Digable Planets. Blowout Comb is my favourite. Their other album (Reachin') is more overtly political, so fits your bill less. They get called jazzy but I think they're pretty far from the "smooth jazz" you said to stay away from.
posted to Ask Metafilter by louigi at 5:50 AM on April 25, 2008

The national park at Greenwich on P.E.I. is very nice, particularly walking over the dunes. Murray Harbor is a pretty fishing village. You can also take the ferry to or from P.E.I. You might think about taking it on your way back to the mainland, because it lands you considerably closer to the NFLD ferries than the bridge does. When you take the ferry, go to Crabby's Seafood Stand (at the Wood Islands ferry terminal) for good seafood. The steamed mussels are particularly good if you like mussels.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by louigi at 11:17 AM on March 10, 2008

Oh, and if you're spending a night on P.E.I., Woodlands Country Inn is a beautiful place to stay.
posted to Ask Metafilter by louigi at 11:20 AM on March 10, 2008

A similar, previous question.
posted to Ask Metafilter by louigi at 7:22 AM on March 10, 2008

Stinky tofu seems pretty gross. My wife just tried it while in Beijing and says it's awful, so it should be along the lines of what you're looking for. Apparently it has blue veins in it like blue cheese.
posted to Ask Metafilter by louigi at 1:40 AM on March 1, 2008

Individual people within the company can also just be nice to you about this sort of thing. I had a similar situation going Montreal - Nice via Paris. Round trip flight and I didn't want to use the Nice-Paris leg of my return. I called Air Canada and found someone sympathetic enough to cancel that leg at no charge. I've done the same starting in Vancouver instead of Victoria, B.C..

As it looks like you've already noticed, since Air Canada round trip prices are just the... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by louigi at 11:40 PM on February 20, 2008

A friend of mine works at the Montreal Children's hospital, which is part of the McGill University set of hospitals. She relocated from Calgary and had a hell of a time getting everything straightened out so that she could work, even though she speaks French fluently. (She did, incidentally, have to do a French fluency test; being at a McGill hospital doesn't exempt you from that.) The impression she gave me is that at the moment, the system is so bureaucratic that despite the need for nurses... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by louigi at 4:19 PM on January 17, 2008

I leave tomorrow, but thanks for the offer, LWkid. I was going to use it not as protection but to provide reinforcement for a sort of tattered bag. I'll probably just use a better bag.
posted to Ask Metafilter by louigi at 10:14 AM on January 17, 2008

spiderkull, people's foot sizes aren't random variables, they are fixed quantities, so the central limit theorem doesn't apply. Rumple makes a good point about the differences in the tails. From what Rumple says, it is also easy to conclude that even if we do not know exactly what distribution foot sizes follow, it is certainly not normal, because the tails are not symmetric. The largest feet entry on this page, together with the fact that foot sizes are positive, kind of proves it's not... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by louigi at 12:08 AM on December 10, 2007

spiderskull -- the central limit theorem is about sums of random variables. Unless I'm mistaken, blue_beetle is talking about data fitting a normal curve; there are no sums involved, so the central limit theorem doesn't apply.

grouse -- good point about the scale. Those biggest feet I was talking about earlier were about 18 inches long, incidentally.

But the fact is, it never makes sense to talk about data fitting a normal curve unless the data... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by louigi at 5:49 AM on December 10, 2007

Hmm. I guess biostatisticians and probabilists must disagree about what it means for data to fit a normal curve. Perhaps normal curves are a good enough in many real world situations, even if there are some technical issues that arise if you try to be perfectly precise about what you mean. Or maybe biostatisticians are really talking about truncated normal distributions.

I don't actually think this is too much of a derail; if there's disagreement about what it... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by louigi at 7:02 AM on December 10, 2007

Espresso porn.
posted to Ask Metafilter by louigi at 10:12 AM on November 11, 2007 marked best answer

The conclusion of that article states "The radioactivity in tobacco leaves collected from 15 different regions of Greece before cigarette production has been studied in order to estimate the effective dose from cigarette tobacco due to the naturally occurring radionuclides and Cesium-137 of Chernobyl origin."

It is solely concerned with testing the levels of various radionuclides, and has no information about either the relative risk of the radionuclides as... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by louigi at 9:31 AM on November 11, 2007

Sorry, I meant the quote in your question.
posted to Ask Metafilter by louigi at 9:31 AM on November 11, 2007

Sounds like a pretty awful situation to be in, anastasiav.

It sounds to me like he learned from other kids, at his previous daycare, that biting was an acceptable form of social interaction. The fact that the staff at that daycare didn't prevent other kids from biting him seems pretty irresponsible to me. But I imagine that the reason he's biting is because it's something he's learned to associate with either (a) other people his own size or (b)... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by louigi at 5:56 AM on September 26, 2007

Seconding dobbs. If I could afford to pay 900 dollars a month, I wouldn't choose to live with roomates; if others are like me then you won't get much response to your ad unless your place is something really special.
posted to Ask Metafilter by louigi at 7:39 AM on June 24, 2007

Someone previously asked a very similar question that you may find useful to look at.
posted to Ask Metafilter by louigi at 3:25 AM on June 24, 2007

I have always wanted to go as "DJ Escher".

But then it would make sense to play records whose groove was a circle instead of a spiral, and your record just constantly repeated itself eternally. Which would make more sense if you were spinning house.
posted to Ask Metafilter by louigi at 5:15 PM on June 23, 2007

Damn it, Partial Law!
posted to Ask Metafilter by louigi at 5:16 PM on June 23, 2007

Here is a simple recipe for kvas in every way except time (preparation takes at least 5 days, though you don't have to be paying attention the whole time) but I imagine it will be very good. My wife just got a great cookbook called "Bread Matters" and I noticed the kvas recipe in it just a few days ago.

The (five) days before, prepare a rye production sourdough (recipe below).

450 grams rye bread
4 1/2 litres... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by louigi at 1:36 PM on June 11, 2007

For what it's worth, I am currently renting quite a nice one bedroom in Shepherd's Bush for 1000/month (so, 233/week assuming a 30-day month), everything included (electricity, gas, phone, internet, council tax). Also, to back up jadepearl: I found it on SabbaticalHomes, which is good for all the reasons she (I assume that's as good a term as any for your described gender, jadepearl) says.
posted to Ask Metafilter by louigi at 11:15 AM on June 11, 2007

My email address is in my profile.
posted to Ask Metafilter by louigi at 2:22 AM on June 2, 2007

SOL: Shit out of luck?
posted to Ask Metafilter by louigi at 2:18 PM on May 21, 2007

Go tobogganing using household objects. I think I read about this somewhere recently ....

Or you could imitate Andy Goldsworthy. But, you know, stochastically.
posted to Ask Metafilter by louigi at 3:10 PM on March 12, 2007

jamjam, I'm really curious about what you said about deafness around 60 Hz, but I don't want to derail the thread. Could you email me? My email is in my profile. Thanks.
posted to Ask Metafilter by louigi at 3:47 AM on March 11, 2007

n'thing the advice that if you leave out the aromat it's going to be very hard to get the flavour you're looking for. If you need to be reassured that it's not going to eat holes into the brains of you and all your future children, you can try this article.
posted to Ask Metafilter by louigi at 12:59 AM on March 10, 2007

We are in London but our landlord lives in Oxford. When we've had trouble with our heating he has sent someone from APV Boiler Services (based in Oxfordshire), who is friendly, efficient, and trustworthy. I don't know if this is a special arrangement, though; you'd have to contact him and see if he'll come to London. If he won't, I'm sure he can point you towards someone trustworthy.

Email me if you want more details.
posted to Ask Metafilter by louigi at 12:55 AM on March 10, 2007

Domus, in the Byward market, makes great food, has a decent wine list from what I recall, friendly staff, and you can dress up or dress down and you won't feel uncomfortable either way. Main courses are in the 15-20 dollar range. It's walkable if you're willing to walk for 20 minutes; a cab would take five. Here is Google's advice for getting from your hotel to the restaurant.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by louigi at 3:29 PM on March 8, 2007

Sorry, I underestimated the cost of mains; more like 25 dollars from the look of their site.
posted to Ask Metafilter by louigi at 3:30 PM on March 8, 2007

For cost: if you take the tube, get Oyster cards. They cost three pounds and are refundable, and cut way down on the cost of tube and bus travel.
posted to Ask Metafilter by louigi at 12:30 AM on March 8, 2007

Oyster cards are not hard to get for a foreigner or anyone else: you go up to a ticket booth and ask for an Oyster card. It costs three pounds (as I said, refundable) and takes about the same number of minutes. I've given this same advice to every visitor I've had in London and not one has had difficulty with it, whether they enter via Heathrow or Waterloo.

Chiswick is a good idea.
posted to Ask Metafilter by louigi at 8:32 AM on March 8, 2007

Seconding Miranda and Steve.
posted to Ask Metafilter by louigi at 1:40 PM on February 28, 2007

For our wedding, we were given a similar amount of beautiful royal blue sateen with gold elephant pattern, which we turned into curtains. The nice thing about curtains is that you get to see great swathes of the fabric in all its glory. If you're worried about discoloration, you can easily make a double-layer curtain and protect the silk from the sunlight.
posted to Ask Metafilter by louigi at 3:56 PM on February 20, 2007

I'm more along the lines of lgyre on this one. My wife and I have lived with two different roommates since we were married and both times have worked out very well. That having been said, it makes a big difference what your girlfriend thinks of your best friend. In both cases for us, we were living with people we both got along with very well. I think chances are that your own gut feeling is your best guide on this one.
posted to Ask Metafilter by louigi at 12:31 AM on February 15, 2007

Bottling a new batch tonight. Will be trying to keep track of all the suggestions above. Thanks, everyone!
posted to Ask Metafilter by louigi at 10:07 AM on January 14, 2007

Update: Seems that the main thing is that we're using all sorts of different bottles, and some of them are harder to cap well than others. We're using roughly this kind of capper, and it seems that the mark of a successfull capping is a slight circular indentation on the top of the cap. Ensuring that the ring appears on all the bottles caps, and adding just a little yeast at the bottling stage, has solved our carbonation woes. Thanks, everyone!... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by louigi at 5:58 AM on February 11, 2007

Hey davar, I'm a mathematician/theoretical computer scientist who spends more time than most people would consider normal thinking about balls and boxes (if you're trying to google this you'll find you have better luck searching for balls and bins). If you feel like sharing a little more information about your problem I can try to offer some ideas. My email is in my profile.
posted to Ask Metafilter by louigi at 4:59 AM on February 10, 2007

When I asked this (question (S1) in this thread), The Bicycle Workshop, on All Saints Road in Notting Hill, was recommended to me.
posted to Ask Metafilter by louigi at 3:53 AM on February 7, 2007

Some people believe that "[fear] responses to snakes are organized by a specifically evolved circuit that emerged with the first mammals," in other words, being afraid specifically of snakes was a very good move for some of the first mammals, and that ancient bit of evolution is still with many mammals today. From a quick look, it doesn't seem like the scientific evidence for the claim is conclusive, but it also doesn't rule out the hypothesis. Here is another story... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by louigi at 5:02 AM on January 30, 2007

I'm surprised at how hard people have come down on what seemed like a concerned and conscientious poster who emphasized that he is going to support his partner's decision whatever it may end up being.

I am not currently taking, and have never taken, antidepressants or anti-anxiety medication. However, I've known plenty of people who have, anonymous, and my advice to you is for the case that your partner does end up taking some such medication. Encourage her to... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by louigi at 3:22 PM on January 29, 2007

I think the YMCA may be a cheaper and more flexible option than you suggest. My wife went to the Y in Mile End until we left Montreal in September 2006; she paid for a year but when she left they refunded her for the unused months. According to their membership brochures (available here), the membership fees are "based on an annual contract and may be paid monthly" -- it would probably be worth asking them about precisely what they do if you leave before a year is up.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by louigi at 9:55 AM on January 25, 2007

If you think the velvet can handle it, you might try using a razor blad. Get a long exacto or box-cutter, extend it so that you have a good, long, fresh section of blade, and try to work it as close to the duct tape as possible. You might end up with a patch of velvet that's slightly shorter than the rest, but if you're careful, and especially if you're good at long, even strokes, you might just be able to get it to look pretty uniformly like it did before. Maybe you can ask someone who knows... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by louigi at 3:16 PM on January 23, 2007

Those are some good ideas, thanks. exogenous, is the interface on the Soundbridge decent?
posted to Ask Metafilter by louigi at 9:30 AM on January 17, 2007

Here are some pretty amazing ones from North Korea, theoretically not postcard reproductions but photos an American took on a trip.
posted to Ask Metafilter by louigi at 12:49 AM on January 17, 2007

"Trying is the first step towards failure"
-Homer Simpson
posted to Ask Metafilter by louigi at 2:29 PM on January 13, 2007

I'm not even clear enough about what "temperature" is to know whether , if you pour the cup of hot water into the cup of cold water (let's say they're at +30 and +10 degrees, so both liquid), the result will be +20 degree water. I just don't understand well-enough what temperature is a measurement of to understand whether it would change in such a linear fashion. Maybe this should be a separate AskMe question, or maybe I should just go and read the relevant chapter... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by louigi at 1:50 AM on January 12, 2007

k8t, need some more and that Kinko's still has it (and the kind I need to, acid free, right weight and all that). Thanks for the tip!
posted to Ask Metafilter by louigi at 8:22 AM on January 11, 2007

Going north on Saint Laurent starting at Pine, any of the following places might suit you: Bifteck (as mentioned), Miami, Copacabana, Reservoir (actually on Duluth just east of Saint Laurent, it's an excellent microbrasserie), le Divan Orange, Casa Del Popolo (if there's no show on, which is unlikely), Sargent Recruteur, and, a little further north, Green Room and Pharmacie Esperanza (not just a bar but is open late and serves cheap beer). Quite a bit further north along Saint... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by louigi at 2:48 PM on December 15, 2006

So small -- Jim Guthrie. Starts with "So small\ on a porch in Montreal".
This is the dream of win and Regine -- Final Fantasy. "Montreal may eat its young\ but Montreal can't break us down."
posted to Ask Metafilter by louigi at 8:40 AM on December 9, 2006

Oh, and Leonard Cohen's "So long, Marianne" is about Montreal's Rue Marie-Anne.
posted to Ask Metafilter by louigi at 8:43 AM on December 9, 2006