want the video format to be auto/rgb/ycbcr, and whether you want the blacker-than-black and whiter-than-white enabled, and the deinterlacer settings, and so on.

AFAIK, optimal settings for this crap depend on your tv, and also on your preferences. Take the model number of your tv and search on avsforum for "modelnumber ps3 settings".
posted to Ask Metafilter by ROU_Xenophobe at 8:17 AM on June 1, 2008

My Sony Bravia has already been maxed to the best settings as per the advice given in this question I asked about a year ago.

Right, but whether you want to the PS3 to send SuperBlack and SuperWhite, or whatever they call them, will depend in large part on what your TV does when it sees those codes for pixels. Some tvs expect only consumer-electronics levels, others can deal with the full 0-255 range.

Likewise, the... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by ROU_Xenophobe at 2:29 PM on June 2, 2008

It might be because planets are often brighter or subtend enough angle not to be pointlike, but it's not because they're closer.

And planets subtend a larger angle because...
posted to Ask Metafilter by ROU_Xenophobe at 8:19 AM on June 1, 2008

Part of the difference is carrageenan, fillers, and so on. Ben and Jerry's led Breyer's down that dark path. Back when I first had the stuff in 1988, it didn't have any of that crap.
posted to Ask Metafilter by ROU_Xenophobe at 8:08 PM on May 27, 2008