I have one of these, and it is highly useful. I think it is worth the money, but only because I don't have the skills to make one myself.

I think it works better if you use a really bright light. Go to a specialty light bulb shop and get one of the brightest light bulbs they offer. Full spectrum is not important.
posted to Ask Metafilter by grouse at 8:42 PM on September 2, 2008

I should add that the sunset feature is also highly useful for insomniacs. Turn it on, start reading in bed, and pretty soon the lights will be dim and you will feel like sleeping.
posted to Ask Metafilter by grouse at 8:21 AM on September 3, 2008

In ethics, questions of intent matter. You are purchasing the enclosure in bad faith, because you have no intention of keeping it.

Enclosures are cheap, and very useful to have around.

Assuming the product is in 100% perfect condition when returned, someone else will buy it and receive the value all over again.

For many retailers, it would at this point become an "open box" product which they would only sell at a discount.
posted to Ask Metafilter by grouse at 6:50 PM on August 31, 2008

Questions of self-determination and territorial integrity of existing states are extremely topical at the moment. Compare the situations in Kosovo and South Ossetia.
posted to Ask Metafilter by grouse at 8:44 PM on August 29, 2008 marked best answer

I guess the easiest way to see the slow speeds is to open the [Gmail]/All Mail folder (having the [Gmail] before everything is a big pain too). Headers take somewhat longer to download than a nearby IMAP server.

For Google Apps, you have to have a domain name. This costs money. Is there any benefit to Google Apps beyond vanilla Gmail?
posted to Ask Metafilter by grouse at 4:01 PM on August 29, 2008

You might want to read this article about detox from Harvard Medical School.

If you think you might have allergies, the best thing to do is to visit an allergist.
posted to Ask Metafilter by grouse at 8:43 AM on August 29, 2008

try gluten free.

An allergist will be able to tell pretty easily if you have a gluten allergy. No need to guess, and potentially miss the real allergen, if there is one.

Lemon is a good detoxifier. Garlic is a great all-around cleanser.

How do they work? What do they do? What does that even mean?
posted to Ask Metafilter by grouse at 10:24 AM on August 29, 2008

And nothing makes me want to swing a 25-lb dumbbell in a gymgoer's face than watching them wave their limbs on the lightest setting of whatever machine for twenty minutes at a time.

I use certain machines at their lowest settings for many reps on the orders of my physical therapist, because of previous injuries. I don't really see what it has to do with you. Maybe you should take an anger management class.
posted to Ask Metafilter by grouse at 10:11 AM on August 29, 2008

I don't think OpenOffice.org is going to be a good alternative. It's basically a Word clone, and in my experience has more performance problems.

You can use LaTeX for humanities documents. You might want to try the LyX document processor interface which is allegedly easy-to-use.

You don't say what platform you are using. Others might have Mac- or Windows-specific suggestions.
posted to Ask Metafilter by grouse at 8:50 AM on August 29, 2008

If you think you might have RAM issues, then test your RAM. Never a bad idea, and you can rule it out. I'd say that is unlikely if your only symptoms are Word-related. This is consistent with problems I and others have had with long documents in Word.
posted to Ask Metafilter by grouse at 8:59 AM on August 29, 2008

Personally, I would prefer to receive a "no thanks" e-mail in this situation, especially if it looks like I put some effort into the e-mail.
posted to Ask Metafilter by grouse at 12:42 PM on August 28, 2008

Until a peer-reviewed study finds something effective against the common cold, don't waste your time and money seeking out worthless cures.

Actually, there have been multiple peer-reviewed clinical trials that show that zinc lozenges are effective. There have also been multiple trials that do not show that they are effective. Reviews, and the recommendations of medical associations, tend to say that their efficacy has not been proven. But it does... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by grouse at 2:21 PM on August 27, 2008

Here's an exhaustive and easy-to-read review of common cold treatments and the accompanying evidence for each in American Family Physician from 2007. This is if you want scientific evidence rather than a poll.

Also: beware of intranasal zinc, such as Zicam, which is clinically proven to cause permanent loss of the sense of smell in some patients. Zicam paid $12 million to settle claims of sense of smell damage or loss.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by grouse at 2:28 PM on August 27, 2008

As someone who eschews mouse use, I think Launchy is fantastic. Don't forget that you can press tab after you select an object to launch to give it command-line arguments.

For example, type notepa TAB C:\myfile.txt.

I've written scripts that expect Launchy with some arguments to be their main entry point.
posted to Ask Metafilter by grouse at 9:44 AM on August 27, 2008

nothing seems more efficient than the start menu (split between mousing over the menu, and hitting "Start" with my thumb and keying down a few times to get to the app in question).

I can start up Microsoft Excel, or any other application, with only a few keystrokes, and without having to find the application in a series of tiny icons. Searching through stuff visually takes time if you have more than a couple of applications.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by grouse at 12:15 PM on August 27, 2008

I went to school in the Austin area and considered taking some college classes but chose not to because the extra commuting time would have meant less time for extra/co-curricular activities. In fact, I ended up taking PE classes at ACC in the summer so that I would have more time for co-curricular course periods during the school year. Your daughter should carefully consider what she might miss out on.

I did three weeks at Duke in the summer before eighth grade which... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by grouse at 11:57 AM on August 27, 2008

i often forget if i installed some library

Always install libraries with setup.py install, and they should end up in site-packages. Easy. Although to be honest, I don't understand the deal here. It's okay to forget what you have installed. Just use the libraries you need. If they're installed, great; if not, you'll get an error message and you can install them.

exactly where are modules i have written myself, where... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by grouse at 5:58 PM on August 26, 2008

using paster & ZopeSkel

Those seem mainly targeted at web development, and the latter particularly at Zope. Are they otherwise useful?
posted to Ask Metafilter by grouse at 8:05 AM on August 27, 2008

A double-blind study reported in the New England Journal of Medicine in 1998 concluded that cow's milk could cause chronic constipation in children, but that's hardly what you're talking about. As catatethebird says, it's hard to see that the temperature of consumption would affect the temperature in the gut very much, unless you're drinking gallons or something.
posted to Ask Metafilter by grouse at 9:26 PM on August 26, 2008

It's really not hard to ask. Most instructors will probably say yes, and the few that say no will have good reasons. Respect that.
posted to Ask Metafilter by grouse at 11:11 PM on August 24, 2008

told him it was a bit of a white lie, as I had registered for the class a few weeks before but had to pull it because I didn't have the money to pay for it. He commended me on my honesty, but politely explained that the dean would surely screw him if he found out.

If his dean is anything like the ones I've met, he would be way too busy dealing with real problems to cause extra trouble for a professor who allowed an unauthorized auditor.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by grouse at 1:13 AM on August 26, 2008

I thought you said you could take as many classes as you wanted without paying additional tuition.
posted to Ask Metafilter by grouse at 8:34 AM on August 26, 2008

Sounds like you might understand him after all. I bet you understand him better than anybody. Understanding ≠ agreeing. He needs to understand that.
posted to Ask Metafilter by grouse at 4:32 PM on August 24, 2008

There are polynomial time algorithms, and exponential time algorithms. Well, is there anything in between?

This is a slightly different question. Problems that can be solved in polynomial space and unlimited time include all the polynomial problems, and are included in the problems that can be solved in exponential time. As Wikipedia puts it:

P ⊆ NP ⊆ PSPACE ⊆ EXPTIME

Of course if you... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by grouse at 3:06 PM on August 23, 2008

I suggest searching, then asking on forums.thinkpads.com.
posted to Ask Metafilter by grouse at 12:04 PM on August 23, 2008

Oh. Looks like you already did that.
posted to Ask Metafilter by grouse at 12:05 PM on August 23, 2008

I tried an Electra Townie, which is a cross between a recumbent and a cruiser. It's about as upright as it gets, which is good. On the other hand, I thought it was just not that great a bike—I had a lot of trouble shifting gears, which just locked up completely at one point, and it's awful on hills. Furthermore the pedals are so low to the ground that my heel scraped it a few times. Not recommended.

I ended up getting the Crossroads Elite (from Gregg's). It is a... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by grouse at 11:32 PM on August 21, 2008

Well, it sounds like you should just wait for the umbrella company's letter to have its desired effect. If it needs to go beyond that, here are some thoughts.

I will say that, in my experience, the England and Wales small claims process is easy. You may want to think twice about giving up money to a collection agency (find out what happens if the business pays off the principal but not the collection agency's charges—I bet that means you lose some money).... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by grouse at 11:29 AM on August 21, 2008

Yeah, wilko is right on the fast track issue. Although even if it is less than £5,000, there is no guarantee that it will be put on the small claims track—it usually will but a judge can choose to put it on the fast track anyway, or dispose of it before allocation. Remember, there is no "small claims court" in England, only a small claims track in the county court. This is why it's good to consult with a solicitor—you can lose more than your filing fee.
posted to Ask Metafilter by grouse at 3:29 PM on August 21, 2008

Can you return it?
posted to Ask Metafilter by grouse at 1:10 AM on August 21, 2008

If you manage to damage the book more in attempts to fix it, don't be surprised if Amazon refuses to exchange it for you.
posted to Ask Metafilter by grouse at 10:30 AM on August 21, 2008

Find out if there are pre-existing conditions exclusions; do not assume that there won't be since it is a big company. These exclusions are waived under HIPAA if you have had "creditable coverage" for the previous period of time without a break of more than 62 days. If you were covered under a U.S. health plan, you will get a certificate of creditable coverage. But you were overseas, and while a public health plan maintained by a foreign country counts as creditable coverage, you might... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by grouse at 10:26 AM on August 21, 2008

In my experience, airline crews do not like discussing where they are staying as it is seen as a security risk. They also do not necessarily pick the hotel themselves.

You might try the U.S. South forum on FlyerTalk, for the views of frequent travelers instead.
posted to Ask Metafilter by grouse at 1:26 PM on August 20, 2008

There are funds with guaranteed returns

Of course, there is still always the possibility of these funds becoming insolvent and not being able to pay out the "guaranteed" return. There may be some third party that guarantees an annuity, but they may not guarantee an amount as high as $1 million anyway.
posted to Ask Metafilter by grouse at 11:15 AM on August 20, 2008

Macs aren't all that common in the scientific computing sector

I disagree with this. In computational biology at least, Mac laptops at least are extremely common. Desktops are less common.
posted to Ask Metafilter by grouse at 9:16 AM on August 20, 2008

Have they participated in such an arrangement previously? If so, ask for references. Call the references and ask them about problems that arose, and things that they would have wanted to have in writing.
posted to Ask Metafilter by grouse at 8:09 AM on August 20, 2008

Land line or cell phone, but not both.

Get rid of both—make your calls through Gizmo at only 1.9 cent/min. Or do that for most of your calls and keep a pre-paid mobile phone around when you need one. This is what I do (I actually use GrandCentral so the VoIP calls are free).
posted to Ask Metafilter by grouse at 1:02 PM on August 19, 2008

It is easy to understand why it is beneficial to the enterprise to have more members. This question is about why the employees seem so keen on new members. Far more keen than any other co-op I have ever shopped at.

If you do not have direct knowledge of the answer of this question from an REI employee, please do not answer.
posted to Ask Metafilter by grouse at 8:12 PM on August 18, 2008

Thanks for providing an answer to the actual question, LionIndex.

For the avoidance of doubt, this is something I have experienced in REIs in different regions of the country over several years.
posted to Ask Metafilter by grouse at 8:29 PM on August 18, 2008

Perhaps your cynicism is coloring your perception.

Maybe. On the other hand, here's at least one person claiming to be an employee who says that making membership quota was the only downside of working for REI.
posted to Ask Metafilter by grouse at 11:08 PM on August 18, 2008

I would not describe it as rude, but it is pushy to a degree I have not experienced at other co-ops, which also provide worthwhile membership benefits and employ true believers.

Another data point: a former REI employee's resume, where he lists always making 100% membership quota as one of his achievements there.
posted to Ask Metafilter by grouse at 11:24 PM on August 18, 2008

It's amusing to me that the answers have changed from things like "employees... are true believers... your cynicism is coloring your perception" to "This question is silly... it's patently obvious... there's an incentive involved... duh." It's amazing that there are people that think the answer to this question is so obvious that it is offensive that I asked it—although their "obvious" answers are diametrically opposed to each other.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by grouse at 10:47 AM on August 19, 2008

where did I go wrong?

When you tried to make a move on your buddy's girlfriend.

She could have wanted something more from you, or could have just been flirting, or you could have imagined everything. Who knows? It doesn't matter. Next time, stick to single women.
posted to Ask Metafilter by grouse at 5:52 PM on August 18, 2008

I know Tom well enough to know that he will get a laugh out of this story.

To be honest, you don't seem that great at predicting the reactions of your friends. Do let us know how this turns out.
posted to Ask Metafilter by grouse at 7:06 PM on August 18, 2008

There are a number of bed and breakfasts in Brookline. I stayed at the Bertram Inn which I thought was nice. It is a 10 minute walk to Coolidge Corner Station on the Green Line. Not the same branch as Fenway Station, though.
posted to Ask Metafilter by grouse at 1:37 PM on August 18, 2008

You can turn off the automatic announcements to everyone else that you have a new friend. Do this before you accept the friend. Of course, X will still be able to tell.

This is not advice on whether accepting Y as a friend is a good idea.
posted to Ask Metafilter by grouse at 10:25 AM on August 18, 2008

This sidewalk was definitely, 100% public property.

How do you know that? Did you check the plat maps?

I used to read my undergraduate university's police blotter regularly. Criminal trespass was their bread and butter. The majority of the entries in the blotter were criminal trespass warnings, where the subject was doing something the university or cop didn't like but which wasn't illegal or the illegality would have been... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by grouse at 10:22 AM on August 18, 2008

If you google "posture myths" or "posture facts" you'll find many sources telling you not to worry about this.

The first hit says the myth is that you don't need to be concerned about this. I think it is good that you are concerned. Yes, it should be easier to correct early on. She may not have the right muscles developed that would make it easier to keep the correct posture. A visit to a physical therapist might help assess the... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by grouse at 6:23 PM on August 17, 2008

Ask your pediatrician for a referral to another health professional to help you deal with this. This might be a chiropractor but it is more likely to be a physical or occupational therapist. Even if you insist on a chiropractor, it would be better to go to one your pediatrician trusts rather than some guy out of the phone book (or worse, from TV).
posted to Ask Metafilter by grouse at 9:34 AM on August 18, 2008

add hyphens, break up equations, or just re-jig the text until it looks ok.

This is the correct way to deal with this problem. The easy way to deal with it is to use \sloppy at the beginning of your document. This produces output that might not look as attractive as a document hyphenated and manually adjusted, but it will be far more attractive than a document with overfull hboxes. You can always turn it off when you're done writing the document and... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by grouse at 6:13 PM on August 16, 2008