Seconding Sticherbeast; when little Mitheral came along there was a huge list of plants someone passed along to us that were commonly grown in our area for ornamental purposes that are poisonous. Including monkshood that I had to remove from our fenced back yard which can poison you just by touching the flowers. I was like "Why the hell would anyone plant this in their yard".... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Mitheral at 9:51 PM on May 22, 2013

All poppies grown for flowers contain opium and opium poppy seeds are commonly available.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Mitheral at 7:36 AM on May 23, 2013

For general cleaning like this (IE: not a paint prep) I like to squirt a little Dawn dishwashing soap in with the hot water TSP mix. The saponify properties of TSP works well with the surfactant properties of Dawn. Turns the grease to soap and then washes it away.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Mitheral at 5:55 PM on May 22, 2013

TSP can dull glossy paint and make latex paint sort of rough but it doesn't strip paint like a remover would.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Mitheral at 9:32 PM on May 22, 2013

Phone an autoplan agent because I don't think your projected insurance cost on the Volvo is correct. IE: My 89 Storm with nothing but 1 million liability was $77 a month and I've got Road Star/no claims for 20 years. Heck my 50 year old tent trailer is $58 a year for basic insurance.

easily confused: "Maybe get a couple quotes and see about lowering your Cobalt's insurance costs instead."

BC has government run... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Mitheral at 5:54 AM on May 22, 2013

There is no evidence to suggest that classic car are less safe than modern ones. The absence of air bags and electronic suspension controls might lead you to think that but the insurance premiums tell a different story.

Man I love a lot of classic vehicles (I mean I'd probably give up a minor body part to drive an E-Type in BRG) but this just isn't true. Vehicle deaths in total (despite increasing miles driven); Vehicle deaths/mile driven; and per... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Mitheral at 11:25 AM on May 22, 2013

The provincial government offers Home Preparedness Kits though a one person kit is $132. Their car kit is $85. It gives you an idea what the government thinks you should have on hand though what criteria they used I don't know. They also offer a preparedness check list.

The federal government also has a recommendation.

Personally I think the government's goal of 72 hrs is inadequate. The Montreal Ice Storm for example had lots of people... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Mitheral at 10:04 PM on May 20, 2013

I wouldn't sweat the low cargo capacities of stock roof racks if only because cargo capacities of the vehicle are so low anyways. The Mazda 5 only has a 1200 lb overall cargo capacity and over a 100lb of that is taken up by a full tank of gas.

Hitch mounted racks for either bikes or equipment are great but most of them limit your rear door access. We use our hitch mounted bike rack all the time; much easier than lifting the bike down. One thing to watch is if you are... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Mitheral at 7:01 PM on May 20, 2013

DarlingBri: "As the person running the budget, you need an overage list: that list of items for which you do not anticipate having budget but would love to have in the years you do."

This is an important key point; you need to be able spend money on short notice so you should maintain a prioritized list of needed items and ideally at least an idea of budget for each of those items. By doing this you can spend a long time preparing the... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Mitheral at 11:53 AM on May 20, 2013

Yes any cabinet maker could crank those sliders out in less than an hour though there might be an additional hour of fettling to get the slide action smooth. Heck the pieces are small enough I'd probably just free hand the piece with my 78.

However the groves the broken piece slides in seem to be failing as well so you might want to consider replacing the whole assembly. Depending on your desire to to maintain an appearance of originality you could replace the wooden... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Mitheral at 11:33 AM on May 20, 2013

Don't open your door for the reasons laid out already: the door increase the structural stiffness of your car and a closed door keeps you in the car. Ideally a modern car is so stiff that the occupant area is unaffected and the door will operate easily. It is especially important to keep the door closed if you have door mounted seat belts.

raztaj: " I remember thinking "oh, he's going to hit me" and deliberately decided to brace myself by putting... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Mitheral at 7:25 AM on May 18, 2013 marked best answer

A flash unit with the output of the capacitors connected to your flash memory instead of a flash tube will burn out the flash memory without incorporating incendiaries in a postal delivery. Any sort of timer or anti tamper switch could be used to trigger the strobe unit
posted to Ask Metafilter by Mitheral at 10:48 AM on May 17, 2013

If lights would work you could put a cord on a motion sensor light; attach the light to one end of a 6'-7' 4x4; put the other end of the 4x4 into a 5 gallon bucket; fill the bucket with sand. You can then move the bucket where ever you want and just plug the light in.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Mitheral at 5:58 PM on May 15, 2013

The clamp has a Capacity Clamping Pressure rating of 6900lbs and the pads look to be around 1 square inch in area so 6900 PSI seems reasonable. How much force you would have to apply to the screw to get that much clamping force will depend on the friction of the mechanism and the pitch of the screw. You might not be able to obtain the rated clamping pressure.

Keep in mind that clamping pressure is dependant on surface area normal to the clamping force modified by the... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Mitheral at 2:39 PM on May 14, 2013

Are the doors themselves symetric? Sometimes you can swap mirrored doors (IE: a left and a right) and end up with the mounting holes in a different position.

It would be easy enough to move the hinge higher or lower to match different holes that are not damaged if it weren't for the fact that the hinge is inset into the door and I'd like to avoid trying to router out a new space for it.

The door hinge mount isn't routered but... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Mitheral at 11:53 AM on May 14, 2013

instead of three wishes: "two separate a/c-heating experts have looked my house up and down and told me to forget about installing a make-up air unit. The house is almost 80 years old, and has no forced air heat or central air conditioning. The cost is prohibitive"

This part doesn't make any sense unless there is some special requirement encapsulated in the term make-up air in your region that doesn't apply here. At it's most basic make up... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Mitheral at 9:36 PM on May 13, 2013

While emptythought has a good idea a huge truck battery is going to be really heavy. Twas me I'd get a milk crate and buy the biggest deep cycle automotive battery that'll fit into it. The inverter and cables will fit inside the crate along side the battery allowing for easy transport. A good size car deep cycle battery will have have around a 100-200 amp hours of power. If your MacBook draws a 100 W at 12V that's about 8A or about 12 hours of use for a 100Ah battery (though I really doubt... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Mitheral at 7:41 PM on May 13, 2013

Conversion to demand (tankless) hot water or either the electric or gas variety is not a first time DIY job. Electric will require running a significantly larger wire from your panel and gas will require running a gas line.

If you have ever replaced a faucet and replaced a light fixture you can probably replace your hot water tank. It'll be a lot easier for you if your current tank has flexible connectors or if you install flexible connectors now.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Mitheral at 8:15 PM on May 10, 2013

I'd probably have two levers, each like parking brakes, on either side of your seat.

This prevents anyone with use of only one hand from driving and it also prevents two handed drivers from switching off between hands to give their hands a rest or just operate the gear shift/radio knob/window crank/wind shield washer/light switch/etc. Whatever mechanism one comes up with it must be operatable with either hand and for the most part with just one hand.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Mitheral at 7:44 AM on May 9, 2013

If you have understanding friends and it is legal in their area it may be possible to tie in directly to their sewer and water system. Twice now I've added a port for black water to the sewer line of my house and of course water comes via a hose and power via extension cord. A friend of mine lived in my driveway for almost a year in his RV.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Mitheral at 5:56 PM on May 6, 2013

Apologies if someone did mention this already but re:windows fogging; make sure your HVAC controls aren't set to recirc mode if your windows are fogging. Usually it is a enabled via a control labelled with a pictograph of a car outline with a circular arrow within. Some cars you press a button, others you slide a lever between recirc and fresh air intake.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Mitheral at 8:39 PM on May 5, 2013

Now that the breaker is shut off there isn't any danger.

ryanrs: "A wall switch controlling an electric stove is super-shady shit. Like, burn-down-your-house-and-void-your-insurance level bullshit."

It's unusual (at least around here) but there is no reason it couldn't be done safely. Switches that would handle the current and essentially look the same as a regular switch are commonly available in the USA/Canada; I... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Mitheral at 12:41 PM on May 4, 2013

The ones I've seen built were made with 2x6s with a doubled bottom. Narrower wood gives a more circular shape but also increases the amount of milling you need to do and the amount of expensive cedar that ends up as expensive mulch.

Wood cost: Say a six foot diameter hot tub with sides 4' high giving you maybe 39" of inside water depth. That's 18.84 feet in circumference, call it 19' or 228 inches. Say you make it out of 2x6 material that is 228/5*4 230 BF of... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Mitheral at 10:46 PM on May 1, 2013 marked best answer

I assumed the way to do it was to make an outrageous number of folders on your computer (one for each company containing one for each job within the company) containing the relevant resume and cover letter, which you then give obvious filenames (company name and date?). Maybe save a copy of the ad you responded to in there as well.

This is eaxctly what I do. Copies of any correspondence either way gets filed in each job posting/word of mouth contact... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Mitheral at 2:37 PM on May 1, 2013

Even with a shower or tub that is used every day you can have a perfect storm of plumbing geometry and strands of hair cause the trap to empty because of a wicking/siphoning action. This can let sewer gases come in via the drain.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Mitheral at 6:59 PM on April 30, 2013

Two regulators in theory isn't a problem.

The fuel leak protection is contained within the tank and is mandatory on the 20lb size. If you step up to 40 or 100lb tanks they lack that "feature" or at least you can buy them that way.

You can get stainless steel braid for hoses which would thwart your hungry squirrels. They sell it at pretty well any store catering to the tuner crowd. Sometimes it'll come with fake fittings attached but... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Mitheral at 5:03 PM on April 30, 2013

Besides all the nickel and diming that Americans have to put with even with decent plans the time and stress of dealing with insurance companies is astronomical.

For example when I group of us was down there storm chasing one of our group collapsed and was taken by ambulance to hosptial where they stayed overnight. As the EMTs were loading my half concious friend into the ambulance they were asking him which hospital he wanted to go to. Apparently getting this wrong,... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Mitheral at 8:08 AM on April 26, 2013

Statistically speaking The US has the edge in emergency medicine while Canada does better in preventative and long term care medicine. IE: you are better off in the US when you have a heart attack and better in Canada if you have diabetes.

This makes sense: The poor can get emergency medicine and the US spends more plus they have a higher population densities so ERs/trauma centers/ambulance stations/etc. are closer together and closer to patients on average when... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Mitheral at 11:28 PM on April 26, 2013

lilacp your profile doesn't say where you are. Rental law varies greatly between regions but here in BC unless your friend agreed in a lease to refrain from having the carpets cleaned their landlord probably couldn't stop it. If they had agreed to that restriction then barring permission from the landlord (and I'd get it in writing) they could be evicted for breaking their lease if they did do it. Rationality of the landlord's requirement doesn't really enter into it.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Mitheral at 8:24 AM on April 26, 2013

Drive, especially at night. Nothing like getting out on a highway on a clear night, cranking some music and letting the road unwind behind you.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Mitheral at 5:45 PM on April 25, 2013

During a camping trip last year my wife and daughter made decorated T-Shirts:

Gather materials. You need a plain white cotton t-shirt, some acrylic craft paint, some craft brushes, and some green leaves, feathers, stamps or anything to make an impression. You'll also need some cardboard or even the paper board that cereal boxes or canned pop boxes are made out of. A clothes hanger would be useful though not mandatory.

Place the cardboard... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Mitheral at 8:45 PM on April 24, 2013

Concrete is a horrible choice for this project. It'll dull your axe and it'll chip and possibly crack from the impacts of the axe. The cast iron plate, if it's malleable, with help with the latter but it won't help much with the former. If it isn't malleable it's going to break into smaller pieces. Either way if you cast it into the block and there is any significant keying of the plate you shouldn't have a problem with vibration. It'll probably surface rust a bit but an occasional coat of... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Mitheral at 8:21 PM on April 24, 2013

Your profile doesn't say where you live. Here in BC legally you are probably out of luck. Noise as it pertains to rental agreements is covered by what is deemed acceptable by local bylaws and I don't think any jursidition within the province restricts construction noise between those hours during the week. To break your lease you'd have to go through the arbitration process but you would probably not succeed.

That said it sure can't hurt to ask to move to a different... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Mitheral at 7:59 AM on April 23, 2013

Should I call an HVAC company or an electrician?

You need both but usually the HVAC company will have someone they call or like to work with so call them first.

Your profile doesn't say where you are Gordion Knott but note that in Canada you'd need an outlet for service equipment located next to the condensing unit. So if you don't have a receptacle there already you'll be running two circuits not one.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Mitheral at 1:34 PM on April 22, 2013

Are these thru holes? Use a 1/2" step bit.

If they aren't thru holes you can grind a step bit down till you just have the two steps you need though you still need a certian amount of depth.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Mitheral at 7:55 AM on April 22, 2013 marked best answer

Transfer punches are used to mark the center of a hole from an existing hole. gauche's friend already has a 3/8ths hole all the way through both pieces so there isn't anything for the punch to mark.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Mitheral at 10:48 AM on April 22, 2013

It's a daylight balanced auto-colour being decieved by twilight lighting conditions.

The Caddy (http://denver.craigslist.org/cto/3723792807.html): The pictures were taken at dusk/twilight and 4&5 were taken without flash while the picture taker used flash on the other pictures (you can see the glare off of the body work/licence plate). The flash ups the colour temperature making the other pictures look normal.

You can replicate this at will... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Mitheral at 7:47 AM on April 22, 2013

Two people is no problem; I'd buy a Grand Caravan and remove the rear seats. Caravans are cheap and easy to service and the Grand versions have eight feet between the front seats and the rear door so plenty of space to layout a mattress while still leaving space for your suitcase. Also they are fairly good on gas.

Once you kick it up to three people though you need to accommodate the third seating position. Stow and go seating will solve that but those vans are... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Mitheral at 10:13 AM on April 21, 2013

Mechanical systems still need maintenance, repair and monitoring. The engineering department will handle servicing the engine plus HVAC, Sewer and water, lights and electricity (some of which is used to power reefers) and all the other ships systems.

You'll need someone to cook for all the other workers (and any passengers, some container vessels rent out cabin space).
posted to Ask Metafilter by Mitheral at 7:58 AM on April 20, 2013

An explosive placed against an unyielding surface will direct most of it's energy normal to the surface. If that surface is vertical and the explosive placed low down then most of the energy will impact people standing in that area low down. This for example is how a claymore works.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Mitheral at 7:47 AM on April 16, 2013

Yep it's a wall clock outlet. They actually get a special provision in Canadian code they were so popular at one time. Interestingly it's getting hard to even buy electric plug in clocks. I never did manage to find one to fit my requirements.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Mitheral at 8:14 PM on April 14, 2013

PS: You can still buy that exact outlet.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Mitheral at 8:20 PM on April 14, 2013 marked best answer

You should start looking for and documenting your search for work right now. If you end up needing to apply for BCEA there is a significant work search waiting period so the sooner you start the better.

Even though you don't plan on keeping your car you'll have to go through the import process unless you plan to drive it back to the states to dispose of it.

You won't qualify for MSP until your fourth month of residency so depending on your... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Mitheral at 5:02 PM on April 14, 2013

pdb: "I think I could just swap out the SIM card, but I'm only going for a long weekend, so I'm assuming buying a new SIM card would be cost-prohibitive?"

7-11 gives you a SIM card for free with a $100 worth of air time. Plus they are currently including an additional $25 top up card. You can buy them in store. Unlimited browsing will suck up $10 of that voucher and unlimited texting $15.

Whether that is cost... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Mitheral at 11:45 AM on April 14, 2013

180W at 12V is a lot of power: 15 amps. We've got one of these rear outlets in our Caravan and we've had a cooler, air compressor, laptop via inverter, air pump for air mattress, camp lantern, electric blanket, battery charger for my drill and charger for our FRS handhelds all plugged into it at one time or another.

Some of the other 12V accesories I've seen being used include an impact wrench for changing tires; coffee pot; vacuum; rechargeable flashlight; and hair... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Mitheral at 9:03 AM on April 14, 2013

Hang your wall from whatever is supporting your deck. Build a grade beam (I'd probably use concrete for unheated space but pressure treated wood would work too) underneath the suspended wall leaving a gap between the wall and beam. A couple inches is probably more than enough. Bring your outside finish (and your inside finish if you have one) down below the gap. You'll want to cover the gap by a generous margin to allow for settling. You can fill the space with a compressible insulation... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Mitheral at 6:49 PM on April 13, 2013 marked best answer

Your right that either will work. However by hanging the wall from the columns you only need a movement tolerant joint at the bottom. If you place the walls on the ground you need a movement tolerant joint at the top and at the support columns for the deck. With the joint at the bottom the wall ends up rigidly attached to the building on three sides. Also imo building the former is easier. All you have to do is place a spacer between your grade beam (say a 2x4 on it's flat) and the wall... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Mitheral at 8:33 AM on April 14, 2013 marked best answer

I ran the symptoms through the BC healthlink wizard for hand injuries and it says seek medical attention (though a doctor of any sort is fine, it's not a ER Now level problem unless that is the only option) as soon as possible though I had to guess at some of the answers. The diagnosic and advice wizard is free so your friend might want to run it and see what it says.

PS: from what the wizard asked me you haven't provided enough information for even a health... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Mitheral at 3:25 PM on April 13, 2013

Scientist: "Is there any reason why the keyrings cannot simply be kept in locked boxes, or even a single locked box? That would seem to me to be the more usual solution to the kinds of problems that the device you are depicting seems it would solve."

A locked box doesn't identify who took the locked key. By making a person leave something (the unlocking key) to get something (the unlocked key) you can know who has the unlocked key. The... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Mitheral at 7:05 PM on April 12, 2013

The Government of Canada's Canadian Conservation Institute has a six step write up on protecting collections during shipment. Step six is constructing a durable crate for shipment and relatively accessible tools like a skilsaw and hammer are all that are required.

A wooden crate combined with a multilayer foam block produced like in peagood's link would be excellent protection and if the lid was fastened with screws (or ideally captive nuts and machine screws or bolts)... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Mitheral at 8:32 PM on April 11, 2013 marked best answer