Eat very dark chocolate. Eat more. Eat ginger, ginseng, spicy foods. Write sexy stories to each other. Express yourself. Talk. Talk more. Don't talk - learn to enjoy healthy silence as much as possible. Hide surprises for each other places - notes, treats, snacks, naughty letters, pictures. Wrestle. Wrestle in flowers, wrestle in pudding. Try new things. Go to modern theater or to museums. Choose daring subjects. Stir your mind and soul - boredom is for the unimaginative and lazy! The more you... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by loquacious at 2:00 AM on June 28, 2008

I could introduce your aunt to my friend who is a CalTech graduate and AI researcher, but she would probably be strained to understand why she's a genius. Hell, the second she starts talking in vector equations I'm totally lost, but smitten.

There are lots and lots of women working in science today who are geniuses. We just don't really ever hear about them - in the same way we hardly hear about scientists in general - scientific research has rapidly... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by loquacious at 11:27 PM on June 4, 2008

It's a great drive, if a little long. lots of washboarding, but nothing you can't do at 50 mph with a couple zongo turns.

Do it, except don't do this. 50 MPH on dirt washboard isn't smart. That's how severe washboarding is created - it's not water or wind that makes washboarding happen, but vehicular traffic.

You can't see far enough ahead to avoid tire-puncturing rocks embedded in the road, or dips or gullies, or washouts... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by loquacious at 11:12 AM on June 3, 2008 marked best answer

That said, I did go through a period where lies seriously bothered me about 15 years ago. I grew out of it and started to recognize the value of lies in society. Honesty is overrated; I'd rather be happy even if that makes me 4% stupider.

This bears repeating. From someone with an overformed justice (and outrage) gland, it took me years to realize the values of "social" lying - and even of "putting on appearances" or a facade -... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by loquacious at 7:46 AM on May 30, 2008 marked best answer

whir, I can probably put you in touch with one or more of the folks that make those awesome custom recycled-banner bags that the messengers around here use. Since they're all custom, they can make 'em to your size, and they come in all sizes, including "OMFG you have three 24 packs in that thing!"
posted to Ask Metafilter by loquacious at 6:45 PM on May 14, 2008

Thanks, everyone, for the responses so far. I've already learned about a bunch of orgs I had no idea about in the first place, and I've been exploring the links. Please, keep it coming! :)

It's been a long day and I've been multitasking, but I will follow up and issue best answers after I've done some homework, as well as eventually provide an update on anything I've volunteered for.

There's a lot of good knowledge here so far, and well reasoned... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by loquacious at 2:29 AM on May 4, 2008

Is he really street smart? Does he keep his nose out of other people's business, yet stay alert and aware? Since he's moving to the Tenderlon, can I assume he won't be wearing expensive looking clothes or looking like a tourist?

If so, he should be fine. Most of the "dangerous" or "unsavory" Tenderloin residents are usually simply poor addicts, or simply just poor.

However, has he ever been in any fights? Has he ever taken a... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by loquacious at 10:59 AM on May 3, 2008 marked best answer

I actually do tech support. For Windows. Or Mac.

You think you get asked to fix someone's computer a lot? There's some line about doctors at parties, except I'm not a doctor with a 5 or 6 figure salary.

Please, please stop asking me to fix your computer unless you want to pay me. My rate for "friends" right now starts at 50 an hour, 2 hours minimum - and that's really cheap. You think that's expensive? Call Geek Squad and be prepared... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by loquacious at 6:48 PM on April 28, 2008 marked best answer

Doesn't McDonald's have big bendy straws? They have big straws in general.

Also, here's a Wal-Mart.


(Sorry, side channel info. I know where AV is at and why.)
posted to Ask Metafilter by loquacious at 6:48 PM on April 25, 2008

Roll your own. Halfzware Shag cut.

Bonus points if you can roll a proper grit one-handed.
posted to Ask Metafilter by loquacious at 2:15 AM on April 15, 2008

If you care about your stuff, don't ship it Greyhound. (GPX - Greyhound Package Express.)

I've travelled a lot on Greyhound, and I've seen how they handle the packages they ship. It's pretty rough.

GPX seems to be more for fast-run services that's cheaper than air shipping. They seem to ship a lot of dry-ice packed food and/or medical products.

Getting rid of lots of stuff through craigslist is a great idea. You can often... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by loquacious at 4:32 PM on February 3, 2008

I LOVE YOU MAALOR CAN I HAZ UR BABEEZ
posted to Ask Metafilter by loquacious at 1:58 AM on December 15, 2007 marked best answer

I"M PRETTY GOOD LOOKING, TRUTH BE TOLD.
posted to Ask Metafilter by loquacious at 1:59 AM on December 15, 2007 marked best answer

Yeah, I can filter. It just feels like giving up. I guess I could set the filter to forward it back at them. *grinds teeth*
posted to Ask Metafilter by loquacious at 7:01 PM on October 1, 2007

I'm pretty sure I can lock down the network enough so that I'm the only one who can get on it.

No, you can't. Breaking WEP and WPA is trivial these days. WiFi is inherently insecure.

On a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being something like brute-force cracking an SSH session (say, 3DES or RSA), cracking WPA/WEP barely rates 1.

This is why your schools IT department doesn't want you to have... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by loquacious at 2:54 PM on September 1, 2007

but I really doubt they'd be competent or conscientious enough to check for this.

Ahem.

OK, granted, it depends on the campus. I was on a really, really big UC campus.

But I was a lackey. The directors of this IT department were all hard core CS nerds that were still very heavily into the cutting edge. Hell, some of them were 45+ and attending Defcon regularly. These are the same... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by loquacious at 3:12 PM on September 1, 2007

Sorry if I was snarky, but as indicated and supported there's reasons why these rules exist. Speaking as an anti-authoritarian, sometimes it really is for your own good and protection.

There's also reasons why IT folk get cranky - and this is one of them.
posted to Ask Metafilter by loquacious at 4:26 PM on September 1, 2007

Now there's creative problems solving.

You'd also probably end up earning the respect and/or awe of the nerds in your IT department.
posted to Ask Metafilter by loquacious at 5:06 PM on September 1, 2007

The subnetting is happening by default due to consumer-grade router/hub/wifi points at two spots in the network, as well as physical size of the network.

I'm just trying to figure out how to get them all to play nice so things like Workgroup shares traverse the entire internal LAN.
posted to Ask Metafilter by loquacious at 12:13 AM on August 13, 2007

Arnold Maupin's Tales of the City.

Paris is Burning.

Forbidden Planet.

Delicatessen.

Black Cat - White Cat.


Forget movies. Introduce me to your aunt. ;)
posted to Ask Metafilter by loquacious at 12:13 AM on August 1, 2007 marked best answer

Another shortut is to test the hardware with a Knoppix or Ubuntu bootable CD. This will both allow you to back up your data for a reinstall as well as test the hardware.

If the keyboard works normally before XP boots to safe mode and/or the keyboard works fine in another OS - chances are really good it's a driver issue with XP and not a hardware failure issue.

However, this can only be solved by doing the legwork. There's no magic bullet for this... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by loquacious at 8:45 AM on July 19, 2007

Good composition is a huge part of good photography - good photographers frame and compose their shots the same way a painter composes a painting, paying attention to the elements being shown, where, how, their color, lighting - and even cultural or psychological relevance, as well as juxtapositions thereof.

Good exposure and focus control is what makes this happen.

Good cameras make that happen.

This is an entire chain... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by loquacious at 6:42 AM on June 15, 2007

Follow-up:

While I'm aware of the newer thin film, I'm still specifically looking for what I believe is an older, "cruder" technology.

The newer technologies seem to dominate the searches for my keyword choices.

I remember seeing a video segment about the fabric. They were literally screen printing small pebbles of photovoltaic material in a sort of adhesive paste directly on a coarse fabric. These pebbles... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by loquacious at 12:26 PM on June 9, 2007

Get ethereal or another packet-analysis tool and start logging your network. If your OS X laptop has a proper "name" for whatever your default profile is, it should show in some of the packets.

This is perfectly legal - you own the network. You own the packets on it.

Not so perfectly legal - start analyzing the packets for meaningful data - an address, a zip code, banking information, logins and passwords, etc. Something you can use to... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by loquacious at 9:40 PM on May 30, 2007

Back from riding. 20+ miles, a bunch of it between Castro and Embarcadero along Market and side streets. No problems. Traffic just gets me happily agro, though sucking exhaust whilst already scraping ones lungs for more oxygen is gnar. People here are actually courteous to cyclists compared to Los Angeles. I'm used to engaging in life-or-death battles of bluffing, speed and wit. Oh, and the (very) occasional display of superior airpower.

Man, it's actually kind of hard... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by loquacious at 4:46 PM on May 30, 2007

get yourself a fixie, goatee, dreadies, piercings & tatts.

Yeah, fuck fixies. Hate 'em. Would rather ride down an entire mountain of babyheads with my seat post up my ass.

probably wouldn't hurt to blow out the hardcore courier contingent wherever they hang out.

Give me a few thousand miles on a decent bike, and maybe next year. I'm with peeedro. I just want a job - not a... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by loquacious at 8:19 PM on May 30, 2007

If you take a stun gun to the innards, it will effectively become invisibly and irrepairably damaged in a manner consistant in behavior and inspection to very severe static shock damage.

If you do this while the machine is actually running, amusing results can often be observed if you target the various subsystems before attacking the motherboard. Zap the soundcard first, then the video card, then the ram or drives, then the motherboard and processor.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by loquacious at 9:18 PM on April 21, 2007

Dude. You're overthinking a plate of beans. What the beans need is catsup.

Oh, and a latex condom. Get the unlubricated kind!

What in the hell are they teaching kids in college these days!?



No, seriously. You ran off all pell mell towards "must date/own/obtain girl and establish permanancy and contracturarly obligated trust relationship as indicated by a piece of... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by loquacious at 8:23 AM on April 12, 2007

Eat less. Exercise more. Feed your head.

No, seriously. I've been battling the same symptoms all my life. I've dropped 15 pounds in two weeks on the I'm-broke-and-stressed diet. Eating nothing but rice and beans tends to take the weight off, and reminds you that food is fuel, not entertainment or comfort.

Getting up and getting active both takes the weight off and gives you added energy and stamina. It's a catch-22 situation. You just have to get... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by loquacious at 7:52 PM on March 8, 2007

See also: clitmouse.
posted to Ask Metafilter by loquacious at 9:13 PM on March 6, 2007

The Universe has no need of Purpose to be Beautiful - it simply Is.

Likewise, your Life need not have any Purpose to be Beautiful.

Life is mystery and beauty enough, all on its own.

Any additionally rewarding spiritual experiences or faiths above and beyond that are just extra icing on the cake. Enjoy them if you wish, but they aren't required to leave a strong, ethical, em>moral or beautiful life.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by loquacious at 12:28 AM on March 4, 2007

Oh, holy crap. In the emotional response I had to the thread I had overlooked that you were actually asking for books. I'd read you weren't asking for a book.

Without any question you need to read Ismael, The Story of B and My Ishmael by Daniel Quinn. It pulled me out of a 4-5 year funk that basically started with reading Philip K Dick's VALIS trilogy. It should address or at least approach the philosophical questions you're posing in your question.
posted to Ask Metafilter by loquacious at 12:40 AM on March 5, 2007

There have been a number of sail-based cargo ideas - most with unconventional sail or hull configurations.

Using one or more very tall solid airfoils instead sails is an option, and requires little "rigging" and behaves more like an airplane wing with control surfaces. Giant robotic-winched kites are another idea, probably in dual or quad line for pitch, speed and tack control.

I've even seen concept art for a gigantic cargo-container... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by loquacious at 2:20 AM on February 6, 2007

It's also called a "rolling traffic break" or "rolling traffic stop".

More often than not (even in LA) it is something simple like debris or a stalled/stopped car, in which case they can often create the brief time they need to clear the lanes without actually closing any lanes or the freeway itself just by slowing the flow down for a bit.

Full closures (rare even in LA) and detours sometimes start with a rolling break and... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by loquacious at 1:15 AM on February 6, 2007

As an ex-Mormon who grew up in a multigenerational Mormon family, I'm going to have to agree and disagree with a few of the key points under "HOW TO DEAL WITH MORMON NEIGHBORS (as a non-Mormon in Utah)" as provided by terceiro.

1) Having your own belief system really isn't going to make a difference. It may grant you a temporary reprieve from being missionaried to, but other than that it's moot.

2) Yes, lots of Mormons are open minded... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by loquacious at 8:18 AM on February 3, 2007

Brian, thanks for those links. In particular the "affinity fraud" link, which triggered some memories about how there always seemed to be some kind of Amway/Mary Kay or much worse MLM schemes going on at my friend's houses. I remember even my mom got into Amway briefly, but I think she mostly escaped.
posted to Ask Metafilter by loquacious at 6:23 AM on February 5, 2007

Why can't I buy bulk dry "mix" for soy, rice or almond milks like I can buy powdered milk? Is there any way to get a tolerable milk-replacement mix? This would be incredibly awesome for things like travelling, camping, and living good and cheap.

Addendum: in addition to the portability aspect, dry bulk mix would/should be inherently cheaper due to lower transport costs, and by virtue more energy-wise because the liquid portion isn't... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by loquacious at 7:57 AM on January 27, 2007

well some cereal is good just dry or drizzled with a little bit of honey.

I do that as well, but I can only do it for so long before my teeth and mouth get mad at me. See also: Cap'n Crunch Lacerated Mouth Syndrome, not that I've had any of that crack in a box in ages.

Dry is fine for snacking but not for mowing through a small mountain of bran flakes or cheerio-like O's covered with whole uncooked oats and/or wheat germ. I'm pretty serious about my cereal.
posted to Ask Metafilter by loquacious at 8:02 AM on January 27, 2007

I hope you're not doing this experiment on a home computer with personal information, passwords or financial information on it, or on an active network with users who may be using it for banking or other sensitive data. Remember, an infected computer can sometimes infect other computers on a network, or eavesdrop on their network communications.

If not:


Install any unpatched Windows and IE and just hook it up raw to a cable modem. No... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by loquacious at 4:37 AM on January 26, 2007 marked best answer

Bob, just for your further reference and edification I archived my deleted answer here.
posted to Ask Metafilter by loquacious at 10:54 PM on January 13, 2007

Is there a reason why you couldn't modify an inexpensive but durable digital watch to be a key fob? $10-20 bucks or so would go a long way in the regular watch world these days.

An alternative idea would be to buy really inexpensive basic watch innards or inexpensive watches and cast them in blocks of clear resin or epoxy, or sandwich them in a small block of plexiglas, lucite or something similar.

Put fresh batteries in them before casting and... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by loquacious at 4:55 PM on January 8, 2007

Well, the cell phones are the reasons we need the clocks - the only way we can make sure they are out working and not using their phones on the clock is to make sure they leave their phones in the office while they are working.

Roger. Man, if it's that bad make 'em wear a big wall clock on a chain like Flava Flav.
posted to Ask Metafilter by loquacious at 11:17 PM on January 8, 2007

Seconding null terminated: The Havahart traps are pretty much standard issue for humane societies, shelters and kennels.
posted to Ask Metafilter by loquacious at 4:19 PM on December 29, 2006

Alkaline or lithium disposable have the best shelf life. I have both alkaline and lithium AA and AAA cells that are over 5 years old that would probably still give me 70-90% of rated power.

Old school zinc-carbon AKA "heavy duty" batteries have many long term storage issues as well as low charges, but they can be "recharged" and massaged quite a bit with kinetic and thermal energy.

Solar panels combined with transformers and... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by loquacious at 6:24 AM on November 28, 2006

What would you want to happen to you?

Call her. It doesn't mean you have to marry her, have her babies or go steady. There's time enough to decide that kind of stuff later.

But take a nap, drink lots of water and call her some time later today.

What do you say? Well, don't say thank you - that's bad. You don't have to say "Uhm, do you remember me?" or something like "So, err, did we... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by loquacious at 2:37 AM on October 28, 2006

Male, 30ish, large, wooly and increasingly long-haired - large amounts of surface area. American, desert adapted, taught to conserve water.

A "quick" shower for me is at least 10-15 minutes. A long one can exceed an hour, but I shave in the shower with mug shaving soap, brush, and disposable safety razor. I can empty most hot water tanks, and my showers must be stinging, scalding hot. In most households that means all hot, no cold in the... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by loquacious at 9:04 AM on October 22, 2006

Seconding (fourthing!?) the memtest86+ suggestion.

It sounds like a power supply issue, though. I had a similar stability issue about a year ago and it was the PSU, for certain. It ended up smoking my motherboard. (No huge loss, it was an ancient celeron.)

However, yours is new. Upgrade and/or test your PSU, pronto, or risk damaging components. 430 watts is pushing it for your config. I'd feel a lot more comfortable with something in the 500-650... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by loquacious at 9:47 PM on October 18, 2006

As long as you aren't selling them as "MAME" cabinets, you should be just fine. There's plenty of folks selling retro "gaming" cabinets or even "arcade emulator" cabinets. And, for marketing purposes, if someone knows what "MAME" is, they know exactly what "arcade emulation" is.
posted to Ask Metafilter by loquacious at 9:34 PM on October 18, 2006

jscott: Holy crap. That succint little bio got to me. Well done.
posted to Ask Metafilter by loquacious at 4:04 PM on October 4, 2006

Succinct, even. Semi-related self link pondering the cult of Apple among other things: I bought a Mac.
posted to Ask Metafilter by loquacious at 4:09 PM on October 4, 2006