I've heard about an exercise that Freeman Patterson used to do with his students. It involved going out into a natural field with a hula hoop, closing your eyes and throwing it blindly. The challenge was to shoot beautiful, artistic photos entirely within the circle where the hoop landed.
His book Photography and the Art of Seeing is a great resource for making beatiful images from seemingly mundane subject matter.... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by rocket88 at 8:37 AM on July 25, 2008

Because blue is a complementary colour to caucasian skin tone, and thus enhances the "shadow" effect?
posted to Ask Metafilter by rocket88 at 11:04 AM on July 17, 2008

mathafilter.com
posted to Ask Metafilter by rocket88 at 8:51 AM on July 10, 2008

midnightmath.com

The Catholic kids will get it
posted to Ask Metafilter by rocket88 at 8:53 AM on July 10, 2008

I have a friend who used to be a mailman letter-carrier. He had a few coworkers who would routinely take their day's allottment of mail, shove it in their locker, and go home for the day or hit the golf course or whatever. The next day they'd take two days worth of mail around their route.
I suspect something similar is happening with you.
posted to Ask Metafilter by rocket88 at 1:55 PM on July 9, 2008

Read up on history. Particularly the economics and living conditions of the Great Depression, WW2, 1970's oil crisis, etc. Times have been far, far worse than they are now and not only did humanity survive, but come through even stronger.
Also, don't put too much creedence in the rantings of Metafilter commenters. There have always been Chicken Littles and they have always been wrong.
posted to Ask Metafilter by rocket88 at 8:36 AM on July 9, 2008

1: This is likely not a useful enough statistic to bother measuring as far as the common fan is concerned, but I have no doubt that every team's pro scouts keep track of this. They even keep track of where (i.e. what part of the field) those pop-ups tend to occur so the managers can direct their players where to stand when certain batters come up to the plate.

2. Yes, the fielders will be called for interference if they obstruct the basepaths. The exception is when they... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by rocket88 at 7:10 AM on July 8, 2008

Sorry...missed the bit about sacrifice fly. As kevbo said, baserunners have to tag back to their base after a pop fly and can only advance after the fielder catches (or drops) the ball.
posted to Ask Metafilter by rocket88 at 7:14 AM on July 8, 2008

rokusan:

1. BABIP is an obscure, rarely referenced stat and also doesn't cover what the OP was asking for.

2. No, a fielder with the ball may still not block a baseline, and the runner creates his own baseline.
Nope. Rule 7.08(b): "A runner is out when he intentionally interferes with a thrown ball; or hinders a fielder attempting to make a play on a batted ball"

3. They... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by rocket88 at 8:20 AM on July 8, 2008

It is by definition EXACTLY what the OP asked for: "a statistic in baseball that tracks the percentage of the time a player makes contact with the ball and sends it into the field of play and it results in an out versus a hit."

Which would be the inverse of BABIP if BABIP didn't exclude home runs. As far as I know that stat doen't exist.
posted to Ask Metafilter by rocket88 at 9:13 AM on July 8, 2008

It may be hard to find, but "Live on TV (You Can Watch Them Die)" by Montreal 80's band The Box is a great tune.
posted to Ask Metafilter by rocket88 at 1:16 PM on July 3, 2008

Check out This is Your Brain on Music.
posted to Ask Metafilter by rocket88 at 11:20 AM on June 26, 2008

The CTF is funded by donations from private supporters. Some with vested interests in their lobbying efforts would undoubtedly donate much more than $40/year.
posted to Ask Metafilter by rocket88 at 11:16 AM on June 26, 2008

Scrawny to Brawny
posted to Ask Metafilter by rocket88 at 11:27 AM on June 24, 2008

The biggest danger when soldering is hot solder splashes from the ends of springy wires. Make sure they all wear safety glasses.
posted to Ask Metafilter by rocket88 at 11:24 AM on June 24, 2008

I'd like to stop thinking about sex, because I likely won't be getting any for a while

You need to expand on this. Why won't you be getting any for a while? Are you in prison or some other situation where dating women is an impossibility?
If not, and you just have a negative attitude, I'd start with that. Lose the negativity. Try Cognitive Behavior Therapy or some other method to gain back some self esteem and optimism. The next step (make... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by rocket88 at 12:10 PM on June 18, 2008

Chinese food is only a single style to your western viewpoint. There is actually a huge variety of "chinese" food.
posted to Ask Metafilter by rocket88 at 1:07 PM on June 12, 2008

Without a sense of scale, it's difficult to tell the gauge of the wires. My house has an old telephone cable with four coloured conductors like that.
posted to Ask Metafilter by rocket88 at 11:31 AM on June 12, 2008

A day of pampering at a spa. She'll need it and appreciate it.
posted to Ask Metafilter by rocket88 at 12:44 PM on May 12, 2008

Seconding C#
posted to Ask Metafilter by rocket88 at 1:06 PM on May 1, 2008

If he's a Kerouac fan take him to Vesuvio and City Lights.
posted to Ask Metafilter by rocket88 at 1:12 PM on April 21, 2008

Waterloo, ON and Ottawa are the main high tech hot spots in Canada. I'd start your search there.
posted to Ask Metafilter by rocket88 at 8:10 AM on April 11, 2008

Waterloo has more than RIM...much more.
But this shouldn't get into a pissing contest about who's city is better.
posted to Ask Metafilter by rocket88 at 8:57 AM on April 11, 2008

I lived in one house for almost half my life, between the age of 1 and the age of 21.
I don't think of that house as "home". Home is where I live now.
posted to Ask Metafilter by rocket88 at 12:09 PM on April 10, 2008

Whether the Pirates suck or not, a trip to PNC is important just to see what a real ball park should look like.
posted to Ask Metafilter by rocket88 at 3:01 PM on April 8, 2008

Srtanglehold - Ted Nugent.
Best crunchy riff ever.
posted to Ask Metafilter by rocket88 at 1:41 PM on April 4, 2008

Chicken in Apple and Whisky sauce.
It's unbelievably good.
posted to Ask Metafilter by rocket88 at 8:42 AM on March 31, 2008

Such Great Heights - Iron and Wine
Between The Bars - Elliott Smith
Anything from Pink Moon - Nick Drake
posted to Ask Metafilter by rocket88 at 4:30 PM on March 27, 2008

I always follow "It's a small world" with "...but I wouldn't want to paint it."
posted to Ask Metafilter by rocket88 at 1:50 PM on March 14, 2008

Seconding Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain.
I was one who considered myself "terrible at drawing" until my artist girlfriend bought me the book and had me work through the exercises. Now I draw and paint all the time, and actually consider myself an artist. It was an incredible transformation.
posted to Ask Metafilter by rocket88 at 10:37 AM on March 13, 2008

Traveler's cheques aren't honoured in Cuba.
posted to Ask Metafilter by rocket88 at 11:23 AM on February 20, 2008

I would think the best way to make it happen again would be to try hypnotherapy or deep relaxation again, either with or without a therapist.
posted to Ask Metafilter by rocket88 at 11:20 AM on February 20, 2008

Vegas.
posted to Ask Metafilter by rocket88 at 12:52 PM on February 19, 2008

I see it as a reference to Plato's Allegory of the Cave.
i.e. The woman in question is very good at hiding her true self and making people believe the reality she wants them to see. The naarator (Joel), however, knows her so well that he knows the 'true' woman behind the projected 'shadows'.
posted to Ask Metafilter by rocket88 at 9:24 AM on February 15, 2008

"Yeah we can get down but only after we've decided to be exclusive and dated for at least 4-5 months, and if that's too long for you to wait, sayonara!"

This sounds good, but take out everything after the word 'months'. The last part sounds overly negative and almost confrontational.
And the sooner you have this conversation, the easier it will be for both of you. Second date is fine.
posted to Ask Metafilter by rocket88 at 3:57 PM on February 11, 2008

First name. It's a pet peeve of mine when the Jr., or III modifiers are put after the last name. Sports shows/pages do it all the time when they just list last names, and include Cruz Jr. for Jose, or Love IV for Davis.
posted to Ask Metafilter by rocket88 at 8:36 AM on January 22, 2008

"Looking Out For Number One" by BTO
posted to Ask Metafilter by rocket88 at 8:02 AM on January 14, 2008

Same thing happened to me a few years ago, in my mid-thirties. A regular coffee drinker, I suddenly developed symptoms of what I now know to be General Anxiety Disorder. At the time I didn't know what was wrong with me, and feared much worse. Long story short...the GAD eventually subsided, and I've been anxiety free for years, but I'm still left with a hypersensitivity to caffeine. A can of Coke or cup of tea is usually fine, but a coffee will give me noticable anxiety symptoms. Needless to... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by rocket88 at 12:49 PM on January 8, 2008

This article abstract may be of interest.
posted to Ask Metafilter by rocket88 at 1:25 PM on January 8, 2008

FEB-you-air-y is a mispronunciation that has become so common that it's now a correct pronunciation.
posted to Ask Metafilter by rocket88 at 12:11 PM on January 8, 2008

escabeche: I think your concept of dividing total flips into groups of ten is the right way to do this. Eleven flips can be seen as two overlapping groups of ten...twelve is three overlapping groups, and so on. Each group has an independent 1/1024 chance of being all heads, so at 521 total flips, I have 512 groups of ten, each with an equal chance of 1/1024, making the odds 512 in 1024, or even money.
posted to Ask Metafilter by rocket88 at 9:47 AM on January 3, 2008

On closer look, it appears the above method is wrong, since the groups aren't independent (by nature of their overlapping).
posted to Ask Metafilter by rocket88 at 9:54 AM on January 3, 2008

John Coltrane's A Love Supreme (Part 1: Acknowledgement) only contains the repeated title as lyrics.
posted to Ask Metafilter by rocket88 at 11:13 AM on December 18, 2007

If walking isn't a problem (weather permitting) then try carrying one of those small (6 or 8 inch diameter) medicine balls when you walk. Move it from hand to hand, raise it over your head, twist with it, pass it behind your back if you want to get fancy.
Even without the walking, I think there are a few standing or sitting exercises you can do with them.
Good luck...hope you find something that works.
posted to Ask Metafilter by rocket88 at 1:08 PM on December 17, 2007

My only advice to you is to stop reading this thread.
posted to Ask Metafilter by rocket88 at 9:01 AM on December 17, 2007

I have talked to some photography studios about working there and have had a lot of interest.

So, in other words, you have been advertising your services. Did it feel unethical?
I think you have your answer.
posted to Ask Metafilter by rocket88 at 1:18 PM on December 11, 2007

In my family, loans are fully paid back at 0% interest, with no time period implied or expressed.
It's family.
I would suggest buying her a nice gift as thanks for the loan.
posted to Ask Metafilter by rocket88 at 11:03 AM on December 5, 2007

To attempt an answer to your original question "What would happen if we banned all advertising?":

1. You are probably correct that people would buy fewer things they don't need, but the things they do need would get much more expensive. Advertising informs people of alternatives and so drives competition which lowers prices.
2. Any information or entertainment you get from television, radio, newspaper, magazine, or internet would cease to be free or... [more]
posted to Ask Metafilter by rocket88 at 8:28 AM on December 5, 2007

If you ignore your personal feelings toward having children, you'd have to agree that both the prostate and the seminal vesicles are damned important to reproduction and survival of the species.
posted to Ask Metafilter by rocket88 at 4:02 PM on November 28, 2007

I don't know when to initiate, and whether it will be a good idea or not.
If she feels about you the way you say she does, it will always be a good idea.
posted to Ask Metafilter by rocket88 at 1:48 PM on November 28, 2007