I drove across the country in my first Miata back around 1999. It was a fucking blast. If you know your way around Miatae, you already know that you can basically weld the hood shut on the things. The following is a list of all the problems that I had on my month-long trip:Absolutely nothing.Seriously. Not one single problem. No leaks. No overheating. Not even a freakin' flat tire! Miata are practically bullet-proof (though I'm... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Civil_Disobedient at 11:46 PM on July 22, 2008 marked best answer

it is a California car =P

Mine is a daily-driver... in Maine. If I had the option of purchasing the exact same car, only with stainless steel fasteners for an extra $2,000, I would have done it in a fucking heartbeat! When Miata bolts rust, they really rust. Personally I can't understand it... I mean, they do get snow in Japan, don't they? Grrr...

Anyway, hope you have an awesome trip.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Civil_Disobedient at 10:22 AM on July 24, 2008

NYC and SF are the best for living car free.

Boston trumps NYC any day of the week, any week of the year in terms of walkability. New York is fucking big as you will quickly realize once you try and go without mass transit (which is ludicrously expensive per trip, by the way).

To give you some perspective, Boston is the size of Central Park. And forget about living there if you're not pulling in six figures.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Civil_Disobedient at 7:01 PM on July 22, 2008

The people I know who live in "the city" that make modest wages all tend to have two attributes in common:

1. They don't live in Manhattan.

They live in outer Brooklyn, or Queens, or Staten Island, or the Bronx, or Jersey City. Which is fine if you work or hang out in Brooklyn, or Queens, or Staten Island, or the Bronx, or Jersey City. But it's not when where you really want to be is in Manhattan. So instead, you... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Civil_Disobedient at 10:13 PM on July 22, 2008

I've lived in Vancouver (Canada) for 12 years without a car, and Duesseldorf (Germany) for 6.

Headline says it all.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Civil_Disobedient at 10:20 PM on July 22, 2008

isn't quoting Faze on the subject of New York kind of low hanging fruit?

Sure, but he's right--and what's more, he's actually lived in several different parts of the city and isn't just talking out his ass... at least, for the most part (I wouldn't call the outer-boroughs hell-holes, for example, but there is a shitload of wasteland in the surrounding area.)

I'd also second, or third, or fourth the... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Civil_Disobedient at 9:57 AM on July 24, 2008

For the love of all that is holy, buy a Toyota truck.

That was great! I'd also recommend a Toyota or NIssan pickup truck. They're easy to work on, they made millions of them so spare parts are available in abundance (for peanuts), and anyone with even a passing knowledge of cars will know how to fix one should anything go wrong with it.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Civil_Disobedient at 1:14 AM on July 23, 2008

I can't speak for Cambodia, but here's some insight I got from some people who tried the same in Thailand: I've never met an expat guesthouse owner who didn't follow the model of marrying a local first.

That's because foreigners are not allowed to own property in Thailand.

As to the question: there are only two places in Cambodia where you will ever have a chance of getting close to breaking even: Siem Reap... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Civil_Disobedient at 10:46 PM on July 22, 2008

The single best bargaining tactic is to walk away (not literally... don't be rude or anything like that). If they really want you, and know they won't get you unless they bump the salary, I think you'll find it amazing how money can be "found" a few weeks later. Like ellF, I wouldn't take such a large pay cut, either. Just make sure they understand that, except for the money issue, you'd be thrilled to work there. But also keep in mind that... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Civil_Disobedient at 7:15 PM on July 22, 2008

Compact fluoros are the best bang for the buck, period.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Civil_Disobedient at 6:46 PM on July 22, 2008

He's getting text messages from an intern in the middle of the night?

Sorry, but it's over.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Civil_Disobedient at 6:39 PM on July 22, 2008

Key points for editing boxes: RAM (more the better) and HD speed (minimum of 7200 RPM).

Yes and no. For HDV on a system with "normal" amounts of RAM, your processor is going to be the bottleneck. If you're using the HV20 and want to use the 24p "feature" you'll need to perform inverse-telecine conversion on the video, which is extremely processor-intensive. You will certainly need at least... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Civil_Disobedient at 6:18 PM on July 22, 2008

OK, you wanted harsh, so here you go:Why are you using DIV tags for headers? This is abominable:<div id="text4" class="header_element2">education

    <div id="text5" class="small_text"> mitchell college 2008
bachelor of science
business administration
marketing and graphic design
gpa 3.51
summa cum laude </div>... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Civil_Disobedient at 2:21 AM on July 22, 2008

This was probably not a pleasant experience; [...] you score major, major points for asking for it

Seconded. Actively seeking out criticism in order to make yourself better is a sign of humility--something that's extraordinarily rare and simultaneously wonderful to work with, from a professional standpoint.

Also...

A logo should have a PMS color option, B&W or one-color option, and be... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Civil_Disobedient at 9:00 AM on July 22, 2008

As someone who lives in Portland, ME, I can tell you that property like yours are a dime a dozen up. Take a drive up or down 95 and stop in Saco, or Old Orchard, or Wells and you'll see an endless procession of FOR SALE signs.

How bad do you think the market will get? How bad do you think the economy will get?

Much, much worse. You will be thanking your lucky stars you got $285k in two years.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Civil_Disobedient at 4:17 AM on July 18, 2008

Forest & Baxter, very near USM. It's a nicer 2 family than most of what's on the market, but very little is selling.

Take a drive down any of the side streets off Forest between Forest and Stevens for a dose of realty reality. Dime a dozen, and it's only going to get worse (or better, depending on your position). The area between Baxter & Forest is nice (as long as you're not talking about the condo complex) but it's saturated. There just... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Civil_Disobedient at 6:39 AM on July 22, 2008

If you want to use InDesign to do this, you can define a paragraph style, then set your tab stops (it's one of the sub-options under paragraph styles).
posted to Ask Metafilter by Civil_Disobedient at 4:35 PM on July 18, 2008

Paying out-of-pocket, or through insurance?
posted to Ask Metafilter by Civil_Disobedient at 4:30 PM on July 18, 2008

I believe the term you're looking for is Common Carrier status. This is usually used in reference to highways and byways for transport of goods, but recently "transport" has been updated to include telecommunications and the internet (with a lot of disagreement). From the wiki:An important legal requirement for common carrier as public provider is that it cannot discriminate, that is refuse the service unless there is some compelling reason (e.g post doesn't allow... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Civil_Disobedient at 2:10 AM on July 18, 2008

I think the general consensus is that just about every musical genre associated with the 90s had its roots in the 80s. Grunge had My Bloody Valentine and The Pixies, Techno had Kraftwerk and Juan Atkins' Detroit scene, Rap and Hip-Hop had NWA, Public Enemy and Run-D.M.C.... etc.

The only music I can think of that's distinctly 90s in origin... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Civil_Disobedient at 12:07 PM on July 13, 2008

But you can play this game going all the way back before the origins of rock & roll. There is nothing new under the sun...it's always part of a continuum of influence.

At some point you have to limit your pedantry if you're going to have a rational discussion. I mean, yes, of course all music is at its core nothing more than the semi-intelligent grunts of Thugar, the Destroyer and Bringer of the Word combined... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Civil_Disobedient at 7:20 AM on July 14, 2008

I had the same problem, but thankfully our next-door neighbor was finally evicted. We tried to be diligent about locking our doors (first floor apartment), but every now and then we'd forget and have random people walking through our front doors.

We put up with it until one night a half-naked girl walked into our apartment, drugged out of her mind. Her jeans--the only real clothing she was wearing, were soaking wet because it had recently snowed and she had been... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Civil_Disobedient at 11:52 AM on July 13, 2008

Gold is being used as a hedge against the deflating dollar by just about everyone with a television, which is why the prices are so high. That's not to say that the dollar won't plummet even further than it already has (I personally believe it will, but that's another story). It's the easiest commodity to intellectually grasp for the paranoid, which is why I would advise looking at other commodities like Oil or Gas, which (pending news of a breakthrough in fusion power) are only going to go up.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Civil_Disobedient at 11:36 AM on July 13, 2008

1. Sign up for a good USENET feed that offers a web interface so you can download over port 80 (aka http--the port all "regular" web traffic goes over).

2. Laugh maniacally at Comcast's impotence.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Civil_Disobedient at 5:37 AM on July 13, 2008

The original soft top (plastic window) is on it.

This isn't going to help your car-washing problems, but Meguiars #17 followed by #10 will make your rear window look brand new again. The stuff is positively miraculous.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Civil_Disobedient at 12:22 AM on July 13, 2008

Don't use display:inline on the tabs, use display:block and give it a fixed width, then float: left. Just make sure you clear the float at the end.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Civil_Disobedient at 7:27 PM on July 10, 2008

Didn't see the right tabs. For the right tabs, wrap the whole thing in a DIV container, set overflow: hidden, give it a width (anything, even 100% will be fine) then float the tabs on the right... well, to the right. Again, display:block and fixed widths.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Civil_Disobedient at 7:29 PM on July 10, 2008

Additionally, instead of using padding to give the text some "room" inside the tab, I'd personally use line-height (which has the added advantage of working nicely on display:inline elements).
posted to Ask Metafilter by Civil_Disobedient at 7:31 PM on July 10, 2008

Sorry, forgot to follow up.

The easiest way to get two things to float to the right and left sides of a container is explained much better here.

But it looks like you've got everything looking good at least, in the only browser that matters... ;) If you find there's a gap between the tabs and the content on certain browsers, you'll have to target the browser using a hack, then tweak the position of the tabs using... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Civil_Disobedient at 7:25 AM on July 12, 2008

OK, try this:div.alltabs {
display:block;
float:left;
padding: 0;
border: 1px solid #fff;
margin-right:7px;
height: 16px; //adjust to fit your image
}

div.activetab {
background: #fff;
}Now change the class declaration for the tabs to use the attributes properly:

<div class="alltabs"> ...for the regular... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Civil_Disobedient at 11:07 AM on July 12, 2008

This can turn whole chickens into soup, no problem. You could probably put a frozen chicken in there and make a chicken-smoothie if you were so inclined. They're not cheap, but they are absolutely fantastic. /satisfied owner
posted to Ask Metafilter by Civil_Disobedient at 8:47 PM on July 10, 2008

Video evidence to accompany above comment.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Civil_Disobedient at 8:49 PM on July 10, 2008

Every tannery operation I've ever seen has more than one tank or pit.

Some examples of the old ways of tanning can still be found in places like Fez, Morocco. As fshgrl says... they use multiple vats.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Civil_Disobedient at 7:50 PM on July 6, 2008

The only way I could trick myself into not choosing caffeinated beverages in the morning was by going the complete opposite route: I treated myself (and SO) to a kick-ass blender that can make smoothies in seconds. It's kind-of decadent and we don't do it all the time, but they taste awesome and you can pretend like you're reaping tons of health benefits (I mean, there are some, sure, but most fruits are just simple sugars--which means this doesn't work... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Civil_Disobedient at 7:41 PM on July 6, 2008

Don't do math unless you really like math. You can't fake your way through math--you're either good at it, or you shouldn't be majoring in it. That said, the developers that I've met that were math majors were all fantastic programmers. But like I said, if you don't got it, don't waste your time because there are plenty of other opportunities to be had.

With an English major you immediately make yourself stand out in the business... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Civil_Disobedient at 2:10 PM on July 6, 2008

I've been building computers since the PC XT. I know what happens when you install a 80387 math co-processor the wrong way. I've flipped more DIP switches than light switches. And I will never install another power supply into a computer unless it says PC Power and Cooling on the side.

The key ingredient to a good power supply isn't the power output, it's the quality of the components. Most are junk. Like the "1000W" car amplifiers you see for sale at... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Civil_Disobedient at 1:59 PM on July 6, 2008

I know the guy sounds like bad news to most people but he's really a good person and all the bad shit that's happened to him has happened because he's down on himself, not because he's out to swindle anybody. Time after time, the root is his lack of money and self-esteem.

I'm narcoleptic. I spent years undiagnosed, completely unaware of what was wrong with me. I fell asleep on the job all the time, and thought I could make up for... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Civil_Disobedient at 1:40 PM on July 6, 2008 marked best answer

When I was a young lad and had just discovered Nineteen Eighty-Four, my mother gave me another book in a similar vein that I had never heard of, and to this day most people familiar with the author's works have never heard of it, let alone read it-- Anthem, by Ayn Rand. I loved it. The novel (almost a novella, considering its short length) takes place in a dystopian future where humans have reverted to an almost Medieval society where all individualism has... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Civil_Disobedient at 3:28 AM on July 3, 2008

Along with make, model and length, the year they were made, as well as any characteristics of the skis that might be impotant (if they're shaped/patabolic skis or super slinkys, etc.)
posted to Ask Metafilter by Civil_Disobedient at 3:12 AM on July 3, 2008

Why are there so many (apparently) stray cats wandering the city?

Remember your Malthus: they couldn't exist without food.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Civil_Disobedient at 3:10 AM on July 3, 2008

Vest and hat, vest or hat.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Civil_Disobedient at 8:25 PM on July 2, 2008

You are very defensive, I wonder if you could step out of the thread for a while and just listen?

Maybe he's defensive because he's specifically, repeatedly asked for alternative solutions to therapy, and people still keep insisting on bringing it up?

I have a theory of my own...

* Not good looking enough
* Having a smile that exposes too much of the upper... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Civil_Disobedient at 6:44 PM on July 1, 2008

You may not be a native English speaker, in which case I really do apologize, but your sentences sound like they were translated into Martian and then retranslated back into English. You'll have to take my word for it.

Huh? They read like perfectly acceptable, proper English sentences to me. If this is some kind of ham-fisted attempt to get his goad, I think you're barking up the wrong tree.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Civil_Disobedient at 5:34 AM on July 2, 2008

What I'm getting at is that, if you're afraid the Biglaw job won't have you at the edge of your seat, the D.A. job won't, either.

This is not necessarily true, and the degree to which it is not necessarily true can make it completely and utterly false. I worked at the D.A.'s office in Manhattan in the early 90s in the Homicide Investigation Unit (general) and later the Asian Gangs Division, and I can tell you that in the subsequent 15 years,... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Civil_Disobedient at 5:28 AM on July 2, 2008

I know I'm slacking on the cardio (I really hate it) and I need to make some serious changes to my diet, namely the boozing

Either one of those alone could result in stagnated weight loss. Both together? Forget about it. If you're going to have any chance at convincing your body to burn its fat stores, you need to eat less and work out for longer periods of time. Weight training isn't going to cut it (if you'll excuse the pun).
posted to Ask Metafilter by Civil_Disobedient at 4:40 AM on July 2, 2008

If you're looking for a basic "go here, buy this" type of link, here's my recommendation of the Logitech Z-5500s.

Just what I was going to say. The Z-5500s is hard to beat, in terms of bang/buck.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Civil_Disobedient at 7:34 PM on July 1, 2008

If I walk 5 miles in 2 hours, do I burn the same amount of calories as if I jog the same 5 miles in one hour, or if I run it in 30 minutes?

No. As ssg illustrated pretty clearly, there are inherent efficiencies (or lack thereof) to consider. People with excessive slow-twitch muscle fibers in their legs are going to operate more efficiently by walking, because that provides a more optimal measure of work (work in the physics sense... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Civil_Disobedient at 7:22 PM on July 1, 2008

(I won't go into details here, but let's just say that this is a very youth-oriented social circle that is very interested in partying and youth culture in general)

And they're in their 30s? Remind yourself that they're feebly grasping on to the last strands of their youth, unable to accept the natural process of aging, and that it's pretty pathetic to everyone that's not them. Honestly, if they're in their 30s... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by Civil_Disobedient at 7:57 AM on June 28, 2008

How do I get jackasses like him to quickly realize that this is not funny and prevent the stupid things they do?

You kick them in the motherfucking nuts, hard, while screaming at them that the NEXT FUCKING TIME I'LL KILL YOU MOTHERFUCKER.

Seriously. You need to go ape-shit on their sorry ass. Some people are just too fucking stupid to understand it any other way.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Civil_Disobedient at 7:52 AM on June 28, 2008

$6,000 is about 30% under the national poverty guidelines for 2006. I find it very hard to believe they would not be eligible for a public defender.
posted to Ask Metafilter by Civil_Disobedient at 7:47 AM on June 28, 2008