COD: If they were one off search hits, they wouldn't hit my blog more than once, no? I can only guess it's some weird mix of chrisamiller, holgate, and JZigs answer.

Thanks everyone :)

(I don't suppose there is a general formula for figuring out how many ACTUAL people read your site, is there? Like, say, 10% of unique hits are actual people?)
posted to Ask Metafilter by eurasian at 8:29 AM on October 24, 2007

Before this thread goes thermonuclear, let's assume the poster is going to do something with the friend's consent and full knowledge of purpose the activities.

"What sort of activities" seems to be the main question.

I second meetup. And perhaps some sort of film club that's attached to the local film arthouse ?
posted to Ask Metafilter by eurasian at 2:11 PM on August 15, 2007

Gamer Dad forums?
posted to Ask Metafilter by eurasian at 7:12 AM on July 19, 2007

Least Likely To Remember Anyone 5 Years From Now
Least Likely To Be Remembered By Anyone 5 Years From Now
Most Apathetic
Most Likely To Be Most Embarassed By Clothes 10 Years From Now
Most Likely To Be Arrested In A Hotel Room With Questionable Paraphenelia (was originally "With A Dead Hooker", then I read your need for a PG-13 rating)
Most Likely To Be a Disillusioned Former Born Again
Most Likely To Sell Used... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by eurasian at 2:58 PM on January 5, 2007

Yes, I love "The Never Ending Story" as well as all of Pratchett's stuff. "The Princess Bride" is a slightly different beast, IMHO. It's something my wife would actually read. Something that many non-fantasy readers would read, and love.
posted to Ask Metafilter by eurasian at 1:43 PM on December 20, 2006

Alrighty, thanks for all the great answers. I'm not sure how to mark the best one answer. I think I'll just have to slowly and carefully go through all the books that seem to be recommended multiple times (or just once emphatically), and remember to come back and mark :)

Just to clarify, although the idea that he was editing a larger piece was... interesting, I can't say I liked that bit. In other words, the entire book without the interuptions with the flashbacks of his... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by eurasian at 11:00 PM on December 20, 2006

The Video Downloader plugin for Firefox does all the work for you. If you are on a page that has a video you want, just click the icon on the bottom, and voila, downloaded video.
posted to Ask Metafilter by eurasian at 10:34 AM on November 28, 2006

Steam (Valve's distribution software) transfers it's updates and games via bittorrentesque manner.
posted to Ask Metafilter by eurasian at 8:56 AM on November 28, 2006

Just another vote for yWriter. I've used it to great success at writing my very own first novel. It does have some downsides, such as not being able to do pretty formatting (if you care about such things). So if you are writing dialogue and want to italicize something for emphasis, no dice.

However, I am totally addicted to that green bar thingy that indicates how much of your daily goal you have written.
posted to Ask Metafilter by eurasian at 12:13 PM on October 18, 2006

Mad Scientists
posted to Ask Metafilter by eurasian at 1:03 PM on July 19, 2006

IMHO, buying cheap RAM is just saying you want to buy RAM twice. When I built my system oh so many years ago, everything I cheaped out on blew out (the video card, ram, and powersupply).
posted to Ask Metafilter by eurasian at 12:17 PM on July 18, 2006

Holy crap, intro was not 80's AT ALL.
posted to Ask Metafilter by eurasian at 8:07 AM on July 17, 2006

My brother really enjoyed Shorinjii Kenpo. He liked the mix of hard and soft in the art. Well, that, and I think they had all of 3 belt levels. From what I saw of it, most of the martial part of it seemed to make sense (blocking at an angle to deflect a strike as opposed to blocking at right angles to DESTROY THE OPPONENTS ARM!!).

IMVHO
posted to Ask Metafilter by eurasian at 7:54 AM on July 17, 2006

Speaking as a fellow developer, at first blush, I'd have to say an HR sort of person would probably be more impressed with an IBM cert, as well as quite a few manager types. If you are going hardcore, I think most techies would recooganize OMG as being 'closer to the bone'.

With that being said, I'm not entirely sure you really need a UML cert. If you can display that you can do it, and do sample problems in interviews well enough, that's probably more than enough.
posted to Ask Metafilter by eurasian at 2:13 PM on July 13, 2006

This one is about from the 40's or so. On ebay, the ones that are much much older, that require a foot wheel and whatnot go fora bout 100 or so. I mean, the couches they give away on craigslist are worth more.
posted to Ask Metafilter by eurasian at 2:17 PM on July 7, 2006

Well, alot of that means, make things that ppl like, so that they talk about it, and promote it to their friends. One way to think of Web 2.0 is the way in which collboration amongst many people creates more links to better content.

It's actually kind of a response to all the spammy, crappy content out there. Hence the popularity of something like, say, digg.com. If a TON of fellow geeks like a link, then hey, it's probably worth my while to check it out. An infinity... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by eurasian at 9:34 AM on July 7, 2006

In particular, the attributes of cats that appeal to me are their small size, lack of strong smells, quietness, tendency to shed less, small appetite, cleanliness, and calm temperament.

I have a strong preference for the Havanese.

They are small, hypo-allergenic, very quiet (I get commented on this the most about our dog, doesn't bark at new ppl, hardly makes a peep unless there is a interesting smelling dog she can smell but... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by eurasian at 12:38 PM on July 6, 2006

If you like a bit bigger dog, I've also heard great things about Greyhounds. Specifically that they are incredibly serene and calm. They are also short haired, but keep in mind they do have a prey instinct (that's how they get them to run around the track).
posted to Ask Metafilter by eurasian at 7:32 AM on July 7, 2006

Two podcasts for creative writing (in both cases, sci-fi/fantasy, but most of the content is about creative writing in general) are The Secrets and I Should be Writing. Both have forums which offer some workshopping of pieces and whatnot.

I can't really vouch for the latter one, but the former one is quite good, IMVHO.
posted to Ask Metafilter by eurasian at 11:06 AM on July 6, 2006

Did anyone else get the feeling that the whole scene where Superman calls the boy 'his son' was for some reason supposed to be a big 'A-HA' moment? But the kid had just, like, 20 mins earlier, thrown a grand piano at a bad guy. How are we supposed to be surprised that he is Superman's son?

Or maybe it's not supposed to be a big "Myster SOLVED OGM!" moment.
posted to Ask Metafilter by eurasian at 11:53 AM on July 4, 2006

This is my personal favorite Fast action like a laptop. Cheap.
posted to Ask Metafilter by eurasian at 4:09 PM on June 22, 2006

Dantien : I'm pretty sure there are Free Mason Lodges in every major metropolitan city. Just go in and apply, like the Elks, I'd imagine. Seriously, next time you are in a major city, keep your eye out for a freemason lodge. It's like the Blue Car theory.

I also find them in the middle of nowhere somwhat small towns as well. It's creepifying!
posted to Ask Metafilter by eurasian at 1:09 PM on June 22, 2006

Those are the numbers I remember driveler, but are those 1 time max numbers?
posted to Ask Metafilter by eurasian at 10:02 AM on June 21, 2006

I'm not sure how folks feel about self-help, but perhaps getting one of the better known self-help books from your public library might do the trick?

Tony Robbins, 7 Habits Of Highly Successful People, that sort of thing. IIRC, Tony Robbins donated his tape program to libaries across the country a few years back. YMMV.

I've read a few self help books, they were somewhat helpful insofar as tools and mental strategies I can use to succeed/get... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by eurasian at 1:37 PM on June 20, 2006

You might want to try Real Alternative, a media player that plays Real streaming file, without the bloatware of Real Media Player.
posted to Ask Metafilter by eurasian at 2:06 PM on June 9, 2006

What has been echoed a few times here. Boycott VWs because they have one of the most atrocious reliability ratings of any car. Ever. And their overpriced.

Pick up a Consumer Report, Car Buying Guide. Flip to the back, look at the relatively well made cars with decent reliability ratings for their subsystems (engine, fuel line, trim,etc), flip to VW, notice the SEA OF BLACK MARKS.
posted to Ask Metafilter by eurasian at 11:03 AM on June 7, 2006

If this is a dealership, you can rough it out that they markup about 20% or more. More so for luxury vehicles. You can base your bids on that.

I had a friend who phoned several dealers and pretended she wanted to sell this make, model, and year of a car she wanted. From several answers, she was able to ascertain what the going dealer market price was, and bid accordingly.

With a dealer, you have a lot more lattitude to lowball, since even if... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by eurasian at 8:20 AM on June 6, 2006

So there is no standard answer to this? Such as, it's generally frowned upon to buy a former rental vehicle, or a vehicle that's been in a large accident, or don't chew with your mouth open? This is more or less a 'it depends' sort of thing?

And KBB doesn't really apply to Canada, as best as I can tell. And Canadian Black Book is so far below, I've never seen a car come close being near Black Book.
posted to Ask Metafilter by eurasian at 8:13 PM on June 3, 2006

So either it's a pretty good deal, or I'm being swindled? I'm a a bit confused as to this whole lease thing. So you lease it for x amount of years, at the end, don't you just have the option of giving it back?

Other options
1) Buy it out.
2) They buy it off you?

Yeah, I'm already getting confused. This guy's logic is thus, they either buy it out from me for x, or I sell it someone else for a bit more? Ok, now I'm really... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by eurasian at 8:40 PM on June 3, 2006

Ah, that makes sense. So generally, any sane person would not be offering someone the cost of buying out his lease?

Well, let's hash out the numbers here. As I've found out, prices are still very much a supply and demand thing. In Vancouver, BC, a 2002 Mazda Protege 5 retails around $15k CAD, with average KMs (assuming avg KMs is 24k/yr = approx 96k kms).

Average prices here. Keep in mind that that for a retail sale, there is GST and PST (12-13%... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by eurasian at 9:23 PM on June 3, 2006

Yeah, I'm not sure, 4 years does seem to be a somewhat danger zone, depending on the car. How long have you had your cars that you buy 4 years old?

Keep in mind that SeizeTheDay might be referring to a Volkswagen, which has, quite recently, lets it's quality and reliability go right down the tubes. Lemon-Aid places it somewhere around 25th or something in automakers for reliability. Consumer reports gives it worse than average and MUCH worse than average rating for it's... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by eurasian at 9:19 AM on June 4, 2006

Juv3nal, well, take into account that Quebec and the snowier provinces usually do pretty abysmally for used cars, since the salt on the road eats away at cars very quickly. I suppose if I was willing ot import from quebec, and deal with all the licensing fees etc, I might be able to get a better deal.
posted to Ask Metafilter by eurasian at 9:21 AM on June 4, 2006

SeizeTheDay : thanks for the background, that is a pretty comprehensive history. I guess that's why the price for a used car drops dramatically from 2 years old to 3 years old.

As an aside, how are you liking your Hyundai? Pretty reliable?
posted to Ask Metafilter by eurasian at 10:24 AM on June 4, 2006

Well, assuming you want to learn more hardwarey stuff, this is a neat little page of info.
posted to Ask Metafilter by eurasian at 5:25 PM on June 1, 2006

I think (s)he was tempting fate just a bit too much with the domain name.
posted to Ask Metafilter by eurasian at 5:20 PM on June 1, 2006

slimepuppy : My understanding was that the DOMINANT hand holds the knife, so if you're a lefty, you would hold your knife in your left.
posted to Ask Metafilter by eurasian at 8:43 AM on May 19, 2006

This is sort of what you are looking for, but not quite. It's an RTS/FPS space game. From what I remember very complex (and not in the Battlecruise way complex), but very satisfying. Allegiance, used to be a microsoft product, but released to the community.

It's multi-player only, but it's free.
posted to Ask Metafilter by eurasian at 1:02 PM on May 17, 2006

Are the bowflex and similiar type of All In One resistance machines not recommended?
posted to Ask Metafilter by eurasian at 2:21 PM on May 11, 2006

Somewhat tangential WRT pets. It's only a small thing, but always think of it as 'getting a dog', not a 'puppy' (or cat instead of kitten for that matter). These little souls are dependent upon you their whole lives.

Speaking as someone who has a small dog and is going to have a baby, the small dog is definitely good at curbing any baby lust. Especially small dogs since they are always pick-up-able.

With small dogs in mind, I'd recommend the... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by eurasian at 2:11 PM on May 11, 2006

As long as you know your techie stuff, I can't imagine they are going to care about a University degree.
posted to Ask Metafilter by eurasian at 12:16 PM on May 9, 2006

Hmm, I asked some friends, they seem to think between 50-100. That sort of makes sense, since it's held in a big restaurant and all. Tricky, tricky :S
posted to Ask Metafilter by eurasian at 2:56 PM on April 28, 2006

I'm almost positive there was this really great board put out.. A year ago? Something like that, by the US Government, IIRC. It had TONS AND TONS of frames. It was ugly, but content good. I don't remember what it was called or where it is.
posted to Ask Metafilter by eurasian at 9:17 AM on April 24, 2006

I'd expect to pay a programmer to code something like this from scratch about 40/hour. Have a few of them spec out an estimated time, and go with the person with the best price/looks and acts professional enough.
posted to Ask Metafilter by eurasian at 4:11 PM on April 20, 2006

Wasn't there some academic work done recently that indicated that 666 was NOT the number of the beast? Darnit if my google-fu is turning up bupkist.
posted to Ask Metafilter by eurasian at 3:32 PM on April 10, 2006

Ah. hrm, MTV as a news source. I'm pretty sure this was in mainstream media (take whatever value you will from it). Apparently the mark of the beast may be 616
posted to Ask Metafilter by eurasian at 3:43 PM on April 10, 2006

I'm going to echo a few other sentiments here, that if you are a designer, working with a very slick IDE creating GUIs that DO stuff might be your best bet. That is, click a button, something happens. Change what happens.

I hear they are giving away Visual Studio for free now.

That's for understanding programming in general, and OO in a small way.




(Also keep in mind that I can't... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by eurasian at 2:06 PM on November 8, 2005

Are we talking about hitting the back of the head? Or the shoulder? Because I'm pretty sure hitting the back of the head is going to knock pretty much anyone out. Mainly because it's hitting the medulla oblongata, which doesn't like to be moved aboot too much. But I'm most probably wrong, IANAD.

But if we are talking about the shoulder hit, then you'd have to WHACK them really reallly really hard sideways to get the effect ikkyu2 describes, no?
posted to Ask Metafilter by eurasian at 7:54 AM on October 19, 2005

The downside of Atom12's suggestion, of course, is a host of odd feelings towards you from you neighbours and, possibly, dogs.
posted to Ask Metafilter by eurasian at 12:48 PM on October 18, 2005

This if really interesting info. Reminds me of when me and the wife go for Fake Chinese Food (anytime you see Canadian Chinese CUISINE, or alternatively, American Chinese Cuisine!, it's FCF). Mind you, not that it's bad (well, sometimes it is), it's just not authentic.
posted to Ask Metafilter by eurasian at 8:30 AM on October 18, 2005

Please note. People are giving MANY answers to a very broad question. Web Developer is a term that has a few definitions. I think perhaps you should clarify which one you mean?

1) A web designer. One who deals with the look, feel and usability of a website. Also deals with the many vagaries of browser compatibilities.

2) A web programmer. Anytime you have a website that does more stuff than just display a small amount of information, you will... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by eurasian at 1:40 PM on October 14, 2005